Welcome to another inspiring episode of Fierce Calling! Today, host Doris sits down with good friend Kristi Woods, an acclaimed author and speaker whose profound journey of faith and perseverance will leave you deeply moved. We delve into Kristi’s latest book, 101 Prayers for Military Wives, a heartfelt guide designed to help military spouses—and anyone seeking a deeper spiritual connection—grow closer to God through prayer. Kristi shares personal anecdotes, from how she met her husband through a pen pal program during Desert Storm, to the divine timing that led to her first book’s publication after years of patience and faith.

Doris and Kristi explore the intricate dynamics of developing a robust prayer life, the significance of understanding God’s character through scripture, and the transformative power of prayer. They also touch on Kristi’s foray into fiction writing, emphasizing perseverance and obedience to God’s calling even when the path seems uncertain.

If you’re seeking encouragement to deepen your faith, enrich your prayer life, or simply need a gentle reminder of God’s perfect timing, this episode is for you. Stay tuned as Kristi Woods shares her journey, offers valuable resources for women’s groups, and provides that much-needed spiritual nourishment to fuel your walk with God. Don’t miss it!

Connect with Kristi!

Kristi Woods, author and speaker, shares stories about Jesus, a few pretend couples, and other military and everyday heroes. Her award-winning work is published across the Internet and in print, including her recent gift book release,101 Prayers for Military Wives. Kristi, her Desert Storm pen pal-turned-husband, and three (now adult) children survived a nomadic, military lifestyle and have set roots in Oklahoma. There, she keeps a close watch for tornadoes and good chocolate.

Website/Contact:
KristiWoods.net 

Newsletter Subscription:

KristiWoods.net/subscribe/

Social: 
Pinterest
Instagram
Facebook

What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?

Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at https://dorisswift.com/book/

Let’s Stay Connected!

Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook, and more on my dorisswift.com homepage!

Love Fierce Calling?

Following, rating, and leaving a review over at Podchaser or Apple Podcasts helps others discover the show too!

Need a Speaker for Your Next Women’s Event? Now Booking for 2025!

Check out my speaking page, grab my flyer, and let’s talk about me speaking at your next women’s event…

Transcript
Surrender the Joy Stealers Bible Study Intro …

Doris [00:01:45]:
What is threatening to steal your joy? What is it that feels so heavy right now that you could barely stand? God has a plan, and his plan is to surrender it. Surrender it to him. It might be a prodigal. It might be a relationship, a marriage, something with your job. So many things. We have so many amazing blessings, but there are so many things in our life that threaten to steal our joy. I’m Doris Swift, author of the award winning 6 week Bible study, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You. And it helps women rediscover the overflowing, ever present Jesus joy within that fills, empowers, and ripens the fruit that God produces in our lives.

Doris [00:02:36]:
Using personal and biblical stories, I share how you can identify your joy stealers, surrender them to God, reawaken the joy within, and share the joy with others. You can do it on your own or with a group. Check it out, friends. Surrender the joy stealers. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. It’s available on all the online retailers. It’s time to take your joy back. Welcome back to the show.

Now On with the Show …

Doris [00:03:06]:
I am excited to welcome my friend, Kristi Woods. She has been a friend for a long time. We were just talking about over the years how we originally connected, how God connects us. And there’s some relationships that are in our lives for maybe a season, and then there’s some that are in for the long haul, and that’s kinda how ours has been. She’s an author and speaker, and she shares stories about Jesus. And a few pretend couples will ask her about that, and other military and everyday heroes. Her award-winning work is published across the Internet and in print, and she has a book, it’s a gift book that released called 101.

Doris [00:03:49]:
[laugh] It’s not prayers 101, It’s a 101 prayers for military wives. So she actually met her husband through being a pen pal in Desert Storm. She’s gonna talk about that a little bit. She has 3 adult children. They’ve moved a lot because of the military lifestyle. So some of you listening can relate to that, and they have set roots in Oklahoma.

Doris [00:04:14]:
Welcome to the show, Kristi. It’s so great to have you on.

Kristi Woods [00:04:18]:
I’m so excited and honored to be here, so thank you.

Doris [00:04:20]:
Well, thank you. Yeah. We were talking about how we just, you know, connected years ago with our love for writing and our call for writing and speaking. So tell us a little bit about your desert storm, Pen Powell turned husband. And then after that, tell us more about your story and how you’re taking action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.

Kristi Woods [00:04:46]:
Wonderful. Well, my desert storm pen pal was just that. You know, desert storm was happening. I was a senior in college at the time, so that ages me a bit. And I love to write letters, and at the time, dear Abby, who was a newspaper columnist, had this thing where you could write to any service person. Like, literally, that is what you put as the 2. And then she had an address where you sent it, and then they got it to the different military forces and to different people, the personnel. And then, you know, it’s it’s up to to chance, to fate, to god, whether you got a letter back or not.

