Today I'll be choosing finalists for my 2006 Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, and believe me, it won't be easy. I wish I could award a scholarship to everyone who applied, but of course I can't, so it's push up the sleeves and decide time.
If you do not win, the 2007 program will be beginning soon. Watch the website for details.
On a personal note, my good friend Larry Webster is having surgery tomorrow and will need all your prayers and good thoughts. My stepmother, Edith Lael, is still hospitalized but back in Grand Coulee, where she has so many devoted friends and family members. She is in good spirits and that, of course, is an indicator that she will heal rapidly. Also, Dad won't have to drive 150 miles a day over bad roads to visit her.
I have just finished the second of two anthology stories, written since Christmas! After the scholarship judging, I will immediately begin "The McKettrick Way", the 2007 Special Edition scheduled for December.
We're busy around here, but thriving. Color me grateful.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
Further Reports from the Silence
I am sitting in my wonderful living room as I type this blog, watching the sun rise behind the towering pines outside my windows. I have had my prayer and journaling and devotional time, and practiced entering the Silence, my sister Sally's prayer shawl around my shoulders, enfolding me like Grace does.
I lasted about five minutes.
The dogs barked--we are in imminent danger of a wild turkey invasion, according to Yorkie intelligence. Then I started thinking about all the things that need to be done--scholarships essays to judge, pages to write, an upcoming publicity tour in the Phoenix area, those wing-back chairs I want to find. Yeesh.
What is the solution?
Practice. What else can I do? I am not required to do this perfectly, only to do it.
Are you in on the big experiment? Did you ASK for something?
I lasted about five minutes.
The dogs barked--we are in imminent danger of a wild turkey invasion, according to Yorkie intelligence. Then I started thinking about all the things that need to be done--scholarships essays to judge, pages to write, an upcoming publicity tour in the Phoenix area, those wing-back chairs I want to find. Yeesh.
What is the solution?
Practice. What else can I do? I am not required to do this perfectly, only to do it.
Are you in on the big experiment? Did you ASK for something?
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Short Circuits
Around this time of year, many of us start thinking of things we'd like to do, be or have. We set goals, make resolutions. Those of a spiritual bent--and I happen to be one--pray.
What goes wrong? Why is it that, so often, nothing seems to happen? By March, if not the second week in January, we've given up on losing that weight, shedding that bad habit, landing that new job or starting that business we've always dreamed of having. Where is the short-circuit?
Personally, I think it's often because we ask God for some wonderful thing--fully expecting Him to refuse. Prayer is powerful, and the enemy sees it, bright as a flare in the night. (Once, naively, I believed there was no enemy. Very handy for him. One only has to look around at the war, poverty, sickness and cruelty to the helpless ones know the sobering truth.) Since answered prayer is just about the worst thing for the enemy's cause--talk about the kind of press he doesn't want to get!--he immediately shows up and provides a lot of seemingly high-minded, even pious, reasons why you're not going to get what you asked for. Some favorites: You don't deserve it. He's got bigger things to worry about. Suffering is good for the soul. It's impossible--any fool knows that. You're too old, too young, too smart, not smart enough.
Yada, yada, yada.
And we believe it! If you get nothing else out of this blog, get this: GOD SPECIALIZES IN THE IMPOSSIBLE. IT'S ONE OF HIS FAVORITE THINGS.
When you order something from a mail order house or online, do you fret and worry that the company might not deliver? Of course not. You fully expect that package to turn up on your doorstep, all in good time. And that's the attitude I think we should take toward our prayers, for big things or small.
Am I comparing Almighty God to a mail order house? Perish the thought! But the Word is full of admonitions to believe. When He met a sick person, Jesus often asked, "Do you believe I will heal you?" It's the belief that completes the circuit. You cannot receive unless you believe first. It's universal law.
When you think about it, you always get what you believe you will. Ask to lose 20 pounds or quit smoking, or to recover from a terrible disease, believing you will surely fail, and guess what? You will. Not because God didn't want to help, but because you didn't complete the circuit. (Fortunately for us, there is Grace, or we would really reap the whirlwind of our careless thinking!)
God's timing is different. He certainly reserves the right to substitute something--always better--for what you asked for. Sometimes, He's faster than Fed-Ex. Other times, a process is quietly begun. But no prayer goes unheard.
