“Anything
large enough for a wish to light upon, is large enough to hang a prayer upon.”
George MacDonald (Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister)
I’m traveling this week, but my
heart is with all of you as well as your prayer needs today.
The Bible overflows with
wonderful prayers. The book of Psalms holds both sorrowful and praise-filled prayers. Often
perceived as a sad book, Lamentations contains beautiful exaltations. The New
Testament shares Jesus’ and the apostles’ prayers.
One of my favorites is Paul’s
prayer for the Ephesians. As we join together to pray for each other’s needs
today, would you take a moment to meditate on this prayer as a precursor to
your own? Although originally intended for the Ephesians, Paul’s prayer is for
all Christians.
For
this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and
on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may
strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being
rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know
this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all
fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask
or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and
ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21
Please add your
prayer requests in the comments section below so others can pray for you. Feel free to email me confidential requests. My contact info is above. Remember
the folks who have requested prayer in past weeks. I pray for safe celebrations
of Independence Day and for the spiritual revival of this great nation!
Enjoy this song
by Third Day, “God of Wonders,” as we lift our hands to the One who has granted
us eternal freedom through Him.
I’m thrilled to welcome veteran Christian writer
Jennifer Slattery to Writers’ Corner. I’ve enjoyed her writing and spiritual
insight as a critique partner and friend. She discusses what we’ve all experienced
as writers—getting stuck. However, we have a choice between settling or to start
moving again. Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing with us.
Are You Stuck in Haran?
by Jennifer Slattery
A writer’s life is equivalent to white-knuckling a never-ending
roller coaster, in the dark, without a seat-belt. Only, you never signed up for
that ride, right? You chose the steady upward climb free of twists and turns,
and after ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty years of spinning; you wonder if
perhaps you’re on the wrong path. That still, soft Voice that called you into
writing has faded behind a mess of rejection, disappointment and fear. What if
you heard wrong? What if God changed His mind? Maybe He’s forgotten about you
entirely.
Or maybe you’re right where He wants you to be, following the
long, winding, equipping road towards the goal, each treacherous step, every
angst-filled tear all part of the training. What if you’re only one rejection
away from the Promised Land? Will you persevere, walking by faith and the
determination of a child saved by grace and destined for victorious living, or
will you settle in the land of Haran?
Last fall George Lakatos fromGrace Community Church in Smithville, MO gave an awesome message
(listen to it HERE).
To sum it up, the message centered on two biblical characters:
Abram (later called Abraham) and his father, Terah. Both men started in the
same place, Ur of the Chaldeans. Both men left Ur to embark on a God-ordained
journey to the Promised Land, but only one arrived. Terah, the patriarch died
at the halfway point, in the land of Haran.
Ur was a wealthy, sophisticated, comfortable city. It must have
taken great courage for the men to leave. They had no idea where they were going
or how long it would take to get there, but they had God’s promises tucked
within their tunics. These promises carried them all the way to Haran, but for
Terah, they couldn’t carry him over the hump and into the unknown.
Terah continued as long as the road was easy. He and Abram
followed along the Euphrates River, a well-traveled route with access to food
and drinking water. They journeyed on foot, each step carrying them farther and
farther from the land they knew. Day after day they marched on, the fatigue in
their legs growing with each step, their doubts warring for their allegiance.
Then they got to Haran, the halfway point, and Terah settled.
Genesis 11:31b (NLT) “He was headed for the landed of Canaan,
but they stopped at Haran and settled there.
That is a powerful verse. Terah was headed for Canaan, but
settled in Haran, where he died fifteen years later, never reaching his final
destination. Never seeing the Promised Land.
Have you settled? Are you stuck in Haran, on the halfway point
from where you were when God called you to where He wants to take you? It’s
time to leave Haran. Abram settled with Terah for fifteen years. Fifteen long,
wasted years. But he didn’t stay there indefinitely. After his father died, he
gathered his things and resumed his journey.
“Rome - the city of visible history, where the
past of a whole hemisphere seems moving in funeral procession with strange
ancestral images and trophies gathered from afar.” George Eliot (English
novelist)
Rome is one of the most storied
cities in the world. Its name conjures up mental images, mostly of ancient
days. As Eliot described, few other cities can compete with its visible
history.
