In this episode you get to meet my husband, CJ. He shares encouragement with you to share your story for God’s glory. This was the opening talk of our full day writing seminar we recently gave at our home church, Calvary Worship Center, and I thought it would encourage you as well!
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In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- How the Washington Monument relates to writing
- Encouragement to write the book God has placed in your heart
- And more!
Enjoy the podcast! It’s my hope that these episodes are bringing you one step closer to reaching more people with your message.
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Godly Gain Segment:
Each week, I share a Godly Gain segment for entrepreneurs who want to keep Christ at the center of their business.
Today’s scripture: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” – Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
Thanks for listening!
You ROCK! I appreciate everyone of my podcast listeners. If you have a specific question for me, submit it here: www.shelleyhitz.com/ask
“Even the weakest light can hold back the darkness.” – Unknown
It’s time to let your light SHINE!
Can’t listen right now? Read the transcript below:
Today I’m rolling out the red carpet and introducing you to my husband CJ Hitz. Hey CJ.
CJ. Hey there.
SHELLEY. I’m so excited, he agreed to come on to this episode and share a message that he opened our writing seminar, this weekend, with. We hosted and helped lead a writing seminar at our church this last weekend, Cavalry Worship Center. WE are so thankful to Norma Pittman and the women’s ministry for sponsoring the event. There was over 50 people that came, and it was just an amazing time. I really wanted CJ to share the message that he opened with; your story for God’s glory with you in this podcast. I believe you have a God given message to share with the world, the question is, are you ready to shine?
Alright CJ, I’ll let you take over for this week’s Center Stage Spotlight training.
CJ. Alright, thanks Shelley. Many of us are familiar with the Washington Monument, and many of us have even visited there. The Washington Monument was actually completed in December of 1884; many doubted it would actually ever be completed. Construction began in 1848 and continued until 1856 when efforts ground to a halt due to finances and an unstable future. The unfinished obelisk stood for two decades as an eyesore, even Mark Twain mocked it saying it was, “a factory chimney with the top broken off.” In 1876 the army corp of engineers picked up the project and continued the work for about 8 years. The country had just turned 100 years old and President Ulysses S. Grant freed federal funds to finish what had been started decades earlier. When finished this disgrace of a monument became a 555 ft gleaming beacon of American pride and ingenuity.
This back-story is largely forgotten, but a reminder exists for all to see. The stone at the base and up about 1/3 of the structure is a different color. Visitors can see a line that distinguishes the earlier work from the later construction, and I encourage you to actually Google Washington Monument and look at some pictures. You will notice very distinctly the different colored stones that are in the construction.
SHELLEY. I actually didn’t know that was part of the story, and when you showed the picture it was like, “oh, yeah, now I see it!”
CJ. I think we can all agree that 20 years is a long time to leave business unfinished. Many of us writers can draw a comparison to our own creative construction. Many authors, maybe most authors, have unfinished manuscripts sitting around. A project that started off with great intentions, but has been put into a drawer, like old socks. Some of the reasons? Maybe one might be the initial enthusiasm’s been lost, life getting in the way, getting cold feet, sometimes an idea just doesn’t fit anymore, sort of like the jeans hanging in the corner of our closet. Well, guess what? We need to all realize this is all normal. It’s not unusual for creative folks to start, but not finish, a project. Even Leonardo da Vinci had a few works he gave up on.
Just as a side not, I’m really thankful that our Creator isn’t finished with us. Philippians 1:6 says, “he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it to the day of Christ Jesus.” In Matthew 25:13-30, and I won’t’ read the whole story, but many of us are familiar with the parable of the talents, or as some translations render it, the three servants. This is a serious story that really brings conviction to me. Many times I can relate to the third servant who basically hid what he was given instead of going out and making the most with what the owner actually gave him.
In verse 25 we actually read specifically that, that servant said, “I was afraid, so I hid it.” Essentially, he was afraid of his master, and he hid it. How many of us can relate at times? I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to hide under the covers. As in the parable, we’re not to hide, but be a light and shine the gifts we’ve been given. So, why do we write as Christians? Some of the reasons might be to glorify God, to use our gifts and talents, to reach more people with this life changing message. There’s a myriad of reasons that we write, but Matthew 5:14-16 says this: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” So why do we let our good deed shine? To praise our heavenly Father, and also to be able to use, and glorify, God with what we’ve been given.
