God can use your homeschooled children to take back the medium of writing for His glory!
How do I know this? I’ve seen it! And I’ve seen the overwhelming need for good, spiritually solid Christian books to fill the shelves of bookstores all across the nation and all across the world.
When I was about sixteen or seventeen, I was finishing up my sixth or seventh draft of my book, “A Cry From Egypt,” which is now published. I went shopping with my mom one day, and we ended up in a Christian book store. I hurried over to the young adult section, dreaming of the day when my book might be on those shelves. But I was very discouraged. Many of these so-called Christian books didn’t appear to be Christian in the least! They were filled with boys and romance, as well as disrespect to parents. God might be mentioned occasionally, but it was only when the characters were so desperate and far away from God that they would turn back to Him for a few moments. The teenage years are some of the most important and formative years. We shouldn’t be filling boys and girls’ heads with garbage and relationship drama. Instead, we need to be pointing them towards Christ and His Word and His commands.
I realized that there aren’t many excellent books out there for young people that are written with a solidly Christian worldview. They’re either not written well, or are very light and fluffy theologically, or are preachy and the readers can’t relate to the characters and end up being discouraged instead of challenged. My goal in writing became to take back the medium of writing for God’s glory. He’s the one who blessed us with the ability to write and create stories that can captivate the world. Why do we not write books that lead people to Him? Why don’t we write books with heavenly values instead of earthly values?
You may be wondering, “How does this apply to my home-schooled children?” Homeschoolers have some huge advantages when it comes to writing and publishing books. They have the time and creative energy to work on honing their craft. And in many cases, they have a solid Biblical foundation which is what turns a great book into a life-giving book.
It’s amazing the responses I’ve gotten from budding young authors when I talk about writing, and in particular writing for God’s glory. Young adults and teens come up to me after my sessions with some of the most amazing story ideas I’ve ever heard! There’s so much talent and excitement coming from our youth! But there is also something that concerns me. While many young writers are incredible talented, some don’t really have a point to their writing. They may have an amazing plot and characters and a good moral to the story. But their chief end is not to glorify God, but to glorify man. This has truly grieved me. Our Christian young people need to be separated from the world in all areas of life, not conformed to it, especially in writing! There is such a need! It saddens me to see this amazing talent not being channeled in a way that will yield eternal benefits to the world.
At a conference I spoke at in May, I quoted Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” I also read 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether, then, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
How do we encourage our homeschooled young adults to write great stories and books as unto the Lord?
Check back Monday for advice to parents!
Hope Auer is twenty years old and has been writing stories and plays actively since she was ten. She loved writing and telling stories from a very early age. When Hope was thirteen she started writing a short historical fiction book about ancient Egypt. When her family read it, they were impressed and encouraged her to pursue getting the book published. She took their encouragement seriously and continued to work on the book through her high school years. She is also currently working on three more books that will be sequels to her first book, making a four-book series entitled “The Promised Land Series.” The first book, “A Cry From Egypt,” is currently in the publication process.
Address
About TTD
Sign up for Updates
Events
Speakers
Exhibitors
Event Details
Homeschool Tools
Curriculums
Age Groups
Topics
