Meet New Ventures in 2024 by Sandi Somers

You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure

Psalm 18:36 (Amplified)

When I was a child I gazed hopefully at the western sky at 6 pm in early January to see a little more daylight than in the dark evenings of December. Even those 15 minutes more of daylight made a great difference to my anticipation of longer days, warmer weather, and spring’s arrival.

As we step into 2024, we have a little more light on our year—like a sneak peek into the coming days and weeks ahead. 

What are these glimpses that God has given us? How can we move with confidence into the days ahead? Here are points that God has been showing me over the last weeks. 

One of my Christmas readings came from Isaiah 61, where God predicted how He would anoint Jesus to bring Good News. He’s inviting us to participate with him in preaching, healing, proclaiming, comforting, consoling, and giving. As we join Jesus in spreading the Good News, His Spirit anoints us and enables us to fulfill His calling. 

And yet, what God calls us to do is often above and beyond our capabilities. It means we need to draw on His power and resources. If God calls, He will enable us and supply what we need. Some time ago, God reminded me, “Set your sites higher. Expand your vision”. (These are my words for the year.) Regardless of our feelings of inadequacy, God will grow us into his calling. 

Lay the groundwork for your life endeavours through prayer. Just recently God brought to my attention that we don’t just supplement our ideas with prayer, or add prayer to our plans. Instead, prayer is central to our work. “Prayer was never meant to be incidental to the work of God,” wrote Arthur Mathews. “It is the work…prayer is the working power of all that God would do through (us). Without prayer and waiting on God for Him to reveal His will, our well-meant attemptings…have no power to move towards God’s goals.”[i] 

Give each idea, each project, each day’s work to the Lord. As the Psalmist wrote: “I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3).  

Become alert to new possibilities. It can be easy to say no to a new opportunity, but when you say yes to that risk, it can open doors wider than you ever expected. 

“God calls and equips us to use our skills to meet needs that are present in our community and world. Let’s release our skills into the service of Jesus and see how He’ll use our acts of love to stitch hearts and lives together.”[ii] 

Has God given you a specific commission or special word or scripture for this year?

What risk is God asking you to take?

How can the Lord’s power strengthen your faith and help you fulfill God’s plans? 

Prayer: God of the New Year, I bring all my hopes and plans to You. Thank You that even though I plan my way, You will direct my steps.

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[i] R Arthur Mathews, Born for Battle: 31 Studies on Spiritual Warfare, (Robesonia, PA: Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1978, p. 42).

[ii] Marvin Williams, https://ourdailybread.ca/use-what-you-have-2/

 

God-honoring Writing Tips by Wendy L. Macdonald

As Christians we are to honor God in all we do. As inspirational writers we are to honor God in all we write too. When we do this, our writing will glorify God and bless our readers.  I’d like to share some tips that have spurred me to write faithfully for Christ.

So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, 

do it all for the glory of God.

 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV

The first and most important tip is to spend time alone with God daily. I need privacy and silence, so I go to bed early and get up early. In order to do this, I rarely watch movies. Trying to have time alone with God later in the day doesn’t work because I’m rarely home alone. Even as I write the first draft for this, my grandson is napping nearby.

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;

 in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

 Psalm 5:3 NIV

The second tip concerns quiet times too. They are more fruitful when I write my thoughts, prayers, and confessions in my journal. It keeps me alert to His still small voice. Honesty is an absolute policy when conversing with God. He knows what’s inside us, and it’s important for our spiritual growth if we allow His Light to shine into our soul so we become fully aware of our need to grow in each area of our Christian walk. This will overflow into authenticity in our writing. Authentic authors draw authentic readers.

Trust in him at all times, you people;

 pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

 Psalm 62:8 NIV

The third tip is to include daily Bible reading in our morning routine. I enjoy choosing a #VerseOfTheDay for my journal entry that I also use on my social media sites. My daily Bible reading time is the perfect opportunity to harvest a special Scripture to share on one of my nature pictures I’ve taken in our lovely Comox Valley. I post them on my Facebook page from Monday thru Saturday. These mini-daily-devotionals are intended to spur believers to walk with joyful hope in God.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

 Psalm 119:11 NIV

The forth tip is to meditate on Scriptures throughout the day, especially if we’re feeling extra stress from unusual life events. The past few months I’ve even been making up songs to soothe my soul when adrenaline flows. They are inspired by the verse of the day and enable me to focus on whatsoever is godly.

