The Shepherd’s Song was a different writing experience for us--two sisters born into a family of writers. After twenty years of writing children’s books for the general market we were now writing our first book for God. The books we wrote before were from a Christian worldview. What made this book different was our desire to submit every word to God and to reflect in our words what He would say. An overwhelming task on our own.
But what if we could connect with God and hear from Him as we worked. C.S. Lewis wrote once about “taking dictation” from God. The connection with God was key. But how?
As we shifted from our writing for the general market to the idea that we would write for God, prayer became important and critical. We prayed individually, together in groups with others and we enlisted a prayer team to pray for the writing of the book.
Three times stand out as we reflect back over how prayer entered our work and kept us grounded and focused as we wrote The Shepherd’s Song.
The first came at the beginning of our efforts. When we began writing together, we were full of enthusiasm and ideas. We both took off with to do lists and ideas and quickly we became stressed and anxious. A book by Andy Stanley, Visioneering pulled us back and helped us focus.
The book challenged us to look at whether we prayed first, then acted, or acted first, then prayed.
The question was convicting - the notebooks full of our plans and ideas were the evidence against us. In our enthusiasm we had gotten ahead of God. What to do? We stopped and made two decisions:
We decided we would stop all action and spend one week just praying for the book and for direction.
And we also agreed we would never move forward on an idea or action unless we were unified through prayer about the decision.
Throughout the week anxiety vanished. Clarity came, peace descended. As we individually surrendered the work to God He brought us into unity.
The second prayer time came later. The book was finished and accepted and paralysis set in. Now what. The second book, The Father’s Prayer, was drafted and outlined but we were blocked. At the same time we were working to build a platform and determine what we should be doing for marketing the first book.
Was it right? How did we know? We stopped again and brought the work and ourselves into a time of deeper prayer.
This time God spoke to us through a book by Mark Batterson, Draw the Circle, The Forty Day Prayer Challenge. For forty days we read the devotions and “circled” our work in prayer during our personal time with God. It was amazing how God used these devotions to speak to us separately and together as we submitted to Him through these prayer times.
Reading this devotional series together and praying through Batterson’s forty days helped us to connect with each other and with God and allowed God access to us through our time with Him.
The third was a prayer for protection. During the year leading up to publication we both went through difficult times with friends and family, mostly medical issues. We were both pulled off track and struggled to keep focus while undergoing struggles to take care of those we loved. We remembered our great grandfather’s favorite scripture from Ephesians 6, the armor of God.
We began to pray this daily for each other. Each morning we would turn to this passage and pray each article of armor for the other –belt, shield, helmet, breastplate, sword, shoes. As soon as we started, peace reigned and through our outward circumstances did not change, we had peace and we able to resume our work on the book.
The end result?
We don’t know how the book will be received or what will happen as it goes out into the world but the end result for us is peace. We have no regrets about the writing, no doubts about any decision along the way. We have assurance that the book is in God’s hands to use as He will.
Prayer is the key.
The Writing Sisters, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers were born into a writing family, and began critiquing manuscripts at an early age for their mother, Newbery winner Betsy Byars. They went on to become authors of more than thirty-five children’s novels. Their first book for adults is The Shepherd’s Song, Howard Books, March 2014.
Links:
Review of The Shepherd's Song by S. Black
Kate McConnell ponders her life as she is lying in the hospital after a horrible accident, not knowing whether she will live or die. “I don’t think my life matters. I’ve been a Christian for almost twenty-five years, and I haven’t accomplished anything. I can’t point to one single person that I’ve had an impact on, even in my own family.” As she wavers between life and death one thought brings peace to her heart, Psalm 23, The Lord is My Shepherd. Reflecting back to the events prior to the accident, Kate had written carefully the entirety of the Psalm and placed it in her son’s jacket hoping that upon reading this he would think upon God’s promises. Only it brings anger and accusations that “she is trying to control his life and to back off”. This was not what she had expected. She prays to God that her life not end that “her work was not done”.
This copy of 23 Psalm placed in her son’s jacket travels from a cleaner’s shop and touches 12 separate lives around the world. The book is beautifully written and very inspirational. Each line of the Psalm affects a different individual and leads to second chances in each life. The book is like a collection of 12 mini stories within the main story of Kate McConnell’s life. These stories shows how God‘s word does not return void. It does accomplish and prosper in things that it was sent to do.
I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to others to read.
12:05 AM
Anonymous
What a touching testimony by the authors! I am excited about reading this book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay. We appreciate your encouragement!
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