Write His Answer

Spring Is Coming!

February 7, 2011 by Marlene Bagnull

Spring is coming, or so the groundhog says. Whether he’s right that we’ll have an early spring remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – spring will come!

Even more certain is God’s promise in Hosea 6:3: “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him, and he will respond to us as surely as the coming of dawn or the rain of early spring” (TLB). But did you read the condition? Are you pressing in to know Him and, as one who has been given the gift of words, are you pressing on to make Him known?

If you’re feeling stuck in a long, cold winter of your soul when God seems distant and a season when your writing appears to be going nowhere, take heart. “Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us” (2 Tim. 2:13 TLB). And what does He promise? Romans 11:29 says “God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn” (TLB). He also promises that “Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing his will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7 TLB).

A promise that kept me writing and submitting when my first book kept getting rejected is Galatians 6:9. “Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up” (TLB). That book was finally accepted after being returned 42 times over a five year period. (I learned not to use the word “rejected.”) Had I given up, I would have missed the joy of encouraging others through my book, Write His Answer – A Bible Study for Christian Writer; the joy of the six other books that followed; and the joy of directing the Greater Philly and Colorado Christian Writers Conference.

We’re picking up 8,000 brochures today for the May 11-14 Colorado Christian Writers Conference. If you’re not on our mailing list, please email me to receive the 16-page brochure. The August 10-13 Greater Philly conference is well along in the planning stages. And I’ve expanded my online bookstore for writers – finally. Through February 28 I’m offering an additional 10% off the already discounted prices including Sally Stuart’s 2011 Christian Writers Market Guide making the price for the new edition only $18. I hope you’ll visit www.writehisanswer.com/bookstore.htm.

But Father, most of all I pray that Your people will be encouraged to “write Your answer” during these critical days. Help us all to be faithful to our calling.

Because of Christ – Marlene

Posted in Called to write, Colorado Christian Writers Conference, God's promises, Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference, Overcoming self-doubts, Publishing journey | 3 Comments »

Challenged by Challenger

January 28, 2011 by Marlene Bagnull

Twenty-five years ago, along with countless others, I watched in horror as the Challenger exploded just over a minute after lift-off. I wrote the following article that was printed in World Vision magazine.

“Oh, my God!” was all I could say as I watched the videotape playback of the Challenger explosion just after lift-off. Although I rarely weep over new reports, I found tears rollng down my cheeks as I thought of the crew members and schoolteacher on board.

“Please, God, let there be a miracle,” I pleaded.

After the shock of the tragedy wore off, I found myself wondering why this particular event had made such an impact on me. In a world where thousands die from hunger every day,* why was I so grieved by the death of seven?

The conclusions I reached are not comfortable ones.

I thought of the way I’ve come to value people. The beautiful and intelligent who are in the limelight somehow are seen as having more worth than others. Yet in God’s sight each individual is equally imp0ortant.

Perhaps the unexpectedness of the tragedy was the reason it affected me so. That thought also made me uncomfortable. Have I become so accustomed to seeing reports of starving children that I am no longer moved by them?

Like millions of others who watched, I felt special concern for the family of the schoolteacher. Was that because I was more able to relate to her than to families of another culture who have been squeezed into refugee camps. Probably. Yet the oneness we possess as human beings made in the image of God should bond me to them enough so that I hurt when they hurt.

I may never know the answers to the disturbing questions that the Challenger tragedy caused me to ask myself. But I can, with God’s help, find ways to work good from its effect on me.

I can decide to become more responsive to the needs of the emaciated children I am all too accustomed to seing in television specials and newscasts. Though I may never meet them personally, and they may never become well known to the world, I can give some of them the opportunity to live, to experience health, to know Christ.

I can’t save them all, but I can save some. And when I give to “one of the least of these” I can know the joy of giving to Christ Himself.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Colorado Christian Writers Conference

January 13, 2011 by Marlene Bagnull

CCWC 2011 is in the planning stages!
Presently we have 52 agents, authors, and editors on faculty.
The continuing sessions are in place and posted on the website (www.writehisanswer.com/Colorado)
along with a list of the present faculty and markets.
I anticipate adding a few more faculty members.

Please visit www.writehisanswer.com/Colorado
for more info that I’ll be adding daily.

Registration opens February 1.

If you do not receive a postcard in the mail this week,
please email your USPS address to mbagnull@aol.com
to receive our 16-page brochure in February.

I KNOW that God is again going to meet us on the mountain
and do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph. 3:20).

Posted in Colorado Christian Writers Conference | Leave a Comment »

Start the new year . . . write!

January 6, 2011 by Marlene Bagnull

Will this be the year that the hopes and dreams you have for your writing are realized? Ecclesiastes 5:7 says, “Dreaming instead of doing is foolishness, and there is ruin in a flood of empty words” (TLB). Therefore, at the beginning of a new year it’s wise to ask ourselves, “What am I going to do to make it happen?”