One such city was Pompeii. Living
in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii’s residents were used to earthquakes
and seismic rumblings but apparently didn’t connect them to potential volcanic
activity. In 79 AD, the volcano erupted, destroying the city and solidifying it
for history.
Another notorious metropolis was
Sodom and Gomorrah, mentioned in the book of Genesis. Its inhabitants were so
wicked, the city was annihilated in a fire-and-brimstone storm sent by God. Their
demise mirrored Pompeii’s—rapid and total.
Cities are a reflection of their people
and era. The Roman Empire’s reach was extensive, yet wicked. The excavated Pompeiian
ruins reflect a city in the same wicked moral condition that caused Sodom and Gomorrah’s
downfall.
All we have to do is look around to
see similarities in our culture today. The smoke is billowing from the volcano
and the ground is rumbling. Unfortunately, like Pompeii and Sodom and Gomorrah,
many in our world ignore the warning signs. As with past civilizations, God’s
patience has an end.
If you’re a Christian, you have
the assurance of an eternal city—one inhabited by those who chose God’s path.
Evil will not exist in this new city.
“Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth…I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God…And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They
will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” Revelation 21:1-4a
In the next chapter, John goes on
to describe the city’s physical attributes Christians can look forward to.
“Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great
street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing
twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.And the leaves of the tree are for the
healing of the nations…The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and
his servants will serve him…There will be no more night. They will not need the
light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.
And they will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:1-3,5
Rev. 21:15-21 describes more
physical attributes including foundation walls decorated with every precious
stone: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, and many more. The gates are made
of pearl. The city street is pure gold, like transparent glass.
I don’t know about you, but God’s
promise of His eternal city lifts my heart and encourages me for the future. Meanwhile,
I praise God for His provision of mercy and love in my life.
As we go to the Lord today, would
you join me in prayer for our country—that God would bring revival and healing
to our land? That people would recognize their need for a Savior? That we, as
Christians, would do more to shine our light for all to see?
Please keep Betty and Tony in
your prayers for employment and other unspoken requests. Pray for Courtney and Emily
both battling cancer. Several requests have been made for depression and other
mental illness issues, as well as difficult family situations. Karen Redding
continues in hospice care with leukemia.
I ask that you pray for a little
girl suffering with a seizure disorder. Also please pray for Steve Saint, a
missionary who suffered a spinal cord injury with paralysis in an experimental
plane crash. Doctors are hopeful for his recovery. Click here to read his story
and listen to him discuss the crash and his unyielding faith in God.
Add your prayer requests in the comments
section or email me confidentially. God's heart breaks for what breaks yours. I'd love to hear praise reports, as well.
Our song today is "God of This City" by Chris Tomlin. There is no one like our God!
“Good writing is like a windowpane.” George
Orwell
In previous posts, we’ve discussed point of view as it relates to
each character and scene. With deeper point of view, the reader is drawn further
into a character’s actions and thoughts, essentially getting inside the
character’s head as the scene unfolds.
One way to accomplish this is to eliminate tag lines. Instead of
repeatedly interrupting the scene with he said/she said, the natural flow of characters’
dialogue, emotions, and action tell the story.
Deeper POV also works in tandem with the concept “show, don’t
tell.” Instead of telling the reader a character is wondering, seeing,
hearing, or feeling, a good writer lets the characters act out
the scene naturally as it would occur in real life.
Here are some examples. The second sentence/paragraph in each sequence is written
in deeper POV.
She glanced at him and wondered where his patience came from.
She glanced at him. Where did his patience come
from?
Jackie swirled the coffee in her cup and carefully considered her
reply.
Jackie swirled the coffee in her cup. How should
she reply?
She snuggled under the covers, wishing she’d planned the trip for
another day.
She snuggled under the covers. If only she’d
planned the trip for another day.
He thought about why she was always late for church.
Why was she always late for church?
Dave felt her eyes searching his face.
Her eyes searched his face.
