A New Heart for New Projects

I’m so thankful I can be transparent with my BFFs. Y’all know I’ve been struggling to hear from the Lord about my next writing project(s). I thought I knew the direction He wanted me to go, but to actually put the ideas into a proposal was almost painful. Why was I waffling?

Then came the weekend at the beach, the awakening in my spirit, and the clearer communication between the Lord and me. Truly, I felt like someone had removed cotton from my ears.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”  Ezekiel 36:26

A Heart of Flesh

This heart of flesh means I’m willing to listen, to wait on His direction before moving forward. I’ve started a new habit—silent solitude before I open my Bible or lift a pen. This isn’t a time of “emptying my mind.” It’s a time of filling it with God.

If a random thought invades, I return that thought to His hands in the form of prayer, and then I refocus my mind on Him. When I feel settled and peaceful that our silence is finished, I open my eyes and am amazed at how much time has flown by.

During this silence, He’s given me direction, calmed my fears, and opened my understanding, but most of all—He’s drawn me close. Close enough to hear Him all day. Close enough to maintain a heart of flesh.

Aware of His Presence

I read a book over twenty years ago entitled, Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence, and it changed me. Unfortunately, the principles had escaped me, and I’d let life get in the way of God’s continual presence.

With awareness of His nearness comes the ability to invite Him into every circumstance. In my particular circumstance, it meant listening carefully as I read my Bible, wrote blog posts, and answered emails to discover the direction He was leading for my next projects.

God’s Dwelling Place

This constant indwelling that I’ve experienced anew over the past few weeks has answered my questions about my next writing project(s).

God longs to dwell with His people. It’s what He’s ALWAYS wanted. It’s why He created Eden and humans to inhabit it. When sin separated us, His next attempt to dwell with men was the Tabernacle. Then the Temple. Then came Jesus and now the Holy Spirit dwells in God’s children until we can dwell with Him in the eternal Eden called heaven.

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”           Revelation 22:1-2

The New Projects

So please pray with me as the Lord directs my thoughts, my hands, and my words. I’ll propose to my agent, editor, and publishing committee a two-book contract that portrays the Israelites’ Journey to the Promised Land.

• In Book #1 Aaron seeks significance, and Zipporah wants to belong, but only when God dwells among them can either stop their searching.
• In Book #2, Joshua tries to live up to Moses’s legend, and Rahab tries to live down sin’s legacy. Only when they’re willing to fight for God’s promise can they embrace His peace.

Please pray that the Lord will go before me and prepare the hearts of those who’ll see these book proposals. Decisions usually come slowly in the publishing world, so we may not have an answer until fall, but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything!

“My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”    Ezekiel 37:27