Tag Archive | Jesus

Susan Speaks: Learning to Breathe (Book Review)

Apr24
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Susan Speaks: Learning to Breathe (Book Review)

I’m supplanting Oliver and Minnie but they are busy playing, and the topic of this book is of a more serious nature. One of the subjects that underlies most of my fiction is sanctification. Characters must grow in faith (or come to faith). My Orchard Hill Series has a church as a focal point for all the characters in some way, shape, or form, because I deeply love the church and believe it is essential to the Christian walk. Learning to Breathe: How To Cultivate A Life-Changing Relationship with the Holy Spirit comes from behind the shadows of fiction that I use as my platform, and lays it out clearly and without apology.

I have taught about the subject of the Holy Spirit from a more doctrinal standpoint, but Matt Morton has raised the bar for books on this subject. With authenticity he challenges the reader to go deeper. For instance, his chapter (3) on the Fruit of the Spirit is eye-opening, as a gauge that all beliveers in Jesus can use to determine where we need to grow, something we can only do by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is personal application in every chapter and Matt Morton builds beautifully from personal sanctification (which only happens through the power of the Holy Spirit) to the beauty of the church and mission it has throughout the world in spreading the wonderful and powerful message of salvation in Jesus.

If you want to live a more vibrant walk with the Lord, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. While Lewis Sperry Chafer’s work on the topic is great, and Francis Chan’s is approachable, Matt Morton’s work is easy- to- read yet challenging. If you do not want to grow in your faith, do not purchase this book. I went through this as part of a group and found that to be a blessing as we shared how the truths in this book was working to transform our lives. I’ve walked with Jesus for 45 years and love that He has so much more to teach me, and this book has been helpful in challenging me to grow further.

If this were Oliver or Minnie, they would give this book five bones, because they are dogs after all. I, however, give it five stars.

Author Confessions: I Can’t Change Myself

Apr13
Reading Time: 5 minutes

Author Confessions: I Can’t Change Myself

For all the talk people will say about making changes to your diet, exercise, goals etc, I find that in reality I can’t change myself. Maybe I don’t want change enough? Or maybe I like the idea of certain changes but lack the gumption to follow through.

Oh, I know about making baby steps and I’ve accomplished goals that way. Making things a game helps too. Or competing against a goal, almost like I try to see if I can beat the arrival time a GPS gives me on Google Maps. (Don’t tell me you haven’t tried!)

The reality is, the biggest and most significant changes have come about when I’ve asked God to direct me. He’s the one who opens a door for that change and it might seem impulsive for me to step through, yet it might be something I’ve prayed about for months. True heart change comes from the inside out–not the outside in with manufactured disciplines. My stubborn heart rebels against that.

Thankfully, God knows my heart, my mind, my personality and all the quirks that make me uniquely–me. I’ve asked Him to help me mature, grow, and change and I’ve also asked that He be gentle with me. Sometimes He uses circumstances to force change in my life that I might have resisted. Or He leads me on a path that I think will logically be a good thing and in the process I struggle with the necessary changes that are a necessary part of the process.

We sold our house and moved to a community I used to live in over 25 years ago. With social media, emails, and texting, I can stay close to people I love, but the reality, I almost feel invisible to them due to the distance and the scarcity of contact. Was the contact more frequent before that? Maybe, maybe not. But I was immersed in a world where people knew me.

Now I’m a stranger in a strange land. (My hubby would be telling right now that strange is the perfect word for me! And he’d be correct!)

We found a church we love but due to all that’s going on in our lives we haven’t been able to plug into serving yet. I’m an unknown quantity there. Any of my previous ministry expriences do not mean I will serve in the same way here. I’m a small fish in a big pond. The waiting is hard but I realize that God is doing deep work in my soul drawing me into a deeper relationship with Him.

He has restored eager anticipation to go to church for worship, or for our life group, or the women’s study I’m in. They are the highlights of my week. It’s an experience that had been lost over the years for more reasons than I want to go into now.

