Q is for Qualified by Susan Barclay

 Qualified

 

Right now, I don’t feel qualified

Qualified to write, yes

But unqualified for the place

You seem to be leading me

Out of my comfort zone

 

I sense a calling on my life

A calling out of solitary ways

A possibly public calling

One I’m not equipped for

Where You need to show up

 

It’s been said: God doesn’t call the qualified

He qualifies the called

He uses ordinary people, broken people

People just like me

And people just like you

 

I have to remind myself - you, too?

Moses felt inadequate

Gideon felt inadequate

Peter – brash as he was – felt inadequate

And God still used them, mightily

 

God invites us into His work

We can say no, resist, run away like Jonah

But I’d rather not find myself in the sea

Or in the belly of the whale

Better to say yes and trust

 

Trust God to show up

Trust God to equip

Trust God to qualify

To lead by a cloud or pillar of fire

To give me a voice and courage

 

Trust that God has a plan

That God has a purpose

That He is sovereign and good

That He will make me useful

And use me

 

Thank You, God, for Your wisdom

For Your Word and Your words

Thank You for ability as I yield myself to You

And that You qualify

Those whom You call

 

Where You lead, let me follow

 

c. Susan Barclay, 2024

 

Choices as the Chosen ~ Valerie Ronald

                                                                                                                                           image credit: Wallpaper Access
            

 The memory is vivid, of sitting tall in my desk in grade four, singing my heart out as my teacher walked up and down the rows listening for singers she thought good enough to join a choir. When she chose someone, she tapped on their desk. I did not receive a tap. After all these years I can still recall the disappointment of not being chosen. Now I know I am chosen, which makes all the difference.

God’s Chosen

I see our calling as Christian writers symbolized by an inverted triangle representing choices. The most important criterion begins with our position as chosen children of God. This is the broad top of the inverted triangle, from which all choices stem. Throughout His word God tells us that those who follow Him in faith are also chosen by Him. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were God’s chosen people from which the Messiah would come. With the new covenant instituted by Jesus, those who believe He is the Messiah, God’s Son, and accept Him as their Savior also become His chosen people, holy and dearly loved. (Col. 3:12 NIV) We are chosen but we also have the freedom to choose whether or not we accept Christ’s invitation to be one of His own. It sounds confusing, I know. The theology of election and predestination is a huge topic of study for another time.

Choosing Our Calling

When God “tapped on my desk” I already knew I wanted to write. The desire and aptitude was evident since I was young. I pursued education as a journalist and chose writing-related jobs. While raising my family I filled journals with musings and stories. Even before I knew God, He had already chosen how I would serve Him. It was a given that I chose to write for Him, because that is the desire He put in my heart before I was born.

Here the inverted triangle narrows to individual choice, guided and influenced by God. His Holy Spirit influenced my choice to be a writer. I am blessed with deep joy and satisfaction in the working out of my calling because His desire for me is also my desire.

“For we are His creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.” (Eph. 2:10 NET)

Choices Within Our Calling

At a time when pursuing my writing seemed impossible, I recall praying for the circumstances I now enjoy. Long periods of uninterrupted time, resources and tools at my fingertips and encouragement from those who recognize my calling. Now comes the fun part where God gives me liberty to make choices within the parameters of being a Christian writer. To quote Ann of Green Gables, He has given me “scope for the imagination.” Prefaced by prayer, I listen for His voice in my spirit, prompting me to pursue topics, story ideas and projects that spark my imagination and suit my creative voice.

Now the inverted triangle narrows, pointing to specifics like markets, audiences, genres, topics, styles and word selection. This is where I feel like a child in a toy store ˗˗ so many wonderful choices! Having been a writer for many years, I find my ability to make good choices increasing with experience and self-education. God has given me a reasonable mind and a predisposition toward words, so I am constantly challenged to reflect Him in my choices.

