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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Last Words in the Last 5 Minutes of Life:

by Chautona Havig · 2 Comments

You’re dying.  No, really.  You are.  We all are. But what if you were dying… now? What if you only had five minutes to convey your last message to those you love most?

Just a “time out” before death to write the one message that fills your soul.

This was an exercise at last year’s retreat. Sitting in the warm, cozy living room of The Barn nestled in the mountains of Appalachia, this wonderful Christian retreat center has become my happy place.  I look forward to returning almost before I leave. Once a year—I pray I always get to come.

So with low lights, curled in the corner of the couch and laptop open, I waited for the instructions. Writing it came easy. I knew exactly what I wanted to say.  The words flowed from the moment our leader issued the challenge.

Around me, pens scratched, laptop keys clicked, pages rustled. Each person had something to say.  But then it happened.

 I broke down and bawled. 

Couldn’t read my own words because they tore at my heart.  Those I want to hear these words the most may never read them, but I’ll keep praying… keep loving… keep trusting that Jesus can carry the burden because it breaks me when I try.

I suspect we all have something like that—something we ache to say to someone. Something that burns in our hearts and our souls.  I’d prayed about these things for months—a year or more.  But somehow writing them and seeing those words on the “page” drove home the near-desperation I felt in sharing them.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the time has come for them to be received.  But that time, I trust, will come. Eventually.

In the meantime, I leave them here for two reasons.

  1. Because if I am wrong, if it is the right time, I know the Lord can and will direct those who need to see them to them.
  2. I can’t be the only one who has something burning in her heart. I leave them here as transparent vulnerability—as an encouragement. Write it out.  Even if you never send it, even if it’s rejected, share with someone.  The prayers and support of those who love you do beautiful things when the Lord holds them in His hands.

Last Words in the Last 5 Minutes of Life: five minutes

So what did I write? 

Here it is.  Unedited.  Just as I “penned” them that cold, autumn evening with a room full of godly, supportive writers sharing their “five minutes of encouragement.”

If you do nothing else, seek Jesus.  All the education, all the travel, all the family-ness is only window dressing to the real world out there—Jesus. Know Him.  [clickToTweet tweet=”Grasp His words in the Word and make them so much a part of yourself that you can’t possibly be divorced from them.” quote=”Grasp His words in the Word and make them so much a part of yourself that you can’t possibly be divorced from them.”] Your grades can fall. Borders can close in an instant. Family, wonderful and beautiful as it is, can’t save you. But with Jesus there is true life.

And know you were loved—are loved. More than I ever knew how to show or express.

I believe this is true of everyone. 

Someone out there loves you—cares about you.  Someone out there is aching to see you fully embrace the Lord and only Him. Even if that someone is only me.

Because you know, I do—care, that is. I’m not good with the emotional stuff, I fail in my attempts to support, and I’ll probably hurt your feelings at some point.  Alas, I have a particular talent for that.  Why do we always get the talents no one, including ourselves, wants?

But it’s true.  As I said on my bio page:

It means I care–about you. About your walk with Jesus. I care about the words you put before your eyes, the mental pictures those words conjure. It’s difficult to express just how much I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s difficult to share just how much I love you.”

And I mean every word of it.  I care.

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Comments

  1. flocat says

    January 29, 2018 at 7:04 am

    You put a lump in my throat. Only an author could put into words the things I truly feel as succinctly as you did. I’d take 50,000 words to say it and the reader would fade away before they got the grasp of it.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      January 29, 2018 at 2:26 pm

      Aw, thanks. I think that sense of urgency that they created at the retreat helped that a lot.

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
byChautona Havig

Before I began the interview with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel’s Song, I kind of went crazy and left it in to give you a chuckle. But Naomi and I chat about her upcoming release, why she chose to write about Ezekiel, and what areas she focused on. Listen in and hear her heart for the Word and for stimulating readers to love it and live it.

Oh, and that song I couldn’t remember? Well, I found it after a BUNCH of hunting on YouTube. Here you go!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Has Ezekiel Always Confused You? How about a Little Fictional Clarity?

There’s SO much to write about in Ezekiel, but after talking to Naomi Craig, I feel like I got a pretty good grasp of where she’s taking this book without feeling like I don’t need to read it now that we chatted, and that’s always great. Naomi shows service in the temple, how Ezekiel could have had a mentorish relationship under Jeremiah, and even what kind of woman his wife might have been.

Personally, I love the “Darcy-ish” meeting where he totally insults her and accuses her of being an idolatress. Let me tell you something. I cannot wait to read that! Seriously!

God had Ezekiel do a lot of weird things, and I always wondered how he managed some of it, but Naomi brings out possibilities by focusing on this wife that we don’t know much (anything) about. How cool is that?

Naomi also gave us a couple of glimpses into what’s coming next!

She’s #TeamBlue in the Keeping Christmas novella collections, writing about Herod’s palace and the wise men’s appearance looking for “the King of the Jews.”  And… from a scribe’s perspective!  How cool is that?

Also… next up is a book about a woman in Ephriam’s lineage who built three cities. A woman credited with the building of these cities!  I cannot wait! I love how Naomi focuses on how strong Biblical women were. So often we think of them as downtrodden and little more than cattle, but God shows how much He loves His daughters in the Word, and He definitely allows them to shine. We saw that in Naomi’s debut novel Rahab’s Courage.

Ezekiel’s Song by Naomi Craig

A prophet’s heart broken, a woman’s joy gone. What does Yahweh have planned for His people?

On the brink of Jerusalem’s demise, devoted priest, Ezekiel, sees the insincerity of Judah’s worship. Despite his efforts to call the people back to true worship of Yahweh, priests, artisans, valiant warriors, and royals are exiled to Babylon. When God gives him messages of continued judgment for the people in his homeland, his heart breaks. How can he minister to the people from so far away?

The presence of the Lord is tangible when Shiriel sings in the temple, and her voice prepares the hearts of many to worship. When she is exiled to Babylon, her faith is shaken. Does the Lord’s presence extend beyond Jerusalem and His holy temple?

Ezekiel is struck mute and paralyzed as he begins his prophetic ministry, and Shiriel devises a plan to get the Lord’s message back to the unfaithful people of Judah. Shiriel struggles with discontentment as serving the Lord looks nothing like she’d imagined. Can she provide for her family and carry out her husband’s ministry when her joy is gone, and her own dreams are placed on hold?

How will Yahweh save His people from themselves? Find out in Ezekiel’s Song!

Ezekiel’s Song is available at 30% off paperback and at a discount for Kindle, too through release week, so visit Naomi’s WEBSITE for more information.

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young—except the ones who destroy her beloved books. You could say she doesn’t have a very nice 
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