I'm am amazed on a daily basis.

Why? Because I'm the mother of an 8-month-old baby. Today, Alyssa clapped for the first time. I mean, how amazing is that? We were watching Skating With the Stars (quality TV!) and Bethany Frankel was skating. I was so engrossed I didn't see that Alyssa was waving her arms and bopping along. When the routine stopped, John and I clapped, and Alyssa copied. It seems like a simple thing, but isn't it amazing how quickly babies learn? They go from barely making eye contact to smile, to cooing, to laughing. A few months later they are rocking out and clapping. It's amazing how God created humans that way. We are designed to grow and learn and change.

It makes me think, too, how much God must marvel at my growing and changing. Twenty years ago when I first got married, I was nearly Bible illiterate. Over the years I've made it a point to have daily quiet time. I've read through the Bible six times, and I've attended many Bible Studies. My growth is different from my baby girl's, but I was made for this. I was made to tune in to God more and more, to focus on Him, to learn new things about His Word, and to clap.

This is amazing, too: No matter how long or often I seek God there will always be something to learn. And the most amazing thing is that no matter how much I've learned I'll never, ever know everything about how amazing God is. I'm looking forward to eternity to learn that.

Last Year ... This Year

Last Thanksgiving we were celebrating with family and friends in Montana.
This year we were celebrating with our church family in Little Rock. When we left Montana I thought, "We'll never find a church home like the one we left." I was right. They are different, but we are simply with a different group of family members. God our Father sent us to new people to love. He gave new people to love us.

Last winter I was wading through snow.
This year I haven't yet needed a coat. So different. Not better, just different.

Last year John had a good job. He couldn't complain.
This year John works for FamilyLife. It's a great job. It's an amazing ministry. He's rejoicing!

This time last year I was enjoy our Teen MOPS group. I enjoyed the new leaders and new moms.
This year I'm enjoying an inner city Teen MOPS group. The girls are different, sort of. They are different races and have different backgrounds, but their needs are just the same. I care for them the same, too.

Last year Cory was introducing us to an amazing young woman named Katie.
This year Katie is part of our family, and I couldn't ask for a more amazing daughter-in-law. I've been able to see in her all I prayed for Cory all those years.

For the last fourteen years, we'd been enjoying teaching children's church at our church in Kalispell. We couldn't imagine not being there every Sunday and loving on those kids.
This year John is the new children's pastor at Mosaic church here in Little Rock. He's joining some of our favorite elements of children's worship with some Mosaic is already doing well. We thought, "We're leaving so much when we leave our children's ministry." God nodded and smiled, "Yes, but I have so much more to come ..."

Last year I was enjoying my three older kids, but I was also sad that they were so old--that they'd all be out of the house within years.
This year I'm totally enjoying our new daughter. Alyssa is 8 months and the joy of our lives. She's an unexpected gift that we thank God every day for. I'm loving every moment with her.

Last year I loved God. I really did. I trusted Him. I believed.
This year I am awed by God. He's shown us different parts of Himself as we've had to leave so many, so much behind. I love Him more than I can describe because I've seen His faithfulness and as I've realized that He does not take away unless He has better things planned.

Last year I was thankful.
This year I have even more to be thankful for.
God allowed me to keep loving the people and ministries I already loved.
And now He's opened my heart to more.
So much more.

Figuring it all out!

askmissa.com

In your teen years it's a time when you will come to a fork in the road. Do you believe God because that's what your parents believe? Or do you believe God because ... you believe?

If you're at the point in your life when you're trying to figure it out, here are some questions to ask.

The Bible is ...
The Bible means _______________ to me.
Jesus is ...
The one way to get to heaven is ....
As God's child I ....
Those who do don't follow Jesus will ...
God has given me a Holy Spirit to ...
As a believe God wants me to ...

If you'd like to share your answers, please leave them in the comment section. If you don't know the answers, please leave that i the comments too. All us blog writers here would love to help you with your questions!

Share Your Blessings (and WIN a book!)

123rf.com

Guest Blog by Margaret McSweeney

Each Thanksgiving, my father would leave five kernels of corn by our plates. The backdrop for this family gathering was always a formal, Southern celebration held in the dining room with the Royal Copenhagen china and silver. The week before the festivities, I would sit in the kitchen and help my parents polish each silver fork, knife and spoon until they sparkled. My dad would whistle as he prepared the homemade cornbread in my grandmother’s cast iron griddle for the dressing while my mother baked the pecan pie and basted the turkey.
   
After each Thanksgiving dinner, my dad would tell us the story of the Pilgrims and how they faced starvation during that first winter. Each Pilgrim was allotted only five kernels of corn for a daily sustenance. As a very young girl, I confess that I enjoyed flicking these kernels of corn towards my brothers’ plates. But as I got older, I better understood the solemnity of this tradition. Each of us would take turns lifting the kernels by our plate and counting aloud five blessings – somehow these five kernels became three kernels as the years passed. Perhaps with two sons and a squirming daughter, my parents decided to shorten this tradition to keep our attention. However, this tangible act of giving thanks and counting our blessings was a lesson from childhood that I still remember.

Even today, this is special family tradition that I keep in an effort to remind my daughters to count their blessings, too. For simplicity sake, I use three “unpopped” popcorn kernels or frozen corn. I don’t always get around to polishing the silver, but I do try to make Thanksgiving dinner a time of remembrance and gratitude to God for all that He has done. Perhaps you can add this special touch of thanks at your table, too.  Let me know how it goes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Win a coy of the Pearl Girls book - leave a comment and share your 'kernal' blessing here.

We'll give away three copies of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace. 

Contest ends 11/28.

 

Pray Big!

Guest Blog by Linda DeYmaz

I’m not one who is obsessed with cars. Don’t get me wrong; I like them clean and running well, and I do appreciate a beautiful car when I see it. In fact, I can still remember my Dad’s cherry red Mercedes convertible. It was really cool!

But here’s a confession … I did, once, have an obsession with a particular car. Like my Dad’s Mercedes it, too, was bright red; and though not a convertible, it was darling! We practically ran into each other one day when I was flying down the freeway in my own, cream-colored, Volkswagen Jetta – music blaring and the sun roof open – when all of a sudden the car pulled in front of me, far too close for comfort! But when I recovered from the close encounter, my eyes were fixed on the license plate. In bold letters it read, PRAY BIG.

Now in those days, I was going through a very difficult time in my life and I needed to hear from God. I didn’t know what to do or where to turn, and I definitely wanted to make the right decision. In fact just moments before I saw the car, I had called several dear friends asking for advice. And that’s when it happened! Just as I hung up the phone from my final call, that red car came out of nowhere with a message: PRAY BIG.