        Wonderfully made, my days were chosen for God's book before one came to be

I am chosen by grace to be one of God’s people, holy and dearly loved

I choose to write because He created me to do good works

My choices reflect His Spirit at work in my life

Chosen by God, I choose to serve Him

with choice words

a channel for

Christ

 

   More of Valerie's work can be read on her blog:

     https://scriptordeus.wordpress.com/

A is for Accept by Lorilee Guenter

 God has given us words as a gift. He uses words to teach me and to correct me. Words are one way He shows Himself to us. He communicates with us. He spoke creation into being and Jesus calmed the storm with words. Gifts are of more value when they are accepted. It is my choice whether I believe and accept.

I choose to accept the the relationship He has called me into using His words. I choose to accept the teaching found in His written word to us. I also recognise that God uses people to write and speak into other people's lives. I am beginning to accept that God gives me words to share with others. I did not accept that for a long time and instead devalued myself and lost opportunities because of it. 

I continue to learn what it means to follow where God leads me. God asked Abram to go to a place unknown to him but known to God. Abram trusted God would lead him. God asked His prophets to speak the words He gave them. Jesus taught His disciples and then asked them to share that teaching using the authority He gave them. We are all called to be His disciples which includes using the gifts and words He has given us and sharing them with the audience He asks us to share with. This is not something we do on our own but in communication with the Holy Spirit.

By accepting God's direction, and following it, our words and actions bring glory to Him when He uses our offerings to teach us and others. 

Becoming a Writer by Michelle M. Brown

It took until after I had written the first draft for me to research the different methods that are used by various authors, in writing a book. I know I put the cart before the horse, but I had been explicitly encouraged by God to write my story. The thought of there being a process, more than just sitting down and writing, was unknown to me. I was amazed at the undertaking that is implemented in the planning stage of writing a book by some writers. The meticulous effort that is utilized in defining the topic, writing a proposal, creating an outline and setting up a work schedule so deadlines can be met.

My process for writing a book consisted of much less time and task management and more “go with the flow”. I sat down every morning with my bible, my devotional for the day and spent time with God. I then started writing. My time with God was my planning stage. Not for the book, but for me being in the right frame of mind to tackle the task God had assigned me. I wasn’t sure what direction the story would take or even what my message was. It was God’s story of my life, and I allowed Him to tell it through me. I didn’t need a plan because God had one.

It took me three months to write seventy thousand words. Some days I wrote for twenty minutes and other days I wrote for two hours. It was an emotional process that I allowed to ebb and flow as dictated by my ability to deal with the content. There was no schedule or order that I can pinpoint. Just God and I detailing a life shaped by adversity and circumstance. It was a journey of healing old wounds and discovering forgotten strengths.

The research for process came after I completed that first draft because it was time to edit what I had hammered out on my keyboard and make sense of it for other people to read. This step is slow and painful. Not because of the content, this time, but because my writing skills leave a lot to be desired. It is where I fall short and where I have decided to learn, 45 years after I entered the school system, so I can continue on this journey to be God’s writer.

I have recently been reading 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Heroines of the Faith by Michelle DeRusha. Fifty, courageous, Godly women who stepped out in faith between the years 1038-2013. Most were writers, all were called, few felt they had the ability, but all were willing to listen to God’s calling on their life and face opposition, ridicule, imprisonment and death. They genuinely are heroines in God’s army of women.

God called me to write, but he never said it would be easy and I wouldn’t have to work for it. Putting myself out there in this position of vulnerability has been challenging to my pride and often my self-esteem. In the end, though, I realize that God never calls us to do what is easy. He calls us to do what He needs, and with that comes its own blessing of being an obedient child that is pleasing to her Father.

"...for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." ~Romans 11:2

---

Michelle M. Brown was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. She has a background in Marketing & Design. An avid hiker and adventure junkie she has embarked on a journey to conquer 50 adventurous activities in her 50th year.

