The Nudge

Nudged to Crawl

Hello, fellow nudgees. I've been thinking a lot about crawling lately. Baby Maeryn (my granddaughter, for those of you who haven't spent five minutes with me in the last nine months) has just learned how, and to hear all of us cheer "Go Mae!" every time she starts across the floor, you'd think she was going for Olympic Gold. She stops and we clap and she claps and the joy knows no end. Until she heads for an electrical outlet or the stereo cabinet. Then Mama says, "Maeryn Julienne," at which point she turns and sits and waves so coyly you just want to go ahead and hand her the remote. 

Yeah, so crawling is my favorite topic these days. I join Maeryn on the floor and get on hands and knees to experience it fully with her. Getting up again is a bit of an issue, but that's why God made physical therapy. Of course the metaphors abound in my brain.  I seesaw between two.

One -- as I told my teen girls on their blog earlier today -- I feel sometimes like I'm running at full sprint all the time to get all the "stuff" done, and yet I'm only crawling toward the significant things because there's so little time and energy left from the continuous marathon. I've realized, though, that I'm being nudged daily, even hourly sometimes, to stop running. To evaluate each task and say, "Does this HAVE to be done right now, Nancy, or are you just trying to keep people from thinking you're a slacker?" It seems like every book I pick up -- The Artist's Rule by Christine Valters Paintner and  Anthony de Mello's Sadhana, to name two in just the last twenty-four hours -- is about the importance of silence and solitude to creativity. Every morning when I journal it's like this massive purge of "I can't DO all of this!" And God keeps whispering, "Then just do what I have asked you to do." Funny how God never mentions Twitter or Facebook. I am Nudged to question the way I'm running the race that is set before me -- or if I'm even IN the right race at all. As I've said before, every day I quit and begin again.    

The other metaphor is quite the opposite. I feel that Nudge when I try to hurry the significant tasks -- like writing a novel, drawing out a friend who's stuck, answering an email from a troubled tween reader, or preparing a workshop for people who yearn to write for God's kingdom. Maybe running is okay for things like tweeting and replying to Facebook comments and throwing in a load of laundry while my computer is upgrading. But for the things of eternal value -- relationships, writing, spiritual study, centering prayer -- I'm pretty sure I -- and all of us -- are Nudged to slow it to a crawl.

That means only running for a very small portion of the day. I get caught up in the ridiculous belief that if I could just catch up, then I could do things differently. If I ever actually get it all done, that will mean I have nothing new on the horizon. Time to pick out music for my funeral service! No -- the Nudge is to say, "Enough!", to get off the track for the rest of the day. I mean, seriously, when has anyone ever said, "I'm not going to read her books any more because she only tweets once a day?"

It means blocking out time to crawl, and getting down on all fours to do it (metaphorically speaking!) so I can't reach the phone or the inbox. It means getting so engrossed in what I'm crawling toward that I don't even hear the signals that I've gotten a text or an email, or that somebody wants to Skype. When I get down into it that way, it's impossible to hurry.

I don't think it matters what God is Nudging us to do: if it's a real Nudge, it requires much time, much space, much freedom, and much delight. It has to be crawled to, with plenty of stopping to clap and wave and consider whether we're still heading where we're supposed to go. I do know that re-learning how to crawl is not a once-and-for-all thing.  It's not a matter of from-now-on-I'm-going-to-be-different. It's a process, in my experience, just like anything else that's worth doing.

Sometimes, of course, we get so excited about what we're being Nudged toward, we want to get up and run right at it. After turning in proposals that weren't ready for prime time viewing and promising to endorse manuscripts whose authors I adore and realizing I couldn't possibly do them justice in the time I had, I've figured out that the "God wants me to do this so I have to throw myself right into it," approach is seldom the best one. If you're nudged to grab that kid who is  about to be hit by a bus, clearly that's something else entirely. But for most of our significant Nudges, some preparation and training is usually required. I love the rush of a new idea. It's easy, though, when the rush fades and you get down to the nitty gritty, to think, "Maybe this isn't a God-thing after all. I'm not feelin' it." I mean, really, think about marriage -- a new baby -- that great new job -- the mountain top experience at the spiritual retreat. The high is always followed by the down and dirty of  just plain hard work. The blow-me-away feeling fuels us for the time when we have to get down on our hands and knees and crawl for the finish line.

