Soaring or Falling?

When my daughter heard that I was speaking at a women's retreat on the theme of grace, she gave me a wonderful little book called Grace Rules by Steve McVey.  Mr. McVey starts off by admitting that one little preposition spoiled the first 29 years of his life because he thought it was his duty as a Christian to live for Jesus. He was set free when he discovered that the New Testament puts the emphasis on living in Christ.

The difference in those two words changed his life and the way in which he related to God. Mr. McVey goes on to illustrate the difference and it's all about grace.

I loved one of the illustrations he used, asking his readers to imagine they've just been told a man has jumped off the Empire State building. Mr. McVey says that no-one would think to ask, "did he fall?" because everyone knows the laws of gravity demand that he would. But then, if you were told he jumped off the building in a hang glider, our imaginations would picture a man soaring above the skyline of New York because we also know that the law of aerodynamics trumps the law of gravity. The man in the hang glider is like someone living in Christ, relying on His grace in every aspect of his life.

After reading the book I began to think about my attitudes in this regard and realized that I often fall into the legalistic mindset of living for Jesus, working for Jesus, writing for Jesus, instead of living in Him.

I began to ponder what living in Christ would mean as far as my writing was concerned. It would mean I wouldn't be so focused on trying to write what sells, but trying to write what is my heart. It would mean I wouldn't be so focused on capturing a market as capturing the hearts of my readers. It would mean I wouldn't worry so much about sales and social media numbers and all the other marketing ploys but would focus on relationships and serving others as Jesus did. It would mean, in short, not focusing on my career but focusing on Him.

Writing while living in Christ would free me to be the writer He wants me to be by relying on His grace to get me there instead of all the strategies of marketing and business practices. No, I'm not going to stop doing the marketing but I am going to work at changing my attitude toward it. I am going to work at soaring instead of falling.

What about you?

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The #1 Success Habit You Can't Do Without by Dr. Fred R. Lybrand

Dr Fred Lybrand states in his introduction, "There is no answer," but he states that readers are "about to encounter a principle ... one that can be applied in many settings across the boundaries of time and culture."

The principle he lays out in his book is a good one. It looks like it could work for everyone. But Lybrand acknowledges that it will only work if the reader takes action. He even helps the reader to do that by providing a workbook that can be downloaded from the internet and used to personalize each chapter.

There are some surprises in the book, like the statement, "the enemy of action is dishonesty." And there are sound Biblical principles and ethics that Lybrand never fails to point out.

This is a small book packed with good stuff about how to make your business and your life more efficient. All you have to do is read it and then do what it says. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The book is available in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon

Learn more about Dr. Lybrand on his website

Of Muse Jars and other Essential Things.

I was chatting with a friend this morning and sharing about how nervous I was when I had to go about asking people for endorsements for my work. I confided that I was afraid that those I asked would respond in a negative way. (What if they hate my writing?)

My friend was amazed. "How could you think that?" she said.

"Self-doubt is a plague a lot of writers struggle with," I responded. It's one with which I am very familiar.

I was feeling quite discouraged not long ago and sat at my computer desk with all kinds of negative thoughts running rampant. Then I glanced up. I have a hodge-podge of photos and memorabilia on a ledge above my monitor. Just as I scanned them that day, my eyes rested on my muse jar. I made one for each table at InScribe's Fall Conference a few years ago. I saved a special one for myself, it's an old antique sealer jar that has a few pebbles in the bottom anchoring a picture of Lucy Maude Montgomery, author of the Anne and Emily books. I chose Lucy because it was after reading Emily of New Moon at the age of eleven that I decided to become a writer. Looking up at my muse jar encouraged me again and I turned back to my work.

Discouragement is a common problem for writers so it's advisable to keep things around you that will inspire you. Photos are good, especially those of friends and loved ones smiling back at you - I have a couple of myself with friends from writers' conferences that always make me smile. Things like my muse jar help too, and award certificates are physical reminders that my work has meant something to someone. A photo with Rudy Wiebe taken at his mentoring workshop reminds me of his words, "this is good writing," spoken as he critiqued my manuscript . A tiny crystal mouse, given to me by my brother when I was quite young reminds me that even small and seemingly insignificant things have purpose. A card my daughter gave me often helps - it's a picture of a woman doing a headstand on a mountaintop and bears the words, "unsteady at first, it was perseverance that saw her through." A photo of me teaching a workshop reminds me that I have skills to offer, things I can give others.

