The warfare surrounding the May 15-18 Colorado Christian Writers Conference is intense. Without a doubt, I know God is going to meet us on the mountain and empower us to “write His answer.” I also know the evil one views this conference (and the August 8-10 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference) as a real threat to his agenda.

I am so grateful for CCWC’s army of prayer warriors and the 10 pages of powerful prayers from our team that our registrar, Barb Haley, compiled. They were emailed to over 100 pray-ers. Click here if you would like a copy.

It’s not too late to register for CCWC, and I’ll waive the “procrastinator’s fee” if you mention this blog. Walk-ins are welcome. The 16-page brochure for the August 8-10 Philly conference is off press. Email mbagnull@aol.com to receive one (or more) if you are not on our mailing list.

As my good friend, Charles Patricoff, says, “Our nation is no longer sliding down the slippery slope. We are in a free fall.” He is teaching a workshop at CCWC on “America at the Crossroads.”

Friends, this is time to fully enlist in God’s army of writers and to “put on the armor.” I feel such a sense of urgency. “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work” (John 9:4 NLT).

My hands tied behind my back, I was dragged before a tribunal of cloaked men. They accused me of subversion against the government because of my faith in Jesus Christ. I could not deny the charges, for spread across the table were books and articles I had written.

The congregation’s singing brought me back to reality. Had I dozed off or seen a vision? I’ll never know for sure. But I do know the Lord spoke to me. “Do you realize, Child,” I felt Him say, “that the things you are writing may one day convict you? Are you willing to follow Me despite the cost?”

It was a sobering moment. I didn’t ask Him to give me a closer look at the titles of my published works. And I didn’t answer quickly or feel very brave when I finally said, “Yes, Lord.”

That was a number of years ago. Culturally, things were bad and getting worse; but Christians generally were seen as part of the answer—not the problem. We were not the frequent brunt of jokes on TV sitcoms and talk shows. Media coverage was not openly biased. Gays were not militant. People did not worry about being politically correct. The New Age was beginning to infiltrate some churches, but few discerned its danger.

Things are changing—rapidly. We can no longer ignore all the signs that point to the return of Christ. They challenge us to be actively involved in spreading the Gospel while the doors remain open to produce and distribute Christian literature. But we do need to count the cost. In a very real way, writing for the Lord puts us on the front lines where “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12 NIV). To go into battle without the “full armor of God” (Eph. 6:11 NIV) is dangerous.

“This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels,” The Message says. “Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued” (Eph. 6:12-13). Having been defeated too often, I’m learning to pray on the armor every morning that I might “resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over . . . still be standing up” (Eph. 6:13 TLB).

“Lord,” I pray, “help me to gird myself with your belt of truth’” (Eph. 6:14 NIV). “Give me discernment that I might immediately recognize the enemy’s lies and half-truths. Help me to refuse to receive or believe them.” When a manuscript is returned and those insistent inner whispers threaten to defeat me, I buckle the belt of God’s truth more tightly around me. I affirm, often out loud, that the return of one manuscript (or dozens of manuscripts) does not mean I should quit writing. I know God has called me to write, but that is not a guarantee of accepted manuscripts. I must keep developing the gifts of writing and marketing and persevere.

The breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14 NIV) protects my most vulnerable area—my heart, the home of my feelings and emotions. It is so easy for me to be wounded by others, to allow myself to be influenced by fear of what they might say or think. I need to be constantly vigilant against the temptation to compromise because “everyone else is doing it.” I cannot pad my writing expenses on my Schedule C. I cannot be careless attributing quotes or use copyrighted material without permission. Instead, I must handle every aspect of the business side of my writing in a way that honors the Lord. My first priority must be to bring glory to Him and not to myself. “Lord,” I pray, “help me today to consistently choose to do what is right in Your eyes.”

Putting on the shoes of readiness to share the Gospel (Eph. 6:15) protects me from the temptation to get sidetracked. There are often other things I can do and write that would require less time and effort, but if I am to be a soldier of the King, I must take my orders from Him. I need to follow His marching orders instead of asking Him to bless mine. When I walk in obedience, I find that my feet do not become bruised and weary from going places He never intended me to go. I also find that when I say yes to what He wants me to do, rather than yes to what others tell me I should do or what I feel they expect me to do, I am filled with peace instead of tension.

