Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

design

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Where The Dice Fall

Saturday’s Devotional:
Proverbs 16:33
We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.

I haven’t written a devotional since February.

Why?

Because I threw my dice…

Some of you may know that I write books. I have two out now: CROSSING THE DEEP (Grace Award Winner for best young adult Christian book) and SAINT SLOAN (Amazon bestseller in Teen/Religion). I’m not telling you this for you to go and buy them. But there IS a point.

Despite the wonderful reviews, there isn’t much money in writing Christian fiction. Most people think they are ‘preachy’ or ‘out of touch’ with life. My books are not preachy and are actually pretty edgy for Christian fiction. They get their point across and God across with relatable stories and suspenseful mysteries. In short, I love them.

So what’s the problem? Like I said. There isn’t much money in writing Christian fiction.

That formed the idea in my head (you can’t kill an idea). Hey, I have great reviews! People have complimented my writing style! People say I am a good storyteller! The only issue is what I write! I need to write mainstream… Throw God in there as an afterthought… and sell more books.

I threw my dice.

Anyone want to know how it turned out?

Yeah

Writer’s block.

I’ve been working on this one book for months, but it won’t flow right. Why? Because I’m trying to do it my way, not the way God wanted.

When I finally got it through my head that it’s okay to not sell 1000 copies as long as it touches one person and started on the Christian fiction side again, the words just flowed out. No more writer’s block.

Sigh.

I threw my dice, but the LORD determined how they fell.

I still wish there wasn’t a stigma with ‘Christian fiction’, but maybe it’s my job, my calling, to change that. I went on a blog tour a few weeks ago where people (mostly non-Christians) read Saint Sloan… and loved it! I’ve always wanted to write books so compelling that even non-believers would like them so they would think about God… maybe for only a few minutes, and maybe for just that one day… but at least they would think about Him.

You can’t kill an idea.

What changed my outlook on this? One review on Goodreads. I got it a few days ago. My first 1 star. At first I was sad. No one likes bad reviews. Then I actually read it. Here was a person who hated the characters, hated the story, hated everything about it. Then went on to say maybe it was because she was an atheist. When I read that part, I smiled. One, she could have had such a bad reaction because she really hated the book (her right. I’m not mad about it.) Two, she could have had such a strong reaction because God was dealing with her, and she didn’t know how to handle it (that’s what I hope).

Will I ever know? Not unless she tells me some day. But I can be assured that for 224 pages, she thought about God. And maybe something in there planted a seed… an idea (and, remember, you can’t kill an idea)

What does this have to do with you? Well, do what God tells you to do and don’t try to throw your own dice. You can of course. You can throw your dice until your hand is tired, but in the end God is the one that determines how they fall. If God has put on your heart some way to serve Him, do it. Don’t try to talk yourself out of it… and don’t try to follow the money ;)

God has big things for you… even if they don’t seem big to you at the moment.


~Kelly

BTW, CROSSING THE DEEP and SAINT SLOAN are now in paperbacks!!!! *happy dance* You can only get them through Amazon though. Maybe someday I'll be in a bookstore, but hey, that's up to God. I just write the books ;)

 photo d3eb9e28-e283-4a0b-86a4-9f9fc5d04109_zps642e8cd4.jpg

5 comments:

  1. Kelly,
    This is awesome!!!! I struggled with that lesson for years. Kicking the doors that God had closed, pushing harder to go my own way. When I finally got it that God's way is best, and let Him be in charge, my life took off!! So keep letting go. And hang onto your hat!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations! You inspire!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had to come to the same conclusion about writing blog posts, Kelly. Our calling is to write them. It's God's business what He does with them - who He brings to them.

    We may never know who reads them and what affect it had on them, but God has promised us this...

    that His word will not return to Him void, but will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

    He has a purpose for everything He prompts us to write and His purposes will be accomplished!

    Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're a great inspiration. For a long time i had similar experience. trying to open doors that were closed, throwing back the dice even when they were bouncing back at me. But somehow i learnt to follow and simply obey God's will. I learnt to trust, by using what He makes available and trying not to worry over the closed doors. Its pretty hard.
    God's Grace to you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you guys so much for the sweet comments! <3 They mean a lot.

    ReplyDelete