Leisha Kelly Answers The Faithful Fifteen
September 2004
Leisha Kelly, author of JULIA'S HOPE, EMMA'S GIFT and KATIE'S DREAM, discusses her early church experiences and her profession of faith as a teenager. She also shares the important lessons that her spiritual and professional mentors have taught her, how she and her family honor the true meaning of Christmas, and her uplifting visit to a nursing home.
FaithfulReader.com: What kind of testimony to your faith are you demonstrating in this book? If you are writing fiction, do you write fiction that is based upon your faith, or that has a message for the reader? Is your goal to demonstrate your faith in your writing?
Leisha Kelly: I don't think I could separate my faith from my writing. It is all a part of me. Because of that, a message always comes through in my stories. And in KATIE'S DREAM, I believe the principal message is that the peace of God can be with you no matter how turbulent outside circumstances can be. In addition to that, I have tried to show in the context of the story that God is in control and has a purpose in every situation, and that His long-suffering for individuals can be truly amazing sometimes. His love is far-reaching.
FR: When did you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus? Where are you today in your walk? Is your faith an important part of what you do?
LK: I was a very young child when I first looked to the Lord to be my Savior. Grandma was sitting beside me in church singing the old hymn "Peace be Still" with our congregation. And I remember picturing that raging sea being calmed and thinking that if I could be on the boat with Jesus, then everything would always be all right. But it took me ten years to make a profession of faith known. At sixteen, I knew I could not live without Jesus and I couldn't go on any longer without openly confessing his Lordship. Feeling like I was moved by the hand of God, I went forward in church. It was one of the most joyous and yet hardest things I had ever done. I was terribly shy and terrified of water, but I wanted to be baptized. I couldn't stand to go any longer without making my faith known. It was an experience I will never forget. Since then, I have always wanted to walk with God, in everything I do. I know I have fallen short so many times, but even in my folly, I still had a desire to do what was right, to be pleasing to our Heavenly Father. I cannot live without my faith. There would be no reason, no purpose, for anything. There is a song that says, "I was born to serve the Lord." I know it is true in my life.
FR: Tell us about your church experiences, how you grew up (or maybe didn't grow up) in the church, where you attend now, your involvement in your local assembly, etc.
LK: We went to church regularly when I was a child. There were no musical instruments in the church, no children's programs, no indoor bathrooms. But the people were very close. We ate together every Sunday. And everybody, even the kids, had a job to do when it came time for the three-day special meetings in the summer. There were morning, afternoon, and evening services with a big crowd and no air conditioning. And a big water tank with metal cups on a string for everybody to get a drink of water when necessary. I was very aware that my family's church was different from many, perhaps not as "modern" as the churches of my school friends. But the people had love for one another and for the Lord, and growing up there helped to give me a picture of God's people as a family, a body of people that are supposed to go out of their way for each other and enjoy being together. Even though the church we attend now is different from that one, we still need to work together like that and not worry so much about our own personal tastes and comforts. We need to undertake, together, for the Lord. That has always stuck with me.
FR: Tell us about your current church family/fellowship. How does it influence your work?
LK: We are members of Glory Worship Center, a nondenominational church near our home. I am a part of the worship team, and a coordinator for Sunday morning children's church. I dearly love our pastor. He is a wonderful man of God who brings forth the word with such sincerity and honest zeal. He is always challenging us to push deeper into the things of God, to give our lives in every aspect to Christ. I wouldn't have the same stability without my church. I doubt that my writing, or my life in general, would be as mature. The messages we hear about faith, about trust, love and mercy, the gifts of God, the fruits of God --- these things show themselves over and over in my writing. And I know that God has designed it to be so for His purpose. I am grateful for that.
FR: Who are your spiritual mentors? Your professional mentors?
LK: I was blessed to have two mentors early in life. First my grandmother, who was always setting a wonderful example. I never did some of the things other kids my age were doing, because grandma would not approve, and there was no way I wanted her to hear something and be disappointed in me. She taught me by her own life that there should be a difference between Christians and the world around us. We're not supposed to just do any old thing, or even talk like other people. In all we say or do, we are accountable to the Almighty. I'm sure her influence saved me a lot of trouble.
Secondly, we had a neighbor, Bonnie, who had been a missionary for years with her husband. They lived two doors down from us in a trailer with a wheelchair lift. I don't think anyone realized how precious Bonnie was to me. She taught me about overcoming fear through faith and trusting the Lord in all things. She started me reading God's word and kept me supplied with children's Bible study papers to help me along.
