Writing That Makes My Heart Sing by Steph Beth Nickel

It was far easier to think of works by other authors that make my heart sing, some of which I share below, than it was to think of my own writing that qualifies. Still, I wanted to share a few aspects of the writing process that I enjoy.

SURPRISE! When I sit down at my computer with the seed of a new idea and start to write and things come together more quickly and more surprisingly than I thought they would, I'm reminded of the adventure that writing can be.

And at the other end of the process...When God uses something I've written to encourage, instruct, or entertain a reader, I am absolutely, positively over the moon. Is there a better feeling than that?

Sidenote: Revising my work to make it better is necessary and can be very rewarding—when the work is done—but the song that comes to mind during this process is “The Song That Never Ends” by puppeteer Sherry Lewis. <grin>

And now a few notes about works by other authors...

Memoir that draws me in can make my heart sing, although, at times, the tune and lyrics are sombre and heart wrenching. Punching the Air, a memoir by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam, is written in verse and goes straight to the heart. Warning: language.

And speaking of poetry...

Whether it's thought-provoking, such as Punching the Air, or a lighthearted children's book by an author such as P.D. Eastman or Dr. Seuss, verse can make my heart sing and, sometimes, a smile spread across my face. Even at 61, I love a well-written picture book.

After reading No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, I dubbed Max Lucado a poet who writes in prose. Lucado has a way of taking the simple yet profound truths of God's Word and painting a mental picture that allows these truths to sink deep into my spirit.

Devotionals that the Lord uses to give me fresh perspective on familiar passages and remind me of the awesomeness of Truth are the most life-changing nonfiction works I have the privilege of reading. Bonus: I know many of the authors, and that gives me an even greater sense of connectedness.

I enjoy a wide variety of fiction genres: suspense, cozy mysteries, sweet romances, clean romcoms, fantasies…

Fiction that grabs me by the throat and won't let go is my favourite. Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness is the first book I can remember taking with me wherever I went—although, I pretty much always had a Nancy Drew Mystery close at hand for much of my youth. I even tried to wash the dishes while reading Peretti’s book. (I'm definitely thankful for the advent of audiobooks, which makes consuming content so much easier while doing other tasks.)

And, as I mentioned earlier...

When a portion of scripture seems to jump off the page, whether to convict or encourage me, my heart sings, knowing the God of the Universe speaks to His children through words penned hundreds, some thousands, of years ago.

Shadow Mentors by Steph Beth Nickel

Think of the top 10 people, excluding biblical characters, who have dramatically influenced your life for the better.

How many of them do you know personally?

When I read this month’s topic, “Shadow Mentors,” the first person who came to mind was Max Lucado. It may have been my mom who introduced me to his books when I was in my teens, 40 or so years ago.

I remember reading No Wonder They Call Him the Savior and concluding, “He’s a poet who writes in prose.”

I rarely reread books. (There are just so many I want to read!) I have, however, read and reread On the Anvil. It’s probably time to do so again, come to think of it.

Although I’ve given away hundreds of books over the years, I still have several of Max Lucado’s books on both my physical and virtual shelves.

Will we ever meet this side of heaven? Doubtful. But he is definitely one of my shadow mentors.

What have I learned from this Max Lucado? Among other things …

·         It’s important to pursue God’s call on your life.

·         All author’s have a unique voice.

·         God gifts us in different ways but calls all believers to make Jesus known.

·         Just because we reach a certain age doesn’t mean we should set aside our calling. (It also doesn’t mean we can’t pursue it with fresh clarity and commitment.)

·         We can write for both adults and children.

·         Not all books that have a powerful impact will show up in Bible college classrooms.

·         And on a related note, just because a book focusses on joy and positivity doesn’t mean it isn’t rich in spiritual truth.

·         Lastly, our best writing points readers to the Word.

I’m sure I’ve learned other “big picture lessons” from this author as well, but these are a few of them that encourage my heart.

I’m called to come alongside those the Lord brings into my life. As Christians, we all are in one way or another.

As writers, we have the unique opportunity of putting ourselves in a position to become shadow mentors for others, those we may never meet in person, those we may never interact with in any way.

How can we position ourselves to become shadow mentors for some of our readers?  

Develop our unique writer’s voice. We may say something in a way that resonates in a way no writer ever has. (In my experience, what often stands out to me is something in the middle of a paragraph, something that hasn’t been highlighted as what Lysa Terkeurst calls “a sticky statement.”)

Don’t forget authors are not the only writers who have a big impact on people’s lives. Sometimes, it’s a blog post or a Facebook comment.

Never stop developing writing skills.

Read. Read. And read some more. It develops our knowledge base and hones our skills even when we’re not reading for these specific purposes.

Never stop growing spiritually.

We ought to pray for our readers. God just may use our words to impact them in a way we never imagined.

My Unexpected Shadow Mentor by Bob Jones

What minister wouldn’t want to emulate pastor/authors such as Chuck Swindoll, Max Lucado, Jamie Buckingham, Rick Warren and Eugene Peterson?  From as far back as my first year of pastoral ministry in 1980, their writing informed and inspired my imagination.

