The Publisher

Who owns the first publishing company?

GOD does, says Pearl during our morning devotion on the third day of Littworld. Pearl is an author and mentor of writers in Trinidad. She puts forth Psalm 68:11 to support her claim. The King James Version of the Bible says it so aptly, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” The Amplified Bible magnified the thought by saying, “The Lord gives the word [of power]; the women who bear and publish [the news] are a great host.”

I listened intently to Pearl. I was drawn to what the Spirit of God was saying through her. I took down notes as she shared the word of God and her journey as a writer. I scribbled the following on my notebook:

God is the source of our creativity and vision. Wait on God to get vision from God. God sends His Word to us daily, sufficient for each day—not to be hoarded but gathered, distributed to the household. If God offers us fresh manna daily, how dare we serve a stale revelation to others? Gather while it’s still fresh and publish it quickly. If we neglect to promptly deliver the message to others, He will find someone else to do it.

I gathered from Pearl other important things that a writer should remember: that writing is a craft; that writers should write and rewrite; and that as people involved in publishing, we are ambassadors of Christ. But more than that, the Spirit of God etched in my heart the conviction that to be a writer of God I have to be a woman of the Word of God. I have to read it, study it, apply it, proclaim it. I am called by the foremost Publisher to publish His Word, and oh, what a great privilege, what a great calling, what a great responsibility.

All through out the time that Pearl was sharing, tears blurred my eyes, and I could not speak. My head commanded my hand to record quickly the message being proclaimed so that later on, I could go back to the message again and again. It is clear. My heart was captured by God, and my spirit surrendered willingly. The Lord has given His word, and I am among those that publish it.

A Kindred Soul in LittWorld

One of the pleasant surprises of participating in international gatherings is finding someone who can also speak your language. The following day after I prayed during the opening session in my native Tagalog, I heard a feminine voice greet me from behind. There were only two of us from the Philippines attending this LittWorld, the other one being Mr. Ramon Rocha of OMF Literature. Who then could she be?

I turned around to see a lady beaming, obviously in a merry mood, and seeing and hearing her made me want to hug her. What a delight to find a kindred soul in a foreign land! It turns out that Ms. Miriam Adeney is a board member of Media Associates International and is an anthropologist, author, professor, editor, and mentor of Christian writers. She spent some years in the Philippines as a missionary and that's how she learned how to speak Tagalog.

For the next days, we occasionaly shared meals together and discussed issues in the Philippines like the diaspora of millions of Filipinos working overseas (which we have popularly called OFWs--Overseas Filipino Workers) and its economic and social impact to our society. Attending LittWorld and engaging in conversations with people who have much to share has stimulated me into thinking how I can contribute to my society through writing. This is one of the blessings of attending LittWorld.