In my adult life, my pastor and his wonderful wife are my most important mentors. Their advice is always sensible, guided by the Lord. I can trust them to love me unconditionally, and to tell me straight what I need to hear. I have been amazed by their depth of compassion, their fervency in prayer, and their wisdom.
Spiritual and professional mentoring blend in a dear elder woman of our church who is a prayer warrior and a willing ear. She also proofreads my manuscripts and makes some of the most sensible comments I could imagine. My editor, Vicki Crumpton, and my agent, Alan Youngren, have also been a great help to me professionally. Their encouragement and assistance have been wonderful. They've both worked so hard and I am a better writer because of it.
FR: Discuss your calling/mission --- as a writer, and as a Christian.
LK: It is our job as Christians to love one another. I believe God wants me to be an example of love to my own children, and to the other children (and adults) of my church and beyond. In addition to that, I know that the privilege to worship is an important part of my calling. I feel at home in worship; I feel deeper joy than at any other time. But He has also given me words to share, stories to write in His honor. And in those stories, I want to show the hope of God even in the midst of the difficult times in life. I believe God wants me to let people know that no matter what they are going through, He is with them. His faithfulness, provision, mercy, and love are endless. He is the real answer to every need.
FR: What are your scripture reading habits?
LK: I always try to read the Word at the beginning of my work day, before I write a line. There was a time when I didn't, and this just didn't feel right. I was off my foundation. Because I am a children's minister at our church, and Bible is a part of my own children's homeschool day, I must also stay in the Word for the sake of lesson preparation. But that by itself would not be enough. So many answers, and so much inspiration, come from the Word of God.
FR: What books have most influenced your work?
LK: One of the most powerful books I have ever read is THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS by John Bunyan. The life lessons are so important it would make a worthy high school graduation requirement. I have also been richly blessed by Charles Sheldon and C. S. Lewis, among others. I read and enjoy so many books, so many different authors that this is a difficult question for me. But I think Janette Oke's THE GOWN OF SPANISH LACE was memorable for me because she didn't hesitate to portray a male hero from "the wrong side of the tracks" and his pathway toward redemption. Jan Karon's story about the Mitford wedding amazed me because the whole book was just about that one thing, just the wedding. And yet it was so totally entertaining and uplifting with such outstanding characters. I thought, I can't write like that, but I sure want to carry people along in a story that way. So many others have impressed me: Beverly Lewis, Frank Peretti, Leif Enger, Lori Wick, just to name a few.
FR: Do you read secular fiction at all? If so, who are your favorite authors, and why?
LK: Yes, I do sometimes. I spend a lot of time in libraries with my children (and my mother, a librarian), and it is not unusual for me to pick something off a shelf that catches my eye. As a writer I tend to notice the writing in these books a lot, the style, the characterization, special plot devices and wording. But I especially like Tolkien and others who are such superb storytellers that they make me forget the writing itself and just fall in and get lost in the story.
FR: What are your other media habits --- television, movies, music, etc.?
LK: We don't watch a lot of TV at our house --- little regular programming. And we don't have cable. There's just not much that is worth the time to see. But there are occasional programs (like the Olympics), and we do check out videos from the library. I think I've been to a movie theater only twice in my married life (once for The Passion). It's just not how we choose to spend our time (or money). But I love music in a wide variety of styles, from classical to contemporary Christian. The CDs getting the most play right now at our house are Michael W. Smith's Worship, Casting Crowns, and a little known acapella quartet called Good Medicine. My favorite Christmas music is Handel's Messiah.
FR: Do you and your family have any special faith-based traditions?
LK: I think of Christmas right away with this question. We started two special traditions when the children were very small. We call one the traveling nativity scene. At least two weeks before Christmas we get out a little ceramic nativity and choose a place to be "Bethlehem" (usually under the Christmas tree). The cow and the donkey stay there because that becomes our "stable." The sheep and shepherds are always in the same room, only a few feet away because they are out on the hills where the shepherds are "watching their flocks by night." The angel is also nearby, waiting in anticipation. Mary and Joseph are set down on the floor halfway across the house because they have so far to travel. And the wisemen are even farther, and in the opposite direction.
