Why I Write Christian Fiction

     One of the most amazing truths that a person can know is that they are made in the image of God. This beautiful reality shows us just how special we are to God and reminds us that we were created to be His children. God’s unique, creative, and personal creation of human beings, detailed in the Genesis account, is not only an remarkable testament of His great love for us, but it is also prompts us to live as reflections of God’s goodness, love, and glory. Personally, I believe that God has called me to serve Him through a ministry of writing. It is my desire to become an author, writing books in the genres of Christian fiction and devotionals. In this ministry and vocation it is absolutely crucial that I remember the truth that we are all made in God’s image. I must show this belief not only in the ways that I interact with others, but also in how I write. Above all, I want my stories of faith to serve as examples of God’s love to my readers, and I pray that my writing ministry will always bring glory to God.

     Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (NIV). No other creature was made in God’s image other than mankind—His creation of us in this way was personal and purposeful. We bear God’s likeness and that is a huge gift, blessing, and responsibility. It does not mean that we are perfect. We are still sinful and fallen humans, but as Christians we are saved by God’s amazing grace. Knowing that we are made in God’s likeness, chosen to be His image bearers, we should feel compelled to represent God well and show His love to others in all that we say and do. By shinning God’s light into the darkness of this world through our actions, words, and ultimately our lives, others are able to see Jesus in us and may come to know Him as their personal savior too. Though we are created in God’s image, we must be willing to live in such a way that honors God and allows His light to shine through, revealing that image in us.

     As a Christian author it is my hope to write stories that reflect Biblical truths. For example, in one of my stories the characters face various trials that test their faith, but they learn to trust God despite the storms they encounter in their lives. One Biblical passage that I kept in mind while writing this story is Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (NIV). This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture, and I feel that it is an important truth for people to know. Though the story I wrote is fictional, the truth of the message it conveys is very real and applicable to the lives of my readers. The characters I create can demonstrate how one can truly reflect God’s image in their lives or what life inevitably looks like when one is not walking in God’s light and bearing His image in a way that honors Him. Writing stories that show characters trusting God, showing His love, and forgiving other people are effective examples of how we can bear Gods image in real life.

     Jesus often used a kind of storytelling known as parables to convey important Biblical messages. For example, in Luke 15 Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, a story of a father’s love that reminds us not only of our Heavenly Father’s unconditional love for us, but teaches us that we should also show love to others even when they do not deserve it. The father in the story bears God’s image and likeness and is a representation of how God will always welcome His children home even when they run away. His love never fails, ends, runs out, or gives up on us, and His mercies are new each morning. In the same way, as God’s image bearers, we are to be loving and forgiving to those around us. The parable of the prodigal son is especially dear to my heart because I have lived a version of this story in my own life. Growing up with a prodigal sister, I have learned what it means to love someone and pray for them even when they rebel and run away. Despite all the hurt I feel as a result of my sister’s wayward choices and absence in life, I know that in a heart beat I would welcome her back home with open arms and celebrate her return. I hope to write a book about my experience and show how God has worked in my life. It has strengthened my faith and drawn my family closer together and most importantly, closer to God through this storm.

     As a Christian, it is my ultimate goal that my life will be a testimony of God working through me for His glory and showing His love to others. I believe this is important because 1 Corinthians 10:31 commands us, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (NIV). Also, in 1 Corinthians 13:1 it says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (NIV). In all I say and do, I want to point others back to Jesus. I want to represent God well by bearing His image and reflecting His light. As a Christian author, I pray my writing ministry will be fruitful, helping others to realize that like the characters in my books, they can always count on God and trust in Him no matter what they may be going through in their lives. I believe that faith based entertainment is a great way to convey messages like this to a wide audience. Christian fiction books can remind people of God’s love, grace, and mercy. A good story is memorable, and audiences can relate to the characters and scenarios. With this in mind, I want to write in a way that will help readers to remember the true Biblical messages and themes within my stories and be able to apply them to their own lives. I believe that a book that tells a story of faith can be more than just entertainment, it can be a ministry tool. I hope to create stories that show my readers God’s love and teach them how they can walk in His light as the image bearers of God that they were created to be. Through my writing, it is my ultimate desire to glorify God. We are all created in God’s image, and He has given each of us unique gifts that we should use for His purpose and His ministry.

