Sharing the Gospel

A warm welcome to my guest blogger, Marsha Hubler, a contributing author to 21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

As long as I can remember I wanted to be a teacher. But with my passion for horses since childhood, one of my goals was to own horses when I grew up. I had the privilege of having them for over twenty years, which, along with all my experience with all ages and academic levels of children, prepared me to write the Keystone Stables Series by Harper Collins/Zondervan.

What do you do to relax or blow off steam?

My husband and I enjoy hosting friends at our home on Friday and Saturday evenings. We eat pizza, then play a crazy card game called SCUM. Everyone loves it and always has a good time. I also enjoy going to lunch with Christian friends or local writers any day of the week that opens up our schedules.

Tell me something that’s quirky about you.

I love to shoot pool. (My father taught me when I was a child, and we have his pool table in our basement game room.)

What do you love most about writing?

I love to use the creativity that our most creative God has given me. I also love to share the good news that Jesus saves and he can change your life if you just surrender to him.

Share one of your most rewarding moments connected to your writing.

The most rewarding “moments” connected to my writing are when I receive e-mails from kids who have read my horse books and tell me they’ve accepted Jesus “because Skye did that in the book” or the kids are thinking more about God “because of the way Rickie acted in the book.” No amount of money can equal that joy to know I’ve helped someone draw closer to the Lord.

What inspired you to write this particular story for 21 Days of Love?

I wrote “For the Love of Peter” mainly because my latest projects have been Amish/Mennonite fiction books and short stories, so I was in that “thinking mode.” I live in an area heavily populated by Amish and Mennonite folks, and I’ve learned about them from casual friendships and by hiring a Mennonite gal to clean for me. (In fact, she’s here cleaning for me right now!)

Most people who don’t live in an Amish area assume the Amish are godly folks bound for heaven, but that’s not always the case. Sadly, the Amish are bound in tradition and by tons of rules and regulations and many don’t believe that accepting Jesus as their Savior alone will grant them eternal life. I wanted to share that message in my story for this collection.

What ministries are you passionate about and involved in?

I am passionate about sharing the gospel in my books. I consider writing a ministry from God and love to share the good news of salvation through Jesus alone in all I write. Also, I guess you could say my hubby and I have the gift of hospitality. Besides hosting friends in our home often for fellowship, we house missionaries and other traveling Christians when they’re passing through our church or area. I have also been the church organist for twenty years, and I sing in a mixed quartet. I’m passionate about praying for specific needs for those who share prayer requests with me. In a few weeks, I plan to lead a weekly Bible study for several ladies in our church.

Tell about an experience in your past that God used to put you where you needed to be in order to do something He called you to do.

I could write a book about how the Lord has prepared me for different ministries in my life. The most recent one is my accepting the directorship of the Montrose Christian Writers Conference in Montrose, PA, as of January 2015.

I had attended that conference since 1998 and was on faculty numerous times. As I became friends with the director, Patti Souder, I had a thorough understanding of how the conference had been organized and executed. Over the years, I came to know numerous authors, editors, and publishers and their expertise. Also, my background, including two principalships of private schools, gave me the leadership experience to step in and take over the writers’ conference without much transitional angst.

If you could be any fictional character, or star in any movie, which would it be and why?

I guess if I have to choose, it would be any character or actress who works with animals, especially horses and dogs. It would be great to have such enjoyable adventures, even if they were “fake.”

Besides Jesus, which person from the Bible would you most like to talk to, and what would you ask or say?

I’d love to talk to Noah, obviously because of my love for animals. I’d just like to sit and listen to him tell all the details of how he and his family cared for all those animals on that floating zoo for a year.

Thanks again for sharing with me and my followers!

Marsha Hubler, author of the best-selling Keystone Stables Series, has a master’s degree in education and has fifteen books and dozens of articles/short stories in print. The director of the Montrose Christian Writers Conference and a frequent speaker, she has a passion to help beginning writers. Visit Marsha on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and her website, www.marshahubler.com.