I used to sing all the time, at home, in the car, everywhere. For years though, I couldn’t sing because I worked supporting the production team in the booth. I couldn’t sing because I needed to be listening for problems. Was the sound mix good? Were there issues with tech that needed to be solved? After years of this, I finally got a chance to join a team on stage for worship. I was going to lead a song with my guitar and I had practiced a lot. I played the instrument fine, but do you think I could find my note to start the singing? Cue deep humiliation and embarrassment when someone else rescued the moment. It was an individual who had derailed my ability to serve at that church in many ways. That was eight years ago and the accumulated trauma surrounding worship ministry, culminating with a moment that no one else realized was painful for me, has kept me from stepping back on a stage to lead worship or to sing even though I have been asked on various occassions. My guitar was packed away. My voice silenced. Shame imprisoned me.

My husband loves to hear me sing and I’m content to have him listen to me worship in church when I am by his side. I realized that I lost more than my voice. I lost much of the joy music gave me because of the pain tied to it. So I’ve been challenging myself to sing more.

I came across a chapter in a book about how the Holy Spirit inhabits our praise and praising God opens up the door for the Holy Spirit to work more in our lives. I’ve been playing music more in my car as I drive and trying to sing at least one song out loud, whether it’s at home or on the road. I don’t really count worshipping at church in that goal. I find that easier than ever to do this with a full heart of gratitude for the Savior Who has graciously brought me back to that joy, leaving the shame behind.

I’m not ready to step back on stage to sing. I’m not that great of a vocalist. I don’t know if God will call me into that ministry in our new-to-us church. I’ve done a  variety of ministries within previous churchs and it’s possible God may have something new lined up for me. Like a kid eager to open gifts at Christmas, I wait, trusting that He has something beautiful in store.

In the meantime, my job is to steep myself in Bible study, memorization, being quiet before Him, singing praises in and out of church, and using the gifts God has given me to encourage others right now, whenever I see something praiseworthy. It’s kind of fun letting God open up doors for those moments to blurt out something to lift another person’s day, simply because I’m blessed to be a witness to the work God is doing in their lives. I can strive to be open to the opportunities to share His love to my neighbors and others I might meet.

So maybe I’m not where I long to be, plugged into my church, but that doesn’t mean I’m being passive. Whether I’m making my husband’s favorite meal, cleaning the house, doing laundry, walking the dogs, ironing shirts, running errands for our house, or chatting with a neighbor as my puppy tries eager to get all the pets possible, God can use me right here and now and I embrace that.

He’s working other changes in me as well and the process hasn’t always been comfortable. At times it has been downright lonely because I haven’t developed close enough relationships where I can get together with someone to talk about life. The key word here is YET. God is enough and I’ve started using an audio journal to help me talk through stuff with Him when I don’t have another human to process with. Yes, I do share things with my hubby but not all the ramblings in my brain! Sometimes God is the only one who gets to hear those.

I can’t change myself, but I know Someone Who can – and I’m doubly grateful for the work the Holy Spirit is doing in me to prepare me for when we are in our home and have even more opportunities to connect with people. Or where He’ll open doors at our church. I recognize it’s a process and leaning into the best change-agent around: Jesus. I can’t change myself–but He can.

 

Author Confessions: Why I Don’t Write “THE END.”

Mar30
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author Confessions: Why I Don’t Write “THE END.”

I happily finished and submitted a Christmas novella to my publisher. I confess that when I’m writing a story I struggle as I get to the end because it means my journey with these characters who have become dear to me, is over. It takes discipline to finally get to the end of the story and when I do, it is bittersweet.

A lot of authors celebrate finishing a story and proudly write, “THE END” on the page. I stop when I am convinced that I have come to a satisfactory conclusion to the story. My happily-ever-after ending as it were. And there are no more words to write at that point.

The beauty of writing a series as the characters in the preceding ones can go on with their fictional lives and the reader can get glimpses.

No one gets a happily-ever-after in this life unless we are believers in Jesus. Even when He said “It is finished,” on the cross, it wasn’t the end of the story. What seemed like a horrific tragedy was for our benefit. And yet while we may experience periods of happiness, that sweet kiss of promise at the end of a romance, life doesn’t go on with neverending bliss.

