In Faith

Today's Passage: Genesis 1-2:3. Was the earth created in 7 days, or billions of years? Does it matter? Today we read through the first part of the Creation story, spending most of our time talking about why the earth may not have been created in 7 calendar days; then reversing in one quick passage from John 2 to show why we can accept a 'young' earth and a literal interpretation of...

Today we're looking at why the Old Testament is still relevant to Christians today, as it was to the early church; why we shouldn't view it as boring; and how we might begin to reconcile the seeming contradictions we'll find. Kicking off a brand new umpteen-week series--let's go! Support the show

Today we're covering a random smattering of topics--repentance, vocation and calling, defining your audience and writing to it, and eucatastrophe. While we might see future Writing in Faith episodes, this should be the last for a while. It's been fun, but also looking forward to our next series! Support the show

Today we try to define "love" from a Scriptural standpoint--for the devotion, focusing more on the command to "love one another." For writers, we look at four relationship tropes that pose inherent danger and unacceptable risk if our readers begin to internalize them as anything close to true, or a model to follow in real life. Support the show

Today we look at THE foundational principle of life, the universe, and everything, from Genesis chapter 1; and how "In the beginning, God..." underlies everything we should know and understand about Creation and Scripture. For writers, we pare back everything we've read, heard, and watched to take a look at the idea of 'story' and how it informs what we create. Support the...

Today we talk about salvation--who can be saved, how, what happens after, and when do we get to heaven. For Christian writers, we're talking villains--how to create and use them to address evil and sin in the world in a way that pleases people, and--I believe--God. Support the show

Today we take a brief look at what the Bible says about men and women--or is it wives and husbands?--and how faith and the Spirit works in and through both to preach Christ to the world. For writers, we get an introduction into writing "the Other", those who are not ourselves (our race, gender, culture, religion, etc) and how to write well. Sanderson on Sexism: https://www.youtube.com/wa...

Today we take a second look at Scriptural grace--what is it? Is it just forgiveness for sins, or is there some power in it, something to help us live up to the holiness we've been called to? For writers, does grace cover us when we "break the rules" of writing? How do some authors break rules in a way that still makes sense, and makes for a powerful story, while others make us roll...

In this episode, we discuss holiness--setting ourselves, and what we write, apart for God's purposes instead of our own. In our spiritual life, what does "holiness" mean? Why should we choose it? For those of us calling ourselves Christian writers, our books should be different than those of the world--but we don't necessarily need to write only Sunday School-approved stories....

Non-health-related delay this time--I've been super-busy preparing for the release of The One Known, Book III of The Triumvirs series. Check out danieldydek.com to see more, and check out what's been going on. Also, slight change in topic schedule! All good things. Support the show

In today's episode, we look at the promises of God as foreshadowing of things to come, gaining insight into another aspect of who God is and helping us know Him even better. For writers, we take a little bit more practical look at how to set up foreshadowing in our works, in order to best serve our readers and the kind of ending we want to create. Support the show

In today's episode, we discuss practical methods for moving ahead on your journey in Christ when you can't seem to get started on steps toward pursuing your goals. For writers, there's the dreaded "block:" we break down three kinds of block and ways to move past them, as well. Kingdom of Heaven episode: here Your Best Life episode: here Support the show

In this episode we talk about some key differences between God's wisdom, and the wisdom of the world, and important thoughts for Christians as we navigate our journeys through life. For writers, we look at Promises, Progress, and Pay-offs to make sure we give our readers what we've promised them. Sanderson 2020 Lectures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAq...

In today's episode we take a look first at story structure, introducing a 10-part structure I learned from author, blogger, and podcaster K.M. Weiland. After a quick gloss, with non-spoiler examples from my book By Ways Unseen, I also defend this structure against the fear that such a formulaic device could only result in boring, predictable books--it doesn't have to. Then, in the devoti...

In this episode, we're talking about obstacles in our journey of faith and writing, especially publishing. Sometimes obstacles are to be overcome; other times they are put in our path to get our attention back on God when He needs to redirect us. How do we know which is which? Listen in to find out! Support the show

In today's episode, we look at our journey as Christians and as writers, and what we should expect from ourselves as we go. For Christians we explore the question of whether we can be sinless in this world, now that we have Christ living in us. For writers, I offer some suggestions on how to determine if it's time to be done with your story and move on to the next. When might your book b...

In this episode, we're talking about how to live your best life now, and three things you'll need to do to find it and pursue it. Like last week's topic, this has very little to do with what your life may actually look like, except in light of the Kingdom of God. But if you're willing to seek Him first, you can certainly begin to live your ideal life today. For writers, we&apos...

In this episode we take a look at what the Kingdom of Heaven is, and what it isn't; and how do we apply that knowledge to our lives--what we read, hear, study, hope for? For writers, we talk about Author Brand, what it is that makes you more than just a person who writes. Support the show

Today we're talking about building up our own character in Christ, and a path laid out for us by the Apostle Peter in his Second Epistle. For writers, we look at Character Sliders--a concept from Brandon Sanderson, and ways to use it to actively build our characters and make them grow or change, and passively to help assess why a character might be falling flat. All Brandon Sanderson's B...

In this episode, we learn more about our freedom in Christ, and key things to think about in living out that freedom for ourselves, and with those around us. For writers, we ask two important questions surrounding 'questionable' content like language, sex, violence, and others: can we? Should we? Support the show

This week we look even deeper at the idea of the body of Christ and how we live in it; now that we have our gifts, what ministry is ours and what do we do if someone else's ministry seems to undo our own work? For writers, the words we use have been described as windows through which our readers watch the story unfold. The debate is whether these windows should be clear, or stained glass--how...

Hey listeners, I wasn't able to record a full episode this week, just because of some minor health issues that affected my voice. I'm back and better now, so I put together this quick update for the weekend, correcting two things I said in last week's episode, as well as asking you to consider participating in the creation of this podcast! I have 8 more episodes still to record and...

In this episode, we look at the spiritual gifts as given to us in 1 Corinthians 12, and attitudes that will help us value our own, and others, gifts. For writers, we look at the spectrum between plotting and pantsing your novel, to take it from concept to first draft. Support the show

Today we look at two of the letters to the seven churches, found in Revelation 2-3, and discuss the consequences of sending the wrong letter (or message) to the wrong church. For writers, why is your 5-star book some people's 2-star read? Maybe they're just getting the wrong message. Support the show

This week, we learn that the apostle Paul "became all things to all people" -- which sounds like hypocrisy, except he did it in order to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel, and share in its blessing. We as writers should feel safe and confident writing any genre we have been gifted to write, as long as we do not fall into sin, and we are able to redeem the topic for Christ,...