Theology

Word and Writer (A Writer’s Prayer)

By Bob Hostetleron August 12, 2020

In the beginning was the Word,
says your Word, Lord.

You identify yourself as Word and Writer,
Speaker and Spoken.

You are the Source of all things.
Beginning.
Alpha.
First.

So let it be in me, and in my writing, Lord.
Be my first thought as I put pen to paper,
the Source and Supplier,
Word and Writer,
Speaker and Spoken.

Grant that I may pretend to no originality,
no creativity of my own,
but to be a thinker of your thoughts,
a writer of your words,
and herald of your good news
in all I write today,
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayers of a Literary Agent

By Bob Hostetleron July 29, 2020

I prayed about becoming a literary agent. My friend and agent, Steve Laube, had asked me to consider it. So I told him I’d pray and think on it. Doggone it, I did; and just over three years ago I joined The Steve Laube Agency as not only a client but also an agent. That’s the last time I prayed about such things. Oh, okay, I’m only kidding. In truth, that was only the beginning of my praying about …

Category: Agents, Personal, The Publishing Life, Theology

A World of Similitudes

By Steve Laubeon July 27, 2020

Please indulge my ponderings today. I was recently reading a novel where the author* was describing the dream-state of the main character. As part of his musings, the phrase “a world of similitudes” was used. I had to stop reading for a minute; think about that phrase; and ask the question, “Is this what we are all experiencing today? A world of similitudes?” To understand, let’s first define a …

Category: Personal, Theology

Misunderstanding the Written Word

By Steve Laubeon July 20, 2020

Back on June 8, I wrote “Barriers to Effective Communication,” attempting to look at some things that get in the way in relationships, business, and writing. I’ve continued to reflect on this topic, particularly with regard to the written word. Not only in books and articles, but also in our emails and social-media posts. Author Intent Have you ever been upset by an email from a …

Category: Communication, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Criticism

The Industry Changes but Seems Unchanged

By Steve Laubeon June 15, 2020

I recently came across an article I had saved from 2004 predicting “Book Trends 2005” by Sally E. Stuart in an issue of Advanced Christian Writer newsletter. Reading through the article makes one realize how different things are but also how much they are still the same! Isn’t that a paradox? To rattle your brain a little, when that article was published, Google was only six …

Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Theology, Trends

Instrument (A Writer’s Prayer)

By Bob Hostetleron May 13, 2020

God, from ancient days to modern times, you have chosen human language to communicate with men and women; in fact, you are a writer yourself, having written your commandments in tablets of stone, my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and your Word in my heart. You have also given me a love for the written word, and have indebted me to the writings of many gifted men and women. So, while I am a …

Category: Inspiration, The Writing Life, Theology

How Are You Reading?

By Steve Laubeon April 27, 2020

by Steve Laube

I collect books. I graze through them like I'm at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I sample this tidbit and that. Eventually I get enough to eat or have found the right morsel to consume until it is finished.

It helps make me an eclectic sort. But there are days, even weeks, where I must discipline myself to become immersed in extraordinary writing. It is there where the soul …

Category: Reading, TheologyTag: Reading, Theology

Fear and Its Antecedents

By Steve Laubeon March 16, 2020

The coronavirus is the topic on everyone’s mind. Your community, your family, and even yourself may have been or could be affected. Maybe not by the virus itself but by the economic and societal fallout of the cancellations and shutdown of communities. Many experts, much smarter than I, are speaking erudite words of “stay calm and be wise.” I land on the fact that God is bigger …

Category: Encouragement, Faith, Theology

A Writer’s Prayer of Confession

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 4, 2020

Most holy and merciful Father: I confess that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. I have let the idea of being a writer distract me from devotion to you. I have made myself busier with words than with your Word. I have been consumed by my writing plans and …

Category: Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, Theology

A Writer’s Double Portion (A Prayer)

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 22, 2020

Gracious God, who inspired faulty and feeble people in times past to write for the purpose of changing lives, please let some of that spirit–a double portion, even, as I am faultier and feebler than they were—rest on me as a writer. Grant me the productivity of Moses, who though he lived in an age before paper or press is credited with “the books of Moses,” revered as Torah by …

Category: Personal, The Writing Life, Theology