This Pile of Stones by Jim Hart

Here we are – first day of 2016! Many of us still wonder ‘what happened to 2015?’ And most of us, if honest, would like to go back and change at least one thing, or fix something that didn’t go according to plan. We tend to remember the bad more than we do the good things that happened.

So as you look back on 2015, think about the good things that the Lord did for you. Did He heal you? Did He meet a financial need? Did the Lord speak to you and give you hope and encouragement? Did He make a way, where there seemed to be no way?

In the third and fourth chapters of Joshua we find the story of how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promise Land. The Jordan was at flood stage, but as the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant stood in the river the Lord caused the water to pile up 19 miles away, allowing the whole nation to walk through on dry land.

The Lord gave Joshua instructions to have 12 men – one from each tribe – pick up a large stone from the bottom of the Jordan and pile them up as a memorial to what God had done. This memorial was to be a reminder to all generations God’s power and faithfulness.  It was to serve also as a reminder that if God was faithful in the past, then He will be faithful in the future.

The Israelites didn’t know what waited for them on the other side of the Jordan. They will come across great fortified cities. Untrained in warfare they will face the chariots of the Philistines and the skilled warriors of Canaan. Worst of all they will be seduced into Baal worship and will forget the Lord their God.

They face a rough future. But God (I love those two words put together – ‘but God’) will remain faithful. The walls of Jericho will fall. He will cause the sun to stand still for Joshua at Gibeon. With just 300 men, armed with clay jars and torches, Gideon will rout a Midianite army. David will slay Goliath. God will do great things for His people.

We don’t know what waits for us in this new year of 2016. But God does. He’s been there, and He’s prepared a way. Take some time and remember the times that He was faithful to you in 2015. Build a memorial to those times to serve as a reminder when you face the floods and the giants in 2016.

So here are two things to remember about 2015:

1) God was faithful in 2015.  Our hearts are prone to wander – we need to recall the good thing that He did on our behalf.

2) God did not forget you in 2015. When Moses was 120 years old and he was installing Joshua as the Israelite's new leader he told him to “be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave your nor forsake you.”  (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Here are two things to do in 2016:

1) Keep walking in faith. Be obedient to where the Lord directs your steps this year. He may take you to a mighty river and show you something amazing!

2) Keep making memorials. As the Lord meets your needs, or blesses you in some way in 2016, write it down as a memorial.

Sometimes I make notes in my Bible when the Lord speaks to me through His Word. The date April 28, 2001 is written down next to two different verses. This was one of those difficult times that we all face. The future was uncertain and I was feeling like a failure. I was asking the Lord if He still had a purpose for me. In my Bible time I was reading in both the Old and New Testaments. On that day I read Psalm 57:10 – “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me.”

And I had also just started reading in Luke. Moments later I read Elizabeth’s words to her cousin Mary in Luke 1:45 “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.”

The Lord knew that on April 28, 2001 I would need to hear from Him. He had been directing my Bible reading for quite some time so that on that date I would read those two passages at the same time. This is just one‘pile of stones’ that reminds me of His faithfulness to meet every need.

Let’s go back to the Israelites. There they were, a nation standing on the other side of the Jordan. In between the great things that God will do for them, they still have to live in the real world. They will face real difficulties and they will get discouraged. There may be times that they aren’t sure if God is still with them. They may not think there is a hope for their future, even though they are standing on the other side of the Jordan.

It’s in those times they will need to look back and know the hand of the Lord is powerful. They will need to look back at that pile of stones and remember the faithfulness of their God. That pile of stones was to serve as a reference point when the path would not be so clear. 

What circumstances stood in your way like a mighty river in 2015?  What was your ‘parting of the water’ experience where the Lord led you out on dry ground?  What memorials to His faithfulness can you look back on? What reminds you that our God will remain faithful in 2016?

Joshua 4:21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

Surviving that Desert Season by Jim Hart

If it seems like nothing is happening with your writing goals, here are eight tips that can help you get through a season of disappointment:

1) Keep your spiritual gas tank full
Maintain your private prayer, worship and devotion time. Be stubborn and tenacious in this area of your life. Surround yourself with worship music that is God focused – His power, might, majesty, salvation, grace, mercy, faithfulness – it will change your perspective! Roll down the windows of your car and sing out loud "My God's not dead, He's surely alive!"
 
This passage of Scripture has seen me through those desert times:  Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.  Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)

2) Focus on the good stuff
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:8 (MSG)


3) Don’t be a loner. 
Be intentional about hanging out with a friend or two. Time spent with a person who is supportive and positive can naturally make you feel better yourself. God may lead you to be an encouragement to someone else! Trust me, it can happen!

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15 ESV)

4) Don’t overly compare yourself to others

This is one area in which we can become even more discouraged. But fight it! God has a unique plan for each of us, including you.

