What is God's favor?

2019 - Here I am, three months into the year and what have I accomplished? What did I accomplish in 2018? As a writer, the questions reflect my writing accomplishments.

The answer - not much, followed by a heavy sigh. Certainly, not much with this blog. Every year, some pick a "Word" for the year. Sometimes I do, sometimes not. Last year, I did. Favor. Favor with my writing. In retrospect, it seems a selfish desire. So many problems in our world...

Proclaiming my "word" did little to motivate me. If one word can sum up my writing mindset last year, it was lethargy. My mind was abuzz all the time with my characters and storylines and plots, but getting it in writing was a struggle. This year hasn't been much better. Health issues, family and financial struggles...I can blame any number of things. But I know the truth. That truth is, we find a way to do what we truly and passionately want to do.

Ironically, or not so ironically, Pastor Todd has preached a series on God's favor recently. Not surprisingly, God's view of favor is different than mine. Joseph in the Old Testament had favor that elevated him to become the second most powerful man in Egypt. But was it favor when his brothers' hatred and jealousy led them to throw him in a pit and then sell him into slavery? Was it favor to have Potiphar's wife falsely accuse him? Was it favor to be thrown in prison?

For Joseph to attain his position of power and influence, all those things had to happen. And instead of Joseph using his power to inflict revenge on the brothers who betrayed him, he blessed them. If you aren't familiar with the story, it's a beautiful testament of mercy, forgiveness, and God's favor in the midst of tragic circumstances.

So, what is my "word" this year? Favor. FAVOR! But now I view it with the understanding that God's favor might not look like what I think it should.

Romans 8:28 New International (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Choose To Forgive

My plan had been to write a blog post every week for 2018. Eight weeks into 2018 and I’m just now starting. What can I say? Life has a way of waylaying our plans.

Because I write Christian fiction based on actual life experiences and events – mine or others I know – my blog posts for the next 44 weeks will be about those things that have influenced my writing.

Forgiveness. Easy to say but not so easy to do. But, oh, the freedom in forgiveness. In December 2016, my dear friend and former pastor’s wife, Betty, went home to Jesus after a long struggle with Parkinson’s. The last week of her life, I went to the care facility every day to spend time with her and her family and friends who visited.

A young man our family had a history with showed up one evening. He hung back, talking with Betty’s son. “He’s afraid you will be upset he’s here,” someone said to me.

I was taken aback. It never occurred to me to be upset. Apparently, for years he had carried the weight of the wrong he had done against me, one of my daughters, and my family. The truth was that I had forgiven him years ago. So, I hugged him, conversed with him about his health – he had had a recent heart transplant – and I left later with a feeling of joy mixed with sadness. He had carried an unnecessary burden for so many years.

Needing a new heart, then having heart transplant surgery, is sure to cause a person to ponder his or her life. I’m sure this young man – I say young, he’s nearing 50 – thought about his mistakes and people he may have hurt.

We first knew him when he was a freshman in college. He encouraged a romance with my 12-year-old daughter that eventually led to her running away with him when she was 17. This story has many facets, details I won’t go into, things that shredded my heart during a time I was dealing with my divorce after 22 years of marriage.

  

I forgave. The young man – a talented musician – has been happily married for many years with a beautiful wife and three children. My daughter has been happily married for years – a pastor’s wife with three children.

He was there at Betty’s memorial service, on stage playing his trumpet with Betty’s son and others, honoring Betty with some of her favorite worship songs and hymns.

Considering eternity, what does it matter? With God’s help, I chose to forgive. If there’s someone you need to forgive, determine to do so. This wasn’t the first and only time I had to forgive a deep hurt. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s so worth it.

My New Book

I have not blogged in a while and for that, I apologize. I could give excuses, but, eh, why bother? I was lazy. I didn’t blog.

But – today, I am blogging. Why? Because I have a new book to promote. In An Eveningtide is about a nice, but prideful, evangelist – who doesn’t realize he’s prideful. The book covers forty years in the lives of Josiah Lathim – the evangelist – and Leah – a newly converted-to-Christianity Jewish girl who has a baby and a husband in Viet Nam – after their brief affair.

Think The Thorn Birds, a 1977 book by Colleen McCullough that was made into a television mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward. The book covers sixty years in the Cleary family. My book In An Eveningtide is similar – sort of – but different – sort of.

I loosely based the book as a modern version of the story of David and Bathsheba is 2 Samuel. Why would I want to write a book about moral failure in a man of God – a minister?

I’m glad you asked.

I have been involved in ministry most of my adult life. I have seen, and known, men of God – ministers – who have fallen – men I loved and respected. I had more questions than answers when this happened.  The biggest question or concern I had was can a man of God be restored and be successful in ministry after moral failure?

I believe they can if they truly repent and vow to never go back to their failure. BUT! Although God forgives and restores, a chain reaction has been put in motion that does not go away.

I realize many people will not like my book. I may get harsh criticism, and honestly, it will hurt. But I wrote it. I felt God wanted me to write it. I hope you read it.

And God bless us – everyone!

https://www.amazon.com/Eveningtide-minister-secret-destroy-Secrets-ebook/dp/B01IE2VPZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469245339&sr=8-1&keywords=In+An+Eveningtide#nav-subnav

Life Experiences

Like many writers, I write from my own life experiences, or experiences of others I know. In my book Like a Cedar In Lebanon one of the main characters is Jack. Jack seems a dastardly, unlikeable person in the first part of the book when I’m telling Lebby’s story. The second half of the book is Jack’s story – the horrendous things he suffered that made him the way he was. The story is about redemption, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

 

Lebby’s life was based on many things I experienced. Jack’s life was based on things I learned and understood from working with men at Teen Challenge for nineteen years. There are also characteristics of Jack drawn from my experiences with my ex-husband and my son.

 

It took me many years to forgive my ex-husband. When he passed away recently, I realized there are still many wounded areas in me. Unfortunately there are many things about my son – I have four daughters – that remind me of my ex-husband. Dealing with my son, who has battled alcoholism from his teen years, is like reliving so many experiences from my first marriage.

 

Many years ago I heard a preacher say that the reason some of continue to go around the same mountain is because we didn’t learn the lesson God intended the first time. My son has been staying in my home for the past several days and will be here until the end of the week. He is helping my husband do some construction work on a church. We had to spring him from jail for this.

 

My son is just so much like his dad. I've cried enough tears over him to fill an ocean. God help me, I don’t want to keep going around this mountain! And I don’t need more material to write about, thank you very much! If I live to be a hundred, I won’t run out of things to writing ideas.

 

Life! To quote a line from a movie, “Life’s like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”   I’m so glad I serve a God who holds it all in his compassionate, capable hands.

Forgiveness

My book is finally out “Like A Cedar In Lebanon.”  My first published book!  Well, okay, I HAD it published—self-publishing, but I am excited nonetheless.

One of the key points of the book is forgiveness and reconciliation. Lebby (Lebanon), the heroine is an innocent, naïve girl raised in a Pastor’s home when Jack comes to town. Jack is handsome and charming and sweeps the young girl off her feet. From that point on Lebby’s life spirals downhill in a web of abuse and deceit, later forcing her to flee with her two babies and go into hiding.

Years later, Jack finds them and claims to be a new man.  Can Lebby trust him? More importantly, can she forgive him? He stole her youth, her innocence and is essence, her life. Now she’s made a new life, a wonderful life, for her and her children. To do so, she had to sever all relationships with her family and friends in her hometown of Yacolt, WA.

Both Jack and Lebby learn a valuable lesson in true forgiveness.

Get the book. It’s worth the read!