The Writer's Conference was great. I thought I'd go through my notes and post some notes and quotes here.
From McNair Wilson:
"Art history books are full of art created by people between the ages of 40 and 60."
"For me not to be the person God created me to be is blasphemy to God."
"Don't worry about trying to be larger than life. Just be actual size."
"Do what you love. The reason you love it is because God put it there."
"No one has ever hit a homerun from the dugout." (Alton Gansky on risk tasking)
"We judge others based on their actions. We judge ourselves based on our motives." (Jonathan Clements)
What God Did On The Final Day
Before I left Ridgecrest, I climbed the mountain and hit some trails. I didn't have a chance to do it earlier in the week and I had done nothing but eat and sit the entire conference so I felt like I'd gained 10 pounds and needed to exercise.
I hit the trail and spent some time talking to God about what I'd heard this week, how I felt about my writing career, my ministry, etc. So I had one of those familiar conversations with God about his will and what he wanted me to do with my life.
I sat in the middle of the woods in a soft rain for quite some time. I gave everything to God (again) and said, "Talk to me. You've given me clear directions before...I need to hear from you today. Do you want me to pursue writing or not?"
It was quiet. No revelations.
I drove home for the first hour in silence. I just wanted to listen. I pulled out my conference notes and reviewed them while doing 70 mph down I-26. I finally put a CD in, got some music on and thought about writing the rest of the way home.
Fast forward to that night. As I'm opening a stack of mail 13" high. I see what looked like another invoice from my distributor who warehouses and distributes my book. I dreaded opening the envelope from the distributor because I figured they were billing me for the dust sitting on the cases of my books in their warehouse.
Guess what? It was a check. I haven't received a commission check from them in over two years. The check was only for $193.50 so I won't "quit my day job." But I was excited to actually get a check from them for a change.
Then it dawned on me. This was God's answer to my prayer. I don't think it's a coincidence that I received that rare check on the same day that I asked God to speak to me about my writing. He's reminded me that he is the one that put the passion in me to write and I must pursue that passion. If not, as speaker McNair Wilson said earlier in the day, it's blasphemy to God to not be who he has created me to be.