Life is full of hardships and suffering and our happily-ever-after ending comes when we are reunited with the holy Triune God and revel in His glorious presence.

For all those reasons, I won’t write THE END on any of the 36 stories I’ve written to date. And it is a practice I never intend to abandon because even though my characters are fictional, they represent real-life people whose lives face tragedies and joys, love and loss, and deep griefs which in the moment might feel like they will never end. But they do.

As Easter nears we will feel the weight of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross but we endure that momentry discomfort because we know what comes three days later when Christ emerged victorious from the grave. Life is still filled with ups and downs, however, we, as believers, hold on to the hope of His calling us home or His triumphant return. We hold on to that hope. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”

This is meant as an encouragement to you, dear reader. No matter what difficulties you are facing, God is faithful and will never leave or abandon you. During dark days in my past a wise woman told me I needed hope. She was correct. I was living with a hopeless mentality. The story God was writing in my life wasn’t over. That was a turning point for me. When I worry about my grown children, I remember their stories aren’t over yet either and God can do marvelous works in His perfect timing.

So I cling to hope. And never write “THE END”. Jesus didn’t.

Author Confessions: The Power of Hope

Mar23
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Author Confessions: The Power of Hope

I’ve been feeling more hopeful lately. Part of me thinks it has something to do with impending spring. Yes, the calender says spring is already here but that’s not always what we experience, at least in Wiscsonsin where I live. We’ve had a wet winter. Some snow but the ground hasn’t really frozen and it can create a muddy mess.

It’s still March and the weather can be horribly fickle so we might still get a massive snowstorm. We have Indian Summer in late fall and False Spring late winter. I remember a few Easter Sundays where winter raged it’s head making travel difficult. When my kids were little we went out and blew bubbles watching them freeze in the air. A fun memory.

Still I have hope. I even dug my sandles out of storage.

While lent is a time for repentance there is also an anticipation that is different from Christmas time.  The pretty lights and decorations as we celebrate the birth of Christ. But Christmas doesn’t have much meaning without the forshadowing of the cross He would later hang on as a sacrifice for our sins. Darkeness before light. Winter before spring.

This was a one time only event and was the salvation for all. Weather might be fickle but Jesus’s work on the cross was final. We remember and refect year after year. Jesus never retracts His promises to those who submit to His lordship over their lives.

Notice I didn’t say believe? Many believe, even the demons, and they shudder! Yet they won’t be saved.

We are also in the process of building a house that has had all kinds of setbacks but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel even as I struggle with learning so many new things and making a dozen choices. I spent hours measuring my kitchen and drawing lines on the floor where everything will be. My body is definitely complaining about that abuse especially after an injury over a week ago helping get a heavy one piece shower into the building, with help of course. I strained a muscle that is taking its sweet time in healing.

Soon, however, the walls will have insulation and be drywalled and we’ll get flooring laid. Eventually the outside stuff will be done and I am eager to plant seeds and bulbs. Maybe I won’t have pretty flowers this year, but I have hope for some of them.

Hope is powerful. Sunny, warm days, even if a snowstorm still might visit, helps me stay the course.

Here’s a silly look at the seasons from Wisconsin comic, Charlie Berens. Enjoy, Spring is coming!

Author Confessions: Rocks as Treasure

Mar2
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author Confessions: Rocks as Treasure

Now when I talked about rocks a few weeks ago here, I was looking perhaps at a more spiritual dimension of the idea of rocks. The reality is we often highly value rocks!

For instance, I wear a lovely diamond ring that my husband bought for me. It didn’t have to fancy and they are lab-made diamonds but they are still rocks. It it is beautiful and I treasure it because of what it symbolizes in my marriage. He’s frugal and managed to purchase it off Craigslist. The man who sold it scrimped and saved to use to propose to his girlfriend but before he could do so, she cheated on him. The ring is worth far more than he paid for it because of that. It doesn’t matter. It was a gift from him. I’ve known some women whose husband designed their wedding rings without their soon-to-be-wife’s input. While the rings is unique and lovely, it isn’t what they would have prefered, but they don’t say anything because of the thought, time, and effort that the husband put into the design. Even if it wasn’t what they wanted, they wear them proudly and treasure them.

