Épisodes

  • 226 – You Brought Us Joy!

    226 – You Brought Us Joy!
    Nov 25 2024
    Thank you, listeners, for over nine years of sharing your writing journey with Write from the Deep! We’ve found such joy in bringing you God’s encouragement and in hearing from you. Join us in this final podcast as we share final truths and insights to help you along your writing journey. And God bless each of you! But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! And in particular, thank you to ALL of our 2024 sponsors of the month: Christy Bass Adams, Wendy L. Macdonald, Tammy Partlow, Priscilla Sharrow, and Kimberley Woodhouse! You’ve been such a blessing to us and to all our listeners! An Important Announcement Erin Taylor Young: Welcome, listeners, to the Deep. We have some important news to share with you. Karen Ball: And here it is: the podcast you’re listening to in this very moment is our final episode from Write from the Deep. You see, Erin asked me a while ago if I thought it was maybe time to step away from the podcast because of health issues and other reasons. At first I was like, no, no, let’s keep going. But as the days went by and I thought and prayed about it, God showed me that I really did need to step back, because of my––and Don’s––increasing health issues. As I came to that decision, I felt such peace wash over me that I knew it was the right thing. Erin Taylor Young: I asked Karen because I’ve been having a few health issues of my own. And also, I’ve been feeling the need to prune, but I didn’t know which things should go. I took a sabbatical from editing over the summer, which was great. But I learned that I needed to keep praying about the pruning that God wanted to do in my life, and I needed to keep seeking Him about the disciplined pursuit of less. We talked about this idea back in episode 223 in “Three Essentials for a Christian Writer’s Life.” So as I sought guidance for pruning and refocusing, God showed me it is time to let go of this podcast. I want you all to know I am not missing the irony there that an episode that I researched and recorded for the show is one of the things that contributed to me understanding that I need to let go of it. Our Final Gifts for You Karen Ball: Love the way God works to guide us! How we can make this decision with joy because we know it’s what God is guiding us to do. Now, as you listeners know, we often end our interviews with guests by asking them for final words of wisdom or encouragement. So we thought it would be a fitting end to ask ourselves the same question. So what wisdom and encouragement do we most want to leave with you to return some of the joy you’ve brought us? Ground Everything in God’s Word Erin Taylor Young: Well, the first thing that I want to share is from Psalm 1:1-3. “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law. He meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. And in whatever he does, he prospers.” You guys, ground everything you do in God’s Word. But more than that, make God’s word your delight. Your greatest joy. It says, our delight should be in the law of the Lord and we’ll yield fruit in its season. Not before its season, by the way. So be patient. Spend your time soaking in God’s word and loving it and meditating on it. This is how we guarantee that our lives will be fruitful. Not Overdue a Single Day! Karen Ball: I’ve mentioned a couple times on the podcast that Habakkuk 2:3 is my life verse: “Slowly, steadily. surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient. They will not be overdue a single day.” Not overdue a single day. I love that so much. As you go through your writing journey, remember, it’s all in God’s hands and in his timing. He knows what you need and He will provide, even if it seems like it’s taking forever. Take this verse to heart, so when you start feeling that way, you can remember with a soul-deep joy that God’s plans for you will surely come to pass. They won’t be overdue a single day. Just trust and rest in Him and keep doing what He’s asking you to do. Wait on God Erin Taylor Young: My next verse fits right in with Karen’s. It’s Isaiah 64:4. “Since ancient times, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” Remember I said earlier that patience is important? This is why. When we wait for God, He acts. I’m not talking about just any old kind of waiting here. I’m talking about expecting. I’m talking about looking to God to hope in Him and believe in him. Think about how astounding it is that the God of the universe ...