Our deeds, or works, is the Greek word ergon, which translates to—and I’ll give you a couple different renderings of the translation—but one of those is “business; employment; that which anyone is occupied.” Another is “that which one undertakes to do; enterprise; undertaking.” Yet another is, “an act; deed; thing done.” The idea of working is emphasized in opposite to that which is less than work. It’s this fourth rendering that I really want to highlight, and it says this, “any product, whatever; anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind.” Guess what folks, that includes your writing and my writing.
Back to our Washington Monument illustration, what unfinished business do you have that God’s placed on your heart? Is it time for you to revisit an idea that you had? Perhaps dust off those sample chapters you wrote and take another look? With time you may be able to see some things you couldn’t before. Many of us realize that timing really is everything. A mediocre idea can age into a great concept with God’s help. Don’t let the idea sit for 20 years, like the Washington Monument did; an idea, like wine, can age to perfection. Of course, like wine, it can turn to vinegar. A bad idea is just a bad idea, and many of us have had those, but you won’t know until you give it another look. So, I encourage you to ask the Lord to give you fresh eyes to see your ideas through his lens. He’ll give you wisdom on what to finish for his glory.
There will be obstacles, there will be fear, and possibly a spiritual battle too. So, find a group of people who might be willing to pray for you on a regular basis, because this is going to be a team of people that have your back during those spiritual battles. So, prepare yourselves to go from procrastination to publication.
SHELLEY. I love that, and I always like to end with a take action tip, and I think it’s a really good tip, what do you think? The take action tip can be that they find someone to be praying for them.
CJ. Oh definitely, a person or two, even if they don’t pray for you every single day they’re willing to be right there in your corner when you call upon them. If you’re going to go and do some writing in a coffee shop, or somewhere else, you specifically ask them, “hey can you be praying for me during this stretch here? I’m going to actually be writing and I know there’s going to be a spiritual battle.”
SHELLEY. yeah, I think that’s key. I like what you said there, when you know you’re going to be writing, or you know you’re going to be working on the book, to ask for prayer during that time. There’s a person in our church, she has traveled around the world, Ruth, telling people and encouraging them to for prayer teams for their ministries. I think, as a Christian author, it’s just as important because you’re putting the gospel out there, you’re putting things out there, that the enemy would want to stop. I think that’s a great take action tip.
Those of you that are listening, I also encourage you to go and get the transcript and all the show notes from today. You can get them from AuthorAudience.com/30. I’m so excited that you’ve had a chance to meet my husband CJ. He’s going to start becoming more of a part of the things that we’re doing in our business, and his zone of genius, he is a genius with words, so almost all of the really good titles and branding, and things that come out of our business, are his genius. He’s going to be doing things in his strengths. I hope that you’ll come back on more often.
CJ. I think you’ll be able to talk me into it.
SHELLEY. I just want to end now with the Godly Gain Segment. I want to give you a backstage pass in this week’s Godly Gain Segment, which is all about keeping Christ in the center of all we do. In the end I believe it’s not about us, it’s about Him. So I’m going to have CJ share the verse that he shared again earlier, and share just this as our Godly Gain Segment.
CJ. So again, Matthew 5:14-16 says: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
SHELLEY. Last year I felt like God had given these verses to be the theme of our business, letting your light shine. You hear that, I talk about it on this podcast a lot, but it’s worth repeating, it’s worth encouraging you again to step out and let your light shine. We’re so excited to hear from you, ways that God is working in you, and ways that you’re sharing your story for His glory.
It’s my hope, and my goal that these episodes are bringing you one step closer to being able to shine, and reach more people with your message. If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, and gotten any value, would you just take 30 seconds and write a review on iTunes? It helps us reach even more people, and to really just spread this message of publishing, writing, and marketing, and just growing your business and ministry. We appreciate you, thank you so much for joining us, we know that you’re time is valuable and we just appreciate you so much. Thanks CJ for joining me.
CJ. You bet, my pleasure.
SHELLEY. And I’ll see you next time
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