I’m humbled and honored to be “Author of the Week” via https://brand.education/
It was a great honor to share my writing journey and inspire others to live purposefully the way God intended for you.
Category: Editing (Page 5 of 15)
My husband and I have been watching the 1883 series on Paramount +. The prequel of Yellowstone’s prosperous Dutton family. There is a 1923 show which continues from 1883, but we haven’t gotten that far yet.
In 1883, episode 6, there is an eye-opening scene between Tim McGraw who plays James Dutton, and his daughter, Elsa who is played by Isabel May. A tragedy has occurred that involved Elsa, and she took matters into her own hands so to speak. I won’t spoil it for you, but in their exchange, a life lesson occurs between a father and his daughter that can be a learning moment for us.
Elsa is angry and brewing with disdain and rage. Her father, James, tells her a story about his Civil War experience and subsequent killings he committed, which left him questioning the purpose of his life, as the wounded and the dead surrounded him. They realized together, they now shared a common bond of loss and hate. The father proceeds to counsel his child to not sit in the hate and give up, but rather use it for growth and development. Death was a certainty on their journey across the Plains, but they had to keep going for survival.
James Dutton ends his conversation with this one line: “Leave the hating to me”. Elsa’s teary-filled eyes follow her dad as he gallops away on his horse. James Dutton was insisting that his only daughter relinquish her wrath to her father who would protect her at all costs.
The same goes for God. In the Bible, in the Book of Jeremiah: Chapters 30:22 and 32:38, two scriptures repeat the same message:
“You shall be My people; and I will be Your God.”
And because of this, God demands that we turn away from our sins, hate, wrath, and humble ourselves and seek Him in everything. Just as it was written in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
James loves his daughter, Elsa, so much, he’d risk his life for her. In one episode he even tells a horse rancher, “You’ll never love her like I do.” It’s the same with God, He loves us so much, and He made us in His image, as stated in Genesis 1:27.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them.”
I know what you’re thinking. This is all fine and dandy, so were loved, yes, but it doesn’t discount the fact that there will be troubles in our lives. Even Jesus said so in John 16:32-33.
“Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
In Mark 13:8, Jesus said…
“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.”
Remember, there are devils in our midst who want to consume our thoughts and actions and take away all that is good within us. Jesus said in John 10:10.
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”
You might be thinking that’s great; I’m still wallowing, the devil is winning. What do I do? Read Psalm 13. It’s a great battle cry!
“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.”
Yes, there’s a lot to be angry about in this world and to hate. In Ephesians 6:12, it talks about how evil is much bigger than we can ever imagine.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
How should we live every single day? We need to suit up and boot up and put on the Whole Armor of God as described in Ephesians 6: 10-18.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”
Why do we need to do it at all? To protect ourselves when evil comes against us, knowing God will take vengeance for us as described in Romans 12:19.
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”
Until then…Live your life with purpose, servanthood, love, and gratitude, seeking the Kingdom of God first as it is written in Mathew 6:33.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
And leave the hating to God!
Dictionary.com defines “stretch” as:
- to draw out or extend (oneself, a body, limbs, wings, etc.) to the full length or extent,
- to hold out, reach forth, or extend.
The new 2023 year is here. Many have begun new regimens in the areas of eating healthy, exercising, mental reevaluations, new jobs, etc.
January is a great time to start anew. A clean slate. Each year, I come up with a word as a reminder to challenge myself in becoming a better “me”. For the last several years, I’ve started off with these words:
- Restart – 2020
- Reset – 2021
- Revive – 2022
- Stretch – 2023
I was on an “R” streak for the last three years, and this year, that all changed. The one word that has been creeping into my mind is “Stretch”.
I’ve been growing and nurturing myself in many areas of my life: my health, my writings, my family, my relationships, and most importantly, my faith in Jesus Christ. I don’t know what God has planned for me, but if it includes the word, Stretch, hmmm… well, I better get flexible very, very soon because I have an inkling that the Lord is leading me on a journey where all these facets will be tested.
