Hi ~

One thing that bothered me way before my Untwisting Scriptures work began was the notion that we can’t be perfect.

Ha, ha, I betcha I got you there.

You see, I didn’t just dismiss this statement of Jesus: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

What in the world?? What was the purpose of that? Just to remind us how messed up we are?

So, way back in the day, many years before Untwisting Scriptures was even a glimmer in my eye, I undertook a full-blown Scripture study of the word “perfect.”

Among other things, I saw to my shock that Jesus Himself was “made perfect” (Hebrews 5:9).

What in the world?? He wasn’t perfect to start with?

That led me further into the study, to understand exactly what God meant when He used that word.

Nowadays, we think of “perfect” as meaning “flawless and without sin.”

That isn’t what it means in the Bible.

But before I tell you what it does mean, I want to tell you a story.

When I speak about helping others write their books through my trauma-informed book coaching work, I tell the story of when I wrote my very first book.

I wanted so much to be a writer. I wanted to write missionary stories and biographies for children. But I was frozen and unable to move forward because I wasn’t “as good as” a writer I admired. 

Her writing was “perfect.” Mine wasn’t, not even close.

I even sobbed in the shower about it. Seriously.

Then, one day, I had this small mindset shift.

“This is dumb,” I thought. (I hadn’t yet learned to be gentle with myself–I was only in my 20s.) “I can’t write the way she does, but I can get the job done. It won’t be perfect, but it will be done.”

And with that, I wrote my first book, With Daring Faith: A Biography of Amy Carmichael, which somehow won an award. 

This is it. (It has 3 different covers.)

“It won’t be perfect, but it will be done.”

That’s exactly what I said.

And come to find out, the word study I did 15 or 20 years later, that’s what the word “perfect” means in the Bible.

It doesn’t mean flawless. It doesn’t mean sinless.

It means “finished.” Completed. Done.

“Brought to a full state of fruition.” 

That’s how Jesus could be “made perfect.” He had to complete the work the Father had called Him to do, until He could say, “It is finished.”

For many abuse survivors, our modern idea of “perfect” can lead them to think that God is every bit as demanding, exacting, and impossible to please as their abuser.

But as you may know by now (especially because you’re here), the truth in the Scriptures is actually very good news. Perfect means finished, not flawless.

Has God laid a book on your heart to help others? I have good news about that too.

It doesn’t have to be “perfect” in the way many Christians think of that word. It doesn’t have to be flawless.

(You want it to be as good as possible of course. But that isn’t the main point.)

What it does need to be is complete. Finished. Able to be passed on to others, to draw them closer to the heart of their loving Father and help them further the Kingdom of God.

I’ll be addressing that important truth—and others—in the free LIVE training I’m offering on Tuesday November 14 and again on Wednesday November 15.

I’ll be speaking from my expertise as a Christian trauma-informed book coach to address some of those blocks that keep you frozen. Blocks like “I’ll never be able to make it perfect.”

Getting these out of the way is kind of like clearing the land before building the house.

And I’ll be giving you pointers to help you have a solid foundation for your book.

During this training I’ll also make a special and very limited offer.

So if you have “write a book” on your bucket list, you won’t want to miss “That Book God Called You to Write: Get it from Your Bucket List to Your Reader’s Night Stand.”

Don’t let the fear of “not being perfect” keep you from writing the book God has laid on your heart.

Instead, you can understand what He really means when He talks about “being perfect.” He wants you to be complete.

You can pursue work on your nonfiction book to the glory of God—and even continue to improve as a writer—without fearing His angry frown if you miss a comma.

Ha! Isn’t that good news?! 

Let’s get that book finished!

If you haven’t already, do go ahead and sign up for my training here.

With you for producing that “perfect” book to pass on to others,

 Rebecca

P.S. If you’d rather not receive any more emails that mention writing your book, just reply “no” to this email, and I’ll take care of that. You’ll still be subscribed to Here’s the Joy.

 P.P.S. Do you know someone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ who might be interested in getting help writing their nonfiction book? Please pass this information along!