by Roseanna White | Nov 15, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
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| Christus bei Maria und Martha by Allessandro Allori, 1605 |
What’s your calling?
A few simple words, but a whole world of meaning, isn’t it? To what has the Lord called you? It doesn’t have to be something grand. He could have called you to accounting. To farming. He could have called you to raising kids. Maybe He called you clean your church once a week. It doesn’t have to some awesome-sounding ministry, but I feel strongly that we all have something the Lord has called us to.
Mine’s easy–I’ve known I was called to write pretty much all my life. So . . . then what? What do I do with that knowledge? Well, I write. In my case, I write books and I blog. But what kind of books? What kind of blogs?
My husband and I were talking about callings last night, and in the course of our discussion it occurred to me that having a calling you recognize doesn’t mean you do it as you should. I could be writing books that are simple and easy. I could be churning out stories that fit what I was told years ago were marketable. I could be writing stories that make no attempt to glorify the Lord. I could be writing only what I want instead of what I should be.
In a few months, I’m going to doing a blog series that ties in with
Ring of Secrets on ordinary heroes. See, that was what set the Culper Ring apart–they were just everyday people serving where they had been called. In their store, on their farm, in the military. But they were serving there with a heart open to what the Lord might ask of them. And so these folks ended up taking risks that could have gotten them lynched–not by dropping everything and running off to some big task, but by serving where they’d been placed.
So how do we translate that to today? How do we, now, serve where we’ve been placed in a way that can make a difference? Not a rhetorical question here–it’s one I’m going to be thinking a lot about over the next few months.
And I want to start with gathering some answers to that first question. What’s your calling? In its most simple form, what has the Lord asked you to do? Please share!
by Roseanna White | Nov 8, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
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| Ironing Women by Ivana Kobilca |
It’s so easy to point fingers, isn’t it? From something as small as “Look what you made me do!” to the bigger “Don’t blame me–I voted for the other guy.”
This is a problem I’ve recognized in myself for years–not so much in politics, LOL, but in little things. It’s not my fault for neglecting things, it’s the fault of whoever distracted me. It’s not my fault we didn’t have that conversation, I tried but you put me off. It’s not my fault this venture isn’t growing; I’m doing my part, now you need to pick up the slack.
It’s so, so easy to fall into this trap. And something I’ve been thinking about again after reading a really aggravating kids book. I picked it up at the Library expecting it to be whimsical and fun, since it had a cute little picture of dragons on the cover. But it wasn’t–it was an environmentalist sermon that basically told kids, “Do you know any dragons who are destroying our world by not recycling? Sic ’em!”
Yeah, um–not what I’m trying to teach my little ones, thank you very much. I want to teach them to be responsible, but not to play the blame game. Not to point fingers. I have a hard enough time convincing them not to blame each other for every little thing, I don’t need picture books telling them it’s okay to do that so long as you slap a cute picture on it first.
And of course, elections bring it up too. It seems like so often the two sides of the aisle do nothing but blame the other for what they see as the woes we’re facing. They get angry, they get upset, and they can’t (or perhaps don’t try?) to understand that opposite point of view. The result? A nation divided.
It makes me so sad. I hate when I see this tendency in myself, I try so very hard to teach my kids not to fall into that same destructive way of thinking, because let’s face it–all that ever does is destroy relationships and keep your focus, always, on yourself. As long as it’s someone else’s fault, then I don’t have to fix anything.
But that approach doesn’t work. It doesn’t work in our nation, in our states, in our communities, in our churches, in our families, or in our marriages. It does–not–work. We cannot ever think “If only I could change him/her/them…” No. We can only change ourselves. And until everyone sees that they need to change themselves, until we all take responsibility for our own actions and lack of actions, then this disease is going to keep on spreading.
We have to stop thinking “If only they would…” and start praying “Lord, help me to…” We have to stand up. We have to then fall to our knees. And we have to start changing from the inside (ourselves) out.
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by Roseanna White | Nov 1, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
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| Whisperings of Love by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1889 |
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another,
for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
~I Peter 4:8
I just read these words in my daily reading time and they struck quite a chord. Perhaps because I’d been pondering that exact thing just yesterday in regards to my kids.
Don’t you just love those things in life that have no clear “this way” or “that way”? That have, in fact, so many varying opinions on which way you should do a thing that you usually just shake your head and go with your gut? Raising kids is definitely one of those things. And in this society where all adult problems are blamed on whether mommy did this when you were little or dad did that…yeah, it can be stressful.
