#225: More Than an Overcomer (Overcomer Series)

Welcome to Kingdom Writers where we help equip and empower Christian writers of all genres to share your unique gifts with the world. We're your hosts, C.J. and Shelley Hitz.

This podcast is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters.

Welcome to the Overcomer series. My name is Shelli Hitz and in this series my husband CJ and I will walk you through some steps to help you overcome in your writing, publishing and marketing of your books. This series was originally recorded as live videos inside Christian Book Academy. And so if you would like to join us and be able to stay time with us live, then join us@christianbookacademy.com we wanted this series to also be able to encourage you. So I hope that you enjoy it and leave us a review and let us know how this podcast is encouraging your writing. We would love to hear from you. Enjoy this episode. So today's topic is More than an Overcomer and this really has been season, you know, in Christian Book Academy where we've really been just encouraging you all to press through to get your first drafts done, to really get that next step. But wherever you're at in the process, we want to remind you that you are more than an overcomer. And so some of you have accomplished so much this semester. Some of you feel like you are barely getting started and I want to tell you right now that that's ok. Like you are right where you need to be and every single one of us goes at different speeds. And the truth of the matter is, I used to be a workaholic. I say I'm a redeemed workaholic and I used to want to get everything done fast. But the truth of it is there are some books that need to be marinated over time, that need more time to develop. So sometimes even a three month period of time isn't enough time and that's fine. Or you've had things come up in your life. And so we just want to remind you today you're more than an overcomer. Wherever you're at in this process, we know that you have victory in Christ Jesus. Can you just give me an amen right now? Give me some praise emojis or prayer emojis.

But our theme verse for today is Romans 8:37. No, despite all these things, so. So despite any obstacles you've faced, despite anything that you are facing right now, so despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us.

Yeah, and I was recently reading some stuff from John Maxwell. Many of you are familiar with John Maxwell and his leadership books and all the stuff that they do with training speakers and leaders. But I thought it was really interesting. John said that he used to actually grit his teeth when it came to writing books. Interestingly enough, he actually didn't want to do it. And yet he was. You know, he even said he was more excited about speaking. Now, he loved to speak, you know, to crowds. And the reason is he figured out is because there was always that anticipation of getting the crowd's response. So there was always that immediate feedback. Well, as authors, you know, we don't get that immediate gratification.

Right.

You put that time in the trenches when no one else is watching except the Lord. And, you know, you put kind of put, as we say, your butt in the chair.

Yeah.

And you grind. And, you know, John said that he actually found a picture, one of the things he did to motivate himself. And I don't know if this speaks to any of us, but I think we can all relate that sometimes we don't want to sit down and write or we just feel that resistance. And one thing John used to do was he found a picture of an audience that he had spoken to, printed it out, and he had a writing mentor that actually gave him a really good quote that I think applies to all of us when we start to feel that resistance. And that quote was, I write books to extend my influence to people beyond my personal touch. Isn't that true? Your books, my books, they're going to be ready received by people around the world that we have no idea, actually received them and read them. We're going to be able to make an impact as the Lord puts our books in people's hands and does the work from there that we have no idea. And so, you know, John says he used to place these. He placed these things before Lord and just give it to him. And just like that, you know, Lord's place these things before him in order to build, you know, sort of an anticipation of the response. So you and I are going to anticipate a response that we may never see. Sometimes we will. We'll get that immediate feedback where people actually write us or interact with us on social media. Man, your book really impacted my life.

But when immediate gratification isn't an option, and many times it isn't with us Christian writers, we need to keep our goal of impacting lives in front of us as we write. So I thought that was a good idea, you know, Maybe you need to put that crowd of people with an inspiring quote before you to say, you know what the Lord's going to do, work that I have no idea about. I'm gonna overcome the resistance and I'm gonna sit here. Even though sometimes it's not always fun. I hope that we do enjoy the process though, as writers. You know, it's. It's really gratifying to be able to see the end result of a chapter, a devotion, or, you know, a story that, you know, comes to mind or an illustration. So just a good practical thing that I thought John Maxwell shared that many of us could use ourselves.

