New Sunday Devotional Columnist

Hello everyone.
My name is Marcia (Marci) Lee Laycock and I’m honoured to be the new columnist for the Sunday Devotional here at Novel Journey. Gina suggested I introduce myself in this first edition.

I’m a pastor’s wife (married to Spence)and mother of three grown daughters, Kate (married to Rick), Laura (in third year at university) and Meagan (soon to be a college student). No grandbabies yet, but I’m hopeful. :)

After 20 years of ministry in our last church, my husband and I have just moved to a small community in Central Alberta to plant a new congregation. It’s exciting and scary. We are learning much about trusting God.

We also are care-givers to two rambunctious golden retrievers and a six-toed cat who thinks she’s the queen.

I have been writing for publication for about 20 years, though I don’t remember a time when I didn’t write. My mom used to say I must have been born with a pencil in my hand because I was always scribbling something or other from the time I was very young.

I began writing devotionals when my husband took on his first pastorate. When he was given the long list of his new responsibilities, one of the first things on it was a weekly column in the local paper - due the next morning! Knowing how much I liked to write and feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that he needed to do, he asked if I could write a devotional for that week. That was the beginning of The Spur – a column that ran in our local paper for 18 years. The title was taken from Hebrews 10:24 – “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Since we lived smack in the middle of cowboy country, I thought the title appropriate in that way too. The Spur has often been picked up by provincial and national publications and has appeared in various places on the web. It also goes out to about 3,000 readers by e-mail subscription.

My readers began asking if I would put the column into book form so with fear and trembling I self-published The Spur of the Moment and a subsequent title, Focused Reflections. Both have done very well. The Spur of the Moment is currently sold out and I’m hoping to do a second edition some day, (maybe when our university and college girls have graduated :). I have taught devotional writing for Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship and teach an online devotional course each fall.

But devotionals aren’t all I write. I have done some journalistic work, with articles in local and national newspapers and various magazines. Some of my poetry has also been published and broadcast on national radio. I also had the privilege of writing some radio and video scripts for Wycliffe Bible Translators when my family and I lived in Papua New Guinea.

I am also a fiction writer and have won prizes for short stories in Canada and the U.S. My first novel, One Smooth Stone, was released in September, 2007 after winning the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award. You can read all about that, and more if you wish, on my website – www.vinemarc.com

The Lord has continually blessed, encouraged and taught me through the process of writing and working with writers. I look forward to contributing to Novel Journey and hope you will feel free to comment often.

Blessings on your journey,
Marcia