I teach and coach at Lighthouse Schools in Santa Monica, another unpaid position that I love.
I wanted to write as a child but didn’t know how. I think my teachers gave me C- on writing assignments out of pity. It was so clumsy.
I got my feet wet as an undergrad at the UCLA Daily Bruin. I did internships for UPI, Whittle Communications, the LA Herald Examiner, the LA Times in Orange County, the Riverside Press Enterprise and the Santa Monica Dispatch. I was a stringer for the New York Times. My first professional job was at the Gilroy Dispatch.
By getting edited thousands of times, I learned how to write.
Then for 16 years as a missionary in Guatemala, I didn’t write. I was too busy. From time to time, I would ask God to restore this gift in my life. He brought me back to the States four years ago, and I started this blog.
Today is Christmas. I’m thinking about this gift God gave me. It’s a wonderful gift. I wouldn’t exchange it for anything. From the comments, I can see lives have been changed. I’ve used my gift to promote my church and school, the Lighthouse of Santa Monica. Recently, I’ve started writing for GodReports.com. The opportunities to fill the web with Christian content amaze me. The Internet opened doors that were previously closed by the few outlets who decided what got publicized and what didn’t. It seems like Christians are always the last to harness new technologies and trends for the promotion of Jesus.
Lives have been touched. I can tell from the comments. But while writing is an incredible gift, it doesn’t get remunerated like say, engineering or a mind for business. As texting takes over the art of writing, fewer and fewer people are really able to write. As the talent pool diminishes, it would be logical that the pay would rise. But alas, the opposite is true. In print media’s heyday, you could get paid up to $1,000 an article. Not anymore. With the explosion of media online, articles get paid $20 or $30, hardly something you can make a living on.
I’m asking you, my followers who have enjoyed the pictures I’ve posted, the heart-warming stories, the nuggets of wisdom, pictures of pathos, to pray for me this year to find sponsors for my writing. Thanks!
Merry Christmas! I’m looking forward to passing another year together, encouraging and being encouraged.
Here’s a few of my recent articles on http://Godreports.com
- http://blog.godreports.com/2014/12/soccer-star-tim-howard-gives-glory-to-jesus/
- http://blog.godreports.com/2014/12/the-faith-of-peyton-manning/
- http://blog.godreports.com/2014/12/after-a-brutal-rape-and-unexpected-pregnancy-she-was-told-to-abort-but-she-and-her-husband-took-a-different-path/
- http://blog.godreports.com/2014/12/american-missionaries-survived-shooting-in-philippines-prayed-throughout-ordeal/
- http://blog.godreports.com/2014/12/christian-convert-alleges-torture-in-egyptian-prison-begins-hunger-strike/
I let my writing be governed by the principals:
- be optimistic
- reach out to unbelievers in a non-confrontational, non-condemning way
- maintain openness to all branches of Christianity without insisting on the correctness of my doctrine on non-essential points
Mustard Seed Budget 
My father noted, on the flyleaf of a dictionary that I had appropriated from him, which he turned around and made a gift to me, that God had given me a gift for words. I have been paid for my written words only occasionally, but God has paid me immeasurably when I have been faithful to transmit what He has poured into me. Writing as such is indeed a craft, and as such can and should be polished. However, as a gift, the results are ultimately up to the Giver. I do pray that your material needs will be met, and I pray that with Biblical assurance. (Philippians 4:19) I have also made a living as a photographer, and my desire to do so again was almost an ache within me for many years. However, God has supplied my needs through other means, while calling me to be faithful with the gifts He has placed in me. May you write without the burden of “what will this get me,” looking only for God’s purposes for those words to be fulfilled, and trusting Him to meet your needs.
Thank you for sharing with me. Fortunately, we have no “need.” We are getting by ok on Dianna’s salary (she’s an engineer). Maybe what I’m thinking about is a bit of inferiority I feel since she’s providing and I’m “not.” (I am teaching in exchange for the kids’ tuition. We have foreign Englsih students in the house, and tha prays the rent.) I don’t know if it’s something that I should pursue or not. I guess that;s why I asked people to support me in prayer. thanks for writing such encouragement.
Btw, you can write for GodReports.com also. You can list your mission there and sign up for fundraising support. You will be featured on a rotational basis. Even though I was a missionary, I’ve been drawn more to the reporting side of his website (the blog). But Mark’s heart is to help missionaries. If you have any background in journalism, you can do articles for him too. I’m enthusiastic about his website because it is rising in google’s rankings, and thus articles are fairly well promoted in Google searches. It’s a great chance to prmotoe the gospel.
You do a wonderful job with your blog. I enjoy it and it touches me now and then as well. I have even posted some on Godinterest.com. Keep up the good work. Merry Christmas. 🙂
Tnx 4 encouragement
Writing can be also the great therapy also. People always have thoughts in their heads but it is pity that they cannot come out. It is great the let your hand move while you are thinking. Writing will help us to throw out our thoughts in front of us. We can also turn our writings creative in the future.
I love writing , and I found that you love it also. Great!
Jade the Mystic
Thanks for such encouragement
With my pleasure 😉