Grace Fox
Grace Fox wrote the stories “People Matter Most” on page 105 and “Will My Baby Die Without Me?” on page 195 of Hot Apple Cider. The latter story reminds readers of God’s faithfulness when life takes an unexpected detour. Her daughter Stephanie, born with hydrocephalus, is now married and enjoying good health although she still requires a shunt.
Grace Fox is an author and speaker best described in three words: Daring. Deep. Devoted. Her passion is to help women develop the same characteristics – to become daring in their faith, deep in their convictions, and devoted in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Drawing from Scripture and personal experiences learned while living on Canada’s rugged coastline, in urban U.S.A., and in Nepal’s Himalayan mountains, she uses the written page and the public stage to build Christ-based confidence in audiences worldwide.
Grace’s quick wit, real-life stories, and biblical insight keep her in constant demand as a speaker for international women’s events and as a World Vision representative. National radio and TV programs look to her as a trusted guest to inspire their audiences. Her frequent media appearances include 100 Huntley Street, It’s a New Day, and The Harvest Show. Everywhere she goes, she exudes a contagious desire to show how God’s truth can transform lives
Her writing includes hundreds of articles for magazines, including Focus on the Family, Today’s Christian Woman, Insight for Living and Power for Living. She has four published books: Moving from Fear to Freedom, 10-Minute Time Outs for Moms, 10-Minute Time Outs for Busy Women, and 10-Minute Time Outs for You and Your Kids, as well as contributions in five compilations including Hot Apple Cider and Tyndale’s One-Year Life Verse Devotional.
Former missionaries to Nepal, Grace and her husband, Gene, live in Abbotsford, British Columbia. They direct International Messengers Canada, a ministry that offers creative short-term and career missionary opportunities in Eastern Europe. They’ve been married for 28 years and have three grown children and two grandchildren. In their spare time, they enjoy motor biking.
Hot Apple Cider came together in a rather unusual way. What made you want to have your work in it?
Hot Apple Cider promotes Canadian authors and blesses a large audience in the process. I thought it was a great combo—much more beneficial than authors simply joining forces to run an ad about their services. This idea provided a product with the ability to change lives.
This book is 100% Canadian. Canadian authors, publisher, printer—everything. Is that important to you?
Yes, that is important. It says, “Hey! Canada holds a wealth of knowledge and resources! Look at what we can do when we work together!”
In her foreword for Hot Apple Cider, Janette Oke mentions that writers are often asked, “Why do you write?” How do you respond to that question?
I say that God has hard-wired me to communicate through the written word. He’s given me an ability to relay truth on paper, and precious little gives me greater satisfaction than knowing my words are encouraging and changing the lives of those who read them.
Grace, you’ve been a missionary as well as a wife and the mother of three children. Did you begin to carve out your writing career by accident, by necessity, or by sheer determination?
None of the above. When I was a senior in Bible college, someone challenged me to make a list of things I’d like to do someday if money and time were no issue. “Dream big!” she said. And so I did. One of the things I wrote was, “I want to be a writer.” I had no clue what that might look like; I just thought it sounded glamorous.
Twenty years passed before I began seriously pursuing my writing career. During that time, my desire to write never dwindled. I even prayed that God would show me when it was time to start, if indeed that was His plan for me.
In 1999 I attended my first writers’ conference, mostly to show an editor the collection of greeting cards that I’d designed the year prior. That’s when and where I first learned about how to write magazine articles and approach editors. The rest is history, accomplished one step at a time.
The two pieces you have in Hot Apple Cider are both based on personal experiences. Do you find that writing about your experiences helps you in some way? Or do you choose to write in this style because you find it resonates with readers?
I often write personal experience articles because they resonate with readers. If I’ve learned a valuable lesson from a particular situation and can communicate it effectively, chances are good that readers will learn and grow, too.
You’ve written hundreds of articles. Are they all based on personal experiences, or do you write other types of articles as well?
Many are based on personal experience, but certainly not all. I’m the Canadian contributor for Power for Living, a take-home adult Sunday school paper published by Scripture Press. I’ve interviewed dozens of people including Henry Blackaby, Stormie Omartian, Francine Rivers, and Gary Smalley, and written their profiles. I’ve also written hundreds of devotionals and a variety of “how-to” parenting articles.
Was writing a book always your goal, or was that simply the result of all your previous writing? And do you continue to write articles, or do you only write books now?
Writing books was never my goal. Obeying God’s call on my life was first and foremost, and I stepped into the publishing industry in fear and trepidation but willing to go wherever He directed. He clearly directed me to write profiles first, and then He nudged me to write my first book. One step led to another, and another, and yet another.
I still write articles, but not as many as I used to simply because my life is so busy now with preparations for speaking engagements and overseas ministry. In the next six months, I’ll be integrating some major changes in my ministry focus to allow more time for writing another book or two.
Can you tell us a little about how your 10-Minute Time Outs books came about and why you wrote on those specific topics?
10-Minute Time Outs for Moms came first. The idea came when I attended a week-long class about writing and marketing book proposals. The teacher asked the students to come up with a book idea, formulate a 2-3 sentence summary, and then present it to the class. She said, “Write a book based on something you know.”
