#469 Rooted

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, CJ 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 Kingdom Writers Podcast. My name is Shelley 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 an encouragement for you as a Kingdom Writer on the theme Rooted. So CJ, why don't you share this theme with us?

Yeah, so the, uh, the passage that I'm going to read from is, uh, is most likely a familiar one. It's Jeremiah 17:5-8, and there's so many passages in scripture that we could look at regarding this theme of Rooted. And yet I wanted to read this one. So it says, this is what the Lord says: Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert. I want you just to picture that. Picture a stunted shrub in in the desert. I bet you every one of us would have something similar, but it could have a variation in detail. Uh, with no hope for the future, they will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited, salty land. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit. Now Jeremiah the prophet, of course, was writing in the midst of a people that were not following the Lord. Even through all of his, uh, challenges and, and prophecies to get right with the Lord again, to put their trust in the Lord, he was dealing with a stubborn people. And so he has this picture, and, and he's, he's drawing upon the words of the psalmist as well. You know, in Psalm 1, we see these same words of a tree being planted by a riverbank, roots going down into the water. And so he's surely using that as an illustration as well for the people that he's speaking to. But what I want to actually also read, and some of you are very familiar with plants, you grow plants yourselves, you're actually green thumbs, many of you are. You may have an extensive garden that you're, you're preparing now for the summer. You may have plants all around your house, but I thought it was interesting just to look at why do plants even need water. I mean, you know, we talk about these things as if we're experts, right? But let's dig in, and I just decided to do a little research, and it says plants and trees need water because it's essential to almost every process that keeps them alive and growing. First, water is a key ingredient in photosynthesis. Okay, so we're going back to a science lesson. I hope none of you have nightmares regarding junior high or high school science. Plants use water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide to make their own food which is glucose. It's a sugar. Without water, they can't produce the energy that they need to survive. Second, water helps move nutrients through the plant. Minerals from the soil dissolve in water and travel up through the roots and stems to the leaves. This transport system is part of a process called transpiration. Which also helps regulate temperature. Third, water keeps plants structurally strong. Inside plant cells, water creates pressure called turgor pressure that keeps leaves and stems firm. When a plant doesn't get enough water, it wilts because that pressure drops. Finally, water supports growth. Cells expand by taking in water, allowing plants and trees to grow taller and develop new leaves, roots, and branches. In short, no water means no food production, no nutrient movement, no structure, and no growth. I just thought, you know, it was interesting to kind of revisit, you know, just the nuts and bolts of why plants need water. And, you know, some of you, like I said, you know, you grow different plants. We happen to do something called hydroponics. How many of you are familiar with hydroponics? Very simple. This here happens to be some microgreens that we're growing in a little cup, and the only thing in this cup is water that also has nutrients, natural nutrients that are in there. So the roots go down into the cup, just into the water, but it has to have nutrients in the water that the roots can actually grab a hold of. So it's, it's kind of cool that you don't necessarily need soil in order for plants to continue to grow, but you do need the proper nutrients for those, those roots to be able to grab that out of the water. So these are really healthy. We do other greens as well in bigger boxes that provide the base for like good salads, but these microgreens are just kind of packed with even more nutrients per, per root. And so I thought I'd just bring that out to show you that the real, the real player here is, is water, but the water has to still have the nutrients that normally soil would have that those roots are going down deep into. But without the water in the soil, whether you're growing flowers, whether you're growing tomato plants, whatever it is, the, the water is the thing that helps dissolve the minerals in that soil that the roots grab onto. So I just thought that was interesting, and it just made me think of a couple practices that I think we as Kingdom Writers can begin to implement in order to cultivate— that word there is also a gardening kind of term. We're cultivating growth in our writing. We're cultivating an atmosphere where growth and fruitfulness can happen in our writing. There's two practices we could, we could mention many, but for time's sake, I want to just mention two practices that I think would be so important for us as Kingdom Writers. And the first practice is cultivating silence. Cultivating silence. We're creating quiet spaces for prayer, listening, stillness, meditating on God's word. We're cultivating these things which are vital for deepening our roots. Perhaps even more in our day and age than at any other time in history. How many would agree with me that we have so much noise in our culture? And if we don't cultivate an atmosphere of silence on occasion— and I want to just give you a, a challenge. This is just a practical challenge. I want each of you. And I don't know where you're all at. You're scattered throughout the United States. Some of you are outside the United States in other countries. Here's what I want you to consider. I want you to scan an hour's distance away from you to see what would be available as a place where you could go for a day of just having retreat with the Lord. It could be a Catholic retreat center. It could be a Christian campground. It could be a park of some kind. It could be a number of trails that you know that just lead to a really quiet bench somewhere. What I want you to do is consider, is there within an hour's distance of where you live— and it could be some of you It's 10 minutes, it's 15 minutes, but I think all of us, if we were to take an hour radius, I bet we could find something that would get us into a quiet place where we just spend that time with the Lord. We, we foster, we cultivate this idea of silence so that we can hear in a way that we can't with our everyday noises. And I want to encourage all of us to to consider that just as an investment, a cultivation for your writing habit, something that's going to bear fruit in a way that may not be instant, but you will see it over time. You will begin to hear God's voice in a way that you haven't among the noise. So that's the first practice, is cultivating silence. The second practice is cultivating gratitude. We've all heard about gratitude journals. We've all heard about the importance of gratitude. Even non-believers talk about gratitude, you know, and, and the effects, the powerful effects of gratitude. Well, gratitude comes from a deeply rooted life that overflows with thanksgiving. And some of you, and I think one of you, and I didn't read it, but I think one of you, uh, put something from Colossians, which I happen to have a verse from Colossians. Let me just look here real quick. Um, let's see here. Yep, Colossians 2:6 and 7. It was Karen. You're our lucky winner today, Karen. Um, tell her what she won, Bob. No, um, all joking aside, Colossians 2:7 is the one that I want to read. And it says, let your roots grow down into him, Jesus, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught. And get this, here it is: you will overflow with thanksgiving. What happens when our roots go down into Christ? We will overflow. Part of that bounty in our lives will be a gratitude that's fostered, that overflows into the lives of others as well. So those are just two practices, two simple practices, um, cultivating silence and cultivating gratitude. How do we do that? We have to have our roots down deep into Christ. And, um, you could say the soil of Christ. I like to refer to him in this instance as the living water of Christ. Remember I said plants can still grow in water alone as long as you've got the nutrient content in there. You know what? Jesus is referred to as the living water. He is the one that has the nutrient density that's going to help us as his, uh, plants, so to speak, thrive and grow and multiply and become fruitful. And in our case, that comes in the form of words, writing words. And so, uh, before I close, I wanted to read to you— you know, I love God's timing.. And one of our pastors, he's a writer as well, and he sent something out just a couple days ago. And here I'd been thinking about this idea of rooted, and I love God's timing because his, his, uh, meditation that he wrote is on this idea of rootedness. So I want to read this to you. He says, the spiritual life is slow. How long does it take to make a tree? Not just any tree, but this tree, the very tree that it is. As long as it takes to make the forest, that is, as long as it takes to make the world. The spiritual life is slow because everything is slow. Because the world is slow. Because God is slow. We keep trying to rush things, to rush the world, to rush God, to rush ourselves. We do this because we're sinners, and sinners do not trust the slow God. Hear now, beloved, rushing is fatal. Impatience is a primary disease of the spiritual life. Haste is abortive. The impatient sever and sever and sever again their contact with God, with life. They are trying to play God. We are trying to play God, and when we do, we die. This is a law of the spiritual life. So if we would grow with God, we need to prepare ourselves for slowness. Ready our hearts to enter the ebb and flow of deep time, where all processes are long and steady and painfully concealed from haste-hungry eyes. Those who would enter this way should be advised that there will be stretches where it seems as though nothing is happening, nothing at all. It will gnaw at your heart. You will wonder if you are doing it wrong. You will be tempted to pull up your roots and move into other soil, soil that promises quicker and more obvious returns, larger yields. I say to you now, beloved, you must resist this temptation with all your might, for rest assured The deity works most profoundly in hidden places. God is glad to be obscure. Give it time, dear one. Before long, your boughs will bend low, happy with heavy fruit. But don't worry about that, okay? Fruit-making isn't your job, but God's, and he's good at it. Very good. Your job is simple, single, and clear: keep the lighted roots plunged in dark soil, and he'll do the rest slowly. I love that. Um, some of us are going to feel that way at times. Some of you may feel that way right now, that nothing's happening. That I need to scurry up some Miracle-Gro, right? I need to get my own stuff together. I know this will make things grow faster. And yet the Lord is saying, you know what, this is the process I have for you, and your sweetest fruit of writing is going to come as you cultivate things like silence, things like gratitude. You plunge your roots deep into that dark place. And I, I guarantee you that each of you are going to be fruitful in God's own timing. It may not be our timing, but if we'll just be faithful to do those cultivating practices, I believe good things are going to come. So in closing, as Kingdom Writers, these practices are non-negotiable. They really are. If the words we write are to be fruitful and life-giving, these practices are essential. Our roots go down deep into the living water of Jesus, and when we do that, we'll overflow with words that impact and refresh others. And that's the challenge to all of us. Keep your roots in Christ and cultivate with those, those couple practices of silence and gratitude. And I'm telling you, the process may be slow, but the fruit will be sweet.

