Encourage One Another
by Barbara Scott
by Barbara Scott
Writers sometimes forget that we need time to daydream and time to
rest and seek the Lord’s will. It’s easy to lose our hope when we drive
ourselves day and night to succeed. We are told to be active on social media,
participate in blog tours, write and send out newsletters to our followers,
solicit reviewers and endorsements, put together and manage a street team to
promote us—promote ourselves. I confess, marketing and promotion stress me out until
I feel like a hamster running on a wheel going nowhere.
Caught up in the business of “writing,” it’s easy to forget why we write and for whom and say yes to opportunities we
shouldn’t—opportunities we take because they pay well. But our hearts aren’t in
it…and neither is God.
When I allow my mind to rest and shut out all the noise, that’s
when I hear God’s still, small voice in His word. There’s a Scripture in 1
Thessalonians 1:3 that centers me:
We remember before our God and Father your
work produced by faith,
your labor prompted by love,
and your endurance
inspired by hope
in
our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord called us to write to glorify Him and through our
words offer hope to a dark and dying world. By faith, we follow Him and labor
in his vineyard prompted by His love. Our endurance is inspired by our hope in
Jesus Christ. So, if we lose hope in our calling, how can we reach out and
spark hope in our readers? How can we encourage and uplift their spirits? How
can we show them the way to eternal life?
The other day I took a break. The house was quiet. I laid my
head back in a lounger and closed my eyes. Soon I saw the earth covered in a
pitch-black cloth, but all over the globe, pinpoints of light pierced that
darkness.
Since I’m a word person, one of my favorite Scriptures is John
1:1:
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
God inhabits our words if
we let Him guide us in what to write. Not all our promotional fervor is
fruitful. If we listen, the Lord will tell us how to reach our readers. Our
words are not about us. They are meant to reach those people God has ordained
to read them.
As Christian writers, let’s encourage one another so that we
might encourage those in the world who feel hopeless and lost.
How might
you encourage another writer and help light their way?
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| Dreams of My Heart |
Feisty Irish bride Kate O’Brien McKean asks her Texas
cattleman husband Buck for an annulment in Dreams
of My Heart, book one of The Reluctant Brides series, setting off a chain
reaction of events that endangers them both. The historical romance, set in
1875 Montana Territory, releases April 1 from Mountain Brook Ink. The e-book is
available for pre-order on Amazon.com.
~~~~~
