Blessed by the Author

Blessed by the Author

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First of all, yes, I did mean to write a Tuesday post. I did not foresee it being crazy. So I was like "Ok, just write one on Wednesday and post it a day late." I forgot that we are gone practically every Wednesday from 12-6 pm and before then I had to get other stuff done. As a result, we are just having a Thursday post this week, not counting the Monday one.

Oh, by the way, what did you think of Keshi? If you'd like to give me some feedback on her, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail using the Contact Me Form on the sidebar of my blog.

(We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.)

Second of all, today I'm going to tell you a story of something that happened to me recently.

Those of you who don't know, I am a Christian and love the Living God with my whole heart.
I am also a writer. Writing is a huge part of my life.

How do you balance those two out? I'm a fantasy writer, and my current novel has magic. Not as much as Harry Potter, (though I do enjoy that series), and their magic is more of a "connecting to nature" kind, but still, how do you combine those two things? Authors have done it, I'll admit, but as a beginner novelist, I would have said that I'm hardly on that level.

I was recently baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and I've been getting deeper in a relationship with Him. But I couldn't figure out how to put Him in without wrecking the entire plot.

This refused to leave my mind. I thought about it night and day and, if anything, got farther away from being decided on it. I anguished and fretted and worried. I would talk to God about it, and fall asleep resolved. Then I would start to write and see that resolve crumble before my eyes.

Finally, I managed to get it off of my mind for a bit. It was pajama night at youth group and my best friend and I were going to eat pizza, worship, run around in pj's, and get closer to God. Awesome, right? Totally.

At one point, we went in for the message time. The subject was the Beatitudes, specifically Mark 5:5 ESV, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." But as he read that whole passage, from Mark 5:1-11 aloud, what hit me was Mark 5:11 ESV, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I bet you're wondering why this verse affected me. Well, in our day and age, Christian authors aren't exactly warmly welcomed. Go to many non-Christian bookstores, you aren't going to find a wide range of Christian writing, other than Bibles, kiddy books, and things like that. There are some exceptions, of course. Anyway, that's kind of being "persecuted for righteousness' sake". They wrote from their soul, what God wanted them to do, and they're not exactly loved for it. Some reviews you read, people suggest that it would have been better to keep Christianity out of the story, when in fact it purified it and made it beautiful.

Throughout the service, I was aware yet not aware. Very human-like, I was still slightly doubting this. Yet God gave another sign to me, who had doubted His message, so there would never be a doubt in my mind as to what He wanted me to do. Once the message time was over, we stood to worship. The first song was "Oceans" by HILLSONG UNITED. Here's a link to listen to this awesome song. I love listening to their music, and if you haven't heard them before, I totally recommend them.

Anyways, our worship team played it and we all sang. I felt like His Love was washing over me, and then I realized, it was. He was showing me I was in His arms - the best place to be - and He had a job for me. I was so near to Him in that moment. I must admit, I nearly cried. But I'm not ashamed of that. Why should I be? My God had given me a revelation.

But He didn't just reassure me that I had a job to do and He was going to help me. He also explained to me how to do it. That had been my main problem. I wanted Him in my story, but, as I said before, I didn't know to have Him in my novel without wrecking the plot. So - praise the holy Name of the Lord! - He showed me the road. (Hahaha, that reminded me of another song. Part of it goes "If there's a road I should walk, help me find it." Another great song, called "Help Me Find It" by SIDEWALK PROPHETS, so here's another link. :) They also have a lot of great songs.)

Just think that over for a second. God came to me, a lowly human being who wasn't worthy of being near Him, ever. I doubted a message from Him, so He sent me another sign. Then He told me how to fix this problem. He held me near when that was the last thing I deserved. I deserved - and do deserve - death. Not exactly an encouraging thought. But it's the truth, no matter how you twist it. My tiniest little sin, any small blemish, can't be anywhere near the God who created me, created you. His Love is mightier than anything we can imagine.

This doesn't mean that I'm some 'holy person'. No! I am still a sinner.
It doesn't mean that my talent was so large that God chose me. No!
God gave me a talent, like He gave to you. He deserves my all, especially after he sent Lord Jesus down on the cross so we don't have to go to Hell if we believe that Jesus is Lord.

He is taking this small thing that I have and making it bigger, better, and a thousand times more inspired. With His touch, I can do bigger things that I have ever dreamed of. Guess what else? You can have this Divine Inspiration in your writing and in your life. It won't be easy, but life isn't easy.

All you have to do is let Jesus into your heart. He's been knocking, so open up the door and let Him in. I can promise you, you will never regret it.

Praying for God's Love in your lives and His touch on your writing,

-Autumn