The Reasons I Write
Greetings,
This week has been interesting. I have always questioned my own witness or testimony about the gospel. I'm not Moses, Daniel, Billy Graham or anyone of notoriety. I have not been saved from a life of crime, debilitating disease, drug or alcohol abuse, etc. I have been saved from a life of sin and eternal damnation.
I saw a Facebook Post that said when someone buys my book they are purchasing a piece of my soul (my blood, sweat, and tears so to speak). My stories are exciting and filled with Biblical truths. This brought up two concerns, 1) I mean for my books to point to the gospel of Jesus Christ and I don't want money to stop someone from being able to hear the gospel, and 2) I'm not sure that part of my soul is worth the money. I had some very wise individuals to correct my errors in thinking.
I do write fiction, so the stories themselves have never happened. The truths and themes behind those stories are testaments to my beliefs and God's goodness. The telling of those stories are a part of God's gifts to me and in return, they are my gift to Him. Although they are fiction, they still point to Him. As one friend said in answer to my concerns, "I would still write if not a single person bought my books, because first and foremost I write to celebrate the gift of words He has given me. If He chooses that others should enjoy that as well, to Him be the glory." I agree with what he said. I know what I have written has blessed the lives of a few and for that I am grateful. I have not felt any desire, save one moment of extreme discouragement, to stop writing.
This week, I have seen answers to many prayers and the desires of my heart added on top of that. God addressed the doubts that I listed above and gave me sound advisors. When I went on my annual retreat in January, one of my goals was to start journaling to keep a record of answers to prayer. My consistency on this issue is still lacking, but I am making progress. Yesterday at work, I worked in an area I don't care for, am unfamiliar with and am generally uncomfortable with. I try to start every day dedicating it to the Lord. I want to do all to the glory of God. I don't recall saying a formal prayer of that nature yesterday, but it was at least the prayer of my heart. God was with me in such a way yesterday, I can scarcely describe it. It was a hard day. I was totally worn out when I was done, but it wasn't a bad day and I felt like I had ministered to those I came in contact with. This morning, I was still exhausted from my hard day. The thought of staying home from church to rest crossed my mind. I chose to go anyway. As the pastor preached this morning some very powerful words, several answers to recent prayers including those above, came to mind. He spoke from Luke 22:31-2 "“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” The gist was, Satan wants to destroy us and Jesus intercedes for us. It doesn't mean we won't have doubts or struggles. My doubts are Satan's attempts to destroy me and hinder my readers. Maybe I'm not an addict, a criminal or coming from one extreme or the other, but these are God's stories, not mine.
The next thing God did for me was after the service (several blessings during the service were omitted due to an overabundance of words already present). I was in the foyer talking and a man came up to me and prayed for me naming my exhaustion and frustrations by name. I had mentioned my exhaustion to only a couple people that morning. I don't know exactly how he knew about the doubts I had been struggling with but the exhaustion he could have heard about from one of the others. He told me only that he was doing what the Lord asked of him. I was doubly blessed by this.
This is why I write because God is good and writing is my way of saying so.
Love you,
Reggi
This week has been interesting. I have always questioned my own witness or testimony about the gospel. I'm not Moses, Daniel, Billy Graham or anyone of notoriety. I have not been saved from a life of crime, debilitating disease, drug or alcohol abuse, etc. I have been saved from a life of sin and eternal damnation.
I saw a Facebook Post that said when someone buys my book they are purchasing a piece of my soul (my blood, sweat, and tears so to speak). My stories are exciting and filled with Biblical truths. This brought up two concerns, 1) I mean for my books to point to the gospel of Jesus Christ and I don't want money to stop someone from being able to hear the gospel, and 2) I'm not sure that part of my soul is worth the money. I had some very wise individuals to correct my errors in thinking.
I do write fiction, so the stories themselves have never happened. The truths and themes behind those stories are testaments to my beliefs and God's goodness. The telling of those stories are a part of God's gifts to me and in return, they are my gift to Him. Although they are fiction, they still point to Him. As one friend said in answer to my concerns, "I would still write if not a single person bought my books, because first and foremost I write to celebrate the gift of words He has given me. If He chooses that others should enjoy that as well, to Him be the glory." I agree with what he said. I know what I have written has blessed the lives of a few and for that I am grateful. I have not felt any desire, save one moment of extreme discouragement, to stop writing.
This week, I have seen answers to many prayers and the desires of my heart added on top of that. God addressed the doubts that I listed above and gave me sound advisors. When I went on my annual retreat in January, one of my goals was to start journaling to keep a record of answers to prayer. My consistency on this issue is still lacking, but I am making progress. Yesterday at work, I worked in an area I don't care for, am unfamiliar with and am generally uncomfortable with. I try to start every day dedicating it to the Lord. I want to do all to the glory of God. I don't recall saying a formal prayer of that nature yesterday, but it was at least the prayer of my heart. God was with me in such a way yesterday, I can scarcely describe it. It was a hard day. I was totally worn out when I was done, but it wasn't a bad day and I felt like I had ministered to those I came in contact with. This morning, I was still exhausted from my hard day. The thought of staying home from church to rest crossed my mind. I chose to go anyway. As the pastor preached this morning some very powerful words, several answers to recent prayers including those above, came to mind. He spoke from Luke 22:31-2 "“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” The gist was, Satan wants to destroy us and Jesus intercedes for us. It doesn't mean we won't have doubts or struggles. My doubts are Satan's attempts to destroy me and hinder my readers. Maybe I'm not an addict, a criminal or coming from one extreme or the other, but these are God's stories, not mine.
The next thing God did for me was after the service (several blessings during the service were omitted due to an overabundance of words already present). I was in the foyer talking and a man came up to me and prayed for me naming my exhaustion and frustrations by name. I had mentioned my exhaustion to only a couple people that morning. I don't know exactly how he knew about the doubts I had been struggling with but the exhaustion he could have heard about from one of the others. He told me only that he was doing what the Lord asked of him. I was doubly blessed by this.
This is why I write because God is good and writing is my way of saying so.
Love you,
Reggi
I love this! Spreading the gospel is a good motivation to write and words are a powerful way God ministers to us. Tolkien believed that Christians can't help writing things that point to God even if it isn't explicitly so, such as fiction. For some, such as me, I see my work as planting seeds in hearts about the hope and joy God has given us, but for you, it may be to harvest those ready to make a change in their lives. Keep encouraged and keep writing! Even just one who get ministered to by your work makes the whole thing worth it.
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