By Martha Boswell Scripture: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways…” ~Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV) Growing up, I had three brothers who played baseball. Since my dad was a pastor and a sports enthusiast, our lives revolved around worship services and practice schedules. My first word—after ‘Mama and Daddy’—was ‘ballgame.’ Most afternoons my stroller was …
Who Does the World Say You Are?
By Tara Johnson Writers, let me ask you a question today: Who does the world say you are? In her book The Wind in the Door, Madeline L’Engle explores a powerful truth: names matter. In the story, she shows that when someone misnames you, when they call you something other than who you really are, it diminishes you. It strips …
When Your Muse is Hurting
by Chandra Lynn Smith When I scheduled my blog post dates for the year, of course I had no idea about what topics I might choose. Initially, I thought it might be about the changing of the seasons and how while summer is my favorite season and I am not a fan of pumpkin spice—yes I typed that—I might share …
Alone with God at Writers Conferences
by Marilyn Turk I stepped outside the room where my writer friends were chatting together to take a breath. I didn’t mean to be unsociable, but I needed some morning quiet time I had missed that day and needed to adjust my focus. When I’m at home, I get up before my husband does and embrace the quiet of the …
Visible Virtues: Prayerful Prudence
by Christine Sunderland @Chrisunderland A note from Christine: This post is dedicated to Charlie Kirk and his family Today is September 11, or “Nine-Eleven” as we recall it twenty-four years later, when the infamous and horrific attack by radical Islamists on New York’s World Trade Center buildings woke America from her sleep. It was a path chosen by those pilots, …
Surfing on Ink
by Dr. Dwight David Croy Work follows an exciting idea when writing. Life is often full of excitement with highs of adrenaline. The workflow of a writer is exhilaration, write a bunch, slow down, back to reality, slow down, concentrate on the mechanics, reality. Just like a surfer who catches the wave, rides high, determined, initial ideas die out, the …
Take the Next Step
by Donald L. Reavis Twelve years ago today, my son and I reached the Canadian border on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Five months earlier, we had stood at the southern border, filled with excitement and apprehension. Ahead of us stretched a pathway that crossed sweltering deserts, snow-covered mountain passes, raging rivers, and scores of thunderstorms. After a few minutes …
When Success Doesn’t Follow You—Finding Identity as an Unpublished Christian Author
by Jeffrey Friedel, writing as Jefferson Riede @JeffersonRiede Scripture: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” ~Philippians 3:7 (ESV) There was a time in my life when I had the titles to back up my name. Lawyer. Executive. C-suite officer. I traveled the world. I stood in boardrooms. I rang the opening bell at …
Are you Hiding in the Baggage?
by Ruby Cline Lee There once was a man who was the fairest in all the land. One day, his herd of donkeys went missing and his father tasked him with search and rescue. The faithful son looked for days to no avail, but just before he headed home his servant said: “Hey, let’s go ask this VIP where our …
God’s Calling to Write
by Ruby Cline Lee Has God ever used a tedious or “dry” part of the Bible to speak to you about writing? For me, it was Exodus. This book shoots out of the gate with exciting visual pictures: the Jews in captivity. Plagues. Disaster. Thousands of slaves marching triumphantly then pining for garlic. God parting the Red Sea. Manna and …