Current Special: Unique Gifts Make Winning Teams Free Video Event
Discover the “Unfair” Advantage of 5-Fold Counsel

How I Wrote an Award-Winning Novel by CLU Grad Brenda Savella

Mark Virkler's picture

I am proud of Brenda's award-winning book, Chaff on the Wind. She has used divine flow to write it, and it made it to the top of the list. Read her testimony below and realize you can do similar things as you tune to the Holy Spirit's flow within!


Some years ago, I was waiting to have tea with a friend in the food court of a local mall. An elderly woman came up to me and said emphatically, “You need to go fishing!” I smiled and replied that I’m a vegetarian so I wouldn’t likely go fishing. She continued, “I’m a fisherman. I’ve always known I’m a fisherman. When I was six years old my father took me deep sea fishing. No one caught anything so I told the captain to let me fish. For a joke the crew strapped me into a chair, and I cast the line into the sea. Within minutes I caught the biggest Marlin they had ever seen. They told me to keep fishing, but I knew I was only supposed to catch one fish. The captain and I split the proceeds. My share was $10,000 U.S.D. I’ve gone fishing every year since, and I’ve caught one each year. You need to go fishing!”

My friend arrived, and I said farewell to the lady. I didn’t know what the encounter meant. Two years later, I was at the same mall waiting to pay for a purchase at the grocery store. The person in front of me turned around and said, “You need to go fishing!” It was the same lady! She paid for her purchase and left. I asked God what it meant. There was a faint impression in my heart that it was related to writing, but again I did not pursue the meaning.

I began CLU’s doctoral program and took the first course on how to use the four steps to hear God’s voice and how God uses vision and the six pillars to confirm what He is saying. My ability to hear God’s voice deepened. In December 2022 I was praying and pondering what my goal should be for 2023. I set only one goal each year. I clearly heard the Lord tell me to complete a novel I had begun and abandoned years earlier. 

Although I loved writing, I didn’t really know how to write a novel, but I told the Lord I would do it. Several weeks later a friend asked if I wanted to visit a church online I used to attend. I didn’t have the internet but she did so I listened to the service over my phone. There was a visiting speaker. The first thing she said was, “I’m a fisherman. It’s time to go fishing.” I knew in my spirit that God was confirming that writing was my ‘Go fishing’ as I had agreed to finish the book.

The draft was 14,000 words but I needed 45,000 words for it to be considered a novel. How would I do it? I used the four keys to hearing God’s voice. I got into a quiet and comfortable place and focused on Jesus. As I began to write God showed me visions like a movie in my mind. I saw characters and heard them interacting. I wrote what I saw and heard. I described the setting He showed me. And over the next few months the novel took shape in ways that were totally unexpected to me!

When the draft was finished, God introduced me to a national book award and directed me to enter my manuscript. I said to Him that I had never written a novel before and this might be humiliating. He showed me that I could ask for feedback. How else would I get my book in the hands of an editor/judge to know how I was doing? I obeyed.

I heard nothing for a few months, but the Lord kept giving me little signs of encouragement. The word ‘fishing’ or other things that related to the book would appear in unexpected places. Otherwise, God was silent about it. Then in June 2023 I heard that my book, Chaff on the Wind, was a finalist in the national Braun Book Awards for excellence in Christian writing! I was stunned but I could feel the Lord’s pleasure. The editor gave me great positive feedback.

Chaff on the Wind is now published and went live on August 31, 2024. It’s for sale on about 40 sites in various parts of the world and is coming to various bookstores. The editor called it a great story that he couldn’t wait to get off the press. This is all God.

Here are links to purchase the book, Chaff on the Wind: Amazon US or Amazon Canada

 

I tell you, readers, “Go fishing!” It is time. Don’t let unimportant things hinder you from starting. God has made you for a purpose. Find out what it is. Nothing is impossible with Him!

Journaling application

Lord, what would You like to say to me in light of this story?

 


Discover God’s View of Money & Fulfill Your Financial Destiny!
Free Video Event Going on Now: September 9-18, 2024
Register at: https://go.cluschoolofthespirit.com/fyfd


Fan the flames of revival by sharing this blog with your friends on social media! 


Related Resources: 

How to Hear God's Voice!   
Add new comment

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Results

Results 321 - 330 of 485

Pages

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice eBook

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 305 Pages | Retail: $16.99

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond?