I’m not one for fancy jewelry. I’m not a fancy-pants kind of gal. Sure I can dress up nice, but I’m not about glitter and glammer. Most of my jewelry contains synthetic versions of stones I wanted to have to wear from a ruby, pink star sapphire, blue start stapphire, among other stones. Yet when my daughter had significant birthdates, I purchased for her jewelry with her real birthstone: ring, earrings, necklace. I don’t know if she appreciates them at this time, but they are hers. My birthday has two birthstones and one is quite pricey. I bought a synthetic one. Alexandrite is cool because it changes colors depending on the light. A real one is normally red and green. My fake one is green and purple. It’s still a cool rock.

In Scripture, pearls were highly valued. We are not to toss them before swine and a man sold everything to buy a field where he found buried pearls. Pearls themselves are interesting because they are dirt that has been encapsulated over time as a defense against an intruder. An oyster’s refuse becomes a person’s treasure.

In Scripture the pearl is a metaphor for faith in Jesus. Sacrificial, and a treasure to be protected. The solid rock that is Christ is a gem of great beauty and we won’t get to fully see that until we get to heaven.

There are many other things we can treasure, obviously rocks are not my main desire in life. Anything I might hold as more important than the treasure of Jesus Christ and His extravagant gift of salvation through death on the cross, and His miraculous resurrection, is trash. Sometimes, I’m my own biggest stumbling block to my faith.

Scripture talks about precious stones, silver, and gold, lining the roads or walkways of heaven. As gorgeaous as they are they will be trod upon but those who find their salvation in Him. When the time comes I’ll appreciate the beauty of all those rocks even more as I worship the Savior I treasure above all else.

How about you? We vare currently in a season of lent. What treasures do you need to loosen your grip on to focus on the treasure of Jesus Christ?

Author Confessions: Stumbling Blocks in Fiction, Part II

Feb23
Reading Time: 5 minutes

Author Confessions: Stumbling Blocks in Fiction, Part II

In my last post I wrote about the generic issue of stumbling blocks in fiction, but there are more that are specific to the Christian genre. For some, writing with these restrictions can be challenging, but for a devoted follower of Christ they should be easier to avoid.

Denomination bias

This one could be the most challenging for some. We all love our individual “tribes” of denominations and some believe they are superior to others. Of course, there are some that border on cultish. There is a branch of Amish fiction which deals more with the culture of the Amish than the religion itself although the strict rules often come into play and those are religious. With Amish fiction, it would be hard to not mention that they were Amish as no other people group operates quite the way they do. I’ve refused to write Amish fiction even though when I had an agent, she urged me to because they sell well. I told her I thought they bordered on cultish and I didn’t want to glorify that kind of religious belief system. Maybe someday I will write one about how abusive they are to dogs they are breeding since I have two Amish puppy mill rescues.

Demoninations can be specific about some things. There’s a meme that goes around about other things but could apply to church denominations: Tell me your denomination without telling me your denomination. We need to focus more on Jesus than a specific church denomination. This way we don’t alienate readers.

I will confess, I broke this rule in my book Fragile Blessings because as a historical novella, there were times when denominations had conflict and that was highlighted, but neither denomination was condemned or elevated.

Gratitous Sin

Sin is going to infiltrate our stories because we can’t escape sin and it’s impact on our lives in this world. Sin brings about conflict and navigating that conflict makes a story insteresting. Having said that an author needs to avoid elevating any kind of behavior that might be construed as more destructive. For instance, in my Regency romancees, I have a disclaimer about drinking. It was a cultural thing for that time period and culture, and when someone became intoxicated it had disasterous results. I never would want any thing I write to be taken as permission, for someone who struggles with alcohol, for instance, to take that as permission to give in to that addiction. As my husband says, “No one starts out having a drink of alcohol intending on becoming an alcoholic.” Do I believe drinking is a sin? No. However, because some do struggle with it I will never put that as a common practice in my books.

