Dan Walsh's Blog, page 38

Jonathan Edwards on the Excellency of Christ

My first introduction to the legendary Jonathan Edwards came, oddly enough, in the same class in 11th Grade where I first discovered that I loved writing fiction. I had not yet become a Christian, but I had become a "seeker." Our English teacher led us through a brief study of Edwards' infamous "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" sermon. Sadly, this lone sermon for the overwhelming majority of people forms the beginning and end of all they know about this man.

Some three decades later, I had the privilege of reading a wonderful biography of Edwards by a history professor from Notre Dame, George Marsden. It's called, simply: "Jonathan Edwards: A Life." I had already learned by then that there was much more to Jonathan Edwards than this sermon I'd read in 11th grade. I knew, for example, that he loved God with an intense passion and preached about the love of God even more than he did about the fires of hell.

But he most certainly did preach about the reality of hell, in a literary form and style that cast him, even centuries later, as the crown prince of fire and brimstone preachers. But I also learned something in Marsden's book about what motivated Edwards to reflect so often on this "hot topic."

It was love, not anger.

Some of you know, I retired at summer's end from being a pastor after 25 years. I did my fair share of funerals during that time, but rarely for someone who died suddenly in the prime of life. Almost all were for people who'd lived to a ripe old age. But in Edwards' time, he regularly presided over funerals for young men, women and children who died from any number of ailments that today they would have easily survived.

Young mothers died in childbirth. Children died when common colds became pneumonia. Teenagers died from the flu. Think about every one you know who got over something because they took an antibiotic. Now think of them dying instead.

These were the times and challenges Edwards' faced. He didn't feel he could ignore the unpopular subject of hell when so many people he loved faced the possibility of sudden death. You might say, his sermons were aimed at "scaring the hell" out of people, literally. His goal was that no one would face such a horrible fate, when infinite love and eternal paradise was available to them through Christ.

Edwards loved people. He loved his Savior even more. Consider something else Edwards has written, about the Excellencies of Christ. Besides his obvious love for God, he was one incredible writer:

"What is there that you can desire to find in a Savior that is not in Christ? What excellency is missing? What is there that is great or good; that is impressive or winning; what is there that is adorable or endearing; or what can you think of that would be more encouraging, which is not found in the person of Christ? Would you have your Savior to be great and honorable, because you are not willing to be indebted to a mean person? And is not Christ a person honorable enough to be worthy of your dependence; is he not a person high enough to be appointed to a work so honorable as your salvation?

"Would you not only have a Savior of high degree, but would you also have him—notwithstanding his exaltation and dignity—to be made also of low degree, that he might have experience with afflictions and trials, that he might learn by the things that he has suffered, to pity them who suffer and are tempted? And has not Christ been made low enough for you; and has he not suffered enough?

"Would you have your Savior to be one who is near enough to God, so that his ability to mediate might be ever with him? And can you desire him to be nearer to God than Christ is, who is his only-begotten Son, of the same essence with the Father? And would you not only have him near to God, but also near to you, that you may have free access to him? And would you have him nearer to you than to be in the same nature, united to you by a spiritual union, so close as to be fitly represented by the union of the wife to the husband, of the branch to the vine, of the body to the head; yea, so as to be one spirit? For so he will be united to you, if you accept him…

"What is there that is missing, or what would you add if you could, to make him more fit to be your Savior?"

As I reflect on Edward's question, here at the end, my answer is...absolutely nothing.

Lord, Change My Story, However You Will

In my quiet time this morning, I reflected back on something I had written in a journal a few years ago. I'd forgotten all about it. As I read it, I realized, it carries even more meaning for me at this point in my life than it did back then.

It's really a prayer: Lord, Change My Story, However You Will

Lord, how often have I prayed
that you would have Your way
with me?

I say, 'Let Your will be done on earth
as it is in Heaven'; meaning,
that You should be in charge
of all that happens to me this day.

But then I so quickly set about to write
my own story, my own way.

I cast the characters, and I determine
how they should act and behave,
what I want them to do
and not do.

I develop the plot along the lines
I want it to go.
I even think through
all the twists and turns;
allowing for some adventure
but always within the bounds
of my control.

When I finish creating my story, I sit back
contented that this is how my life
should now unfold.

It is what's best; I am its author.
I imagine it needs no editing or review.
It is my masterpiece.