Kristi Woods [00:05:26]:
And so my I sent several letters. I got a few in return. I actually got one from my husband, though, and he continued to write. And he was special, just different. You know? He was very kind in his letters, and, and that was, well, that was 1 year. And then the next year, we had the chance to finally talk on the phone. So we only had letters for the 1st year, phone calls for the second, and then the 3rd was in person, and then the 4th, we got married. So it was kind of an interesting progression, and I’m I’m grateful for it because I was really focused far too much on the exterior, and I believe the Lord knew that.

Kristi Woods [00:06:07]:
And so he brought me a man that was handsome in so many ways inside and out, but his appearance on the outside was not something I typically looked for. So I probably would have looked right past him, Not because he was ugly or anything, it just wasn’t my particular look. Mhmm. And because I didn’t know what he looked like for a year because he didn’t send me any pictures for a whole year. We were writing letters, and I got to know who he was on the inside through those letters. And, you know, it could’ve turned out kinda scary if you think about that, honestly, but it didn’t. God had his hand in it, and it’s always good when it’s and, so we’ve been married 30 years now. We just celebrated 30 this year, so it’s been a a wonderful, sometimes wild, sometimes, you know, difficult, but fabulous overall ride, and I wouldn’t wanna do it with anybody else.

Doris [00:07:00]:
Wow. Well, congratulations on 30 years. And I love that story so much. It seems like it should be like a Hallmark movie or something, you know.

Kristi Woods [00:07:10]:
And But it it did make it into a chicken soup for the soul. Oh, nice. So if you signed 1 on Love Stories.

Doris [00:07:16]:
Oh, wow. Okay. Which, which of the chicken soups was that in?

Kristi Woods [00:07:23]:
I I I think it’s called Love Stories, I think, is the total, but it’s a couple walking hand in hand with their their back to you on the front cover. So it’s it’s been a few years ago. 6 or 7 years ago, it was published. So

Doris [00:07:35]:
Nice. Well, it’s a story that needs to be told. It’s so special and precious. And I love the fact that you all had the opportunity to connect on a heart level before, you know, a physical level. Because oftentimes, you know, it’s that physical attraction first, and it may not be the person that you’re compatible with, you know, or that’s not the person god has for you. And so I I love that story. And I’m I’m gonna have to check out and get that chicken soup for the soul book, wherever that is. Whatever whichever.

Doris [00:08:11]:
Because I know they have so many of those, but that is great. I’m glad it got into that book because it it’s so sweet. I just love that so much. So so then tell us more about your story and and how you’re taking action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect. I kind of alluded a little to that with what your calling is, but share what you feel God is leading you to share with our listeners today.

Kristi Woods [00:08:40]:
Well, hopefully, it’ll be encouragement to somebody or maybe a few somebody’s out there. I hope so. Because, mine is one of a dream that I thought was lost. And I had had felt this calling to write and to, just really dive in to the non Christian nonfiction world. And so I was so eager, you know, and then it got tough, and I wanted to quit, and the holy spirit said stay the course three times. And so I did, and then finally, at about year 7, there was still no book contract. And for me, I guess, I felt there was going to be a book contract. So I’m not sure that was my identity, but it was definitely a big part of the picture.

Kristi Woods [00:09:22]:
And there was no book contract, and so I just said, I’m done. I must have missed you, Lord. I don’t understand what happened here. I I got frustrated. I mean, I know that that’s, you know, that’s not real godly. I’ll just be honest with you, but, you know, I got frustrated, and I didn’t realize it. But that actually transitioned into an anger at God, which is really kind of like a scary place to be. But I think it’s okay at the same time that we acknowledge it so that we can work through that.

Kristi Woods [00:09:49]:
I think he can handle that if we just have open palms and hand that back to him and allow him to show us who he is. And and and that’s kind of a a couple things happened in this. Right after I said I quit and I stopped trying, god opened the door. And a relationship and that was 2022, and a relationship that was built back in 2015 is what helped open the door. Mhmm. And it didn’t take any effort on my part, you know, because I’m a doer. I love to get in there and try to figure things out and to make it work and, you know, put the puzzle pieces together, and, I think I was maybe in the way, honestly, and that God just needed to show me that he was all knowing, you know, fully capable. He’s the almighty.

