by Crystal Caudill | Feb 13, 2018 | Writer's Life
It was 2 A.M. and I should have been writing a new scene to add to my story, but I wasn’t. I was deleting emails. Those precious hours that I sacrificed sleep for were wasted because I just couldn’t bully my way through anymore edits and I didn’t want to admit it.
Thankfully, God hit me over the head, said “Go to bed. We will talk in the morning.”
A Not So Quiet Time With God
As I have the tendency to do, I hit the floor running and didn’t stop until it was my planning period at school. I had this overwhelming need to just snuggle in with God in a big comfy chair (my imagination would have to do because, hello, school chairs?) and dig into His Word.
Thankfully, I had planned ahead and brought my Bible so I could verse map Matthew 11:29. As I tore the verse apart and looked at gentle in its original Greek, I came across something so powerful it had to be shared.
Gentle = Meek
The Biblical definition of gentle (Greek word praÿs) is mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness. I am not one to stop at the end of a definition. If there is added text to expand on the meaning, I dig in, and BlueLetterBible.org expounded on meekness and revealed a stunning truth.
Meek Does NOT Mean Weak!
In fact, to be meek requires a great amount of maturity, a certain strength that can only be gleaned through complete reliance on God.
“Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice.Thus meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to purify His elect, and that He will deliver His elect in His time (Isaias 41:17, Luke 18:1-8). Gentleness or meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God’s goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will (Galaltians 5:23).”
– BlueLetterBible.org
Did that hit you square between the eyes like it did me? Oh, my goodness. It still gives me chills. I just want to soak this up into my soul.
The Meek Are Not Weak
This, THIS is what I want my stories to communicate. I want characters who are learning to wholly rely on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. I want them to learn and believe that God is permitting the injuries of the evil to purify His chosen ones – His children – and that He WILL deliver them in His time. I want my characters to learn Meek Doesn’t Mean Weak.
Oh my goodness! My soul yearns for this. Screams for it. This is the message my God wants me to permeate through my writing, and what a magnificent message to magnify! All the stories of danger, hurt, calamity, and pain have a purpose, just like they do in real life. It is not comfortable. It hurts. We hate it.
But by being meek – trusting that God is good and in control of any given situation – we gain our greatest strength, Christ’s strength. To outsiders that may sound strange and it is even hard for mature Christians to wrap their head around, but it is true. Complete reliance on God – being meek – is not the same as being weak.
I want that sort of reliance on God. I want my characters to grow into that sort of reliance on Him. And I want, no, yearn for you, my beloved reader, to know God’s truth as well. His love is so powerful that even the evil of this world can be used for the purpose of drawing you closer to Him.
Meekness means having a relationship that cannot be broken by the worst of what the world has to offer. It is a strength that doesn’t lose faith.
I pray for you today, that you would let the words soak in, the truth of it to settle into the very depths of every broken part to bring strength, healing, and most importantly dependence on Christ.
Did those words hit home for you, too? Did you take something completely different away from it? I would love to hear your thoughts and to pray for any needs you have. Comment below or contact me on the contact tab of my website.
Blessings, friends. I look forward to hearing from you.
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 16, 2018 | Writer's Life
As I approach the end of editing my first book (EEK!!) I am looking to the next book. What will I write? Will I continue with the next book in the series? Or will I write a different series I already have in mind? Or should I begin something new and completely stand-alone?
I will be honest, my mind creates books in series of three. Each is a stand-alone novel in its own rights, so not a trilogy, but the characters are all connected and revisit one another. Those are the types of books I read and that seems to be how my mind writes as well.
In fact, I have the next two books in the series already outlined and playing in my mind. However, some wise sage of the publishing world recommended that unpublished authors not write the next book in a series until they have a contract to do so. Otherwise, you will have wasted your time.
I am still praying that one through, because ultimately, God lets me know what is a waste of my time, but I am playing around with other new ideas. My current inspiration comes from some fun pictures my family took over Christmas break in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
So here is a peek at the ones that inspire a story in my mind:
Don’t you dare cheat with crack-shot Donovan Marshal at the table. The hardened, undercover Pinkerton agent isn’t fooled by tricks, but when Cassie Granger plays the trick of her life, will they both be fooled by what really is at stake?
Former Confederate soldier, Elias Blake, just wants to put the war behind him and rebuild his farm. Upon returning his ramshackle home, he finds the enemy has moved in and taken claim on his land and possibly his heart.
Escaping the law has always been a challenge she enjoyed… until she accidentally married the law.
After a robbery gone wrong, Emily Hoppe is injured and mistaken for a mail-order bride. Not one to turn away a built-in cover, she intends to go along with the ruse until she is well enough to hightail it out of town.
U.S. Marshal Dirk Burn knows something isn’t quite right about his bride, and his instincts never fail him. Determined to sniff out the truth, he gets more than he bargained for when her outlaw family comes to her rescue.
Okay, so some really high-level ideas, but just maybe one of them will be my next story.
What about you? If you are a writer? How do you choose what to write next? If you are a reader, what makes you decide what to read next? Did any of our goofy pictures inspire you with story ideas? I’d love to hear them!
By the way, the winner of Cynthia Roemer’s signed copy of Under this same sky is:
JANET ESTRIDGE
While we did purchase the rights to these pictures, I want to give credit where credit is due. Out of the 22 Old Time Photo places in that tourist-heavy area, we used Old Time Photo #5. Yes, the number is part of their name. You can visit them here if you are interested in checking them out. Our photographer was great.
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 4, 2018 | Writer's Life
The first week of January is already almost behind us. How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions? I have moved away from making resolutions and have instead taken up the One Word idea (choosing one word to be my focus for this year). But that doesn’t mean I haven’t made goals for the New Year. My friend, KyLee Woodley, wrote a fantastic post about New Year’s goals which you can read here.
This year I have made several goals split by category: Writing, Reading, and Personal. I’ll give a glimpse of my writing and personal at the end, but what I wanted to really focus on was Reading Resolutions.
READING RESOLUTIONS
Are you are on GoodReads? I have been on it for years, but this is the first year that I am actually going to participate in the GoodReads Reading Challenge. I’d love for you to join me in the challenge and if you so desire, you can add me onto your friend’s list: Crystal Caudill.
My reading goal this year? Read and review 24 books.
I am struggling to make my list. There are so many great books, but here are the ones already there (in no particular order):
- A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano
Too Far Down by Mary Connealy
A Spy’s Devotion by Malanie Dickerson- A Viscount’s Proposal by Melanie Dickerson
- A Dangerous Engagement by Melanie Dickerson
- Plots and Pans by Kelly Eileen Hake
- The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz
- The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenback by Bethany Turner
- Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
-
Heart on the Line by Karen Witemeyer
Whither Shall I Go? by Gina Holder- Engraved on the Heart by Tara Johnson
- The Innkeepers Daughter by Michelle Griep
- 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep
What books do you recommend I add to my list? Do you have any reading goals? Please share them below! Facebook has made interacting with people more difficult on my author page, so I hope to be able to interact better with you here.
WRITING GOALS
1. Finish editing WIP by the end of January. 2. Plot out the two following books. 3. Begin a new WIP in March and have it finished by December.
PERSONAL GOALS
1. Repaint the basement and upstairs main room. 2. Be more present with my kids, friends, and other family members. 3. Balance my responsibilities and still remain sane.
What about you? Did you make any goals or resolutions? Share them and/or your book recommendations below! I am so thankful for anyone who takes the time to read these posts. The internet is a hard world to be in. Bless you and have a great day!
