Word Praize

Delay is Not Denial

"Delay is not denial," my agent said as she assured me that she had not forgotten my manuscript or me. It had been three LONG months since the work was finished, and I ached for publication details. Almost seven months later, her words were more than a haunting hope. They reminded that in God's time, not mine, more will be revealed.

The delay taught me to walk by faith and not by natural sight. Therefore, with the eyes of my faith, I saw the book. I felt the raised letters of the title spanned across the glossy cover. I smelled the fresh-inked pages. I saw myself at the podium of a packed auditorium as I read from sections book marked with neon-pink Post-its peeping over the pages. I experienced the "not yet" as if it already "was." Perhaps spiritual vision is sharpened in the delay.

After we have done our part, we turn all else over to God and stand on His promises while we wait for the results that He alone can orchestrate. His Word reminds us, "... though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely
come."

In this moment, perhaps God is saying to us: "Don't run ahead of me. I AM the Author and the Finisher of your faith. I AM in your past, present and future. My timing is always perfect. In the meantime, trust me and go on to the next thing of your life. When you least expect, I will reveal my perfect will that is immeasurably more than you could ever ask, think or imagine--Creator-made--just for you. Don't curse the delay! I reside in the delay."

Prayer: Father God, we acknowledge that you are still on the Throne. It is you who go before, with and ahead-working together all things for the good of us who love you and are called according to your purpose. Today, we cast our feeble efforts and looming anxieties at the foot of your Throne. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. So be it!

© 2006 Stanice Anderson,Inspirational Speaker and Author www.stanice.com, listen and subcribe to my new podcast, Faith Lift(tm).  Also visit me on MySpace at www.myspace.com/isayaprayerforme - add me as your "friend."

HOW DID GOD MEET YOU WITHIN THE WORDS?
CAN YOU RELATE?  HOW?  SPECIFICS?

Resurrected Dreams

My passion for writing started a long time ago. I recall being eight years old and writing on the walls (in pencil, of course), toilet paper, notebooks, and anything else that was capable of holding the perpetual flow of words that cascaded from my brain. My first poem, “Beltsville Farm,” was published in the school magazine when I was nine. However, I never believed that what I wrote was good. Other people said, “Stanice, this is wonderful.” Teachers graded my efforts with a circled red letter A. But in my mind, I saw an underlined black letter, U, because everything I wrote appeared to me to be unsatisfactory.

 

 The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout.

 

 In my teen years and into my early twenties, I wrote poetry, love letters, journal entries, and stories. My writing changed as I changed. After I was raped at fourteen years old, everything I wrote became dim and grim tales of unrequited love, pain-filled poems, and the sun-in-shining-but-my-heart-is-dark stories. As my life became an endless string of drug-induced stupors, the writing turned into incoherent pieces of myself lot in a spiral of marijuana smoke that either escaped through my cocaine-encrusted nostrils, or plunged out of a hypodermic needle filed with heroin and the blood of my soul.

 

 Down came the rain and washed the spider out.

 

 In my thirties, some of my friends died from overdoses and gunshot wounds, but God spared me. Maybe because I was the weakest and most foolish.

 

 Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

 

 In my forties, writing found me again. It helped shatter the chains of my painful and shameful past. Words fed my starving spirit and soothed my aching life. In spite of the fact that I abandoned the words and left them to die by the side of the road, they waited for me at the crossroads of life to point the way, “Just believe!” they insisted, “that we and you are one.”

 

 The itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

 

 I believed, and thus took the first step toward life. A resurrected life filled with resurrected dreams.

 

 Today I write because God has turned all my hurts into joys. I want God to get as much glory as supernaturally possible out of this life He so graciously spared. I write for others, who like me need encouragement and inspiration to press their way toward seeking God’s purpose for their lives and developing the personal and intimate relationship with Him that is needed to fulfill the vision that He grants.

 

 I write because I am free from the bondage of addiction. And to show that deliverance from and healing of the festering wounds that ooze into our todays and douse the hope of our tomorrows is possible. I write to celebrate the triumph of good over evil; understanding that even though Satan meant to kill me, God did not allow it. I also write because God promises He will turn all things—every experience of my life—around for the good of those that love Him.

 

 I write because I applied the story about… *

(*due to space restraints to read the rest of the story, Resurrected Dreams, in my book, I Say A Prayer For Me)

 

© 2002 by Stanice Anderson, Excerpt from I Say A Prayer For Me: One Woman’s Life of Faith and Triumph published by Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books)

************  Sign up today *********

Saturday, October 21, 2006 in Washington, DC Metro Area

10:00 am to noon
I Say A Prayer For Me: THE WORKSHOP

at Charles Houston Recreation Center
901 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA
or go to http://www.stanice.com/talk_topics_workshop.html

Q&A: Writers Write by Stanice Anderson

From my Question & Answer Column: Writers Write

Do you do anything to encourage aspiring authors? What advice do you have for would-be authors?

