Category: Uncategorized

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Ok, so I don’t really know why I titled my post this way, I mean, I am a winner, but there really is no chicken dinner involved and it’s not about casinos and gambling. I may have possibly watched the movie 21 too many times. Whatever.

I did win an award! That makes me a winner! (and Charlie Sheen)



Thank you, Marji Laine, for awarding me the Versatile blogger award. Marji has a cool blog and she blows me away with posting EVERY SINGLE DAY! Wow! 


So here’s how this is supposed to work:


1. List 7 things that folks might not know about you. “Folks” are people, btw.


2. Pass the award on to 7 new bloggers and let them know.


3. Thank the blogger who gave it to you. (Thanks, Marji, again!)




I already have 10 things you may not know about me at the top of my page. You can click the link to read them. But I figured, I’d do 7 more, from the wonder years, just for fun.


1. My first intro to “romance” was in kindergarten. On graduation day, one of my classmates brought me roses.  I never was his girlfriend–his first intro to rejection. I kept the flowers.


2. On trips to the bathroom, in school, I would walk down the halls and slip into the janitor’s closet, pretending that I was in a scary story/film. Later I entered the janitor’s closets for completely different reasons. Get your mind out of the gutter, I needed a mop for the biology teacher.


3. I was asked by our high school principle to organize, choose, and direct the school play. He even gave me my own assembly. During my appeal to artists (lol) my ex-boyfriend spit ice chips at me from the first row of bleachers with a smug grin on his face ( and he wondered why I declined him a second chance…right away…He was after star power, of course). The play flopped and never hit the stage, but I was stellar while it lasted. *Our principal also kept a bottle of Jim Bean in his office drawer, he may have dipped into it before asking me. (And how I know that is another story)


4. I’ve seen New Kids on the Block 4 times. At one outdoor concert, I thought the “mascots” wandering around the fair were actually the New Kids dressed up. I went up to one and told him I knew who he really was and my friend took our picture. It was not a New Kid. But I have the picture anyway. That was the night I hit an owl with my car. Yes, their heads do turn all the way around. 


5. I had a crush on my sixth grade teacher, knowing he wore a toupee. What? You can’t help who you fall in love with! It looked real! 


6. In 8th grade, I tried out for cheerleading. At that time, the students voted. I couldn’t do a back-bend, so I laid on the gym floor and did the the whole push up thing. Somehow, I made the team. When I think of that, my stomach knots. I was too stupid to be embarrassed then. 


7. I rode a dirt bike and was pretty stinking awesome at it. Although, one summer while my friend was on back, I tried to show out in front of guy who was playing basketball in his driveway (he was a freshman in college, we were freshmen in high school) and wrecked in front of his house (stupid loose gravel). His mom was a nurse and made us come inside for bandaids and Neosporin. Never again. But the palms of my hands knees healed nicely. 


The real question is, why don’t I write YA? 


And now, in no particular order, I am sending this award on to bloggers I feel are versatile. They have loads to offer, make me laugh, and write about a variety of things such as parenting, devotions, missionary travels,writing, randomness, and so forth!


Ladies, you don’t have to pay it forward, but I wanted to send the award your way, regardless! 


1. Sheri Salatin at Farming with heart, writing with passion, loving with joy
2. Katie Ganshert on life and writing and the fuzzy line in between
3. Maggie Fechner at Mommy’s Always Write
4. Stacy Green at Turning the page
5. Heather Sunseri at Balance with Purpose
6. Dawn Alexander at Writing in Waiting
7. Jodie Bailey faith and fiction with a touch of southern grace

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Question (or command?): Tell me one thing about your wonder years I don’t know! 





When I’m Not Good, He Still Is

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Who is that? Why is she looking at me that way? Her smile says she’s got it all together, but I’m looking in her eyes. She’s a complete flake. A total failure. I’ll bet she’s hanging on by the skin of her teeth.

No, I know she is. 

How could she possibly be as blessed as she is? It makes no sense. I know that little secret about her. I was with her that year she did the, well, you remember, weren’t you there too?

I just don’t get it.


Yep, that’s been me asking those questions and making those comments.

About myself.

