Get Your Copy of EASTER STORIES AND MORE

 

EASTER STORIES AND MORE recently released! Get your copy in time for Easter!

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A collection of stories, poems, reflections and more from InScribe members. A worth addition to your bookshelf! 

There is also a blog tour featuring many of the authors: Check out the schedule here and join in with comments.

March 24 - Ruth L. Snyder https://ruthlsnyder.com/blog/

March 25 - Sally Meadows https://sallymeadows.com/blog

March 26 - Eunice Matchett https://albertastoryteller.com/

March 27 - Lynn Dove https://lynndove.com/

March 28 - Pat Gerbrandt https://patgwriter.wordpress.com/

March 29 - Denise Ford https://walkingwithdustyanddee.com/

March 30 - Marcia Laycock https://marcialeelaycock.com/thespur/

March 31 - Bob Jones revwords.com https://revwords.com/

April 1 - Valerie Ronald https://scriptordeus.wordpress.com

April 2 - Kimberley Payne https://www.kimberleypayne.com/blog/

April 3 - Marnie Pohlmann https://marniewriter.com/blog/

April 4 - Lynn Simpson https://lynnjsimpson.com/

April 4 - Allison Lynn https://allisonlynn.blogspot.com

A Season of Preparation by Nina Faye Morey

Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

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.

~Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

In the dead of winter, snow blankets the landscape from horizon to horizon. There is no evidence of any flora budding, growing, or maturing in this vast winter wasteland. The prairie appears to lie silent and dormant. However, don’t be fooled. Winter is actually a season of preparation, when trees, grass, and various plants get ready to spring up anew once the strong sunshine, warm weather, and bubbling streams return. Plant life needs to hibernate beneath its warm winter blanket in order to gather strength to withstand the storms that will inevitably arrive with the new seasons of growth and harvest.

The coming of the New Year, which in our part of the world comes in the dead of winter, is also typically a time of preparation and renewal when people set new goals for the upcoming year. Hopefully, this time of preparation will help us grow stronger so we can withstand any upcoming storms and handle whatever future God has in store for us.

My Personal & Faith Life: Preparations & Prayers

As the New Year begins, I find myself living in a state of uncertainty and apprehension. There are ominous signs on the horizon of an impending storm that could wash away familiar roads, leaving me to tread a solitary path through the wilderness. I pray this storm passes me by, leaving my familiar landscape unscathed. Despite my fears, I am comforted by the knowledge that God holds my future in His hands. Therefore, I will prepare for whatever may come my way by continuing to pray and to place my trust in Him. I will take reassurance from His promise to be with me, strengthen me, and take me by the hand and bear me up in times of trouble.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

~ Isaiah 41:10

My Writing & Editing Life: Preparations & Plans

I’ve planned a few changes and set some new goals for my writing and editing life this year. As some of you already know, I will be stepping down as editor-in-chief of FellowScript following the publication of the May issue. However, I am preparing to take on a new challenge, serving as the managing editor for InScribe’s 2021 anthology, Easter: Stories & More. I am excited to be taking on this new role, and I look forward to working with our InScribe family of talented writers and editors and to helping the InScribe Press Committee put together another inspiring anthology.

I am also preparing to devote more time to my own writing. I hope to finish revising the draft of my romance novel and to publish a collection of my published work (along with a few unpublished pieces). While I’ve loved serving as FellowScript’s editor-in-chief and feel fortunate to have done so, my work on these books has dwindled to a mere trickle. Hopefully, I’ll be more successful at juggling my new editorial commitments with my own writing goals this year.

Also, in addition to posting monthly on this blog, my plan for the upcoming year is to publish a weekly post on my own blog, Writer Ink Well. However, I confess I’ve already missed that target. I especially enjoy interviewing fellow writers for my blog, and I plan to also offer opportunities to guest post. If you’re willing to be interviewed or you’d like to write a guest post for my blog, please feel free to contact me.

Those are the preparations and plans I’ve made for this year. What preparations have you made and what have you planned for 2020?

Nina Faye Morey is a Canadian writer, editor, blogger, and speaker. She’s had fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art published in a variety of journals. She’s also contributed to two InScribe anthologies: 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers (2015) and Christmas: Stories and More (2017). Nina’s served as columns editor for InScribe’s FellowScript magazine and is currently the editor-in-chief. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, travelling, and spending time with family.

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone by Nina Faye Morey

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

~ Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

For many years, I wrote mainly for my own personal pleasure. I’d had a few poems and other pieces published in the Western Producer’s “Young Co-operator’s Club” as a teenager. But, as I grew older, other things in life took precedence over my dream of becoming a published writer.

Then in 2004, God nudged me out of my comfort zone. I felt a sudden urge to see if I could actually get my writing published in newspapers and magazines. With time swiftly passing, I decided I had to try now if I was ever going to see that dream fulfilled. So I stepped out in faith and submitted my first article to a farm publication.

First Article I Wrote, Submitted to and Published by Grainews

What God wants, God enables. Shortly after, the editor called to talk with me about revising and resubmitting my article. She assured me she was interested and stated the deadline to resubmit it. I did as she requested, and it was accepted! Thus, my first article, “Is Santa Claus Real?” was published in Grainews in December 2004. That was followed by several other articles, short stories, and poems published in Grainews, The Manitoba Co-operator, The Prairie Messenger, The Canadian Messenger, The Prairie Journal, FellowScript, and Write On!

Some of My Stories Published in The Canadian Messenger

Soon the finger of God pointed me in another direction. I submitted a couple of pieces that were accepted by a Christian anthology. When Sheila Webster dropped by to deliver my copies of InScribe’s 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers in the summer of 2015, she offered me the position of columns editor for FellowScript magazine. I’d become comfortable as a writer—but an editor? Could I do that? I had no previous editing experience! I asked why she’d chosen me. She explained she’d been impressed by the grammar and writing skills I’d displayed in articles I’d submitted and published through some FellowScript Writing Contests and assignments I’d submitted for the FellowScript Free Writing Course she’d offered in 2015.

First Devotional and First Anthology

It wasn’t long before the hand of God nudged me out of my comfort zone once more. Sheila asked me to consider taking over as FellowScript’s editor-in-chief, expressing again her faith in my ability. At first, I accepted. Then I got cold feet and declined. She persisted; I vacillated some more. Sheila was determined and patient, reassuring me that I had the skills required. Finally, I succumbed to her persuasive powers when she promised to be available to help me if needed for the first couple of issues. But she was confident I’d be fine on my own. I’m not really sure how she knew, although I believe God had placed that assurance in her heart.

However, fear still gripped my heart. Was I really ready to step into Sheila’s shoes? What if I wasn’t up to the task? I had to remind myself of the lesson I’d previously learned—sometimes you just have to step out in faith and tackle opportunities, despite your fears. I’d already done that several times. So once again I stepped up to the plate, taking on the challenge of becoming FellowScript’s editor-in-chief. 

First Magazine as Editor

God was right! Sheila was right! “You took to it like a duck to water,” she remarked later. So I’ve discovered I’m capable of editing a magazine, and I’m feeling comfortable in that role now. I thoroughly enjoy being FellowScript’s editor-in-chief and trust God will continue to give me the ability and strength needed to carry out this special assignment He’s given me.

I can’t wait to cross the next stepping stone He places on my writing path!

Photo Credits: © 2017 Nina Faye Morey