Faith and Writing for 2018 by Sandi Somers

New Year’s Greetings to you all!

January blogs often focus on goals. This year we are broadening our theme to ask: How is God speaking to you about your faith and writing? How are you anticipating God’s presence? How does He want you to step forward in faith?

“A New Thing” for 2018

My verse for 2018 comes from Isaiah 43:19:

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.

So it was with some surprise that at our church’s Christmas concert, a large display caught my attention: “The new thing I will do is…”

I look back to see how God has already begun to do new things in areas I had not expected. Our life group/ Bible study leader and his family moved from Calgary to Fort McMurray to accept a job in the oil industry. From that time, I took over the ministry of leading the group. It has been a growing experience, writing my own Bible studies to meet the needs of those who are hurting and who are seeking inner healing. In addition, I’ve been part of the healing prayer ministry at church.

As I look ahead, God is opening up new avenues in the areas of counselling and healing ministry. I will accept these new opportunities, knowing God is the author.  

My “new things” fit in nicely with InScribe’s theme verse for 2018:

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2).

Or in today’s imagery, the NLT words it:

“Enlarge your house; build an addition.
 Spread out your home, and spare no expense!”

God is ready to greatly enlarge InScribe’s ministry, both on an individual level and as an organization, stretching our vision to new ministries, and new people where Christ is not known.

My prayer for both myself and for InScribe is: "Father, enlarge our faith so that we will ask great things from You, do great things for You and expect great things from You."

What is God saying to you as you begin 2018? How will you respond? 

Inattentional Blindness -- "Can't See for Looking" by Connie Inglis

Modern Interior. Photo by Alexandr Jolobov on Getty Images

Last year I took a Cognitive Psychology course. It was the first time I had heard the term, "inattentional blindness." According to Scholarpedia, "inattentional blindness is the failure to notice a fully-visible, but unexpected object because attention was engaged on another task, event, or object." One of the most famous experiments done to show inattentional blindness is called, "the invisible gorilla" and if you are interested you can follow this link which will help explain the term. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6qgoM89ekM

I was surprised how an object as big and black and hairy as a gorilla was not noticed. Do our brains really do that? Can we be so focused on a task or event or object that we don't even see when a gorilla enters the situation we are in? Science has proven this to be true. We are looking but not seeing. Have you ever used the idiom "He can't see for looking" in reference to someone who looks for an item and it is right in front of them but for some reason they can't see it? I guess it's like that--and we laugh at the familiarity of the experience.

That brings me to God's verse for me for 2016. In December I started reading the book of John, with the idea of studying Jesus' specific "I am" metaphors. I didn't even get through chapter one before three words jumped out at me--words spoken by Jesus in John 1:39 and then by Philip in verse 46. These words are, "Come and See."

And suddenly I knew that these were Jesus' words to me for 2016--to come and to see. A few days after that, I came across the O.T. counterpart three times in one day and again, I knew it was God speaking to me: Isaiah 43:19--"For I am about to do something new. SEE, I have already begun! Do you not SEE it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." This clinched the stirrings in my heart--to not only come and see in expectation of seeing something new that God is doing but to also look at what He is already doing and to SEE God's hand in that as well.

This is the reverse of inattentional blindness and the reverse of, "He can't see for looking." God is like the gorilla in the experiment. (I said He's "LIKE" the gorilla, not that He "IS" the gorilla.) His presence is in the midst of whatever situation we find ourselves in. He is moving in our midst, sometimes banging His chest, trying to get us to take our focus off of our circumstances and to SEE Him there, wanting us to not look past Him or around Him or even through Him. He also wants us to stop looking for answers in the circumstances but instead to see Jesus in them and put our eyes on Him.

Eye on Jesus by kritzlof.deviantart.com

Come and see. That is the overarching goal. But what will that look like in my day-to-day? In my writing it means I will continue with my writing course, writing chapters to a fiction novel. But now God has surprised me with an opportunity in connection with this course. I asked my prof what course she thought I should take next and her response still has me in shock. She encouraged me to take an independent writing course to continue my novel and she offered to oversee my work because she wants me to finish my novel.

Wow. What an opportunity. I am both anxious and excited but I believe this is part of God's will for me this year. Jesus is reaching out His hand and I am taking it.

So, I have a direction with my writing but in other aspects of my life, I don't know where we are going, Jesus and I. However, I will follow the One I am learning more about from the book of John. I am excited to be a witness to His working and a witness in proclaiming His glory. I want to keep my eyes on the "gorilla" in the room.

Heb. 12: 2. "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."