What's Your Super Power?

Spring is finally here, and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling the craziness already. March passed in a blur.

Can you relate?

This morning I was reminded of Romans 8:11, which says “The spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.”

I don’t always feel powerful, but thanks to the work of the cross, I am full of the Holy Spirit’s power, which means

I am a powerful woman!

I am an influencer for His Kingdom.

I have the power to change the atmosphere.

I am full of God’s grace and His favor.

Do I feel that way? Not always—definitely not when I’m in the midst of chaos and craziness. (Again, where did March go?)

But it’s the truth of God’s word, and I choose to believe it.

How about you, my friends? Are you facing a hard week? Do you feel overwhelmed? Do you shrink back in conversations? Do you feel like you’re not enough? Or you don’t have enough—time, money, energy?

On Sunday, we'll celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. What a better week than now to be grateful for this finished work of the cross—and to step into all that He says we are.

Do you need a RECHARGE?

Last week we had a much-needed fall break on campus, and I was able to take a couple of vacation days to spend Thursday through Sunday with my family. We rented a house, and for the first time since I’ve been married (now going on nine years), we took a family trip together: my parents, siblings and spouses, and nephews.

We haven’t quite settled on a name for our now annual trip to Wimberley (we’re thinking reunion is over-used), but the tentative name is recharge (props to my sister for that ;)).

Y’all, my heart is full, and I certainly feel recharged.

I finished three fiction books.

I laughed until I cried on several occasions (literally, tears streaming down my face!).

I swam in 65-degree water with my three-year-old nephew because, well, he wanted to.

I started a short story.

And I got to spend real quality time with family.

Nothing makes me happier than some good ole quality time.

Perhaps my favorite memory is watching my nephew air guitar and sing during our impromptu worship jam while my brother-in-law made breakfast. (If I haven’t said so—you should buy the Pursue Worship album! It’s incredible!)

There’s a song on the Pursue album titled My Shepherd, and the chorus begins, “I won’t want for anything.”

Isn’t that God’s promise to us?

At this point in the semester, the craziness is cranking up. Piles of grading. Work events. Church events. And October is only the beginning—then it’s Thanksgiving, then Christmas.

“I won’t want for anything.”

Time. Energy. Provision. Grace. Strength. Patience.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He quiets my soul.”

Reciting that verse brings so much peace to my heart.

Friends—do you need to recharge at this moment? Do you need the Lord to take you beside still waters?

Whatever you’re facing today, this week, this month, He is enough. You’re not lacking anything you need in Him. 

Best Memories from ACFW 2017

Remember when I told you my last ACFW experience would be hard to top? Well, folks, I stand corrected.

I love that my hubs is always willing to go with me. I NEEDED him this time for sure. 

Whoot Whoot!

And apparently the ACFW conference has become the place where my most embarrassing moments happen—but unlike the last experience, which just made me blush a little, I’m still recovering from this year’s moment. It’ll make a great story someday, but it’s too soon to laugh about it now.

Although nothing will ever compare to that first-timer’s experience, the star-struck gaze and fan-girl feelings of being among the GREATS of Christian fiction, this year’s conference took me to a deeper level, a level that I needed to become more serious about this goal of mine.

You might recall it all started when I dared to call myself a writer (also here and here).

This time, it’s something more. It’s not just about a dream. It’s not just about one book.

I feel like I’m finally stepping into the vision that I have for myself to truly become a professional author, a multi-published (and hopefully someday award-winning, best-selling, etc. etc. :)) author.

I’m more eager to fight for it than ever before, and it feels attainable in a way it never has.

Perhaps sitting in a session with Susan May Warren and learning that she’s written 50-something novels in a little over a decade or taking a continuing ed class with Cara Putman and finding out she’s a lawyer and a professor and a multi-published author inspired me greatly. I don’t have to choose one or the other—and that is quite freeing!

So, as promised, here are my top five memories from the 2017 ACFW Conference:

1. Spending a few days with my virtual friend and critique partner. Y’all, I can’t say how much this woman blesses me! She is a gift!

2. Hearing an agent tell me that he doesn’t just like my story idea—but that he loves it. Wow. What an encouragement!

3. Re-setting my heart and mind during worship. For whatever reason this year, my emotions were all over the map. I felt discouraged before I’d even pitched anything—but Friday morning’s worship time gave me a full reset, and I left charged up and full of grace.

4. Making connections with published authors (and friends!) who are ahead of me on this road. I am grateful for their wisdom and their willingness to help me succeed.

5. Getting a second chance with an agent after what was a truly embarrassing moment! Again—it’s too soon (I'll tell you someday, maybe), but man, God sure redeemed my mistake. What a good Father!


If you attended this year’s conference, what were some of your favorite moments?

Rain That Refreshes, Renews

Sheets of rain are pouring down as I work on this blog post, and I’m thinking about the expression, “When it rains, it pours.” 

I’ve felt that way a little these last few weeks as I’ve recently had a lot of busyness, uncertainty, and ever-growing ‘to do’ lists. 

  

But rain can also be refreshing: the ground soaks in the moisture while thirsty crops catch drops of water on glistening, bright green leaves.   

 For me, the rhythm outside my window calms me, and I’m renewed, revived. 

Peace. 

Be still. 

Peace.

I’m in your midst. 

I hear His words in the beat of the drops on my windowsill. 

And after the rain stops, after the stormy clouds and unpredictable precipitation recede, He washes me clean again; he restores my soul. 

Sometimes I wonder why I ever stress at all. When it’s all said and done, He’s always taken care of me. He’s never let me fall. 

I breathe in fresh, clean air. Don’t you love the smell of rain? 

I breathe in more of His Spirit, His grace, His strength. 

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

His grace is sufficient for me.

Friends, if you’ve been near me these last four weeks, I’ve been a hot mess. But today, it’s as if the Lord hit the reset button with all this rain, and I get to resurface with a renewed purpose and joy. 

If you need to be renewed, I pray the Lord would rain sweet drops of grace and mercy over your soul today.

The Olympics: Four Years Ago

In our house, the Olympics have been on pretty much every second that we aren’t asleep or at work. I love watching these events!

But this year the games seem particularly special as I think about where we were four years ago.

2012. My family and I sat glued to the TV for days, some on the couch or in rocking chairs, others sprawled on the floor.

We watched to pretend that only the Olympics were real—and words like cancer and chemo were a myth.

We waited in that awful span of days that felt like years between diagnosis and treatment.

We knew surgery was coming soon.

Then chemo.

Then radiation.

But we focused, instead, on whether Walsh Jennings and May would win the gold or what Michael Phelps’ final medal count would be.

We even watched the non-primetime stuff like equestrian events and water polo.

I still remember cracking up at one unpopular competition—not because the event was particularly funny or because someone goofed up.

But because we needed to laugh to delay the reality, to recede the sadness and the fear and the uncertainty.

We laughed and watched and ate and remained together—a family on the edge of an unlikely journey.

First Treatment

I can’t watch the Olympics this year without remembering where we were, and I’m grateful for how far we’ve come.

Today—in 2016—there’s no cancer, no chemo, no fear.

We thank God for life and healing every day. I really can't express the gratitude we feel for what God has done in our family.

Dear friends, should you encounter the unexpected, I pray you’ll be surrounded by God’s grace and peace.

p.s. If you’re interested, our family blogged about our experiences from diagnosis to the last treatment. You can follow the journey here. 

Book Review: Told You Twice

Told You Twice by Kristen Heitzmann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Told You Twice more than matches the wit and charm of book one in the stellar series that tackles real-world issues while demonstrating the enormity of God's grace and love. If you loved the first book, prepare to fall deeper in love with familiar characters, and expand your arms to embrace another romantic duo equally as enthralling. Heitzmann's novel showcases God's redeeming power for every kind of lost soul. She deftly handles the realism of secular motivations and balances it with subtle but powerful truths of Christian hope and freedom.

As with all her works, Heitzmann creates characters we fall in love with, despite their flaws, weaving each perspective through unexpected twists in her captivating narrative. From character and plot development to dialogue and description, I can't offer enough praise. Heitzmann excels in all four areas when so many contemporary novels sacrifice something for the another. She is truly a master of the writing craft, and this second book in the series is another of her must-reads.

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

_________________________________________________________________

I feel so honored to be entrusted with the task of reviewing this book. If you know me, you know I've been an avid Heitzmann fan for almost 20 years. I've read all of her books as soon as they are released, and then I twiddle my thumbs and check her website incessantly until the next release date.

I've already posted my review (above) on Goodreads and Amazon, but I want to add a few more comments here. 

When I say that Heitzmann is a master of the writing craft, I'm not exaggerating. I'm enthralled by her word play--sometimes fun, sometimes profound. Here are a few of my favorites:

________

"... There's hardly a ripple of uncertainty in anything he does, while I get tangled in all the possibilities." 

"I thought you were matched up on every point."

Exi swiveled the cafe stool. "We're not the same, but complementary. He fills my gaps." 

________

"As the world knows, we started our family prematurely." 

"But look how happy you are. You said in that interview, God makes our mistakes shine."

"I don't recommend making them purpose." 

________

Bo was not the devil Devin thought him, but he could raise hell and make it look like heaven. 

________

Eileen snickered. "All right. Make your play. You already ruffled feathers."

"Some feathers need ruffling. Even favored sons."

"Green isn't your color. And I'm not limited to one pet." 

________

"... We've lost the sense of sex as sacred."

________

His heart flared, but he pressed thoughts of her down where he kept things that hurt. Separation kept her safe. Her safety kept him sane. 

________

If you haven't read Told You So, I recommend reading it first. Then grab your copy of Told You Twice. 

Both books tackle real-world struggles and the beauty of God's grace. 

Happy reading, and stay tuned for Part Two: An Interview with Heitzmann!

Redeem: Part 2

Do you ever struggle to hear God’s voice?

This last week, I really needed to hear from the Lord. I needed an answer from Him—and yet, I felt so uncertain.

The more I tried to hear Him, the more anxious I felt. Am I hearing you? Is this you? Is this me? What is the problem?

Later, when I was still and my heart was ready, I did hear from Him. I got my answer, and I got His peace.

But in that moment of anxiety, I needed to be redeemed.

I told you last week that God’s word for me this year is REDEEM. We already talked about the ultimate redeeming act—the exchange made at the cross to give us righteousness and grace.

But redeem is more than the one time finished work.

One definition notes that redeem means to compensate for fault or poor past performance.

Yep—Jesus does that all the time for me.

Some synonyms for this definition include save, vindicate, absolve, atone, deliver.

The other definitions I love deal with an exchange:
- “Gain or regain possession in exchange of payment.”
- “Exchange (coupon, voucher, etc.) for merchandise, a discount, or money”
- “Pay the money to clear a debt”

Some synonyms here would be exchange, cash in, clear, honor, discharge, reclaim, retrieve, recover, regain.

And my all-time favorite definition—“To fulfill or carry out a pledge or promise.”

He always redeems His word. He “makes good” on His promise.

It’s easy—and encouraging—to think of these definitions as each relates to salvation or justification.

But every day, we are being sanctified too.

Every day I still need His redeeming help.

Maybe I need to ‘reclaim’ who I am in Christ.

Maybe I need to ‘regain,’ ‘retrieve,’ or ‘recover’ my thoughts to be the thoughts God thinks toward me.

Maybe I need to be ‘discharged’ or ‘cleared’ for my mistakes or shortcomings that day—the offense I took, the angry response I had, the pride, the insecurity, etc.

“Forgiveness restores the standard of holiness.” That’s my favorite Kris Vallotton quote right now.

Even if I mess up, he still redeems, and I am restored to a place of honor.

And, of course, my favorite:

Maybe I need to be reminded that He redeems His promises.

When I feel anxious like I did last week, He redeems my anxiety for His peace. What a better exchange.

What do you need to exchange—to be cleared of or discharged from?

What do you need to retrieve, reclaim, or regain?

What can He redeem for you today? (Click to Tweet)

Redeem: Part 1

The word God gave me for 2016 is REDEEM. A dear friend of mine (yep—the same friend) gave me a necklace with this word on it, so I can wear it every day as a reminder.

As I’ve mediated on this word, I feel like the Lord continues to show me a new facet of meaning.

Redeem is literally an exchange—and usually money is involved.

We redeem something in exchange for something else. If I have a coupon for 30% off at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I will redeem my coupon for the discount on my total purchase.

I receive the purchase. I’ve redeemed the coupon.

As believers, we are redeemed. We know that He is our Redeemer.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. My church did a sermon series a while ago called The Exchange—and it’s the exchanges that took place at the cross.

This morning, as I was reading through Romans 5, what we received in that exchange really stood out:

Because of the cross, we have

• Peace with God
• Grace
• Hope of the glory of God
• God’s love in our heart
• The Holy Spirit

We are now

• Saved from God’s wrath
• Reconciled
• Saved (Greek word: sozo – literally, to save, to heal, to deliver) 
• Righteous

Through Jesus, we receive grace and righteousness. Receive. It’s a gift.

Our only job to receive this gift is to believe—believe in Jesus, in the finished work of the cross.

So often, we present the gospel like this: You’re a terrible sinner, you’re worthless, you’re nothing without Jesus—you need to confess your sins, right now! (Or go to Hell.)

I’m not denying the truth of those statements. We are sinners. We do fall short of God’s glory apart from Jesus, etc.

But Scripture says to confess that Jesus is Lord.

What we confess is our belief in Jesus—in what He accomplished for us on the cross. What we repent from is the law of sin and death, from works righteousness.

We don’t focus enough on the exchange, on what was redeemed—that our new nature is righteous, literally, made right. It is as it should be between God and me.

Never again will I be separated. By faith, I believe this.

If we make salvation only about confessing sin and needing a savior, we miss the power of the cross. Because the next day, we are still powerless to sin.

When we make salvation an exchange—an unmerited exchange, a free gift received by faith alone—now it’s more than forgiven sins. It’s a new nature. I am a new person: righteous and full of grace.

Salvation is easy. Getting saved is actually easy. Our part is very light: Believe. That’s all His word says—confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, and you will be saved.

What is hard about following Jesus? Well...

• Walking through life. (“In this world, you will face troubles…”)
• Believing all that He says He is and all that He says you are in Him. (Sometimes that's hard.)
• Submitting my will to His. (Yeah, that’s also hard.)

Being a disciple—a follower of Jesus—is the challenging part. Receiving His promise is not.

When we present the gospel, we should be clear on these two points:

• We don’t work to be saved.
• We don’t work after salvation.

But we do choose to believe. We do choose to submit. We choose to be a follower.

Next week, I want to look more closely at this word, REDEEM, for our everyday life: it’s in His nature to redeem; what can He redeem for us in this season?

But this week, let’s be grateful as we remember the greatest redemption story—how he redeemed us from our sin and in exchange made us righteous and free. (Click to Tweet.)

"Sometimes Favor Means No."

Cara Putman recently blogged about the importance of writing buddies. I was thankful a few weeks ago not only for mine but also for my larger support system in general—those close family and friends—when an agent sent me a rejection email. 

This news is delayed on the blog because the day I received the email was the day Rizzoli ate poison, so I was not exactly focused. It took another day or two for the news to settle in. (I call that God’s grace.) 

But I didn’t reach for the Ben and Jerry’s or spend a day wallowing in my PJs, and honestly, I think that’s because, in a way, God had prepared my heart, and perhaps also because the email was just so…nice. 

It was the nicest, kindest, most considerate rejection email I’ve ever received. And maybe that’s because she’s a Christian too, or maybe it’s just her canned rejection email, but still—so kind. 

The email was not my first rodeo with rejection.   

But academic editors and reviewers are far less kind with their criticisms. On one article I submitted (and later did publish elsewhere), the editor, after several rounds of revisions, decided that he questioned the “validity” of my study. (I wished he had questioned it before encouraging me to make the initial “minor” revisions.)

I’ve also had reviewers say things like, “Even without the above mentioned desiderata concerning scope, argumentation, and style, I do not believe that the paper is fit for a flagship journal in argumentation theory. The submission shows so many and grave errors in formal reliability and academic care that they are too numerous to list in full.”  Or one that I memorized: “Even after reading the submission multiple times I cannot identify substantial academic contributions that go beyond existing rhetorical knowledge.”

That’s Academic-ese for, “This paper has nothing new to offer.” (*sigh*)

Even over the break, my proposal was rejected for the ATTW conference (I’m 0 for 3 with these guys). My favorite line—the one they use every year: The quality of submissions was so high this year, we had to reject a number of good proposals, including yours.

So, I’ve had my share of rejection on the academic side, but the creative fiction side is all new, and I had no idea what to expect.

After the agent told me she couldn’t pursue my project, she gave me a list of other agents who represent Christian authors and encouraged me to send it to someone else.

I thanked her for her considerate email and asked if she had any advice for me as I prepare to send it to someone else I met with at ACFW. She replied that she didn’t—that I was doing everything right, and she ended with, “Don’t give up!” :)

So, I won’t. I wouldn’t have anyway. (Not after learning Charles Martin—New York Times Best 

Selling author and one of my favorites—was rejected 86 times before his first manuscript was published.)

My personal goal is to send it by the end of this month to another agent-hopeful that I met at ACFW, and actually the one I clicked with the most (she had me when she said she was a Gilmore Girls fan). *high five*

I have already learned so much on this journey as an unpublished author, but I am grateful for every second of it—even the days of “no.”

I know that God holds my dreams (even beyond the ones about writing) in His heart, and I can trust Him with them. I don’t have to force them to happen. I don’t have to begrudge the delays. I don’t have to accept rejection as my personal identity.

I know who I am in Christ. And I know how perfect His timeline is.

In the words of Jason Craft, “Sometimes favor means no.” 

What's your rejection experience like?  How do you handle the 'no' from your agent or editor? 

Click to Tweet: You can be at peace with rejection: "Sometimes favor means no."