Kristi Woods [00:10:40]:
And then he was the creator, not only of me, but of the plan, and that I wasn’t going to create the plan and work it around what he says and stuff, but rather he was creating the plan, and I was invited to join him in that. And so it was kind of a flip, and I don’t know if I can describe that well, which is so funny because being an author, you’d think you’re really strong with words, but sometimes I feel extremely weak with them. But instead of me charging ahead and saying, okay, god. I’m doing this. You know, you’ve called me to do it, so I’m doing it. It was waiting and then joining his invitation. Even though I already knew there was a calling and, you know, it’d been 7 years going on 8. By the time the book was published, it was 8 years, which is the average, by the way, for a book to be published for authors to get published.

Kristi Woods [00:11:32]:
And, you know, and then he opened the door, and I received a message from a friend, and they had somebody that they were close to that was in the publishing industry that, was just starting the US side of a company that had been overseas, but was coming to the US and needed some some books in their library and said, hey. Would you consider writing? I’ve seen your work. I like it. And all the things you normally have to do to get a book published traditionally, I did 0 of them. Got opened the door. There was no proposal, which usually there’s, like, this 12 page proposal that takes a lot of time and effort. I did not have to do that. And and the funny part, just all of these things, he just opened the door, and I I prayed when I had the conversation, we both walked away saying the publisher and I both said, let’s go pray.

Kristi Woods [00:12:25]:
And so we we went our ways and we prayed within 24 hours, Doris. I knew he was telling me, this is where you’re supposed to head. I had given up, and I focused on my fiction, which, you know, we’ll talk about later. But I thought, well, I’m just gonna focus on fiction and I’m done with nonfiction. And he said, no. So, you know, sometimes, you know, other people may not have the writing journey the same as I do or you do, but they may have some other kind of journey that they know that they’re being called to. Maybe there’s a waiting period.

Doris [00:13:02]:
Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:13:03]:
And maybe they’re getting frustrated.

Doris [00:13:05]:
Yes. And

Kristi Woods [00:13:07]:
okay. And maybe that frustration’s even turning into a little bit of anger and you don’t realize it. You know, I would just encourage people when they get into that point, And this came soon after I wrote A 100 Long Prayers for Military Wives, which was that book that came from that conversation that God opened the door, which by the way, I really didn’t think I would be, you know, focused on military wives, because we had retired at that point from the military, and we’re living in a very civilian community. So I just didn’t think that that would be, the focus, but God said, no. It’s that. And I think it’ll not only be that, but I think it’ll it’ll be heroes with Jesus being the first and then, like, military, law enforcement, first responders, and stuff because I have a son who does that and a nephew who does that as well. And, I just see God’s hand molding things that I never thought imaginable. Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:14:03]:
But, you know, I if people could just hold tight, and this is going back just a little bit. Like, if you’re the one that’s in that area of frustration, I would just encourage folks to dive into Psalms, maybe dive into John or Colossians, and pick out those things where God says who he is. It’s phenomenal. And that’s what happened soon after to me is he took me actually to the book of John, and they weren’t read letters a lot of times. They were not in big bold print. They weren’t the names that you think of when you study the names of God. They were very subtle and very simple descriptions, but they were in almost every single chapter, and there were a bunch of them. And it was phenomenal.

Kristi Woods [00:14:51]:
I was like, oh, no. He’s a truth teller. He’s the hope giver. He’s my salvation, my redeemer. You know? And some of those are ones you you think of often, but there were others too that if you dive in, you’ll find them. They’re there. And, you know, it’s been kind of an amazing journey that I just I keep holding on to all of that, and it’s given me, you know, a a strength that I don’t think I I wouldn’t have had otherwise, obviously. You know? So I had to kinda go through that journey of frustration and and anger and then him showing that open door and saying, no.

Kristi Woods [00:15:32]:
See, this is what I’m doing. Here’s where I’ve called you to be, where I want you to be. And, you know, I think you probably have listeners that use the same message right now.

Doris [00:15:42]:
Yeah. Wow. Thank you for sharing that. That was very encouraging. And like you said, it doesn’t necessarily have to look like the same kind of a journey. Like, maybe it’s not publishing. But true. I guess, statistically, there are many people who have a story and feel like they’re called to write a book.

Doris [00:16:01]:
And it is. It’s a long process. It’s a long journey. And when we feel something, like, so shut up on our bones, we can’t contain it. You know, like God. You know, like the gospel. When it’s a calling like that, and we feel like, wow, did I miss something? Did I hear you wrong? Why is this not going? Because usually there’s this pattern that we feel like everything needs to follow. Now, God’s all about patterns.

