A Writer’s Evening Prayer

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If I have failed to heed your voice today, If I have driven any of your thoughts away, If I have written my own willful way: Dear Lord, forgive! If I have written idle words or vain, If I have worked for earthly gain,

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What Arrows Assail You?

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Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert. When I attended my first writers conference in 1980, writing legend Woody Wirt closed the final session by exclaiming, “I want you to say right now, ‘I am a writer.’” I am a writer? It seemed dishonest to say such a thing. After all, I’d only had one article and one short story published. That didn’t seem to qualify as a true “writer.” What was a “true writer”? I didn’t know but I was convinced it didn’t refer to me. But being the People Pleaser I am, I wanted to…

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Two Quatrains for Writers

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Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers:   Let my writing be a blessing. Let my words all ring true, and both victory and failure bring glory, Lord, to you; Let what I write and how I write it reflect all you mean to me while also giving pleasure and changing those who read.   Bob’s latest book is The Red Letter Prayer Life, available now via Bob’s website or at fine Christian retailers everywhere.

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Who Me? A Perfectionist?

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Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the desert of Southern California If I were to ask you whether you’re a perfectionist, you’d most likely say “no.” The explanation for saying that? “Well, I don’t get anything perfect! After all, perfectionists reach perfection.” Would you be shocked if I told you that’s not accurate? Not only is it not accurate but I would almost predict that some perfectionist tendencies are blocking your efficiency and joy in your writing.  Because one definition of a perfectionist is: “A person who takes great pains and passes them on to others.” Want to know if you have…

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Keyboard Prayer

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Lord God, my Father, my King, my Sovereign, my All, I RETURN to you with all my heart, I ENTER your presence with gratitude and joy, I ESCAPE into your arms and nestle in the shadow of your wing….

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Drastic Measures for Drastic Situations

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Hello! Maureen Pratt here for my monthly CAN blog contribution. I’ve just returned from the dentist, so am even-more-than-usually delighted to be here (she writes, grinning with those newly repaired pearly whites)! To be completely honest, although not exactly fun, my unexpected detour to drill-land has inspired my topic this month: Drastic measures for drastic situations. That is, what do you do when every trick, technique, and type font has been exhausted and you’re still not happy with what you see pouring forth on the page? Do you abandon the project (not easy, if you’re on contract and deadline)? Do you…

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Your Devotional

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Hello! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly CAN blog. This time, some thoughts on writing the devotional. The devotional is intensely personal, but can also provide tremendous support for many. I've experienced this first-hand. When I was first diagnosed with lupus, I suffered from a number of life-threatening symptoms. None, however, was as confounding as the non-life-threatening phenomenon of lupus brain fog, which is much like looking at the world through a pea-soup fog on a chilly day. It isn't permanent, much like those clouds of fog, and it doesn't cause changes in the brain, per se. But it does make memories…

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A Listening Ear

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Hi, Sherry Kyle here, writing to you on my laptop from Central California. I prayed fervently on my way to the Capitola Mall on Saturday. The direction of my prayer went something like this, “Please, God, help me to be a listening ear to those who need encouragement coming into Inklings Books & Things. Help me plant a seed for Christ. And if I sell a few books, well, that would be nice too.” I wasn’t nervous or anxious at being the featured author at my neighborhood bookstore. Instead I was eager to see who God would bring my way….

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I prayed my brother’s life would crash and burn

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My family on my paternal side is riddled with alcoholism. I call it the family plague. But this past year I’ve seen the Lord reach down and pull my younger brother up by the scruff of the neck and set him on the road to sobriety. My 41-year-old brother, Steve, had no time for God. It was too painful to watch his life spiral out of control as he lived only for the next bottle of vodka. But before Steve would ever even think of God, I knew he had to reach bottom. About two years ago I began to…

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