This brings me to this revelation I discovered in the Bible, specifically, in Mathew 13: 1-8 and 18-23 as it relates to human inclination and learning the truth about themselves. Let me share the scriptural content below and then I’ll explain and tie everything together.
The Parable of the Sower
13 “On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
My Take…
Though this is a biblical parable about a sower and the seed. A lot can be said about how people react, work through, or persevere when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, making life changes, starting something different, etc. Jesus uses the sower as Himself/God, and the seed as representative of God’s Word, But, it can also apply to learning, truth, wisdom, influence, etc. People generally fall into four categories when receiving these nuggets:
- People hear what they’re supposed to do, but often don’t understand it, are unable to apply it, often question it, and therefore discard it on the wayside.
- People hear what they’re supposed to do in “stony” places. These people are the ones who receive info with joy and start strong in their endeavors. Like those who start a new healthy diet in January. They’re excited about it for a while, but as soon as something goes wrong or it’s not working, they stumble and then quit because they have no depth in their being to fight through it.
- People who hear amongst the thorns. These folks are confident and are working on their talents, but soon the cares of the world take over, and their love for worldly things and pleasures choke them out, and they stop.
- People receive and hear on good ground. They’re the ones who will bear good fruit. Why? Because they accept it, apply it, and produce good in the world. They have a strong foundation, use discernment, and serve others using their gifts and talents.
Which category do you fall in?
And so, as I journey this year, “stretching” myself in various life situations and circumstances, I’m going to keep this Biblical parable in mind encouraging me to create a stronger soil, so that when the Sower throws me seeds, I can plant them, and they can multiply. I hope you do the same.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Mathew 13: 9
I pray you too can be blessed to stretch and soar beyond your understanding. Do you have a word for the year? If so, comment below. I’d love to learn your thoughts.
Until next time…
Be well. Be safe. Be happy!
References:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew+13%3A+1-8&version=NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew+13%3A+18-23&version=NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew+13%3A+9&version=NKJV
In life, you have a beginning, an end, and an in-between. We spend most of our natural existence in the “in-between”. What you do with that time is up to you. God gives you free will and choices that you can make any time you want.
Like a book, there is a beginning. It has to captivate the reader so that they continue reading the story. The beginning is the hook, and it should be strong. The end is the culmination of the plot, coming full circle and it too, should leave readers wanting more, satisfied and fulfilled, or retrospective. As a writer, I love all those kinds of endings and I work really hard in trying to achieve them in my stories. Most of the work, however, is in the “middle”. That’s where the booklover stays the longest. Sustaining the tale, keeping the interest, working through tragedies and triumphs, and transporting the reader on an adventure with the characters of the story.
Getting back to real life, we’ve reached the end of 2022. The end of the year. Like its beginning, it either ends strong or flat. Every one of us has a story and though we may have similarities and coincidences, our individual journeys are just that, individual. The beginning and end are only a part of an entire year. Your in-between or middle will either propel you or cripple you in the coming new year.
What’s your in-between going to look like in 2023? Start making plans. It’s hours away.
Until next time…
Be well. Be safe. Be happy.
References:
Photo by Jill Wellington: https://www.pexels.com/photo/happy-new-year-text-3334355/
This weekend marks a big party celebration. It’s Halloween weekend! Costumes and candy, and all things scary will be rampant. There’s a lot of interesting information that I learned about this “holiday” but I’m not quite knowledgeable to discuss this in depth; I’m still absorbing it, and frankly, some of the things I’ve learned about the history of Halloween are evil. I’ll have to save this for another time. (Wink) However, if you’re so inclined, you can read about Halloween and ties to Samhain.
Recently, I read about an incredible event that happened and it’s not celebrated in the Catholic or Christian religions, at least not that I know of. It’s an eye-opening revelation and I’m just scratching the surface. You’ll need to do your own research, but I feel compelled to share some of my findings.
