Becky Wade's Blog, page 165

Does an Author’s Age Matter?

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Last weekend I had the fun privilege of having a reunion
with some friends from college. Way back in the good ole days, we went on a
mission trip together during our time at Taylor University.

As we were reminiscing on Facebook about the trip, we realized that four of us live in Michigan within driving distance of one another. So we arranged a dinner in Frankenmuth and brought along our spouses.

Most of us hadn’t seen one another since college, and so we were super excited to catch up on each others’ lives in person. The several hours we spent together flew by.

One really fun thing to discover was that two of my college
friends are also big-time readers of Christian fiction (and had read some of my
books!). So of course we spent part of the evening talking about books.

At one point in our conversation, my dear friend Allison brought up an interesting point. She said she noticed that most Christian fiction authors are middle-aged women. She was somewhat curious about that phenomenon.

As I thought about most of the authors I know, I realized she was right. The large majority are women about my age.  Obviously there are some who are older and those who are much younger. But a huge number fall into that middle range. Is this trend random chance? Discrimination by publishers against younger writers? Or are there simply more middle-aged women who take up writing?

Allison and I chatted about it a little bit, and I came up
with a few explanations:

1. Life experience adds richness and depth to an author’s work. Everyone knows that when the pot simmers on the back burner for a while, the flavor is stronger.

That’s not to say young writers can’t have fantastic stories or that older writers will be better simply because of age. It just means when all the other elements are there (craft, practice, etc.), that life experience can be the seasoning that makes one story stand out from another.

2. Middle-aged authors are in a period of life that allows more time and energy to devote to writing. Now again, that’s not true of every middle-aged person. But in my case, before I had kids, I was writing and getting close to publication.

Once I started having babies, I put aside my writing for close to seven years and didn’t type a single word. As my children became more independent, I found that I wasn’t so brain-dead anymore and actually wanted (needed) a creative outlet.

3. It takes time and hard work to become a successful author. In other professions, a young college graduate wouldn’t expect to enter a new job and have the same pay, same responsibilities, and same office size as someone who’s been at the company for several decades.

The same is true in the writing world. Young writers should count overnight success as the rare exception, not the rule. Instead, writers have to start slow and build their readership over time, using perseverance, diligence, and business savvy.

So that’s what I think! How about you? What do you think about the age of an author? Does it matter to you? Why or why not?

Research Road Trip

During the last weekend of January, I took a research trip to explore the setting of my current work in progress. Not only did I get to dig into the local history of Kingsland, TX, but three writing friends met up with there and turned the weekend into a writing retreat. So wonderful to be blessed by the fellowship of fellow writers and friends. Fellow IBLF blogger, Anne Mateer, was part of the fun!

Anne Mateer and I are in the ticket window with Nancy Kimball (left) and Crystal Barnes (right) in the main living area.

I love staying in historic places whenever possible, and especially when I’m trying to immerse myself in an historic setting. We pulled that off in Kingsland with The Antlers Hotel. The hotel was built by the railroad in 1901 a few years after the rail line came through town in 1892. Unfortunately, it’s about 6 years too modern to include in my story, but it offered fabulous accommodations. I took some photos inside the lobby as well as the exterior.

Since there were four of us, and retreats are much more fun when we can all stay together, we rented a separate building on the property. The Depot cabin we rented had been an actual railroad depot in Muldoon, TX in the 1890’s. I loved opening the door to discover two ticket windows still in place. So fun! Creaky wooden floorboards added to the historical ambiance.

After spending a couple hours on Friday afternoon in the local library’s genealogical section reading up on local families, I drove down to the railroad bridge that is still standing from 1892. I found a really cool tidbit about how folks from the Burnet side of the Colorado River could only get into Kingsland by rails – either on the train or by walking across the railroad bridge. I took a photo from the Burnet side showing the top of the track. If I had to walk across that bridge, I think I might have gotten a little bit of vertigo having nothing to hold onto. I also took a picture from the Kingsland side to show the underside and the pillars. The 4 stone ones are original. The concrete supports were added later.At some point, one or more of my characters is going to be in peril on this bridge. I just need to figure out who and why.