So fill your workspace with encouraging things. You never know when you might need them. You never know when the Lord will use them to lift your heart and remember you are doing what he created you to do.

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 Abundant Rain, Inspiration for Writers of Faith

Now available on Amazon (Canada) Amazon (U.S.) and on my website

A Writer's Easter

All over the world this week writers have been sitting at their computers, staring at a blank monitor or the empty pages in a notebook as they contemplate and struggle to articulate what Easter means. I am one of those writers.

There are many things I know about Easter. I know it is the most important celebration in the Christian calendar. I know without Easter there is no effectual Christianity. I know about the cross, that torturous mode of execution that has become a universal symbol of hope. And I know about the tomb. I’ve stood inside one, in Jerusalem, and stared at the rough ledge where they believe our Saviour might have lain, wrapped in grave cloths, waiting for the third day.

But I’m a writer. I want to know more about this drama. I want to get inside the characters’ heads. I want to feel Mary’s pain and confusion, or perhaps peace, when they arrested her son and dragged him away. I want to know Peter’s horror and self-loathing when he ran from the courtyard after denying he knew his friend, his saviour, his God. I want to know his catharsis when he answered the same question three times. “Peter, do you love me?”

I want to know how Joseph of Arimathea summoned the courage to openly admit his allegiance to the Christ and petition for his body. I want to know the bloom of understanding when Jesus appeared in the midst of his trembling disciples and said, “Peace, my peace I give to you.” I want to know the depth of that profound comprehension when Thomas touched the wound that killed his Messiah and when the two disciples on the road to Emmaus watched him break the bread before their eyes.

And above all, I want to know the main character in the drama of Easter. I want to know that Messiah. I want to look into his face and know the depth of his knowledge of me and the incomparable love that made him drag himself to that cross as though it were his only source of life. Because He is my only source of life.

I am a writer. I am a believer in this Saviour, Jesus Christ. I count it a privilege to engage in this struggle to understand, to know more and more and more about this drama and all that it means. I count it a blessing that there is no end to the understanding of it, as there is no end to the magnificence of God. I am humbled to my core when I contemplate the gift he has given me as I am obedient to the call and struggle to articulate the story.

I pray that for all of us this Easter, that need to know drives us to our knees, drives us to His word and drives us to a deeper understanding of the meaning of the words “He is Risen. He is risen indeed.”  Glory. Glory Hallelujah.

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 Abundant Rain, Inspiration for Writers of Faith, is available on Smashwords or Amazon

Your Assignment, Should you Choose ...

There's a small card sitting by my computer. Every time I glance at it I smile. The card pictures three horses standing in a green valley surrounded by mountains. I love it because it was sent to me by a friend who had just read my first novel and wanted to tell me how much she was blessed by it. I love it because that woman painted the picture on the card. I love it because the horses in the picture are real. I'd ridden one of them often. And I'd ridden in that very valley surrounded by mountains.

When I look at that card I can smell the sweet green of the wild grasses in the valley and the sweat of the animals. I remember what it was like to be swayed gently by the movement of a powerful animal under me as we walked the high trails. I remember the joy of the wind in my face as we galloped and the vast views when we reached the mountain tops. When I look at that card it all comes rushing back and becomes real again.

A picture can do that. So can words on a page written with skill. It's what I aim to do every time I sit down to write. I aim to bring it all to life on the page so that others can be there too. I want them to experience that place, the emotions of the characters, the pain and the joy. Even if they have never been there themselves they can experience it as though it were real, if I can capture it and convey it clearly to them.

But this is not my only task as a writer of faith. I am charged to do more. I am charged to convey something, even if just a small sliver, of the character of Christ. I can do it because I know Him. He has revealed Himself to me through the story of my life. I see Him in every aspect of it and I have the joy and the privilege of communicating that to others, to make Him real to them.

That's the joy and challenge of writing as a believer in Christ and, in a way, the joy and challenge of living in Him. It's the challenge to see Him and his hand of mercy all around us.

Through her wonderful blog, A Holy Experience, Ann Voskamp challenges her readers to do just that. She calls it the Joy Dare. I accepted that dare for two months while undergoing radiation treatments for breast cancer. It gave me a reason to look around me, in the tiny space where I lived, and find things that were gifts from God just for me. I found them and I found Him, every day.

That's the challenge of life, our assignment. Will you accept it?

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Visit Marcia's website