A Writer's Thanksgiving

Peter Leavell is an award winning
historian and novelist.

One hundred and two pilgrims landed at Plymouth in December and promptly starved. Half died as they worked through the winter to erect buildings.

All the children survived. Every one.

As the year 1621 dawned, Native Americans helped catch eels for the starving colonists. Corn thrived in the warm spring. Bean and squash vines grew around the thick stalks. 

Plymouth colonists might survive the next winter.

As harvest time neared, the men, women, and children from England were stunned. 

In England, fall brought in heavy cloud cover and smothered the land with rainy days and warm nights. The leaves along the canals and rivers curled, died, and fell into piles of rotten green and gray. 

But in New England, sunlight drenched the days and the nights grew bitterly cold. The weather was perfect for fall.

Fall, north of Plymouth
Wikicommons

Vast forests erupted in carpets of orange, yellow, and red leaves. Golden fields stood ripe for harvest. Frigid rivers teemed with fish. Pilgrims' minds turned to God with thankfulness.

They sat down to eat.

It wasn’t a party. Nor was it a holiday. More of a tradition—a feast since the food was unimaginably plentiful. But to the Indians, parties happened to be their specialty.

The log cabins, lined with clay, reflected the fires that roasted five deer the Pokanoket brought. Other fires heated stews of meat and vegetables. Pilgrims and Indians alike sat on the ground or on rocks, shoveling food into their mouths with knives.

Sometimes as writers, we go through lean times. We struggle to find the perfect word here, a meaningful thought there. Chances are, we won't survive the manuscript. Some do. Others give up. 

Trust in God that He will bring a harvest. Because we don't write to be famous any more than the Pilgrims dreamed of being household names. We write for survival. And some day, when harvest time is here, we can feast with those we love on the bounties of our work. 

Don't forget to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest you've already received!

Historical note: President Lincoln, during the Civil War, created the holiday Thanksgiving, where we immortalized the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock in holiday.

Which would have incensed the Pilgrims. They believed holidays were not of God.

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MAY I HAVE MORE, PLEASE?

by Cynthia Ruchti

Groaning tables are more reality than metaphor during Thanksgiving week. If you listen closely, you can hear wood protesting the weight of platters and serving bowls, pie plates, elbows, and laughter.

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That I May Publish

“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works” (Ps. 26:7, KJV).

“With the voice of thanksgiving.”

I have had six books published, as well as a few ebooks now out there on the world wide web. Each one has been a thrill and given me great satisfaction. But each time I’ve been in danger of falling into a pit.

There is the pit of pride that tells me I’ve done this great thing and now I’m worthy; the pit of doubt that says it really isn’t that good and no-one will read it; and then the pit of despair that says I’ll never be able to do it again.

I have seen these pits gaping before me each time I’ve held a new book in my hands. They can threaten to drag me in and bury me in darkness, but I’ve found the life-line that keeps me from falling in – it’s that little thing called thankfulness.

The writer of the book of Hebrews said: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. (Hebrews 12:28).

The Greek word used for thankful in this verse is charis, grace. Thanksgiving – gratitude – grace. One leads to the other and all lead to an outpouring that will bless, lift up and encourage others. That’s the pattern of life God has ordained for us all in this world, in His kingdom.

Holding a new book in your hands kind of makes you feel like you’ve just been handed a kingdom – the kingdom of imagination, the kingdom of an audience of readers, the kingdom of purpose and fulfillment. Without thankfulness that feeling would be fleeting. We would indeed be tempted to pride, to self doubt and to despair, because without thankfulness, without recognizing where this gift has come from, we realize in the depths of our soul that it is all just a mirage. Without recognizing the plan and purposes of God in and for our work, there can be no true substance to it.

There would be no charis.

So let us publish with the voice of thanksgiving, pouring out grace. And “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16). 

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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her first novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here.