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    23 min
  • 225 – Embrace Joy! With Guest Jean Wilund

    225 – Embrace Joy! With Guest Jean Wilund
    Nov 11 2024
    It’s so easy, when we are getting hit by one difficult thing after another, to wonder where God is. To cry out to Him, “Why aren’t You stopping it all?” Join us as guest Jean Wilund shares amazing and freeing insights and wisdom, discovered from her study of the book of Habakkuk, for anyone in the midst of these struggles. Get ready to embrace joy! About Jean Wilund Jean Wilund is fully convinced that we’ll never truly know and love the God of the Word apart from the Word of God. This conviction fuels her passion for everything she does, including writing, speaking, and serving her family and the body of Christ—particularly her husband, children, and grandtwins. Jean and Larry live in Lexington, SC and are members of Grace Bible Church. Jean’s Bible study, Embracing Joy: An 8-Week Transformational Bible Study of Habakkuk helps us discover how, during one of the darkest periods in history for God’s people, God moved His prophet Habakkuk from confused to confident and from panic to praise. God will do the same in us if we do what Habakkuk did. Jean’s latest book, Ease into the Bible: How to Wade into the Water of God’s Word with Confidence releases in August to help relive the intimidation factor out of understanding the pieces and parts of the Bible. For more information or to connect with Jean, visit her website, JeanWilund.com and subscribe to her podcast, It’s All About Him! Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Karen: Welcome to the deep, everyone. Today’s podcast is going to be a lot of fun. Our guest, Jean Wilund, is going to dig deep into an amazing book of the Bible, Habakkuk, and share her insights. Erin, tell us all about the amazing Jean Wilund! Erin: Jean and I met several years ago at the Florida Christian Writers Conference, and I got to visit with her again this year. We had a great conversation about the transforming power of God’s Word which is wisdom we need on our writing journey. So welcome, Jean. Jean Wilund: Thank you so much. I’m so thrilled to be here with y’all. What Does the Deep Mean? Erin: So Jean, what does the deep mean to you? Jean Wilund: It means the deep things of God, which basically is the Word of God. I need the deep things of God, whether I’m gonna go deep into my circumstances or deep into understanding. My daughter, my youngest daughter, loves to free dive, not scuba dive, but free dive. But the thought of going deep into the water without scuba equipment is unnerving to me. But she said it is so peaceful, and I had a word picture of the deeper we go into God’s Word, the more peace it brings, no matter what we’re going through, no matter what’s going on up on the surface. The deep means to be grounded deep in God, grounded in His Word, and to embrace joy regardless of circumstances. Erin: I love that. So, you did a Bible study on Habakkuk during the Covid pandemic. What got you interested in writing a study about this very short book in very difficult times in our country? Unexpected Detours Jean Wilund: Well, I never anticipated doing a Bible study at all. But when Covid hit and everybody was sheltering in place, I was talking with one of my friends, and she said she’d just read the book of Habakkuk and how perfect it was for those times. So I read Habakkuk with the current situation in mind, and I was blown away. My next-door neighbor and I sat outside, distanced from each other, and talked about this book. And then our pastor said, “I want the women’s ministry to do a four-week Bible study.” My neighbor and I discussed what, in those crazy times where we couldn’t get together in person as much, would help us the most? And we agreed we needed to know how to study the Bible for ourselves. A Perfect Fit! Jean Wilund: And hey, Habakkuk is only three chapters! So with a four-week Bible study, we’d study three weeks then have a whole extra week to discuss it all. So I did it. I used my transformational Bible study method and taught Habakkuk. I was talking with a friend about it, and she said, “Okay, that’s what we want at our church. A four-week study on just the book of Habakkuk.” So that’s how I wrote it as a study. And my friend’s agent was looking for a Bible study and my friend said, “Well, Jean just taught one on Habakkuk and it was fantastic.” So that’s how the study came about. It was not intentional, but it was so encouraging. Habakkuk and Writers Erin: So, Jean, as you think about the book of Habakkuk, what truth do you feel applies to our writing lives? Jean Wilund: Well, Judah got into the mess that they were in because they said they’d do everything Moses told them, but before long they just did everything that was right in their own eyes. As Christian writers, we say that everything that we write is going to be for God’s glory, but then we get into it and it’s too easy to veer off track. To do what’s right in our...
