Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
-Song of Songs 2:10-12, NKJV

Much to our surprise, a pair of new birds arrived in our backyard this spring. We looked them up in our bird book, but the book didn’t have them. So we looked them up in a different bird book, and it said that Ringed Turtledoves from Asia have escaped from a pet store in Los Angeles and may be found nearby. We live in a suburb of LA!

It’s been such a joy to watch them! They built a nest and every day the male sits on the top of our chimney coo-cooing all day long while the female sits nearby in the nest.

The sound of the turtledove is heard all throughout our house as the beautiful and peaceful melody carries down our chimney like a microphone and is heard singing all throughout our house.

God is reminding us to rise up! The time of singing has come! The time to look ahead to a future as his scribe is here. He has new things planned for us, articles and stories and books He’s planned about since the beginning of creation.

Dear God, thank You for spring and hope and newness of life. Please help me write with a new joy in my heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I suggest that you finish what you started a year ago, for you were the first to propose this idea, and you were the first to begin doing something about it. Now you should carry this project through to completion just as enthusiastically as you began it.
-2 Corinthians 8:10-11, NLT

What a great reminder this is for us as writers! Let’s pull out that manuscript we started, sit down and work on it with commitment, and finish the first draft from beginning to end. After all, what can God do with a manuscript we haven’t yet finished?

Dear Father, thank you for this challenge today. Please anoint me with enthusiasm and joy to do the work you have called me to do and write the manuscript you want me to write. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

-photo of Humphrey the cat by Nancy I. Sanders

I listen carefully to what God,
the Lord, is saying,
for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
-Psalm 85;8

Before a writer can write, we must listen. Every day. Mary discovered the treasure of listening. And Jesus said it would not be taken away from her. Let’s spend time listening carefully to God’s heart today. Then let’s sit down at our computers and write. The words that flow through us will be used to speak peace to the world.

Dear God, help me carve time out of my hectic day to come sit at your feet and listen to your words of peace. Please help me be like Mary, not busy, distracted, or worried about many things like Martha. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

-photo by Nancy I. Sanders

I promise this very day
that I will repay two blessings
for each of your troubles.
-Zechariah 9:12, NLT

Did you get a rejection? Rejoice, scribe! God promises two blessings in exchange for one sorrow. And in God’s economy, the bigger the pile of ashes we collect, the larger amount of beauty He’ll exchange for it! So don’t let those rejections or disappointments make you quit. Keep writing! He’s calculating the blessings that are coming your way, and they’re double the amount of troubles you’ve experienced so far!

Dear God, thank You for this encouraging word. Thank You for Your promises. I praise Your name! Amen.

-photo of skyscraper in Boston by Nancy I. Sanders

So I [wrote] the message as he commanded me,
and breath came into their bodies.
They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.
-Ezekiel 37:10, NLT

There is a lost and dying world that we live in. Yet, through some mysterious power of God most high, the message He commands us to write can bring dead places to life! Let’s write words so others can come to life and stand up on their feet. Let’s write words that empower a great army in God’s kingdom. Let’s write words and live the purpose God has designed us for since before the creation of the world!

Dear God, sometimes I feel the words I write are powerless and meaningless. Thank you for reminding me that the words I write can bring life and that more abundantly. Help me always to remember this and write your words each day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

So the Lord was with Joshua,
and his reputation spread
throughout the land.
-Joshua 6:27, NLT

It’s important to gain name-recognition as an author. People tell us to tweet on Twitter, post on Facebook, and spend overwhelming chunks of time participating in social media. Yes, each of these venues has its purpose and its value for an author. But ONLY after we first spend a meaningful portion of our day meeting alone with God.

If you have to make the choice…social media or God…choose God first. Meet with God each day BEFORE you sign onto the Internet. God is the one who spreads our reputation and name recognition in the industry after all.

Dear God, please help me keep my priorities straight. Help me prioritize my time alone with you each day as more important than chatting with any friends online. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

-photos of flowers by Nancy I. Sanders

If you wait for perfect conditions,
you will never get anything done.
-Ecclesiastes 11:4, NLT

The kids are little. The bills need to be paid. We’ve got a cold. The dog chewed up a pencil and left its shredded pieces on the rug. Life is busy and often seems out of control. If we wait for it to slow down so we can have one hour of uninterrupted time to write, we’ll probably never write a word. Learn to carry a notebook wherever you go to work on a manuscript if you suddenly find yourself with 15 minutes of free time. Carry your manuscript around in your head and develop the plot of your next scene while you’re washing the dishes. Snatch 15 minutes here and a chunk of time in between there. Learn to write anywhere and at any time. Focus on writing one word at a time until you have enough to fill a book.

Dear Father, please help me learn the importance of writing…today. Help me manage my time so that I write new words on my manuscript…today. No matter how busy life is or how many things are going on, help me stop making excuses. I don’t want to wait so long that I miss my opportunity to write…today.

-photo of Matterhorn in Switzerland by Ben Sanders

So Moses went out and reported the Lord’s
words to the people.
-Numbers 11:24, NLT

Before we can report God’s word to others, we need to hear what God wants to say. Let’s take time today to sit at God’ feet. Let’s ask Him what is on His heart to share with our generation for such a time as this. Let’s listen for His still small voice. Let’s read the Bible and pray. Then, after God speaks to our hearts, let’s go out, sit down at our computers, and write a report of God’s words for others to know.

Dear Father, thank You for giving us the Bible. Thank You for giving us prayer. Thank You for giving us each new day where we can meet alone with You and hear the words You want us to report. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

-photo of Zermatt, Switzerland by Ben Sanders

It’s easy to slip into writing words that will be accepted by publishers because they are edgy, or deal with current trends in immorality, fortune tellers, or psychics. But God’s words are pure words, refined and purified. As we write our manuscripts, may our words be pure and holy as well.

Dear God, purify me! Try me! Refine me as a writer until the words I write are pure and will stand the test of time.

-photo taken in Zermatt, Switzerland by Ben Sanders

The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Proverbs 28:1, NKJV

Our Father is the King of kings! Jesus, our Savior, is the Lion of Judah. We can be bold in our writing to proclaim the words God is calling us to write. We can be bold to represent our faith in the writing conferences and writer’s groups God has called us to join. We are ambassadors of Christ, shining God’s glory wherever we go.

Dear God, please anoint me with a holy boldness to step out and carry your Gospel to a lost and lonely world through the words I write. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

-photo of statue in Boston by Nancy I. Sanders