Doris [00:16:32]:
There’s patterns all throughout. You know, we’ve seen the old testament, you know, he gives patterns for the tabernacle and, you know, all of those things. But we, you know, sometimes the journey doesn’t look exactly like we have been trained or taught that it should look. This is the step you take, then you do this, then you do that. And I think the key to that you were really describing there is the surrender part. Because sometimes we grasp things, like, we just grasp things so tightly in our hand and feel like, oh, this is mine. I have to do all the things. You know, I have to be in control to make this happen, and I’m following all the directions of and oftentimes, they’re godly leaders that we are allowing to speak into our lives and training and teaching, and, you know, they impart to us the knowledge they have.

Doris [00:17:25]:
But but that surrender when when we open our hand and say, you know what, God, this is all this is all yours anyway. And if if this is something that you do not want me to do, because I had a similar experience. It’s like, if you don’t want me to do this, then please just take it. Even if if it’s something that I really love and wanna do, if it’s not what you’re calling me to do, I don’t wanna waste any more of your time. I don’t wanna waste any time, because we can’t waste time. We have we have a mission here, you know, on earth to share Jesus with with the world. And so I so I love that of your story and that you are ready to quit. And I think that would really resonate right now with so many people who are at a point where they’re going, this is so hard, and I don’t think this is working.

Doris [00:18:16]:
Obviously, this is not working. But yet, like you said, just just go ahead and surrender it to God and say, you know what? Here you go. I I’m I’m not gonna do this anymore. And then he opens all these doors. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing that. So then what happened after you got this, opportunity?

Kristi Woods [00:18:37]:
Right. So the the door opened, and I wrote the book. And it got published, and it’s a beautiful little gift book that has a, black grayish camo coat cover that fits perfectly inside a purse because, you know, military wives are on the go. And so I know that probably some of your listeners aren’t all military wives, obviously, but many are on the go probably. Mhmm. And so they can appreciate that that’s something that they can fit into, you know, a bag or a purse pretty easily. But that’s that’s the journey with that, that side of it, with the nonfiction side. So I’m just, you know, working with different military wives, and and, honestly, people, kind of the middleman, if you will, because there’s a lot of us who are middlemen that know military wives.

Kristi Woods [00:19:27]:
We’re friends with their moms maybe or we go to church with their families or maybe that’s the neighbor across the street. And, honestly, that’s who I found has been my biggest audience, for me personally. Now the book’s audience might is broader than that. It’s it’s those those, military wives as well too. But, yeah, so it’s been kind of interesting to connect with people and hear some of their stories. And, you know, a lot of them saying, I just I don’t know how to reach out, so this has helped. And, you know, I think we all, wherever we are, whether it’s the artist, the teacher, you know, the doctor, the stay at home mom, the parent, whomever, it’s good when people understand our story.

Doris [00:20:12]:
Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:20:13]:
You know, because it allows us to form those relationships that are closer. And, you know, in this situation, this book is one that allows his military wives to know that, God knows their story. Because when I wrote the introduction, it was a little backwards. I wrote it after I wrote the book, and if you can picture, it was it was kind of like I was sitting in an office and as the administrative assistant or, like, a receptionist or something at a desk, behind me was an office with the door that was open. In front of me was the entrance. The military wife was invited to come in, and this could be for anybody. In this case, it pertains to this book, so it’s, you know, military wives, but it could be for any of us to step into the story and be the woman that’s walking through that door. But she’s invited to to walk in through that door, and it’s my job then as the author to take her hand and lead her to the open door behind me.

Kristi Woods [00:21:17]:
Because inside that room is God almighty, and he is waiting for a 1 on 1 meeting with her. But it’s not business, It’s personal. And he’s ready for me to just close the door and for God and that woman to have quiet time together where she hears him, he hears her. There’s an intimacy that’s, of a a spiritual sense, you know, that that she comes to know who her creator is, who her god is, who her savior is. And that was kind of the intro, and and it was I call it a holy moment. It definitely was because I came away from that just kinda like, wow. What just happened? You know? That was incredible. And and so, you know, sometimes I say it’s a 101 invitations to spend time with God because that’s what prayer does for any of us.

Kristi Woods [00:22:17]:
It’s an invitation to spend time with him. So these prayers are pertaining to the military wife, but, you know, there’s all the rest of us that there are prayers that are, you know, more blanket to our situations. And those are opportunities for intimacy with god alone, That time of communion, of conversation, of hearing, of talking, of listening, you know, all of that. And, it’s just a phenomenal thing. I mean, it just kinda changed me, and I was just the one penning it. You know? But I hope it changes those who who listen to this podcast, you know, and and they go and maybe dive into Psalms and and hear what he has to say, and and maybe pray those back to him because they’re phenomenal. And and make their own prayers if they’re not a military wife. But if, you know, if they have somebody in their family that is a military wife, then maybe the book is an option for them to help do that as well.

