Comparing Yourself With Others by Laura V. Hilton

Laura V. Hilton

I recently read an email from someone else entitled “10 Good Things That Happen When You Compare Yourself to Someone Else”
1.

Short list, right? And yet that is something that I’m struggling with right now.

Not naming names, but one author got a spot I wanted in a book collection. She is an established author with over forty books published. I felt bad for me, envious of her, especially when she gets contracts handed to her without seeming to try. “I was approached to write…”

And then there is an Indie author, who tried for years to land an agent or editor and get a contract. She wisely decided to go it alone, outsold many traditionally published authors and landed a movie contract. Wow.

Envy. Green-eyed monster alert. I’m definitely comparing myself to others here. And falling fall short. Why am I even trying? I’m not good enough! (insert fake crying sounds)

Not only that but my creativity level has flat-lined.

But God didn’t call me based on my merits. He saw a broken individual who promised her life to Him to serve as He wills. Not as I will. As He wills. And even though I’m not getting movie contracts (which I really don’t want anyway) or getting contracts handed to me without much effort, I am serving Him the way He called me.

Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: Philippians 1:15

I don’t want to be the one writing and telling of God’s mercy and grace with envy in my heart. I want to do it with gladness. With joy that He called me.

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Psalm 100:2

This is a lesson I’m learning. Not to compare myself with others. To be the writer God called me to be. To be faithful with what He’s given me, and not hiding the talents He blessed me with somewhere they’d be “safe.” To put the words on the computer screen page and write on, trusting He will come through. To find joy.

Are you following the Lord and using the talents He gave you to serve Him? Or are you hiding your gifts because you aren’t as good as someone else?

Lord, help me not to compare myself with others. Help me to follow You without question, without looking at what others are doing, and serve You the way You want me to. Amen

About the Author

Award winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and three of their children make their home in Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor. Laura also has two adult children.

Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts (winner of the 2012 Clash of the Titles Award in two categories), and Promised to Another. The Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love (finalist for the 2013 Christian Retail Awards). Surrendered Love and Awakened Love followed by her first Christmas novel, A White Christmas in Webster County, as well as a three book Amish series with Whitaker House, The Amish of Jamesport series, The Snow Globe, The Postcard in April 2015, and The Bird House in September 2015. Other credits include Swept Away from Abingdon Press. Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer.

Connect with Laura
http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q
visit her blogs: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/ &http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/

The Postcard (from Promised to Another)

David Lapp survived a “code blue” when he was in a buggy/semi truck accident in Seymour, Missouri. Now after extensive therapy he has lingering mobility problems and is still struggling to find his place in the world. Lured away from Webster County by thoughts of closed buggies and a postcard friendship he’s developed with an Amish girl in Jamesport, he moves north, hoping for a fresh start. He finds work in the area tying flies and basket weaving, selling his products in the Amish markets in the Jamesport area.

Rachel Miller dreams of travel, but feels tied to her Amish life. She is being courted by Obadiah Graber, but wonders if there’s more to life. When she sees David’s name mentioned in The Budget, she strikes up a pen pal friendship with David while he’s in the hospital and in therapy, consoling him when he and his girlfriend part ways. She never dreams that David will come north and move into her community. David is still fearful in the buggy, especially in high traffic areas. Feeling he’s called by God to preach, David spends hours in the Bible, but the Amish discourage him, believing their ministers should be drawn by lot. Will David follow his call, even if it takes him out of the Amish church? Will Rachel realize her dream to travel?

Which Way Should You Go? by Susan Tuttle

Which Way Should You Go?

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. ~Psalm 32:8

It’s a new year! The moment we glance behind us to take stock of where we’ve been and look ahead of us to see where we hope to go. It’s the time of resolutions, charts, and checklists. An occasion to declutter and organize.

I love the newness of the season. It’s like a breath of fresh air. As a writer, we need that blowing over us often. Yet in all the making of lists and hope for what’s to come, we need to remember the verse above.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, probably a million times more. God has a plan for you. Uniquely for you. It is the purpose for which you were created. And in this new year he’s got bountiful blessings that he wants to bestow on you simply because he loves you! He also has wisdom, instruction, direction…all leading you to that sweet spot he created only for you.

So I encourage you, as you lay out goals for the coming year, look to God for instruction. He knit those goals into your very being when he created you. Your future is already history to him. (Thank-you Casting Crowns for that line…it’s stuck forever!) It’s such a cool line, I have to say it again: Your future is already history to him. So if he created you, wrote your story, and already knows the ending, doesn’t it make sense that he would be the first one we seek for advice in this new year?

That means you don’t get caught up looking at the person beside you…comparison only drags us down. Not only that, but sometimes it will lead us into detours we were never supposed to take. Also, don’t look only to your circle of friends. While Godly friendships can be integral at praying with you and offering wise discernment or caution, God is ultimately who we should receive direction from. Lastly, don’t rely on only your own feelings. Faith and feelings all too often operate in opposite directions. Faith is blind. And it’s what we need to please God. I encourage you to step out in it in big ways this year.

And I cannot leave without touching on the last part of that verse—my favorite! Gets me giddy every time. “…with my eye upon you.” We are always in his sight! Even when we feel lost, he’s still there. Never, no never, are we in a place that God cannot see us. And if he can see us, it also means he’s close by. He may be silent. It may seem he’s on the other side of the earth. Maybe it even feels he’s closed the door and left—but he hasn’t!

He’s right there.

I pray you meet him in huge ways this new year. That he guides your path to places that blow your mind. And that you feel his presence over you every step of the way. Oh, how he loves you!

Susan Tuttle

Susan Tuttle is a homeschooling mom of three who is crazy about coffee, dark chocolate, and words—both reading and writing them. Combine that love of words with her passion for leading women to a life-changing encounter with Christ, and you’ll find her crafting Inspirational Contemporary Romance stories laced with humor, love, and healing transformations. When not cheering on her Ironman hubby, chasing the family dog, or tackling complex math problems to teach her kids (yes, even the third grader), you can catch Susan at her blog, Steps.