Yeah. A lot of times in my in person retreats, I have had the people that attend actually write out like real people that they know that are in their ideal audience. So someone that would literally be that person reading that book and if possible, have it be someone that you've already discipled or you've talked to about this message or that you've seen changed by that kind of a message. And so it's like, you know, even printing out their picture and putting that in your writing, you know, office or area, wherever you are, like, or writing out their name, something like that, a visual to give you that motivation. Because a lot of times we're just writing in our little hole, you know, and.

You know, and it's hard to always envision, you know, what the outcome will actually accomplish. So that can also be something as well. So here's a few quotes that CJ had came up for us for today. One says, dear optimist, pessimist and realist, while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of water, I drank it. Sincerely, the Opportunists. That's from Lori Greiner. Now you want to share what you really. How that resonated with you?

Well, I just think that, you know, the old glass half empty or glass half full, you know, we do kind of argue over that, that point.

Right.

And I just love the fact that she says, you know what, just, just grab life and, and you know what? Go for it. We're gonna make mistakes. Going to. The process isn't going to be perfect. But rather than debate on whether or not something's good or bad or being a pessimist or an optimist, whatever it is, just go for it. I like that quote. In terms of action, I drank the glass of water.

Yeah.

Mother Teresa said, yesterday's gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We only or we have only today. Let us begin. And so we want to encourage you Wherever you're at in the process to keep going.

And like Shelly said in the beginning, you're right where God needs you to be. And the very fact that you're here, you're in this academy, means you actually care. Yeah, it means, wow, I have a book or an idea that God's placed on my heart. One day I hope to see this in Kindle in print and to hear testimonies of how it's impacted people or affected people's lives. And so you're in the right place. And we just want to continue to encourage you to keep moving. And yes, we're all going to get stuck at times, and that's where we can lean on each other for encouragement, motivation. But God has you here for a reason.

Yeah. And God is reminding me today that he's able to restore what the locusts have eaten. So that's a scripture from Joel. I don't have the exact reference. I don't know if you can look that up or not, but, you know, he's able. That's a biblical reference. He's able to restore, you know, what time or, you know, obstacles or other things have somewhat seem to have stolen from you or taken from you. Or maybe you feel like you haven't made as much progress or maybe you had a little bit of a writing drought or a creative drought. And this year I actually had my own creative drought. I am a painter, a calligrapher, a writer. I do all sorts of creativity. And to be honest, growing up, I didn't even know I was creative. But I had about a six month month creative drought with my art. And I was still doing some things, but more, it was more commercial. It wasn't as much like my regular studio time. And as you guys heard in an earlier session, I did the consuming versus creating challenge. And that really catapulted me back into a regular daily studio time. And I, you know, it has been fantastic. And, you know, I just want to encourage any of you, if you feel like you've been in a little bit of a drought or you feel like you haven't accomplished what you've wanted to and you're feeling that regret, or you're just wanting to see something different, change, I want to tell you, you can change that today. And the Lord is able to accomplish more in one moment than you can achieve in a lifetime that trying to strive in your own strength. So let's rely on him, on the Holy Spirit to flow through us, through our creativity. And that's where I'm Even connecting more with the Holy Spirit as I create. And, you know, the other day, I was rearranging my art studio, and I was getting another shelf and making more room and all this stuff. And C.J. came home. I was like, I just want to let you know I'm rearranging the art studio again, because it happens.

In other words, get out of the way.

And it happens to be in our section of our dining room, so we still have room for a dining room table. But I. You know, it's a common area. So he's like, well, Shelly, I like. I like it when you do your painting. I was like, oh, really? And what was it that you said?

Yeah, I just had said, you know, something to the effect of it brings out a sparkle or it really. I see you coming up to life as a result.

Yeah, you said, you know, not have.

Been the exact words.

Well, I remember you said, you know, I just. I like when you paint because it brings out a sparkle in your eye, or I can see a sparkle in your eye. And it does. It makes me come alive in ways that almost nothing else will. And so, you know, having that daily time of creating, you know, whatever it is, if it's writing or some sort of creativity, you know, wherever you've been, you know, you can jumpstart that and you can see God restore the things that you feel like maybe the locusts have eaten.