And I confess it. I yell more than I should. I get frustrated. My kids usually have to repeat something four times before I actually get up from my computer to help them with it (hence why they now just stand at my elbow going, “Mommy, I need a drink. Mommy. Mommy. Hey, Mommy, will you get me a drink please?” The magic word always gets my attention, LOL). There are things I wish I did differently, things I no doubt get wrong.
But you know what? At the end of the day, my kids are happy. They’re secure. They understand the values I’m trying to instill, and they know they can stretch their wings and grow in our house. At the end of the day, they know they’re loved. And that, I think, is the most important thing I can give them–because love covers a multitude of sins.
Which is true of any other relationship too, isn’t it? Which may be more profound–because it’s easy to love our kids. It’s easy to love our spouses, our siblings, our parents (sometimes, LOL–easy for me to, because I have awesome ones). But what about the acquaintances? The strangers? The people we don’t like? Our outright enemies?
Loving them isn’t always so easy. Not just when we really don’t like them, but even when we just barely know someone. It’s hard to be moved by a story you’ve never heard. Hard to pray for people you’ve never met. But sometimes that’s exactly what the Lord calls us to do. In this section of I Peter, he says we must be serious and watchful in our prayer. We must love one another, being generous and hospitable with out homes, but most of all with our gifts. We must, always, minister.
A reminder I need. Though I know there are so many out there suffering, I might forget that. I might ignore it. I might whisper a prayer now and then but otherwise go on with my life. The Lord, though, calls me to something more here. He calls me to pray, He calls me to give, He calls me to stretch myself out and share what gifts He has given me with others.
He calls me to love.
And if I do that, the rest will follow. If I do that, then the things I fail at will be covered.
I will never be the perfect daughter, sister, wife, or mother, the best teacher or writer or friend. I will never react as I should all the time. I will never always have the perfect response to life’s trials. But I will love. And that will be my covering.
~*~
Good luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo! I just wrote 65K in October, finishing up my manuscript as I was, so will not be joining y’all this year. 😉
by Roseanna White | Oct 25, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
My little girl just turned 7 on Tuesday, and we had her party on Sunday. Both were pretty awesome days, even if it is a little hard to believe that my baby is SEVEN. How did that happen??? 😉
And so, because today I’m hoping to finish up Whispers from the Shadows so am a bit lacking in time, I thought today I’d just show you some of the highlights from the party. Starting, of course, with what took up my entire morning. The cake.
Xoe is dressing up as Frankie Stein from Monster High for Halloween, and the party was a costume party, so for that too. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she said, “Frankie!” And I said, “Really? Are you sure? You don’t want one, like, shaped like a mask or something…?” LOL. But no. She wanted Frankie, so she got Frankie.
Ever painted plaid onto fondant with colored icing? Yeah, fun. A new experience, that one, LOL. As was carving bolts out of marshmallows… But overall, it was a fun cake, and Xoe was tickled, which is what matters.
Decorations combined my idea of “Let’s decorate with costumes!” with my mom’s “Do you want me to bring some pumpkins?” So the answer was obvious–let’s dress the pumpkins up in costume! I don’t have any pictures, it seems, but I did get some of the pumpkins the kids painted. =)
Everyone had a great time–I mean, what kid doesn’t like dressing up in costume?? So it was a great day. And now my last two chapters are calling, so if you’ll excuse me… 😉
by Roseanna White | Oct 18, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
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| Par-tay! (Also known as Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir, of course) |
Last week in church, in the course of our conversation in class time, one fella said something that struck me as so very true: God doesn’t want to bless us a little–He wants to bless us completely. He doesn’t want to give us some–He wants to give us everything. But we so often can’t accept it. Won’t accept it. Then sit around wondering why we always seem to lack.
Today is my mother-in-law’s birthday, Sunday is my Xoe’s 7th birthday party, Tuesday her actual day. And as I prepare myself for dinners and cake and fondant and present-wrapping, I have to pause and consider the blessing they are to me.
And as one part of my mind considers those dinners and cakes and fondants and presents, there’s that other part of my mind looking at the outline for my work-in-progress and realizing I’m so, so close to the climax. That if I just had a few solid hours, I could get there. Get ‘er done. Wrap it up.
Some days (many days, LOL), those two sides have some friction. They rub against each other, they cause conflict. Some days (most days), I wish I had nice, neat compartments for them. That Family Time would be an uninterrupted chunk, and that Writing Time would have its own. I find myself wishing for something different, and usually when we wish for something different, it takes the tone of wanting more.
But you know what just hit me? This is the more.
