by April | Mar 4, 2015 | Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual Growth, Trials
While growing up I thought once I was in my forties (or old, as I considered it) that I’d have life all figured out. Okay, quit chuckling at me, that’s not nice. Anyway… as I was saying…life all figured out. Easy sailing on smooth seas. (Seriously?…Stop laughing!)
God’s word doesn’t promise smooth sailing, through. It does promise He will never leave us nor forsake us. I’ve begun to wonder if that verse has a double meaning. In His not leaving us, He’s also not leaving us to our own devices, or leaving us unchanged. Rather, once we accept Jesus as our savior, we are being made over.
We’re like trees standing in a grove, growing, waiting, watching the seasons pass, one to the next. The summer, the fall, the winter… But rather suddenly
and often without warning, trials come. We are cut down. Our limbs trimmed with each challenge, each hardship, each prayer for mercy until our bark is stripped and we are laid bare and tossed away seemingly forgotten in a stack. It’s tempting to despair in that wood pile. There seems no point. If we are walking alone in our faith, it can be devastating. But never fear, the Father is busy not leaving us to our own. He’s making us over, chipping away at us, for our own good and His ultimate Glory, making us into something useful. We have to be careful though, because the temptation to focus on the shavings pooling around our feet instead of the Master Carpenter is great.
Some of us (me included) will race to the store for wood glue and desperately try to stick those useless shavings back on, or put them in a box to save for later. In our memories, those shavings can become so important we forget that the Lord isn’t interested in them, but He’s got a better plan in mind. It’s not until we brush the shavings off and step away, looking at ourselves through His eyes we are able to see a new, useful creation. The old has been chipped away.
Are you stuck in winter? Are you being chipped away at? Do not fear, nor despair–spring is coming. It’s nearly here.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
by April | Jan 9, 2015 | Audio Talk, Author Interviews, Encouragement, Healing Fiction, Jeannie St. John Taylor, Maxine Marsolini, Ministry, The River, Trials
On Monday January 5th, Maxine Marsolini and Jeannie St. John Taylor interviewed me for their radio program, The River. If you missed the live broadcast you can listen to it below. We chatted about MACY, healing fiction, marriage, forgiveness, challenges and hope. I had a wonderful time. Thanks to Maxine and Jeannie for being such wonderful hosts!
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by April | Dec 31, 2014 | Encouragement, Faith, Prayer, Trials
We’re wrapping up the old year and bringing in another brand new year. Goodbye 2014. You were a challenge to me. I had some of my greatest writing achievements (a second book published, up for some awards, won an honorary award) this year. I also faced a long bout of multiple illnesses–it was a very hard spring and summer.
People I’m close to faced some pretty unimaginable trials last year–many are carrying on into the new year. I’d like to say tomorrow is a brand new day with no problems in it–that it really is altogether new and spotless, that being a new year carried some guarantees of wellness and will be trouble free. But I can’t. This new year will have high points and low for everyone I know. But I take comfort we can face anything if we’re trusting in the Lord.
In my prayer time recently, I began to feel uneasy. Some of the things I’ve been praying for a very long time. Was I praying right? Did I have the right words, the right faith, the right posture? Was my heart right, my intentions good enough? At that point I was reminded that I could never pray right enough to convince God of anything. You see, I’m imperfect. I sometimes have selfish motives. I can’t see the big picture like God does (who planned our Lord’s birth over thousands of years down to the last detail). I don’t know if removing a trial from a loved one’s life will, in the end, be a detriment instead of what God intended using it for (drawing them closer to Him usually figures in that equation). In fact, when it came down to it, I didn’t know anything at all. Well, except one thing–these circumstances I prayed for, they all needed God’s hand of strength, of peace, of patience, of healing. The details were not up to me, they were up to Him.
Jesus said to pray. I pray. Jesus said to ask for whatever I need in His name. I do. He also prayed the night before his arrest and conviction: “Not my will but Yours be done. *
That removes a lot of pressure, doesn’t it? At the end of us and our ideas of how things should be, it’s enough to pray, “Not my will but Yours be done.” I know I can pray that with all confidence because I trust Him. I know His attributes: He is the God of love, of mercy, of strength, of peace, of comfort, of provision.
Trust comes in every relationship as intimacy deepens. You share, they share; you listen, they listen; you’re there for them, and they are there for you.
Do you trust in the One who hears our prayers? If you’ve never given your life to Jesus, if you’ve never admitted your sin and need of Him and asked Him into your heart, then that first step of intimacy is missing from your life. You’ll never learn to trust Him if you’ve never met Him. Relationship with Him begins with that simple prayer.
But then it goes on. It has to or you’ll never get to know Him the way He’d like you to. Think of it this way: It’d be as if I met you on the street, we had an amazing bonding experience, and then you never spoke to me again.
I pray this new year will be full of blessings, but especially full of intimacy with our Lord. I pray for Him to work out His full, perfect will in your life.
* Verses used Luke 22:42 John 15:7 Luke 11
by April | Nov 22, 2014 | Encouragement
She called herself Mrs. G because her last name, Gildesgard, was a bit tricky for us to say. It also sounded tough. That worked, because she was tough. In our very first high school freshman English class together, she warned us she had excellent peripheral vision, so we needn’t try and get away with anything, she’d see it. (And she did. Not a note was passed or a wad of paper thrown that she didn’t catch and punish the perpetrator!). And trust me, reading the note you’d passed aloud in front of the class was way worse than detention. Way worse.
