Bunches of Grapes and Sprinkles of Salt– Ramona Heikel

Reviewing the words we have sent out into the world is a great exercise, reminding us of the many ways God touches those around us through our writing. I like Marcia's image of a vineyard that bears fruit and nourishes our readers.

I have not yet had the joy of having a reader contact me to say that my writing has made their life better, and am still at the early stages of having my work published. I feel like I am "sprinkling" more than "bearing clusters of fruit". So I also like the analogy of being salt to the world, sprinkling our words over our societies. 

My words of encouragement and spiritual sustenance have been sprinkled widely, even though most of them did not pay me in dollars and cents. If I only looked at the pieces that were purchased, I would be discouraged. But I hope to encourage any of you who are starting out to consider how God is already using your words to bless his world.

Although not generally considered creative writing, I believe the letters and notes we write on a daily basis are important. Just look how many Paul wrote! I have been an avid letter writer since way back before emails and texting.  This is one of the ways I am encouraged by, and encourage, friends who don't live in my city.  We write mini-sermons to each other!  The letters that I write to the children that I sponsor build a relationship that strengthens their faith. Many of you know what I mean, as you are also sponsors. I know that the children cherish our letters, and that makes me believe they're going to cherish our words and our faith, too.

Some of my first “public” writing was letters to government officials, urging them to promote good practices in education, health and government. I also had opinion pieces published by various newspapers on the sanctity of life and Christian unity. Some of my published articles have honoured a godly woman, suggested fun Bible study activities, and shared the benefits of meeting God at a retreat. I helped people with financial concerns by providing editing services to a Christian website that clarifies God's word on money matters.

All of these little branches are having an effect in the vineyard!  I have shared in an anthology about God's faithfulness to answer prayer, and my characters have appeared in children's magazines praying, counting their blessings and thanking God for his faithfulness.  I hope that the characters in my soon-to-be-published story will inspire teenagers who make a huge mistake to trust in God, who may bring an unexpected blessing.

As a service to my church I wrote and helped perform a puppet show, and also wrote a story that was performed for the children's Christmas program, both of which taught about Jesus. It thrills me to bless the little children!  Although some short stories I've had published are not religious in nature, I have seasoned them with themes of peace-making and the value of family. In my blog posts, I try to include my Christian perspective no matter what the topic.

We can trust in God's power as he uses our words to help others to know him. I look forward to every opportunity he gives to create and sprinkle winsome words around!  He planted the vineyard, and he is the vine. Then he lets us be the branches that have the delight of giving what people want and need—nice, juicy, mouth-watering spiritual nourishment!

Posted by Ramona

www.happilywriting.com

Photo credits:

Ian Britton http://www.freefoto.com/preview/05-27-6/I-am-the-vine Free use license

HolgersFotografie https://pixabay.com/en/spices-thyme-salt-paprika-eat-627182/  Public domain

It's All About Connections by Steph Beth Nickel

It all began well over a decade ago …

Actually, it began long before that, but I won’t go back that far.

Connecting with Other Writers

Ruth Waring spoke to the ladies’ group at my church. Because authenticity marks her writing and speaking, I felt a connection and sought her out after the meeting.

She asked me where one could connect with a writers’ group in Southwestern Ontario. And the rest, as they say, is history.

We didn’t form Women Writing for Christ (WWC) until several years later. From time to time, I would  email Ruth and see if she’d found a group to join. Eventually, four of us began to gather at 

Ruth’s home once a month to learn the craft of writing.

Connecting with Industry Pros

That first year, we took the plunge and went to Write Canada … wearing matching t-shirts no less. Hey, we were green—very, very green.

It would be years before I went to the conference a second time, but when I did, it was like going home. Same venue. Familiar faces. And that incredible feeling that envelopes me when I hang out with other writers and industry pros.

And it was my connection to Write Canada that led to some amazing and unexpected opportunities, opportunities God had planned for me all along.

Connecting with New Friends

There I met Ron Hughes. (We were in the same continuing class.) Because of his “radio voice,” I told him if I ever turned a children’s book into an audiobook, I would hire him to narrate it. And thus began a friendship that led to my involvement in the podcast HopeStreamRadio.