Having seen God’s visual work in my life before, I knew this message, and it’s timing, was from Him. I soon became obsessed with the darling red car. I grabbed my iPhone and started taking pictures of the license plate, driving insanely fast and, at points, getting very close to the back of the car. No matter where that car went, I followed. When it existed off the freeway, I even found myself following the car to another city! My not-so-subtle pursuit lasted nearly forty-five minutes. Finally, though, I realized what I was doing and more importantly what I would need to do in the future. God had spoken. He had responded to my prayers for wisdom and direction. Plain and simple, God wanted me to stop obsessing over the red car - a metaphor for my worries – and instead, PRAY BIG. God knows me intimately. He does these crazy things to get my attention!

What does it mean to PRAY BIG? Could it be that God wants us to be obsessed with Him? I believe so! He wants us to recognize there is nothing too big for Him. He desires for us to bring to Him our deepest hurts, concerns, and the anxieties of life on an hourly basis. And He wants you to know that you are His darling, too.

In the Song of Songs, the author writes …

 “My lover, said to me, “Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!” Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up; the season of singing birds has come … Rise up, my darling! Come away with me!” 
                                Song of Songs 2:10-13

So why not draw close to Him today? Take a moment to enjoy His pleasure. And if by chance you encounter a darling red car with the license plate PRAY BIG, chase it obsessively. I can guarantee it’s will be worth the journey!

~~

Linda DeYmaz is a wife, mother and author of two books, including Mommy, Please Don’t Cry (Random House,Waterbrook/Multnomah 1996), a 2004 Retailer's Choice Nominee, an anointed resource providing hope and comfort for parents who grieve the loss of a child. The book was borne from Linda’s own experience resulting from the death of her daughter, Alexandra Grace DeYmaz on Easter morning in 1995.The book has sold nearly 100,000 copies to date.

She is a graduate of Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon (1985).

Linda and her husband, Mark, pastor of Mosaic Church in Little Rock, were married in 1987 and currently reside in Little Rock, Arkansas' with their four children Zack, Emily,Will and Kate. A horse named Skeeter.Mama and Marley the cats and the latest addition Jeter, an English,  yellow lab who has affectionately won her heart!

Linda is passionate about helping women who have experienced the deep loss of a child. Her own personal grief took her on a journey that in time unleashed a new gratefulness and love for Jesus. She desires that all women have the same confidence of one day seeing their child in Heaven.

She is also the owner of Linda DeYmaz Interiors . A company that provides professional design services to personal and corporate clients.

Win an FLIP HD Camcorder in Susan May Warren's Letters From Home Giveaway!

Check out the contest that my fellow Summerside Press author, Susan May Warren is having for her latest release, Nightingale. Nightingale is Book 2 in her Brothers in Arms Collection with Summerside and from the reviews I'm reading, it's another Warren winner! If you're a historical fiction reader you will love this story.

Esther Lange doesn’t love her fiancé—she’s trapped in an engagement after a mistaken night of passion.

Still, she grieves him when he’s lost in battle, the letters sent to her by the medic at his side giving her a strange comfort, so much that she strikes up a correspondence with Peter Hess, an Iowa farmboy. Or is he? Peter Hess is not who he seems. Indeed, he’s hiding a secret, something that could cost them both their lives, especially when the past comes back to life. A bittersweet love song of the home front war between duty and the heart...a battle where only one will survive. Purchase a copy here.

And now on to the contest!

The blog tour for Nightingale is under way - check out what the reviewers and saying here!

Nightingale is about letters, the power of written correspondence to convey thoughts and emotions to those far away. And sometimes near. Letters are forever, they are something we savor and pull out to read again and again. They are often cherished and kept in a special place.

To celebrate the release of Nightingale, we'd like you to write a letter. One grand prize winner will receive a Flip HD Camcorder. 5 runner's up winners will win a signed copy of Nightingale. There are two ways to enter the contest by writing letters.

1. Write a letter to a soldier. At the end of the contest we'll print out and mail your letter for you.

2. Write a letter to a friend, loved one, family member, enemy. Tell them something you wished you'd told them before. Tell them you love them, or maybe how they touched your life. Perhaps an apology is in order or a thank you. Or perhaps you'd like to relate a funny tale or just share life. Whatever it is, submit it here along with your email address and we'll send it for you.

Enter here or at the SHARE page on the Brothers in Arms website. Or simply click on the button that says ENTER TO WIN.

When Love Ends: A Heart Healing Journey

Guest Blog by Jackie M. Johnson

Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.   Micah 7:8

The loss of love can be shattering. Whether it’s the ending of a dating relationship or the crumbling of a marriage, breakups are often messy and complicated. You may feel sad, angry, confused and lonely. If you’re the one who left you may feel guilt and shame. Either way, you just want the pain to stop. You want healing and you want answers.

How do you get through it?

It’s been said that if you don’t grieve well, you grieve all the time. If you don’t deal with your stuff, you end up carrying your breakup baggage from one relationship to the next. Instead, when you process the pain and let God heal your broken heart, you can become better equipped to find the lasting love you truly desire. Your heart healing journey from the darkest night to brighter days has four stages: Twilight, Night, Dawn and Day.

Twilight

The first few days or weeks after a relationship breakup are like twilight, the end of the day and the end of your relationship. In this time of transition you want to get the comfort and support you need, and begin to grieve your losses. Whether you were in love or in like, a breakup is a loss. You may be experiencing the loss of affection, the loss of attention, the loss of a dream and more. Losses need to be processed or they get stuck inside of you like a clogged drain.

Night

In this stage it feels like midnight in your heart; it’s dark and discouraging. Here you begin to deal with your myriad emotions, like sadness, anger, guilt, rejection and loneliness. Yet even in your darkest times, God provides “nightlights” to shine in your darkness like His presence, His peace, His Great Love. He is near the broken-hearted. Even in the hard times we can find “treasures in darkness.” (Is. 45:3)  Ask yourself, what is God trying to teach me in this season of my life?

Dawn

Just like the sun rises bit by bit, dawn is the awakening of hope. With the first light of day you can see more clearly—with your eyes and with your heart. In this stage you learn to rebuild your confidence and realize your true worth and value, as God sees you. And you remember, or discover for the first time, that you are worth being loved well.

Day

Finally, you wake up to “the rest of your life” and begin to move forward. Day is about learning to live in the light, living beyond your breakup. You remember the importance of gratitude, friendships and community, rediscovering joy, and serving others. You may even yearn to find new vision and purpose for what’s ahead. And you learn how to make healthier choices next time, and, in time, to trust again.

Thankfully the human heart is resilient; it has the ability to bounce back. Only I don’t think you’re bouncing back, as much as you’re bouncing forward. You’re not the person you once were—you’re stronger and wiser than you were before. The experience has forever changed you.

The good news is God redeems loss and pain and heals the heart to love again. Light always overcomes darkness. With the light of Jesus Christ we can be encouraged, equipped and empowered to journey through the heart healing process and find restoration, hope and healing.

