cjange, I was seventeen years old when I died. That was thirty-two years ago, and I’ve never regretted the decision to end my life…my OLD life. I’m talking about the day in January of 1981 that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Not only did I die on that day, but I was also born-again at the same time. I traded death for life, darkness for light, despair for hope, condemnation for forgiveness, deserved wrath for undeserved love. And I’ve tried to communicate that ever since. Treasure in an earthen vessel. A song says, “I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free…” Well, I write Christian Fiction because I’m saved, and, like the Heavenly Father Who saved me, I’m not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Life, Light, Hope…these are key ingredients in the stories that I write, because they are essential parts of my life. As a Christian, I have a message. The format used to relay that message may range from sermons to stories to one-on-one evangelism, but the message is not mine to change.
When I sit to write, I pray that God will use what I’m writing to change lives. I may not ever know how or to whom it happens, but the possibility is exciting. To know that God may use what I write to revive someone’s spirit or convict someone’s soul is a serous matter indeed.
Can you remember a way that a specific book you’ve read changed your life? What way did it impact you? Did the message in the book give you courage or conviction?
Share your comments on what stories touched you and how. I’m looking forward to celebrating the power of story with you. Just hit the comment button and share. Thanks.
larrywtimm 
Very catchy title. I literally thought you had died and couldn’t wait to read your testimony. And, you did die. I did too. May 9th 1980. That’s when I became a born-again Christian. As for a book that really ministered to me… It was a Heartsong Presents book by Tracie Peterson. Sorry, can’t remember the name of it now. At the time I read it, I was really struggling with God’s view of me. I had been taught some really horrible things about God and the love that Tracie portrayed in her story showed me a different God. A loving God. A God who loved me so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross for me and to shed His blood for me. I never forgot that. There are many novels that have ministered to me over the years, right where I hurt. That’s what I want my stories to do….minister to people where they hurt or minister God’s love and His mercy.
Thanks for the beautiful post.
God bless you and yours,
Debra Ullrick
This is the first chance I’ve had in almost three weeks to do more than glance at fb, or rush through my e-mails hoping nothing needed urgent attention. I agree with Debra Ullrick. I also thought you had literally “died”, which brought about a change in your life. Well, I guess, you did. Me, too. But, nothing in my life, even my “born-again life” seems to be so cut and dried…as simple as, “I found the LORD, HE changed my life and things have been pretty good ever since”. My life has been like a roller coaster, or worse, one of those rides where they swing you around REALLY fast, then STOP, then swing you around again, then STOP while you’re hanging upside down…then on and on and on (I think I’m in the hanging upside down cycle right now). I love your testimony, and you express so well the reason I, too, want to write Christian fiction: to make an impact for HIM through my words. What book changed my life? Well, like most of us who love to write, I LOVE to read. I’ve read literally thousands of books in the classics (Gone With the Wind, The Canterbury Tales, Shakespear (never really cared for him), Elsie Dinsmore series), to science fiction (way too many to list), to our modern day paperback “romance” novels to non-fiction, to some real garbage books I’m too embarrassed to list, and they all impacted my life in some way (some not so good). However, and, I’m not trying to sound more “spiritual” than others, but, honestly, the one book that truly changed my life was the Bible. I was lost and dying, sinking in a pit of sin with no way out, when I “found” GOD (HE wasn’t lost). HIS WORD brought LIFE to me, and Hope–without hope life isn’t worth living, in my opinion. The WORD was truly Living Water for me and it saved my life on so many levels. If I was stranded on a deserted island with only one book, hands down it would be the Word–HIS WORD–the Bible! Thanks for giving me a chance to actually give some thought to that. Good question.