Price: $14.95

Counseled by God eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 146 Pages

Have you ever been defeated by negative emotions such as anger, fear, guilt, inferiority, condemnation or depression? Have you tried to fight them off unsuccessfully? Is there an answer that is deeper than simply trying to mentally reason yourself out of these emotions? Is there a way that Jesus can speak a word of life into the depths of your emotional despair and bring healing on a deep level? Is there a form of Christian counseling that begins and ends with the movement of Christ within your heart, rather than simply with the words of man?

Price: $9.95

Dialogue with God eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 296 Pages

A narrative, right-brain presentation of the principles of how to hear God's voice. Especially enjoyable for personal use, it makes a great gift for introducing a loved one to the voice of God. This book teaches the four keys to hearing God's voice in readable style, and also devotes two entire chapters to moving samples of people's journaling (i.e. their two-way dialogue with God).

Price: $17.95
Hearing God eBook Cover

Hearing God eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 192 Pages

Reviewed by Sid Roth on It's SupernaturalWhat does it sound like to hear from Heaven? In this interactive journal, Dr. Mark Virkler takes you on a life-changing journey that reveals three powerful ways you can hear God’s voice and recognize how He is speaking in your life everyday.

Price: $16.95

How to Hear God's Voice ebook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 317 Pages

We recommend that you order the newest revision of this book titled 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice. It includes 95% of the content of How to Hear God's Voice but is reorganized so it fits perfectly with the 10 DVDs on this subject by Mark Virkler. In addition, it gets you started using the four keys earlier in the book and gives you more journaling samples and exercises. Since we have removed the large margins, it is a smaller and less expensive book.

Price: $15.96
Prayers That Heal the Heart eBook

Prayers That Heal the Heart PDF eBook - Revised & Expanded 20th Anniversary Edition

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 330 Pages

Prayer counseling that breaks every yoke! Everything you need to experience deep healing of your soul and spirit. Did you know that you don’t need to be continually plagued by negative thoughts, feelings, pictures or memories?

It is not part of the "human condition" to feel the constant nagging of doubt, insecurity, or anger. No matter what sin you are trying to overcome, what lie you think you’ll always believe, or what traumas your heart has suffered in the past, you will receive total freedom and restoration by praying these prayers in faith.

Price: $19.95

Everyday Angels eBook

by Charity Virkler Kayembe and Joe Brock 289 Pages

You can partner with Heaven’s angelic hosts!

Do you have guardian angels? Does God want you to know them? Find out what Scripture reveals and how YOU can interact with the company of Heaven!

The supernatural realm permeates our natural world! Therefore, experiencing angels should be an everyday occurrence–we simply need to open our spiritual eyes to their reality and role in our lives.

Price: $16.99
Hear God Through Your Dreams eBook

Hear God Through Your Dreams eWorkbook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 92 Pages

A new book has been released to accompany this workbook: Click here for Hearing God Through Your Dreams by Charity Kayembe and Mark Virkler (featured on Sid Roth in November, 2016).


Do you often wake up feeling there was a significant message in your dream, but you’re just not sure what it is? Like Daniel and Joseph, do you long to be able to help others understand their own dreams and win them to Christ as you explain His night messages to them? Wouldn't it be nice if you could receive mid-course corrections from the Lord while you sleep? Do you wish you could be receiving divine inspiration, creative solutions to problems, and direction from the Lord during that third of your life that you’re “just” sleeping?

Price: $11.95
Hearing God Through Your Dreams PDF eBook by Mark Virkler and Charity Kayembe

Hearing God Through Your Dreams eBook

by Mark Virkler and Charity Virkler Kayembe | 292 Pages

Learn How to Hear God’s Voice, Even When You Are Sleeping

As featured on Sid Roth's It's Supernatural!

Charity is the main author, and she has been passionate about dream work for 25 yearshaving learned the basic principles of interpretation from her father, Mark Virkler. Charity shares about 40 of her dreams along with 20 dreams from others, interpreting each one and discovering the message of God through them.

Price: $16.99

Unleashing Healing Power Through Spirit-Born Emotions PDF eBook

by Mark Virkler and Charity Kayembe | 314 Pages

Experience Healing for Your Body, Soul, and Spirit through Kingdom Emotions!

In Christianity, emotions are often considered to be misleading and untrustworthy—a lingering part of our fallen nature that distract us from God’s truth. But our emotions were created by God, and though the enemy may seek to manipulate our hearts, Jesus sets us free! This practical teaching will empower you to see emotions as unique channels through which the Holy Spirit works to bring miraculous life-transformation, deliverance and healing.

Price: $16.99

Pages