Her most recent release is the second book in a fantasy series,

The Ambassadors

To learn more about her writing and speaking ministry visit Marcia’s Website

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Giving Thanks

It's that time again. The leaves are falling, the harvest is being taken in. Next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. We celebrate it a bit earlier here in Canada because our harvest is earlier. We follow the tradition begun by Martin Frobisher who, on landing in Newfoundland in 1578 (53 years before the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth Massachusetts), thanked God for a safe journey across the Atlantic ocean from England.       

As I look forward to friends and family gathering for the feast, I have been thinking of all the things for which I am thankful. I thought I’d put down a few of them, as a writer. Maybe it will spur you to do the same. Perhaps you can add to the list.

I am thankful ...

For a secure, warm place in which to write.

For the strength and good health that allows me to write.

For the freedom to write what I will, without fear.

For the tools I use everyday – the books, the computers and other electronic devices that make it possible to reach thousands.

For blogs and forums online which encourage me and let me know I’m not alone as I deal with the challenges of being a writer.

For the opportunity to join together with other writers, to teach and to learn at conferences.

For the opportunities to speak locally and far afield, to see the responses of those who hear and to know God has been at work.

For the support of family and friends who sometimes go out of their way to help promote my work.

For publishers and editors who push me to reach for excellence in my writing.

For the many books that have had an impact on my life and on my work.

For fellow writers and readers who take the time to help spread the word about my books.

For the many readers who have taken the time to contact me to let me know how much they enjoyed and appreciated something I wrote. (Recently three, all on one day!)

For all that God has done through my writing in the past and what he intends in the future.

And most especially, for that day, thirty years ago, when Jesus revealed Himself to me and showed me that he had a purpose for my life and for my writing.

How about you? Are there things you would add to this list?

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Visit Marcia's website at www.marcialeelaycock.com

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Flipping the Perspective Coin - M. Laycock

This is the season of golden light in Alberta, the season of Thanksgiving. This fall has been glorious with temperatures remaining in the mid twenties, Celsius, for some time. It's the kind of weather that makes me want to go horseback riding, a hobby I have loved since a young child. 

Unfortunately my riding days are over due to a leg injury that happened when I fell while rock climbing on the cliffs of Lake Superior's north shore. The injury has finally caught up with me and keeps me from doing some things I have enjoyed in the past. It's a loss I feel deeply at times, but then, the doctors once warned me I might be in a wheelchair by now, so I'm counting my blessings. 

It seems there are always two sides to the perspective coin. You can either look at all the frustrations and barriers that will continue to arise in your life and in your career, or you can focus on the obstacles that have already been surmounted and the answers to prayer that helped you leap over them.

There are times when I get frustrated with the barriers in my life and writing career, but then I remember …

My second novel, A Tumbled Stone, was published because of the generosity of a friend and the answer to the prayers of many more.

I’d prayed about the money needed to submit to A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider, an anthology of Canadian writers and three speaking engagements popped up, giving me enough to submit and purchase a few copies. God supplied what I needed just in time.

A spontaneous decision to submit a YA manuscript to Steve Laube at Write Canada led me to ask for prayer and that led to an encouraging interview and his request for the full manuscript. Once again, prayer opened doors.

Recently I prayed that God would begin to open up speaking engagements for me. After being out of the loop for over a year due to a battle with cancer, I was a bit worried that it would take a while to build up that part of my ministry again. Then I was asked to speak at a Spring Tea; another woman called to ask if I would speak at a few Christian Women's clubs in Central Alberta and another invited me to speak at a retreat in Saskatchewan. I'm now in the place of having to pick and choose which engagements to accept. 

God answers. God provides.

Sometimes the perspective coin lands on the wrong side and when it does I am blocked by the burdens of frustration and disappointment. It's at those times that I have to make the choice to flip the coin over. Counting the blessings releases the joy of contentment and renewed enthusiasm.

So go ahead, flip that coin. And be thankful.

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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone and also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Marcia's second novel, A Tumbled Stone has just been released. Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here. Visit Marcia's website

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