Ink from an Earthen Vessel

A mix of humor and inspiration from Margaret Brownley

2012-01-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

An interview with Margaret Brownley, a New York Times bestselling author of inspiring novels with Love and Laughter, thrills, mystery, and suspense. Her latest book, Dawn Comes Early, will be available in March 2012. You can order her other books now.

Margaret tells the story that she was writing for the church newsletter when after making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her pastor took her aside and said, "Maybe God's calling you to write fiction."

It turns out God was and Margaret did. She now has more than 20 novels to her credit. In addition, she's written many Christian articles and a non-fiction book. Still, it took a lot of prodding from God before Margaret tried her hand at writing inspirational fiction which led to her Rocky Creek series.
Ada Brownell's interview with Margaret Brownley
Have you always had a sense of humor or did it just pop out as you created your characters because they did and said hilarious things?
First, I want to thank you for letting me visit today. To answer your question, when I first started writing I wrote angst-driving contemporaries for Harlequin. I decided to try my hand at a historical and sent the proposal to my agent. When she told me that she practically rolled out of bed laughing I took it as criticism. I had no idea I could write serious themes with humor. My characters do tend to keep me awake at night by whispering funny things in my ear. If you can’t sleep you may as well laugh.

Could you share some of the things you do that other writers can practice to bring humor into their stories?

Humor has to spring from the characters. It can never be forced. To be humorous a character has to have a unique perspective and be passionate about something. In “Dawn Comes Early” Aunt Bessie (fine Christian woman that she is) has a unique opinion of herself and her place in the world. She considers it her god-given duty to see that everyone is properly married. This is her passion. This gives her a great deal of grief—and readers a good laugh.

Another way to inject humor into a story is through the choice of language. Can you think of more mouth-pleasing words than hornswoggle, caboodle or skedaddle? And if they don’t tickle your fancy what about fiddlefooted, ranktankerous, rumbumptious or splendiferous? A latte may be the haute cuisine of coffee, but give me an Arbuckle’s any day.

Do some of your attempts fizzle?

Interesting question. I’ve dropped scenes that don’t work so the answer has to be yes.

Is faith and humor an unlikely combination?

Jesus had a sense of humor so I’ve never understood why people take religion so seriously. Why can’t we have fun with it? There would certainly be less strife in the world if we did.

In Dawn Comes Early one of the ranch hands prayers for rain. “God, the Father, thank you for your many blessings and don’t forgit to send rain. And if you ain’t sending it to us, don’t go sendin’ it to no other ranchers, neither.” Imperfect people make for imperfect prayers, but God still loves us and He may even find occasion to laugh.

To qualify for inspirational fiction some writers only make their characters Christian in name and they attend church. Do you make an integral part of their lives? At the same time, is it difficult to avoid preaching?

I strive to create a spiritual arc. No matter where we are in our faith there’s always room for growth, and so it is for my characters. They may have to learn forgiveness, trust or humility but the journey is never easy.

As for preaching, a character in my book has this to say: “God says if you’re holdin’ a grudge you plumb better get over it or you’ll be a sad as a tick-fevered doggie.” Preachy? Or a worthy message delivered in a fun way? You be the judge.

Among your 28 books do you have a favorite character you’ve created? Why is he or she your favorite?

My favorite character is always the one I’m working on.

How do you develop characters who are likable, despite their faults?

One way is to give characters a worthy cause. We tend to like people who make us laugh and the same is true of characters. The ranch owner in Dawn Come Early is a tough old bird, but it’s her vulnerability that makes her likeable.

Are your villains bad to the bone, or do they have some good in there somewhere? Are some of them converted and changed before the end of the book, or since you write about the Old West, do you create a hero who will kill him off?

In Dawn Comes Early Cactus Joe is the bad guy. Making him “bad to the bone” would have been easy, but I didn’t want to do that. He plays an important role in the heroine’s life, and I wanted him to be an interesting and complex character. I had to dig deep into his psyche to find out what makes him tick. It turns out he’s an outlaw who can’t get any respect and respect is what he wants more than anything. “The way this town treats criminals,” he complains, “it don’t deserve none.” Bad to the bone? Hardly. But he is funny.

What is the biggest challenge in the genre of writing that you do?

In my other life I was a teacher. At a teacher’s workshop I once attended the instructor asked the following life changing questions: At the end of your career which will you be able to say? That you taught for 35 years? Or that you taught one year 35 times?

I use that same philosophy in my writing career. I don’t want to write the same book 35 or 40 times. So the biggest challenge for me is to stay fresh.

What has been the most satisfying part of being a novelist?

I get to talk to myself and no one thinks I’m crazy. I also get to do the most amazing things through my characters.

Do you have a word of encouragement to writers?

Enjoy the journey. Being published comes with its own challenges, so you really have to enjoy each step of the way or you won’t survive. Surround yourself with a support group and celebrate every success. Celebrate when you finish a chapter; enter a contest; pop a query in the mail; or sign up for a writing workshop. This is what kept me going during the five years it took me to sell my first book, and it will keep you going, too.

A word of encouragement to people seeking faith or a deeper walk with the Lord?

Following the death of our son I had a crisis of faith. Out of this came a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God. I couldn’t have written the books I’m now writing without going through what I did. I’m living proof that God is working on us and through us during good times and bad. Or as that old cowhand Ruckus from Dawn Comes Early would say, “God ain’t finished with me yet and He ain’t finished with you, neither.”

www.margaretbrownley.com

Also visit Margaret on Facebook and Twitter\

Margaret’s also excited to announce that her non-fiction book “Grieving God’s Way: The Path to Hope and Healing” will be published in July—not bad for someone who flunked 8^th grade English. Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.

How novelist Margaret Daley, ACFW president, approaches writing

2012-01-20T06:15:00.000-08:00

Margaret Daley is Author of 82 published books and sold seven in 2011. Worked 27 years as a special needs teacher. She was a Special Olympics coach. She serves on an outreach committee at her church and also works with the church’s vestry. She and her husband have been married 41 years and have one son and four grandchildren. You can visit Margaret at http://www.margaretdaley.com to see about her different books and read excerpts from them.

Ada: Do you sleep? How do you keep up with your writing schedule?
Margaret: Sometimes it is difficult, but I try to write almost every day.
Ada: Each of your books on your website is an easy purchase because of the links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble. How do published writers get these links on their websites or blogs?
Margaret: I am an associate member of Amazon and they give me the links. The other I copy and paste from Barnes and Noble.
Ada: Just going through your website is a lesson for beginning writers on creating a short book summary. I like the way each starts with a well-written hook. How long does it take to compose these blurbs, or does your mind automatically click them out?
Margaret: Some of the blurbs are mine and some are from my publishers. I think coming up with blurbs is hard.
Ada: How do you begin the writing process—to lay the groundwork? What system do you use for filing character profiles, setting and plotting? How deep and how thorough do you go at the beginning?
Margaret: I live with my characters for a while before I start writing. But as I write, I learn more about them the deeper I go into the story. I start with an idea and a framework for my story. I know some of the details but a lot of them I figure out as I write--as the characters grow in my mind.

Ada: Is it easy or difficult to bring in the story complications? Have you had a character you loved so much you hated to bring in the hurt? Ever wept with the people you created?
Margaret: What makes a plot is conflict and hurt is part of conflict. As a writer I owe my readers the best possible story I can give them. I go through the traumas with my characters, but I've never hesitate to put them through the wringer.
Ada: Do you use photos and other things to stimulate your mind and enhance your writing, to paint scenes and bring in the senses?
Margaret: Sometimes but mostly I imagine the story unfolding in my mind.
Ada: Do you still participate in a critique group?
Margaret: Not as much as I used to. I do have friends I brainstorm with and occasionally critique.
Ada: What event caused you to change from secular publishers to the Christian booksellers?
Margaret: God gave me a story that could only be told as an inspirational romance--The Power of Love, my first Love Inspired.
Ada: Is there any part of writing that is a significant challenge to you?
Margaret: Promoting. It didn't use to be as big a deal as it is in today's market. It takes a lot of time away from the actually writing. I'm not comfortable trying to sell myself.
Ada: What was your first published book? How old were you when you started and how long did it take to achieve success?
Margaret: My first book published was a Silhouette Romance in 1981 called Second Chance on Love. It took about three years from when I started to sell my first book.
Ada: Which among your books makes you most proud?
Margaret: I have several favorites for different reasons. The book coming out in March called Saving Hope is a book I felt the Lord wanted me to write. He opened doors for me to get this story published. It is about human trafficking, a timely subject that needs to be dealt with in this country. Heart of the Amazon was a book of the heart. I had such fun writing it. It is African Queen meets Romancing the Stone. Another book that is close to my heart is my October 2012 from Abingdon Press called Shattered Silence. It is about different types of bullying in our society.

Ada in summary: Visit Margaret at http://www.margaretdaley.com The visit will enlarge your vision of writing fiction. As you learn more about her, remember she sold seven books in 2011, but she also has a life ministering to others, working with other writers at American Christian Fiction Writers, and enjoying her family. I would say the Lord certainly blesses the work of her hands, and has enlarged her territory of influence by His miraculous power.

Why I Wrote Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal

2012-01-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

By Ada Brownell
Faith is a force that must be fed.
Every day, we either nourish our faith or unbelief. It’s like depositing funds in the bank. Every day we use a little of our cash, but most of us know we need some put away for emergencies.
Life, especially in these times of media saturation, challenges our faith from many sides. Sometimes getting up in the morning is like stepping out into a shooting range between the guns and the target. We duck and wonder why we’re not carrying a shield to get through this mess. Then we notice the enemy of our soul lurks on the edges of the hillside. He roars like a lion and we realize this is no game.
“Where is my sword?” we ask ourselves.
Ephesians 6 tells us a little about preparing for the battle and what our enemy is like. “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The ultimate attack comes against faith in life and death issues. God warned Adam and Eve if they disobeyed him, they would die. Most everyone is subject to the ultimate lie Satan, that slimy snake, told Eve in the beginning.
Satan opened his fangy face and guffawed. “You won’t die.” His bony fingers grabbed a peach from the forbidden tree and thrust it toward Eve. “Eat it. It’s delicious!”
Eve ran to Adam and offered him one. Soon the couple bit in to the sugary fruit, juice dripping from the edges of their mouths as they watched one another change from immortal to mortal beings that would become ill and die.
Satan’s venom fills every earthly body and grave since that time.
Read about it in Genesis 3, but God had compassion and promised a Redeemer who would bruise Satan’s head, although the Redeemer’s heel would be bruised by the serpent when the Savior came to redeem every man who wanted to be saved. We know the Messiah was crucified. The amazing thing is death could not hold him!
Yet, although we all know the story, when Satan whispers, “Don’t even think about it. You won’t die,” we avoid putting that faith deposit in the bank, because when someone we know has a troubling diagnosis or dies, we’re deceived into thinking he or she is the only one going.
We think like the leaders of our nation that plunged us into owing $15 trillion in debt and the bank account is empty!
Perhaps that’s why it took me 15 years to see Swallowed by LIFE published. When I showed a proposal to editors, I suspected they thought the market for this category of books was limited, and it should be left to ministers who have a long list of credentials and a huge following.
Yet, I knew my book is unique because it has exciting news about life and how we are made, urging you to take time to see the evidence we are more than a body; to view the powerful hope everyone has in Christ as we look at all the aspects of John 3:16; asking you to look at heaven; to contemplate the joys of knowing God walks with us every day here and whether we live until He comes and we’re caught away to meet Him in the air; if we will walk through the valley with Him holding our hand.
In short, the book reveals exciting things scripture and medicine and witnesses tell us about life and the eternal.
I started with four sections to the book. The first chapters were similar to what I have now with the exciting things about our bodies and life, challenges to know the truth about who we are, and some about what happens at death, where the spirit goes, what happens at the Resurrection and what we’ll do for eternity. The second part focused on difficult choices, such as living wills, hospice, different beliefs about burial and cremation, including the controversies of assisted suicide and euthanasia. As a reporter I covered a number of conferences that featured medical doctors who believed in or practiced assisted suicide and euthanasia. The next section had to do with dealing with losses and changes in lifestyle as we age or suffer from illness. The last focused on ways to leave a legacy.
The section I felt needed to be published most was first part where the theme is “God created us so that we are more than a physical body. No matter what happens to the body, whether we constantly die cell by cell as they regenerate, whether we lose a hundred pounds, a bomb takes off an arm or leg, they cut off parts and perhaps replace them with a mechanical device, give us an organ from another human, implant the valve of a pig, or whether the body turns to dust--we LIVE and are the same person who started as an egg in our mother’s body, and if we know Jesus as Savior we will LIVE forever in joy and peace with Him.”
If you’re out of breath reading the above paragraph, you’ll see my topic fires me up. Satan thought he won by deceiving humankind so that they would be forever impacted by God’s judgment, but he was wrong. The person we are will never die and God, although he allowed the penalty for sin, loves us so much he forgives and Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us.
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us…Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:1-3).
Put that in your faith bank along with the hundreds of wonderful scriptures that tell us about the abundant life God gives here and beyond. The deposit will come in handy sometime. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Can you tell? You being filled with faith is the reason I wrote the book. When our Carolyn became ill, she fed her soul on the Word and songs such as It is Well with My Soul sung by Sandi Patti. She died with her confidence in God, which she dug for on her own. Some of our faith accounts didn’t have much to share. But the Lord keeps helping me make deposits and now I can share.
You can purchase Swallowed by LIFE from me, or www.Barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com
©Ada Brownell, Jan. 16, 2012

Going back to Shiloh with author Phillip Bryant

2012-01-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

They met at Shiloh

April 7th, 1862-- The battle has ended with the retreat of the Confederate army. Philip Pearson (a former Methodist Episcopal Minister) and his pards from the 25th Ohio Volunteers retraced their steps looking for wounded and fallen comrades.

A clearing revealed a sight equal to the ninth level of hell. Space opened in the trees, roughly twenty yards in length and ten in width, revealing a low-lying pond where wounded from both armies writhed side by side on muddy banks relieving their thirst. Many had life in them, but dozens lay still. Stepping around the pond was impossible without kicking some poor soul.

“God have mercy,” Philip whispered. Hospitals and aid stations on a battlefield were sights of suffering, but the sufferers knew help was on the way. This pitiful mass of bodies was a collection of all the desperately wounded on this side of the battlefield who had one desire in mind: water. They lay on top of each other, and those who did not have the strength or life left to draw their heads out of the water were pushed into the soft banks by those coming after. In their fight to relieve their thirst, man desecrated man to lap a few mouthfuls of bloody water.

“Have you ever seen the likes?” muttered Sammy.

The pond was tinged muddy red, and a few corpses were visible floating on the surface. They gazed in silent disgust and horror. Mule asked, “You think any of our pards made it this far?”

“Don’t know,” Johnny said quietly, “and I don’t think I can look.”

“Don’t we got to try?” Mule insisted.

“We din’t come here to help all them,” Johnny retorted. “We go down there, and they’re all gonna want our help.”

**********
Comments from Phil:

I have always been a civil war history buff, ever since I was 12. My personal library is full of history books and I've read anything that would tell me a story about an event. As a youth, play usually entailed being a soldier, be it with Star Wars figures, G.I. Joe or whatever was on hand to make a uniform and a weapon. My poor brother had to endure all this, even to the tune of being shot accidentally with a BB gun!

My first novel, They Met at Shiloh, had its germination from something a good friend of mine wrote. A group of us in college had been friends for several semesters. For Christmas one year, he wrote a story with everyone as a character. It was an interesting thing to do and everyone loved it.

Not to be outdone I decided to write something with all of them in it, but this would be a novel. I'd spent the summer of 1987 at my parent's home after army basic training. With nothing to do I started piecing together notes and research on the civil war battle of Shiloh. I'd been to the battlefield as a child and it was a dramatic story in itself. Conflict in the high Union command, distrust in the confederate command, opportunities lost, and a reversal of fortune gave Shiloh all the elements of a good story.

I have been a civil war reenactor for the last fifteen years. Reenacting allowed me to experience some of the privations of soldier life. Marching, sleeping in the open in all weather, camp life, fatigue and guard duty, period rations and period ways of cooking them, and standing in line of battle. I was able to weave these details into the narrative to give it a realistic feel. Because the outcome of the battle is known to history, the details and character focus were critical to giving life to my narrative.

I wanted to portray a realistic view of faith. Personal faith played a much larger role in the lives of our forebear's than we see today in our current society. I didn't want a sappy everyone gets saved view either, but a treatment of how faith and various iterations of that faith interacted in the time period. Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans all coexisted in regiments and had common bond in liturgy and practice. I wasn't going to shy away from the obvious influence of faith and war. Up until the Civil War the Army did not have a policy for regimental Chaplains, they could be elected or appointed by the commander if he wished, but the War Department put such a level of importance to the position that selection of Chaplains was codified and a rigorous review process was instituted to ensure that only ministers of good standing and active in their denominations could hold the post of Chaplain. A high priority was placed on the spiritual well being of soldiers by both sides of the conflict. I have tried to give that some flavor.

What I was writing was character, and in particular, soldier centric. It was a look at how a battle could exert its own influence upon the characters, treating it as a character itself. This was a unique approach to the subject and has been hard to categorize for purposes of marketing as it falls outside several norms. It's an hour by hour look at how Shiloh unfolded and how the characters coped with stress and loss.
Buy both the paperback and the e-book at Amazon.com

More from guest Phillip Bryant, author of They Met at Shiloh

2012-01-11T05:33:00.000-08:00

I started writing as a serious venture back in 2001. Finishing a half written book was to be my target. As part of this, I started looking around at what my options where. There was self-publishing and there was traditional. I wasn't going to self-publish necessarily, but I needed to understand the market and the process. I started by looking at magazines for short story publication. I was writing a lot in those days, having the spirit and energy that comes with any new undertaking.

As I started piling up the rejections and delving into the business I realized that the process was there to keep you at arm's length. The gate keepers were legion and the options few. In my youthful zeal I missed the point of the business. It wasn't to make stars, it was to make profit. No business can survive unless it does, but that did not assuage the betrayal I felt nonetheless. I was betrayed by my own ignorance and pie in the sky aspirations about what writing and creating meant. I gave up for a time, jaded by the oft cold and inhuman rejections.

Then I found her. Julia Cameron. Her books on the creative process (The Right to Write and The Artist's Way) revived me. I began writing again, not to publish but to write because what I was hearing needed to be written down. I was learning to quiet the editor and critic in my head so the child could come out and play once again. That is all that creativity is, I was learning, child's play. Any creativity, no matter how lofty the words or heady the imaginings; it is play. The child cannot play while the adult is watching sternly from afar.

Then I met another, not to let loose of my love affair for alas my mentoring is not monogamous. Madeline L'Engle. Her book on the creative process, Walking on Water, put what Cameron was often unwilling or able to say, that all creativity and art comes from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. L'Engle confirmed for me that art is not only a creative act, but is as close as we come to touching the transformative in this life. All good art is of, and points to, Christ. When I was writing They Met at Shiloh and listening to the story, participating in the work and not controlling it, I was playing my part in creation.

I've recently picked up Michael Card's Scribbling in the Sand. It has reminded me that I participated in the creative process to glorify God if I truly was listening. I've become a rankings and follower junky, checking to see if another sale has come in, checking to see if I've beaten my previous days page views on my blog, worrying that all my efforts and plans are for naught, becoming frustrated that what I want is not coming fast enough. This, too, I shall give unto God and get out of the way of His work. Creating, listening, is when we come the closest to touching the divine work that we are in Him.
One way I approached Shiloh:
I have been a civil war reenactor for the last fifteen years. Reenacting allowed me to experience some of the privations of soldier life. Marching, sleeping in the open in all weather, camp life, fatigue and guard duty, period rations and period ways of cooking them, and standing in line of battle. I was able to weave these details into the narrative to give it a realistic feel. Because the outcome of the battle is known to history, the details and character focus were critical to giving life to my narrative.

What I was writing was character, and in particular, soldier centric. It was a look at how a battle could exert its own influence upon the characters, treating it as a character itself. In 2001 I began a rewrite of what I'd begun, narrowing down the character list and expanding my research. At the time I began researching, I had only what existed in my own personal library and the public library. By the time I finished, I had whatever I could find on the internet, details that I would have needed to travel to private or small collections were readily accessible off of blogs and specialty webpages.

History is story. Some of the best history books being written today by authors like Gordon C. Rhea whose series of books on the last campaign of the war or Peter Cozzen's series on the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi West, both non-academic historians, combine the facts and figures in a narrative prose that reads like a story. In a similar vein, my desire is to take the same facts and figures and make them into a story, one that can be both educational and entertaining for the civil war aficionado and uninitiated alike.

A Train-Stopping Message

2012-01-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

My husband, Les, stood beside the railroad tracks holding a long “Y” stick high while a speeding train thundered toward him, quaking the ground and the wind from the locomotive flapping his clothes. The engineer stretched his arm out the engine window and stuck it through the Y. His arm hooked the twine Les had inserted in the upper arms of the stick with a message attached.
            The message told the railroad crew to pull the train into a siding to allow an oncoming freight to pass or to beware of a hazard ahead such as a rockslide or a train going the same direction.
           Dispatchers and telegraph operators like Les used Morse code to help direct train movements before Centralized Traffic Control was invented and installed. Today CTC allows a dispatcher to govern a whole state’s train movements electronically.
            Like the railroad traffic lights of today or the train messages Les tied in twine, I’ve found God sends important messages through the Holy Spirit’s whispers, through pastors, teachers, the Word, or circumstances. Some messages are wonderful news. But there also are warnings.
          It’s up to me to grab them and apply them to my life.

