You're the Inspiration

by D'Ann Mateer

“You’re the inspiration.”

How many times have you said those words? And singing Chicago’s lyrics doesn’t count!

As Lisa reminded at the beginning of the week, inspiration moves beyond admiration. Inspiration compels us to take action, to move forward, to surge ahead. And as Debra brought to light yesterday, often this is someone whose life intersects with ours.

One of the most inspirational people in my life isn’t a well-known personality. She isn’t a missionary or an actress or an athlete. She is an incredible musician, but relatively few have heard her sing and play.

She balances her roles as mother and wife and teacher and friend with amazing acuity. And in doing so, she inspires me. She makes me want to deepen my relationship with the Lord, my husband, my children. Her example urges me to excellence in all that I do, but demonstrates a desire for integrity and holiness and the glorification of God over and above everything else.

For almost 18 years, she has been my friend, sticking around even when I wasn’t the most likeable woman in the world. And because of that, I am able to revel in others’ friendship, to love them in spite of their flaws.

Her journey has now taken her to a rural life, one she has embraced with amazing willingness for a city girl! And even in that I am inspired. I want to do as she has done and seek the joy and blessing in unexpected turns in the road, to create new dreams instead of mourning the old ones.

So as we close our week of “Inkspirations,” I want to know: has anyone ever said you inspire them? If so, why did they say that? Was because of something you consciously did or said or something you didn't realize you did or said? How did hearing that from someone else impact your life? And if you can't think of anything else to say, you can tell us your favorite Chicago song, instead!

Looking through God Glasses

Who Inspires You?
by Debra E. Marvin

This week, the Inkies have been talking about people who inspire us. I'm going to bring this down to a micro-level, because I've chosen someone most of you won't know. I want you to think of someone in your everyday life that could be your "ink-spiration"!

This past week our church lost a man who was an inspiration to everyone who knew him because of his intense love for Jesus and the deep, unbiased love he had for others. He desperately wanted everyone to know the life changing, life saving love of Christ. Though I could write about Pastor Tim Kirkey, my heart was made up months ago when this theme came up. One person came to mind immediately.

I’ve had a group of close friends that goes back to elementary school. Imagine the kind of history that comes along with it. There’s nothing we haven’t been through together. We are true sisters.

One of my friends, Linda Marie, is the type of person who loves to meet people. Now, I can say a friendly hello and chat for a moment or two, and then I’m ready to go. I love solitude. I could travel across country, smile and say hello to 100 people along the way. Linda could talk 100 minutes with each of those people. She genuinely finds them interesting and worth her time.
On a "girls" trip a few years back, we were sitting in our rental van waiting for Linda Marie to come out of the gas station (no doubt with a pepsi, a chocolate bar and a lottery ticket!). She came out the door and proceeded to converse with a man who looked____________(fill in the blank). One of us said, “There goes Lin, talking to anyone!”














I was so convicted right then it has never left me. Our Linda WILL talk to anyone-- with a caring voice, a smile, an attitude that they are worth her time and are no worse or better than she is.
What is your FILL IN THE BLANK? Do you judge people by their looks, clothing, possessions, attitude? How I wish I could say I don’t. I can blame the ‘don’t like to talk’ part on my extreme introvertedness, but I can’t blame the judging on it.

Mind you, Linda is not perfect. I have four red-headed best friends. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT’S LIKE? I’m judging redheads here. Passionate in their feelings and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Once, when I was serving communion, I had a glimpse of what God sees when He looks at us. I felt so overwhelmed by the love He has for each person that came up to take their cracker and juice, I could hardly breathe. For one blessed moment, I saw each of them with His eyes--through God glasses! Another moment I’ll never forget.
We are all judged by our looks, our actions, our history through the eyes of others. Except for one. THE ONE who sees us as the valuable, irreplaceable, special creation He made despite what we’ve done with ourselves.

