Thought you might like to see a preview of the cover for the new book.

I read all 375 typed pages last Friday, the last time I'll see the manuscript until Galley Copies return.

Printed them all this morning so that I could have the author endorsement procedures begin.

Living the writing life is like riding a bicycle. Sometimes, it's all uphill. Slow. Tiresome. Hot. Exhausting. 

Other times, it's flying down hills faster than feels comfortable. 

So, all that to say, I've been neglecting the blog lately. Sorry.

I have a new blog idea. What do you think about a serialized novel? Not for publishers. Just for you. Like Mark Twain, or Dickens, or Lucy Maud Montgomery? Sounds like fun. Any takers?

Nahum

In a little known book toward the end of the Old Testament, Nahum speaks directly to the capital city of Assyria, Nineveh. This is the same city where Jonah was sent to preach.

Interesting, isn't it, that the Assyrians aren't part of God's chosen people?

In fact, they are the ENEMIES of his people. 

Yet, in the book of Jonah, God cares so much about their condition that he sends a prophet to speak to them. And he gives the Assyrians the grace (power) to repent. The Assyrians call a fast, and beg God's forgiveness. 

And now, in the book of Nahum, God tries again. Time has passed. The Assyrians have fallen away from their commitment. 

Again, God speaks.

If we learn nothing else from this tiny little book, we should learn that God CARES DEEPLY about those who hurt us. God seeks relationship with those whom we might label "enemies." 

Who has hurt you lately?

And how do you think God feels about their soul?

Bette

New Jonah

Last night, I prayed as I started the book of Jonah. "Let me see something new here Lord."

And I did.

In the first chapter, our friend Jonah heads the other direction. He avoids God's command. And he gets in a boat heading AWAY from the very people he is sent to reach. 

And in the boat are a bunch of heathen men, guys who have no clue about the God of Israel. 

For them, the story begins with a storm. A real corker. And they are terrified. And they ask Jonah, "Who are you, where are you from, what is your nation?"

So, Jonah explains it all. And in the midst of this horrible experience they hear about God. They ask Jonah what to do. He tells the truth. Throw me in, he says.

And they do. And the storm is over. They are safe. 

And scripture says that they "were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him."

So. A believer fails. He runs. He messes up. And God goes after him. 

And in the midst of his failure, God shows himself mighty, and some heathen sailors come to know the God of the universe.

A diamond in the midst of a tornado, I think, that God would use one man's stubborn disobedience to reach the unreached. Certainly not enough reason to disobey. No. But hope for those moments when you do.

Pretty amazing, yes?

Speak For Itself

In today's blog, I'd like to let Scripture speak for itself.

From Hosea 14:1-5

Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your petitions, and return to the LORD. Say to him, "Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you the sacrifice of praise. Assyria cannot save us, nor can our strength in battle. Never again will we call the idols we have made our gods. No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy. 

The LORD says, "Then I will heal you of your idolatry and faithlessness, and my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever! I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. It will blossom like the lilly; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon."

Okay, so that is the Old Testament. Is it any different today? Not at all. God hasn't changed. He still wants the same things for us:

Go to the LORD.

Admit your wrong.

Receive his forgiveness.

Experience his healing.

Let him make your life fruitful.

That is what the cross is all about. 

In Hosea 13: 4. "You have no God but me, for there is no other savior."

No matter which testament you read, God hasn't changed. He wants to forgive sin, to bring us back into relationship with him. He sent Jesus for this very reason. It's what God has always been about.

How's your Easter?

Perils of Publishing

Like some of you, I have my favorite bloggers. I too, get frustrated when they  don't post often enough. I want to hear from them more often; I hate it when real life gets in their way!

But real life is like that. Sometimes, it gets in the way. Mine did. A couple of weeks ago, I heard from a publisher that a book I'd spent more than a year writing had an abysmal first quarter on the market. Bad. A years worth of work for nothing more than five hundred copies. 

I get paid when the work sells. That's all. Needless to say, I was disappointed, and my disappointment turned quickly to anger. After all, even the ox that tramples the wheat is entitled to eat as he works. Why not me? I want my work to reward me too!

You can almost hear frustration rumble and churn around inside me-- like an upset stomach after a night of bad pizza. 

Before long, I fought tears. Anger is frequently a first response for me. It takes a while for the real issues to surface. My worth, it seems is tied up with my earning power. As a registered PT, my hourly salary was never a question. My value was affirmed in my salary.

Not so as a writer.

A writer works on speculation. I take most of the risk. Publishers spread their risk over many many writers. Everyone else at the Publishing house gets a paycheck. Each specialist does his job. The cover artist, the editor, the marketing team, the sales team. All of them cash a check at the end of the month. Not the writer.

She (or I in this case) waits hoping that the whole team does its job, and does it well. 

I recognize that the team working on that project hadn't done their job. The editor told me it was the best in the series. The best he'd ever worked on. But it didn't sell. At least not yet.

So what's a writer to do?

Go back to the basics. As I've been working on Jeremiah, I've come to realize that God gives us our assignments. Fortunately, he doesn't hold us responsible for the results. Did God give me the writing task? Absolutely. Did I do it to the best of my ability? Absolutely.

Will He reward my obedience? Most certainly. Perhaps not today. Perhaps not here. Perhaps not in the way I'd hoped. 

But the Word gives me principles by which to live. Who would I be, if I preached them, but did not live them. 

Disappointment? yes!

Re-thinking? Certainly.

I'll continue to work my craft. To consider my options. To think about the effectiveness of various ventures. 

But I will not dwell on the things I cannot control. I will comfort myself on the truths that I know. God asked. I responded. 

Nothing could go better than that! How about you? What do you do in the face of disappointment?

bette

What have you seen lately?

I've finished reading 1st John recently. Since it's such a short book, I think the theme jumped out at me more quickly. Reading along in the first chapter, I noticed that John mentions his PERSONAL connection to the gospel more than four times in the first paragraph.

He is the one, John tells us, that we have seen and heard.

Seen and heard. Seen and heard. 

So. What have you seen and heard lately? When you share the gospel with someone, is your "testimony" personal? Do you share your transformation? Can you tell someone honestly how you have encountered Jesus in your own life?

Has he changed you?

Has he spoken to you?

Try it. Skip the philosophy. Skip the arguments. Don't worry about the creation versus evolution discussion. Bring it back to the simplest of stories for a while. 

And as John advises us, "Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts." (1st John 5:21)

More about listening

Here's another one:

Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on the mountainside to pray. As he was praying, he was changed. His face changed and his clothing became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appear with him, and they visit about God's plan for Jesus to die in Jerusalem. Then Peter suggests building three shrines for the three of them (The word shrines appears in the New Living Translation. Other translations use the word "tent."). Just then a cloud came over them, and terror gripped them.

And a voice comes from heaven saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him." (Luke 9:35)

Listen. 

Not hear. Not read. Not notice. Not observe. 

Listen. 

Have you been listening lately?

Bette