I am a mom–an imperfect one, but one who tries to show her kids what she can…and who is constantly amazed by these two precious little people who latch onto my waist and declare, “Mine! You’ll always be my mama!”
He is my Father–a perfect one, who shows me in so many ways what I can do through Him. Who constantly amazes me with the gifts, small and large, that He has given us. Who patiently whispers, “Mine. You’ll always be my daughter.”
I am a wife–one who messes up now and then, who says the wrong thing and forgets to make dinner. But one who still gets that little pitter-patter inside at the thought of seeing her husband after a short absence. Who dares to dream along with him of somedays and maybes.
He is the Bridegroom–the one who is always waiting for his Bride to remember her vows, to remain faithful, to reach for perfection. The one with arms outstretched in love for His church, for the world.
I am a bit of recluse–the kind who likes company, sure, but who gets lost in a crowd. Who sits at a party feeling awkward, even when it’s all family. Who can give a sermon or a speech no problem, but who often stumbles through the unscripted…until she has a keyboard under her fingers or a pen in her hand.
He is everywhere. Always. And yet He doesn’t force His way in. He stands outside the doors of our hearts and awaits our invitation. To come in. To sit with us. To give us the words we can’t find and the sense of belonging that sometimes evades us.
I am a homemaker–but not the kind who makes a beautiful, showcase home. I appreciate those, but they’re not for me. I would rather spend my spare dollars on dreams and goals and helping those who have less than on curtains or decorations. All I need, I have discovered, is enough–when I find myself with more, it’s meant to be used for a greater purpose than my own comfort.
He is the Creator–the one who made the world and all that’s in it. Who clothed the lilies of the field. Who made a home for every creature. The one who bids me, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Just follow Me today.”
Sometimes, when I’m tired or down or just overwhelmed, it’s easy to focus on all I’m not. But I’m not not. I am. I am all He made me, and all He made me to be that I haven’t yet realized. I’m flaws and strengths, weaknesses and determination.
I’m a shadow of Him–a mirror, I pray, of His light. I am His. And He is I AM.
The potato harvest in Bulgaria ~ Food that can change lives!
It’s been a familiar refrain for me lately–that I don’t want to be all talk, I want to do something to share my faith, take a stand, make a difference. And I know I’m not alone in this. But all too often, we ask…but what?
I have a what. And I’m excited about it. =)
I’ve talked a bit before about friends of the family who have been traveling as missionaries to Bulgaria for the last 20 years. Right now they’re in the planning stages for a permanent move to Bulgaria, so they can serve the community of Romas (the gypsy people) they love like their own. Well, last week they got some news with the potential to devastate this community–their crop of potatoes had been harvested, but the market had bottomed out. They had no buyers. What were they going to do?
Our friend, Mike, had been praying about the situation, and talking with friends in the field. Friends ministering to another group in that region in desperate straits–the refugees fleeing ISIS. Tens of thousands have come into this region in the last year, running for their lives. Many are Christians. Some are “not Muslim enough” (read: extremist). All are in a dire situation, living in camps and not sure where their next meal will come from.
The refugees need food for the families.
The Romas need to sell their crop to support their families.
The solution is pretty clear–the Romas can send their potatoes to the refugee camps, solving both problems. But that requires us.
I’m so incredibly thrilled to have a tangible way to help! This is something I can relate to: potatoes. They cost $300 a ton, including transportation to the refugee camps. $300 to feed hundreds of people.
I spend that on my family’s groceries in a couple weeks. Kinda puts it in perspective.
But our donations can make a very real, very direct difference in all these lives. And it’s not a donation to some huge organization, where I have no clue if my money is actually helping or just paying for mailings that get tossed. Absolutely 100% of funds raised (after the fees of the site hosting our fundraiser) will go toward this mission.
It’s officially being hosted by the non-profit my husband started recently, ARM (Appalachian Relief Mission ~ an ARM outstretched) in conjunction with our friends’ organization, Roma Missions International. Both have new websites with not a lot on them yet, but you’re welcome to check them out. www.AnArmOutstretched.com | www.RomaMissions.org
I can’t imagine being forced from my home to keep my family from being slaughtered by extremists–but that’s the plight of these refugees.
I can’t imagine growing up in a country where talking of faith, of God, was illegal–but that’s what these Roma farmers faced until the fall of communism at the end of the 20th century.
Let’s make a difference. Let’s feed some people. You can find the GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/zyrq3s
It’s nearly Independence Day here and America–a time to celebrate all we’ve fought to achieve. Freedom. Independence. The American Dream.
