Stephen Shepherd earned his BA and MA degrees in English from Northern Michigan University and his MFA in Creative Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He has taught college writing for over thirty years, and his first novella, The Last Chord Concert, received a major review in Publishers Weekly. Most recently, Chronicles of a Spiritual Journey, 35 stories, was published in 2019, Eyes of Understanding, 57 essays, was published in 2021, Losing the Sound of Your Own Stride, 54 essays, was published in 2022, Stories at the Edge, a collection of short stories, was published in 2019, and a collection of 71 reflective essays, God: The Power Source of Everything, was published in 2018. In addition, Mr. Shepherd was a former voting member of The Recording Academy (The Grammy’s), based on six CDs consisting of 68 original songs. His two most recent singer-songwriter albums Escape Is Not A Place and Livin’ On Borrowed Time rose to #1 on the US Roots Music Chart. Mr. Shepherd lives in Burlington, Iowa, with his wife Janet.

Philosophy

Divine Inspiration ~

 I understand the role that God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit play in the creative process. I know that I cannot create anything without their permission. God is the one who gives us all our gifts and saves us all from ourselves through Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit helps to keep our egos in check so that we know where the source of our creative power comes from. In a world where many artists believe that they are writing alone and doing it all by themselves, nothing could be further from the truth. Father God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are standing right behind them giving them their creative ideas and their direction. As many seasoned writers know, God often hijacks their pen and takes over the controls of what is being written. It is as if the writer is no longer the initiator of the action but a participant in the act of writing itself. Essentially, the writer becomes the reader of God’s will. So, how can any egotistical human being honestly take credit for their own writing when God has given them the skills to write in the first place and then looks over their shoulder to help them to do it right? Writers who know how the creative process works also know that they are not working alone but in collaboration with the supernatural.

Accomplishments

Jesus in the New Testament often talks about men puffing themselves up to make themselves appear to be something more than ordinary mortals. From the Pharisees praying loudly on the street corners so that others could hear them to the Pharisees wearing expensive robes so that others could see them, self-promotion has always been the epitome of an ego lunch. It satisfies some need in us to be thought of as special by others. Well, I don’t think of myself as special anymore because God has given other people gifts that I don’t have. Maybe He gave me the gift of writing, but then, God gave others the gift of carpentry. Before I awakened this morning, I thought that I had the particulars of this website written, yet after coffee and reading Ephesians 6:10-12, my previous secular comments about my accomplishments were found to be lacking and standing on the street corner shouting next to the Pharisees. In all honesty, my accomplishments are not mine—but God’s. Any accolades attributed to my writing are given to me by Him. So, basically, I can’t puff up my ego with false air; I can only be thankful for the blessings that God has bestowed upon me. Below you’ll find a lot about what has happened to my writing and songwriting on my journey back to Him, but I know that what has been accomplished has always occurred because of the gifts and direction that He has given me.