Rachel Writes...

Jesus literally paid His Father's Debt of Love

2012-01-25T13:08:00.007-05:00

Singing and worshipping from the Word today, I came across this passage from Micah 7:18-20.

"Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity,

And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?

He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.

He will again have compassion on us;

He will tread our iniquities under foot.

Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

You will give truth to Jacob

And unchanging love to Abraham,

Which You swore to our forefathers

From the days of old."

The prophet is extolling God for His mercy and compassion, for His unchanging love. He closes with this, written in Rachel Translation, "God, you will give truth and love to us because you promised it to our forefathers from way back."

Here's the Glorious truth: Jesus IS that fulfilled promise. In Micah's day, God in essence owed Israel and those who were His, love. He was in debt to them by His own promise.

But God always pays His debts. He purposefully became in debated to His people for love.

Paul writes in Romans 13:8, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law." NIV

Do you see? God owed us love and He paid His debt through His son. The Cross is our payment. We're redeemed from our sin by love! A love that was promised and owed to us.

It's for love sake that Jesus came, endured the Cross and paid our debt of sin while fulfilling the Father's debt of love.

The Son of God, the Son of Man! Oh, what a divine exchange! JOY!

Look at the last half of the verse. "...whoever loves others has fulfilled the law." The Father gave the law in the Old Testament to prove to us how much we need His love. The coming of Jesus fulfilled the law which is the message over and over in the New Testament.

The law is love. Jesus fulfilled this law. God the Father has demonstrated how to love by sending His son. He's gladly paid His debt to the forefathers.

Our job is to access His love.

If someone pays you back the money they owe, you now have access to extra capital. You are richer. The money can cover your own debt, or purchase needs for the family, or even go on a dream vacation. It is yours to use your way.

So... how are you using the paid debt of love Jesus and the Father so graciously paid? Are you accessing your heavenly account? Are you walking in the riches of His grace and love? Are you enjoying Him?

Let's not let the paid balance of love just linger in our account while we live like paupers, head down, heart beat up, barely getting by. Let's access His very precious love, paid for with His own blood.

Why Should I Keep Praying?

2012-01-14T17:06:00.001-05:00

My dear brother and friend Stuart Greaves shares truth and wisdom in the video.

Is God Helping Tim Tebow Win Games?

2012-01-05T03:00:00.000-05:00

Absolutely!

Press pause. I'm not a Broncos fan. I don't know their current record. I'm not even sure if they are still winning... I just know they were and the big whoopty-do in the media was the question, "Is God helping Tim Tebow win football games?"

Yes! Absolutely. Please, God, help Tim win games.

Help me write a book. Help Tony teach math and be a pastor.

Help the father raise his children. Help the mother do her job to the best of her ability.

Help the pilot fly the plane. Help leaders lead. Help Obama be president.

God the Father is so kind a gracious He gives us gifts and duties, He maps out a destiny and He enables us to do the very thing He wants us to do.

So why wouldn't God help Tim Tebow win football games? He's gifted him. He's enabled him. He's called Tim to play football in this season. I'm sure it's part of Tebow's QB job duties to "win football games." Otherwise, the Broncos would have a different quarterback.

The difference, and why people get all offended by the idea that God helps Tebow, is that we don't think He's helping us.

Many years ago Tony said to the kids sitting in youth church, "I'm God's favorite."

I could physically feel the air in the room deplete as about forty kids sucked in a desperate gasp. What?! You're His favorite?

Because the immediate assumption is, "What about me? I'm not His favorite?"

Beloved, you are also His favorite! It's this kind of confidence that puts us on our own "football" fields and makes us winners.

Technically, Tebow is not the best quarterback. He has an odd throw -- kind of a pump-n-pass. So I hear. But the Lord loves Tim's heart when he gets out on the field and operates in complete confidence that he is doing exactly what God has called him to do. He taps into the love and favor of the Lord!

Same with me. When I write, I know I'm not the best writer out there. Not even close. The lack of awards on my shelf is proof. Yet I know the Lord is with me. I know He helps me write books. I know He gives me favor with the publishing community. Why? Because I'm doing what He's called me to do. And He loves that I lean into Him in the midst of my weakness.

But don't take my word for it. Let's check some Bible on this.

Psalm 90:17

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;

And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

Confirm the work of our hands! To me, that sounds like winning. Succeeding. Taking those small steps forward... toward a goal.

1 Corinthians 2:9

“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

Do you love Jesus? He's prepared amazing things for you! Tim Tebow loves Jesus, and from the outside, he appears to honor Him with his life on and off the field. Why would God NOT honor him with success in his calling?

And why not for you, too? Come on, now. Take off your mad, sad God hat.

John 10:10

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

God is not the thief or destroyer, Satan is. Jesus is the one who gives life! Reach for life. Reach for His favor.

If you love Jesus, if He's your Lord and Savior, if you have the Holy Spirit, why would the Lord not give you every thing you need to life godly and righteous?

He does! He will. He already has!

So, if God is helping Tim Tebow win football games, what can He help you achieve?

Home from the Game

2012-01-02T20:40:00.001-05:00

I'm glad to be home from the game. The Gator Bowl. Not because my team lost. But because it's always good to be home. It was cold in Jacksonville. Brrr... But sunny and beautiful.

Husband and I had a good time! The faithful Buckeye fans out numbered the Gator fans -- and your team played in your home state! Tsk-tsk.But in the end, fielding one of the worst football teams I've seen in awhile couldn't win all those red shirts and crazy Buckeye hats the game.

The team wasn't bad -- I mean -- the talent is there. But it literally looked like OSU didn't even review tape of the Gators. Special teams really won the game for the Gator baiters. ;)

Yet OSU couldn't pull it together.I wonder... was it the price of the sins of our past? If so, let's hope it's paid in full. By the way, can we NOT do the whole UbanNation thing? We have enough "nations" going on in NCAA "nation." ;)

We ate at Cracker Barrel on the way home. They had a fire in the fireplace. Thank you very much! The dining room was full of sulking Buckeyes. We were comforted by each others silent presence.

In the mean time, I had lots of fun with my new Nikon. Took lots of pictures. I'll post later.

Yesterday I preached in church on the Authority of the Believer. It was good. I was glad the Lord gave me something to share with the body of Christ! Rock on, Believers! Go for it!

Back to today. I"m still a Buckeye through and through. Funny how deep alma mater loyalties run.

Tomorrow, back to writing A Royal Affair.

Tomorrow, the official release of Love Lifted Me.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:18:00.002-05:00

I pray you all have a happy, prosperous, JOY filled 2012!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T08:58:00.004-05:00

Count Your Blessings

2011-12-21T14:06:00.003-05:00

This song played through my mind last week when I'd not yet watched White Christmas, or heard the song on the radio or Pandora. If only...

Count Your Blessings was as popular as Santa Baby this year! Can I call a moratorium on that song? Just me...

I closed worship Sunday with this song. "When I'm worried, and I can't sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep..."

It was a lovely way to end a morning of fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ than to "count our blessings."

Tony and I have been extremely blessed this year. Last Thanksgiving while riding my bike before joining friends for dinner, I had a JOY attack. As I pedaled, waves of joy swelled in my heart. I'd laugh. I'd cry. I'd laugh again.

I had no idea the blessings coming to us this year. A new house with an amazing office for Tony and me. I have the "tower," he has the "dungeon." ;)

We cleared our debt and a friend's.

In the fall I was offered a new 3-book contract from Zondervan that miraculously matched my writing goals. I'm so humbled and honored.

I finally purchased an iMac.

Family and friends flooded in for visits. Friends from New York, our girl Carrie Campbell, Tony's brother and his family, our girl Cassie Campbell visited with a friend. Then my brother came with his wife and kids. And last but not least, my mom came for a very fun week.

I had a fun few days brainstorming with fab writers in Vero Beach.

Through it all, Tony and I have a general feeling of grace and well-being. Despite the economy, despite missed paychecks and other reductions in pay along with our living expenses going up a tad with the new home, we've lacked for nothing.

The Lord blessed in other ways. My writing income is increasing, and while a writers paycheck can be very unstable, this year birthed in my heart a greater reality that God can and will meet our needs.

I'm grateful, blessed, and so honored to be walking this journey with my husband and family, called and loved by Jesus. Honored to walk this with you.

I know, I've turned into a horrible blogger, so thank you for those of you who hang in there with me. I count YOU in my blessings.

So, what blessings are you counting this year? Let's purpose to be grateful and full of JOY.

Count Your Blessings

2011-12-01T14:35:00.005-05:00

"When I'm worried and I can't sleep

I count my blessings instead of sheep

And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting smallI think of when I had none at all

And I fall asleep counting my blessings."

Cole Porter had it right. We can't worry, we have to count our blessings. In a way -- though I'm not sure of Mr. Porter's spiritual beliefs -- he wrote a song out of Philippians 4.

Paul, the apostle, wrote, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving in your heart, let your request be made know to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

Isn't that amazing? God, the Father, guards our hearts and minds with peace. It surpasses all "comprehension." Meaning, we can't understand it but boy howdy, we can go for it!

Porter to put music, "think on these things..."

There is no except to the rule. We can all live out what Paul is admonishing us to do. We just have to take our thoughts, and our emotions, captive.

This has been an amazing year for Tony and me. We started off the year just asking God to make His will for us known. We talked a lot about what was, what is, and what is to come in regards to our lives and ministry. His career. My career.

Then in March, God began to move. And speak. Things we'd said to each other were repeated back to us by a man of God. I knew then, "God listens," and I'll tell you, it put a holy fear in my bones.

A prayer I whispered at my dining room table was answered within four days when friends of our came to us with an amazing offer to by their house. We've been so blessed by this place it is starting to be a part of my DNA how good and great God is.

The house was really an answer to our prayer about finances. A crazy, wild, totally God answer. I would have never imagined a new home with a cool office as His answer to our financial prayer.

Toward the summer, I began to seek God about my writing. Go on, stop, hold the line? He began to open doors and present opportunities.

It's not all perfect. Church offerings fell off during the fall and all the pastors missed a few paychecks. Our washer broke. Had to get a new one. Tony ended up teaching one less class this year, so his salary was reduced.

With the new place, some of our living expenses went up a bit. Yet we've lacked for nothing! We have more than we need. And shoot, a good bit of what we want. How amazing is God?

I count my blessings. This Christmas, I want to be about gratitude, thankfulness, reflecting on my mighty, mighty God who loves me. And He loves you.

That's what Christmas is at the core: God becoming man because He loves us.

His Holiday Family by Margaret Daley

2011-12-01T14:18:00.004-05:00

Please welcome my friend and ACFW President, Margaret Daley. Looks like she's at it again with another entertaining, and delightful release!

MD: When I decided to write a series about a town that goes through a hurricane, I wanted to give tribute to all the people who have gone through a disaster and rebuilt their lives. This series was written for the heroes and heroines who help others in a time of disaster.

Blurb for His Holiday Family by Margaret Daley:

When Hurricane Naomi tears through a small Mississippi town, a daring rescue unites two heroes. Nurse Kathleen Hart is a single mom racked by guilt over her husband's death. Firefighter Gideon O'Brien—orphaned as a young boy—has lost too many people he cared for. To rise above the storm's devastation, Gideon helps Kathleen and her sons rebuild their home. As Christmas approaches, they discover that even the strongest of storms can't destroy a romance built on the foundation of faith.

Excerpt from His Holiday Family:

Gideon O'Brien hopped down from Engine Two and assessed the chaos in front of him. Strapping on his air pack, he started toward his captain. A hand gripped his arm and stopped his forward progress. He turned toward the blonde woman who held him, her large blue eyes glistening with tears. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he knew her from. His neighbor's daughter, perhaps?

"My two sons and my cousin—their babysitter—must still be inside. I don't see them outside with the other tenants." Her voice quivered. She tightened her hand on his arm and scanned the crowd. "I'm Kathleen Hart. My sons are Jared and Kip. I tried Sally's cell but she didn't answer. Please get them out." A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Where are they?" Gideon moved toward his captain, his palm at the small of her back, guiding her in the direction he wanted her to go. Yes, he realized, she was his neighbor Ruth Coleman's daughter.

"Sally's second-floor apartment is on the east side, the fourth one down on your right. Number 212. Hurry." Her round eyes fastened on the fire consuming the three-story apartment building on Magnolia Street.

Gideon paused in front of Captain Fox. "Mrs. Hart says her sons and babysitter are still inside. Pete and I can go in and get them." He looked toward the west end of the large structure where the men of Engine One were fighting the flames eating their way through the top level. "There's still time."

"Okay." His captain surveyed the east end. "But hurry. It won't be long before this whole building goes up."

The scent of smoke hung heavy in the air. The hissing sound of water hitting Magnolia Street Apartments vied with the roar of the blaze.

Gideon turned toward the mother of the two boys. "We'll find them." He gave her a smile then searched the firefighters for Pete.

When Gideon found him a few feet away, he covered the distance quickly. "Let's go. There are three people trapped on the second floor. East end."

At the main entrance into the building Gideon fixed his mask in place, glancing back at the blonde woman standing near his captain. He had seen that same look of fear and worry many times over his career as a firefighter. He wouldn't let anything happen to her sons and Sally.

Gideon switched on his voice amplifier and headed into the furnace with Pete following close behind him. Through the thick cloud suspended from the ceiling in the foyer, the stairs to the second floor loomed. Crouching, he scrambled up the steps. The higher he went, the hotter it became.

French Toast or Cinnamon Streusele Muffins

2011-11-29T14:32:00.004-05:00

My dear sister-in-law made these for Thanksgiving week at my mom's and they were yummy.

Check out her web site, Simply Homemade Chef, for more awesome recipes. She's a nutrition expert and personal chef. Soooo proud....

These have made an appearance twice in the past week. Of course, they are best fresh out of the oven but re-heat nicely with a steaming mug of coffee. Enjoy!

Cinnamon-Streuseled Muffins (adapted from Velvet Lava Cafe)
Yield: ~8-10 muffins

1/3 c.unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg (preferably room temperature)
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Don't overmix. Pour the 1/2 tsp cinnamon onto the batter, use a knife to swirl through. Using a spoon, scoop batter into muffin tins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.

For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in melted butter, then in cinnamon sugar. These will melt in your mouth!

