Obedience

 

Image by Ronald Sandino from Pixabay

A friend asked for a paperback copy of the first book of my Lions and Lambs series, And Then Came a Lion. Before I gave it to him, I scanned the book. I felt sick to my stomach when I found numerous errors not present in the eBook. Evidently, I used a different document when I published the paperback.

Besides the errors, I noted the weaker writing. I’ve grown as an author since that first book, and I debated about revising it. I’m currently in the middle of editing my newest fantasy and don’t want to stop, but neither can I imagine ignoring the needed changes in this book.

While I warred back and forth, God weighed in this morning. My devotions included a passage from the Book of Daniel. As I have written before, God sent references to lions (and a real one once) to encourage me to write this first book of the series.

 I can’t ignore the coincidences, not to mention I want my friend to read a better story. I've told him I will give him a new copy once I've republished the book with the corrected manuscript in a few weeks. I'm also updating the digital copy too. Then back to my new story.

Who knows, perhaps the time spent away from the new one will give me a better perspective. Regardless, I’ve learned never to ignore God’s directives. If it's important to Him I make these revisions now, then I will be obedient. After all, He is far wiser than me, and following His will is always the best course.

Dear Lord, give me the inspiration to make this book better and give me the patience to make the changes. Amen. 

Being an Author

 

Image stolen from Facebook 

This meme is too true to be completely funny, especially since I’m working on another fantasy. It takes time to figure out and describe food, animals, countryside, towns, villages, and characters. Never mind the plot.

It reminds me of creation. God called forth an entire universe and our amazing world. Some of which we have yet to discover. The vastness and uniqueness boggles the mind, along with the complexity we struggle to unravel. How small my little fantasy world is in comparison!

Then, He created us.

In His image.

We are far more complex than we can comprehend, both mind and body.

God went even further, becoming a man. Like us. Another truth that defies our understanding.

This, of course, is where faith comes in. There are so many questions so complex our minds cannot absorb them, and we simply have to trust.

Simply trust.

Not so simple, is it? We flounder. We question. We wrestle.

How much easier life would be if we didn’t struggle so much. As Jesus said, we must become like children. Trusting. Living in the moment. Not worrying about the past or the future.

It’s hard.

God, being the Author of our stories, knows how it will end — in Paradise with Him — as long as we believe.

It’s all the stuff in between that causes all the angst. He throws challenges at us to test our faith (for our benefit). He already knows our hearts, but we don’t until we’re tried in difficulties. He also wisely uses the difficult circumstances to prove our dependency on Him and His faithfulness to His promises.

As I’ve aged, I’ve gotten better at trusting. How could I not after so many life experiences, blessings, and miracles?

However, I look back and wish I’d had more faith at times. How much easier life would have been. But I can’t go back and change it, so I need to focus on today and leave both the past and the future in God’s hands.

I’m sure I’ll be repeating that mantra until I draw my last breath.

Dear Lord, keep me close to you. Don’t let me wander down any path where You do not lead. Amen.

 

The Secret Is In the Details

Painting by Michael J. Smith. 

Michael James Smith.com 

I've been studying art videos on how to paint photo-realistic paintings. The key is in the details. The more color and brush strokes I apply, the more realistic the painting. At the same time, I don’t want my work to look exactly like a photograph. Otherwise, why paint? Just frame a photo. 

The videos have shown me different techniques, things I can try to render the images I want to create. As with writing, after some trial and error, I find what works for me, the color choices and brush strokes that give my art its uniqueness, similar to my voice in my writings. No two artists, or writers, will produce the same painting or book.

The other key to good painting, and writing, is observation. No photograph can replace in person observation of sky, trees, grass, and earth. Cameras distort color and shape, foreshortening objects, and should only be used as a reference.

It is much the same with life, isn’t it? Our lives consist of many small moments, details, when added together they form a picture, a collection of memories. Some are momentous, life altering, but most are small moments, details, which build our masterpiece. Our choices and attitude add tone, much like an artist chooses warm or cool tones for a painting depending on time of day or mood. Same as how an author’s attitude and perceptions set the tone for their writing. 