When it comes to sex, that also is not a sin within marriage. I don’t want to deny the desire and physical attraction characters may have for each other but it will only ever be between a man and woman and consumation will not happen until after marriage. I do not want anyone to read my books and find them tittiltating. I used to do some proofreading for another publishing house I was originally contracted with, and one story had just one line in it that I thought went too far with its suggestiveness. I did tell the publisher but I have no awareness of whether that was deleted or changed in the story as it was about to go to print. I hope it was. When my children were younger, I wanted my books to be safe for even my children to read. A former pastor used to read my books as well and enjoyed them. I will stand before God someday for what I write.

Normalizing destructive behaviors

I’ve already mentioned alcohol but the same would be true with murder, cheating, lying, abuse. Anything that can be destructive to another person whould never be promoted in a clean or Christian novel as acceptable. Those behaviors might be part of a story, but not promoted as good. Pesto and Potholes starts out with domestic abuse. In Salsa and Speed Bumps my character deals with the aftermath of a date rape and the consequences of Christians making wrong assumptions about her condition to disasterous effect. Truffles and Traffic deals with the aftermath of a divorce. In all those stories there is redemption as the people lean on God to get them through the pain and trauma they experienced. I could cite many other stories as well. A Christian author never wants to promote sinful behavior as acceptable or permissable for the believer in Jesus.

Foul language

This can be difficult. Funny thing is, as much as people love to swear or tell dirty jokes, it’s amazing how they can change their behavior when they need to. When I worked in the field of mental health, my clients, without me asking, refused to swear or use other foul language in front of me. They understood by my actions that I was a Christian. In fiction, we have unredeemed people who are doing bad things, and while using foul langage is the norm for some authors, the Christian author has to be more creative in the use of their words and descriptions to give a foul character realism. We might even say someone “cursed under their breath,” not promoting that but also not using any words they might use.

An author must be careful of the words even our characters use, even if in real like someone might be swearing, we can’t put that on the page.

Twisted Theology or Unique Theological Differences 

There are so many theological differences that could be at issue. I had an author whose main character was a female pastor. I’m not going to debate whether women can be pastors or not, that’s not the point. It is, however, a bone of contention for many believers. I told her I could not publish her book. We spoke with an agent who was sitting nearby. He said that it would limit the reach of the book and certain bookstores would refuse to carry a book with that as a main component. For those with more controversial issues that they want central to a plot line in a story, that doesn’t mean they can never publish their story, self-publishing is more popular than ever. Authors just need to be aware that some publishing houses won’t accept that.

I’ve had to help authors make minor corrections to descriptions describing the crux of the gospel in their stories. If the gospel is being presented in some way it needs to be clear and avoid any add-ons or misunderstandings. We never want a book to be preachy, but if a character comes to Christ we need to handle that with excellence even as we are creative in our story telling.

Life is complicated but stumbling blocks in fiction are not only for purposes of publication. Stumbling blocks in fiction can upset a Christian reader and cause them to stop reading or write a negative review. Stumbling blocks in fiction could also tempt someone to sin, or keep them from taking the next step of faith. None of these things are good, so a wise author will be careful to avoid them. Can you think of any other stumbling blocks you might have come across in Christian fiction?

Author Confessions: The Best Gift

Dec8
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author Confessions: The Best Gift

Have you gathered all the gifts you wanted to give for Christmas? Did you mail out Christmas cards? It’s amazing how many decisions need to be made: Who to send cards to, who to buy gifts for, what concerts to attend, how to manage all the things that vie for your time.

I love buying or making gifts for Christmas but packing up and clearing out our home and moving into a small apartment resulted in most of my gift making supplies sitting in storage. I don’t have space to create much anyway. Some of that has forced me to scale back on what I’m doing for Christmas.

Gifts are harder too. I’m sure that my kids would be perfectly happy with gift cards for gas or stores (or simply a check). However, I’m trying to avoid that. Ultimately, I hope they embrace Jesus fully and follow Him, because He is the best gift. All I can do is pray. I still want to give them something more personal, that has a deeper meaning.

