#447 Called

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 Shelli 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 Kingdom Writers Podcast. My name is Shelly Hitz, one of your hosts. This episode is an excerpt from our virtual writing retreat we host every month inside our membership Christian Book Academy. You can join us with a special coupon code just for podcast listeners and this will get you 50% off your first month. Use the coupon code podcast and this way we can help you take a step of faith and finally finish your book. So go to ChristianBookAcademy.com and enter the Coupon Code Podcast at checkout for 50% off your first month. Come join us at our retreats and all the other things that we offer throughout the month. And I pray that the encouragement from this episode blesses you. Today we have encouragement from CJ on the theme called as Kingdom Writers. So cj, why don't you encourage us and share with us today?

Yeah, so I want you each to just think of, and you can even write this in the comments if you want. Think of when you first felt that nudge to write.

When.

When did you first feel God nudging you to write?

And for some of you, it could have been in the last year. For Some it was 30 years ago, 40 years ago, whatever it might be. So you have that idea or that, that time frame in your mind and some of you may, may have forgotten and you really can't remember exactly. That could be the case as well. But now, since then, since you felt that nudge, how many have ever asked yourself these questions? Am I really called to write? Am I really called to write? Did I hear God wrong? Have you ever asked that question? Did I hear God wrong?

How many of you have ever said there are so many other gifted writers out there already, why should I even bother? If there's so many others out there, why should I bother? Have you ever felt like you were in that position?

Well, I want to just answer that last one with the statement that God does not limit his message to a select few. How many know that, that he doesn't limit it just to a select few.

We each offer something unique. Why? Well, it's because you and I are unique as well. We've been created uniquely in God's image. Every single one of us have something unique to offer in our writing. Therefore, it's not limited to just a few New York Times bestsellers. It's not limited to the 12 original disciples. It's not limited to just a few people. If you felt that nudge, then God was wooing you to himself to go deeper into this writing journey. And so what I want to do this morning is, is I want to challenge each of us with four things that may confirm your calling to write. I say may because each of us are in a little different position here. But I believe these four scripture references can confirm to each of us that, yes.

We'Ve been called to join him.

And there's also a great need that that need will never go away in terms of kingdom writers sharing the words that God's put on their hearts. And so here's four things. The first thing that I want to challenge us with is that we have a story to share with others. Every single one of you. Karen, Lynn, Claudette, Christine, all of you have a unique story.

That God has done in your life that you can share with the world. Listen to this Psalm 66:16. Come and listen all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.

And that is each of us. And it's not just the psalmist here. Yes, the psalmist is specifically sharing about things. If you read that whole psalm, it's a list of things that God has done for his people. But you and I are living in 2025, and we have a story to share with others of what God has done for us, things he's done in our own lives, little details, the most minute things that we can share with the world that needs to see an aspect of how God worked in someone's life and that can come through our words. So the first thing that can confirm our call is that we each have a story to share with others. The second thing that I think confirm our call is that the words we write are a light that shines for Christ. Matthew 5:16. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. And I want to say that you and I, as kingdom writers, our deeds are the words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters that we write. That is our deeds, part of our deeds. We're certainly not limited just what we to to our deeds being what we write. But that is a calling that you and I have. We felt that nudge to offer deeds, good deeds through our words to encourage others and shine the light on Christ. And so the words that we Write.

Are a light that shines for Christ. There's a third thing that I think can confirm our calling, and that is that the words we write can outlive us and impact those that come behind us. Listen to this scripture. Psalm 102:18 says, Let this be recorded for future generations so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord. Think about this. How many of you want to make such an impact with your words that even after you've, you've left this planet, you've died, you've gone to be with the Lord? How many want your words to still be impacting others that come behind you even after you've gone? A legacy that you can leave behind. And that can come through our books, it can come through our journals, it can come through our blog posts.

You know, I was reminded recently.

Years ago, and this would have been 20, my goodness.