Stanice: Yes. My website at www.stanice.com, lists online writer resource links, as well as a Q&A column. During book signings and talks, parents introduce me to bring their budding writer children; I take a few minutes to encourage them, as people, through the years, have encouraged me. I also showcase the work of aspiring writers, on my blog, Stanice's Open Mic. For people I know or someon who exhibits writing potential, I try to give them little presents that will encourage them to write and/or acknowledge them as a writer, i.e., pens, journals; books on the craft of writing, writer magazine subscriptions.

Additional advice to would-be authors, "We can talk like we are writers; but we must write to be writers." The Paradigm that I've learn to live by "If the desire to write is not accompanied by the act of writing then the desire is not to write."

"Prayer and hard work. Daily surrender your gift of writing to God and hone your writing skills by learning the craft of writing and exercise what you learn in your writing. I use the words of an old hymn, as my prayer. "Have your own way Lord, Have your own way. You are the potter. I am the clay. Make me and mold me into your will while I am waiting, yielded and still."

Perseverance, honesty, and humility reap rewards.

Subscribe to magazines like, The Writer, Writer's Journal, Writer's Digest, and/or Poets and Writers Magazines. Also, to learn about the business of writing, subscribe or read free publishing industry news like, Publishers Lunch, Publishers Weekly free emails.

To get an insider's view of the wonderful world of publishing, ask a seasoned writer questions and humbly follow the advice given. No one can help you if you act like you know everything --- dummy-up and get all the help that you need.

(c) 2006 Stanice Anderson, www.stanice.com - More than a website, it's an inspirational experience

Counting the Cost - Stanice Anderson

The cost of writing and the publication of my memoir, I Say A Prayer for Me: One Woman's Life of Faith and Triumph?

I lost what little was left of the volatile relationships with my mother and brother. Both abhor the mention of my name. It is my understanding that most others in my family, whisper, “I’d rather not talk about it. You got to read it for yourself.”

Perhaps the only thing that spared my relationship with my dad was his death before the book’s conception.

If given the opportunity by some freak of the cosmos to slurp back every word in a warp-speed rewind into nothingness, would I?

Emphatically, “No.” I have no doubt that God predestined me to survive and thrive everything that I lived through thus far in order to write every word written and left yet to write. As well as, promised to meet every reader within the pages long before any of the manuscripts are completed.

The lesson in writing and the publication of my memoir, I Say A Prayer for Me?  God's word says it best..."Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22)  I rested from my written work, embraced the ministry that the Lord entrusted to my care, and made a decision to trust God in all things.

© 2006-2004, Stanice Anderson, www.stanice.com

AFTERWORD: Since writing this piece that was posted on my blog, Soul Shout, November 2, 2004, God restored what the locust ate.  2006 revealed a loving relationship with my mother steadily growing from the God-enabled seeds of forgiveness--once for all.  We are blessed among women, indeed.  I thank God who is faithful and grants us the desires of our hearts.  And now, I'm trusting God with my relationship with my brother.

THE TESTIMONY - Stanice Anderson

Hello Chosen Ones:

THE TESTIMONY (a 4-min. video) is my offering for July’s Word Praize. I pray that God continues to use my testimony to get as much glory as possible out of this life that He so graciously spared.

This is the Word that undergirds the writing and speaking ministry entrusted to me:

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” Revelation 12:11 (NIV)

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11-14

God is blessing us, right now! He's already assigned people to read, see, and hear this multimedia message of hope. Should you feel led, please pass it on.

If you're unable to access the video using the link above, cut and paste the link below onto your browser:
http://www.stanice.com/video/THE.TESTIMONY.stanice.anderson1.wmv

Love,

© 2006, Stanice Anderson, www.stanice.com

PS: A loving thank you to the New Life Bible Church family in Fayetteville, NC for hosting me and providing the video of which THE TESTIMONY is an excerpt.

A Seed and A Prayer by Stanice Anderson

Looking back, I believe the seed for I Say a Prayer for Me: One Woman’s Life of Faith and Triumph published in hardcover in November 2002 and trade paperback in October 2003 by Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books was planted on a cool, dry September evening in 1998. Discouraged and perplexed, I called a childhood friend and confessed, “I pour my heart into the stories I write and all I get back are letters from editors saying how powerful my stories are and yet they reject them. If my stories are so good, why won’t the Lord allow magazines to publish them?”

My friend’s words were like cool well water on a hot and dusty day. I felt myself refreshed and revived with every word she spoke, so I grabbed a pen and took notes. With authority—she spoke and with great abandon—I listened:

• “The stories you wrote have not found homes because they ARE a book—it’s all one story. • God WILL use your writing to free people up—but He will use this process to free you up first. You cannot free anyone else until you are free.” By faith, I received those words as if from the mouth of God. So, I prayerfully typed the notes and filed them away.