Saturday morning, I took a drive down a country road (and I mean country – dirt, cattle guards, livestock free and ranging) to get some photos of Packsaddle Mountain. It was named for the dip in the middle that makes it resemble a packsaddle on a horse. A major plot point in my novel revolves around this mountain, so being able to see it in person will help me get the details right. A couple decades before my novel’s timeline, this was also the site of the last Indian battle in the region. The settlers, while greatly outnumbered, routed the raiding Apaches and ushered in a time of peace.

On my drive, I also ran into this fellow. Probably not historically accurate, but fun nonetheless.

We finished off the weekend by having brunch on Sunday at the Grand Central Cafe located on the same property where we were staying. It is a grand Victorian home built around the turn of the century and serves wonderful food.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. So much history, so many great conversations, and great food for the imagination and the taste buds . (Crystal Barnes made us her famous farm fresh breakfast with ingredients straight from her cow and chickens Saturday morning and fried us up some fresh-off-the-hoof hamburgers for dinner. Yum!)

What are some of your favorite historical locations to visit?

Kingsland was only about a 3-hour drive from my home. Do you have places close to you that are rich in history?

Marmee’s Library

We recently learned that our sweet Ivy (and her mommy and daddy!) will be coming to visit our house next month! We are excited for so many reasons, but maybe the biggest joy for me will be introducing Ivy to Marmee’s library.

Marmee and Grandaddy reading to Ivy when we visited her house!

Being a book lover, of course I kept not only the books my children loved, but also a few of the books that I loved as a child! There are the hard-backed Madeline books. Our most favorite of the Dr. Suess books. We have nursery rhyme books. Fairy tale books. The classics—old, like Margaret Wise Brown’s The Golden Egg Book and new, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar! I even have some obscure titles that my guess is many people have never heard of. And don’t even get me started on the all early reader, middle grade, and ya fiction I’ve kept!

A few oldies but goodies!

Still, I looked at the small bit of shelf space allotted to children’s books and felt … sad. There were so many more great stories out there that I’d let go for one reason or another. And yes, I could go buy the newer books, but I miss the older ones.

Then I stumbled into an antique shop in a small Texas town—an antique shop with a 50% off everything sale, no less!—and stared in rapture at the shelves full of Little Golden books!

Classic stories and nursery rhymes, sweet Bible story books so faithful to Scripture, and fairy tales with the classic Disney illustrations and characters!

I swept up all the classic fairy tales and nursery rhyme books. All the ones I remembered from my own childhood. And all the Bible story books. I spent way more than I’d anticipated, yet way less that I would have spent had I bought them in more touristy places or even at this shop’s full price!

Now these books sit on the shelf I see as I walk in the door and my heart soars as I think about the years to come. My little Ivy already loves to be read to. And her mommy and daddy read her good books. But I hope there will be books in my library that she’ll find only there. Stories that will capture both her imagination and her heart. I hope when Ivy and all my future grandchildren grow up, they will fondly remember time spent with Marmee in her library.

What were your favorite books as a child? What have been your favorite books to read to your children and/or grandchildren?

Tear Jars from Israel {Giveaway} & an engaging new Bible study

Have you ever heard of or seen an ancient tear jar?

photo credit to Ancient History Resources

Stories of tear jars—or lachrymatories—appear often in middle eastern history. In Roman times, women would fill these small glass jars with their tears and place them in tombs as symbols of love and mourning for their deceased loved one. A wife in antiquity might use such a jar to collect her tears of grief and longing for a husband who was away at war. Then, upon his return, she would present the jar to him as a tangible symbol of her unfailing love and devotion.

It’s no wonder this custom developed. Look at Psalm 56:8 in which David prays to God, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” You might say the Creator of the Universe first patterned this act of devotion and eternal love for us.

In April 2019, I had the immense blessing of making a pilgrimage to Israel with 38 other wonderful sisters in Christ. Kristi McLelland, a truly gifted Bible teacher who I’ve sat under for the past two plus years, led us on this journey. And oh, what an incredible experience it was to walk where Jesus and our spiritual ancestors walked.

