No Biting!

by Niki Turner 

My youngest child was a biter. It was a brief phase, thankfully, but one of the most embarrassing experiences I had as a parent. The day he bit one of his children's church pals was the last straw. I mean, you just can't have the pastor's kid biting the other kids in Sunday school!

And yet we're biting and snapping and nipping at each other in "big people church" all the time. I posted the following on my personal blog back in July. It garnered quite a few comments. But what really surprised me was noticing the number of "pageviews" it has received since then. Apparently, it struck a chord.

Since July, I've been "bit" a couple of times myself, and the experience sent me running to Abba for comfort. God doesn't like it when we bite each other with our words and attitudes any more than we, as parents, like it when our kids bite other kids with their sharp little teeth!

 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" Galatians 5:14-15

~

My Facebook friends cover a broad variety of spiritual belief systems. Agnostics, atheists, pagans, heathens, lots of Christians, a few Jews, a Wiccan or two, some New Agers, and a couple Buddhists are in my friend list. From that eclectic socio-spiritual mix, the only people I've ever had to unfriend or hide because their posts or their shared links or their messages were hateful, spiteful, judgmental, and mean, have been self-avowed Christians. (I say "self-avowed" because I wonder what Jesus calls us when we act like that.)

Sunday, one of those yucky posts surprised me. It was a shared link from a Christian whose posts are usually unquestionably sweet and encouraging. In the linked video, a popular minister "abominates" (his word) a particular doctrine taught in many churches and, by default, those who preach that doctrine. Abominate, by the way, means "to hate or loathe intensely." He wasn't abominating violence, or rape, or child trafficking, or war, or murder, or even gossip and outbursts of wrath. No, the video was his explanation for hating and loathing intensely a particular teaching within the body of Christ.

What strikes me as odd is that I can't recall ever seeing one group of pagans denounce other pagans, although surely they must have their differences about their practices. I don't remember my heathen/barbarian friends from one group denouncing the heathens from another group for some minor difference in ideology. The Buddhists never seem to denounce anything, the Jews don't ever bring up the subject of religion, and the new agers are usually too excited about some new, new age activity to bother. In fact, the only time I remember hearing griping and "abominating" coming from those groups was about the lousy, self-righteous, hypocritical way Christians tend to treat each other.

Good grief ... viewed from outside, through proud lenses filled with preachers abominating other preachers, the church looks like a shark tank with some piranhas thrown in to clean up the leftovers. No wonder folks are hesitant to join us for Sunday fellowship!

Why is it that the group that is supposed to be known and recognized by its love for one another, for unity of heart and spirit, feels it's all right to bash each other publicly over what would be considered "internal affairs" in any other organization? How is it that we who have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit can spew out such critical, faultfinding, negative actions and words? Why is it acceptable within the body of Christ to tear down other parts of the body with our words?


Sometimes I wonder if Jesus would be more comfortable hanging out at the lake on Sunday with a bunch of guys going fishing than he would be in many church services.  
Oh, that's right... He was.  
Shame on us. 

(Originally posted 7/7/11 at In Truer Ink)

Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer

By Lisa Karon Richardson

Seeing as we've just celebrated our two year anniversary, it's especially poignant to get to review a former Inky's debut novel today. Anne Mateer's Wings of a Dream is available here. In fact, I downloaded it to the Kindle app on my phone and finished it in a single day. That doesn't often happen with me!

Rebekah Hendricks has big plans. Plans that don’t include the farming life she grew up with in rural Oklahoma. Secure in her conviction that she holds an aviator’s love, she jumps at the chance to head to Texas to nurse her aunt. A move that coincidentally puts her closer to the fellow she’s given her heart to.

Rebekah’s plans start to fall apart when she finds that her aunt was responsible for four young children whose father is off fighting the Kaiser. Then Aunt Adabelle passes away with one request on her lips; that Rebekah will care for the children until their father comes home. The path is more twisting than she ever expected, but in the end she finds the dream God has been dreaming for her.

On the surface it is a simple story, but Anne did a great job in layering different elements into her plot, and most importantly she crafted characters that pop off the page with realism. I really enjoyed the first person voice of the heroine, Rebekah. She’s no porcelain princess. Not in the least bit perfect, but her growth throughout the novel makes the story work. We know her and root for her to make the right decision, even when we’re not entirely certain what the right decision is ourselves.

