Robert Morris, founding senior pastor of Gateway Church, writes in his book, Truly Free, “God has called you into a ministry that’s beyond your own strength. You may not think you have a ministry beyond yourself, but you do.” I’ve long believed that, as Christians, we all have a ministry …
Recent Blog Posts
Christian
What’s Next?
The conference is over—the ACFW Conference for 2014. And there is some sadness in this. Saying goodbye to old friends and new. Leaving an intense atmosphere focused on learning and meetings and taking steps to advance our careers. There’s an aspect of stepping out of a cocoon. After several days …
Patience…Patience…Patience
That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. John 6:16-17 (NLT) This verse struck me during my meditation time recently. I mean it practically …
So, How’s Your Walk?
He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to his name. Psalm 23:3 (NLT) God has a plan for each of us, a path to walk as we fulfill what he has called us to do. A question arose in my prayer time recently: Does my walk along this …
The Test of Praise
No matter our line of work or ministry, we’ve all been criticized and received feedback. Sometimes it’s an annual employment evaluation. Sometimes, we’re criticized for something we did or didn’t do, either on the job or in our church or around the house. We’re human and we’re going to mess …
Thankfulness
As Thanksgiving approaches this year—and with it our 45th anniversary. Yes, we were married on Thanksgiving Day. Someone once described our wedding as I got a bride and my wife got a turkey. But I digress. This life has been a series of adventures. Some wonderful. Some horrible. But God …
To The Aspiring Writer
If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge. Proverbs 19:27 NLT So you want to be a writer? For many with the dream of being writers, the thought seems to be I can just sit down and start stringing words together. How hard …
How Autobiographical Are Your Stories?
Are my stories autobiographical? I’ve been asked this question on several occasions. For many authors, their stories, especially their first ones, are autobiographical. So I pondered this question and compared myself to the hero of my first novel, Michael Archer. Michael used to drink, so we have that in common. …
What Teaching Means to Me
I was recently asked: What is your goal when you teach at a conference? I usually have several goals when I teach. One is not to confuse anyone or, as the Hippocratic oath, in essence, states: First do no harm. My primary goal is to teach the craft of writing …
Back to Work
I just came back from one of my favorite writers conferences, Writing for the Soul, held by the Christian Writers Guild (www.christianwritersguild.com). On the last day of the conference, most attendees are flying high with new skills acquired, friendships made or renewed, and positive responses from agents and editors. …