Martin Luther, a German Monk was the man who was responsible for lighting the fire of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century, protesting the Vatican along with many others, in their defiant battle cry of Sola Scriptura, which means Scripture only, and bringing the Word of God to the masses. He is responsible for translating the Bible into the German language.
Why is this important? Because over 500 years ago, on October 31st, 1517 (Halloween), Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenberg to start a discussion about abuses and other problems he saw in the church of his day.
***
You see, during the Roman Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries, the Roman Catholic Church, used the Latin version of the Bible, called the Latin Vulgate, for only those in the elite Catholic hierarchy, bishops, popes, cardinals, etc. Only those in the church who read Latin, could decipher it, and explain it to the common folk like you and me. It was said that the Bible was chained to the alters of the church, and not to be removed. No one else had access to the Word of God except those in the Church. This continued well after the fall of the Roman Empire.
***
Over a thousand or so years later, when Martin Luther, a monk and university teacher, heard Johann Tetzel’s message, he was livid. Johann’s job was raising money for the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
“When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from Purgatory springs.” Tetzel claimed.
Tetzel explained that the Pope had sent the common people a gift, a way to escape the flames of eternal damnation: a special indulgence granted for the building of St. Peter’s church in Rome. If they paid for this indulgence and thus help build this church, they would “lay the stone of eternal salvation” for themselves.
God did not command the preaching of indulgences, but of the Gospel! These indulgences were just paper. “You must trust in God’s love,” Luther urged his congregants.
Luther raised his voice with a desire to bring an end to this injustice. The reign of the church was keeping people from a relationship with God, using practices that separated them from the very One who came to save them by His grace through faith in Christ.
“For as long as I have God’s Word, I know that I am walking in His way and that I shall not fall into any error or delusion.”
—Martin Luther
***
This historical event thus opened up the translation of the Bible to English by another man, William Tyndale, which later became one of the biggest publishing houses.
If it weren’t for men like Martin Luther or William Tyndale, and many others, the Bible would not be in the hands of millions and millions of people and translated into 704 languages. According to Wikipedia, there could be over 3,000 translations between the Old Testament, the New Testament, and other books of the Bible.
So while everyone else is celebrating Halloween on October 31st, we might want to give thanks and homage to the Reformation Movement as well.
References:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/martin-luther-posts-95-theses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulgate
www.revelationmedia.com
https://www.christian-history.org/john-tetzel.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tyndale
https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Tyndale
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations
I had the great pleasure of participating on Kristena Mears’s Devotional page. I was inspired to write on the topic of “Inviting Truth – Discounting Fear”.
Please check out the devotional here.
There she stood, erected on a crate. Weathered, worn, abandoned. Set apart from the beautiful sunflowers that bordered her. It was an ironic visual. An old piano, an old piece of unwanted furniture among living foliage, and buzzing bees in the open air and under a cloudless sky. She was dead among life.
I approached her with awe and reverence. It sounds weird, I know, but this piano commanded a regal presence. Her keys were faded, some even torn, and when I went to press on them to make a musical note, it was out of tune with barely a sound. Just a dull ring.
A sadness came over me. It’s a thing, not a person, still, I wondered. I was curious as to where she had come from. Who played her? Why was she put here? Was she placed here for ambiance or dumped there because there was no more use for her? How long had she been on the grounds of this sunflower farm? The questions consumed me.
I imagined this piano in a sitting room in a large home, like a Victorian surrounded by shelves of books. Not just any books, but Encyclopedias volumes, Classic novels, Medical Journals, Poetry, and heavy Historical tomes. It would be a circular room, a study perhaps. A woman, in a formal gown, stroking her long fingers across the keys, effortlessly, as melodies sang through the hallways and winding staircases. What kind of music would she play? Would it be melancholy or uplifting? We shall never know. As I ran my fingers across the keys, I hoped that this old piano had had a glorious life of music and made her owners joyous.
