Psalm 50: He is Bigger

A couple of weeks ago, my experience at a large writer’s conference made me exclaim with amazement, “God is so much bigger than we give Him credit for!” This week, I’ve been forced to humbly concede that if He is big in the things that bring us to our feet with arms raised, He’s just as big in the things that bring us to our knees.

Big enough to speak through those who have little relationship with Him, who might not even acknowledge Him at all.

Big enough to handle our worries over finances, infertility, our children, or our spouse.

Big enough to handle any drama people might dish out, whether across the ocean or in our own household.

Psalm 50 (NKJV)

The Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
³ Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

We’ve heard it before, “Our God is a consuming fire.” I think we don’t quite grasp that. Or else while we long for Him to come down and do a little consuming, we’re forgetting that our own comfort zone will be severely impinged upon when He does.

⁴ He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
⁵ “Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
⁶ Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah

God is the only righteous Judge. I’ve pleaded that in times when I was at odds with others, knowing I was not without sin in the situation, however hurt or offended I might have felt.

The question is, though, are we sure we’re His saints? Have we made a covenant with Him by sacrifice? Not of bulls or goats (read on, for more about that) but by the perfect blood of His own Son? The word “covenant” denotes something permanent, unchanged by the winds of circumstance or culture ...

⁷ “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!
⁸ I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
⁹ I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
¹³ Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
¹⁴ Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

There is nothing in this world that does not exist at His word, that isn’t already His. He cannot be enriched by the things we offer him.

We are His as well, and the sacrifice He desires, here, is for us to be thankful and keep our word. And as Psalm 51 says, “a broken heart and contrite [crushed] spirit. He is after our hearts. The one thing He wants, the one thing He asks for, is for us to offer ourselves.

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
¹⁷ Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
¹⁸ When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
¹⁹ You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹ These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.

The world is filled with those who claim to have the favor of God, to speak for Him, to pass judgment for Him. We see it on the news, on our social media feeds, in our homes. Sometimes—we see it in ourselves. Do we hate instruction? Do we bristle when someone corrects us? Do we disregard Scripture because we think it doesn’t apply to us? We could be as guilty of presumption—of wickedness—as those who slaughter children, who claim that the latest medical crisis is God’s anger at whatever group, who put pleasing themselves above any measure of right or wrong.

²² “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
²³ Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”

God’s anger is coming, make no mistake. But we still have time to get our lives in order. His mercy and grace are extended to those of us who are willing to offer our fallen, broken selves back to Him.

This is not just a one-time deal. It’s every day.

Sometimes, every moment.

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Weekly Drawing ~ Susan Lawrence

It's Fun Friday at The Borrowed Book! This week's prize is available to residents inside the continental US only.

To enter:

Leave the time it took you to complete the puzzles in the comments section as well as your email address for notifying you if you've won. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. Enter all weekend long! Winners will be announced Sunday night at midnight.

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Susan Lawrence and her newest release, Atonement for Emily Adams.

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Do You Want Others to Notice You? by Susan Lawrence

Susan Lawrence

Do you want people to notice you?

Of course you do! We all do, but especially writers. We don’t write just for the thrill of exercising our fingers on the keyboard. We want others to read what we’ve written, to be uplifted, inspired and changed.

Many years ago, when I was focused more on shaping children than novels, we raised not only our biological children, but a series of foster children, too. For the most part, our oldest son, Benjamin, had no problem sharing his Mommy and Daddy, his home, his toys, and all the attention with foster siblings.

But one weekend we had some visitors with four children. All of us, my husband and I, the visitors, the foster children, and Benji were on our patio, so the little ones could play. Benji decided he'd had enough of sharing the spotlight. Everything he did, he would shout, "Yook at me! Yook at me!" His chubby hands would applaud his own efforts as he awaited our praise.

Even as mature adults, there is a joy in accomplishment, and we appreciate others recognizing our efforts. When an author gets a five-star review on Amazon, or when someone tells us how much they enjoyed our book (or article, or poem, or anything we’ve written,) it’s a tremendous rush.

 But is it okay to seek the accolades? Most in the business of writing would agree that it is not only okay, it is essential to a career. Writers, and those in many other occupations as well, are expected to promote themselves. It's called marketing. In the publishing world, it is deemed necessary to have a "platform" and "an Internet presence." We’re told we need to blog, Facebook, twitter, and Instagram. Book tours, book signings, speaking engagements, and even guest blog posts draw attention to us – and our “product,” our writing. So how much self-promotion is okay?