Books on My Shelf - Marnie Pohlmann

I glance over to the bookshelf in my writing room, to the area reserved for my own published books. A frog bookend leans against them, holding them in a neat line against the edge of the case. I admire the spines of their jackets, smiling with both pride and awe.

The first book on the shelf is a devotional. The spine shows balloons stretching out from the front cover where a clown wearing big red shoes and a flower squirting waterdrops is holding the balloons high. A circus tent is in the background of the cover, and the title is in a circus-poster font.

Next to the devotional is another book. There is a whitish cross on the spine of the satiny black cover. If I run my hand over the cross I know it will feel a little raised and rough. The cross is phosphorescent, gathering light throughout the day so it can faintly glow in the evening dark. At least, that is what it is supposed to do. Mass production does not lend itself well to such a special effect, but the idea was there. When readers open the book they soon understand the glowing cross is significant to my life story contained within the pages.

A third book has recently been placed beside these first two publications. My eyes don't focus on the title that stretches across the spine. Instead, I pull the novel from the shelf to look again at the cover. Another cross, but this one sitting in a pool of blood. Marijuana leaves grow up behind the cross. I flip the book over to see my photo on the back with the author’s blurb. Above this, endorsements praise the writing and describe the mystery enclosed within the pages.

If you have not guessed by now, these books only appear on the shelf in my mind and dreams. One day, I trust they will appear in tangible reality on my shelf. Right now, though, they are scattered here and there in various notebooks and computer files, waiting to be gathered and sorted and rewritten into something resembling manuscripts that will then be filled out in the thin parts, coloured in the obtuse parts, and pruned in the parts that don't belong.

Slowly, very slowly, these books will be written - are being written. Occasionally the content changes, but the writing does not stop. And while I walk slower than many, I am learning with each step. These are not just dreams, they are goals because writing for me is a calling by God.

My books are not on my shelf but they are further along than they were last year and the year before that. So, I thank you, my writer friends of Inscribe Fellowship, for being such a “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone before me, walk beside me, or are coming up the trail I have been sauntering along. Each of you inspires and encourages me.

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running (or writing)— and never quit!   (Heb 12:1 MSG)

The Transformative Power of Writing by Nina Faye Morey

Writing has transformative power for both the writer and the reader. As a writer, there’s nothing I enjoy more than the process of putting my thoughts down on paper. When I give free range to my imagination, I’m often surprised where it leads. You see, I’m more of a “pantser” than a “plotter.” When a story pops into my head, I don’t immediately start outlining it on paper. I might jot down a few notes as ideas occur to me, but that’s it. I usually just meditate on it for some time before I actually begin to write.

However, when I sit down at my computer to commence writing, I often find that, unbeknownst to me, someone has erected some sharp detours on my mind map that cause me to take a more circuitous route to my final destination. I encounter a number of interesting sightseeing spots and other inspiring places that I hadn’t anticipated along the way. These provide me with a lot of material and different perspectives on the territory I’m covering. By the time I get to my journey’s end, I discover that it’s nowhere near where I thought it was in the first place. It’s times like these I truly feel that my writing is a calling because I’ve somehow been intuitively led to my final goal by the Holy Spirit.

Once I get involved in writing a piece, my words normally flow freely onto the page. I find myself totally “in the zone” and become completely absorbed in the process. I lose all awareness of the activity around me and the passage of time. That doesn’t just happen when I’m writing about a topic that’s lighthearted or joyful. It also occurs when I feel drawn to my computer to tap out a piece on a troublesome or traumatic topic.

This all circles back to the feeling that my writing is a calling. Why would I be motivated to tackle distressing topics other than out of a desire to minister to my readers? Why else would I hive off hunks of my heart and soul and cast them out there for the entire world to devour? That’s one of the risks I have to take if I truly feel that my writing is a calling to contribute something to the world that exists outside of my little writing room.

