It's All About You, Baby!

by Susanne Dietze

Today, it’s all about you. (How often do you hear that?)

And it's about me, too. Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about praising God, getting our attention off of ourselves and onto our Creator. But today I’m tilting the looking glass back on ourselves.

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Has your doctor ever told you to periodically look in the mirror? Not the way we do when we put in contact lenses or apply makeup, but to examine our bodies. Check for lumps and dimples. I hate doing this, because I don’t want to see lumps and dimples, of course. But when I look, I also see unattractive things: stretch marks and scars and a crooked nose. Granted, I earned those stretch marks, and the scars serve as testimony to God’s faithfulness to heal me. And the broken spots, like my nose, are things I was born with. Part of being me.

I don’t always have the same mixture of dismay and victory when I gaze at my reflection in the spiritual mirror. Looking reveals the same sorts of imperfections that I see in the physical mirror: stretches, scars, and brokenness. While my head knows that many of those stretches reveal change and the scars are proof of God’s hand in my life, I still see a woman who wonders if some of my wounds will ever be healed, who feels she doesn’t deserve God’s salvation, who questions His love.

Do you ever hear this voice? No matter how long you’ve put your trust in God? You are a failure. You talk the talk but don't walk the walk. You are a slave to sin. Defined by a deed that will never go away. Ugly, unlovable, out of step, and forgettable.

I won’t presume to know what’s come between you and God, what’s broken your heart or left you in pieces. But I can tell you as a fellow struggler that God does not speak words of loathing to us. He doesn’t define us by our acts, our looks, our weaknesses. He defines us by His love.

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This is not about what you’ve done, but what’s been done for you
This is not about where you’ve been, but where your brokenness brings you to
This is not about what you feel, but He felt to forgive you
And what He felt to make you new.
You are more than the choices you have made
You are more the sum of your past mistakes
You are more than the problems you create
You’ve been remade*

I love that song, "You Are More" from Tenth Avenue North. It cuts to the heart of how I view myself, reminding me how God views me.

So on those days when you and I may wonder how anyone, much less God, can love us or forgive us, here’s a tiny list of reminders to set us back on the right path. Straight from God’s heart to you and to me.

You are:

1. Precious (Isaiah 34:4)
2. Of great value (Luke 12:7)
3. Made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27); fearfully and wonderfully (Ps 139:13-16); God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10); the work of God’s hands (Psalms 38:8); formed in the womb and known before birth (Jeremiah 1:5)
4. Loved (John 3:16, Psalm 103:10-12, Isaiah 34:4, Song of Solomon 2:4, Lamentations 3:22-24, Hosea 14:4, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:38-39, 1 John 3:1)
5. Chosen (1 Peter 2:9), even before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5)
6. Part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 3:12)
7. The apple of His eye (Psalm 17:6-8, Zechariah 2:8b)
8. Never alone (Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 43:1-2, Hebrews 13:5)
9. A child of God (1 John 3:1, Galatians 3:26), adopted through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4-5)
10. Forgiven (Psalm 103:10-12, Romans 8:1, Ephesians 4:32, 1 John 1:9)
11. Redeemed (Psalm 34:22, Isaiah 43:1-2, Colossians 1:14)
12. A co-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)
13. A new Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
14. A branch on the Vine of Christ (John 15:5)
15. A temple of the Holy Spirit, where God dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16)
16. Rejoiced over (Zephaniah 3:17)
17. In God’s flock (Psalm 95:6-7, 1 Peter 5:2)
18. Supported and consoled in distress (Psalm 17:6-8, Psalm 34:18, Psalm 94:18-19, Romans 8:26-27)
19. An important member in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)
20. A son of the light and of the day (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
21. A Friend of Christ (John 15:14-15)
22. The Bride of Christ, as part of the Church (Isaiah 54:5, Isaiah 62:3-5, Hosea 2:19-20, John 3:28-30, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Revelation 19:7)
23. Inscribed on the palm of God's hand (Isaiah 49:16)

After the Question of the Day, you'll find the video to "You are More" by Tenth Avenue North. Watching it, I was blessed in a powerful way and I spent time considering what I'd write on the chalkboard and then how I'd feel as I witnessed -- well, I won't spoil the video. But if you take a minute to watch the video, I pray that you'll be blessed, and the next time you look in the mirror, you see what God sees: His forgiven, redeemed, cleansed, loved, precious, and gorgeous child.

