Of Greater Worth than Gold - M. Laycock

I recently listened to a preacher talk about a time in his life when he suffered from depression and anxiety. He mentioned some of the great preachers of the past, like Charles Spurgeon, who suffered in the same way. He talked about the struggle to preach under that burden and how he so often felt like a hypocrite in the pulpit. But he kept doing it because, though he didn't understand why and certainly didn't feel worthy, he knew that God wanted him to do it. He talked about those moments when suddenly you know that God is speaking, directing, guiding, you know those moments are a gift and even though you don't feel worthy of it, you are thankful.

It made me think of a time I walked along the north shore of Lake Huron with my brother, looking for pieces of driftwood that he could carve. I picked up what I thought would be a great find - it was a short piece of two by four that looked as though it had just come off the planer. It didn't look like it had been in the water very long. But my brother rejected it and as we walked he taught me what to look for. "I need the pieces that are scarred," he said. "Burnt is even better. It's the scars and discoloration that give the finished piece character and beauty when you carve the wood. Look for the pieces that aren't perfect."

We've all heard that expression, "God uses cracked pots," and we can all be thankful that it's true. God uses our flaws and failings to show a needy world that He is in the business of restoration and recovery. He cuts through the scars and charred places to the soul that is being refined. He used the pain of that preacher, even as he was in the midst of a dark time, to teach and lead and even heal his congregation.

He uses those of us who write in the same way.

We have probably all had times when life got messy and complicated and almost too hard to endure. We've had times of doubt and confusion and perhaps even times when we were too angry with God to do anything for Him. Those times aren't easy and they will seem as though all creativity and sensitivity have been pressed out of us. But it is these very times that result in deep roots that are able to reach to the nourishment that is buried and draw it up into our souls where it is useful and able to be passed on.

Are you going through a tough time? Know that God is at work. Know that the result will be a blessing to you and to those whom God wants to reach through you. Hold onto the goodness of God and be encouraged.

"These have come so that your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:7). 

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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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All the Way to Taz - Marcia Lee Laycock

The fun thing about the internet is that you can connect with people from all over the world. Lately I've been trying to boost the number of 'likes' on my Facebook author page, so I've been running contests now and then for a free book.  I was a little dismayed but then delighted that one of the winners was from Tasmania - that small island state off the coast of Australia. I was dismayed because I knew the postage would likely be more than the value of the book, but then delighted to think that one of my books would make its way to such a far-off place.

That's the fun thing about books too - they can and do travel. When I published my first book, Spur of the Moment, a collection of devotions from my column in a local newspaper, I was amazed at where the book ended up. I thought it would be strictly a local effort, purchased by readers who knew me in the area where I lived. But God had other plans. The book traveled all across my own country and then into the U.S. as well. Then one day I received an email from India. A pastor there had been taking courses at a Bible College in Canada and someone had given him a copy of Spur of the Moment. When he returned to India he read it and then sent it to his son in England. That young man emailed me to say the book had arrived at a time when he was particularly discouraged and he wanted to tell me how much it had helped him. India! England! And now Tasmania! A long way from a small town in central Alberta Canada.

It makes me think of that scripture verse that says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Never underestimate the power and reach of our Lord. He will accomplish his purposes through us, no matter how small our imaginations.

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Bad Week, Good Words

It’s been a bad week. The day before yesterday my last living aunt passed away. Her name was Liz, and she was a hoot. If you’re old enough to remember Phyllis Diller or Carol Channing you’ll have a general idea of how much fun she was. I’ll miss her so. Then yesterday I had lunch with a friend whose wife just filed for divorce. My friend has a drinking problem, and his wife decided she can’t take it anymore. After lunch I spent time with another hurting friend whose only child is down to one last hope—an experimental therapy—to beat his cancer.

Meanwhile, I have to write 1,000 good words today, and do it again tomorrow, and every other day until September if I’m going to meet the deadline on my next novel. But with so many troubles all around, lately it’s been all I can do to write 500 good words a day.

The word count isn’t the real problem. I’ve been at this writing game a long time. I’ve written amidst the distractions of airports, coffee shops and shopping malls. Even with all of this emotional turmoil I could probably still deliver 5,000 or even 10,000 readable words a day. But good words . . . aye, to quote the Bard, there’s the rub.

It’s tempting to lose focus and begin to wonder why I bother. In a world like this, excellence in the arts can seem like such a trivial pursuit. Indeed, never mind excellence, the reason art matters at all is sometimes questioned. With grief, loneliness, addiction, pain and fear all around us, what’s the point of literature? Why paint? Why sculpt? Why dance, or act, or sing? Why not devote oneself to something practical instead?

Near the end of the book of Job, after that unfortunate man has lost his children, his fortune and his health, after he has suffered the interminable counsel of well-meaning friends who insist he somehow brought disaster on himself, after he has come perilously close to blasphemy while demanding an accounting from his creator, after all of that, Job finally encounters God. Strangely, when God appears it is not with explanations. Job learns nothing of the reason for his suffering. He gets no answer to Rabbi Kushner’s famous question, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ Even so, in the end Job is satisfied. God appears, and Job says, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” God appears, and his appearing is enough for Job.

My friend Brad, a professor at a well-known college of fine art, tells me it’s been fashionable for many years in the art community to question the existence of beauty. Not to question beauty’s definition or value, understand, but to question its very existence. One person finds Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon lovely, while another person thinks it’s ugly. In the world of art theory this divergence of opinion has sometimes been taken to mean beauty is nothing but a social construct.

It is an old idea. It is the lament of Ecclesiastes. Everything is meaningless under the sun. Yet not everything, for Job saw God and that was enough.