I remember thinking, What do I know that would warrant a book? I pondered it at length, and then realized that, as a mom, I knew how to pray God’s Word on my kids’ behalf. I also knew about the importance of understanding God’s character—a lesson learned through some very difficult life experiences. So, I proposed a devotional for moms that would help them discover the relevance of God’s character and teach them how to pray His Word for their children. When the teacher heard my pitch, she said, “Why would you write that? There’s a glut of devotionals out there. No one will buy this.”
Something in my heart rejected her words, and I’m very thankful. That book is in its eighth printing and continues to sell around the world in countries including the Philippines, South Africa, and Australia.
10-Minute Time Outs for Busy Women followed the same format as my first book, but was written for women of all ages and in all seasons of life, not just mothers.
And 10-Minute Time Outs for You and Your Kids was written as a devotional resource for parents to use with their children ages 6-14, to help them understand the relevance of God’s Word to their lives today. Surveys show that children set their theological beliefs before the age of 12, so I wanted to provide moms and dads with a fun and easy-to-use tool to help their kids develop a correct understanding of who God is and how He wants His children to live.
I assume that your fourth book—Moving From Fear to Freedom—would have been a little more work than the previous three. Why did you feel you needed to write it?
The sense that I should write it came as a burden that wouldn’t go away. Fear had been a big issue in my life, and I saw other women impacted by it, too, so it made sense to address it. But I struggled for a year with the very thought of writing it because I felt incapable of penning a non-fiction chapter book. I mean, writing devotionals was one thing, but a chapter book? Not me.
Finally, I identified my feelings as the fear of inadequacy. And that’s when I realized God was presenting me with an opportunity to trust Him to equip me to do what He’d called me to do. Writing the book became a statement of my willingness to do whatever He asked even though my knees were knocking.
Are you working on another book now? And if so, can you tell us a little about it?
Presently, two publishing houses are considering my next proposal. I’ll talk about it more openly after I know what its future holds. Meanwhile, I continue to mentally tweak the theme.
You also do a lot of speaking, frequently on the topics that are addressed in your books. Did the speaking come about because of your books, or was speaking something you were already doing in your “other” life as a missionary?
Speaking evolved after I began writing books. Again, it’s not something I sought. Requests started coming and word of mouth spread.
How do you manage to juggle your family, your job as co-director (with your husband Gene) of International Messengers Canada, and your writing? You must always have a dozen things you “should” be doing.
My husband and I have been empty-nesters for about four years. If my kids were still living at home, there’s no way I’d be doing what I do. That said, I still make time for them as much as possible, and I’ll never turn down the opportunity to babysit my two grandchildren, ages 2 years and 10 months.
Juggling my role as writer/speaker with being national co-director of International Messengers Canada is my biggest challenge. As a missionary, I recruit, train, and lead volunteers to Eastern Europe for ministry opportunities, in partnership with approximately 120 career missionaries there. The organization is only 2 years old in Canada, but its present growth rate requires more of my time now than initially. The result is less time to write and speak.
I know that God is fully in control of the details of my life, and this is no surprise to Him. I’m constantly asking Him to help me accomplish what He wants me to do and to say no when necessary without feeling guilty. My lifeline is my quiet time every morning. I get up at 5:15 or so and spend an hour or more in God’s Word. That keeps me anchored and tuned in to His voice and directives throughout the day.
I’m assuming you get feedback from a lot of people because of the nature of your books, and feedback is great for the author—you know someone is actually reading your words! But I’m wondering if you’ve learned anything from your readers that you could share with us?
The most common feedback I get is this: “When I read your book, I felt as though I was sitting across the table and having coffee with you. Thank you for being so real. Thank you for being so transparent.”
My readers have taught me that they crave connection and intimacy. They’re encouraged when I share my ups and downs with them. They find hope in knowing that I struggle with the same things they do, and that there’s hope no matter what life brings.
Aside from your own pieces, is there a particular piece or thought in Hot Apple Cider that stood out for you?
Mark Buchanan’s piece “Perspective.” It’s a good reminder to view other people through heaven’s eyes.
A lot of people want to share their stories in order to help others. What advice do you have for someone who wants to write but doesn’t know how to begin?
Attend a writers’ conference. That’s critical. Take the workshops, network with other writers, meet the editors, and then start applying what you’ve learned. Be patient and persevere. If God’s in it (your desire to write) then don’t stop until He says so.
What is your prayer for the readers of Hot Apple Cider?
When I think of my readers, I pray that God will meet them at their deepest point of need. That’s my prayer for the readers of Hot Apple Cider, too, because He knows exactly where they hurt and how to ease their pain. And He’s answering my prayer… I recently spoke at a Girls Night Out event in Ontario. After the program, a lady came to my book table and said, “Several months ago, I went through a very difficult experience. I was so distraught that I couldn’t concentrate enough to read my Bible. But I picked up Hot Apple Cider and began reading one night, and God used that book to encourage me and give me hope.”
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