Go ahead, just as an experiment. Ask for something. And instead of coming up with a list of reasons why it can't happen, expect it in quiet confidence, the way you would expect Amazon.com to deliver a book or LL Bean to deliver a sweat suit. What do you have to lose? Not much.
But you have a whole lot to gain.
What goes wrong? Why is it that, so often, nothing seems to happen? By March, if not the second week in January, we've given up on losing that weight, shedding that bad habit, landing that new job or starting that business we've always dreamed of having. Where is the short-circuit?
Personally, I think it's often because we ask God for some wonderful thing--fully expecting Him to refuse. Prayer is powerful, and the enemy sees it, bright as a flare in the night. (Once, naively, I believed there was no enemy. Very handy for him. One only has to look around at the war, poverty, sickness and cruelty to the helpless ones know the sobering truth.) Since answered prayer is just about the worst thing for the enemy's cause--talk about the kind of press he doesn't want to get!--he immediately shows up and provides a lot of seemingly high-minded, even pious, reasons why you're not going to get what you asked for. Some favorites: You don't deserve it. He's got bigger things to worry about. Suffering is good for the soul. It's impossible--any fool knows that. You're too old, too young, too smart, not smart enough.
Yada, yada, yada.
And we believe it! If you get nothing else out of this blog, get this: GOD SPECIALIZES IN THE IMPOSSIBLE. IT'S ONE OF HIS FAVORITE THINGS.
When you order something from a mail order house or online, do you fret and worry that the company might not deliver? Of course not. You fully expect that package to turn up on your doorstep, all in good time. And that's the attitude I think we should take toward our prayers, for big things or small.
Am I comparing Almighty God to a mail order house? Perish the thought! But the Word is full of admonitions to believe. When He met a sick person, Jesus often asked, "Do you believe I will heal you?" It's the belief that completes the circuit. You cannot receive unless you believe first. It's universal law.
When you think about it, you always get what you believe you will. Ask to lose 20 pounds or quit smoking, or to recover from a terrible disease, believing you will surely fail, and guess what? You will. Not because God didn't want to help, but because you didn't complete the circuit. (Fortunately for us, there is Grace, or we would really reap the whirlwind of our careless thinking!)
God's timing is different. He certainly reserves the right to substitute something--always better--for what you asked for. Sometimes, He's faster than Fed-Ex. Other times, a process is quietly begun. But no prayer goes unheard.
Go ahead, just as an experiment. Ask for something. And instead of coming up with a list of reasons why it can't happen, expect it in quiet confidence, the way you would expect Amazon.com to deliver a book or LL Bean to deliver a sweat suit. What do you have to lose? Not much.
But you have a whole lot to gain.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
The Meeting Ground
Recently, I had the living room carpet replaced with something more dog friendly. I had the big sectional moved to the lake, where it works better, but that left two recliners, assorted tables, and a Christmas tree. The room has very high ceilings, so it echoes, and the drapes have been taken down because they don't match the wonderful new paint on the walls. Except on Christmas Day, when I watched a lot of holiday movies, I didn't spend much time in that room.
As of yesterday, I now have a lovely leather couch and matching love seat, as well as a new slate-topped coffee table and matching lamp stands. (Now for lamps, drapes, and the perfect pair of floral wing-back chairs.) But this morning, in the predawn hours, I switched on the fireplace and sat quietly in contemplation--silent prayer.
I need so much more silence than I allow myself. My mind chatters constantly. But it is in the Silence that we hear the Voice of God. It is in Silence that we receive the promised renewal, the healing, the Love and Grace we so badly need. Where can we find God? Well, I'm certainly no mystic, but I think it's on the meeting ground that lies within the human heart. I plan to spend more time there.
As of yesterday, I now have a lovely leather couch and matching love seat, as well as a new slate-topped coffee table and matching lamp stands. (Now for lamps, drapes, and the perfect pair of floral wing-back chairs.) But this morning, in the predawn hours, I switched on the fireplace and sat quietly in contemplation--silent prayer.