I want to say it was 2010. There was a very good female distance runner. She was also dabbling in triathlon. She was hit by a car on her bike while on a training run in Arizona. And she passed away just like that. I mean, she ran. It was her fault. She, she went across a highway on her bike. She was really, I think, just kind of getting used to riding fast on a bike as a triathlete. And she probably looked one way and maybe thought she looked the other way. She went across this, this, this highway and she got hit by a truck. And do you know, I went and looked her blog up, and it's still there. The blog is still up 14 years later. You can see the last post that she wrote, which was two days before she died. And I thought, isn't it interesting that there aren't like these blog post watchdogs that are out there? Oh, she died. We need to take her post down, you know, or her blog down. It's still going. It's 14 years, 15 years now, and it's still there. And it's just an example to say that whatever you're writing, even in the form of a blog post, could be read by people years and years later. And just think of the impact you can have as a kingdom writer. To my knowledge, this gal wasn't a believer.

But imagine what impact believers can have as they leave behind their words of eternal significance for others to find. And so again, let this be recorded for future generations. So, so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord. The psalmist had the idea that all of these good stories, all of these things that God's done should be recorded somehow. So that future generations will be encouraged and praise that same God the way we do. And the fourth thing that I believe confirms our call is that there will simply never be enough books written that seek to magnify Jesus. There just will never be enough. In other words, the market cannot be too flooded or saturated.

With books that lift up Jesus. And where's my scripture that backs this up? It's John 21:25. It's the last verse in John. Listen to what John said. He said Jesus also did many other things. If they were written, were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. And I want to encourage you just to get it out of your mind that, oh, somebody else has written about this. Oh, I'm just not sure. This just seems like a flooded market regarding this topic regarding Jesus. We've got to stop that. There will never be enough books in this world that seek to glorify Jesus. You know why?

If you're going to try to magnify, lift up and glorify an eternal God, it will take eternity to write enough books that define that, seek to lift up that, seek to define that seek to describe the greatness of the God that we serve. It'll take eternity. You don't have enough time, Kingdom Writer, you and I don't have enough time. We can't write enough books. I don't care if some of you have written 500 books all on the same topic. It's still not enough. So you need to just perish the thought that my book is just going to be a drop in the bucket. It's just going to be a drop in the ocean. It's going to be a needle in the haystack. Nobody's going to be able to find it. I'm telling you, wherever the Lord wants that book to go, he'll get it into their hands some way, somehow. Your job, my job as called writers is to simply write, to simply magnify this God that's been so good to us, that gave us that original nudge, and to then be obedient, to just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing. That's all. That, that's our responsibility. Let God get those books into the right hands at the right time. That's not to diminish our energy and our time that we spend marketing. But there's an element that we'll never be able to control. It's an element that we turn into God's hands to say, oh, Lord, I've done what I Can. I've written, I've published, I've. I've done the best I can to market this book, to get the word out. Would you please now fill in everything that I can't, everything that I fall short in. Would you allow this book to impact people? And so there's four things there. Let me recap the four things. We've got a story to share with others. And with that, I mentioned Psalm 66. 16.

Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. 2. The words we write are a light that shines for Christ in the same way. Let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

3. The words we write can outlive us and impact those who come behind us. Psalm 102. 18. Let this be recorded for future generations so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord. And the fourth thing, there will simply never be enough books written that seek to magnify Jesus. Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that could or would be written. John 21:25. John wrote that just shortly after Jesus would have, you know, within 20, 30 years after Jesus would have been crucified, resurrected, ascended to the right hand of his Father. He said at that time, 20 to 30 years after, Jesus also did many other things. In other words, I was an eyewitness. I was right there. I was one of the original 12. Let me ask you this. How many things has Jesus continued to do in the last 2000 years? If John said there couldn't be enough books written just after that amount of time, how about 2,000 years later? And how about all the things that he's just done in our lives alone, Just this group of Kingdom writers right here or those listening somewhere on a podcast, I want to encourage you. Keep writing, keep obeying the call. Keep reveling in that, celebrating it. Allow yourself to almost pinch yourself. Pinch yourself each morning to see if it's true. Has he really called me to write? Has he really called me to be a Kingdom writer? Has he really called me to make an impact? Pinch yourself. It's true. He has. And it's a calling that's worthy of stepping up to. And he's going to use each one of you, I promise you, as you lend your pen and your obedience to him. That's my challenge to all of us.

