Influence and Ideas by Lorilee Guenter

 

Charlotte's Web, Winnie-The-Pooh, Anne of Green Gables. Louisa may Alcott, J. R. R. Tolkien, Janette Oke. Mystery, biography, science fiction. The list of books, authors and genres I have and do read is immense. My summertime reading list grows each day. I do not read horror and I usually shy away from romance because I do not like the explicit scenes but otherwise it is probably fair game. Reading opens new words and introduces ideas. it has since I sounded out my first words. I learned words have the power to captivate, to inform and to transform. They have power to report and transport, to encourage or discourage. Words have power and why should this surprise any of us since The Word created the world and has enabled writer's to create worlds of imagination.

I did not and do not hesitate to call myself a reader. Books, essays, magazines, they surround me as my to be read pile and my have finished reading lists vie for first place in size and scope (but can the to be read pile ever be depleted?). I have and do hesitate to call myself a writer even though my to type and to edit piles grow. To be a writer requires I acknowledge that my words when put together as essays, stories and poems have the power to build up or tear down. A misplaced word can change the context and cause a reader to stumble and tumble away from The Truth or to reach and to cling to The One who informs and infuses our words when we let Him. It is a huge responsibility. Thankfully it is not ours alone. Each time I pick up a new book to read I immerse myself in the words and worlds of another writer's imagination and influences. 

If the Holy Spirit is prompting and empowering, do I not stumble along in rebellion if I refuse? Do I let fear overwhelm faith when I put down my pen and pick up distraction? I wonder how many books could have been but aren't because other writer's have done as I do and questioned the need to, and their ability to share their words. So with hesitation and interruption I continue to return to this label. I am a writer. Through my words the Holy Spirit, with The Word can teach or challenge as I encourage or entertain those who read them. As the knights in stories I've read do, I pick up mu ink filled sword to slay the dragon of fear in hopes others will follow my lead and pick up their swords (in whatever form they have been given them). 

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give you a spirit of fear (timidity), but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

After a bit of editing, I will pick up that next book on my pile to read because I am not alone and I still like to get lost in the imagination of others. I am thankful for the many authors who I have reading and am reading. Their influences are many. Their numbers (including the ones just this summer) are numerous.

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.