There are many days I let my mind wander to my shortcomings, failures, and indiscretions aka big fat daddy sins. And wonder and even ask aloud, “God, why would you be so good to me? Why would you do such wonderful things? I don’t deserve a single one.”

And He reminds me:

“The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV

and:

“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from sin?” Romans 2:4 NLT

Those are the words that keep me humble, help me understand the goodness, grace, mercy, and love God lavishes upon me. Those are the words that draw me closer to Him and make me want to be so much more.

They encourage me, inspire me, and overwhelm me.

Question?? What verses help you understand the blessings in your life when you feel undeserving? (and we all are, thus grace!)

 Come by Living by Grace, our facebook community page! 

Faith Readers Book Club Review: Edge of Grace by Christa Allan

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
Faith Readers
Book Club
(we were missing some)

First off, let me say a big thank you to Marji Laine for awarding me with the Versatile blogger award Yay! I blame it on my MPD and so do I! Me too!

I’ll follow the rules for it on Friday. Now, on with the show this is it!


I love books! I love talking about books. And that’s why I enjoy Faith Readers! An inspirational fiction, book club. Forming friendships through faith and fiction.


We kicked our first book off with Christa Allan’s the Edge of Grace. A book that will definitely make you talk!

Dunkin Donuts, homemade desserts and coffee, along with our cool Cornerstone Church Cafe made for great food & atmosphere. So many women, all ages, various backgrounds. I wasn’t sure what everyone would think.

After some dessert, we set up skype and had the chance to chat with the lovely Christa Allan. She made us feel at home by telling us up front that there was nothing we couldn’t ask or say to her. 

Her book is controversial and I’ve never read anything like it in the Christian market. (CBA) The big question was: 
“Can you be gay and be a Christian?”
Many answers came to that question!

“Absolutely not.” “It’s rebellion.” “I don’t know.” “Yes.” “I think you can, just like you can have sex outside of marriage and be straight, you still love God, but you struggle.” “We’re not supposed to judge.”

These are just some of the answers among our book club.

I asked, “Would you ladies recommend this book?”


One said, “I already gave mine away. A lady is dealing with an issue like this in her life, and starting a book club at her church. I thought this would be good for her.”

Another said, “No. I didn’t agree with the issue and I didn’t particularly like the main character; I thought she was whiny.”  

A reply came. “Wouldn’t you be whiny if you found out your brother was gay, you lost your husband to death, and you could barely pay bills?”

“I think that was the point, ” another said. “She whined about her brother because how it affected her. Everything revolved around her, but she evolved toward the end. We have a hard time loving people because we’re selfish.”

“I would recommend the book because this kind of issue isn’t going to go away. It needs to be out there for us to discuss.”

“We need these kinds of books! As Christians, we don’t have anguish for the lost, and we need these books to remind us to love.” 

What did you take away from this book?

“I had more compassion for homosexuals than before.”

“I’m still confused.”

What are some things you liked about the book?


“I liked that she didn’t stereotype them. The brother and his partner watched football and didn’t act like we assume they would. They were regular guys.”

Did the question get answered? No. Did we express our opinions and have a great time doing it? Yes!


Bottom line is this, the main character, Caryn, had a choice: Never speak to her brother again, never darken his door or…love him unconditionally. 


Christa said she had to come to terms with the fact that her own brother wasn’t going to stop being gay. He just wasn’t. So she chose to love him anyway. That’s what Caryn, the main character chose to do too. 

In  a controversial, yet touching novel, Christa Allan weaves a story of love, forgiveness, and family. Even if it isn’t the family that the main character asked for. Her wit and humor was exactly what you expect out of her, if you’ve read her debut novel, Walking On Broken Glass. Spot on. 

It’s a book that will make you stop and think, pray, and remind you that people are people and they deserve agape love, no matter what they look like, or which sex they prefer. 

You can analyze it all day long (and we did): Are they born that way? Were they molested? Did they have a bad home life? You think they have too much testosterone or estrogen? And so forth and so on. 

And at the end of all that debate, when answers did not come, it boiled down to one simple word: LOVE.

