by April | Jun 26, 2010 | Encouragement, Writing
Writers are a bit like actors. Let me qualify that by saying I never wanted to be an actor. Being in front of people like that isn’t something I yearn for. However, I was a TV addict as a child. I don’t think we needed a TV guide because I always knew what was on at any given moment–even re-runs. If an episode caught my imagination, I would replay it in my memory, change the ending, or extend it out. I guess I wrote fan-fiction in my head as a kid–but I had no idea that’s what it was!
My kids don’t know what re-runs are, really. They don’t know that if we missed a show in our youth, my husband and I had to hope they’d run it again in summer and we’d live in anticipation of catching it later. VCR’s were futuristic and expensive, so we didn’t have one. Today, if we miss a show, we can catch it on the internet. I find it ironic that now I have the capability to watch EVERYTHING that is on, I really don’t want to. Nor do I have the time.
I digress. Back to my original statement—writers are a bit like actors. First we imagine a character, and get to know them by writing their backgrounds (family, friends, childhood experiences) to learn how they would act in certain situations. Then we pull them on, step into their lives and move about, seeing how they feel, what they think, what they want from life. It’s been said, although I can’t remember by whom, that in order to understand someone you have to walk a mile in his or her shoes. (I could Google this quote, but that would sidetrack us).
I learn a lot from my characters. Being a writer of faith, I often learn about God. Verses I haven’t thought of for years come to mind. Situations that my characters are going through might draw them closer to God and that gives me new insight into Him as well. They grow and I grow. Oftentimes my character will say something truly enlightening that I’ve never thought of before in that context, or maybe not at all. Those are the wonder moments.
Right now I’m learning about walking by faith. This happens at many stages in people’s lives, not just one. I’ve been here countless times, and I will be again. It’s about growing in my walk with the Lord, and I hope I never stop doing that. I put one foot in front of the other and keep going, praying God will guide my steps. I’m expanding a book I hope will pass muster and earn an interview with a publisher this summer. I don’t know if all this effort will get me there, but I’m learning a lot—and anytime that happens, it’s not a waste. All I know is that there is a possibility before me, and if I give it all I’ve got and pray, then I’ve done my part.
One of my favorite passages from the Bible is a large section on faith. Rather than copying the whole section, I encourage you to read it yourself. It’s starts off like this:
Hebrews 11
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. To read the rest of the chapter, please click HERE
by April | Jun 13, 2010 | Encouragement
Our kitty, Jack, has an autoimmune blood disease. If you know us, then you know this is nothing unusual in our family—in fact the irony takes on special meaning. The words “autoimmune disease” were once foreign to us—but there are so many things that fall into that category, it’s just ridiculous. Our family is affected, especially by one—Celiac disease. A second one (and not the last) was introduced in our kitty, Jack. Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia or IMHA. He was born with it, but it kicked in big time when he got a distemper shot in December. His immune system attacked his blood cells and he nearly died. We were told to keep him ‘calm’ and not ‘stress him.’ Jack is NOT a low stress cat. EVER.
Recently we had a lovely visit from family. This part of our family has a sweet dog, but he wouldn’t mix with Jack at all—so we locked the cats safely in the back room with their kitty box, water, and food for periods at time. Even though we did this to decrease Jack’s stress, it seemed to drain his system to break his routine like this. His symptoms (ears, nose and gums turn white from a lack of red blood cells, extreme fatigue) kicked up and we almost had to visit the vet. We’ve babied him for several days now, and his symptoms improved. His nose and gums grow pinker every day and he’s back to his feisty self.
When someone says they are ‘stressed’ we often think they are going through a hard time. And I think that we equate that in our own lives as well—but it’s often not true. Good things, busy things, can cause us stress just as much as bad things. But if we feel stress about doing ‘good’ things we tend to feel guilty. Those things are good, and we should be enjoying doing them, not feeling worn out! Things like helping others, attending social events, and outreach opportunities. If you do too much, though, even good things can stress you out. And if your body is already taxed because of illness or other circumstances, then you get a double whammy.
If there’s been a theme for us in the past two years, it’s thus: take each day as it comes (don’t worry!), know our limits and don’t over commit. When I watch Jack, I’m reminded that even a break in our routine can stress us out. I need to pray about our commitments, paying attention to my limits, and my family’s limits and ask for the Lord’s leading. If I’m paying attention to His direction, then even when bad stress comes, I’ll be in better shape to handle it.
1 Peter 5: 6-11 Humble yourselves therefore under God’s mighty hand, that he might lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
by April | May 23, 2010 | AHG, Encouragement, Family, Ministry
At this time of year there seems to be a huge ramping up of all our obligations. It’s especially true of parents with older children—there’s always somewhere to go, or someplace to be. I have many friends who are reevaluating their schedules for next year now. My advice is to wait until the fire cools before cutting and running! For some reason, American Heritage Girls often shows up on that list of obligations, along with other valuable programs. But, I disagree—I don’t think of AHG as an obligation, I think of it as a God given opportunity.