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    32 min
  • 224 – Do You Have What it Takes to Last? with Guest Deborah Raney

    224 – Do You Have What it Takes to Last? with Guest Deborah Raney
    Oct 21 2024
    Publishing is getting harder all the time. The author has to do so much that it can become utterly exhausting. And discouraging. Guest Deborah Raney shares what it takes now to have longevity in a publishing career. About Deborah Raney Deborah Raney’s first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Thirty years, forty-plus books, and numerous awards later, she’s still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her books have garnered multiple industry awards including the RITA® Award, HOLT Medallion, National Readers’ Choice Award, Carol Award, and have three times been Christy Award finalists. Deb served on the executive board of the 2500-member American Christian Fiction Writers for eighteen years and teaches at writers conferences around the country. Deb’s latest release is Playing for Keeps. Find out more about Deborah Raney at her website. Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Erin: Welcome, listeners. We’re so glad you’re here in the deep with us. We’re especially excited because we have a guest with us! It’s Deborah Raney, and Karen gets to introduce her! Karen: I don’t even remember when Deb and I met. It feels as though I’ve known her from my beginning in publishing, low over 40 years ago. We’ve known each other for a long time, and I’ve always been impressed by how everything that Deb does is so steeped in her faith in God. She always has a smile and always a sense of humor, and for somebody who’s been in publishing as long as she has, that either means she’s got a good grounding in faith or she’s nuts! Her first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the Worldwide Pictures film of the same title, and it launched Deb’s writing career. Now thirty years, forty-plus books, and numerous awards later, she’s still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. She, in fact, was given the 2024 ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award just a month or so ago for everything that she has done and has contributed to in publishing. She has been on the executive board of the 2,500 member American Christian Fiction Writers, and she teaches at writers’ conferences all around the country. She’s a Missouri transplant having moved with her husband, Ken, from their native Kansas. They love road trips and they take all kinds of fun trips and share pictures on Facebook. They also have Friday garage sale dates, which I love to watch on Facebook to see the goodies that they picked up. They love to spend time with their family and share breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard. Deb, thank you so much for joining us! Deb: Thank you, Karen and Erin. It is so fun to be talking with you again. Erin: It is fun! And I kind of wish we were on your screened porch overlooking your wooded backyard. Karen: I know! That’s what I was just saying! Deb: I wish so, too, except the birds make so much noise I don’t know if we could do a recording out here. But we love listening to them. Karen, I think maybe we met in New Orleans at a writers’ retreat about twenty-five years ago. Karen: Holy cow! Deb: Yeah, it’s been a while. Karen: Well, I know it’s been a long time. You’ve been a part of my life forever, and I’ve been grateful for that. Deb: Same here. Erin: Deb, let’s start off with what does the deep mean to you? Deb: When I think of the deep, I think of God. The deepest place that I go is my faith. I will never live long enough—I’ve been in this business thirty years and I’ve been on this earth sixty-nine years, but I will never live long enough to understand and even imagine everything that God is. All that he has meant to me in my life in my relationships, in my career, he is the deep. Karen: I think that’s wonderful. Deb: It is. There are other things, and again, it all ties back to him. For example, just this past weekend I was with some longtime writer friends. We had a retreat and our conversations went deep. I love that kind of deep, too, where you know each other so well. You love each other so well that you can say what’s on your heart, what’s truly the good things and the hard things, and you know that that won’t change how those people feel about you because your roots with each other go deep. Erin: Yeah. Deb: Lots of different ways to interpret that. Erin: Wow. Yes. I love that. God has this way of binding us together in a deeper way than we could otherwise be because of his spirit. I think it just reaches out to others and we just, we are a body. That’s the thing, and it just, it shows. So yeah. That’s very cool. One of the things that we wanted to talk about with you was: what do you do as a writer to deal with discouragement? We wanted to discuss that with you because you’ve had a long career. I can’t imagine that you didn’t run into some discouragement along the way. ...
