Every Shabbat that I'm able to worship at Ben David Messianic Jewish Congregation in Orange, California, I'm blessed by the message, those attending, and as an author, by the affirming nods of some, and the amazing comments from others who have read Casa de Naomi: The House of Blessing and continue to ask when the next book will be released.
Yesterday, I realized that few understand the unique calling we Messianic Authors experience: How it sets one apart, and requires one to be focused on what God wishes to impart. Sure, most who have heard me speak about 'being a scribe for God' know that the Casa Saga was gifted to me. However, few understand what that means, so today I''m sharing how the Lord orchestrated my writer/author journey.
Whether you work in a different field, are a believer that's already writing, published, or someone who wants to write, I hope that what I share will help you as scripture says in Proverbs 3:5.
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your on understanding...Because trusting in ourselves, yet thinking we are following where God leads can derail a project quicker than anything else.
Think I'm wrong? Well to illustrate, I'll mention that I never intended to write the Casa Saga Books! Surprised? So was I! It all began when I chose my own project. Since I didn't know much about the Sephardic Jews and had to write a character sketch for a Spanish Jew named Naomi, who was one of three women that were going to meet while hiking the Appellation Trail, and because I'm a stickler for facts, I devoured everything I could find about the Spanish Jews, including the details of the Spanish and Mexican Inquisitions, as well as the transcripts from the Inquisition trials.
My friend, who's also a Messianic publisher knew about the project and wanted to publish my work. After months of waiting, she contacted me, discovered that I was writing Naomi's character sketch, and asked me to send her my dailies. Forty days later, she sent me an email insisting that I was writing a different book than the one we'd spoken of. Since I didn't believe her, she suggested I go back three days and read from there to the present. I did and realized that I had been writing a book!
But was I really writing this book? When I thought about it, I realized that I couldn't take credit because, although I'd done the research, the words were flying off the page as if they had a will of there own. When the characters began telling me their story, I realized that God had gifted me this work for I had never studied, spoken, or written Spanish, yet I understood what needed to be written In Spanish, and I was able to do what was necessary.
My greatest epiphany occurred when I yielded myself and any expectations I had about this work to God. Suddenly, God was in control of everything, so much so that as I began writing book five, I found myself writing about a Sephardic rabbi marrying a Plains Indian, and did not wonder if history would prove me right. I asked my Messianic Sephardic friend to my home for lunch. After we had eaten, I asked her if she'd listen to what I wrote. In the middle of one passage, she asked, "How did you know that my grandmother, Ercilla, and her brother Benjammin were half Sephardic, half Plains Indian? And why did you pick the Indian reservation their family lived on to write about?"
I had longed to be a Proverbs 31 women. Instead I found that Proverbs 3:5 T
rust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your understanding...was the verse Messiah had chosen for me.
If you, like me, are looking for your own life verse(s), want to move from doubt to faith, need to rid yourself of the dross you cannot let go of, and want to use Gods Word to accomplish what we cannot, please visit www.PaulaWordsmith.com. Under the LAMB Ministries heading, find 'Personalizing Scripture,' and remember since we are the 'sheep of His pasture ' God has already provided a blessing for you!
Until we meet again, may your life reflect what you value, and may all your Shabbat's be blessed and filled with surprises that build you up in Messiah. Shalom!