A few years ago, when my daughter was in 2nd grade, I felt she had a lack of good close friends. She had one or two, but she’s a very social girl, and I wanted to give her another opportunity to meet girls of like-minded faith (Christian), and get her plugged into a good program that offered Christ-like values and encouraged service. That’s when we heard about our church sponsoring an American Heritage Girls troop. I’d never heard of them before, so I did some research. They not only taught life skills, they focused those skills with Christian guidelines. I liked that. They taught that family is a God given blessing—not something to try to “do” in-between career choices. They made service to the community a reality, not just an ideal. They encouraged the girls to make life long friendships, in a deep and lasting way. Their oath: “I promise to love God, cherish my family, honor my country and serve in my community,” is real and lasting and meaningful.
As I got to know the program better, through our involvement, I noticed too that the leaders weren’t committed just for their own daughter’s sake, but had a heart concern for the well being of not just the girls, but for each of their families as well. I noticed that the program isn’t only a program, it’s a ministry.
By our second year, I’d moved into a leadership position. Albeit, my personal gifts don’t involve teaching children (unless they are my own), but that didn’t mean I couldn’t help. I found a position I enjoy—registrar. It’s a good fit for me and my busy schedule, but also helps our troop in a big way several times a year. Every year I try to encourage others to find their niche at AHG and help, because, again, it’s not just a program, it’s a ministry.
I’ve seen my daughter and my family blessed by our involvement with AHG. When we’ve gone through trials, other leaders have stood by me and prayed with me. And I’ve had the privilege to do that for others well. Both my daughter and I have made some wonderful friendships there—friendships that will grow and stand the test of time because they are seeded in faith.
While there are other things we CAN commit to throughout the year, we’ve chosen to stand by our commitment to American Heritage Girls, and say “no” to other opportunities because of the value AHG is to our family, and because we believe in their mission to grow up women of integrity. In this day and age, when integrity is lacking in every area of our American lives, I find that a true blessing.
by April | May 3, 2010 | Encouragement
I stood in front of an office building today and noticed that the paths the designer intended people to use were once again ignored. You’ve probably seen that around buildings and houses before—people cut a path through the grass or bushes, often to take the easiest course. It takes more than one person to use that path and wear down a nice groove in the earth. So, when you see that, you know travelers before you found that to be the quickest way to their destination. Unfortunately, this kills the grass, shrubs or flowers planted there.
I’m sure it’s very frustrating to the landscape designer, or architect, who laid out the sidewalks in a fashion best for traffic flow and then planted greenery there to make it attractive. But humans often take the path of least resistance—the one they think will get them there fastest, even if it only saves them a few feet.
I sometimes forget that God has plans for me—and that my plans might not be His plans. He lays out a course for me, but I forget and take the path of least resistance, the path I think will get me to where I want to be faster. However, in doing so, I might lead others down that road with me, and it might not be the right place for any of us to be. I can imagine God, the architect of life, being frustrated with me for not taking the course He intended me to take. I might take a few shortcuts, or go the wrong direction entirely. Thankfully, if we are repentant and acknowledge our mistake, we can look to our Good Shepherd, Jesus, to lead us back on the right track. It might not be the easiest, but it will be the best.
The bible has so many references to paths, it’s hard to pick out the best ones, but here are a few I found today:
Proverbs 5:21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths.
Proverbs 4:11 I will guide you in the ways of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
Psalm 17:5 My steps have held to your paths, my feet have not slipped.
Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
by April | Apr 28, 2010 | Encouragement
Do you ever wonder when moms get a real break? A real day off I mean, not the weekend, where everyone has free time except mom, who still cooks and does dishes and nags everyone to pick up their stuff. A day when we aren’t expected to do ANYTHING but relax. No, being sick does NOT count–trust me on that one. I mean real rest.
I’ve been thinking about rest a lot the past few weeks. How important it is. It’s actually my cat, Spookers’, fault. He takes such great pleasure in sleeping. Every time I walk through the bedroom, he calls to me and purrs. Keep in mind, he’s settled solidly in the center of my bed, curled up in a cute, black fuzzy ball, and looking ever so soft and cuddly. He actually has come-hither eyes. On occasion, his buddy Jack joins him (they are only friends at nap time, at all other times he is the object of Jack’s torment). Anyway, his goal is to get me to lie down with him. He knows once I do, and hear his lulling purrs, I will sleep. He does the same thing if I’m up too late. He finds wherever I am in the house, and meows at me, urging me to follow him to the bedroom where I will succumb to his sleepy spell and finally go to bed. This is where, as far as he’s concerned, I should be in the first place.
