Author of "To This Day Let Me Write", Sadra Madonna Lindsay, Talks Faith, Poetry, and Her Upcoming Guided Journal and Planner

Sadra Madonna Lindsay is a Jamaican gospel recording artiste, worship leader, and author of To This Day Let Me Write: An Inspired Poetic Memoir. Her work has garnered multiple accolades, including Best Memoir and Top Poetry at the Kingdom Independent Author Awards in 2023. Her upcoming releases, To This Day Let Me Write: Biblically Guided Planner and The Guided Journal, are continuations of her memoir, and they focus on leading readers through strategic planning and spiritual growth in the presence of God.

We had a chat with Sadra to learn more about her authorship and the inspiration behind it.

Brianna: Hi Sadra. Before we get into the meat of the matter, I want to ask, how has 2024 been treating you so far?

Sadra: Hi Brianna, Thank you for having me. 2024 has been a year filled with so many things. Good and bad but mostly good. So for that I am grateful and I'm rather excited for what the rest of the year holds.

Brianna: I remember when you wrote the first book in this series and now you have two more coming out!

Sadra: God is faithful! He has given me a directive from the time I wrote the very first book. And thankfully after three years, I was able to come through.

Brianna: You’ve described "To This Day Let Me Write" as a poetic memoir. Can you share the story behind its creation, and what led you to combine poetry and faith in such a profound way?

Sadra: So, I have been writing since childhood. Likewise, I have been a Christian since my childhood. God speaks to me through poetry and I have had a love and longing for scripture. Combining the two came naturally. I also had the opportunity to study my first degree in Literature in English and Philosophy and this too added to my being able to join the two together in the ways that it was done.

Brianna: The book has been lauded by Christian leaders, like Apostle Denise Ferron, who said, “This book, I believe, is written by the Holy Spirit for such a time as this.” How does it feel to have your work recognized in this way, and how has the Holy Spirit guided your writing process?

Sadra: It is a tremendous blessing to have something that has been inspired by the Holy Spirit identified as such. The Holy Spirit leads not just my mind but also my hands. There are times when I write and it is when I go back and read it again that I truly understand the fullness of what was being revealed by the Holy Spirit.

For example, the title of the series comes from a poem/conversation with the Holy Spirit back in 2008 shortly after I had finished high school. It was a moment where I quite literally felt the downloading of the Holy Spirit as He said “To This Day Let Me Write”, and began to speak to the state of affairs of a people and a nation with the guided eye of the kind of posture we should assume in the years that were to come and even at that present moment.

So the guided journal and the planner came out of how I was instructed by the Holy Spirit to write to these things. In the journal, there is an explanation of the tangible form of the word of God when it is written, how it clears and solidifies what is spoken in a way that you can feel and touch as more importantly look back and be brought into the memory of a particular moment.

Through these books, The Holy Spirit concretizes what is written in Habakkuk 2:2:

Brianna: You’ve received two prestigious awards at the Kingdom Independent Author Awards—Best Memoir and Top Poetry for the book. What role do you think writing plays in spreading the message of the Gospel today?

Sadra: Writing has always been very significant in spreading the word across generations of Christians and that has not changed. With technology, we get the chance to have at our fingertips access to written works spanning generations.

The awards were a blessing and encouraged me greatly on my writing journey and I am very happy to have won. For those persons, however, who may not have won an award, your work and contributions to the Gospel by written works are invaluable, keep writing.

Brianna: Your upcoming releases, "To This Day Let Me Write: Biblically Guided Planner" and "The Guided Journal", are set to be practical tools for Christians. What inspired this follow-up from a poetic memoir to a more structured, faith-based planning and journaling guide?

Sadra: These will work together with what was written in the poetic memoir and bring a sense of completion to what the Holy Spirit had directed me to do. I must say that once persons get either of the two new ones or even both they will realize why the instruction was given to that effect.

The Planner is Writing to your days in a way where you “redeem the times and plan strategically for the days ahead”. The journal gives you a guide on how to get closer to God covering themes of "life, love, growing older, gratitude, growing in grace, and a closer relationship with the Lord". It is a sitting place that you will not want to leave once you’ve started.

And so, they come together to make a Christian more whole in a way that is fully guided by scripture.

Brianna: When and how can people purchase these books?

Sadra: So, the books will be available on December 7, and there is a link to order. After December 7, they will be on all the relevant platforms. That information will be sent out but right now, we are working on the pre-order, and there will be nice little goodies for those persons who order before the actual date of the release which comes up in December. All the information is on my IG.

Brianna: What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing Christian authors and artistes today, and how do you stay rooted in your purpose despite these challenges?

Sadra: Let me start with the authors first. I think one of the challenges we are having is getting adequate funding in order to assist us in a worthwhile way with, you know, publications and getting the stuff out there. Those publishing houses that would get a lot of work out there may not be so easy for us.

The next thing that may be challenging for us is the side of the world that we live in, in Jamaica. The Caribbean is very difficult to get onto places like Barnes and Noble and other places. You cannot do that in the location where we are so it becomes a little difficult for you to get things out there.

The only place you really have that you can easily get stuff done on is Amazon. [However], products that I have now could not be done through Amazon because it does not offer what I want in the products that I'm preparing. Amazon doesn't have the capacity to do that.

So, now, as an "authorpreneur", an author who is an entrepreneur, you now need to dig deep, go far and wide, search and research; and find these places that would actually give you what you want.

Artistes have a similar situation where they struggle in the sense that, it's the same thing. it's not that easy for us where we are but the good thing about it is that we have faith and we trust God; we continue to move as we're led. I've come to realize that he opens doors, in all the right places and at all the right times, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

When you know that you are called to a particular purpose, for a particular place and time, and you are fully convicted. It becomes easier for you to become rooted and grounded. To God be the glory, I have never felt that I would do something else that is outside of God and Christ.

It is not my inclination and I do not foresee myself looking outside of where I currently am, except to grow, to dig deeper, and reach higher in God, and by his grace, impact a generation for Christ, especially with all that is happening now.

Brianna: You're also a gospel recording artiste. Looking ahead, what are some future projects you’re excited about? Do you plan to continue writing more books or focus on new music?

Sadra: Well, I'm working on new music and I will also continue to write. They're both passions of mine, and I'm grateful that I get the opportunity to do them both. I have a new song that is coming out this October, and it's titled "Magnify". It's a beautiful song. Might be one of the ones that I worked on the hardest and the longest (laughs). I'm really looking forward to that one.

The books come up in December. I am so grateful and I just can't wait to, you know, for people to get their hands on the books and for people to start listening to the new music that is coming out. It's a season of much and like I said in the beginning of the interview, a lot of things have happened this year; good and bad but thankfully, the good outweighed the bad.

I'm very excited for what God is going to do in this season. Not just with me but with his people. I can feel the shift and regardless of what the enemy might want to do in our lives. I know that God is at work and even though some things might be long and time-consuming, he is perfecting all of our concerns.

To stay updated on Sadra Madonna Lindsay's upcoming books: To This Day Let Me Write: The Guided Journal and To This Day Let Me Write: Biblically Guided Planner, follow her on social media @sadramadonna.