Simple, elegant prose without unnecessary flourishes sets the perfect tone for the novel. And I really loved that this was a real historical. And by that, I mean, that the story couldn’t have been set in other time.

Wings of a Dream is not a typical genre romance, but it does include a very satisfying and sweetly woven love story. I highly recommend Anne’s debut novel!

Influenced by books like The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, Lisa Karon Richardson’s early books were heavy on boarding schools and creepy houses. Now that she’s (mostly) all grown-up she still loves a healthy dash of adventure and excitement in any story she creates, even her real-life story. She’s been a missionary to the Seychelles and Gabon and now that she and her husband are back in America, they are tackling a brand new adventure, starting a daughter-work church in a new city. Her first novella, Impressed by Love, part of the Colonial Courtships collection, is coming in May, 2012.

Don't Quit!

I recently wrote about quitting, about simplifying our lives, about not trying to do everything we could be doing. We ought to let go of the expectations other people have for us and not let anyone guilt us into doing something that conflicts with our true purpose. We have to weed out a lot of extra things, even those that might be good, in order to have the time, energy and resources to do what's best: the thing God has actually called us to do.

But what about that true purpose? What if the thing He has called us to seems tiresome and fruitless? Shouldn't we be doing something else? Or at least something more? Should we just quit?

Writing can be a very frustrating and lonely business. It usually takes years to learn the craft enough to even begin to seriously submit work for publication. Even then, it's easy to wonder if we actually heard God's call.

Am I really supposed to be a writer? If I am, why didn't I final in that contest? Why don't I have an agent? Why haven't I sold my book? Why aren't my sales better? Why didn't I make the bestseller list? Why didn't my I win that award? Why don't I have a new contract?

What good am I doing sitting here alone making up stories nobody reads?

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

God puts a fire inside of us to do the job He designed us for. And He doesn't give us just the will to do it, He also gives us the ability to do it. If He designed us to write, He certainly made it possible for us to write. Of course, we have to learn the craft, study the markets, and make contacts in the industry. And, needless to say, we have to put our backsides in our chairs and actually do the work. But if He's called us to do something, we can rest assured we'll be able to do it – if we don't quit.

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:36

Ahhh . . . the P word. Patience. Not my favorite word. Never has been. But rest assured, whether it's writing or some other form of ministry, you'll need patience. Another word, in this instance, for resilience. We don't see the promise until after we've done the will of God, and that waiting takes patience. We don't see the promise until the right time comes, and that also takes patience. And faith. The world will knock you down every chance it gets, but God says, "Get up again. You can do it. I have put that ability in you – if you don't quit."

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

All of this applies to more than just writing. We all have a purpose in God's kingdom, and we're all uniquely gifted to fulfil that purpose. We may never know this side of heaven what our particular contribution to the Body of Christ has meant. Maybe only three people will read the book you spend twenty years writing. Perhaps it will be exactly what one of them needs to hear to turn his heart to Christ. Or maybe nobody will ever read that book but you, but you can't keep it from spilling out of you page after page. Maybe you are the one it is meant for.

I started writing my second book, By Love Redeemed, with a particular friend in mind. She was extremely sour about men, so I decided to write a story about a man who didn't disappoint, who was willing to give even his life for his beloved. As I wrote it, I realized more and more that it was becoming an allegory about Christ's love for His Bride, the church. More than that, I realized it was His love story to me.

Whether or not anyone else ever read it, even in its imperfection, it gave me a glimpse into His heart. No matter whether or not anyone else would react the same way, I was changed by the gift. I have no idea how many readers may have been touched by that or any of my stories. It's really not my business. None of us has the ability to judge the true fruits of our faithfulness. We have merely to be faithful and let Him take care of the rest. He will see the purpose He has for us is fulfilled – if we don't quit!

Do you have something you feel called to do and want to quit? Do you think you've wasted your time or misheard God? Are results or obedience more important in God's eyes?


DeAnna Julie Dodson has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. She is the author of In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, a trilogy of medieval romances, and Letters in the Attic, a contemporary mystery. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with four spoiled cats.

Girl ReadingImage: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Now that We're a Year Older . . .

by Gina Welborn

"You're getting old, and you're gonna die, do da do da." Not sure how that became a Birthday song in our household but it did. It's always sung right after "happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, you look like a monkey and smell like one too."

What can I say, we're a stinky, zombie-loving family.