40 Ways To Get Closer To God by Jerry MacGregor

2011-11-27T14:35:00.005-05:00

My agent and friend, Chip MacGregor recently released his own non fiction work, 40 Ways To Get Closer To God.

Co-written with Keri Kent, Chip, writing under the name Jerry MacGregor, (not to be confused with Jerry Maguire) writes plainly and straight forward about a life in God.

From his blog:

"But let me warn you: if you read this book, you're not going to glow in the dark. It's not one of those, "I worked to be perfect... now YOU can be perfect like me" type of books. Those books always make me want to vomit. Besides, I'm not tall enough, and I don't have cool enough hair to get my picture on the cover. Instead, this is more of a "I'm a dork, but I did this stuff, so now I'm less of a dork than I used to be... in a way, I guess" sort of book."

I have a lot of respect for Chip, and though I don't disagree with him on everything about a life in God, he's a man of wisdom and candor.

Check out the book!

Lakeside Reunion by Lisa Jordan

2011-11-14T03:00:00.001-05:00

I'm so thrilled to tell y'all about a great new book by my friend and fellow My Book Therapy staffer, Lisa Jordan.

She wanted to write, buckled down, did the hard work, learned, wrote and rewrote, and finally landed her first contract earlier this year at Harlequin's Love Inspired. Way to go friend!

A Recipe for Success

My oldest son loves to cook. In fact, after three years of college, he has decided to transfer to a culinary arts program at a different school. His biggest concern was losing his passion for cooking.

I told him if it were truly his passion, the love for cooking would grow. I’m sure there’s someone who could argue that. That’s how I feel about writing—it’s my passion and the desire to be a full-time writer grows daily.

When Scott started cooking, he experimented. A lot. Some of his experiments turned out terrific—his barbecue sauce was yum. His taco lasagna, on the other hand, would have been much better had he put the lettuce on top after it had come out of the oven, instead of baking it in. I see those wrinkled noses.

When he moved into his first apartment near campus this past fall, I gave him a Better Homes & Garden Cookbook—you know the one with the red plaid cover, which covers everything in the kitchen. He loves the cookbook, but still wanted to make some of his own recipes. I told him he needed to learn the basics and then experiment once he had the fundamentals down.

That’s how it is for writers—writing rules are more like guidelines put in place to help us learn the craft. Once we’ve prepared the base, we can experiment to see which craft ingredients work with our stories.

During this blog hop, I’ve been asked what writing advice I’d share with other writers. Even though I’m so guilty of it, I suggested writers shouldn’t rush the process. Cranking up the oven to 400 degrees to bake the cookies in 5 minutes will not produce the same results as baking them 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Take time to study the craft. Read quality writing craft books. Join reputable writing organizations. Read novels to see how published authors keep their readers turning the pages. Learn what works for your voice and for your story. Listen to those who have gone before and shared about their mistakes and triumphs. I know it’s hard waiting to be published—I’ve been there. But submitting that manuscript before it’s ready may be a recipe for rejection. Savor the process to create a recipe for success!

***

I’m holding a scavenger hunt and lakeside photo contest to promote my Lakeside Reunion release. Plus, blog commenters on my blog hop will be put in a drawing for fun prizes—breakfast basket, Love Inspired Authors basket, autographed copies of Lakeside Reunion

Visit my Lakeside Reunion Contest page for more information.

The token for this blog is a cookbook.

Bio:

Heart, home and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories that feature both comes naturally to her. She has been writing contemporary Christian romance for more than a decade. Her debut novel, Lakeside Reunion will be released in November by Love Inspired, followed by her second novel, Lakeside Family, in August 2012 by Love Inspired.

Happily married for twenty-two years, Lisa and her husband have two young adult sons. When she isn’t writing or caring for children in her in-home childcare business, Lisa enjoys family time, romantic comedies, good books, crafting with friends and feeding her NCIS addiction. Visit her at www.lisajordanbooks.com to learn more about her writing.

Lakeside Reunion: Bed-and-breakfast owner Lindsey Porter prays she won’t run into Stephen Chase when she returns to Shelby Lake.

Five years ago, the cop jilted her to marry another woman, and Lindsey fled town. But no sooner does she hit city limits than Stephen pulls her over for a broken taillight. Despite the past, he’s still able to stir up Lindsey’s old feelings for him. Now a widower and single dad, Stephen recognizes a second chance when he sees one. And he’ll do anything to make Lindsey trust in God and take a risk for love—again.

***

Read an excerpt of Lakeside Reunion

Vote for Your Favorite book in 2011

2011-11-04T11:01:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

For fun, I nominated Softly and Tenderly for Best Fiction Book of 2011 over on Goodreads.

Go vote if you want! Look through the Fiction Category or just nominate Softly and Tenderly at the bottom of the main page. :)

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Best Fiction

Vote now for your favorite books!

La Belle Christiane by Lyn Cote

2011-11-01T19:54:00.004-04:00

Can the beautiful daughter of a French courtesan find a love that lasts for a lifetime?

In the early 1770's, Christiane Pelletier, an extraordinarily beautiful young woman, is next in a line of courtesans who have been favorites at the French court during the reigns of two monarchs. Yet she longs to be the beloved wife of one man, not a lovely piece of human art passed from one noble to another. And the winds of change are sweeping Europe.

After her mother's violent murder, Christiane flees France with her renegade father. In the Canadian wilderness, she survives the shock of leaving a life of wealth and privilege.

To escape frontier violence, she moves southward only to become involved in the burgeoning American Revolution. Daughter of a French courtesan to frontier wife to companion of Lady Washington, Christiane moves into the heart of the American rebel elite.

But one man in her life can never be forgotten. Once he was her friend. Now he has become her enemy. Will he become her destiny? Only God knows.

About Lyn Cote

An award-winning author of both contemporary and historical inspirational romance, LYN COTE has been a 2006 RITA finalist as well as a finalist for the HOLT Medallion and the National Readers Choice Award, and in 2011 a winner of the prestigious American Christian Fiction Writer's CAROL Award.

Lyn lives with her husband and four cats in the northwoods of Wisconsin.

Visit her web site here.

Drop by Lyn Cote's blog to learn more about .99 ebook sale.

Purchase Links

For Print Edition

To buy a print copy https://www.createspace.com/3669135

For a discount code for $3 off $15.99 print edition, go to http://LynCote.net and click Contact and email Lyn.

For Digital Editions

For Kindle Readers link

For All Other Ereaders such as the Nook purchase link

First page excerpt

Chapter One

British Canada, July 1774

Tonight, I’ll lie beside some stranger as his wife. Christiane blinked away the bright morning sunlight but could not blink away the dread. Once again she had embarked on another journey that would change her life. She sat between her Algonquin father Shaw-nee-awk-kee and his son in a birch bark canoe. To the rhythm of the dipping paddles, they were gliding farther down the Ottawa River. In the cramped space, she hugged her knees to herself and pressed her forehead against her tattered skirt.

She glanced sideways into the remorseless current, wishing for time, for control. But instead, the river, shimmering with molten sunlight, gave her glimmers of the past--candlelight on silver, soft lace against skin, frosting on the tip of the tongue. But she’d fled France with her father, here to Canada and then. . . She thrust all thoughts of the past year aside. She had to face today. Tonight, I’ll be some stranger’s wife.

The thought brought fear, a rush of sensation—as if the bottom of the canoe, her protection, parted, and she was plunged into the cool water. She fought her way to the surface of this feeling, gasping for air, pushing down panic. She pressed her face harder against her knees. I will not shame myself. Ever.

A Snake In My Toilet

2011-10-27T06:21:00.001-04:00

When I was a girl, my dad's mom, Grandma Hayes, lived in the Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio. It was a beautiful place to live. At night, she'd open the family room windows and fill the house with the fragrance and music of Turkey Creek. A sound especially thrilling after a storm.

We cousins would run and play through the woods, lost in our own never-never land for hours. We'd fish from the bridge for minnows using Velveeta cheese as bait. I still can't eat that stuff...

But being in the forest, we were always on the look out for snakes. Copperheads and rattlers were the big threats. Grans house was an older place with a bare necessity utility room with a bathroom and door leading out to the backyard.

It was the spare bathroom. And for some reason, I always imaged that one day I'd go to use it and find a snake in the toilet. Maybe I'd heard that Gran found a snake in there once before, I can't remember. But I never, ever "sat" without a thorough look.

I just saw on the news a man found a snake in his toilet. That's what made me think of it.

I never did find a snake in the toilet. And it's been a lot of years since I've been to Gran's home in the forest, but it's still one of the happiest places I've ever been. Concern over snake in the toilet or not. :)

What is one of your childhood "fears?" Do you have a "childhood happy place?"

I broke down and went on a diet

2011-10-22T14:05:00.004-04:00

I hate diets. I love working out. I even like "watching what I eat," but the combo of those two were not working for me any more.

I was holding steady, but my weight was not where I wanted. I think it took the pictures of me after the ACFW conference for me to go, "Something's gotta change."

Counting calories wasn't working. I'd log my breakfast and forget about the rest of the day.

I was running and gyming but losing some momentum. A hot summer didn't help.

So, I decided to be radical. Do what I said I'd never do. Nooo, no lipo. Sheeze. I decided to try the HCGdiet.

A friend of ours from Texas stopped in for a quick visit a few Monday's ago. He told us how he lost 40 pounds. Intrigued, as I am about how people lose weight, I asked how he did it.

"HCGdiet," he said.

Oy! What's with the HCG diet? My sister lost on that diet. A dozen writers that I know. I've been watching them, especially Colleen Coble, for over two years. They lose it and pretty much keep it off. A friend at church is loosing very successfully on the diet.

I asked a lot of question of my friend. I emailed my writer friends who'd tried it. I Googled and looked online. Talked to my sister.

I really couldn't find anything negative about it. Other than it being a rapid weight system and keeping it off, the diet looked good.

Besides, the Biggest Loser candidates are losing five to ten pounds or more a week, right?

All weight lose requires maintenance. I have years of exercised muscle under this small load of extra weight. I just need to find it. :) Once I lose, I'm back to the gym routine.

I've been on the diet for nine days, seven of them eating a restricted calorie diet. I've lost ten pounds. I feel good, though weak at times. I'm hungry once in awhile -- in the "I could eat" kind of way. It feels like a fast.

I've heard people say the diet "reshapes" you, but I've looked better at the same weight. :) I know that's the exercise factor.

I feel good. I took my mom out to a scrumptious breakfast and while she ate eggs and home fries, and a yummy pile of French toast, I sipped iced tea sweetened with Stevia.

This feels like a fast. You know how after a few days, you're tad hungry but not dying, and you're motivated.

I have seventeen days to go. I hope to lose another ten pounds. We'll see. I'll be done and off maintenance by December which is birthday month and Christmas. Not that I can pig out! But I'll be able to enjoy the season.

Who knows, I might go for another ten pounds in the New Year. Though, I could easily employ the things I'm learning and doing now to lose that last ten.

I'll let you know if I recommend the diet when it's all said and done.

A Response to Pain and Suffering

2011-10-17T13:09:00.005-04:00

I'm reading a great book by my friend Shelley Hundley. "A Cry for Justice: Overcoming anger, reject bitterness, and trust in Jesus who will fight for you."

This is an amazing book. Not only is Shelley bringing justice scriptures to life but she shares of her own horrific journey into understanding and embracing Jesus as Judge.

Abused sadistically as a child, she was on the verge of suicide when her cry for Jesus to make Himself known to her was realized.

Shelley has pushed through the pain and despair of abuse and a four year chronic illness to rise up and say, "Jesus not only loves you, He'll fight for you and bring justice to your heart and mind."

This message is not preached enough. I'm not sure most of us even understand the justice of Jesus in this life or the next. But we must. Everyone of us has experienced some kind of injustice.

From my kind of injustice that when I was fourteen, my boss at Publix stole money out of my cashier's bag and blamed me for losing it...to Shelley who endured untold abuse.

There is no scale of injustice in Jesus's heart. He cries over it all.

Here's a great quote from Shelley's book:

"For all of eternity we will be face-to-face with the beauty and splendor of our God, but only during my lifetime on earth to I have the opportunity to impact the heart of God in the midst of darkness, accusation, and blindness. I have a chance only today to love Him in the midst of my current hardship, for this is when y heart feels nothing and sees nothing, but still I move in love toward the One I cannot see. And his heart is most undone (Song of Solomon 6:4-5.) I feel nothing. He feels everything."

I could meditate on this passage for days, grasping the depth and reality of it's truth.

Shelley is the real deal. Buy her book! It was released this month by Charisma House of Strang Communications. Worth EVERY penny!

Here Shelley talk about it here.

True Justice

2011-10-12T15:18:00.001-04:00

A blog from my Hubby:

It’s hard to see injustice all around us and not get angry. But it is comforting to know that, ultimately, no one escapes justice.

(Mat 12:18-21) Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust.

Jesus is coming again, and will see to it that every man, woman and child receives justice, except one.

(Acts 8:32-33) He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.

Jesus is the only man who will never receive justice. Throughout eternity the one great injustice will stand, an innocent man killed for the sins of others, and they will never be called to account for it. He chose to sacrifice His own justice to become a gift to us.

Romans 5:8 calls this the demonstration of His incredible love. The next time you feel you’ve been treated unjustly, think about this.

An Invited Into Divine Partnership

2011-10-06T13:28:00.005-04:00

When did it happen? Over time? Lack of understanding? The misgivings of powerful men?

But we lost sight of something so dear and critical in our relationship with Jesus. Partnership.

We see ourselves as only, merely, servants. We are servants, yes. Bondslaves, absolutely. But out of love and utter devotion. Completely surrendered. "Not my will, but Your's be done."

But we are called to be partners. We are the Bride of Christ. Not the concubine.

Until the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus taught His disciples. He sent them out on test runs. "Go do what you've seen Me do."

Then came Matthew 26. Jesus is about to endure the greatest ordeal of His or any man's life. He goes to the Garden to pray. Here's what He says to His friends,

"Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed...

Jesus is not teaching or demonstrating, or hanging out with the disciples, He's imploring them to pray with Him. The toughest hour of His life is about to come upon Him and He, the God-Man, needs His friends. He needs support in prayer. This is the only time we see Jesus call us into partnership with Him. "Do this with Me." Not for me. Not to Me. Not because of Me. But with Me.

