journey - T&R Independent Bookstore

Posted on June 1, 2023June 1, 2023 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

God’s Call is a Journey part 2

In God’s Call is a Journey part 1, I told my story of how God called me and brought me to where I am today. Where am I today?

Since God’s Call

Since my call in 2000 when I was 57 and the publication of my first book in 2003 at 60, I have not only established myself as an author, but I have also become a coach. This additional skillset has been added because I want to help authors, whether new or struggling, glorify God and become the best authors they can be.

God’s Call Motivated Me

That call of God motivated me to start Christian Authors Business Institute, which in turn created the Basic Writing Course. This course is based on the following:

Students are called of God to write
Our motto is God has enabled me, trained me and equipped me
I take personal interest in each student

God’s Call Requires Commitment

I am committed to each student to help them become their very best
Each student is committed to doing the assignments
Investing time in the lesson material is also required
Every student is committed to their vision

A Faithful Vision

When students begin, they may not know their vision, but one of the goals is for them to discover their vision, then to be committed to it.

My vision is based on Psalm 71:18: “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power to every one that is to come.”

Your vision is your motivation. It is stronger than money, fame, or worldly success. It will keep you going no matter what.

Principles of God’s Call

Trust God (Luke 6:31; Philippians 4:19):this principle teaches us to treat others as you would want to be treated, plus, trust God’s provision.
Wait on God (Psalms 27:14, 37:34; Proverbs 20:22) teaches us to patiently wait for God’s Will to be Done.
God’s Thoughts Higher Than Our Thoughts (Isaiah 59:9) The smartest man or woman doesn’t come close to God’s wisdom.
God’s Will is Perfect and Timely (Psalm 143:10; Luke 12:28; Romans 8:28) teaches us that God has a perfect master plan for our lives. It is always the best and always on time.
Give God the Glory (1 Corinthians 10:31; Hebrews 13:15

So what can we draw from this journey?

I believe the following passage expresses today’s truth about God:

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lam. 3:20-26)

We are never too old to be reminded of God’s faithfulness and mercy. I dare say that as we get older, we need to trust God more because we can no longer do the things we once did. So, we need to depend on Him more.

PRINCIPLES;

TRUST GOD!
WAIT ON GOD.
HIS THOUGHTS ARE HIGHER THAN OURS.
GOD’S WILL IS PERFECT & TIMELY.
GIVE GOD THE GLORY.

When God called me in 2000. I was now 57 years old, when most people are retiring. As I write this, I have only recently turned 80. That means that since I first heard God’s call it has been 23 years!

At the age of 80, I don’t know if He is going to give me another 40 years as He did Moses, or just increase my productivity, but I do know or at least see through the mirror a little clearer, that writing about Him, His Word, and His people is His plan for me.

T&R Independent Books brings you this blog post to keep you informed on the issues of today. Authors need to stay informed so that they can relate to their readers facts as well as entertain them with their imagination.

It’s Your Business is a Basic Writing Course that explains and guides you into becoming an author. Powered by video along with PDFs and Coaching you learn the basics of writing. Each class registration occurs between the 25^th of a month and runs through the 24^th of the following month. The new class starts the following month.

To discover how you can be the writer you want to be, write to us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. We will respond.

Did God call you to write? If so, then you can contact me at info@trbookservices.com or use the contact form on the website.

VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

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Company information:

T&R Independent Bookstore is a division of T&R Independent Books founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Tess Riddle. TR Ministry, aka Ministry Services, is both a charge and an exciting outreach to the Christian Community.

Posted on May 30, 2023May 30, 2023 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

God’s Call is a Journey

God’s call is a journey, no matter the nature of His call. In this instance, it is a call to write.

God’s Call is a Personal Journey

My call came while reading my devotions one morning in the year 2000. It immediately became a call to write, thus beginning my journey as an author. It was a highly personal and often rocky journey. I virtually had no idea how to write, other than a few grammar rules.

It is a Journey of Faith

When we asked God into our life it was a step of faith. Every time we obey God it is a step of faith. A journey is made up of a lot of steps. God doesn’t entrust His entire plan for our lives at the very beginning. We need to be taught.

He enables us, however. His Holy Spirit entered our new hearts, slammed the door shut, and sealed it. Not to prevent Him from leaving, but to block anyone, including the Devil, from entering in.

But the Devil has a not-so-secret ally in our Flesh. Our Flesh hears every prayer we make, every thought we have, and knows our every temptation. Thankfully, he doesn’t have the ability to directly speak to the Devil.

Unfortunately, the Devil and the Flesh do have a communication, of sorts. If the Flesh can perform certain body signals, the Devil can read them, and thereby know what’s going on. That is why, we have to be circumspect in our outward appearance, and actions.

Even so, the Holy Spirit can influence us directly, and we can communicate through Him in the name of Jesus to the Father directly. My life bears the scars of the Devil and the Flesh disrupting my plans, my commitments to God. But they cannot stop God’s Grace and His willingness to wrap me in His arms. God may chasten me betimes, but He always assures me of His love, and encourages me to press on in the calling that He has called me to.

