A Fresh Way to Look at a Writer’s Job in Making a Difference by Zoe M. McCarthy

image by Shafman

At the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference in Ridgecrest, NC, Author Eva Marie Everson related our jobs as writers to Nehemiah’s job.

Nehemiah’s Job

Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king wept and mourned. The wall surrounding the city in Jerusalem was broken down and the gates were burned. Nehemiah fasted and prayed, lamenting the Israelites unfaithfulness that brought about this destruction. 

King Artaxerxes asked Nehemiah about his “sorrow of heart.” The king sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. 

Nehemiah rallied his brethren there, and they “set their hands to this good work.” Nehemiah lists 42 groups of people, who, one group next to the other, rebuilt sections of the wall. 

They fought their enemies, but returned to the wall, “everyone to his own work … with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.” When enemies wanted to meet with Nehemiah, he said, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.” Nehemiah’s workers repaired all the walls and gates. (Quotes from NKJV)

Writer’s Job

Eva Marie Everson had us (400 writers) line up around the perimeter of the large conference room. I paraphrase what I heard her telling us: “The Church is a mess. We writers need to take our place on the wall and help rebuild the Church through our works. We are not to work on someone else’s section, but ‘everyone to his own work.’”

Standing next to writers on my left and right and viewing our huge wall of writers, I wanted to work on my tiny section of rebuilding the Church through my writing, teaching, and speaking. 

Cupbearers to the King

Eva Marie emphasized this quote from Nehemiah, “I was the cupbearer to the king.” This particularly struck me. Aren’t we all cupbearers to the King? 

What do we bring to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our cups?

• • Complaints about how things are going for us?
• • Our earthy desires?
• • Grudges against God’s ways?
• • Deformed, blighted fruit because we’re working on what we want to do?
• • Unrepented sins?

Wouldn’t wine made from these ingredients taste harshly sour and bitter to our King?

Or, are the cups we bear to our King overflowing with:

• • Praise, worship, and giving glory?
• • Fruit from the “talents” He gave us to increase and heal his Church?
• • Fruit of the Spirit – kindness, goodness, patience, joy, peace, love, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control?
• • Intercessory prayers? 
• • Our continuous commitment to the King and His commands? 

Wouldn’t wine made from these ingredients taste delightfully sweet and zesty to our King?

I believe that as we seek and obey our King, He equips us with courage, boldness, confidence, humility, and wisdom. With these driving us, we can fill the cup we bear with good wine—our hard, God-directed work in serving His Church. 

As a cupbearer to the King, with what will you fill the cup you deliver to the King?

Writers as cupbearers to the King. http://bit.ly/28J5nx9 @ZoeMMcCarthy Click to tweet.

About the Author

Zoe M. McCarthy

Zoe M. McCarthy believes the little known fact that opposites distract. Thus, she spins Christian contemporary romances entangling extreme opposites. Her tagline is: Distraction to Attraction, Magnetic Romances Between Opposites. Christian Fiction Online Magazine published two of her short stories. Zoe self-published two books of contemporary Christian short stories. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She enjoys leading workshops on the craft of writing; speaking about her faith; planning fun events for her 5 grandchildren; and exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she lives with her husband, John.

Learn more about Zoe M. McCarthy at her website: http://zoemmccarthy.com

Calculated Risk

Calculated Risk
by Zoe M. McCarthy

What happens when an analytical numbers man meets a mercurial marketing Rep? Romance is a calculated risk…

Jilted by the latest of her father’s choices of “real men,” Cisney Baldwin rashly accepts an invitation to spend Thanksgiving weekend with a sympathetic colleague and his family. Nick LeCrone is a man too much her opposite to interest her and too mild-mannered to make her overbearing father’s “list.” Now, Cisney fears Nick wants to take advantage of her vulnerable state over the holiday. Boy, is she wrong.