A couple nights ago, middle child Jadan showed me his zombie drag-the-crooked-right-leg walk all perfected, enough to now start teaching his 4-yr-old little sister. *sigh*

So in honor of Inkwell's birthday celebration, I thought I'd talk about life's two inevitables: Death and Taxes. Actually, not taxes because that's boring . . . and irritating to the libertarian in me.

"The way through the world is more difficult to find
than the way beyond it." ~Wallace Stevens

Pause for a moment and think about everything that's happened in your life in the last year. Here at Inkwell, we've experienced births, deaths, illnesses both healed and unhealed, marriage woes, children woes, job woes, job losses, job gains, new book contracts, rejection letters, contest finals, contest non-finals, bad-hair months, tests, trials, and tribulations.

Blessings and curses.

Joys and tears.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." ~Jesus of Nazareth (John 10:10)

Every thought, "yep, Jesus gave me new life in Him, but I'm still waiting on the full part"? I know I have. I want abundant. I want full. I want it all . . . and I want it now.

A dear friend came over a couple nights ago to chat. She got to talking about attending a women's minstry event that I also went to last week. As we were singing "Revelation Song," she said that God spoke to her about her current struggle. "Wendy, why are you holding on to these broken dreams? Let them go. You don't need them anymore."

I almost cried because God told me basically the same thing during that song, only in different words.

Why am I holding onto broken dreams? Why are you? Things can't go back to the way they were. Let them go. You don't need them anymore.

Yet, like the Israelites in the desert after leaving Egypt and wishing for life back in slavery because it's so much better than the desert, I cling.

You cling.

If only __________________ . Fill blank with whatever it is you think you need to live a full and abundant life. Your family back. Your job back. Good health. A new car. A book contract. A husband who loves you with the love of a romance novel hero. Children who actually acted thankful for all they have and for all you do for them. A washing machine that doesn't rattle every time you use it. Nice hair.

Reminds me of FINDING NEMO when Dory and Marlin are in the whale. (Here's a link to the scene if you're interested in watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYoUkGRFmR0&playnext=1&list=PL3245E759D1CFE055)

Marlin is frantically trying to escape because he has to find his son. The water in the whale is going down so Marlin thinks it's going to eat them. "How do I taste? Do I taste good? Tell him I'm not interested in being lunch!" Which doesn't stop the whale from moving the water to the back of his throat. Which only makes Marlin hold on even tighter. Fight even more. Dory cheerfully shares, "He says it's time to let go. Everything's going to be all right."

"How do you know something bad isn't going to happen?"

"I don't."

I'm glad Jesus promised to give me life and to have it to the full, but somedays (can I get an amen here) I'd rather He promised no bad things were going to happen.

What Dory was really saying was, "Marlin, stop holding onto those broken dreams of losing your wife and other children, as well as those fears of losing all you have left: Nemo. Everything's going to be all right."

Somehow the frantic, fear-obsessed clown fish managed to find the courage ONE MORE TIME to face possible death so that he could finally be free to experience abundant life.

Don't we all have to do that?

Listen . . . the back of the whale's throat is filling with water.

Gina: "Hey, girlie, He says it's time to let go of your broken dreams. Everything's going to be all right."

You: "How do you know something bad isn't going to happen?"

Gina shrugging: "I don't."

How can we say we trust God with all our hearts and then still lean on our own understanding? Let's both let go and see where God is going to take us.

Take a risk. Take a chance. Make a change. Breakaway . . .

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

~Hebrews 12:1-2a

Happy Birthday, Inktropolis!!!

May this next year bring us whatever is needed to bring God the glory.

SERIOUS QUESTION OF THE DAY :: What broken dreams have you been clinging to and God's been telling you to let them go?

NON-SERIOUS QUESTION OF THE DAY :: What article of clothing do you own that it is well past time you threw it away? Please volunteer the info because you don't want it volunteered for you.
~*~

GINA WELBORN worked in news radio scripting copy until she took up writing romances. She is a 2009 ACFW GENESIS historical romance finalist and a 2007 RWA GOLDEN HEART® inspirational finalist. As a member of RWA and ACFW, she’s an active contest judge and coordinator. This Oklahoma-raised girl now lives in Richmond, Virginia with her youth-pastor husband, their five Okie-Hokie children, and a Sharpador Retriever who doesn’t retrieve much of anything. Her first novella, “Sugarplum Hearts,” part of the HIGHLAND CROSSINGS anthology, will be released by Barbour in January 2012.

www.ginawelborn.blogspot.com