The Ministry of Writing with Jeaninne Stokes (Re-Air)

In this episode, you’ll also hear:

• The importance of obeying God’s call, even if you don’t think you’re qualified
• How God supplied “manna” for Jeaninne during her writing journey
• How to write your story in a way that helps people connect with it
• Why Jeaninne refers to writing as a ministry
• What kind of writers this world needs right now
• Jeaninne’s advice on returning to your “burning bush” for renewal and motivation when the journey gets tough

Obeying the Call to Leave

In her book Lessons from the Writing Wilderness, Jeaninne Stokes shares the story of leaving her full-time job to pursue a ministry in writing — or, as she puts it, “leaving the ‘Egypt,’ if you will, of my career, journeying through the wilderness of preparation, and then finally entering my promised land to become an author.”

Jeaninne says she truly loved her job at the time. So when she first heard God calling her to leave, she ignored the prompting for about a year. But God kept trying to get her attention. From an audible voice telling her it was time to go to the words “never be afraid to give up the good to go for the great” mysteriously appearing on her computer screen, the nudges from God became too obvious for her to continue ignoring them. 

Despite not knowing why God wanted her to leave her job — or what she was supposed to do once she left — Jeaninne obeyed. Now, she encourages others to be obedient to God’s call, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense. 

“God will not reveal anything else to you as to what He wants you to do until you take that first step of obedience,” she explains. “And that's what I had to do.”

Preparing in the Wilderness

After taking that first step of obedience, Jeaninne found herself at home alone, uncertain of what to do next. But that alone time allowed her to ask God for guidance and to listen for His answer. “When you make yourself an available instrument,” she says now, “God will start speaking and making His plans known.”

The first answer Jeaninne received was to get up at 4:00 AM every morning, go to her office, read the story of Moses and the Israelites, and write down the lessons she learned from it. Only after she obeyed this call did Jeaninne begin to understand the purpose for it. 

“God started speaking to me and saying, ‘I'm having you read this because you're going to be going on a similar journey. I've called you out of your Egypt and put you into the wilderness to prepare for a writing ministry,’” Jeaninne recalls. 

Although she didn’t necessarily want to undergo this “wilderness” period of preparation, Jeaninne came to understand over time that it was necessary. “Before you can do anything great, you’ve got to prepare for that great,” she explains.

For Jeaninne, preparation meant not only becoming a better writer, but also growing in her faith and learning to trust in God’s provision and guidance. She didn’t consider herself qualified for ministry, but as she continued to follow God’s leading, He continued to provide exactly what she needed for each day — just as He provided food and water for the Israelites in the wilderness. 

Learning to Be Vulnerable

Although Jeaninne had written numerous devotionals, Lessons from the Writing Wilderness was especially challenging to write, because it required her to be more vulnerable and transparent in her writing than ever before. Sharing her personal struggles and hardships with the world was difficult — but it was also important.

“I came to realize that people need to hear your story,” she says. “People connect with your story.” Through transparently sharing the story of her writing journey, Jeaninne has been able to help others who are going through similar “wilderness” experiences by offering them hope and encouragement.

It was a difficult journey, but Jeaninne says that once her book was finished, she