Kristi McLelland, me, Kelsey (my daughter), and Rebekah Joy squeezing our way through Hezekiah’s Tunnel in (or under!) Jerusalem

Bringing back lots of souvenirs from travels isn’t my thing. But there were two items I really did want to bring back with me from Israel. A replica of an original tear jar and a widow’s mite. I’m happy to say I was able to bring back both—and I treasure them!

When a sweet friend (waving to you, Rebekah Joy!) returned to Israel with Kristi last fall, I asked her to please bring back two more tear jars—so that I could give them away in February’s giveaway for my reader friends!

Here are the two tear jars she brought back with her from Jerusalem (handcrafted there, of course) and that I’m giving away this month!

ENTER to WIN one of two TEAR JARS from ISRAEL

Aren’t they gorgeous? They look very similar to the one I brought back from the Christian Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem.

Click to visit the GIVEAWAY PAGE on my website

Another 2019 highlight for me was attending LifeWay’s filming of Kristi’s new video Bible study series! Do you notice anything familiar on the cover? : )

LEARN MORE about Jesus & Women, LifeWay’s new video series by Kristi McLelland

In this new video series releasing in March, Kristi provides amazing cultural and spiritual insight into several key women in the New Testament who encountered Christ. Among them, the woman recorded in Luke 7 who anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume (and her tears), and who then wipes his feet with her unbound hair (scandalous in Biblical times!).

About Jesus & Women video series featuring Kristi McLelland:
Imagine walking the dusty roads of Galilee with Jesus of Nazareth—braving jostling crowds just to touch the edge of His cloak and hear Him say, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.”
 
Those words, once meant to comfort a hurting woman’s soul thousands of years ago, were also meant for you.
 
Join biblical culturalist Kristi McLelland on those dusty roads as she transports you back to Jesus’ world, following in the footsteps of the women who came face-to-face with the Living God. Over 7 sessions, examine the historical and cultural climate of first-century Middle Eastern society to not only understand Jesus more deeply but to fuel your worship of Him today.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this March 2020 video series to you and your women’s groups. It’s truly life changing! And if you’re interested in going to Israel with Kristi like Kelsey and I did (she takes coed groups all the time too), visit Kristi’s website New Lens Biblical Studies. A pilgrimage to the Holy Land opens up the Living Word like never before!

I hope you’ll enter to win one of two jars from Israel, too! And remember, God never wastes a hurt. He sees—and collects—every one of your tears. Even when we can’t see him, can’t feel his presence, he’s working for our eternal good and his life-giving glory.

Do you love ancient history? Have you ever heard of a tear jar before?

Blessings on your Tuesday!

Tamera

Thanks to the over 600 friends who entered January’s giveaway! And congrats to Deborah Jones and Beverly Calcote who each won an adorable bent spoon “I LIKE BIG BOOKS & I CANNOT LIE” bookmark that I purchased over Christmas while in Hilton Head, SC!

God’s posture toward us

Today I welcome my friend Christine Bierma from Atrustworthysaying.com as my guest blogger. She has graciously allowed me some time away to rest, relax and recharge. She has been writing a series called “Postures” that considers the many postures that we can take as we approach God and the postures He takes toward us as we approach him. This is the second post in this series. To read more, please visit her blog at atrustworthysaying.com.

What do you think God’s posture toward you is? I’m not looking for the Sunday school answer but what you truly believe. When God thinks of you, are his arms open, closed, crossed, indifferent?

Does he have his finger lifted to you in accusation? Is he shushing you? Are his hands raised in a “whatever” pose? Has he completely turned his back?

Or, is he waiting with his arms wide open? Is he turning his ear toward you so he can be sure to give you all of his attention? Is he busy or is he waiting for you?

I believe many of us, if we are honest with ourselves believe that God the Father, is standing in judgement of us. Ready to heap shame and “shoulds” all over our head until we crumble from the weight of it all. Isn’t that what we’ve been taught? We sing Jesus Loves Me This I Know but just as soon as the song is finished we are given a list of our failures and shortcomings.

Don’t get me wrong, we have plenty of failures and shortcomings but that is the entire reason Jesus came to earth. He came to give us the assurance of forgiveness and to welcome us into his kingdom. He did not visit this planet to shame us or to shake an accusing finger in our faces until we relented.

