When God told Nancy Marcinik to write a book, Marcinik laughed and “told Him he was nuts.”
After several years, Marcinik complied and wrote Seeking Jesus in Spite of Yourself, which was published last year by Tate Publishing, an Oklahoma-based publishing house. God next told her to pick up a brush and begin painting inspirational works of art. Since she had no formal art training, again she was reluctant, but later she began painting and has been painting and selling her work ever since.
“In November of 2009, I went to Israel, where, on November 5, I was baptized in the Jordan River,” Marcinik, a Dillsburg, Pa.-area resident, said. “The very next day I heard the Lord speaking to me and telling me to write things down. He said: 'title of book – Seeking Jesus in Spite of Yourself.'”
Marcinik returned home and forgot about her writing journal. Several months later, Marcinik came home one day and had an incredible, irresistible urge to write.
“It all came flooding out of me,” Marcinik, who did not consider herself very religious at the time, said. “I thought there were a lot of things happened to me while I was in Israel and perhaps I should write them down. I had no idea of what I was doing; I did not know I was writing a book, I thought I was just journaling.”
For inspiration, Marcinik found the folder of items from her trip to Israel. Upon opening her journal, she found herself on the page that listed the title of the book. She broke into tears upon seeing the words.
Marcinik chronicles the events of her life. A victim of sexual molestation as a child, domestic violence and abuse as an adult; Marcinik also detailed her experience of having an extramarital affair; and losing faith in God; and, “really feeling lost in darkness and considering the insignificance of life itself.”
“Throughout it all, I realized that there is a God,” Marcinik said. “Jesus was just waiting for me to reach out my hand to Him, and when I did, he just pulled me out of the darkness and brought me into the light.”
“I wrote for five months,” Marcinik said. “I sat on it. I didn't know what to do with it. He kept urging me to send the manuscript in and I kept arguing with him. I got online and entered the term 'Christian publishers” in the search box and two companies came up. He directed me toward Tate. Their website said they accept, maybe, three percent for publication out of the many they receive.”
A native of Latrobe, Marcinik has lived in the Dillsburg-area for 10 years. A mother of grown twin daughters and grandmother of three boys and one girl, Marcinik went to college to become a paralegal. Divorced, she later remarried and moved to this area. She is retired from the state Department of Public Welfare.
“That didn't end very well,” Marcinik said. “That was one of the abusive relationships. I've been divorced over 10 years now.”
Tate's submission guidelines noted that in most cases, they respond to queries within six to eight weeks. Less than four weeks after submitting her manuscript, she received a telephone call from the publisher. Saying her book had been accepted for publication.
Working with her editor, Marcinik revised her manuscript to meet the publisher's format and style guidelines. The publisher asked her to expand the manuscript more to meet preferred length-guidelines.
“The Lord kept telling me the book would be published sooner than planned,” Marcinik said. “The guidelines said it would be published by August 1, but was actually published May 15. I decided I should not doubt his word anymore.”
Marcinik said God, apparently, was not done with her upon the publication of her book. At one point, Marcinik dreamed she saw people being dragged beneath the water by snakes. She had no idea what it meant.
A member of Celebration Community Church, Marcinik is taking prophetic ministry training at Christ Church in Camp Hill. The story does not end there, however.
“The Lord wants you to communicate with others and to grow,” Marcinik said. “In 2010, I started oil painting … I received visions of topics to paint. I never painted before.”
The subject of her paintings include Christ rescuing a woman from a sea of despair. Marcinik, said she had never painted anything before.
Marcinik expects she will write a second book. Her paintings can be viewed at www.seekingjesus.tateauthor.com/visions-from-god-on-canvas and her blog appear on her author's website at www.seekingjesus.tateauthor.com/about-the-author.
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