I am a writer and often the Lord talks to me when I’ve having my devotions. I used to feel guilty when I jumped up from my knees to scribble an idea. Yet, when I take time to develop these ideas, see them published and people are encouraged, I understand I listened to His voice.

         Sometimes, however, the Lord reminds me to pray for and contact someone who is going through a difficult time. That’s His Spirit speaking, too.
       His Word frequently talks to me about my spiritual growth and one verse that frequently runs through my mind is, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath” (James 1:19) and Jesus’s command to love God, then my neighbor as myself.

Guest blogger author/evangelist Zeke Lam

2012-01-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

Zeke, founder of SubMISSION Ministries with children in the Dominican Republic. He also is author of the book, SubMISSION The Amazon link is: http://www.amazon.com/subMISSION-heeding-only-His-voice/dp/193748100X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325343753&sr=8-1

From Ada: We are always happy to host other authors who have an encouragement ministry. The bad news is Zeke Lam focuses on submission--something vital to our Christian walk but often difficult to achieve with our stubborn natures. For instance, God's Word says in Ephesians 5:23-25 "Wives submit to your husbands. in all your ways submit to him (the Lord), and he will make your paths straight. We're told, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:20-22). Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:6-8).
Each new day is an experience of submitting to God. That means when He told me to be content in the little town with only 98 people, four bars and no church, I needed to start a Sunday school. God did His part and sent a helper. When I submit to my husband he knows he has responsibility for his decisions, so takes them more seriously. When we submit to other people out of reverence for Christ, we grow in character and humility and gain respect if we do it correctly.
Submission is all wound up in picking up our cross and following Jesus, and taking His yoke upon us so He can lead us.
So with this introduction, here's Zeke:

Preparing for Obedience
By Zeke Lam

So often we cry out to God for His working in and through our lives. We beg for His will and plan to become clear to us day by day. In those quiet moments when we feel as if God has forgotten about us, our only yearning is His leading. In this condition of longing for His voice, it is absolutely critical that we prepare ourselves to respond when the call comes forth.

             Preparing for obedience is about daily crucifying the desires of our flesh so that the works of Christ can be manifested in our lives. Galatians 2:20 states: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.” Why is this so critical one might ask? Often times, God may bring forth a call that does not come close to what you had in mind. He may ask you to sacrifice in ways you never imagined. He may ask you to do things you never thought you were capable of or comfortable with. If we do not prepare ourselves for absolute obedience, the call may come and we may not answer.
            When we crucify any and all personal, fleshly desires and willfully submit to God’s purpose for our lives, we position ourselves for His glory. As we daily surrender to Him, His desires become our desires and we prepare our hearts to obey no matter what God asks of our lives. In this spiritual condition, we remain active and ready to respond to His call upon our lives.
            Consider an athlete for example. Often times they know not when that BIG moment will arrive, but he or she must steadfastly prepare for that "such a time as this" moment. Are you daily preparing yourself for obedience? If not, one of two things will happen. 1) You will not hear the call. 2) You hear but do not have the courage to obey. God has a mighty plan for you! Prepare to respond to the call.
            Faithfulness and intimacy with the Father is the only way to ensure that you and I remain in a condition that is prepared to obey His voice when it is our time to be used. Consider Abraham as you analyze and ponder this subject. Because he pursued a relationship with God, he was willing to offer his son as a sacrifice. Abraham could have rationalized in a number of ways. First, this was his son! Who could possibly slay his own flesh and blood? Also, Isaac was the promised seed. Sacrificing him had to appear contrary to God’s plan. Despite these two intense factors, Abraham prepared his heart to obey the command of his Father.
            The question is not, “Will God speak?” The question is, will we obey?”

To order book, use link above

Profitable exercise

2011-12-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

In this day of aerobics, weight lifting and jogging, I’ve pondered why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Bodily exercise profits little” (1 Timothy 4:8KJ).
Then I got to thinking about it. It makes no sense to wave my arms around and kick the air for 30 minutes when dust is hiding everywhere, dirt streaks the windows, and clutter threatens my every move.
Instead, I found it more profitable to reach and stretch, reach and stretch, reach and stretch moving the vacuum sweeper back and forth; bend and stand, bend and stand, bend and stand, picking up toys, unloading the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, loading the washing machine, unloading the dryer, bend and fold, bend and fold.
I lived in homes with stairs most of my life and when I was delivering laundry it was better than a stair stepper at the health club.
But, let’s be honest here. I did like to jog, walk, swim and play tennis. After the five children grew up and I started getting pudgy I increased activity. Paul’s admonition to Timothy, however, was still not far from my mind. Almost as soon as I started my early morning jog, my body would go on automatic and I could forget the motions my feet were making. I could whisper praises to the Lord with my running shoes hitting the pavement. I could petition God for needs, especially for the family. I made use of that time for spiritual benefit.
This extra prayer brought wonderful answers.
I learned I could pray, work on a Sunday school lesson, memorize scripture and outline books or articles, discover the dimensions of my fiction characters and figure out how to get them out of crises, while my hands and feet accomplished other things—whether fixing dinner, washing dishes, vacuuming, making beds, jogging or riding a bike.I often keep a pad and paper nearby.
Today, outside of work around the house (see how much motion you get from painting), most of my exercise is walking. But I still often pray or mentally work on things I need to think about whether I'm walking on the track at the fitness center, in the mall (not shopping) with my husband, or around the neighborhood.
Thinking time should be profitable time. In Philippians 4:8-9, the Apostle Paul told the Philippians church about thinking profitable thoughts. We need to feed our mind good things, then ponder them, meditate on them, and allow them to bear fruit.
If we read the scripture about exercise in context in the New International Version we understand more about what the Apostle was talking about when he discussed physical and spiritual fitness. He says, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 5:7-8)NIV).
We have other promises about gaining spiritual strength such as Isaiah 40:29-31: "He gives power to the weak,and to those who have no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Now that is profitable exercise!
-- Ada Brownell’s latest book, Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, is available at http://amzn.com/1466200936

The promise: Do you stagger?

2011-12-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

Ever found your faith shriveled and weak?

Recently I've been praying for some specific needs, then wondered whether I'm up to fulfilling everything I feel God called me to do.

I've studied Hebrews 11, known as the Bible's "faith chapter," diligently. But then one day I backed up into Hebrews 10 and found some things to which I should pay attention.

Beginning at verse 19 is advice to persevere. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful," we're advised. After prompting us to turn our backs on sin, remember what Christ has done for us and to continually meet together with believers (attend services) we are told, "Do not throw away your confidence: it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."

I was reminded about what I read about Abraham. Although the man had waited--what seemed like forever--for God to fulfill his promise and Sarah tried to help God out, we're told, "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God" (Romans 4:20)

Another scripture tells us to "not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galations 6:9).

The light dawned on me that the way to avoid staggering and fainting is to be strong and healthy spiritually. I do that by hearing the Word, believing the Word and then I can share the Word and believe God for great things.

I also know faith is an act of the will. I need to quit staggering and take the leap.

OPPORTUNITY: BEFORE IT MELTS

2011-12-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

We came home from a Sunday evening service after a snowstorm sprayed our hill with glimmering icy beauty. The air was fresh and invigorating.

“Let’s go sledding!” I said as everyone got out of the car. It was a ridiculous suggestion for a mother with five children who should be getting ready for bed.

Yet, we grabbed warm clothes, sleds and hit the hill. Flakes were still descending, but darkness wasn’t a problem. Streetlights shone from above and the white earth glowed in response.

Since I was supposed to be the grown up, I tugged sleds to the top for the smaller ones, while the children flew down the slick slope, frigid air kissing their pink cheeks while squeals of joy trailed each descent.

Even when the sleds returned to the garage and the children crawled into their toasty beds, the aroma of joy lingered about our house.

The next morning, the sun ruined the slope before we had breakfast.

I’ve learned life sometimes is like snow. Opportunities to share my love, joy, faith and abundance won’t always be there. I have to prod myself to seize the moment. Often I’ve failed, but I’ve enjoyed the wonder of grasping a tiny block of time and making good things happen I had no idea would result.

Sometimes I don’t know if anything good happened from what I shared—but I always know opportunities are like the snow. We have to get to them before they melt.

The Chicken's Tail

2011-12-14T05:42:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, our family went to church most Sundays knowing dinner was still running around in the chicken pen.

            Whether we got out at noon or 1 o’clock, the family tackled the necessary chores to put dinner on the table. Dad or one of my brothers caught the chickens. Mom put water on to boil and went to the cellar for vegetables and fruit. My older sisters, four of them until they started getting married, peeled potatoes and helped prepare other side dishes. Dad or a brother killed the fryers, dunked them in boiling water, plucked them, and over an open flame burned off pinfeathers.
          Mom washed and cut up the chickens, immersed them in flour, salt and pepper, and slithered the pieces into the frying pan. The aroma filled the comfortable two-story house.
          As the youngest, I helped set the table and fill the glasses.
            Often friends, relatives, preachers or missionaries joined the 10 of us for dinner. After someone prayed, Mom glanced around at each child and said, “FHB.” Translation: “Family Hold Back. Don’t take all the food before our guests have some.”
            Since I was the youngest, I usually got a meaty “wishbone” which you don’t see when you buy a cut-up chicken today. Mom always ate the chicken’s tailpiece.
          “I like it,” she’d say with a smile.
            It was a bony piece, and none of us liked the idea of eating the “last piece over the fence.”
            Years later, after I became a mother, I understood why Mom loved the tailpiece. It was because she loved us and wanted us to have the meatier parts.
            Sacrifice is just part of love. Jesus gave us that example when he sacrificed Heaven and came to earth to suffer and die so that we could have eternal life. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
            I’ve always been a little like the chicken’s tail piece—last in many ways, and not the most beautiful and desirable. But Somebody loves me anyway.

Unemployed free lance writers? Advice from John-Boy Walton

2011-12-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

        John Boy Walton sat on the back step of the two-story house, still in shock from what his writer-professor told him that afternoon. The words kept ringing in his ears. “Only a handful of writers make a living at their craft,” the wise man revealed.   “If you plan to be a writer, you still need another vocation."
       John Boy scrawled “10,000” in the sand between his feet as he recalled something else he read.
     Jim Bob looked down at the number, then stared at his big brother. “What’s that mean?”
       The wanna-be writer looked at his little brother. “I heard today 10,000 writers are unemployed in our nation.”
       “Didn’t you tell me writers are their own bosses and work for themselves?” Jim Bob asked. “If writers are their own boss, how can they be unemployed?”
        A smile wiggled its way to John-Boy’s mouth. Perhaps his future wasn’t as dim as he had begun to believe.
        I need to think about that. How am I doing as my own boss? Am I sometimes acting as if I’m unemployed? Or am I on vacation? Or do I look at the clock, head for the computer and put my time in—as any employee would do for his boss? Or do I put in my time like I would as the owner of the business?
        What about that short story, the poem, that novel in your head that hasn’t even been offered to the world? What about the op-ed piece for the local newspaper? The blog? How can your business grow if the doors are closed all the time?
       Bosses pay attention to time and I’m reminding myself of that. The spiritual harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few—and we’ve been called to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that Jesus commanded. Furthermore, He promised to be our mentor, promising, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20).
        I'm going for it!

Swallowed by LIFE available now

2011-12-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

My new book, Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, is now available on Amazon.com at http://amzn.com/1466200936

Did you know science shows we’re more than flesh and blood?

Discover the amazing facts in my new book, Swallowed by LIFE.
“Swallowed by Life,” is a term from scripture: “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life” ( 2 Corinthians 5:4 NLT).
The book is written for those who are curious about the eternal, religion classes, individuals who fear death, the grieving, support groups, people with chronic or terminal illness and those who give them counsel. Each chapter has a question and answer section.
Swallowed by LIFE is available now at Amazon.com. It should be available soon on other outlets, including the CreateSpace e-store.

God's Leading is Better than a GPS

2011-12-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

Read Romans 10:9-15

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalms 37:23KJV).

Thompson, Utah, a dusty windswept town in the Utah desert, boasted a population of 98 when we moved there. Thompson had no church, three bars, and the two grocery stores were in the bars.
             Although we drove 40 miles to church on Sunday, my husband and I were lonely. We didn’t fit in Thompson. I wondered why God directed us to such a place.
            I was discouraged. I’d been the youth leader in my home town, and we had been having marvelous services. I’d pray and cry out to God, “How did we miss your will, Lord, by coming to this place?”
            We escaped when my husband bid on another railroad job, but not long afterward, we were back in Thompson. On the railroad, if somebody wants your job and has the opportunity and the seniority, he bumps you. Thompson was still dusty, the town’s residents still congregated in the bars, and I was still lonely.
            My husband began playing on the Thompson/Crescent Junction baseball team, and we finally met nice folks who just needed to know Jesus and God began to do a work in me. Their children were familiar with worldly ways, but unfamiliar with God and His love. I told the Lord if He would send me a helper, I’d start a Sunday school.
          Within a week, a Baptist lady about my age, a good Christian, Doris Louton, who knew how to teach and do crafts, moved to town and we started Sunday school in the schoolhouse. Children came and learned Jesus came to earth, died and rose again so they could live forever. The kids accepted the gospel joyously. On Easter, several parents came.
           Thompson is where I began writing for Christian publications and newspapers, too.
           We moved in about a year, and no matter where we lived, I prayed for my Thompson children, that others would minister to them during their lives and that they would hold on to Jesus.
           Although I complained at first, when I obeyed God and did what He wanted me to do there, I never regretted God leading me that special place in the desert.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to always remember if you direct my footsteps, it’s better than a GPS.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sometimes the feet God wants to move are mine.

PRAYER FOCUS: People near my home who have never heard the gospel.

©Ada Brownell, 2011

Interview with author Lillian Duncan: faith mingled with ...murder and mayhem.

2011-12-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

Why do I interview novelists on my encouragement blog? One reason is because our society needs good clean entertainment that also often provides spiritual encouragement as well.
I reviewed Lillian Duncan's book, Pursued, on several online websites and gave it five stars. Now she has a new book coming out in a few days, Deception. So I've interviewed her to find out what makes her tick.
Here are the cover and a blurb about the book:

Twins are supposed to have an unbreakable bond, but Patti and Jamie have serious relationship issues. They haven’t spoken since Jamie ruined Patti’s upcoming nuptials years ago. When a niece she knows nothing about telephones, Patti must unravel the yarn of Jamie’s life and her mysterious disappearance.Detective Carter Caldwell takes his job seriously, and it's his job to keep Patti and her niece safe. But Patti is determined to help find her sister. As the investigation grows more dangerous, Carter begrudgingly admits the safest place for Patti is at his side. Each step in their journey leads them closer to the truth but pulls them further down a road filled with danger and deception, where each will battle for survival and the lives of countless Americans.

ADA: I like your signature tag, Faith mingled with …murder and mayhem. I saw that in your first book, Pursued. How did you happen to write these types of books?
LILLIAN: I write the kind of book that I like to read. I love mysteries and suspense but mainstream novels in that genre became so full of four- letter words and explicit sex scenes, I stopped reading a lot of them. So, when I started writing, it was natural for me to write action, mystery, and suspense.
ADA: Tell us about your new novel, Deception. Is it the same genre?
LILLIAN: Deception is a suspense novel with a romantic subplot, but it’s not considered romantic suspense because it’s more suspense than romance. I hope that makes sense.
ADA: What is your background in writing?
LILLIAN: I’ve been writing for 16 years. I have four published novels, all have some form of action/adventure and suspense in them. My fourth novel, Pursued, was released in July after a five year break from my third release.
ADA: Your ultimate goal?
LILLIAN: To write stories that entertain Christians and non-Christians as well.
ADA: Your biggest challenge?
LILLIAN: Marketing. I’m a bit on the shy side and do not like the marketing aspect that comes with being a published writer. I’m starting to get the hang of it, though!
ADA: Your ultimate satisfaction?
LILLIAN: I’d be thrilled to have one of my novels become a best seller...but I’m just happy writing stories that get published and my readers enjoy.
ADA: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
LILLIAN: Start writing NOW! Don’t wait until you learn what you think you need to know before you write. If you are a life-long reader (and most fiction writers are), then you will have an instinct of what to do. Not that we don’t need to learn more but the best way to become better at writing is...to write!
ADA: Are you a full-time writer?
LILLIAN: Well...if you count the hours I put toward writing in a year’s time, then I’d say yes, I am. If you mean do I have another job that helps pay the bills, then no I’m not a full-time writer. However, I am semi-retired which allows me plenty of time to write.
ADA: How do you fit writing into your life?
LILLIAN: I don’t fit writing into my life. Writing is a big part of my life and most of my other activities get fitted in around my writing. My husband knows that I’m going to go up to my office and write for a few hours on work days and that I’m going to spend at least 3-5 hours there on non-work days and he’s okay with that.
I wouldn’t be a writer right now without his encouragement and support.
ADA: Where can your books be purchased?
LILLIAN: they can be found on most of the major online bookstores—Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Also on my publishers website at www.whiterosepublishing.com
Lillian Duncan lives in Ohio Amish country with her husband, four parrots, one Jack Russell, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Whether as a speech-language pathologist, an educator, or as a writer, she believes in the power of words to change lives, especially God’s Word.Lillian believes books can be entertaining without being trashy. She writes the types of books she loves to read, suspense with a touch of romance. Her newest release is PURSUED and her fifth novel, DECEPTION, will be released on December 30^th . Her website is: www.lillianduncan.net and her blog is www.lillianduncan.wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LillianDuncan.

Suspense for Christmas?

2011-11-28T10:14:00.001-08:00

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12487542-the-christmas-witness" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iLsbInkZL._SX106_.jpg" />The'>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12487542-the-christmas-witness">The Christmas Witness by Susan'>http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4053429.Susan_Sleeman">Susan Sleeman

My rating: 5'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/240656424">5 of 5 stars

When suspense novelists sit down to write a book, they put their main character in a terrible predicament and then make things worse.
The character tries to escape or hide, but then his plan only complicates things.
On and on the story goes with one problem developing after another, each worse than the last. Writers use anything that prickles or unsettles. That is a surefire way to lure the reader into the next scene/chapter.
That’s the case with Susan Sleeman’s The ChristmasWitness The inspirational romance drops us in Megan Cash’s life after the man she testified against in court is released from prison, planning to make good on his threat to kill her.
A former FBI agent comes back into Megan’s life. Although he feels he should be her protector, she’s not crazy about him hanging around. Yet, she needs help.
Megan’s daughter suffers from cancer and the ex-con uses the little girl to try to get at her mother. Then he asks for a bundle of cash to leave her alone.
But, as in typical suspense novelist fashion, things keep going from bad to worse.
I recommend The Christmas Witness for folks who enjoy a book that grabs them and won’t let go and who also enjoy a spiritual uplift.

View'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4403337-ada">View all my reviews

The greatest thing to learn about writing

2011-11-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

A famous Christian novelist recently told a friend she loves to sit in basic writing classes because she often picks up tidbits on the craft. The woman who shared this with me said she sees some of the top writers in our industry sitting under the teaching of others when she attends conferences.
     Just as we never “arrive” in our Christian walk here on earth, it seems we never know all we need to know about putting words together so they impart knowledge, bless or entertain, call souls to Christ or greater living.
     I’ve been free lancing since age 16. I knew little about the craft when I started, but ideas that I felt needed sharing kept popping into my head. I also had a “fire shut up in my bones” that compelled me to share the gospel.
      A couple of patient editors became my mentors.” If you could shorten this article a little”; or “Add anecdotes to this one and we can use it.”
      In the 1960s I landed a job as a newspaper reporter in a city of 100,000 without ever taking a journalism course and worked three years until we had our third child. I stayed home with the children, added a couple more, and continued to free lance for the next 20 years. But I knew I wrote with an incredible deficit, so I took nine English credits from the University of Colorado Extension Division. I’d completed a course in writing for Christian publications not long after I started selling free lance, and later completed a novel writing course.
       The day came when we needed more income to send those five children to Christian colleges. During a time when we had two children in higher education, I enrolled at a nearby state school, took out the highest amount in student loans, applied that to the children’s tab, and started. I completed a four-year degree in 2 ½ years, taking 22 and 24 semester-hour credits a semester, motivated to get out before I was old enough for Social Security.
        When I graduated , the same newspaper I worked for in the 1960s created a reporting job for me.
I worked 17 years as a journalist, and during my adult life I’ve had few years I didn’t have at least one free lance article published. I’ve had one book, several chapters in books, and more than 250 articles and stories published in religion publications.
        Since I retired I’ve written two novels that I am now marketing and a non-fiction book, Swallowed by LIFE, will be on Amazon in December.
      Yet, the publishing industry has changed. A writer may crash into defeat in one area, but find opportunities from here to cyberspace.
      Constants, however, do not change. The Christian writer has a dimension beyond the secular, and simple things like showing instead of telling and active verbs still improve our work.
      Don’t forget one of the greatest things you’ll learn about writing: You’ll never be a writer unless you start with the first sentence, keep going until you complete the last sentence, then send it to the publisher you had in mind when you started.

