Books have the ability to change lives, change history, change the world. It is no wonder that when we Christian writers put pen to paper, or in this day and age, PDF’s to ebooks, we must be constantly aware that we will be held accountable one day for what we write.
I had a debate with someone after I published my first book, “Shoot the Wounded”, that I shouldn’t “limit” myself to writing about God. I know he was being well-meaning at the time because he knew how difficult it was then, and still is, to market and promote my contemporary Christian young adult novels in a predominantly secular market. He said, “You’re a great writer. You could write in any genre and it would be amazing!”
Well, my friend makes a good point. The Christian marketplace for books is relatively small when compared to the secular market that focuses on the occult, explicit sexual content, and profane language. Certainly I could spout out the same vulgarities and write content that would make my friends blush. I might even make money at it… but would it be right?
My writer’s life has been for the most part a solitary one. It’s basically me parked in front of a computer screen, tapping out a plotline that is only imagined in my mind and then brought to “life” on paper. It’s a weird process really. It’s even weirder when I consider all the other bizarre imagery and thoughts also rattling around in my head at the same time that I could just as easily regurgitate to life and then instantly regret. Silly, stupid, and basically messed up things that really should NEVER be put to paper. Fire yes,… paper… no!
James 3:1 says that “not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” I dare say that a writer in many ways is a teacher, especially those of us who are called by God to write. Our words may teach, empower, embolden, condemn, accuse, uplift, benefit and reprimand. Look at history. Mein Kampf caused an entire nation to embrace the ideology of a madman. The book, 1984 by George Orwell coined the phrase “Big Brother is watching you.” – a phrase that takes on new meaning today in this world of interconnectedness on the internet. The word “Twilight” will no longer be just a time in the day to sit and watch the sun go down, but now will be forever associated with vampires and werewolves. Even a simple journal, found after a young girl’s death, has become a symbol of racial persecution, something the young Anne Frank likely never would have imagined as she wrote her private thoughts into her diary.
Now I would be incredibly egotistical to think that my little books will someday “change the world”… Whoa! Still, whenever one person picks up and reads one of my books, whatever I have written will likely elicit a response… good, bad or indifferent in that person. No doubt when I look at my reviews later I will be able to determine what the ultimate response has been…
The thing is, I write to a “higher calling”. I am not writing to glorify myself but to glorify God. Writing what the world might like may get me noticed and possibly sell more books, but as a Christian writer that should not be my focus. My pen (computer keyboard) is in God’s service. So I hope you will allow me the artistic license this one time to change the wording in James slightly to keep me ever mindful as a writer Whose I am:
“Not many of you should presume to be (writers),… because you know that we who (write) will be judged more strictly.”
This has been a year unprecedented in my lifetime. I have never experienced a global pandemic, and the continuing crisis permeates every aspect of life right now. One cannot escape the news updates daily. More lives lost, more people infected, more lockdowns, businesses closed, job losses, long line-ups, social distancing, and the wearing of masks is our reality now. I’ve never known a time where we are mandated to remain at home, not group together, not have physical contact with people other than those in our “cohort” groups. People are angry, fearful, depressed, and uncertain about what the future holds. You may be asking: will what we are experiencing now be permanent? Will Covid-19 be cured? Will life get back to “normal”? This is indeed a time of great uncertainty, and if you are prone to anxiety, as I am, you may be wondering where God is in all of this. Take heart! God is Sovereign. Read these scriptures to help you navigate through these and other uncertain times.
1 Chronicles 29: 10-13 “David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”
Zephaniah 3:17 “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.”
1 Peter 5: 6-10 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Psalm 56:3-4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”
Philippians 1:3-11 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
Romans 8: 38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
2 Timothy 1:7-10 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
James 1:1-6 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
Romans 8: 26-28 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose.”
Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Romans 8:5-6 “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”
1 John 4:13-18 “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Psalms 91:14-15 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Matthew 6:25-36 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 28: 18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
If I liken my writing process to painting a picture…
The canvas rests precariously on the easel. In stark contrast to the room that surrounds it, it is bleached, devoid of colour. It has so much potential where it is, but it will never be fully realized unless splashed with colour, meticulously or haphazardly applied, dependent upon the artist’s whims. It begs to be painted, the masterpiece vibrantly alive and vivid in the mind’s eye of the artist, but she hesitates over the canvas. The colours are right there in front of her, the brushes poised to be picked up, but she procrastinates again wiping her hands nervously on her smock.
This is the most difficult part of the painting: the first stroke. The whiteness of the canvas is, in many ways, pure perfection. There are no mistakes to wipe off and away; no regrets, no tears upon it yet. That first stroke will change it forever. The experiences and will of the artist will be reflected upon it, the moment she begins to paint. That is why she hesitates. She knows what she wants to express. She knows the colours and the shading she wants to incorporate into the piece, but will the masterpiece in her mind come to glorious fruition on the canvas? Has she over estimated her abilities as an artist? Does she have the talent, or the will, to express herself in such a way that anyone who gazes upon the painting will experience the same colourful landscape she sees in her mind’s eye? She is almost paralyzed with insecurity.
Taking a deep breath, and whispering a sigh-like “help me” prayer, she dips her brush into the paint. As soon as she makes that first brush stroke she is committed. The painting takes on a will of its own. The original picture she envisioned is changing before her eyes. She adapts by adding hues, texture, and tones she hadn’t originally thought about using. It’s not perfect but it’s the imperfections that give it subtle essence and depth of perspective. She steps away many times to pace, clear her head, and rethink what her next move will be.
She forgets to eat, the clock on the wall ticks on rhythmically, keeping time with her brush strokes. The light dims in her studio, but still she paints on. Reluctantly, she lets the brush drop when her eyes can no longer focus on the intricacies of the work before her. She is spent. The canvas is still wet. Wiping her paint splattered hands off on her smock; she sees something out of the corner of her eye and wonders if she has time to add just a dab or two more of burnt umber to highlight the scene. Shaking her head, she wills herself to walk away. Tomorrow will come soon enough, and though the unfinished picture still burns in her mind, she forces herself to return to some kind of normalcy that is found just outside of her studio at day’s end. Sleepless nights and crazed days of painting, sap her of strength but she is driven to finish her work. Her imagination now splayed in wild abandon, on the once bleached canvas, is uncontrolled and unbridled. No amount of coaxing can sway her from completing her task.
Her family has been patient with her while she has felt the urgings of creativity pull her away from the chores of making dinners, vacuuming rugs and cleaning toilets. Her paint projects always seem to take her far away from the trivialities of life. Her family understands. Subsisting on pizza and take-out while she paints, her family are her greatest cheerleaders. It does not go unnoticed by her. She will call them her precious inspirations. When the painting is finished, framed and displayed on the walls of a gallery, she will trivialize her efforts in a humbling attempt to bring honour to the way her family sacrificed while she painted. Until then, she is completely immersed in the project at hand.
After what feels like a lifetime of effort, she jabs her brush like a rapier towards the canvas one last time. With the conclusive splash of colour, she steps back exhausted and almost weeps at the finality of it.
In the days following the unveiling of her work, when others praise and critique her efforts, she will remember and recount the “help me” prayer lifted up in panic, moments before the first brush stroke. She will acknowledge that without His Calling on her life, and His Gifting, she would not be able to generate the art before her.
In the weeks that follow, there is a peaceful lull. She cleans her studio, and her home. She reacquaints herself once again with the routine of being a wife and mother and finds some tranquil satisfaction in her less flamboyant role as homemaker. She all but abandons her paints and brushes in favour of this temperate existence until she remembers a new blank canvas with so much potential waiting for her in the studio. A picture gradually develops in her mind’s eye, and she cannot abandon the thought of it. It beckons to her until she can no longer ignore the Call and she breathlessly murmurs another “help me” prayer before she once again begins to paint.
This post was originally published on the InScribe Writer’s Online blog on May 17, 2018.
Lynn Dove's Journey Thoughts 