Writing and God: Making the Impossible a Possibility! by Ruth L. Snyder

 This month we are exploring the idea of writing dreams. Some people may scoff, saying we need to be more realistic. I disagree! As Christian writers, we serve the God of the impossible. 

In fact, I would go as far as to say that God delights to do the impossible through us because when that happens He gets all the glory. God, who created the whole universe, made us in His image. One of the ways we imitate our Creator is through expressing ourselves using creativity.

Thoughts on Creativity

Creativity is one of my passions. It makes me sad that too often people believe they are not creative. I believe God made us all creative, that creativity can be cultivated, and that creativity has different angles we need to consider. Creativity can definitely be a challenge. One of the main blocks to creativity is often our own mindset, struggling with imposter syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome

As writers, we often fight imposter syndrome, wondering if we are writers, thinking we don't have anything important to share. I believe part of imposter syndrome is spiritual warfare. If God is calling us to write, we need to be obedient. When we step out in obedience to write, we may be attacked, spiritually. God wants to set people free, and he often uses the written word to help people understand who He is and the salvation He offers. Satan wants to keep people in bondage. When we allow God to share His message through us, we need to be prepared for opposition, and also failure.

Creativity and Failure

We often see children as being creative. Part of this is because children aren't tied down by rules and etiquette like we adults are, and they haven't failed as many times. When I was growing up, I was taught that failure was a bad thing. Now I realize that failure is not permanent—I only fail if I give up. Most of us don't get things right the first time we try. Did you know that Thomas Edison went through thousands of iterations of the light bulb before he found a material that conducted electricity without burning up? When something doesn't work, do we learn from it and keep going? Are we committed to obeying God, no matter what? Are we willing to step out of our comfort zone and dream the impossible?

Impossible Dream #1—Book Coach

If someone had told me, even two years ago, that I would be coaching people through the process of writing and publishing a book, I would have thought it was impossible. However, God opened the doors for me to learn the process myself by taking courses and making my share of mistakes. At the beginning of this year, I prayed and asked God to show me what goals He had for me. He told me to aim to help 20 people write and publish a book this year. I am over halfway there, and have been amazed at how He has brought people to me, most of whom I have never met in person. 

Mentors

InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship has been a huge encouragement for me and stimulated me to grow in many ways as a person, and as a writer. I have found friendship, encouragement, prayer support, and training. Thank you to each of you who has influenced my life! Serving on the executive forced me to learn new skills and take on challenges. I had on-the-job training in how to maintain a Wordpress website, how to plan and run a conference, how to publish and launch a book, and how to deal with complicated issues that had the potential to bring disunity.

I have also had the privilege of learning from many diverse coaches. Last year I worked with Market Like a Nerd, which stretched me both intellectually and financially. I also flexed my creative muscles while working with Murielle Marie. When I looked for business coaching from a Christian perspective, I found Anita Albert-Watson helpful. Shelley Hitz has been a steady influence on me for several years. I started learning from her before she started her first program, and continued following her when she and her husband started Christian Book Academy, which provides incredible training for those who want to learn how to self-publish. Now I am working with Erica Latrice, who gives practical help to those building a Christian business in AmplifyHer.

Impossible Dream #2—Entrepreneurs Write app

If someone had told me a few months ago that I would have my own app, I would have thought they were crazy. Last week I met with my app designer to lay the framework for my app. I have a list of items I am working on. Once I send them to my designer, he will put everything together for me. The goal is to have the first phase of my Entrepreneurs Write app available in September 2020. There are more complicated portions of my app that will be released down the road.

One of my clients told me, "You make the seemingly impossible, seem like a possibility." I'm thankful that God is allowing me to reflect Him in this way. 

What dreams do you have? How is God helping you make them a reality?

Ruth is on a mission, determined not to let people’s powerful stories go to the grave with them.

She guides Christian entrepreneurs along the book writing journey, providing a safe place for them to birth their stories. 

Ruth has shared her expertise on platforms like Thrive Global, Women in Publishing, Authority Magazine, The Write Coach, and Author Audience Academy. She guides people through practical steps that make writing a book an attainable goal.

She is dedicated to making sure her clients are in the 8 percent of people who successfully get their book written, published, and into the hands of eager readers.

Ruth’s clients write their book outline in a day. They go on to write their first draft in 30 days. In six months or less, powerful stories are birthed and authors are holding their published book in their hands.

“Ruth makes the seemingly impossible feel attainable with her easy to follow steps.”

My Mother was Right by Marcia Lee Laycock

 “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works” (Exodus 35:34,35).

My Mother Was Right by Marcia Lee Laycock

I should have listened to her.

“You’d be a good teacher,” she’d say, as I pondered what to do with my life after high school. But I wanted to write, not teach.

Then I had to decide between the creative writing program at UBC in Vancouver and the Journalism program at Carleton U. in Ottawa.

“Can you make a living writing poetry in Canada?” My ever-practical dad kept asking that question. I listened to him and have often wondered if I made the right choice, though my years studying journalism at Carleton have often proven their worth.

I remembered both my parents’ words one day when I walked into a classroom full of students (mostly boys) in grades 7 to 9. It was literacy week at that Christian school and they had asked me to come and talk about poetry. The small room was packed, several grade nine boys leaning against the back wall with their arms crossed over their chests, slight smirks on their faces. My first thought was, oh-oh, I’m in trouble! They were prepared to be bored, prepared to tune me out. So I prayed a familiar prayer - “Lord, I’m going to need some help here!”

I had decided to tell stories as I talked about creating poetry that day, and had planned to end with a story about Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, but I believe it was the Holy Spirit who nudged me to tell that story first. It is an inspiring story. When Mr. Solzhenitsyn was released from a Russian prison, some of his friends threw a party. Thousands of people showed up. They asked him to recite some of his work. He chose a poem about the freedom of a man’s spirit and his connection to God. Overcome with emotion, he was unable to continue. So the entire audience – an audience of over 3,000 people – recited the rest of the poem for him, in a whisper. They couldn’t do it out loud for fear of being discovered and arrested. 

Even possessing a copy of that poem could have meant jail time for those people. But they knew the words by heart. Mr. Solzhenitsyn’s words, which had been smuggled out of the prison at great risk, were precious to them, worth risking their freedom, worth suffering for.

I proposed to those young boys that words can change lives; poetry can give us hope and strength and even a measure of faith. I talked about the fact that creating such art is vital to our civilization, and to our very lives.

And those boys dropped their arms and leaned forward, caught by the story. Many of them created some fine poetry that afternoon. So yes, my mother was right. I thank God that he often gives me opportunity to teach. I thank Him too, for giving me the Holy Spirit, who guides and directs me, especially at times when I’m faced with a group of grade nine boys who don’t think they want to know what I’ve come to teach them.

God has indeed filled us “with skill to do all manner of work,” not just for our own delight, but for the delight and benefit of others, that they might know and see and believe in the goodness of our God.