Then, He leaves them. He goes to another spot in the Garden to pray. Why? Seems odd, doesn't it? "Watch with Me, but I'm going to be over here."

This is such a picture of what was to come. Of what IS our life with Him now. We are here. He is "there." He sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. We are still called to partnership in intercession with Him!

When He returns, the disciples are sleeping. We know it well.

"And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Romans 13:11, Ephesians 5:14 have verses that call to the Believer, "Wake up!" We are to be on the alert, watching and waiting.

But we are weak. Prayer is hard. It's a spiritual battle. But it is THE ONE THING where Jesus invites us to partner with Him. "Keep watch with me."

He is coming. Will we be found watching or sleeping?

Home from the 10th ACFW Conference!

2011-09-28T13:32:00.004-04:00

(left, Susan Downs, me, Susan May Warren. Ten years and counting!)

It's never easy, Being in a pool of peers. Swimming with the current. Against the current. Exhausted. Laughing. Weary yet energized. Pulled in a thousand different directions. Yet somehow having a single purpose.

Novels. Fiction. Hanging with other writers. I love to teach. Never realized how much until I started doing it.

This year, I learned I'm good at improve at the My Book Therapy Pizza Parties on the 18th floor with 100 Voices and a lighted terrace. No wonder singing antiphonally is easy. I can "act" antiphonally too. Ha! We ended the night in song, "Don't Stop Believing." Sharing the stage with Jim Rubart, Karen Ball and Susie May.

Being asked by the band, Jeremiah, Jimi, Jason and Jeremy to ride the elevator with them at 1:00 AM while they detonated iPhone farts on tipsy riders. My acceptance to their invitation inducted me permanently in to the "boy's club." I should write my older brother and his friends thank you notes. They trained me well.

Leading worship with 720 people who love Jesus. Chills running over my arms as we sang to the King of Kings. Disappointed when one of the band members overheard a woman rushing out of the hotel Sunday morning saying, "I can't wait to get back to 'normal' worship." Really? That was her conference take away? Abnormal worship.

Which leads to the question. What's normal worship? Who gets to define worship? Not me. Not you. But the Holy Spirit. Isn't it amazing how MUCH worship is about us. I have to watch that with my own brand of worship. Too tempted to pigeon hole it to fit "me" not Jesus.

Laughing with Liz Curtis Higgs during the Awards Gala. We were too rowdy. I apologize. We never meant to laugh at all -- but a tiny spark can ignite a roaring flame. Then came the spinning elephant and it was all over.

Loving Shannon Marchese's tears-of-laughter. And sharing the table with T.L. Higley, Karen Ball, Steve Laube, Susie May, Shannon and Andy Meisenheimer.

Susan May Warren winning The Carol for Sons of Thunder. I tuck away all of her wins as my wins too. We work that closely...

Meeting so many new writers. Connecting with friends I only see at conference. Meeting new friends. You know who you are!

Gathering with the Belles -- Lisa Wingate, Marybeth Whalen, Beth Webb Hart. Love you! Lisa winning The Carol for Never Say Never!

Hugs from My Book Therapy Voices -- Beth Vogt, Lisa Jordan, Reba Hoffman, Michelle Lim, Delores Topliff, Alena Tauriainen, Edie Melson, Melissa Tagg, and so many more!

Realizing we all have insecurities. We all feel lost. We all want to belong but often feel we don't.

The humor and smiles of Tyler and Jeane Wynn. (Yes... I know... )

Decided I need to be more proactive, a bit more goal oriented. I so want God's will in my life I've been come... passive? I volunteered to sit on the back row with Him, let Him lead my life, let Him sing my praises. I intend to stay there. Yet, I must put plans into place so HE can direct my steps.

Having those moments where I couldn't wait to get home and start writing. Yet, loving a season to refresh.

I love writing novels! It's the other stuff I don't always enjoy...

Ten years ago I attended the first ACFW conference in Kansas City. I've been to every one since. Oddly, there are times when I still feel sooo new, so outside, observing. Am I still the newbie at that first conference so long ago? LOL. It seems like it sometimes.

I met Susan Downs, Susan Warren, Tracey Bateman and Christine Lynxwiler that year and they became dear, dear friends. Women of my heart. I've not seen Tracey or Chris in a few years. I miss them.

Friends.

I'm proud of what ACFW is doing, from where we've come to where we're going. Honored to be a part of God moving among His people and opening up our hearts to WRITE for Him.

Things We Don't See Anymore

2011-09-13T13:55:00.006-04:00

Something happened... I don't remember what, but it occurred to me, "Man, you don't see that anymore."

I came up with a quick list of things I used to see but rarely if ever do now.

Sweat stains

Girdle lines

Dandruff (at least I don't)

Overheating cars on the side of the road.

Teased hair

Beehive hairdo

Frosted hair

Wrinkled cotton clothes

Bare light bulbs dangling from a wire

Secretaries

Five & Dime Stores

Kids collecting glass soda bottles for money

I asked a few writer friends for their thoughts on things they don't see anymore.

Lenora Worth said, "How about the mullet?" To which Kristin Billerbeck responded, "How about the bullet? With the bald part in the back."

Lissa Halls Johnson said she never sees:

Waxed paper bags for sandwichesMailing things wrapped in brown grocery bags and tied with string
TV remotes that "click" (and take some effort to push the buttons)
The bakery guy who comes to your house, opens the back of his specialized wagon and pulls out a drawers filled with yummy breads.
A cardboard cap for the glass milk jar.
A machine that slices the bread for you when you buy it at the corner grocery
Over the counter medicinal products without any kind of extra wrapping and seals (You could buy a bottle of aspirin, pop off the top and there were aspirin! Sometimes a cotton ball, but never anything else."
Kids playing outside after dark in a neighborhood. Young kids playing outside by themselves
Kids riding in cars without seatbelts
Anyone riding in cars without seatbelts
Kids riding in the back of open pickup trucks
Kids sleeping in that hollow space of the back window in the car

Author and friend Carolyne Aarsen sent a great list!
Rolls of film by the checkout counter in a grocery store or drugstore.
Mascara that came in little blocks with a brush. You'd have to make the block wet with the brush and then put it on.
Pay phones.
Sanitary napkin belts.
Cassette tapes
Floppy disks
People smoking in restaurants
Paying for groceries with a cheque. (She's from Canada, but we love her!)
Milk being delivered by a milk truck

Historical author who wanted to be anonymous wrote:
Crooked teeth
Public telephones
Women pulling up their sagging panty hose
Service Station attendants pumping gas and washing car windows

Friend and author Debora Raney offered these great ideas:
Garters
Pantyhose
Black-and-white TVs
Typewriters
Outhouses
Smallpox vaccination scars on children's arms.
Women in public with spongy pink curlers in their hair.
Telephone party lines
Phone cords (at least not very many)
Butter churns (except in museums)

What about you? What items do you think are of "days gone by?"

Fairer Than Morning by Rosslyn Elliot

2011-09-09T19:36:00.005-04:00

Please welcome debut author, Rosslyn Elliot!

***

Ann dreams of a marriage proposal from her poetic suitor, Eli-until Will Hanby shows her that nobility is more than fine words.

On a small farm in 19th-century, young Ann Miller is pursued by the gallant Eli Bowen, son of a prominent family. Eli is the suitor of Ann's dreams. Like her, he enjoys poetry and beautiful things and soon, he will move to the city to become a doctor.

Ann travels to Pittsburgh, accompanying her father on business. There she meets Will Hanby, a saddle-maker's apprentice. Will has spent years eking out an existence under a cruel master and his spirit is nearly broken. But Ann's compassion lights a long-dark part of his soul. Through his encounters with Ann's father, a master saddler, Will discovers new hope and courage in the midst of tremendous adversity.
When the Millers must return to Ohio and their ministry there, Will resolves to find them, at any cost. If Will can make it back to Ann, will she be waiting?

Read an excerpt here:

About Rosslyn:
Rosslyn Elliott grew up in a military family and relocated so often that she attended nine schools before her high school graduation. With the help of excellent teachers, she qualified to attend Yale University, where she earned a BA in English and Theater. She worked in business and as a schoolteacher before returning to study at Emory University, where she earned a Ph.D. in English in 2006.

Her study of American literature and history inspired her to pursue her lifelong dream of writing fiction. She lives in the Southwest, where she homeschools her daughter and teaches in children's ministry. For more about Rosslyn, visit her website.

Link to buy the book.

Contest

Win a custom made period dress ... and a KINDLE from Rosslyn Elliott!
Enter 9/1-9/20!

To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Fairer Than Morning, Rosslyn Elliott is giving away two fabulous prize packages. The first is brand new KINDLE in her Fairer Than Morning Kindle Giveaway. Then on September 20th she's giving away a $200 gift certificate toward a Custom-Made Historical Reproduction Dress (from Recollections) during the Fairer Than Morning Book Club Chat Party on Facebook! Sigh...romantic.

Fairer Than Morning is receiving wonderful reviews - Library Journal said, "A well-written historical series debut…". Read more reviews here.

Be sure to join the fun and enter the Kindle contest -

One winner will receive:

* Kindle with Wi-Fi

* Fairer Than Morning (for Kindle)

To enter just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, giveaway ends on 9/19. Winner will be announced on 9/20 at Rosslyn's Book Club Facebook Party. Details and official rules can be found when entering the contest.

Then be sure to RSVP for Rosslyn's Facebook Party! During the party Rosslyn will be chatting with guests, hosting a book chat about Fairer Than Morning (don't worry if you haven't read the book yet - you could win a copy!) & historical Fiction, testing your trivia skills. She'll also be giving away that $200 gift certificate toward a FABULOUS custom-made period dress from Recollections!

From This Day Forward By Margaret Daley

2011-09-01T14:27:00.005-04:00

“A wonderful love story in the American Tapestries series with characters who are trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives after the War of 1812. Daley turns the ugliness of war into a new beginning for the ones who pick up the pieces. Her characters are willing to do what they need to in order to survive, but also are willing to give a friendly hand to those around them.” -- Patsy Glans from RT

***

Releasing today, September 1st!

From Summerside Press.

Learn more about it here!

From This Day Forward

By Margaret Daley

Rachel Gordon is stranded in South Carolina, pregnant, a recent widow when her husband fell overboard on the voyage to America. Nathan Stuart, a physician who came home from serving in the American army during the War of 1812, disenchanted with his life and the Lord, rescues Rachel and saves her life. Feeling responsible for her, Nathan tries to discourage her from living at a rundown farm her husband bought to start a new future in America. He wants her to return to England.

Rachel refuses to go back to England where her father disowned her for marrying against his wishes. The farm is all she has, and she is determined to make it on her own. But Nathan has other ideas and becomes her farmhand to discourage her from staying in America. Instead he ends up protecting her and being challenged by her. Can two wounded people heal each other?

Chapter One Excerpt:

March 1816

“We are going to die,” Rachel Gordon’s young maid cried out.

Rachel looked up at the clouds rolling in. Dark, ominous ones. She shivered and pulled her shawl tighter about her as the breeze picked up. A storm brewed, and she still had several miles to go until she reached her new home in South Carolina. “God willing, we will make it, Maddy.”

Fear deepened the lines on Maddy’s plain face. “’Tis like the squall on the boat.”

Lightning flashed, momentarily brightening the shadows of the forest. A clap of thunder rumbled the ground. Maddy screamed. The old gelding that pulled the cart—all Rachel’s meager coins could afford—increased its speed, weaving from side to side. Out of control.

Determined to be there before nightfall and in one piece, Rachel gripped the reins and fought to slow the maddening pace of the horse. Finally it resumed its plodding step. The weather-beaten cart she had bought near the dock in Charleston hit a bump in the road, jostling her into Maddy. Her maid clutched the seat with one hand and held onto Rachel with the other.

Steadying herself, Rachel rested her wrists on her rounded stomach. She had more than herself and Maddy to worry about now. Her life had changed so much since she left her ancestral home in England. She had married, conceived a child, and was now a widow, all in the space of a year. And worse, she was going to a place she had never seen because she had nowhere else to go. Her husband had used most of their money to purchase this plantation she was traveling to. It was her future, whether she wanted it to be or not.

The warmth of a spring day quickly faded as the sky grew blacker. Rachel stared at the menacing clouds through the treetops and realized she would not make it to her new home before the storm broke. She scanned the area for a place to seek shelter.

Sinister shadows lurked just beyond the road. Again she shivered, her imagination conjuring images of wild animals staring at her from the depths of the forest. She’d heard stories about the bears. Huge. Fierce. Sharp teeth and claws. Shifting on the seat, she darted a glance from side to side, feeling as though she were some beast’s next meal. She could not stop, even if it poured down rain.

Oh, how she missed England, with its gently rolling hills and refined beauty—not this raw wilderness. Like a fish floundering on land, she did not belong here. Nothing in her life had prepared her for this strange environment.

Drops of water spattered her. The wind picked up.

“That man on the boat told me about a big cat. They are out there.” Maddy whimpered, draping her shawl over her head and hunching her shoulders. “Lord, have mercy on us.”

Rachel forced herself to keep her gaze fixed on the road ahead. Once they were at the plantation Maddy would settle down. The squall two days out of Charleston had nearly sunk the ship they had traveled in. Surely this storm would not be as bad.

Taking deep breaths, Rachel calmed her racing thoughts and heartbeat. Pain spread through her lower back. She gripped the reins, the leather digging into her palms. The pain dulled to an ache. Another deep inhalation and the panic nibbling at her composure abated. Soon she would be at her new home and could sit in front of a warm fire, put her legs up, and rest. Hopefully the letter her husband had sent ahead would alert any staff to her arrival. Her glance strayed to the tall pine trees, swaying in the gust. Everything would be all right when she arrived at Dalton Plantation.

But even with Maddy next to her on the seat, the feeling she was the only person in the world overwhelmed her.

The wind picked up, whipping strands of her long brown hair that had escaped its coiffure about her face and threatening to whisk away her bonnet. Lightning zigzagged across the sky, followed by thunder. Maddy jumped in her seat. The gelding’s ears flattened.