~~

Jackie M. Johnson is a freelance writer and author of When Love Ends and the Ice Cream Carton is Empty (Moody Publishing) and Power Prayers for Women (Barbour Publishing), which has touched the lives of nearly 200,000 readers worldwide.  Jackie is single and lives in Colorado. More about Jackie here and here!

Secrets From the Author’s Chair - Alison Strobel Morrow

Hello Alison - thanks so much for visiting my blog! Tell me about your new book The Weight of Shadows- how did you come up with the title? I love it!

I wish I could take the credit for it, but that actually goes to Dudley Delffs, who was head of fiction at Zondervan at the time that we came up with it. Usually the title comes to me along with the first kernel of an idea, but for some reason I just could not think of one for this book. I called it "Guilt" as a working title, and when I turned it in I told my editor I was open to anything since I hadn't had any luck. A few weeks later Dudley suggested wrote me with that title, and I was blown away. It was perfect, and absolutely nothing like any title I ever would have come up with. I have a trend of two-word titles (Worlds Collide, Violette Between, Reinventing Rachel) and that title went in a great, different direction.

How do you write dialogue and make sure you get it right?

I rely on a handful of tools. I read everything out loud. I think about the kinds of words people use when they're chatting, versus the words they use if they've rehearsed what they want to say or want to sound smarter or more knowledgeable than they really are. I think really good dialogue is dependent on an author knowing their characters inside and out. Not just their education level, but their social standing, their family of origin, what they read, the music they listen to, where they grew up, where they live now...all that affects word choice, cadence, all that stuff. Get all that right and you've got dialogue that really rounds out characters and makes for not just believable conversations, but conversations that don't remind you that you're reading a book.

Why did you chose to write about domestic violence and abuse.

The kernel idea I started with was, "What if you carried a burden of guilt that no one else knew about? What if you carried it for years? How would it affect you in the long term?" I thought it might lead to someone welcoming pain as a means of penance for their hidden guilt. Combine that with someone who is desperate for love, who will do anything for a family--and the concept of domestic abuse seemed to fit very well.

Coupled with that is the fact that domestic abuse doesn't show up a lot in Christian fiction, and I thought it would be a good topic to bring to readers' attention. Unfortunately I know a number of women who were either in DV situations or currently still are in them--it's just so heartbreaking, so gut-wrenching to hear their stories and hear how warped their sense of self-worth and reality are. There are a lot of reasons why women end up in abusive relationships--penance for guilt is not necessarily a main one--but it was a clear cause that I thought would help readers to start to understand the reasons why women stay. DV victims are really misunderstood. I think there are a lot of assumptions about their education level, their intelligence. But the truth of the matter is that any woman from any background can end up in an abusive relationship.

What is a book you've read recently that you loved? What do you look for in a book?

I'm in the middle of "God Alone is Enough" by Claudia Mair Burney, and it's phenomenal. Burney is one of my favorite writers. Lisa Samson's "The Passion of Mary-Margaret" was also excellent; read that a few months ago and it's still "with" me.I'm a sucker for books that completely transport me. Books that make me suddenly look around and think, "Where the heck did the last five hours go?!" are the ones I buy and read over and over. I tend to seek out books that tackle "big" issues, that make me think, that challenge me, but I don't mind a more "fluffy" book when it's an engaging story. (You can only take those heavy books for so long without breaking them up with something lighter!)

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I really study Lisa Samson's books when I read them, along with Jodi Picoult's, Terry Pratchett's, Diana Gabaldon's, and William Gibson's. They're each masters in a different area (Lisa = communicating faith, grace, and mercy; Jodi = figurative language and lyricism, plotting; Terry = humor and social commentary; Diana = setting and place; William = narrative and description

What's next for you?
Books, books, and more books, thankfully! "Reinventing Rachel" released Sept. 1, "The Heart of Memory" releases in March, and the currently titled "Trouble Child" releases next September. Also, my husband and I have written two children's books, the first of which came out August 1, the second comes out next spring. We refer to them as "spiritual formation for the toddler set." Soon we'll be doing some more structured homeschooling with our oldest daughter (5 in December), and in my free time I'm learning crochet and writing some proposals so I can hopefully get some more books contracted. It's busy over here, but we love it. God is blessing us so much. I'm so grateful for this life and this opportunity to write.
Thanks!

For more about Alison and her novels, visit her website and for more about her children's books, go here.

Thursday on Living Inspired: Time Management with guest Cindi Ferrini

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen. Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

I'm excited to chat about time management with return guest Cindi Ferrini. If you didn't catch Cindi's first interview about raising kids with special needs, you can listen to that here. Thursday we'll be chatting about time management (just in time for the bustling holiday season!). We'll hear about Cindi's great resource, Get It Together, and I'll share a few of my own tips for managing your time in a way that makes sense for you and your family.

About Cindi: Cindi enjoys speaking on topics that will encourage men and women to make a difference in their sphere of influence by being all they can be for the Lord, their families, and themselves. Joe and Cindi are on the speaking team for Family Life Ministries, a marriage-focused ministry founded by Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Joe (a dentist) and Cindi have enjoyed ministry together as they direct the City Focus Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in the Northeast Ohio area as associate staff since 1989. They helped to bring the Billy Graham Crusade to Cleveland in 1994 and served as trained counselors, supervisors and leaders. They were also responsible for the direction of distributing over 32,000 pieces of material to inquirers that came forward throughout the crusade. The Billy Graham Association asked them to establish follow-up in the NE Ohio area because of the discipleship ministry they already had in place. They have also served as City Ministry Directors of the FamilyLife conferences in Cleveland (NE Ohio) from 1990-2001 with expansion to Akron in 2000 and an Urban Familylife Conference in Youngstown, OH, in October of 2001! Joe and Cindi now speak nationally for the Familylife Marriage Conferences. For more info, please visit  http://www.cindiferrini.com

About Get it Together: This step-by-step workbook helps you "get it together!" Develop daily, weekly, monthly, and long-term plans specifically for your life. Learn how to work with your energy level. Prepare for Christmas, hospitality, your finances, and more! Lists, charts, and information is all included!

To win a copy of this great resource leave a comment {HERE} along with your email address. We'll randomly select one winner and contact you via email.

Is It Worth The Risk?

Guest blog by Cynthia Christensen

I’m tired. I’m weary. I’m frustrated. I’m disappointed. I’m a woman that loves her God with every inch of her being, but lately, I’m struggling and I’m sick of stifling it. I need to let it out but there’s always the lingering question of what others will think – especially because I’m a Christian.

See, in the last few years, I think of all the broken, hurting people with nowhere to go, that my husband and I have abandoned all boundaries for in an attempt to help them get their feet under them and begin living the lives they were meant to live. When we take someone on, we try to count the cost ahead of time to make sure we aren’t jeopardizing our own family and if it fits, we jump in with everything we have. We don’t think about pay-off, pay-back, or if the person fails to realize their worth in the end. We collectively agree as a family that if we can be a tool to help lift someone to a higher level of life, it’s worth the risk.