Kristi Woods [00:23:14]:
So

Doris [00:23:14]:
Yeah. That’s really beautiful. And it makes you think about carving out that special time Mhmm. For the intimacy, like you said, for the relationship. Because there’s so many things in the world that are so loud and just can get in our way. But when we when we read about how God appreciates when we give the first fruits, when we don’t give him the leftovers of us, you know, like, our offering should be the very best, the very you know, like, you know, we read about that in Malachi. We, you know, we read about that throughout the Bible. It’s like, he wants the very best for for for us, but he wants the very best from us, which is our offering of time in talking with him.

Doris [00:24:05]:
Like you said, the prayers are Mhmm. A conversation with God and not to be like an afterthought. You know, like, oh, oh, yeah. I forgot to talk to God today, kinda thing. So it’s just something that becomes part of our being and and just ingrained in us, and we just think of him all throughout the day and talk to him. And but I love that you because I was in the beginning, when I was talking about 101, it’s just I don’t know why that number stood out, and I was like, prayer 101. No. That’s not what it is.

Doris [00:24:35]:
But how did you come up with the 101, like 101? What was that number significant for you for?

Kristi Woods [00:24:43]:
That’s actually it’s a simple answer. I had nothing to do with it. It was my publisher.

Doris [00:24:47]:
Okay. So

Kristi Woods [00:24:49]:
they they had some other books, that were similar Mhmm. For other gen other focuses focus groups, and so they wanted to kinda continue that theme. So

Doris [00:24:59]:
Good. Yeah. So it was kind of like, like you said, continuing that kind of a thing with the publisher. Because, I mean, I love that number. You know, it makes people it catches your eye because it’s not 365 prayers or 30 days or, you know, that kind of thing where you normally would see it. So 101 is is so different. And military wives, I love that you have Military Wives as an audience, but yet the book can actually be for anyone who wants to grow deeper in their prayer life. And actually, did you in the beginning, was your blog walking deeper? Because I thought you did, because I had that similar thing when I first started.

Doris [00:25:47]:
I had, like, there was a season where my blog was walking deeper. And so it it connected with me, and then I just I transitioned away from that, and then I saw you had the same God gave you that same thing about walking deeper.

Kristi Woods [00:25:59]:
Yeah. Isn’t that funny? Yeah. Because I I think, you know, Doris, I have such a my heart burns in a in a good way, a tenacious way, for people not to stay at the surface, but to to dive deeper in their relationship with God. And I honestly think be because maybe it’s not the whole reason, but, you know, when we get to know who God is, like we talked about earlier, and when we dive deeper in our relationship, like, just diving into his word, diving into prayer and conversation with him, and making those intimate intricate parts of every day, then we start to see a stance that’s just on that solid I mean, it’s already on the solid rock, but sometimes we’re surfacing, you know, and then we just kinda float away, and that’s not what we want. You know, we’ve got a God who’s phenomenal, who’s amazing, who, he’s the God of possibilities, not impossibilities. You know? And and so it’s really better to to dive in so that we learn how to dive deeper instead of just staying up there on that surface. And so that’s, you know, that’s where it came from. And I was that was my tagline, actually, on my blog, was diving deeper with God.

Kristi Woods [00:27:13]:
And then when fiction came into the picture and then this book, it’s kind of it’s in a transitional phase right now.

Doris [00:27:23]:
Mhmm.

Kristi Woods [00:27:23]:
So, but I I do believe it’ll be focused on heroes with Jesus being the first one, and then there’ll be nonfiction and fiction that’ll be centered on heroes when it’s all said and done. So

Doris [00:27:35]:
Nice. Yeah. And kinda when you’re explaining that, what came to mind was the parable of the the soil, you know, and how we want the seed to go deep into good soil and not to just be on rocky ground where the enemy can snatch away, you know, the word. And we do get busy, and and I think that walking deeper is great and getting deeper, diving deeper as you said into the word because you you picture like a pool. You don’t dive into the shallow end because that is dangerous. You know, you just see that no diving sign, you can And I’ll picture that in our minds, you know, the circle with the through the middle and the person diving. You don’t dive into the shallow end, you dive into the deep end because that’s where you can get into more depth without getting hurt. So we can really dig deeper and think about that when we are going into the word and to study the word and cross reference.

Doris [00:28:42]:
And, you know, there’s so many different guides too that can help us, but just reading the words in in the word of God is just so powerful. And like you were saying, things were brought out to you that you hadn’t realized before because we we have seen names of God. We sing a song at Christmas that tells us what the names of God are and, you know, different things like that. But he is so much more, and so he revealed that to you through his word. And and that’s how, you know, we really can grow an intimacy with him. And we get to know his character, and we and we read his word, and and the Bible being a book about him and not making it all about us because we tend to do that. It’s like

Kristi Woods [00:29:26]:
It’s so it’s easy. Yeah. I you know, and it helps when those tough times come Mhmm. Then you you know, okay. Now this is what it looks like, but here’s what it is.

