West Coast Christian Writers Conference

Hello All,

God is good! I had an epic time at the West Coast Christian Writers Conference in February. I met Christian writers from all over the globe. The Key note speakers were inspiring, and the classes gave me the boost of encouragement I needed to continue writing.  If you have not been to a Writers conference I recommend this conference. It was in fact my first writer’s conference, and I was not disappointed. The cost was affordable (I took advantage of the early bird special) and the atmosphere was Christ centered.

There were two key-note speakers, Michele Cushatt and Tosca Lee. Both are authors and public speakers. Michele’s testimony and life experience touched and inspired me to move past the disappointments of life, and cling to the promises that God has given us. He will be with us no matter what we go through. He is our strength, and He is our hope. Her web site is www.michelecushatt.com. I encourage you to visit her site. Michele spoke at the closing segment. She used Moses to illustrate how God sets people apart for specific things to do and prepares them for those jobs

At the end of her presentation she had us take our shoes off and visualize that we are standing on Holy Ground. The world desperately needs to know there is a mighty God who loves them and we must get the message out. Each of our feet and the legs that support us represent Gods Presence and Gods Purpose. She focused on the burning bush and how it was full of fire but not consumed, when we walk in Gods purpose and presence we will not be consumed.

Tosca Lee is a New York Times best seller. She has co-authored several books with Ted Dekker. Her web site is toscalee.com. She writes very interesting books with titles like, Demon, Iscariot, and the Progeny. As of yet I have not read her books. I plan on starting with her first book entitled Havah, the story of Eve. I read the teaser on Amazon, her writing is what you would expect from a NYT best seller. I am not sure this is her first book, but I believe it to be one of her earlier works. One take-away for me is the things in our life that set us apart from others and may even be considered as weird are actually our Super-Powers.  We should embrace the differences in our life and capitalize on them. She gives three cautions that come with our super powers:

1.       You shall not covet someone else’s super powers

2.       Own your super power, make it special and yours

3.       With great power comes great responsibility, use your power carefully.

Another thought that resonated with me is that God has poured a certain amount of talent into all of us. It is our responsibility to make that investment in us grow. Do not be like the man in scripture with one talent who hid it. Use your gifts for God’s Glory.

These presentations are a smattering of what was dished out over the course of two days. I attended 6 classes plus the four group gatherings where Michele and Tosca shared. If you are a Christian Writer or if you would like to know more about being a Christian writer there is a group dedicated to helping you be the best you can be. It is called Inspire Christian Writers. It is only fifty dollars a year. The web site is Inspirewriters.com. Check it out, who knows there may be a writer in side of you waiting to get out.

One last note, the ages of those attending were from teenagers to those in there nineties. You are never too old to start writing. The majority of the people I met were writing memoirs. One man I met was a survivor of the Killing Fields of Cambodia. He gave me the first chapter and offered to show me pictures from the Killing fields. More on that later. Thanks for coming by, Never stop learning and never stop seeking His perfect will in your life.

By his Grace, For His Glory

Cliff