You can study all of the gospels for your entire life and you will never find Jesus using shame as a weapon or a tool to bring us closer to him or to control us. You can search the Old Testament and the New Testament and not once come up with an example where God used shame to control his people. He just isn’t into the control game.

What you will find is a God who is grieved that his precious people have turned their backs on him. You will find a father that is hurting because of the poor choices his children have made and you will see him weep for the hurt and pain they bring upon themselves. You will find a loving God who is willing to move heaven and earth to allow us to come back to him.

Do you know who is in the shame and control game? Satan.

The prince of darkness wants to control us and lead us away from the Father. Shame is the perfect tool, especially for Christians. When he whispers shame into our ears he makes it sound spiritual, it feels like it is coming straight from God himself. Doesn’t it?

The scriptures tell us that “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” Romans 8:39

When shame, fear, condemnation and rejection start to swirl around you and weigh you down, bring this verse to mind and let it’s truth cover and protect you from the attack. God is not condemnation and fear. No matter what someone in your past has told you, no matter what you own inner voice screams at you, no matter what religious institution has smashed this lie into your heart, it is not true.

What is true is God is love.

Jesus himself said the greatest commandment was “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

Look at what that verse doesn’t say. Fill in the blank all the things your own condemnation believes are more important than the command to simply love God. Each of us will have a different list but it is a list of lies. That list simply does not exist in the scriptures.

God waits for each of us with open arms.

He will never force us to come into his presence or to serve him, he always gives us the choice. He isn’t waiting to condemn or shame us, but rather he is waiting to love us like we’ve never known.

He is waiting with his arms open wide!

Inspired by Scripture

This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashEntertainment.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online.

Prayer & Praise (& a Giveaway)

Hi friends. I hope your 2020 is off to a good start. In keeping with Deborah’s post yesterday about transparency on social media, I admit that my January has been filled with both ups and downs, i.e. LOWs. :} I also admit that last year I took on a “Read the Bible in a Year” program, but didn’t complete it.

Being Real in a Social Media World

[I’m rerunning a post that ran here almost exactly five years ago. All these years later, my thoughts about social media are still conflicted: I love it and I hate it. I think the questions are even more pertinent today than they were five years ago. I’d love to hear your thoughts.]

My husband and I went out for an impromptu breakfast the other day and he asked me, “Aren’t you going to take a picture?” (Meaning, for Facebook…) I said, “No, let’s let this time be just for us. For you and me.” But it caused me to wonder: has my life been reduced to a post-a-day on Facebook?

I hope not! We all know that Facebook isn’t exactly “real.” Most of us put our best foot forward on social media. We post about the best of our lives, and sometimes we intentionally make even the best of our lives look better than it actually is. I’m as guilty as anyone.

But I’m trying to be intentionally more transparent and real on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and wherever I post. No, you won’t find me dishing about the latest fight with my hubby. (You’d think we’d have things all worked out after forty years, but no, we do still have fights.) I probably won’t be posting a photo of me sans makeup any time soon. (That just wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone involved.) And I promise I won’t post one of those annoying, ambiguous, cry-for-attention posts either. You know the ones: “Feeling sad and depressed today for reasons I can’t go into, but believe me the details would curl your toes and possibly make you call the cops.”

Yet, for all its faults, I’ve also noticed that social media causes me to find new appreciation for the little things in life, and to realize that other people are all about the little things too. One of my most popular Facebook posts ever, was when I posted photos of some pretty cardboard tissue boxes I’d discovered at Aldi’s, our local bargain grocery. There was a bond formed that morning, seeing how many other people actually care whether their Kleenex box matches their decor…and how passionately they care! LOL! But you know what I mean… There is pleasure in the little things in life, and I think my attitude of gratitude has grown simply from thinking more intentionally about the “instagram” snippets of life.