 

The library shelves in my office began to fill with books like,

 

“Run With the Horses,”

“God Came Near,”

“Growing Deep in the Christian Life,” 

“Hand Me Another Brick,” 

“Where Eagles Soar,”

“The On Purpose Church”

“A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.”

 

One day, I imagined, there would be a book with my name on it, in the hands of a young pastor seeking to help her or his congregation grow in Biblical knowledge.

 

Then I met storytellers like Patrick Lencioni, Ken Blanchard and Jim Brown. Who would have believed that business principles could be communicated through the real conversations of fictional characters?

My shelves continued to be populated with classics like,

 

“The One Minute Manager,”

“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,”

“Who Moved The Cheese,”

“The Imperfect Board Member.”

 

In the mid-90’s I started writing a storybook for pastors – a combination Warren and Lencioni – on pastoral leadership. Unfortunately the online manuscript was lost in a series of unfortunate circumstances.

 

That setback neutralized the passion for writing a book. My creative itch was scratched through blogging, newspaper and magazine articles.

 

Then she came along.

 

2011.

 

 

KristenFersovitch phoned me in August 2011 to say she had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and was given twenty-four months to live. Kristen was a precocious seven-year old when I first met her. She was now a 28-year old a mom of three boys under-five, married to an Edmonton firefighter, a musician, singer and songwriter.

 

For the next twenty-one months, Kristen wrote a weekly blog about the frustration of cancer, the loves of her life and her faith, hope and joy in Jesus. Her content was compelling. In spite of her suffering, God’s favor was on her. Everyone could see it and hear it her music.

 

Just before Thanksgiving weekend, 2013, Kristen passed away. Her family asked me to minister at her funeral service. I can still feel the sunshine warming the tears on my face, standing by her graveside on an autumn afternoon.

 

Everyone who encountered Kristen through her journey with cancer wanted to know how she could have been at her best when life was at it’s worst. Her family gave me permission to chronicle her story - my first book. God’s favor continued through her life, after her death, when the book won a national writing award for most inspiring story of 2015.

 

So Kristen, you are my shadow mentor.

 

Your light shines on.

 

Forever grateful.

The Advent-ure of Love …. by Jocelyn Faire

If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover. And a being within ourselves to bring to life.  (Anonymous, but quoted by Sarah Ban Breathnach in Simple Abundance)

“What does it feel like to be loved?”

The question is asked of my daughter who lives with her husband and three small children in a N African Islamic country. The lady who poses the question is heavy with her third child. Last December I joined my daughter to invite neighbours to attend a Ladies event to experience the flavour of a Canadian Christmas. In that country they do not celebrate December 25th, they do not get caught up in ribbons and bows, in getting the right turkey, the right gifts … they do that for other cultural events. As we spread the word about the party, one of the ladies said “everyone wants to be at her house.” It is a house of welcome, a safe house of light and love. This year, I could not be there and encouraged my daughter in whatever way I

could, mainly prayer from wintery Canada. She is eight hours ahead, so it was early Friday afternoon that the first details came through: “a house full of women, rich conversation, laughter, fun, food.” Via WhatsApp she said “And one pregnant woman who did not have the two dinars (about a dollar) for a taxi ride, walked seven kilometres to come.”  I was moved to tears as I read. That woman walked seven kms because she felt loved and accepted by my daughter. My daughter does not preach, she invests herself into their lives … she cares, she also gives this woman a ride home.

What does it feel like to be loved? Three weeks ago, I heard a fable by Max Lucado. This is now my retelling of his telling … As the prince rode throughout the land, he took note of a peasant woman, he fell in love with her … he proposed marriage. She wanted to refuse … how could he love her, he lived in a castle, she was just a common woman. He insisted that He loved her for who she was, and he wanted to marry her. She still responded in doubt, but as he seemed quite persistent, she said,  she could cook and clean for him, and bear his children … He said, “I do not want you because you can cook and clean, and bear children. I want you to be my wife because I love you” …. They married; she cooked and cleaned and bore his children, but somehow she never trusted his love. In the end she left him, and said to one of her friends, “I never really felt that he loved me.”  

Something stirred my heart at this story, as I have often wondered if God, who says He is

love, could love me? What does it feel like to be loved by the creator of the universe? I have learned that grief does not feel like love …. but the question hangs in the air. Do actions speak louder than words? I do believe that Christmas is Love in Action.

How will I spend the final advent hours? May I take time to feel the desert wind, to gaze at a star and to ponder the birth of new understanding. The final word is Immanuel, God with us, through each season of life, through the longing and the filling, in the journey through the desert. 

Why settle for tinsel, when we are offered the kingdom? 

Read about The Advent-ures of Hope, Joy, Peace on Jocelyn's blog at:

http://whoistalking.wordpress.com

Jocelyn is the author of Who is Talking out of My Head-Grief as an out of Body Experience. 

candle image by www.drew-fuller.com