Christa Allan

Here’s the back cover:
“An early morning call shatters Caryn Becker’s world. Unable to cope with her brother’s news that he is gay,  Caryn rejects him and disappears into her own turbulent life as a young widow and single mom. But when David is attacked and nearly killed, Caryn is forced to make hard choices about family, faith, and her own future; choices that take her to the very edge of grace.”

Care to weigh in with your thoughts, opinions, or experiences? And, have you read the Edge of Grace? 


*We chose The Chair by James Rubart as our October book!

One Thing You Can’t Do Without

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 

I had a post prepared, but a whisper woke me up this morning, much earlier than I normally climb out of bed, with something else. 


I don’t know what you face today, what you ended your day with yesterday…what your week has held for you this far, or what you’ll have to endure tomorrow.


But I do know this:


“In the multitude of my anxieties Your comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19


I’m over at Living By Grace, our  fb community page. Come by and join in the discussion!

Must Read Monday: Attracted to Fire by DiAnn Mills

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
DiAnn Mills

First, I want to let you know I’m so doing a dance right now for my friend Jodie Bailey, who just signed a contract with Steeple Hill! Yay for debut novels! I’m so excited! Go by and congratulate her!


Now, on with the show this is it!


“Do you believe in demons?”


“What did she mean? ‘I believe in a power stronger than demons.”


“Then you’d better be calling on it.”


I loved this small piece of dialogue in Attracted to Fire by DiAnn Mills. It leaves you with a sense of doom approaching and the possibility of not being strong enough to fight off the evil.

Agent Meghan Connors and Agent Ash Zinders are tossed together to protect the Vice President’s alcoholic and drug addicted daughter when threats are made on her life, but Ash doesn’t like female agents and Meghan resents it almost as much as she’s determined to prove her worth.

To add more conflict, they both want the same promotion. Eeek! 

I enjoyed this romantic suspense. Her characters were believable, real, and courageous, but not invincible. When it came to personal relationships, they were vulnerable, timid, and frightened. 

I happen to love reading books about flawed characters. I love watching and journeying with them as they grow and mature. And I love books filled with danger!

If you do too, you’ll want to pick this one up!

DiAnn subtly weaved renewed faith, healing, and trust in God into an action packed book without being preachy or obvious.  
*Thanks to Tyndale for letting me review this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 

I gave Attracted to Fire 3 out of 5 stars! 

Here’s a sneak peek at the book:

“Special Agent Meghan Connors’ dream of one day protecting the president of the United States is about to come true. Only one assignment stands in her way. After the vice president’s rebellious daughter is threatened, Meghan is assigned to her protective detail on a secluded ranch in West Texas. Unfortunately, working with Special Agent in Charge Ash Zinders may be as tough as controlling her charge. Ash has a reputation for being critical and exacting, and he’s also after the same promotion as Meghan. But when the threats escalate and security on the ranch is breached, it becomes clear this isn’t the work of a single suspect—it’s part of a sophisticated plan that reaches deeper and higher than anyone imagined. And only Ash and Meghan can put the pieces together before it’s too late.”




Fall is here! What is your favorite thing about the season?

Guest Blogger: David N. Walker

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Morning, everyone! Welcome David N. Walker!


If you need some encouragement or want to feel like you matter, get to know David. He’s great at both!  I was honored to be his very first guest blogger a couple of months ago.


He does a series called memorable moments, all of them are touching. Today he’s talking about hope and that’s it’s never too late to give it up. I agree! Not all memorable moments are happy ones. Some are forever burned in our hearts as tragic, as this one is from David.


David, thanks for sharing such a deep and personal experience in your family!

