Writing and the Daniel Prayer by Susan Barclay

I recently finished reading The Daniel Prayer by Anne Graham Lotz and as I was thinking about this month's Inscribe prompt - "which scripture verses keep you nourished as you travel the writers' path?" - it occurred to me that the points Lotz raises in her book apply to my writing life. As a Christian writer I need to be:

1. Centred on God 

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Whether I am writing for the Christian or secular market, I can't do anything without Christ. As I sit to write, I need nourishment from the Vine if I'm to bear fruit. This means reading His Word, understanding who He is and who I am in relation to Him. It means letting Him lead, no matter who my intended audience is or what my work is about.

2. Compelled by God

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9 

As a writer, I have ideas and plans for my writing. As a Christian, I need to ask what God wants so that His will is the driving force behind all that I do. I need to submit to Him as His plans for me, and for my writing, are always greater and better than my own. It's not necessarily easy to think like this; as a creative, imaginative person, I can get carried far down the road of a story before it occurs to me to ask God about it or invite Him to be part of it. I can get carried away in my mind before I've captured a single word on paper or on the computer. But "unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain" (Psalm 127:1).

3. Confident in God

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33

Provision

I'd venture to say that most of the readers of this blog aren't making a living wage from their writing. (If I'm wrong, please tell me how you're doing it!) They write because they can't imagine doing anything else - writing is a gift, something that comes as naturally as breathing. As a Christian writer, I'm encouraged to seek God first and to trust Him to provide for all of my needs. Yes, I may be required to have a "day job," but ultimately if I believe that God is a good, good Father, and I am doing my part (writing, polishing, finding an agent if I need one, submitting to publishers, etc.), I can trust Him to do His part, "adding all these things" to my account.

4. Contrite before God

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:4

Proverbs 3:34 says that God shows favour to the humble. I can't manipulate God by feigning humility, since He knows my heart, but when I come to Him in genuine repentance over the things that ail me, and pray the prayer in Psalm 19:4, I know that He delights to answer. When my heart is clean and my spirit is right, He will give me the right words and meditations with which to enrich my writing.

5. Clear

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is wise reprover to a listening ear. Proverbs 25:11-12

Not quite apples, but you know what I mean

I'm not communicating with my readers if they can't understand what I'm saying. Clarity is key. Part of this is knowing my audience. 

• Academics and professionals use certain language and buzzwords. Am I using their jargon and speaking at their level? 
• Children are still learning vocabulary but I shouldn't talk down to them. Am I primarily using words they'll understand while introducing new words they can grasp through context? 
• Teens have a much bigger vocabulary than most children as well as slang that is all their own. Am I familiar with current expressions or do I know some teens I can ask? Can I write with a teen's voice and perspective? 
• They say that for a general adult audience you should write at a grade eight reading level. This is because most adults whose first language is English should be able to read at this level, whether they graduated high school or not. 

Lotz's book on the Daniel prayer has unintentionally encouraged me as a writer, reminding me to be centred, compelled, confident, contrite, and clear. The scriptures I've indicated remind me of these things as well. I hope these ideas inspire you too.
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Susan Barclay maintains a website and currently blogs infrequently at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

Skipping Stones by Marcia Lee Laycock

This image is one that has been with me for a long time: a smooth black stone skipping across a pond. There are many metaphors that can be drawn from it.

My life is a skipping stone, touching down here and there, causing ripples good and bad, as my influence touches the surface of other lives. The stone always disturbs the mirror-like surface of the pond, distorting the reflections of sky and land, causing a new image to emerge. Every life leaves its mark.

My writing is a skipping stone, leaping from one genre to another, one article to another, one book to another. The writing too, causes ripples, some quickly gone, others more enduring. One day its reach will finally be spent. The stone will disappear into the pond, its purpose complete.

My faith, too, is a skipping stone, skimming the surface of sometimes incomprehensible truths, truths that cause me to fall on my knees, truths that cause me to be still in wonder and awe. This stone is the most precious, the one that has eternal effect, both for me and perhaps for others.

All three of these skipping stones leave intersecting patterns. The life, the work, the faith, all overlap, skipping across the pond at the same time, having an effect in different ways but always causing those ripples.

Because I am a believer in Jesus Christ I know the hand that tosses these stones is strong and will never fail. I don’t have to fear that the ripples these stones cause will have an ill effect, as long as I trust in the one who sends them skidding. He sees not only the intersecting ripples of my life, work and faith, but those of many others. He sees not just the surface of the pond but the many layers beneath and above it. He knows where and when the ripples will touch, blend and create their new patterns. And I can trust that the touch of the ripples my stones create will do His will, no matter my failings. 

So I continue, in obedience. I let the stones fly.

Blessed is the man (or woman) whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage (Psalm 84:5). 

