Month: February 2023

FOLLOW YOUR DREAM

How many of us have a dream to follow … someday … but someday never comes? Well, perhaps my *someday* is here!

Weekly Message by Ward Pimley

OVER THE YEARS, I’ve dabbled in writing fiction — a few short stories but mostly novels. My first attempt at writing a novel  was in elementary school. Since then, I’ve taken a stab or two, but never completed a project. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUDE!

That has changed over the last two years, as I’ve completed three novels that had been occupying space on my computer’s hard drive. 

The difference? I’ve decided to go for it without regard to anyone’s response. Why not? This is my life, and I want to enjoy the challenge and the privilege of completing this dream.

All three novels have undergone tremendous refinement. While the years passed and the novels lay dormant, I became a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, which led me to redefine my characters and change the story flow, while still maintaining the tension and suspense of the original story.

Oh, and I needed to trim each of them significantly to stay within an 85,000-word limit expected of a novice novel-writer.

~THREE NOVELS~

SO, NOW I’VE COMPLETED three novels. They’re ready for a publishing agent and, should that fail, find their way to e-publishing.

Since every story is a love story, my three books also are love stories, but with twists. Two of them are set against a Washington political backdrop, while the third focuses on fatherhood, divorce, and reconciliation.

The two political books  — Beware of Liars and If Not For You — are part of a series featuring a congressman from Rhode Island and a congresswoman from Nevada who butt heads politically while fighting demons from personal tragedy and navigating their difficult relationship.

The third novel — At Last — is a first-person perspective. The lead character is a journalist-turned-magazine writer, who becomes suspect number one in a murder investigation while trying to restart his career and unexpectedly care for his young daughter after her mother — his ex-wife — is hospitalized in an auto accident.

Each of the three novels has something special for the Christian reader and, hopefully, a compelling testimony for the not-yet Christian who seeks better answers for life’s deepest questions than those the world offers.

~LIFELONG DESIRE~

FOR YEARS, I HAVE WANTED to write fiction. That’s not unusual. God created us in His image, and the first thing we read about God is that … He created! (Gen. 1:1)

PURSUING A DREAM

Yes, it’s like the woman who nurtures her rose garden or expertly crafts gourmet pies, or the man who busies himself with wood-working, or anyone who dances, sings, plays an instrument, writes music, paints landscapes, photographs the sea, or dashes off sonnets or plays.

Mostly, in writing, I enjoyed creating characters with distinct personalities and speaking styles and then molding them into action scenes where the reader feels he/she is in the room with them.

I love my characters!!

My next project — Lord willing — is to create a three-part novella series centering on one or two main characters and featuring a variety of secondary characters taking turns staring in sub-plots. The idea is once a reader enjoys one of the books, he/she is more likely to show an interest in the other two, especially if they can be read in any order.

Plus, for me as the author, I get to watch my characters maneuver their way through different situations — some of them difficult, some embarrassing, some humorous — but all of them, hopefully, recognizable to the reader. 

~BIBLICAL SUPPORT~

THE HOLY BIBLE is replete with *dreams,* as God once used them to connect with His creation. It’s the imagination that God has instilled in us that has led mankind to invent machinery, technology, and pharmaceuticals, to discover new lands, minerals, galaxies, and nano-particles, and to “go where no man has gone before.” 

GOD’S GRACE IS LOVE IN ACTION

Whatever your dream is, especially if you haven’t found your “someday” yet, maybe ask yourself, “What’s holding me back?” We all have a boatload of excuses, but in the end, listening to those excuses only stops us.

Our dreams are not accidental. We might assume God has placed them in our hearts along with eternity. 

As long as those dreams honor God, finding that rainbow could be more than satisfying a personal desire … it also could be honoring God’s plan for our lives.

PRAYER

FATHER GOD,

THANK YOU for giving us hearts of boldness, minds that long to create, and hands – and sometimes feet – that put action to those urges. We pray, Lord, in all we do, we’ll honor You. In Jesus’ name.