Win spiritual warfare with giving thanks

2011-11-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

Gratitude changes my attitude.
Sometimes I forget when I pray, seeking God for specific needs, that I should be thankful first. The Apostle Paul instructed us “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).
He precedes that statement in verse 4 with “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.”
I am amazed sometimes at how many things I have to be thankful for. There is no way I can name them all, but at the top of the list is God’s mercy, love and caring. I’m so thankful Jesus came to give us abundant life here and for eternity.
I am thankful for my husband and family and that they have the Word of God planted in their hearts. We’re not a perfect bunch, but we are so blessed with children and grandchildren who love and serve Jesus.
I’m thankful for America and freedom.
I’m thankful for friends, those I know personally and those I’ve interacted with online. I pray for friends I see often who have needs, but also pray for others I seldom see and those I haven’t seen who check out my blog from the United States and about a dozen other countries.
I was amazed when I looked at my blog’s stats and discovered I have hits from all those nations. I thank God for all of you who connect here. I hope you are blessed and encouraged in the Lord.

Here are a few scriptures on gratitude:

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

“I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8).

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

“But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

“Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever” (Revelation 7:12).

Although Thanksgiving might not be a holiday in your nation, may God grant every one of you no matter where you live, a grateful heart. In his instructions in Philippians Paul said when we enter the gates to speak to God and are thankful, “The peace of God, which passes understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Book I reviewed for Jenny B. Jones: There You'll find me

2011-11-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

Finley Sinclair is searching and she hopes to find what she needs in Ireland.
Unlike so many of her friends and other young women, Finley isn’t hunting for a man to make her complete. Her goal is to become a student at the Manhattan Music Conservatory, but first she must write the ending of an original piece of music, perform well at the audition, and come to grips with the death of her brother, Will.
Will visited Ireland before his death and left a diary and photos about his experiences and travels. Finley wants to follow his footsteps and most of all, find the cross in one of the photos.
I liked Finley from the first page of the book despite her obsession with exercise and her fascination with trying to eat healthy. Finley had her eyes on a goal, and despite the need for a counselor in her past, appears to know how to go around obstacles, avoid distractions and cover the distance to success. Yet, a piece of her is missing because she believes God is ignoring her.
So when the teen idol Beckett Rush enters her life she’s the only girl around who doesn’t fall at his feet and pant. True, he has an awesome smile and is quite handsome when he’s not dressed as a vampire. But Finley is not impressed. Her lack of interest catches his eye and he figures out how to get to know her.
Finley has no time for an egotistical male, but the movie star gets a room at the Bed and Breakfast where she’s staying. She needs a tour guide and he needs a assistant to help him.
While Rush keeps hanging around, Finley becomes an encourager to an old bitter woman dying from cancer, while battling her own mammoth problems. Will the teenager find peace, comfort and victory over her eating disorder? Is the vampire actor as normal and genuine as he tries to appear? Or is he a playboy that often wears makeup and costumes?
As usual, Jenny B. Jones writes a wonderful story for young adults.
Not all of Finley's problems are completely solved by the end of the book, but the reader suspects this strong character that Jenny B. Jones has created will be victorious.

Guest: Chad Young, author of Authenticity

2011-11-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

“Good News, Good Deeds” by Chad Young

“Recognizing that my calling had been given by God, James, Peter and John – the pillars of the church – shook hands with me and Barnabas, assigning to us a ministry to the non-Jews, while they continued to be responsible for reaching out to the Jews. The only additional thing they asked was that we remember the poor, and I was already eager to do that.” (Galatians 2:9-10 from The Message)
****

I find it interesting that the leaders of the early church assigned Paul the task of reaching out to the Gentiles both by sharing the gospel and by remembering the poor. Sometimes the church does one or the other really well, but it often fails to do both. We can help the needy with physical needs without sharing the good news that Christ died for our sins, but we aren’t addressing their deepest spiritual need for a relationship with God. On the flipside, if we share the gospel but don’t help the poor, we don’t truly love people the way God intended.

       This past summer, I led a mission project in Charleston, SC. Each Saturday morning, I was joined by 70 college students as I attempted to minister to families in low-income areas of Charleston. We handed out free groceries, cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, and played with the children from the neighborhood. Anytime one meets someone with needs far greater than their own, the experience is memorable. On one occasion, however, one of our helpers, “Bill,” a rising sophomore at the College of Charleston, made a comment that really impacted me.
         When Bill introduced himself, he said, “I’m an agnostic, and I’m trying to learn all I can about all of the religions so I can make an intellectual choice regarding which religion is true. This is my fourth week coming out here with you guys. I came to help the poor, but I really like what you are doing. It seems that Christianity involves putting your faith into action. I plan on continuing to be involved.”
        When we put our faith into action, others take notice. This is the kind of faith we were created to have, and this is the kind of lifestyle many people like Bill are searching for. Why do you think the Jerusalem apostles stressed that Paul “remember the poor” (2:10)? Does your personal life reflect the importance of this?
        Spend some time reflecting on this passage and confessing any sins these verses reveal in your life. What are changes you need to make in how you spend your time or money? Thank God that he’s always provided for you – beyond just your needs. Ask him to guide you and direct you on where you should invest your time and finances. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

About the Author:

Chad Young is the author of Authenticity: Real Faith in a Phony, Superficial World, available at Amazon. As Campus Crusade for Christ’s director for the South Carolina Lowcountry with a scope of 25 college campuses and 70,000 students, Chad resides in Charleston, SC, with his wife Elizabeth and their four young children: Wyatt, Clark, Evelyn and Josilynn. He holds an undergraduate degree from Clemson University and a graduate degree from Georgia Tech; Chad worked in the paper industry for 6 years before going into full-time ministry. He has served on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ for 9 years and has also written a discipleship training manual. He has a passion for helping students learn what it means to have an authentic relationship with Christ.

Sample news release

2011-11-15T17:23:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Former medical reporter addresses
Mysteries of eternal life in new book

Nov. 5, 2011

SPRINGFIELD, MO—Thousands of U.S. citizens suffer from terminal and chronic illnesses at any given time.
        Just as we know leaves on a tree will one day flutter to the ground, we all know our days on earth are numbered. But what then?
        Ada Brownell thought she knew all the answers until she and her husband lost their 31-year-old daughter to cancer. Did she believe what she thought she did?
        That question haunted her until as a medical reporter for The Pueblo Chieftain in Colorado and a student of the Bible, she searched for evidence that we are more than a body.
She discovered science reveals death is swallowed by life continuously, our body constantly dying cell by cell and regenerating. She looks at how we began as single fertilized cells and we were the same person in the womb we are today. We can gain weight, have parts cut off or a surgeon could take out our hearts and replace them with someone else’s and we’re still who we’ve always been. Even parts of our brain can be removed or affected by disease, stroke or injury and we’re still the same person we were.
           Brownell found more evidence that we are more than flesh, and that brought her to the soul and our spiritual side. Then she wrote the book, Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal.
            She uses illustrations from physicians, patients, people who were near death or thought to be dead and were resuscitated, plus quotes from some of today’s renown regenerative medicine scientists.
            “Swallowed by Life,” is a term from scripture: “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life” ( 2 Corinthians 5:3-5 NLT).
           The author is an award-winning medical and religion writer who worked 17 years as a journalist, the last seven years reporting on discoveries about the Human Genome; neurology; mental illness; cancer; disease prevention; treatments; medications; and other medical news. In addition to her newspaper writing, approximately 250 of her articles and stories have been published in religion publications. Her book, Confessions of a Pentecostal, was published by the Assemblies of God and she has chapters in five other books.
Swallowed by Life will be available on Amazon.com about Dec. 1, 2011.
For a review copy, more information, an interview or to schedule a speaking engagement, contact her at ada@adabrownell.com

HOW TO WRITE A NEWS RELEASE

2011-11-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

I was a daily newspaper reporter who received dozens of news releases every day. Here's some of the advice I gave Ozarks Chapter of American Christian Writers recently.

NEWS RELEASES

· Use a professional-looking letterhead.
· Insert the date
· Contact: Name
Address
  Phone
E-mail Address

· If you are promoting a book and free review copies are available upon request, say so. You also can send out news releases in advance for speaking engagements.
· Write your headline. Mine would say something such as:
   Former medical reporter addresses death, resurrection
   and the eternal in new book, Swallowed by Life
   Pick out the most important nugget about the book for the headline.
· Use a dateline (Place of origin. Some might actually include the date). The date line is all caps: SPRINGFIELD, MO—
· Start your lead, literally your hook, right after the dateline. If you are speaking or doing a book signing, use that in your lead and maybe even the headline. If you have connections to the community, such as being a native, graduate of area schools, etc.
· If possible, it should be one page in length.
· Use pertinent information such as your summary sentence that describes the book, and about a paragraph of other description.
· If it’s non-fiction, add a few facts and quotes to support your book’s thesis.
· Add a short bio on your background in general and success as a writer.
                                                                                                                                                                                                               Copyright Oct. 1, 1011

Interview with novelist Erica Vetsch, a wonderful writer

2011-11-08T16:02:00.000-08:00

Erica Vetsch - Stories that Testify to Love Ada Brownell Blog Interview:

1. How did your style and voice develop with such rhythm, music, and clarity? Are you a musician? I can’t claim to be a musician, though I took piano lessons for ten years or so as a kid. My writing style and voice developed over the course of several years of writing fiction and a lifetime of reading fiction. I didn’t realize my voice had become distinctive until one of my crit partners judged a contest I had entered. (She didn’t know I’d entered, and I didn’t know she was judging.) She was able to identify my writing without my name being on the document. That’s when I knew I’d found my voice.

2. Does vivid description come naturally to you, or have you studied techniques and worked at it? Description is the part of fiction writing that comes the easiest for me. The techniques I have to employ and the work I have to put into it are all on the side of not putting too much in and allowing the characters to interact with the setting instead of just describing everything in great detail. I have to remember that I’m not writing a history book, but rather a story.
3. Do you need to constantly watch in order to show instead of tell, as you do so beautifully, or is that just the way you write? This takes constant vigilance, though it comes more naturally now. I tend to do more telling in my first draft, then go back and try to take it out and show instead during the editing process. I watch for my ‘telling words’ like felt, wondered, watched, thought, was, etc. Being careful to show instead of tell also helps with the description, because I think about what the character is thinking, seeing, smelling, touching, and incorporate that into the narrative.
4. What method do you use to develop your characters? I am a plot-first novelist. My stories are usually sparked by reading history books or biographies. Then it is a matter of discovering which type of person would have the most difficulty overcoming the story problem. One resource I love is: The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes and Heroines. This book helps me identify my character’s personality type and how that type interacts/reacts to other types.
5. What prompted you to write a western? Some of my historicals have been set in the American West, like A Bride’s Portrait of Dodge City, Kansas, some have been set in the Colorado Rockies during the silver boom there. Another series takes place in 1905 Gilded Age Duluth, MN. My voice and my passion seem best suited for historical romance. I love the research, the richness of the settings, and weaving true historical events and people into my stories. As to visiting Dodge, I haven’t been to Dodge, even though I am a Kansan, born and raised. I have spent time in Old Abilene Town and in the Cow-Town Museum in Wichita, as well as several other western frontier town museums.
6. What are your next projects and goals? I’m currently working on a new “Bride” book titled A Bride Sews With Love in Needles, CA set to release in November of next year. It’s a World War One era story about a Harvey Girl working in the El Garces hotel in Needles and the man the town has dubbed a coward because he hasn’t enlisted, but whom my heroine finds herself falling in love with anyway.
7. Tell us more about who you are and how you became a writer—condensed version. As I mentioned above, I’m a Kansan, born and raised, and I now live in Minnesota with my husband and two children. I’m a homeschool mom with one high school student and one in college. I’ve always been a voracious reader and constant daydreamer. A few years ago, I started writing fiction, first for my own pleasure, then in pursuit of publication. In 2008, I was awarded my first contract while at the ACFW conference. My first novel released in November of 2009, and since then, a dozen more books have followed. A Bride’s Portrait of Dodge City, Kansas is my first trade-length novel.

About the Book: Hoping to leave the shadows of her shady yesteryears behind, Adeline Reid is focusing on her photography career. But when her ex-boyfriend’s compatriot in crime shows up in Dodge City her entire past is threatened by exposure. Can Addie keep her secrets while helping to catch a killer? Deputy Miles Carr’s investigation into a shopkeeper’s murder leads him to Addie’s door. Will his attraction to this female photographer keep him from catching the true culprit? Or will Addie lead him off course in more ways than one?

Author Bio: Erica Vetsch is a transplanted Kansan now residing in Minnesota. She loves history and reading, and is blessed to be able to combine the two by writing historical fiction set in the American West. Whenever she’s not following flights of fancy in her fictional world, she’s the company bookkeeper for the family lumber business, mother of two terrific teens, wife to a man who is her total opposite and soul-mate, and avid museum patron.

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A Bride's Portrait of Dodge City, Kansas

2011-11-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a review of a Christian historical romance I read recently:

A BRIDE’S PORTRAIT
By Erica Vetsch

This interesting book might take place in Dodge—but it’s not “Gunsmoke.”

The setting is not the Long Branch Saloon, with its “attached” brothel. Much of this book takes place in a photography studio, the sheriff’s office, the mercantile, and the Wild West’s streets.
The leading man does carry guns on his hips, and he’s a deputy working for the legendary Bat Masterson. Of course, the leading lady is the photographer.
But another deputy, a gal that works at the mercantile, a slick handsome gambler that says he works for the railroad, also play a big part.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a western like this written by a blacksmith, but a female wordsmyth who creates a symphony with words while she wraps the reader around her plot’s baton?
Erica Vetsch’s words have cadence, rhythm, harmony, melody, percussion—words that sing. Vivid description, memorable characters, but also heart ache, secrets, murder, fear, greed and the fruits of the Spirit mingling to bring out truth and victory over evil.
The whole book has a voice and style I enjoyed. The characters are so believable I probably will think of them when I pass through Dodge again.
Here are a few samples of Erica’s writing:
Page 15: The smells of ink and beeswax furniture polish drifted over her. Everything in this bank bespoke of prosperity, from the shiny woodwork to the burgundy velvet wallpaper to the gleaming brass hardware. A row of teller windows took up the left-hand wall. Patrons stood patiently in line waiting for their turns, and Addie took her place at the tail end.
“Lord, please let the bank manager understand….”
Page 47: Miles’ chest squeezed. Just because something was legal didn’t make it right. The gambling, drinking, and immorality of Dodge City flew in the face of everything his newfound faith and God’s Word told him.
Page 255: Miles stared down at the unconscious form now sprawled across the bunk in the first cell. “I’m surprised you stood it for as long as you did. He had no call to say those things about Fran. He’s sloppy drunk, and he’s mean afterward.” And more slippery than a pickled onion.
This is one of those books that caught me in its pages and I found myself reading late into the night and once during a meal.
I love this era, and I enjoy good writing. I definitely will be interested in reading more of Erica Vetsch’s books.
NOTE: I was provided a review copy of this book.

NEVER GIVE UP

2011-10-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Comments after Friday night's championship game:
"This is why you keep batting," said David Freese who delivered the winning home run in Game 6 on the Cardinal's last strike. Freese was named most valuable player after Friday's win. "Sometimes things don't work out, you get injured, you do stupid stuff,but you try to stay on path.
"You surround yourself with guys like we have on this team."
"We just kept playing," commented Lance Berkman.
Albert Puljols: "The fans never gave up."
Yadier Molina: The pitcher, Chris Carpenter, had a little trouble the first few innings and Molina told him, "You've got plenty more."
The team was ectastic because Texas had been a formidable foe.
What kind of encouragement do we receive from God's Word to keep pressing on to fulfill our calling?
"Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world" Revelation 3:9-11 NLT
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us" Hebrews 12:1-3NLT
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" Galatians 6:8-10.

What we can learn from Freese

2011-10-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night it was a tied ballgame in overtime, the last out for the St. Louis Cardinals and the last strike for David Freese. The Texas Rangers stood ready to snatch the 2011 World Series from their grasp.
The Texas pitcher grasped the baseball and prepared to send St. Louis to the outfield. The ball, exceeding the speed limit on most freeways, headed for the plate and Freese's bat connected, arching the ball high above the field, over the wall and into the grassy area beyond.
Freese ran the bases and the St. Louis players and fans went berserk with joy. After a season of wins and disappointment and barely making it to the playoffs, they were within one game of being the champions.
They didn't quit. They kept believing they could do their best. Albert Puljols pointed up to give God the glory when he did well.
Most of the players embarrassed themselves every once in a while with a foolish error. But they didn't become professional baseball players by allowing their goofs to knock them off course. They alway kept trying.
Seventy years ago, on Oct. 29, 1941,Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited England's Harrow School.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense," Churchill said.
Things were looking up a bit for Britain. The German World War II bombing blitz on London was over. They needed some encouragement.
Even today, we can use encouragement as well, but we also need to make up our minds to never give in to adversity.
* Never give up on freedom in our nation.
* Never give up on your loved ones.
* Never give up on doing your best.
* Never give up living for the God who loves you. Keep your heart's door locked to Satan.
* Never give up on believing God will take care of you, bless you, use you, and lead you.
* Never give up praying and reading God's Word.
* Never give up looking up--for the Lord Jesus to come and catch away the church.
Never, ever, give up. You never know when the swing of your "bat" (the talent you hold in your hand) will be a home run.
Never, ever, give up being on the winning team that defeats the enemy of their souls, and will make Heaven their home.
Never give up.

Guest post from novelist Staci Stallings

2011-10-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

Ever Faithful

By Staci Stallings

For many years of my life, I wanted to be successful. I put a lot of effort into that endeavor. I worked and worked and worked. If I joined an organization, I had to be president because I wanted the organization to be successful and I wanted to be seen as a success in the organization. Success was my goal.

            After I started writing, I turned my success-orientation toward God. I wanted to be a success for Him. Somehow I thought that would prove to Him I was worthy of His love and gain me a place in His kingdom. I wanted Him to love me, and I thought the only way He would love me was if I was a success. Sad how some of us get so mixed up like that.
            It took seven years of writing, three years of publishing, and a gentle re-direct from God for me to see how wrong I had been the whole time. As always, I had been working and working and working, trying to get the publishing and marketing to work out. I put an enormous amount of time and effort into that endeavor. Still, things were not pointing toward me being a success. Even when I had successes, they were too small for me to acknowledge, and so I called them failures and resolved to do better.
            When I finally woke up to see that what I was doing was not what God required of me—that He didn’t require me to be a success for Him to love me—that was truly a revelation. In a very real way He saved me from me!
            Since then, lesson-by-lesson, I have learned to let go of doing it myself and to let Him take over the controls of my life. Not always easy for a control-freak, but by far the easier way to live once you get the hang of it.
            The other night in a sermon, God spoke to me in a way that made me smile. The pastor said, “God doesn’t require you to be a success. He only requires that you be faithful.” Well, that’s about as direct a message as you could get.
However, would I have heard those words ten years ago? Probably not, but they sure resonated with me the other night.
            The amazing thing is that a friend of mine and I have been talking about this very thing—being faithful. She said, “What I am learning is that God doesn’t even require us to be faithful because our faithfulness is imperfect. God simply wants to show us His faithfulness.”
            Wow! Not only do I not have to be a success to gain God’s approval, I don’t even have to be perfectly faithful to gain God’s approval! The more I thought about this, the clearer it became. Over and over and over again, God has shown me, “Staci, even when you fall, even when you’re discouraged, even when you feel like a failure, even when you’re scared, I am here—loving you, cheering you on, giving you Me.”
       With that understanding, how then, I ask you, could I ever feel like a failure? How could I ever think I was anything less than a success? And it has nothing at all to do with me. It has nothing to do with my performance, my plans, my control, my abilities, my knowledge, my understanding. It’s all about Him.
     His performance, His plans, His control, His abilities. His knowledge, His understanding, His wisdom, His love, His mercy. His faithfulness. In a very real way, all He asks of me is that I take a step back from me, look to Him, and marvel at His faithfulness. He is ever faithful to me. Not sometimes faithful. Not faithful when it’s easy or convenient. He is EVER faithful!
Just as He is ever loving. He is. And if I let my worth be based not on me but on Him, then I’m already a success.
Isn’t He the coolest?

Copyright Staci Stallings 2006

A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading.

Find Staci on the 'Net:

Facebook Author Page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spirit-Light-Author-Staci-Stallings/266593276699576
Staci's Bookshelf:
http://stacistallings.wordpress.com/
Spirit Light Books--The Blog
http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com/
Or...
Follow Staci on Twitter @StaciStallings

Need help

2011-10-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Two-year-old little Layla often says, "Need help."
She does it when she can't turn the door knob to go out into the yard. The little tyke did it the other night when company was in the house for dinner, the dog was in his kennel, but the door she liked to open in order to let her playmate out was turned to the wall.
"Need help," she said, turning to anyone in the room who would come and let the dog out.
Today we need help. I guess we've always needed supernatural help. but today we who live in the United States notice it more than perhaps our generation has any other time. Mexico has had 20,000 people killed near our border by the drug cartels. Iran is busily building nuclear bombs with a dream of wiping us and Israel off the map. Islamic terrorists hope to get our citizens a few at a time with a bombing here or there or to take down another plane or three.
Enemies outside our borders are devising ways to ruin America--the only place in the world where people want to live so badly we're thinking of building a fence to keep them out--in contrast to the countries who built walls to keep people in.
But we have problems at home also with too many unemployed, houses being repossessed, our economy in danger of collapsing, and thousands of unruly folks demonstrating in the streets.
We NEED HELP.
Many of us, like the Psalmist David, discovered our help comes from the Lord. Much of the church is praying for our nation. Yet, we don't need to worry about the politicians--although they need our prayers--but we need to pray for the church, and ask the Lord to make our hearts right. God said, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:13-15).
I pray for our leaders, but I also acknowledge that I am nothing but dust, and I seek God's forgiveness for all my sins.
We need to put God first in our lives once again, and walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. "Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-8).
Need help. The Lord has helped people who asked for His mercy in the past, and He will do it again.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1-3).

Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

I’ve heard the young people who are protesting on Wall Street and other large U.S. cities don’t have one identifiable reason for being there.
Some say they’re fussing because the Wall Street Fat Cats are licking up too much financial milk. Others talk about unemployment.
Some of them are there because they’ve been paid by unions and other organizations to go out and demonstrate, according to journalists who uncovered some of the advertising.
Whatever each person demonstrating says is the reason the crowds are creating a mess in New York and other cities, I discern they all have an inner basic yearning for which they are living on the streets—to make a difference in the world with their lives. To make their lives count for something bigger than themselves. They’re searching—but I don’t think they’ve found it.
When you’ve been taught you are no different from an animal and you arrived on earth by some accident that just happened to land you here with a perfect body and everything you need to sustain you available, including gravity to hold you, it’s difficult to find something meaningful to which you can devote your life.
In contrast, my family became devoted Spirit-filled Christians about the time I was born. I learned early that God—the Creator of the Universe—loves me and has a plan for my life. Now that I’ve lived a large percentage of my years, I see how His plan unfolded. Never in my dreams would I have thought I would have the privilege to be a newspaper reporter who in my columns and in meeting so many people could make an impact on people's lives.
I couldn’t have imagined that my writing in Christian publications could guide and encourage thousands of folks I’ve never met. My first book, Confessions of a Pentecostal, sold 7,000 copies while it was in print, but people are still asking for it, buying used copies on the internet and soon it will be an e-book.
My latest project, “Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal,” will be available on Amazon in November and I'm hoping it helps those with a terminal diagnosis, those who fear death, and the grieving.
Our wonderful children and grandchildren are other ways God has blessed my life.
Anyone who wants to make a difference in his own life and impact the world should investigate the Bible and who Jesus Christ is.
Christians created most of the hospitals around the world and missionaries, without fanfare, take medical relief to the poor here and in foreign countries. Churches now are drilling water wells in drought- and famine-stricken nations. They house the homeless and orphans, visit the lonely in prisons, nursing homes and mental centers. Christians started most of the educational institutions around the world, including our most prestigious universities. Harvard to train preachers. Yale for training in church work, civil duties, the arts and sciences. Vanderbilt for teaching law, medicine, theology and the arts. Baylor was the fruit of the Baptist General Convention. Boston University was started by Methodists for training in theology. Boston College was Catholic, as was Fordham. Cornell College was Methodist. Rutgers University for 80 years included the New Brunswick Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church of America.
The world still is being educated by Christians. Wycliff Translators, who are Christian missionaries, live with primitive tribes and give them a written language and then teach them to read. Wycliff translated the Bible into hundreds of languages, and brought literacy to many nations.
If you want to make a difference in the world, give your life to Jesus Christ. It’s a choice, you know. He will never barge into your heart without you inviting Him.
Jesus said, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (Revelation 3:19-21).

Joplin: Nothing left but the foundation

2011-10-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

On our way home this week after visiting family and the balloon festival in Albuquerque we stopped in Joplin again to view the tornado damage.
Although some businesses are being rebuilt and a few houses are in various stages of construction, concrete foundations and floor slabs are all that remain for the most part because of the storm that blew away about one-third of the city. I took a few photos of damaged buildings and piles of debris that once were schools, churches, adult education centers, dental and medical offices and St. John’s hospital.
One basement with a tarp over it appeared as if someone could be living in it.
Seeing all the foundations reminded me of scriptures that tell us to build a sure foundation on the Rock Christ Jesus, but I always pictured a home with a few shutters loose and flapping in the wind, maybe a few broken windows, shingles torn away—but most of the house remaining.
In Joplin I realized sometimes storms might take all of our hopes and dreams away but our foundation.
Anyone who becomes a writer finds himself frequently in the winds of adversity that threaten to rip away at his calling. I’ve quit mentally off and on over decades, but then something new would burn in my heart. I wrote again, often publication resulted, and I am still writing into retirement.
Several times I’ve taken time out over the years to work on my faith and through rewriting rebuild something previously worthless, or to add strengthening beams of learning.
No matter what our goals and dreams are, it helps to know God intimately and to accept His Son as Savior. God is three persons, which includes the Holy Spirit who empowers us and works in our lives. God helps us stand secure, no matter what the circumstances. It is such a privilege to know our Creator watches over us. He notices every sparrow that falls and He sees our needs before we even ask for help.
We can do all things through Him who strengthens us, and there is hope in every situation--even death, because "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Yet as we live on earth and work in His kingdom, we know if He called us, he will complete the work He began in us. Look it up. It's there in Philippians 1:6.
Another scripture says even if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved (our bodies), we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Corinthians 5:1-3).
That, is hope!

Ratatouille: Follow your passions

2011-09-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Never thought I'd think a rat could be lovable, but while my little grandson sat in his car seat in the van waiting for his mom, we watched the movie, Ratatouille, and I was hooked.
The creators of the wonderful cartoon characters made it believable that a rodent could perch on the top of a garbage boy's head and guide him into creating fabulous recipes for the French dining establishment where the rat's young human friend worked.
Disaster struck, and the garbage boy became the chef. The kitchen crew scrambled about with worry when a food columnist announced he was coming and would rate the food. I understood completely because I wrote a pile of newspaper food stories myself when I was in Lifestyle and we rated different dishes around town occasionally.
It was totally believable when the health department came to close them down, because I've been with environmental health workers as they inspected restaurants. One of our fast food restaurants was closed for a while because one customer found a dead mouse in her chili. Turned out the mouse probably met his demise in the tomato canning factory.
Yet, I was overjoyed when Remy the Rat and his helpful friends escaped from the inspectors and sad when they closed the Parisian Restaurant where the rat and the young chef made fabulous ratatouille, a delicious vegetable dish. Yet, there was the happy ending when the rat and his friend opened another restaurant and the food critic was their best customer.
The theme of the movie is "Follow your passions."
Now some passions are worth pursuing and others are not. Some passions have the capacity to destroy our lives and send us directly to hell. But when you know the Lord, He places a passion in us to know Him, to tell others about Him and the abundant and eternal life He gives. We hunger and thirst after righteousness and are miraculously filled with the peace and joy that goes along with it.
Often the Lord gives us a passion to develop and use our talents for Him and to bless others.
The Message Bible highlights the Psalmist's words: "Wait passionately for God, don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it (Psalm 37:33-35).

A good historical romance

2011-09-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hailee by Penny Zeller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hailee is another great book from Penny Zeller

In 1965 we stayed in a nice hotel in Downtown Denver. Only a few months later the place sat vacant, an eyesore on the street while the building awaited demolition to make room for a new high rise business building.
So when I read about Hailee Annigan and her brothers trying to survive in a vacant hotel, it was easy for me to imagine the orphans living in such a place, working at the jobs they could find, but sometimes stealing so they could eat.
But I’m getting ahead, or should I say behind? Penny Zeller opens the story with Hailee tying up ends so she can travel to her new teaching job in Montana. Among her tasks is posting her new address around downtown Cincinnati so her long-lost brothers can find her.
In the best use of back story I’ve read, Penny Zeller turns back the clock and we’re with Hailee and the boys in the dark unheated building, wondering where the next meal will come from and whether one of them will be caught by police.
After several narrow escapes, Hailee is caught. Her thievery lands her in jail, but then the Sanctuary of Promise becomes her home and her brothers disappear.
Thus begins a story of struggle, worry, and eventually hope and romance. But what if her suitor discovers her background?
Penny Zeller does a great job with this book, creating characters, and taking us from the present to the past. I ordinarily skip much of the back story, but she didn’t tell it, she showed it in vivid detail, and I enjoyed it.
This is another good book from this author and I recommend it.

View all my reviews

Salt-free Diets

2011-09-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

We don't appreciate many things until they're gone. For instance, salt. We sprinkle it here, dump it there, and it seems harmless enough.
Yet, for some people eating salt can cause all sorts of problems. I was at risk for toxemia during my last three pregnancies and the doctor was so strict he told me not even to drink milk or eat celery because these foods contains natural sodium.
Now, too much salt elevates my blood pressure. I have a sis with congestive heart failure and she needs salt-free foods to keep her lungs from filling with fluid.
Since I've been stuck in this dietary desert for much of my life I told her eating food the way God made it isn't so bad. For me it's better than having a stroke, which took my mom's life at age 58 and caused a different sister to lose the verbal part of her brain in her 70s. Forsaking salt is better than not being able to enjoy more years with my children and grandchildren.
I've discovered eggs can be eaten with only pepper, and sometimes I make an omelet with bell peppers, onions -- and when my BP is OK, I melt a little cheese over it.
I usually am on a low-sodium diet, so I eat homemade waffles and pancakes, sometimes a blueberry muffin, oatmeal (I don't even miss the salt in it) with raisins, nuts, cinnamon and brown sugar.
Lunch, usually our main meal, I can have talapia, steak, pork chops, pork steak, chicken and beef and pork roasts and not miss the salt. With grilled steak I have marinated it only with lemon juice and a little garlic or Mrs. Dash, but often I add a little worcestershire sauce.
I sprinkle a little lemon pepper on talapia, which does contain some salt. If I'm eating something that has salt, I eat only a small serving.
Pork roasts I cover with pepper and sliced onion, add water, and cook in a 450-degree oven until the meat thermometer says it is done. Pork chops I use an electric skillet with a lid, heat to the highest heat, add quite a bit of oil, and keep turning them until they're done. I sprinkle Mrs. Dash on the meat the last two times I turn it. Pork steak I cover with a small amount of prepared barbecue sauce and cook in the oven on 300 degrees for two hours,adding a little sauce again when I take it out.
People who are on a low-salt diet and like ham will find if they soak ham slices in warm water, then place it between paper towels and squeeze, much of the salt will come out. When I cook a pot of beans, I add a ham bone with a little meat attached, and no salt.
Fresh or frozen green beans are delicious cooked, not steamed, in a small amount of water on medium-high heat for about five minutes (Watch or it will boil dry). Add unsalted butter. I drain canned vegetables, rinse and cook in water. Corn on the cob is good with only butter.
Lettuce is delicious when you add only vinegar, especially if you top it with mandarin oranges or sliced peaches and a little of the juice. Top salad with red or green grapes, too, and all sorts of different veggies like you would see at a salad bar.
I you have trouble with salt, perhaps some of these ideas will help you.

Book edits show imperfections

2011-09-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Anyone who thinks he's perfect should have his work critiqued or edited.
My editor sent me the edits of my book, Swallowed by Life, recently. Just a glance at the "Track Changes" grinds away at any gradiose ideas about myself.
In my work as a news reporter, the editor's work wasn't so obvious. When I sent a story to the City Desk computer, I didn't see my work again until after it plunked on almost every doorstep in the region. A glance told me if the headline reflected the significance of the news. A read through my lead revealed whether Steve or Chris tweaked it. Most of the time I had no idea what had been cut or changed from the rest of the story because I was too busy to check.
I know my bosses occasionally found clumsy sentences, typos and grammatical errors. Once in a while if I made a complete fool of myself, they'd let me know. When I was a cub reporter, one day the editor yelled across the newsroom and everyone knew about my silly mistake.
Even the family sometimes pointed out my errors. I handed my teenaged daughter, Carolyn, a copy of a free lance article I'd written for a Christian magazine in the days before computers. "Read this and tell me what you think."
She took the pages and sat down on the floor. It wasn't long before her melodious laughter filled the room and she rolled on the floor with glee-- and it was a serious piece. I was about to ask why it was so humorous when she began reading sentences, pronouncing my typographical errors the way they surfaced on the page.
By the time I had five children, I learned they have a way of keeping you humble.
So when the editor sent me the edited copy of "Swallowed by Life" a couple of weeks ago, I didn't cringe in shock at all the marks and comments. I had the sense to accept the majority of them, which were mostly related to style since AP style is ingrained in my writing and I have trouble changing. I accepted the editor's comments with joy because I know they improve the book. I usually do the same with my critique group's suggestions.
When I read the Bible, my imperfections glare out at me even more than they do in my writing. The Word and the Spirit point to weeds in my life that need to be killed or pulled. I try to have the same attitude I have with editors because I know when the Lord works in me, I'll be much better for it. Not always easy, though, and often tears come as I realize how imperfect I am.
But the joy is, I serve a sinless, perfect, holy and just Lord whose blood covers my imperfections because I asked Him to.

The Goal Line

2011-08-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

I became a football fan in 1977 or 1978 and watched the Denver Broncos go all the way to the Super Bowl.
My middle daughter and I would yell during games until my youngest girl said, “If you’re going to carry on that way, shut the windows!”
I guess I thought I could help those players across the goal line.
My writing ministry should concentrate on goals, too. Sometimes I feel like a linebacker crunched a helmet into my belly and I’m on the turf. With experience, however, I’m learning my problem isn’t so much defense—it’s my offense.
First, am I suiting up properly in the whole armor of God with the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation, shield of faith, Sword of the Spirit and my feet fitted with the cleats of readiness on my shoes? (Ephesians 6:11-18).
Second, am I talking to and listening to my coach? The Apostle Paul tells the Philippians he keeps straining to reach the prize, forgetting what is behind and pressing toward the mark. He’s talking about knowing God and attaining eternal life—but there is an underlying theme of ministry, too.
Third, am I looking at the “field” and using the tools available to reach the goal?
Basic is defining the goal. Am I planting, watering and picking beans or wheat? Different methods are needed for each harvest field. With my teen novel, the “Work in Progress,” a linebacker-sized problem stopped me and I lost yardage. I assumed it was a Young Adult novel, where it’s OK to have 85,000 words. The agent who is interested in my book proposal, however, says it’s “middle grade” genre and although I’ve cut 15,000 words, it needs to be 50,000.
Studying markets more might have prevented turning the field over to defense.
This year I intend to use strategy for other writing projects. I will study more Christian magazines, the Christian Writers Market Guide, look at more publishers’ websites. I’m already an avid book reader.
If I were a poet, I’d look at greeting cards, study their poems, look at poetry markets, contact them for guidelines, and send poems. (You never reach the goal unless you catch the ball and take the first step.)
But I need to look at what is in my hand. That’s what God told Moses when the Patriarch went before Pharaoh. Moses had a shepherd’s staff that God used dramatically to bring the Israelites to their goal . I have my teen novel, two non-fiction books almost ready for publication, and ideas and several articles on the bench.
Next, I’ll need to take the shortest route to the goal: Start with good ideas that fit the market; write with clarity; use facts, senses, illustrations, emotion, color, humor; construct concise active sentences that sing when read aloud; rewrite and edit.
Finally, I’ll participate in a critique group. Then I will be ready for the referee’s whistle and the handoff of the ball. Perhaps I’ll have winners!
You can win, too, at whatever God has called you to do when follow the play book, listen to the Coach, put on the uniform, and put your energy into winning the Ultimate Prize: Hearing Jesus say, well done!

LEARNING TO TRUST by Jennifer Slattery

2011-08-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

THANKS TO JENNIFER SLATTERY FOR THIS GUEST BLOG, LEARNING TO TRUST

Must we always dredge through the depths before reaching the summit? Think back over your faith walk. When have you felt closest to God? When have you been most assured of His power? When traipsing along a sun-lit journey or plummeting into His strong hands?
I believe faith comes not from an abundance of blessings, but instead, from deep needs met by Provider God. Although I often wish I could skirt through life with impenetrable faith, surrounded by all I need and desire, it is through times of trial and times of want that I have learned most to lean on God. Sadly, it is often through times of difficulty that my lack of faith is most clearly revealed. But perhaps what surprises me most is the frequency with which I jump back on the fear bandwagon. Somehow when a new trial hits, amnesia sweeps my brain, and all those times God showed up in the past vanish from my thoughts. As if somehow this new event or tragedy overshadows the promises of God or somehow changes His divine, unchanging nature.
Had I been among the miraculously delivered Israelites wandering through the desert of Sin in Exodus 16, I fear I would have been the first to complain. I know what it must have felt like, waking up each morning, not knowing where you would go, how long you would travel, or where you would lay your head each night.
I imagine the most difficult day of all came when God asked them to leave the oasis of Elim, with its stately palms and twelve springs. What fear must have gripped their hearts as they knelt in the shade of a tree to fill their water vases, staring across the sun-baked earth before them, the elusive Promised Land beyond their view? As a mother, I wonder how it felt to gather up your children as they played among the lush vegetation, dipping their toes in the water, wondering where the next spring might lie.
It was at that moment, venturing out from the oasis and entering into the Wilderness of Sin, that God tested their faith. And for a while, they passed…until their feet grew heavy and the sun blazed high with still no provisions in sight. As they continued forward, dust clinging to their tunics, their children lagging beside them, nibbling fears took hold. How would they eat when not even the smallest rodent scurried before them? And where could they possibly find water when the earth below them cracked from lack of moisture?
With every step, the oasis with its cool water and lush trees grew smaller and smaller behind them. With each step their hearts cried out for mercy while their eyes searched the barren landscape for signs of aid.
Then, just when their fear reached panic level, God intervened, not by leading them to another lush oasis, but instead, by raining provisions down from heaven. Each day the Israelites were told to gather only what they needed. Each day, God asked them to let go of their safety net, to trust fully in Him. And each day, a few fearful Israelites hoarded more than necessary, only to find it full of maggots the next morning. With each fermented mound, God showed them again and again that He alone would meet their needs.
What about us? Are we frantically weaving safety nets in case God doesn’t pull through? Will it take a desert wasteland for us to learn to trust God to be who He says He is and to do what He says He will do?
Jennifer Slattery is a freelance writer and publicist who lives in the Midwest with her husband of 15 years and their thirteen year old daughter. She’s the marketing manager for the literary website, Clash of the Titles, writes for Christ to the World, Samie Sisters, and has written for numerous other publications. Find out more about her and her writing at http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com and http://wordsthatkeep.wordpress.com Find out more about Clash of the Titles, the literary website where authors compete and readers judge, at http://www.clashofthetitles.com.

Are You a Star? Guest today: Staci Stallings

2011-08-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

Are You a Star?
By Staci Stallings
Our world today is obsessed with stars–celebrities who make a lot of money, gain a lot of fame, or otherwise dominate the chitter-chatter of masses. Many of us wish, even if fleetingly, that we could be a star, but most will never attain that “level” of “success.”
I found, however, a different and probably more important way to be a star this weekend. So if you’re interested or have ever thought it would be nice to be a star, here’s your chance!
Not sure where this thought came from other than “up there,” but I was thinking about how a year or so ago, my sister compared me to the Magi. I believe I wrote about that at the time–how she said I was a Magi because I was always looking for signs that would point me to God. I thought that was really cool at the time. This weekend, I had cause while thinking about that, to look just a little higher into the story.
I happened to be at my hometown church, which is always good for a few hundred incredible insights into life, and at my hometown, they have this HUGE creche inside the church. The trees are as tall as live trees, decked out in white lights with this star above it. Of course, Mary and Joseph have the Baby Jesus lying in a manger underneath. This year I had cause to think about that star. The one so long ago. The one that was there, shining in the night, guiding the Wisemen to the place where Jesus was.
You may have heard the saying, “Wisemen still search for Him.” Wise men still look for stars, just as I was those years ago when my sister dubbed me a Magi. But what about that star? Maybe it had a story too.
Now, I know, stars don’t have feelings and thoughts. They are put in the sky for a time by God, and for their time, they shine, then they burn out and disappear. (A bit like us, don’t you think?) But consider what if… what if… that little star so long ago DID have feelings and thoughts. What would they have been, since that little star was SO far away from the action and burned for much longer than most of us celebrate Christmas (at least a year by most accounts)?
It might have gone something like this, “This is pointless. I mean, when I first got here, it was fun, dancing around and everything. But now, all I do is shine and shine and shine in the middle of all of this darkness, and what has it gotten me? Burned fingertips that’s all. I’m not even making a difference. Look at all this darkness. It’s still here. I look out there, and there are other stars. Sure most aren’t as bright as me, but they aren’t doing much good either. I mean, look at ALL of this darkness. We can never hope to overcome it. What’s the point? Maybe I should just tell God I’m a failure and go home. I mean, how long can He expect me to keep this shining thing up? I’ve been out here night after night after night, and nothing. Sure, I heard the choirs of angels singing a couple times at first, but they haven’t done that in months. Now I’m just out here, all alone, shining for no one to even see. In fact, I bet those people down there on the earth don’t even know I’m here anymore…”
That’s the way we get, isn’t it?
Discouraged. Tired. Thinking whatever we’re doing is so meaningless as to be pointless.
We don’t often see and understand the real difference we are making… or could be making in the lives of others.
We don’t see those three Kings looking at our light and following our light to the Presence of Jesus in the world. So sometimes we’re tempted to give up, to go home, to tell God it’s too hard. But maybe we should take a few lessons from that little star about how to be a real star in this world.
First, the star recognized the Presence of Jesus, and the Presence of Jesus lit up the star’s life. Do we recognize the Presence of Jesus in our lives, or do we slog through the day with our head down and our bodies on auto-pilot, trying to just get to the end of the day or the end of the week? There is a better way. FIND the Presence of Jesus all around you and inside of you. Be a Magi. Look for it. The star found it and wanted to tell the world.
Second, let His light shine through you. That little star had the first burst of excitement, but after that, it needed God’s power to stay lit. Let God’s power light your life as well.
Next, remember that you never know who your light is leading. I guarantee you, no matter who you are or where you are, someone is paying attention to your light and your life. They are watching how you live and taking their cue from that. It may be someone you don’t even know. When people walk into your office, do you smile and greet them happily? Or do you grumble and wish they would go away and let you get some work done? There are wisemen and women out there, looking for someone to point them the right direction. Is that person you?
Are you a star?
You can be, but you have to recognize the possibility and then act on it. And when you get discouraged, always remember, just like that little star, God put you here for a reason. You may not know what that reason is, but I challenge you to shine as best you can and let God work out the details you can’t even see. The star did, and because of that, we still sing about that little star today. To me, that’s worth remembering!
A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. (Pick up the Price of Silence now for only $0.99! http://www.amazon.com/The-Price-of-Silence-ebook/dp/B004E9U7P6) Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe every week with her various Internet endeavors including:
Books In Print, Kindle, & FREE on Spirit Light Works:
http://stacistallings.wordpress.com/
Spirit Light Books--The Blog: http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com/
And… Staci’s website http://www.stacistallings.com

HOW I BECAME A WRITER

2011-08-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

This is an interview with me that Tom Blubaugh, author of Night of the Cossack, published recently on his blog, www.tomblubaugh.blogspot.com

Tom: Ada Brownell is an excellent writer with a long history of publishing. It's my honor to interview her.
Do you have any advice for writers out there?