A chill embedded itself deep in Rachel. She arched her back to ease the pang still plaguing her. Suddenly lightning struck a tree nearby, its flash a beacon in the growing darkness. A crack as the pine split into two pieces echoed through the forest. Immediately afterward, a boom of thunder cleaved the air. Maddy shrieked. The horse increased its pace while a few more splotches of water splashed Rachel. Then all at once rain fell in gray sheets.

The gelding lurched forward even faster. Rachel grasped the reins, trying to maintain control. She pulled on the leather straps to slow the horse. Nothing. He kept galloping down the road, oblivious to his surroundings, as though the hounds of hell were nipping at his hooves.

***

Looks like another great read from beloved author, Margaret Daley

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Carol Award. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She writes inspirational romance, both contemporary and historical, and romantic suspense books. Her seventy-fifth book is From This Day Forward.

Giving!

2011-08-28T15:52:00.002-04:00

I love giving. It's such an amazing gift to humanity. A picture of God's generous heart.

Nothing is gained by being stingy, clinging to our hearts, our money, our "stuff."

Yea, I like my stuff. I like things. But I've found such a freedom and joy in giving.

Especially giving of words. Encouraging others, praising others, esteeming others higher than myself. (A work still in progress.)

So, as we go into fall, approaching the busy season of school, holidays, Christmas, I want to encourage giving.

I've got 3 copies of Dining with Joy to give away. And two audios of The Sweet By and By!

Leave a comment telling me some "giving" you plan to do or have recently done. I'll draw a winner next week!

Happy giving!

More than a 1000 Words

2011-08-26T16:39:00.005-04:00

If I could write the emotion this picture displays... Dog mourns the death of his master, Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson, was one of 30 Americans killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 6 when a rocket-propelled grenade took out a U.S. Chinook helicopter.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice Jon, and to your family and dog too. God is the God of ALL comfort.

United we stand, divided we fall.

Which God?

2011-08-24T15:46:00.003-04:00

Words from my hubby:

In my last blog I discussed proof of God in general. I did not specify any God in particular. So once you’ve established the existence of God, how do you go about choosing among the many gods available? Can God even be known? The short answer is, “only if He wants to be known."

Consider that any Deity capable of creating the universe can certainly hide from us if He wants.

We can “search for God” diligently, but if He doesn’t want to be found, there is no finding him. My recommendation is that you scratch off your list any religion claiming to have found the way to God. If God can only be known if He wants to be, it makes more sense to look for where God has revealed Himself to man.

Take Jesus for example. He claimed to be God come to earth, backed it up with convincing Godlike character and miracles, even had men write down things about His life ahead of time so we’d know it was Him.

Then He correctly identified that there was no way for us to reach God, explained how God would make a way from His end, and demonstrated unearthly love by suffering to become that way.

Finally, rising from the dead and ascending into heaven visibly...no other religious figure even comes close to the Incomparable One. I guess the choice isn’t that difficult after all.

***

Rachel here: I love this. Yes, some claim there are many gods and they must be known by their character. I heard a Muslim man quoted as saying America is Muslim because we have "In God We Trust" on our money. Allah, in his definition, is God.

For a moment, I pondered. "Okay, Allah is God. In Spanish God is called Dios. In Arabic or Islam, God is called Allah."

But it didn't sit right with me. Jehovah God we meet in the Old Testament is plural. He's the Father, the Spirit. The Son. The God we meet in the New Testament is clearly plural.

Allah, in Islam, is one. In fact, around their temple in Jerusalem the stone is inscribed with, "God is one. He has no son."

So Allah is not the "In God We Trust" on our money because American's founders believed in the triune God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They believe in the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

It's important to know what we believe and why. God is willing and able to reveal Himself to all who ask.

Ask.

I Used To Take A Lot of Pictures

2011-08-21T21:49:00.001-04:00

I used to take pictures. Back in the day when we used film and had to wait a week for a roll to be developed.

I started out with in junior high with an Instamatic camera. My grandfather and my great uncle were great photographers.

Then I graduated to a Canon SLR. Finally to a Nikon with a bunch of fancy lenses. In fact, my final quarter at Ohio State sealing up my journalism degree wasn't writing a ground breaking story, but taking pictures. The Lantern advisor gave me an A-. Not a common grade from him. He gave me a C when I was on the copy desk. (snort!)

Sidebar: The Lantern advisor used to collect bad headlines and cutlines to use in class. "Here's what NOT to do."

Well... Winter Quarter of '85 I was a copy editor on the paper. One night the Editor handed me a photo. "Write a cutline for this." He explained what was going on in the photo ending with, "Write Pope releases pigeons of peace or something like that..."

So, it was late. I was ready to go home. And I wrote, "Pope Releases Pigeons of Peace." End of story.

But two quarters later when I'm a photographer on the paper for the summer, our newspaper advisor popped that baby up on the slide saying, "Pope releases doves of peace, not pigeons."

It was hard not to laugh out loud. I leaned to my friend and whispered, "I wrote that!" Oh man, she nearly spewed.

We laughed a lot that summer.

AND, now this is really weird. Seven years later I go to Israel with a team of people from around the world. There was this zany and fun Australian woman who kept us all entertained. One day we were at the Wailing Wall and she said, "Look at the pigeons of peace."

I told my roommates my own pigeon story and tied it with Barbara's and we laughed so hard we couldn't breathe. I must say I felt justified about my cutline! I KNEW they were pigeons of peace!

End sidebar

Taking pictures was synonymous with writing. I wrote and snapped photos. But I have photo albums I never pull out. I go to my old diaries more.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped taking pictures. Maybe it's because I ceased to be photogenic. I had a picture of me on a shelf at one of my "pre married" apartments. A friend came over and said, "Who is that?" Emphasis on "who" and more emphasis on "that." I wasn't at all insulted he didn't recognize me. Or that he looked kind of like "Really?" when I told him it was me. Jaw dropping astonishment is always a compliment, right ladies?

Maybe I stopped taking pictures because I stopped putting the photos in albums. I traveled a lot in the first years of my corporate job. I took a lot of pictures. I have a lot of photos in albums. Even more in boxes. Please, no scrap booking recommendations. I've seen that chore. Ain't happening.

I have an iPhone. The "new" Instamatic. I can take pictures anytime. Hubby and I just had three series of house guests. I took not one picture. What's up with that? I thought I should snap one or two. But I never did.

I've made the case to my hubby that I need a new digital SLR. The kind that cost hundreds of dollars. But I'm starting to wonder if I can justify the cost. Anyone have a camera I can buy cheap just to see?

Maybe I don't take pictures any more because I don't like the quality of pictures I get on my "instamatic." Just point and shoot.

I like pictures. They say a thousand words. I love old pictures of my family. But I'm just out of the picture taking mode. I'm less sentimental than I used to be. Could that be part of the reason?

But writing... Oh, such a different story. That expression never left my fascination. It's changed. I don't keep private diaries any longer. I have a book for prayers, dreams, insight from Scripture, but not, "Dear Diary, today I went shopping and...."

I blog. That's what y'all get to read. (Ooo, shouts of joy!) But public blogging had it's limits. And aren't we glad? (snort!)

I used to take a lot of pictures. But now, I form the images in my heart with words. Inadequately. But pictures none the less.

What about you? Do you take pictures? Do you break out old photo albums? Talk to me...

The House is Quiet

2011-08-17T09:34:00.002-04:00

It's been busy at the Hauck House. Fun. First Carrie, then Cassie and Sarah, dessert with friends two nights running, good news, sad news, life.

Pause. Before you read farther. I'm in a contemplative mood.

But I won't write what I feel because feelings are not truth. Not always. Having an intuitive nature, I've had to learn to tell the difference between what the Spirit is telling me and what my soul is sensing.

Yeah, the Spirit always wins. Better to listen to Him than me.

I'm pretty okay, more than okay about not having had children. Peace and grace abound. But as I checked family Facebook pages and saw the kid pictures and back to school shout outs, I "felt" it a little bit.

No children. A very permanent state. Nothing to change it.

So, I went to my comfort. He said, "But you can hang out with Me all day. And write."

I wish my human heart could grasp the reality of the living Lord inviting me to hang out with Him all day. To be a place where He can rest. Share His heart as He chooses.

But it's not about busyness, is it? Children or not, we are to be His resting place. Jesus didn't scold Martha for being busy, for not sitting at His feet, He scolded her for being worried, fretting, accusing her sister. Complaining.

It's not externals He's after. It's the internal. The place of belief and rest. Faith.

It has to be enough to sit on the back row with Him and watch the world, resting, being, not letting my heart growing weary or hard.

I love this: Acts 13:52 "... and the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."

Am I? Are you? JOY! It's the word of the year. The decade. The Lord's joy is my strength.

What's next? I don't know? I have no expectations except He is good. He is faithful.

Hey, what's the line between living a life of a bond-servant, seeking the Lord for direction yet moving forward, doing what we think is right? Taking a leap of faith? Some are praying, waiting and never moving. They feel let down.

Others move forward and succeed.

What's the balance? How do gifting and calling weigh in?

Don't want to waste time, gifting or calling. Don't want to sit idly. Don't want to work in my own strength.

Faith.

"Here I am, Lord."

The House is Quiet.

Forsaken by Leanna Ellis

2011-08-12T09:58:00.004-04:00

Hannah Schmidt,a young Amish woman mourning the mysterious death of her beloved Jacob, must decide between two brothers, between good and evil.

When she learns her first love isnow the vampire Akiva, she must forsake him and cling to a new love, a lastinglove, one that will save her soul.

Amish and vampires? Really? Yes, really. I’m asked a lot how this book came into being.

Forsaken actually began as a joke. I was at a book signing and another author and I made a joke about we should write an Amish/vampire story because those were the two genres that were selling so well.

Well, it really was a joke. I didn’t rush home and start writing the book. But I suppose some seed was planted in my warped little brain and took root. Soon a character was speaking to me abouther story and wanting me to write it. I resisted. But there was a very intriguing element that I couldn’t seem to ignore. To me, this was a Phantom ofthe Opera type story, with a love triangle, and a clear dividing line between good and evil.

So I wrote the prologue and first chapter. Then I set it aside because I was busy meeting other deadlines. Besides what was I to do with an Amish/vampire story? I mentioned it eventually to a couple of writer friends.They laughed but in a good way and encouraged me to write it.

Well, I wasn’t sosure although I was becoming obsessed with the story. I spent a lot of time inprayer over this book, because I don’t want to write something that God doesn’twant me to write. Also, I knew I’d have to leave the Christian market and sellit in the secular market. I wasn’t about to make that move without God’s clear direction. And he began to show me in more ways than one that this was the book He wanted me to write.

More than a year passed, and I was at a writer’s conference minding my own business and not pursuing this story at all. An editor said the perfect submission would be…you guessed it! An Amish/vampire story. So I made an appointment to meet that editor and just talk about the idea.

It almost felt like when an addict first admits she has a problem. I felt like I was teetering on the edge when I said, “I’m a writer and I’ve written an Amish/vampire story.” Well, she requested it. What I love about this story is that it shows the battle of good and evil.

Evil doesn’t always appear with pitchfork and horns. Quite often, evil is appealing and attractive and hooks usin before we realize what has happened. Such is the case with my heroine Hannah. She simply loved a boy. But she opens her heart and her mind too easily and the consequences could be devastating. Even though this story is published in the secular world, it has a powerful spiritual message, a message the world needs to hear.

Read more and an excerpt here.

Order the book from Amazon.

Note: I was with Leanna at the conference where she pitched the idea to an editor. It's fun to see the story come to fruition! Way to go,Le!

A word from my Hubby: Prove it! God does exist

2011-07-29T08:55:00.003-04:00

It has been said, and generally accepted, that the existence of God cannot be proven. I disagree.

It is true that the existence of God cannot be scientifically proven. Since scientific proof requires observation, nothing unobserved can be scientifically proven. Of course, this means that no historical event predating photography can be reliably proven.

Yet we confidently teach thousands of years of history. For this we rely on historical proof, based upon a preponderance of evidence. Incidentally, no historical figure has stronger historical documentation than Jesus, and no historical book even comes close to the reliability of the Bible. But there is an even better proof.

A simple rational proof considers observation, evidence, and clear rules of logic to reach a conclusion through reason. This is the kind of proof lawyers rely on. Ironically, Christians are accused of abandoning reason for blind faith when the existence of a Creator God is the most reasonable conclusion, requiring the least faith. Here we go.

When you see chairs lined up in a row, you conclude someone put them in order. A skyscraper implies both a designer and builder. A painting must have an artist behind it. It would be unreasonable to think these things happen randomly.

Order, design, structure and beauty are proof of an orderer, designer, builder, creator. Even science teaches us that in the absence of intelligent direction, entropy rules. Consider that we have yet to design anything that approaches the order and complexity found in nature. The world screams “intelligent creator”. The proof is everywhere.

(Rom 1:19-20) "...because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse..."

Don't be without an excuse. KNOW what you believe.

Is She Your Daughter?

2011-07-26T17:44:00.003-04:00

One of my girls from youth days is visiting. Carrie.

She's been off on her own for a while now. Last year went on a mission trip to 11 countries in 11 months. Graduated from FSU. Worked for the state.

We love having her here.

After a morning chat, then some work for me, we went for pedicures -- down to my "old neighborhood" because I miss my Publix, McDonalds and nail salon.

Carrie and I climbed into the pedicure chairs and the man who typically does my feet nodded toward Carrie, "Is that your daughter?"

I said, "Yes," without really thinking. I probably misunderstood him. I confess.

Carrie and I looked at each other, laughed and shrugged.

When I was checking out, the shop owner asked, "How old is she?"

I made a face. How old is who? I glanced at Carrie who had her toes stuck under the drying machine.

"She's um..." Me, squinting. I'm a great "mom." "Twenty-nine."

"Twenty-nine?!" Shock and dismay. "I thought she was fifteen or something."

Carrie beamed. I signed the debit receipt. Not a word about how I wasn't old enough to have a twenty-nine year old -- thank you very much! ;)

Carrie has yellow toe nails now. I told her she's walking on sunshine.

Going For A Run

2011-07-21T18:05:00.004-04:00

I was going to blog. But I'm going for a run instead.

Seriously, my blogging gas tank is on empty. I have lots on my heart and mind to share but it's as if the Lord is asking me to be silent.

So, I will.