Besides, we miss a lot when we're always in the fast lane, exceeding the speed limit. I am delighted when I watch Maeryn inch her way through a room, and she stops to examine each miniscule scrap of paper, each speck of dust, never missing a dog hair. It all goes into her mouth for the ultimate test, and then she proceeds until the next invisible-to-everyone-but-her item catches her big brown eyes. That all changes if she's going for your cell phone, but the point is, if I have my head in my outline and I'm tunneling along at 25 pages a day, I don't hear the God-whispers that say, "What if it happened this way instead?" How many times has the next whole scene come to me when I was taking a break to walk the dogs down to the lake or build the perfect ham, swiss, and pear sandwich with yogurt and dill weed? I've awakened from many a nap with an entire chunk of dialogue pulsing to be written down. You only get a squirt of Gatorade when you're running five minute miles.

Yeah, we've all heard the stop and smell the roses thing. And we've all said, fine, but I'd like to keep my job and not have the health department come in and condemn my bathrooms. There is stuff to be done, and a real Nudge doesn't tell you that you don't have to pay your bills and pick up your kids and answer your email just because you're fulfilling your real purpose. I do believe, though that God says "If you're going to live for Me, you need to --

    * Pare down your to do list; I couldn't even accomplish all that you expect yourself to do in twenty-four hours, and I'm God!

    * Go ahead and run swiftly and happily through the stuff that needs doing  but doesn't require your heart and soul -- but don't discount the fact that I can work in every detail of your daily round

    * Stop running before you start to tire and sink into despair; in fact, if you can, do the running last and do the crawling first; I would rather see the small things go undone than the things I have put you here to do for Me 

    * Don't beat yourself up if you don't do all of the above perfectly; I don't expect perfection; I expect you to simply turn to Me and say, "I'm doing it again, God. Help me to crawl."

If this were easy, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If you've found a way to crawl more effectively or limit your sprints or make time and space for both, please, by all means, share. Especially if you're Nudged to. 

Blessings, Nudgees,

 

Nancy Rue   

The Gospel According to Harley

Welcome! If you are participating in the blog hop, today is your final stop...ending with one great party over on my facebook page at the end of the day. If you are not sure what I am talking about, visit here to get caught up. There is still plenty of time to enter and win!

I must give a disclaimer about the picture on the back of The Reluctant Prophet novels which shows me astride a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  Although the books depict Allison Chamberlain ministering to prostitutes on her Heritage Softail, I myself am only a passenger when it comes to Harleys, and it is a position I am blissfully happy with. But like every good novelist, I tried to get as close to my protagonist’s experience as possible and took the Rider’s Edge class, with the secret dream that I would actually learn to ride and could buy my own bright red Heritage Classic  . . .

Yeah, well, that didn’t happen. I counseled myself out of the class after crashing twice in the first hour. My experience was almost identical to the one you can read about in Chapter Three of The Reluctant Prophet. The instructors let me hang out and watch the rest of the training, and as I listened to Big Rich (the instructor who told me, ‘You think too much’) I realized that the wisdom of the HOGs – that stands for Harley Owners Group – is really quite spiritual.

• There are two kinds of riders. Those who have dumped it, and those who will. There WILL be unexpected dismounts.  
• It’s hard to keep your balance when you’re barely moving.
• You learn by taking it one ride at a time.
• You’ve come too far to say ‘far enough.’
• If it’s small enough to eat in one sitting, don’t try to avoid running over it.

Seriously, with the exception of that last one, don’t those sound like godly lessons to you?

We’re all going to dump it sometimes, and sometimes we’re going to stay on and ride smoothly. God doesn’t expect us never to make a mistake.

