by Roseanna White | Mar 8, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Allow me to draw your attention to Mark 4:37-41:
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat,
so that it was already filling. 38 But
He was in the stern,
asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to
Him,
“Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
“Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you
have no faith?”[d] 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said
to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind
and the sea obey Him!”
Now, I’ve read those words approximately a hundred times, and I’m guessing everyone else has too. And I’ve always gotten out of it what the disciples did–wow, did you see that? The wind and waves obey Him! This Man rules the weather!!
Which is awesome. Truly, amazingly awesome.
I’ve also been struck before by His rebuke of the disciples–they’d just witnessed an amazing miracle, when He fed the 5,000. But they still didn’t quite get it . . . and Jesus calls them on that, on their lack of faith.
But as I was reading this section on Monday, something new hit me.
He didn’t have to do any of that. Ever pause to consider that? It wasn’t His time to die. He still had a whole lot to do. There was no possible way that the storm was going to hurt that little boat with its most precious cargo, and Jesus surely knew it. He had no fear, and it wasn’t just because He knew He could calm the storm–it was because He knew it wasn’t a threat.
And yet.
When his friends, his disciples wake him in a panic, what’s his first reaction? He calms the storm. He doesn’t first try to explain it to them. He doesn’t roll his eyes and go back to sleep. He calms the storm. He does that for them–not to prove He can, but because He loved them. Because He didn’t want them to fear.
And, maybe, because He knows they wouldn’t have heard him until that fear was gone.
I don’t know why I’m constantly amazed when I realize how far out of His way our Lord goes for us, but it hit me anew here. Jesus could have done any number of things in this situation, and no matter what He had chosen, we know the outcome would have been a safe arrival on the other side. He could have done any number of things that resulted in the disciples seeing His glory.
But He chose the one that calmed his friends. That soothed their fears. And then, then he reminded them to have faith.
Thank you, Lord, for knowing me so well. For knowing that when the storm’s upon me, I can’t remember the sunshine was ever there. For knowing that clutching for you is, sometimes, all I can do. Thank you, Lord, for making it all I need to do.
Because You calm the storm. And then You remind me that it was in Your hand all along.
by Roseanna White | Mar 1, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Dear Lord,
Thank you so much for all you are. Thank you for hands big enough to craft a universe and small enough to cradle our hearts. Thank you, Father, for the comfort in your invisible touch and the assurances you’ve given us because you know we need them. You are all things holy, all things good. If there’s beauty in the world, it’s your fingerprint. I thank you so much, Lord, for giving us the eyes, both spiritual and physical, with which to see it.
Father, my heart aches today for all the need I see in those around me. For those who have lost people dear to them through accident, illness, or violence. For those who are suffering from debilitation, who are daily in pain. I pray for those who are struggling to get through another day, be it because of physical trial or mental fatigue.
Thank you so much, Father, for all you’ve done in my life this past year. I look back and have to shake my head in wonder at how far my path has come. Yet when looking, I also see the pain of those I love most. And it brings tears to my eyes. Do I understand why it happens this way, that my moments of great
Joy are shadowed by their loss? Of course not. It doesn’t seem fair that we can’t be in times of rejoicing together. Do I want their situations to change? So much, Lord, yes!
But I’m trusting. I’m trusting that this, too, is part of your plan. I’m trusting that the darkest valley is cast in the shadow of your wing, that the widest prairie is your hand stretched out. I’m trusting, Lord, and I’m yearning. Yearning upward, onward, toward you.
For them. My prayers are often for myself, because, well, I know how much I need you. I know how everyday successes rely on you. I know that those days I forget to put it all in your hands, I’m quickly throwing mine up in frustration. But today, Lord, the ache in my heart is for my friends and loved ones.
For each of them today I pray a special blessing. A soft word of encouragement, a loud shout of
Joy. I pray that in some way only you can anticipate and devise, they are lifted up today. Lord, edify them, help us to edify each other–whisper in each of our ears how we can build up those we love. And then, oh God my God, whisper confidence into their hearts. Pour your water upon them to make the seeds of comfort grow.