Question of the Day:

Everyone has something they'd change about their appearance. But what's your favorite thing about how you look?




* "You Are More" by Mike Donehey and Jason Ingram, 2010, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing/West Main Music/Formerly Music/Windsor Hill Music

Susanne Dietze has written love stories set in the nineteenth century since she was in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others to the glory of God. Married to a pastor and the mom of two school-age kids, Susanne loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and spending time with family and friends. Her work has finaled in the 2010 Genesis Contest, the 2009 Gotcha! Contest, and the Touched By Love Contest, 2008 and 2009. You can visit her on her personal blog, Tea and a Good Book, http://www.susannedietze.blogspot.com/.

What do you do with weakness?

by Niki Turner

I hate weakness. Especially (maybe exclusively) in myself. I can excuse weakness in others, but when it comes to my own I balk. I feel guilty. I repent. I ask God to forgive me for being weak. I've been known to feel guilty for being sick, for being shy, for being afraid to ride an amusement park ride. I can assure you, guilt and condemnation are not a cure for weakness.

The other day the Lord interrupted my quiet time. (If your quiet time is so quiet you can't hear His voice, something is wrong!)  This is what I heard in my spirit...
You don't repent for your weaknesses. You surrender them.

What is the difference between a sin, from which we should repent (turn away from) and a weakness? To sin is to miss the mark, to err, to "flub up." A weakness is a lack of strength. We can't deal with sin the same way we deal with weakness. Sin is to be confessed to God, and He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us. (1 John 1:9)

Weakness, however, requires surrender, and surrender involves relinquishing responsibility. Our tendency is to hide our weaknesses and make excuses for them. God asks us to do the opposite: release our weaknesses to Him. It seems contrary to common sense to expose our weaknesses to God, but the moment we let go of them God has access to that area of our lives and we become candidates for His grace. God's grace (His unlimited, unmerited power) can override our weakness with His strength. 

Paul figured it out (with God's help).

"...'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Cor 12:9-10 (from New International Version)

The Lord doesn't intend for us to wallow in weakness and make excuses for ourselves. Neither does He want us to live in guilt and fear and shame because we have weaknesses. Instead, He wants us to surrender those weaknesses to Him, and let His strength replace them. Too often, we let our weaknesses hinder us from running forward in faith and obedience. God wants us to drop those weaknesses at His throne and take up His daily load of grace.

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Heb 4:16 NKJV

Our "I can't" becomes "I can."

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Phil 4:13 NIV

I'm working on it. Surrendering is hard. But I believe it will produce greater freedom in Christ.
I'm curious. How do you deal with weakness? 

     Niki Turner writes romantic fiction, Christian non-fiction, blog posts, articles in the local newspaper, grocery lists, and Facebook status updates. Her first completed manuscript won second place in the 2009 Touched By Love contest for contemporary category romance.
      Colorado natives, Niki and her husband of 20+ years have four children  (three at home) and are soon-to-be grandparents. In 1998 they planted a church in rural northwestern Colorado. Currently, they share their home with three teenage boys, two black Lab mutts, and Niki’s absurdly spoiled Westie, Archie.
     Niki can be found at In Truer Ink, her personal blog and website, here at Inkwell Inspirations, and at The Pastor’s Wife Speaks.