A beginning writer needs to study what makes writing powerful. After that think, watch, listen, read, write ideas and unique thoughts down, then plan. Sit at the computer, write and rewrite. Finally, send the manuscript out using a marketing plan that includes more than Plan A. Forget that work and start another article or book.

Can you tell me a little bit about your newest book?

My current work is an inspirational historical romance, The Belle of Peach County. A 17-year-old elocutionist and singer runs away from her abusive uncle, but she is caught in a perilous web. Could the peddler who constantly appears be a venomous spider in her life?

The story emerged from a few things I knew about my grandparents. It’s completely fiction, but my grandmother was an elocutionist and some relatives say she had to run from the abusive uncle with whom she lived after her parents died. My grandfather traveled about the county showing one of the first Passion of the Christ picture shows created. His father, in the meantime, a widower at age 60, married a woman in her 20s so he would have a cook—and was beaten to death by her lover. My grandfather wanted the man who killed his pa brought to justice.

Tell us one interesting fact about you that your readers would find interesting, and maybe even surprising.

I could share about my high-heeled shoe sticking on the volume pedal when I was playing quiet background music on the organ at church and I nearly blasted the people off the pews. Instead, writers might be surprised to learn I completed The Belle of Peach County during the American Christian Fiction Writers Novel Track in January 2011. I had about 14,000 words to start with and by the first week of February I had 82,000 and the last chapter. I’ve edited the book four times, and some chapters many more times than that.

When did you first discover you were a writer?

I started writing at age 15 by submitting ideas for youth services to a magazine for youth leaders. I was youth president at our church, although the age went to 35. Not long afterward, I sold my first article to The Pentecostal Evangel and someone made it into a tract.

I then sold an article featuring my mother’s Sunday school methods to David C. Cook’s “Leader.” I received $35, quite a bit for that time, so I sold my accordion, bought an electric typewriter and enrolled in a writing course. I also became a newspaper correspondent, which emerged into a career. Although I took 20 years off to raise our five children, I worked as a staff reporter for 17 years, mostly at The Pueblo Chieftain, before I retired. I still occasionally write an op-ed piece for the newspaper.

I sold free lance articles to Christian publications all my adult life and in 1978 my book, Confessions of a Pentecostal was published by Gospel Publishing House. It is out of print now, but used copies are sold online and I’m in the process of updating it and making it into an e-book.

I have chapters in five other books: 50 Tough Questions (Gospel Publishing House, 2002). What I Learned from God While Cooking, (edited by Cristine Bolley) Barbour Publishing, 2006 ; Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers and Cup of Comfort for Christians (Adams Media 2008 and 2006); and Restored (Women’s Aglow Fellowship, 1978).

In addition to my historical romance, I’m marketing two non-fiction books and a teen novel.
What is your accomplishment you are most proud of?
Probably my newspaper career, but also an article I wrote, “How can I get control of my anger?” The article is a chapter in 50 Tough Questions and has been reprinted numerous times, including a Spanish language publication for youth and a Malawi Christian newspaper.

Do you have an all-time favorite book?
I am an influencer for some members of American Christian Fiction Writers and most of them are five-star books (as is Night of the Cossack). My favorite fiction genre is historical romance and Prairie Rose by Catherine Palmer is my all-time favorite. I’ve had the trilogy for years and every once in a while I get it out and read it again.

Where can we find you?
My website is http://www.adabrownell.com My blog is http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

A Prophet for This Generation

2011-08-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Worried about our nation, recently I prayed, “Lord, raise up a prophet to this generation.”
Yet, I didn’t see anyone rise up who could reach the millions who have never heard the true gospel or experienced or witnessed His mighty power at work—especially the youth of our country.
Last night I sat in a Wendy’s restaurant watching a frustrated young man continually dial someone on his cell phone and no one was answering. He left no voice message—just kept someone’s phone ringing. He dropped his head to his arms on the table. I couldn’t tell if he was tired or crying, but he rubbed his eyes on his sleeve before he lifted his head and went back to dialing.
Lord, if his girlfriend is dropping him, help him not to go over the edge and commit suicide. I knew from my work as a newspaper reporter that often happens.
I wondered if the teenager had been taught about Jesus. I thought how wonderful it would be if some great individual would preach the Word and reach thousands of young people like him.
I felt a prompting in my spirit. “You are the one.”
A favorite scripture ran through my mind as my husband and I ate. When we were ready to go, the guy sat there, still upset. I walked to the edge of his table and spoke quietly. “Are you O.K.?”
He nodded. “I’m just waiting for my girlfriend.”
I noticed a clear garbage bag filled with clothing on the floor beside him. “You look discouraged. Remember Jesus said, ‘In this world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.’”
He smiled. “Thank you.” I thought I saw relief on his face and light come on in his eyes.
We parted. I have no idea whether he’d heard the gospel before and a mother somewhere was praying. But I’ve come to realize the Lord raises up prophets for every generation. This is the way He builds His church. He told the 500 people gathered on the mountaintop as he prepared to ascend according to Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses.” Matthew tells us he said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
That’s our commissiom, too. I don’t know if my witness made a difference in the youth’s life, but it might have. I’ve discovered every one of God’s children is asked to answer the call to reach out to the lost, and I am called to “go.” His power will help me “be” a witness.

America's financial meltdown

2011-08-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

The United States has been teetering on the edge of financial disaster some say for years, but the bottom seemed to drop out after the bombing of the World Trade Centers and the resulting wars. We have one toe on the edge, but we aren't finding a secure place on which to stand.
The other day I heard someone say the government should call for a day of prayer for our nation because of the economy. I believe in our leaders gathering people to pray, but the logical thing to do is for churches to call Christians to their knees.
If I were a pastor, I'd open the church every day at least for a few hours for prayer. After all, the Lord said if HIS people will humble themselves and pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways He would hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land (Second Chronicles 7:13-15).
Yet, there are important things we as a nation should remember and do. Here are a few interesting scriptures, some which pertain to Israel but we know they also apply to a certain extent to nations which follow the Lord.
"For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you" (Deuteronomy 15:5-7).
"If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth" (Deuteronomy 28:1-3).
Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed” (Isaiah 61:8-10).
"And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 3:11-13).
From "The Message" Paraphrase: "Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed in you" (Galatians 3:6-8).
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb'” Revelation 7:8-9).
From "The Message" Paraphrase: "If you forget God, your God, and start taking up with other gods, serving and worshiping them, I'm on record right now as giving you firm warning: that will be the end of you; I mean it—destruction. You'll go to your doom—the same as the nations God is destroying before you; doom because you wouldn't obey the Voice of God, your God" (Deuteronomy 8:18-20).
"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" Psalm 9:16-18).
Teh bible also says nations will be blessed when they support Israel.
The United States has been greatly blessed by God. But like the Israelites in Old Testament times, we tend to wander away from God and go into rebellion. We've killed 45 million of our babies. We've become just as Paul told Timothy people would become in the perilous times near Christ's return. ""For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Timothy 3).
We can repent, love God and others, and turn to the Lord with all our hearts. Let's expect His blessings once again.

The Comic Book Collection

2011-08-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

The church we attended was in cold country. A big coal stove stood in a corner in the back and before services the pastor started a fire in it.
No insulation or sheetrock covered the walls. The 2-by-4s were uncovered. The hardwood floors installed years before were bare and dirty. They’d never been sanded and varnished.
When we moved there I was astounded at the neglect.
We became close friends of the pastor and his wife and when they went on a vacation, I threw out an idea to the youth group. I was president and in those days the age went to 35 so most of the church was in on it. We would finish the church! Give and work and surprise our church shepherds.
Sheetrock was delivered and men brought hammers. Women helped tape, mud joints, and paint. A big rental sander sped across the floors. Everyone grabbed gunny sacks and filled cracks. Then we cleaned and varnished and put a warm new rug in the altar area.
Since we had so many workers I suggested the men build a cabinet around the parsonage kitchen sink. I was sure it must be cold to stand there, and it was ugly with the bare pipes showing. The parsonage was in the back of the church.
Suddenly everyone invaded our pastors’ privacy. I thought it was OK because we cleaned from top to bottom. But then, a man walked through the kitchen carrying a trunk.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Throwing these comic books away.” I was only age 17 and the man was old enough to be my father.
“Are you sure you should do that?”
He ignored me and out he went.
I knew our pastor valued his comic book collection. Many were still in cellophane. He knew someday they would be worth big bucks.
Suddenly, my ego about what a great thing I suggested smashed like snow under a boot.
When the pastor and his wife returned, they were surprised at what the church had done in their absence. They seemed astounded and pleased, but I felt rotten about the invasion of their home and their loss of a valued possession.
We moved away soon and so did the pastors. They visited us a time or two, but we lost touch. The comic books haunted my dreams for years and every time I heard a news report about an old comic book being sold for thousands of dollars, guilt gripped me.
Forty years later we reconnected and first thing I did was apologize about the comic books. After all, the renovation was my idea.
Our former pastor gladly extended his forgiveness. Yet, as we became close again I observed our the family’s finances had always been tight. It saddened me.
Then I remembered what a wonderful attitude the pastor and his wife had. They didn’t become bitter and were rich in things that count: Their own salvation, rewarding ministry, and four children and a number of grandchildren all serving and working for the Lord.
The comic books probably would be worth a fortune now. I still feel throwing them away was a mistake, but our precious friends are blessed after all—and I am blessed knowing them.

Here's a good book

2011-08-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

Wings of Promise by Bonnie Leon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WINGS OF PROMISE by Bonnie Leon

I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska, but never thought I’d take a tour like Bonnie Leon created in Wings of Promise.

Forget IMAX. The tour with Kate brought me on a tour of the wilderness, showed me the Northern Lights, and flew me over snowy mountains in her airplane. We delivered the mail, even a litter of smelly pigs, and often brought the doctor to ill natives. We flew low over the trees searching for lost polar bear hunters, and made several treacherous landings on the ice—and I didn’t even get motion sick.

People joined us along the way. Paul, the doctor she loves who breaks up the romance because he lost his first wife and thinks because Kate is a pilot, he’ll lose her. Michael, her friend who loves her fiercely and wants to marry her. Lisa, who seems a perfect match for Paul. Then there’s her irritable boss, and someone I hope we don’t meet who is putting water in her fuel tank.

This is the third book in Bonnie Leon’s Alaskan series. The author is an accomplished novelist and Wings of Promise keeps you reading as you discover Alaska, danger and romance with Kate.

I wondered how the novelist was able to put us in the airplane with Kate, and go through so many intricate flying maneuvers without being a pilot herself. Turns out one of Alaska’s flying champions, Gayle Ranney helped make the scenes in the book possible.

My applause to them both. I loved the journey.

View all my reviews

Worldliness is an Attitude

2011-08-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

The young man came to interview me last Thursday night on my beliefs about worldliness, and as you know, uneasiness settled over me.

I figured out the problem: My ideas were all over the place. I had a pile of good scriptures, but I hadn't organized my thoughts and what I believe.

I kept working on it, studying the Word, and praying. Then it all came together.

Worldliness is our attitude about life.
1. WHAT WE DO WITH OUR TIME
For example, would we rather be in God's house than a sports stadium?
2. WHAT WE DO WITH OUR MONEY
If we are not worldly, we will give joyfully God's 10 percent and perhaps more.
3. WHAT WE DO WITH OUR TALENTS
if we are not worldly, we will spend at least some time in ministry and take advantage of opportunities to witness.

Our motivation in what we do is behind worldliness. If we love God with all our soul, mind and strength, obey His Word and love others, it changes what we do and our attitudes toward it.

The Christian life is serving God, walking after the Spirit instead of our flesh (Romans 8:1KJ). Our primary motivation won't be seeking after acceptance and admiration of others.

With TIME, our attitude changes so we'd rather be in God's house than in a sports stadium. Not that there is anything wrong with sports. I'm a fan myself. But Jesus needs to be first. We gain faith by "hearing" the Word, and we need fellowship with believers. We need the intimate worship experience that comes only in God's presence where two or three are together and He is in the midst of them.
No matter what the activity is, if we put it before the Lord, it's worldly. It could be as simple as a farmer who won't take Sunday off because he wants a great crop. If we honor God first, usually He supplies our needs.

With MONEY, if our attitude about it goes haywire, it's worldly. If we are consumed by saving it to the suffering of our family, our attitude is wrong. If we spend it so freely we have so much debt it affects our marriage and witness, we are worldly.

With TALENTS, if we are consumed with desire to be admired or we seek acceptance excessively, we are worldly.

I'm often amazed at how decisions affect us spiritually. Who we are depends on our daily decisions. Our character is impacted by our affections--what we feel is important--and so is our relationship with God.

Walking after the Spirit instead of the flesh helps us bring our affections into the right place where God can bless us and use us for His glory. This is where we find contentment.

When our desires and motivations are right, we don't have a problem with worldliness.

If you're interested, the interview went well.

Setting affection on things above

2011-07-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've always known my brain works better with my fingers at the computer than it does my mouth. Last week a young man asked to interview me about my views on worldliness. He's using the interviews with different age groups for his master's thesis.

It was an honor to be asked, but I already knew he'd be contacting me, so I assembled a long list of my views on the subject, noting why I believe as I do. I ended up with three pages of notes.

The main pastor from my childhood seldom preached on outward appearance as a sign of holiness. Yet, he taught about the catching away of the church and the Second Coming. He included the warning from Jesus to be ready, for the Lord will come in an hour when we don't expect Him. Then I noticed John wrote that when He comes, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is "And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-4).

My church was heavy on learning scripture and I became familiar with verses such as "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:14-16).

My mom's favorite scripture was Romans 8, and time after time she read it during family devotions: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). Interesting that the NIV and ASV omit the part about walking after the flesh.

Other scriptures I was acquainted with early in life: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof: (Romans 6:11-13). "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (1 Corinthians 3:16-19). "For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world" (1 John 2:15-17).

Church people often are good at hiding their worldliness. One of the things I think about is this vision of Ezekiel, one of the end-time prophets: "And the Lord said unto him, 'Go thorugh the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof'" (Ezekeil 9:3-5). Those with the mark were delivered from judgment.

Yet, holiness is much more that abstaining from or hating sin. "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:16-17).

What I've discovered is that when we set our affections on the Lord, worldliness isn't much of a problem.

The first commandment is to have no gods before the only real God. Jesus told us the commandment means to love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength (Mark 12:29-31). He added we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10).

When I love God, others, and myself enough to obey God's Word, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, the Holy Spirit will fill me with power to resist the devil. The fruit of the spirit will enhance my character. I will not be a slave to sin.

I won't be perfect because I'm still human, but because I love God He forgave my sins and cleansed me from unrighteousness. Every day I can grow in Him. The Lord is there guiding, convicting and nurturing--making me not the greatest person on earth, but a new creature that is much better than I used to be.

Furthermore, His joy is greater than any worldly pleasure.

Perhaps that's why I love to sing the song, "Take this whole world and give me Jesus. No turning back. No turning back."

A Blue Jay's Cry

2011-06-29T13:55:00.001-07:00

The Blue Jay’s cry
When I arrived in the kitchen this morning to start coffee, a Blue Jay called from a cedar tree in my back yard. The cry was insistent. One call, then silence. Another pierced the neighborhood; then quietness. Over and over.
I listen to birds trying to determine how I would describe the sound they make. I’ve decided the “not so humble” red cardinal’s favorite word is “pretty” and often it’s whistled. On the other hand, a starling sounds like a squeaky gate, unless he’s just waking up, and then he softly pretends to be musical.
While I’ve admired Blue Jays’ varying shades of blue and white feathers, their little top knots and long tails, I hadn’t listened to their voices. The loud cry today fascinated me. What was that word?
Then I heard it. “Come.”
Another Blue Jay flew from above and landed on a nearby branch. Soon the two flew off together. Perhaps the word I heard wasn’t true Jay “dialect,” but it reminded me of a similar persistent cry I’ve heard from my childhood, “Come.”
“Come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16KJ).
“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:21).
I answered the call, and have never regretted my decision.

Busy Writing a Novel

2011-06-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

I've neglected my blog recently because I am rewriting my historical romance novel. During May I attended the Colorado Christian Writers Conference and pitched the book to editors and agents there.

First, let me say it was a terrific conference, although Estes Park was cold and it snowed while we were there. We had a cold winter in our state, and spring wasn't normal since it rained so much. So I looked forward to some of Colorado's famous sunshine. When I first started working as a reporter in Colorado years ago I wrote weather stories frequently and one of the things I learned (if I remember right), Southern Colorado has about 300 sunshiny days a year. None of them showed while we were there.

But the conference sessions and the friendly professionals attending made up for it. So I was invited to send my book proposal to an agent, an editor, and to another editor who wants the whole book. Only thing--she wanted the word length increased by 15,000 words.

So just a few weeks ago I started at the beginning and here I am. Yesterday, I arrived at the end only about 2,000 words short. Now with a little more tweaking suggested by my crit partners, I will send it soon.

I'll keep you posted on what's happening in my writing life. If you are a writer, the hardest thing to do is keep believing you have a worthy idea and working until your book or article is finished. The wise thing to do is have a target market with which you are familiar in mind before you even write the first page. Ask for God's wisdom and guidance all along the way. Then turn your "grown-up" baby out into the world to find success.

Separation of Church and State

2011-04-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Although “separation of church and state” doesn’t appear in the Constitution, to those who desire to strip everything that has to do with religion from our government, I hear you. But you don’t go far enough.
With tongue in cheek, this is what I propose:
• No person who graduated from any of the following colleges or universities should be allowed to serve in a government position, especially the President or a member of Congress, because these schools were established by religious denominations: Harvard, Yale. Vanderbilt, Baylor. Boston University, Fordham, Cornell, Rutgers and others. Some had seminaries and were established to train preachers.
• If a person knows how to read, he shouldn’t be allowed to work for a government agency because religion was the reason people learned to read. Since the Middle Ages, there has been near universal literacy among Jews because men were required to read the Torah by age 13. The Protestant Reformation played a part in the invention of the printing press because everyone wanted access to the scriptures. In America, parents taught their children to read so they could learn the Bible, and the public school system grew out of a nation’s desire that each generation become familiar with scripture.
• No person who works for a tax-supported agency should be treated in a hospital established by a Jewish or Christian denomination.
• No public or government agency or employees should accept charity from a religious organization.
In addition, the person or organization that coined the phrase or used the phrase, “separation of church and state” should be barred from participating in anything that has to do with law because obviously whoever did it has a background in Christianity. Otherwise, the phrase would say, “separation of religion and state.”
Of course, all of the above would be impossible to achieve. Deleting Christianity from our history is just as impossible. You’d need to destroy most of our historical documents, many landmarks, and even the U.S. Supreme Court. After all, “What hath God wrought?” was the first telegraph message sent, and it originated there.
Our nation should use the sense God gave us and look at the wonderful things Christianity brings to us. Take out the church and what will remain in our state? Not much.

The Victorious Attitude of the Conqueror

2011-03-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

This morning I read a cute article in The Gospel Tract Society's Harvester Magazine, "Diligence with Attitude!" The illustration accompanying the article caught my eye and drew me to read the piece written by Debbie Corum. The photo by iBeck showed an enthusiastic woman holding a broom and mop in one hand and giving a "Yes!" gesture with the other, her eyes squinted and her mouth wide open. I could almost hear her cry of victory.