But then You, mercifully, begin inserting Your views.
You edit my plot and change my story;
the characters no longer follow
my carefully devised and appointed roles.
New characters suddenly appear.
Unplanned things begin to happen.
Twists and turns I had not considered.

It seems Your story barely resembles
the one I set out to write.
I realize I am no longer the writer of this tale.
I am instead one of the characters
in a story You are creating.

You are more than an editor of my work
You are the author of my story.

It is, as David said:
"All the days ordained for me
were written in Your book
before one of them came to be."

As I look back on my life, I realize
It has always been this way.
I write my lines,
Then You write Yours
And Your lines become my story.

And what You have written
Always turns out to be
Far better and far beyond anything
I could have imagined.

As I reflect on this, it gives me hope
even a good measure of joy,
for all of the new changes You have just added
to my story
today.

And I find a new prayer in my heart:
Lord, change my story, however You will
not just today, but
every day after that.

Dan Walsh

Some Fun Developments with CBD

There have been some fun developments this week with Christianbook.com, one of the largest online & catalog retail stores for Christian books.

For the holidays, they created a site called "Author's Christmas Memories." A number of authors were asked to share their favorite Christmas memories. Mine is included. I talked about my last childhood Christmas spent in the snow (the memories of that Christmas actually inspired some of the scenes in my first novel, The Unfinished Gift. You can check these out by clicking here.

Also, I was just informed they posted an interview with me, mainly discussing my next novel, The Deepest Waters, due out in the Spring of 2011. If you'd like to get a preview of that story and what inspired it, click here.

Visiting Book Clubs

I mentioned in my last post that one of the benefits of writing fulltime now is the freedom to respond to more opportunities more easily.

For example, take Book Clubs.

Book Clubs are a wonderful way for book lovers to connect with each other. The idea is the group members read a selected book each month, then meet to discuss it. Some do this online. Here's a great site devoted to this very thing, called The Book Club Network.

Other Book Clubs meet in person once a month at a church, a library, a bookstore, a coffee house, a living room, etc. The Book Club leader serves as the scout, so to speak, previewing books that might interest the group, then selecting a different one each month.

Publishers now recognize the importance of this rapidly growing trend and actually ask authors to come up with a discussion guide when they finish their books. I've done three of these now, for the 2 novels I've already released and for the 3rd novel due out in April. If you're a Book Club leader interested in using one of my books for your club, you can get one of these discussion guides here:Discussion Questions for The Unfinished GiftDiscussion Questions for The HomecomingFour Book Clubs have asked me to visit them in the next month or so. On Nov 2nd, I'll be calling in to a Book Club in Perry, FLOn Nov 29th, I'll be driving to Melbourne, FL to visit a Book Club (the pic here is the flyer the club created for the event, click to see it bigger.)On Dec 7th, I'll be calling in to two Book Clubs: One in Roanoke, VA and one in Fort Worth, TXI'd love to visit your Book Club, either in person (if not too far from where I live) or by phone (I could take questions while your group meets by speakerphone).

If you're a Book Club leader and you'd like to arrange a visit, go to my website at www.danwalshbooks.com, click on the "Contact Me" button and drop me a line.

Writing Fulltime Now!

Last week, I announced I was now writing 25 hours a week and working part-time for 25 hours at a nearby Hobby Lobby.

Well, this just in...

I went in to Hobby Lobby last Saturday and was laid off at the end of my shift, along with 12 others. I decided not to shoot up the place. In fact, I wasn't even angry. When informed, my wife actually smiled and told me she'd secretly been praying for weeks it would happen (I know...sounds crazy).

My agent, editor and my wife all believe it's time for me to take that leap of faith and write fulltime now. I was the lone holdout. It just seems like such a huge step. And as a rule, I err on the cautious side. With our kids grown, my wife working, the house paid off, we can actually make it on what I'm making with the books (although...being a bestselling author would make it much easier...that's where you all come in :).

So this week, for the first time, I began writing fulltime. One immediate benefit, besides having more time to write, is the freedom to respond to a lot more opportunities. Things I'd probably have to turn down with my Hobby Lobby job, because of conflicting schedules.

And it was kind of the Lord to send me strong confirming evidence that He was the actual instigator of this change. All kinds of writing work came in this week, and I've firmed up a number of opportunities to visit several book clubs over the next month or so.

