Saturday, May 24, 2014

June Meeting Date Change

NJCWG's next meeting is June 14

We will meet upstairs in the conference room at 10am

Please bring two pages for critique & clear, measurable summer goals

This will be our last meeting until September

Remember that May 31 is the early registration deadline for the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference - there is a slight increase in cost after that. Check it out - philadelphia.writehisanswer.com

 

Thoughts to Ponder, from our May meeting 

Telling Secrets

Solomon said, “Of making many books there is no end…” (Eccl. 12:12)
A quick search showed me that in the US in 2011 (the latest year listed), 292,014 new books were published. That same year the United Kingdom published 149,800 titles. In 2012, China published 241,986 books. The total of those three nations is 683,800. This says nothing of periodicals and e-zine publications or blogs.
Between Solomon's observation and the staggering number of titles being published, the amount of work writing involves, and publishers’ demands for an impressive platform, why bother? Why not spend our time reading books instead of laboring to add to their number? Why should we write?

I offer three compelling reasons from I Corinthians: 
1.  Chapter 2:16 tells us, "...we have the mind of Christ." 
2.  Then, in 3:17, we read that we are God's sacred temple and the Holy Spirit lives in us. 
3.  Following that, in 4:1, we're told that we have been entrusted with the secret things of God.

What compels us to write is not our talent or creativity, not to gain fame or royalties, not to fill our time or spout our opinions, but to share what has been given us - a perspective and a story from God Himself.
We have Christ’s mind; the Holy Spirit resides in our temple; we have been entrusted with the secret things of God. More specifically, the passage says, “men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.” The world may not know it, but they’re looking to us for answers. We have a unique voice. We must write!
Take Home Thought: 
“Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him….” (Matt 12:34-35) 
Write good things from the fullness of your heart! 

Be a blessing,
Barbara