Kathy heard a rustling and then saw a snake slither out of the
bushes. She hoped she could outrun the snake before it bit her. She noticed it
was a harmless black snake and stopped to take a deep breath. Snakes gave her
the creeps.
Kathy turned toward the rustling in the bushes.
A harmless blacksnake slithered out. She jumped behind a tree as the snake slid
down the trail ahead of her. A chill tingled through her. She shook it off and
stepped back onto the trail.
She was angry that he talked non-stop, never allowing her to voice
an opinion during a discussion. He must think her opinion didn’t matter. She
wondered what it would take to make him listen.
“Shut up!” She drew a deep breath and straightened
to face his wide-eyed stare. Did that scream just come from her mouth? Maybe
now he would listen.
The first sentences/paragraphs in each sequence aren't necessarily incorrect, but
they inhibit deeper character and scene development which leads to a less
interesting story.
Take another look at your WIP. Are there places you could rewrite
to deepen character POV? If you’d like to share an example or make a suggestion
for future topics for me to discuss, please leave a comment. I enjoy the encouraging and insightful thoughts shared each week.
“The bond that links your true family
is not one of blood but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do
members of one family grow up under the same roof.” Richard Bach, American
author
Because of our global society, family encompasses more than relatives.
Often, as Bach alluded to, family becomes those you share common ideals, goals,
and daily life experiences.
Biological families are unique. Though squabbling amongst the members is not
uncommon, they rally against outside attacks. You can usually rely on family to
“have your back” in a tough situation.
But why does it take a tough situation for this to occur? Despite our
differences in personalities, life choices, and goals, why do we allow conflict
to enter what should be treasured relationships? The simple answer is we’re
human. We won’t have perfect relationships this side of heaven.
I was saddened after reading an article about singer Robin Gibb’s funeral. This
excerpt from his brother Barry’s eulogy was particularly poignant.
"Life is too
short. In Robin's case, absolutely too short. We should have had 20 years, 30
years of his magnificent mind and his beautiful heart. We were laughing all the
way. Sometimes crying. God knows how much we argued. Even right up to the end
we found conflict with each other, which now means nothing. It just means
nothing. If there's conflict in your lives - get rid of it." Barry Gibb (last surviving member of BeeGees)
If there’s conflict in your lives –
get rid of it. Those words should resound like a gong in our minds and
hearts, if we’re in conflict with a friend or loved one. Embracing the simple
excuse of humanity doesn’t lead to resolution. Instead, would you take a moment
to lift up that person in prayer? That’s the firststep toward
forgiveness and reconciliation.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…If you
love those who love you, what reward will you get…And if you greet only your
brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the pagans do that?”
Matthew 5:43-47
Pray for those
who persecute you.
Ask God to help you love difficult people with His love.
Pray for your own shortcomings. Sometimes
conflict is a simple clash of personalities or perspective on life. Respect
those differences and try to find common ground. Ask God to show you positive
steps toward eliminating your part in the conflict.
Resolving conflict doesn’t ensure
reconciliation. Sometimes prayer is the first and final step—for
now.
You might scratch your head and say, “What?”
God created us as unique individuals. Even the most harmonious relationships
will hit rough patches. At times, we have to agree to disagree, depending on
the gravity of the situation. This is especially true in unhealthy
relationships. Sometimes we have to walk away. God will reopen the door, if the
circumstances change.
If you’re in an abusive relationship, seek help and find a safe way to leave.
Your safety trumps salvaging the relationship.
Still, even the most difficult person
and situation can be prayed for.
As we go to the Lord in prayer, I encourage you to do the impossible. That
person who hurt you, the one you’re at odds with, the one you feel you’ll never
reconcile with—lift them up to the Lord. Ask God to bless them. Email me
confidentially, if you’d like me to pray with you.
Please share any prayer requests in the comments section below that you’d
like others to pray about. Remember past requests for health, employment,
mental health issues, and unstable housing situations. You may access the
archives for the specific requests.
Our song this week is “Who Am I?” by Casting Crowns. Join me in worshipping
Our Father as we go to Him in prayer.