In August 1999, I felt led to encourage friends. Thus began my daily email series, FOOD FOR THE SPIRIT.

The response? “Why are you sending us other folks’ stuff? You are an author now. We want to hear what YOU have to say!”

Although taunted by insecurities, I sat at my computer, prayed and typed, “Show me, Lord.” Within a few minutes, my creative juices were flowing and I followed my memories like colorized movies projected on a theater screen. The next day I e-mailed an original life-story to 16 friends.

By the week’s end, wonderful responses began pouring in from people all over the world. Seeing how God was using what I wrote fueled me to keep writing.

As the writing of each story neared its’ end, it felt like I was dancing in a vast, freshly-cut field. With my head to the sky, I basked in the warmth of God’s light as it healed the old and newly broken places in my life and heart. It was like dancing—undisturbed—on Holy Ground.

Then, a need to pray came over me and with eyes closed I heavy-handedly tapped out the prayers on the keyboard. The prayers became a vital part of the story—as did the verses from the Bible. Together they were a kind of adhesive that sealed the freshly written stories.

Soon my son and friends proclaimed, “THESE STORIES that you write ARE your NEXT BOOK!”

“Yeah, sho’ you right.” My unrelenting insecurities vied to keep the truth from me. But in the stillness of the night, the Lord impressed upon my heart that it was so. This was to be the book that was prophesized through my friend, on a cool, dry and desperate night in September 1998.

© 2006 Stanice Anderson, www.stanice.com,  Blogs: Soul Shout www.soulshout.blogspot.com, Stanice’s Open Mic (featuring YOUR talents and testimonies) www.staniceopenmic.blogspot.com, For speaking engagements and I Say A Prayer For Me: The WORKSHOP,  contact stanice@stanice.com.

God says...

Food for the Spirit: God Says...

There is a promise of God in the Bible that I’ve held onto like it was a lifesaving buoy in the swollen wind-tossed seas of my life.

I’ve been jobless, one pay check from homeless, abandoned by my father, mother, and brother; lost loved ones to AIDS and Cancer, gunshots, and mental illness. I've been separated by miles and resentments from friends, and for many years without a vision for my life. I’ve bled for months at a time while doctors tried to keep me alive until my health insurance kicked in and they could operate. Two husbands abandoned me and one was so abusive that I had the sheriff take him away. The good I want to do—I, often, don’t do and what I don’t want to do—I, often, do.

Yet—through it all the Holy Spirit quickened God’s promise of Jeremiah 29:11-13 from my memory to the forefront of my mind and spilled it into my daily living. “God says, ‘I alone know the plans that I have for your life, plans for prosperity and not disaster to give you a future and a hope.’” This Word compels me to look up and away from my sometimes overwhelming circumstances and keep my mind and heart locked on the hope that permeates every word.

When I wanted to quit—I could not. When I wanted to give up—I dared not. When I laid dusty and tired by the side of the road and wanted with all that was left in me to go home and be with My Jesus—because real life on earth got so hard—I cried out—hands held high to the cloudless blue sky—believing for some strange reason that it was not my time to die. Only God could have poured that belief into me, stirred it around in my soul, and charged to my rescue with His full regimen of ministering angels. What appeared to be my last stand—became one of my greatest stands. A stand against the enemy that sought to torment my soul and seeks—to this day—to kill, steal, and destroy my faith and thwart the purposes of God for my life. That is the enemy of my soul’s job.

But what surges through my spirit at the moments that I tap into the power of God, are the words and music of that old song Rev. James Cleveland sang with his deep and raspy voice, “I don’t feel no ways tired. I’ve come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me the road would be easy. I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.”

Perhaps it appears dark in your life today. The shadows of emotional pain, bills, deferred dreams and dashed hopes are falling down around you trying to crush your spirit. It feels like your weeping will never end and that your joy-in-the-morning-time will never come. But don’t listen to lies. All the promises that the Living God of the Bible makes—He never breaks.

Instead, take up the lamp of God—His Holy Word—and walk in His light that chases the darkness from your path. In His presence darkness fades. Listen with all your heart, linger in God’s presence, and let His promises permeate your soul and ignite your spirit to soar above the circumstances—what it looks like and what it feels like—to what it all is—IN HIS HANDS. Promises that the Living God of the Bible makes—He never breaks.

Find comfort and courage for the journey in knowing that the Maker of the Universe and everything in it—loves you like you are the only one He has to love.

Now, shall we go to the Throne of God together?

