Priorities of a Christian Writer

This last week, being a writer has looked like: filing a business name, purchasing a domain name, trying to learn the ins-and-outs of my web design program, and creating more passwords than I ever would have thought necessary.

I have to admit, I'm no businesswoman. I greatly dislike learning software, and turning my writing hobby into a business requires detail after detail after detail, each of which is a new experience with a learning curve attached. And as I prepare to launch my website and work through the detail-heavy process of preparing to self-publish my first little book, it's all a bit overwhelming. I am caught between excitement that this might actually all come together, a feeling of urgency about sorting out all the details and getting things done before school starts, and the nagging feeling that I do actually need to write something at some point...

All this wrestling with tasks and details has got me thinking about priorities. I have been reminded daily of the need to be intentional about what I want to accomplish each day, and my to-do lists have become very detailed and extensive. But as I sat down and mapped out how many weeks I had left before the beginning of the school year, I knew it would be all-too-easy to get myself on the wrong track and prioritize things God didn't want at the top of the list.

So I sat down and looked for verses about priorities. These two stood out as the verses I needed to keep in mind when setting my priorities:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Colossians 3:2-3

Both of these verses remind me to keep my focus on God, and to make my relationship with Him my top priority. This means more than just "doing my devotions" when I get up each morning.

It means purposefully, intentionally taking time to shut out everything else and focus on God as I pray and read His Word.

It means taking my decisions and frustrations to Him first, before picking up my phone to text a friend.

It means yielding my list of things I want to do or accomplish to be conformed to what God has planned for the day.

It means being focused, but not inflexible.

It means keeping up a running dialogue with God throughout the day.

It means not quitting when I feel overwhelmed by all the details.

And finally, being a writer with a set of God-focused priorities means remembering that He is the One I am doing all this for in the first place!

Spurgeon’s 5 Tips for Remembering God’s Goodness

I recently found a little paperback on my parents’ shelves entitled: The Practice of Praise. I picked it up and realized it was by C.H. Spurgeon. I suppose I’m not used to seeing books by Spurgeon in paperback, which might be why I had never noticed it before. Well, anyway, I did notice it, and this past Sunday I sat down and read it. It took me about three times as long as it would have otherwise, because I kept having to stop and jot down quotes, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and there were many challenging ideas in it about the importance of praising God.

             

The book itself seems to be a collection of sermons on the topic of praise. The sermon which made up the first chapter dealt with remembering God’s goodness, which will of course prompt us to praise God. According to Spurgeon,

“We cannot utter what we have forgotten. Thus, we need close observation to establish a strong memory concerning the Lord’s great goodness.”*

He then goes on to state five ways we can do this. Here they are:

1. Be acquainted with the documents in which His goodness is recorded. -In other words, read your Bible! There is no better way of becoming versed in the goodness of God than to read about it in His Word! 

2. Diligently observe memorials. -The first two memorials he mentions are baptism and communion, both of which are memorials of the goodness of God demonstrated in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. Spurgeon also mentions personal experience as a source of memorials. I know many people who celebrate their spiritual birthday with more enthusiasm then their physical birthday. As Spurgeon says,

 “O, dear heart, were you ever born again? Then you will remember His great goodness”**

Another way Spurgeon suggests using memorials is to use the objects around you as reminders of different aspects of God's goodness. For example, I have some objects in my room that were given to me by dear friends, and when I look at those things, I am reminded of God’s goodness to me shown through their kindness and love. There are other things that God has provided in response to a specific need, like my car. Whenever I drive my car, I am reminded of God’s goodness in providing for me. If you think about it, anything you own can be a reminder of God's goodness in some way or another.

3. Classification or Memory devices -As I read what Spurgeon had to say about these two categories, it all basically boiled down to what we now would call journaling. Spurgeon recommends that the forgetful Christian 

“Take care to set God’s mercies in order. Enumerate them as you can, and so fix them in your memory.”***

4. Utterance -Speak them! Whether to yourself, to your family, to Christian brothers or sisters, or to the lost world around you, God’s goodness is to be proclaimed!

5. Sing -This is similar to speaking, but it is a widely-acknowledged fact that putting words to music is one of the best ways to memorize them. Take any hymnal and you will find it full to overflowing with songs of God’s goodness. Having songs about God's goodness filed away in your heart and mind can be such a blessing. The other morning, I woke up with a song about God's goodness stuck in my head, and it was such an encouraging way to wake up! 

These are just a few ways to remind yourself of God’s goodness during these difficult days, but I hope you will find them as helpful as I have!

*Spurgeon, C.H. The Practice of Praise Whitaker House: Kensington. 1995 p.20

** Ibid. p.23

*** Ibid. p.24