I need so much more silence than I allow myself. My mind chatters constantly. But it is in the Silence that we hear the Voice of God. It is in Silence that we receive the promised renewal, the healing, the Love and Grace we so badly need. Where can we find God? Well, I'm certainly no mystic, but I think it's on the meeting ground that lies within the human heart. I plan to spend more time there.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Welcome, 2007
One of my favorite things about New Year's is the sense of a fresh start and a clean slate. 2006 was a year full of blessings for me, but hard work and challenges, too. Two favorite uncles went on to the Great Rodeo Up Yonder, and I miss them sorely.
As you know, I do a lot of journaling. I also read a pile of devotional books, and it's wonderful to have new ones, even as I go back through an old favorite, "Jesus Calling", a gift from Debbie Macomber, and "My Utmost for His Highest", the Oswald Chambers classic. This year, I've added:
A YEAR WITH RUMI
A DAYBOOK OF PRAYER
CHOOSING LIFE-ONE DAY AT A TIME (Dodie Osteen, Joel's mother.)
A YEAR WITH C.S. LEWIS
I'll be reading DAILY GUIDEPOSTS 2007, too. Debbie Macomber contributed several of the devotions, as she has been doing for several years. (She'll have a nonfiction inspirational book in August, so watch for it. Details at www.debbiemacomber.com. It will be worth reading, I promise.)
What are my hopes for 2007?
Peace, personal and worldwide.
Big, wonderful story ideas and the energy to write them.
The horses, back home in their new barn.
Happy times with friends and family, here and at the lake house.
More TV movies! "Last Chance Cafe" was such a kick to watch.
To beat Cleopatra at her own game, at least some of the time.
And maybe--just maybe--not to work quite so hard as I did in 2006.
What's YOUR dream for 2007? Write it down somewhere, on an index card or in a journal, for instance, and expect it to come true. I've set aside a composition notebook for the purpose. Next New Year's Day, we'll compare notes.
May the New Year brim with blessings for you and for everyone you love. And just for good measure, those you don't love, but should.
My gratitude list is a long one. Right now, my stepmother's successful surgery is right up there. She's got a ways to go, but the prognosis is good. Come to think of it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start a second composition notebook, devoted to all the things I'm grateful for. Then, when I'm cranky or discouraged or blue, I can remind myself, not just of the big blessings, which I think about and appreciate every day, but for the ordinary ones, too. Oh, those ordinary blessings! Worthy of a year of blogs, all on their own.
Until tomorrow, then.
As you know, I do a lot of journaling. I also read a pile of devotional books, and it's wonderful to have new ones, even as I go back through an old favorite, "Jesus Calling", a gift from Debbie Macomber, and "My Utmost for His Highest", the Oswald Chambers classic. This year, I've added:
A YEAR WITH RUMI
A DAYBOOK OF PRAYER
CHOOSING LIFE-ONE DAY AT A TIME (Dodie Osteen, Joel's mother.)
A YEAR WITH C.S. LEWIS
I'll be reading DAILY GUIDEPOSTS 2007, too. Debbie Macomber contributed several of the devotions, as she has been doing for several years. (She'll have a nonfiction inspirational book in August, so watch for it. Details at www.debbiemacomber.com. It will be worth reading, I promise.)
What are my hopes for 2007?
Peace, personal and worldwide.
Big, wonderful story ideas and the energy to write them.
The horses, back home in their new barn.
Happy times with friends and family, here and at the lake house.
More TV movies! "Last Chance Cafe" was such a kick to watch.
To beat Cleopatra at her own game, at least some of the time.
And maybe--just maybe--not to work quite so hard as I did in 2006.
What's YOUR dream for 2007? Write it down somewhere, on an index card or in a journal, for instance, and expect it to come true. I've set aside a composition notebook for the purpose. Next New Year's Day, we'll compare notes.
May the New Year brim with blessings for you and for everyone you love. And just for good measure, those you don't love, but should.
My gratitude list is a long one. Right now, my stepmother's successful surgery is right up there. She's got a ways to go, but the prognosis is good. Come to think of it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start a second composition notebook, devoted to all the things I'm grateful for. Then, when I'm cranky or discouraged or blue, I can remind myself, not just of the big blessings, which I think about and appreciate every day, but for the ordinary ones, too. Oh, those ordinary blessings! Worthy of a year of blogs, all on their own.
Until tomorrow, then.
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