Doris [00:29:37]:
Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:29:37]:
Because here’s who God says he is, and so this is where I trust. And, you know, and it’s been an interesting year. In fact, I just was emailing a friend today. Like, we’ve had some major, major things happen in my my immediate family. Mhmm. And the list is long of things that most people encounter maybe 1 and then, you know, every few years or maybe 1 in a decade and they’ve bunched all in this year for us. And, some are great, some are really hard, and, it has been a lifeline to have, you know, that study behind me and know, okay. No.

Kristi Woods [00:30:20]:
Remember who he is. Remember who he is. Remember who he is. Remember who he is. And so, you know, but if we’re not in in the word and we’re not in relationship tight relationship with him, then we can be tossed by those waves. Right? Right. Other words talk about that. And we don’t want that.

Kristi Woods [00:30:35]:
We we wanna eat steak, not drink just milk. So

Doris [00:30:38]:
Yeah. Yeah. And and building that firm foundation, like, layer upon layer upon layer of the firm foundation. It just makes me think of, like, pouring concrete, you know, and just, like, solid, you know. It’s so, that is so important. And I do I love that you have also gotten into you you’ve been writing fiction. So tell us a little bit about what that looks like and and what your fiction books are about.

Kristi Woods [00:31:08]:
Well, another surprise. It was a a calling that I never anticipated. I just sense the Holy Spirit pointing me in that direction. And in fact, I kinda did a double take and said, are you sure? Because this is not anything I mean, you know, I’m joining the ranks of people that went to college for creative writing that, you know, write 4 books a year and are, you know, churning out these books that are in libraries and are the ones I read, I’m like, this what is happening here? So, anyway, I decided to stick my toe in and just see, and so I thought, well, let me make sure this is him because this is a little unexpected. And so I stuck my foot in and did finished the little story that was called flash a flash fiction story, which is usually 750 or a 1000 words or less. And, and it did well. You know, I put it in a contest, a couple of contests, and it did well. And I said, wow.

Kristi Woods [00:32:11]:
Okay. Well, maybe. I don’t know. So then I said, well, let me dive into writing a novel. And I, you know, I decided, well, we know military, so I’m gonna include military. And so, you know, there’s some of the hero theme, which I didn’t realize God was at work in until, actually, just recently, in the last year or so, year and a half. And this was before that. So it was like, okay.

Kristi Woods [00:32:35]:
Well, now I have heroes in my book. And their contemporary romance, is where I focus on. And I will say that, my first novel is what I call the molasses novel, so that probably speaks for itself. It’s taking forever. Mhmm. But there are 40 chapters, and I’m on 33. So it’s not quite finished, and it’s been a long journey and much longer than what I wanted or expected, but I’ve learned to enjoy the journey. Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:33:03]:
Or at least attempt to, just to be honest with you. Because, you know, it’s it’s God’s journey and it’s his timing. So, you know, I’m just gonna release it to him, and I laugh and call it the molasses journey, but it’s been quite the learning experience. And, you know, I think we all have our things, whether it’s, you know, like I said before, maybe you’re a teacher or a nurse or maybe it’s an advertising or marketing or something of that sort. And we all kinda have our learning curve and our you know, we feel like God’s called us this place, but yet it kinda looks a little gray or a little uncertain at times.

Doris [00:33:36]:
Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:33:36]:
But we just gotta go back and remember, okay, now he’s called me to this. So obedience sticks with it even when it feels a little, shaky.

Doris [00:33:45]:
Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:33:45]:
Obedience sticks with it and feeds it through and and waits for his timing.

Doris [00:33:49]:
Yes. Yeah. Because the word talks about perseverance and, you know, and like with fiction, so true. It’s it’s a lot longer usually than a nonfiction book. It has a lot more chapters and getting into different characters and subplots, and you have to have characters that have depth. You have to develop them. There’s so much to fiction writing. And it’s funny, I always joke because I’ve had other writers on the show that also write fiction.

Doris [00:34:18]:
It’s like Christian fiction sounds like an oxymoron, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be like in your face kind of Christian, but it has Christian values or maybe some of the characters, their faith comes out in the story. And a lot of people have been led to Christ through reading books about characters that are of the faith, but then also then they delve into reading more about the authors, and a lot of authors do also have nonfiction as well. And so it it is. It’s a journey, but I love how you mentioned no matter what your journey is or what God has called you to do, perseverance is key and staying in him, abiding in him, walking in obedience, and he brings the blessings and the fruit from it. So your your molasses novel is gonna be fantastic. You’re you’re very close to the end. I mean, look how far you’ve come now.