The call came in early on an October morning. I was scheduled to drive to southeast Texas that day to visit my daughter and son-in-law and two-year old grandson, and it took me a moment to realize my sister was calling. I couldn’t imagine why she would call me at that hour of the morning, but I knew it wouldn’t be good news.
In the 51 years I’d known her, I’d never heard so much anguish in my Barb’s voice. She told me her daughter Donna, her oldest child, had disappeared and that she suspected she’d gone somewhere to commit suicide. I don’t remember much more about the conversation except that she told me she’d call back as soon as they either found Donna or her body.
I never got back to sleep that morning. I didn’t know whether to proceed with my trip—which included several business calls also—or to cancel and stay by the phone. I decided to go on. The business calls needed to be made, and if I needed to make and emergency trip to Montana for a funeral, Lynn would want to go with me, so I might as well be at her house if that call came.
We’d had a family reunion in the mountains behind Ogden, Utah, that summer, and I thought back to Donna’s behavior at that time. Normally a very sunny person—or so I thought—she was moody and kept to herself the whole time we were there. I thought she was being rude at the time, but it was so foreign to her normal behavior I didn’t fuss at her about it.
My mind wandered back to happier times with her. She was my parents’ first grandchild, born my senior year in high school. We all doted on her. When my sister and brother-in-law took Donna and left Fort Worth to move to Billings, Montana, I felt like I was losing a piece of myself.
Finances and distance kept my visits with them to a minimum while Donna was growing up. When they adopted their other three kids—all at once—they came back to introduce them to various family members. I was in OCS at Fort Sill at the time, and I got permission to visit them in the company dayroom for one hour—the first time I’d seen Donna since they moved.
We went to visit them in Three Forks, Montana, where they’d moved a year or two earlier, when Donna was nine. Then I was up there twice the summer she was 13. I think that’s when she and I began to develop a real bond. She hated having to wear glasses, and I bought her the contact lenses her parents couldn’t afford on a small-town pastor’s salary.
At the time she got married, my finances and my domestic situation prevented me from attending her wedding. I always regretted that. She and my sister Barb came to Texas to show us her first-born daughter Ashly, and I spent Christmas at Barb’s when Donna’s second daughter Kelsy was a few weeks old.
She brought her whole family to Texas for Lynn’s wedding, and Ashly served as a beautiful flower girl. The importance of their participation made me regret all over again not attending Donna’s wedding.
By the time we made our next visit to see Donna, she was raising her sister’s daughter Brittany as well as her own two. This was the family she’d be leaving behind if  indeed she’d taken her own life.
Barb and I talked several times over the next couple of days while I was on my business trip/visit. Lynn and I were visiting in her den on Wednesday afternoon when Barb called to tell us the sheriff’s office had found Donna’s body. We called Lynn’s husband Gary to come home and take care of Austen, the grandson, while Lynn went with me.
We drove back to Fort Worth, where I quickly arranged for my wife Sharon, Lynn, my sister Kay and her son David to fly to Missoula for the funeral. We left Thursday morning, arriving in Missoula sometime that afternoon.
We spent most of that day and the next sitting at Donna’s kitchen table visiting with the three girls, Donna’s husband Dana (the girls’ father), and an uncle and two aunts on her father, Charlie’s, side. Barb and her husband Jack, and Charlie and his wife Carol were with us part of the time and out making funeral arrangements part of the time.
Through all the hushed conversation I couldn’t keep my mind off the great surprise and horrible tragedy. I suppose if a person gets depressed enough suicide can seem like the only answer, but it never solves anything. It just complicates everyone else’s lives.
Donna’s best friend Coco took us up into the mountains to the site where Donna took her life. She’d parked her car, run a hose from the exhaust pipe through a cracked window and sat there waiting to die. What an abomination.
Although all three girls are now grown, responsible women—all three happily married and two with families of their own—they all went through hell getting there. Life became so unbearable for them that each one left home to live elsewhere while finishing high school.
My niece has been gone for 17 years now, but I still miss her terribly. After all these years, it still doesn’t take too much to bring tears to my sister’s eyes thinking about her. Our entire family suffered great pain from this, and her three girls suffered the most.
If you’re now contemplating—or ever have contemplated—committing suicide, DON’T. It’s not just your life. Think of all those around you who would be crushed by it. Depression may make you think you’re of no importance to anyone, but YOU ARE.
If you have a close friend or relative who’s been touched by a recent suicide—or even one long ago—hug that person and realize he or she is suffering a pain that never quite goes away. It will fade with time, but it will always be there.
 I’d like to add this scripture, David, if I could. 
“Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we 
hope in You.” Psalm 33:22
David N. Walker is a Christian father and grandfather and a grounded pilot. He co-founded Warrior Writers Boot Camp with Kristen Lamb. You can read more of his posts HERE or follow him on twitter.