AMEN

OUR WORST CRITIC

Too often, we are our worst critics, condemning ourselves more harshly than others do, and dismissing our strong points as nothing special. That tendency is satanic and keeps us from being more productive.

Weekly Message by Ward Pimley

I HAVE TO ADMIT IT, I often heap abuse on myself for failing to be *perfect,* even when I *know* (i.e., have mental knowledge) that perfection is beyond human reach.

My Toughest Critic – Me!

I’m not alone in this regard. According to the Myers-Briggs personality profile, my profile type (INTJ) is more likely than other profile types to be self-abusive. We strive for perfection and demand accountability in others.

There is help, but in our (my) human pride, we tend to glaze over it, preferring to focus on the achievements of others and our tendency to underperform, at least by our own standards.

The Bible tells us — if we’ll let it speak to us — that we are helpless without the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit. Here are some examples:

  • But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward. — Isaiah 49:4 (NLT)
  • Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don’t compare yourself with others. We each must carry our own load. — Galatians 4-5 (CEV)
  • “If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without Me they can do nothing.” — John 15:5 (NET)

~WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?~

THE PROBLEM IS THIS: When we listen to the voice of the Evil One, we ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Evil One will cause us to doubt God’s goodness, His love for us, His caring touch.

Instead, like Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3), we’ll convince ourselves that God does not have our best interests in mind and that, just perhaps, He’s “holding out on us.” Therefore, we reason, we must “follow your bliss,” as mythologist Joseph Campbell taught and, like Cream sang in Strange Brew, “do what’s inside of you.” 

Then, we get into trouble.

With God’s help, we can change that dynamic.

~HERE’S AN EXAMPLE~

Recently, I wrote about following my dream (LoveAndGrace). I wanted to use the skills, training, and experience of being a newspaper reporter (journalist) to write novel-length fiction, creating characters and dialogue and movement and setting and storyline — all the things I was doing at work when reporting on real-life events.

I wrote about having started — and stopped — writing three novels. Two years ago, I began diligently to complete them. Since then, I’ve edited them severely — shrinking them to 85,000 words each and, more importantly, reflecting the Christian values I’ve come to embrace in the last decade as a born-again believer.

Okay, in this example, I am glad I had not finished the novels beforehand, because I would not want my pre-Christian heart and soul made public. Now, when I publish the novels, they’ll reflect the new creature God has created in me.

The point I’m making is that it only has been very recently that I’ve felt the self-confidence God wants me to experience so that I could complete the novels and contemplate writing more.

Being my inner critic prevented me from completing any of the novels. I just stared at them on my computer’s hard-drive.

~THE CATALYST~

WHAT CHANGED FOR ME is that God has given me a spirit of courage, replacing my spirit of fear. I am now willing to embrace my dream and go after a calling, unafraid of temporal rejection or lack of applause.

  • For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control. — 2 Timothy 1:7 (GNT)
  • So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” — Hebrews 13:6 (NKJV)

I would like to say that this change in me came suddenly as the Holy Spirit entered my heart; but the truth is, this has been part of His sanctification process in slowly and methodically bringing me closer to Him. Also, the Lord has used the testimony of some dear brothers to speak this truth into my life.

But, wait! There I go again. The gift came from God, and I’m trying to grab credit for it, wishing I had come to this realization  myself, by myself, on my own, and … apparently … for myself.

Not anymore. I want to embrace the new reality: God has transformed me and brought me into His embrace in His timing for His purpose.

Not anymore. I want to embrace the new reality: God has transformed me and brought me into His embrace
in His timing for His purpose.

LoveAndGrace

This is what He tells me (and you):

  • PROVERBS 3:5-6 (NIV): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
  • 1 PETER 2:9 (NKJV): “But you [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

With those promises of God, how can we ever doubt His goodness toward us and therefore … in Him … our own worth as people of God?

PRAYER

FATHER GOD, We thank You for Your everlasting kindness, Your patience, and Your willingness to teach us how to be faithful and obedient sons and daughters of the King. All blessing, honor, and glory are Yours, O Lord, from everlasting to everlasting. AMEN and AMEN