This year will be my 10th year attending the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina. (The photo above is of the lake at Ridgecrest Conference Center where it takes place. I love to visit that lake for quiet reflection.)
In 2004 as my mother struggled with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), I felt the Lord impress me to start writing about it. She passed away that year, and I was impressed to write about other deaths as well.
When I finished, I asked the Lord what He wanted me to do. I felt that He wanted me to get it published, so I first attended the conference in 2005. Going helped me polish my book and make it better, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t chasing a rabbit if I wasn’t supposed to get the book published.
Prayer has been a part of my decision as to whether I should attend the conference year after year, and in 2014 it was very clear He wanted me to go. As I was doing my bible study, I felt the Lord drew a line in the sand. That day’s lesson didn’t pertain in anyway to the conference, but right then I knew I needed to go to the conference.
After going to the conference for several years, I prayed last year and asked the Lord if He wanted me to go to the conference. Again, I felt He wanted me to go.
Conference attendees can set up 15-minute appointments with editors, agents and authors and pitch their book and seek guidance. At last year’s conference I pitched a new project, my photography as a gift book series titled Seeing Through God’s Eyes: The Beauty in God’s Nature.
The books would be a collection of 30 beautiful color photographs displayed with a verse or the background story of the photo. The essence of the series is to draw the reader closer to the Lord and help them see the raw beauty of creation through His eyes.
I printed my photography portfolio to show conference editors as I pitched my book. I met with the online editor from Guideposts because I wanted to share an incredible story of a miracle I photographed in hopes it also could get published. When I finished sharing my story and showing her the photo of the miracle in my portfolio, she asked me if she could finish looking at my work.
She asked me if I was interested in having my photography on Guideposts. I quickly replied, “Um….yes!” My obedience of His leading me to go to the conference opened a door.
It was not the open door I expected, as I thought it might be about the book I wrote about my mom. Needless to say, I was ecstatic and in awe of the Lord’s hand.
I write all this to say, don’t stop when you feel the Lord draws a line in the sand and leads you where He wants you to go or tells you what He wants you to do.
Don’t stop because it is hard or because it has been 9 years and or what you feel the Lord wants you to do to has not come to fruition. There are several examples of people in the Bible like Moses and David, who had to wait a lot longer than I. What open door may be around the corner for you to walk through if you will obey what He has asked you to do? Don’t stop because it is hard—press on!
The writers conference is May 17-21 this year. Would you please lift up my book proposals and ask the Lord to show me His will for them?