Yeah, that's so good. And even before CJ announced the theme, because he Wouldn't tell me. I asked him last night. I'm like, what's the theme going to be? He's like, you have to wait. But even before he announced it, I felt like the picture God gave me for you all is a picture of a lightsaber. You guys know what that is from Star Wars? And I want to just say this over you, this encouragement. Ryder, you've been called for such a time as this. How many of you feel that in your bones? You've been called for such a time as this. Every time you pick up your pen or open your laptop, you're choosing to ignite the light to God placed within you like a lightsaber in the hands of a Jedi. Your words aren't ordinary. They're weapons of truth in a world clouded by confusion and darkness. And just like Deb was saying earlier, our books are preaching to an audience. We're preachers of God's word. And you were never meant to tiptoe through your calling. You were born to battle. So when you write enter the fray, you. You face the shadows of fear, the resistance of perfectionism, which we're going to be talking about that in our workshop next week. Silence your inner critic, and the whispers of the inner critic telling you to quit. How many of you have felt that or heard that or sensed that, like, just give up. Quit, quit, quit, quit. No. Jesus says no. You are called because your light was never meant to be hidden. It was meant to pierce the dark. Oh, I just got chills. John 1:5 says, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The word of God is your weapon. Prayer is your power, and the Holy Spirit is your guide. Heaven backs your missions. So Kingdom writers, pick up your pen. You are a warrior. Write with courage. Write with fire, write with light. And it makes me want to cry. The kingdom is advancing word by by word. You are called. You are here for a purpose. Keep going. Pick up your lightsaber. Ask the Lord to give you what you need today, and he will give it to you. So, cj, why don't you close in prayer?

Yeah. Father, we.

Thank you so much for calling us as Kingdom writers. Thank you for that original nudge that you gave us, that you were wooing us to write for your glory. Thank you, Lord. We don't want to take that for granted. We are grateful for every word, every sentence, every paragraph that is able to be written. Many of us have those days where we labor and we sweat and we. We look at our page and we haven't gotten much done, but we thank you for anything that is forward progress, every word. And I pray, Lord, that each person here would be able to.

Complete with what you're calling them to. Whether it's today, tomorrow, over the course of the next month. I pray that each person would. Would move forward that forward progress of. Yes, Lord, of doing things that only you could help us with, that we can look back and see your fingerprints over the words that we've written. Would you empower each of us? Would you strengthen your servants? Would you give us something that we just can't conjure up on our own? Would you give us God ideas, God inspiration, the ability to tap into the. The heavenly?

Would we be able to feed on the food of angels, as the psalmist once referred to Manna.

Help us, Lord, to be able to share with a needy, hungry world the manna from heaven. And we just thank you, Lord, for all that you're doing in and through us. And we give you this time in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen.

All right. Well, that was a good word, C.J. and yeah, Karen says, wield your lightsaber and write with courage, fire and light. That's right.

So good. Well, we are going to have a time of praying over you and.

Just praying for these next two days. Whatever you're able to be here for, you can come and go as you need. But.

C.J. why don't you pray for over them as they're writing today and tomorrow?

Yeah.

Well, Father, we do ask that, that you would lead and guide us in the things that we do right.

And we. We think of today not worrying about tomorrow. Each day has enough of its own. And so, Lord, I pray on this, this Friday.

March 28th, I pray, Lord, that each person here would be able to write the things that you have in mind. And I pray that all distractions would dissipate. I pray, Lord, that each person would have a focus and a clarity that is supernatural. Give them glimpses, Lord, of things that wouldn't be seen otherwise unless you pulled back the curtain. And so, Lord, we just give you that time and we thank you that you are the one that gives us victory over our enemy, that seeks to resist us, that seeks to push against our writing. Help us overcome. Give us the. The victory today, Lord, and we will give you the glory and the honor in Jesus name.