Marcia writes from Alberta Canada where she lives with her pastor/husband and an aging golden retriever. She was the winner of the Best New Canadian Christian Writers' Award for her first novel, One Smooth Stone and the sequel, A Tumbled Stone was shortlisted for a Word Award. Her devotionals have also won many awards and have been published in Canada and the U.S. Her most recent release is a fantasy series for middle grade readers - Journey to a Strong Tower, Journey through Fire and Smoke and Journey to a New Beginning, all available on Amazon or from the author.

Visit her website at http://www.marcialeelaycock.com

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Creative Outlets I’ve Known and Loved by Marcia Lee Laycock

Dad in Chair

“You have a challenge before you.”

The drawing instructor grinned. “Oh? What’s that?”

“Me.” I said. “I don’t do mornings. (The drawing class started at 8:00 a.m.) “And I couldn’t draw a decent stick figure to save my life.”

The instructor laughed. “I’ll have you drawing well enough by Christmas.”

I doubted it, but as the weeks went by it began to happen. I not only learned to draw, I learned to love drawing. I found it relaxing in a meditative way and was continually amazed at what you see when you have to focus on something enough to replicate it.

That form of creativity has been put on the back burner many times in my life as I’ve concentrated on writing, but every now and then I pull out a sketch pad, sit down and draw. I’ve also done some water colour painting and have taken a couple of courses in the past.

I’ll never be a great artist but the exercise is one I find relaxing and fulfilling. I’ve tried many other art forms over the years. When my husband and I decided to leave the Yukon after twelve years, we sold almost everything we owned, including the log home we’d built ourselves. We had a massive yard sale and I pulled out all the left-overs from my dabblings in stained glass, silk screening, pottery, weaving and spinning. One woman who was pawing through it all asked if there was anything I hadn’t done. I was sure there must be something, but I couldn’t come up with an answer.

All were fun in their own way but none stood the test of time.

One thing I have learned about any creative endeavour – they all take work. It takes time and effort to develop the skills necessary to do any creative work well. Perhaps that’s what draws the line between a hobby and a life’s passion – the willingness to work at it.

When we moved to Alberta after Bible College I made a decision to focus on the writing. It had always been my first love and now that I was a believer in Jesus Christ it had a new and exciting focus. As God opened the doors and showed me what He wanted me to do I felt a new and exciting sense that I had finally found the creative outlet I was meant to pursue with all my heart and energy.

But now and then I do pick up a sketch pad and my water colours. Just for the fun.

By the way, the piece above is a collaborative effort with my daughter. Laura took the drawing I had done of my dad sleeping in his chair and made it into a painting.

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has two devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded on Smashwords or on Amazon. It is also now available in Journal format on Amazon.

Marcia's most recent release is A Traveler's Advisory, Stories of God's Grace Along the Way.

Visit Marcia’s Website
Sign up to receive her devotional column The Spur

What God Will Do by Marcia Lee Laycock

When I read the prompt for this month, asking what ministry opportunities God has provided through my writing, I immediately thought of all the blessings I have seen and heard about over the years because of my small column in a local newspaper.

When my husband took on the senior pastor’s position in his first church one of the things he had to do was write a weekly article for the newspaper. It was due the day after we arrived in the community. Already a bit overwhelmed with his other responsibilities, he asked if I could do it. That was the beginning of my faith column, The Spur. The column ran for about eighteen years and is now still running in a coffee news flyer that is distributed all over the province and beyond.

The title seemed fitting since we were now living in the middle of cowboy country and the verse from which it was taken was also appropriate – “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” I had no idea, when I chose that verse and that title, how much God was going to do just that.

Since my photo was usually published with the column, people would often stop me on the streets of that small town and talk about what I had written that week. Sometimes they just said thank you. Sometimes they asked for prayer. Sometimes there were tears. Emails arrived in my inbox from all over the province and beyond. I was often awe-struck by how God had used the words I had written to help, to heal, to draw people closer to Himself.

And then they started asking me to put the column into book form. Hesitant at first, when I finally gave in I was again amazed at how far that little book travelled. I received emails from as far away as India and England and was asked by a man in South America if he could translate it into Spanish and give it away to the believers there. At a speaking event a woman rushed to tell me that she had given The Spur of the Moment to her neighbour, a woman she had witnessed to for years. “She called to tell me she had read the book from cover to cover and gave her life to Jesus!”

My other books, too, have used by God. After reading One Smooth Stone a young woman called her mother to tell her that “I know now that in spite of everything, God really does still love me.”

It just doesn’t get any better than that.

The verse often comes to mind that “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). And Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” 
****

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has three devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies, including the Hot Apple Cider books. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded on Smashwords or on Amazon. It is also now available in Journal format on Amazon. 

Her most recent release is A Traveler’s Advisory, Stories of God’s Grace Along the Way.

Visit Marcia’s Website

Sign up to receive her devotional column, The Spur