If we don’t get up some speed in our Christian living and risk crashing and burning in our efforts, we’ll never achieve the balance we need to stay upright. God doesn’t want us to live so cautiously that we never gather momentum.

We learn to live by taking it one ride at a time. The mistakes we make are some of God’s best teaching tools – as long as we figure out what happened and get back on and go for it again, bruised and wiser. God doesn’t say we should figure it all out first and then move forward.

And in our journey with Christ, we can never say ‘far enough.’ We’re never entirely ‘there.’

You need to be pretty close to perfect to ride a motorcycle safely. You have to be aware and intentional. That is what God does ask of us. To know we’ll dump it sometimes, but to keep on trying to forgive and offer grace. To go at love with everything we have or we’ll fall completely over in our caution. To take it one ugly, hateful, infuriating person and at time and learn to love by loving. We can never say, “I have loved enough.” We have come too far for that.

I never did learn to ride a Harley, because I didn’t have a passion for it. But I do accept God’s strength to grow into holiness – one fall, one ride, one passionate bit of love at a time. Because as the HOGS say, once you break it in, ride it like you stole it.    

I hope you have enjoyed each of the blog stops this week.  I know I was persoanlly encouraged each day from everyone's comments.  It does energize an author to hear when readers are nudged to change or influence others.  Thank you for keeping me going.

The party should be lots of fun, and I wanted to pass along a little hint...there is a good chance no one will leave empty handed this evening.  If you haven't RSVPed, be sure to do so here. Hope to chat with you there.

Nudged to Promote

Hello, my fellow Nudgees. Just back from five-day Session 6 of 8 (over two years) at the Academy For Spiritual Formation in San Antonio. Insights now abound, things I can't wait to share with you. Stand by.

However, from time to time I have to pause and try to combine the promotional with the spiritual and hope I'm not inciting Jesus to turn over the money-changing tables. I think with some prayer and repetition of my litany,  "This is not about me -- this is not about me --" we can pull this off. You game?

First of all, for those of you just joining us, the Nudge blog came about because I was inspired by Allison Chamberlain, the protagonist in The Reluctant Prophet. I know that sounds woo-woo, but God does woo-woo if that's what it takes to nudge us. A nudge, as defined by Allison, is like a healthy shove with a beefy elbow, moving you to do something you never would have thought of on your own. In her case, that is "Allison, go out and buy a Harley."

My nudge several months ago was to create a blog for all the other people who are poked, shoved and nagged to do something out of the box for God and God's people. So here we are, challenging each other to go for it. Encouraging one another when less prodded people say we're nuts. Whining together when the Nudge doesn't seem to be leading anywhere we want to be.

If you've just discovered us Reluctant Prophets here, experiencing our Unexpected Dismounts, welcome. I hope, of course, that you've read the first two books in the trilogy since I'm pretty sure I was nudged to write them. From time to time I do have to put in a pitch so they'll sell and I can keep writing the books I'm niggled at to write. Yet, still, I want the original nudge to be clear in everything I say, and that is --

We can't sit in our pews and raise our hands in praise and serve on our committees without also being changed by the church, enough to go out and do what we can to change our sick society and help even those who don't see the point in what we believe.

No, we aren't all going to take in prositutes tired of the life and wanting to change, like Allison does. We aren't all going to try to adopt street orphans and fight the most influential businessman in town. And we sure aren't all going to buy a Harley. I haven't done any of that -- except the Harley, for my husband, who looks like a very cool dude when he rides it. But like all of us, I am trying to bring truth to people. I'm trying to help in the ways I'm gifted to.

Sometimes I'm suffering the consequences. Less than stellar sales. Overwork (until I do my daily and sometimes hourly quitting). Raised eyebrows. The occasional, "I don't get this book" review. But mostly, it feels like this is what it means to be a follower of Christ.

