Friday we spent some time with our dear friends Mike and Paula Walker of Lafayette, LA. Mike is a pastor there, and Paula is his lovely red-haired wife.
Mike led my hubby to the Lord many years ago, and soon afterward suggested that my hubby and brother-in-law might want to work with the youth. So my hubby and BIL began to do just that . . . and today my brother-in-law is a Campus Life missionary in Louisiana and has influenced hundreds of kids in the name of Jesus. My sweet husband has been in youth ministry for thirty years . . . and it all began with a word of encouragement.
I'm a writer because Pastor Derric Johnson once told me I had a way with words so, "why don't you try writing?" I don't think I would ever have thought of it without that nudge.
Someone asked the other day why I speak in schools . . . and I had to ask myself the same question. For marketing? LOL. I'm not even writing kids' books these days, so it's surely not marketing. Sales? Not really. I sell a few books, but not nearly enough to justify leaving home and losing a work day. The paycheck? There were some months last year when I truly needed the honorarium provided by my school sponsor, but again, it'd be a lot easier to stay home and work.
So why do I do it? Because someone once told me I had a way with words . . . and someone once told my husband he ought to think about working with kids.
I don't tell the kids they should all be writers, because I know they're not all cut out to be. But I do tell them that I've learned it's far better to obey God day by day and listen for His voice than to chase dreams that may or may not be part of His plan for them. "If you'll do that," I tell them, "what you become will be so much better than anything you could dream."
That's why I do it. Because kids look up to authors, and if even a single kid from each school remembers the gist of my message, that'll count for something in the perspective of eternity.
We never know when our words are molding soft clay . . . so may the Lord remind us to make sure our words are "fitly spoken," like apples of silver.
~~Angie
Thanks for answering my question! That's a great reason to talk to kids. I hope they're all listening to you.
ReplyDeleteAngie,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to let you know that I finished my copy of Magdalene today and posted a review at my blog. I loved it, of course. It's hard to explain to a four-year-old why you're weeping as you read a book, though!
Wow, Wow, Wow! I just finished Magdalene today and I have to say, Angie, I think it's one of your best books yet. It really gets at the heart of Miryam, but at the same time it really spoke to my heart as well. And, I learned a few things that I didn't know before, which is always good!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do have to ask, why did you choose to have a man offer the donkey to Yeshua, rather than the disciples getting it ahead of time? Just curious.
On another note, I read Secret Life of Bees for a book club last year and found it quite good; what did you think of it?
Kristine
By the way, I cried at the end too! A sign of a well written book with characters that come alive.
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