Returning From The Mount

Well, I've returned from Mt. Hermon's Writers' Conference with joy in my heart and fire in my soul. It was exciting to see God working in the lives of talented writers and to gain encouragement for my own passion to write. The picture at the right includes all the members of my fiction mentoring clinic. The gal front and center is Gayle Roper, our instructor/mentor, from whom we gleaned much wisdom. (You should check out her current novel, Fatal Deduction!) Our group consisted of writers at varying skill levels and genres - fantasy, western, biblical fiction and romance. But each one of us contributed and each one took away important tools to make us better writers. Most importantly, I believe each one felt encouraged.

For some writing is a gift, a talent or a passion. For others it's a task, a project, a mountain to be climbed or conquered. No matter how we view the compiling of words on a page or screen, each true writer shares a common purpose. All seek to arrange our meager 26-letter alphabet in a way that reaches people with God's message of love and grace. That's what keeps me writing when the conference is over and no one is there to cheer me on except the dog sleeping quietly beside me.... Lord, let me be faithful to the task, and may whatever talent You've given bring you glory.