White flag photo:

photo by wokka	via PhotoRee

A Novel Approach to the World - Plot

by guest novelist Siri Mitchell

This is the second installment of my look at life from a novelist’s point of view. I made the observation, last time, that many of the things that make a good novel also make a good life. I thought it would be interesting to look at the major elements of the novel and see how they apply to real life. Last time I analyzed character development and what it takes to be a ‘real’ character. This newsletter, I’d like to investigate plot.

If character development is one of my strengths, then I have to admit that plot is a definite weakness. Plot is all about where a story is going. It’s the structure upon which any story ought to framed. Every plot should include a definite beginning, a middle, and an end. A traditional plot structure is comprised of incidents of escalating significance that propel the characters toward a crisis. And crisis—or conflict—is what novels are all about.

If novelists have any secret, it’s this: growth and change come through crisis or conflict. And tension is created by the gap between who a character is and who he or she ought to be. Novels are generally tales of becoming; they chronicle a journey.

At some point in a novel, the main character faces a choice. She can choose to live life the way it’s always been lived (stay with status quo) or she can choose to step out, step forward, and make a change. The reader generally has a bird’s eye view of this internal conflict and in most books, they root for change. If the novelist has done her job, the reader knows that the only way the character will find fulfillment is to step out of the ordinary and into the unknown.

Unfortunately, the unknown usually comes with complications, doesn’t it?

Maybe that’s why I’m not so good at plotting. I don’t like complications. I like things they way they are. Once I’ve figured out how to get from Point A to Point B, why try to get there any other way? What’s the point?

The point is, of course, that nothing can be learned if nothing ever changes. We had a lesson about plotting at our house a few months ago. Things changed. Radically. Our idea of what the next year looked like was turned upside down and then bonked on its head. It wasn’t what any of us wanted, but we learned a few things. We affirmed those things that were important. Really, truly important. We moved toward each other. And most of all, we realized, that if this change was going to happen, in spite of the turmoil and the plans that would have to be re-thought, it was going to be okay. We came out of the crisis stronger, and more grounded, than we had been before.

So where are you going? And what is the plot of your life’s story? Is it starting to get complicated? If so, try to look at your life through the eyes of a novelist. A novelist knows that people with real character can withstand life’s twists and turns. The novelist knows that only adversity can bring triumph. And the novelist knows that the protagonist at the end of the story is much stronger than the protagonist who began the story.

And here’s another novelist’s secret: no one wants to read about Jane Smith who gets out of bed one morning and does the same things she’s always done. They want to read about Jane Smith who gets out of bed one morning and decides to make a change. They want to read about characters who make choices. Characters who take risks. So go on, step out, and be that character! Be the protagonist in your life’s story. When the unexpected happens—and chances are it will—step up, not back.

Are you the protagonist in your story? Have you been plotting your life? Are you willing to take risks? Share with us a little about your story today?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Siri Mitchell is the author of nearly a dozen novels, among them the critically acclaimed Christy Award finalists Chateau of Echoes and The Cubicle Next Door, and the ACFW Carol Award finalists Kissing Adrien and Love’s Pursuit. A graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in business, she has worked in many different levels of government. As military spouse, she has lived in places as varied as Tokyo and Paris. Siri currently lives in the DC-metro area.

The Hurricane That Inspired Shakespeare and Birthed a Nation

If you live anywhere near a US coastline, you've probably made hurricane preparations at some point or another. Mine tend to involve filling the bathtub with water, the chain saw with gas, and the pantry with non-perishables. Oh, the wonders of satellites that allow us to predict and prepare for major storms! Can you imagine how terrifying it must have been for the people who lived in centuries past, when such storms struck with little or no warning?

By the spring of 1609, the investors of the Virginia Company decided a new strategy was needed to make their fledgling North American colony successful and profitable. Their venture to establish a New World colony in 1607 had proven more difficult than expected, with the company experiencing higher than expected costs -- and mortality rates.

