You Brought Us Joy!

Thank you, listeners, for over nine years of sharing your writing journey with Write from the Deep! We’ve found such joy in bringing you God’s encouragement and in hearing from you. Join us in this final podcast as we share final truths and insights to help you along your writing journey. And God bless each of you!

But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! And in particular, thank you to ALL of our 2024 sponsors of the month: Christy Bass Adams, Wendy L. Macdonald, Tammy Partlow, Priscilla Sharrow, and Kimberley Woodhouse! You’ve been such a blessing to us and to all our listeners!

An Important Announcement

Erin Taylor Young: Welcome, listeners, to the Deep. We have some important news to share with you.

Karen Ball: And here it is: the podcast you’re listening to in this very moment is our final episode from Write from the Deep. You see, Erin asked me a while ago if I thought it was maybe time to step away from the podcast because of health issues and other reasons.

At first I was like, no, no, let’s keep going. But as the days went by and I thought and prayed about it, God showed me that I really did need to step back, because of my––and Don’s––increasing health issues. As I came to that decision, I felt such peace wash over me that I knew it was the right thing.

Erin Taylor Young: I asked Karen because I’ve been having a few health issues of my own. And also, I’ve been feeling the need to prune, but I didn’t know which things should go. I took a sabbatical from editing over the summer, which was great. But I learned that I needed to keep praying about the pruning that God wanted to do in my life, and I needed to keep seeking Him about the disciplined pursuit of less.

We talked about this idea back in episode 223 in “Three Essentials for a Christian Writer’s Life.”

So as I sought guidance for pruning and refocusing, God showed me it is time to let go of this podcast. I want you all to know I am not missing the irony there that an episode that I researched and recorded for the show is one of the things that contributed to me understanding that I need to let go of it. 

Our Final Gifts for You

Karen Ball: Love the way God works to guide us! How we can make this decision with joy because we know it’s what God is guiding us to do. Now, as you listeners know, we often end our interviews with guests by asking them for final words of wisdom or encouragement. So we thought it would be a fitting end to ask ourselves the same question.

So what wisdom and encouragement do we most want to leave with you to return some of the joy you’ve brought us?

Ground Everything in God’s Word

Erin Taylor Young: Well, the first thing that I want to share is from Psalm 1:1-3. 

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law. He meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. And in whatever he does, he prospers.”

You guys, ground everything you do in God’s Word. But more than that, make God’s word your delight. Your greatest joy. It says, our delight should be in the law of the Lord and we’ll yield fruit in its season.

Not before its season, by the way. So be patient. Spend your time soaking in God’s word and loving it and meditating on it. This is how we guarantee that our lives will be fruitful.

Not Overdue a Single Day!

Karen Ball: I’ve mentioned a couple times on the podcast that Habakkuk 2:3 is my life verse: 

“Slowly, steadily. surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient. They will not be overdue a single day.”

Not overdue a single day. I love that so much. As you go through your writing journey, remember, it’s all in God’s hands and in his timing. He knows what you need and He will provide, even if it seems like it’s taking forever. Take this verse to heart, so when you start feeling that way, you can remember with a soul-deep joy that God’s plans for you will surely come to pass. They won’t be overdue a single day. Just trust and rest in Him and keep doing what He’s asking you to do.

Wait on God

Erin Taylor Young: My next verse fits right in with Karen’s. It’s Isaiah 64:4. 

“Since ancient times, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” 

Remember I said earlier that patience is important? This is why. When we wait for God, He acts. I’m not talking about just any old kind of waiting here. I’m talking about expecting. I’m talking about looking to God to hope in Him and believe in him. Think about how astounding it is that the God of the universe acts on our behalf to accomplish His purposes.

This is how God is different from all the other so-called gods of this world. The true God works on our behalf to show Himself great and mighty.

He delights in doing this, He purposes to do this. If only we could all walk every minute of our writing journey fully convinced that God is on our side and that He is always working on our behalf for our good and His glory. 

This is the Way

Karen Ball: I love that. I love Isaiah. It holds so much wisdom. For example, Isaiah 30:21 has this powerful message for all of us:.

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way walk in it.”

God is so present in your life and in your writing journey, but you’ve got to listen. You’ve got to keep your heart attuned to Him and to His voice. He won’t let you go astray if you do that.

But you know what? Even if you do make a misstep, just take it to Him and He will guide you back to the path He has for you. 

Strong Support

Erin Taylor Young: Amen. My next verse is 2 Chronicles 16:9. Just the first half says:

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

I’ve had this first section memorized for a long time because it says God will not only guide us, but “strongly support” us.

And this verse also reminds me we have a part to play. We need hearts that are completely God’s. Thankfully, though, we don’t accomplish that on our own because one of the things God has done for us when we chose to follow Him is He gave us a new heart, a heart of flesh, and not a heart of stone. A heart that can resonate with His joy because of all He’s done for us. 

No Divided Hearts!

But even though we know this truth, other desires can come in and divide our hearts. And steal our joy. This world is full of things that just call to us. It may not be our cares and our concerns, but maybe it’s entertainment, money, status, sales, contracts. And let’s not forget stuff like toys and trinkets and all those things. 

There is a reason Jesus says in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart [or the undivided in heart] for they shall see God.” It’s hard to see God with a divided heart.

But look at how this verse talks about God looking. For us. He’s searching the world for people who will look to Him who trust Him and hope in him. God’s not up there grudgingly giving out help if we beg hard enough. It brings Him joy to bless us! He has a master plan for the world and every person on this planet, and we get to be a part of it. 

We get to bring His truth to this dark world, and we get to be part of God’s kingdom on earth. So go into every day and know God is there waiting to strongly support you.

Remember to Rest

Karen Ball: Hebrews 4:9-11is a reminder we all need, and it says this:

“There is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest, have rested from their labors. Just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God as the people of Israel did, we will fall.”

As Ecclesiastes points out, there’s a God-appointed time for everything in our lives, which means there’s a God-appointed time for us to rest. We do need to work hard to push ourselves toward excellence in God’s name, but friends, we also need to take time to rest on our writing journey and in life. 

I’m not talking about just resting when you’re discouraged or exhausted, but taking regular time to rest your soul and heart and mind as a part of your process in the day, to prepare yourself to receive God’s joy. You’re not being weak or lazy when you rest. You’re being wise and obedient. 

Let God Fill You

Erin Taylor Young: Rest is productive. It really is. 

Another verse I want to give to you guys is Psalm 81:10: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.”

It’s too easy to forget to ask God to supply all our needs. He wants us to depend on Him. Think about God bringing the Israelites, who a