Author: Bill Jones

What’s the Best Thing About Being a (Christian) Writer?

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chapter graphic

I joined Goodreads the other day and went through the profile process and set up an author page. Found some friends from Facebook and some friends who weren’t from Facebook. So far, it seems to be a good contact point for the book, and a place to learn about books in general, and find specific books to read.

As part of the Author Page start-up, they listed questions you can answer if you want to. I picked a couple and this one caused me to think a bit:

“What’s the best thing about being a writer?” My answer:

“I like the way it can open your eyes, ears and mind to what is happening around you. Specific words and phrases catch your attention. Sights create word pictures in your mind. You notice life and your thoughts go in both directions – how did this moment come about, and where will it go from here?”

I had not answered that question specifically before, but that’s the basic theme of my writing. I appreciated the words coming to mind and giving me a paragraph describing the process.

Of course, the best thing about being a Christian writer is being able to help others think about God, and as I mentioned last post, hopefully to give the glory to the Lord. You can place His presence, guidance, goodness, mercy and love in every sentence of the paragraph I answered the question with, because, when it’s right, that’s Who it all comes from.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” Psalms 103:1

God Keeps us Humble, and Blesses Us, in Just the Right Proportion

/ Bill Jones / 8 Comments

I’ve had great fun with my book being published, and God has blessed me in the process – but he’s also kept me humble.

As you get closer to finally having a real book out there, thoughts of it becoming wildly popular do creep in now and then – at least they did with me. What if it becomes a best seller ! You could go in the bookstore and see it on the shelves right in front as you walk in the door. Amazon could declare you a “Best Selling” author. You could get rave reviews, even in the national media. You could write a book about writing your book, and it be a best seller too.

I have been realistic, and hopefully a little humble, enough that those extreme thoughts didn’t come to mind (most of them sound rather scary and bothersome), but a limited level of “wildly popular” did pop up.

I have prayed that the book would be to the glory of God and the good of His people, and it’s a sincere prayer. But, it’s also a phrase that flows easily across the lips so it shouldn’t be made without thought, which has been the case at times. And, it shouldn’t be prayed and then your mind start wandering and come out with a thought about how neat it could be for the book to be wildly popular. That has happened, too.

So, how wildly popular is it? My royalty payments from the first four weeks of sales came today, and the total was $16.52 in American dollars, plus 2 pounds, 60 pence from the UK. I won’t be retiring to the South Seas anytime soon.

I just checked Amazon to see where my sales rank. It made me smile to see I’m still in the seven digit category.  My book is ranked at 1,725,727. No national media headlines coming any time soon.

But, the reason for the royalty in pounds, is that two books sold in the United Kingdom. That’s awesome to think about. I have friends who tell me they use the book for a daily devotional. Others have read it, and bought additional copies because they want to give them to their young adult children, or their brother and father, or their Pastor and Bible Study teacher. What wonderful, and humbling, blessings.

God has a way of answering our prayers, in spite of ourselves. He can keep us humble while uplifting us. Praise the Lord!

“Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good” Psalm 135:3

Remembering the Proper Order of Our Prayers

/ Bill Jones / 4 Comments

 

Wilderness Camping

Wilderness Camping

Several years ago I participated in a Wood Badge course for Boy Scout Leaders. Most of the class work was done on weekend camping trips over about a six month period. Along with instruction in the details of leading a troop the Boy Scout way, and being taught how young boys learn best, the camping setting allowed us to practice outdoor skills we could pass along.

I remember one of the first activities was related to setting up camp. The instructor led us on a short hike into the woods, stopped and gathered us around him, and asked “What’s the first thing you do in setting up camp?”

After a moment of the entire group’s silence, my reply was “You look around.”

Everybody burst into laughter and the instructor was laughing loudest. He repeated my statement, gave the old “what a stupid thing to say” chuckle and head shake, and moved on into his spiel. The answer he had wanted, and then gave us was  “set up a tent or shelter.”

He continued “Make sure you pick a good spot – don’t set up where you might get a flash flood in mountainous terrain or end up in a puddle of water here in flatland south Georgia. Is there space for a fire? Check for ant beds on the ground and rotten limbs hanging over the area. etc., etc.”

After my initial aggravation at being laughed at, I did get a kick out of listening to him, in effect, tell us the first thing to do: “you look around.” Some of the others may have also picked up on that, but the instructor never seemed to make the connection.

All of us may remember times when we were right, and were either laughed at, or not believed. As you see, that one is readily available in my memory. But, I hope I remember the incident more from the lesson to be learned. When setting up camp, or in any task, or plan, it’s best to look around first.

Sometimes we think we have the answer all figured out – Praying, “Lord, please bless this thing I want to do.” before the “looking around” prayer that should come first. “Lord, please guide me in what I should do next.”

“Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” Psalms 25:4-5

Lay Aside the Weights Which Hinder Us in Our Race

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Bent Power Pole

Bent Power Pole

This power pole is next to US Highway 80, along the route between our house and the church we attend. So, for quite awhile, on my trips to and from church, I’ve watched it bend a little more each year. (Yes, we electric utility engineers do notice the power lines as we drive along.)

It’s not leaning. You can see it’s straight at ground level. Leaning would mean the foundation is weak, but the foundation is strong (in this case it’s the dirt around about 6 feet of pole in the ground.) No, it’s just bending.

The pull of the attached cable that goes off to the right is causing the bend. Is the pole in danger of breaking? Probably not, unless it stays a long time, with enough bending and enough age (like our bodies, a pole’s strength lessens as it gets older.)

The more the pole bends, the more gravity comes into the equation. When it’s straight up and down, the entire pole carries the weight. But, as it bends, the weight of the top of the pole and, in this case, the weight of the transformer, create offset forces that increase the bending even more. That concentrates more force at particular locations along the pole (think of breaking a stick with your hands – it bends, then breaks at a particular point.)

If it’s not likely to break, what’s the problem? A power pole has one purpose – to hold things up. This next picture shows the span of cable that goes off the pole.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

You can consider the two photos and see that, as the pole bends more, the cable will sag closer to the ground. If it’s significant enough, the clearance to the ground can become unsafe. The pole’s purpose – to hold things up – can be compromised by weights and pulls and burdens. Even while just doing it’s job.

As I’ve passed the pole these many years, my thoughts often go to Hebrews 12:1-3: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Our purpose is to glorify and worship God. Laying aside sin is obviously needed for us to fulfill that purpose (run the race). But, the Scripture verses and the pole in the picture remind us there are also weights and pulls and burdens, even “good” ones, that can hinder our race and compromise our purpose – slow us down, or get us off track, or cause us to sag under the burden. Those can be subtle and require continual self assessment to keep under control. And, as the verse also says, keeping our eyes on Jesus, and remembering what He has done, will help to reinforce the purpose in our life, and allow us to lay aside the sin and weights that hinder us.

What are some of these weights, and pulls and burdens that you’ve come across in your life?