So it’s all tied in to how I view my relationship with my readers. As a writer, I want to connect with my readers. I want them to know that they are not alone out there. I hope to offer them a perspective on their joys and sorrows that they might not encounter elsewhere. As a Christian writer, I hope to shine a new light on whatever is happening in their lives by offering them a biblical frame of reference. Perhaps when they close that magazine or book on my story, they will come away with a different perception of their world. Maybe they’ll share my work with someone close to them who can benefit from my message. Being able to convey some Christian insights into the issues they are dealing with through my gift of writing gives me a deep sense of satisfaction and joy.

For me, writing is a labour of love. The longer I write, the greater my sense of being “tuned in” to the Holy Spirit. It gladdens my heart to be able to spread God’s Word through my words and know that this creative act has the power to transform someone’s life.

Goals on Prayer Boards by Sharon Espeseth

During my late twenties, I discovered the concept of a prayer board. Being a visual person, this appealed to my imagination and made my prayers more goal-oriented and focussed. My first couple prayer boards were simple. I acknowledged that I was a child of God and that God was interested in what was happening in my life.

I was part of a loving, Christian family, and I had accepted Christ as my Saviour when a child at Bible camp. In my teens I became a leader at camp and in my twenties I worked with youth groups at church. As a teacher, I loved my students like they were my own children, but a time came when I was lonesome for a husband and a family of my own.

I had prayed about a family of my own, and this was one of the prayers on my first and second prayer boards. Hank and I were married in 1975, and I had joined the Roman Catholic Church in Barrhead, so that we could attend church as a couple and later raise our children in the faith.

I didn't become pregnant as I had prayed. Instead God blessed us with three children, adopted as infants. I rejoice to this day, as God continues to bless us and our family continues to grow.

Through God's blessings and answered prayers, I learned to consider Paul's final words to the Philippians.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

I did what Paul advised in my prayers--orally, in my journals and on my prayer boards. This doesn't mean that everything in our lives went smoothly. Like all families we've had our struggles even though I'd put the things that really mattered on my board--our marriage, the children, careers, finances, social values and social life.

In Psalm 139 David says, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex? Your workmanship is marvellous--how well I know it."

Generally these boards were put away in the closet and reviewed infrequently. That is why it amazes me, when I look over the boards, to see how God has worked in my/our lives.

The sections of my each board would be marriage and family relations, faith, financial concerns, health and fitness, and personal growth. In personal growth, writing kept creeping in and taking up more space. It was obvious that I wanted, or felt called, to write.


I prayed and listened to God as I created each prayer board. We are wonderfully complex beings, as the Psalmist said. I feel as though God worked in and through me to help me reach the desires of my heart. In Matthew 6:33, we read Jesus cautioning us about worry: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."




About every four or five years, I'd get the urge to make a new prayer board. I would save a stack of magazines. Then I'd begin ripping out pictures, titles, quotes,  or catchy phrases that spoke to me about life in general, spiritual thoughts, material needs and plans for the family and for our future. The final step would be cutting my big circle from bristol board and starting my collage. Between the glued pictures and phrases, I would write Bible promises, inspiring quotes and prayers.


Now that Hank and I are retired and the kids are independent, you would think I'd have more time for writing. Life still gets complicated. I need to be disciplined, but I also need balance in my life. If I have a gift and a calling to write, I am responsible for using my gift. Still I know God knows more about balance than I ever will.

What Paul says to the Philippians applies to life in general and to writing as well. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right. . . pure. . . lovely
. . . admirable. . . excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." And write about them too!

Paul reminds us to practice what we've learned, received, heard from him, or seen in him. "And the God of peace will be with (us)." (Philippians 4:8-9 My abbreviation.)

Like Paul, I can say that I (am learning) to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned (or I am learning) the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

 

Note that my last prayer board has turned into a book format.
















If you look closely, you will see a small book on the front cover that is slowly getting written.

I do rejoice and give thanks to God. Amen.









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