A Moment with Myles: Fruit Trees and Ghosts

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
Myles reading a
new book and much
happier! 

Good morning! For those of you going to ACFW this week, have a wonderful time. Be encouraged and better yet, encourage someone else! 


Come over to Living by Grace today. We’ll be chatting about the post.


And we’re off!


Last week, my seven-year old son hopped in the van with news all moms like to hear. 


“I checked a book out at the lieberry today! It’s so awesome. I’m already on chapter 6.”

He read a few pages aloud and then read “in his head” as he likes to call it. When we got home, he read a few more pages to me as homework. It all sounded fine.

I tucked him into bed, kissed him goodnight, and went to my room. About ten minutes later, I heard him holler for my daughter. It didn’t take a second before she was in my room.

“Mom, Myles is scared.”

“Why?”

“That book!“


I went into his room. “Myles, what’s that book about?”

“It’s really good; it’s just I don’t like the front–the picture. I keep trying to think of good things but it’s popping in my head anyway.”

“What’s the book about?” I asked again.

“It’s about a girl who pretends to drown because everyone at camp hates her, but it goes terribly wrong.”

I left the room and pulled the book out of his backpack.

Are you kidding me? No wonder the child is scared half to death, and to be fair, as I researched this, R.L. Stine’s tag is “Reader beware to be scared.” So, okay. Whatever. (another post for another time)

We prayed again and then I said, “Myles, tomorrow trade this book.”

“But, Mom! It’s a great story and I want to read it. It’s the front that scares me. Maybe you could put construction paper over it so I won’t have to see it.”

“No.”

Long story short, too late, he begged even the next morning to read that book. Even if I hid the cover, the story was about a girl who wanted to pretend to kill herself because she was hated and what happened was, a ghost stalked her and wanted to be her friend forever! Ick! 

I couldn’t believe how hard he fought to have something he knew wasn’t good for him, and here’s my main point:

We fight God for things we know aren’t good for us, but we like. 


To me, that book was silly. Why argue about it? But it wasn’t even a few years ago, I didn’t want to give up a particular TV show He was nudging me to. I whined. I begged. I stopped watching the show, but each Sunday night, I’d read the guide on the TV to keep up! Just like putting construction paper over the book. 

God knows what’s best for us. He’s our Father. He’ll nudge us, explain to us, and if we’re still pretty stubborn, He’ll flat out get stern if necessary, but He does it out of love.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every  branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2



With this in mind, stop arguing with God. Simply let Him help guide you to bear more fruit!

Have you ever struggled with giving something up you know is not good for you? You don’t have to tell in detail what it was, but share how you handled it!

MUST MEET MONDAY: LACIE NEZBETH

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch



If you could mix cotton candy, an apple, and glitter together, you’d get Lacie Nezbeth! She’s sweet, sparkly, fun and good for you! I’m so excited to have her today.


 Lacie Nezbeth is a stay-at-home mom with three young children. She spends her time running them all over town and loving it. Her love of books and history began when she read Little House on the Prairie as a young girl. Since then “the good ole days” have fascinated her and made her writing genre an easy choice! She loves to live “in the moment” with her family and enjoys traveling, shopping and baking decadent desserts…which doesn’t bode well for her shopping!