Far too often I speak too soon. I speak before the "idea" or the "revelation" is a life seed in my own heart. I go tossing out my treasures before they have a chance to shine.

Silence is a good thing. Really. Setting a guard over our mouth, godliness.

Off to run...

I Case You're Wondering, God IS Listening

2011-07-18T16:58:00.003-04:00

I forget all the time that God is listening.

"Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and esteem His name." Malachi 3:16

Those who feared the Lord spoke to each other. And the Lord GAVE attention to them. Even more, He wrote it down in His memory book!

The Lord is near. He's watching. Listening. I know it feels and seems at times like God is far off, distant, not answering, but the scripture is clear, the Lord is near to those who call upon Him in truth.

Sure, we must be true believers. We must believe in Him. We must believe He's good, He's love and He's who He says He is. So work on that if you're struggling, but otherwise, pick up our faith, lift your head and KNOW God is drawing near to hear your conversations.

For me, lately, that means shutting my mouth. As I realized today God hears me, I was in awe of how stupid I can be with my words. Evil even. I'm a venter. I have to work out my emotions or disappointments by... talking.

But what exactly is that getting me? Nothing. Only the negative emotions in my heart coming out of my mouth with the life form of words, then boomeranging back into my heart and creating a vortex of bad seeds that dig deep. I can't let go of what's bothering me because I keep talking about it!

I was worshipping at the piano today, kind of giving this deal to God in song and I came up with a country lyric! I know! Shock and amaze. "What can I do, how can I let go, when letting go won't let go of me."

The answer is letting go to Jesus. Covering it in the blood of the Cross. The blood that stains is the blood that cleans.

This notion of God listening hit me today when I mused back over our recent move. In February or March, I said to Hubby, "Gee, I hope our best days in ministry aren't behind us. Like what happened in youth church in the '90s was it."

"Oh, please, I hope not," he said.

Truly, could our best days in ministry be behind us? We had a mini move of God in the '90s followed by some serious years with some serious worship and serious kids. It was awesome.

Was that all, God?

Then in March our friends announce they're heading back to Pixar. I loved their house so I whispered to God one Monday, "Lord, if there's anyway we could get that house, please do it."

I knew we couldn't afford it, but I knew God could.

On Thursday, four short days later, our friend calls. "Hey, let's talk house." I blogged about it already, so I won't rehash the details.

On Friday, Hubby and I went down to Ft. Pierce to hear a man we know share some things God was showing him. It was a small intimate setting. Even so, the man did not know we were coming. We knew him, barely, and hadn't seen him in many years.

At the end of his sharing he began speaking to Hubs, exhorting him in the Lord FROM the Lord. In the middle he said, "The best is not in the past."

Saturday night we met with our friends to talk about the house.

It's no accident to me that the house prayer and the "best is not in the past" exhortation were answered the same week. God even answered us with our very words.

"I'm listening!"

Beloved, we may go months or weeks, sadly years, without such a kiss from the Lord, but we must continue to press in to hear His voice. He's not far off. He's not distant. He's very near. He does hear.

"Be still," Isaiah writes, "and know that I'm God."

Summer is practically over! School Days Loom.

2011-07-15T15:35:00.005-04:00

We're heading into the weekend. It's mid July. Summer is only a few weeks old but already Awesome and I are talking about school starting. He teaches high school math in the mornings and pastors in the afternoons.

Yesterday I rode my bike past a park and pee wee and junior football had started practice. I stopped to watch. I wanted to help coach.

We've been in our new place six weeks. It's lovely. Has a lot of character. I'm comfortable here. But it's not quite home yet. I drove home from lunch the other day... to my old house.

I was way south of my now-house, stopped at a light, my senses coming together as I subconsciously considered my route home. Something felt off. Like, I wouldn't be able to get into the house when I arrived. Then it hit me! I was going home the wrong way. I'd gone on auto pilot.

I have a new book proposal on the table. It's fab. I'm excited about it. But up next is a fourth book with Sara Evans. We've not talked concept yet, but should be fun when we finally get our heads together.

The Wedding Dress rewrite comes next week. I'm looking forward to digging back into that story and polishing it up. Look for it April 2012.

It's been a quiet summer -- other than moving. Other than developing a book proposal, it's been writing-quiet too. I needed it. The winter and spring were deadline focused including a massive rewrite, then I went straight into the move. Isn't God good? To give me time? He knew, He knew...

Being away from writing for two months now, I'm actually enjoying reading again!

But next week, things get busy. I have The Wedding Dress rewrite.

Friends will be in town next week. Then again the first of August. My brother and his family come in September, then I'm off to the ACFW Conference. In October I have a brainstorm weekend, followed by a trip to the North Shore to visit Susie Warren. And hopefully a visit from my mom.

And it's FOOTBALL season. I'll be on ESPN 360 most Saturdays. :) I'm looking forward to the holidays in my new neighborhood. I hear they do things up right.

I'm loving life. Full of God's grace and trusting Him even when I'm not sure what the future holds. Trusting Him when I have this huge expectation yet am not sure it will ever come to fruition. He holds my heart. I'm so glad He loves me!

What's up with your summer? How's it going?

He Blinded Me With Science

2011-07-14T11:01:00.002-04:00

Great thoughts from my Awesome husband.

Stephen Hawking, renowned physicist, has recently declared that there is no God. Not surprising since science has been elevated above all other thought or reason.

Two consequences of this philosophy are that science can now speak authoritatively on any topic, and nothing is true unless science says it is true.

What has been overlooked is a logical fallacy. The Scientific Method, taught in every high school in America, requires any hypothesis undergo testing and observation before reaching a conclusion.

The fundamental methods of science limit it to speaking authoritatively only about those things that can be observed and tested. This leaves quite a list of topics about which science has nothing to say, evolution and the existence of God being two notable ones.

When science does speak authoritatively without applying the Scientific Method, I call that faith, and science becomes a religion.

So beware the priests of science. It’s just another cult.

Drawing winners

2011-07-02T20:06:00.001-04:00

Thanks to all who comment on my blog and others about This Time. The winners of the book and gift cert are:

Juanita Wickey -- Softy and Tenderly and Gail Kittleson -- $10 to Amazon.

And one more for good measure: misskallie2000 -- $10 to Amazon.

Blessings!
Rachel

What I learned about my faith from a screenwriting book

2011-06-29T11:10:00.007-04:00

I'm reading a great writing book, "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder. He's a screenwriter, but shedding some great light on how to craft and formulate a story.

Snyder writes he's "shocked to find out how many up-and-comers can not even quote from movies in their own genre much less movies generally."

Trust me, he writes, all the big guys can. Spielberg and Scorsese can talk about movies in detail, quote from hundreds, and explain how each movie works.

This really struck me. As a writer yes. I can't quote from too many novels. ** blush ** I can quote more from movies than books. Snyder's insight challenges me to be more purpose full with my reading and studying of books.

But even more, I'm struck by the passion of men like Spielberg and Scorsese to know their craft, to let their work and art infuse their lives.

As a Believer, I want this to be my way with my Lord. I don't want to be a casual Christian who can spout a few Sunday school verses, or drop Christianese, or think I'm the one follower of Christ who doesn't need to be in the Word daily.

How many Christians are just like the up-and-coming screenwriters Snyder writes about? They cannot quote from the Bible. They don't understand the complexities and layers of the Word. They think it's for the theologians and happily leave it in their intellectual hands.

I dare say intellectuals have done more harm than good to the pure truth of the Gospel.

We must be the Spielbergs of our faith. We must KNOW Him. And the only way to know HIM is to be with HIM.

Jesus prays to the Father in John 17: 24, "Father, I desire that they also whom You have given Me be with Me where I am..."

We want to be disciples of Christ without being disciplined. We want to claim the salvation of the Cross while living full bore for ourselves. I hear many Believers say they embrace the Cross of Jesus but refuse to embrace their own cross. "Deny yourselves and follow me," Jesus said.

They want a social gospel. One that's easy and doesn't require anything of them but showing up. In Snyder's analogy, they want to write a screenplay their way, ignoring the rules of Hollywood, and expect success.

The screenwriter thinks he has something unique and new. But he doesn't. I see this with authors too. Just like Believers of Christ think in 2011 we have to come up with something new and different to pitch the Gospel to the world without knowing the true Gospel of old. (I'm talking Acts and Revelation, not 1850s)

Snyder writes that the more a screenwriter knows about the old movies, the genres, and what the studios want, the more he learns the craft, the greater chance he has of selling his screenplay.

Hmm.. could it be that the more we know the Word, the more we saturate our lives in prayer, the more we embrace the Cross of Christ in all aspects of our lives, the more chance we have of showing the Gospel to the world.

We don't win them by being like them. We when them by being like Jesus.

My take away is to ask Jesus to increase so I can decrease. I want to be more like Him and waaayyy less like myself.

This Time by Rachel Hauck

2011-06-28T13:14:00.004-04:00

Long before the Kindle, the Nook, or the Sony reader. Long before the iPad was a spark in Steve Job's eye, I sold an e-book. I'd written this rancher girl story for Heartsong but they had a book very similar coming out by Kathleen Y'barbo (don't think I've let her forget it) so they turned me down.

Writer's-Exchange was leading the way in those days in epublishing, a small venue from Australia my second favorite country, so I sold them Belle and Burke's story.
With the advent of e-readers, this story is finding a new audience and I thought I'd share it with you. As the used cars sales men say, "It's priced to sell!"

Leave a comment on the blog and I'll draw a name to win a copy of Softly and Tenderly, my book with Sara Evans and a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

Here's what a reader said about This Time:
This story made me feel hope, that all wrongs can be righted and that something you believe is gone forever can come back to you. Belle and Burke are great characters. I recommend this book. It's one of my favorite Rachel Hauck books.

Blurb:
Oklahoma Rancher Belle Jamison's world topples when her best friend announces that Burke Benning, their former classmate and an NFL superstar running back, is coming to their fifteenth class reunion to act as Master of Ceremonies. Twelve years earlier the handsome athlete broke Belle's heart by deserting her minutes before their wedding ceremony.

Burke's retirement from professional football brings him home to Haskell for good. While his new career in life is uncertain, he knows he must deal with his hurtful actions toward Belle. A mountain of unspoken words looms between them and only the grace and peace of God can help them overcome.

Seeing Burke stirs the love and pain Belle still has hidden in her heart. As they rebuild their friendship and rekindle a lost love, Belle must choose to forget and trust him once more. Will their desire for love overcome the devastation of the past? This time, will their love last?

Click here to buy the book.

***

Be sure to leave a comment for your name to be entered into the drawing! You can comment on any author site you see posting about the book this week!

Rachel

Journaling, blogging and other drugs

2011-06-25T11:16:00.005-04:00

I guess I could say most of my life journaling, or writing a diary, was my "drug." My self therapy, my way of coping.

My first diary was a little red book with a lock and key. I was six. Goodness knows I didn't want my mom snooping among the pages to find out I didn't know how to spell the word "because." Lock that baby UP!

Throughout elementary school and junior high, I kept various forms of diaries. Wrote a few stories. But by 9th grade, journaling became a part of my daily life.

I wrote day my day's events and subsequent emotions nightly. Writing forced me to recognize my own feelings and fears, helped me understand any teen angst I was enduring, or figure out of my heart twitterpations would really lead to love.

The tradition continued until I was married at 31. By age 32, my writing became more spiritual, more prayer and Word oriented. As I matured in my faith and walk with Jesus, I understood more of His Word and journaling became about His insights rather than my own.

And that has to be a good thing!

What I needed all those pining high school and college years was more understanding of Jesus.

In 2002, I discovered Diaryland through a post Deb Raney sent to the ACFW email loop. She wrote that the great and talented Angie Hunt was web logging on her writing process.

So I hopped on over. To be honest, I'm not even sure I got to Angie's post -- oh yeah, she was talking about her taxes -- but I was hooked on writing my own web log.

A few things had to change. Like, I couldn't be quite as honest and raw online as I was off line. I still have all my journals but I might require them to be destroyed upon my death. Or before.

But I loved recording life on Diaryland. I'd just started writing a book that would become my first Heartsong Presents.

In '04, a friend built my first web site off Blogger and I've been here ever since. But here's the crux...

I'm writing more. Much more. I've written 15 novels since '02 when I landed in Diaryland.

I've blogged for Faithchicks. Now I'm intertwined with the lovely southern belles on southernbelleview. I blog there every Thursday, and for My Book Therapy.

By the time I consider my own blog, I'm out of words. Out of energy. Often, out of time. I've considered dropping this blog from my web site. But... I can't quite do it.

There has to be a place to do what I'm doing right now -- thinking out loud. Sharing my heart. My good friend over at girlswriteout, Kristin Billerbeck, also blogs her unique and funny view of the world over on girlygirl. She makes me green with envy at the time and patience she has to chronicle her life and musings.

I feel rather boring. We don't have TV channels so I'm not up to date on the Bachelor or American Idol. Lots of my writer friends blog about those things.

I don't have kids. My sister blogs hilarious stories about her babies (now 17, 15, 7 and 5!)

Awesome-hubs and I are kind of home bodies so I can't blog about my big adventure at the art show or kayaking on the river. I mean I could, but it'd be fiction.

I could blog about the great time we had last night with a half dozen or so folks who came to the house for our "Encounter God" night. We just put on Jesus Culture and worshipped for two hours.

Who needs "drugs" after that?!

What I've realized over time is that journaling or keeping a diary satisfied some deep, inner core need to tell a story. So it was my story. So it doubled as therapy. But putting words to the page reaches to the essence of my soul and makes it go, "Ahh! This is what I was made to do."

If no publisher ever wanted me again, I'd sit in my tower and write blogs. Though I'd rather write fiction any day over real events. I graduated from OSU's J-school but being a reporter never wowed me like being a novelist.

Don't get me wrong. Writing books is hard work. Oy! More than you realize before you start out. It's not enough to be a great writer, you have to be a promoter, a high-concept thinker, and so many other things.

But I do love it. "Ahh, this is what I was made to do."

So I'm blogging today. I've decided to stop feeling guilty that I don't have a bazillion blog followers, or that I don't blog regular, or have some kind of "brand" going on here.

It's just me. Rachel Hauck. My brand is friendship. A little bit of me sharing with a little bit of you. My brand is Jesus. Letting His love shine even in my weakness.