I don’t imagine Ron expected me to jump into the ministry with both feet when he called to see if I knew anyone who might like to get involved. Since he approached me in 2014, I have written hundreds of devotionals and also some book reviews that have “aired” on the daily program.

It blows me away to think that words I write are being heard around the globe and that the Lord just may be using them for His eternal purposes. Mind-boggling!

Did I gather around Ruth Waring’s table thinking that one day I would be writing for an international podcast? Definitely not. After all, the podcasting patent was first issued in 2009. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

Did I chat with Ruth after our initial meeting with the thought that she would introduce me to Deb Willows, the Paralympian whose award-winning memoir I co-wrote? It never even entered my mind—and still leaves me shaking my head.

And then there is the connection I made at Write Canada with members of InScribe. This connection led to working on the 7 Habits anthology as well as moderating the professional blog and writing regularly for it and this blog … not to mention making some amazing friends.

And on and on it goes.

How about you? Have you taken baby steps into the world of writing only to discover surprising opportunities? Are you an experienced writer who is set on a specific course? While focus is important, I encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open. Your path, like mine, may take you somewhere you never imagined you’d go.

Happy Connecting, my friends!  

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

What Is Your “Vineyard” of Words? By Sandi Somers

Our InScribe member Marcia Laycock, wrote:  “As writers of faith, we have chosen a field of words. Whether we are writing poems or novels, articles or songs, we are planting a vineyard with our words, a vineyard that will provide nourishment, encouragement and perhaps even redemption to those who read our work. It is a vineyard that will reach into eternity.” 

                        Writing for an International Audience

Several years ago, a friend and I attended a writers’ retreat which was part of a Caribbean cruise. Before the cruise, I asked the question, “How can God use my writing to touch people from around the world?”  It seemed like a strange question, because I knew that with the internet, my articles could be accessed from any point around the world. Still, I felt God had something special in mind for me.

International staff on the cruise ship

 As we started our cruise, I discovered the staff and crew members were mostly international, from sixty-three countries. Most were people-oriented, compassionate and fun-loving, and I found it easy to strike up a conversation with them.

That first afternoon, I met Musa, a Zulu from South Africa, at our safety drill. He was pleasantly shocked when I greeted him with, “Sawubona!” a Zulu greeting I had learned on my trip to South Africa the year before. My room attendant, Sarunrat from Thailand, told me about employee lifestyle, working up to fourteen hours a day and living in staff quarters in the lower decks of the ship.  

Significant conversations

Conversations sometimes turned to personal needs. Harvey from the Philippines, holding his tray of drinks in the buffet restaurant, shared his loneliness, even as cruise participants and activities swirled around him. A believer, he spent much of his free time alone in worship and prayer.  Maria, away from her family in Mexico for the first time, was homesick. Hussein from Pakistan was due shortly for a home leave and was anxious to meet his six-month-old daughter for the first time. I prayed for the needs of these people.

Prayer with an attendant

 Then one evening when I returned to my floor, Carlos from Honduras, one of the room attendants, needed a compassionate ear. His supervisor had just reprimanded him. Though Carlos was an experienced attendant, this was his first week on our cruise ship, and he needed to learn new procedures. I hugged him, and together we prayed that God would help him adjust to his new environment and work competently. “Praise the Lord!” he concluded.

A Ministry of devotional readings

Towards the end of our cruise, I wondered how I could further encourage my international friends. I had brought several of my published devotionals with me, and gave one to each of those staff members. I prayed that those readings would meet strategic needs.

         

God had answered my question, “How can I write for an international audience?” in a way I would never have imagined.

I will never know the impact those readings have had. But as I think back to that experience, I’m reminded of the Apostle Paul’s words:

“I planted and Apollos watered; but it was God who was, all the time, giving the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6 Weymouth NT),

My part is to be faithful in what God has called me to do with my writing. And God will do the rest.

Prompt: Now it's your turn. What outreach or ministry opportunities has God given you through your writing? How have your words provided nourishment, encouragement or redemption to someone else?