Hi guys and gals! I’m writing to let you know that I’ve decided to take a short break from publishing the weekly devotional.

I know I just did a short break not that long ago. And I was hoping to continue strong!

So. . . why the break?

Most of you already know that I write books (and do all the publishing nonsense, and write this devotional) in the in-between hours.

I have a day-job, where I work full-time, and I have a young family.

My life, in the past, has at times become fairly unbalanced, because I’ve let work become too all-consuming.

In the last two years, I’ve made a lot of positive changes to get a better balance between work and the rest of life.

My hope has been to be focused first on my personal faithfulness to Christ, and second on being there for my family.

I don’t know why this has been a consistent challenge. But it has.

My family is going through a period of fairly intense suffering, so right now I feel compelled to spend more time with them. And, since I’m not going to quit my full-time job, that means I have to slow down my writing activity.

I think I will still be able to publish Abram, my next full-length novel, in April, because I’m nearly finished. And it’s the longest, and I think the best, book yet. I worked very hard to put much more into this one than into previous books. More research, more depth to the characters, better writing, etc.

As pressures mounted last year, and as they continue to mount in 2021, I’ve been pondering this section of 1 Corinthians a lot, and felt it as a challenge:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Elsewhere, Scripture also tells us:

“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” – 1 Timothy 5:8

Seems to make it clear that being there for your family physically, emotionally, and spiritually, is a big deal. And it makes me feel challenged to do better for my family.

I know that writing can be used powerfully. Yet sometimes I have felt that the enormous amount of hours I’ve had to pour into it have included a bit of “boxing the air.”

Sometimes, there are just more important responsibilities.

The work we do to help those we don’t know matters greatly.

But if we abandon our families when they are in need, or shirk our responsibility to them, what does that say of us?

What does that say of Christ?

PRAYER

Lord, give us wisdom to know how to live in a way that honors and pleases you. Don’t let us find ourselves disqualified at the end of the race! Instead, lead us by your Spirit. Give us clarity, by your Word, and give us the strength to faithfully obey your commands and advice. Amen.