No one in my family is known for doing things half-way so if we decide to take a risk on someone, we go all out. We give 100%, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, and we let people see us in every light possible. We do this because we believe that in being real, we show others their own potential despite their own flaws. In some way, it’s like being in Times Square naked – especially as a Christian. People seem to watch closer when you have a self-ascribed set of values.

Here’s my problem: as I type this, my fingers are stiff and sore from scrubbing filth off my tile floor, my back aches from fix-it-up projects around my house, I have a headache from cleaning black mold, dust, and grime from around my house, my husband is exhausted because he works full-time and then has to come home and do the man projects (and not because he loves DIY), and we are now thousands of dollars in debt over all the fix-it projects our house required just to get it in livable condition. Why, you ask?

Well, we jumped head first into a charitable cause a year and a half ago. See, we had this good friend who wanted more for her family. We were moving to Arizona, so we decided we were in a position to bless her by giving her the opportunity to live in and rent our home with a yard instead of an apartment complex. We were so excited to bless her that we went all out, cleaning it spotless and preparing it for her family’s arrival. We even decided that our mortgage was more than she could afford every month but that we believed in her enough to eat a few hundred dollars of the mortgage every month.

Fast forward to last month. We take possession of the house again, only to have the rude awakening that the level of integrity we expected of ourselves was not reciprocated. Our house (which was home to me) was trashed. We are six weeks into fixing it up and still I can’t see the end in sight. I know it’s coming, but it’s hard to convince our weary bodies of it at this point.

My solution: to confront the “friend” and ask her how she let this happen. I was trying to convince myself there would be some good reason that would make this all better. What did I get? “Well, you are high and mighty and you don’t work so you have all day to clean. I don’t. You are not a good Christian for complaining about this when I did my best.”

It wasn’t my jaw that hit the floor! It was my whole body! I was having flashbacks of telling my kids we couldn’t afford this or that because we were helping a family that deserved better. We had enough and it was good to sacrifice for others. At this moment my kids are having a hard time seeing that the sacrifice was worth it.

Over the last month, we have been called horrid names, our life has been picked apart to be used and twisted as a method of convincing others, and I’m tired of hearing about it. We risked it all only to be slapped in the face…and left asking ourselves if we really should turn the other cheek and risk it again.

But, then we remember the question: What if it works? What if our risk leverages someone to a whole new way of life? What if…

~~

More about Cynthia here. And listen to the Restorative Grief Podcast here. Win a copy of Cynthia's book by leaving a comment on this post.

About the book: Birthmother grief, a type of grief many don’t know at all, yet some know all too well. The author, Cynthia Christensen, trudged through her own grief after the adoption of her son, Joshua. Being a private person, she did not want to do one-on-one counseling so she decided to travel the path with only one counselor, Jesus. Walking alongside Jesus proved to be not only healing but restorative, and life-changing.

While counseling at an adoption agency and talking with others whose lives have been touched by adoption, the author recognized that many post adoption birthmothers, birthfathers, or family members never fully recovered from the grief of adoption. Restorative Grief is a Bible study written for the sole purpose of restoring broken hearts and shattered lives, by dealing with the pain of separation that follows the extremely emotional events leading up to the relinquishment of a child.

I didn't want to stay safe.

When we moved to Arkansas I have to admit I felt out of my comfort zone. The first week we were here, the kids and I drove to Central High School, home to the Little Rock Nine. If you're familiar with history, then you know the story of the Little Rock Nine. If the facts are fuzzy, here's a recap that I took from Wikipedia.

The Little Rock Nine was a group of African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The ensuing Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, and then attended after the intervention of President Eisenhower, is considered to be one of the most important events in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. On their first day of school, troops from the Arkansas National Guard would not let them enter the school and they were followed by mobs making threats to lynch.

Growing up in California and spending most of my life in Montana, the Civil Rights Movement was as far away and unknown as the War of 1812, but being in Little Rock, this history didn't seem so ancient, especially when the young, beautiful African American tour guide admitted her mother was one of the Little Rock Nine.

It wasn't just a tour of the High School that intrigued me that day. It was the drive to where Central High School was that was even more inspiring. We left the new, safe-feeling West side where we lived into a part of town that still felt like 1957. We drove past houses that were boarded up, old businesses that looked as if they'd been left to crumble. I didn't feel completely safe. This mama wasn't in Montana any more.

Maybe it was that day, or maybe a few days to follow that I made a decision. I didn't want to stay safe. I wanted to leave my comfort zone. I had a feeling God had plans for me there.

You see, all of my friends were FamilyLife staff. The loved on us like I never expected. They brought us meals and offered to babysit. I was overwhelmed by their love. We'd also started attending an awesome church, but walking in the doors it was hard to tell the Civil Rights Movement had happened at all. I could have stayed their and worshipped with those amazing people forever, but something inside didn't feel right. God had different plans for me. For my family.

That's the cool thing about God. He has a unique plan for each of our family. Over the coming month you're going to hear what happened when God "called us out." It's amazing really.

What about you? Okay, maybe God isn't calling you to physically leave your comfort zone by driving across town, but is He stirring something else inside? Is He asking you to walk across your cubicle? Walk across the street? Walk across the living room and pick up the phone ... make that call?

God wants us to leave our comfort zones--all of us. Why? Because it's there where He meets us. When we aren't comfortable, we look to Him for our comfort. And that' exactly where we need to be.

Addressing Sexual Tolerance in America

This is a great resource and is available at Amazon.com for only $6.00 right now!

Desire and Deceit: The Real Cost of the New Sexual Tolerance
By Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

It’s Just Sex, Right?

Exposing the True Cost of the New Sexual Tolerance
The last few decades have produced some dramatic changes in the national discourse about all things sexual.  With elementary school children being introduced to “family diversity” curriculum, reports of promiscuity in homes for the aged, the raging debate over gay marriage, and the mainstreaming of pornography through advertising and entertainment, there seems to be virtually no part of the culture that is not dealing with sexuality in one way or another—and often with significant controversy.  In this age of moral relativism, the politically correct opinion states that what happens between consenting adults is nobody’s business but theirs.  After all, in the end, it’s just sex, right?

What do the mainstreaming of pornography, the homosexual agenda, and the philosophy of sexual liberation have in common?  Implicit in each is an attack on the institution of heterosexual marriage.  According to Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, when the traditional plan for marriage is attacked, an entire civilization may pay the price.  Dr. Mohler’s latest book, Desire and Deceit: The Real Cost of the New Sexual Tolerance, examines many of today’s most controversial and troubling issues concerning sexuality.

