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Your Story Doesn’t Jive

June 2024 By Editor

You thought God said turn right

There are moments in this writing journey when the desire to throw up your hands becomes overwhelming. Your story doesn’t jive. The plot merely plods along at a crawl, then comes to a complete halt because you’ve taken a right when you should have taken the left. Then there are those moments after another rejection, from yet another publisher, leaves you deflated.

Yet there are those moments that keep you planted in front of your computer. God spoke a word into your heart. A message. A story. A poem. An article. It’s from Him and is for someone who perhaps you don’t know personally. Your reader.

You could choose to quit

You have to stop and write. I could say you don’t have a choice but to write and muddle through. But we both know you do. One choice is to quit. The other is to stay the course and run the race. At times you wonder how anyone can press on in the face of such bleak uncertainty that we see in the world today. It’s not easy, but with God are not all things possible? And if this is true, is he not capable of using your voice to tell His story?

He will make it jive

So, sit yourself down. Power up your computer. Quiet the thoughts running rampant in your brain. Talk to the Author and Finisher of your faith. He’s got the plot laid out. He knows how to make the story line jive. He can put you back on the right path. However, occasionally, that left turn might actually be Him showing you the direction He wanted for your story. To be certain, you will have to spend time with your Heavenly Father.

Writing Update June 2024

June 2024 By Editor

Never say God isn’t able. Over this past while, God has shown his mercy, grace and providing hand to me. To start with, I was given a scholarship to attend the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference this past May in North Carolina. Then God provided the transportation. It was an amazing trip. I was able to attend workshops presented by many skilled teachers, learning more about the craft of writing. As well, I submitted a portion of my current manuscript, None So Blind, in for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Foundation Awards for unpublished work. My first three chapters took first place in the Historical/Biblical fiction category. My writing mentor and editor, Edwina Perkins, worked alongside of me, as did other writing friends to strengthen my manuscript. I am both humbled and grateful for their help in achieving this.
This writing journey has been a long road, with moments where I considered laying it down. However, I pushed through, and will continue to forge ahead to the goal of publication.
So, stay the course, Writing friend. Never say God cannot move in your life. He is the reviver of dreams, and the worker of miracles. God didn’t promise a life that would be easy, rather that He’d walk you through your storms.

God is still God

July 2021 By Editor

Copyright Lauren A. Harrison | Photography

Life’s filled with ups and downs

We’ve all had days when getting up is a chore. And we will have them again. This journey of becoming a published author has had its share of ups and downs. Winning awards is an outstanding feeling. It’s a sense of accomplishment. You know that you’re headed in the right direction, until you hit the moment’s when little happens, your platform needs more work, you don’t have a significant enough email list, and you stare at a blank page on your screen.

Everything screams for your attention

At times the simple things in life gets in the way. Bills need to be paid, the rent or mortgage needs to be covered, or the kids need new clothes. Functions and meetings need to be attended. Life screams at you from all directions—all at the same time. Your mind and heart become a little crowded. Time for God and prayer can sometimes become one more chore rather than the peaceful communication with our Heavenly Father that it is meant to be.

Turn everything off

In these times it’s vital that we turn everything around us off, even for a short time. I like to take walks on nature trails. I love it when I come to a river, lake or a stream. I can close my eyes and not hear the world yelling for my attention. Everything around me becomes quiet. I can focus on the beauty that God’s created in this world. I can focus on the Creator. And I find peace.

God is still God

Whether your quiet space is in your backyard, or a nature trail, or in your prayer closet in your home, peace comes when we are still. In those moments we can know that God is still God. There is none before Him. There is none after Him. He is the first. He will be the last. It is His hand that guides, and His voice that speaks. His hand that moves. In His time you will see Him move. He promises to be with you. Always.

God Bless,

Lauren

Two Perspectives on Psalm 91

June 2021 By Editor

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. Psalm 91:1-2 (NLT)

Sheltered Beneath His Wings

Chaos swirls around me here
Amid the fire and din
Battle weary and worn am I
I’m battered deep within

But you, oh God, are there for me
Amid the floods or flames
I hide beneath your sheltering wings
Your peace I now reclaim

I will arise within the storm
With strength that’s not my own
I will stand and battle on
For I am not alone

By Lauren A. Harrison
Copyright June 9, 2021
All Rights Reserved

***

God, My Plum-line and Truth. My Refuge

A plum-line is an old-fashioned builder’s tool used to prove if a wall is in or out of vertical alignment. You don’t have to be a builder to appreciate how this works. Can you imagine living in a house that’s off kilter, never knowing when the walls will fall?

Much in our world feels like everything is falling around us. It’s filled with uncertainty and chaos. Psalm 91 speaks of deadly diseases, terrors of the night, arrows that fly in the daylight, and thousands dying around you.

Sounds like today.

Are you battle weary? I know at times I’ve been, especially this past year. People are broken. They’re going through hardships, feeling deep pain, sensing life is off kilter.

Life is chaotic. And when it is, I know I have my plum-line. I have my safe place and my refuge. God’s truth. And it never wavers. His truth helps me navigate my thoughts—my hairy ideas at times, and my very steps. If I go off course, which I sometimes do, I have his truth to run to. It is my plum-line. I love that God’s character is unchanging. And that he says he hides me under his wing.

Psalm 91 also says He will rescue you from every trap. It’s easy to follow wobbly opinions, rocky news, doctrines that tend to lean on peoples fancy, and aren’t plum. When we get out from under God’s protective wing and travel our own paths, all kinds of mayhem follow.

Do you struggle with what is true? Are you looking for safety?

There’s only one place you’ll find it. Held in the palm of Jesus’ hand and sheltered under the wings of the Father. In Psalm 91:9-10a, God promises that; “If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you.”

The Lord wants to be your refuge and so run to Him. You don’t have to battle alone.

I praise Him today for being my Refuge. My safe place. My absolute.

Blessings,

Johanna Janssen

Editing 101

April 2021 By Editor

Rough Day

I had a rough day today. Lauren went to work, and no matter how much prancing around I did, she still left. She keeps telling me someone has to bring home the bacon. Sad part is, Lightning loves bacon, not me. The geriatric cat slept all day. I tried to get her to chase me. But nope. The old girl keeps saying, “You try to run harry scary when you’re nineteen and tell me how that goes.”

Then Lauren comes home, minus the bacon. Ha ha Lightning. Then I’m ordered off the printer. Well, how am I to edit her work unless I read it right hot off the press? Seriously, how’s a gal to get anything done?

Work Arrangement

Lauren is writing away and has the nerve to shoo me off the desk. Did she forget we have a working arrangement? She writes, I edit. That’s that way it works. Well fine then, I’ll sit on my pillow grab some z’s. Better yet, I’ll dig out my Editing book 101 and brush up on my skills.

Editing 101

Let’s see…

1. Give the reader credit. Yeah, won’t do to dump a pile of information on the page that the readers already know.

2. Staging. Steer clear. Lauren loves her staging. She keeps on describing every little movement and detail her character does. I have to fix all of it and just get to the action.

3. Cut needless words. I love that one. If you remove a section and it doesn’t change anything, get rid of it.

4. Cut the word “it”. Now there’s a tough one. Sometimes you add to your word count, but it deepens the scene. Hard to cut them out of dialog though. So, I’ll let Lauren keep a few of those.

Well, the article is printing, time for me to get to work. And I’m glad Lauren forgot the bacon. I’d rather be paid in treats any day.

Later Peeps

Nutmeg