A writer’s prayer for you

 

“Many beginning writers believe

the writing process requires great confidence

and unfaltering courage.

 

I’ve learned the writer’s journey requires

the ability to admit we’re not brave

or altogether perfect.

 

As Christian writers, we fare well

if we possess the wisdom to ask God

for the strength and discipline needed

to buckle down

and type the words He gives us.”

 

Xochitl Dixon

Lord, thanks for this new year and the fresh opportunities You offer us to write our memoirs.

 

Remind us that you’ve given each of us life and therefore you’ve given each of us a story to share with others.

 

Help us believe that writing our stories is not a hobby—it’s a ministry! You’ve told us to always remember what we’ve seen You do and to tell our children and grandchildren (Deuteronomy 4:9).

 

And Jesus said, “Go back to your family and tell them all that God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).

 

Your Word urges us to tell everyone about the amazing things You do, for You are great and most worthy of praise (1 Chronicles 16:24-25).

 

Convince us that we should not look down on small beginnings—and that You, O God, delight to see our work begin (Zechariah 4:10). Lord, give us the courage to begin.

 

Ignite a fire in our hearts to work as disciplined, intentional writers, committed to finishing our memoirs.

 

Take away our fears, Lord, and help us compose our stories with confidence, knowing You will use our efforts to point readers to You and Your love and Your goodness.

 

Motivate us to make time to reflect—to think back and ponder and examine—and to search for Your holy fingerprints, footprints, and heartprints. Enlighten us so we connect the dots and notice connections we overlooked in the past.

 

Enable us to see Your big picture, to recognize what You were doing to bring about Your best for us—often not the easiest, but the best.

 

You have entrusted our stories to us. You want us to tell others so they can see how You fought our battles alongside us, You brought healing and hope—not because of who we are, but because of who You are! Not because we are so great, but because You, God, are so great.

 

You have called us to a sacred task so inspire us, dear Lord. Help us find joy in the process of writing, of retelling our “God-and-Me” stories. Place in us a desire to learn to write well, with clarity and grace, and to persevere through rewriting and polishing and editing and publishing and marketing. Bring good people alongside us to accomplish all that.

 

Help us to embrace fulfillment and purpose and satisfaction in doing what You’ve called us to do.

 

Lord, You can do far more than anything we can request or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) so we humbly ask: Please equip us to write the stories You’ve given us. And once they’re in print, use them to accomplish Your good purposes.

 

Help us remember: All of this is not because we’re so great, but because God, You are so great!

 

Not because of who we are, but because of who You are!

 

May our memoirs and lives bring honor to You, 

our glorious God.

 

What do memoirists have in common with shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night?

It never occurred to me that memoirists have something in common with shepherds watching over their flocks by night— that is, not until I heard my son-in-law Brian’s Christmas sermon. That morning it became clear that we memoirists are more like those shepherds than we might have realized.

Yes, shepherds—those behind-the-scenes guys we sing about in Christmas carols, the ones we read about in the Bible in Luke 2. 

They were simply, quietly doing their daily chores when—bam!

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,

‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy

that will be for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths

and lying in a manger.’”

(Luke 2:9-12)

An angel is a messenger sent by God—did you know? The Bible refers to angels a lot.

That night the angel of the Lord gave a stunning message to the shepherds—something about good news. Something about a Savior. And about a baby—a baby lying in a manger, of all things!

That must have sounded wacky to them, don’t you think?

But God was offering them a moment of clarity:

Somehow, they knew this was a divine encounter,

that they stood on holy ground,

and that they had to take the angel’s message seriously.

So they said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and check it out!” (verse 16).

I picture them: Wild-eyed. Breathless.

“They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished. . . . [and] they went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:16-20, NLT).

They were never the same after that encounter, after the night God gave them a moment of clarity.

Similarly, “God gives us moments of clarity,” son-in-law Brian said, “in the same way the angel of the Lord gave clarity to those shepherds.”