“Today, we face a cultural crisis that actually threatens to reverse civilization and to embrace barbarism,” Dr. Mohler states.  “Civilization is based upon order, respect, habit, custom, and institution—all of which are rejected outright by the age of moral relativism and the lack of sexual restraint.  Can civilization survive under these circumstances?  I would have to argue that it cannot.  There is no example in the history of humankind of a civilization enduring for long under these conditions.”

Dr. Mohler has been described by Time.com as the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S.”  Desire and Deceit exemplifies his reputation for academic excellence and uncompromising moral integrity.  In assessing the current sexual culture in America, Mohler demonstrates a remarkable breadth of knowledge, citing a diverse group of authors ranging from Christian author Joshua Harris and J.R.R. Tolkien to Sigmund Freud, Margaret Mead, Alfred Kinsey, and some of the lesser known philosophers who have profoundly shaped the American sexual landscape.

A major portion of the book is devoted to exposing and analyzing the tactics used by the homosexual movement which have taken homosexuality from “the love that dare not speak its name” to the center of America’s public life in only a few short decades.  Tracing the current movement back to its roots, Dr. Mohler brings to light the well crafted and stunningly successful public relations efforts that have repackaged the homosexual image and sought to revise the church’s teaching on homosexuality.  Dr. Mohler handily demonstrates the logical fallacies of these revisionist attempts, while bringing the crucial issue to the fore.

The book paints an accurate and alarming picture of a culture that seeks to drown out any voice declaring a message of morality, biblical truth, or any kind of sexual restraint—and that should motivate readers to action.  “Let us see this trend toward sexual anarchy answered with true resolve,” Dr. Mohler states.  “Let us mount a movement, not consisting so much of placards, billboards, and advertising, but of couples and families, men and women who will not bend, will not bow, and will not surrender to the culture.”

Thanksgiving With A Purpose resources

Check out my latest MomLifeTV appearance - this time Tracey and I are chatting about some great new resources for helping your family build meaningful traditions around the Thanksgiving holiday.

You can watch the video here: http://www.momlifetoday.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-with-a-purpose/

Here are the links to the resources we discussed: Thanksgiving: A Time To Remember and Let’s Talk Turkey.

What are some of your own meaningful Thanksgiving traditions? 

It’s a boy!

Guest Blog by Jolene Philo

“It’s a boy,” the doctor announced to my husband and me in the delivery room. “Small, but perfectly formed.”

With those words, our parenting journey began in Spearfish, South Dakota’s small hospital. A few hours later, our journey took an unexpected turn.

The doctor said our son, Allen, was having trouble breathing. “We took an x-ray and saw a spot on his lung, but we need to transfer him to Rapid City for more tests.”

A few more hours and a pediatrician called to say our son had a major birth defect that required immediate surgery for him to live. “Do you want to life flight him to Omaha or Denver?” he asked.

By the time Allen was 24 hours old, he had endured his first surgery. He went through seven more surgeries by the time he was five and a final one at fifteen. As he progressed through adolescence, he developed a pattern of running from stressful situations. It persisted until his mid-twenties, when he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by the medically invasive procedures and successfully treated. Since then he found a good job and was recently married.

Our journey as Allen’s parents led me to a new, unexpected path as an author specializing in special needs parenting books. Throughout Allen’s early struggles, which shook my faith, I searched for books to answer my questions about a God who would allow my child to suffer. I searched for books about parenting children with special needs - something to help us navigate the health care maze. But I found nothing.

Finally, I decided to fill the gap by writing a book for parents of children with special needs. After twenty-five years as an elementary teacher, and pursued a career as a writer and speaker. Six years later in September of 2009, Discovery House Publishers (DHP) released my first book,  A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children. Now I am researching and writing a second book, Different Dream Parenting: Raising a Child with Special Needs, which will also be published by DHP. I blog at www.DifferentDream.com which provides resources and support for families of kids with special needs.

When our son was born, I had no idea of the journey ahead. The trip has been one wild ride. It’s also been an incredibly satisfying one as God has given me experiences and formalized training which led to professional expertise and a deep, confident faith to share with struggling parents.

Would I have chosen this path?
Never.

Am I grateful for this journey? Always, and more each day as God reveals more of his perfect road map and is glorified by my small trek along it.

~~

Jolene is the author of A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children and founder of DifferentDream.com. For more about her or her work please visit the website.

Secrets From the Author’s Chair - Joseph Bentz

Interview with Joseph Bentz author of God in Pursuit: The Tipping Points from Doubt to Faith (Beacon Hill Press, 2010)

Why did you decide to write this book?

God in Pursuit: The Tipping Points from Doubt to Faith, originally started as a book on Doubt. I wondered, what role does doubt play in the life of a Christian? Should Christians fear it? Should they try to stamp it out? Or are there ways in which doubt plays a role in leading a Christian to deeper understanding?
As I worked on those doubt issues, I began to wonder, what leads people to faith in the first place?

Why—and how—do people who are downright hostile to Christianity end up as passionate followers of Jesus Christ? Are there common factors that allow them to make that leap of faith? The factors (or “tipping points”) that allow people to move from disbelief to faith are now the central focus of the book, and I also deal with how those same tipping points operate later in the Christian life as believers work through crises of doubt to reach deeper levels in their walk with God.

Your book talks about God unsettling people’s lives. Can you give examples? How does this impact their Christian journey?

In conducting interviews and reading dozens of spiritual memoirs in preparation for this book, what surprised me most is how vigorously God pursues even those who seem least likely to follow him. The first chapter of the book is called, “I Didn’t Want to Be a Christian, But….” It’s a chapter about reluctant converts, and I found their stories some of the most inspiring because even though they start out completely antagonistic to God and want nothing to do with him, once he shows up in their lives, he changes everything.

“Big Jim” Vaus was a wiretapper for the mob who wanted nothing to do with God until he happened to walk into a Billy Graham crusade on his way to do a job for crime boss Mickey Cohen. He sensed the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit that night and turned his life over to Christ. He later made restitution to all the victims of his crimes. Sara Miles wanted nothing to do with Christianity until she wandered into a church one day and encountered Jesus Christ when she took communion. Anne Lamott sensed Christ’s presence in the corner of her room as she lay in bed sick and strung out. This is what I mean by how God is unsettling in people’s lives. Even after conversion, people still have to work through the questions and doubts and objections that had kept them away from God, but now they work through these things as believers. I was amazed at how God works.

Help us better understand “foreshadowing.” What does this look like in a person’s faith walk?

When people tell their stories of how they turned to Christ, their conversions often sound “sudden” because they didn’t expect God to show up in their lives when he did. But as I looked into these stories further, I found that conversions were almost never as “sudden” as they looked. As people look back on their stories, they can almost always find “clues” planted by God across the years that indicate he was pursuing them all along. Those clues are what I call foreshadowing, just as a novelist plants clues along the way that will only have significance for the reader after the full story unfolds.

