Me…  A Writer, Author?  Nah, this can’t be happening.  Understanding, yet alone following grammar rules… no way as I am not a rule follower!  Did English class coming easy to me? No…certainly not.  But God had other plans.

 

Last summer, we had rescued our family cat, while trekking down Route 95 from Maryland to Florida on a camping trip.  Our truck had engine trouble around Stony Creek, Virginia.  This incident led us to a car dealership where we spotted a scared, hungry, untrusting, meowing, wiry, orange kitten under a dumpster.  We called him Oliver.  In September I started getting a vision for a Christian Children’s Book, based on Oliver’s uncanny behavior while we would read aloud our morning daily devotionals.  You see, Oliver really is a bit of a wild cat.  He can be very loving and the next moment we find ourselves covered in scratches up and down our arms.  He is also notorious for coming out around a corner and grabbing onto our legs to hang on with his sharp pointed claws.  But, when we are reading the Bible, he has a sense of peace about him.  It’s almost as if he is digesting the truths of God and experiencing God’s peace.  I began to jokingly say that he should be called Scripture Cat because of this consistent calming effect it seemed to have on him.

 

The idea for the children’s book was being laid on my heart.  I had been working in middle school age ministry at my church and also am blessed with two lively daughters, ages 10 and 12.  So if I am ever at a point where I understand this age group it is now as I am consistently entrenched in them!  I knew that this cat was special and that through this story, told by Oliver’s perspective; God would be able to reach children about whom He is and the desire that He truly wants a relationship with each and every one of them.  The mission statement of this book which will soon be a series is to “encourage children to know God more and engage with Him daily”.

 

So I sat down in front of a blank word document on my laptop and began pouring out the story into text.  About three hours later, a project had been set forth.  “Scripture Cat:  The Word is Where It’s At for this Cat” had been born. I had a manuscript and began researching Christian publishers.  I blasted out this story to every email I could obtain.  Low and behold, a Christian publisher out of Illinois responded and said that he wanted to give my book a chance!  The irony and humor in this is that the publisher/author was also a Pastor of Healings and Miracles.  I have often said the fact that this book is actually being published is truly a miracle considering my lack of credentials in this arena!

 

Later on in the very same week, a friend put me in contact with one of her friends that used to work at Simon and Schuster in New York. I found myself in a coffee house in Baltimore getting writing tips from her!  I could not have made this happen, folks!  This is truly God led and directed.  With her tips, I rewrote the story to make it more colorful and tangible.  She explained for me not to just tell the story, but to truly share the story.  Emotions, smells, visualizations, thoughts, textures really add to the readers’ experience.  The timing of this meeting was undeniably from God.

 

Two weeks after this book was published and released, God gave me the epiphany and greater purpose of this book.  I was assured that in general, children would be pointed towards Jesus when reading this.  It came upon my heart to be able to use this as an outreach tool for children of incarcerated parents and foster children/orphans.  I, too, was the child of an incarcerated parent over 25 years ago.  While I was not conscious or intentional this at the time I was writing this, Scripture Cat tells of how he loses his momma and siblings to Animal Control, is rescued by a loving Christian family and is ultimately directed to a relationship with Christ by listening to the family’s morning daily devotionals.  I suddenly saw to a parallel with kids that have suffered a parental loss, whether it to incarceration or other reason.

 

Believe me, most of my life I spent energy trying to suppress my past as it was hurtful, life changing and frankly, embarrassing, as a youth who had a father that was sentenced to jail. But, by the love that Christ has for me and all of His children, my truth and journey is now becoming a story of redemption.  My prayer is to be able to instill joy and hope in the children that are going thru these dark and uncertain times in their lives.  I want them to know that life truly does go on.  But we all need Jesus!  He carries us thru every trial in our lives and has plans for our good.

 

Am I beginning to see myself as a Writer or Author now?  Absolutely I am!  It is because with God all things are possible!  We all have a story to tell.  I would encourage you to pray for God’s will in your life and see where He takes you!  I wish you many blessings!!

 

“FOliver” and follow Oliver on Twitter @scripturecat, Instagram@scripture_Cat 

www.facebook.com/scripturecat

www.ScriptureCat.com

And book can be purchased through Amazon at http://amzn.com/0692644865

About the Author

Kelly Quickel is a wife and mother of two vivacious homeschooled daughters, runs an electrical business with her husband and is very active with her local church and community.  With the unexpected rescue and adoption of their special cat a series of compelling and humorous short stories has been inspired.  Scripture Cat is based on a true story of their family cat, of which consistently and ironically calms down when being read Scripture. This story is written in hopes that young readers will be encouraged to know God more and engage with Him daily.

Many Blessings!

Kelly Q.

 

Please check out our other posts about Becoming A Writer.

Becoming A Writer Part 1

Becoming A Writer Part 2

Becoming A Writer Part 3

Becoming A Writer Part 4

Becoming A Writer Part 5

If you are interested in writing a post about your journey as a writer please check out the following post.  Writing Opportunity