Will our masterpiece be bright and happy or dark and gloomy? Will it be sparked with excitement or dull and boring? If we add in a dash of faith, even a dismal life will brighten in tone.

Lord, help me fill the details of my life with things of your choosing. If I can’t trust The Master Artist, who can I trust?

Never Dreamed...

Photo by Rafael Rafa at Pixabay

I never dreamed I'd live to see these times, physically distanced from friends, family, and so many others. No impulsive hugs, no dining out, no movies, no shopping or travel. How can I alleviate the isolation of others, offer kindnesses, or make any difference? Sure, there are always phone calls and conversations from several feet apart, but those seem so insignificant compared to what I would normally do. It is so easy to bury my head in a book, at home movie, or in my writing.

In Luke 21:34 Jesus warns us not to become too engrossed in the things of this world as to become complacent to the things of God. Yet, it is so easy to get caught up in the here and now and forget we still have options, still have a purpose in this life, but are the small things I'm doing all that important?

It is, if it is done in love.

God calls each of us to love others. Our acts might not be dramatic or earth changing, but we can still touch others - even through the isolation and distancing. We may never know whom, where, or how we may touch another's life, and it doesn’t matter. God knows.

St. Augustine states: “Love has a hand to help others. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the signs and sorrows of others. That’s what love looks like.”

Upon reflection, I remembered the intuitive remark at the right moment to ease another’s concern, the last minute phone call to a friend who had been on my mind all day, and the compliment given to a checkout clerk who rang up my groceries with exceptional cheer. 

I am usually unaware of the impact these simple acts have on those who receive them, and if sometime later I do hear how much they meant to the other person, I am amazed. 

And speaking of being amazed, the following quote from one of my devotions confirmed my thoughts and added one I had not considered an act of love. 

Feeding the Poor

Feeding both body and spirit — complimenting someone, listening, caring, writing stories that feed the heart and mind with God’s love.

Author Unknown

Wow.  I never thought my scribbles would be considered an act of love. Then, I shouldn't be surprised if God has His hand in it.  

What Next?

Photo by Free Photos from Pixabay

That question has been on my mind for the last few weeks. What should I write after I publish the last book in my series? I have several story ideas in mind, none of them in the same genre as the series. Are they what I should write?

The Lions and Lamb series had a purpose. The stories allowed me to share some of my personal experiences while highlighting certain criminals and their crimes. The other stories would be different and not considered Christian like the series.
I prayed for guidance.

Odd coincidences began with Sunday services. First, the opening song was Lion and Lamb. The next song mentioned the African plains. God had my attention, but what was the message?

Today, Good Morning, Lord by Joseph T. Sullivan, had this:

Inspiration

Good Morning, Lord.
Thank you for all the creative people in our world, artists of all kinds: 

sculptors, authors, songwriters, painters, musicians, architects.
They can pick up our spirits and carry us away from the humdrum and routine; 

they can lead us to nobler thoughts.
Help them to use their talents for the noble, the inspiring, the uplifting.
They have such enormous capability for good; their collective influence is powerful.
Inspire them with your creative spirit, Lord.
Help them to show us how to look up at the stars, not down at the mud and the puddles. 

Amen. 

If I doubted the message, my devotional, Living Faith, added this by Elizabeth Duffy: “… try to be governed by those who can still look at the stars at night…”

Those words reminded me of a dream I had a few months before my second husband passed away. Jesus told me I would never look at the stars alone. Now I understand that not only will I not be alone, I am to bring others with me by offering inspiration and hope through my writing and my art. The subject doesn’t matter as long as it glorifies him.

Why Do I Write? Because God Sent Me Lions Instead of a Whale

Original Photo by author, taken in South Africa 

I have recently been asked why I write. Is it for the money or the fame? Nope. 

Some of you may know this story, but for those of you who don’t, it’s because of lions.

It started with a devotional reading from the Book of Daniel, 14:42. “Then the king said: ‘Let all the inhabitants of the whole earth fear the God of Daniel: for he is the Savior working signs and wonders in the earth: who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions’ den.’”