Mrs. G lay down some hard and fast rules, but throughout it all, her eyes sparkled, and her smile was genuine. She was one of those teachers who commanded instant respect on day one, and you gave it to her because she was worth respecting. Let’s face it, teens can see right through a phony, and a few of my classmates were known for being mouthy and quite cynical. But they never gave Mrs. G any guff.
I was blessed to know Mrs. G in another capacity. She went to the same church as I did. As a youngster, I rather imagined my teachers stayed at school. Didn’t they live there? The idea they had a family and a life outside that building was bizarre. Seeing Mrs. G singing in the choir, chatting with my family, and her genuine concern in how I was doing as a person, not just a body in her classroom, made her very human in my eyes. She was one of the sweetest, most caring people I had the pleasure to know.
Even after I graduated and moved away, Mrs. G would ask my parents how I was doing. When my first book was published, I sent her a copy as if to say, “Hey, I was paying attention more than you might have suspected!” I did the same with my second. She sent me back two wonderfully encouraging letters.
Mrs. G passed away this morning. When I heard, I pulled out those letters and re-read them. So often in life we forget to thank the people that made an impact on them when they were growing up. I’m so glad I had the chance. Now I have the chance to say it again. Thanks Mrs. G.
by April | Oct 14, 2014 | Encouragement
Hurrah! You Go! Get up! You can do it!
It’s so important to surround yourself with people who not only hold you accountable (lots of folks love to do that!) but who make you feel like you’re better after being with them.
Everyone needs cheerleaders in life. Not the phony kind who just say positive, surfacey things and make you feel sticky like a candy-cane that’s been slobbered on by a dog and then dropped on a cat.
No. ((shiver))
Rather, real friends who know what you’ve been through, what you’re capable of, and (more importantly sometimes) what you’re not capable of. Those that cheer you on to get up. Those that hold you up when you’re worn. The ones that not only hand you tissues when you’re sad, but pass the popcorn when you’re celebrating (well…for me it’s popcorn, for you, it might be something else!).
Last Saturday I got to hang out at Oregon Christian Writers and even got to co-teach a workshop on encouraging writers their publishing journey. It was such fun–I love encouraging others to write. It got me thinking about how important being encouraged really is. The Bible says in 1Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
In my novel, Macy, she’s got some new friends who encourage her in times of biggest need. They walk through some of her toughest moments when she falls and help her get up again. And again.
In my life, I’ve had a lot of encouragers. The Lord seems to bring them to me when I need it the most. An unexpected text, a card in the mail, a good friend coming by with a coffee just to sit and listen.
Who encourages you in your life? Who helps you get up when you don’t think you can anymore? A friend, a parent? Most importantly, do you encourage others?
I’d love to hear about the cheerleaders in your life, the ones that stood by your side and told you to get up, to keep going. You don’t have to use their names, but I’d love it if you left me a comment below.
by April | Sep 21, 2014 | Encouragement, Suffering
Life can take us by surprise, can’t it? Oftentimes those surprises are hard, rather than sweet celebrations. You only have to open your email or your Facebook to see someone going through a hard time. We all know people suffering–maybe you are suffering.
Our culture preaches preparedness. From natural disasters to retirement, you’ve got to have a plan. You’ve got to stay on top of things–you’ve got to stay in control. Have that escape route ready, that insurance policy up to date. Keep going, never say die, never surrender, never throw in the towel. You’ve got this!
While it’s irresponsible not to do our best to be prepared for the unforeseen–I shouldn’t get comfortable with my own preparedness, the illusion that I’m in control. Because even when I’ve got my helmet on, my shelves stocked with food, my legal papers all in order, I can still be blindsided by events. The death of a loved one, a devastating injury, a new illness–the unexpected can literally take our breath away. So, what do we do then?
There’s no easy answer to that. Even as I type, names of people going through the unimaginable race through my mind. All I can say is God knows what you’re facing and, if you are His, He is with you. In my own experiences, the more I try to hold onto plans and ideas of what life is supposed to look like, the more I end up feeling embittered, frustrated and depressed. I lose hope. After all, wasn’t I ready for what life threw at me? Obviously not. Conversely, the more I pray for the Lord’s will in my life, the more I give up my scramble to control, the more peace I have, the more satisfied I am with life. One definition of surrender is to give oneself up, to yield or submit to another. We just finished reading a book the other day, and there’s a quote at the end that’s really stuck with me:
“The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become – because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. . .It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” ~C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity
A verse from the Bible shares the mystery I’ve come back to many times is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Are you suffering? You are not alone. I’m not saying, “There are people the world over who are suffering, buck-up camper.” No, I mean, “Take heart, YOU are not alone. He is with you.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
While growing up I thought once I was in my forties (or old, as I considered it) that I’d have life all figured out. Okay, quit chuckling at me, that’s not nice. Anyway… as I was saying…life all figured out. Easy sailing on smooth seas. (Seriously?…Stop laughing!)
and often without warning, trials come. We are cut down. Our limbs trimmed with each challenge, each hardship, each prayer for mercy until our bark is stripped and we are laid bare and tossed away seemingly forgotten in a stack. It’s tempting to despair in that wood pile. There seems no point. If we are walking alone in our faith, it can be devastating. But never fear, the Father is busy not leaving us to our own. He’s making us over, chipping away at us, for our own good and His ultimate Glory, making us into something useful. We have to be careful though, because the temptation to focus on the shavings pooling around our feet instead of the Master Carpenter is great.
