It’s What’s Inside That Counts by Bob Jones

The journal was ordinary. Leather cover. Lined pages. Lightweight. The inscription on the inside cover made it extraordinary. That Christmas was seven years ago. The gift comes to mind immediately in reflecting on an experience when God reminded me that He was with me.  

 

As our family grew larger through marriage and grandkids, we adopted new Christmas traditions. One year we drew names and were to purchase a gift for that person. Our daughter-in-law, Angie, drew my name. The journal was a gift from her. She inscribed the inside cover with encouragement to keep on writing,

 

“Dad. Another year, another glimpse into your journey. We pray you are blessed beyond measure.”

 

The inscription was signed by Angie, our son and their three daughters.

 

Angie knew that I keep a journal and write every day. Her gift was thoughtful in so many ways, not the least of which was the inscription. I define success as: those who know me the best love me the most. The inscription was love in black on white.

 

Inscriptions or dedications in books can say a lot with a little. When I'm asked to sign a book I inscribe the title page with something meaningful for the person. Their name. The date. And an encouraging comment suited to their circumstance.

 

Some authors are creative with their inscription. The following four inscriptions caught my attention.

 

Lemony Snicket, “The Reptile Room”

“It is very unnerving to be proven wrong, particularly when you are really right and the person who is really wrong is the one who is proving you wrong and proving himself, wrongly, right. Right?”

 

Robb Hobb, “Ship of Magic”

“To caffeine and sugar, my companions through many a long night of writing.”

 

Sean Carroll, “The Particle at the End of the Universe”

“To Mom,
Who took me to the library.”

 

Victor Wooten, “The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music”

“WARNING

Everything in this book

may be

all wrong.

But if so,

it’s

all right!”

 

Think about the name of our writers’ group. Inscribe Writers. Our friendships, collaboration, the Inscribe posts, and the comments made on those posts are ways of inscribing on each other’s lives. We create support for each other.

The Apostle Paul had a similar sentiment in mind when he wrote to the believers in Corinth, “You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone.”

2 Corinthians 3:2 (The Berean Standard Bible)

 

Paul insists he has the best kind of recommendation letter: the Corinthian Christians themselves. The transformation in them, from pagans to followers of Jesus, is all the evidence he will ever need that his ministry as Christ's representative is the real thing.

 

The best recommendation of Inscribe writers is each other. Our stated purpose is to minister to Canadian Christian writers by stimulating, supporting, and encouraging them in the advancement of their writing. In 2023 our tribe will increase as we pour ourselves into each other and those who become associated with us.

 

Words matter. Especially at Christmas when the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” God is with you this Christmas and will be in the year ahead.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Bob Jones writes to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and discover their life purpose. You can follow his writing at REVwords.com

Finding My Writing Path by Carol Harrison

 

I couldn’t see a path, only a tangle of roots to trip me and overhead branches to whip in my face. Why attempt to push my way through the underbrush trying to discover a writing path. I’d buried the enjoyment of writing so deep for decades that no one knew it had once existed except God.

My husband, Brian, kept asking me to write about our journey with our youngest daughter, Amee, and the amazing things God had been doing. “I can’t. I don’t know how.” became my familiar refrain. I honestly didn’t think I could or should write so why try finding a path in the forest of doubt. He asked periodically. I responded in the negative.

Then Amee began to say, “Mom, you need to write my story so others will understand.”

“What do you want people to understand?” I’d ask her, not expecting her to articulate a response.

“Help people understand more about who I am and what I can and can’t do. Help them understand that God still answers prayer today. I know ‘cause I’m here.”

How could I refuse her request? I began to read notes I’d written through the years as well as various medical and educational reports. Remembering how winding the journey we’d been on and the amazing things that had happened proved to be a healing exercise. But I couldn’t get past writing the first few paragraphs over and over. I’d write and hit delete. Then I’d begin again. No clear path emerged about how to tell the story. I was stuck and wanted to quit.