When my kids were younger my parents had given us a cash gift. Instead of purchasing presents we took our children to see the Tran-Siberian Orchestra live in concert. We were in the nosebleed section but they were mesmerized for three hours and when flash pots went off shooting to the ceiling, we could feel the heat (it happened during the song I’ve attached). We gave them a memory, a moment of family seeing something exceptional, excellent, and beautiful to celebrate Christmas. Here is the song that stuck with me and was amazing to watch live “Queen of the Winter Night.” And yes, there is a lot of hair flipping at this kind of concert. The endurance of these performers is amazing–and this woman’s vocal range is stunning.

A few years back I made memory books – digital scrapbooks of their life to that date. Two volumes, full color (thank you, Shutterfly!). When they opened their gifts on Christmas day they were deflated and confused. I explained that I was giving them their childhood memories. I had even written little notes in the books next to some of the photos. They sat on the floor and started paging through the books. Soon laughter rang through our living room. Memories. History. Love. A gift they can revisit any time.

I’m not certain how or if I’ll get to connect with my kids in person this year. I made their gifts (alluded to that in my last post). Something personal but definitley not cheap. I would love to be there when they open that package and see the expressions on their faces, but I am trying to be realistic–it may not happen. They don’t seem as motivated. The best gift this year would be time and a hug from my kids.

I’m also trying to figure out how to connect with my inner circle for more memory making with them, but it’s proving challenging. In the past we’ve done a few different things throughout the year: dinner, escape room, Christmas Tea, making a craft, or playing games. My home, which was often a place for some of that, is now gone… and we haven’t fully adjusted yet. Life situations often get in the way too. Time with my besties is the best gift, no matter what else we do.

After the gift of Jesus, what would you consider the best gift you could give to those you love? Do you like giving or receiving homemade gifts or do you consider is time spent with someone the best gift? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I wish you the best gift this Christmas and always: Jesus.

Author Confessions: Christmas Chaos

Dec1
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author Confessions: Christmas Chaos

Maybe you can relate. I’m late writing this because on Saturday (when I should have been writing) I was working on a gift for later this month. Today I realized it is being shipped to my old address so had to text the new owner. It is possible it might get sent back as I don’t know if USPS will do a mail forwarding on a package given to it by UPS.

Christmas chaos.

I tried paying my credit card bills to stay ahead of them and one I couldn’t even get on to the website no matter what browser I used. I’m kind of mad at them but even more so that I can’t pay off my card to make sure I have enough credit for the needs of the next few weeks. On top of that I’m already panicking about getting LLC end-of-the-year paperwork ready for our accountant in January.

Christmas chaos.

I made Christmas gifts but need to find tune them because it was something I’d never done before and I kind of messed them up a bit. I’m a little afraid I’ll make them worse.

Christmas chaos.

This month has a lot of special dates in it. My daughter’s birthday, and her graduation from her trade school course. Special Christmas programs, our family Christmas gathering, our wedding anniversary, and of course, Christmas. Add doctor appointments etc… Oh, and one family member won’t come to the family gathering because apparently I said something bad about his family. Not sure what it was (or when) but I love the unhealthy triangulation of complaining to my Mom instead of to me (where is a sarcasm font when you need it?). All of my siblings have said disparaging things about me and my family over the years…some of it justified! I didn’t skip seeing them over that. I think I’m more of a convenient excuse as they have better plans. I get to be the scapegoat. Funny things is, initially we weren’t even going to be able to attend due to a scheduled surgery for my husband that got postponed.

Christmas chaos.

We have a renter who we try to help out but there’s been a lack of time for relationship between busyness as well as unrealistic and undercommunicated expecations. I want to try to play peacemaker but with two strong people going different direections at the speed of light, how do I get them to sit down, stop moving, and actually listen and care for the other person?

Christmas chaos.

We just got hit with a winter storm that wasn’t as bad as forcasted but still threw people into a frenzy of shopping for Christmas as well as supplies to hibernate if need be. We had no trouble getting dinner out on Saturday night because of this which is a rarety for us. Don’t worry, the roads weren’t too bad and my SUV has AWD and we took it SLOW. Unfortunately, the basement for our house probably has a foot of snow in it.