I prayerfully pick up the shield of faith to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16 NIV). I ask God to make me mighty in spirit—to help me to walk by faith, not by sight. I also ask Him to help me not to lower my shield by nurturing doubts. A soldier can be fatally wounded if he lowers his shield for only a moment.

The helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17 NIV) protects my thought life. Each morning I thank God that I do not have to be bound by old habits and thinking  patterns. I ask Him to continue His work of transforming me by renewing my mind (Rom. 12:2) and giving me the “thoughts and mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16 TLB).

Finally, there is the one offensive piece of armor. It is with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17 NIV) that we go forth into battle to confront the evil of our day. Doing so doesn’t mean we are supposed to hit our readers over the head with the Bible. Instead, I pray that God’s Word will so permeate my life that the principles of Scripture will be evident in all I do, say, and write.

“The enemy is within the gates,” Chuck Colson wrote in Against the Night (Servant Publications, 1989, p. 19). “I believe that we do face a crisis in Western culture, and that it presents the greatest threat to civilization since the barbarians invaded Rome” (p. 23). But God commands us to trust Him. Even when facing the spirit of the antichrist, we need not fear because “the one who is in [us] is greater than the one who is in the world” (l John 4:4 NIV). We need to “pray all the time” (Eph. 6:18 TLB) and to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Eph. 6:10 NIV) knowing that Jesus has already won the battle.

Responding to God’s Call to Write

Study Ephesians 6:10-18 in several translations or paraphrases. Ask the Lord to show you what each piece of the armor can mean in your life. List those insights below and begin to daily pray on the armor.

Belt of truth

Breastplate of righteousness

Shoes of readiness

Shield of faith

Helmet of salvation

Sword of the Spirit

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“What do you want to be when you grow up, little girl?”

When I was six, I told anyone who asked me that question the exact same thing: “I’m going to be a writer!”

Not that the path from first grader to published author was an easy one. It took years (first I had to learn how to read), but eventually I got there. Eventually I published 15 books under the name Karen Linamen, collaborated on another 15, and now I get to help people build their platforms, improve their writing, and get published.

But it all started with a dream. And a declaration.

Undoubtedly, you’re further along in your writing journey than I was at the ripe old age of six, but I think there are some milestones in my journey that you may find helpful in yours. There are three that come to mind:

1. One milestone occurred during a college chapel service where the speaker, a published author, encouraged us to stop saying “I want to be“ and start saying “I am.”

I walked away from that event with permission to stop saying “I’m going to be a writer” and start saying “I AM a writer!”

I had nothing published. No contract. No readership. Nobody waiting with longing to read the next installment of my witty observations and wise reflections. But I had permission to call myself what I longed to become—and what I believe God was calling me to be. And I don’t think I would have given myself that permission without encouragement from someone further along on the writing journey.

Do you want to be a writer? Or ARE you a writer? If you haven’t given yourself permission to walk by faith in the name of your calling, do it today. I give you permission to give yourself permission to say the words, “I’m a writer.” Yes, my friend, you are.  

2. Another milestone occurred when I attended my first writers conference.

Looking around the room at the other writers and faculty in attendance, I felt a profound sense of belonging. This was my tribe. I also felt a dazed sense of gratitude. I still hadn’t published anything, but I was starting to realize there were people further along this glorious path who had once stood in my shoes, mentors willing to reach back a hand and help me scale many of the boulders along the way.

Are you putting yourself in the path of mentors who can help you along the way? I don’t think I’ve come across another industry where people who have enjoyed a measure of success are more willing to share practical help and encouragement with others who are hungry to learn. Attend writers’ conferences. Join writing groups. Connect with other writers on social media and over coffee and in your city. There’s strength in numbers, and writers sharpen writers. Don’t try this alone. We really do need each other.

3. Yet another milestone occurred recently when I got to watch two people whose books I had the privilege of shepherding to publication hold those books in their hands for the first time.

