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Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/26/2008 1:26:44 AM
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RyansWife
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How do you ensure that you are using the gift of writing for His purpose? This is something I have been thinking about continually.
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/26/2008 2:25:13 AM
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DenimDiva
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A lot of my writing is short stories that I share mostly with family and friends. Many of them are true-life experiences and I couldn't see God in any of it. However, in the end I point out where I could see Him in hindsight. Sometimes I will write a story from my prospective as an adult looking at what happened as a child. I will write in how the child can't see the hand of God at work, but He is there none-the-less.
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/26/2008 9:22:58 AM
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IonMoon
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Well, my stories/writings often are not overtly faith-based; however, they messages in them come from my perspective, which is the perspective of a Christian.
Now, I sometimes write about characters who do not come close to honoring God. And sometimes I have characters praying or going to church or quoting the Bible or whatever, because they that is a part of my experience, and my writing draws from my experiences.
The end products are usually secular in appearance, but the underlying truths that are highlighted are Christian values, etc.
Tara P
_____________________________
http://www.geocities.com/hallscola67/KyliesHomemadeShopIndex.htm
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/26/2008 4:44:43 PM
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CherishedbyGod
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quote:
ORIGINAL: RyansWife
How do you ensure that you are using the gift of writing for His purpose? This is something I have been thinking about continually.
I try to continually point people to Him in my writings. But that is my specific calling - to write about Him so it may be easier in a respect for me.
Having said that, flesh does creep in and sometimes my motives are not always pure.
I guess the best answer for me would be, to maintain a close relationship with Him, remember that is best to hide behind His cross and to remember how beautiful humility is and how ugly pride is....
_____________________________
~I would love for you to come and learn about Jesus of Nazareth with me in the Writer's Roundtable Folder~
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/26/2008 8:32:50 PM
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1love1God1way
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I am a Christian.
I have God in my heart.
I write from my heart.
That's enough for me.
_____________________________
love.ben
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/26/2008 9:17:46 PM
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rgod
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This is a really interesting question. I wonder if it is something that I have to be intentional about or if it is something that just flows out of you, you know? I'm reading a book right now written by Julia Cameron called "Floor Sample." If you remember, she is the same writer that wrote "The Artists Way." I never liked "The Artist's Way" because I always felt that it was very new agey - I couldn't quite put my finger on it - but knew that there was something in it that wasn't quite right. Well, in reading "Floor Sample" which is a creative memoir that outlines her life - her marriage to Martin Scorcese, etc. - my thoughts were confirmed. She reveals everything, from her occultic involvement with psychics - her own "ESP" - "psychic abilities", and her approach to life which was not godly. My point here is that her spiritual views came through in "The Artists Way" - from the very first chapter - without it necessarily being very overt (I only read the first couple of chapters - perhaps she was more overt later in the book). It is so easy to pick up a book and within a chapter or two to see where the author is coming from - whether they are aetheist (like Amy Tan - who really is - I just watched an interview with her the other week), new age (like countless others) or Christian.
In my heart, I long to just write books where God just flows outward - I just want my entire life to be like that. Like, I think of Tolkien - did he deliberately choose to make his characters reflections of different aspects of the trinity? Or did this come out because of the way that the Lord lived in him? I don't know the answer to that because I don't know a lot about him. L'Engle - did she do that? I think Lewis was intentional.
My characters just come out of me - sometimes very refined, sometimes naive. Sometimes they are way more sensual or rough and I am almost afraid to keep writing because I don't want them to do something that I wouldn't feel comfortable with. This scares me - not because they are evil or anything like that - but because they seem to have a life of their own. Like the one today - she looks exactly like her Peruvian great grandmother with the exception of her being quite tall and lean - lanky and model-like. Yet, culturally she is much different than she looks and so she struggles with beauty, difference, and acceptance in American society that still insists that everyone without an accent fit into one of five slots - white, black, asian, hispanic, and native american (check the box on the census form). I have no idea where she came from, but I feel the anguish of her confusion as she considers a relationship with a man who is twenty years older than she is. But then the other character that came out today was an older woman with dementia whose mother thought creating stories was equivalent to lying. And so this woman, who was actually a tremendous storyteller, never quite realized her full potential - but with dementia, was able to bypass this early conditioning and come up with the most amazing - odd stories.
