The Gift of Hope Deferred

by Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

It is now the day after Christmas. The gifts we took days and weeks to find for that special person have been given. As those gifts were opened we watched the expressions on their faces hoping our efforts brought pleasure. At our home the seven grandchildren were playing with the boxes and wrapping paper instead of the toys. One of the two year old twins walked in showing me a baking potato she had found in the kitchen cabinet. If I had only known that was what she really wanted I could have saved myself a lot of time and money.  


Those gifts we wished and hinted for have been opened. We have had time to look them over and enjoy all the advantages of ownership. Now we know if our desires and expectations have been met. Were these items all we had hoped for or are they disappointing? Are we too now playing with the boxes and paper or looking around for a baking potato?

Life can be like waiting on Christmas presents. Like children we wait for that day to come when we receive the gifts we desire. We live each day with hope, joy and expectations of great things to come. But unlike Christmas, where we can count the days, in life we do not know how long it will be until that thing we desire arrives. Proverbs 13:12 NIV reads, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  It is natural that we become heavy hearted or anxious waiting on that which we desire. But as it states here when it comes it is a tree of life. If these things we desire aren’t satisfying we may have hoped for the wrong thing or there may be more.


We must be aware when desire comes it may be the first step toward even greater things to come. This thing you desire may be the door opener that prepares you for many other great things to follow. Londa Hayden wrote in Suite T The Gift of Leadership that her pursuit of her passion to write led to a leadership role in a writers group. The realization of this thing you desire may be the foundation for what is really ahead for you.
What is your “hope deferred”? What is your desire? Better yet if it has come, what could possibly be next? Are you vigilant and open to what it may be? Talk it over with someone that knows you well and share what you discovered and where you are heading. 

When the Sleeping Giants Rise

by Shannon Milholland, Social Media Director

Embracing a life of passion and purpose was like waking from a 39 year slumber. The fog lifted a bit at a time. Eventually I penetrated layers of insecurity, doubt and timidity caked decades thick.

Perhaps you, like me, never pictured yourself as a writer. Just behind the label "Least Likely to Write a Novel", you would badge yourself with "Least Likely to Self-Promote". If the label fits, you're a kindred spirit.

• As a child I shuddered when faced with telephone usage. I recall tearful pleas to my parents to make calls on my behalf.
• As a teen, I allowed self-doubt to overshadow confidence in my ability to attract and retain a date.

How then does an awkward youth blossom into a social butterfly who today works as a Social Media Director and delivers talks to audiences of any size? I slayed the giant sleeping dreams.  All those years, the dream of speaking and writing hid beneath the surface. I awoke the behemoth with one Herculean leap of faith - I began a blog.

Here are three easy steps to awaken the dreams within you:

Acknowledge the Passion

Passion fuels purpose. Passion writes in twilight hours. Passion dares to share the written word. Passion acknowledged is passion kindled. Acknowledgement ignites your dreams.

Plan Your Purpose

Make specific, achievable goals which plot your purpose in actionable steps. Do you need to join a social media such as Facebook or Twitter? Should you submit your first article? Will you fine tune your book proposal?

Plan your purpose and live your passion.

Commit to Consciousness

The familiarity of sleep overtakes the dream left to smolder. The safe position is retreat. Commit to consciousness. Refuse to sleep once more. A conscious giant delivers mammoth results.

Did you feel the splash of cold water on your face? Now that you're fully alert, walk in your purpose. Will you self-promote? No. You will love your corner of the world enough to share your gifts. Let your sleeping giants rise.

The Pocket Folder

by Jessica Kirkland

It was tucked away in a ragged, grey pocket folder. It also had friends. I stared at it through six cities, three colleges, and the birth of three babies, my now 5-year-old triplets. All the while, I asked God, “Are you sure you want me to be a writer?” As a matter of fact, I’ve asked Him that same question since I was 15 years old. How many times do we hear the whispers of purpose only to whisper back, “Really, God?”  See, I love a comfort zone and uncertainty has never been my favorite friend.  I don’t color outside of the lines, and usually when I come face-to-face with something new like technology, I never read the manual. So, how in the world did a girl like me find herself writing, creating, and releasing a children’s book app for iPad?

