Gracious God,

thank you for the smell of pencil shavings,

the elegance of a good fountain pen,

and the click-clack of ancient typewriter keys…

for the intoxication of creative juices,

the sweetness of a well-turned phrase…

for the creak of the office chair,

and the surprise of a catch in the throat

and the salty track of a tear on the cheek…

for the hum of a computer,

for the thrum of a printer,

for the agony of the blank page,

the ecstasy of the last line,

the terror of hitting “send”

and the fragrance of fresh ink on crisp new pages.

Thank you, Lord, for these gifts and graces,

and for the many others I am too dull to sense,

in Jesus’ name, amen.

The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, by Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler is the author of fifty books, including The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, and Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door (coauthored with Josh McDowell). He has won two Gold Medallion Awards, four Ohio Associated Press awards, and an Amy Foundation Award. He is the founding pastor of Cobblestone Community Church in Oxford, Ohio. He and his wife Robin have two grown children, Aubrey and Aaron, and five grandchildren. You can find out more on his website: http://www.bobhostetler.com.