Today I want to share part of a faith journey I am on.
It’s not about singing or ghost writing or mothering or anything I have done much before. I guess that’s why it is employing my faith muscles!

I am currently writing a children’s NOVEL. In fact, I’m actually finished and just working on the edit now. This is an exciting thing for me because to be honest it’s something that has always been in the back of mind.

I believe that God nudged me towards thinking more intentionally about this last November.
A number of different things happened that caused it to become higher and higher on my list of priorities.
I had to banish negative thoughts that came my way.
Thoughts like… A children’s novel? That’s not exactly world changing!
Thoughts like… You could be praying with people in the time you are going to need to write this!

But I am learning not to listen to those kind of thoughts as I don’t believe they are from God, about God or glorifying to God.

So what happened to bring me to this stage?

A number of “God incidences”, I guess.

One evening I sat down and turned the TV on (a pretty rare occurrence for me) and a film was about to start. This never happens to me. I always turn something on half way through!
The film was “Miss Potter” about the life of Beatrix Potter – the children’s author whose stories were the one of the seminal soundtracks to my own childhood.

As I watched the film, I struggled to hold back the waves of tears. I was so moved that this lady managed to publish her wonderful books, against all the odds. She had no encouragement to speak of (at least, the way the film portrayed her life) and was even told she was wasting her time. By her own mother.

I don’t have a mother on earth anymore. But when I did, she always told me I was capable of anything I put my heart and soul into. She fully believed in me. I praise God for that heritage which still helps me now.

Miss Potter’s mother was ashamed of her daughter’s preoccupation with small pets and children’s pursuits.
She just wanted her to get married to someone respectable and have a nice house in London.

But Beatrix had invented a make believe world and had to share it with the real world. Fortunately, she found someone willing to publish her works and she was soon a very wealthy lady indeed.
She used her wealth to buy and protect farmland in the beautiful Lake District.

I see a lot to admire there.

She created beauty and used the proceeds to protect beauty. What a wonderful legacy!

I went away on retreat a few days after seeing the film and prayed into the feelings that it had sparked in me.

A few days later it was my birthday. My Dad posted a present through my letterbox. It was a wrapped DVD.
As I tore off the paper, I burst into tears. It was “Miss Potter.”

He had also written a beautiful card. And so had his wife. They had taken time to write out words of life and encouragement over me.

It was an emotional few minutes reading their words.
It felt like a SIGN.

The next thing that happened is that our friends Zoe and Anthony came for dinner. Zoe is very gifted with prophetic dreams that foretell and invite people into a faithful led adventure.
She had forgotten her dream about me. But Anthony hadn’t.
He reminded her to tell me her dream.
She said something like this;
“I don’t know if this makes any sense to you, but you were on a train – it looked like a cartoon version of Thomas the Tank engine. You were showing me the world out of the windows. You were excited and you talked about everything you could see and explained it to me. There were planets and stars I had never seen. It was like a new world and was incredibly vivid. You were very excited.”

I was flabbergasted. The link to children’s writing was SO clear and so encouraging.
I got a bit teary- again!

Then one of our dear family friends was called home to be with Jesus. At her Thanksgiving, I met her brother- in- law. He spoke to me in such incredible language. He said:
“Whoever draws the pictures for this book will have gone through a great measure of healing, that will be translated into the book.”

I was pretty stunned. I have never met this man before. He then suddenly broke into prayer over me and asked God to miraculously provide the right person to work with.

Then a friend who hears from God clearly texted me and said she had a dream about me being pregnant. This was her text:

“Morning Ems, I woke at about 3.30 last night and I had been having a dream. Lots of the detail had gone but the things that stood out were this; the church were away somewhere together and I think it was Ivy Fest. I was busy doing something and you walked up and I looked up at you and you were really strong and healthy looking. Very toned but not muscly. I told you how healthy you looked and you excitedly told me you were pregnant. I asked how you felt and you said because you were so healthy you felt amazing, and I gave you a big hug.
I’m not sure if that makes any sense to you, but I know being pregnant means that something new is coming. Like a job or gifting or idea.”

I was filled with a bit more fuel for the journey.

I can’t tell you the next bit of the story because it is being played out in the next couple of days!!! But let’s just say that it’s flipping exciting!

I write this boast in the Lord! He is amazingly detailed in how he speaks to us. He is incredibly aware of what our reactions will be to which encouragement. He knows WHO we need to bless us on our journey and he places those people in our paths. At just the right time.

Lord Jesus, I pray for people reading this now to receive a NOW word from you that impacts them and helps with the stage of the pathway that they are on. I ask that you would bless them with faith to continue when it is hard and to believe that you are doing them good right now. I ask that you would open up doorways over them that no man can shut and that you would be the lifter of their heads.
Amen

Here’s to the next chapter of your life and mine! Literally.