My inspiration is my friend Linda Marie Bridget Nagel Serenka, who takes the time to give value to others in a way I only hope to attempt. I’m blessed to have known her for over forty five years.

Do you have a Linda in your life?
Perhaps a Tim Kirkey? I hope so.

Who inspires you? Do they know how you feel?
Tell them.
Today.
Share with us if you will.

Luke 18: 9-14 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

debraemarvin.comdebra@debraemarvin.com

Welcome, Bethany House author Julie Klassen!

Inspired by…Jane Austen

I fell in love…What can I say? I fell in love with Jane Austen.

And even before I was smitten with the author, I was smitten with her leading men: Mr. Darcy, Colonel Brandon, Captain Wentworth…. Sigh. And as anyone in love would do—I spent a great deal of time with—and learned everything I could about—the object of my affection. I watched every Austen adaptation big screen and small, have listened to each audio recording (and have never so enjoyed my lengthy commute), and have read the books themselves. Jane Austen: The Complete Novels also stands on my shelf, lending class to the paperbacks around it, but otherwise useless—the leather volume is so heavy, that when I try to read it in bed at night, my arms begin to shake!

My Austen collection exhausted, I turned to writing my own novels set in “Jane Austen-era England.” I’ve longed to be writer since I was very young, but it was not until my love affair with all-things-Austen that I got serious about the dream. I so enjoyed the world of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion, that I wished to return there again and again. And in this way, I have been, and continue to be, inspired by Jane Austen.

Jane’s books were published primarily in the Regency period, a relatively brief span of years from about 1811-1820. Why are readers like me so drawn to this period? In the pages of Austen, it was a romantic, idyllic time, at least if you had money. Gowns and hats, balls and grand parties, chivalry and carriage rides. And who can resist a handsome gentleman in those tall Hessian boots?

On a deeper level, it was a time when being a true “lady” or “gentleman” was something people aspired to. A time when many in society followed polite rules of conduct and a high moral code. Things not always as evident in our world today.

What about you? Have you read Jane Austen’s novels or seen the movies or miniseries based on them? If so, I imagine you, too, have fallen in love. Perhaps Jane has even inspired you to write, as she has me—and many other authors as well, as the plethora of sequels and fan fiction prove.

In fact, Jane Austen is more popular now than during her lifetime nearly two hundred years ago. And, in a modern high-tech world always eager for the newest thing, Jane Austen’s books enjoy ongoing appeal. Is it any wonder writers like me are inspired by—and long to emulate—Jane Austen?

Henry Austen described his sister Jane this way:

“She always sought, in the faults of others, something to excuse, to forgive or forget. She never uttered a hasty, a silly, or a severe expression. In short, her temper was as polished as her wit. Nor were her manners inferior to her temper. No one could be often in her company without feeling a strong desire of obtaining her friendship, and cherishing a hope of having obtained it. She became an authoress entirely from taste and inclination. Neither the hope of fame nor profit mixed with her early motives.”

Even allowing for a brother’s understandable pride and prejudice, is seems clear that Jane Austen embodied many qualities that writers—and all of us—might do well to imitate. Is it any wonder I find her inspiring?

Who inspires you?

~*~*~*~

Julie Klassen is the author of three novels, Lady of Milkweed Manor (a Christy Award finalist), The Apothecary’s Daughter, and releasing this month, The Silent Governess. She also works as a fiction editor for Bethany House Publishers. Julie is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She enjoys travel, research, BBC period dramas, long hikes, short naps, and coffee with friends. She and her husband have two sons and live near St. Paul, Minnesota.

Visit her website: http://www.julieklassen.com/
Olivia Keene is fleeing her own secret.

She never intended to overhear his.

But now that she has, what is Lord Bradley to do with her? He cannot let her go, for were the truth to get out, he would lose everything--his reputation, his inheritance, his very home.