And thank you, Nancy, for hosting Joel 2:25 is the scripture reference. I have my phone right with me, so I couldn't be at the ready.

Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Nancy, for that scripture reference. I wasn't planning on sharing that, but it just came up. Another quote that we wanted to share is, great works are not accomplished by strength, but by perseverance. And that's from an English writer, Samuel Johnson.

Yeah. So I don't know if some of you have seen the movie with Matt Damon called We Bought a Zoo. It's been years. I believe I have seen the movie, but it's been years. But there's this line in the movie that Matt says that really encapsulates, you know, the point that I want to make here. And the line is, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage.

Amen.

You know, and, you know, the whole movie is in regard to him. He plays the role of a British writer who, along with his kids, end up rescuing, you know, this zoo that's failing. And so they. They end up buying the zoo. And, you know, how true is this statement, though, in regard to how God uses Us. You know, I thought to myself, man, how. How long did it take David to drop his armor and start running toward Goliath? How long did it take Peter to step out of the boat and start walking toward Jesus on the water? On the water? How long did it take the woman with a bleeding issue to reach out and touch the robe of Jesus and be healed? You know, it doesn't take long for our lives to change. It takes less than 20 seconds, really. You know, when it comes to it. One moment, one decision, and suddenly our lives are moving in a different direction. And you are a testimony to that. You made a decision. It might have taken some insane courage, but you made a decision that I'm going to write down what God has called me to. And all of a sudden your life was going in a different direction. And yes, there's ups, there's downs, there's obstacles, there's resistance. And isn't that true with anything good in life? Isn't that true with any goal we want to accomplish? There's always that period of resistance. But God sized goals require insane courage. So I just want to encourage all of you to keep letting those moments of insane courage take over your life.

Yes.

Now, at the same time, sometimes it only takes 20 seconds to make a really dumb decision.

But either way, yeah.

The point is that.

These people's lives, you know, David, Peter, the woman with the bleeding issue, the list could go on throughout history, not even just in the Bible. But how long did it take for somebody's life to change?

It was after they made that insanely courageous decision. And so I want to encourage you there.

Congratulations to all of you for making that decision. But as CJ was talking, I was also thinking, I had mentioned in a previous video, live video about the book, the Compound Effect, and he talks in that book about the big mo, which mo is momentum. And once you begin, you have that 20 seconds of insane courage. And then you just start taking the little step by little step and you keep doing those things. The small, consistent habits over time that will make the biggest impact of your life. That's the theme of compound effect. But he says eventually you start getting momentum. Eventually you start seeing, whoa, my first draft's done, whoa, the editing's done, whoa, you know, I'm hitting publish. Whoa, I'm getting invited to come speak because I published my book. Whoa, these opportunities are opening up for me because of, you know, and whoa, it's like, you know, the momentum starts rolling and I'm just so excited for each one of you because you're in the middle of that right now, and we just want to say, keep going.

You are more than an overcomer, you in Christ. And I just wanted to end today's encouragement with a couple quotes that I just. They just get me excited. So the first one's St. Catherine of Siena. And I think I might have to create a calligraphy piece with this because it's just. It's good. And she says, be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire. Be who God has meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire. You know, as you are writing, as you are doing the things God has called you specifically to do, what is your assignment in the kingdom of heaven? Something that is unique, that only you can accomplish. You are going to start to see an impact in the world that is just going to be phenomenal. And some of the things we won't see this side of heaven, we will see it later, you know, once we get to heaven, you know. But be who God has meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.

Yeah, and I just wanted to interject real quickly. It reminds me of a quote that I actually just heard today. And I don't know who the quote is attributed to, but it was essentially, you know, seek God and find his purpose for your life, then just be yourself.

I like that.

You know, take the pressure off.

