Topic: ACFW members unable to attend the conference Verse: Jeremiah 29:11–For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Lord, we have all tasted disappointment at one time or another, and for many, it is a disappointment to be unable to …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 38
Topic: Robin Jones Gunn, Keynote Speaker Verse: Jeremiah 1:9–Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. Lord, please wrap your arms around Robin as she prepares to lead us and inspire us. Hold her close and let her hear the whisper of …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 39
Topic: The conference committee Verse: I Thessalonians 1:2-3–We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers.Verse: Father God, we come corporately before You today to ask for a special and intense sense of Your hand and Your presence on the conference committee, each member who has worked so hard in planning and …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 40
Topic: God’s presence and blessing Verse: Psalm 127:1–Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. Precious heavenly Father, We thank you for the opportunity to gather with Christian brothers and sisters, to share our love of and passion for the written word, to …
The Best Writing Partner
By Nancy Ellen Hird About the time I began writing for publication, I heard a businessman say he realized God wanted to be his business partner and so the man wrote up a contract. It occurred to me that God was inviting me to join His business, to be a Kingdom builder with my writings. I was awed by the …
If Kids Don’t Read Like We Read. . .
By Nancy Ellen Hird In her book Writing Irresistible Kidlit (Writer’s Digest Books, 2012), industry insider and former agent Mary Kole writes that kids read differently than adults. She writes they read: • Voraciously • Communally (Friends pass books to each other.) • Socially (Kids talk about books to each other and it is important to be reading what your …
Make God a Part of Your Dreams
God calls us many times to delight in him. Paraphrased, from Psalms 1: Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord. And the one I want to talk about today, that I always hold close when I think of getting a book published, from Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; and he will give …
The My Fair Lady Journey of a Writer
by Lindsay Harrel I’m a total musical nerd. I. Love. Musicals. It’s not just the fact that they’re always full of a variety of characters that make me laugh, cry, and everything in between. Or that everything is set to music (though that’s a major plus!). It’s also about the journey characters make – yes, much like in novels. My …
Plotting With God: Turning Story into a Journey of Faith
by Margaret Brownley The challenge for any Christian writer is to tell a good page-turning story that also enlightens and encourages readers. For the writer starting out, working a meaningful faith arc into a manuscript can be daunting (It was for me coming from the secular market). How much or little faith does a book require and what makes a …
I’m Not Called to Write
by Laura McClellan Are you called to write? That question has come up many times during the past fifteen months as I’ve worked on my first novel. At writing conferences, in blog posts, in emails on the ACFW loops-I’ve lost count of the number of times people have referred to being “called” to write, with not much discussion about what …