#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Kathy Neely & In Search of True North!

Good Morning!

I scheduled today's post yesterday before the ball game. Yep, as of this writing we're still in the running for Dixie Youth World Championship game. I'll let y'all know on Saturday how we ended up!

Today's guest has been here often sharing treasures and thoughts with us and in our spotlight so please welcome Kathy Neely back with some encouragement for inadequate writers....

Words From an Inadequate Writer

Many years ago, fresh out of college with my shiny new teaching certificate, I landed my first teaching position. Fourth grade. I walked around my empty classroom, the four walls that would be my domain for shaping young lives, and had a strange feeling. Me—a teacher?  How long until they all figure out that I’m out of my element, that I’m an imposter with no idea what I’m doing? 

Many years have passed since that fearsome first day. By the end of the school year, my confidence had grown and I settled into a career that I would love and eventually miss. Years later, my principal encouraged me to go into administration. I earned my principal’s certification and worked in leadership until my retirement. 

Today, I’m a writer. That truth took some time to solidify in my mind. When I began writing, I couldn’t help feeling like I had snuck into a culture where I didn’t belong, and soon people would find out. Others around me were versed in a lexicon that was foreign to me. They had published books while I had an over-edited five chapters. I say ‘over-edited’ because I couldn’t move past those early chapters. I couldn’t get the story on paper since my focus was on every little word. Did I have enough details? Were they too drawn out? Should I add more sensory language? Will this make sense to anyone but me? 

I didn’t have confidence and didn’t believe in myself. But Jeremiah 17:7 says “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” The real truth is this—I don’t have the ability to be a writer, or a teacher, or a parent, or much of anything on my own. It’s only through the power of Christ in me that I can write. 

So often, we allow what we do to define us. That’s a feeble concept because things of this earth are so fragile. Jobs are lost. Marriages fail. Books remain unpublished. My value is not because I write. It’s not because I taught students. My value is because I’m a child of the King. 

If you’ve ever shared those feelings of inadequacy, consider the following scriptures. Post them at your writing station as a daily reminder. 

• Isaiah 32.17 The fruit of that righteousness will be peace, its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. 

• Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 

• Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths.

• 2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.

• Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

In a recent interview, I was asked when I discovered that I was a writer. I think I discovered that I’m a writer when I realized that people actually liked what I wrote. 

My advice for new writers is this: Do everything in your power to hone up the skills of the trade, knowing that it will not be enough. Place your trust in the Lord and allow Him to do the rest. Don’t allow writing to define you. Yes, I’m a writer—a child of God who writes fiction for God’s glory and your enjoyment. 

Kathleen Neely is the author of The Street Singer, Beauty for Ashes, The Least of These, and In Search of True North.  She is a former elementary teacher. Following her years in the classroom, she moved into administration, serving as an elementary principal. Kathleen is an alumnus of Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and Regent University in Virginia. 

Among her writing accomplishments, Kathleen won second place in a short story contest through ACFW-VA for her story “The Missing Piece” and an honorable mention for her story “The Dance”. Both were published in a Christmas anthology. Her novel, The Least of These, was awarded first place in the 2015 Fresh Voices contest through Almost an Author. She has numerous devotions published through Christian Devotions. She continues to speak to students about writing. Kathleen is a member of American of Christian Fiction Writers.

She resides in Greenville, SC with her husband, two cats, and one dog. She enjoys time with family, visiting her two grandsons, traveling, and reading. Connect with Kathy by visiting her Website and connecting with her on Facebook, Twitter and  Instagram

Blurb In Search of True North: Heartbroken, Mallory Carter leaves home at graduation. She decides to never burden her family with her choices again. Twelve long years of loneliness are comforted only by the homemade telescope she uses to stargaze. Then she receives a call that her sister has died, leaving behind a son, the son Mallory gave up at the tender age of seventeen. When her family pressures her to raise Samuel, she agrees, despite the fact that he’s unaware of their true relationship.

 

Samuel’s uncle, handsome architect Brady Donaldson, welcomes Mallory to the family, but she doesn’t know how much she can trust him. Brady has a bond with Samuel that Mallory has only been able to dream of for the last twelve years. But Mallory holds secrets that could ruin her new life. As threats surface from Mallory’s past, the relationship she is building with her son is endangered. Will she lose Samuel a second time? She realizes she desperately needs someone to trust, and Brady seems determined to fight for Mallory and Samuel. Searching for true north has never felt so hard. Will Brady Donaldson be the one to guide Mallory home, and to the God she abandoned long ago?

Order your copy at https://www.amazon.com/Search-True-North

Love your advice Kathy, we all feel inadequate from time to time. Thanks for sharing and we wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with In Search of True North!

Until next time, friends, take care and God bless.

PamT