You know, I saw a twitter the other day that sounds sooo good, but in reality for those who follow Jesus, so missed the mark.

"You're stronger than you know."

Truth? We're far weaker than we know BUT Jesus is far stronger than we realize or dare to believe. Our problem is not being strong enough. Our problem is being weak and letting HIM be strong.

Ever see a little kid try to tote something heavy? They are so sure they can do it but the item is too big and bulky, too weighty. You try to help, but the kid says, "I can do it."

Yeah, really? I hope you have steel toed baby Nikes cause that thing is gonna fall and hurt. Despite the kid's best effort, he's not getting the job done.

What we have to learn to discern is the difference of bearing our own load and letting Him bear our burden.

We have to be strong... IN THE LORD, and the strength of His might. We do wayyy too much in our own strength.

Do you want to be strong? Be weak before the Lord. Let Him be your strength.

That's where I am. In everything. Weak before the Lord. If there's a next level, a next place for me, He must do it.

Who needs therapy or drugs when Jesus is in charge? He's the Prince of Peace. Rest in Him.

Forever After by Deb Raney

2011-06-23T03:00:00.000-04:00

I'm thrilled to have another good friend and acclaimed author on the site this week!

Please welcome Deborah Raney.

Forever After is the second book in Deborah Raney's Hanover Falls Novels series from Howard/Simon &

Schuster. The first novel in the series, Almost Forever, won the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and a

HOLT Medallion Award of Merit.

Synopsis: Lucas Vermontez was a proud firefighter like his father. Now, not only has he lost his father and his best friend, Zach, in the fire at the Grove Street Homeless Shelter, but the devoted rookie can no longer do the work he loves after being crippled in the tragic event.

When friendship with his buddy's beautiful widow turns into more, he wonders what he could possibly offer Jenna. Jenna Morgan is trying to grieve her husband's death like a proper widow, but the truth is, she never really loved Zach.

His death feels more like a relief to her. But that relief is short-lived when she loses her home and the financial support of her in-laws. Now the secrets of her past threaten to destroy her future. Almost Forever, Book 1 in the Hanover Falls Novels series, won the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence in 2011.

DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched her writing career after 20 happy years as a stay-at-home mom.

Her books have won numerous awards including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists.

Deb also serves on the Advisory Board of the 2500-member American Christian Fiction Writers. Her 20th novel released this month from Howard/Simon & Schuster.

She and her husband, Ken Raney, enjoy tending wildflowers and native grasses in the Kansas prairie garden in their large back yard. They also love traveling together to conferences, and to visit four children and three little grandsons who all live much too far away.

Dragons of Chiril by Donita K. Paul

2011-06-20T03:00:00.000-04:00

It's an honor to have my good friend Donita Paul stopping by today to tell us about her new novel.

Before DragonSpell, on a different continent and a different time, a young emerlindian’s desperate decision threatens to disrupt the foundation of the world. Tipper has been caring for her family’s estate for years now, ever since her father disappeared, making a living by selling off his famous artwork. Then she learns that three statues she sold were carved from an ancient foundation stone, and the fabric of her reality is crumbling. She must find the three statues and reunite them, positioned exactly in the right form. She must free her father and save the world. But she can’t do it alone. Her ragtag band of adventurers includes Beccaroon, a giant parrot; Bealomondore, an aristocratic young artist; a handsome dragonkeeper prince; the Wizard Fenworth; and the tumanhofer librarian Librettowit. Together they travel through valleys and kingdoms and consort with purveyors of good and agents of evil to find and reunite the missing statues. Will they learn to rely on Wulder’s grace and guidance along the way?

Dragons of the Watch will be the last book in this series. It comes out in October.

From Donita:

"The heroine in the first two books of the Chiril Chronicles is Tipper Schope. In her early twenties, she has been in charge of a massive household for the many years following her father's disappearance. In her mind, she has not done a great job. At the time of the first scene, she has been reduced to selling her noted father's artwork in order to pay the bills. Her home is a deteriorating mansion. They have two servants left from the full staff. Her mother's mental health and stability has broken down. The failure of the mansion has caused hardship among those who depended on her father and this establishment. Tipper feels the weight of all the responsibility.

I see strong women face two types of situations those they chose and those that are thrust upon them. I know a young lady who worked hard to put herself through college to become an RN. She showed tremendous strength and determination to meet her goal, one she had chosen herself. But this same young lady had an abusive parent, an alcoholic spouse, and a relative with a debilitating disease. Obviously these burdens were not ones she chose. With each new obstacle that came her way, she continued on the path she knew God had ordained. And not only that, but she remained a cheerful, optimistic person. As a great mom, she has drilled into her kids, "Attitude is everything."

The character in Dragons of Chiril is also challenged by adversity. Unfortunately, three of the statues she sold to acquire money for expenses, turned out to be the cornerstone of the world she lives in. With the statues separated, the countryside has bizarre eruptions that destroy property and life.

As in real life, with each new challenge, Tipper grows to meet the difficulty. That stretching to do the next thing, the thing we think is just beyond our ability, makes us grow stronger. Tipper's character deepens as she handles what I (the author) throw at her. And she also gains a perspective of herself that eliminates the false guilt. I think false guilt weighs us down more than the reality we face. Tipper does reach a happy ending, but the reader is aware that it is not because the road we travel will not smooth out and be bump-free until we reach Heaven. That's okay. We have the hope!"

For more about Donita and her books, click here.

You're Being Followed

2011-06-16T14:06:00.001-04:00

A few words from Awesome-hubs:

I love to pray Psalm 23:6 over people.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;” The Hebrew word translated “follow” is very strong, meaning to “chase after”, usually used in the negative, as in a hunter on the trail of prey.

God’s goodness and favor pursue us relentlessly. We don’t have to get God interested in us. We just have to accept Him as He is, and probably quit doing the hundreds of things we do to hide from His relentless love.

Why not let His goodness overtake you today?

Meet Me In St. Louis

2011-06-06T03:00:00.000-04:00

Meet me in St. Louie, Louie, meet me at the Conference!

It's fabulous!

You should come! Really!

St. Louis is a grand city! They have an arch in plain view from the hotel.

The hotel has cool carpet.

I'll be there!

Listen, I know what it's like to feel lost, alone, stupid, clumsy, and like an outsider at a conference. In 2002, I attended the first ACFW conference and I felt completely on the outside. I left saying I'd never go to another conference again.

Ha! I was the Vice President of ACFW and conference coordinator two weeks later and heading the charge to Houston 2003.

But 11 years later, I still have moments when I feel like the third wheel, or the unwanted step child. I think my agent or my editor doesn't want to talk to me. Or, that my friends are busy with other friends. I lose a contest. No one likes the worship songs I picked.

(Here I am with the fab Diann Hunt, Kristin Billerbeck and Colleen Coble!)

It's always something. But really? It's nothing! The conference is worth all those momentary feelings of "being left out."

Look, if I can feel left out -- an advisor, teacher, mentor, worship leader, published author who's attended every ACFW conference -- then surely you can brave a moment or two of feeling the same. Right?

I tell you all of this to let you know you're not alone. Come to the conference. I can guarantee you there will be folks to love on you, put an arm around you, pray with you. At the very least, you come to the worship sets and connect with the One who loves you more than His own life and get your attitude and perspective straightened.

(with Cheryl Hodde of Hannah Alexander!)

Chin up now. Attitude toward the Lord. Hearts open to give and receive. Here's what you will get from the conference:

1. Excellent teaching.

2. Excellent accommodations.

3. Sparkling and inspiring keynote address.

4. Worship with 500 brothers and sisters in Christ.

5. St. Louis! Me me there!

6. My Book Therapy Pizza Party.

7. Connecting with old and new friends.

8. Meeting editors and agents, those who can help guild you along your publishing journey.

9. Four of the most frenetic days you'll be glad to go home to the hubby/wife, wild banshee kids and barking dogs. Two days later you'll miss the conference so bad you'll ache!

10. Investing in your dream to be a published author is the first right step you'll take!

I'm glad the Lord had other things in mind for me than quitting the conference in 2002. What joy I would've missed if I'd let my fears keep me back.

In all my conference years, I didn't know what I'm doing half the time. I botched more editor and agent appointments than I care to consider. I missed workshops. I offended people. I got offended. Come on, we're people.

But I go every year with the core value: to love others and seek to esteem them higher than myself. With that as my main goal, the conference becomes easy. It's not about me! Sigh of relief.

Surely you can join me with the same high calling? Let the Lord see to our careers, our writing destination. He's good at handling those things.

Conference is too easy to get discouraged if our eyes are on ourselves. Someone else seems to be so favored while you feel like a log of knotted pine.

At one conference, I'll never forget the reaction of one author when her editor appointment produced the words, "your work is incredible."

I can still see the author smiling from ear to ear, bouncing around, celebrating with her friends. The rest of the conferencees were whispering, wondering. Lucky girl. She scored.

Yeah, I was a bit green. But I put my head down, focused on myself and got to work doing what the Lord had given me to do.

Do you know that author's career has yet to land a major house book deal? I know... hard to believe.

You just never know! Don't judge. Don't think you're a loser before you even get started! Don't think that one over there will get a book deal or favor and not you.

Yet, rejoice with those who do and wait for God's perfect timing for you. Do you know I met the lovely, gracious and talented Susan May Warren at the 2002 Conference.

She was Miss Thing that year having just signed with Tyndale. Her star was rising. I never thought she'd be friends with me. But guess what? Conference after conference we became friends. We served on ACFW board together. We found a kindred heart. She's been instrumental in my writing career. All because I accepted the invitation to put my insecurity and fears behind me.

So, how should you prepare for the conference?

1. Adopt my core value: Esteem others above yourself. Think the best of every one. Forgive easy. Don't be offended. Be humble! Jesus loves humility!

2. Prepare as best you can. Get your pitch ready. Study the craft. Editor your story. Get that hook set so you can converse with an editor or agent about your work.

3. Adopt a casual professional look. Don't spend a bunch of money you don't have, but go through your wardrobe and figure out what looks good on you. It doesn't have to be the latest styles, but try too look as professional as possible.

4. Pray, pray, pray.

5. Reach out to others before hand. It helps break the ice the first day. ;)

Can't wait to see you in St. Louis.

Eternal Bank Account

2011-06-03T12:27:00.003-04:00

It's so easy to live in the moment. Forgetting the future and living for the present. It's why saving money is so hard. Do you save for a rainy day or buy that new iPhone or new car?

Hmm... if you're like me, you're going for the iPhone.

A friend of mine saves money it itty-bitty increments. She amazes me. About twelve years ago she decided to start saving for her daughters wedding. Five dollars a pay check. Five dollars!

I nearly scoffed. What can you do with five dollars a pay check? Ten dollars a month? One hundred and twenty dollars a year. If she gets married with in the next five years, my friend wouldn't even have a thousand dollars.

Well, she saved her five dollars. The daughter isn't married, yet, and my friend added some money to the savings plan and has set aside almost four thousand dollars.

I'm impressed. But what endurance and discipline. I tell you, she guards that money too. She will have it for her daughter when the time comes.

Some find a quarter and think, "Three more and I have a dollar."

I find a quarter and think, "What can I get with twenty-five cents?"

We are all wired differently. Some save. Some spend.

Our recent home buying and selling ventured started with a set of savers. They owned their house out right and even though they purchased the home at the peek of the market, they were still able to be extravagant when they sold the house to us.

They weren't in debt to anyone so they didn't have to sell at a certain price. They weren't greedy feeling like they had to get "some" of the original price back. No. They felt free to give generously.

Because of their generosity, we were able to forgive a debt owed to us.

As I meditated on the chain of events one afternoon, I wondered how and if God would "reward" our friends in this life or the next. Or if He'd smile in some way on our debt forgiveness.

Oy! It's so like us to think "what's in this for me?"

And it hit me: let this roll-over into my eternal bank account. Look, God will not forget to reward His beloved. No good deed will go unnoticed. Jesus said if you so much as give a cup of cold water it will be remembered!

If we stay in the temporal, the now, we forget there's a life to come. If we demand honor, recompense, reward for all our deeds what will we have in the next life? What will we have to throw at Jesus's feet?

It's like, if we spend our twenty-five cents now, then will we ever have a dollar to get what we need or want?

It's time to consider what's in our eternal bank account. Remember now, God is one who doesn't mind saving a dollar one penny at a time. He LOVES to bless us. So, it's not like you have to preach to stadiums or raise the dead to deposit something into your eternal bank account.

The Lord also rewards us in this life. He understands we need reward. I've actually been talking to Him about reward. I should see the fruit of my labor, you know?

But I also am mindful of my eternal account. I want to reap more in the life to come than in this life. Why? Because this life is fraught with sin and deceit. With sin and selfishness.

When Jesus comes to reign on the earth, He'll deal with sin and injustice. I want to be dealt my reward then! When He's setting things straight.

I don't know what all is to come or how it will look. But if Paul's glimpses into the future are any indication -- eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him -- then I want a piece of that pie!

What about you? Are you sending somethings ahead? What you do with your time, words and money? Invest eternally!

Our last week in this house. We're moving.

2011-05-21T11:38:00.001-04:00

I'm ready. To go. Make the change from this house to our next. Hubs and I are investing time in painting the new place. Paying for new carpet and blinds. We're giving our time and money to something we believe in.

There's a value in that, you know. King David said, "I won't offer a sacrifice to the Lord that cost me nothing."

Every investment we make in our homes, our friends and family, in each other, our churches and community increases who we are, enlarges our hearts.

So, though painting is back breaking, I love the opportunity to roll paint on my own walls.

The house we're leaving has our investment too. We've fixed things up. Added those bling touches. We have a lot of memories in this house.

I'll never forget the first day I came home from work after the painting had been done, the carpet installed and the new furniture arrived. It was unbelievable. The house was gorgeous. I never wanted to leave. For thirteen years, there has not been a day I didn't love coming home to this house. Well, I work here now, but you know what I mean.

It was becoming a bit of a blurry line between where I work and where I live. When they are the same, one begins to overshadow the other. I have to work hard to maintain the balance. It will be so nice to have an office space where I'll actually leave the house, cross the garage, and go through another door into my turret tower and upstairs to my office. Living and working will be separated a bit.

