Write your memoir “on the cutting edge of what’s going on in God’s heart”

 

“In Raise Up A Standard—A Challenge to Christian Writers,

Michael Phillips asks,

‘Do we want to write

the sensational or the significant?

He challenges Christian writers

‘to be on the cutting edge, not of trends,

not of what’s going on in publishing . . .

but to be on the cutting edge

of what’s going on in God’s heart. . . .

If you believe in your message,

don’t give up on it.

Don’t water it down.

Don’t sensationalize it

just to get published

or to try to make it a best-seller.

Stand firm, in integrity and truthfulness,

for what God has given you to communicate.’”

(Eureka, CA: Sunrise Books, pp. 29-31).”

 (From Marlene Bagnull’s Write His Answer:

A Bible Study for Christian Writers.)

 

I like that: In writing memoir, let’s “be on the cutting edge of what’s going on in God’s heart.”

 

After all, here at SM 101, we consider our writing to be a ministry, not a hobby. (Be sure to click on Do you think of yourself as an ordained writer?)

 

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

 

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

 

Accomplishing that, however, can be a daunting task.

 

How can any mere human do what Michael Phillips said:

to know, and then to write, on the cutting edge

of what’s going on in God’s heart?

 

Henri Nouwen tells us how to begin, how to end, and how to accomplish everything in between. He uses the word “solitude.”

 

“. .  We are usually surrounded by so much outer noise that it is hard to truly hear our God. . . . We need to learn to listen to God, who constantly speaks but whom we seldom hear.”

 

We need, he says, “a life in which there is some free inner space where we can listen to our God and follow His guidance. . . .

 

“Solitude begins with a time and a place for God,

and God alone. . . .

We need to set aside a time and space

to give God our undivided attention.

(Matthew 6:6)”

(Henry J.W. Nouwen, Making All Things New and Other Classics) 

(Also click on “Bringing Solitude Into Our Lives,

Excerpts from MAKING ALL THINGS New”.)

 

Always remember: Your story is important. God can use it to shape the lives of your children, grandchildren, great-grands, and anyone else who reads your story, including the “spiritual” children God has given you. Not all of us have children, but we all have “spiritual” children who look up to us and model their lives after ours—more than we realize.

 

You know from experience

how powerful other people’s stories can be.

Many of them inspired you,

opened new worlds,

sent you in different and better directions,

and made you who you are today.

 

Believe this:

Your story can impact your readers

in the same way.

 

While you write the rough draft of your memoir,

ask God to show you what He wants you to communicate.

 

Set aside time for listening to God for His answer.

 

Take Henri Nouwen’s advice:

Make time to spend quality time with God,

in solitude with Him.

Give Him your undivided attention.

 

And then write your stories.

 

Do you need inspiration to finish writing your memoir?

Have you heard of George MacDonald, the prolific and beloved Scottish author in the late 1800s? He can play a big role in inspiring you to write and finish your memoir.

Originally a church pastor, he was driven out of the pulpit because congregations disliked his beliefs.

Desperate to provide for his family, he turned to writing—and in doing so, his spiritual teachings have reached millions more people than if he had served in one small church, and they have lasted more than 100 years beyond MacDonald’s death.

MacDonald possessed “the ability to include insightful principles and profound spiritual wisdom in a top-flight, well-written, compelling story,” writes Michael Phillips in the Preface to The Fisherman’s Lady.

His many books included a number of genres (my favorites are his novels). Michael Phillips writes this about all of MacDonald’s works, “And in whatever he did I sensed the same wisdom coming forth, the same penetrating spiritual perception concerning intensely practical concerns.” 

My Scottish ancestors lived in this valley in the Highlands.  :)

MacDonald “firmly held that the deepest insights about life were not to be found in distant obscurities but in everyday relationships and ordinary contacts with the world. Therefore, his books are filled with commonplace lives. We see an agrarian world of thatched cottages with their peat fires, porridge and milk…. This was the Scotland he loved, and his truths, like his people, were simple yet subtle.” (Michael Phillips, from the Introduction to The Baronet’s Song)

What MacDonald accomplished, you and I can accomplish in and through our memoirs!

By writing vignettes about our everyday lives, we can tell stories that teach spiritual truths, convey practical wisdom, and introduce readers to God’s love and His ways.

And it’s so important to write (to reiterate what Michael says above) “a top-flight, well-written, compelling story.” 

We need to hone our writing skills and be sure our finished memoir is well edited and compelling. We want our readers to enjoy our stories!

And, like MacDonald’s writings,

yours and mine can outlive us.

If we get our stories into the hands of our kids

and grandkids and great-grands,

who knows how many future generations

will receive the blessings of our efforts?

(In the 1990s, because MacDonald's use of Scottish Gaelic dialect from the 1800s was nearly impossible for readers to understand, and because few of his books were in print, American author Michael Phillips edited a number of MacDonald's novels, rewrote them in modern-day English, and published them. I highly recommend them to you. And I highly recommend that you get acquainted with Michael, too.)

Write your memoir “on the cutting edge of what’s going on in God’s heart”

“In Raise Up A Standard—

A Challenge to Christian Writers, 

Michael Phillips asks, ‘Do we want to write

the sensational or the significant?’

He challenges Christian writers

‘to be on the cutting edge, not of trends,

not of what’s going on in publishing … but to be on

the cutting edge of what’s going on in God’s heart.…

If you believe in your message,

don’t give up on it.

Don’t water it down.

Don’t sensationalize it

just to get published

or to try to make it a best-seller.

Stand firm, in integrity and truthfulness,

for what God has given you

to communicate’

(Eureka, CA: Sunrise Books, pp. 29-31).”

(Marlene Bagnull in Write His Answer: 

A Bible Study for Christian Writers.) 

I like that: In writing memoir, let’s “be on the cutting edge of what’s going on in God’s heart.”

That, however, is a daunting task.

How can any human approach the cutting edge of what’s going on in God’s heart?

Henri J. M. Nouwen tells us the way to begin, and to end, and to accomplish everything in between: