Saturday, October 04, 2008

Covenants are Opportunities

When God reveals Himself, we are compelled to change the way we see Him and respond to Him. No one can look at God and remain the same. We either welcome Him or we reject Him. There is no middle ground.

In Jeremiah chapter 31: 33, God says, "I will make a covenant with Israel." He revealed Himself to Israel in the covenant. Israel could not remain the same. When God made a promise to his people, they changed or lost the blessing of this new covenant.

God spoke to my heart as I struggled to write. He called out a covenant written in His word. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you go. I will counsel you to watch over you." (Ps 32:8)

Because of His covenant promise to me, I found I must either be obedient and submissive, allowing Him to fulfill his promise in me. If not, I would be disobedient, rejecting the promise. It was clear if I rejected the promise, I would lose the blessings He had in store for me as well as damage the opportunity to empower a dynamic relationship with Him.

I rejoice when I openly declare I choose to live in the blessings and covenant promises of the Lord.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

A Writer's Distasteful Marinade

The past couple of years I marinated in the thick goo of self-indulgence. The sauce of convenient indecision gradually displaced my passion for writing and its creative juices in my spirit with the sap of laziness, expediency and task-based tunnel vision.


Maybe all writers have to muddle through that at one time or another. Some may do it periodically. I do not know about them and how they handled it. I do know that it filled my life with a void.


After the last 24 months, I can say this for wading through a writer's funk - its easier to go to school when you know what you are supposed to be learning. The murky writer's noir hid my empty cup of creativity and half-baked bread of industry.


I have two projects that my spirit wanted to develop. The first project centers on prayer support for mission groups. That is a noble goal and it received good marks from various individuals who were close to the process. The main problem was that I was willing to write about it, but not do it.


Can you spell hypocrite? (Well, ... I guess you can now.)


It never seemed to be a problem in my little self-serving world to have a character do something in my imagination that was too time consuming for me to do.


The difference between a vision and a dream is the vision is something you will see happen. A dream is good. You can even gather all the materials for it, but you will never see it realized.


David had a vision that Goliath would fall. He had a dream for the construction of the temple.


My writing has lived as a dream. I created several decent pieces that should be submitted to someone. However, since I wrote out of self-fulfilment, I couldn't bring myself to let another say "Yep" or "Nope."


I am completing the Bible study "Write His Answer" by Marlene Bagnull. Before I completed five paragraphs I knew the marinade that wrapped my slumber would never flavor my work. What I looked for to encourage and spark creativity was nothing more than the sludge of life. It smothered any undernourished life managing to survive.


A believer's creativity comes from our source of life. Our words flow from The Word. We are flavored by the salt of His tears.


I am relieved to know that writing has not abandoned me, even if I neglected to properly nourish it.

My projects are slowly coming to life as I engage them from His perspective. I know that whether I build the castle or ride with the saddle tramp, my Lord has promised he will instruct, teach, counsel and watch over me. (Ps 32:8)

A writer can't ask more from a mentor than that.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Lessons From A Schooling Show

Martini and I have grown as a team since he became apart of our family. Recently he and our grandaughter completed a week of intro to jumping at our barn, Turncrest Stables ( http://www.turncreststable.com/ ). Last Sunday both were in their first "off the farm" show. They did well for a 5-year-old horse with a 10-year-old rider.

Martini and I spent much of the day together. He was handled, groomed, tied, watered, fed, ignored, fawned over, tacked up, untacked - you name it, he and I did it more than once through out the day.

He showed me patience and cooperation. He stood in line and waited for his turns to enter the arena. He carried the granddaughter over barriers, low as they were, she never approached before. He gave her confidence and a real sense of accomplishment.

He reminded me of his non-negotiables. When you tie him adjacent to a food supply, don't be surprized if it becomes the most important item in his life.

Finally, after a long day of cooperating, when a biting fly gets after him, do not be surprised that his patience has drained. He justs wants to be free of the pesky thing.

If he believes the tasks are safe, he will complete what I ask. If I respect his "Heirarchy of Needs," I am welcome to be a part of his life. Sometimes his life has pesky issues that have to be solved before we can proceed.

When we interact with people, it is easy to forget that their life is full of pesky issues, "heirarchy of needs" priorities, and ultimate safety questions.

Its good to be on a team that keeps me in touch with the real game - making a difference in the lives of people.