Yes, there have been other milestones along the way—completing manuscripts, getting published in magazines and online, holding my own books in my hands for the very first time, reading precious letters from readers, seeing my books in bookstores, doing media appearances and so on. I remember these moments, too.

But as I sat down to write this post, the three that came most strongly to mind were all moments spent with other like-minded men and women who share our calling. In other words, some of the most pivotal and precious moments of my career have occurred during time spent with other members of the amazing community of writers.

I wish I’d known this sooner. I would have started attending conferences and writers’ groups a lot sooner than I did.

But I eventually figured it out. It’s been a game-changer in my writing career, and if it hasn’t already been a game-changer in yours, it can be.

Are you trying to hone your craft and feed your writer’s soul in isolation? Or are you sharing priceless moments with other writers, receiving help from veteran travelers on this amazing journey, as well as encouraging others who began their journeys more recently than you?

Spring and summer provide great opportunities to connect with like-minded souls at writers’ conferences across the country, and if you haven’t nailed something down for May 15^th-18^th, I know right where you need to be. Marlene’s annual Colorado Christian Writers Conference in Estes Park, Colorado, is one of the most robust and anointed conferences you’ll find anywhere, and I promise if you attend, you’ll be profoundly enriched by the experience.

You can Register for the May 2019 Colorado Christian Writers Conference Here

I’ll be teaching a couple sessions at this conference (and at the Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference in August as well). I’ll be teaching a workshop on “How to Add More Humor to Your Writing,” and also a six-hour continuing session with Michael Klassen called “Taking Your Nonfiction Book from Good to Great!” If you come to either conference, let’s connect.

I really hope to see you there.

Here’s the bottom line: I’m grateful for YOU. I’m so glad we share this calling, so glad we’re in the same tribe.

Let’s do this thing. Together.

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Guest post
Andrea Lyn Sims Ph.D.

 

From my research on the impostor phenomenon, I have gained insight into how identity is shaped or misshaped during the early years, and how personalities come forth from identity. As I began to better understand the inner workings of internalizing what we see and hear, I looked back on my life’s journey and realized that who I was created to be . . . was not who I had become.

The process of internalization

My own process of internalization informs me. As an adult, when I view something, I interpret what I’m seeing into words that are in agreement with what I know at the time. My understanding of what I’m viewing then passes through the filter I have created within my intellect, and I store these words or I discard them. My mind’s filter is composed of facts and ideas and feelings and is ever changing. Everything I take in passes through my filter. When I hear something, I translate it into words that are in agreement with what I know (or think I know). My filter is activated, and if I store the words, I also store the feelings that are attached to them.

But as a child, the internalization process is embryonic. The sorting out of what to keep and what to discard is non-functioning. Innocence is a beautiful thing, but guidance in erecting a schema and constructing a filter is essential if we are to become who we were created to be.

I fear this happens too rarely. For some it is mostly lacking. It was for me. And the result was a growing incongruence between how I saw myself and how the outside world saw me, which inflicted upon my inner self a silent and hidden suffering, resulting in a misshapen life and a misdirected path. It left me feeling like a fraud . . . an impostor.

Allow me to capture the essence of someone who suffers from the impostor phenomenon by taking an “external selfie.” People would describe her like this:

• She works extra hard, starting early and consistently over-preparing.
• She’s intelligent, gifted, and high achieving—successful.
• She gives a great first impression, too.
• But if you compliment her, she blushes and turns away.
• She has chosen to remain as a big fish in a small pond.
• She sets goals much below her actual capabilities.

Now let me give you an “internal selfie.” Here’s what’s going on inside her:

• She does not acknowledge her personal or professional successes, even in the face of tangible proof.
• She only briefly enjoys experiences that showcase her competence, intelligence, or talents and then rejects any idea of repeating them.
• She is full of secret fears hidden behind a great smile.
• She fears new things: projects, jobs, relationships, and experiences.
• She fears failure as well as success.
• She often goes above and beyond and does much more than is expected, like she is trying to prove something.
• She carries around the superwoman complex – a heavy burden – thinking she should be able to do anything asked of her.

The bottom line is that over the course of my life, I have believed lies about myself. So I began to list them, ending up with several pages. As I have worked through the process of replacing those lies with the truth, I wondered how many others have been living with a distorted sense of who they are because of the lies they have believed about themselves.