I had been a Christian for 27 years when He called me to be a Christian author. I loved the Lord, had been serving Him most of that time, and had grown in Him. But it became evident I still had much to learn.

It Energized Me

That call came as I was reading the Genesis account of Noah and the Flood. While it was a firsthand account, it was basically a skeleton. It told only the basic facts. God didn’t give us His Word to entertain us, but rather for us to learn His Will. Thus, it provided me an opportunity to flesh out the skeleton and tell the story behind the story.

It is a Journey of Trust

Did I truly trust God?

As I began writing my first book, Refuge: The Genesis Chronicles, I leaned on God a lot. I have a great imagination, but putting it together required more than that. It required trusting His direction. So, God led me to a verse that has governed my writing career ever since. It is Psalm 78:18, and reads, “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power to every one that is to come.”

Please note that at 57 years old, I was barely old enough to be qualified as ‘elderly’, I still had my red hair, and wasn’t receiving Social Security yet. The part of the psalm I identified with was, “O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power to every one that is to come.”

My Journey Had a Vision

That verse motivated me, energized me, and focused me on a vision: to reach people through writing with the gospel!

That vision has carried me through rough patches. It kept me going, spurred my imagination, and opened doors I didn’t know existed. Moreover, it has been a very powerful motivator moving forward after my wife’s death. Only my faith in God and His comfort to me has been more important.

Over the extent of my career, I have written 9 novels, 4 doctrinal books, a how-to book, and others. I have also designed a writers course to help new and not-so-new writers become the authors they want to become. All of this and I am planning more books plus at least another course.

How do I do it? I have God’s enabling power. I have the following for a motto, Since God called me, and has enabled me, I can and will do His will. That motto is rather new, and it encompasses all areas of my life!

Do You Have a Call to Write?

If you do, then it is your prime motivation and should be your constant reminder that you can succeed because God has called and enabled you.

More on this subject in God’s Call is a Journey part 2.

Posted on April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 by R. Frederick & Tess Riddle — Leave a comment

Blog by Ron – Self-Improvement

Self-Improvement can be a good thing or a bad thing. The choice is yours. Let’s look at the bad side of self-improvement.

Self-Improvement is Based on Repetition

It is true that repetition can be very helpful. One of the best ways of developing good habits is to repeat chores, tasks, or thinking. However, repetition of bad actions, etc., can lead to bad habits. The latter repetition is easier than repeating good things. It is natural and often unobserved until it is practically too late.

When I started writing, I had some bad habits and I naturally kept repeating them. To develop good habits I first had to find and define the bad habits. Then work at getting rid of them.

Self-Improvement Without Professional Help is Risky

I am self-taught in many areas – some good and some bad. That is the risk of doing everything with a ‘Do-it-Yourself’ mentality. It is a choice that comes as a result of not having, and maybe not affording, professional help. Sometimes doing it myself is the only option.

But if you broaden your understanding of ‘professional help’ to include software or books, the cost can be reduced dramatically. In my early years, I bought books on the subjects of writing, publishing, and marketing. This was generally good, but over time, I discovered that not all information agreed with one another, or was helpful. Sometimes, they disagreed. When I began using the internet, this same problem occurred.

I regularly practiced these helps not knowing that some were actually hurting my business rather than helping it. And the longer I went without finding and removing them from my toolbox, the longer it took to eradicate them.

It May Require Taking a Course

I love to read and was willing to seek out books that would guide me in the way I was to go. But the world is filled with Do-It-Yourself gurus. They develop systems that work for them and may work for others. However, all to often these systems don’t work well with other systems. The result is chaos and failure.

In my quest to improve myself I looked for a mentor, but mentors are hard to find and sometimes expensive. Courses can be expensive as well. But courses often require commitment because of their high cost. That is a problem, but you might want to consider that the results can be worth the cost.

Although I have written over 10 books and have a course for writers, I find that even I can make use of a course. Practically speaking, we are never to the point where we can’t learn something new.

Self-Improvement Requires Research

When looking for a good course you need to examine the ones you are considering. To begin with, you need to research what you need. That requires you searching your own needs. It is really helpful if the course helps you identify those needs. For example, my course on writing gets you focused immediately upon business needs, and helps you understand there is more to writing than putting down words. You are a businessman or woman, and you need to know what that requires. Another course may focus on your personal needs. That is why the better courses start out with the basics even if they seem unimportant.

Self-Improvement Courses Require Commitment

Ugh! Doesn’t that sound like hard work? Yes, and you need it. It is said that anything worth doing is worth working hard at doing. One of the advantages of spending money for a course is the expense almost demands commitment. You don’t want to spend money and end up throwing it away.

Then there are the lessons to take and complete; homework to do, and perhaps interaction with your coach. If you don’t already have a degree of commitment, you soon will; and that is a good thing!

It is a Journey

In the long run, self-improvement takes you on a journey from lacking the ability to be a good author and becoming an excellent author. Writing is part skill, part talent, part knowledge, and a hefty percent of good, old-fashioned sweat.

Have a wonderful, promising, and fruitful journey!