Divine Authorship

What does the story of your life say about you? Does it speak of heroic journeys into new and exciting lands of achievement and growth? Or is it an angry and repetitive diatribe against the vagaries of a wantonly malicious universe? Does it sing with finely crafted phrasing and uplifting themes? Or is it plodding, dreary and full of errors, omissions and clich?s?

Some people feel their destiny to be carved in stone. I believe that our lives are an ongoing exercise in creative writing and as such it is always possible to cease following the storyline that we have been using to illustrate our lives with up to this point, open to a fresh page and start anew. In fact, the Universe itself does this every moment of every day, continually reinventing itself and setting up the storyline for the next moment to come.

I refer to this eternal and ongoing process as divine authorship. In the original definition of the phrase, divine authorship referred to spiritual or religious books, writings or other communications that came directly from God (such as the Ten Commandments or the handwriting on the wall in the Christian religion) or works inspired directly from such communications (such as the Koran of Islam, which Muslims hold to be Mohammad's direct transcription of his visions from Allah). But through an extension of that thought, it becomes obvious that the Universe itself, and everything in it, is a direct result of this divine penmanship and that we, who have been given the slightest spark of divine ability to create, also have a hand in this story-boarding of the Universe.

There are, of course, whole libraries of interwoven threads that make up the totality of divine authorship, but here are the two main aspects that relate to us, specifically, as authors of our own lives:

? What God has written into our personal book of life before our birth:

This is the basic first draft of our story, complete with our initial cast of characters, circumstances, gifts and burdens. Although this sets the tone for the story to come, it by no means limits it or prevents change.

? What we, as children of God through divine guidance ? or through lack of it ? choose to add to this rough outline:

We can choose to simply "flesh it out," following along the pre-set path with little deviation from the bare bones. We can choose to add unsavory characters to it, write in scenes of unnecessary strife and dither away our page-count following dead-end plots and dissonant sub-themes such as martyrdom and victimhood. Or we can decide to go all out, pursuing every possibility and exploring every option fearlessly and with faith in the original Outliner, to try and squeeze every last ounce of potential out of what was originally given to us.

It is through this latter form of divine authorship that we can truly recreate our lives in whatever manner we so desire ? and though them, so too the world we live in.

Of course, the words come easier for some than for others. For the unfortunate or the unfocused, life may eventually begin to resemble nothing so much as a pile of angrily crumpled pages full of false starts, scratch-outs and meandering themes, while luckier individuals seem to have just the right words fall into place precisely as their pen glides forward to write them. But each of us, should we choose to take pen and ink firmly in hand, can work at our craft with determination and commitment, with the guidance and love of the Creator at our backs and the intent to follow our highest calling in our hearts, until there is literally no limit to the story we create for ourselves.

The Army had a commercial at one time during which they asked whether or not anybody would want to read the "book" of your life. But in truth, there is a far more important question at stake: When you pass on into your afterlife, will your life's tale make the heavenly "best seller" list, showing how one person overcame adversity, fear and indifference to make the best use the gift God so generously gave to them? Or will it simply end up on the public service racks as a cautionary tale about the tragedy of unlimited potential gone to waste?

Through the gift of divine authorship, we can each seek individual instruction and assistance from the Original Author in rewriting, tweaking and polishing the manuscript of our lives until we're happy with the results. But it's final form, the ending of which none of us has the ability to foresee, will ultimately be reviewed by the most important ? and luckily for us, the most loving ? critic of all. Don't disappoint your readership. Pick up your pen and make something of your life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of sonipitts.com. She specializes in helping others reclaim "soul proprietorship" in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.

She is the author of the free e-book "50 Ways To Reach Your Goals" and over 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.

Airbnb cleaning service Glenview ..

In The News:

Apple releases emergency patches for two zero-day vulnerabilities actively exploited in attacks. iPhone and iPad users urged to update immediately.

DoorDash launches Zesty, an AI-powered social app that recommends restaurants through conversational search, now testing in San Francisco and New York.

Cybersecurity firm Infoblox reveals that over 90 percent of parked domains now redirect visitors to scams and malware, making simple typos extremely dangerous.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

GPT-5.2 is now live for all ChatGPT users with improved coding, writing and image interpretation, with Kurt Knutsson offering his review.

New iPhone replacement scam uses pressure tactics and fake carrier calls to steal devices from buyers. Criminals claim shipping errors and demand urgent returns.

Amazon Ring's new facial recognition feature sparks privacy controversy as Electronic Frontier Foundation critics argue the AI upgrade expands surveillance risks.

New Android banking trojan Sturnus steals credentials, reads encrypted messages and controls devices.

Denmark's 3D-printed student village proves automation builds 36 apartments faster than traditional methods. Skovsporet project shows housing future.

Discover Android's new Sound Notifications feature that alerts you to smoke alarms, doorbells, and baby cries even when wearing headphones.

New SantaStealer malware reportedly threatens holiday shoppers with password theft. This Christmas-themed info-stealer targets browsers and crypto wallets.

The Christmas season brings a surge in Netflix phishing scams targeting shoppers with fake emails. Stacey P received convincing scam but verified account first.

San Francisco Giants invite Jamie Grohsong to throw ceremonial first pitch at Oracle Park after he learned to play baseball with a bionic hand following an injury.

FBI warns cybercriminals are stealing family photos from social media to create fake proof of life images in virtual kidnapping scams targeting victims.

Instagram's new 'Your Algorithm' tool lets you control your Reels feed in real time. The app now gives you power to customize what videos you see.

Major Marquis fintech breach exposes 400,000-plus Americans' data through unpatched SonicWall vulnerability, with Texas hardest hit at 354,000 affected.

Free up iPhone storage fast by clearing large photos and videos from Messages app. Simple steps for iOS users to delete attachments without losing chats.

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.

Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

Divine Authorship

Spirituality