Call Me Crazy!

People think I'm crazy ... seriously they do. I can't tell them about all the book ideas I have or possible projects coming down the pipeline ... otherwise they'll start hyperventaling.

People may wonder why I write. Is it to get famous? No way. Because I enjoy living by one crazy deadline to another? Uh, no. Is it because I really enjoy asking my husband to pick up pizza on the way home ... or perhaps just as a way to make sure I never get a coffee date with friends? Not even close.

I write so much--so many different things--because I am compelled by the love of Christ. In fact when I was doing my Bible Study today one verse especially resonated with me:

"For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels me ..." 2 Corinthians 5:14 (Amplified)

That's not to say I love God more and so I write more. (Not even close!!!) BUT when I get a new idea--and when an opportunity comes up to write something that will glorify God, share His love, and encourage others in their relationship with Christ--I HAVE TO say Yes. I HAVE TO follow. My whole soul burns within me until I do. I know when God is asking me to join Him ... and it would be disobedient not to do so.

This is my path and mine alone. It's a path of obedience to the messages He places on my heart. A path of desperation, because I can't write ONE WORD without Him. It's a path of connecting with the family of God, as God brings others alongside me to help me. (And, boy, do I need help!)

It's also on this path on which I've experienced God in amazing ways, mostly become I'm expecting and anticipating Him to show up ... and He does! He always does.

I was studying my Experiencing God workbook this morning when I came upon this phrase, which is talking about quiet time with God: "I keep that time alone with God, not in order to have a relationship but because I have a relationship."

And even though writing is TOUGH, I truly feel it's an extension of my alone time with God. I don't write to make God happy, to get published, to drive everyone around me crazy, but rather because I have a relationship and the messages burn within me. As I just recently started telling my agent ... "I have been overcome with words!" They're words of hope, of healing ... words that are an outpouring of my quiet time with God.

So if I'm crazy, I'm in good company. In fact, I totally understand Paul when he said, "For if we are beside ourselves [mad, as some say], it is for God and concerns Him; if we are in our right mind, it is for your benefit, for the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us ..." 2 Corinthians 5:13-14 (Amplified).

So go ahead ... call me a crazy [mad] woman. I'll completely agree! Just please remember to pray for me, please :-)