During my morning commute, I listened to a radio program by Pastor Greg Laurie from Riverside, California. He opened the program with this question. “Have you read Peter Capstick’s book, Death in the Long Grass?”

At my husband’s suggestion, I read it before our trip to Africa. The stories of about man-eaters still haunt me.  

Pastor Greg then asked, “Do you know the movie, The Ghost and The Darkness, the story of Colonel Patterson and the lions of Tsavo?”

It was one of the first movies my husband and I watched when we were dating.   

Pastor Greg continued. “Do you know the song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight?”

I was not just familiar with it. On our wedding night, four young men sang the song to us while we ate dinner on the terrace of the Safari Lodge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Africa. Below us in the game reserve, lions roared during the entire performance, forever fixing the song in my memory.

Pastor then quoted several verses from the book of Daniel, particularly Daniel in the lions’ den.

The theme continued that night. The History Channel had a documentary on the fall of Babylon from Biblical prophesies, including the book of Daniel.

Daniel and lions again. I wandered what was so important about Daniel that God was hammering me with references to him.

The next morning Pastor Greg opened his radio program with these words, “I’ll tell you what is so important about Daniel…”

Not wanting to miss a single word, I turned the volume up.

“… Because of his faith in God, Daniel was a man of integrity and honesty. These virtues, not his spirituality, advanced him up through the Babylonian court to a place of immense power and influence. If you follow Daniel’s example, you too will rise to a higher status.

“It is as much your responsibility to share the Gospel as much as it is mine. As the stories in the Bible indicate, we can bring people to God by sharing ours.”

God didn’t mean me. I discounted the idea until the next morning when a young mountain lion ran across the road in front of my car. 

I wrote a memoir, but decided it was too much work, not to mention boring, and I tossed the manuscript out.

A few months later we moved from Tucson, Arizona to Boise, Idaho and more bizarre coincidences began.

A friend had recommended a novel by Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas. In the first few pages, the author mentioned the song, When You Wish Upon A Star. My phone alarm played the same song. Next, he mentioned being in the woods of Oregon. I spent most of my childhood camping out near my dad’s logging sites in the forests of that state.  

Odd Thomas’ landlady lost her husband in 2001. I lost my third husband the same year. 

The villain in the story used checks issued by Wells Fargo. I worked as a receptionist for Wells Fargo Wealth Management. Odd Thomas called his girlfriend, Stormy, but her real name was Bronwen. One of my new coworkers spelled her name Bronwyn.

Maxfield Parrish prints decorated Stormy’s apartment. A few days after my third husband passed away, my sister gave me a book of the artist’s prints coupled with words from one of my favorites songs, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

A friend of Odd Thomas’ told him, “To write, write, write.” It was important for him to share his story.  

As if to drive the point further, I received a phone call, a wrong number. Out of curiosity I did a Google search. The call came from a residence on Pico Street in Boise. Odd Thomas takes place in the fictional city of Pico Mundo.

The next morning Matthew 10:27 was among my listed devotions. “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” 

I took it to heart, and wrote my Lions and Lambs series, a set of fictional stories inspired by real crimes and peppered with some of my spiritual experiences.

Whenever I get frustrated and think of quitting, I remember Jonah sitting in the whale’s belly for three days until he agreed to obey God. Considering he sent me lions instead of a whale, it might be wise on my part to keep writing until he tells me to stop. 

Vanity or a Call to Service?

Photo by charlotte 202003 at Pixabay

I read a beautiful story about a family called to feed and care for the local homeless. It pricked my conscious. Should I set aside my desires to write and paint and instead do more volunteer work? At my age, I don’t have the physical stamina to do both. Perhaps my writing and painting are vain things best put aside for the benefit of others.


Then, why would God give me the desire and the talent to pursue those activities if they had no value, did not provide any blessings?


I spent several days praying to know His will, vowing to follow wherever He sent me.


Today, in my devotional, Good Morning, Lord Joseph T. Sullivan wrote: “… Lord, inspire those who create beauty for us: the sculptor, the writer, the composer, the architect, the painter, the virtuoso… They can show us what you are like and render great service to us all.”

