Hello dear writers and readers in the Blogosphere.
Have you ever felt led to listen to a podcast episode, but weren’t quite sure why you were drawn to it, until near the very end? That’s what happened to me this morning. Let me explain.
In this episode, Paul Granger speaks with Heather Carter, who was led by God to write her thoughts and share them on her website, after being diagnosed with, and treated for Leukemia. God used her blog posts and her books to glorify Him and to show people that they are not alone in their suffering.
The Holy Spirit lead me to not only share this episode with a friend, but to create my own podcast episode and YouTube video entitled Writing With a Purpose. This episode started out with my final Camp NaNoWriMo update, but I have to admit, God turned it into something bigger than I could have ever imagined. If there’s one thing, I want you to take away from this post it’s this: Your writing has a purpose. The purpose is to glorify God and to share the good news about Jesus with the world, this is why I tell listeners and viewers at the end of every podcast episode and YouTube video that your story matters, because it does matter, more than you’ll ever know. So, I challenge you to read to get inspired, write something inspiring and share your creation with the world, for when you touch one life, you’ve touched thousands. Happy writing and God bless you!
You can hear me read this poem and discuss this topic by listening to the Podcast episode or watching the YouTube video.
What does writing into the void mean to you? Write a story, poem, vignette or essay and share it on your blog, with a pingback to this post, so I can read your responses and share them on my social media.
This week, my special guest and I talk about the gifts God provides and how He invites us into spaces for us to read and hear His Word, process God’s message to us, and respond accordingly. Stick around to the end, for we have a cute little cameo appearance as we wrap up our conversation.
INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS PRESENTS!
A Journey Through Revelation with Paul Granger
Hello:
I’m proud to announce the following guest for your listening pleasure.
Please be sure to read onward after the following message to learn how you can be my guest here on INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS.
Thanks for listening and do write to let me and my guest know what you thought of this presentation.
When asked who he is, Paul likes to say “a child of God and ambassador of Christ”, because he’s learned that these elements of his identity supersede and shape the rest. One of the ways God has invited him to live out the call to “love God and love others” is through the “shepherding gift”: providing pastoral support, creating space for conversation and community, and advocating for those that may go unseen.
Functionally, he has spent the last two decades serving with various ministries, and now serves full time alongside YWAM in loving his neighbors in authentic ways. He also loves to create, whether it is his podcast “Where did you see God”, writings, or videos. He loves spending time with his wife and kids, and they see their home — which God gave them in a crazy way — as an important piece of how they love their neighbors as a lifestyle.
Paul’s featured book is entitled A Journey through Revelation (for the person who doesn’t want to read Revelation)
Description:
No matter your experience with Revelation — whether you believe you know what all the numbers represent or you’ve never flipped the pages — I believe God wants to speak to you today, and tomorrow, and the next day through this unique and oft-misunderstood (and misused) book. Afterall, this is the book that closes it all up; not just the collection of scriptures, but the story of God and his creation. In light of that, it might be worth exploring.
The hope for this resource is that it makes that exploration accessible for you, whoever you are, and makes what God is communicating accessible, whatever you believe.
This will not be your normal Revelation study: this will not dive into the historical representations of the imagery, or expertly decipher the prophecies. The goal of this is not to tell you what Revelation means; it is to explore what it could mean for you.
This is designed to get you through the 22 Chapters of Revelation in 30 days. There is a Sabbath rhythm to it: you’ll spend 6 days hitting a chapter a day, and then a rest opportunity on the 7th. There are four additional days focusing on Revelation outside of the chapters, bookending the resource.
In addition to a reflection on the reading, each day invites you to a “Way to Engage”, where you can take the reading off the page and into your day. This is an easy way to allow the Word to be “living and active”, rather than an academic exercise relegated to our heads.
The idea is that this can be a simple step to engage something that seems complicated or out-of-reach — Revelation, God, the meaning of life — so that the first step makes the second a little easier. Take the steps you can, and trust God’s love and grace along the way.
Revelation tells of a body of Christ-following people who are in the midst of frightening destruction. Around them things are being destroyed, their ways of life shattered, and the God they love blasphemed. They are being taken captive and killed. Evil seems to be winning.
How would you respond?
How should they respond?
There is one invitation given to them repeatedly:
“Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.”
That call is clarified, so that there’s no misinterpretation:
“If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.” (Revelation 13:10)
This is foolishness… at least in our own understanding. We are more likely to fight back, to defend our lives and way of life, to silence the blaspheming of God.
And yet we are called to follow Christ, who went not atop a mighty horse with sword in hand, but to the cross with insults cast on him.
As authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs, we often find it hard to stand out above the constant chatter on the internet. If that sounds like you, I’d like to help you boost the visibility of your brand. My name is Ann Harrison-Barnes and I run a podcast called Inspirational Journeys. On my podcast I post solo episodes of value to my listeners, led by the Holy Spirit. I also talk to authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs who want to share their inspirational journeys with the world. If you’re interested in being a guest on my show, please send an email to annwrites75@gmail.com with Inspirational Journeys in the subject line of your email, so I can send you my featured book questionnaire.
Thanks for listening to Inspirational Journeys and have a Blessed Day.