You know, God does have your best in mind. He created you and I, and so he knows, you know, he's got the owner's manual to our lives and he knows how we operate best. But once we tap into that, we just live out our lives. We just be ourselves. We're not trying to be somebody else. Thankful there's not another CJ on this planet. And you can be thankful for that as well. And there's not another you on this planet. You and I are unique. I once actually heard somebody comically say, you're unique, just like everybody else. But living out each of our callings is a beautiful thing because we're all playing beautiful music. We're all different chords and different notes. And God's weaving something. He's orchestrating something beautiful through your books and the process that you've been through in these last few months.

Yeah. And I've mentioned this previously, but God keeps reminding me, Shelley, I have you on a path different than anyone else.

So.

So for me, God has just made it very clear that I'm not to amputate certain parts of my business. And at this point, all of the areas of our business have become profitable and had some sort of success. And so a lot of times I'll say focus, follow one course until successful, or profitable. And profitable. But at this point, taking the world's advice of just focusing on one part of our business would mean I would be amputating my art. I'd be amputating this, I'd be amputating that. You know, I wouldn't be writing new books. You know, I wouldn't be trying to market our books. I would just be focusing, you know, only on Christian Book Academy. And the Lord's just showing me, no, Shelley, I've created you to have all of these things. And doing my art is only going to make me even more creative with my writing, and it's going to make me even more. It's going to make me just even better as a wife and just in all the areas of our business, because I'm coming alive. But, you know, that's where just having that freedom, you know, to be who we are and who God has created us to be. And then the last quote is from Martin Luther. If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.

Amen.

Mic drop.

Leave it to Martin Luther.

Yes. You know, how many of us are here that want to change the world? I mean, I think we're, you know, that's who we attract. That's our target audience. You want to make an impact. You want to impact the world. And so if you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.

Yeah. Amen.

And so we just want to encourage you that this, you know, is not the end. It's just the beginning. There is so much more for you, no matter where you are at in the process. Keep going, keep, keep, you know, taking that next step. You are more than an overcomer. Despite all these things. Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:37.

Yeah.

As we close, CJ, why don't you go ahead and just pray for all of us and just for this, that we would be overcomers. And what God has called us to do, the assignment he has given us in the kingdom of God.

So, Father, we. We come to you and we thank you that first of all, you overcame every obstacle in order to win an eternal victory for us. We thank you for that. And because of that, we can be overcomers in Christ. We can be more than conquerors through him who died and was risen again. And so, Father, I thank you that each of us is an overcomer. I want to pray that you would just give strength, power and energy and creativity and just the ability to finish this first draft, to finish what you called them to do, and then to be able to move on to the next process, which will be that publishing module. I just ask, Lord, that if there is any hindrance in anyone's life that's here live or watching the replay, I just want to pray that you would move that out of the way in Jesus name, that you would bring victory. I pray that each and every person would be able to accomplish what they're called to do and finish between now and the end of this year, and that you would set them up for an excitement and an anticipation of what you have store in 2020. And I even just pray for all of us that as we go into this Thanksgiving season.

Lord, we want to be grateful. We want to be grateful for every single.

Accomplishment, every single goal achieved, every single word and paragraph written. We are grateful for that when we ask that you continue to allow us to flow and to persevere in the things that you have put on our hearts and called us to do. And so I thank you for each and every person here and the victory that they're going to live in and enjoy both the rest of this year and into next. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. Love you guys so much and we will talk to you soon.

Love you guys.

Bye bye. Thank you so much for spending time with us in this episode. It truly means the world to us. We also have a free gift for you. It's a new PDF that CJ and I recently wrote called 8 surprisingly Simple Writing Tips. Say that 10 times real fast in a row, right? But it's a PDF. You can get instant access just go to trainingauthors.com.

We'D love to send that PDF to you right now. And again, it's called Eight Surprisingly Simple Writing Tips. Enjoy.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Kingdom Writers. We believe that you, as a Christian writer, have a specific role to play in the Kingdom of Heaven to impact lives for eternity.

And because of this, we choose to pour out our lives into encouraging writers like you to not only tell your stories, but to take the courageous step of self publishing your stories in books that will outlive you and leave behind a powerful legacy. This podcast is sponsored by Christian Book Academy, where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom writers.