When did you get the writer’s bug? Has it always been something in you? Did you pen your first story with a jumbo crayon?
Nope. No jumbo crayon works of art for me. Although, I did write a short story in the 4th grade that I was pretty proud of. Got an A+ and everything but that’s as far as writing went for me as a child.
I first got the writer’s bug when I was pregnant with my first child, back in 2004. I was stuck at home a lot due to the constant retching that plagued me daily for my first trimester. Reading was the only thing that kept me from cursing motherhood altogether. One particularly rough morning, after I finished reading an especially frustrating book, I said, “I’m gonna write my own book. One without all those stupid problems that keep the heroine and hero apart for so darn long.” That tells you how much I knew about what I was getting into. J But the idea stuck and I’ve enjoyed learning more and more about how great books come to be.
We do ache to have them together quickly don’t we? It’s fun keeping them apart as the writer, though! Yum! Speaking of yum, do you snack while writing? If so, what do you munch on?
No. I’ve found that when the words are ready in my head, trying to eat and type at the same time just slows me down. Apparently, I’m not a very good multi-tasker. But when I’m stuck somewhere in my story, bring on the food! Something sweet and chocolatey…if I can find it.
Bake one of those decadent desserts, then call me over! What do you love most about writing? What do you find most challenging?
My favorite thing about writing is getting lost in my stories. For me (since I write historicals) it’s fun to imagine what it must have been like to live without all the modern conveniences that we all love. I’m constantly wondering if I would have survived. I like to think so.
Finding time to write or being consistent in my writing is the hardest thing for me. When I have 37 other things I know I need to do, I sometimes feel guilty taking the time for myself. And then there are those days when I’ve hit a road block in my story anyway, so those 37 other things can also look pretty good.
37 things? Really? That’s all? You need to be busier. 😉 How do you come up with story ideas?
This is one area where I don’t struggle at all. Thankfully!  A new idea will randomly sneak into my head…usually while I’m driving or researching. I keep a running list of book/plot ideas on Evernote. Some really need to be fleshed out and others are ready to go. I just can’t write fast enough.
I have tons of ideas while researching and driving too! We’re twins! If you could be one hero/heroine from a book who would you choose and why?
I would probably choose Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. She is so spunky and fun and imaginative. And she never lets anything stand in the way of her goals. Plus, who doesn’t want to use phrases like “kindred spirits” and “bosom buddies” without creeping people out? J
LOL! Yeah, bosom buddies is a tad frightening! If you could be one villain from a book who would you choose and why?
I’m using “villain” loosely here because personally, I don’t think she is one, but Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind would be my choice. Man, that woman had some nerve and determination like I’ve never seen. Her methods were a bit…let’s say…skewed. But her motivations of protecting her family and land were very noble.
She happens to be one of my favorite characters. I could go on and on, but “I’ll have to think about that another day.” (Hand over forehead as if I might pass out.) So, what are you currently working on? Tell us a little about it.
Prairie Breeze is a mail-order bride story gone terribly wrong. Victoria Sutton impulsively accepts an advertisement to marry Benjamin Black, who is headed west to Oregon Territory. Only Benjamin has no interest in marriage whatsoever and is clueless to the marital ad his well-meaning father placed in his name. When the two meet, naïve to the others’ identity, sparks fly. But not just the good kind.
Is there a question you’d like to ask everyone?
I love to shop! And I’m always curious where other ladies buy their clothes. So, share with me. Are you a designer diva or do you hunt for the sales? Where do you go most often when shopping for your clothes? J
I, personally, love to thrift shop and I find all sorts of divalicious designs for penny prices! Well that’s my two cents…get it…two cents…;) I’ll stop now.
You can connect with Lacie on twitter, facebook and her blog! You can…and you really should!

See you Wednesday!

Guest Blogger: Staci Stallings

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Hey, everyone! It’s Friday! What a week! If you haven’t “liked” the new facebook devotional community, Living by Grace, scroll down in my side bar and join up! We have great discussions and we bond through faith. How cool is that? Also, if you haven’t “liked” my writer page, be a love and find me in the sidebar and Voila! I’m liked! 🙂 (I had the wrong thing on there before, oy!)


 Today, I’d like to welcome Staci Stallings to my blog. Say hey, everyone! Staci is the author of the book The Price of Silence.

Take it away, Staci, and thanks for blogging here today!

