By Marlo Houge
I didn’t realize scholarships were even available. All I had was a divine appointment with Edie and Edwina, both saying, “Come to Blue Ridge, Marlo. Apply for a scholarship.” I applied. And I’m so glad I did. Here’s the thing: I knew I needed to write. I didn’t have all the words. I had our history together. A glimpse of what I needed to write. And even if you only have a glimpse, there’s a scholarship for that.
I had considered Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference in the past, but the fee, at that time, stopped me. I remember going to the website, seeing the cost, and leaving. I didn’t stay around looking for scholarship opportunities. It wasn’t until I met Edie and Edwina that I learned scholarships existed. And once I learned about it, fear pumped the brakes. At that moment I knew the Lord was saying, put your fear away, you need the scholarship, my story must be told. And so, I applied.
But fear was not the only thing standing in my way, and maybe it’s not only what’s standing in yours. The sense that you are not far along enough as a writer, not published, or not published enough, not known outside your own circle to belong in a room like this. The thought of admitting, even to yourself, that you can’t afford it. Maybe you have an idea and nothing more. You don’t realize that the opportunity to sit at meal tables, listening to authors passionately discussing their writing genres and their craft, is exactly where imagination is nourished. Possibly, it feels safer to avoid rejection than to risk, so you keep delaying filing out the application. Can I encourage you today? “God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Whatever is holding you back has a name, and it does not get the final word.
There's a Scholarship for That Writing Conference by Marlo Houge on @BRMCWC #Writing #Writingconference #BRMCWC Share on XMillisecond thoughts crossed my mind when I finally applied. I remember pondering: will I really get this scholarship? Do I really belong there? Are writing church lessons and Sunday messages the same as writing an actual book? Will I fit in? Nevertheless, it was time. Time to step forward and apply for the resources that would help offset the cost to attend.
When I finally submitted the application, I felt both relief and terror at once. I was sincere and earnest, but so are most applicants. I had no guarantee. I just knew the Lord was urging me to tell the story of His indefatigable goodness in my life, even though I couldn’t see how to begin, and I understood I needed the tools to try. When the acceptance came, it took me two days to open the email. When I did, I was stunned. Grateful. I sat down and read the email thoroughly, wanting to understand exactly what my financial responsibility would be going forward, so I could plan accordingly.
If you are sitting on a story or an idea and wondering whether a place like this is for you, hear me. It is. If the call to write is like fire shut up in your bones, there’s a scholarship for that. If you really desire to write and don’t know where to start, there’s a scholarship for that. If you have something written but want to know if it’s any good, or what the possibilities are, there’s a scholarship for that. If your work has been well received in your neck of the woods, but you need to discover whether it can thrive regional or national, there’s a scholarship for that.
The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference has a scholarship for burgeoning, passionate, questioning, and inquisitive writers like you, who want to keep becoming, wherever you are in your journey.
So here is what I want you to do. Don’t decide anything yet. Just open the application. Read it through, start to finish, before you do anything else. Then pray over it and ask God for the wisdom to write exactly what you need to write. Step forward.
Come on. There is so much to learn here. And yes, there’s a scholarship for that.
The 2027 BRMCWC scholarships open January 1 2027.
Marlo L. Hogue, known as Raydiant The Warrior Encourager™, is a Bible teacher, speaker, patient advocate, and former international music missionary. Diagnosed with lupus at age 20 and facing kidney failure, chemotherapy, and dialysis by 25, Marlo has spent more than three decades learning—and teaching others—how to hold onto God through suffering. Her testimony was forged in hospital rooms, dialysis chairs, and dark nights of the soul, where she encountered the sustaining heart, hope, and healing of Christ.
Through her Catch Breath Press On™ Framework, Trust Recovery Protocol™, and The 4W Framework™, Marlo equips women, healthcare teams, and singles ministries with faith for the weary, courage for the warrior, and compassion for the healer. She is especially passionate about supporting Christian women in leadership who live with chronic illness and strengthening doctor-patient relationships through compassionate, whole-person care. Offstage, Marlo enjoys people, languages, cultures, apologetics, travel, outer space, and being a very proud aunt to 37 nieces and nephews and 10 great-nieces and great-nephews.