Christmas chaos.

The snow was beautiful though on the trees! Sunday morning church was light on people as many still needed to dig out.

Christmas chaos.

At my birthday party this last summer someone gave me a plaquc, that of course is packed away now, but says “In the middle of the chaos there was Jesus.”

Jesus came into a world of chaos. Census, pregnancy outside of wedlock, political turmoil, escaping death by running to Egypt.

We’d like to think of Christmas as a time of peace and good will to all men, but it wasn’t then, and likely won’t be now if we consider outside circumstances. Giving birth is messy and painful, and usually not quiet. Shepherds awakened by angels heralding his birth were not quiet and was quite disturbing! And having those shepherds show up in the middle of the night to see your baby? Unbelievable–but it happened.

Christmas chaos.

Jesus was born into a world of chaos and He alone understands how that all impacts us today. Scripture refers to Him as the Prince of Peace. Where is this peace though? The reality is that it is found in Jesus alone, in a relationship with Him. In the midst of the chaos of our inner and outer lives, He longs to bring us the calm. The peace. The hope that there is something better to have in the present and our future as we grow in our relationship with Him.

Maybe you needed that reminder today as well to seek out the Prince of Peace in the midst of a Christmas Chaos that centers not around gifts, family squabbles, or all the concerts and special occassions, but on Him and Him alone. Let Jesus  be the calm in your Christmas chaos.

Author Confessions: When Purpose Drives You

Nov17
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confessions: When Purpose Drives You

I got a text from a new author who is pursuing getting a book published. It won’t be something the pubishing house I work with would go for, but it is exceptionally good. I’ve spent time with this author, encouraging her, coaching her, and helping her network to pursue getting the story that is on her heart, out to those who will benefit from it. Purpose drives her.

My husband is up early to pick up a helper that he pays to get work done at our property, fixing things, getting his soon-to-be-classic truck road-worthy, and overseeing the building of our home. Purpose drives him.

When I’m in the midst of writing a book, or focused on edits or marketing, I hate to be disturbed. When my kids were younger I once forgot to pick them up from school because I was so into the story taking shape. My sweet Middle Hobbit asked me why I was late. I said “I was writing,” almost ashamed to admit that to my grade-school son. He wisely suggested, “Maybe you should set a timer.” And after that, it is exactly what I’ve done! Purpose was driving me but it needed boundaries!

When you find a project where you lose time and are eager to get up early or work late… purpose is driving you.

I guess the question I have though is this: Is this purpose driven life for your benefit or for others?

The first woman I mentioned is called by God to write out what could be considered deeply personal and embarrassing moments in her life. While she is making it fiction for the sake of protecting others, it is very much her story. There is no way most people would do that and work hard writing, rewriting, editing, meeting people, speaking in front of groups, if God were not putting that purpose on her heart. Her book is unique in its format which would not work in traditional Christian publishing but I’ve encouraged her to write it anyway. Purpose drives her.

When God gives you a specific purpose–you need to obey.

My sweet husband, dubbed MacGyver but those who know him best, is the same way. Building a home was something we both felt God was calling to. Cleaning out a home and huge garage/shop and putting a house on the market, moving out, putting stuff in storage and living in a small apartment which is comfortable but challenging for me because of the lack of space for the things I love to do. Probably 90% of my craft/books/office are in storage. I’ve been out on the construction site myself because for both of us, purpose drives us. God called us here and we can hold tight to the vision He gives us for the life and ministry we will be able to lead from that location. Purpose drives us both.

Meeting one-on-one with authors is a sacrifice of time, energy and can involve travel. I don’t do it a lot–but when it do it is because God has given me a desire and giftedness to encourage those. His purpose drives me.

Writing, marketing, editing. I’ll admit that sometimes I try to avoid that hard work, but it can be fun as well. It involved energy and focus to write a story. To edit it requires, time, energy, and a dying to self to brutally tear apart those words, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. I need to be obeying God’s purpose and when I am in the grove – that purpose drives me.