And it’s been a week, hasn’t it? A week of big decisions for our country with far-reaching implications. A week where all the Supreme Court justices wrote an opinion about their verdict on same-sex marriage–quite a rarity, that–and all affirmed a very important principle: that this decision could not interfere with freedom of speech and religion on the part of churches with a moral objection to said decision.
That was the silver lining. But it’s a silver lining that will mean nothing if we don’t exercise it. Far too often people trample the rights granted to us by the law, and we have to fight back…or we lose them.
But it applies to far more than whether we think same-sex marriage wrong. It applies to absolutely everything we believe, and everything we’re willing–or not–to take a stand for. It should make us ask a very important question: if the terror and persecution Isis is bludgeoning the other side of the world with makes its way here, what do we do? If our government continues to press its heel into the spine of religion, what do we do? If leaders continue to tell us we have to change our core beliefs, what do we do?
All too often, I think we ask, “What can we do?”
So we sit. And we flip away from the news channel when it reports yet another mass-beheading in Africa or the Middle East–after all, we’re so far away…what can we do?
We just shake our head when we learn of another Bible study shut down or Christian organization wrongly pursued by the IRS. After all, it’s just one too-noisy group…what can we really do?
We tell ourselves that if it comes down to it, we’ll take a stand. We’ll fight for what’s right. We won’t let terror rule our lives or dictate to us. But…what can we do?
In pre-WWII Germany, there were plenty of people who saw where the tide was turning. They saw the dangers coming their way. There was one man, a pastor, who wanted to make sure his people, his country, didn’t give in to this evil he felt surging–this evil that would annihilate the Jews if it could, and who was turning on Christianity too. He formed a group of fellow believers. People who claimed they would go to prison–or a concentration camp, as the case may be–rather than go silently along with the atrocities. He formed a group 10,000 strong, all pledging to stand firm.
Do you know how many followed through? Spoke up, spoke out? Went to prison for their beliefs? Three. Three. This pastor and two others.
Three.
It brings the story of Lot to mind, doesn’t it? And Abraham pleading, “Oh, Lord, if there be but ten righteous men, will you spare them?”
But they just sat there. Because they were afraid.
I know that analogies involving Hitler are over-done, but I’m not really looking right now at that one evil man. I’m looking at a nation that let him have power, that went silently along with him. I’m not concerned with him–I’m concerned with them. And I’m concerned with us. Because we all say we’re committed to standing against atrocities–but when it comes down to it, are we?
The numbers of martyred Christians and Jews in the last two years is absolutely staggering–yet we sit silently by, here on the other side of the world. We pray for them–which I would never belittle…but only when we think about it
The world is a scary place right now. It really is. And when a situation gets this explosive, two things can happen: either the bad guys continue to wage their war of terror and everyone else just lets them, for fear of getting killed…or people stand up, good fighting evil, and revival sweeps the globe.
We have missionary friends poised to move to Bulgaria. Their goal, on past missions trips there, was to bring faith to a people too long stripped of it by communism. When they first went to Bulgaria, they were among the first to do so after communism fell, and they found a people desperately thirsty for the Word of God. Now these same people are in an amazing position–they are poised on the very edge of east and west, with refugees fleeing Isis encamped about them. They are in position to minister themselves.
These friends recently went to a conference of like-minded ministries, and they spoke to countless people all saying the same thing: for decades we ministered to Eastern Europe, and now Eastern Europe is in a position to minister to the Middle East.
Revival is waiting. But if it sweeps across the globe, will it come here too? Or will we shut it out, flip the channel, because we don’t want to hear about the horrors it has to fight against? Will we sit by while our freedoms to gather, to worship, to speak out are slowly whittled away?
We need to stop asking “What can we do?” and just stand. Vocally, firmly, without fear. Don’t just give money or say a prayer once every week or two. Commit this daily to prayer. Earnestly seek God on what you can do. And then, hardest of all–be willing to do it.
I know I provided an almost-transcript of my sermon (man, that feels weird to type, LOL) from the other week, but I thought it would be fun to post the video today. As always, things changes a bit as I turned written notes into spoken words.