Forgiving is Hard

One of the most difficult things about being a mom is walking your children through life’s really tough lessons.  You can be floating along just fine, never even seeing the storm clouds gathering, when suddenly you’re caught in a maelstrom.
That’s what happened the other day with my son.  Now he’s eight and very soft-hearted.  He makes it a point to be nice to everyone (other than, of course, his two sisters).  He takes things in very deeply.  No surface living for him!
He’s also highly creative and he wants to be acknowledged for the good ideas he comes up with.  Sometimes that’s a challenge in second grade.  Okay, it doesn’t get any easier after second grade either, but we’ll deal with that later.
So the other day he gets in the van after school.  I asked how his day was, and he said, “Bad.”  Now he has “April Fooled” me numerous times coming back with “not really it was great!”  But not this time.  No, this time, bad went from bad to really bad to absolutely horrible in a matter of a heartbeat.
“Mom, Anna* stole my idea!” (*not her real name)
“What do you mean she stole your idea?”
“I had this idea to make a big card for one of the teachers from the whole class, and she stole my idea.  She told the teacher about it, and the teacher was all happy and excited and saying what a good kid she was.  It wasn’t her idea!  It was MINE!”
By now big crocodile tears were rolling down his little cheeks.
“Well, maybe she didn’t mean to steal it.  Maybe she just thought it was a good idea.”
“Then why didn’t she say it was mine.  She just let them think it was hers.”  He folded his arms.  “I’m not going to sign that big card.  It’s not fair!  I’m going to just make my own and see how they like that.”
“Now, sweetheart, I realize you’re upset…”
“And next time I’m going to steal one of her ideas and not tell anybody it was hers.  Then she can see how this feels.  I bet she won’t like it very much.”
You really can’t make this stuff up, you know?
“Listen, I don’t know why she did it, but think about it this way, the teacher really liked your idea even if she was the one that said it.”
“Yeah, but they think it was hers, and they’re all, ‘Oh, that’s such a great idea.  You’re so smart.’  I bet she’d be mad too if I took her idea like that and didn’t tell anybody. I’m going to do that to her and see how she likes it.”
That’s when I realized he was really going to need some help getting through this.  It wasn’t just a thing he was going to get through.  He wouldn’t forget it in five minutes.  This was real to him.  He was angry and hurt, and carrying that around wasn’t going to do anyone any good.
So, I said, “I think you’re going to have to try to forgive her.”
“Forgive her?  Mom!  She doesn’t deserve to be forgiven!  Besides I want to get even with her.  I want her to feel like I do right now.”
“I know, but that’s not good for you.  That is just going to make you mad and miserable.  It’s not going to change what happened at school.”
“But it’s not fair, Mom.  That was my idea and no one even knows that!”
“I know, and I don’t know why she took your idea without telling anyone.  Maybe she just thought it was a good idea and mentioned it.  Maybe she didn’t mean to steal it, it just happened.”
“Well, I’m still mad at her.”
“I know.  But I think maybe you should think about trying to forgive her–even if she doesn’t deserve it.  You know, we’ve talked about forgiveness at home.  When you say you’re sorry or they say they’re sorry.”
“But she didn’t even say she was sorry.  I don’t even think she is.”
“You’re probably right, maybe she isn’t even sorry, but that doesn’t mean you can stay mad.  It’s still important to forgive her… for you.”
“But, Mom.  Forgiving is hard!  I don’t want to forgive her.  I want to be mad at her.”
“I know.  Forgiving is hard.  That’s why a lot of the time we have to ask God to help us to forgive because if it was up to us, we’d just stay mad all the time.  But that doesn’t fix anything.  It just makes us sad and mad and hurt.  That’s no fun.  But God will help you to forgive her even though it’s hard.”
About this time the tears stopped, and I could see peace come over him.
“Just think about it,” I said.
You know, forgiving is hard.  And the worse whatever the other person did, the harder it is to forgive.  But when it’s right and you know it’s right but it’s hard, that’s when you know you need God.  God is there to help you and guide you through those rough patches when you really don’t want to do the right thing, when doing the wrong thing sure sounds easier and more logical.
But God’s logical will help you find real peace.  The other is just a long road of misery.
By the time we got home that night, my son was in much better spirits and the next day he not only signed the big card, he included his little card with it.  So maybe he learned a good lesson.  I know I did.
Thanks, Staci! I’ve learned many lessons from my kids. I’m thankful He’s there to guide me through things I don’t really want to do. When I obey, the peace truly is sweet!

Although Staci lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, she touches the lives of people across the globe every week with her various Internet endeavors including:

Books In Print, Kindle, & FREE on Spirit Light Works:

Spirit Light Books–The Blog

And… Staci’s website  Go visit!

