My thought has always been, in writing this ‘I Spy God’ book, that it would be a compilation of short stories…stories revealing God through the little opportunities of every day life. That’s what I write and so I figured why not?!! Easy peasy, right?!!
But then I thought… “who am I?” No one cares about my life. I’m just average Joe blow over here in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin. Sure, people can relate to me…I’m no one special, a wife and mother of four just trying to get through the day, but there are already books out there, much more interesting books I might add, that already do that:
When God Winks – an incredible series of books by Squire Rushnell, exactly how I see God work, revealing God through life’s ‘coincidences.’ It’s a fantastic read and because of Squire’s background, he knows lots of stars and famous people, so his books are filled with really very, very, interesting true-life stories…much more interesting than my life stories, that’s for sure!
Chicken Soup for the Soul – you’ve probably heard of this series of books that offer encouragement and light hearted stories. But they also have a couple books that provide stories much like I have… Answered Prayer, Angels Among Us, Finding My Faith, etc… Again, great reads filled with true-life stories of everyday people who experience a Spiritual power in their life.
Angel Watch – a series of books from Catherine Lanigan, the author of Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile, that offer stories about how angels are all around us performing little miracles.
There Are No Accidents – a book by Robert H. Hopcke that shares stories of coincidence and accident…engaging the reader to acknowlege that all things happen to teach or show something. Another great read.
So, after finding all of these books you can only imagine my defeat. The official “What’s the point?” question revealed. But God keeps encouraging me and reminding me that He has given me a story to tell. The one that is not like any other because there’s no one else in this world like me.
Boy, isn’t THAT the truth?!! Praise God for that!! 🙂
So I trudged on…trying to piece together a book of stories that will not only inspire and encourage, but will also help other people see God in their own lives. But it wasn’t coming together. Then God hit me…as He so often does…right on the forehead.
{cue: V8 commercial}
Yes, those other books are wildly entertaining, encouraging, inspiring…but so many of them (not all, mind you) don’t point to God and especially don’t use Scripture references to further prove that God does work this way in our lives. The thing that’s missing between all of these books is the HOW TO. HOW does just an ‘average Joe’ see God in their life?
It’s really fairly simple how God revealed Himself to me…He used only a few steps to prepare me to begin seeing Him in the little things:
- TALK TO HIM (prayer)
- GET TO KNOW HIM (study)
- LOOK FOR HIM (every day opportunities)
- TELL WHAT HE’S DONE (share your ‘I Spy’ stories)
- EXPECT HIM (anticipate those ‘I Spy’ moments)
So that’s where I am. Whatcha’ think??
I am also looking for examples to include of people God used throughout the Bible in each of those steps. It seems David does each of those steps, and of course, being a man after God’s own heart, he does all of them well…but I wasn’t anticipating ‘I Spy God’ to be a study of David. I wanted to use the not-so-famous people of the Bible…the ‘average Joes’ so to speak.
I have also been struggling with putting in a chapter or at least including my testimony, of how I came to know Christ…although perhaps it goes with the ‘get to know Him’ part. I absolutely want to share that part of me and of course it certainly does help to see Him when His Spirit lives inside you, but I also think that people who don’t know Christ yet are able to see Him too.
Anywho… any suggestions, comments, snide remarks are welcome, but here’s the path I feel God leading me.
OH!! And, if any of you creative types out there can offer suggestions for clever chapter titles or sticky statements, I will be forever indebted. I am terrible at that part!! Uff…
Let me know your thoughts.
Much love,
Nicole
Related Sites:
When God Winks (whengodwinks.com)
Chicken Soup for the Soul (chickensoup.com)
Angel Watch (catherinelanigan.com)
There Are No Accidents (robhopcke.com)
I Spy God 
Esther, Mordecai, Ruth, Jacob, Habakkuk, Zechariah… So many… 🙂 I love to play with words, so if you want to bounce ideas around, I am here. 🙂 I look forward to reading your story, for it is in the seemingly ordinary, He most often does the extraordinary! – Shannon
Thanks, so much, Shannon!! You may be sorry that you offered!! 🙂
🙂
Have you looked into any writers groups in your area? There are groups that critique each others writing. Also have you heard of Christian writers guild? They offer classes and have one class that will walk you through publishing a book. Google them and check them out. another thing too; you have gifts and talents, experiences that you can share. What if one of your experiences could touch someone like none of those other books ever could?:) oh and I think I spy is great…you could incorporate that into each chapter…like what do you spy about God…i spy mercy..i spy love..incorporate the names or attributes of God. Hope this was helpful to you. You can do it!
Oh gees, I just typed out a loooooooong response to this and it disappeared. ugh!!
So, essentially, yes I have a writers group here in the area that I’m afraid to go to. To be honest, I don’t want to hear that I’m not good enough or it’s a dumb idea, etc… Yeah, talk about doubt!!
Thanks for letting me know about the Christian writers guild…sounds like a fantastic resource!! I will check it out!
LOVE the idea of incorporating I Spy into the chapters — I have thought about using God’s attributes or promises…still unsure of the exact path for the chapters but know God will reveal His plan.
Thank you, so much, Carolyn for your encouragement and support! You can’t know how much it means to me!!