Write Right

The Writing Life

faith

To Whatever End

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Cottonwood Canyon, Oregon State Park.But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

“Where you die, I will die, and their I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

Ruth 1:16–7, New American Standard Bible

I believe the phrase “to whatever end” finds its most popular use in a young adult fantasy series. It isn’t one I’ve read, so the words stick with me for a reason other than literature. For me, the words resonate because of where I currently reside, physically and spiritually.

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Book Review: The Original Storyteller

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Journal and pen with a burning candle.Robert Carnes’ devotional The Original Storyteller: Become a Better Storyteller in 30 Days states its intended purpose outright. It is a guide meant to aid writers in both their craft and faith. “Writers” in this case largely refers to novelists and memoirists; the series of devotions focus on matters especially pertinent to them: character development, thematic motifs, foreshadowing, et cetera.

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With Heart Abandoned

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Heart-shaped Christmas ornament.I’ll stand

With arms high

And heart abandoned,

In awe of the One

Who gave it all.

—from The Stand, Hillsong United

I recently read a devotional that said encountering Jesus’ love prompts people to whisper promises and make vows. The idea isn’t wrong, and yet, it seems somehow incomplete. When I read the Bible, I discover people who encounter God and abandon everything in response.

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God is So Good

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Woman paddleboarding on Bear Lake.God is so good,

God is so good,

God is so good,

He’s so good to me!

— Children’s Gospel Song

I tend toward worry and fighting. If I get stuck, I battle my way out. When worry arises, I create to-do lists and action plans. Sometimes, though, I find myself in a corner that I can’t get out of. No strategy and no amount of scrapping will grant escape. I’m trapped.

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I Want to be Useful

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I Want to be Useful — Write Right“Here am I. Send me!” — Isaiah 6:8

I tend to associate Isaiah’s words with the people who go—the people who move overseas and share the gospel in unreached parts of the world. And yet, his words find a home in my heart, too. More and more often these days, my heart cries, “I want to be useful. Use me, God!”

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