So we Nudgees are glad you've joined us. We want your input. What's nudging you? What are you pretty sure God is saying God wants you to do, that you can't quite imagine yourself  doing? We have one fellow blogger who is in India even as we speak, working with kids so she can write curriculum for them. Another is writing a book for parents of special needs children that takes an unexpected slant. Another is finishing that novel she's black and blue from being poked to write for years.

Your nudge may be less "dramatic." God has been known to say, "Take your kids out of public school" or "Put your kids in public school." It's not unheard of to be nudged to take a day off for your workaholic self, or offer a lift to that temporarily carless neighbor who hates your dogs, or write an Amazon review of a book you absolutely love, that nobody else whose written one seems to grasp at all.

Whatever it is, please share. It'll reassure all of us that God really does give us the elbow. And that if we ignore that nudge, our lives and those of others are so much less than they might have been.

End of shameless promotion!

Blessings,

Nancy Rue       

NUDGED TO QUIT. EVERYDAY.

Hello, fellow Nudgees. I am totally blown away by the responses to the three part blog post, "To Whom Shall I Speak?"  They fell into two camps -- those who encouraged me not to stop writing what I've been given to write -- and those who find themselves in that same what's-the-point place. I appreciate all of you. It looks like we aren't the only ones struggling with this issue. I offer a couple of links for you, in case you'd like to read what people far more eloquent than I am have to say.

Athol Dickson, a novelist I admire and respect, shares his courageous (and confident thoughts) in   

a Novel Rocket blog.

Shaun King, a young Atlanta pastor, tells his story on ChurchLeaders.com.

I was inspired by these guys, as well as by all of you, and of course, by old Jeremiah - bless his heart. They, and we, have spoken. We have taken a stand, dadgum it.

Now what are we going to do about it?

How are we going to keep doing what we are Nudged to do, even if not enough people to keep us in print have ears to hear? It's sort of like what Allison says in the first line of The Reluctant Prophet: "I found Jesus seven years ago, but until that day, I didn't know what to do with him." 

And do something we must. So I waited for the nudge. And then I quit. And I have quit every day since then.

When my email inbox was bulging with who liked me on Facebook and who is following me on Twitter -- all of which I appreciate, mind you -- I quit and shut down Outlook and focused on my novel.

When I found myself several chapters behind on my second draft because I had to go to a sales conference and write five guest blog posts and endorse a dear friend's book -- all of which I truly love to do -- I quit and took Saturday off to take my grandbaby to the pumpkin patch for the first time in her nine-month-old life.

When I envisioned my to do list during Sunday's sermon -- a really great sermon, too, with lines like "Moses did what we all would love to do: die young and as late as possible"-- I quit and observed a real Sabbath, complete with nap and a pot of chili.

Every time I realize that the joy and the soul and the God-energy have gone out of what I'm doing, I quit that job. Not always forever. Some of it actually needs to get done eventually, and I come back to it when the real work is done. The work of "being God's mouth," perhaps. Of helping gifted new writers who have been Nudged to write for kids, even in a market that barely exists in the CBA. Of ministering to the teens and tweens on our lively little blogs. 

Some of the things I've quit I'm done with for the duration. It's over, dude. Not going there again. No more considering the possibility that if I wrote one trendy novel it might open the door for . . .  No more feeling sorry for myself because -- well, you don't have that kind of time! No more wondering if God's going to provide when everything I  DO is for God (except the lattes -- those are for me). That was never my job in the first place.

I have to quit about twenty times a day, but I think I'll get better at it. It's amazing how much better I am at the real stuff when I keep resigning from the false stuff. I love what Mary C. Earle writes in her book, Beginning Again: "Make a choice not to put further energy into being someone you are not. That's the first step into an identity that isn't split off from itself. "  I'll be meeting and studying under Mary Earle this week at the Academy for Spiritual Formation. I intend to thank her. Profusely.

So what do you say we all quit? Sift through our behaviors and try to become true? I warn you, we're not going to do it "once and for all." We're talking the patient daily practice of quitting. But let's aim to get really good at it. We can't work for God full-time until we do.

So -- take this job and . . . gently tell it thanks for the offer. I'm not sure that works as well as a song, but it's sure workin' for me.