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    31 min
  • 223 – 3 Essentials for a Christian Writer’s Life

    223 – 3 Essentials for a Christian Writer’s Life
    Oct 7 2024
    Writing is not an easy profession. Being a Christian writer can be even more difficult. These three essentials for a Christian writer’s life will ground you in your faith, enabling you to write and build a career with peace and confidence. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! Recently I listened to a couple of books that got me thinking about today’s topic. What is essential for a Christian writer’s life? We live in a busy world with a thousand things demanding our time and attention every day. I don’t think that’s overstating it. We’ve only got one life. How are we going to choose what to do with the time God gives us? What is our priority? Even if we were to weed out obvious things to say no to, like sin or clear distractions, that still leaves a multitude of demands, ideas, activities, and so on, to consider. Many of which you can make a good case for. The choices we make matter, because what you give your time and attention to is what shapes your life. That’s where those books inspired me. The first one is titled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. The subtitle was a revelation: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. It seems like today’s world is all about the urgent, unending pursuit of more—doing it all and having it all. This book is about deliberately, ruthlessly choosing to do less so you can focus on what matters most to you. Today we want to step back from the myriad details of our lives. We want to step back from complicated plans and programs, endless to-do lists, and a plethora of shoulda woulda couldas. Instead, we’ll pare down to 3 essentials, or guiding principles, to help shape and guide your life as a Christian and a writer. God gave us our creative gifts for good purposes, so we want to ensure that we’re willing vessels, available anytime, anywhere, for the tasks God gives us. We’ve used the term essentials, or guiding principles, but you can also call them core precepts, or a “rule of life.” By rule, we don’t mean legal regulations but rather a way of organizing your life toward a purpose. Essential 1 – Abide in Christ John 15:4-5 (ESV) says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Abiding in Christ means we WILL bear fruit. Not abiding in Christ means we won’t bear fruit. Apart from Christ we can do nothing. This is so simple, yet too often we fail to realize and carry out the dire necessity of this. Maybe in part because it’s hard to quantify what abiding in Christ looks like, or what it means in a practical sense. Abiding in Christ (or some translations use the word “remaining” in Christ) is more than just believing in Christ. As an article on Crossway.org puts it, it’s “staying vitally connected” to Christ. An article on DesiringGod.org describes abiding in Christ as being “…attached to the vine in such a way that it is receiving all that the branch has to give…” The article goes on to say, “…abiding is believing, trusting, savoring, resting, receiving.” What does that look like in a practical, daily sense? The Crossway.org article says, “It is the lifelong extension of encountering Jesus.” That’s still probably going to look different for everyone, but I think one universal principle is to make encountering Jesus your daily mindset. Make Encountering Jesus Your Daily Mindset This is the essential. The rule of the day is to live in such a way as to believe and trust his promises, to savor and rest in his presence, to be constantly and expectantly open-handed to receive everything we need from him moment by moment. It’s to keep in the forefront of our mind that we’re working and living and resting in communion and in union with him. When we’re writing, when we’re plotting, when we’re doing a day job that might not be writing; when we get up in the morning, when we go to bed at night; when we brush our teeth, mow the lawn, run errands, fix dinner—all of this is done with a constant awareness of, and reliance on, our connection with the Vine. But mindfulness of this—or anything else for that matter—is a very real struggle in our culture today. Our brains are being assaulted with distractions, and being rewired to need them. That’s why this essential is also a practice. It’s something we have to choose to continually do, and it isn’t easy. Thankfully we don’t have to do this in our own power. The Crossway.org article has this to say, “…Jesus does not leave us to ourselves. Even though he commands us to abide in him—and we are responsible to abide there, and guilty if we don’t abide—nevertheless he himself keeps us there. And we would not abide ...