In this house, we had a ton of youth meetings. When we started Fire Dweller, a multi-church prayer meeting, nine years ago, it was in this living room. Great men and woman in God have visited us and stayed here.

My dad used to drive down to south Florida when he was working for the state architectural department and spend the night here.

We've laughed here. Cried here. I wrote my first Thomas Nelson book here.

It's home.

But God is moving our boundaries. And we are willing. "We say Yes to You, Jesus."

See, our friends who sold us the house lived a debt free life. Not only with money, but with things. They were able to say "Yes" to the Lord and offer us an amazing deal on the home. Even sweeten the deal with a beautiful petite grand piano. Who does that? People who are "debt free."

It's a challenge to me as I pack and move to let go of things I don't want or need anymore.

It's a challenge to me as we move into a house that is an extravagant gift to us, to live simply, holding loosely to things.

Paul wrote, "Owe nothing to no one except the debt of love." Hard words to live by, but worth words to make our life motto. A goal worth striving for.

Except for the house, we are debt free. We were even able to forgive a debt owed to us. Extravagance breeds extravagance.

So, I'm off to paint. Looking forward to what God has for us. Hoping I will write more books in my new office. We'll see.

Live for and believe in our extravagant God!

Beginning of Sorrows -- A word from my Hubby

2011-05-05T08:03:00.003-04:00

You Are Here...

I was pondering three passages that describe the last days or beginning of sorrows.

Understand that this isn’t the time of great tribulation spoken of in Revelation, but what immediately precedes that time, so even if you’re pre-trib, no one escapes these events.

You can read them for yourself (Mt 14:4-12, 2 Tim 3:1-5, 2 Pe 3:3), but I’ll give you a short list of what to expect; deception, wars, famine, earthquakes, tribulation, martyrdom, hatred, offense, lawlessness, cold love, scoffers, lustful, self love, proud, disobedient, no self control, brutal, haughty, lovers of pleasure, haters of good, having a form of godliness but without power.

Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it? And that’s what I was thinking about, how bad it’s going to get, when God pulled me up short with one statement. He said, “You’re already in the beginning of sorrows now.”

My first thought was, “this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be." So my immediate second thought was, “how desensitized to sin have I become that I’m living in the last days, don’t even recognize it, or think it’s that bad?”

What's our response? Jesus said in Luke 21 to be "on guard" and to "pray!"

The Fine Art of Insincerity by Angela Hunt

2011-05-02T08:18:00.000-04:00

Please welcome friend and author fabulous, Angela Hunt. I love the title and premise of this book. And knowing, Angie, it will be a great read. Take a peek at the blurb and first chapter!

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The Fine Art of Insincerity

Three Southern sisters with nine marriages between them — and more looming on the horizon – travel to St. Simons Island to empty their late grandmother’s house. Ginger, the eldest, wonders if she’s the only one who hasn’t inherited what their family calls “the Grandma Gene”— the tendency to enjoy the casualness of courtship more than the intimacy of marriage. Could it be that her sisters are fated to serially marry, just like their seven-times wed grandmother, Lillian Irene Harper Winslow Goldstein Carey James Bobrinski Gordon George? It takes a “girls only” weekend, closing up Grandma’s memory-filled beach cottage for the last time, for the sisters to unpack their family baggage, examine their relationship DNA, and discover the true legacy their much-marrying grandmother left behind.

The Fine Art of Insincerity is a stunning masterpiece. I was pulled into the lives of Ginger, Pennyroyal and Rosemary--sisters touched by tragedy, coping in their own ways. So real, so powerful. Pull out the tissues! This one will make you cry, laugh, and smile. I recommend it highly. --Traci DePree, author of The Lake Emily series

“Only Angela Hunt could write a relationship novel that’s a page-turner! As one of three sisters, I can promise you this: Ginger, Penny, and Rose Lawrence ring very true indeed. Their flaws and strengths make them different, yet their shared experiences and tender feelings make them family. From one crisis to the next, the Lawrence sisters are pulled apart, then knit back together, taking me right along with them. I worried about Ginger one moment, then Penny, and always Rose—a sure sign of a good novel, engaging both mind and heart. Come spend the weekend in coastal Georgia with three women who clean house in more ways than one!”

Liz Curtis Higgs, best-selling author of Here Burns My Candle

THE FINE ART OF INSINCERITY

ANGELA HUNT

Prologue

Ginger

“You can’t tell your sisters,” my grandmother once told me, “what I’m about to tell you.”

I listened, eyes big, heart open wide.

“Of all my grandchildren—” her hands spread as if to encompass a crowd infinitely larger than myself and my two siblings—“you’re my favorite.”

Then her arms enfolded me and I breathed in the scents of Shalimar and talcum powder as my face pressed the crepey softness of her cheek.

My grandmother married seven times, but not until I hit age ten or eleven did I realize that her accomplishment wasn’t necessarily praiseworthy. When Grandmother’s last husband died on her eighty-third birthday, she mentioned the possibility of marrying again, but I put my foot down and told her no more weddings. I suspect my edict suited her fine, because Grandmom always liked flirting better than marrying.

Later, one of the nurses at the home mentioned that my grandmother exhibited a charming personality quirk—“Perpetual Childhood Disorder,” she called it. PCD, all too common among elderly patients with dementia.

But Grandmother didn’t have dementia, and she had exhibited symptoms of PCD all her life. Though I didn’t know how to describe it in my younger years, I used to consider it a really fine quality.

During the summers when Daddy shipped me and my sisters off to Grandmom’s house, she used to wait until Rose and Penny were absorbed in their games, then she would call me into the blue bedroom upstairs. Sometimes she’d let me sort through the glass beaded “earbobs” in her jewelry box. Sometimes she’d sing to me. Sometimes she’d pull her lace-trimmed hanky from her pocketbook, fold it in half twice, and tell me the story of the well-dressed woman who sat on a bench and fell over backward. Then she’d flip her folded hankie and gleefully lift the woman’s skirt and petticoat, exposing two beribboned legs.

No matter how large her audience, the woman knew how to entertain.

I perched on the edge of the big iron bed and listened to her songs and stories, her earbobs clipped to the tender lobes of my ears, enduring the painful pinch because Grandmother said a woman had to suffer before she could be beautiful. Before I pulled off the torturous earbobs and left the room, she would draw me close and swear that out of all the girls in the world, I was the one she loved most.

Not until years later did I learn that she drew my sisters aside in the same way. I suppose she wanted to make sure we motherless girls knew we were treasured. But in those moments, I always felt truly special.

And for far too long, I believed her.

To order: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1439182035/booksbyangelae0d

To download the Angela Hunt iPhone/iPad app: http://mobileroadie.com/apps/angela-hunt

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Overcoming Writer's Block

2011-04-27T20:09:00.002-04:00

A Twitter friend asked me how to overcome writer's block. So I thought I'd blog about reasons a writer might get blocked and ways to overcome this malady.

1. A lot of time I find writers get blocked because they haven't done the character and plot work required to know where the story is going. I find I stall or slow in writing when I'm not really sure where the story is going or if the characters are not acting consistent. If I don't know what the character wants in the story, if I don't know the story question, or enough of the details of the journey, if I don't know the lie the protagonist believes, or the dark moment of his past that shadows his present, then I'm not going to really know what drives the character through the mucky middle.

Resolution: If you're stuck, go back and do some character work. What does the character(s) want? What's the lie he believes about life, himself, God. What does he want? What's the story about? What will the protagonist be able to do at the end they can't do at the beginning? What's the epiphany? Dig around deeper in your character's heart. Once you do this, figure out where you are in the story, where the character is in the story, and figure out your next scene.

When I'm unsure where to go next, Susie Warren might ask, "Where are you with the lie? Have you confirmed the lie?" Or she might prompt me to make sure I've had enough reaction to a plot point. For example, if my protagonist just learned her husband had an affair, I need to make sure I've emotionally and physically played out the news well.

2. Inciting incident. Make sure you have the right inciting incident. Meaning, what's the right event that launches your story? In Dining with Joy, the event that launched the story was Joy learning her producer sold the show to another production company. And he didn't tell the new producer Joy couldn't cook. The inciting incident must launch the character on the story journey.

Resolution: If you're stuck, evaluate how you're starting the story. You might have "too much ramp." Meaning, you started the story too far back.

3. Too much backstory.

Resolution: You might be bogging down and block because you've written too much back story. Go back, review your work and delete back story. The pages will read quicker and you might see something new in the story.

4. Change the point of view. You might be telling the story from the wrong point of view.

Resolution: If you have more than one character telling the story, change from the heroine to the hero in the "stuck scene" and see how the story changes.

5. You're holding back the big reveal moment. In Dining with Joy, I always thought Joy's black moment would be when she was outed on national television. So, the middle of my book was bogging down because I was holding back. I wasn't at the right word count! So, I had to go back to my character work: the lie, the dark moment from the past, the thing Joy could do at the end she couldn't do at the beginning. The middle of the book was being outed on television. The black moment was losing everyone she loved.

Resolution: Go ahead, write your big reveal moment. Don't hold back. You can figure out what happens next after you do.

6. You too close to the story.

Resolution: Take a break. Think. Read. Relax. Pray!

7. You might not have enough emotional depth.

Resolution: Dive deep! Surface fast. Every novel is about characters. Even mysteries and thrillers. Make sure you're writing about a person. Not an issue or your own soap box, or your own story. Create characters! Tell a story!

Hope these help! Writer's don't need to be blocked. When all else fails, stick with it. Just start writing and see what words come! A lot of time writers over think and try to write the scene perfect from the start. Haha. Fergetaboutit. Write. Then rewrite.

What about you? Have any tips for writer's block?

Jesus Said, "Sell your possessions."

2011-04-25T11:15:00.001-04:00

Jesus, the greatest man, prophet and teacher of all time, and also God in the flesh, said this in Luke 14:33 "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions."

The word possessions caught me. While I believe Christ followers are to be generous, givers, humble with their means, I don't believe "give up all his own possessions" means living in poverty. There is often such a poverty spirit among Believers.

Whether we are rich or poor, we're not to have a spirit or mentality of poverty. Christ has give us all things to live righteous and Godly!

In the book of Acts, we see the Church selling possessions to give to the poor. The Bible says they had all things in common.

But I wanted to know a bit more about what Jesus was saying in this verse so I looked up the word possessions in the Greek, thanks to my handy-dandy BlueLetter Bible on my iPad. Then I checked with the King James version to make sure I was getting a clear picture.

Possessions means what you think -- stuff. What you have, own, started out with...

But it means more. Here's what I found in the Biblical Usage:
1) to be the first to do (anything), to begin
2) to be chief, leader, ruler
3) to begin, make a beginning

Jesus is telling us we have to give up the possession of ourselves to Him. See the second definition. "to be chief, leader, ruler."

To merely sell what we "have" like land or houses or cattle is not enough. Even the heathen and unredeemed have compassion and give their money to the poor.

Jesus is saying, "To be My disciple, you have to give up possession of yourself, to give Me rulership and leadership of your heart, mind, soul and strength. You're not in charge of yourself anymore if you follow Me."

I tell you, it's a bit daunting, no? But oh, He's such a kind, generous leader. Jesus said, "My burden is easy and My Yoke is light." He said He would give us life abundantly. He promises is joy and peace. He promised us a way to the Father. He promised us the Holy Spirit who comforts and teaches us!

There's a great Divine exchange. We give Him our sin, our weaknesses, and yes, the right to rule over our lives and do what we want when we want. But He gives us... Himself!

We die to ourselves and come alive in Christ. An infinitely better deal.

When I first moved to my city after college, I was restless. There was a lot in life I wanted to do but was quite sure I didn't know how or when or where or IF they were meant for me.

I said, "Lord, I won't be happy going my own way, so I choose you. I know that no matter what, if I follow you, I'll be satisfied with my life."

As a teen and twenty-something, my main goal in life was not to reach 40 and look back on my life with regret. I didn't want a litany of woulda-shoulda-coulda. I knew I'd mess up. Make mistakes. But I really wanted to avoid the big ones. Wrong career. Wrong husband. Wrong city or state.

So, in many ways, I sold my possession -- Me -- to Jesus.

I'm 50 now and when I look back over my life I can say with joy and confidence, I have no regrets. There are no woulda-shoulda-coulda's. I'm satisfied. Content.

Now, to dig deeper and find those areas of my life I've not sold out to my Lord and get logged on to Jesus-bay, sell off more stuff to Him and His Kingdom.

What about you? Is there an area of your life (heart or mind) you can surrender to Jesus?

Writing A New Blog From Blogsy

2011-04-18T17:20:00.001-04:00

I saw this really cool app today and decided tom try it for writing blogs from my iPad. Believe it or not, this kind of tool would've saved me a few times!

It was easy to drag and drop the picture from Flickr. Now to get more pictures into Flickr! Oy.

Daddy in the Making by Lyn Cote

2011-04-16T11:49:00.006-04:00

Please welcome author Lyn Cote. She's going to tell us about her new Love Inspired novel, Daddy in the Making, the installment in the New Friends Street series where love and dreams find a home.

Brought together by a Matchmaking Dog-- (Love this!)

Dr. Jake McClure’s basset hound has fallen in love with a single mom, her adorable twins and the orphaned kittens they rescued.

Man’s best friend suddenly won’t budge from Jeannie Broussard—and Jake can understand why. Jeannie is full of love, laughter and everything Jake has been missing in his life lately.

As Jake spends time with Jeannie and her girls helping to build her Habitat for Humanity house and rescuing stray animals, a bond forges between them, and soon Jake is wondering if he’s the perfect fit in this fatherless family....

To read more and buy the book, click here.

About Lyn:

When Lyn Cote became a mother, she gave up teaching to raise her son and daughter. While being a stay at home mom, she began working on her first novel.

Rejection followed. Finally, Lyn got "the call." Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen for the new Love Inspired romance line.

Since then, Lyn has had over thirty novels published. In 2006 Lyn's book, Chloe, was a finalist for the RITA, one of the highest awards in the romance genre.

And her Her Patchwork Family was a Carol finalist in the short historical category in 2010.

Lyn’s brand of “Strong Women, Brave Stories,” always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail and a multicultural cast of characters.

Lyn also features stories of strong women both from real life and true to life fiction on her website homepage.

Lyn also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love.