 

Blessings, my friends,

Nancy Rue 

To Whom Shall I Speak?: Part 3

 

Did you miss Part 1  and Part 2? 

Yesterday we pondered --okay, I whined about! -- whether it truly, realistically is enough to follow what God says to Jeremiah (15:19): "If you utter what is precious, you shall serve as my mouth."

I want that. All of us who are Nudged want that. Want it? We LONG for it. And doesn't it sound so real? It seriously is what we try to do -- and so, of course, why wouldn't we be rewarded? W can relax.

Or not.

You'd think after that conversation Jeremiah would be good to go.

And yet --

There's a big ol' plot against him (18:18-23). God says keep going.

He's persecuted by the priest Pashhur (son of Immer, in case that helps you place him). We're talking beatings and the stocks. Jeremiah doesn't give up.

How can he? By this time, he says, "I am weary with holding it in and I cannot." (20:9)

He's still hollering "Woe is me," but he keeps at the thing -- with King Zedekiah and the House of David, and the sons of Josiah, like the ever popular King Jehoiachin. (And I'm thinking my daughter was right when at age 7 she said she thought Dr. Seuss must have written the Bible.)

It's a tough gig. But the news isn't all bad. God shows Jeremiah that there are some good figs (24:1010), though mind you, Jeremiah doesn't see many of them. Everybody in the temple takes hold of the poor guy and says, "You shall die!"I gotta say, things aren't looking THAT bad for me. What's a dismal royalty statement compared to that?

I read on, though and here's what I found interesting. God keeps saying to Jeremiah, "These people aren't going to listen to you," and yet God also keeps giving him object lessons to use to get the message across. Wads of clay. JARS of clay. He even makes Jeremiah wear a yoke, for Pete's sake (chapter 27) 

Huh. Doesn't God just keep giving me stories to tell, even as he refuses to promise me that the required number of people will read them?

I kept plowing through Jeremiah's book, and finally, things began to turn around. Jeremiah gets to promise the exiles that they will be brought back home. We receive the famous comforting words, "I know the plans I have for you . . . plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." (29:11). And the not as well-known but perhaps even more reassuring verse -- "I will let you find me, says the Lord."  

And then God says the words I have spent hours searching for amid stuff that makes you want to reach for the Prozac. God says,

"There is a reward for your work."

Like Jeremiah, I question that. But as God said to Jeremiah, God also says to me:

"I am the Lord, the God of all, flesh. Is anything too hard for me?" (32:26)

What are we to say to that?

To whom shall we speak? The audience, the figs, are there. A remnant, maybe, but I -- like all of us - can't stop putting out there what God is giving us to say -- whether we're "confined in the court of the guard" by dismal sales, and our scrolls are burned in bookstore returns to the publisher. Maybe we'll feel imprisoned by the lack of new contracts or whatever stands in the way of our nudged ministries, or stuck in the bottom of a cistern of debt.

But if we keep telling the truth, someone will hear. If we obey the Nudge of the Lord, it shall go well with us (38:20) Some people will come around, those who are meant to hear the message, "Don't stay where you think it's safe. Risk obedience." (chapter 42). Others won't. We gotta leave that up to God.

As a matter of fact, God is very clear on that. He says to Baruch (who wrote everything down for Jeremiah), "Do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek for them I will give you your life as a prize."

      That is when Jeremiah's career as a prophet really takes off. The judgments, on everybody from Egypt to Babylon, roll out of him in seven chapters of poetic power. Nowhere does it say anyone listened or took heed or bought it. There is no evidence that anybody changed their ways because of Jeremiah's obedient message. Jerusalem was indeed destroyed, as decribed in the final chapter (52) We are given no clue to what happened to Jeremiah.

But at the very end of this disturbing story, in the last three verses, we hear about King Jehoiachin of Judah. The Babylonian king takes a liking to Jeho and brings him out of prison and "speaks kindly" to him.

Did someone hear? Did the spirit of Jeremiah's prophecy somehow get through?

