Monday, August 29, 2016

Tell it as it is/Donna MANN

According to my June 25th morning devotion, "Religious books with a self-help theme sell better than other kinds of religious books. People who visit the religion section are looking for the same thing they would look for in the self-help section: advice. However, Jesus did not preach self-help or how to have "your best life now."  He did not try to fill people with positive thinking and mantras."


I've written two 'self-help' books and I think they have a place in today's lifestyle, however, I know what the author means about ‘not filling people with positive thinking’.  Having said that, thinking positive reduces stress and limits negative self-talk, so it has its place.  

Yet, I can be guilty of positive thinking when I should be cautioning. The question I'm asking myself in this blog is how much do I pass it on in the form of encouragement or building another up, just for something to say. Maybe I should be finding a way to be forthright in a loving manner.

The term, "build one another up" is often used in sync with the word encouragement. “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (Thessalonians 5:11). Can building up be honest and encouragement at the same time? I think so.

When people asked me how I was after my daughter died, they wanted to hear, "I'm good. Getting back to normal." If I had responded, as I would have liked to, I would have probably rendered people helpless.


How many times do we allow ourselves to be honest? Can ‘building one another up’ or opening the way for someone to build us up help us consider the difference between positive thinking, thinking positive, being honest with one another and telling it as it is?

Blessings,
Donna

Come on over to donnamann.org - some good news over there about my new novel, Emma's Call.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Summer's Sunset Approaching - Tracy Krauss

It's been a crazy summer. Wildfires, floods, heat waves and downpours. 

Sometimes my resolve, commitment, and ambition are just like the weather. Hot one day and cold the next. If I lived my life according to my feelings, it would be crazy indeed!

I'm so glad God never changes. Here are some scriptures to uplift your day no matter the weather outside (or in your heart):

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Numbers 23: 19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Romans 11:29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable

As the days of summer draw to a close and the evenings begin to stretch out, remember that God is still the same yesterday, today and forever. 

*scriptures taken from the NIV






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Tracy Krauss writes from her home in Tumbler Ridge, BC, where she is currently lamenting the passing of summer and the arrival of the school year... Visit her website for more: tracykrauss.com - fiction on the edge without crossing the line - 

Friday, August 26, 2016

Attitude Adjustment by Glynis M Belec


    There is so much to be sad about these days. All I have to do is look at family members and friends who are dealing with cancer and heart problems and impending surgery and grief. I get to complain because all this is happening to me and around me.

     My ire can be triggered in a moment if I let it. I watch the news. Murder & crime against our neighbour is on the increase. Families are being torn apart. Children are abused. Men and women are hurt by poor choices and the lies of a society with upside down priorities. I get to get angry and make amends in the way I see fit because all this seems so unfair.

     People make crazy decisions and say too much sometimes. Society teaches us to look out for number one; do what feels good; demand pampering; don't worry about accountability. I get to lash out and my response is justified because that's what retaliation is all about.

     The only problem is when I complain, or get angry or lash out because I think my response is justified I am falling into the same trap and the cycle continues. That's how war happens. I told that to my lovely grandchildren the other day who were trying for a battle of wits - he did this/she said that so I have the right to come to my own defense! And it's true as far as the world is concerned. I am entitled to defense.

     But as a believer in the spilled blood of Christ and the risen body of  my Saviour, Jesus, I think I have it all wrong. So I have to control myself and take another approach.

     Every day I spend in this world is about attitude. I get to open my eyes every morning and choose the way I will approach the day. 

     I love the way Phillipians 2:14-15 says, "Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."

     I see this lovely bit of Divine instruction, really, as an attitude adjustment. Just when I think I have the right to come down hard on all that is wrong and all that will go wrong and all that has been done to or affected me, God tells me, "Sit down silly girl and think about this."

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

     It's hard to talk about the love of Christ with a furrowed brow and high pitched whining. 

     Can you even imagine what this world would be like if we followed the instruction in those verses in Philippians and Colossians? Don't grumble about a single thing. Work through the bad stuff. Trust God without whining and asking a bunch of questions that have already been addressed by the Maker. Do everything and say everything for God's glory!

     There is sin, plain and simple, in this world. Satan lures and lies and makes people mistrust one another and most of all mistrust and doubt God.


  

  But I, for one, will try my best to choose a better attitude as I toss back the covers each morning and crawl out into another day. Instead of thinking about all the negativity in this world, I think I just might be better off saying something like, "Okay God, I'm going to need you big time today. What's on the agenda? Oh, and thanks for this big ol' breath I'm taking this morning."