Connect with her on Twitter


Have a great weekend, everyone! Leave a comment for Staci if you would be so kind…and I know you are! 🙂


On Monday, come back to meet my special friend, writer Lacie Nezbeth!

A Ride to Endless Possibilities

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 

Hello, everyone! So glad you’re here! Let’s jump in and I hope and pray you’ll be encouraged today! And don’t forget we’re talking about endless possiblities over at Living by Grace, on facebook! You can be a part by clicking the Living by Grace “like” button on the sidebar!

I’m still studying Joshua. A fascinating book, really. Like all the books of the Bible. Full of treasure. Everything that makes a wonderful book–only all true!  Today’s text is found in Joshua 22:5.  “…hold fast to Him…” This small phrase is going to lead us somewhere else!

What does it mean to “hold fast,” and how do you do it?

 

In the KJV, instead of the words “hold fast,” it uses the word “cleave.” “Cleave” in Hebrew is “dabaq” and it means, “to cling, to join, stay close to, to stick with.”
 
In Genesis 2:23-25, God joins Adam and Eve. “to be joined to his wife” is the same word used here in Joshua. Marriage is a union of two people– making a covenant to join together, to stick closely, cling to each other—for better or worse, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, richer or poorer. No matter what.
 
This is how God feels about us. When we accept Jesus as our Savior we enter into a covenant with Him. We join ourselves. We hold fast—cleave—stay close. Hosea 2:16 is an example of God seeing us as His bride. An unfaithful bride that has ran after other lovers. Anything or anyone you put before God is another lover. Because you’re joined to God. But He’s a loving husband. Always wooing us back to Him.
 
In Matthew 9:15, Jesus refers to Himself as the Bridegroom. His love for us…sacrificial.
 
Song of Solomon 8:5 says, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?…”

Song of Solomon is a beautiful picture of how the Lord loves us. The imagery is captivating, the story breathless from beginning to end. It’s my favorite book. A book that tells of a bride who must learn complete surrender to her lover husband. A husband who desires a bride who will go with him wherever he asks her to go, even if she’s frightened or insecure. To him, she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever laid eyes on. He wants to show her a whole new world. It just so happens to take place in a wilderness.

 
Imagine a wilderness. A wild, uninhabited, and uncultivated land.
 
I see it as dry; every breath zaps the moisture from your tongue and the grit from the sand scratches at your throat. Parched. Barren of anything lush or green. The heat leaves your clothing clinging to you until the sun scorches even the moisture of sweat away, and then it’s just a stiff feeling, like hanging clothes out and not using any fabric softeners.
 
There are no sheltering trees for shade, no fruit trees to quench thirst or hunger. Scorpions, lizards, and snakes slither and prowl around. Hungry coyotes watch from the rocky mountains…waiting… Vultures swarm overhead
 
A dangerous place.

But not for the bride when she’s with the Bridegroom—her Beloved. He makes streams in the desert, waters that gush in the wilderness. She won’t become thirsty and there’s enough to share with others.

 
Will you go with Him? Will you step out of your comfort zone and let Him show you things you cannot even imagine? Glorious things. A diamond sky. Don’t you dare close your eyes!
 
You can trust Him.
 
Surrender. You can say yes. You can go deeper.
Not only does she come out of the wilderness, but she comes out safely—closer to her Beloved than ever before. Leaning on Him for strength. He’s protected her from the elements, the dangers, and from her own doubt.
 
Love is stronger than it ever was before she went into the wilderness. After the time there, she says in verses 6-7, “Set me as a seal upon your heart, upon your arm…for love is as strong as death…”
His love is stronger than death…stronger than hell…stronger than the grave. He hurdled mountains and skipped hills for you–the huge problems and yes, even the small things because He cares about them all. He wants to show you intimacy like you’ve never experienced before. A whole new world.

 Now watch the video, but this time…put yourself in Jasmine’s place and see Aladdin as Jesus. Stretch your imagination and see what God shows you!

Also take note of what he sings to her and what she sings back. And an interesting part, notice where she is when she says, “I can’t go back to where I used to be.” (She’s in Egypt–which symbolizes bondage!)