Lately I feel like I’ve been pulled in twenty different directions. I’ve forced myself to multitask when I KNOW it’s not the most efficient use of my time. I’ve tried to be “all things to all people,” knowing full-well that I’m not giving anyone as much of me as they need.
Last week it hit me when I completely forgot to schedule a blog post on Friday. I had the material, but was it on my calendar? Nope. Somehow it was left off.
To be fair (to myself! lol), on Wednesday there was an unexpected trip to the funeral home an hour away, so I missed church and choir practice, which always throws me off. I had an appointment in Paducah on Thursday – the day of the tornado – and that threw me off. Then on Friday I was heading to Collierville, TN – just this side of Memphis – for the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference. I was distracted, okay?
But the weekend. The conference. It was just what I needed. No, I didn’t sell a bunch of books (but I sold ONE!), and I didn’t get to the sign-ups quickly enough to get my name in the pot to talk to a literary agent, but what a blessing to be there with over 100 fellow-writers. God was there.
There was a point in which the keynote speaker, Bob Hostetler, portrayed the apostle John, as an old man. His followers were trying to convince him to write HIS version of the Gospel. “But it’s been written three times!”
Oh, but what if the Gospel of John had NOT been written? We wouldn’t have the stories of the woman at the well. Lazarus raised from the dead. Water turned into wine.
But do you know what else would not have been written, in John’s exact words, anyway?
John 3:16.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I grieved at the very thought. I felt myself overcome with emotion, and soon heard sniffles all around me. At that moment, we weren’t just a community of writers, but a community of Christians striving to obey God’s call on our lives.
What if we, as writers, speakers, artists – every one of us is creative in some way, shape, or form – refuse to follow God’s leading and produce that thing that God has called us to do?
The world will be a sadder place. We’re in this world to celebrate HIM, not ourselves, so any time we create, we’re glorifying God.
And you know what? That’s what we’re here for.
Happy Monday, friends!
P.S. I was interviewed on author Toni Shiloh’s blog today! Check it out HERE!
It was such an eye-opening speech, so true. Even when we think we don’t have anything new to offer, God can still use us to bless others!
I wish I could share that last keynote with others! It really touched me! Tonya and I were over there sniffling like crazy!