Writer, Do You Have any idea what You're Doing?

Edie here, and I'm so excited to have my good friend, Lori, as a guest today! She has an amazing blog and a new book just coming out. I got a peek at the manuscript and I know RUNNING FROM A CRAZY MAN, (AND OTHER ADVENTURES TRAVELING WITH JESUS) is going to be on your must-have list. 

Writer, Do You Have Any Idea What You're Doing?
by Lori Stanley Roeleveld @LoriSRoeleveld

Don’t say “I work with words.”
Rather say, “I handle hazardous material so combustible it has destroyed careers and incited revolutions.”

Don’t say, “All I can do is write.”
Rather say, “All I can do is create life-infused dispatches from behind enemy lines using the same compound that sparked what the uninformed refer to as the Big-Bang. “

Don’t say “I write.”
Rather say, “I apprentice in my Father’s business, following in His footsteps, and modeling His every move as He is the Master Craftsman. His words produced entire solar systems, the greatest thinkers of our time, and the curve of a woman’s thigh. There is this potential, also, in what I scribble. It may not be evident today but I have endless days to perfect my craft, to create new worlds, to breathe life into the souls I dream.”

Don’t say, “I hope my words are read.”
Rather say, “My desire is that through my art, you will hear the cylinders click into position and know I have unlocked the priceless potential of words. That you will stand and tremble realizing I have unleashed the junkyard dogs of the building blocks of existence containing a force beyond that of a thousand nuclear warheads and that you will not be able to outrun the snarling revelation overtaking you like a truth unchained.”

Don’t say, “I hope to be published.”
Rather say, “I hope the blast effects that occur when I combine words in my laptop laboratory will illuminate the heavens so that they cannot be ignored or denied. I hope the radiance of the detonation will inspire the illiterate to learn to read just so they can enter deeper into the experience of the Glorious God my words seek to describe. 

I hope the masses fall silent as they stare, open-mouthed and weeping, at the realization that what they thought was only possible in their private dreams is accessible to all and that they grasp my dangling participles to rise above their own shattered stories, their feet lifting from the unforgiving earth, their lungs emptied of the noxious gas of deception, and their victorious laughter fired by the helium of freedom as my words carry them closer to the great God-heart they now know beats also for them. “

Don’t say, “I am a writer.”
Rather say, “I am my Father’s child.”

TWEETABLES

Words ARE powerful! author @LoriSRoeleveld shares just how much power they have on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Writer, do you have any idea what you're doing? - via @LoriSRoeleveld on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

RUNNING FROM A CRAZY MAN (and Other Adventures Traveling with Jesus)

You're restless. Trouble has you gasping beside the narrow road. This is your invitation back to the adventure.

Some Christians leave their relationship with God in a sealed box like a collectible that will be worth something "someday." Not you. You wholeheartedly answered the call to follow Him into the great adventure.

Then, something unexpected happened that left you gasping beside the narrow road. You thought you were following Jesus but now it feels as if all you're doing is running from a crazy man. Even knocked down, though, you seek the strength to continue the journey.

This isn't a book for the happily comfortable. This is a book for the restless Jesus lover, the longsuffering disciple, the openhearted believer. Be forewarned. The challenges inside are designed to unsettle you as well as provide practical suggestions for thriving on the narrow road even if trouble is your travel companion.

Running from a Crazy Man (and Other Adventures Traveling with Jesus) is a siren call to the modern believer that the God-adventure can happen even when, like King David, you re running from a crazy man.

Lori Stanley Roeleveld is a disturber of hobbits who enjoys making comfortable Christians late for dinner. Her new book, Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with Jesus) releases in December 2014. Subscribe to her blog and receive a free download of “Free to Face the Headlines.” You’ll find Lori at her website www.loriroeleveld.com or on her front porch writing.