Nick wants little to do with Cisney. She drives him crazy with all her sticky notes and quirks. He extended an invitation because he felt sorry for her. Now he’s stuck, and to make matters worse, his family thinks she’s his perfect match. He’ll do what he can to keep his distance, but there’s just one problem—he’s starting to believe Cisney’s magnetism is stronger than he can resist.

Purchase links for Calculated Risk: http://zoemmccarthy.com/books

How Will He Mention My Name? by Carol Stratton

The Longest Yard isn’t a movie about inmates playing football. It’s a real place: my front lawn, a yard that stretches forever when the mail truck stops in front of my house. Making my daily pilgrimage to the small metal box full of promise, I jerk open the door and look inside. As I grab a bundle of miscellaneous ads and bills, I wonder if this is my big day. The sky is cloudless, the temperature 72 degrees. Great weather for an acceptance letter.

Thumbing through the pile little looks promising. Perhaps a small envelope with a check might be stuck in one of the unwanted mail-order leaflets. Shake, Shake, shake. Nothing. Thrusting the entire pile under my arm I trudge back to the garage to deposit the trash.

Another day without my big breakthrough. I slump upstairs with a turkey sandwich, ready for some creative moping.

Lessons from Nehemiah

After my allotted amount of pouting, the book of Nehemiah pops into my head and I grab my Bible to cheer myself up. As I flip through the chapter, I read how Nehemiah grieves over the Jerusalem wall that once protected the Israelites. What stood as a fortress of protection from enemies now stands in ruins. But this prophet saw a vision of restoration and began a plan.

He took sections of the wall, assigning the work to different families and groups. The men of Tekoah repaired a section “from the great projecting tower to the wall of Ophel” (3:27. Eliashib, the high priest, worked with fellow priests, repairing the Sheep Gate. The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate. God used everyone in this mammoth undertaking. Daughters of Shallum, the ruler, pitched in. The need for a quick repair pressed heavily on everyone.

Artisans got their hands dirty. Goldsmith and perfume makers stood shoulder to shoulder, hauling away years of decay. Fellow Israelites dropped their usual trades to create something great. Rulers and sons of rulers, like Hashabiah, Shallun, Rephaiah, and Malkijah, volunteered for menial grunt work.

Humility and hard work built the wall in a mere fifty-two days. People put aside personal agendas and goals to serve their country. Around the clock, fellow Hebrews stood watch, protecting workers against their enemies. History honors them as Nehemiah records their names.

The prophet also notes the prima donnas who wouldn’t pitch in to help. Noblemen of Tekoa refused to work because they looked down on manual labor (known as “the back of the neck” oxen labor), so the common citizens of Tekoa ended up doing double duty. These upper-class snobs go down in history as major slackers.

Application for My Writing

As I read this passage I wonder if I am like the Tekoa elite, unwilling to perform “menial” labor. If the highlight of my day climaxes in trekking to the mailbox or clicking on my email “in” box, to see if I’ve “arrived”, Maybe I should stop obsessing about my latest pet project and write an encouraging letter to a young missionary. Maybe God would rather I shoot an encouraging email to a nephew who hasn’t found a job. Broken segments of wall surround us, and He needs lots of able-bodied writers to reconstruct it.

Back to my computer, I have to face today’s dilemma. Can I lay down that treasured story for a minute and take up another task? By relinquishing my precious words to Him, I stand in line for a trowel and shovel. There’s a lot of wall to be rebuilt and as a writer God can call me to any job. The question I continually ask myself is: Am I available for his construction company?

Nehemiah reminds me that God keeps track of His workers, writing down names for posterity. I want Him to mention my name…as a wall-builder, not an empire-builder.

Carol Stratton is a freelance writer and speaker from Mooresville, North Carolina. She has a husband, four grown children and two grandchildren. Because of her multiple moves in her life, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas has just published a forty-day devotional called Changing Zip Codes: Finding Community Wherever You’re Transplanted. The book may be purchased through Barnes & Noble or Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Changing-Zip-Codes-Community-Transplanted/dp/0984765557 

Contact Carol through her website: www.ChangingZipCodes.com.