Walking By Faith As A Christian Writer

After many days of rain and dreariness, I recently decided to take my god-nephew to a local park. This particular park has a Spacenet that leads to a 38-foot tube slide. When this structure was built, it was described as the tallest slide in the southeast region. However, height did not deter this brave and determined 6-year-old. He began to climb the pyramid-shaped Spacenet with confidence.

It wasn’t until he was almost at the top, nearly 38 feet in the air, that he looked down and told me he was afraid because his hands kept slipping. When I asked him if he wanted me to come get him, he paused and then said, “No! I’ve got this!” I continued to cheer him on and affirm that he did, in fact, have this. I genuinely admired his courage and tenacity to pursue something that seemed so much bigger than he is.

Our experience at the park reminded me of my journey as a Christian writer. God places ideas and dreams in our hearts, and it can be scary to pursue them when we don’t see how His plan will work out. Perhaps you don’t see the resources you need, you’re already super busy, or you don’t understand all of the details. We have to believe God is guiding the entire process and know that He is on our side! Even if you misstep somehow, He will be right there to catch you and place you where you need to be.

My god-nephew heard me cheering for him, but internally I was praying that God would protect him. I knew it meant a lot to him to accomplish his goal and I didn’t want my fear of him getting hurt to interfere with him reaching the top. Sometimes bystanders or even our loved ones will not understand what God has called us to do. Everyone will not understand the purpose God has chosen for you. At some point, you will experience such misunderstanding. And when you do, remember that it is God who called you, it is God you’re living for, and it is God who is supporting you and providing for you. You have been graced to be all He has created you to be, and this doesn’t warrant a second opinion.

Walking by faith requires action. If you’re experiencing hesitation in your journey as a writer, I urge you to pray for courage to walk with God and to not only take the first step, but to follow through until the end. There is a reason God gives you ideas and dreams; people need to read your writing! Don’t allow fear or worries to keep you stagnant, but instead embrace what God has placed before you and remember that He is with you every step of the way.

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June 15, 2018 3

7 Ways To Support Christian Writers And Authors

Many thousands of Christians believe writing is their primary gifting and calling.

This calling can be very lonely and painful. Christian writers often suffer from feelings of rejection, discouragement, and despair. They need support from the rest of the body.

Here are the top 7 ways to support Christian writers and authors.

7. Encourage them. Be intentional about finding the positive aspects of their work and offer praise. If someone’s writing seems so terrible that you can’t think of anything good to say, commend them for trying to find God’s will for their life.

6. Give them constructive feedback. Do not, under any circumstances, jump to number six without doing number seven first. Be very loving and gentle but say what needs to be said. If you see a lot of problems, just name the top three. Otherwise you will overwhelm the person.

5. Like and share their social media posts. Most writers I’ve met abhor social media. That may seem strange, but it is not conducive to most writers’ natural gifts. Social media success is much more of a learned skill and many writers do not have it. Plus, there are few things more awkward than sharing your own blog post on social media. But, Christian writers do it anyway. Make it easy on them.

4. Word of mouth. If their books or blogs are good, tell people. Don’t say, “A guy at my church wrote a book and he asked me to tell people about it.” Instead, just tell people about the awesome book you read. Tell people about the great new blog you found.

3. Pray. Writing is a ministry for Christian writers. Even those who write fiction try to witness and impart spiritual lessons through their stories. Like all ministries, Christian writing often comes under attack. We need your prayers for spiritual, physical, legal, commercial, and financial protection. We also need you to pray for God’s favor and blessing.

2. Buy their books. Buy extra copies for your friends. If their book is good enough, lead a book club or group study based on their book. Such direct support also has indirect benefits, especially if their books are available through online retailers like Amazon. They get bumped up in the rankings which makes the retailer show their books to more people.

And the number one way you can help Christian authors…

1. Reviews, reviews, and more reviews! These are huge, especially on Amazon. Reviews need to be honest. The best thing about honest reviews is that they help the right books get into the hands of the right people. Basically, they help customers make better decisions about whether or not a book is right for them. Doing a review normally only costs a little time. Just read the book and write a review. Authors often give books away during promotions and are encouraged by Amazon to ask readers for honest reviews. However, be aware that you can’t post reviews for members of your household or close friends (see here for Amazon’s book review guidelines). But you could review for someone who attends your church as long as you aren’t close friends. You could also give a family member’s or close friend’s book to others and ask them if they will consider reading and reviewing it.

Many writers find it difficult to get reviews.

One Christian writer estimates that she has given away over 200 books and received only two reviews after doing so.

We can do a better job of supporting Christian writers.

Start today. You probably know someone in your circle who is blogging or writing books for the Lord. View this as an opportunity to bless someone who might be hurting.

Don’t wait.

Reach out and do three of the things on this list right now.

May 29, 2018 3

Lightning McQueen Monster Truck

You know that moment of uncertainty you experience when your toddler is super excited about something he’s done? There could be something precious around the corner, or there could be a clean-up on aisle three.

This past Saturday, I got to experience one of the precious moments. My 3-year-old son was playing by himself with a new set of Legos from the Cars 3 movie. He came into the living room and called to me.

“Daddy, come look!”

His enthusiasm was contagious.

As I followed him to where he’d been playing, he repeated, “Lightning McQueen wants a monsser truck. Lightning McQueen wants a monsser truck.”

I was intrigued.

We entered the dining room, where he displayed his new creation for me.

He had removed the original tires from his Lightning McQueen toy and replaced them with tires from a different toy—transforming Lightning McQueen into a monster truck!

I’ve been thinking a lot about whether people would like or not like, accept or reject, this website and our writing efforts. I’ve been through a lot of rejection over the last nine years. I desperately want to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. But in many ways, I feel like I just lost a war and am now being asked to go into new battles. So, I struggle a good bit with feelings of discouragement and rejection.

In the middle of the night, I woke up thinking about some of these issues. I said, “Lord, do you like the website? Do you think it’s good? Are you proud of us?”

God responded by reminding me of the Lightning McQueen Monster Truck.

I was extremely proud of my son when I saw what he had made! My heart swelled with delight and joy to see his creativity. I was excited with him and for him over what his little hands had crafted. All he did was take some pieces and rearrange them. I know that. But, my little creative genius came up with the idea all by himself.

He put a different character’s mouthpiece on McQueen because he thought it looked good that way. Working hard, he also found a solution to an engineering problem he encountered. The larger tires would not fit on McQueen until he removed the side panels. He used his sweet little mind, imagination, and creativity to make something that I thought was absolutely amazing! Why?

Because I’m his dad and I love him.

Oh, how I love him! I love him more than words can express.

Have you recently stepped out in faith to create something for the Lord? Have you been wondering whether others would accept or reject it? Let me assure you of one thing. Your heavenly Dad is incredibly proud of you today!

He loves what you’re doing for Him! He’s not looking to see whether you’ve gotten everything perfect yet. He is thrilled over your efforts to create something that brings Him glory and helps others.

He is singing over you today!

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

April 11, 2018 0