Not Goodbye...Just See You Later: A Tribute in Memory of my "Adopted" Grandparents

Yesterday, was my first experience attending a double funeral. The service was held for our dear family friends, Alice & Delane Harris, who both passed away this past week. I had known this sweet, loving North Carolinian couple my entire life, and my parents had known them for 22 years. They meant so much to me that I considered them my "adopted" grandparents.

Before I was born, my parents met Alice and Delane while on vacation at a resort in Tennessee. We have a home video of that moment--they were singing a funny song from "Hee-Haw" at a potluck party the resort was holding for all the guests. They were always so full of life, and very funny! They became instant, life-long friends with my parents and my older sister, Shelley who was about ten years old at the time. I grew up knowing them all my life. We went on vacations to Tennessee together for many years.

We would visit them in North Carolina many times, and they also came to stay at our house. When I was thirteen years old, I asked them to be my "adopted" grandparents. They had no children and I had no grandparents who were present in my life so we were good for each other. They were so loving and supportive. I had even stayed with them for a week in the summer twice when I was a little girl. They remodeled a guest room for me at their house so that I would have my very own room to stay in whenever I came to visit. They let me pick out the paint color--purple. They bought me a big fuzzy, purple chair to put in the room and put my name up on the wall above the bed. Alice and Delane truly were my "adopted" grandparents. They came to see my in my ballet and theater performances, attended my high school graduation, sent me care packages at college, and would often call me up just to talk and tell me they loved me. I'm going to miss that.

Alice and Delane really loved each other. They grew up together and were inseparable. I know that it was God's plan for them to enter eternity in Heaven together because they would not have ever wanted to be apart.

We learned that on Friday, April 25 they both fell in separate incidents at different locations within fifteen minutes of each other. From our understanding, Delane fell at the house and hit his head. He had been fighting a long battle with cancer and his last chemo treatment had really made him weak. Alice was at the dry cleaners at the time and also fell. They were taken to two different hospitals. We got a call on Sunday, April 27 that Delane passed away earlier that day. My dad even talked to Alice on the phone about it--she told him, "I don't know how to tell Samantha. I don't want her to be upset." In all her pain of losing her husband, she was still thinking of me in that moment.

My parents called and gave me the news, and I could not believe it. It was my final exam week at school so I tried to focus on studying and spending time with my friends and not think about it much. Alice was still in the hospital and seemed to be doing as well as possible. She was scheduled for a hip replacement surgery and struggling with depression. We later learned that she had stopped eating.

On Friday, May 2 I got up early and took my 8:00am Philosophy exam. After the test, I went to the dining hall to eat breakfast. I checked my Facebook and read a status from my mom that she had received some bad news and would give more details soon. I immediately called her and asked what happened. She said, "Oh no. I forgot to hide my status from you. I wasn't going to tell you yet with your exams going on." With just that, I knew. "It's Alice," I said. She confirmed, and explained that she did not make it. She had passed away that morning.

Thankfully, I was surrounded by good friends the entire day that comforted me and distracted me from thinking about my loss. It was my last day on campus for my junior year, and I thank God that my friends were there to help me enjoy it.

I went home Saturday and Sunday we attended their funeral. It was really hard to travel to North Carolina without being able to visit them at their house. It was eerie. The whole way there I thought back about memories of going to visit them. Those times were over now. When we got to the funeral home it really became real that both of them were gone. I've never cried so much at a funeral before...I didn't realize how hard it would hit me.