After 52 chapters of Jeremiah and 111 books of my own, I have to believe so. I might continue to whine from time to time. Wail. Gnash my teeth. You may, too. But I will keep following the Nudge and find the audience. If we all do it, perhaps we'll have the honor of being God's mouth.

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

           

To Hold a Contest Part 3!

We’ve been so heavy into Jeremiah these last few posts, I thought we might want to lighten up a little (even though HE never did!) and run another contest. My wonderful VA (if you’ll recall, that’s Virtual Assistant, and she is far more impressive than that sounds) and I will give away 25 copies of Unexpected Dismounts AND 25 copies of The Reluctant Prophet. 

Here's how it works! If you have already read the first chapter of Unexpected Dismounts, then can skip this first step down below the chapter excerpt.  If you have not yet read it, here it is for you...see you below!

 

Unexpected Dismounts by Nancy Rue

ok! got it?  

Step 2:

So, now that you have read it answer these TWO questions in the comment field below (don't peek! that's not fair...): What is the Nudge Allison gets in this chapter & how have you been Nudged this past week?

 Step 3:

Now that you have posted your answers to the TWO questions in the comment section, email my VA (remember what that is?)  Leah at impactauthor{at}comcast{dot}net YOUR mailing address and the mailing address of a friend who you think would be encouraged by this series.

The FIRST 25 FOLKS will receive a copy of Unexpected Dismounts for themselves and a copy of Reluctant Prophet will be sent to your friend.  These will be personalized from me to YOU and to your FRIEND. 

Do you live outside of the US? You can participate too! Do everything above and the FIRST 5 INTL FOLKS to email my VA your email address & and email (OR DOMESTIC SHIPPING) address of your friend will also get copies! If your friend lives here in the US we will ship them a copy.

If you have already won a copy of Unexpected Dismounts we ask that you allow others a chance to win too, but would still like to know how you have been nudged this week by God, so comment away!

Hurry off now! its the first 25 of you!  Don't forget you have to leave a comment too!   Oh, this is so much fun...I love giving away stuff (thanks David C. Cook for providing the books! go give them a wave and say thanks too)

You will get a confirmation email from Leah (my VA) before the end of day on Friday (give her some time...we have a lot going on here!) October 21st if you won.

Got questions? comment below and will do our best to get those answered ASAP.  Now go on...go get yourself Nudged by God today!

 

"To Hold a Contest" Part 1 & 2 Winner Announcement...How about a Part 3?

As promised! thanks for hanging in there with the changes made last minute.  We do have winners to announce!  Since we changed things up a little (since we didn't reach the 1500 liks on FB or the 200 fans on Twitter) we are awarding a few less books.  Better than not giving any away.  We just don't roll that way.  

Some of you really got into the sharing, tagging and RTing!  Thanks for participating and most of all, for helping me spread the word about my books and my message within the story.

Did you win?

10 Facebook & Twitter winners (winners were selected by Random.org):

• Victoria Bylin
• Tonia Powell Baird
• Temple Garnett-burton
• Melissa Dawn Jenkins
• Mommy Does Blog
• @soccarkidsmom
• @sthrnsassygirl
• @wordlily
• @relz
• @jeanetteedgar

Contratulations to each of you!  To claim your priz (A signed copy of Unexpected Dismounts), please email impactauthor{@}comcast{.}net your mailing address, or if you are not in the US, your email address BY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21st 11:59 MT.  If your name is above and we have not heard from you other winners will be selected and notified.

CONTEST #2:

If you were one of the first 10 people to email me 3 reviews, you will be getting an email from Leah (impactauthor{@}comcast{.}net confirming you won.  These emails will be sent out before the end of day on Thursday.  If you have a high spam setting on your email, you may want to make sure to add her email address to insure you get her notification!

Not to worry! If you didn't win, there are quite a few more opportunities to get your hands on more books.  Keep an eye here on my blog, facebook page, or twitter.

Again, thank you for helping me spread the word!

