This is the last episode of 2025! Listen in for a summary of what we talked about this fall with rhythms, routines, spiritual disciplines, and mindsets.

I also look forward to January, when I’ll be talking about ways to build your online platform without losing your soul. If you have specific topics you’d like me to address, let me know!

If you’re interested in my free reflection and planning pages for your writing, you can download them here.

To read Jana Carlson’s article about keeping a Christmas journal, you can find that here.

And if you’re looking for the Christian Writer’s Mindset Makeover, you can download that here.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s! I see you in January!

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week, you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails, and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com

Do you ever feel like you’re behind—as a writer, as a Christian, or just in life? Maybe you’ve caught yourself thinking, “Shouldn’t I be more spiritually mature by now?” or “Is it too late to write my book?” This mindset of being “behind” is one that many of us carry, but it’s built on ideas that don’t line up with truth.

In this episode, I unpack three root issues behind the “I’m behind” soundtrack that plays in our heads—our identity, our value system, and our tendency to compare. You’ll be reminded that God doesn’t measure progress by speed or visible success but by faithfulness. Whether you’re just starting out or have been on this journey for years, you are not behind—you are right where God has you.

In This Episode:

* How our mental image of “what a real writer (or Christian) looks like” feeds feelings of being behind

* The difference between cultural timelines and God’s process of growth

* Why God values faithfulness over speed or output

* How comparison distorts our sense of progress—and how to realign with God’s truth

* Encouragement for writers who feel “late to the game”

If you’d like to dive deeper into the unbiblical mindsets that get in our way as writers, download the “Christian Writer’s Mindset Makeover”.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week, you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails, and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com

Have you ever wanted to have a manifesto or a framework to write by? In this interview with Christian author and coach Stephanie Miller, we talk about her D.R.E.A.M. framework for making sure the right things stay front and center in our writing lives.

Stephanie Miller, M.A., is a certified Spiritual Growth and Writing Coach, 2x international best-selling author, editor, and speaker passionate about helping faith-filled writers conquer fear, find their voice, and transform their writing. As founder of Butterfly Beginnings Coaching, she offers 1:1 coaching, editing, and workshops to help writers grow in clarity and confidence. Her book, The Butterfly Blueprint, reflects her belief that when we lean into God’s call, our words can change lives.

Whether teaching, speaking, podcasting, or writing on Substack, her mission is the same: to help writers boldly pursue their God-given calling—one story at a time.

Find Stephanie here:

Facebook

Instagram

Website

Book sketch/Transformation Tale

Substack:

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com

Disclaimer: I believe in and approach life (and writing) from a distinctly evangelical Christian perspective, but some of my guests may not. When I interview a guest on a specifically spiritual topic, I do my best to know in advance that I can support their theological stances on the topics that relate to our interview. When the topic is not particularly spiritual, our theological views may differ. My interviewing of guests and providing links to their work does not necessarily indicate a complete theological endorsement of all their written work.