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    22 min
  • 222 – Strategies for Writers’ Conferences with Guest Grace Fox

    222 – Strategies for Writers’ Conferences with Guest Grace Fox
    Sep 16 2024
    Attending a writers’ conference can be intimidating, even overwhelming. If you want to make the most of your time at a writers’ conference, guest Grace Fox has some specific strategies to help you do exactly that. And some of them are even about your writing. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! Grace Fox Grace Fox is a popular speaker at women’s events internationally. She inspires hope, courage, and transformation through God’s Word. She has served as a career missionary for more than 30 years. Grace has written fourteen books and published hundreds of articles in magazines. She’s a member of the First 5 Bible Study writing team for P31 Ministries and is a co-host for a podcast called Your Daily Bible Verse. Her book, Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos, won the Golden Scroll Devotional Book of the Year Award in 2021. Keeping Hope Alive: Devotions for Strength in the Storm won the same award in 2022. Her newest devotional is titled Names of God: Living Unafraid. You can learn all about her at GraceFox.com. Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast Erin Taylor Young: Welcome listeners into the Deep. Today is part two of our interview on writers’ conferences with Grace Fox, and we are discussing specific strategies for making conferences work for you. Karen Ball: So when writers attend conferences, what is helpful and what isn’t? Well, many writers wonder why they should spend the money to attend a writers’ conference if they don’t get a contract from it. How do they justify the expense to a spouse? Or maybe you think, “I’m ready to be published. I’ve got this,” but what if the professionals at the conference don’t agree? Haven’t they just wasted all that money for nothing? Grace Fox: Absolutely not, because attending conferences is about growing relationships with those very professionals. It’s about laying a strong foundation for your career. You go to conferences to learn as much as you possibly can about the craft of writing. Which means you have to go in with a teachable spirit. To say, “I’m here to learn,” and take in as much as you can. That’s the first strategy. But conferences––all those workshops––can feel like information overload at times, so the next strategy is to tell yourself it’s okay to skip out on a workshop if you need to decompress. It’s so helpful to take time to get your notes in order and to get your thoughts put together again, or to just go to your room and have a quiet time and pray. With that in mind, it’s always a good idea to have friends praying for you as attend the conference. Because you don’t know what God’s purpose is for having you go there. Karen Ball: Exactly! Sometimes He calls you to go to a writer’s conference and it has nothing to do with your writing career. It has to do with you meeting people who get you on the right track as far as your perspective, understanding that God may be calling you to write something for one person, and if you write something and only one person reads it and it changes that person’s life, it’s worth it. The expense is worth it. The investment is worth it. It’s all worth it because you’re doing what God has asked you to do. Grace Fox: That’s beautiful. It really is about obedience. And in my career with writing, I’ve met so many people who think that end all is writing a book—gotta write a book. Gotta write a book. But one thing I learned at a conference is that that there is a huge audience out there with magazines. Think about it. Your book may only sell 2000 copies in its lifetime. But one magazine article can reach a quarter of a million people. You don’t know those things unless you start going to conferences and learning from those people that are in the know. Karen Ball: That’s why it’s so important to get your expectations straight, to go in with an open mind and an open-hearted spirit and say, “What is it you want from me, Lord?” Not, “What are You going to give me, Lord?,” but “What do You want from me?” Grace Fox: Because His plan may be to put you on the bridge to something entirely different. Erin Taylor Young: You know, I love, Grace, how supportive your husband was. He justified the expense because God told you to go. And I love what you said about it being an education. I mean, people go back to school all the time and nobody questions that expense to pay for a class or whatever. This is the same thing. You’re paying for a lot of classes. And believe me, it’s cheaper than college tuition! Grace Fox: Amen. And again, the relationships that you make at conferences can last for years. I am still friends with some of the women that I met in 1999. We still communicate and [00:08:00] support each other in our writing. Erin Taylor Young: Well, I met Karen at a writing conference. Karen...