How will our lives end? I believe our destinies have already been decided and that God knows. Whatever course, I pray it’s not one of abandonment, either, but rather, tattered in blessings and bruises. Wherever we complete our journey of life, we should take heart to live it fully because it’s the music you leave behind and not the structure of your being that makes it all worthwhile.
Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, was quoted as saying, “change is the only constant in life.” It is true, isn’t it? Nothing stays the same, and time stops for no one. Time. Hmm… I can write a whole other post on “time,” but not now. Let’s get back to the “change and the constant thing”.
In a recent discussion with my two teen daughters on how change can be a good life-experience, I came up with this parable. (Wink) I clear throat…. (Help me out here God, this is a teachable moment.)
“You see, in life, we have to look for the good soil in the world because there’s plenty of bad soil overridden with weeds.
When a circumstance happens and one is shaken out of their comfort zone, or needs to be uprooted, their roots have to find a new place to settle in. It doesn’t matter how big the soil, it can be a potted plant,
a flowerbed,
or a field.”
I sigh, “The important thing to remember is that you firmly dig your roots (morals, values, gifts) into the soil, take time to water it, and continuously prune the good roots, so that the bad roots do not take.
Life throws us curves and however long we are planted in that soil, our job is to grow in God’s grace and be fruitful. When things change, and they will, we can rest assured with hope to grow where we’ve been planted. It’s just whether YOU are desiring to grow where you’re planted.”
Moral of the story: Build strong roots, stand your ground, and always be ready to move.
References:
Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-faceless-woman-planting-seedling-into-soil-4207909/
Photo by Muffin Creatives: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-person-holding-sand-2203683/
Photo by Teona Swift: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-planting-green-seedling-into-flowerpot-6913449/
Photo by Greta Hoffman : https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-person-in-gloves-working-in-garden-7728070/
Photo by Nothing Ahead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/rough-ground-in-countryside-in-daylight-7501538/
Fourteen years ago this month, I received this beautiful maternity chair at my baby shower. It has been one of the best gifts as I spent many hours feeding and snuggling with my two daughters. Seasons passed, day became night, and night became day as I rocked my children on this chair. I prayed, I cried, I laughed, and fell asleep on multiple occasions in the middle of the night with a child or both, in my arms.
As the children grew older and the need for middle of the night feedings ceased, I utilized this relaxing contraption as my journal-writing chair, book-reading chair, and praying chair. However, there comes a time when its use is no more. In recent years, it has become my decorative pillows holder.
Moved to the corner of my master bedroom, the space it occupied had become a bit cluttered. My husband reminded me that it was time. Yes, time to remove it and pass it along to someone else. It has served our purpose. It has been a wonderful reminder of the “challenging years” in mothering babies and toddlers. I do miss that period. It was simpler and I wasn’t rushed. Everything revolved around the beating hearts of my two blessings.
Like life, change is the only constant. At least that’s what I’ve heard. My daughters are blossoming and growing up. It’s what it should be, right?
Today I say goodbye to my chair. I pray that it will bring comfort and beautiful memories to the next family.
Until next time…
It started out with a request to borrow my phone from my eldest daughter. I relinquished the phone, distracted by the scene before me. Caught in the still small sound of water and whistling hummingbird off in a tree, I went to my far-away place. It was in that moment my thoughts came alive.
Unbeknownst to me in this intimate setting with myself, God, and nature, my daughter took a picture. I don’t like taking pictures. They’re always so formal and planned but scrolling through my gallery of photos on my phone, I ran across this still shot of myself. And it brought me back… calming my spirit and sending a joy resonating through my body.
It’s a vulnerable photo of me. I wasn’t ON or had to pretend. It was real and honest. In a world where we have to be STRONG and fake our way, I was talking to God. My protector. Don’t be afraid to be yourself because at the end of the day, it’s you who has to look in the mirror. And, don’t borrow your phone to your teenage daughter. Lol!