He gives Miss Keene little choice but to accept a post at Brightwell Court, where he can make certain she does not spread what she heard. Keeping an eye on the young woman as she cares for the children, he finds himself drawn to her, even as he struggles against the growing attraction. The clever Miss Keene is definitely hiding something.

Moving, mysterious, and romantic, The Silent Governess takes readers inside the intriguing life of a nineteenth-century governess in an English manor house where all is not as it appears.

The Silent Governess can be purchased at Bethany House, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christian Book Distributors, and Books A Million.  

WELCOME TO ESPN!!!

But It’s Not About Sports…

This is ESPN Sports Center. You’ll be spending the next five minutes with us. Now we’ll take you to college football. But today we’re watching a different kind of game.

Colt McCoy, senior quarterback of #2-ranked Texas Longhorns, and Tim Tebow, senior quarterback of #5-ranked Florida Gators, lock horns and jaws for the nation’s Heisman Trophy award and collegiate football’s top honors. But outside of their huddles, they embrace as brothers in Christ.


Tim Tebow, the home-schooled son of former missionaries, is lucky to be alive, much less performing on America’s hallowed grassy gridirons. After his mother suffered a life-threatening infection, doctors recommended that she abort little Tim, who would surely be stillborn. What the doctors didn’t know was God had plans for Tim that even a deadly amoeba couldn’t thwart.


By age six, Tim had begun a relationship with the Lord and regularly traveled with his family to lead crusades and minister in orphanages. Eventually Tebow’s athletic talents gained recognition, and even as a freshman, he started every game at University of Florida. However, Tebow refuses to let a golden arm seize control of his heart. “Every day includes four things: God, family, academics, and football, in that order.”


Love of Tuscola farmland and football was hammered into Colt McCoy by his parents, who have raised three sons. From a young age, Colt’s athletic gifts impressed coaches and fans. But at age 14, Colt began cultivating a relationship with Christ and was baptized. From that point, football took an endzone seat to the Lord of Colt’s life. “It’s not about me and never has been,” Colt says. “It’s not about what I do or what I say; it’s about living for Christ and accomplishing His will for my life.”

Tebow and McCoy proclaim their love of the Lord in huddle groups, on and off the field, at FCA camps, and to the media. From Facebook and websites, both young men witness of God’s working in the lives of those wearing jock straps and football helmets. Still, they were just two more sports celebrities to me. Then, for the sake of my son, who wears burnt orange and hangs a Longhorn flag from our porch, I turned on the tube to see both men caught in the throes of season-changing, nail-biting games. One lost. One won. But both were winners in the opinion of this sidelines coach.

When a referee’s flag cost the Longhorns a possession, McCoy ducked his head and hurried off the field without so much as an arched eyebrow. As Tim Tebow’s Gators were wiped out by an explosive Crimson Tide team, Tebow continued to battle red-jerseyed opponents, then embraced teammate and opponent alike and shed silent tears on the sidelines. What I didn’t see from Tebow and McCoy—grimaces, groans, and excessive end-zone celebrations—spoke as loudly as what I did see—men respected by teammates, opponents, coaches, and fans.

What else do I see in Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy? Classy young men wearing the armor of God during times when the lives of sports superstars have become littered with drugs, sexual escapades, even violence. Men who continue to place God as Lord of their lives above America’s great love, sports. I’ve joined my husband and son, sports fans, in tipping a hat to young Christian men who just happen to wield footballs with cannon arms.


On December 12, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy finished fifth and third as candidates for the 2009 Heisman Trophy, indisputably college football's greatest individual award. On January 7, McCoy’s Texas Longhorns will battle the Crimson Tide that defeated Tebow’s team for the BCS title game. Tebow and his Gators face Cincinnati on January 1 in the Sugar Bowl.

Quite a bowlful of treats for a Gator and a Longhorn, huh? That’s it for ESPN. But it’s only the start of a bounty of eternal blessings in the lives of two young men who call on Christ as Savior.