I admit it. I’ve failed. Many times. But the good news is, God can take my messes and use them for His glory…if I’ll let Him.
It all depends on what I do with my failures.
As writers and speakers, we can either work really hard to hide our frailties and present the illusion of perfection, or we can admit our struggles and present the answer to our need. Yes, our success as sharers of the Gospel can depend on what we do with our failures.
I’m so blessed as a writer and speaker. I know that. God has given me more opportunities to speak and write than I ever imagined. And I know I don’t deserve it. But if I could be so bold, I hope you’ll hear from my heart when I say that I fully believe He has blessed my ministry because of my willingness to admit my failures, while also pointing to the answer for them.
My first huge failure was in my marriage. And the first time God called me to speak was when He took me kicking and screaming into giving my testimony about that journey. Oh, I didn’t want to do it! I didn’t want the women of my church to know how I had treated Gary before they knew me. They saw me as a Godly Christian woman who loved the Lord with all her heart, and I wanted it to stay that way.
But God wouldn’t leave me alone, and I finally obeyed His call…and I came home from that event knowing what I had been created for!
Then He showed me how I had failed in His call to holiness, that I had adopted the world’s standards as my own, rather than follow His command to be like Christ. That message was soon shared with the women of my church, too…along with the prescription to use Philippians 4:8 as a filter verse for everything I allowed into my heart and mind, and out of my mouth.
He took me to my struggles with pride, raising children, and taming my tongue. And every one of those topics became topics for me to speak and write about.
And the process isn’t limited to non-fiction. Many of my own areas of sin have ended up in my novels and my current work-in-progress: lying, manipulation, anger, and unforgiveness.
So, do you want to have more opportunities to write and/or speak for Him? Admit your failures. After all, we’re in good company. Consider what Paul said in Romans 7 (and I paraphrase here), “Oh, I don’t know why I do the things I do! I don’t do what I know I should do, and I do what I know I shouldn’t do! I want to do right, but I keep doing wrong! Oh, what a wretched man I am!” If Paul could voice his struggle, don’t you think we should, too?
Perhaps He’s calling you to admit your failures…and then point to the only answer for them.
It could be God’s ticket for your ministry.
(Photo courtesy of ChristianPhotos.net)
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Who Wins the FREE ParentLife Magazine Subscription???
Drumroll, please…
Leigh DeLozier! Leigh, I’m so happy you won because your kids are just the right age!
Just contact me with your mailing address and I’ll forward it to ParentLife. And writers, I hope you’ll consider getting your own subscription to ParentLife and check out the ParentLife blog as well. And while you’re there, you can check out my ParentLife blog post on depression in children.
And remember Jean Davis’ challenge for each of us to pray on Tuesdays for our children, the parents in our group, and for us as writers. Thanks, Jean!
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Congratulations to These MoGo7000 Goal-Reachers for the Month of February!
Well, it looks like February was a hard month for many of us! But I’m thrilled for these three Christian Writer’s Den followers who reached the goal of at least 7000 words.
13. Johnnie Donley–18,056
14. Eddie Snipes–7435
15. Cindy Patterson–9697
Way to go, writers! You have another entry in the drawing for $100!
And if you have no idea what MoGo7000 is all about, here’s the scoop:
1. Each writer is challenged to write 7000 new words each month on a new or current BOOK project. Of course, you’re encouraged to continue your blogs, devotions, and articles as well, but only those words written on your fiction or non-fiction book will count toward the 7000-word goal. The hope is that we’ll each have at least a first draft of a new book completed in 12 months.
2. The first Tuesday of each month, I’ll ask those who met the previous month’s goal to post your total word count for that month. Please don’t email them to me–they must be posted as a comment on the blog in order to be counted in the drawing.
3. You do NOT have to post that you didn’t meet the goal, unless you just want to. We had many people who were unable to meet the January goal, but were still thrilled they had made headway on their project, whether they met the goal or not.
4. Your total must be posted within a week of the first blog post of the month, before the next week’s entry is posted.
5. Although rewriting is critical to good writing, the 7000 words of this challenge must be new words, not rewritten ones.
6. Each month that you meet the 7000-word goal, you receive one entry into the end-of-the-year drawing for $100 cash. Meet the goal one month and you have one entry. Meet it every month and you’ll have 12 entries!
7. There is no shame in not meeting the goal. You just start with a new goal each month!
8. You can keep up with the total any way you want to, but I mark the end of each month within the manuscript so it’s easy to know where each month starts and ends. When it’s time to check the word count, just highlight what you wrote for the new month and let Word Count (usually under Tools in the toolbar of Word) take care of the math.
9. It’s a Win-Win situation for all of us!
I’ve had quite a few writers say it helps so much to have a monthly goal rather than a daily or weekly goal. Since I travel so much, I don’t have any kind of regular writing schedule, but I can usually find the time to hunker down and peck out a bunch of words in a short amount of time.
So what are you waiting for? Get your BIC and start writing!
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Congratulations to These Writers Who Are Seeing Results!
- Nan Jones (NC): My daily devotional blog, Morning Glory is going to be featured in our Ashe County Baptist Associational Newsletter each month! And a woman in Argentina (!!!!) was so touched by Morning Glory, “Pour Out Your Heart Before Him”, that she copied it and posted it outside her apartment door in Buenos Aires! I am shocked and amazed at the goodness of my Jesus.
- Marsha Fisher (NC): My good news is that I was invited to be a contributing author to “Internet Pornography: A Ministry Leader’s Handbook” produced by Covenant Eyes. This resource addresses those in ministry who are struggling with pornography and lust. The book is available as a free download from Covenant Eyes.
- Cindy Jones (AL): Written several articles for Birmingham Magazine, added a new publication to my resume’, Birmingham Business Journal, had several people in my writing group, Cahaba Christian Writers, that I teach to get published several times in just one month. I am so proud of them!
- Marilyn Nutter (NC) “What’s Oleo?” will be published on christiandevotions.us on August 31 and my story, “Mixed Feelings,” will appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: New Moms to be released on March 8, 2011. You can find Marilyn Nutter’s blog here.
We’re celebrating with you, writers! Hoo-wee! Can’t wait to see what God does NEXT month!
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You’re Invited to a Filming of The Story of a Woman’s Life: Reading Between the Whines!
Ladies, are you ready to experience a morning of laughter with your girlfriends? If so, you’ll want to join Deborah Dunn and me (yes, “me” is the correct word) as we present our brand new program, Diapers2Diapers, at Westside Church, Simpsonville, SC on Saturday, March 26, 9:30-11:30. This is one of the presentations under The Story of a Woman’s Life brand.
I know you can’t read this flyer, but you can check out The Story of a Woman’s Life at the Westside Church website.
You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll eat. And it’s all FREE!
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Parting Words from the Word…
As we consider our struggle to be like Christ, let’s be like Paul by admitting our failures and allowing God to use them–and us–for His glory.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
I pray God’s blessing on the work of your hands and your hearts,
Vonda