Blessed is the one...whose delight is in the law of the LORD, 

who meditates on his law day and night. 

Psalm 1:1-2 NIV

The fifth God-honouring writing tip is to pay attention to tears. I’ve already shared a six-minute podcast called: Tapping into Tears that you may listen to at HopeStreamRadio.com. It’s a wonderful way to discover poignant topics to write about. If the author is deeply touched by a piece, the reader will also be moved. I believe the Holy Spirit stirs our hearts to pay closer attention to something by drawing tears. Tears are seeds that grow into short inspirational memoir pieces when planted on a blank page. It’s fun—and oh so rewarding—to show up and write while tears are present. Being vulnerable on the page helps other engage better because it lets them know they’re not alone.

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 

Psalm 126:5 NIV

I’m nosey-to-know if any of my tips have inspired you.

Blessings ~ Wendy Mac 

Wendy L. Macdonald is an inspirational blogger and podcaster who loves to photograph nature on Vancouver Island. Her byline is: “My faith is not shallow because I’ve been rescued from the deep.” Her main website is wendylmacdonald.com where she enjoys interacting with readers.
   

An Invitation to Prayer by Sandi Somers

InScriber Bryan Norford once wrote on how he is driven to pray each day before writing: "Lord, my thinking and understanding is so often fallen and distorted. I desperately need your insight and wisdom, that as I write, I may clearly express your thoughts and desires.”

How does Bryan’s quote resonate with you?

Artists’ Morning Prayer

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice.

“In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3 NIV).

Have you ever begun your prayer time feeling your thoughts are very general? I certainly have. However, I’ve learned a lot from David’s Morning Prayer in Psalm 5:3.

Let’s unpack that verse and explore what David meant as he prayed.

David begins with acknowledging that God hears him—in other words, he praises God.

For me, it was a wonderful experience when, several years ago on my morning prayer walk, I began my prayer by focusing more on God, praising Him for His many attributes and His love, a love beyond anything we can imagine.

          David next lay his requests before God. In writing those words, he used the Hebrew image from the morning sacrifices. “I lay my requests before you,” means an “ordered strategy”. Each morning the Levites reverently laid wood on the altar, each in its own place. Carefully they cut the sacrifices and placed them in order. Hi prayers were to be intentional, his requests well-thought out and specific.

         

 Just as David recognized an “ordered strategy” for his prayers, so I needed a prepared strategy to pray specifically for others, then to bring my artistic work before Him.

          In the last year, I’ve begun writing a list of points at the top of my blog draft as a reminder to pray each time I open my document and plan to write. This prayer includes:

·        Giving thanks for the abilities He has placed in me, the desire to write and the development of my skills and ministry

·        Surrendering my art to Christ for the Spirit’s enabling

·        Praying for the specific challenges that my writing presents as I begin writing or revising—the thoughts or images or structure, for example—those aspects of writing where I need the Spirit’s illumination that day.

·        Praying more diligently that the light of Christ would come into the lives and situations of my readers

Praying in this manner brought strength and peace, and a greater awareness of the Spirit’s guidance.

          Turning back to David’s prayer, he concluded by waiting before God in expectation. He knew God would answer him.

          What encouragement! Writer Madeleine L’Engle so aptly described this expectation: “Before we practice our art (for the day), let’s learn to practice the art of listening to what God has to say to us as artists,” she wrote.  This waiting before God is essential for creativity, inspiration, and a sense of direction.

Prayer warrior Dick Eastman adds: “The more specific and complete (our) petitions, the more faith we receive for its answer.”

 Over time, I’ve seen the Spirit infuse my mind with:

·        Words and images that spring to mind

·        Clues or directions as to where my writing should go

·        Structure: I was amazed last year when the Spirit began giving me a visual image of the outline for my writing piece. Even though I needed to fill in the details through hard work, the Spirit was guiding me in an area that I sometimes find difficult: structuring and organizing my work.

I concur with InScriber JackPopjes’ wisdom: “The ideas for these blog posts and their development into a well-rounded article do not come from my mind but through it. Each part comes from another Mind. It is the Creator Himself who puts the ideas into my head and leads me to expand and develop the piece.”

As we pray to develop an “ordered strategy”, we will demonstrate a deep dependence on the Holy Spirit who will give us both order and insight.

          What about you? What is your morning prayer like? How does the Spirit infuse your mind and your writing?