From Gloria Pruett Ministries To You
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved God, writing, and telling stories. I was brought up in a home where God was the Center of everything. My grandmother, with whom we lived, was a pastor. Our church started out in the basement of our home. Needless to say, there was never an excuse for missing service – my siblings and I just had to walk downstairs. One would think that at playtime, the furthest thing from our minds would be church, but not the case.
When we had free time, my brothers and I would play church. I was always voted the pastor, and they were the deacons and the congregation. After I preached, they took offerings so we could pay the bills. After church, mock chicken dinners were served, which consisted of ‘Mary Janes, potato chips, and squirrels.’
Adult life was very different. Although I loved God with all of my heart, I never envisioned nor wanted to be a minister. I saw what my grandmother went through, the hurts, disappointments that come with helping people, and the negative criticisms ministers receive from the world AND the Christian community. Nah! I never wanted to be a preacher of the gospel. But when God calls, if you’re smart, you’ll listen. As I began to study God’s Word and serve in ministry, I found out something about myself. I loved God’s people, and I loved ministering to them.
In 1994, I answered the call of God on my life and enrolled in a two-year ministry school. I graduated with honors and continued preaching the Word. A couple of years later, I was ordained. On the writing side, I always kept journals. From the time my children were young until they were teenagers, I would make up stories to tell them. I believe I enjoyed my imagined tales more than they. It just amazed me at what I could come up with. I didn’t recognize it at the time, but God had placed an anointing on me to write, and I was unaware of it. Prior to this book, I wrote another one, but no one has shown any interest in publishing it – yet! My book on praise is just a testimony of the faithfulness of God. I am so excited about what He’s doing in my life. One of the things I so vividly remember about my conversation with God regarding books was this. God said, “There are those who will go to a bookstore, but won’t go to church. Because of your obedience to write, their hearts will be softened – they will be saved – and the church will follow.” I don’t take writing lightly. Visit www.lovetopivot.com to learn more about the Stages of Recovery After Divorce. It is a serious matter, and God has given me a passion for it. To know that someone has been snatched from the gates of hell because of something you wrote is a pretty awesome thing.
Of all the books I’m currently working on, it’s no fluke that the one on praise is the first one published. To be honest, it didn’t start out as a book. It was something I did in my personal time with God. The whole concept was birthed out of my intimate time with Him. I’m as surprised as anyone else by His request to put in writing what I did privately.
Even the cover is a reminder of His wonderfulness. When I first saw the cover, I was moved to tears. I didn’t quite know why – I initially thought it was because it was the first book of mine to be in print. Not so. After I left my publisher’s office and went home, I couldn’t help but stare at the cover, asking the Holy Spirit why I was so stirred when I looked at it. No immediate answer came, so I just moved on to something else. But then I began to praise God for the “vision coming to pass,” I took a familiar stance to praise and the Holy Spirit whispered, “Do you see how you’re standing?” I answered “Yes?” His reply was “No – do you see how you’re standing?” I was puzzled because “what did how I was standing” have to do with the cover. Then I got it, my stance in private praise was emulated by the girl on the cover. No one knew that but my Precious Three (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) and me. So when I look at that cover, I’m reminded that what we do privately, God rewards openly.
If you were to ask what motivates me most, unequivocally I would tell you – “it’s the love of God.”