Kristi Woods [00:35:13]:
I know. I know. It’ll be it’s gonna be close to 85,000 words when it’s done. And I just was nodding my head when you’re saying it’s difficult to write fiction because I I feel it’s more difficult to write fiction personally. Now everybody may not feel this way than nonfiction. Mhmm. There’s so much to learn. So, you know, god will sometimes take us to these endeavors that we never expected, and we may feel fully unqualified.

Kristi Woods [00:35:39]:
Yeah. Yeah. Hand raised, fully unqualified, and I I had to learn. I mean, this is this is awful, Doris, but I’m admitting this right now. I had to even look up and go, okay. Well, is fiction and novel, like, the same? Are they synonymous? I don’t even know. When I started this, that sounds awful because I had read, you know, novels and fiction previously. I don’t know where my education was, but it wasn’t there, obviously.

Kristi Woods [00:36:04]:
And so, like, I just had to look things up, and I’m like, I don’t know what POV means. I don’t know which is point of view and kind of the character’s eyes that that chapter is seen out of or that scene. And, I mean, I just had to look up everything, and I was like, oh my gosh. It’s so inadequate here. But you know what? When we feel inadequate often, then that’s when his strength shines through. And, you know, and and our inact inadequacy can can become a strength, you know, as we hone the skills. And sometimes, I mean, right, Joshua? They had to march 7 times, so it didn’t come down the first time. And so sometimes it’s gonna take us multiple times of circling to get things figured out and to, you know, to just trust and to wait, and then it’ll come.

Doris [00:36:49]:
Yeah. Sure. And thank you for being transparent and vulnerable to tell us that, because, yeah, I mean, we we have to be real, like, what’s the difference between a novel and a novella? Like, what you know, so many different things. And then when you’re writing fiction, if you have all these other side things going on in subplots, you have to make sure for the reader that you’re tying these things up. Like that they are not just left hanging out there. So then it’s like, well, whatever happened with that? You know, there’s so many things going on. And, yeah, there’s there’s lots to it, but it is it’s exciting. It’s an exciting adventure.

Doris [00:37:26]:
So, so I’m looking forward to when that comes out, so we can talk more about it. I’ll have to have you back on the show. So we can talk about that.

Kristi Woods [00:37:36]:
But this yeah.

Doris [00:37:37]:
This is just a joy. And and some of the things that I really think, some of the wonderful points that you’ve made throughout our conversation today is, you know, to not to quit if you seek God, you know, just continue to seek, abide in him, and trust him, and surrender our own control to him, and just have an open conversation and be honest about it, god, if this is not what you are calling me to do. Because I know there are people listening who are in the middle of a project or season where they’re just going, okay, I can’t, of course, see the end of how this is going to pan out. And am I am I doing this right? Am I on the right track? And I think we focus sometimes so much on that, instead of just trusting God and going, you know what, I’m just gonna get up every day and take whatever the next right step is that you direct. As I make my plans, you direct the steps. My plans might totally change to, you know, because I always say, like, sometimes he changes our plans so we can follow his. Kisses are much better. So, any other, like, last encouraging words that you have on your heart that you could share with someone listening right now?

Kristi Woods [00:38:52]:
I would just say something that was, you know, settled on my heart years ago is to stay the course. Mhmm. And just, man, grab a hold. I I think we’re in a time where people are tired. Mhmm. And there’s just so much chatter and so much noise, like you mentioned earlier, Doris. And it that’s even that way sometimes in the church, you know, in the walls. Mhmm.

Kristi Woods [00:39:18]:
But when we refocus and we focus upward

Doris [00:39:23]:
Mhmm.

Kristi Woods [00:39:24]:
Instead of on the giftings or the plans or the the negatives or, you know, the struggles, the storm, if we just focus on him and, you know, you can, like, like I mentioned before, do that through the word, learning who he is, you know, spending time in communion, quiet conversation with him. That changes us.

Doris [00:39:48]:
Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:39:49]:
Because he’s our strength and our shield. He’s our firm foundation. Yeah. You know, he’s he’s the pillar. You know you know? He’s he’s the one who leads the way, and so we just have to keep our eyes on our father who loves us lavishly. And so for the women who are listening or that woman that’s listening that she’s struggling and she’s ready to pull her hair out, she’s about done. Mhmm. Just one more step and just keep your eyes up.