Every day, the children get to move Mary and Joseph a little closer to "Bethlehem" until finally on Christmas Eve, they arrive at the stable. That is when Baby Jesus is taken out of hiding and placed with them. And then the angel moves to the shepherds, and the shepherds, sheep, and angel all move to join the scene in the stable. The same night, the wisemen begin to move. Sometimes, the wisemen arrive late Christmas day, sometimes we wait much longer, but either way the children love the acting out of this story.
Our second tradition ties in very closely with the first because it is all part of our very special Christmas Eve. We have a "Bethlehem supper." By candlelight, no electric lights, we share a meal using only foods that could have been found in Bethlehem at that period of history, and we try as nearly as possible to keep the same standard with the dishes and utensils we use (for example, no plastic). Though it was a little strange to them at first, my children always ask now if we can do this again. We follow the meal with the reading of the Christmas story in Luke. And then we open one gift apiece before bed, in honor of God's most precious gift to us, his Son.
FR: Tell us about your prayer life and habits.
LK: I never feel that I get enough prayer. It is the desire of my heart to experience so much more of God. It is important to me to pray every morning as part of my routine, but I also need prayer through the day. A walk alone (when possible) is especially enriching for prayer time, and I find that when I am feeling a bit muddled, writing my prayers down, just a little letter to God, helps to set things right again. Praying with my children is good for all of us. And I feel that praying through the day, as situations come up and needs come to our attention, is a critical part of being a believer.
FR: Describe what you believe the role of writing in religion is.
LK: God has always used His Word, His written Word, to share Himself with mankind. Because we are made in His image, we are supposed to use our words to share God with our fellow man as well. It is a privilege all of us have, not uniquely writers. But writers perhaps have a greater responsibility than many, because our words are written down, copied over, and shared with so many. I believe God is pleased when our words honor Him and direct men to Him. That is the purpose He has given us. There would be no reason for my books without Him. I would have nothing to write, nothing real to share.
FR: Tell us about one or more of your favorite encounters with readers.
LK: I have a church friend, a busy beautician, who spends two days a week cutting hair at an area nursing home. I called her one day to make an appointment and she asked me if I would meet her at the nursing home because there was a woman there who wanted to speak to me. My friend had been fixing the woman's hair and noticed my book, JULIA'S HOPE, in her lap. When this dear elderly lady learned that her beautician knew me, she got so excited and asked if there was any way I could be persuaded to come.
I was glad to go see the woman, but I never expected that there was a whole group of nursing home residents who were meeting together regularly and reading JULIA'S HOPE aloud. I was told I couldn't get out of the building without coming to see them all. They were wonderful to talk to. So many of them lonely, needing hugs, wanting to give hugs. I stayed much longer than I had anticipated, talking to the first woman and all the rest. The character Emma especially touched their hearts, they said, because of her generosity and compassion, but also because, despite her situation (failing health, loss of a leg), Emma always stayed cheerful with an abiding trust in the goodness and provision of God. That was something they could relate to so well. It touched me to see these beautiful older ladies (and a gentleman) so moved by my story and inspired by what I had written into the heart of one of my characters.
It was an uplifting experience for me to read a few chapters to them, share their day and see their faces light with such enthusiasm. I was humbled when they said, "God is using you. God bless you." I kept thinking, there's so much I could learn from these people, so much that my children, all of us, could learn from our elderly. And this group was telling me that they had been inspired, moved, blessed, by one of my books. "It makes a day brighter," one of them said, "just to read about what God can do in people's lives. It makes you glad to be alive."
FR: Would you share a story about someone you've brought to Christ or share how your writing has helped someone?
LK: As a mother, the greatest privilege I have ever had was to lead my two children to the Lord. My son in his bedroom, and my daughter in our strawberry patch. I will never forget either of those wonderful experiences. I am still moved to tears every time I think about it.
As a regular children's minister at our church, I have been very blessed to have been a part of seeing many other young people come to a personal relationship with the Lord. And I have always wanted my writing to have an impact on people's hearts also. It is so gratifying to receive letters from people telling me how they have been touched by God through one of my stories.
One especially memorable letter was from a woman who had been suffering a long time with a debilitating disease. She was so depressed. She said she had given up all hope in life. But someone had given her one of my books and she decided to read it. The way the characters met their struggles and hardships with faith in the goodness and faithfulness of God moved her to write and tell me that she wanted to do the same. "You helped me to see that God is with me," she said. "And I want to live my life for Him."
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