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    22 min
  • 221 – Are Writers’ Conferences Worth It? with Guest Grace Fox

    221 – Are Writers’ Conferences Worth It? with Guest Grace Fox
    Sep 2 2024
    Writers’ conferences cost time and money, so are they really worth it? Absolutely! But not necessarily for the reasons you think. Guest Grace Fox shares how God moved her to attend a writers’ conference, how many mistakes she made there, and how God miraculously provided for her and used it all to bless her far more than she ever imagined. About Grace Fox Grace Fox is a popular speaker at women’s events internationally. She inspires hope, courage, and transformation through God’s Word. She has served as a career missionary for more than 30 years. Grace has written fourteen books and published hundreds of articles in magazines. She’s a member of the First 5 Bible Study writing team for P31 Ministries and is a co-host for a podcast called Your Daily Bible Verse. Her book, Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos, won the Golden Scroll Devotional Book of the Year Award in 2021. Keeping Hope Alive: Devotions for Strength in the Storm won the same award in 2022. Her newest devotional is titled Names of God: Living Unafraid. You can learn all about her at GraceFox.com. Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Erin: Welcome, listeners. We’re so excited that you’re here for another day, another show! We have a guest, which is also exciting. Karen: Our guest is someone that you all know. She’s been here before, and we’re so excited that she’s here with us again now. Her name is Grace Fox. She’s the writer who lives on a boat. She speaks at women’s events internationally and inspires hope, courage, and transformation through God’s word. She’s written fourteen books and published hundreds of articles in magazines. She’s a member of the First 5 Bible study writing team for P31 Ministries and a co-host for the podcast Your Daily Bible Verse. She is just so smart you guys, and she’s here to share with us about conferences and other things. Welcome, Grace. Grace: Thank you so much for having me back. Erin: Yes, we’re excited about it. So let’s start with our same lovely question that we just love digging into. Grace, what does the deep mean to you? Grace: Well, that word reminds me of my childhood, standing on the diving board at the swimming pool. At the end of swimming classes, the teacher would say, “Okay, everybody, you get to jump off the diving board.” I would just die inside because the thought scared me half to death. Getting up those stairs and standing on the diving board with a lineup of people waiting patiently behind me while I worked up the courage to jump into the deep end, that’s what I think of. In my faith journey, it’s scary sometimes when God calls me to a place where he says, “Okay, Grace, I want you to jump.” The good thing to know is that he’s always there to catch me. Like the lifeguard, in the goodness of his heart, he’d be down there with his arms straight up going, “It’s okay, Grace, you can jump. I’ll catch you.” Karen: That’s great. Erin: Conference season is kind of rolling along here in the fall. I would love to hear, Grace, about your very first conference because we were talking a little bit earlier and I know you’ve got some good stories about your first conference. Grace: Yeah, so I started my writing career thinking I was going to develop a line of greeting cards. I found a woman who could draw, because I can’t draw to save my life. I came up with the concepts and we put together ten sample cards. Then we thought, “Now what do we do with them?” She really wasn’t interested in doing any more than drawing. She had a little hobby farm she was busy with, and so I said, “Okay, I’ll figure out the marketing. I haven’t got a clue, but I’ll figure it out.” I remember sitting down at my computer and Googling, like for the first time, Christian greeting card publisher. Up came the Florida Christian Writers Conference. I didn’t even know that such a thing existed. I thought, “Wow, that looks interesting.” I scrolled through it and looked to see what faculty members were going to be there. Lo and behold, Dayspring was going to be there! Karen: Wow. Grace: My first thought was, “That looks so good. I should go. Oh, but that’s way beyond my reach. That’s so far. I can’t do this, I can’t afford it.” You know. I came up with all the reasons why not. That was in August. Erin: Where were you living at the time that it was far? Grace: I was living on a little island off the coast of British Columbia, working at a Christian camp, and we were living on paid support, so the thought of coming up with the money to do this was just beyond me. Then the thought of getting there was another issue. Erin: Wait a minute. That really was far. I mean, let’s just point that out for our listeners. You were far, okay, and you were financially challenged. Those were both true. Grace: Yep. As far as distance ...
