Starting your time writing with God is a great way to start. We wouldn’t have the talent or creativity to even write without the gift He has given us.

We have several aspiring authors that visit the Back Porch, what advice would you give to writers who are just starting out?

Being a writer is a lifelong commitment and it will requirededication, hard work, stamina and resilience. All aspiring writers need to prepare mentally to embrace their unique journeys, the huge learning curve and the long process of growth. That‘s why my first advice is: don’t be afraid to learn and practice, try new things, and hone your craft.
The second important thing is that no writer can succeed alone. We need community, to support each other, and to learn from each other. So, my second piece of advice is to find other like-minded writers, and use all opportunities to collaborate.

I couldn’t agree more to your advice, especially the community part. The local writers group I have been part of for seven years has been a blessing to me.

Lets talk about Draw Near.

The seed of my book, Draw Near: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings was implanted in my heart with the first article on my blog 7 years ago. In the article titled “About the Losses and Gains on the Way,” I presented the main idea that God is the Redeemer of all our suffering and losses, and that the spiritual gains always outweigh the losses. I didn‘t think then that my life would become a display of these principles.

I developed the full concept of the book in 2021. This was one of the most difficult and painful years in my life, during which I was struggling with the fresh loss of my husband and being in the chains of intense grief. I started working on the book concept because I needed a change in my perspective and help to interpret my suffering biblically, as well as comfort and hope.

I‘ve come to a full circle with my book, starting with my first blog posts written in March 2017, marking the beginning of my writing journey and the book release in March 2024, exactly 7 years after that. In biblical symbolism, 7 is the number of completion and perfection.

Isn’t wonderful how God works out our thoughts and divinely crafts things for His purpose? 

Draw Near is a Christian nonfiction book that focuses on our painful experiences as surprising gifts of grace designed to mature and prepare the believers and draw them closer to God. The book is a transformational blend of devotional, Bible study, and storytelling.

The common identifier of all painful experiences is some kind of loss. My book aims to help the reader not only to identify and accept the specific losses but more importantly to show her that each painful experience could be a birthing place of specific gains, benefits, and blessings. We lose something, but there is more to gain. The book will enable the reader to turn her attention and “see” the specific gains that God buried into every loss and to take hold of them.

The book covers 13 painful experiences and the gifts, hidden in them: adversity, sadness, anxiety, rejection, loneliness, unmet expectations, grief, disillusionment, betrayal, broken dreams, hopelessness, failure, and pain. It supports the reader practically to put every effort into finding a balance between her reality and God-reality.

The takeaways, in the form of affirmations/declarations, and the meditations verses, help the reader know biblical truths and actively put her trust in these truths. The prayer and reflection questions after each chapter will enable the reader to connect personally with God. The combination of these practices is a powerful tool to increase the reader’s capacity to trust God in transforming her painful experiences.

This sounds wonderful and very poignant for what many, including myself, are possibly in need of to add to regular Bible Study time (think I might go pick up a print copy).

What do you hope readers will remember most about your book after finishing it?

If readers finish my book Draw Near, I hope they will experience transformation in their relationship with the Lord and will have a solid theology of suffering. More specifically, I hope the book will:

I will come into agreement with your hope and prayer for readers.

Thank you again, Hadassah, for joining us this morning. I look forward to reading your book and I pray this tour blesses you.

Readers, please continue to read about Draw Near and Hadassah’s thoughts. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway as well as maybe pick up a copy for yourself. 

Blessings to you all.

About the Book

Book: DRAW NEAR: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings

Author: Hadassah Treu

Genre: Christian Non-Fiction

Release date: March 15, 2024

Can something so painful, even tragic, actually be God’s way of blessing?

As believers, we generally expect good things to happen in our lives. We expect a blessing upon blessing because we love God and He loves us and we form an expectation of prosperity (relational, emotional, and physical). And when the tragedy strikes and we enter a season of unwanted changes and suffering, we are shocked, angry, disappointed, and confused. We start doubting God’s love and His good intentions and plans. We begin questioning His ways and methods. We don’t understand. It is difficult to reconcile the pain we feel with what we know about God. This encouraging book aims to help you not only identify and accept specific losses but to realize that painful experiences could be the birthplace of blessings. We lose something, but there is more to gain.

What is God using your pain for?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Hadassah Treu is an international award-winning Christian author, blogger, poet, and speaker, and contributor to several faith-based platforms like Koinonia and Devotable, and a dozen devotionals and poetry anthologies in English and Bulgarian. She is a COMPEL Provers 31 Blog writer and Freelancing Community Group leader. Her writing is featured on (In)Courage, The Upper Room, Proverbs 31 Ministries, Her View From Home, Living by Design Ministries, Thoughts About God, Today’s Christian Living and other popular sites.

More from Hadassah

Why me? Why this? Why now? How am I going to heal from this pain? Where are you, Lord?

These are the questions I often asked when I stayed awake in the night, with tears burning down my cheeks. I needed a new perspective, a deeper understanding, and the assurance of God’s love and good plans in my painful experiences. I longed for comfort and hope, and help to fix my eyes on the divine transformation going on in my heart.

Do you face the same struggles?

We all do. We all need a biblical perspective and a new look at suffering to help us reconcile our painful experiences with what we know about God. Suffering remains a mystery and there is no simple theological answer to it. But what is our role? What are we supposed to think and do when we go through undeserved and unexpected pain and trauma?

The first and most important is to learn to see our dark moments as new chances and opportunities to draw near to God. We can choose to take off the glasses of loss and replace them with the lenses of God’s love, biblical truths, and thankfulness. Then our outlook will change and we will see more of the bigger picture. We can choose to live with open minds, believing God’s Word, with hands raised in prayer. We can commit to putting every effort into finding the balance between the reality we live in and the reality in which we live with God. It is in this balance of our reality and God’s reality that we find peace instead of fear, rest instead of anxiety, and wholeness instead of destruction.

Our painful experiences are glorious opportunities to draw near to God, to bond with Him, and to enjoy intimacy and fellowship with Him amidst the pain. This is the most important thing we can do in our lives because everything else results from bonding and connection. A loving connection with God births maturity, growth, transformation, and eternal blessings. Besides that, suffering is a privilege and a possibility to take part in our Lord’s sufferings and to know the power of His resurrection.

When we choose to listen and draw near to God in our pains, something miraculous will happen. God’s Spirit will birth blessings and precious gifts out of the pain.

Are you ready to unpack them?

Blog Stops

Inspired by Fiction, October 3

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 4

Fiction Book Lover, October 5 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, October 5

Texas Book-aholic, October 6

A Reader’s Brain, October 7 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, October 8

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 10

Back Porch Reads, October 11 (Author Interview)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, October 11

Cover Lover Book Review, October 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 13

Stories By Gina, October 14 (Author Interview)

She Lives To Read, October 15

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, October 16 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Hadassah is giving away the grand prize of a $30 Amazon card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.