Frail as our eyes may be, we want to see, Lord. We want to see why we’ve been put in the places we have, why things don’t work as we should. We want to see where we’re going. Where you can, give my loved ones a glimpse–just a glimpse of your guidance through these times, of the light waiting at the edge of the shadow. Where you can’t, breathe into their spirits, Father, that comfort that comes on the sweetest of nights, when being unable to see makes us all the more aware of the sound of your voice. Call to them in that whisper, speak peace to them.
Thank you, Father, for being that water that nourishes us and makes us grow. Thank you for being the fire that cleanses us, that lights us with your spirit. Thank you for being the wind that breathes life into us. Thank you for being the earth in which we’re grounded. Thank you, Lord God, for being all, for being every, for being the One to whom we can turn.
And thank you for these amazing, beautiful people you’ve put in my life. So often they are what lights hope in me when frustration or disappointment plagues me. Let it be their turn today, God, to receive that encouraging embrace. Lift them up and help them soar…all the way to their place of peace.
In the name of your precious Son,
Amen.
by Roseanna White | Feb 23, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I tried to think of a blog post for today, I really did. But you see, every time I turned my mind over to pondering, it defaulted to pondering the last three chapters of my work-in-progress. I’m mere days away from finishing it and in a total book haze. So my apologies. No inspiration for you here. 😉
I’m also a bit overdue on drawing the second and final winner of my Great
Annapolis Giveaway–rest assured I haven’t forgotten, just haven’t taken the hour necessary to tally up all those entries and do the drawing. That’s scheduled for right after I finish my manuscript, so hopefully SOON.
In the meantime, I hope everyone’s having a great week! If you haven’t already, scroll to yesterday’s post to have some fun with Shakespearean insults, and otherwise say a prayer that these last few scenes go smoothly for me, will you? Tricky balance to strike with this book–but hey, if I don’t get it right, that’s what revisions are for. 😉
Happy Thursday!
by Roseanna White | Feb 16, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I should probably have saved this topic for two weeks from now, when, if all goes well, I’ll reach the end of my manuscript. But I’d probably forget by then, so . . . 😉
I’m an optimist. I can find hope in anything. That’s probably why I love stories of romance–you just can’t beat a happily ever after. And, frankly, if a book doesn’t have one, chances are I’m not that crazy about it. Not to say I don’t approve of other endings, think they’re perfect–but rare is the book that makes it onto my favorites shelf with a less-than-blissful ending. It’s happened. But it takes one heck of an author.
And it’s also why so much of the Old Testament leaves me with an aching heart, especially reading the books about the kings of Israel and Judah. Going through all those chronicles with my daughter, she asks constantly as she’s trying to keep the names straight, “So which king was he? Did he love God?”
And so often my answer has to be, “No.” Or worse still, “He did when he was young, but then he caught up in his money and his glory and worshiped Baal. He forgot about God.”
Xoe, bless her sweet spirit, will always look up at me with those big blue eyes of her and ask, “But how could he forget God? God saved him!”
She’s so right. At six, she understands the simplicity of it and doesn’t see the complication. At six, she sees only the “happily” and not the “ever after.” And I wish, oh how I wish, I could toss a “The End” into some of those stories halfway through. Stop it where it’s still happy. Ignore the depressing epilogue.
But I can’t, because I have to teach my kids that getting to that one big moment isn’t enough in life. It doesn’t stop when we reach one goal, do one great thing for the Lord. We don’t have just one volume, with one climax. One neat resolution. No, we have to press ever onward. Because “the end” doesn’t come until the end.
I shake my head at the critics at romance who mock our beloved happily-ever-after because of these very reasons. And my head-shaking is valid. Because, hello, who wants to read a gazillion-page novel that tracks a person from birth to death? No thanks. I want my novels to entertain and inspire. And those stories, those endings, serve to get me from big moment to big moment in life. They help me remember what can happen. Over and again. Time after time. Volume after volume.