Yeah, CJ, why don't you pray for all of us? Yeah.

Father, we thank you so much that you have given us means by which we can be fruitful in our writing, the things that we can cultivate, things like silence, hearts overflowing with gratitude. I think too, you know, just as we talk about these things, I think back to our our ancestors Adam and Eve, and how before the fall they did enjoy some of those cool walks in the garden, those strolls with you hand in hand. And I think to myself, this is what it was always supposed to be, just walking in the cool breezes with you, Lord. And then out of that connection, the best stuff really happening. So I pray, Lord, for each of my fellow Kingdom Writers. I pray that they would enjoy some sweet walks with you today and tomorrow through the garden. I pray that they'd be connected and, and allow your vibrant, life-giving nutrients to run through them. And I pray that there would be fruitful writing that takes place. Today and tomorrow, maybe even fruitful planning, organization, things that really set them up well and also provide sweet fruit of words that will bless others. So we thank you, Lord, for what you have in store for each, and we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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 you can join our free Writing Week Challenge to create a writing habit in just 15 minutes a day. Thousands of writers have taken this over the years, and it is incredible the progress that you'll see. So join us at 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 at 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 you can finish your book. Join Christian Book Academy at christianbookacademy.com and get 50% off your first month by using the coupon code PODCAST at checkout. This is a special coupon code for our podcast listeners. We love you. So come on over to christianbookacademy.com, use the coupon code PODCAST, and we look forward to working closely with you.

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.