Christmas Light Writing

Each morning during the Christmas season, I go to the living room, still dark from a much too late rising sun, and flick on the Christmas lights.

The room glows reds, yellows, blues, greens. Twinkle lights blink a new layer of color on, off, on off. Ornaments of gold, silver, crimson, navy, and hunter made from glass, plastic, or wood reflect the light, adding new shades.

Tinsel mirrors the affect like sparkly glitter.

The angel on top holds a raised candle high above her head, which radiates a sunny yellow onto the ceiling and out to the walls.

On the other side of the room, the manger scene is spread out along the top of the piano. Baby Jesus’ manger, the lowest object, is clear of shadows and illuminates, brightening a lowly stable.

As the only early bird in my family, I turn on the Christmas songs to a soft volume, for my ears only, and sit in the comfy chair in the corner. There I drink in Christmas, the great gift of God, and meditate.

For the Christian fiction writer this is a great time to listen to God’s nudging, contemplate my world, and reflect.

Our writing ministry is designed to have the same impact on our readers, an opportunity, through story,

1.     For God to nudge:  Recently, Krista, one of our Alley Cats, received a comment from a reader about her new book, Sandwich with a Side of Romance. The reader said Krista’s book helped her understand something God had been speaking to her about. It was as though a light sparked. Other authors have shared similar comments about their books. And isn’t that one of our goals? To write in such a way that the Holy Spirit can use our books to clarify, guide, awaken, or move the reader, through the steps of a character, towards a closer walk with God?

2.     For readers to contemplate their world: Karen, one of our Alley Cats once spoke about a neighborhood book club she belonged to. It was her turn to pick the book. The Lord lay on her heart to propose Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Karen asked the Alley Cats to pray with her that the non-Christian group would accept the recommendation. I don’t know the result at this time. But what I do know is Karen contemplated her world,  saw an opportunity to use Christian fiction to share God’s love, prayed, then based on all that, acted.

3.     And to reflect: Powerful stories have brought to mind Christian concepts for many readers. Key words, a piece of dialogue, well crafted setting, anything could spark the very message God wants to bring to the forefront of a reader. To me the greatest benefit is seeing how different readers can be moved in different ways.

Today I listened to a CD of a writer's media workshop by Craig Von Buseck. This godly man summed up his talk by saying;  "We ought to all be like the moon. Reflecting the light of the Son."

Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.

*Sure writing should be a business, this forces us to produce quality work.

*Yes, our writing should tell interesting stories to get readers to read out work.

*Uh huh, we need to constantly work to hone our skills to refine our work

BUT, most importantly, and above all, 

we need to reflect the light of the Son of God.

May His light shine on you and yours this Holyday season. 

Merry Christmas.

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photos courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

This blog post is by Mary Vee

Mary has moved to Michigan with her husband, closer to her three college kids. She misses the mountains of Montana, but loves seeing family more often. She writes contemporary Christian fiction with a focus on the homeless population and loves to pen missionary and Bible adventure stories on her ministry blog, God Loves Kids.

Visit Mary at her website www.maryvee.com

Step into Someone Else's World

Ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids http://www.mimaryvee.blogspot.com