Small Steps within a Big Purpose - Marcia Laycock

I think I stopped breathing. The small ad in the coming events column of a small newspaper seemed like another divine revelation. God seemed to be nudging me on to write.

We had just moved to Alberta. My husband was taking on his first church after graduating from Briercrest Bible College. I'd already had two momentous "God incidents" telling me that He wanted me to write for Him. The first came at Briercrest when a friend insisted I accompany her to a seminar called Speak Up with Confidence, led by Carol Kent. In the process of talking about speaking Carol talked a lot about writing and God lit a fire in me to write for Him.

But how to begin? I knew nothing about manuscript preparation, or submission guidelines or any other essential information that would help me break into print. But God supplied. In the first week in our new home my husband met with the previous pastor of our new church. Pastor Don laid out a long list of responsibilities. He had just stood up to go when he turned back and said, "Oh and I almost forgot, you have to write a weekly column for the paper and it's due tomorrow."

My husband came home with his head swimming, overwhelmed by all the responsibilities, and asked if I could "put something together for the paper." I wrote my first devotional that night, took it down to the editor the next day and was delighted when he said it was fine. That was the beginning of my new column, The Spur, which ran in that paper for eight years and in another for about twelve years. That column developed into three devotional books.

It wasn't long after that I saw the ad for the Alberta Christian Writers' Fellowship, meeting in a small church about an hour's drive from where we lived. I was delighted to learn there was such a thing as a Christian writers' organization. I attended that meeting and several more over the next year. I began attending the workshops they held and entered the contests they ran each year. Then I was asked to be part of the executive committee of ACWF. That was the beginning of my history with the group, which was to become Inscribe Christian Writers' Fellowship.

As I attended the conferences and entered the contests my writing improved by leaps and bounds. I learned how to submit my work and began to have success in publishing. The encouragement of those who had been writing for some time was invaluable.

I can say, definitively, I would not be where I am today without the help of Inscribe and its members. I feel privileged to have served on the executive for several years with people I have laughed and cried with, people who have become close friends as well as colleagues. It has been a delight, over these last twenty years to meet writers of like mind who strive for excellence as they write for the kingdom of God.

There have been many small steps along the way, all of them leading to God's purpose for my life, to honour and glorify Him through all I do. Inscribe Christian Writers' Fellowship has played a vital role in that process.

This post is my contribution to the 'Inscribe Summer Blog Tour'. For more about the tour, a blogging schedule, or to find out how to join Inscribe, go to the above blog tour link. If you leave a comment, you will also be eligible for some great prizes!


Marcia Laycock won the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth stone. She has also published three devotional books and recently released Abundant Rain, a devotional ebook for writers of faith. You can download it in any format at www.smashwords.com/books/view/58017
Visit Marcia's website to learn more about her books and read her regular column, The Spur.