I am a voracious reader. And, I have been for as long as I can remember. Even now, I consume between two to three full-length books monthly. Sometimes even more. And, that’s even when I’m in the middle of writing a book myself. I can remember as a teenager that I would gladly forego going out on the weekends with friends for staying home and holing up in my bedroom to read a good book. It would probably be an interesting statistic the number of books I’ve read in my lifetime. I just love to read a good book!

Just this last week I downloaded five or six books in anticipation of my future “reading time.” One of my joys is to check out all the reads under Christian Fiction on my e-reader, and excitedly add them to my library. And, I can’t get to them fast enough!

Until this last time…

I was no more than five or six pages into the plot of a new book, when the author cut loose with swearing and my heart just sank! It was, after all, a “Christian” novel. It was supposed to hold to a higher standard, right?! It was supposed to be something I could read and feel edified- and uplifted by. I felt confident that the plot probably wouldn’t turn into something “R-rated” or anything so dramatic. Actually, that’s not true. Because, by virtue of the swearing itself, it had become R-rated, from my perspective. And, I was so disappointed because the story was then forever ruined for me.

I don’t ever want my readers to read through my books and wonder if in some future chapter everything will turn sour and unreadable because of swearing or any immorality written into the plot. I realize that young people will also read my books, and I want their moms and dads to always feel that when they hear their teenager is reading one of my books that they feel confident it will ADD POSITIVELY to the person they are becoming. One of the greatest pleasures I’ve had recently was to read a review of one of my books, where a mother said that she loved that after reading my book, she could confidently turn around and recommend it to her daughter. (She had no idea when she wrote that, that it would be one of the most glorious things she could have written, at least from my perspective.)

Know that I write prayerfully. If not one person ever read my books, I know that the Lord does. And, for His Sake, I want my writing to bring Him pleasure and the Glory He deserves.