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| Gail Johnson |
Plant Your Dreams
When we moved our house to the piece of land we call home, it was nothing but a barren sand ridge. The only trees in our yard were the ones we left standing when we cleared the land. We didn't have money for landscaping, so every spring found me planting tufts of grass taken from our former yard behind my in-loves.
Throughout the coming years, I planted shrubs, trees, and flowers. I enjoyed some plants the moment I stuck them in the dirt, but I had to wait for certain flowers. Like the year I planted gladiolus and daffodil bulbs.
Those bulbs didn't bloom that year or the next, or the year after that. In fact, they remained hidden for so long, I completely forgot about them. When they finally appeared in all their glory, I had to think hard about where they came from and when I had planted them.
Our writing dreams can be like those bulbs. We may spend years cultivating stories without a promise of publication. The longer we write, the more we fight the urge to give up. If you're in a waiting season, remember, burying and planting are the same in action, but not in thought. When we bury something, we don't expect to see it again in this lifetime. But when we plant something, we plant it knowing that it will soon appear and bring pleasure to others.
Don't bury your gift. Cultivate with confidence. Plant your dreams in faith and expect "that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." And one day, when you least expect it, your story will bloom for His glory.
What are you planting this year?
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay
If you're in a waiting season, remember, burying and planting are the same in action, but not in thought. #seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @GailJohnson87
Don't bury your gift. Cultivate with confidence. Plant your dreams in faith and with expectation. #seriouslywrite #encouragementforwriters via @GailJohnson87
Treasures of Hope
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| Treasures of Hope |
When long-buried memories of abuse resurface, Gail faces a choice: continue ignoring the implications of her nightmares and remain a captive of fear and shame, or dare to remove the painful chains binding her present to her past. Unearthing the sorrows of her past would not be easy and distressing questions would arise along the way to challenge her faith.
Why would a God of both love and justice allow this abuse?
Why does He expect me to forgive my abuser?
If He let this happen, does He truly love me at all?
In her memoir, Treasures of Hope: Discovering the Beautiful Truth Beneath My Painful Past, Gail Johnson shares the truths she uncovered while studying earlier daughters of both harm and hope. As she became better acquainted with women of the Bible like Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Rahab, Tamar, and Esther, their stories spoke truth into her own, mining the jewels of Identity and Purpose, Intimacy, Incomparability, Courage, Peace, and Victory. With each new discovery, Gail traded a length of chain for a balm of gold . . . and unearthed treasures that would sever the past’s stranglehold on her life, allowing her to live joyously in the present and anticipate the future with emboldened hope.
Gail Johnson enjoys sharing her passion for life and Christ through the power of the written word. Whether it’s through stories, articles, or songs, she invites her reader and listener to “taste and see” the hope she has found in a faithful God and loving Savior. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the author of Treasures of Hope, Discovering the Beautiful Truth Beneath My Painful Past, a memoir.
You can find Gail online—at Inspired Prompt, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon Author Page.