So little of what I write thus far has been ... biblical - but I am praying that the Lord still comes out in it.
So what do you guys think - do we need to be intentional?
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/27/2008 6:52:48 AM
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RyansWife
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Thanks for the responses.
rgod, I am familiar with the "Artist Way", and I agree it sounds very newagey. I am not always intentional about including God in my articles, and I felt convicted and decided to try and always insert Him some how.
Sometimes I write articles about cats, or email, etc, and am left wondering how I can put a biblical spin on it... after thought and searching I cant think of anything biblical about email or cats, and end up feeling guilty later.
I was wondering if other Christian writers go through this, or if I was just crazy. lol
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/27/2008 7:28:37 AM
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IonMoon
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From: The Unted State of Confusion
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I think it is like everything we do, though. Does every meal I make honor God? When I crochet, does it honor God? Honor God in all you do does not, IMO mean mention God in all you do.
Everything we do is not going to be overtly religious, but as long as it is not immoral, that's okay!
Tara P
_____________________________
http://www.geocities.com/hallscola67/KyliesHomemadeShopIndex.htm
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/27/2008 10:52:47 AM
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1love1God1way
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quote:
ORIGINAL: RyansWife
Sometimes I write articles about cats, or email, etc, and am left wondering how I can put a biblical spin on it... after thought and searching I cant think of anything biblical about email or cats, and end up feeling guilty later.
Why do you need a "biblical spin" on everything you write? Is it sinful to not mention God in every piece of writing?
As a Christian, everything you write will be warped by your Christian perspective. You have God in you, and everything you do will be done through living in His presence. That includes writing about cats.
God does not condemn anyone for writing about cats, God created them.
Many of my poems are about love. Why would God be upset that I write a poem about the love I have for another person? Isn't it a love that comes through God?
I say it a lot about music, but it goes for writing too. I don't make categories separate for "Christian writing" per se.
I just believe that there are Christians that write.
_____________________________
love.ben
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/27/2008 1:14:02 PM
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CherishedbyGod
Posts: 2582
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quote:
ORIGINAL: RyansWife
Thanks for the responses.
rgod, I am familiar with the "Artist Way", and I agree it sounds very newagey. I am not always intentional about including God in my articles, and I felt convicted and decided to try and always insert Him some how.
Sometimes I write articles about cats, or email, etc, and am left wondering how I can put a biblical spin on it... after thought and searching I cant think of anything biblical about email or cats, and end up feeling guilty later.
I was wondering if other Christian writers go through this, or if I was just crazy. lol
I write about cats, birds, etc, and include God in those writings...Would you like to see a few of mine?
_____________________________
~I would love for you to come and learn about Jesus of Nazareth with me in the Writer's Roundtable Folder~
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/27/2008 1:59:09 PM
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RyansWife
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rainbow and 1love1God: Good points. I understand what you are saying and it is a point well taken. Thanks for making me feel better, the guilt is going away.
Cherished: I would LOVE to see your work.
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/27/2008 2:34:15 PM
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DenimDiva
Posts: 6266
Joined: 9/28/2007
From: CA
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quote:
ORIGINAL: RyansWife
Sometimes I write articles about cats, or email, etc, and am left wondering how I can put a biblical spin on it... after thought and searching I cant think of anything biblical about email or cats, and end up feeling guilty later.
We have three kittens at our house. I'm often reminded while watching them play that they have no worries about tomorrow. It brings to mind Matthew chapter 6 and (I think) Philippians chapter 4 and a host of other passages about how unnecessary it is for a worry-wart like me to keep worrying about things.
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RE: Does Your Writing Honor God? - 6/27/2008 5:59:55 PM
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Dancre
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Joined: 4/12/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: RyansWife
How do you ensure that you are using the gift of writing for His purpose? This is something I have been thinking about continually.
Well, first of all, don't get into a religious legalistic "I can only write this stuff and nothing else" nonsense. Instead, write what God lays upon your heart, not what others tell you to write. If He tells you to write a secular story, then do it. If you want His will in your life, then He'll make sure it is. Don't turn your gift into a pharassee's notebook. just do what He tells you to do and you'll do fine.
kim
< Message edited by Dancre -- 6/27/2008 6:08:42 PM >
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