Foreshadowing takes many forms. It may be a conversation with a Christian that doesn’t bear fruit until years later. It may be an overheard song about Jesus that you just can’t get out of your head. It may be a verse from the Bible that you keep running across wherever you look. It may be a positive relationship with a Christian family that pushes you just a little closer to God. As Christians, we are often part of the foreshadowing of someone’s faith in Christ, even if we never become fully aware of the part we play in that person’s move toward faith.

The Holy Spirit comes to us in different ways during our lives. What does “Loaded Time” mean? 

“Loaded Time” is a rough translation of the Greek word kairos that is found in scripture. There is no exact equivalent for this word in English. Loaded time describes moments, separated from all the ordinary minutes and seconds of life, when time is particularly filled not only with God’s presence but also with the opportunity to reach him. We can say yes to him, we can say no, but somehow all the foreshadowing, the clues, the prowling pursuit of God’s Spirit has led us to this moment, and we must decide. Have you ever read a verse of scripture a hundred times and it left you cold, but then you read it one more time and you finally get it in a way that leaves you stunned? Have you ever been profoundly moved by a sermon that seemed to bore everyone else? Those are examples of “loaded time.” I found that many conversions happen at just such times. From the outside the circumstances look quite ordinary, but the Holy Spirit has so “loaded” that moment that it becomes a transforming time in the person’s life.

What can we—as members of Christ’s body—do to reach unlikely followers?

I would stress two answers to this question that stood out to me as I researched and wrote this book. The first is that we should never give up on anybody as a potential follower of Christ. I ran across too many unlikely candidates for Christianity who became Christians anyway to believe that anyone is a lost cause. So if you’ve been praying for someone to come to Christ, even if you’ve been praying for years, keep doing it. You never know how close the person may be to the “loaded time” that will change everything.

The second thing I would say is that as Christians, we never know the part we are playing in a person’s move toward Christ. We may be there at the time of the person’s conversion, or we may be there decades earlier, planting a “clue” that will make sense in a person’s faith journey years after we are gone. It’s a mistake to think that even the small things we do for Christ are insignificant.

Anything else you’d like to share?

God in Pursuit: The Tipping Points from Doubt to Faith is designed for individual reading or for use in small groups. A free downloadable Study Guide is available that leads groups through a six-week study of the book. You can access that at my website, www.josephbentz.com, or at the publisher’s website, www.nph.com.

Thursday on Living Inspired: Jill Hart

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen. Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

I'm excited to chatting with Jill Hart. Jill is an author, stay-at-home-mompreneur, radio show host, and blogger. She'll be sharing tons of tips for those of us who work and home and LOVE it!

Jill will be giving away a copy of her book  - just leave a comment {HERE} (and your email address) and we'll choose a winner next week.

About Jill: Jill Hart’s entrepreneurial career began in her teens when she spent a summer helping her father with his vending business, stocking pop and candy machine. When he put her in charge of a Coke machine and allowed her to keep the profits, she saw the benefits of being her own boss.

That entrepreneurial spirit motivates her to show other women how to begin and build their own businesses from home. Her popular website, CWAHM.com (Christian Work at Home Moms) reaches more than 10,000 women monthly. Jill is also the co-host of the LIVE Internet radio show, The CWAHM Network.

Jill writes, blogs and speaks about finding a business niche, creative and inexpensive marketing, and finding balance while working from home. She is a featured blogger in the Guideposts Blogger Network. Jill and CWAHM have been featured in The Wall Street Journal and FIRST Magazine for Women. Her articles have been featured on websites like DrLaura.com and she is a columnist for a number of mom-focused websites. She is also a contributing author in four books and co-author of So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom (Beacon Hill).

Jill has spoken on work at home topics at places such as the LifeLight Festival and online at sites like CelebrateMoms.org, Pink Collar Club, and more. She has been interviewed on her local NBC station and speaks on the local Christian Talk Radio station once a month. She presents hope for moms who desire to be at home with their children. She also offers encouragement on how to live a godly life while running a home, a family and a business.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two kids and works in her pajamas as often as possible.

For more about Jill please visit, www.jillhart.com.

About So You Want To Be A Work-At-Home-Mom: Home-based businesses are estimated to be a $427 billion-a-year industry. In recent studies it was found that as many as 105 million people in North America alone were working at home. Considering this information, it is obvious that home-based businesses can be successful and authors Jill Hart and Diana Ennen will help you succeed with your own.

So You Want to Be a Work-at-Home Mom details all the basics of starting a business in a spiritual, motivational, and comprehensive manner. From deciding what type of business to start to keeping your family and faith first, this helpful tool details every aspect of establishing a business. With proven success tips utilized by the authors and others who own work-at-home businesses, this inspiration approach will provide you with the resources you need to start your own home-based business.

So You Want to Be a Work-at-Home Mom includes:

• Detailed information on types of businesses to start
• Ideas and assistance for setting up, operating, and marketing your business
• Definitions and descriptions of work-at-home terminology and processes
• Help for developing your Web site
• Explanations of the business nuts and bolts, including bookkeeping, taxes, and more

Make Memories with Family Rituals

Guest Blog by Mary Byers

Three years ago, my family started what has now become a ritual. Over spring break, each of my two children gets to plan a day, which includes directing the activities and requesting a favorite meal. On “Mason Day,” he’s in charge. On “Marissa Day,” she’s in charge.

Though it wasn’t my intent to develop a ritual when I first started this activity, it was back at the request of my children a year later. They enjoyed directing the family’s activities and also appreciated having a day “named” after them! I was happy to make it a tradition because of its positive impact. First, our special days insure that we spend time together during vacation. Second, it allows each child to share his or her favorite activity with other members of the family. Third, it teaches my kids that an important part of any relationship requires that sometimes we do things just because it makes someone else happy.

Family rituals are important to the unity of a family. Not only do they reinforce the sense of the family community, they strengthen the relationship between family members, create a shared experience for the family, and produce memories that will last a lifetime. Family rituals can be started at any age and at any time, but they should grow and mature with a family.

Here are some questions to ask as you look at creating your own family rituals:
• What do our kids like to do?
• How can we make our kids feel special about our family?
• What can we do to recognize our family as a unit, and our children individually?
• What family rituals can we adapt and/or pass down from our own families?

Above all, rituals connect us with those we love. Whether it’s going for ice cream each year when school lets out for the summer, or a special kiss you develop to send your children off with each morning as they leave for school, if the activity connects you to your loved ones, you can be sure it will be remembered, and appreciated, for a lifetime.

~~

Author Mary Byer's books, How to Say No ... and Live to Tell About It, The Mother Load and Making Work at Home Work, reflect Mary’s own philosophy of living a life that reflects your priorities. With wit, humor and insightfulness, Mary challenges you to take control of your circumstances, to become more confident in the roles that you play, and to discover new energy for the things that are important to you. For more information about Mary and her books, please visit her website at www.marybyers.com.