Yes, Lord, we just pray right now for every kingdom writer that is here or listening later. Lord, we thank you for them. We thank you for their calling. We thank you for the words that they will Write. And Lord, we leave the outcome to you. We. We just ask that you would remove those. Those distractions that are holding us back right now. And just as I saw that lightsaber earlier, I just pray that each kingdom writer would pick up their sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and in Ephesians 6 that they would stand, stand firm. They wouldn't cower, they wouldn't back away, they wouldn't retreat, they wouldn't give up, they wouldn't surrender. But greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. And so, God, we thank you that your power lives in us, your Holy Spirit. Once we accept Christ into our lives, we have the Holy Spirit. So anoint us afresh today, every single one of us. Anoint us fresh with your Holy Spirit that we may hear more clearly from you. Lord, I pray you would turn down the dial of the volume on the distractions. Whether that means deleting social media apps from our phone, whether it means closing our door and leaving our phone out in the living room, whether that means communicating to family members or what, whatever. It means whatever is distracting us today, Lord, I just pray you would turn the dial down on that and the dial would be turned up on hearing your voice, that we would hear your still small voice. We would hear God ideas, Lord, I pray for God ideas for stories that they want to include in their books, for scriptures, include, for illustrations, analogies, for, you know, just plot twists and scenes and, you know, whatever is needed. I pray God that you would give it to these kingdom writers today and tomorrow. And we just pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you're ready to take a step of faith and finally finish your book, we have a few ways we can help you. First of all, you can join our free Writing week challenge to create a writing habit in just 15 minutes a day.

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Thousands of writers have taken this over the years, and it is incredible the progress that you'll see. So join us@writingweek.com and again, this is completely free. Inside our book Writing Lab workshop, you can choose your book topic, write an outline, and create a writing plan in just 90 minutes so you'll finally feel confident that you'll actually finish your book. Get started@bookwritinglab.com and finally, you can get more support and personalized feedback from myself and our team by joining Christian Book Academy. Because the honest truth is most writers stay stuck and never finish their first draft. But inside Christian Book Academy, we help you partner with God to write your book so you can become a published author. So finally ditch your self doubt and take a step of faith. So so you can finish your book. Join Christian book academy@christianbookacademy.com and get 50% off your first month by using the Coupon Code Podcast at checkout. There's a special coupon code for our podcast listeners. We love you. So come over to ChristianBookAcademy.com, use the coupon Code podcast and we look forward to working closely with you. Would you like more? If you are enjoying this podcast but want more, I have something exciting to share with you. We have released what's called a private podcast. So a private podcast you will not find by searching in Apple. You have to know specifically how to subscribe to it. It's more private and exclusive and it just can be more relaxed behind the scenes. And my new private podcast is called Hits Blitz and it's wisdom for writers that you're going to learn from my 18 plus years of experience in publishing and online marketing so that you can move forward in God's call to write. I am best known for injecting energy and enthusiasm into everything I do and inspiring those around me to take action. So I encourage you to listen in to this exclusive private podcast. It is free. Free. 100% free. You don't have to pay for it and be prepared to be inspired by my next Hits Blitz. So you can sign up at trainingauthors.com forward/hits blitz and if you have any other writing friends that you think could benefit from it, definitely share it with them. They can go to the same link trainingauthors.com hits blitz to get access to. Again, this is a private podcast so you cannot get access to it any other way. It's completely free. All you have to do is sign up and then you'll get all the information on how to add it to your podcast player of choice. So I can't wait for you to join me over there. I share a lot of things behind the scenes and more content just in a real time basis. So it's more like chatting with a friend or following someone on stories on social media. Except you don't have to get caught up in any of the algorithms. You'll just have this in your podcast player and be able to listen in wherever you're at, whatever you're doing. Some of the listeners told me this week that they were listening while waiting in the Target parking lot, while brushing their teeth. You can fit this into the pockets of time that you have, so I hope you'll join me. Come over to trainingauthors.com hitsblitz.

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 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.