Oh wait! There will be a part 3....stay tuned as this will be announced later today and it will go VERY FAST! Good luck!

To Whom Shall I Speak?: Part 2

Yesterday we talked about the dilemma I'm faced with: where is the audience for what I'm called to write? Because if I don't find them, why continue to write novels like The Reluctant Prophet trilogy?

I was explaining that I took up Jeremiah to look for answers, since he had the same question: To whom shall I speak?"

When I got to chapter 9, verse 10, I finally found something concrete. God says to Jeremiah:

  "Take up weeping and wailing."(9:10)

Not a problem!

So I wept and wailed my way through the rest of the chapter, and there, buried in verse 24, I found this:

"Understand and know me, that I am the Lord. I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight."

Definitely working on that. That keeps me going for several more  chapters, looking for what God tells Jeremiah about HOW to get this message out. And what does He give him?

"Hear the words of this covenant and do them." (11:2)

Ah. Am I just writing about it, or am I practicing it myself? Can I check that one off? Gotta work on that, too.

And then I reach 12:5 and it REALLY stops sounding like God is only talking to Jeremiah:

"If you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you fall down, how will you fare in the thickets?"

Clear translation: 'Nancy, stop whining.'

Making an honest effort to put my big girl panties on, I slogged my way through several more chapters of gloom and doom, and none of it was meshing with today's publishing market. At several points, I got more confused than ever -- I mean, "Do not pray for these people'? Really?

And then slowly, very slowly, because I'm not of Jeremiah's caliber, I began to get it. God is saying,

'Don't paint a pretty picture.'

Does that mean, like, "Some people are going to see that Harley on the front cover and the word 'prostitutes' on the back cover and be turned off. But don't "say peace where there is no peace?"

He is clearly adding, 'And don't expect to be patted on the back for it.'

Pat on the back, maybe not. But royalty check? Maybe?

Along about Chapter 15, I realized that I was a lot more like Jeremiah than I thought I was. I'm looking at my sales numbers and my contract-less future, and at the church that still behaves like a gated community -- and I, too, wail, "Woe is me!" (15:10) I can say, like Jeremiah (15:16):

"Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my ears."

And yet -- Jeremiah adds: "(So) why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?"

All right, it isn't that bad for me, at least not physically. But I DO hear, again and again, "Your books are great, but if they don't sell, we can't . .  " I was thinking I'd found a kindred spirit in Jeremiah. I could see us meeting for coffee.

Finally, when Jeremiah is wailing and gnashing his teeth (I, too, have me some TMJ pain, Jer), standing there with a worthless loin cloth, God says what I so need to hear -- what all of us who are nudged to do seemingly impossible things need to hear:

"If you utter what is precious, you shall serve as my mouth." (15:19)

Am I hearing this right, God? No matter what the results are -- sales, reviews, or better yet, people being nudged to do what You want them to do beyond just going to Bible study -- no matter what, it has to be enough to utter what is precious and hopefully, in some small way, serve as Your mouth?

Everything is not okay with Jeremiah after that conversation. I'll get to that tomorrow. But are we on the right track, do you think? Is it enough? Is it enough to stop us from worrying about whether following the Nudge is going to feed us?

Is it enough? I would love to hear. I wait in hope!

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

 

 

To Whom Shall I Speak?: Part 1

Hello, Fellow Nudgees. I have a dilemma I want to run by you. It has to do with that question, stated inimically by Jeremiah (6:10) "To whom shall I speak?"

I've always asked it, and      God has always been generous with the answer. I’ve written for tweens, teens, parents, and grown-ups-who-like-novels – a big ol’ group of readers.

But since I was nudged to write The Reluctant Prophet trilogy, I'm thinking that God has narrowed the group. A lot. Here's what I mean:

            I was recently in a Christian bookstore where Unexpected Dismounts was displayed with other new releases – a historical romance, some sunny contemporary fiction, and a few Amish titles. I stayed incognito (not that anybody recognizes me by sight, mind you!) and watched a female customer in the major demographic for Christian fiction pick up my book, stare at the cover with the Harley and the torn jeans and the row of ramshackle houses in the background, and literally shake her head before she returned it to the shelf.

