Writing What You're Living: Sharing Your Story--Carol Ghattas

In reading through the Bible, I was struck by something in the story of Moses. It hit me first in Exodus 17, after Joshua defeated the Amalekites while Moses was holding up his hands on the hill. God told Moses to write down what had happened on a scroll and make sure that Joshua heard it. From the earliest of time, God wanted His acts to be remembered. After giving the law to the people through Moses, Moses took it upon himself to write down all God had said. He needed to remember it!

If you are new on the field, everything feels so vivid and fresh. When something wonderful happens or the Lord gives you serendipity, you think: I'll never forget this! Wow, that was wonderful what God did. It is true, some events in our lives are hard to forget, but I have learned as the years go on and the Lord does so much to bless our lives and reveal Himself to us and others, I just cannot remember it all. I have to write it down.

So today I want to encourage you to take the time to write down the acts of God in your own lives and in the lives of the women in your area.

So why should you write? Over the years, I have found several reasons that have led me to write:

1. To remember the greatness of God and His works in my life.
2. To give others a glimpse at His goodness as well.
3. To remind myself of what He's been doing, when the years cause the memory to fade or when Satan tries to discourage.
4. To help others understand the world I live in and the people I've come to love.
5. To encourage prayer support for those I serve.
6. To help the Church see better how to reach Muslims.
7. To reach the people I serve for Christ.
8. To meet a felt need in the local or worldwide Body.

In the next blog, I will share with you some of the possible outlets for writing. We don't all have to write books! God can use many avenues of writing to encourage us and motivate others.

Editor's Note: If you have any questions for Carol, please leave a comment with you specific inquiry. She is here for you and ready to help you on your writing journey.

New Author to Start Next Week!

Stay tuned...although the transition from one host to another has not been seamless, I am excited to announce that our new host and published author will begin next week. She will be sharing her expertise and enthusiasm for writing over a 4 week period.

In the meantime, writers, I want you to contemplate the following exercise. And then, I want you to courageously share it with us...

Take a piece of paper and write these phrases down the left-hand side:

*Smells like

*Tastes like

*Sounds like

*Feels like

*Looks like

Now, take a spiritual concept such as humility or holiness and put that word in front of each of thses phrases. Then complete the phrase. What does humility smell like, taste like, sound like, feel like and look like?
~taken from Sacred Compass, J. Brent Bill.

So You Wanna Write?

I have an opportunity for you! Women of the Harvest onlineMagazine is putting a call out for articles that focus on this phrase: “Friendships that have made a difference on the field.” These friendships can be among teammates, a friend back home, a national woman, or...

What needs to be conveyed is how life-giving that relationship was at a critical time in your life or how important it is as you persevere in your cross-cultural life. Each onlineMagazine issue in 2010 will feature at least one story, but who knows where this "call for articles" could take us!

Length: 500-800 words--but I'm not that picky. Submit: editor@womenoftheharvest.com

I look forward to hearing from you! ~Cindy Blomquist, Editor