What I find so perfect about this line of Scripture is the current directive . . . the words "publish" and "tell" and "does." Ezra (if indeed Chronicles was penned by him) doesn't speak in past tense. He wants us to act NOW. He wants us to do something NOW. He wants us to publish . . . to tell . . . and not just about the things God has done but of the things He is doing.

This is the call of Christian writers. Everything we write, whether for the secular or the Christian market, should somehow point back to Him. To how He moves in our lives. How He changes things. How He makes the chaotic messes into tidy managable elements.

This can be a challenge, especially when readers don't recognize the effort. The "pointing to" Him is not always clear to those without the same experiences. If we read our reviews from those who “get us,” we are elated. But if we read the reviews from those who do not, we become upset. Anxious, perhaps. Weary. We think, “why bother?” We wish for some way to redeem ourselves. To set the record straight. “Didn’t you see what I was doing? Didn’t you hear what I was trying to say?” But we should not try to justify and we should not quit.

So, even when we feel defeated, we continue to try, because this is the directive. To publish . . . to tell . . . everyone. Even those who don’t “get it.” We remind ourselves that not everyone “got” Jesus. Or Paul. Or Peter. Or . . . Ezra and Samuel and Moses.

And because being silent is not and will never be an option, we pick up our pens (or put our fingertips to a computer’s keyboard) and we carry on. 

Eva Marie Everson is the president of Word Weavers International. 

Barbra Streisand sings of memories like the corners of her mind. A vivid memory from my childhood, however, relates to the corners of my mouth. Mmm! I can almost taste my favorite treat, crunchy Fritos coated with tangy and delicious Frito-Lay bacon onion dip washed down with a swig of ice-cold Coca-Cola.

Why can I remember what the dip mix packet looked like and the shiny metal bowl containing the dip when I can’t remember who my fourth-grade teacher was and the color of my first bike? How can something edible be more memorable than people and possessions in my childhood?

Psychologists tell us taste memories tend to the be the strongest of associative memories. For one thing they 

are more sensory than other memories because they involve all your senses—sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. With that much sensory focus on a stimulus, there’s a powerful impression. With my favorite childhood treat, psychologists are right on target. I can recall what the dip looked like, what it smelled like, the saltiness of the Fritos, the feel of the dip on my tongue, and the sound of soda fizzing in my glass.

Food memories are also strong because they are shaped by their context. Who were you with when it was eaten? Where were you? What emotions were involved?

Uh, oh! This analysis of my favorite childhood treat leads to a disturbing thought. As an impressionable young girl, I was drawn to a bad boy. Who was he? The Frito Bandito, of course! I still remember the lyrics to his hit song: “Ay yi yi yi! I am the Frito Bandito. I like Fritos corn chips, I love them I do. I want Fritos corn chips, I’ll get them from you.” Who cares what he looked like and that he was a thief? He had a catchy theme song and great taste in snack food.

On a serious note, the context of eating my beloved childhood treat was a cherished time. Typically, I enjoyed this snack on a Friday night when I was allowed to watch television, an activity off limits on school nights. I could sit in front of the TV unencumbered by school assignments and laugh at the adventures of “The Brady Bunch” and “The Partridge Family.”

Eating the snack also involved my creative side. I prepared the dip myself. What fun to stir the dip mix into the sour cream and observe a tasty snack appear. Of course, patience had to be exercised to wait the half hour between mixing and eating. But the finished product was worth the delay.

Sadly, Fritos and bacon onion dip are now merely a wonderful memory. While Fritos are still available, the dip mix, as well as the Frito Bandito, are history. Ay yi yi yi!

So, you're a Christian writer. Congratulations on both counts, seriously. Both require knowledge, dedication, and commitment. But one leads to heaven through grace—God's gift to you—your writing is your gift to God. Christ's suffering and sacrifice on the cross is unfathomable — all sins, for all people, for all time. Many of us consider our writing to be a marathon of suffering — writer's block, isolation, self-doubts, rejection, no way to get published and the list goes on, and on. Whatever a writer goes through on earth regarding writing is inconsequential. Give God your best, leave the outcome to Him.

Before we go on, we should agree on the term Christian writer. On the one hand, a person could be a Christian, saved by grace writing secular novels, or Christian writing to show God's grace, love, and power. Or both efforts. In any event, God can use your writing to change lives for eternity.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, how do I know if God has called me to write? But a more discerning inquiry might be — "Did God ask me NOT to write?" (Erin Taylor Young). In a thought-provoking workshop at the February 2021 West Coast Christian Writers Conference, Ms. Young touched hearts and souls as she answered this "NOT" write question.

You doubt. God's never spoken to you. You don't know how to write. You have self-doubts, worries and terrors you can't even describe. Most of us have never had a mountaintop experience leading to salvation, but God saved us anyway. For me, it was Billy Graham on television when I was a child. For others, an altar call, Christian camp, a close friend sharing the gospel. Most of us have not heard the voice of God telling us to write (or NOT) but he wants us to write anyway.

Consider this verse from Isaiah:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. Or as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV). God loves using people, often those who doubt their skills and abilities. Whatever your background, your ability, your level of faith, if you want to write, write. If you think God is leading you, better yet, write. No reason not to!

All well and good if you're a beginner, but what if you're a seasoned writer, successful, published, not successful, can't get a contract, doubting. You think, God never called me to write in the first place and I'm wasting my time. Not so my friend, writing is discipleship. It is no different than praying, Bible study, fellowship. You still doubt, you can't get published, so how can your writing change lives for eternity? Perhaps God needs to change your life first, or again, whatever your writing history has been. How do you know what God wants for your writing?

Maybe this list will help:

1) First Pray

2) Search Scripture

3) Seek advice from people you trust

4) Consider a different genre or market (e.g., YA or magazine article)

5) Pray your writing is pleasing to God

6) Write something

7) Realize you may never know God's will for your writing, but if you are seeking to honor Him, you are fulfilling His will nevertheless

For me, from childhood salvation to the age of threescore and ten, I did not write but served my family and church, worked hard, went to college and law school at night, but never, never, ever felt called to write. Then, that changed. God did not talk to me, but I had a clear leading. Write a novel, not just any novel — one dealing with sexual assault. Why me? I have no idea. I had never written any fiction. Where to start? On the Internet, of course. Retired and on a fixed income, I took every free workshop and low-cost course I could. I had no skills, none whatsoever, so I read and studied and wrote, badly at first, very badly.

Thank God for TV, Billy Graham, and the Internet. I can't say I followed the seven rules listed above. I didn't. I was so excited, I just started writing. Eventually, I began praying God would bless my writing and please Him. I was God's coworker, and I was writing for the two of us. An apprentice, as it were.

One day the Lord may consider my writing and declare, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Mt 25:21 NIV). May it be so for both of us. But for now, keep writing, good and faithful servant.

~~~~

Rich Ellis is a retired military physician assistant (PA) and judge whose writing reflects his careers, faith and life experiences. Some years ago, he was a gentleman rancher who raised donkeys. Now he is a book reviewer and mentor living in Fresno, California with his wife Renee and dog Baxter.

He is a member of Word Weavers Online Groups, Page 11.