The Call

By the time I was finished college I studied German for eleven years. It all started in the sixth grade. I was motivated by family history. During those college years, three significant things happened. First, God saved me. Second, I felt called to be a missionary to Germany. Third, I went to Germany for a six-week study tour. Another thing happened during college that was much more subtle. I became a writer.

Fast forward twenty years and I am still in the USA. God woke me up to a very specific purpose and calling. I just wasn't sure what it was. It began as a recollection of that desire long ago to be a missionary to Germany. Nobody but me bought into it though. Not my family, pastors, or friends. Was I somehow not hearing the call correctly?

It turns out God used that memory to stir up a few realities. First of all, my call was never to be a first-person missionary to Germany. He made that plain to me during that six-week visit. Nevertheless, my love for all things and people German did not diminish. I was missing a connection somewhere.

I have been writing very consistently for about three years now. God is using it in ways I do not know always know. But its purpose is clear as stated in the header of this blog. The writing and the working of God through it comes only when I am obedient to that calling and commandment to be pure, holy, and blameless before Him. It is then that He tells me what to write.

Yesterday as I drove to work, I prayed and worshipped. Then I asked God what He wanted me to do that day. You saw the answer at the top of the blog. Translate it into German. Suddenly twenty-five years of history became crystal clear. The call was complete. I am a writer by calling, chosen to write to the remnant. Part of that remnant are the Germans. I have friends in Germany and Italy who are missionaries to those people I love. With this blog, Facebook, and other connections, I can now minister directly to the Germans by translating my blog into their language.

Today will be the first attempt. Enjoy the blessings from heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).

Wordle

Wordle allows you to produce word clouds that you can customize. Here's mine up in the right-hand corner.

I've been busier than this over the past month. I decided to start posting snippets of my book on various blogs. The ones on Christianity.com are ripe for this because both the originators and responders in their forums just get so much of it wrong.

For instance, one of today's forums has to do with how many people are going to heaven. Surprisingly most people replied "a lot less than you think" along with quoting accurate supporting verses. So are the rest of Christendom deceived? Or do they just believe myths that provide them with answers that feel good, seem right, jive with what everybody else believes? Sadly, both answers are true.

Christian Mythology is coming to market to address the latter group. It's not my job to get folks into heaven. But I am called to proclaim the truth.

Have you made your calling and election sure?

A Writer's Platform

This week I learned a new "trick" to blogging. As I work to establish a platform, I started with this blog. But I realized that simply writing my own blog and working real hard to bring readers to it was really just that, hard work. Don't get me wrong, I love the writing part of it. But attracting an audience with a new blog just seemed not quite the most efficient method.

Then the thought occurred to me that I can write BUT use somebody else's blog to get the attention I need to build a platform. It doesn't have to be my blog at all. I can simply post comments to someone else's blog. The trick is that simple. AND...

Make sure the blogs you post to are in your genre of writing. That way you are writing to the market you want to have notice you. Make sure to post to blogs that are large and widely read. There's lots of little ones out there not worth the time. Post to blogs hosted by editors. Get right to the buyers and sellers. A captive audience of millions of readers and that one important editor. WOW! What a revelation.

At the end of the post, a simple URL will start to bring traffic your way. Many blogs even feature a Google autofill to make this even easier.