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    26 min
  • 220 – Are You Ready for Attacks? Part 3

    220 – Are You Ready for Attacks? Part 3
    Aug 19 2024
    There is no escaping our humanity. But we can address those elements in our hearts, minds, and spirits that make us, as people and writers, vulnerable to attacks from the enemy of our souls. Attacks that seem, nowadays, to happen more and more often. Come explore the solutions to those vulnerabilities so you are ready. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! The Bad News: We’re ALL Vulnerable No one likes to be vulnerable. Heck, we don’t even like to admit we’re vulnerable, especially to the enemy of our souls. But as fallible humans––yes, even someone as wise as we are––our strong emotions that can lead us astray, giving the enemy a foothold to launch attacks against us and tear apart our faith and trust in God. The Good News: You’re Normal All of the emotions we’ll talk about today are a normal part of life. They aren’t wrong or dangerous in and of themselves. But when we don’t take them to God, seeking His guidance and peace, His resolution, things can go very bad very fast. So let’s dive in. Vulnerability #1: Anger Scripture makes it clear God gets angry, but His anger is always righteous. Since we’re created in His image, we, too, have the potential for anger. Unfortunately, our anger often isn’t righteous, but self-focused. We perceive some slight, some insult, some betrayal––and they all may be real––and we get angry. A reader writes us a letter taking us to task for something we’ve written. Our book receives a one-star review for reasons that have nothing to do with the book itself. Publishers decide to cancel or not renew contracts. Anger is often understandable. But when we nurse that anger, when we let it coax us into bitterness and a desire for retribution, when we continue to visit it and feed it, we have opened a door to the enemy’s attacks. Satan loves our anger And satan loves it when we nurse our anger, when we recount it to others and do everything but surrender it to the Father. The longer anger dwells in your heart, the more likely satan is to fuel it. To increase your frustration, to compound the negative feelings and thoughts with any issue that arises, whether it’s connected to the source of your anger or not. And before you know it, you are under attack, and more focused on serving your anger than serving your Lord. Solutions for the vulnerability of Anger Remember Ephesians 4:26-27: “Don’t sin by letting anger control you…for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” If you’re angry, be sure you are controlling that emotion and not the other way around. Seek resolution. Address the problem rather than the person who attacks you. Stick to the facts of the situation, where you felt wronged. Seek to communicate in a calm, reasoned tone. Don’t fall into the trap of yelling or letting your emotions take control. Instead, let God lead you as you try to talk the issue out. Know when to let it go. Some situations cannot be resolved. If your anger is taking up too much of your time and energy, if it’s leading you into resentfulness or bitterness, you need to surrender it to God. Holding on to anger hurts you far more than anyone else. Vulnerability #2: Pain Physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain. It all strikes at the heart of what we believe, at the heart of our trust in our loving Father. Too often, our response to such pain is to pull back, to separate ourselves from others. Or to think God has forgotten us or is ignoring our suffering. That He doesn’t care. Or, even worse, that we must not have heard Him right when He tasked us to write for Him, otherwise He wouldn’t let us go through this pain. But those reactions only make things worse. Pain married with isolation and doubt is dangerous and becomes an open door to satan’s attacks. Instead, lean into the pain and try the following: Solutions for the vulnerability of Pain Know what Scripture says about pain. For example: 1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” See how it says AFTER you’ve suffered, and not IF? 2 Cor 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” Revelation 21:4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed ...
