Making the most of every opportunity

Mount Hermon Conference Centre

 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:15-16

Paul gives this directive in a different context to the one I’m going to use it in, but the point is valid—it’s wise to make the most of every opportunity.

I recently attended the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference and initially I was going to go straight to the conference and come straight home. However, my family persuaded me that if I was going that far I should make the most of the opportunity and spend a few days being a tourist. So I flew to San Francisco before heading to Mount Hermon. This meant I had the opportunity of attending Menlo Park Presbyterian Church on the Sunday, which is where John Ortberg (multi-published author) is the senior pastor. I also visited Stanford University.

At the conference, I endeavoured to make the most of the opportunity by meeting agents and editors, with the goal of leaving them with a good impression of myself—that I was teachable, flexible and diligent. This opened up opportunities for me to send them my work.

Mount Hermon Conference Centre

Being a member of Omega Writers also provides lots of opportunities. One of them, which is currently greatly underutilised, is the opportunity members have of putting their photo, bio and links to social media on Omega’s website. The more sites that have links to your website, blog or facebook page, the more Google will point people to your sites.

Then there is the opportunity of attending the Omega Writers Conference. It’s on 27-29th October at Edmund Rice Conference Centre in Sydney with two international speakers, Margie Lawson and Alex Marestaing, as well as a host of home grown talent. There will also be publisher and editor stalls with appointments available.

Registrations open on 15th June at omegawriters.org. Cost will be between $300 and $395 dependant on accommodation choices etc. An airport shuttle is available.

If you believe that God wants you to write, make the most of every opportunity.

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Susan Barnes likes to write devotional thoughts on Bible passages, book reviews and inspirational articles. She loves to challenge people's thinking and regularly blogs at abooklook.blogspot.com.au. She is also a school chaplain and pastor's wife.