by Brenda McGraw @BrendaMMcGraw
Brenda McGraw is an author and speaker who reveals how to discover joy beyond the clutter of life. She draws from her own life experiences in the #1 Amazon Best seller, “Joy Beyond, 28 Days to Finding Joy Beyond the Clutter of Life”. She is the founder of Ask God Today Ministries where she has a team of writers sharing truth and hope with others.
As I was walking past my
office, I seemed to be able to find everything under the sun to distract me
from what I needed to get done. There was mail to be opened, bills to pay,
phone calls that needed to be returned, not to mention the stacks of papers and
files that needed to be filed away where they belonged.
Remembering that a
deadline was quickly approaching for an article that needed to be written, with
no vision of what it would even be about, I found myself stuck.
How many times do we
procrastinate until the last minute on starting a piece of writing for the website
or magazine that is waiting for it? The months quickly pass by and we just let
all the distractions of life swallow us up until we get that awful feeling of
being overwhelmed.
Recently a question was
posed in one of Jeff Goins’ Facebook
groups: “True or false: You hate writing but love having written.” Jeff
received 104 comments on this one question. What would your answer be? Do you
love or hate to write?
My answer was, “False, I
love writing.” I love the art of writing and count it a privilege to be able to
be creative and share my words with those who read them. Of course, it is a
blessing to also be able to “love having written” the words and be finished
with the task that looms ahead, but the art is in the creating.
 |
| Has God called you to write? |
Has God called you to
write? Has this been confirmed through a scripture, a message you heard, another
person or a pastor? Have you had the check in your spirit and can pinpoint the
actual moment, day and year that God spoke to you and you heard Him say, “You
need to share your story and mine”?
If the answer is, “Yes, I
have been called to write,” therein lies your confidence to create what only
you can create. It doesn’t matter if there are 1,000 better writers than you
who have authored numerous books and you have yet to publish one; you have been
commanded by the God of the universe to share your story, and His story through
the beautiful art of words. The best answer to that calling is, “Yes, Lord!”
God will give us the
confidence, but His first desire is to humble us to the point where we know it
is not about us, it is all about Him.
Ways to obtain the confidence from God:
- Seek and trust His direction.
- Follow His leading.
- Pray for open doors.
- Learn daily.
- Listen to those who are farther along then you are.
- Practice.
- Fear not.
- Don’t fret.
- Be happy.
- Be thankful.
God does the anointing of
His words; we just need to be obedient in writing them down. Many times it is
the starting that is the hardest part. It’s finding the inspiration that starts
our juices flowing, so to speak, until the words just flow from our mind, to
our fingertips typing on the keyboard.
Ah, the joy of writing. It
is a blessing beyond all I ever knew before I finally said, ‘Yes, Lord.”
You can do it. God doesn’t
need us to do this writing, He allows
us to do it. We are just His vessels. I want to jump and shout and proclaim
victory when a piece is finished. Don’t you?
Ask God to give you
confidence to create a mighty piece of art that He will anoint and use for His
glory. Will you do that?
“Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
The unfolding of your words gives
light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your way with those who love your
name.”
Psalm 119:129-132
TWEETABLE
Brenda currently lives in South Carolina with her husband, Jeff and three of their five children. She is a survivor of breast cancer and a heart attack.. Despite the challenges she has endured, Brenda found peace through her relationship with Jesus Christ.
You can connect with Brenda at:
Website - http://www.askgodtoday.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Brenda-McGraw/e/B00GOIE7AG
Thanks Brenda for the encouraging message and the reminder for us who have been called to write that we "have been commanded by the God of the universe to share your (our) story". It is a privilege to be called by God to be His vessel. Blessings to you.
ReplyDeleteHey Sheryl, Your welcome. Keep seeking and keep sharing. Have a wonderful day.
DeleteBrenda
Brenda, I've been struggling with being overwhelmed; so many good things I am involved in, only two of which are marketing my new book and continuing to write my blog! So I keep reading these challenges and encouragements from other writers like yourself. I know God is speaking to me through articles like you just wrote. Thank you. (Jacqueline Wallace, even if signed in under my husband's name!)
ReplyDeleteJacqueline I totally get it. This is a very busy and challenging career to be in. We can only accomplish one thing at a time. Focus on Jesus first and ask Him what is priority. It's kind of like taking one day at a time, except we take one detail or task at a time. Congrats on your book. What's the name of it? Blessings, Brenda
ReplyDeleteI love the reminder and encouragement in this post. Sometimes it is a struggle to come up with the article we are facing, but I love the writing and the "having written" because it is therapeutic to me and helps me grow. Listening to God and writing what he inspires helps those who read and those who write it down.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara. You are so right. We have to keep our focus on the Lord and He will inspire us to keep moving forward and walking in His will, whatever His will is for each of our lives. Have a great day. Brenda
DeleteBrenda, Thank you so much for confirming what I have been hearing from God very clearly during my prayer time these last few weeks. I laid down the latest book I have been writing about 8 months ago. I was diagnosed bipolar in 1992, and I have been blessed to know Jesus has been by my side throughout my journey with bipolar. I was lead to become a Certified Fitness Trainer and I had to figure out what it takes to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit. This book is to give hope to others with mental illnesses and their families. I know it is time to finish it. My co-author and I said that it would be completed in God's timing, not ours and the book is being written to give the glory to Him. Thank you for hearing God's call to write this article!
ReplyDeleteMarsha thank you for reading and I am so glad it spoke to you. There is no better timing than God's timing! Keep listening to Him. Have a great week. Brenda
DeleteThanks so much, Brenda, for this very encouraging post! You said just what I needed to hear today. I've been struggling to get started with my newest novel project and going through the downward spiral of confidence that always seems to hit me at this point. Thank you for reminding me that it doesn't matter how many better authors there are out there or how many are being published more frequently than I am--God has called me to write His stories in the unique way that only I can. I can have confidence He knows what He's doing. :)
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