Starting over!

Many people ask me what it's like to have a baby in the house again. Honestly ... it's amazing!

When I first became a mom I was 17-years-old, ashamed and very unsure of myself. After I married, John I had two more kids in four more years. My third baby was born when I was 22-years-old. I was a good mom, yes, but I was uncertain. I didn't know who I was. I saw my kids as an extension of my self-worth. I constantly compared myself with other moms. I felt I had something to "prove" since I was so young.

Also, when John and I were young parents we were still trying to figure out life. John was going to college. He also worked evenings. We had no money. We only had one car. Many days I felt like a single mom.

Today ...

Today we have three older kids. We know parenting is hard, but doable. We are more settled. We enjoy every moment with our baby girl.

I know who I am as a mom. I trust God more. I don't compare with other moms. I've discovered that doesn't work. John is more present, too. He's around more.

John and I feel we were called to be parents. Having this new baby girl has convinced us of that even more.

Looking forward to the next 18 years ... eager to see how God is going to continue to grow us and change us!

One particular load ...

Guest Blog by Janet Holm McHenry

Laundry is certainly a daily challenge when you have four children, but one particular load stands out in my mom memory.

I’d just gotten back from a weeklong summer course hours away over mountain roads to fulfill requirements for my teaching credential and was picking up the Hansel and Gretel trail of clothes on my kids’ bedroom floors when I discovered the problem. In my son’s jeans’ pocket was a small, plastic container – the type you put matches in when you camp. Except that this container didn’t hold matches; it had a single cigarette.

Ugh, he’s experimenting. I’ll talk with him tonight when he gets home work on the ranch.

My rancher husband Craig works 15-hour days during the summer, so I knew I would see our son Justin first.

He and his older sister Rebekah burst through the front door about an hour later as I was sitting on the living room floor sorting socks. Justin is six feet three with a die-for shade of red hair, a friendly sprinkle of freckles, and quick wit. Rebekah is an athletic five feet seven with long, dark brown hair and electric blue eyes that light up a room when she enters.

They were teasing each other and laughing when I said, “Take a seat” and held up the plastic container and cigarette.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Rebekah said. “He’s quit.”

Quit? “Quit” meant he’d been smoking for some time. “Quit” meant he’d been addicted. “Quit” meant I’d really been clueless for quite a while.

We had a long talk while we all folded laundry together there on the living room floor. It was sort of a coming of age moment for me as the parent of the first two of our four kids…a time when I realized the best strategy for me as a parent was prayer.

A short time later I began prayerwalking, taking my worries and to-do lists and mom wishes to the Lord on a daily basis as I walked up and down the streets in my little town in the Sierra Valley. Many tears have been shed on those avenues – certainly for my own children but also for others. Shortly after I began prayerwalking, I realized my own concerns often paled as I walked by others’ homes and businesses and thought about the needs behind those doors.

Twelve years later I am still walking and praying for my family and for others in my community. Today I will take our fourth child off to college for the first time – to UC Berkeley. Her sister and two brothers have already finished their college education and are serving God in the communities where He has planted them.

And I still keep that little plastic container to remind me that prayer is the best strategy as I parent…because I’m seeking the Problem Solver, who knows what is best for my children.

~~

Janet Holm McHenry is a national speaker and the author of 19 books, including Prayer Changes Teens: How to Parent From Your Knees and PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline. For more about Janet, see her website at www.janetmchenry.com or her blog Up2Me, http://janetmchenry.wordpress.com.

New Fiction!

Legacy of Lies by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Secrets Buried Deep! Evidence from a decades-old murder is the last thing Nicole Keller-Mattson expected to find in her grandmother’s back yard, but the finger-pointing and accusations leveled at her family came as no surprise. Everyone in Ellington is eager to blame the Kellers—but after an attack leaves Nicole’s grandmother in a coma, only Nicole can clear the family name. With the assistance of police chief Rich Hendricks, she stands a chance of solving the mystery . . . if she’s willing to accept Rich’s help. Nicole lost her policeman husband in the line of duty—getting close to another cop is too painful. But keeping her distance could be deadly.

WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR ABOUT LEGACY OF LIES:
I’ve always been fascinated by social dynamics in a small town. Having lived in rural communities all my life, I’m intimately familiar with the unique politics involved. Crafting a story about the shadow cast over a town by its founding family came readily to me. I was particularly interested to explore the affect past sins and secrets can have on a tight-knit community and how the illusion of power is always trumped by the immutable laws of God.

We do reap what we sow, no matter how grand and invincible we imagine ourselves to be.

The scripture I used at the front of the book was Psalm 37:
10 – 11 from the NIV version of the Bible: A little while and the wicked will be no more; Though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.

I comfort myself with these words quite often when I see the injustices in the world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jill Elizabeth Nelson writes what she likes to read—tales of adventure seasoned with romance, humor, and faith, earning her the tagline: Endless Adventure, Timeless Truth. She was delightfully astonished this year to receive the prestigious Carol Award in the Short Contemporary Suspense category for her 2009 release, Evidence of Murder. Jill speaks regularly at conferences, writer’s groups, library associations, and civic and church groups. When teaching classes for writers, she thrills to bring the Ahah! moment to her students as they make a new skill their own. Jill and her husband live in rural Minnesota where they raised four children and are currently enjoying their first grandchild. Visit Jill on the web at http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com for book giveaways, excerpts, and information.


A Prairie Christmas Collection

from Barbour Books
by Tracie Peterson, Deborah Raney, Tracey Bateman
and other favorite Christian authors

Settling the vast open prairies, weathering winter storms, and finding joy to celebrate during Christmas epitomizes the pioneer experience. In a unique collection of nine Christmas romances, Barbour Publishing brings readers A Prairie Christmas Collection where they can relive a prairie Christmas with all its challenge and delights as penned by multi-published authors, including Tracie Peterson and Deborah Raney. Featuring deckled-edge pages and a foil-stamped cover with fold-under flaps, the collection makes an ideal gift for the romance reader.

In this holiday romance collection, the warmth of Christmas will radiate new love from the high plains of Minnesota and Dakota Territory, across the rolling hills of Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois, and down into the flats of Kansas. Filled with inspiration and faith, each story will become a treasure to be enjoyed again each year. Along with Peterson and Raney, other contributing authors include Tracey Bateman, Pamela Griffin, JoAnn A. Grote, Maryn Langer, Darlene Mindrup, Janet Spaeth and Jill Stengl.

For more information see Deborah Raney's website at www.deborahraney.com.

Supergirl!

Today I wore a supergirl costume. It included a silver headband, wristbands, and arm bands made out of foil. Why? Because my husband has a passion for children's ministry, and I like to support him. I played supergirl in front of twenty 3, 4, & 5 year olds. I love the kids, yes, but I love my husband more.