I had not considered my talents as a service.

Although I am not called to run a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen, I am still required to be generous for the poor, the homeless, and others in need where and when I can.

Freed from guilt, I can joyously use my talents to help others see the beauty in our world, pointing out rainbows where some only see mud.


Lord, inspire me to use the talents you have given me wisely and generously. Amen.

Strength from Weakness Despite the Devil

Photo by Prettysleepy2 @ Pixabay

Once again I considered unpublishing the first book in my series. I’ve struggled with this story from its conception and have re-edited and re-published it too many times to count. But before I jumped in and did something I might regret, I skimmed the manuscript. Maybe I could salvage it if I did one more edit even though doing so would mean another long delay in finishing book five. Was that what the devil wanted, to keep me mired down with doubts and fears and stop me from writing?

It turned out the book wasn’t as bad as I remembered. The last edit improved the writing enough to leave it as it is — for now. Doubts and fear will creep back, and I’ll march down this same path again unless I can find some way of getting off that merry-go-round.  

Matthew 6:24-34, one of my favorite scriptures, popped up in my devotions. Consider the lilies, don’t worry, don’t be afraid. God knows what we need. Trust him.

Trust...

That reminded me of the book I’m reading. It is a savage fight between good and evil, and I expect the worst outcome with each new peril the characters face. I almost put the book down until I realized the author intends to get the heroine out of trouble, and I should read out of curiosity rather than fear.

The same goes with everything else in my life, especially my writing. If I can’t trust the ultimate Author to come up with a solution to whatever I'm facing, who can I trust?

So, I press on, pushing past those emotions the devil throws at me and take courage from St. Paul’s words in Corinthians 2:7-10.

“And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me. For which thing thrice I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me. And he said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. For which cause I please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress, for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am powerful.”

Like a Sunrise

Image by Jonas Fehre from Pixabay

Against my better judgment, I watched the movie, Julie and Julia. It is a good story with a happy ending, but it always makes me cry. Julie Powell’s writing career took off in just one year — from writing a blog! People were almost breaking down her door to sign her to a writing contract, and they even made a movie from her book.

It makes me feel inferior.  

However, this time I didn’t wallow very long in self-pity. A dear friend shared an interview with Hugh Howey, an Indie phenomenon whose book, Wool, took off and sold millions.

He said, “One of the worst things that can happen to you is for your first book to be a runaway success.”

Wow.

The article explained it is better for an author to have a backlist of five or ten books before writing the coveted best seller. Readers can go back and buy everything else the author wrote, reducing the stress on writing the next novel.

Hugh also said, “I told myself that everything I published would be available for thousands of years, so success and appreciation didn’t have to occur in my lifetime. That gave me hope.”

Thank you, Hugh, that gives me hope too, and flows right in with my devotion in, Living Faith. Deborah Meister wrote:  “Nothing stands in the way of God’s mercy and love except our own stubbornness to resist change, to cling to our guilt or grief, or anger [or jealousy, fear, doubts, and impatience]. Right in front of our eyes, like every sunrise, God is making all things new. (Revelation 21:5)”

That includes my writing as well as my faith.

Holding Tighter or Letting Go?

“The first author of beauty made all things,” Wisdom 13:3.  Author, that caught my attention. This theme continued in the rest of my devotions. 

Psalm 19: “There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not heard. Their sound has gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world.” Verses 4 and 5.

What author doesn’t hope that will happen to them? 

Then came the words, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life, will save it.” Luke 17:33

Eek! 

I am wallowing in grand dreams of becoming a best-selling author, and God brings me up short.

In my devotion, Living Faith, Author Amy Welborn, asked how we intend to lose our lives for God. This isn’t meant in the literal sense, as in physically dying, but in what we are asked to lose in order to follow God’s plan for our life.

Writing takes tremendous sacrifice. We spend hours in solitary confinement sitting at a desk with pen and paper, laptop, or computer. One of my former coworkers, a traditionally published author, with looming deadlines couldn’t participate in the company Christmas party or attend her grandchildren’s Christmas pageants. Even Indie authors face similar sacrifices, often faced with unpleasant choices without happy solutions.