Rest is important. Perhaps not as important to us humans as it is to the kitty world—they have different goals (although, I think they might have the right idea). Isn’t rest fleeting? You can get some good sleep, but by the next evening, you are all tired out again. Our need for rest never goes away, no matter how much tea we drink! The Bible mentions rest more times than I can count. Often it’s an order–God rested and He wants us to as well. Usually the meaning the word holds is trust; however, there are plenty of verses that comfort us in our exhaustion and encourage our hearts to know that God is sufficient for our needs, that we can put our cares on Him and find rest in Him. I found the following to be of particular comfort:
Psalm 62: 5-6 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
Find rest, O my soul. Sounds lovely doesn’t it? I love knowing that whatever my schedule, illness, trial, what have you, I can find true rest in Him.
by April | Mar 3, 2010 | Encouragement, Writing
I recently attended the Oregon Christian Writer’s winter conference and Robin Jones Gunn was our guest speaker. Let me say first, if you write for God, attending a conference where 200 of you all have the same goal–our Father’s Glory–is an amazing and uplifting experience. It’s been such a hard year, I’ve been having trouble, frankly, getting my head wrapped around starting another book. Not that I haven’t been writing, I have–the blog, editing my books as I try to get them published , a few short stories here and there–but that ONE idea for the next novel escaped me. I’ve had this character in my head for a while, but whenever I put her down on paper–either she acted wrong, or the situation wasn’t quite right, so I’d scratch it out and let myself get distracted. And we’ve had plenty to distract us. Ms. Gunn mentioned opposition in her talk. She was mainly focusing on editors or publishers, or critics–but as soon as she asked, “What is your opposition?” I knew what ours was–ILLNESS. We’ve been through such a period of illness, it’s baffling some days. Right then, I knew what had been getting in my way.
Now, this is not to say we haven’t prayed for healing–oh we have. Or prayed that God would protect our family–we’re all over that. Or wondered if we needed to get our acts straight, was God trying to get our attention? Or tried any number of ways to look at this situation that might trip a switch that would rescue us from all of this. We kept our eyes on the Father–but we were sinking. If there were tick boxes listing “good things to do when you want your prayers answered” they would have all been checked.
Sometimes I think, in our American Christian culture, we subconsciously think if we say the right prayer, or act just so, or do just the right thing then God will answer that one prayer of ours (ours being healing). I’m about to say something you might not want to hear. Sometimes he heals miraculously, or through doctors. Sometimes we’re just sick because we’re sick. And sometimes there is a spiritual battle you are in the midst of–and might not even know it– and all you have to do is hold on. That last one, I think, was us. We were beginning to feel like the Whack-o-Mole. Step out for the Lord, put your head out that hole and get whacked. Really makes you not want to put your head up–and that feeling is key.
So, back to RJG’s talk. Her talk was about forging ahead despite our circumstances–that God has a job for us all to do, and we have to go about doing that job. She said if there’s something getting in the way of that job, that’s the enemy. Now, I’ve known that before too, but I hadn’t really seen our opposition for what it was–call me silly, or blind, but we were so busy trying to keep our heads up and pray, we didn’t have the energy to look at much else. I really don’t ever remember being so emotionally and spiritually exhausted before in my life. I went to her right after the talk, she was book signing, and I shared what our opposition was. And she said two words I will never forget, they still bring tears to my eyes, she said, “Never fear.”
Now, you can know something intellectually–I’ve read a lot of verses on not fearing–but something in the way she said it struck my heart, and I took such great comfort and courage at those words. I went home and shared my notes with my husband, and I said, “I really need to set aside time to write more faithfully.” He agreed. And as of today, I’ve got most of the outline for my next book completed, my main character is fleshed out, and she’s even doing what she’s supposed to do (for now). Everyone has to find their sweet spot–mine is from 10pm to 2am. I’m not saying I’m not tired–sooo am. BUT, I’m back in the saddle, and intent on not letting the opposition win.
Sometimes all you can do is keep your head up and wait on the Lord. If that is where you are at, then I encourage you to please just keep going. There might be NOTHING that makes sense about where you are, or why things are so hard, but take heart–you are not alone, Jesus is with you.
Mathew 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Psalm 27: 1-3 The Lord is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? the Lord is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
Psalm 46: 1-3, 7 God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Writers are a bit like actors. Let me qualify that by saying I never wanted to be an actor. Being in front of people like that isn’t something I yearn for. However, I was a TV addict as a child. I don’t think we needed a TV guide because I always knew what was on at any given moment–even re-runs. If an episode caught my imagination, I would replay it in my memory, change the ending, or extend it out. I guess I wrote fan-fiction in my head as a kid–but I had no idea that’s what it was!