In John 21 Jesus has just restored Peter, and told him the type of death he would face.  Of course Peter pointed at John and asked Jesus “what about him?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” John 21:22 (ESV)

5) Laugh!
It’s healthy for both mind and body. Find a good comedian on YouTube and just laugh out loud. I suggest Jeff Allen and Tim Hawkins.

6) Discipline yourself to keep writing.
“I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o'clock every morning.” William Faulkner

So don’t stop writing!

Joseph, while in Egypt, named his second son Ephraim and said "God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief."  Genesis 41:52 (NLT)

If your manuscript is going nowhere, if you can’t get a literary agency to sign you, look for other avenues:

·         Write magazine articles

·         Submit to other blogs. Do you have a hobby or other area of expertise? Write about it

·         Write and submit flash fiction or short stories

·         Volunteer to write content such as press releases or ad copy for non-profits: church, ministries, missionaries, day care, animal rescue shelters, soup kitchens, etc. This will be encouraging to others and will keep you productive!

7) Take care of your physical health. 
Giving your body the care it needs will help you feel less discouraged.  Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Or at least two out of three….

8) Know the publishing industry.

Educate yourself! Subscribe to newsletters and blogs from publishers, editors and other authors. Keep current with the changes that

The Benefits of Our Enemies by Diana Flegal

This past Sunday my pastor, Nick Honerkamp, reminded us that even our enemies have a purpose in our lives.

Habakkuk reminded the Lord that he and his people were surrounded by the enemy and were in need of his help. When was he going to deliver them?

God told him: Paraphrase: When they have succeeded in getting out of you everything I have purposed and allowed them to.    

Have you been crying out to God, “When God, when? Why God, Why?

When am I going to be picked up by an agent, a publisher? Why are they published and not me? I am a better writer.

Sometimes agents and editors can appear to be a writer’s worst enemy. Foiling you at every turn, they do not recognize your great turn of phrase, your terrific plot, and un-believable characters.

But they serve a grand purpose.

Habakkuk was wise. He enquired of the Lord.

Habakkuk 2:1, I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this.

He waited and the Lord answered him.

Habakkuk 2:2, And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

So that he may run that readeth it. For an appointed time.

I am a doer. I find it hard to wait. I am a fixer, surely I can help God out with this one. WAIT.

Wait Diana, for the appointed time. HARD to do. Lord. The publishers – they publish others, and Lord, THIS is worthy. Why not this? NOW.

Wait!

Then they that read it can run with it. It will be a help to them in time of trouble, discouragement, or weariness.

Wait, for the appointed time.

Now Lord. Surely it is now.

Wait. Just a little longer. And in time, it will speak.

Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

It will come, right on time. Position yourself for it.  

 

 

 

 

Hard Work and Determination by Diana Flegal

Hard work and determination is supposed to equal success. Yet someone seems to have changed the playing field and thrown the rules up in the air. They swirl around, refusing to fall into any sensible order.

“I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it”
― Thomas Jefferson

yet often...

“It is a pity that doing one's best does not always answer.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

When the landmarks get shifted as they have in the world of publishing, it can be difficult to get or keep your bearings.

I am a member of the 360* club. That distinguished honor is given to the person trusted with the wheel of a ship, who mistakenly follows the compass instead of  the heading they were instructed to maintain. It seems like you are making the correct course adjustment but instead you adjust your heading by turning the ship's wheel continuously to the right, turning the ship in a complete circle. At the wheel - looking forward from the helm in the midst of the open sea, the helmsman or woman has no idea what they are doing. But if you are standing in the stern looking out you can see the ships wake and guess the circumstances.

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

Vernon Sanders Law (born 1930);  Major League Baseball Pitcher found at Values.com

What keeps your course steady in the midst of swirling seas? Have you a meditation or promise you hold onto? Do you pursue your goals in meticulous steps, checking off each accomplished task?

Mark Batterson, in his title Soul Print said: Many of us find our confidence in things we can control. But Holy confidence is not circumstantial- it is providential. Holy confidence puts God in between us and our circumstances.

What anchors you in times of uncertainty?

Lawrence Chewning wrote and shares here the inspiration behind the song, The Anchor Holds.

Blindsided by Andy Scheer

I should have expected it.

I'd been putting in long hours preparing for a big event. During it I worked multiple fourteen-hour days. I needed a break, but I came home primed to accomplish great things.

I plunged back into my work. Projects whose deadlines I'd had to juggle awaited me.

I was ripe for discouragement. It came.

The email struck like a torpedo below my waterline. A big project — one I'd nurtured and labored over — was dead. Any project entails a risk. The higher your hopes, the more painful their demise.

I turned to a colleague, who commiserated with me. It hurts, but it happens. You can quit or you can learn what you can and move on.

Yesterday afternoon as I grieved, I realized I couldn't afford to nurture that grief. If I let it sprout, worse things will grow.

So today I'm back at the keyboard. I've made good progress on a couple of pending projects, gotten yet more discouraging news, and written this. Now I'll get back to work.

Expecting to accomplish great things? Watch out.