Invest & Invite

When you invest in your dream, you invite success to come your way.

This is why I’m spending money to drive 1000 miles and attend the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. It’s why I’m willing to separated from my family for a short period of time. It’s why I allowed myself and my writing to be vulnerable by entering a couple of contests. It’s why I’m going to risk making a fool out of myself and pitch my work to agents and editors. It’s why I’m going to cram my days with workshops, classes, and face-to-face time with other writers who are skilled in the craft and business of writing.

Are any of these things guarantees that I will find an agent or a publishing contract this week? No. But by investing in my dream of being a published novelist, I am giving myself opportunities to succeed. The fact is, these writers, agents, and editors aren’t going to show up on my doorstep. I have to invest in my work before I can expect them to do the same.

And as I pack my van, load up the cooler with snacks and Dr. Pepper, stuff my luggage with sample chapters and one-sheets, and plug-in the borrowed GPS, I realize how blessed I am to have a wife and children who support my dream. They cheer me on as I chase this calling–this stewardship of story–and whatever success comes my way, I know it is theirs as much as it is mine.

Writer, invest in your dream, and invite success to come your way also.

My Prayer in the wake of tragedy.

Dear God,

I can’t imagine the horror experienced by so many families today. And I can’t understand the evil that caused it. Please help the parents whose children were taken by this horrible tragedy. Please help the brothers and sisters who lost siblings. And please help the children who survived physically but will be wounded emotionally for the rest of their lives. Please help everyone connected to this event.

Father, my emotions have ranged from fury to utter despair. How long, oh Lord, will You wait to judge this earth? How long until You avenge the blood of the innocent?

The conscience of America is bothered–offended to the core–by the reports of this murderous rampage. The sights and sounds are coming so fast, so relentlessly…. We are rightly outraged by the killing of 20 innocent children. Innocent. Children.

I am scared, God, because I know that no matter what we do, evil will find a way to strike. I can’t stop it. No human can. I am filled with hatred for our enemy…our ultimate enemy, Satan. As Your Son told us, Satan has been a murderer from the beginning, and He seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. Please, dear God, stop him soon.

You have blessed me with the honor of being a father. I can not imagine losing one of my children in such a violent way. I can not imagine wanting to live another day. Please, please, please help the mothers and fathers in Newtown, Conneticut.

I feel so utterly stupid, so completely unable to make sense of my words. I want to scream. I want to curse. So much evil…so much death. They were just children, Lord. I’m sorry…yes, I would be appalled if it happened in a nursing home or coffee shop, but there seems to be no worse kind of evil than the kind that would harm children.

In the midst of this all, I’m wondering what pain this must cause Your heart.

Please help us all.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Better With Time

Not long ago, my wife and I took our toddler son to get new shoes. We found a pair we liked,  so the sales woman put them on our fidgety son, and then said, “Okay, little fella. Why don’t you walk around with your grandpa and see how those feel.”

I’m sure I actually heard my wife snort.

Okay. I get it. I’m an “older” father. When my son was on infant formula, I should have been on Grecian Formula (cue rim shot). But come on!

I pray that I’m a better father now than when I was many years ago. Fatherhood is a journey that can only be fully absorbed by those who have children. Many people think they know a lot about parenting…until they have children.

What would you say to someone who said, ” I want to be a father, but I just don’t want to have children. It takes time and effort to raise kids.”?

You’d think the person really didn’t understand fatherhood. Right?

Well, it’s that way in writing also. There are lots of people who want to be published authors, but they don’t want to put in the time and effort to sit down and write. Or if they do plop down in front of the keyboard, they suddenly realize that it’s harder than they imagined.

But writers–like fathers–learn as they go. Experience is a great teacher. So stay humble, teachable, and alert. There are many lessons to learn in life if you’re willing to put in the time and effort.

How have you grown as a writer?