Dear Heavenly Father:
We come to you today knowing that you love hearing from your children. We want to say that we love and adore you, worship and praise you because you alone are worthy. Thank you for your Word Lord which comforts us, instructs us, reminds us that you know all things and that you are orchestrating our lives in such a way that everything we need to have, see, and be rests in You to make available to us. How wonderful it is to know that even before we were born, you already had plans for our lives—to give us a future and a hope. We surrender to the magnificent thoughts that are cocooned in your limitless love for us—straining for us to believe. As your Word seeps through, soaks, and anoints our soul and spirit, we are being renewed, darkness is fading, and hope gushes forth like oil from a freshly tapped well. For this and all things, we thank you. Amen. So be it!

© 2006, Stanice Anderson, Speaker & Author, I Say A Prayer For Me: One Woman's Life of Faith and Triumph, Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books,  www.stanice.com

Stanice On Writing

I’ve been writing since I learned how to construct a sentence. One of my poems was published in school magazine when I was nine years old. It seemed like, in the millisecond, my happy childhood ended, as the verbal and physical abuse at home escalated. Coupled with being raped at 14 years old, I was emotionally silenced and sequestered by the secrets. I remember making a vow to myself—“No one must ever know.” Therefore, the written word became my saving-grace.

As I grew older, I attempted to show the world a well-adjusted, funny, and extraverted woman. It was only in my writing that my real voice could be heard. It dared to whisper a different story. Words befriended me, flowed from my soul, and spilled onto thousands of pages over the years. However, as if by tried by a jury with my warped sense of self as foreman, most of my pieces were sentenced to life in file folders neatly stacked in corrugated boxes and exiled to the backside of closets.

Resurrected Dreams, one of the stories in my memoir, I Say a Prayer For Me: One Woman’s Life of Faith and Triumph, best describes my relationship with the written word.

“Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. In my forties, writing found me again. It helped shatter the chains of my painful and shameful past. Words fed my starving spirit and soothed my aching life. In spite of the fact that I abandoned the words and left them to die by the side of the road, they waited for me at the crossroads of life to point the way, ‘Just believe!’ they insisted that we and you are one.’ The itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.”

As an exercise of my belief, I send my words out into the world.

© 2006 Stanice Anderson, Author and Inspirational Speaker, www.stanice.com

The Journey Begins

So the journey begins. I Say A Prayer For Me: The One Woman Show. The script is complete now..
Show me, Lord.

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. (New International Version)

Soloman learned that truth--sealed in his heart by the finger of God--and recorded for all time so that we can receive the wisdom it contains--if we so choose.

And so, I chose to apply this truth--even to my books, my plays, my life....  Unless the LORD builds this one woman show, I build in vain.

What is it for you?  You fill in the blank. "Unless the LORD builds this _________, I build in vain."   And if you are seeking God's face for that thing -- STILL apply the principle to your "not yet."  "Unless the LORD builds A VISION for My life, I build in vain."  And then whether you know or don't know, fall to your knees and humbly say, "Lord, show me and make it so plain that even I will understand."

Lord God Almighty, we look to YOU for everything we need to do what we believe You birthed us to do. Continue to order our steps, grant us favor with You, people, and institutions. Grant us Your wisdom and patience. Build this ______, Father.  Help us to let our light so shine among men, women, and children that they may see our good works and glorify YOU.  Provide everything we need to realize the vision including the faith that we will need to press our way through whatever obstacles may arise.  More than anything, we want YOUR perfect will to be done in this and every area of our lives.  We ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen. So be it.  So it is!

I love you--sight seen and unseen.  And I hope to chat with you again next month.  In the meantime, God is blessing you, right now.

© 2006, Stanice Anderson, Inspirational Speaker and Author, I Say A Prayer For Me: One Woman's Life of Faith and Triumph (Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books) www.stanice.com
My Blogs: Soul Shout   -- Stanice's Open Mic  --  Journey to Stanice's One Woman Show

The Simple Truth vs. A Million Little Pieces and Oprah

As a memoirist, I must recount the simple truth. Mine is not to spin some tale woven from tattered and fabricated lives.

I must recount the simple truth with myself as the core of the apple eaten in my own Eden and with God as the vine on which it grows.

The simple truth, wrapped in moments I actually lived, and I am to rely on those moments to speak universal truth into your life. Thus, it gives both you and me clarity and purpose.

The simple truth sequestered in my mind until birthed onto pages and allowed to flourish and bear fruit in the light of day.

Truth is THE essence and not a by-product strained from lies.

It is not the Oprahs or the New York Times bestseller lists that we’re to seek, fear, or allow to define us—but God—only God.

It is our responsibility to tell the simple truth and nothing but the truth—so help us, God.

’Tis a sacred trust of which each of us will stand alone and accountable before God—on some preordained day.

As memoirists, we’d do well to etch Galatians 1:10 into our hearts, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (New International Version)

© 2006, Stanice Anderson, Inspirational Speaker, Writer/Book Coach, and Author of I Say A Prayer For Me: One Woman’s Life of Faith and Triumph, Walk Worthy Press/ Warner Books, www.stanice.com