I've had days I felt like that, empowered by a new filling of God's Spirit and faith. Then there are days I still have an "attitude" but lack the cry of victory.

In that wonderful Bible chapter Romans 8, I read our enemy has us lined up as sheep for the slaughter, because Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. He's just not after our earthly lives, he is going for the spiritual jugular, our eternal self.

How many people start the Christian life with a diligent attitude, but the cares of this life and sin encroach into their lives like wild trees in a wet climate taking over a yard or an entire farm because the person living there no longer cares that undesirable seeds blowing in are taking root.

Christians often wake up and find they aren't strong enough to cut the overgrowth down anymore. Too late, they realize they aren't the only ones affected, either. Each person is said to have a close circle of influence of about seven people, and at least 200 in an outer circle. The people we influence most are our family members. If we drop out of church, that increases the chance of our children not making it to heaven. If we drink alcohol, commit adultery, break the law, our children are more likely to drive drunk, become alcoholics, have lousy marriages, spend time in prison.

Just thinking about all this makes me want to serve God with a diligent attitude, to never give up, to keep on my knees, to stay in the Word, and be faithful in attending His house.

Paul told the Romans that although Satan has us lined up as sheep for the slaughter, we are "more than conquerors" though Him that loves us. That sounds like a jubilant, victorious attitude!

Squeezed into a mold

2011-01-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

When I enrolled in a state university in the 1980s, I noticed students come from multitudes of backgrounds and take into every class beliefs, attitudes and goals that grew from what their parents and their associations taught.
If they were Christians, at a least a few scriptures implanted in their minds stood ready for recall.
Then in every classroom, even a music history class, textbooks and professors proceeded to tweezer out faith in God, morality and allegiance to America. Everything grew out of our appearance on earth without a Creator. Obscene books were among texts. If you wanted to graduate with “honors,” classes on the value of One-World Government was required.
Often as I walked about the hilly campus carrying books and going from building to building, I thought of how students come in talking differently, believing differently, dressing differently, laughing at different things, but they went out like so many painted mechanical toy soldiers speaking alike, living alike, dressing alike, believing alike and pursuing the same types of goals.
I actively resisted their attempt to squeeze out God’s Word and my faith, but 27 years after I graduated, I worry about how the minds of my children and grandchildren are changed by those who wish to remold their minds.
Today, it’s not only at the college level, but the molding of minds by our secular society starts in kindergarten. Thinking is being skillfully crafted by our media, and their world view carved into every age group from babies who can’t even talk to senior citizens who can barely see a television screen and hear the speakers.
Like the person Saint James spoke about that went out and looked into a mirror, but didn’t remember what he looked like, we don’t realize we are being changed. “If anyone be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (James 1:23).
Paul wrote to the Romans, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you” (Romans 12:2LB).
One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Romans 8, which starts, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Romans 8: 1). The chapter gives us jewels to add to our faith, such as nothing can separate us from the love of God, but so often we remember “we aren’t condemned,” but forget why we aren’t condemned. We need to “walk according to the Spirit,” which I believe is living in obedience to God, guarding our minds and allowing Him to renew it.
We’re told in Scripture to “resist the devil” and “shun even the very appearance of evil.” That gives us guidance about what we should put into our minds. James speaks of God’s Word being a mirror that will show us the smudges on our character, the needed hair cut, stray hairs we need plucked from our eyebrows, and the weight we need to lose.
Romans 8 also talks about us being “conformed to the image of God’s Son.” How amazing! Jesus told John in his vision, “They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine“(Rev. 3:4-5NLT).

Family Worship Warfare

2010-12-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

WORSHIP AS A FAMILY

Having family worship at home is difficult in this day when busyness steals time. Yet, it is more necessary than ever.
Secularists, Progressives and even Communists and other religions have made it their priority to grab the hearts and minds of youth in America, and they’d especially like to brainwash those raised in Christian homes.
The most successful propaganda usually always has some truth in it, according to Jacques Ellul, author of “Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes.”. If it were all lies, most people would resist it.
Where propaganda goes to work to change minds is in the “interpretation” of the truth, or the “slant” they place on the truth. It’s called “spin” today.
Mao Tse-Tung said propaganda can “force” people to become Marxist. His first techniques failed, but then he went to public discussion, criticism, persuasion and Marxist education, especially for children and he turned China to his way of thinking. This in spite of Mao executing an estimated two to five million people and several million were sent to labor camps.
To have the greatest effect, propaganda must base itself on existing tendencies, Ellul said, and not go against ingrained attitudes. Instead of going against what you believe, it gives you something else to believe--using your own desires and needs as a basis--and without knowing it, your attitudes are replaced.
Ellul said pre-existing attitudes fade quickly in real propaganda campaigns where it surrounds a person from morning to night, childhood to old age, in all he reads, hears, without giving him rest, a moment to pause, think or catch his breath.
Webster’s New World Dictionary says brainwashing is “to indoctrinate so intensively and thoroughly as to effect a radical transformation of beliefs and mental attitudes.”
In other words, to brainwash you is to not only change how you think, but also what you think. Furthermore, if you are brainwashed, it changes who you are.
Armies who keep prisoners of war often brainwash one person at a time, but Communists and Nazis brainwashed entire societies. In America, we not only have brainwashing in institutions of learning, but it’s done by gangs, politicians and the media. Gangs and governments can brainwash you so thoroughly you’ll kill your brother, grandmother or mother.
The media brainwashes you by portraying the majority of Christians as crooks and adulterers. A few high profile ministers have been great sinners, but if they break God’s laws, they are no longer Christians.

The media rarely mentions powerful things accomplished by Christians and Jews. Christian charities housed and fed the homeless and hungry around the world for centuries. Missionaries often bring free health care and medicine when they go to tell the world about Jesus. Christians are there, too, when disaster strikes.
Christians started and still operate most of the hospitals in the world.
Religion was the reason people learned to read. Since the Middle Ages, there has been near universal literacy among Jewish men because they were required to read the Torah by age 13.
Christians read the Jewish scrolls than read the letters of the Apostles to their congregations. The Reformation caused everyone to want to read Scripture and the first book published by Gutenberg was the Bible. Wycliff Translators are bringing literacy even to tribes with no written language and have done it many times in the past.
In America, education began with families teaching their children so they could read God’s Word and eventually that evolved into schools. Most of the universities and colleges in the United States were started by Christians, and they often contained seminaries or Bible schools.
Now you can’t even use the name of Jesus in a classroom in any of those universities unless it’s used as a swear word.
I thought the active war against faith in God was bad enough when we were raising our family. There came a time when I knew I would need to counteract at home ungodly teachings my kids were forced to study in school. That’s why I devoted time to studying sections of Josh McDowell’s book, “Evidence that Demands a Verdict” during our family worship time.
Norman Lear, a writer and television executive started the “People for the American Way,” to erode the faith of youth with television programming in response to the Moral Majority in the 1980s, and PAW is still going strong. And the church wonders why it loses a large percentage of youth—even when they’ve been raised in Christian homes!
Wise parents will guard their children’s hearts and minds, and inspire them to do the same thing by filling their minds with God’s Word, giving themselves completely to God, and by shunning even the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
I remember family worship when my mother had eight of us in the house, and when there were only two of us eight children left. Dad wasn’t the type to lead it, but always listened carefully. God’s Word left an imprint on my life. David hid God’s Word in his heart so he wouldn’t sin. If it worked for him, it will work for us.

The Future

2010-10-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

TODAY I MET with the owners of a small Christian publishing company, and gave them a couple of book proposals. I enjoyed meeting them. They're special people, but I don't know if they will be interested or whether we would be a good fit for one another.

MY BOOKS ARE for teens, one fiction, the other a self-help volume.
It used to be when an author wrote a book, he knew there was a good chance it would never see the light of day. Now with self publishing, e-books, print-on-demand, the risks aren't so great--although you never know if people will read your words even if your book is published.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Even if I knew tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

Behind every apple you eat is someone who looked into the future with hope and imagination because an apple seed takes more than 10 years to produce an edible crop.

People keep writing, as I do because they feel they have a good story to tell, something to share, or something to teach. What a wonderful freedom!

For some reason, magazines and newspapers usually reach far more readers than books, no matter how we love books, even in this era when newspapers are folding and magazines are biting the dust. Knowing what is going on in the world from newspapers and writers we trust is a special privilege enjoyed only by those who live in a country based on freedoms and individual rights given to us by God.

In the Bible we're told God's Word will be a light to our paths, to show us the right way to go into the future, and illuminate the dangers that imperil our souls.

I plan to go forward into the days ahead continuing to write with faith, enjoying freedom in every area of my life, and praying God will have mercy on America so that we can keep these freedoms.

If you've dreamed of being a writer, today is the time to begin work on your tomorrows.

What does work mean to you?

2010-10-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Work consumes the majority of life, and I'm amazed how often it's mentioned in the Bible.

When I think of labor, I always remember my mother quoting a few choice verses such 2 Thessalonians 3:9-11, "He that doesn't work shouldn't eat" and the one that says something about "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might."

Mom might have mentioned this one, too: "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands" (1 Thessalonians 4:10-12)

Here's a verse that lays it on even thicker than Mom did: "He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need (Ephesians 4:27-29).

But in looking through just a small section of Bible I discovered much more about work. The Bible talks about "a laborer being worthy of his hire" and another that says "When a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation" (Romans 4:3-5).

1 Corinthians 9 is an interesting chapter that talks about the laborer being allowed to partake of the fruit of his labor. It appears the Apostle Paul is into equal justice where those who work get their paychecks and give to charity willingly; instead of social justice where wealth is taken from those who have and given to those who have not.

Yet, I notice the majority of the verses that came up under "Work" in Bible Gateway teach us that it's not by "works" of righteousness that we have done, but by His mercy Jesus saved us. Yet, He points out we need to work to build the Kingdom, preaching the gospel so that others may have eternal life.

Work seems as vital to us as the sun is to life. Perhaps we should remember the warning, "Work for the night is coming" (John 9:3-5).

Points I often Ponder

2010-08-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

A few of my own sayings:
"Unbelief is the opiate of the sinner."

"Satan makes sure that every Christian has a legitimate reason to quit serving God, and often another Christian becomes that reason."

That should not be.

"Beauty comes in all colors, shapes and sizes."

From my friend, Ruth: "Each phase of life is more exciting than the last when you serve Jesus."

From St. Peter: "A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him" 1 Peter 2:19. NIV

From my friend, Tania, quoting Jim Rohn, author and motivational speaker:
"You become the average of the five people you associate with most."

From St. John: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15).

Another from John: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

From the Apostle Paul: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control" (Galations 5:22).NKJ

DO YOU KNOW THE WORD?

2010-07-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today I had lunch with a group of folks who discussed the perilous times and the possibility that Jesus Christ could return at any moment.
"What worries me," someone said, "is whether our children know enough about Jesus' return for the Redeemed to even know it will happen in a twinkling of an eye--like a thief in the night.

There can be no doubt about it. Christ's coming will be unexpected by most people. The Bible says, "For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3.)

"Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him" (Matthew 24:42-44).

Jesus told a parable about 10 virgins, five of them wise and five foolish. Five were ready when the bridegroom came, but five others were locked out even though they created quite a fuss.

He told about two men working in the field. One was taken and another left. Two were in bed. One was taken and another left."

Jesus kept saying, "Watch. You don't know what hour your Lord will come." (Matthew 24.)

The only thing we can take to heaven with us is other people, and I hope every member of our family, our extended families, our friends, neighbors, and others with whom we've come in contact are ready for His coming, whether it is the catching away of the church, or walking through the shadow of death.

We need fear no evil, if God is with us.

Do you know how to be ready? Romans 10:9 tells us, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation."

But there is more: obedience to God and His Word. Jesus told the rich young ruler to "Come. Follow me."

We aren't saved by our works, however. "It is not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:4-6.)

Yet, because when we are truly born again and are made new creatures in Christ, we desire to walk in holiness. As we grow in Him and the fruits of His Spirit are manifest in our lives such as love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, our lives become different. Then when we receive the Gifts of the Spirit, they work through us in power to win and bless others.

There is so much to gain in knowing Jesus and His Word!

Made your reservation?

2010-07-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a wonderful trip to visit family. Basic airfare from here to Florida was about the same price as filling up the gas tank in our van.
Cheap tickets usually go fast, and we had to make a quick reservation and pay immediately.
I'm ready for another trip, too. I made a reservation and my name was written down, according to the Book, but I don't know the date of "take-off."
The Commander-in-Chief gave some hints, "When you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; but the end will not come immediately. Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places and famines and pestilences and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. They will persecute you...for my name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony."
AMONG THE INSTRUCTIONS is this: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that desolation is near."

Let me insert a comment here. This is the first time in history when perhaps the peace of the whole world hinges on Israel--a nation the size of New Jersey.

Another section of the instructions declares there will be distress of nations, men's hearts failing them for fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man (Jesus) coming in the clouds with power and great glory.
Now when these things begin to happen, He said, "Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
THESE INSTRUCTIONS are from Luke 21. We have more detail in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18. "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
FOR THE LORD SHALL DESCEND from heaven with a shout and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
"Then we who are alive and remain SHALL BE CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
"Therefore, comfort one another with these words."

One more note: The tickets were paid for 2,000 years ago on the cross by Jesus Christ Himself.

HOW TO FACE PERILOUS TIMES #7

2010-05-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

After all these weeks of discussion about the United States of America at risk, I wonder how to conclude. So many worrisome things are occurring, even beyond economic problems, unemployment, staggering national debt, terrorists’ bombing attempts and nations who hate us building nuclear bomb arsenals.
I worry about the spiritual state of our nation, where it seems everyone—even those who claim to be Christians—use the Lord’s name in vain for every emotion under the sun. Although churches schedule prayer meetings, few attend. During services, we pray for the offering and the folks in the hospital, but seldom do we storm the gates of heaven in earnest intercessory prayer for a generation going to hell because they don’t understand what the Gospel is about. Our secularistic society has effectively interfered with reaching young people with the truths of the abundant life Jesus gives on earth, that there is a divine purpose for each person to be here at this time in history, and that Jesus is their only hope of exiting from this world alive.
There are no easy answers to the mess in which we find ourselves. If we’re honest, we know perilous times have come. It’s tempting to be discouraged.
Then I remember Paul’s questions, inspired by God, to the church: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:30-32KJ).
The Bible is full of promises about God’s faithfulness. Peter wrote, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
He adds, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love” (2 Peter 3-7NIV).
What are some of those promises?
Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8).
He will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
He will supply all our needs. (Philippians 4:19)
He watches over us and even notices when a hair on our head turns loose. (Matthew 10:30-32).
He answers prayer. (Luke 11:9-11).
He gives joy and peace. (1 Peter4 7-9).
He will give us power to witness when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8).
If we resist the devil, he’ll flee from us, and greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. (James 4:7).
We can overcome through the word of our testimony. (Rev. 12:10-12).
The promise of salvation and infilling of the Spirit is for us, our children and our children’s children. (Acts 2).
Through accepting Jesus as Savior and making Him Lord of our lives, we will live forever.(John 3:16).
Jesus will come again and take us to where He is, where we will live also. (John 14).
Sometimes it pays to read the back of the Book. Have you read Revelation 21 and 22 lately?
These words were told by Jesus to John in his vision: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
He continues with a promise and a warning, “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of water of life freely. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
In chapter 22, he declares, “ Behold, I am coming soon!” not once but three times. “My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done…. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city….”The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come! Whoever is thirsty let him come and drink of the water of life freely.'”

Perilous Times #6

2010-04-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

How do we prepare for perilous times?

Preparedness is how the wise live. We prepare to meet God, prepare for His coming, and also prepare to live a life pleasing to Him.

Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow, but several scriptures show us the importance of being ready for possible hard times physically as well as spiritually.

Providing for people living under our roof is extremely important. Paul wrote to Timothy, "If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (1 Timothy 5:7-9).

Before the perilous times during the flood, God told Noah to take every kind of food that was to be eaten and store it away in the ark" (Genesis 6:21).

One of the miracles in Joseph's life was the dream he interpreted about years of plenty followed by years of famine. The interpretation of the dream helped Egypt store up so much food for the coming famine, they had food to share, which benefitted Joseph's family.

One of the things notable about the Proverbs 31 woman is she provides food and clothing for her household.

During much of the last century, nearly every family kept two years' food supply in their cellars. These folks went through the Great Depression and didn't forget it There were long food lines, as there were in recent years in the Soviet Union when the nation collapsed and many people went hungry. Our parents and grandparents knew jobs weren't that secure in their day, and eating often depended upon good weather for crops, and good health for their chickens and other animals. So they stored as much food as they could.

Some religions, such as the Mormons, advise members to store a year's supply of food.

How should we prepare for the future in these perilous times?

Some folks are investing in gold. I'd think that's only for the wealthy, and is said to be more for insurance than investment. But we literally can save our change. I heard the other day it costs three cents to make a penny. Copper is so valuable today thieves strip houses under construction of their electric and telephone wire to get it. They're even stealing air conditioner compressors to get copper.

There's still a little silver left in other coins. Dump your change in a jar every day. Someday a penny might be more valuable than a paper dollar. If you find a wheat penny it's surely worth more than one cent.

Then, keep the pantry and freezer full. Put away 100 pounds of dry beans. They aren't very expensive and they'd fill tummies for a long time. If you never need them, you can donate them to a mission or charity. Beans will last for years if kept away from dampness. Beans estimated to be 10,000 years old buried in the tombs of Anasazi Indians were planted and grew, bringing back a variety that had been lost.

I made a list of things that would be good to store just by purchasing extra now and then when items are on sale. You can make your own list. But pray for wisdom to know what to store for your family's unique needs.

* Vegetable seeds, non-hybrid (If really hard times come, we could find a place to plant. I grow quite a bit in flower pots with the bottoms knocked out so the roots can go into the soil. My version of a "raised garden".)

* 100 pounds Pinto Beans or a variety your family likes
* Rice (At least 25 pounds)
* Other dried foods, including macaroni and cheese
* Cooking oil (This can turn rancid. Use before expiration dates.)
* Flour If you use quite a bit, aim for 50 pounds.(Put in freezer at least overnight to prevent weavils.)
* Sugar (25 pounts? It's easier to keep than flour)
* Corn meal (Freeze overnight).
* Soda, salt and baking powder
* Cereal (Watch expiration dates. Use oldest first.)
* Canned or dry milk (Great for gravy, cream soups, etc.)
* Canned fruit and vegetables (these will keep way beyond expiration dates)
* Canned meats
* Macaroni, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce with meat
* Coffee and tea.

MEDICATIONS
Don't always throw away old prescriptions or medications. A pharmacist told me some drugs just lose strength, and won't do that stored in a cool, dark place. The Drug Handbook, however, says outdated Tetracyclaline, has caused kidney damage, so it must change chemically when it gets old. If possible, just keep extra prescriptions ahead if you can and don't let yourself run out of those you use regularly. Use older prescriptions first.

Buy up extra:

Hand sanitizer
Aspirin (low dose daily might prevent heart attack. Take a whole aspirin for heart attack symptoms as you head for the hospital.)
Tylenol
Diarrhea meds, Gatorade and Pedialyte
Benadryl and other allergy medications
Antiacid
Calcium
Vitamins--multi, vitamins C,D,B-12, B-6,E, mega-3; iron (take iron only if anemic), cranberry pills for bladder and kidney health
OTC cold remedies you can take
Eye care
Hand, laundry and dishwashing soap
Clorox or other disinfectant
First-aid supplies

BATTERY-OPERATED RADIO, batteries

When you buy new supplies, put them behind the other products so the older is used first.

Some people store bottled water or water purification tablets
.

Perilous Times 5

2010-04-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

Conservatives are hoping to overturn the health care bill by sending wise people to congress in November who will more wisely make health care affordable and accessible. They also pray our nation will cut spending, significantly reduce the national debt, restore freedoms and the ability for America to become great again.

Although I am only one person, there is power in my vote. Dick Morris says the most important thing we probably will do in 2010 is vote. The privilege of casting a ballot is the basis of "Government for the people and by the people" handed to us from our founding fathers and those who spilled their blood fighting for freedom. We can't just hope for good government, we need to cast a ballot for freedom every chance we get. The process begins with registering.

But should all of our efforts fail to get the desired result, we can love God, others, entertain strangers, share what we can and rejoice in the Lord because of the hope we have in Him.

This life isn’t all there is—and that’s why we don’t need to be afraid of the future.

The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:5-7). Later, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit another writer wrote this to the Hebrews: “Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also…. Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5-7).

Hope like this is why when the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Philippians from a jail cell, in every one of the four chapters he said, “Rejoice!” Sometimes he said it twice in one verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:3-5NKJ. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy (Philippians 2:16-18).

America has been blessed as no other country in the world. You can't put a price on freedom of speech, freedom to practice our own religion, and freedom to use our talents and abilities to provide for our needs--and often more than we need.

Today, as was prophesied would happen before Jesus comes back to catch away the church, perilous times have come (1Thessalonians 4:13-18). But we can look up, for our redemption draws nigh (Acts 1:11).

PERILOUS TIMES--# 4

2010-03-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

For the first time since Social Security came into being in 1935, more is being paid out than comes in.

Technically, the fund isn’t broke. It holds trillions of dollars worth of IOUs the federal government owes but can’t pay because politicians borrowed the SS money and spent it. The U.S. government will need another loan to make up the difference between what comes in to Social Security and what goes out.