But so often, I think we pray for the short term. Just one good thing, Lord. Just send me one good thing. But as I reread those Old Testament stories, they’re making me look farther. Pray for good lives for my loved ones, not good turns. Good ends, with middles that lead them there. I’m praying, now, for endurance and fortitude.
Blessings come, and I praise the Lord for them. Crises come, and I pray to the Lord through them. But between climaxes, between resolutions, what am I doing? That, I think, is where those kings of old fell away. When they grew complacent. When they forgot who sent the rain, who delivered the army, who pulled away His protection and let the enemy come.
There are mountains in our life, in our faith. There are valleys.
But there are also plains. And the only way to trek across them without ending up in the land of Baal is to keep our eyes forever on the pillar of fire and smoke.
I love a good ending. But you only ever reach one in life when you realize it’s a looooong journey to get there.
by Roseanna White | Feb 9, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays
In case anyone missed my Seekerville post yesterday, I thought I’d share it here today. In case you, um, didn’t just want to go over there and read yesterday’s post . . . okay, so I’m in the middle a BIG reunion scene in my manuscript and don’t want to take time away from it to write a blog, LOL. Indulge me.
And keep in mind that the post yesterday was the last stop on my blog tour, so your last chance at a free copy of LFY Annapolis and to enter my big giveaway that way!
~*~
As a writer, I’m always aware of the importance of words. As a writer, I pay attention to any mention of them in the Bible. As a writer, I cringe when I realize how carelessly those precious, life-giving syllables are often used. Not just in writing, but in speech. In life.
We all know the beginning of the gospel of John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was Life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
It’s a beautiful throwback to Genesis, where God spoke creation into being. A poetic illustration of how Christ fulfills the promises set forth in the very beginning. A fine example of how powerful words, the Word, really are.
Words create. But conversely, words can destroy. Why are lies so dangerous? Why is bearing false-witness one of the big Ten? Because words are one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal, and the Lord wants us to use them wisely.
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt,
that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
Colossians 4:6
When we use words with the express goal of damaging others, we’re not pleasing God. He wants us to edify each other, to encourage. Even if we’re calling out someone’s mistakes (something we’re definitely told to do), we’re given strict instructions on how to do it. Why? Because it matters. Because God knows that if we just go up to our friend and say, “You’re such an idiot,” then we’re going to be hurting, not helping. Our words need to be a stepping stone for others, not a stumbling block. And so we need to take care that when we speak, it’s with the love of the Lord shining through us.
I think this is a pretty simple idea, and one that most people understand on some level. They know very well that the old “sticks and stones” rhyme is about as false as it gets. And yet, how often do we speak things we later regret? How often do we send a rash, nasty email and then wish for the backspace key? How often to do we make a dire prediction about someone, rather than going to them and lovingly admonishing them?
Are we then surprised when our predictions come true?
“As we must account for every idle word, so we must for every idle silence.”
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
One of the ideas presented in the book of James that always struck me the most is that we’re not just held accountable for what we do and say, but for what we know we ought to do and say but don’t. God judges our hearts, our motives. That means that if the Spirit whispers Go talk to her, but we hem and haw and stay put, afraid of “not coming off right,” then we’ve done something wrong.
It’s tough, right? We don’t want to hurt people by speaking amiss . . . and we’re never quite sure we’ll say things right. We don’t want to be held accountable for using words to hurt someone . . . but then He tells us that we’ll also be held accountable for not saying or doing things? Um . . . little help, God!
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father,
who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,
comfort your hearts and establish you in every good WORD and work.”
II Thessalonians 2:16, 17
God doesn’t leave us floundering after giving us these commands, thank heavens. He gave us a whole Book to help us. Jesus came to help us redefine. And then the Spirit was given to “teach you all things, and to bring to your remembrance all things I [Jesus] said to you.”
We can do this. We can use our words as He ordained. Whether you’re a quiet, introspective person or an exuberant extrovert. Whether you write epics or only the occasional email. We’re still all held to that standard.