A friend saw a poster about a one-day Christian writers’ conference in Saskatoon. She urged me to attend. All I could think of were excuses not to go. It’s for experienced writers. I’m not a writer. It’s for published authors. I’ll still be on crutches. The list continued and my friend countered them all with simple words, “Just go and check it out.”

I met some amazing people like Marci Laycock, Janice Dick, Susan Plett, and Bonnie Grove among many others. I learned about Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship that day as well. Some people attended because they wanted to learn more skills or refresh ones they hadn’t used for awhile. Others wanted to write family stories but never publish. Still others planned to publish or had published pieces. This day was for people like me who didn’t think we could write anything.  

Each month some Christian writers from Saskatoon and area gathered and shared writing tips, prompts, and encouraged each other. After attending a few meetings, I chose to read those first few paragraphs of Amee’s story. Maybe someone could help me get unstuck. They did and the writing journey really began.

By the time I published the memoir, Amee’s Story, my desire to write had resurfaced. Encouragement from my family and friends spurred me on to write a few short pieces and then look for places to submit them. I stepped out of my comfort zone and sent away a story to Chicken Soup for the Soul which was accepted. Nothing Under the Tree appeared in their Christmas book of 2010. Holding the payment cheque and copies of the book, seeing my story in print, and hearing the excitement of others over this writing accomplishment acted like a chainsaw to begin clearing away of the underbrush clogging the writing path.

As I thought about other moments that helped define my writing path, I realized the influence Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship has had on my journey. I have learned from others through conversations, workshops, and taking Marcia’s Devotional Writing Course. Challenges and contests have encouraged me to try new things, improve skills I have acquired, and grow as a writer.

A grandson’s challenge enlarged the path from memoir and short non-fiction pieces to writing fiction. A granddaughter’s request to join her at a local poetry writing workshop added yet another dimension to my writing path. Being the FellowScript columns editor meant sharpening my editing skills and learning many things in the process.

My writing path isn’t a tangled mess of branches hiding the way and roots waiting to trip me up. It has grown wider but it still has twists and turns. I can’t see where God will direct me next on this writing path, but I plan to follow and be a good steward of the abilities He has given. 

 

 

 

 

Carol Harrison now spends many hours on her writing, whether editing her works in

progress or writing something new from her home in Saskatoon. She enjoys the encouragement of her husband, adult children, and grandchildren. You can find out more about her at https://www.carolscorner.ca

 

Photo by Karen on Unsplash

Into the Unknown, With Hope by Marcia Lee Laycock

Into the Unknown, With Hope

None of us knows what will happen a year from now, or a month from now, or even tomorrow. Circumstances can hit at any moment and bowl us over like the proverbial pins we love to knock down for amusement. Sometimes it can seem like there’s a celestial bowling game going on and we are all the brunt of it.

A friend woke up on New Year’s Day to find their basement flooded and water spewing out of a split pipe. A young woman carrying twins is told to abort one because they cannot both survive. A community is wiped out by fire while another shudders under an abnormal deep freeze. Wars erupt and millions die of a virus that seems impossible to stop. If I did not believe there was a God beyond us who is in control of it all I would often be in despair. But then that young mom gives birth to those twins. A flower blooms unexpectedly in the desert that amazes all who see it. A man’s terminal cancer inexplicably disappears.

It is the safe arrival of those beautiful little babies, one of whom would not be alive but for a mother who said no, that keeps my head up and my heart soaring. And that single flower blooming in a far-off desert. And that father who is able to join his family for another Christmas dinner. And as long as there are such things in the world there is a will to go on, there is hope. As Sam Ganges said to Frodo when they were at the height of hopelessness – “… because there’s good in the world, and it’s worth fighting for.” That goodness spurs gratitude which lifts our eyes above our circumstances to the face of a loving God. That love ricochets through the universe, touching the hearts of those who are on the verge of giving up, as someone near them reaches out a hand to help them stand again.