It all started with the pocket folder. I am sure that you have something similar. Maybe it’s a desk drawer, a secret journal you keep stashed away, a computer file, or a blog. Yet, everyone that dreams of writing has a proverbial “pocket folder.” You’ve probably toted it through cities, colleges, marriage, and childbirth, and you might have even shown the world, only to have “rejection” stamped all over it. Then, you took out your folder, and put your story back under lock and key.

In today’s global marketplace, pocket folder stories can find a home. Let me tell you a secret about “The Sounds of Night,” my Christian book app for kids. I was too afraid to even get it out of the folder. Then, one day I started researching e-books and listening to the success stories of new authors, just like me, finding their niches. I read about e-books for months and I asked God again; “Is an e-book for me? Are you sure you want me to be a writer?”

Then, one day my mother-in-law got an iPad and I noticed something; my children were enamored with it. Then, my own mother purchased one, and soon I followed. Suddenly, the television was out and the iPad was the most sought after piece of entertainment in my home. They played Angry Birds, built Cupcakes, and did Geometry. Their fingers slid over that touch-user interface in a way I never imagined. My four-year-olds were learning and having fun with one of the hottest pieces of technology: the iPad. Then, they wanted more.  As a Christian parent, I wanted them to have apps that taught them, entertained them, but also brought them closer to God. I started searching for Christian book apps and my search turned up completely dry. How could that be? For weeks, I typed in key words and looked for reviews on the Internet for good, Christian apps, and still nothing.

It was at that point that I decided the contents of the pocket folder must be unlocked, tweaked, and ultimately transformed into fun, interactive books that taught kids about God. Inadvertently, my kids love for the iPad coupled with a felt need in the Christian marketplace for quality, God-centered apps, was the catalyst for me entering the exciting world of children’s book apps. I removed my tattered, grey pocket folder from an even more tattered brown moving box, and took a giant leap of faith. Along the way, I have seen my God-given gifts, talents, and hobbies all funneled into one place: apps. If I listened to my distaste for manuals or my love/hate relationship with technology, I would never be here. Instead, I listened to the pocket folder, the dreams tucked away, and the One who gave them to me years ago.

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Jessica Kirkland lives in Southeast Texas with her husband, Robb, and five-year-old triplets. She is an author and speaker whose greatest passion in life is to see young families grow deeper in their walk with God. When Jessica isn’t writing, you can find her cheering on her boys at the soccer field, or watching her little girl at the dance studio.  To find out more about her current writing projects, connect with her at: www.christianapps4kids.com or on her personal blog: www.jessicakirkland.com

We, at Southern Writers, would like to invite you to preview Jessica's app:  The Sounds of the Night

I Have a Dream: How Dreams Become Reality

by Susan Reichert

What is it you want out of life? Today can be the day you decide what your desire is. What do you want to accomplish? What do you want your life to look like?

I know these are many ‘what questions’. However, they are important, and you need to answer each one of them. You see, until you decide what it is you desire to accomplish you are not going to do anything. Nothing will change. You will still get the same results you have been getting. You will still be going nowhere.

When you get to the end of life, do you really want to be laying there saying “I wish I had…” or “If only I had done…”?  This could happen. However, I have a feeling you are a person who will make the changes necessary to avoid that being the end.

List out your desires, envision what you want them to look like, draw out the plans, make a commitment to yourself you will achieve them. Sounds as if I have a but coming doesn’t it? I do. You see in order to accomplish those desires you will have to set deadlines. You need one for each phase of your plan. Take ownership and make this happen for you.

Many people set up goals, but they fail to reach them. One sure fire way to fail is not to make a plan and set the deadlines.