As one of those people who writes countless emails a day, who has written thousands of pages of fiction over the years, who is partly responsible for choosing which books WhiteFire Publishing produces, I think about that standard a lot. I know the fear of words being taken wrongly by readers, of them being misused, of being judged harshly for them. I know the fear of not writing things as I ought, of it being more about me than God, of getting carried away with my wisdom and so not fulfilling my ultimate goal of sharing His. That’s why I bathe my work in prayer. Day in, day out, I beg Him to help me write His words. Yes, I know they won’t hold a candle to the Word He’s already inspired in His writers so long ago—but if I can help expound on the truths laid out in the Bible . . .
“This will be written for the
generation to come,
That a people yet to be created
May praise the Lord.”
Psalm 102:18
About a year ago, a reader emailed me. She said that as she reads, she keeps a notebook handy, and when something strikes her as true, encourages her, or helps her understand a gem of the Lord’s wisdom, she writes down the line from the book, the title, author, and why it spoke to her. I was touched deeply to learn that I had a page in this notebook of hers. She shared with me how important she feels words are, how powerful, and how much she admires writers for living by them. And I thanked her for the enormous blessing she bestowed upon me by letting me see that the books I sweat and cry over have an effect. This is what God wants us to do with our words—to mutually build one another up. To encourage, to edify, to be a blessing.
“Sing to Him! Sing psalms to Him!
Talk of His wondrous works!”
Psalm 105:2
Have you ever noticed how everything in the Bible ends in praise? Read the Psalms. Even the ones that are lamentations end in hope, end in glorifying the Lord. With a few exceptions, each and every song written by the psalmists will show a heart poured out and then given over to the Lord’s will, which by nature requires praise. In the epistles, the writers will admonish, direct, guide . . . and end with prayer and praise. Why? Because that is what our words are meant to do. We are to Shine for the Lord, to glorify Him through the words of our mouth, just as He breathed life into us with His.
He guides us. He calls us. And when we say in response, “Here I am, Lord,” then we are fulfilling our potential.
My ultimate prayer is that I can be like Samuel.
“So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him
and let none of his words fall to the ground.”
I Samuel 3:19
Lord, let my words never fall to the ground. Let them all fly heavenward to You, for You . . . that through them You may Shine.
by Roseanna White | Feb 2, 2012 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had the joy of attending the Christian Product Expo in Lancaster, PA. I went with CAN (Christian Authors Network), who was hosting the breakfast on Tuesday. Each author sat at a different table so we could chat with the retailers. After that, we each gave a five minute speech. And then we all had books to sign and give away to the retailers.
This is the first trade show I’ve ever attended–the closest thing to it was the Home School Fair I went to last spring. Otherwise all my big events have been writers conferences, so this was a great new experience for me–a glimpse into another, critical side of the industry. It was so interesting to sit at the tables and heard the store owners talk about how they got into this, how long their stores have been open, what they use for engraving, what sells best in their stores, how much they charge for certain things . . .
But of course, one thing I really loved was hearing, “Oh, that’s where I know you’re name! I carry your book!” and “The Love Finds You line is so popular!” =)
Though for me, the absolute best part was the signing. Getting to chat with each and every retailer, seeing where they were from. I had a box of
Love Finds You in Annapolis to give away, and also a box each of
Jewel of Persia and
A Stray Drop of Blood. I knew going in that most of them would already carry the LFY line, and none would carry the WhiteFire titles. So I was really, really intrigued to see that they were just as interested in my Biblical titles as
Annapolis. =) One retailer apparently even started reading JoP during the morning activities and was raving about it over lunch, LOL.
I think so often we get caught up in OUR part of the world, our specialty, our corner, that we tend to be oblivious to the other sides. Or at least I am. 😉 This reminder that those other sides of the coin are still part of the same was wonderful. To realize that we’re all working toward the same end, joint parts in the body of Christ, striving to do the same things–reach others for Him, and tend His flock. It was an experience I’m eager to repeat, and one that will affect how I see my own side of the coin from now on.
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.