“I
love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go
flying by.” Douglas Adams (English author and dramatist)
I enjoy snappy little quotes, so
I’m glad you all indulge me in sharing them. If you’ve not visited my blog on
Thursdays, it’s a day set aside to encourage writers.
So if you’re new, welcome to
Writers’ Corner!
Do numbers matter? I suppose to a
statistician they matter a great deal. To an artist or creative person? Not so
much. The exception to this is when writers’ guidelines state a specific word
count to adhere to or an editor gives a deadline for an assignment.
If writers’ guidelines state
1,000 words, this is what they mean, not 1,100. Exceeding word count is a good way
to get your manuscript tossed before it’s even read. Once you’ve developed a
relationship with the editor, you might be able to ask for leniency in future
articles.
Case in point, six years ago I
wrote a serial for my local newspaper. When I wrote the final installment, I
asked for an extra 300-400 words to finish the story. The editor agreed. However,
I never submit an article to a magazine over the limit.
Even when you stay within the
word count limit, you might be asked to cut words depending on the editorial
needs of a specific magazine issue.
My first published magazine
article started as a 500-word Bible study on Proverbs 2:1-5.The editor returned my submission with
suggestions and said if I could cut it to 350 words, she’d take another look.
Apparently, that was the available space in the particular issue she wanted to
run the article. Cutting 150 words was difficult, but I did it, and she
published the article.
Not meeting a deadline is worse
than exceeding word count. The editor/publisher has spent valuable time
reading your submission and accepted it. Now they’re invested in you. They’ve
given you a deadline because they have a deadline.
Sometimes you hit a snag. Life happens. I spent this morning in the
ophthalmologist’s office because my son got a metal speck lodged in his eye. He’s
fine now. Fortunately, I had no deadlines looming today.
In all relationships, communication is key. As soon as you become aware of a
problem, contact the editor to see if there’s any flexibility. If not, then
find a way to finish the assignment by the deadline.
Do you have an anecdote about
getting published you’d like to share? Please leave it in the comments below so
everyone can enjoy reading it.
I want to take a moment to give a
shout out to Wisdom of a Fool blogger who interviewed me for her inaugural newsletter.
Click here to read it. It’s chock-full of interesting information and insight.
Meanwhile, if you have writing
questions or a suggestion for a future blog you’d like me to consider, please
let me know.
“The
beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is
the end of anxiety.” George Mueller
I often blog about
praising God during trials and storms. Sometimes
the best way to gain spiritual wisdom and empathy is through a “no” or “wait” answer
to prayer. But does practicing long-suffering produce complacency and low
expectations for positive answers? It can, if we don’t guard against such habits from seeping
into our spiritual lives.
In my post, Confident Prayer, I
wrote about the importance of recognizing God’s sovereignty in our lives.
Failure to do so can lead to low expectations because we want our
answers to prayer—not His.
Despite belief in God, if we
don’t fully embrace His sovereignty, we yield a fraction of what He desires while
banking on receiving the totality of our requests.
What starts out as an
effort to exercise faith becomes portion control over what we surrender when
anxiety sets in regarding the unknown. We don't completely trust Him to get it right!
Maybe we’re really saying: Does
God care about my day-to-day existence? Does He care about my needs and
desires?
God does care. He wants full
surrender. He wants us to approach Him with faith rooted in boldness.
“Let us then approach the throne of
grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us
in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
What is your greatest need
today? I want to encourage you to go to the Throne of Grace with an unabridged heart,
yield control, and lay down your anxiety about the answer. Exercise faith
through confidence that He will respond.
“Faith
does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in
that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends.”George Mueller
As we go to the Lord in prayer,
let us remember to lift up past requests regarding health, employment, family,
and mental health issues.
My request this week is for Emily, a 12-year-old girl battling bone
cancer. She’s having a tough time with treatment. Also remember to lift up Karen Redding who is at home with
hospice care. Pray for healing, comfort, and wisdom for her and her family.
Please leave your requests in the
comments section so others can pray for you, or email me confidential requests.
My contact info is listed in the “Talk to Me” section above.
Now as we approach the Throne of
Grace boldly together, take a moment to worship with Mercy Me’s song, “Bring
the Rain.”