Once I suffered from severe depression. Like Job I cursed the day of my birth. I was saved from the temptation of suicide by snowcapped mountains, golden birches, and the sparkling Milky Way. I was saved by reflections of God’s beauty.

I don’t mean to say God is beautiful. No mere adjective applies to him. St. John tells us “God is love.” God is beautiful in exactly the same way. Like love, beauty is God’s essence. Beauty does not describe God; it is the fact of God. It is his glory, his weight, the very thing the prophet Moses begged to see on Sinai.

The gospels tell a story of a woman who poured very expensive perfume on Jesus. His disciples were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

And what was Jesus’ reply?

"Why are you bothering this woman?” he asked. “She has done a beautiful thing . . .”

Beauty exists because God exists. To reveal beauty is to reveal God. Therefore, if our art is beautiful, if we struggle to write good words instead of merely readable ones, then sometimes, just for an instant, God appears and God’s appearing is enough. In a world of grief, loneliness, addiction, pain and fear, no act of man could be more practical than that.

Athol Dickson’s novels have been favorably compared to the work of Octavia Butler (Publisher’s Weekly) and Flannery O’Connor (The New York Times). One of his novels is an Audie Award winner. His most recent novel, Lost Mission, is his fifth novel in a row to be selected as a finalist for the Christy Award. Two of his novels are Christy Award winners. Athol lives with his wife in southern California.

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Nothing Wasted

Marcia Laycock is a pastor's wife and mother of three grown daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone, and has published two devotional books, Spur of the Moment, and Focused Reflections. Visit her website - http://www.vinemarc.com/

1 Samuel 3:19 – “So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” (NKJ)

I took great encouragement from this verse when it arrived in my inbox one day. The calling of Samuel has always held a fascination for me. There are many things to be gleaned from that passage of scripture, many that pertain to being a writer.

Samuel responded to the call even though he was not sure what it was, where it was coming from or where it would lead. Sometimes the nudges we get from the Lord are like that. We’re not sure about them, but we move forward. Sometimes we feel God is telling us to write a certain article or poem or book. We have no way of knowing what God intends for that piece of writing but we move forward, show it to friends, have it critiqued, finally submit it and perhaps see it published. Then we stand back in awe at the amazing things God does with it.

Samuel sought out the wisdom of his mentor and it was Eli who directed him to turn to the Lord and to respond. Our mentors, our encouragers, our critique partners are all vital in our growth as writers. They have been put in our lives for good reason. We would be wise to seek their counsel and help often. We would be wise to listen to the critiques of our work, recognize others see weaknesses that we are blind to and be willing to make the changes necessary.

Samuel stayed close to the Lord throughout his life and became one of the great prophets of Israel. He learned obedience at Eli’s knee and never forgot it. Note the last phrase in the scripture above – “the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” All of what Samuel spoke to the people of Israel bore fruit for God. Nothing was wasted.

It is the Lord who directs and guards our words. It is the Lord who will take them to the right people at the right time and use them to His purposes. Note the word, “none.” I take great encouragement from that word alone. Nothing God pours through us is wasted. Each article, each poem, each novel, each devotional, each book will bear the fruit He has in mind. Even those things we write that may never appear in print are important as part of the process. They are doing things in us and the results will show in our work. We may not always see the results God has intended, but we can be assured that they will be accomplished.

In God’s economy, nothing is wasted. Not even one word.

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All We Have to Do

Marcia Lee Laycock is a pastor's wife, mother of three girls, caregiver to two golden retrievers and a six toed cat. She is also the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for the novel, One Smooth Stone. Her devotionals have been widely published.

The voice coming out of the speaker was clipped and rapid. “What kind of muffin would you like? We have carrot, fat wise carrot, blueberry, fat wise blueberry, cranberry and fat wise cranberry.”

My husband and I fell into a fit of giggles. Fat wise? As we waited at the second window for the goods to be delivered, he joked. “I wonder if it talks? If it’s wise, it must be able to talk. What do you think a wise muffin would say?”

“I only care about the fat part,” I replied. “A nice plump muffin. Yup, that’s what I want.”

The muffin was, in fact, small, heavy as a stone and decidedly mute. As we pulled away from the fast-food restaurant, my husband continued his banter about fat wise muffins until my daughter groaned and asked him to quit. He shook his head. “I feel sorry for people trying to learn English.”

Sometimes the way we use words makes no sense. This seems to be particularly true in advertising. For instance, consider the expressions – “jeans your skin,” and “my bottoms are tops,” or “lips that don’t quit,” and “two thumbs fresh.” Our culture speaks in slogans and metaphors, not to mention anagrams.

It’s no wonder we laugh at the poster that reads, “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Words can obscure understanding even when intentions are pure. Words can twist meaning when intentions are evil. There are, however, words which can be trusted, words which are meant to heal and bless, words which will never die.
Psalm 12:6 says, “And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.”

Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

What words does the Lord speak to us? Words of assurance and comfort, words of challenge and sometimes reproach, words of guidance and warning, words that nourish and heal. Our culture lives by the words of advertisers and slogan writers, words meant to spin the coin out of our pockets. God’s words are meant to bring truth, life, peace.

As writers we are charged to do likewise, to imitate Christ is this, as in all things. This can at once free us and bind us. The responsibility can sometimes overwhelm, but the good news is that we are not alone. He is guiding our minds and our hearts and when we yield to Him the outpouring will be words of life and blessing. The good news is that He has purpose for our words too, and those purposes will be accomplished by His Spirit, to His glory.

The good news is, it’s not up to us. All we have to do is write.

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