There are more than physical losses. We bare our souls on each page, letting go of our privacy, revealing our innermost thoughts, desires, and fears. We could hold them tight, and let our stories suffer, but by letting go, our words (hopefully) encourage, inspire, or entertain. Lightening another’s burden by pulling them away from their troubles for a short time is as important as writing the next literary classic, maybe even more so. When overwhelmed with insurmountable problems, who wants to read War and Peace? (No offense intended to that great work or its author.)

No. I think most will reach for something that will make them feel better, either by telling them they are not alone, they are loved, they are good enough, or by offering them a reason to laugh.

A noble cause, worth the sacrifice, which brings us right back to letting go of ourselves and other things and be the storyteller God calls us to be, holding tight to our faith, our dedication, and our promise to obey.

Fixin'

Last night I watched the movie the War Room. Its message about the power of prayer is inspiring, but something else touched me more. 

 “You can’t fix it. It’s not up to you to fix it. It’s up to you to pray to God to fix it.” 

That line changed my life. From my therapy sessions, I understood I have no control over most things in my life, especially other people. I can only control my reactions, but now I understand I can’t fix the world, my country, my family, or even me, either. But God can. It’s His job, not mine. My job is to pray for causes and people and then go wherever he leads me. It really is that simple.

He told me this once before in a dream, (See The Bus) but I forget His lessons, forcing him to repeat them. Thank goodness His patience is infinite, and He hasn’t given up on me. 

The line changed my attitude toward the rude woman in the restaurant, the violent protestors, the hateful, angry posters on social media, terrorists, and dirty politicians. I can’t fix any of them, but I can pray and ask God to. 

The movie also inspired us to reach out and help others find their way to God. I’ve tried to do that and failed. God told me I wasn’t to preach, or be a missionary. I am to tell stories.

 

Even what I write isn’t my decision. God inspires my writing. I know I am on the right track when the story flows, sometimes in uncanny, spine chilling ways. When I hit a snag, I’ve fallen off course. Through prayer and meditation I find my way again.  

And so we are full circle, back to the fact I can’t fix anything, not even myself, but I can respond to the desire to pray for whatever, and whoever, God puts in my heart. Then I need to leave it there with him. 

Life is easier knowing I’m not the boss, and it’s not my job to fix anything, except maybe dinner.

Lions, Beasts, Lambs, and Grandma

Finally! I finished editing all four published books with editing software recommended by a fellow author. It picked up missing punctuation and words, inconsistencies in spelling, including misspellings, and capitalization. It counted adverbs, highlighted overused and repeated words and phrases. The program also caught my clichés and chastised me for cumbersome, sticky sentence structure. These are only a few issues it flagged. It offers twenty-five different writing related reports. 

The program is a great boon to my writing, giving me instruction as well as pointing out possible problems, except plot and structure issues. I still send it to my critique partner and Beta readers for feedback on those. For anyone interested, it is ProWritingAid

Now with those books as error free as possible, I can move on to other projects. I have four-thousand words written for, Of Lions, Beasts, and Lambs, the fourth book in my Lions and Lambs series. The story has deepened from my original concept and I am excited about the changes.  

Another tale bubbling to the surface is a lighter standalone loosely based on my grandmother, Hattie Walker. Whenever I had a problem, I ran to her for advice. Her solution was conversation over sweet rolls and tea. Thus the name of the new book, Sweet Rolls and Tea. 

My grandmother was an amazing woman with a wonderful, although sometimes skewed, sense of humor. My mother once said, “Marie, just because your grandmother told you that story does not mean you should repeat it.”

A strong Christian, she never compromised her faith but she didn’t adhere to the prime Emily Post behavior my mother preferred. I had the privilege of living next door to her for most of my life.

Grandma passed away thirty plus years ago and I still miss her. I wish I could sit down with one of her scrumptious sweet rolls and a tall glass of iced tea, tell her my troubles and hear another one of her funny stories. 

Perhaps I can recapture that experience in a small way through my book.