More on that in my next post.

The Writing Pipeline

Some of you might already know this, but I retired from being a pastor after 25 years last month. But at 53, I'm not ready to retire altogether (not sure I'll ever do that).

Since I finished my first novel, The Unfinished Gift, in 2007 (which came out last year), I've had a growing desire to devote more time to writing. I'd like to do it fulltime, if possible (as most writers do). Both my first novel and the sequel, The Homecoming, are doing well, and my publisher has contracted me to write 3 more books. But the income is not quite there to do write fulltime yet, so I'm working at a local Hobby Lobby part-time to help close the gap.

But I am able to write about 25 hours a week now, which I'm grateful for. This week, I'm starting to get a real sense of the "writing pipeline." I'm talking about the length of time between an author finishing a novel (or...thinking he has) to when it actually hits the shelves, and the kind of things that usually go on behind-the-scenes during this time.

Let me illustrate by talking about what this past week has been like.

Since my first novel recently won 2 Carol Awards (Book-of-the-Year) from ACFW, it's experiencing a surge of interest and sales (yay!), resulting in a lot of email activity. I've also firmed up a number of visits (by phone or in person) with several book clubs who've selected both of my books in November and December.

My publisher just sent me the galleys for my 3rd book, The Deepest Waters, to edit and get back to her in about 10 days. Galleys are a preliminary version of the book, printed like an old-fashioned manuscript, for the purpose of proofreading. My job is to read it over, check for any possible mistakes or small changes, as well as consider any comments from the copy editor.

I also received from my senior editor at Revell the rewrite edits for my 4th book, a Christmas novel set to come out next year. This is the editing stage just before the galley stage. Thankfully, my editor loved what I sent her and only had a handful of suggested changes. I have to get these done and back to her within 2 weeks.

And finally, I'm hard at work writing my 5th novel in between all the other tasks. It's really starting to hum now (at about the 60 page mark). This stage is the purely creative stage of writing and the most enjoyable. It's hard to pull away from this once I start. I can see why writers dream of breaking away to a nice lakeside cabin at this stage. But I'm also glad I have a pipeline now with so many other things going on at once.

Oh, I forgot one more stage on this pipeline...coming up with new ideas for Books 6 and 7. These books are just gleams in my eye right now, but several things are already stirring.

My Friend Deb Raney on the Cover of CFOM

Just wanted to draw your attention to a great magazine about Christian fiction, in case you haven't seen it before. It's called (no surprise) Christian Fiction Online Magazine (CFOM). My good friend and award-winning author, Deborah Raney, is on the October cover.

Deb and Colleen Coble really reached out to me when I first got published and helped me find my way around. Deb is a sweet lady and a talented author. She regularly visits the ACFW writer's loop giving great advice and encouragement to newly published and unpublished writer's seeking help. Click here (not on the pic) to read an excellent interview with Deb in this month's edition.

To the right, is a pic of Deb and I in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis last month, at ACFW's annual conference.

The Unfinished Gift an Editor's Pick for FIRST for Women magazine

Upon my return from the ACFW conference, I received some incredible news from my publisher. The paperback edition of The Unfinished Gift has been chosen as the "editor's pick" for the Nov 19th issue of FIRST for Women magazine. That's the issue that comes out just before Thanksgiving this year, so this endorsement for the holiday season couldn't have come at a better time.

FIRST is a huge publication, appearing at checkout counters and newsstands all across the country, and has a 1.25 million ...

Won 2 Carol Awards at ACFW 2010

Since my last post, some amazing things have happened. I am humbled and honored by all the attention I've received at ACFW's annual conference this past weekend, at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Indianapolis. I went knowing my first novel, The Unfinished Gift, had been named a finalist for the Carol Award in two categories: Debut Author and Short Historical. This alone was an exciting development.

I had no expectation of winning either award (but I confess, being a finalist for two gave me som...

Great Review of The Homecoming on Crosswalk.com

Last week, I discovered my newest book, The Homecoming, received a great review from Kelley Matthews on Crosswalk.com, the largest Christian website on the internet. On Friday, it featured on their homepage, under the Entertainment section.

You can read the review by clicking here.

I knew Crosswalk was a well-traveled site, but did a little checking and was amazed at how many people visit there. It's part of a larger network inter-connected with several other related sites. The network receives...