And it wasn’t the first time I’d seen a reader choose the bonnet over the motorcycle helmet.

Now, before I go on, let me be clear that I do NOT put down the kind of fiction I just mentioned. I really don't. Most of it is beautifully written and uplifting and encouraging, and it validates our core Christian beliefs. It is obviously great stuff because the bookstores can’t keep the bonnets on the shelves.

  Not so much with the Harley helmets.

When I was writing Unexpected Dismounts, (the second book in the trilogy,) I kept asking God: Y'know, The Reluctant Prophet hasn't sold all that well. To whom shall I speak, then?

Seriously, what if I wrote more comforting books, instead of making people UNcomfortable? There IS a place for books that cheer and soothe us and keep us curled up in a chair by a fire. Why can't I write those, God?

All I get in response is a Nudge -- that isn't what you're called to write.

Fine. But where IS my audience? To whom shall I speak? Because, bottom line, my career as a novelist is over if my books don't sell better than they are right now.

I do have to speak. I feel like Jeremiah in the next verse (6:11) -- and trust me, I don't often feel like Jeremiah! He says, "I am weary of holding it in."

God gives Jeremiah a pretty clear (and thorough!) answer. He goes on for about the whole rest of the chapter, agreeing with Jeremiah. Then, finally, in Chapter 7, God says he'll tell him what to do, how to reach the audience with the message he's given him -- Yes -- drum roll, please!

       "Stand in the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim there this word --" and that word basically is, 'Tell them the church doesn't make them safe.'

Okay, so far so good. That's what I'm doing.

Then God says to Jeremiah (7:27) "You will speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you."

Oh. Wonderful. If no one is going to listen, then why the Sam Hill am I writing it?

And as if that weren't bad enough, God adds, "Cut off your hair and throw it away." Y'know what, I might actually DO that if it would get Unexpected Dismounts into more hands and hearts.

As I continued to move through Jeremiah (all in one sitting -- that's how much I long to know) I did get some answers, and I'm going to spend blog time this week sharing them with you.

And then I'd love to hear what you think.

Meanwhile, if you have a dilemma about to whom YOU are supposed to speak, write, teach or minister to, do share. Because I'm thinking we're all being nudged in the same direction.

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

 

To hold a contest UPDATE

If you were participating in last week's contest, this is your update.  We do not have winners to announce as we didn't make our numbers.  But that will not stop us from giving away books!  That's what we love to do and everyone needs a Nudge regardless.

Here's the new deal.  Everyone who DID spread the word with a "share" on facebook (one done within my original post) or tagged my page in a post (did you know that pages can see this activity? I'ts pretty cool.)  will be entered to win for each activity.  If you are on twitter, each time you used @nnrue or #unexpecteddismounts you will be entered to win.

So, we are giving it ONE MORE DAY TODAY.  Head on over to my facebook page and pick one of my posts to share.  Or, if you prefer to write your own post, just make sure you tag me in it.  Not sure how this works? Just leave your question in the comments below and it will be answered ASAP.

If you prefer to tweet, here are some pre-written tweets to use. Just click on the button next to the tweet you like. 

 I’m reading ch 1 #UnexpectedDismounts http://scr.bi/ch1ud, be nudged by @nnrue.

Need a nudge? Check out @nnrue. She writes, blogs, facebook, gives away books! http://bit.ly/nudge1010 #unexpecteddismounts

@nnrue encourages, challenges, nudges me along.take a peek 4 yourself.http://bit.ly/nudge1010 win a book too! #unexpecteddismounts

 

If you are not here in the US, that's okay! You can still enter to win.  Your prize will be an electronic version of the book for your reader of choice.

Winners will be announced Wednesday before the end of the day.  There will be lots more happening in the coming weeks so if you don't win this time, there will certainly be another chance to do so.

Have fun & be Nudged this week.