novel

Journeys vary in length! Duh. Everyone knows that! But this particular journey took eight years. I’ll never forget how it started. My friend asked me, “What’s stopping you?” After much thought, I answered his question the following week. “Fear!”

Fear paralysis a lot of people before their journey actually starts sometimes, and that is sad. There is greater joy in overcoming than in feeling scared. The other thing I had to overcome on this journey was when someone extremely close to me asked, “What makes you think you’re a…” It hurt, a lot, and I almost believed them I wasn’t. Then, God put in front of me a wise, spiritual man who simply said, “Mark, you are.” And those words I did believe, and so my journey took off. I went from baby steps to running.

I came up with lots of excuses why my journey was taking so long. I stumbled when another person’s own hurts and past were projected onto me. This person should have supported me and guided me while setting their own issues aside. I understand, now, but back then, I didn’t. I did stop the journey for two months, and blamed them. Then God got tired of me feeling bad for myself, and whispered, “Mark, no one can finish this, but you. Because I gave it to you to do.” I heard him, and started my journey again.

My journey is getting longer and taking on more of an influence, but one key part of it is ending Tomorrow, March 03, by 7:00 P.M. My first novel, Kill The Preacher Man is being delivered. I am beyond excited.

This blog is being written on March 02, but it won’t post until March 18^th, which happens to be part of that growing influence. When you read this, I will be in the middle of hosting my first writer’s conference with my business partner. I hope by the end of it I too will have been used of God to empower someone else on a journey, to believe they’re a writer.

You can check out the book at bradymarka.com/books

“No! I won’t allow it,” said the editor of my novel, “Kill the Preacher Man”. (Not yet published.) “I write romance novels, and love doesn’t happen that fast,” she went on to say. I considered her chastising comments and thought, I’m not writing a romance novel! Besides, over my many years, I have heard several stories where one, or the other of a married couple knew early on they had met their mate. I myself have fallen in love with a woman at first sight. Twice! The second one, I married.

My current wife, I first saw a postage size photo of her, and said, “Wow! Who is that?” I wanted to click on her profile first and find out more about her. I know now, what I saw that Friday afternoon, was the love of God in her. I have written about it before in a post titled, “The April Affect”. God’s love is so strong in her that people who have never met her are attracted to her. Especially children.

So if it is possible to fall in love with someone at first sight, then shouldn’t it be possible to fall in love with God at first sight? After all, we are made in his image. Now not everyone acts like God, but that’s the individual’s fault, not Gods.

Yes, there are some that are crazy about God right after they meet him. They accept his free gift of salvation and feel instant relief from the burden of sin, and they go around telling everybody about their new love.

For others, it seems as if their love of God grows as the relationship grows. As they learn, or discover the benefits of being in a relationship with God they appreciate and their love for him grows.

A popular church proclaims, “For whoever finds God, finds life.” I like to say, “For whoever finds God, finds love.”