Just as there are universal truths, are there “universal lies” as well? Are the lies I have believed about myself similar to the lies you have believed about yourself?

Maybe many of you are just like me—living with a distorted understanding of who you are and wondering why you feel like a fraud—outwardly successful but inwardly suffering.

Maybe sharing the journey I have taken to get back my true identity will help you. That’s my hope.

* ~ * ~ *

Andrea Lyn Sims Ph.D. is the author of The Impostor Affect: A Closer Look by a Classic Case (currently being used as a text for university level classes). She is also an educator and publisher of 3rd Chapter Press, First Page Press, and TerraCotta Publishing. At the May 15-18 Colorado Christian Writers Conference she will teach the workshop “The Imposter Syndrome.” www.andrealynsims.com. 

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Faith is the confidence that what we hope for
will actually happen;
it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1 NLT

This is my 23rd year directing the Colorado Christian Writers Conference at the YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park Center. Each year after the conference I spend hours in Rocky Mountain National Park hoping to see a moose. It hasn’t happened yet, but I haven’t given up hoping. Maybe this year!

But I do have faith and I am confident that God will again meet us on the mountain at the May 15-18 conference. We will see Him in the magnificence of His creation. He will speak to us through the editors, agents, and authors He is calling to serve on faculty and through new and renewed friendships with others who desire to “write His answer.”

Five of our eight continuing sessions (click here) are confirmed along with about half (presently 28) faculty members. Visit http://colorado.writehisanswer.com frequently for updates and save May 15-18 for CCWC 2019 – a conference that will change your life!

I’ve been to many “Christian” Writers Conferences around the country. None have helped build my faith, provided clear direction, strengthened my convictions, and encouraged me to write Jesus’ messages more than CCWC. For the record, I’ve attended CCWC 13 years in a row. I would not miss it. – Charles J. Patricoff

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Pray much for others;
plead for God’s mercy upon them;
give thanks for all he is going to do for them.
1  Timothy 2:1 (TLB)

Thank You, Father, for everyone who has been praying for Paul and for how You are restoring his health. I am so, so grateful.

Yesterday, Paul saw Dr. Tony, the oncologist. When Paul was in the hospital the end of October Dr. Tony told us he thought the white spots would resolve along with the blood clots. An oncologist he works with and a lung doctor disagreed. Thank you so much for your prayers that helped me get through the last six weeks. I felt your prayers and so appreciated the encouragement I received through countless Facebook comments and more than 1,000 emails. And I am praising God that Dr. Tony was right. The blood clots and spots are gone. There is NO cancer!

Last night Paul saw the ortho doc who continues to be amazed with the progress Paul is making. Although it will take 4-6 months for complete recovery and another 2 months before Paul can drive, the doc said Paul no longer needs to see him.

Today Paul saw the GI doctor for his tummy problems and weight loss that has had me so concerned. I am confident that this doctor is going to find the needed answers. He has scheduled Paul for an endoscopy December 26. If the blood test Dr. Tony ordered shows Paul no longer needs to be on the blood thinner, the GI doctor will also stretch Paul’s Schatzki Ring that he thinks may be a big part of  the problems Paul is having. I don’t think there’s going to be a quick fix, but I am confident that Father is going to use this doctor. And again, I am praising God that the CT scan of Paul’s tummy and pelvis showed no evidence of cancer.

Father’s hand in all this is so evident. Monday evening I called the salon where I get my hair done. The stylist I had about two months ago (the new manager) is pretty much booked through the end of the year but was available Monday night. She’s a Christian and was very reassuring when I saw her the first time when Paul was in rehab. To my amazement, I learned as she colored my hair Monday night (no more grey – temporarily) that the GI doctor Paul saw today is her doctor. She’s been with him seven years and says he is the best. Her encouragement and hug Monday night helped me get through the last two days.

But still, the waiting has been so hard! I needed to re-read the article I wrote over 30 years ago that was originally published in Decision. Forgive me, Father, for not trusting You more as I waited. Thank You for Your patience, Your unfailing love, and the gift of friends.

 

 

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