When I was a girl, there were two things I wanted above all: to fall head over heels in love with my Prince Charming and have a family with him, and to write novels. I had no intentions of settling for anything else, and in the clarity of a child’s mind, I never even considered that I may have to do so. And I didn’t. I wrote my books, and I found my love. (Not that I can take credit for that part, mind you. That was all God, bringing me and David together so early in life!)
God has given me my heart’s desires. God, in His love for us, always does. But we have to take them. Accept them. Cherish them. Take care of them. We have to work for them.
Here I sit with my awesome, adorable, crazy-wonderful family—but how easy would it be to lose my focus on what a gift they are and instead complain about how much work they bring me? Here I sit with a growing career, a fabulous agent, an amazing editor, a ton of prospects, and an awesome editing calling with WhiteFire too–but how easy would it be to take a prideful misstep and end up back at square one?
Here I sit with it all–but how often do I complain about being overwhelmed? Short on time, short on energy, short on focus? How many times do we have it all and think we need more–yet neglect or misuse or even just plain not-appreciate what we have?
God wants to give us that crazy-big, over-the-top, filled-to-overflowing blessing. He does. He wants us to be complete, to want for nothing, to be blissfully happy. But He wants us to be all that
in Him. He wants us to take
Joy from the things He gives, not complain when He sends manna that He didn’t also send meat.
We often chant about how God won’t give us more (in terms of challenges or burdens) than we can handle. But you know, that goes for blessings too. He won’t give us more than we can appreciate. He won’t give us more than we can accept from His hands with the right attitude.
So as I go through these last couple weeks of my Busy Month and tackle countless projects, as I dash about, miss some sleep, and occasionally whimper that I need a clone, I’m going to have a new motto.
I have Nothing Less.
Nothing Less than what I need. Nothing Less that what I’ve earned. Nothing Less than what I can handle. Nothing Less than what God has given.
I have Nothing Less than everything. I have Nothing Less than the More I always wanted. I have Nothing Less than a reason to smile, laugh, shout, and be over-the-top, crazy-big, filled-to-overflowing happy.
I have Nothing Less than Him.
by Roseanna White | Oct 11, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
You know how some people never set goals for December because it’s so busy with Christmas stuff? That’s how my October has become. First weekend is Octoberfest at my family’s farm, second weekend is our awesome family reunion, third weekend is my girl-o’s birthday, and the last weekend is always some form of trick-or-treating. And of course, prep for all these things during the week.
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| Punkin’ Chunkin’ at Higsons Farm Octoberfest |
I always know better than to plan anything else on the weekends in this lovely, pumpkin-scented month. But somehow I always manage to fill up the weeks. This year we started Xoe in the Girl Scouts’ Science Discovery Club, we committed to two different Bible studies, and Xoe always goes from ballet one night a week to two in preparation for The Nutcracker this December.
And did I mention I’m trying to finish up a book?
Seems like a lot, but seriously, this is how every October turns out. I distinctly recall last year, we were painting our new/old church’s basement (which naturally fell in October…) and I was ready to pull out my hair. Home school was wearing me down, the book I was trying to write wouldn’t come out right, and I was just feeling overwhelmed and incompetent.
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| Rowyn and my dad giving hayrides at Octoberfest |
This year I’m hanging in there pretty well. I get stressed day-to-day when busyness interferes with my daily goals, but I’ve squeezed it all in somehow. Not saying I deserve a big golden “S” on my chest or anything (I tried to tell Rowyn the other day I was SuperMom, and he looked at me with that “get real” look and said, “No you’re not. You do not have superpowers, Mom.” LOL. Reality check from a 4-year-old!), but I’m feeling more grounded. I’m taking time each day for my devotionals, I’m in a prayer group that helps me keep my focus where it belongs.
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| My girl Xoe (left) and my nieces at Octoberfest |
And I’m having fun. I think that’s a big key. All these many activities going on are all ones I’m excited to take part in. My kids had a blast at Science Discovery, the Bible studies are great groups, and Xoe’s birthday party is going to be a costume party, and she’s super-excited to have a lot of friends coming this year.
And my book is going great, praise be to the Lord. Yes, at this point I’m panicking that I won’t be able to keep it in the right word count, but there’s always trimming. =)
So no startling insights today, but after a sick-day with the boy-o yesterday, and a morning of errands awaiting this morning (must get the ingredients to make my famous Pumpkin Gobs with orange-cream cheese filling!), busyness is on my brain…
What’s your Busy Time? Christmas? Summer? Some random month where everyone in your family decided to be born or get married? 😉 How do you cope with it?
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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. 