Doing hard things are easier when God’s purpose drives me.

I am an introvert but when God calls me to step out of my comfort zone, I try to obey. It becomes an intentional purpose. I’ll confess I cannot do that without Him at work in me. He’s opened up the doors to meet people and connect with them in my new neighborhood. With challenges we’ve faced between the house and even just getting new checks to our new address, the staff at my bank has become quite familiar with me. None of it is their fault so when I go in and proclaim “Your problem child is back!” They laugh because I have tried hard to be someone who brings more than checks to deposit or problems to solve. I hope to bring joy and encouragement and leave them feeling better than before I walked in because I want to show them Jesus. Only Jesus could enable me to do that. Only Jesus could provide the opportunities to connect with 10 people, so far, in our apartment complex (only four addresses live in our hallway). I’ll confess, my attention seeking puppy, Oliver, helps with all that! Who can resist his cute face? So far no one!

The question I have for you is what is the purpose God has placed on your heart? What are you doing to pursue that?

 

Author Confessions: Be Who God Created You to Be

Sep29
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confessions: Who God Created You to Be

In light of events in the past few weeks there has been a lot of focus on one man. His videos are being watched by millions and many want to use his name as a calling card and a rallying cry. This is not a post about that man, or any man.

It is amazing what some people accomplish in this world. People can be so amazing. We can point to great parenting, deep faith, dizzying intellect or any other number of things to explain why someone would be so polarizing and inspiring all at the same time.

Here’s the truth. God called you to be you.

Your journey on this earth will be uniquely yours.

It’s nice to look up to people and admire them but the reality is our only focus should be on Jesus, God the  Father, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit within those of us who claim to be His redeemed children.

Any little thing we do can have a ripple effect through eternity and we may never know what that impact will be. If you’ve never read The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews, check it out at the library. It’s a short read but inspiring. He also has a children’s book called The Kid Who Changed the World which has similar content.

While some people seem to be having an impact due to number of followers on social media or a blog, how many watch an interview on television or a podcast… the reality is, we can never fully know that impact and to do any of that to seek numbers, followers, or money, is a vain and foolish goal.

When we sold our house I asked our realtor if it was unusual to have so many showings so quickly. She said, “Yes, at your price point this is unusual, but you only need one right buyer.”

Just one. We did and he loves the house.

If I spent years working on a manuscript between writing, revising, editing, pitching, revising again, editing, submitting to a publisher, contracting, editing, editing, editing, marketing and trying to get that book out, how many people will make those hundreds or maybe thousands of hours of work worth it? f I’m trying to be compensated fairly for my time the number would be quite high.

If I’m writing the stories God tells me to write, then the true answer is: the right reader who needs that story. Five hundred people could read it but it might be one person who needed that story to take that next step of faith. That has eternal value.

An author sat down to pitch a story to me at a writer’s conference and she started out by saying, “I know you don’t like Amish fiction, but…” I stopped her. “You knew I didn’t want that yet you’re here to pitch it? Why did you write Amish fiction?” She said she wrote it because it sells well. That was true at the time and even my agent wanted me to write Amish romances, but I refused for a variety or reasons that maybe I’ll write about another time. I told her that as a Christian author she should write the stories God tells her to write, not just what will sell.

Why does obedience and faith need to be tied to a price tag or a quantity of people validating it?

This post is not about any big name who died doing what God called them to do. It’s not about any well known person who is getting attention in this world. Yes, their lives matter.

Don’t compare yourselves to them or try to be anything other than who God created you to be. It’s a reminder to me as well. My journey is my journey and it has at times been unconventional, but I’ve always sought God’s leading through the Holy Spirit along the way. Have I obeyed flawlessly? No. None of us can. But I’m still here and I’m still trying to be who He needs me to be, which is ME and no one else, using the unique gifts, calling, and opportuinities as they present themselves, for HIS glory and not my own.

Don’t focus on a big name or someone who seems popular. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and be exactly who God created you to be. Let God take care of the rest.