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    24 min
  • 219 – Recentering Your Writer’s Heart

    219 – Recentering Your Writer’s Heart
    Aug 5 2024
    Recentering your writer’s heart is not just a privilege, but a necessity! In our busy lives, it’s easy to get off kilter. We each need to take a moment and examine our focus, to ensure it’s on the only one deserving of our trust: Almighty God. And Psalm 40 is here to help you do exactly that! But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! Can you all believe that it’s already the second half of 2024? I don’t know about you guys, but it feels to me like this year is rushing by. If you’re considering a midyear or third quarter review, or you’re taking stock of the things you’ve accomplished, or haven’t yet accomplished, or you’re feeling stuck, or frustrated, or you just want to make sure you’re on the right path, have we got some encouragement for you! It’s a chance to recenter our hearts and thoughts, and a chance to check our behavior. It’s all conveniently found in Psalm 40. I encourage writers to consider memorizing this psalm—at the least beginning of it—in order to help you dwell on it. Then you can meditate on it even if you don’t have your Bible open or with you. It’s full of life lessons for writers. WAIT PATIENTLY “I waited patiently for the Lord…” Psalm 40:1a (CSB) I love how this Psalm opens. If you remember nothing else, or read no farther in Psalm 40, this alone is still so powerful in the application to our lives as Christians and writers. “I waited patiently.” If only we could look back on our writing career and on our life and say we did that—we waited patiently. But we didn’t wait for just anything, we waited for the Lord. God is the one who is in charge of the universe, in charge of our lives, and in charge of our careers. He opens doors, he closes doors, and he leads us in his timing. God will act on our behalf. No matter what our situation is right now, we’re not forgotten, we’re not an afterthought. We just need to wait patiently, because here’s what the rest of verse 1 says: “…and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.” God sees and God hears. He’s looking at you even now. Turned to you. Some translations say “inclined” to you. Your cries for help don’t go unheeded. Whatever you’re facing right now, it’s not unknown to God. But we do have to trust in God’s timing and his sovereign plan. Our job is to ask for help and then wait patiently. Resist the temptation to FRET Now, we all know this isn’t as easy as it sounds. While we’re trying to wait patiently and trust that God sees, hears, and has a plan, we’re going to be tempted, of course, to fret. To wonder and worry and think about all the things that could go wrong, or all the ways we think God is failing. And that’s exactly what we have to resist. Think of this midyear recentering as giving you something positive to do: wait patiently for the Lord, and something negative to resist: fretting and worrying. When we did our series on being ready for attacks, we talked about knowing our vulnerabilities. This is the same idea. If we’re supposed to wait patiently, we know we’re probably going to be vulnerable to attacks of fret and fear. God ACTS TO HELP US Let’s face it, sometimes our patience is needed through some very difficult situations. Here’s how the next verse in Psalm 40 begins: “He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay…” Psalm 40:2a (CSB) A desolate pit? Other translations say things like horrible pit, slimy pit, pit of destruction. Now, we know the Christian publishing industry can be difficult, but a pit of death? It can feel that way. For example, what if you feel your career is dying? Have you ever felt like the situation you’re facing is hopeless? It might be illness, or a huge publishing nightmare, or a problem you can’t see your way out of. I have great news: God specializes in impossible things. We might feel like we’re drowning in trials, and it’s okay to acknowledge that life is hard. But don’t forget to catch the first four words of the verse: “He brought me up.” Up from where? From the pit. He always does. You know why? The pit is no match for God’s almighty power. But God doesn’t just lift us up, he does more. Listen to the whole verse now: “He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.” Psalm 40:2 (CSB) God acts to help us by lifting us up, and then he sets us in a place of safety and security. We have a God who IS a rock, a fortress. When we walk on the sure foundation of God’s truth, we are secure. Resist the temptation to FORce YOUR OWN WAY OUT Even while we know that God is the one who lifts us up and puts us on a secure path, we face the temptation to short circuit waiting by scrambling to find our own way out, to stubbornly force our way onto some path we think will get us out of whatever pit we’re in, whether it’s the path God has for us or ...
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    19 min