Sometimes we think we need to be a “perfect” wife. We have to make great meals, look great, always be available for physical intimacy, and meet our husbands other, various, needs. If you've been married any length of time, you'll know that perfection isn't possible. We will fail in many ways—many times a day! We know that, our husbands know that, too.

And the truth is, we don't need to do everything. Instead we only need to do the ONE THING our husband would appreciate most at that moment. And sometimes that means wearing a supergirl costume. We can each be a supergirl to our husbands today. What does the mean for your guy?

Want more tips on how to be a “supergirl”? Check out Generation NeXt Marriage: The Couple’s Guide to Keeping It Together.

A Divine Detour

Guest Blog by Kathy Harris

Proverbs 19:21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. NLT

When I was seven years old, I had my life planned. I would marry, have two kids, and write books. Seems simple enough, but God had other plans. Despite working hard in the pursuit of my dreams, one would eventually be denied, and the others would linger for many years.

After high school, with my writing goal still intact, I went off to college to study journalism and English. When I graduated with a Communications degree three years later, no writing job awaited me. Instead, I had an unforeseen opportunity to move to Nashville for an entry-level position in the music industry. It was an exciting prospect, so I put my writing goals on hold and moved to Tennessee.

For a while, I supplemented my income by writing artist bios and magazine articles. Eventually, however, my full-time job became an all-consuming career, leaving little room for other things. In time I married, but the dream of having children of my own proved elusive. Even the adoption process failed us. Although I beseeched and questioned God, He never allowed my faith to fail. He carried me through that difficult time—and many others that followed—with the promise that He would always be there for me.

Despite disappointments, my life was full and as the years passed I almost forgot my dream of writing. Almost. But the spark of it remained within me. A God-inspired spark, I believe . . . because five years ago I completed my first novel.

Since then, I’ve had a few non-fiction successes and a whole lot of fun in the process of learning the craft of fiction. Finally (with more than a little help from friends and fellow writers who have encouraged me) an agent signed my second manuscript, and I'm beginning to see the possibility of publication.

As I look back on my life from the span of three decades, I now see that my God-directed detour provided me with the unique experiences I needed to write my books. I now understand that the best way to reach my goal was through His plan, not mine. That His timing is perfect, not mine. And that, even though my path may have been diverted, He has been walking with me every step of the way.

~~

Kathy Harris is a marketing director in the country music industry. She enjoys writing redemptive women’s fiction and blogging about the divine detours of fellow writers and music industry professionals. Check out her website at www.DivineDetour.com.

Thursday on Living Inspired: Into the Mud author Christine Jeske

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen. Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

I can't wait to chat with this week's amazing guest. Christine Jeske will be talking about how to motivate people wherever they are in the world to tackle the real challenges around them, not to avoid them. What she calls moving “into the mud.”  We'll also be talking about how we, as a church, have much to learn from people in the developing world. Those brothers and sisters are an integral part of Christ’s body and we need to be willing to let them teach us, not focus so much on trying to 'fix' them. I know this will be a fascinating interview - don't miss it Thursday at 3:00 PM Central.

More about Christine: Christine Jeske has spent seven years working in microfinance, refugee resettlement, development, and holistic missions with her husband Adam. Their journeys have taken them from Wisconsin to Nicaragua, China, and South Africa where she most recently taught at the Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa and for Eastern University. Christine’s work has appeared in a number of publications in both the United States and South Africa, including Relevant Magazine, Neue Quarterly, MomSense, Overland Journal, and The Lookout.  She and Adam have two children.  They currently live in Madison, Wisconsin. Find out more about Christine and her book at the Into the Mud website: http://www.intothemud.com/

About Into the Mud: Inspiration for Everyday Activists: True Stories of South Africa

Into The Mud takes readers behind the headlines, into real stories of real people living neck-deep in some of Africa’s most difficult issues — but with hands, minds, and hearts rooted in God’s kingdom. Each of its interwoven stories and related discussion questions addresses a broader issue of missions and development, including: evangelism, literacy and education, microfinance, health services, urbanization and refugee assistance, and more. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter help readers to apply lessons from the chapters to their own ministry contexts.

Where the world sees despair, author Christine Jeske sees God writing stories of hope. Study groups, development students, mission teams, and everyday activists alike will be challenged by her stories to enter more deeply into the thick of life’s mud.

Download an excerpt.
Read endorsements.

Win a copy of Into the Mud - just leave a comment {HERE} (don't forget your email address) and on Friday we'll randomly select a winner

Laundry Folded and Lesson Learned

Guest blog by Janet Holm McHenry

Laundry is certainly a daily challenge when you have four children, but one particular load stands out in my mom memory.

I’d just gotten back from a weeklong summer course hours away over mountain roads to fulfill requirements for my teaching credential and was picking up the Hansel and Gretel trail of clothes on my kids’ bedroom floors when I discovered the problem. In my son’s jeans’ pocket was a small, plastic container – the type you put matches in when you camp. Except that this container didn’t hold matches; it had a single cigarette.

Ugh, he’s experimenting. I’ll talk with him tonight when he gets home work on the ranch.

My rancher husband Craig works 15-hour days during the summer, so I knew I would see our son Justin first.

He and his older sister Rebekah burst through the front door about an hour later as I was sitting on the living room floor sorting socks. Justin is six feet three with a die-for shade of red hair, a friendly sprinkle of freckles, and quick wit. Rebekah is an athletic five feet seven with long, dark brown hair and electric blue eyes that light up a room when she enters.

They were teasing each other and laughing when I said, “Take a seat” and held up the plastic container and cigarette.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Rebekah said. “He’s quit.”

Quit? “Quit” meant he’d been smoking for some time. “Quit” meant he’d been addicted. “Quit” meant I’d really been clueless for quite a while.

We had a long talk while we all folded laundry together there on the living room floor. It was sort of a coming of age moment for me as the parent of the first two of our four kids…a time when I realized the best strategy for me as a parent was prayer.

A short time later I began prayerwalking, taking my worries and to-do lists and mom wishes to the Lord on a daily basis as I walked up and down the streets in my little town in the Sierra Valley. Many tears have been shed on those avenues – certainly for my own children but also for others. Shortly after I began prayerwalking, I realized my own concerns often paled as I walked by others’ homes and businesses and thought about the needs behind those doors.

Twelve years later I am still walking and praying for my family and for others in my community. Today I will take our fourth child off to college for the first time – to UC Berkeley. Her sister and two brothers have already finished their college education and are serving God in the communities where He has planted them.

And I still keep that little plastic container to remind me that prayer is the best strategy as I parent…because I’m seeking the Problem Solver, who knows what is best for my children.


Janet Holm McHenry is a national speaker and the author of 19 books, including Prayer Changes Teens: How to Parent From Your Knees and PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline. For more about Janet, see her website at www.janetmchenry.com or her blog Up2Me, http://janetmchenry.wordpress.com.