Two years ago God moved my family to Montana. Mountains, deserts, Yellowstone River…. Frazzle day at work? Need dazzle? No problem, I stand up, and look out my cubicle window at the Beartooth Mountains.
In need of lunchtime escape? No problem, I trek
to the Yellowstone River. Inspiration needed? A ten minute drive up to the where one can literally see over a hundred miles past my oasis city surrounded by desert, ranches, and Crow Indian reservation. God gave my family a great place to live.
This is my favorite room in our house. A lifetime of bad reception, no reception, and broken TVs have fueled the literary takeover of our family room. To this day, my kids would rather go to a bookstore, the library, or delve into one of their own books for free time.God has blessed my husband and I with three children: two in college, one in high school.
I like to travel, Facebook, tell stories, sit in front of a fireplace with a good book, watch my children, sip tea at a coffee shop with my husband, listen to music, stand in a wood or by a bubbling brook and listen, and sometimes—eat broccoli.My favorite section of any library or bookstore is the children’s corner. Although, of late I think I’ve grown up a little, I’ve wandered into the teen area.
My first novel trampled through a publisher’s slush pile and landed on an editor’s desk for several months before flying back to my mailbox. The rejection note broke my heart, but strengthen my resolve to learn how to write. Currently I’m working on a picture book and a young adult fiction novel.
I’m a member of ACFW and hang out with families and kids at my blog, God Loves Kids where I tell Bible stories in family friendly language. Each story includes questions to promote family discussion.At a time when I didn’t know where to go, God took my hand and led me to Bible College. He continued leading me to short-term missions working with kids, children's church ministries, teaching elementary students at Christian Schools, and in many other wonderful ways. From struggles with cancer to joys of hearing my children laugh, God has faithfully walked with me.
May your writing journey cause you to walk close to Christ and share His love to those your words touch.
Speaking of the which, take a moment to share in the comment section how your writing journey has brought you close to Christ. We all here at Writer's Alley would love to hear about you :)
Stop by on Wednesdays and share more with me. I’d love to hear about your writing.
9 comments:
Nice to meet you, Mary. I love your description of the breathtakingly beautiful place you call home.
Kudos to you on instilling the love of reading in your children. My mom did the same. I have fond childhood memories of trips to the library and the used bookstore. Now my mother offers encouragement and support as I write my stories.
What a beautiful place to live, and I would love a room in the house filled with books. I actually just blogged about my writing journey yesterday.
Okay, not very Christ-like I know, but I am INSANELY envious of your library room!! I want one of those!!!
How writing brought me closer to Christ: That's a hard question, but it shouldn't be! I think in many ways I've learned a ton in researching issues that I was addressing in my books. Also, it brought me to a place where God was helping me, guiding me in my writing to write what HE wanted me to write. I've learned trust in the times of waiting, and to depend on Him even in times of rejection.
But at the same time, my "time" has dwindled, and i find myself struggling WAY too much with devoting quality alone time with God. Too many times it gets overlooked, so it's something I'm really trying hard to work on lately. I really really don't think God will bless my writing when I'm allowing it to be more important than him. Same with blogging.
Oh Mary!! What a beautiful post. And beautiful part of the world. And beautiful library, and kids :-). Gee, it's just beautiful.
Btw, my treadmill is in my library/office too.
How my writing has brought me closer to Christ? expressing faith through the characters and having them work through situations, both in good and bad ways, has just made God's grace seem so much larger and more...er...beautiful. (how many times can I possibly use that word?)
It's also touched my heart in personal parts of my life - expressing my emotions and feelings, plus God's faithfulness, through stories, poems, and songs. It's a wonderful outlet of this overflowing joy, ya know?
Mary, that was beautiful. I loved getting to know you better. :)
Oh, an answer to your question. God has really brought me through the fire on my writing. Just learning to trust Him as I write, focus on His face and let everything else take a back burner. It is kind of like a child learning to ride their bike without training wheels and the parent is right there is encourage and protect. But sometimes a fall will make us stronger. Write for the audience of ONE, I try to focus on that more than anything else.
I loved your post!
Good post! Am envious of your location - love it out that way:)
I think that my writing brings me closer to Christ in that I rely on Him for wisdom on what and how to write.
Blessings,
Karen
I must say I came away from your post as the Green Monster....green with envy. In a nice Christian sort of way. :)
I LOVE the scenery you get to view every day!
I LOVE the walls of books you get to smell every day!
I LOVE your heart for children! (I do have that already, I suppose.)
Writing has brought be closer to Christ in that I've had to trust Him to do it. I was scared. I was doubtful, but He gave me the courage to step out and take a leap of faith in it. I've been so blessed by the writing community I've found online.
Writers are the best!
Oh my, wall to wall books! That's my vision of heaven and you have it in spades:) So good to meet you here, Mary Montana:) Love the "audience of one." That's really what it's all about - His gift, His books, His glory. You all have a heart for Him and it shows.
Mary,
Thanks for sharing your beautiful view and room of books!
My daughter and her family recently moved to Montana and she talks of the same mountain ranges...your blog made me smile just thinking of her and you sharing the same beauty.
I look forward to your upcoming blogs.
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