About Spirit Light

A Message from the Author Whisperer

(A message from the founder of Spirit Light Books, Staci Stallings.)

When I meet authors, many are struggling not just in their writing life but in their personal lives--with their finances, their earthly relastionships, and in their relationship with God as well. I understand. I've been there. In my own journey, I have learned that your relationship with God is foundational to anything else you do in this life, and so even if an author and I are talking about where to put a comma in a compound sentence, I recognize that the exchange is, if I allow it to be, a conduit for God to speak to the author, for Him to affirm them and to encourage them to be who He created them to be.

Although admittedly there are times I stumble hard, I try always to serve as Jesus did rather than to puff myself up by putting authors down. The Message Bible states: "The authority the Master gave me is for putting people together, not taking them apart." (2 Corinthians 13:10). This is the principle I seek to build all connections upon.

And so it was with Dennis Bates. We began by lamenting what we felt to be lowest common denominator writing--writing only marketable or consumable material rather than seeking excellence in our writing to be able to use it to challenge our readers to reach for something better. As our conversations progressed, Dennis came to know how deeply the Holy Spirit is involved in every facet of our lives and to grow in his relationship with God. On numerous occasions he has said, "I had no idea how much meeting a young gal from Texas could change my whole life."

Upon one of our conversations about editing, he remarked, "I never feel discouraged or upset when you edit my stuff--not like I do when I've had others look at it. Why is that?" I blithely said, "I must be an Author Whisperer or something." Later, as I reflected upon this, I realized how accurate it is. I do not seek to make you see my superiority when I edit something, nor do I want you dependent upon me. To the extent that I can, I seek to give you the tools to do what I do for yourself and for others and to gain a belief that through your relationship with God, you can find the answers you are looking for with or without me.

This was not a conscious decision; I believe it was a God-process of Him convincing me first how much He loves me and then showing me how to let Him love others through me. On my computer, there is a Declaration of My Life's Purpose, which reads: To Let God Help Others Through Me. I firmly believe that God's got the answers, all I have to do is show up and be available for Him to speak through.

I have seen Him work in miraculous ways in my life and in the lives of those He brings to me. And I know for a fact it is not me doing it. Have there been some failures along the way, some situations that turned out differently that I would've hoped? Yes. Definitely. Some very personal ones in fact. But God has shown me that He doesn't require my track record to be perfect or even near-perfect, only that I open my life to bring Him more fully into the world in the lives of those I work with.

In a Sunday School class I teach, I've told my fourth graders that there are two kinds of Math--two ways of living, and your ultimate success in this life is dependent upon which you decide to live.

The first is "Man's Math." In Man's Math, there is one pie. In order to get some, you must take some from someone else. Man's Math is predicated upon subtraction and division. It leads to worn out people who know they are missing something but can't seem to fill the hole they know is there. They are convinced it's up to them, and they know they are failing miserably. Unfortunately, they don't know how to fix anything. In this version of the game of life, the "prizes" are anger, jealousy, hurt, sorrow, fear, hatred, mean-spiritedness, greed, selfishness, and competition. Although many people exist there, it's no way to live.

Our other option is "God's Math." In God's Math each person is a whole. I do not need to take from you to be whole myself. I am already whole because of God's abundant love in me. I seek only to help you see that you are already whole, that God already loves you, that you need only Him to fill any holes you feel are there. God's Math is predicated on addition and multiplication. More of Him, leads to more of Him-more love, more kindness, more mercy, more trust, more hope, more joy. The "prizes" in playing by God's Math include: trust, faith, patience, peace, kindness, self-control, gentleness, love, creativity, and hope. "Straight is the gate and narrow the way, and few there are that find it." My job is to help as many people as I can to find it.

Author Whispering, to me, is about deeply living these ideals-not editing a manuscript to impress someone somewhere enough to buy it, but to help an individual to heal and become whole in their relationship with God. Writing just happens to be that which brings us together. If I do that, the writing will follow. If we all did that, it could change the world.