We also know Medicare is going broke, as well as many individuals, small businesses, corporations, financial institutions, banks, cities and states. The President already has said $50 billion will be cut from Medicare under the new health care bill, and though it’s been denied, we know care for the elderly will be rationed because Baby Boomers now are going into Medicare.

On March 21, when Congress passed the health care bill, some economists said it would bankrupt America or put the nation so far in debt many folks will pay 60 percent of their income in taxes---and saddle another generation and maybe more with massive debt. Taxes begin immediately, but most benefits won’t be implemented for four years. But the nation appears to be nearly bankrupt without health care added.

Behind this law was politicians’ call for “Social Justice” and the “right” of every person to health care. Those for government health care feel a certain “righteousness” for providing healthcare for the uninsured, especially with the term "Social Justice."

Taking care of the needs of everyone on U.S. soil sounds good. Yet, there are programs already in place for the uninsured and underinsured such as Community Health Centers where patients pay on a sliding fee scale according to income. We also have Medicaid, and the millions who could pay for insurance, but choose to spend their money for something else.

we do need changes in the system that allows lawyers to prey upon pharmaceutical companies, doctors, hospitals and file huge malpractice claims, taking a large chunk of the awarded money themselves. Torte reform would limit such claims to reasonable amounts to help the affected people and should limit the amount attorneys receive for handling the cases.

We also need health care to be available across state lines, and to have at least some stricter regulations for insurance companies.

The economy and the health-care law aren’t the only worrisome events in our nation. A number of people in the current administration have radical ideals of Saul Alinsky and the Cloward-Piven strategy. Both would collapse our current system of capitalist government and take away many of our freedoms.

Some say the C-P strategy has been creeping into our political system since the 1960s. This week Congress is debating controlling Wall Street and American business. When the government controls Wall Street, health care, student loans, own car companies, and keeps appointing judges that legislate from the bench, politicians probably will control the population.

Most likely, students attending Christian colleges will be denied loans if the health care bill is not overturned (for some reason it was attached to health care), and possibly all students will be told where they can attend college.

Political commentators say this administration is using “Social Justice” as a way to reach people of faith so they’ll fall into the maze moving us away from freedom, through socialism to Marxism and communism. Contrary to what they want you to believe, Jesus did not take away people’s coats or their money so he could transfer wealth to the poor. He told US to GIVE of our own free will, and that’s what Christians have done since the beginning.

I agree with commentator Glenn Beck that what we need is "Equal Justice", not "Social Justice." Dictators in the last century used Social Justice, and other nice sounding words to grasp power, redistribute wealth and control people. Those thought inferior or disagreeable were shot or incinerated.

The first time I saw television news, Castro’s men were mowing down Cubans with machine guns in front of burial pits. That is where Castro’s “Social Justice” was carried out. Castro's Social Justice is why many Cubans risked their lives swimming or jumping in overloaded boats trying to reach the United States.

Freedom is a precious gift. The Pilgrims came to America not to discover a land of opportunity, but for religious freedom.

What are we doing with our freedom in these perilous times? Are we in church when we can be? Are we openly witnessing to the lost and loving them into the Kingdom? Are we reading and memorizing the Word in case our Bibles are taken away as they have been in other nations?

As one of my favorite pastors says, “Remember our future doesn’t lie in the hands of politicians—it’s in the hands of God.”

We can't forget that. But we can vote, and “Walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:15-17.

Perilous Times: Prepare for the future 3

2010-03-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

My father lived by Romans 13:7-- "Owe no man any thing."

Dad hated debt. The most he ever made in his life was $60 a week. He worked many days during the Great Depression for $1 a day and was happy to get that.

Mom and Dad had eight children, and I was the youngest. After Mom died and Dad remarried, he took reponsibility for two more. Just having a family that size is enough to put most people into dire poverty. But my parents raised a family of hard workers, and our poverty wasn't dire. Sure, we didn't have an extra dime, but our poverty in those days didn't come close to the poverty that chokes families affected by alcohol and drug addictions, abuse, greed, hatred, and rebellion toward God.

We were rich with the love of God and one another. The willingness to work made us rich with satisfaction in what we earned. The chickens and animals we raised for food, and the fresh vegetables and fruits we grew in the garden and preserved made the table rich with bounty.

But my father's commitment to stay out of debt also was a blessing. Although he didn't make much money, he bought land at tax sales and later resold it. He made a garage into a rental house, and when some of the children married, the upstairs became another apartment. He built a new small house on the back side of our land, then sold it.

The day he bought a shiny new Chevy with cash was a big day. It wasn't nicer than anyone else's--but it was paid for.

With today's economy, experts who study history and look at the future say getting out of debt should be a high priority for preparing for perilous times. We need to watch how we spend our money. Do we really need any more clothes? Is it necessary to eat out so often? Are all the luxuries in our homes necessary? Do we need the best and highest-priced television cable packages?

Do we try to save on utilities and other expenses that aren't fixed?

If we keep track of where the money goes, we'll be surprised at how much goes into a black hole that has no significant purpose.

There are definite advantages to being raised poor. I know I can get by on much less than I spend now.

Consumer Credit Counseling teaches there are two types of people: Those who spend because they think only of immediate gratification, and those who think only of the future. Their financial advisers say it's best for married couples to be from opposite groups. People who think only of tomorrow don't enjoy life. Those who live only for this moment never have any money and usually are in debt.

I think all of us can develop the ability to mix saving/spending into our characters. To get out of debt, we might need to think more of the future, but when we accomplish that feat--we'll have a wonderful time in the present.

Doesn't that sound like a good way to survive perilous times?

Perilous Times 2

2010-03-04T19:54:00.001-08:00

Even in these critical times, God is still faithful. We can't forget that. People still find hope and joy in Jesus! Just about two weeks ago a young Jewish man visited a church near us as part of his rabbinical studies about other religions. Suddenly he connected the Old Testament to what he saw and heard there and accepted Jesus as Savior, Lord and Messiah. However, now he may suffer for his new faith. His parents might disinherit him.

In the midst of revival and outpouring of God’s spirit, Satan still is at work. We should never forget our enemy goes about as a roaring lion seeking those he can devour.

As the time of Christ’s return nears, evil men and seducers will get more numerous and aggressive, Paul warns. In 2 Timothy 3 he suggests the unthinkable: Those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, and if we deny Him, He will deny us.

These are unsettling thoughts for Americans. Oh, how we have enjoyed religious liberty!

In most other countries, Christians understand Paul’s warnings well. What does the Lord, in Paul’s inspired writing in 2 Timothy 3-4, tell us to do in perilous times?

1. Remain faithful to the things we have learned. We need to read the Word!Paul talks about people following fables, and because of their lusts they will not endure sound doctrine but choose teachers that will satisfy their itching ears (tell them what they want to hear). The Word says to turn away from these people and their teachers.
2. Paul pauses to remind that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and help us to realize what is wrong in our lives. The Word teaches us how to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God has called us to do” (2 Timothy 3:16NLT).
3. Keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering. Work at bringing others to Christ….Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage(2 Timothy 4:5,2).
Paul did most of his writing from prison. He understood hard times and persecution. But the purpose of Paul’s letter to Timothy, which he expected to be read in the churches, was “that all the Christians would be filled with love that comes with a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. Love is at the top of the list, and the type of love he speaks about is quite different from the usual.
There is much to pray and think about, and goals to achieve in these perilous times as well.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR PERILOUS TIMES--introduction to a series

2010-03-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

The news about our nation’s condition is unsettling. Big corporations, banks, individuals, cities and multiple states are bankrupt or going that way. The U.S. government could be close to bankruptcy. Greece is teetering on the edge of financial disaster.

It doesn't make any difference how much money we Americans have in the bank if the FDIC is bankrupt, stocks and bonds become worthless, and our nation collapses.

Even more bad news plagues us. Our freedoms seem to be in jeopardy. A judge canceled the National Day of Prayer. Our religious liberties have been under attack for decades. Immorality and rebellion probably are near the highest point of history.

Brings to mind the Apostle Paul’s words, “In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self control.

“They will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

In Chapter 4, Paul continues to describe the problem. “A time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths.

Does that sound like America in 2010?

I hope it doesn’t describe you or the folks you hang out with. I see myself in parts of it.

So, what should we do? I’ll share some of Paul’s solutions in future blogs.

Old Friends

2010-01-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

Facebook brought people back into my life recently that I hadn't heard from in years.

Many had been in my Sunday school classes in various churches. With Les's railroad job, we moved many times since we wed.

Others are among friends, and what great people they are! That's the joy of changing your environment often. Moving gives you the opportunity to enlarge your circle.

Some that I've connected with were teen-agers and a few were children when I saw them last. But they were interested in connecting with me, and what a privilege! They grown up to be fine specimens, and they are examples of what a difference it makes when you give your life to Jesus.

Critical people have told me over the years they believe non-Christians are better at relationships than Christians. I laugh at that. I've met some of the greatest people on earth among the hundreds of Christians we fellowshiped with in Colorado, Utah and Missouri. Perhaps a few rotten potatoes surfaced, but I'd estimate you can't ask for a better friend than 98 percent of these people. Yes, they were quite ordinary in most ways. Very few were rich or famous. They probably had a few flaws, but they wanted to be a "vessel of honor" and many were close to pure gold.

That gives me a little glimpse of what Heaven will be like. From what I can tell most of my friends are going there. What a time we're going to have!

Does Snopes know all?

2009-11-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

Snopes.com is this generation’s way to determine truth. Internet users rely on the website because so many misleading and untrue e-mails circulate in cyberspace.
According to Wikipedia, David Mikkelson and Barbara Hamel created the Snopes.com myth-busters website in 1995 to reveal e-mail hoaxes and confirm or debunk widely spread urban legends. The site has more than six million visitors a month
The Mikkelsons say their intention is not merely to dismiss or confirm misconceptions and rumors, but to provide evidence for such debunkings and confirmations as well. Although they claim to research their topics heavily and provide references when possible, not all of their sources are fully verifiable, says Wikipedia. Where appropriate, pages are generally marked "undetermined" or "unverifiable" if the Mikkelsons feel there is not enough evidence to either support or disprove a given claim.
They have learned, as have seekers throughout the ages,that truth often is difficult to
come by.
Societies historically tried many methods to determine when a person was lying. The Chinese sometimes filled a suspect’s mouth with uncooked rice and the person would be judged guilty if the rice could not be spit out quickly and easily. The test was based on the idea that people who lie don’t create saliva.
Some ancient civilizations required a suspect to grab a white-hot metal rod and carry it to a marked destination. If the burns on the person’s hands did not heal by a certain date, the person was ruled guilty and punished.
More humane was a serum introduced in the 1920s by a Texas obstetrician, Dr. Robert House. He believed a person under the influence of the drug scopolamine was unable to tell a lie. In an era of corruption and crime, it was hoped the drug could turn people to honesty, but it’s use as a lie detector was not widely accepted..
“Truth Serum,” an anesthetic or hypnotic such as thiopental sodium or sodium pentathal, later was believed to cause a person to speak only the truth, but these drugs weren’t totally reliable, either.
Today we have the polygraph, which supporters say is 90 percent accurate, yet in many court rooms the results can’t be entered as evidence.
The best court cases depend on physical evidence and eyewitnesses’ testimony, but sometimes truth is still elusive.
In the days Jesus walked the earth, some people questioned whether He was truthful, despite His miracles, compassion, and claim to be God. “I tell you the truth,” might be the phrase most often spoken by Jesus. The four Gospels record Jesus saying those words at least 80 times.
But Jesus not only assured people He told the truth, He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He assured them that when He went away, He would sent the Holy Spirit, which would lead them into all truth (John 16:13).
How do we know what to believe? Truth is difficult to prove. The folks at Snopes.com have been accused of allowing political beliefs to influence their conclusions. Whether that is true, we know faith becomes involved what we decide is true, even in secular situations. We need faith in the carrier of information. We need faith in witnesses to believe what they say. We need faith the evidence actually shows what the experts say it does, and put trust in the way in which evidence is gathered.
I’ve known superstitious people who firmly believe things I consider absurd. People believe in the horoscope and fortune tellers. A large number of folks believe we appeared on this earth with seeing eyes and hearing ears without a creator.
God equipped each of us with a free will so we could decide what we believe. The scripture states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Salvation is based on belief. That’s why you can’t prove God exists! Faith is the requirement for Salvation.
Yet, our loving Heavenly Father didn’t leave us without solid reasons for faith. He provided witnesses, testimony and evidence everywhere about who He is.
Whether we believe it is up to us.

Who is Jesus?

2009-11-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

Jesus came to earth to demonstrate who He is.

Eleven people closest to Him wrote about Who Jesus Christ is. We can read their testimonies in the New Testament. According to tradition, all gave their lives because of their faith in Him, with the exception of John, who died in exile on Patmos Island.

In his book, "Evidence that Demands a Verdict," Josh McDowell wrote that no one would give his life for something he knew was a lie.

The disciples were there when Jesus walked on water, calmed the storms, fed thousands on a bit of fish and bread, healed the sick, raised the dead, died on a bloody cross in agony for our sins, and rose from the dead three days later.

These men knew Jesus. But we also may know him.

By becoming one of us Jesus:
1. Demonstrated concern about our eternal destiny. "In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you ... that where I am you will be also." (John 14)
2. Demonstrated he cares about our lives. "The thief (Satan) comes to steal and destroy but I come that you might have life to the full." (John 10:10)
3. Demonstrated concern for our physical needs. He healed the sick and fed His followers.
4.Demonstrated power over our emotional needs by healing the brokenhearted and comforting those who mourn.
5. Demonstrated the need to resist Satan by sending the tempter fleeing when the devil came to Him (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan wanted Jesus to start a "reality show" by turning stones into bread, jumping off the pinnacle of the temple without a parachute. Then He offered Jesus rulership of the world, which is laughable since Jesus was there at creation. Hebrews 4:15 says, "This HIgh Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin."
6. Demonstrated compassion. He was not annoyed by interruptions; he loved on children; cried at Lazarus' death; and restored Peter to the ministry even after Peter denied he knew him.
7. Demonstrated his power not only to stop storms, but to change lives. The sinful woman at the well experienced a transformed life. So did the man delivered from demon possession who dwelled among the tombs, so wild he couldn't be chained. He cut himself and cried day and night. Suddenly he was delivered and in his right mind. (Mark 5:1-15)
Jesus didn't use his power to draw attention to himself, but because He loves people.
8. Claimed to be God and demonstrated His divinity by walking out of the tomb alive, verified by many witnesses. He said, "The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!" (John 8:38 NLT)
9. Demonstrated His love for humankind by dying on the cross in order that death would be swallowed by life (2 Corinthians 5:3-5). For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
10. Demonstrated how He will come back for His church when He was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud received him out of their sight. An angel told the 500 men and other dumbfounded believers, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-10).

That's who Jesus is. Do you know Him?

A Huge Anniversary

2009-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today Pops and I have been married almost as long as my mother lived.

By today's standards, she had a short life and we have a long marriage.

When I was a reporter for the Lifestyle Department, sometimes I interviewed folks who had long marriages. I think I started talking to couples married 60 years, but then it went up to 70; then 75. Pops and I aren't near that mark yet, but as life expectancy increases, more couples celebrate that many years together.

One thread ran among all the anniversary interviews, no matter the background or religion: "We experienced a few times where we could have divorced, but we stuck it out and overcame our problems."

Over and over these experts on how to make a marriage work repeated the Apostle Paul's advice in Ephesians 4:6 which says, "Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry." (NLT) The couples didn't say where they learned this, but I knew and I've tried to put Paul's advice into my life and marriage myself.

Ephesians 4 gives wisdom about how to live. If I could do everything Paul suggests, I'd probably be perfect. But I'm not. I'm still the fiery redhead my husband married and we're both as opinionated as we've always been. We mesh well in many areas, but there are a few that create sparks. Real arguments are seldom won. We both end up with the opinions with which we began.

My mom used to say, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

When co-workers had a hot discussion in the newsroom about politics or the issue of the day, they'd sometimes ask what I thought. I responded, "Argument never proves anything. All it does is prove who is better at debate."

Sometimes it proves who is the most stubborn, too. Talk to us, and my husband would tell you I'm the stubborn one. I would disagree.

In our marriage, most things we discuss aren't that important. It helps me to admit to myself it's trivial. But there are things hugely important to me. These things aren't debatable and I'm glad my husband and I agree on the important principles of life.

Jesus made a simple power-point for us so we'd know where to put our priorities. Too many of us miss the first point: "Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence" (Matthew 22:36-37 The Message).

Then Jesus added, "Love others as well as you love yourself."

I'm still working on those goals, and I can testify that commitment to God and each other results in success for marriage.

Bumps in the Journey

2009-06-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

As a person ages, losses come.

Tennis was my first huge loss after I ruptured a tendon in my leg during a competitive set of doubles between Gwen and her second cousin, John, and Pops and I. Although our opponents were much younger, Pops and I gave them a challenge. We had rally after rally and the game was close. One team would get ahead, then the other would bring it to a tie and take the lead. Then we'd repeat it.

Suddenly I heard a big "twang" in my head, and I fell to the court in agony.

I tried to play tennis after that, but the strength in that leg disappeared. I could no longer jump or push off quickly to go after the ball. I don't think I won another game. The orthopedist said I'd eventually have problems with that knee, and I did. Because I compensated with the other leg to avoid pain, both joints began to bother me. Finally, I had knee replacements and I was told to never run again.

Another big loss was wearing out joints in both thumbs. The years of writing several hundred stories a year at the newspaper, plus other wear and tear on my thumbs, caused me to be unable to turn a key in a lock and to need to use two hands to turn the ignition key in the car.

I woke one morning before work unable to move my right hand. The doctor diagnosed tendonitis, gave me a shot and ordered rest for it.

I tried to work with casts on my hands (nearly impossible), and decided surgery was inevitable. My wise editor advised me to have my left thumb done first, since I am right handed. I did that, and although the thumb joint now moved and I could grasp things correctly, it was far from as good as new. I opted not to have surgery on the other thumb since I could retire, and I'd had too many complications with surgery on the other one.

Work wasn't the only thing I had to give up, however. I'd played piano at church most of my life, then when my thumbs started giving me grief I switched to the organ because it was easier on the hands.

After hand surgery, I never played in church again. I do play for my own enjoyment, but I can't play the same way I used to.

Then we moved to another state and after singing almost two decades in a trio with a couple of wonderful women, that era was gone! No longer would we get together every couple of weeks or so, visit, laugh, pray and sing until our hearts nearly overflowed. How I remember those uplifting songs, the close harmony, the other gals' solos on verses now and then, and the joyful response of the church!

Losses keep coming. I'm no longer addicted to a beautiful yard, although I still do outside work because when something needs to be done, I'll do it. I had to give up my high heels because of my knees, and dresses and skirts are almost a thing of the past because they aren't attractive with flat shoes; and I can't seem to keep warm from the waist down.

Not too long ago, because of another health problem, I gave up swimming, something I've loved since I was a teenager when I swam in irrigation canals, floating downsteam on my back or an innertube. Now I walk a track and ride a stationary bike for exercise.

I could look at the past and weep for my losses. Or I could look at the future instead with great enthusiasm like my friend, Ruth, a missionary. Ruth told me when you know the Lord, each phase of life is more exciting than the last.

I can vouch for that. Who would have a clue that two retired people like Pops and me would have so much fun that we'd hurry to keep the work caught up in between? We're busy meeting with family, sharing our lives as we've never been able to in our younger years. We meet all sorts of interesting and terrific people. We experienced and saw things in our travels I never dreamed I'd see.

But because our lives are more relaxed, we can enjoy each other more. Sometimes we just go out for a simple meal. Other times we spend an evening watching the St. Louis Cardinals play ball, or we'll get out the Double 12 set of Dominoes and play the old-fashioned kind where you add up the dots and you score if your total ends in 5 or 0. Lately we've been playing Scrabble because our next door neighbors play Scrabble and we've played with them and want to improve our game.

We get together with friends or relatives for other games, but the favorite is Rook.

I admit I usually whine a lot if I end up with a whole evening of bad Rook cards, but if I and my partner lose, I'll declare triumphantly, "We put up a good fight--and we just spent two hours in Alzheimer's prevention!"

Of course, we spend lots of time in church and in Bible studies and prayer. Many people don't understand that, but Psalm 16:11 is true: "In His presence is fullness of joy!"

Another thing that's happened as I've aged, my love for God has grown. I have more time (or I make time) for private study of the Word and prayer. I've been a student of the Bible since my teens and I still almost gasp with the truths and amazing things there.

Most awesome is my Heavenly Father's love for me. The least I can do is to obey the First Commandment not to have any God's before Him, which Jesus said means to love Him with all my heart, all my soul, and with all my mind (Matthew 22:37).
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When you know God and accept His Son as Savior, loving God is easy. And as the song says, the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

Thankful

2009-06-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

More and more I thank God for my blessings. But more and more I wonder how long some of these blessings will continue.

Sure, I know I have Salvation and God's mercy and love always will be there for me. But material blessings we in the United States have known appear to be over a trap door. I sometimes wonder when the whole bottom is going to fall.

Will I be free to attend church, read my Bible, and share my faith in the future? I've seen these freedoms yanked away from nation after nation in my lifetime.

