Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Hastings.
Hi Rebecca, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
It’s like looking through a photo album, the old kind that had clear plastic over the pictures. I see images of what led me to this place. I see the poem I wrote when I was in grade school. It was called “Carousel” and it put all of my feelings into something I hoped someone would understand.
I smell the rubber cement from the hardcover books my fourth-grade teacher taught me how to make, giving me a place for my ideas to call home. I hear my mom reading to me on the rocks at the beach and I feel the pull of words in every book I’ve read (and haven’t read) whispering that there is something more than ink and paper in its pages.
By the time I got to college, I tried on three majors before landing in the one place that made sense: English and Creative Writing. Since then, I’ve grown up, grown a family, and discovered that words will always be the way I process the world. When I decided to stay home with my kids I needed space, an outlet that belonged to me, so I began a blog.
Those early days were more of an online journal than anything. But with time and practice, God has led me to use words to write books that help people connect with Him.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest struggle is my own doubt.
I worried that I wasn’t going to make it, that I wasn’t doing it right, that I wasn’t young enough or pretty enough or good enough to do this. Every time I’ve tried to do it on my own, I discovered that was true.
But when I moved forward with God, focusing on His will for me instead of some idea of success in my own mind, that is when I see how He uses our gifts to honor Him.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a writer and speaker showing people how to find faith that goes beyond Sunday mornings, faith that helps when work feels overwhelming or you’re facing another hard diagnosis, faith that reminds you of who you are when you burn dinner or lose your temper, faith that makes sense in our everyday lives.
The best way to do that is by being honest. When we are honest about how we feel and what we struggle with we can begin to grow our faith in real ways that make a difference.
– When we feel like we’ll never measure up we can remember what God says about who we are.
– When we never have time to connect with God we can find quick ways to infuse our day with hope.
– When we long for healing from hurts we’ve carried for a long time we can bring that to God and let Him work in us.
It is my hope that by having real conversations about what we think and feel, we can discover the faith to meet us in that place.
What’s next?
I’m excited to keep writing and speaking!
I am currently working on my latest book proposal to share with publishers as well as writing online and booking speaking engagements for this year.
Also, I have a great partnership with YouVersion where I am sharing free reading plans that people can download right in the Bible app, which is very exciting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://RebeccaHastings.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myinkdance/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myinkdance/
Image Credits
Julie Powell