Historians now believe many of Jamestown's troubles stemmed from the Company's incredibly bad timing. The Company intended for the colonists to trade with the local tribes (the powerful Powhatan confederacy) for their foodstuffs. Unfortunately, the earth had entered a cooling period we now refer to as the "Little Ice Age," a time of shortened growing seasons and severe crop failures. Tree rings from the time period also indicate Virginia suffered a prolonged drought during those same years. In short, the Powhatans weren't eager to trade away their meager foodstores, no matter how amusing they found the brash John Smith or how useful they found the English metal tools.

And thus, the venture of 1609, which called for a restructuring Jamestown's government and a massive infusion of settlers and supplies. An estimated 600 colonists left Plymouth on nine heavily-laden ships. After a mostly uneventful crossing, disaster struck one week out from Virginia when the ships sailed into a monster storm, probably an early hurricane.

Only seven of the ships reached Jamestown. Among the missing was the Sea Venture, the flagship of the flotilla which carried all the officers for Jamestown's new government, including Admiral Sir George Somers, Governor Sir Thomas Gates, Secretary William Strachney, and a young gentleman named John Rolfe. To make matters worse, the crews of the surviving ships had jettisoned much of their cargo during the storm. Famine, disease, and dissension quickly set, exacerbated by deteriorating relations with the nearby Powhatans who besieged the ill-supplied colonists in their fort. By the spring of 1610, "The Starving Time" had wiped out nearly 90% of Jamestown's inhabitants.

And then came relief from a most unlikely quarter when the Sea Venture crew and passengers sailed into Jamestown, nine months after the hurricane.

Blown off course by the storm, Captain Christopher Newport had steered his foundering ship onto the rocky reefs of Bermuda to keep her from sinking. All 150 passengers -- and the dog -- made it ashore safely. In 1609, Bermuda was an uninhabited island shunned by Europeans because of her dangerous shoals and the belief she was haunted by devils. On this tropical island paradise, the Sea Venture survivors found wild hogs, birds, and fruit. Combining salvaged parts of the ship with timber from the island, they spent the winter building two small pinnaces aptly named Deliverance and Patience, and sailed them to Jamestown the following May. The provisions they brought from Bermuda supplied the colony with food until more ships arrived in June.
 

William Strachney wrote an account of the Sea Venture's Bermuda experience. "A True Reportory of the Wreck and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates, Knight" circulated London and became the inspiration for Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest.

Admiral Sir George Somers returned to Bermuda and died on the island in November of 1610. Somers Islands is still Bermuda's official name.

Captain Christopher Newport died on a voyage to the East Indies in 1617. The city of Newport News and Christopher Newport University (both in Virginia) are named for him.

John Rolfe settled in Virginia. There he experimented with new strains of tobacco and developed the colony's first successful cash crop. His 1614 marriage to the Powhatan princess Pocahontas brought a measure of peace between the two peoples. Today, approximately 100,000 Americans trace their ancestry to this couple.

Jamestown's survival ensured that the English would found more colonies in North America.



The author's son with a reenactor at Jametown's 400th anniversary in 2007

One wonders, had the Sea Venture arrived in Jamestown as scheduled, would her passengers have suffered the same fate that winter as the other colonists? Perhaps, just perhaps, the hurricane that sent the Sea Venture to Bermuda saved Jamestown -- and ultimately, the United States as we now know it -- from a fate similar to that of the short-lived Roanoke and Popham colonies.

Can you think of other events, perhaps from history or even your own life, when a seeming tragedy turned out to be a blessing in disguise?

C.J. Chase writes for Love Inspired Historicals. Her debut novel, the winner of RWA's 2010 Golden Heart award for best inspirational romance, will be available in August under the title Redeeming the Rogue. C.J. lives in the swamps of Southeastern Virginia with her handsome husband, active sons, one kinetic sheltie, and an ever-increasing number of chickens. When she is not writing, you will find her gardening, watching old movies, playing classical piano (badly) or teaching a special needs Sunday School class. You can read an excerpt of her book at: http://www.cjchasebooks.com/