A Painfully Clear Answer to My Writing Question

God has been very gracious to me in confirming that I need to write. I had a sense of direction even before Carolyn Weber's comment and two very loving and encouraging emails from good friends. I had made a plan and had begun executing it. Then one of the same friends who encouraged me by email, who is not afraid to speak the truth in love, directed me to a post today by author Sally Lloyd-Jones at the Desiring God blog, which provided additional direction. (If you are not familiar with Lloyd-Jones work, she is probably best known as the author of the Jesus Storybook Bible.)

The direction was affirming but convicting at the same time. For Lloyd-Jones made clear what I was not able to see: Self-doubt and insecurity about writing are evidence of PRIDE. Thinking and analyzing and agonizing and seeking feedback from others make it all about me. Lloyd-Jones says,

"But if you realize it's not about you—that whatever you have is a gift from God—if in other words, you get out of the way—then you can be fearless. There is no vision too great, nothing too outrageous to dream, nothing too impossible to dare."

So here and now, I confess and repent of my pride and give thanks to God who speaks so clearly when I'm a willing to listen, and who is willing to do more abundantly that I can ask or think, according to the power at work within me, to him be the glory forever. (Ephesians 3: 20-21)