JEN MAXFIELD is an Emmy Award–winning reporter and anchor who started at NBC New York in 2013. Prior to joining the station, she worked for Eyewitness News (ABC7) in New York City as a reporter and substitute anchor for ten years. Jen started her broadcast career in Binghamton, New York (WIVT), in 2000 and also worked in Syracuse (WIXT) before moving to New York City in 2002. She has reported live from thousands of news events over her 22-year career and estimates she has interviewed more than ten thousand people.
Maxfield is also an adjunct professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. A graduate of the class of 2000, Maxfield enjoys coming back to her alma mater to educate the next generation of journalists. She finds it incredibly rewarding to work with young people as they launch their careers in news.
Maxfield and her husband, Scott, met as undergraduate students at Columbia. They live in New Jersey and have three children and a dog named Rocket.
Jen’s featured book is entitled More After the Break: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories
A reporter uncovers the rest of the story
In More After the Break, Jen Maxfield revisits ten memorable stories from her career as a TV news reporter, describing in heart-pounding detail how the events unfolded and revealing what happened after the cameras went away. She introduces readers to unforgettable people who will inspire you with their hopefulness, even when confronting life’s greatest heartbreaks: a young man who lost both legs in a ferry crash, an endurance athlete with stage-four lung cancer, a fifth grader on a doomed field trip, an Ivy League undergrad sentenced to decades in prison, a young woman who gave her life for an animal, a Wall Street executive on an ill-fated bike ride, a preschooler whose health hinged on an immigration battle, a family who lost everything in a hurricane, a mother who fought back against domestic violence, and a man who stood up for his rights while seated in his wheelchair.
Returning to find these people years―even decades―after she featured their stories on the news gives Maxfield an opportunity to ask the burning questions she had always pondered: What happened after the live truck pulled away? What is the rest of the story?
As authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs, we often find it hard to stand out above the constant chatter on the internet. If that sounds like you, I’d like to help you boost the visibility of your brand. My name is Ann Harrison-Barnes and I run a podcast called Inspirational Journeys. On my podcast I post solo episodes of value to my listeners, led by the Holy Spirit. I also talk to authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs who want to share their inspirational journeys with the world. If you’re interested in being a guest on my show, please send an email to annwrites75@gmail.com with Inspirational Journeys in the subject line of your email, so I can send you my featured book questionnaire.
Thanks for listening to Inspirational Journeys and have a Blessed Day.
This week, my special guest gives tips for both editors and authors alike. Be sure to have a pen and paper, or an electronic document handy, because you’ll want to take copious notes during this informative conversation.
INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS PRESENTS!
Tips for Editors and Authors with Penni Askew!
Hello:
I’m proud to announce the following guest for your listening pleasure.
Please be sure to read onward after the following message to learn how you can be my guest here on INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEYS.
Thanks for listening and do write to let me and my guest know what you thought of this presentation.
Penni Askew is a professional book editor specializing in genre fiction who has been editing since 2015 when she began a two-year internship at a small publishing company. She opened her own business in 2017.
Penni’s approach to editing is to bring your best book to your readers. She sees herself as a combination of coach, teammate, and cheerleader who preserves your voice while polishing your story.
Penni is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association; ACES: the Society for Editing; and the Professional Editors Network . She is active in her local editing community and continues her professional development through webinars, classes, and conferences. She lives in North Texas with her family and enjoys knitting while listening to audiobooks and podcasts.
As authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs, we often find it hard to stand out above the constant chatter on the internet. If that sounds like you, I’d like to help you boost the visibility of your brand. My name is Ann Harrison-Barnes and I run a podcast called Inspirational Journeys. On my podcast I post solo episodes of value to my listeners, led by the Holy Spirit. I also talk to authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs who want to share their inspirational journeys with the world. If you’re interested in being a guest on my show, please send an email to annwrites75@gmail.com with Inspirational Journeys in the subject line of your email, so I can send you my featured book questionnaire.
Thanks for listening to Inspirational Journeys and have a Blessed Day.
MORE ABOUT GUEST AUTHOR and CHILDREN’S BOOK PUBLISHER Kirsten Marion…
Kirsten Marion has always been passionate about books and writing. Her background is in English, Classics, and psychology, and her day job is acquiring and publishing high-quality books for children and teens.
Kirsten’s featured book is entitled, Lucy & Dee, The Silk Road
Description:
Lucy wants an adventure.
Dee needs money to help him find his missing parents.
When a flaming bird leads them to a hidden road, and the lord of stone offers them a quest, the opportunity for both arises. In a land full of magic, dragons, and demons, all they have to do is befriend a young emperor―which would be a lot easier if he wasn’t a royal pain and an angry queen didn’t want to destroy him.
Soon they’re running for their lives with the entitled ruler in tow. Lucy and Dee must find a way home with a mysterious feather and a dragon-whisperer (who looks suspiciously like a hedgehog) their only defense against capture…or worse.
Purchase link:
Excerpt:
You can download the first chapters on the author’s website kirstenmarion.com
As authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs, we often find it hard to stand out above the constant chatter on the internet. If that sounds like you, I’d like to help you boost the visibility of your brand. My name is Ann Harrison-Barnes and I run a podcast called Inspirational Journeys. On my podcast I post solo episodes of value to my listeners, led by the Holy Spirit. I also talk to authors, creative artists and entrepreneurs who want to share their inspirational journeys with the world. If you’re interested in being a guest on my show, please send an email to annwrites75@gmail.com with Inspirational Journeys in the subject line of your email, so I can send you my featured book questionnaire.
Thanks for listening to Inspirational Journeys and have a Blessed Day.