I thought back to the last times I had seen and talked to them. We visited them in March, and exchanged late Christmas presents. Of course, I did not know that would be the last time I would see them. The last time they called me was on my birthday, April 1, when I got back to the dorm from my party. Since it was April Fool's Day my hallmates wanted to play a prank on our RA so we were all hiding in one room when I got the call. They wished me a happy birthday and told me they loved me. I thought back to that last conversation with them.

At the funeral I talked with Alice's neighbors, Alica and Blanca, who had become good friends with me over the years. Alice and Delane had done so much for these girls and their family who were from Mexcio. They were a true ministry to the whole family and shared God's love with them. Alice took Alicia and her other sister Karla under her wing when they were little girls. She treated them like her own, invited them in to her home anytime, and even had an entire drawer of snacks for them to enjoy when they got home from school. She also hired them to help clean her house so they could make some extra income for their family. They encouraged them to stay in school, and Delane paid them  dollar for every A they made. He was surprised when they came home once with straight A's on their report cards. I was happy to see the difference they made in these girls' lives. Alicia is now even studying to be a nurse, and I know that Alice (who also had a medical degree) played a major role in influencing her to choose this career. I grew up playing with Alicia and  Karla when I went to visit my "adopted" grandparents, and I got to know their family too. I remember swimming in Alice's pool with them, having sleepovers together, drawing pictures at the kitchen table, and having them teach me Spanish. Alicia told me at the funeral that they had visited Alice in the hospital earlier that week, and they thought that she would be okay. Their brother Louis lived with Alice and Delane at their home, and even went on vacations with them. They took him in, he worked as a kind of ranchhand for them, and he was like a son to Delane. He was also at the funeral, and I could tell that it was really hard for him.

The moment that hit me the hardest at the funeral was when they brought in Alice and Delane's beloved dog, "Peanut." Their dog was like a child to them. Peanut came in and immediately recognized my family and I. Peanut used to sleep with me when I stayed at their house. Seeing him there made me realize that not only were Alice and Delane gone, but I was never going to see Peanut again either.

I want them to be remembered for their kindness and generosity that they showed to so many people. They truly lived a life of serving others. My dad and Blanca had the chance to share about their love for others during the funeral service, each saying how much they meant to them.

I will never forget Alice and Delane for all the love and attention they gave me over the years. I hope that they know how much I appreciated them being my grandparents when I had none. I will miss them so much. I'll miss being able to visit them at their North Carolina home or just talking to them on the phone. I will miss hearing Grandma Alice telling me, "We think about you everyday, Samantha," and Grandpa Delane saying, "We love you, Shug." I'll miss all the little things like their funny sayings such as "home again, home again, jiggity jig" and playing scrabble with them for hours! I'll miss reading cards and tags on presents that read "From Grandma, Grandpa, and Peanut." There are so many things I will miss about my "adopted" Grandparents, but I am comforted by the truth that we will be reunited one day in Heaven. I know that this is not goodbye...just see you later.

Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'"

Let It Go, and Let God!

     Okay, be honest...when you read the title of this post, did you automatically think of the popular song, "Let It Go," from Disney's new, beautiful, animated feature Frozen? I thought so. :) I admit I was slightly inspired by this song for the title, but I promise it is not completely random or just because I love Frozen...it actually relates to the topic of my post.
     More importantly, tonight God has laid it on my heart to write about one of my favorite passages of scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take" (NLT). These have become some of my 'life verses.' They are a constant reminder to me to completely rely on God, knowing that He has a perfect plan for my life. This can be hard when I may not always be able to see the big picture from where I'm standing, but that is why we are to "not depend on [our] own understanding." God knows what He's doing, and we can trust in Him to work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). That His comforting promise to us. After all, He is a good God who is good ALL the time. He loves us and wants what is best for us. Therefore, we can trust in His plan for our life, and when we are faced with anxiety and fear about our future we can just let it go and let God lead you knowing that He is in control! That is a comforting truth.