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Glynis lives, loves, laughs and does an awful lot of reading, writing, publishing and praying in her home office. 
Her latest children's book, JESUS LOVES ME WHEN I DANCE, celebrates and shows us that with Jesus Love, we'll never lose! 
www.glynisbelec.com 



Thursday, August 18, 2016

Honesty or Dirty Laundry? - by Heidi McLaughlin

The month of August is historically very hot in Kelowna, British Columbia. The kind of heat that makes your glasses steam up when you open the oven door. Even though it’s cooler this year, there is a different heat steaming up the air. It’s in the form of a hot question in our mind that we might be afraid to verbalize. So here goes: “When do we cross the line from honesty to hanging out our dirty laundry?” 

I am drawn to authentic, honest people. As I watch the U.S. Presidential campaign and hear the deplorable balderdash, my heart hurts that we transgress from reality and honesty into verbosity and yes; at times lies.  So what is honest authenticity?

The World Craves Honesty
Wouldn’t it be fun to get an honest Christmas letter? Something like this:

“The family trip to Swaziland went off the rails when everyone got sick and the luggage and passports were lost. You're so tired of your children you want to send them to Antarctica or sell them at the next garage sale.”

How refreshing to witness authentic living. I’m not talking about hanging out dirty laundry for sensationalism or getting attention, but being honest about our sometimes messy and complicated lives. We all have them.

With all the deception and duplicity in politics, large corporations and even families, I know that more than ever we crave honesty and authenticity. But we pretend or exaggerate because we want people's attention. We want to feel important, different, admired. So sometimes we cross the line just to know we've been heard.

I want to be an authentic and contagious Christian author and speaker that is not afraid to speak the truth, who has no hidden agenda for self promotion and whose desire is to be honest about my relationship with God and others. So how do I do that?


The Hot Truth
First, I need to be honest to accept and admit my motives, mistakes and shortcomings. Sometimes this might mean talking to someone I can trust, a friend or counsellor. Someone who will listen but not judge me. Then I need to be honest with God because He made me and I know He can handle it. I want to be like David in Psalm 139:23, 24.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Point out anything in me that offends you.”

Hanging out our dirty laundry, perfection and bragging turns people off but I know honesty draws them in. To stand out from the crowd and reflect God’s love, I believe honesty has to be at the top of our list. Make our yes be yes and our no be no. Let it be truth that will stand the test of the refining hot fire.  During these hot summer days, let our hot topics be honest and authentic.

Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, British Columbia. She is married to Pastor Jack and they have a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 9 grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great book, or golf and laugh with her husband and special friends. You can reach her at: www.heartconnection.ca

Her latest book RESTLESS FOR MORE: Fulfillment in Unexpected Places was released this July and can be purchased through her website or Amazon.ca; Amazon.com or Goodreads.com










Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Smokey's Redemption by SUSAN HARRIS

Today, my cat, Smokey, is a guest at a ladies meeting in Fort Qu’Appelle,  Saskatchewan. I am featured to share my books and since Smokey has been the inspiration for, and subject of, a few publications, he also received an invitation to the Christian Women’s Club. 

Our Invitation

In my June post, Messing Up Habitually,  described my angst at leaving out Smokey 
from my picture books, and my feeble attempts at redemption. Although he is immortalized on film on a CTV production (http://regina.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=895655), it did not bring me the same level of satisfaction of having his photo in the books. 

Smokey & family on CTV


Shortly after writing the June 17 blog, I decided to publish another children’s book that had been in the pipeline since winter. (The idea for Christmas A to Z was inspired by the success of Alphabet on The Farm [Borealis press 2014] ). Then the brainwave hit - put Smokey’s photo in the Christmas book!

Smokey at CTV, June 17, 2016

I was not going to miss another opportunity of featuring Smokey in print, no matter how far removed the subject might be. I refused to overthink the idea. This was the moment of redemption and there was no stopping me. All my creativity went into the how to fit Smokey in, not the “if he should be there”. And I became bolder. As to never regret the memories of the rest of the brood, I decided to include our entire furry family. Strawberry, Moka, Paris, Nice and Latte. Sadly, Latte is no longer with us at the time of this writing but she will live on in the book.  


My daughter created a simple collage with the cats for the back cover of Christmas A to Z. I am convinced that many will enjoy seeing the cats on a Christmas tree if Smokey’s visits to the television studio, school, and ladies group are an indicator of interest in our feline family.
 
Cat Collage for new book Christmas A to Z


"Once is a mistake. Twice is a pattern. Three times is a habitEleven must be for redemption." concludes the June blog. 

I'd say twelve is definitely redemption.



Susan Harris is the author of ten books. Her upcoming picture book, Christmas A to Z will be released in October. Stories about Smokey are featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul and in  10½ Sketches: Insights on Being Successful Right Where You Are. The story of how Smokey became a house pet and inspired Susan’s writings can be read in a free download of “How Not to Kidnap a Cat” at  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RNV3P10

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