Sharing a recipe:

One of the secondary characters in Daddy in the Making, Millie, is famous for her Baked Macaroni and Cheese. Here's my recipe. (YUM!)

Lyn Cote's Baked Macaroni

I adapted this recipe from my 1940 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I've cut the fat content from the original and changed to whole wheat or SMART TASTE macaroni to up the fiber. So you can indulge with this recipe, knowing that it's healthy!

1 lb. whole wheat macaroni or Ronzoni Brand Smart Taste pasta (fortified with Calcium, Vitamin d and Fiber)

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White sauce:

6 Tb butter or margarine

¾ c. flour

5 c. skim milk

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

*****

1 lb grated medium cheddar cheese (Or if you want to give this a Mexican flavor, substitute pepper jack cheese.)

1 c. bread crumbs (or crushed tortilla chips)

Cook macaroni, drain and put into greased, deep casserole dish or bowl. Make the white sauce and take pan off heat (to keep the cheese from becoming stringy). Add 2/3^rd's of the grated cheese. Stir till melted. Pour over macaroni. Sprinkle remaining cheese and bread crumbs over top. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. May serve as side dish or main course.

Lyn has a free read on her blog, La Belle Christiane, an original manuscript never published, a new scene every Monday, Wedsnesday and Friday.

Extravagance!

2011-04-10T21:03:00.005-04:00

Three weeks ago, good friends of ours announced they were moving back to California. The husband was returning to his old job at Pixar.

I've always loved their house, especially the super-duper office and living space they'd added. I call it the turret tower. I'll post pictures later.

Yet we love our house and frankly we couldn't afford their house. Our friends had other options and plans anyway, but it didn't stop me from joking about buying to for a ridiculous sum of money.

Two weeks ago, I prayed, "Lord, if there's anyway we could get their house, I'd love to, but we are very happy here."

Four days later our friends called. "We think you all should have the house. Let's get together and talk."

Hubby and I were blown away by their offer and plan. It was extravagant. As a result, the Lord answered another prayer I'd been praying to pay off a small debt we had plus to forgive a debt owed to us.

I never imaged the Lord answering my prayer to get out of debt, to forgive a debt in such an amazing way.

Extravagance led to extravagance.

As a society, we live so close to the wire, pay check to pay check there's no room to be extravagant. We're concerned about our 401ks or amassing saving that we can only "tip" others.

Our friends lived debt free. They were blessed to buy their house with cash. And at the peek of the market!

But instead of wanting all their money back or even most of it, they decided to be givers, they decided to yield to God's tug on their heart.

Listen, the office alone is worth their selling price to us. And it's not befitting of my lowly author status. Hubby said, "Well, now you have room to grow!"

We sold our house in six days. We have to go through the final motions and I guess we can't completely exhale until the closing, but when we see God moving in the midst of something, there's just no room for doubt.

I'm convicted more than ever to choose a lifestyle that allows me to be extravagant! Because our God is extravagant and there's no way we can out give Him.

How about you? Are you willing to trust your finances, your career, your future to an Almighty who cares for you? Extravagance!

The Story Jar by Robin Lee Hatcher and Deborah Bedford

2011-04-04T12:48:00.005-04:00

What a great honor to have these two prestigious authors on my blog today to tell us about a great Mother's Day gift!

THE STORY JAR

A lovely novel of three women, their stories threaded together through the concept of

The Story Jar…

The jar itself is most unusual -- not utilized in the ordinary way for canning or storing food, but as a collection point for memories. Some mementos in the jar -- hair ribbons, a ring, a medallion--are sorrowful, others tender, some bittersweet. But all those memories eventually bring their owners to a place of hope and redemption in spite of circumstances that seemingly have no solution.

Fresh, insightful, yet courageous in the face of difficult life issues, this collaboration by two talented writers first profiles a pastor’s wife with two young daughters who faces cancer just as her own mother did before her; and then a remarried mother working through a difficult relationship with a rebelliousrunaway daughter.

The third woman, alone with two teenaged boys who no longer pay much attention to her and seem headed for trouble, discovers the long-lost “story jar” and its significance. She comes to realize she can bring her own sorrows and frustrations to the feet of the Good Shepherd, the Great Physician, the Healer of the brokenhearted. She too will have memories for her own story jar.

“…It captures with surprising sensitivity…communion with God, and some excruciatingly exquisite moments of parental love…” Publishers Weekly

Included in the book are heart-warming tributes on motherhood fro novelists such as Jerry Jenkins, Francine, Rivers, Karen Ball, and Debbie Macomber.

************************

ABOUT THE Robin and Deborah:

Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. She makes her home in Idaho where she enjoys spending time with her family, her high-maintenance Papillon, Poppet, and Princess Pinky,

the kitten who currently terrorizes the household.

When Deborah Bedford isn't writing, she spends her time fly-fishing, cheering at American Legion baseball games, shopping with her daughter, singing praise songs while she walks along the banks of Flat Creek, and taking her dachshund Annie for hikes in the Tetons where they live.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY JAR

by Robin Lee Hatcher

In September 1998, I received a story jar as a thank you gift after speaking at a writers’ conference in Nebraska.

The small mason jar, the lid covered with a pretty handkerchief, was filled with many odds and ends – a Gerber baby spoon, an empty thread spindle, a colorful pen, several buttons, a tiny American flag, an earring, and more.

The idea behind this gift was a simple one. When a writer can’t think of anything to write, she stares at one of the objects in the jar and lets her imagination play. Who did that belong to? How hold was he? What sort of person was he? What does the object represent in his life?

Writers love to play the “what if” game. It’s how most stories come into being. Something piques their interest, they start asking questions, and a book is born.

A week after receiving my story jar, I attended a retreat with several writer friends of mine, Deborah Bedford included. On the flight home, I told Deborah about the jar.

The next thing you know (after all, what better thing is there for writers to do on a plane than play “what if”?), we began brainstorming what would ultimately become The Story Jar. We decided very quickly that we wanted this to be a book that celebrates motherhood, that encourages mothers, that recognizes how much they should be loved and honored.

The Story Jar was first published by Multnomah in 2000, but eventually went out of print. Thus Deborah and I are delighted that Hendrickson wanted to bring it out in a new, revised version because we believe these stories can inspire others, just as it did this reader back in 2001:

"I am an avid book reader and have read thousands of books––maybe more––since the age of 5. I can honestly say that [The Story Jar] has touched me more than any other I have read. I cried, I laughed, and I relearned things that I had forgotten long ago as well as realizing things I never knew. Thank you for sharing your stories with your readers. They are truly inspiring. I plan on giving it to all the ‘mothers’ in my life for Mother's Day."

You don’t have to be a writer to want a story jar. It can be a family’s way of preserving memories. Consider having a family get-together where everybody brings an item to go into the jar, and as it drops in, they tell what it means to them, what it symbolizes. We can learn something new about our loved ones when we hear their memories in their own words.

Or do what my church did a number of years ago to create a memory for a retiring pastor. Inspired by The Story Jar, members of the congregation brought items to the retirement dinner to put into a story jar or they simply wrote their memories on a piece of paper to go into the jar. It was our way of saying thanks to a man and wife for all of the years they’d given in God’s service.

A story jar can be a tool for remembering all the wonderful things God has done in our own lives. As Mrs. Halley said, not all of God’s miracles are in the Bible. He is still performing them today in countless ways today, changing lives, healing hearts.

In the grip of His grace,

Robin Lee Hatcher

The Narrow Road of Salvation

2011-03-29T09:49:00.005-04:00

Last Friday night I sat in a small, elegant prayer room, Open Door House of Prayer, in Ft. Pierce listening, tapping notes on my iPad, as a man shared about Jesus, about the things the Lord was speaking to and showing him.

I was filled with awe, stirred to know and love Him more. As the man spoke, scripture opened up in my own heart. (Note: Always a good sign the man speaking is not about himself but the God-Man, Jesus.)

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

We quote this verse in the church as a salvation passage. Those who are saved are on the narrow path, and those who are not are on the road to destruction.

And that is true. Right. Jesus is the only way to salvation.

But yet, Jesus also said many are called but few are chosen. As I sat in the prayer room Friday night the reverent fear of the Lord began to stir my heart. The world is trying to make salvation wider, easier. The church is going along with eager enthusiasm. "Like us, like us! Sure, we'll agree Jesus isn't the only way."

Danger! It's the exact opposite. We need not be finding a way to widen the road to heaven, but opening our eyes to realize how very narrow it is!

We must go THROUGH Jesus. Not around Him. Not in front or behind him. But through Him which means we are completely lost in Him.

Rachel Hauck, You (insert name here) must be lost in Him. Not found any other way than IN Him. Meaning, who is Rachel Hauck? Only who He says I am and I don't care about finding myself or being defined any other way.

Jesus loves humility. The Father loves Jesus and He is the only one in whom the Father is well pleased! Does Love Win?

Yes. In fact, Love already won. At the Cross. End of sentence. Some things in God are defined, exact and we can know! This idea that God is so awesome, wise and infinite we can't understand Him is of the world.

We can know Him. How do I know? He sent His Son, THEN gave us the Holy Spirit. If you're not knowing Him, maybe you need to ask the Holy Spirit to invade your world.

Jesus is the one whom the Father wants to glorify and magnify. And nothing, nothing will get in the way of His will -- to glorify His son.

Not our fame, or well being, or will, or desires, or right to pursue happiness will distract the Father from making His Son's name known in all the earth. Nothing! The Father WILL glorify His Son to the Nations!

Only God can reveal God.

We are called to be like Jesus. You know what He did? "Made Himself of no reputation."

And what do I see in people, in me? Wanting to be of a reputation. Seeking to expand, broaden, redeem, polish, hone, care for and coddle MY reputation.

But Jesus is longing for HIS nature to be formed in me. In you.

See? The road is narrow!

Jesus is to be the center of everything. God is not going to allow His Son's name to go on much longer as a powerless name.

Christianity has to be about a person, the Man Christ Jesus, not about performance, or oy! doctrine or theology.

We focus more on our doctrine than scripture. We give more credence to theology than Jesus.

We are so busy trying to "get out of here," and we're missing that He, Jesus, is trying to get into us and create perfect vessels!

John the Baptist said this, "He must increase so I can decrease!"

We have to let Him increase in us so we can decrease, so He can be formed in us.

Every day we live and breathe is precious to the Lord! Oh, how that makes my heart sing. We are here for a purpose. He is incredibly intentional!

In Christ is hidden all the wisdom and revelation. The New Testament is a revelation of the purpose of Jesus the Christ.

We must know the Word. We can't rely on the doctrine's and traditions of men. Not John Calvin. Not Rob Bell.

The road is narrow. To pass through we must let Christ be formed in us. We must ask Jesus to increase.

How can you tell if you're choosing yourself or Him? What's the focus of your want, belief, goal, or desire? If it's not Jesus, pure and simple, it's about you.

Same with me. Daily I have to lay down my wants. Yet, oh, how extravagant His love, His will, His desires for me. For all of those who love Him.

Love HIM! He'll do the rest. And His best is beyond our wildest imaginations.

Happy 19th Anniversary to my Hubby!

2011-03-21T10:53:00.007-04:00

Hubby and I married 19 years ago today after four years of friendship-oddship.

When we met, we were 27. Ready to settle down, tired of the Christian AND non Christian dating scene.

I travelled around the country and world training newspaper editors and reporters, and classified advertising reps how to use my company's computers for daily production.

He was the youth and singles pastor, full time staff at the church I'd recently started to attend.

He'd been a Christian for about 4 years. I'd been following Jesus for 20! With a brief time out for college shenanigans.

When I moved to Melbourne, FL, I wanted nothing but to pay off school loans and get 100% in love with Jesus. I prayed a prayer that changed my life, set me on a difficult but glorious journey. I know that I know He is Lord.

Hubby was working out his young salvation with fear, trembling and wisdom. When we met, we actually intimidated each other a bit. He was a pastor who heard God. I was the daughter of a pastor, long time saved, and could also hear God.

Our initial attraction was interesting. He was more interested in me. I was dubious. He had a beard. Yet, I was interested. Then God flipped the tables on us. Literally.

He spoke to me one Sunday afternoon. "He's your husband." ARG! There's no way I wanted to "hear" the cute single singles pastor was my husband. Just line me up with the looney ladies.

But the Lord spoke to me over and over. Confirmed it in many ways.

Meanwhile... He told Husband. "Be her friend." Or "You're just going to be friends." Either way, a budding romance went kapoot, fast.

He thought we were only to be friends. I kept feeling, hearing, wondering if we weren't going to be married!

We confessed our thoughts. But we respected each other enough to wonder who was really hearing. Or what kind of creative answer God was going to give us.

Hubby would say, "We think it has to be A or B, but I bet God has a C answer somewhere."

Really? Like what? I never doubt God's ability to go outside our human boxes, but I couldn't see an alternative to "You're going to marry him." I mean, either we were going to get married or not!

What? In fifty years after his first wife dies? I mean, what other answers were there?

Interesting, hubby's initial attraction to me "romantically" vanished when the Lord told him we were to be friends.

So, that's all we were for three years.Friends. Best friends.

Then through a series of events, very colorful and interesting events, hubby began to ask the Lord if I was the one he was going to marry. All the while, he still had no feelings for me other than friendship.

More interesting and fun events transpired and one day, on a day God spoke to Hubby four months in advance, he saw me walking across a parking lot and all the feelings he needed to fall in love exploded in his heart.

Whoa! For me, I had to ask, "Who is this man?" Wow!

Friend to lover in 0 - 60 seconds.

We were married six months later. Today. March 21, 1992.

I am so very blessed and honored to be his wife, to know, respect and love this man, to serve him and the Lord's people with him. He's my friend, my confidant, my cheerleader and supporter.

When I graduated from college, I prayed, "Lord, I don't know what to do with my life. I know I'll only be satisfied and content if I'm doing what you want. I know I'll pick the wrong man to marry. I don't know who to pick. Only You know. Choose for me."

God is so good! God does good things for those who love Him. Not always are they simple or easy things. My journey through fear and anxiety was horrendous, but oh, the love of the Lord carried me through. I know Him in a way I'd never have known without those scary times.

Yay God! Thank you for my husband! Thank you for 19 great years. So peaceful and easy.

JOY!