Devotional author Caris Snider encourages writers amidst anxiety, fear and uncertainty

The popular author and speaker is one of the keynote speakers for the Southern Christian Writers Conference on June 6-7 in Birmingham, Alabama

Devotional author Caris Snider is committed to providing encouragement to writers along their journeys, recognizing that many creative Christians can be sidelined and disheartened by anxiety and other challenges.

“Being in this industry is overwhelming and discouraging at times,” she says. “It can be easy to find ourselves paralyzed in fear, anxiety and doubt.”

Caris is part of the fantastic group of writers and other publishing professionals lined up for the Southern Christian Writers Conference on June 6-7 in Birmingham, Alabama. Caris will present a keynote presentation on the topic, “Anxious for Nothing: Encouragement on the Writing Journey.” Registration is open now.

After facing severe anxiety as an adult, Caris began speaking and sharing her testimony about overcoming anxiety and depression and found that people were requesting written resources to take from her talks. Though she was uncertain as her educational background was not related to writing, the Lord guided her to begin, first writing a 10 Day Devotional to Stomp Out Anxiety Elephants on Canva and printing 50 copies. She listed those copies to her website and they sold out in two days, with people requesting a longer edition as well.

She has since written other books related to the topic, including a longer devotional for adults called Anxiety Elephants: A 31-Day Devotional To Stomp Out Your Anxiety as well as devotionals for teens, tween boys and tween girls, and a children’s book, called There’s An Elephant On My Chest.

(It is also interesting that her 31-day devotional was published on December 17, 2019—just as the world would experience anxiety on a global scale in March of 2020. “God’s timing and purposes are always perfect,” she says.)

Caris’s books for younger readers were inspired by her daughters—16-year-old Zoe and 12-year-old Allye—who asked for a book they could understand. Caris says that research shows that 50% of mental health struggles begin at age 14, and she questioned why we are waiting to offer effective coping skills to young people when they most need them.

In addition to her books related to anxiety, she has also written a book for Lifeway called Car Line Mom: 100 Days of Encouragement for the Mama Who Gets Everybody Everywhere, encouraging moms during the busy years of parenting children at home.

Caris says that writing can be a difficult avocation—one that often produces anxiety—and she’s dedicated to helping Christian writers through their anxious experiences.

She’ll use her Friday keynote address to share her own experiences and give advice related to the struggles that often accompany the writing life.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to keynote and talk about the anxiety I have faced in my writing journey and how God has helped me to keep going in the midst of it all,” she says.

She says that writers often ask themselves such questions as: “How do we keep moving forward if the results are not what we hoped?” or “How do we keep moving when we think we are failing God and everyone around us?”

“I will be sharing my struggle with this mindset and practical steps to encourage, equip, and empower everyone there to keep going in this industry and ministry God has called them to,” she says. “I can promise you this, He did not get it wrong when He called you to this place of service.”

Caris is a life-long Alabama resident who lives in Cullman with her husband, Brandon, and their daughters. She and her family are members of Cullman First Baptist Church, where Brandon is the contemporary worship leader. Caris enjoys joining him in leading worship several times a month as well. They are also involved in many school sporting activities with their daughters and have a mini golden doodle named Cooper Hashbrown. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in Child Development and has worked with children from birth to college age.

Her future plans include the publication this August of a book called FIERCE (co-authored with Del Duduit) which shares 52 stories of female athletes fueled by faith. The topic is especially dear to her heart as her daughters are young athletes.

She’ll also continue to speak at women’s conferences, church and youth events, school presentations and other places where she can provide encouragement on faith and mental health.

Caris will speak Friday night at the SCWC, and will also teach a Saturday workshop on devotional writing. (See the full SCWC schedule here.)

Learn more about Caris at her website.

See her full list of books here.

Register for the Southern Christian Writers Conference here. (You can attend in-person or get virtual access.)

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Miranda Herring is a wife and stay at home mom to grown humans and adorable dogs, as well as a passionate reader and writer. After working as a nurse for many years, the onset of severe chronic illness in 2016 changed the course of her life – and she began blogging her journey living with autoimmune disease as a way both to express what she was experiencing and to connect with others who were walking a similar path. Since then, she has written a devotional for those living with chronic illness and is now at work on her second book. Check out her book on Kindle. Read her blog.