Kristi Woods [00:40:16]:
You know, keep focused on him. And you know what? If you have to wipe the slate clean and take everything off the table for the day, for the week, or whatever, and just spend time in communion with him, maybe that’s just an hour, maybe that’s just 5 minutes, but, you know, an extended period of time if possible, See what happens. It’s maybe a challenge, you know, to just do that and see see where it goes from there. Because I have a feeling that, our god of possibilities will show things that we never expected.

Doris [00:40:48]:
Yeah.

Kristi Woods [00:40:48]:
Beyond our wildest imaginations. Right?

Doris [00:40:51]:
Yes. Amen. Wow. Thank you. That is just an encouraging word right there for someone who’s listening to just lean in. And Yes. Great advice in actionable steps that are that are simple, just take a step back. And sometimes it just means we just need a break for a little while to see, you know, do I need to continue in this direction? Are you redirecting me? And he’ll put people in our lives that will speak truth into our lives, but ultimately, his word is the answer to all of our questions.

Doris [00:41:28]:
And, you know, we may not know everything this side of heaven, but the solutions to our problems and things are are found in the word. So I appreciate you sharing that encouragement, and I would love if you would share with the listener how they can connect with you, what types of resources that you have to offer, and anything else that could really encourage and be in benefit for them today.

Kristi Woods [00:41:51]:
Sure. They can find me at kristiwoods.net, and that’s woods with an s. You can find me there. There’s a great search bar that you can type in, even, like, bible study. There’s some resources for memorizing the word, for studying the word, for some of the things that we talked about today. So take a look at that, and you can find the different resources. If you go to the nonfiction tab, you’ll find that Chicken Soup for the Soul book. I just thought about that.

Kristi Woods [00:42:23]:
So it’s there, so it’ll make it easy to find it. And if you subscribe, come along for the journey. I love having people come along. You get free access to the subscriber library, which is exclusive just for subscribers, and there’s free downloads for to help build your faith and ones for you to even minister to, maybe older folks, shut ins and widows and that sort of thing as well there too, and then other resources, prayer resources as well. If you would like a prayer journal, I would love to give your prayer your listeners a prayer journal. They just go to christywoods.netback/prayerdashjournal. Mhmm. You’ll they’ll find a free journal that they can download there.

Kristi Woods [00:43:07]:
And, it’s just it’s it’s kind of kinda neat. It has, places for you to write out prayers, scriptures for you to pray, gives you some examples of those, also place to put in there for praying for others and and those answers and then also prayers for yourself, that you’ve seen where you’ve seen God work. And, it’s a great tool to go back and look at maybe even at the end of the year Mhmm. And just see what God has done over a year’s time because it’s pretty amazing usually. Yeah. And so those are the main places you can find me. There’s also a, a shop tab, which has a lot of my Etsy resources in there, which are bible studies, printable scriptures that you can use for memorizing. There’s 12 of them, one for each month for the next year if you want.

Kristi Woods [00:43:51]:
There’s gratitude journals, which I feel very, close to. That was an important one to me. There’s a bible journal. We’re getting ready to do a bible study coming up, in the fall, and so we’ll be using that bible journal as well for that and other resources there too. So, yeah, come over. I’d love to connect.

Doris [00:44:11]:
Fantastic. And a lot of those printables and things that people can find, they’re great for women’s groups, like leaders of women’s groups who wanna share a good word or something. I know whenever I have a woman’s group, I like to share stuff with with the gals, you know, and and print things and offer them hope and and encouragement that they can take home with them, you know, and then refer them to check out your site. So they could do that too when they do it. But this has been so great. And like I said earlier, I would love to have you back on some time, and I’m gonna have the links in the show notes so that the listener can connect with you and find your book. Again, the gift book is 101 prayers for military wives, and you can also find the journals and things that Kristi talked about. And again, she is christywoods.net, k Kristi with AK.

Doris [00:45:07]:
Because there is another Kristi Woods, and she’s, like, an actress or something. I don’t know. It’s like

Kristi Woods [00:45:12]:
Yes. She’s a Canadian actress, I think.

Doris [00:45:14]:
Not her site. This other site, christywoods.net. So you’ll you’ll be able to tell if you’re at the right place. But, anyway, thank you so much. Kristi, this has been a joy and a pleasure to have you on, and it’s so fantastic to reconnect with you. And I’m yeah. God bless you and your ministry and this writing and your family and all the things you have going on as you continue to encourage others to walk deeper and dive into God’s word. So thank you, Kristi, and we’ll talk soon, Fran.

Kristi Woods [00:45:46]:
Alright. Thank you so much.

I hope you’ll join me next time, when I talk with another woman who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.

Until then, friend, have a blessed week and I’ll talk to you soon …

Doris