Last weekend I had the joy of filling for my dad in the pulpit at our church. I’ve done this once before, but it was many, many years ago. Like, before Rowyn was born, I think…so yeah. It’s been a while, LOL. But I’d just been thinking, a day or two before he asked me, that I wanted to start expanding my speaking repertoire–you know, so that it included something other than my publishing story. 😉
As I prayed about what to talk about, my mind kept going back to the topic of vacation. Summer is finally upon us, so
vacation is a topic on a lot of different minds, right? When can we go? Where
will we go? How long can we stay? How much will it cost? What do I have to do
to prepare? For a lot of us, vacation isn’t about rest, it’s about doing—preparing to go, preparing to
travel, preparing for each day while we’re there, preparing to get it all home,
and then preparing to get back to normal life.
I can’t tell you how many
times I’ve heard someone say that they need a vacation from their vacation!
Personally, David and I have
made it a point to make our vacations restful. We don’t do much planning, and
the most exciting thing on our agendas is usually to visit a museum or go out
to dinner. Otherwise, we’re relaxing. Resting. Rejuvenating our minds and
spirits.
This is a necessary process. Studied have shown that having a break from work actually makes a worker more productive. And God himself recognized this. In the Law of Moses, we’ve seen how
the Lord gave very specific instructions on rest. We have the Sabbath laws. The
Sabbath year laws. The Feasts and festivals. All of these are meant to be times
when man takes a break from the grind of daily life.
But they’re something else
too, aren’t they? They’re also meant to be times when we take a break from
normal life…to worship and praise Him.
Let’s look at Matthew
11, specifically at the well known verses 28-30:
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am
gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.”
Jesus isn’t just talking here
about a physical rest, right? He’s talking about rest for our souls.
I want to share another
translation, this time from the Message.
“Are you tired? Worn out?
Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your
life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with
me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything
heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live
freely and lightly.”
A friend of mine claims this
as her favorite verse, so I’ve read it quite a few times. I like how in
addition to the words “tired” and “worn out” he also speaks to that spiritual
exhaustion—“burned out on religion.” Not on faith, but on religion. On the traditions, the processes, the expectations, the
demands. Those can be so exhausting. They, like our jobs, are doing. And sometimes we need a rest from
that in the worst way.
I also love the insight into
how we’re going to find that, which is kinda an extrapolation of “Come to Me”
and “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”
“Get away with me. Walk with
me. Work with me. Watch how I do it.”
Wait—maybe this is a bad
example after all. What does he say here? Work
with me.
Well that doesn’t fit the
idea of vacation at all!
But that’s just the Message.
If we go back to the New King James, we don’t see that in there, right? It just
says “take my yoke upon you.” Well…that doesn’t use the word work, to be sure. But what’s a yoke?
It’s something we put on animals…so they can work.
Hm.
And it goes on with “learn
from Me.” Okay, so let’s learn from Jesus. We see him doing plenty of things.
Certainly, among them are traveling to observe the holy days—holidays. But even
then, what is he doing? Healing the sick. Cleansing the lepers. Casting out
demons. Preaching. Teaching.
Working—but not toiling at a
9-5. He’s doing the Father’s work.
So then…is doing the
Father’s work…rest?
That’s quite a thought,
isn’t it?
Though to be sure, even Jesus had to get away from the crowds. Away from
that hands-on work. In those times, we see Him slipping away to pray. To
commune with the Father.
As matters of faith often do, this idea of going to Him for our rejuvenation reminds me of my kids.
When my kids are bored, do
you know what they do? They come to me. When they’re hungry…they come to me.
When they’ve accomplished something they’re proud of…they come to me. When
they’re hurt…they come to me. When they’re upset…they come to me. When they’re excited…they come to me. When they’re
worried…they come to me. When they’re tired…they come to me.
They curl up in my lap. And
even though I can’t often do
anything, it doesn’t matter. All they want is to know that Mama’s there. They
want to curl up in my lap and be my baby. They want to be surrounded by my
love. And after a few minutes, they’re refreshed. They’re ready to put aside the
exhaustion or the scrape or bruise, the argument or the anger. They’re ready to
go back to their game or their project or their work.
For anyone who has read my Culper Series, you’ll be familiar with the Puritan prayers I included, taken from Valley of Vision. This is one I used in the second book, which came to mind when I was thinking about this:
“Blessed Lord, let me climb
up near to Thee, and love, and long, and plead, and wrestle with Thee, and pant
for deliverance from the body of sin, for my heart is wandering and lifeless,
and my soul mourns to think it should ever lose sight of its beloved. Wrap my
life in divine love, and keep me ever desiring Thee, always humble and resigned
to Thy will, more fixed on Thyself, that I may be more fitted for doing and
suffering.”
Rest. That’s what Jesus
offers. But we don’t get it by going away. We don’t get it by stopping what
we’re doing. We don’t get it by focusing on us.
