I almost forgot! Is that even possible? It’s time for Five Minute Friday.
And guess what? We’ve got “NOTHING”. That’s right, the prompt for this week is “nothing”. So write for five minutes and then come on over and link-up with your little sweet nothings than make a great big something!
And guess what? We’ve got “NOTHING”. That’s right, the prompt for this week is “nothing”. So write for five minutes and then come on over and link-up with your little sweet nothings than make a great big something!
The conference is approaching.
The one that I have been anticipating for months.
I just signed up to meet with several publishers there.
And with all this anticipation the insecurities and fears rise right up with the excitement.
The same issues I am writing a book about…control, perfectionism, lack of trust…
these are the ones that threaten to choke me.
What if I have nothing that they want to hear?
Nothing unique
Nothing marketable
Nothing of value in their eyes.
What if?
Today I was going to post this, “Since I am trying to be a writer…”
Then I stopped as his voice echoed in my head.
Wait, I am a writer.
And then her voice resounded in my ear,
“You are already a good writer.”
And her advice played back too
“You don’t need anyone to validate you
so don’t put your worth in anyone else’s acceptance of you or your work.”
And those life-giving words from His Word and her heart?
The ones I keep forgetting- they come back too…
Don’t look to others for approval.
You are already approved in Christ.
You don’t need a book deal to tell you that.
You don’t need 25,000 followers to affirm that in your heart.
You don’t need to sell a single song on iTunes to know that you belong.
You just need Him. One thing.
And then, all that nothing turns into everything.
He has given you everything you need for life and godliness.
Regardless of if you sell one of your songs.
Regardless of getting signed.
Regardless of your failures and successes, your rejections and approvals.
In Him alone you are good.
He’s got you covered-
covered with all His goodness and all that grace.
Apart from Him. It’s no good.
On your own strength, you’ll burn out.
With sheer will-power, you’ll fall short.
In your own wisdom, you’ll miss the mark.
By your own desire, you’ll wander off.
Remember this, you are always dependent on Him.
And you lack nothing that His grace can’t give you (Roy Lessin).
Apart from Him we have no good thing.
No thing.
Not one thing.
Keep Him the one thing.
And you’ll be okay, I promise.
He promises.
Thanks for sharing! So true, we do not depend on what others have to say, or on what we do. We have everything and are everything in HIM. Thanks for this beautiful reminder! And enjoy your conference! – your FMF neighbor
Thank you for stopping by “neighbor”. Love that “we have everything in HIM.”:)
Great post! I think I know exactly where you are headed and I’ve experienced EVERY one of the emotions you write about. I went to the same conference a few years back. It was an amazing experience. Meeting with the publishers went better than expected. No matter what happens, you are right – you are already a writer and a published one at that (your blog!). If you don’t get a book deal, do not feel defeated. You have a story to tell….God will open a door for you to share it. I ended up self-publishing after having many people encourage me in that direction.
I love this…”You don’t need a book deal to tell you that.
You don’t need 25,000 followers to affirm that in your heart.”
That is so hard to remember some times, but it’s TRUTH! Good luck to you as you pitch your book idea! It’s such an adventure….
Thank you Jennifer- pleased to meet you! I really appreciate your encouragement and understanding about what I am feeling/doing. “You have a story to tell…God will open a door for you to share it.” Thank you and Amen.:)
Very moving, creative, and poetic! Yes, you ARE a very good writer and I’m glad I came across your work on FMF. Great job with this post! Happy Friday!
Karen- So nice to meet you. Love the name of your blog and this, ” I’m not the best writer or thinker, but I do it anyway”…what a great statement! How many times do we let those thoughts stop us instead of doing it anyway?:) Thank you so much for your encouragement!
Wow! I totally needed this today. Putting yourself out there and risking rejection with your art is scary, and I totally get that. Thanks for the encouragement to keep my eyes focused on Christ. And I hope everything goes better than great for you at the conference!
Thank you Amy, for your encouragement, empathy and sharing.:)
Katie,
Oh, I am also a recovering perfectionist…Nice to meet you via FMF…It’s great that you were able to tell yourself the truth about yourself as a writer and as God’s beloved 🙂 Keep up the great work 🙂
Thanks Dolly- Now I need to really believe it, not just write it.:)
What a wonderful take on last weeks fmf! You write beautiful words, sweet one. Blessings!
Thank you Kaylene!:)