When I first started writing Rock of Ages, I knew it needed to have a good theme. And I knew exactly what that would be. Reliance. Both of my main characters, Rina and Chileab needed to learn who to rely on for everything, though Chileab needed to learn it the most. To be a bit more specific on the theme, here’s a little thing I worked up:

Theme: Reliance
Thematic Question: Who should you rely on?
Message: Only by relying on God can we succeed in our goals in life.

So there you have it, the point of the story. Now you don’t need to read it. 😉 Just kidding. There’s a lot more to the story than the theme and message.

But what is it about reliance that makes a story interesting? Well, that’s a great question. One interesting thing about writing is that it gives you a chance to learn things yourself. I don’t always rely on God for decisions or even some of the more mundane things in my life. And I have suffered for it.

Then there are the times that I do rely on God. Everything goes so much better when I do. Being a human is hard. Even when you know what is right and what works best, you still don’t do it.

So how do you rely on God in everything? By being perfect, but since we can’t do that, we will have to settle for a few tips on how to do it a little at a time.

1. Start with this moment. Ask God what he wants you to do and do it.
2. Move to the next moment and do something that you know is in God’s will.
3. Then do that for today.
4. And the next day
5. And the day after that.

Yes, it will be hard to keep up with it consistently, but if you fail one day, start up the next day and every day, try to get a little bit better at it.

And yes, I am preaching to myself as well. So let’s do this together! What will you do today to rely on God?

Be sure to check out the other blog posts in the tour to see the author interviews and book reviews.