There is no better way to begin the new year or each new day than to “press on to know the Lord” (Hos. 6:3 TLB). Only through waiting on Him (Hab. 2:1) will we know what He is calling us to write and be encouraged and equipped to persevere.Just as we need to “go on growing in the Lord” (Col. 2:7 TLB), we need to keep growing our writing skills. We need to “work hard so God can say to [us], ‘Well done’” (2 Tim. 2:15 TLB). My mother used to say, “Practice makes perfect.” While we are not likely to achieve perfection, there is no better way to develop our ability with words than to practice – daily!

“Follow my example, just as I follow Christ’s,” the apostle Paul said (1 Cor. 11:1 TLB). Are there other writers whose example you are striving to follow? Even if you may never meet them face to face, you can learn from them by studying what they have written and listening to workshops they have taught. Because I believe this is so important,

CDs from the 2010 Colorado
and Greater Philly Christian Writers Conferences
are available at 50% off the normal price of $6 each
for all of January.

For every five CDs purchased, you get one additional CD free. The 2010 info is still posted on the conference websites (see below). The Philadelphia website has a CD order form. For Colorado CDs you’ll need to email me at mbagnull@aol.com the titles of what you’d like to order (for workshops please include the workshop number/letter) and I’ll send them along with an invoice. Shipping is only $1.50 for the first CD and .35 for each additional CD.

Finally, I hope you’ll plan to come to the May 11-14 Colorado and/or the August 10-13 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference. Both conferences will again feature a faculty of over 50 professional authors, editors, agents, and publicists; earlybird workshops on Wednesday; 8 continuing sessions; plus 42 workshops or 4 hands-on clinics! ALSO – 4 (yes, FOUR) free one-on-one 15-minute appointments with the faculty of your choice if you attend the entire conference plus a BONUS fifth appointment for the first 50 registrants.

Next week I will begin posting info to the conference websites. Our 16-page brochure for the Colorado conference should be in your hands the first week of February if you’re on our mailing list. It also will be posted on www.writehisanswer.com/Colorado before online registration opens February 1.

Registration for the August 10-13 Philly conference will open April 1.

Thank You, Father, for the gift of this new year and for the opportunities to serve You through the ministry of words. Help us to “be strong and courageous and get to work” (1 Chron. 28:20 TLB).

Posted in Called to write, Colorado Christian Writers Conference, Goal-setting, Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference | 3 Comments »

The New Year

January 1, 2011 by Marlene Bagnull

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I used to, but I found that I broke them as quickly as I made them. The result? It was all to easy to become discouraged and give up. So . . . I changed my approach and set goals instead of made resolutions. That’s not a bad thing to do. As someone has said, “Aim at nothing and that’s exactly what you will achieve.” Still goal-setting can also bring me to a place of frustration. I find the balance between God-sized goals and realistic goals difficult to determine.

Yes, I know that “his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Eph. 3:20 TLB). But the key, I believe, is in praying for His will and surrendering our desires, thoughts, and hopes to Him. It is asking, “Father, what do You want me to do in this new year? What do You want me to do today?”

What might the Lord do in my life and yours if daily we chose to make our first priority that of “obeying God with deep reverence, shrinking back from all that might displease him” (Phil. 2:12)? What if we allowed Him to be Lord of our to-do lists and did what He wants us to do rather than asking Him to “bless” what we want to do? What if we made a habit of asking, “What would Jesus do?” and then did it? Is this really possible for people who are goal-oriented and strong-willed? (Okay, stubborn is probably a more accurate word.)

“For God is at work within you, helpng you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants” He promises in Philippians 2:13 (TLB). Wow! That’s a promise I long to grab hold of today and each day of this new year!

Posted in Goal-setting, God's promises | 3 Comments »

A New Christmas Carol

December 17, 2010 by Marlene Bagnull

Lift Up Your Eyes and See
To the tune: O Little Town of Bethlehem

All those beneath life’s crushing load
Lift up your eyes and see
The Son of God has come to earth
His words will set you free
From doubt and fear and worry
Of what the future holds
Look up and put your trust in Him
His peace will fill your soul.

The baby born to Mary
The Word made flesh He came
That all who will believe in Him
Will never be the same
O’er evil He did triumph
When on the cross He hung
Our sin He took upon Himself
Salvation for us won.

So we can live in victory
And know His joy and peace
No matter what the headlines say
We only need to reach
To Him who holds the future
Our lives are in His hands
Rejoice, give thanks and praise His name
In near and distant lands.

Marlene Bagnull

Posted in God's promises | 5 Comments »

Our God Is With Us!

December 17, 2010 by Marlene Bagnull

The stark contrasts at Christmas
always cause me to ponder and pray.