Some people aren’t aware that authors are asked (some would call it required) by our publishers to have a strong presence on social media. It is, after all, a great way to get news about your books in front of readers. And more importantly to me, it’s a wonderful way to connect with some of my readers. And that’s why I actually love social media…Facebook and Instagram especially. It’s a joy to get to see pictures of my friends’ kids and grandkids (not to mention my own!) It’s great to learn that our faraway friends just bought a new house, or to see pictures of the latest DIY project my niece is working on. It’s wonderful to get updates on a cousin’s sick baby, or a childhood friend’s aging parents. I love hearing the story behind the story of my favorite authors’ newest books. And I’m often blessed by a Scripture verse or worship song a friend posted…words that sometimes seem like they were posted just for me.

And with a post like this, I would be remiss if I didn’t give you a chance to follow me on my social media venues! Click on the image above, which will take you to my website where you can choose from the buttons above.

What about you? Is social media a bane or a blessing to you? How can people be real—without being obnoxious—where social media is concerned?

Inspired by Scripture

This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashEntertainment.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online.

Persevere, Surrender, Pursue Excellence & Take Heart

Back in November, I had the very great honor of speaking at the Christy Award ceremony. A few weeks after that event, I shared the first part of my talk (my own personal love story with books) in this post here at Inspired by Life…and Fiction. Today, I’m bringing you the second half of my talk. Why? because I need to hear this weekly. Okay, maybe daily.

If I need to hear this, then I’m hoping that it will encourage you, too. This was written for a roomful of people working in the arena of Christian publishing. But I truly think that this applies to us all. I hope this blesses you today!

I Hear God Saying Persevere

       Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

       After we’ve been at this for a while,
just like any long-term relationship, we can begin to feel disenchanted,
cynical, jaded, weary.  There’s a million
ways to veer off course emotionally and mentally in this profession.  We have an enemy, after all, who does not
want God glorified in fiction.  He’ll try
to wreck our contentment and fill us with doubt.  He’ll try to break our sense of
gratitude.  He’ll try to replace an
attitude of humility with an attitude of entitlement.  He’ll work to turn a heart that thirsts to
lift God high into a heart that thirsts for personal achievement.

       Those of us in this room have in our
hands the ability to advance the gospel through fiction.  What an honor and a responsibility and a
sacred trust. 

       Just because this work is difficult doesn’t mean it’s not right.  It IS right.  Let’s obediently focus our hearts on Him.  Don’t give up.  Don’t grow weary of doing good.   

I Hear God Saying Surrender

       Proverbs 19:21 says “Many are the
plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

       There’s peace in discerning what part of
this work is our job and what part is God’s job.  We can feel pressured to do more and more and
more to try to ensure the outcome we want. 
But ultimately, publishing has a way of reminding us that the results
are largely out of our hands.  I think that’s
the way God’s arranged it.  In the end, it’s
the purpose of the Lord that will stand. 
Not our purposes.  His.  And His alone. 

       It’s freeing to release to Him the things we can’t control. 

I Hear God Saying Pursue Excellence

       Colossians 3:23-24 says “Whatever you do,
work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you
will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

       We exist at an unusual intersection of
business, art, and faith.  We’re to
steward the business side of fiction publishing.  We’re also to pursue absolute excellence in
art form.  Are we going to achieve that
this side of Heaven? No.  But we can
chase after excellence very, very hard.

       Above all, we’re to do what we do as for
the Lord, because we’re not here to serve ourselves.  Nor trends. 
Nor the way things have always been done.  We do what we do to serve God most high. 

       So let’s not settle.  Let’s not water in down.

       Writers, editors, publishers — let’s give this pursuit our very, very best.

I Hear God Saying Take Heart

       Luke 9:60 says “…go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

       Take heart and be encouraged because we
are proclaiming the Kingdom of God through story, just as Jesus
commanded.  God is, even now at this very
moment, using our novels to minister to His people.  He’s so amazing that He has the power to
speak to a reader through a book in ways that authors, editors, and sales teams
didn’t imagine. 

       What we’re doing has value.  Our work matters.  It’s important.  We’re sending fiction brimming with hope and
truth and light and encouragement into this world at this particular point in
history.  We’re the body of Christ,
working together, every one of us key to His plans. 

       So let’s keep at it.  Because the love story between God and his people?  That is the very best love story ever written.

Do any of the points from this post minister to you specifically?