Think about moments of clarity God has sprung on you—pivotal points in your life, defining moments.

They can occur while you’re carrying out everyday duties. “Pay attention to God,” Brian said. “He can speak to you in even routine events.”

Think back to a time when you, like the shepherds, were carrying out your normal routines—maybe a little bored, or maybe wondering if your life had any significance at all—when your life took an unexpected turn. And the result: a moment of clarity.

Let’s look at the shepherds: 

• Because God sent an angel,
• and because the shepherds paid attention to the angel’s message,
• and because they followed up and verified the message,
• and because this resulted in a moment of clarity for the shepherds,
• they “told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished” (Luke 2:17-18),
• they praised God for what He told and showed them,
• and the shepherds’ story has lived on long after they died, blessing many generations.

The shepherds shared their story. That’s what memoirists do:

• We tell others our stories of what happened.
• And when we see how our all-powerful, all-loving God showed Himself to us in our circumstances, we can’t help but praise and worship Him!
• And our stories can live on long after we die, blessing many generations.

That reminds me of the following Bible verses:

“Tell everyone about the amazing things God does. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise” (1 Chronicles 16:24-25).

Jesus said, “Go tell your family everything God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).

“Always remember what you’ve seen God do and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

“We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s power and his great deeds and the wonderful things he has done. He . . . instructed our ancestors to teach his laws to their children, so that the next generation might learn them and in turn should tell their children. In this way they will also put their trust in God and not forget what he has done, but always obey his commandments” (Psalm 78:4b, 6-7, Good News Translation).

“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done” (Psalm 105:1).

“Sing praises to the Lord, proclaim what He has done” (Psalm 9:11).

“Declare [God’s] glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3).

“The Lord has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world” (Isaiah 12:5).

Jesus said, “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs” (Matthew 10:27).

When God gives us moments of clarity

and changes our lives,

He urges us to tell others our stories

in the same way the shepherds told theirs.

Brian concluded his sermon with this encouragement:

“Those shepherds were just regular guys

who shared the message of light and hope and peace.

We should do the same.”

Celebrating God’s fingerprints

Here at Spiritual Memoirs 101, we recognize the value of writing our stories for our kids, grandkids, great-grands, nieces, nephews, "spiritual children," and other important people in our lives.

Writing a memoir is so much more than just telling stories, spinning yarns, and passing on tales from the past.

We memoirists dig deep to discover what God has done for us—in us, through us—
every day,
every step of the way,
in the best of times and the worst of times.

The digging, probing, and questioning can be beautiful—well, at least the result can be beautiful.

The examining, reflecting, and unraveling help us discover significance we probably missed earlier, and that can be life-changing for the memoir writer as well as for the readers.

Writing a memoir is a holy work. 

It’s a ministry.

Jesus said,

“Go tell your family everything God has done for you.”

Luke 8:39

Tell everybody about the amazing things God does.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise!

1 Chronicles 16:24-25a

Writing a memoir is our "Yes!" to God in what He tells us all to do.

Memoirists have the privilege of working with sacred stories. We get to remember God's marvelous works (Psalm 105:5) and tell the next generations about God's power and involvement in our lives and our families' lives (Psalm 145:4).

Writing a memoir does not require that we have supernatural, astonishing stories that would make the evening news and get tweeted around the world.

Mostly we write about everyday events and ordinary people.

Our job is to notice God in the midst of our gatherings and activities and responsibilities and relationships and homes.

Our goal is to detect God's fingerprints and footprints all over the place.

We avoid being preachy and holier-than-thou.  We eliminate everything that suggests: "Too bad you can't be like me."

And we avoid Christianeze jargon.

Our stories need not be dry and boring. They can and should include charm and humor and adventure and intrigue. Our stores must be winsome and fascinating to read.

We need to remind ourselves what a memoir is—and what it is not.

Write your memoir as a celebration of God

in all His goodness

and faithfulness

and majesty.