Plenty and poverty,
    peace and conflict,
      believers and unbelievers,
            joy and sorrow,
                light and dark . . .

How I rejoice in the knowledge that “Christ became a human being
and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth”
(John 1:14 tlb).

Have a blessed Christmas because

Our God Is With Us

IMMANUEL, God with us
wrapped in
swaddling clothes.
Helpless and
dependent.

IMMANUEL God with us
clothed in
a Rabbi’s garb.
Truth and love
revealing.

IMMANUEL God with us
stripped and
mocked and beaten.
Choosing death
that we might live.

IMMANUEL God with us
robed in
glorious white.
Our Savior
and coming King.

Marlene Bagnull

Posted in God's promises | 1 Comment »

Jesus Is the Reason!

November 29, 2010 by Marlene Bagnull

As reported on CNN, the billboard below recently went up on Rt. 495 at Kennedy Blvd (on the NJ side, right before the Lincoln Tunnel entering Manhattan).

What is happening to our nation that was founded on Judeo/Christian principles? Are we like the frog in that kettle, unaware that the heat has been turned up and that we are in grave danger of losing our freedom to worship God?

Those who oppose the public display of nativity scenes become more militant every year. Public schools now celebrate Christmas as a “winter holiday.” Retail stores want the business Christmas brings but are careful not to mention Christmas in their ads for fear they will alienate someone. More often than not when the name of Jesus is spoken publicly it is in derision rather than reverence. “Political correctness” demands tolerance for every belief but Christianity!

I’ve never forgotten the words of a friend who grew up in Switzerland before the start of the Second World War. She said, “The church in Germany saw what was happening, but the church in Germany was silent.”

What of the church in America today? What about you? What about me? Will we remain silent? Is it a “myth” that Jesus has changed more lives for the good than anyone who ever lived – that He has changed your life? Will “reason” bring peace on earth and hope for the hopeless? Will we deny Him or proclaim Him as King of kings and Lord of lords?

Father, please stir us to action. And please, as people drive by this billboard, blind them to the lie it proclaims. Cause them to only see Jesus in the manger and to KNOW that Jesus is the reason for the season!

Posted in Our Christian witness, Praying for our nation | 5 Comments »

Hallelujah!

November 21, 2010 by Marlene Bagnull

Yes, hallelujah!

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Hallelujah.
The kingdom of this world is become.
The kingdom of our lord and of his Christ, and of his Christ.
And he shall reign for ever and ever. . . .
King of kings, and lord of lords. King of kings and lord of lords.
And he shall reign for ever for ever and ever.

The Hallelujah Chorus has always moved me deeply but never so much as in this video (http://www.philly.com/philly/video/106492678.html) of 650 choristers who burst forth into song at Macy’s in center city Philly on October 30.

As we move into the Christmas season, please embolden us, Father, to point others to the One whose birth we celebrate. Please turn our nation back to You.

Posted in Our Christian witness, Praying for our nation | 3 Comments »

Overcoming Doubts

November 9, 2010 by Marlene Bagnull

Do you feel called to “write His answer” and yet struggle with self-doubts? Truthfully, through working with hundreds of writers through the years, I find that the those who really have a gift with words and a message that needs to be published are the ones most likely to be crippled by self-doubts.

I shudder when I think of how many times I almost gave up because my self-doubts were so loud and insistent. Why would anyone want to read what I wrote? I What made me think that I could write for the Lord? I wasn’t qualified! How could He possibly use someone who was only a high school graduate? I felt ashamed and woefully inadequate.

How it must have grieved the Lord when I failed to see that the Cross turns my minus into a plus – when I believed the lies of the evil one instead of His promises. And how much time I wasted in my self-centered and selfish focus on my doubts instead of on the needs Father was calling me to address through the words He would give me if I would just trust Him.

I’m presently reading Joel Rosenberg’s new novel, The Twelfth Imam. When I saw the following subject line in an article from ASSIST News yesterday, I immediately knew it was about him: Author of End Times Political Thriller Hits New York Times Best Seller List with His Latest Middle Eastern Novel. What I didn’t know was that when Joel got the idea to write “a political thriller – a Middle East-based terrorism story that would have the Gospel woven into it,” he “didn’t know how to write a novel.” He says, “I’d never written one before. I’d never even taken a class on writing a novel and I didn’t even like to read novels. So that was a problem.” I hope you’ll go to ASSIST News at http://www.assistNews.net/stories/2010/s10110053.htm // to read the rest of the story of how God used someone who was not qualified and who, as he admits, “didn’t know how to write a novel and . . . didn’t have a story.”

Father, thank You for calling us to do what seems impossible and for Your faithfulness to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond as we choose to listen to You and not to our doubts.

Posted in Called to write, Overcoming self-doubts, Publishing journey | 17 Comments »

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