After every natural disaster we hear of heroic deeds that are lauded through media around the world. The bravery and resilience and nobility of man is evident to all at such times and sometimes someone even wonders where such things come from. Beauty, nobility, creativity, heroism, pure unadulterated kindness. Are they sourced from the depths of mankind or from the depths of something, someone, beyond us?

As we launch into 2022 such questions bear pondering and answering. Some of us will frown and shake our heads because the answers seem unsearchable, unknowable. Some of us will smile because we’ve felt the love of a great and merciful God and seen His hand at work and known that He stands with us no matter what circumstances befall us. We smile because we can know where the nobility and kindness come from; we can know this God who is the source of it all.

As we launch into 2022 perhaps the only resolution we should have is to get to know Him even more as we take yet another step into the unknown, with hope.

 

****

Visit Marcia's website

 

A Boy Named Sue by Bob Jones

Johnny Cash made it clear that “life ain't easy for a boy named Sue.” Names matter. They have meaning, purpose, and shape destinies. Naming can feel like a heavy parental responsibility. Or, choosing a name can be a joyous opportunity. Months before our firstborn entered the world, my wife and I started our search for names before we knew the gender.

 

A girl would be Natasha, for no other reason than Jocelyn liked the mystery of the name.

 

For a boy, we wanted a strong name, the kind that would suit a hero. We liked “Cory” because one meaning of the name was “brave hearted.”  We chose “Daniel” for a middle name, after the Old Testament hero known for his courage, faith, and tenacity

 

“Congratulations. You have a boy!” And so it was settled – Cory Daniel Jones.

 

Twenty-five months later, Jocelyn was about to deliver our second born into the world. This time we knew the gender so our search for the perfect name was simplified. John Mark, a disciple of Jesus, caught our attention. We wanted our boy to grow up to follow Jesus and because we were living in Quebec we chose the name, Jean Marc.

 

Their names took on an unexpected life of their own. Jean Marc worked well for the first six years of his life while we lived in Quebec. Moving to Alberta introduced him to how a name can get messed up. His 1^st grade teacher pronounced his name as “Jeanne.” His classmates told him he had a girl’s name. To them Jean (pronounced without a French accent) sounded like "Sue." We didn't want him to grow up to be a fighter so intervention was required before our first parent-teacher interview. That’s when his older brother started calling him “JM.” Ironically, both sons would become known by the initials of their name - Jean Marc as “JM” and Cory as “CJ.”

 

Jocelyn made up songs for the boys based on their names and serenaded the boys so often the words are on easy recall to this day.

 

Over time, they became respected names. The boys' athletic abilities and competitive natures earned them honors on a school-wide basis. They helped lead their teams to championships in basketball, volleyball, football, and track and field. Both boys were named “Athlete of the Year” four years running by their Junior High and had their names engraved on plaques and trophies at their High Schools.

Cory and Jean Marc are the best of friends, teammates, and heroes to each other's kids. They are living out the character of their combined names - brave, courageous, tenacious, disciples of Jesus.

 

What's in your name? What is the story behind how your name was chosen, especially if your name is Sue. 

 

I write to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and discover their life purpose.

Please follow my writing at REVwords.com

I would love to hear from you.

Deliberate by Marcia Lee Laycock

 

                                                   ismael-paramo-ZBNr4T_4FLE-unsplash

 

Deliberate by Marcia Lee Laycock

 

You chose the way, crawled toward that day,

destiny drawn in blood before time began,

designed the way of sorrows,

staggered down that Via Dolorosa.

 

You forged the nails

for your own crucifixion,

grew the tree hewn

to bear your bloodied body, 

the bush that thrust out thorns.

 

You guided the hands that wove

the robe on which they gambled at your feet,

knew the Centurion who stabbed your side,

before his mother spoke his name.

 

You created the rocks that split,

the light that became darkness,

the angels who

turned their faces away.

 

You did it all

Deliberately.

 

To rescue me.

 

****

https ://marcialeelaycock.com