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Friday, November 05, 2010

Fiction Friday: Finding Hope


So today I wanted to talk about finding hope in your publishing journey. Just last week I had a few hopeless moments, wondering if I was supposed to pursue this writing journey beyond the two novels I've done in the past year and a half. Once again, I laid it all on the altar and asked God to show me what needed to come off. And if I was wrong about taking things away, to send some encouragement to help me persevere.

It seems that this will be the path I take as I move forward with writing. That there will be times that I must re-evaluate my calling and consider what God has for me. This is not a bad thing. I might feel bad at the time, but God is working even my feelings of despair for good. In my sadness, He speaks. He tells me things I am not listening for when all is well. He speaks Truth and I seek Truth. And always, He is the God of Hope, pointing me back towards the hope that is not in me, or the industry, or my friends, or my circumstances... but in Him.

This week I read about the list of "Hope Scriptures" (scroll down to get to the "hope" ones) that author Julie Lessman has taken the time to post on her site and I knew that today I was supposed to share them with you. In an interview I read, author Melanie Dickerson said that this list was helpful to her during her down moments as she pursued publication. She printed them off and keeps them accessible so she can read over them often. However you use this list, it's good to have. Thanks to Julie Lessman for making it available so that we can all focus on hope as we tell our stories.
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9 comments:

Paula said...

Some very encouraging verses there! Thank you for sharing.

Zibilee said...

Don't lose hope Marybeth. What you do is important to so many, for so many reasons. The lives you touch for God might perhaps never be reached in any other way. I will be praying for you to hear God's voice.

Marybeth Whalen said...

Thanks so much Zibilee for saying you will pray for me!! I am so glad we met at SIBA!! And thanks for your encouragement. I will always be working all of this out, so I guess I will always need prayer. Walking this line of family priorities and pursuing dreams is never simple.

Alichia said...

I came over today to tell you I finally got to read "The Mailbox" - I loved it! The story was wonderful and thought provoking for me.
I'm always amazed at God's timing even though I shouldn't be at this point! :) As I clicked on the link to see the hope scriptures, which I needed to see, I was even more grateful to see the healing scriptures which were there. Thank you for sharing!

Julie Lessman said...

Marybeth,

I am so glad the hope Scriptures on my website were a blessing to you! I SO love your emphasis on God as the "God of Hope" (one of my favorite Scriptures!) and especially love this statement of yours:

"And always, He is the God of Hope, pointing me back towards the hope that is not in me, or the industry, or my friends, or my circumstances ... but in Him."

Oh, honey, AMEN TO THAT!! If there is ONE thing I have learned as a relatively new author such as yourself, is that our hope (and our peace and joy) is NOT in the contest wins, great reviews or book sales, but in HIM and only HIM!! I often joke with my husband that I would LOVE being an author if I could just lobotomize that part of my brain that gives a rat's behind about book sales or Amazon rankings, etc., and be totally free to write for Him, the Audience of One. BUT ... I have found that, like you, it is in the angst of overfocusing on those things that I run to the throne to draw closer to Him, which, in the end, is what I need and God needs -- our undivided attention. Good thing He knows we are flesh and loves us despite it all, isn't it??

My thinking is if God has blessed us (you and me) with publication, than we shouldn't have to "evaluate our calling," but just do what He has called us to do, whether it takes us to the CBA Bestseller list or into a handful of people's homes who are drawn closer to Him just by reading our books. Sigh ... I know, I know ... easier said than done!!

God bless you in your calling to write for Him and by the way, realllly cute blog!

Hugs,
Julie

Marybeth Whalen said...

Julie, glad that you found my post!

I guess when I said "evaluate my calling" I didn't really say it right. I am not evaluating whether I am supposed to write, more how much time and effort it's supposed to be taking me.

Thanks for the nice compliments on my blog. Nice to "meet" you!

Marybeth Whalen said...

Julie, glad that you found my post!

I guess when I said "evaluate my calling" I didn't really say it right. I am not evaluating whether I am supposed to write, more how much time and effort it's supposed to be taking me.

Thanks for the nice compliments on my blog. Nice to "meet" you!

Rachel Olsen said...

Our minds must be in synch ... I wrote on writng and hope today too at my blog. You might enjoy the links to the articles there if you didn't already catch them this week.

Not sure anyone can answer the question about how much time and effort writng is suppose to take. I think it's suppose to take more time than burying our talents in the ground would. :)

I'm glad you write ~ Rachel

Edwina said...

MaryBeth,
Thank you so much for sharing the link to these scriptures. I really needed that today!

Blessings!!