We get it by focusing on Him.
By crawling up into our Father’s lap. By letting the Spirit act through us.
We don’t get it by stopping out work. We get it by doing His work.
And when take our vacation in the lap of our Abba Father, then a few minutes or hours is all it takes. We come back refreshed, ready to do His work–and certainly not in need of another vacation to recover from it.
This is mostly going to be an “I’m so grateful” post. =) Because sometimes, we just need to take the time for those.
I saw a blog post last week that got me to thinking. It’s about how artistic pursuits aren’t silly, and begins with this young mom talking with another young mom at a playground. Stranger-mom says of her husband: “He wrote for years before we got married,” she confessed, “but now we have kids and I told him to put that silliness away.”
I don’t know this blogger, much less the couple in question. But my writer-self ached for that husband at those words. (Same for the blogger–a post worth reading.)
I’ve always been a writer. And I’ve been so incredibly blessed to always have people around me who supported that. My parents never once told me to stop my silliness and come do something more constructive. They never once told me to keep my feet on the ground and my head out of the clouds. They never once said, “Maybe you should consider doing something else with your life.”
From the surprise party my family threw in 2011,
when I’d signed a contract for the Culper Ring Series
They told me I could be anything. Do anything. They smiled when I said I was working on another story. They read them and praised them. They bragged about my accomplishments. And I know even today that my mom always has some of my bookmarks in her purse, ready to talk me up and tell everyone about her daughter, the novelist.
Thanks, Mom and Dad, for your endless support. Would I have had the strength to stick out this crazy-long process without you always telling me I could do anything? I’m not sure.
Then I fell in love young. David knew from the get-go that I was a writer, and that if he intended to have a life with me, he better accept that–more, I warned him early on that whoever I married would have to have a “real job” to support the family, so that I could write. I knew well it might take a while for that writing to bring in any money, but I also offered the happy thought that maybe it would take off and be our retirement plan. 😉
David always supported my dreams. More, he rewrote his own to support mine better. He has started a publishing company for me. He has kept going in a job that he doesn’t exactly love so I didn’t have to go out and find other work. He reads everything I write, and he brainstorms with me when I’m stuck.
I know there are writers out there whose spouses don’t support their crazy-writing-habit. Who think it’s silly, or not worthwhile, or whatever. I’m so grateful to David for not being one of those. For being, instead, the kind of husband who says, “What can I do to help you get more writing done? I can take Xoe to ballet this week. I can pick up dinner. Just let me know.”
I’ve been so blessed…and I know there are so many people out there who aren’t supported like I am. And that makes me wonder how they manage to do the things they do.
How do you homeschool if your husband isn’t totally on board, supporting and helping out?
How do you chase your dreams if you’re surrounded by people who tell you that you can’t, or you shouldn’t?
How do you hold onto a good attitude if you’re fighting every day just to be you?
To my younger readers who are just starting out in life, I would say this: make it clear, always, who you are and what you need in your life. Know those things that you require to be the person you want to be–whether it’s an artistic pursuit, faith, sports, or whatever–and don’t compromise. Don’t ever think you can give up being you to get something else–the husband, the good job, whatever. Follow your calling, your dreams. And let those around you know that you need their support in that.
To my readers who are parents, I would say this: don’t clip your kids’ wings. Even if that thing they love makes no sense to you, have faith that God fashioned them just so, and your job, while certainly involving speaking reason and logic, is also to tell them that dreams are worth chasing–and worth working for. Help them know how to work for it.
To my readers whose parents are trying to stretch their wings once their kids are out of the house, I say this: encourage them to follow God’s calling, no matter where that takes them, and rejoice in their freedom to do so. They sacrificed so much to raise you–cheer them on now, and be willing to sacrifice for them. Be proud of them, as they have been of you.
To my readers who have spouses with big dreams, I say this: be willing to step out in faith. To let them step out in faith. Big things are only ever accomplished with risk. Dreams are only ever achieved when someone dares to let go of what seems safe and steady. Respect that their desires aren’t silly–not if it’s part of God’s calling on their life.
Don’t make the people in your life have to struggle to feel like themselves in a world that wants to mold them into a box. Encourage them to break that mold. To spread their wings. To take risks. To sacrifice. Don’t ever, ever be the cause of someone else giving up on something they love just because you deem it “silly.” Be, instead, the person they thank in that acceptance speech. The person they never could have succeeded without.
And be grateful when they do the same for you. Because we all have those dreams. And none of us can reach them on our own.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.