And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
— 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV)
Good day, everyone, and I do indeed hope your day is good and blessed. My name is Donna Ferrier, and I’m a Christian ghostwriter, editor, and publisher (yes, in case you’re wondering, I had to say that for the search engines…lol). Visit my contact page and let me know how we can work together. You can also read the many reviews my clients have left me over the years on my reviews page.
Every now and then I have to dispense with the marketing puff on the first page (but don’t worry; I’ve saved it so I can put it back…lol) and share a testimony about something I’ve learned over the years.
I was young when I started in the publishing business. When I graduated from college at twenty-two, I spent the next fifteen years as an employee before I ever started freelancing. Anyone who is reading this and has some age and maturity on them knows how we were as young people – immature, impatient, and pretty much anything else that starts with “im.” We were offended by everything and “drama” was our middle name.
After I left Washington, DC (my old stomping ground), and I moved to the Southwest, I started my own business. My first clients were company clients because I was so used to working with companies that it was just natural to keep doing it. Eventually, however, I got my first independent Christian book gig, and that’s how I got into Christian publishing.
But boy did I have to grow up! I didn’t know how to work with people, and I said a lot of things I wish I hadn’t. I’ve discovered over the years that there are kinder, gentler ways to say things. Thankfully, a whole lot of patient people contributed to my growth process, and many of them are on my Reviews page.
I have to admit, I’ve been rather disturbed in recent months by some of the people who call me on the phone or email me. Some say they’re Christian but reveal something darker the more I talk to them. And then I thought, You know, Donna, that’s probably not so different from the way you were not all that long ago.
James 4:7-8 tells us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
That describes perfectly what I want to be: near to God. I want to be so near to Him that darkness has no room to get in.
One of my favorite scriptures is 1 John 1:5: “ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
Light is not simply an absence of darkness. Light is an active process. I think of Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” It’s not enough that we have the light of Christ dwelling in us. We have to let that light shine outward to others. That takes a deliberate act.
The reason we can let our light shine is because as Christians “light” is something that we are. Backing up a couple of verses, in Matthew 5:14, Jesus calls us the light of the world: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Verse 15 continues with, “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”
We can let the light of God shine out to others or we can stuff it under a basket and keep it buried in the darkness. Jesus not only wants our lights to shine, but He wants us to be so filled with the light of the Lord that we cannot help but shine it on our world, just like the city on the hill that cannot be hidden.
The light we are shining is the love of God, the love of our Savior. I don’t know anyone who does this perfectly, but I’ve met some awesome people I know have the love of God in them just by the way they respond to me, and I realize God still has a lot of work in me to do. But 1 Corinthians 13:2 challenges me, and all of us: “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
Old John, the Apostle he became after he’d grown up (and old), says in 1 John 3:18, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” I’m convinced it takes a lifetime to learn that one verse.
My goal is always to keep growing in Christ. Neither this business, nor this website, nor all the books I do will be traveling to heaven with me. Once Jesus returns, all those temporal things are going to pass away, and it’s just going to be Him and me, along with the rest of the Bride of Christ, worshipping God for the rest of eternity, completely focused on Him, unhindered by anything down here. I can’t wait for that day!
Our relationship with Christ needs to be the priority for all of us. Our constant commitment to Him is the only way we can, as the title of this page says, “Inspire Millions.”
Thank you so much for listening to my testimony, and I hope to hear from you soon. Once again, visit my contact page if you’d like to work with me. 😊
Peace,
Donna