     When we seek God and His will in our life, He promises to guide us and "show [us] what path to take." As a writer I sometimes think of God as the author of my life. I know that He's written a beautiful story for me, even though I cannot see beyond the 'page' that I'm currently on in my life at the moment. I can 'reread' (look back) on all that He has done for me so far, and see how He is brilliantly connecting  all the details of my life together in a way that is so perfect and ultimately brings glory to Him. Like an author plans out their story to write, God has a plan for our life. He sees the beginning, middle, and end, though we cannot see the whole story yet. Therefore, doesn't it make more sense to trust in Him who sees everything and knows what is going to happen, rather than to rely on our own extremely limited understanding? Another connection I've made is that like writers care about their characters and know them better than anyone else, so God cares about us and knows us perfectly more than we even know ourselves. He knows the desires of our hearts and He has written a story that is going to work out everything in our life for our good, for a purpose, and for His glory. Trust Him. Let go of your fear of the unknown, and have faith in His story for you because it is better than anything we can write for ourselves.

     I have included a link to an encouraging song by one of my favorite Christian artists, Jamie Grace. "The Waiting" is a song that often helps to calm my fears about how things are going to turn out in my future by reminding me that God is in control. Enjoy.

    

NEVER Alone

     Its been a long time since I wrote a blog post, but I felt inspired tonight to write. I want to talk about loneliness. It is an emotion that everyone experiences from time to time, but it's important to know that we are truly never alone. God is ALWAYS with us. Deuteronomy 31:6 says "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
     I want to focus on one aspect of loneliness in this post--the loneliness and hurt we feel when someone we trust abandons us or fails to meet our expectations of our relationship with that person. I will be honest...I sometimes struggle with trusting people and fearing they will abandon me. Abandonment, unfaithfulness, and broken trust are tough, emotional, experiences in life that can leave you scarred and cause you to be fearful of trusting anyone again. However, it does not have to be that way if we have the assurance that we are never truly alone when we have Christ in our life. God's not going anywhere. :)
     People may leave at times. People may change. They may not turn out to be who you thought they were. Some friends may not be a true friends. Its not easy to experience these things. I know...but I also know an incredible, comforting, beautiful truth: God will NEVER leave me. God will never forsake me. He will never change, He will never abandon me, and He will never give up on me. We can trust God to be there for us no matter what and that He will keep His promises.
     Now, I'm not saying that all people cannot be trusted. Those true family and friends who are trustworthy and reliable are real treasures. God gives us people like that for a reason, and we should be that type of person to others too. We need to pray for each other, fellowship together, provide comfort, consistently be there for one another, do life together, and sincerely care for each other! That's a true friend that we can trust.
     Other people might abandon us at times or let us down, and that is extremely hard to handle. When you trust someone and expect them to be all they said they were or who you thought they were, that trust becomes broken. That relationship becomes tainted. We feel uneasy with that person because we cannot trust them again. Sometimes, we can see when a person is really sorry that they have broken your trust. We can forgive them and give them another chance. It will taken a lot of time to build that trust back up, but it is possible. However, sometimes people continuously let you down time and time again. We can still love these people in Christ and forgive them, but we can't really put our trust in them.
     Thankfully, we can be sure that God will never break our trust in Him. He is trustworthy. He has proven that too us. God is always with us...He's there to listen, to help, to guide, to comfort, to love unconditionally, and to be the most amazing friend you could ever have! We sung a song in a worship service this morning and one of the verses that stuck out to me went along the lines of this: God has never failed us, and He won't start now. This is a beautiful truth...God will not fail us. EVER! What comfort it is to know that even when people may fail us, God will not--He loves us and wants what is best for us.
     When people break our trust, abandon us, or leave us, we can confidently turn to God for comfort and guidance, knowing that He is always there and always will be there. We must "be strong and courageous," not "afraid or terrified" in these situations because we have no reason to fear. God knows what He is doing...He has wonderful plans for your life. Put your trust in Him. You won't regret it because our God is a God who will never abandon us. In Christ we are NEVER alone.