Are our bank accounts in danger of disappearing? Will our paychecks still be there as they always have been? Will I have health insurance and care? Even prescriptions?
Will our pantry always be supplied?

During the Great Depression, bank accounts evaporated, there were few paychecks, most people already didn't have health care, and food was scarce.

Now, in 2009 there are more problems. I wonder if violence and war will erupt on United States' soil. We have been blessed that bombs and rockets haven't exploded in our neighborhoods. Thank God!

Yet, today GlobalSecurity.org says 31 countries are involved in war right now. I know the blood of U.S. soldiers continues to spill in the current wars in Iran and Afghanistan in our effort to protect America from terror and bring freedom to those nations.

We have no idea what will happen tomorrow. Jesus warned his followers when he was on earth that hard times would come, and since the gospels are for us also, we can listen. The Master said we need to build our lives on Him and His teachings, which would be like a builder erecting a house on a strong foundation. If a home is built on bedrock, when the storms come, the house will stand. Built on anything else, our lives are like a building constructed on the sand, and when the hurricane comes, the home is obliterated. You'll find the story in Matthew 7:24-27.

So, are perilous stormy times headed to the United States? Some say thunder already rumbles. So, what do we do?

Jesus advises us to take no thought for tomorrow because worrying doesn't accomplish anything. He advises us to look at the birds. Although many folks feed birds, I've never seen a reason to throw them bird seed. (I did feed an injured wild goose in the deep snow once.) Where I live, the skies, the trees and the yards are alive with all kinds of birds and they're always eating! When God made the world He provided everything the fat robin, the elegant cardinal, the beautiful blue bird--and even the starling needs.

Jesus also told us to look at how he clothes the grass and the lilies. You can't find fabric more beautiful than a flower petal!

Jesus wanted us to know he takes care of his creation (hey, Who else keeps the universe running), and added, "Not even a sparrow, worth only a half penny, can fall to the ground without the Heavenly Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-30NLT)

Son, Look in the Word!

2009-04-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

One of our friends gave his son a new Bible when he went out of town to college and the dad strongly advised the youth to read the book.
Soon the young man phoned his dad and said, “I need money.”
“Look in the Word!” the father admonished.
The confused son argued a little, but the older man didn’t budge. He just advised his son to get into the Bible and his economic problems would be solved.
A few days later, the youth called again.
“Dad, I’m broke.”
“Son, look in the Word!” his father repeated.
The young man called his dad a third time, and Dad's answer was the same.
One night in desperation, the student took the new Bible out with the intention of reading it. A crisp $100 bill lay between the pages where the book fell open. Gasping with delight, he flipped through the book searching for a favorite scripture passage and discovered four more $100 bills tucked into the Bible.
Our friend placed the money in the gift so his son would remember the message that knowing God through His Word has tremendous value. Not only does scripture tell us God will supply our needs, it also tells us if we know God, we are “rich” in the things that count and the Lord’s words are to be desired more than fine gold.
The Apostle Paul talked to the Corinthian church about being “stewards” of the valuable mysteries of God. Stewards act as administrators of finances or property, and Paul reminded the church they were rich because of what they received from the Lord. They had something they could take into eternity with them and it couldn’t be touched by thieves.
As workers together with God, Paul also said when we share the gospel, “We make many rich who have nothing, yet possess all things.
Paul talked to the church in Rome about our Heavenly Father working with us as a potter does the clay so He might “make known the riches of His glory” to us who are clothed in earthly bodies. Paul added Christians have a “treasure” in their earthen vessels.
More than anything, our friend wanted his son to be rich toward God. That young man will never forget his dad’s advice, “Son, look in the Word!”

Is Jesus the Only Way?

2009-03-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

One day the Lifestyle/religion editor asked whether I'd be interested in doing a "New Age," story then asked, "Don't you believe we all will end up in the same place no matter what religion we follow?"

He went on to name the world's major religions.

I silently asked God for wisdom, then answered, "If we do, God certainly did a number on His Son when He sent Him to die on the cross for our sins!"

A growing number of professing Christians today no longer believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. What does the Bible say about this?

John 3:16 tells us "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus shed His blood on the cross, then came out of the tomb alive and conquered death. All we have to do is accept Jesus as our Savior, believe God raised Him from the dead, confess it with our mouths, and we'll live eternally (Romans 10:9). That's the Gospel.

The Apostle Paul showed what a religion believes about Jesus is the ultimate test of whether or not the teachings are false. For instance, the Corinthian Christians were being deceived by false prophets corrupting their minds. Paul compared them to Eve when the devil came to tempt her: "For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough" (2 Corinthians 11:3-5 NIV).

If we want to make it to Heaven, we shouldn't put up with false prophets as some of them did.

What did Paul and the other apostles preach? The gospel given to them by Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus told His disciples He is God and that He was there at creation and He lived before Abraham. The exact quotes: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:57-59; "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," and Jesus answered and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 16:15-17).

Jesus also said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father but by me" (John:14:6).

False religions sometimes deny Jesus even lived, but all propaganda contains some truth. Otherwise, no one would believe their teachings. So, the major false prophets say Jesus was a prophet and a good man. They deny His divinity and often the Resurrection. After all, their long dead false prophets are still in their graves or heading there.

Paul gave this warning to the Galatian church: "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" (Galatians 1:7-9 NIV).

False prophets and antichrists are signs that Christ's return is near. In Matthew 24 where Jesus teaches about His Second Coming, He said, "Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of time..., no, nor ever shall be. Unless those days be shortened, no flesh would be saved....Then if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "There!" do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive even the elect.... Then will they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory...And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds....

Jesus says when all the prophecies are fulfilled (many of them are in this chapter of Matthew), He will come. He admonished us to be ready, for we don't know when He is coming. We stay ready by living by God's Word, the Bible, and trusting in Jesus' blood.

Some false religions try to force people to follow their teachings. In many countries when people turn away from the prevailing religion, they are killed. Even in Christianity, false prophets tried to force people to embrace it, such as during the Catholic Inquisition when "heretics" were tortured for their faith

Aa person becomes a Christian, however, when he DECIDES to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. That's why thousands who attended Billy Graham's crusades "made a decision to follow Jesus."

The writer to the Romans asked, "Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living" Romans 6:15-17).

The truth is, God never forces anyone to serve Him, although not serving God puts us in danger of the Judgment (Matthew 5:21-23.) Freedom to choose is why the Bible is filled with stories of sinners and people who rebelled.

You can choose anything you want to believe. Anything about who we are, how we got here, where we're going takes faith. We DECIDE whether to obey God, accept the sacrifice for sin by His son, and obey the commandments to love God and others. No one can force you to be Christian.

However, I have decided to follow Jesus. I am staying on my knees, keeping in the Word, and believing in the Creator of the Universe, the One who knew me and loved me before I was born, and the One who forgave my sins and that I might inherit eternal life.

FAMOUS PERSONS I'VE MET

2009-02-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

As a news reporter I've met and interviewed dozens of important and famous people.

The first person I interviewed that I would consider awesome was Byron (Whizzer) White, who was dubbed "Whizzer" because of his speed as a star running back at the University of Colorado. Academically a "whiz" as well, Byron became a lawyer and the day I interviewed him and covered his speech in March 1962, he was deputy attorney general of the United States. The next day, he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he served many years.

White taught me an important lesson about famous people. White didn't put on any "airs", but chatted with reporters during our interview like we were old friends. I learned that day anyone who is really important doesn't need to prove he is important. It's usually people who THINK they are important but aren't that act arrogant.

White was the first of many famous people I met. I also did a one-on-one interview with former First Lady Rosalind Carter, who was promoting children's immunizations.

I was in the press box among many famous national journalists for former President Clinton's rally in our city. Up close to the podium where he stood to speak, I could see tears pool in his eyes when the crowd cheered--and cheered, and cheered. He obviously enjoyed the folks' applause.

Before Clinton came, I wrote the pre-stories about how our hospitals prepared for a wounding or needed treatment for a U.S. President. With the help of the Secret Service, the hospitals devised a security plan.

The day Clinton came, I was assigned to cover the crowd's reaction to the President, and in doing so found myself tangling with the Secret Service. I attempted to get a couple of quotes from a girl about age 10 who was having an asthma attack and found it necessary to leave. I thought it would help her emotionally if she could tell the newspaper's readers why she wanted to see the President and it would have been another interesting facet to the story. The Secret Service agent stopped the interview.

A year or so later, I was in the press box in Denver for Hillary's speech promoting national health care. Here, I was most surprised by a woman in the crowd who wanted to take MY photo because I was in the media area.

I had a wonderful interview with Joanne Kemp, whose husband, Jack Kemp, ran for U.S. vice president with presidential candidate Bob Dole. A Christian, Mrs. Kemp was delightful.

I've interviewed many Colorado dignitaries and politicians. I talked to former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm more than once. During the first, because Colorado was the first state to legalize abortion (even before Roe vs. Wade), I asked if he had any regrets about signing the legislation. I had the number of reported abortions that had been done so far, which if I remember right was two or three milliion. He said he had no regrets. The next time I interviewed him about his new interest: physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Not surprising.

I chatted with former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer more than once, usually about prisons in the Pueblo area since I ended up with the Department of Corrections on my beat, only because they built a prison for mentally ill inmates on the campus of the state mental institution, one of my assignments.

I interviewed the head of the Social Security Administration under Clinton who said Social Security would be safe from bankruptcy for 30 years. It's only been about 12 years or so, and we're still worrying about SS running out of money.

U.S. Congressman Ben Nighthorse Campbell, whom I interviewed more than once, and his wife who kept a large ranch running while her husband was in Washington, were both delightful. I enjoyed them more than any other politicians I wrote about.

I interviewed Denver Broncos coach Dan Reeves on the phone; and did a story with Susie Morton, wife of former Broncos quarterback Craig Morton for Aglow Magazine; Broncos wide receiver and punt returner Rick Upchurch, who spoke to my Sunday school class; 1970s Broncos cornerback Earlie Thomas; and former CU coach Bill McCartney, the day he had the idea for Promise Keepers.

I did stories with media and movie noteables Dr. Joyce Brothers; actress Mariette Hartley; Monster actor Richard Kiel; the star of an animal show that if I remember right was "Wild Kingdom." (I petted a big python.)

I interviewed fashion designer Dona Karan on the phone.

I interviewed two general superintendents of the Assemblies of God; the president of the U.S. Unification Church (the Moonies, and the only reason it was a highlight is because he said I was the first reporter who challenged him about doctrine); the lead singer of Petra, a Christian rock band; and the Katinas, another Christian group.

I covered many medical conferences and interviewed notables on everything from new treatments, new drugs, to the controversies surrounding physician-assisted suicide. I interviewed the head epidemiologist for the United States about the conquering of polio and red measles in the United States, possibly making the need for immunizations no longer necessary. I visited with him about the production of a shingles vaccine, which didn't become available until after I retired. I talked to a representative of the Food & Drug Administration when they were considering labeling cigarettes as a hazard to your health. The most memorable medical conferences I attended and wrote about revealed discoveries about the human genome, the beginning of a new era of medical treatments surrounding genetics.

I interviewed a large number of city and state dignitaries.

During my newspaper and my free lance writing career, I met many amazing people, but most weren't famous.

Although I enjoyed talking with the famous, none of the celebrities affected me as much as meeting the Lord Jesus Christ when I was only age 5. Of course, Jesus wasn't just a man, although when He came to earth He put on human flesh. He is God and no one on earth can impact a life as He can. That's why we call Him "Lord."

God is the Creator and designed us. He is the One who was and is and is to come. He's everywhere, knows everything and is all powerful because He's God. He has power to give us faith, love, peace, joy, wisdom, gentleness, patience, self control; heal our bodies, forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

No one on earth can equal that--even a celebrity!

Brrrrrrrr!

2009-01-26T15:33:00.000-08:00

A shiny icy skin covers this part of MO this afternoon. They're forecasting another ice storm, but although our sidewalk and the street already are slick, the rain isn't coming down as it did in the 2007 storm that caused so much trouble. I'm hoping it doesn't develop.

I imagine Michelle would love it. Jaron might, too, if we had thick ice covering everything as it did before. He'd go bonkers with his camera. I even wandered out to take photos myself. How can anything so beautiful be so destructive? Springfield looked like a tornado went through in '07 with all the trees down, and folks everywhere struggled to keep warm with power lines down and no electricity. We were fortunate to have a fireplace with a pilot light and we used our outdoor propane grill to cook. We were without water a while, though,, because the city water in Battlefield (where we lived then) depended on electric pumps.

Often since that ice storm I've thanked God for heat, electricity, and the many blessings we have. Many people in the world never have electricity or the conveniences we have. God truly has blessed America. I pray he will continue to do so. But I worry. Yet, the Lord said if we seek HIs face, repent of our sins and turn from our wicked ways He will hear from heaven and heal our land.

That's a warm promise for a frigid day.

KNOCK-KNOCK

2009-01-20T19:48:00.000-08:00

Knock! Knock!

"Who's there?"

How many times did I hear those words when the children were growing up?

One day I'd said, "Who's there?" so many times if I'd kept a grain of sand for each, I'd have a beach. So, to throw the kids off their raft of questions, I said, "Knock! Knock!"

In unision they answered, "Who's there?"

"Belle."

"Belle-who?"

"Door-belle repairman."

They weren't impressed with my ingenuity, which I thought showed genius.

I grew tired of knock-knock jokes, but I've thought about knocking lately. Knocking not only is what we do when a door is locked, we also knock as a matter of courtesy and respect before we enter someone else's home or space--sometimes even when the door is unlocked or open. We don't just barge into someone's house. If we do it to a stranger, we'll be arrested!

I started thinking about knocking one day when my siblings and I discussed our loved ones who seem to have every reason to give their lives to God, yet they haven't made peace with Him. This we know: The Lord won't barge into their lives uninvited. God will never violate their freedom to choose whether or not to accept Salvation, despite our aching hearts and fervent prayers. Because of prayer, the Holy Spirit will continue to woo them, but will never take them by force to abundant life here and eternal life in the heaven.

Contrary to some which will kill if a person refuses to embrace their religion, Jesus gently waits for an invitation.

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

I keep asking the Lord to continue knocking on hearts of people I love. I believe many will hear His voice call to them and will open the door. What rejoicing will occur in my heart and in heaven when they do.

But they'll be excited, too. In my younger days people who accepted Jesus as Savior used to display joy that would make winners on Wheel of Fortune look like wimps.

Our church sings a rousing song, "I am a Friend of God! I am a Friend of God! He calls me 'Friend.'"

Being God's friend is awesome. I'm glad I opened the door long ago.

A BURGLAR

2009-01-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

We came home from a vacation one time to discover someone jimmied the back door to the basement of our bi-level home.

Nevertheless, they were unable to get inside, for which we were thankful.

For the first time in my married life, I was thankful my husband had an obsession with locking doors. My parents never locked the door when I lived at home. Most of the time, we'd even go on vacation with our doors unlocked. If Dad did lock the door, he used a skeleton key and every family in town probably had one. Might as well leave the door open.

For the first 10 years of our marriage, I told Les I was the only person he locked out. I'd go out one of the doors into the yard and couldn't get back in. I'd go to the car before he did, and had to stand outside until he decided to come. Since I'm a redhead, sparks flew and I'd give him some heated words about the senseless act of locking everything.

But that changed when we discovered someone tried to get in our home. After that, I started locking everything with a lock on it, just as he did. One day without thinking I even locked our teenage children in the backyard while they were tanning.

The more I think about locking things, I remember a prowler lurks that hopes to steal our most precious possession--our salvation. Jesus said, "The Thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10).

Satan uses many different methods to break in. He uses people, he uses techology, he uses our own lusts of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life.

But scripture tells us when the Enemy comes in like a flood the Lord will raise up a standard against him. I would assume that's because we asked God to help us guard our hearts and minds. We're also told if we have the Holy Spirit with us, greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

Satan can't ravage our lives without our permission. We can keep God's Word and power locked up in our hearts and the Enemy can't slide a tool or a credit card across our hearts and get in.

When Jesus warned that Satan comes to steal and destroy, He added, "I have come so they (we) can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way."

Yes, it makes sense to prepare for burglars, and enjoy the wonderful gifts we possess because of the love of God.

GOING SOMEWHERE

2009-01-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

We were traveling through Rifle, Colo., one evening when we hit the town square. People plopped on steps of businesses, leaned on walls and cars, scrambled around each other, while others' feet seemed glued to the sidewalk.

We stared out the car windows wondering what was happening and then heard the music. A small band with guitars, an accordion and brass instruments stood near a curb while plain-dressed singers belted out, "I have decided to follow Jesus."

An old whiskered fellow dressed in rags sat on the bank steps. Tears dribbled down his wrinkled cheeks.

Traffic made us go through the area slowly and I heard the familiar words and melody: "No turning back, no turning back."

As a soloist with a microphone sang a verse,"Though none go with me, still I will follow," I could see other weeping.

That was in the days when churches brought the Good News to the streets. Today you can read the words to the song and hear the tune on the internet by typing in the title.

I wondered how many people decided to follow Jesus that day. I imagine several. I made a similar commitment as a child and never turned back.

In my teens, with no friends my age who went to my church, worldly friends exposed me to what following another path would be like and I had to make a decision. I decided to follow Jesus. I've never regretted it and God has blessed my life beyond what I could ever dream.

If we follow Jesus, we're going somewhere--to the abundant life He promised as well as a glorious future for eternity.

I can't figure why so many trek the other direction.

Winter Memories

2008-12-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Way back in the 1970s we came home from a Sunday evening service after a snowstorm sprayed our hill with glimmering icy beauty. The air was fresh and invigorating.
“Let’s go sledding!” I said as everyone got out of the car. It was a ridiculous suggestion for a mother with five children who should be getting ready for bed.
We grabbed warm clothes, sleds and hit the hill. Flakes meandered in the night sky as streetlights illuminated their descent. The white earth glowed in response.
Since I was supposed to be the grownup, I tugged sleds to the top for the smaller ones, while the children flew down the slick slope, frigid air kissing their pink cheeks and squeals of joy trailing their trip.
Even when the sleds returned to the garage and the children crawled into their toasty beds, the aroma of joy lingered about our house.
The next morning, the sun ruined the slope before we had breakfast.
I’ve learned life sometimes is like snow. Opportunities to share my love, joy, faith and abundance won’t always be there. I have to prod myself to seize the moment. Often I’ve failed, but I’ve enjoyed the wonder of grasping a tiny block of time and making good things happen I had no idea would result.
Sometimes I don’t know if anything good happened from what I shared—but I always know opportunities are like the snow. We have to get to them before they melt.

All the World's a Stage

2008-12-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

I imagine you've heard the phrase, "All the world's a stage."

In the cyberspace era, those words mean more than ever. When you write, you usually reach an audience. My free lance articles sometimes took a year to see the light of day, but a newspaper article appeared the next day. Now with the internet, what we write can appear on the world theater in seconds.

The world's been a stage since the beginning of time and an Audience watches each person perform.

William Shakespeare wrote, "All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..."
(As You Like It, Act 2 scene 7).

Shakespeare wrote that in the 16th or early 17th Century, and the same Audience watched diligently in his time. Our performance also is viewed by that Audience. Some people fear the Audience because of the power represented. If they don't merit a rave review, they fear a lighning bolt. The vast majority, however, ignore the Watchful Eyes and unless their performance ends as a major disaster, they don't want advice.

We're told in Proverbs 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

When I was a kid we used to sing a song, "There's an all-seeing eye watching you." That kept me from submitting to temptation on numerous occasions.

But there is so much more to our Audience. Jesus said, "Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:29-30NLT).

That's good news. Yes, the world's a stage and we're on it--and the Audience is loving and compassionate. Yet, if we ignore Him totally, Judgment Day will come.

"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many: and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Musings

2008-12-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

My blog title is from one of the scriptures that sums up our amazing inheritance on earth as Christians. The New Living Translation puts it this way: "This precious treasure--this light and power that now shine within us--is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own" (2 Corinthians 4:7).

The scripture goes on to explain how we have many troubles, but we aren't crushed and broken, although we might get confused. Yet, we don't give up or quit, even if we get knocked down. We can get up because God never abandons us.

Our pots might be breakable, but when we stick with Jesus, we don't fall apart.

The King James version uses the Greek translation for "perishable containers" and the scripture reads, "We have this treasure in 'earthen vessels'."

The Bible frequently reminds us we are nothing but dust. Dust we are and to dust we shall return. Everything that makes up our bodies is from the earth--everything we eat or consume comes from dirt and the only thing that makes a plant different from dirt is life.

Life is what makes us different from clay. Life is one of the precious treasures we have in these earthen vessels. We started from a fertilized egg about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. We can't even begin to fathom the miracle and all the wonderful things a loving God put within us. I could go on and on about the wonders of the body, DNA, our brains, and the Creator's designs.

But God also gave us His love, blessings, gifts, His Word, the Church, friends, joy and peace. He created the family for us to enjoy.

He gave us forgiveness of sins if we want it; the opportunity for Salvation and eternal life in Heaven with Him.

Some people believe when you serve God you should be rich. But the treasure we have doesn't have a price tag. Although He supplies our needs, this treasure is priceless.

I don't mind that the priceless treasure given to me is contained in my imperfect "earthen vessel." The pot might look crude and unattractive (especially when I get up in the morning), but the Gift inside is beautiful.