In 2 Corinthians 10:17, the apostle Paul admonishes us, "He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends."

In all that I do, I sincerely want to give God the glory. I also want to do everything possible to achieve success in the world of publishing. Translated, that means book sales. And marketing sells books.

So when does promoting my book become boasting? How much is too much? Asking for reviews? Sharing a good review on social media? Posting pictures of book signings? Quoting sales figures? When do we step over the line?

I'm not sure I have the answers to these questions. I have said, "I put my book in God's hands," but I still ask others to give Amazon reviews, I actively seek out book signings, and I use Facebook to talk about my book. But I make it my constant prayer that everything I do says "Look at my awesome God" instead of "Yook at me!"

Lighthouse Publishing, 2014

Susan Lawrence, a graduate of Kansas State Teacher’s College, taught special needs children for thirty-three years before retiring to devote more time to writing, speaking, and storytelling. She has published two family devotional books, contributed to three anthologies, and has written articles for various Christian publications. Atonement for Emily Adams is her first novel. Susan lives with her husband, Gary, in the woods of Iowa. She is the mother of three and grandmother of seven beautiful and brilliant grandchildren. Contact Susan at: srlauthor @ mchsi.com.

 Be sure to stop back tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of Atonement for Emily Adams.

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Did You Know? ~ Lustrous Hair Tips from Summer 1910

The following tip was taken from Women’s World, June, 1910

For Beautiful Hair in the Summertime

Iris
(Picture public domain USA)

“Any woman desiring abundant, lustrous hair should use a dry shampoo every two or three day,” says Mme. DeMille, the famous beauty expert. “No woman should use water upon her hair too frequently, for moisture causes the hair to lose its color and in time become thin.”

“When dressing for the evening, you can quickly take a dry shampoo that will remove all dust from the hair in a few minutes. Treated thus, the hair does not become damp in the evening, or while out boating.

“Mix four ounces of powdered orris root* with four ounces of therox** and you will have a splendid dry shampoo powder that will last for months, even if you use it every day. Keep it in a sifter-top can and sprinkle a little of this mixture evenly upon the head; then brush the powder thoroughly through the hair. Therox keep the hair light and fluffy, and beautifully lustrous.

“This treatment is the only thing I know that will produce a growth of hair. If your druggist doesn’t keep orris root and therox he can easily get them for you from his wholesaler, if he cares to be accommodating.”

* Orris root is a preparation of the fragrant root of an iris.

** I don’t know what therox is, and I can’t find any references online to a therox powder. If any of our readers know what this is, I’d love to hear from you.

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Dreams Deferred by Author Susan Lawrence

I never knew how to answer the standard question asked of children. What do you want to be when you grow up? I had four dreams – to be a wife, a mom, a teacher, and a writer. And I planned to have them all. 

At the tender age of twenty I became a wife, and only a few years later I landed my first job as a teacher of special needs children. The dream of being a mom took longer to realize – infertility claimed eight heartbreaking years before I held my little miracle son in my arms.

Two years later we were blessed with a second son, and four years after that we adopted our daughter. I spent a few fleeting years home with babies, and then I continued teaching, but I never lost my dream of being a writer. I wrote bits and pieces: kid’s plays, magazine articles, stories I could jot down while my family napped.

Life went by in a whirlwind of Little League games, spelling tests, and bedtime prayers. One by one our children grew up and moved away. My husband and I woke to the surprise of a middle-aged empty nest. The time for the fourth dream had arrived. My school district offered me the opportunity of early retirement with a benefit package. I could devote myself to pursuing the dream that persisted.

I wrote and rewrote. I went to conferences, studied the craft of writing, and established myself in a writing community. It was far more difficult than I’d anticipated. I achieved some small successes and encouragement from professionals. And I didn’t give up. I wrote and rewrote again.

In May 2014, seven years from the month I retired, my first novel,  Atonement for Emily Adams, was released. The main character, Emily, also dreams of being a mom. Her dream is deferred, too, not by life, but by death – the death of a child. Burdened by guilt, Emily tries to make up for her wrong by doing good works. Readers call the story excellent, inspirational, and satisfying.

Not simply a good story, Atonement for Emily Adams is fiction with a purpose. This late life dream-come-true of mine has the potential to make many dreams possible. Several months ago my husband, Gary, and I heard Scott and Marcia Borg, missionaries in Swaziland, Africa, share their vision to build a home for babies and children, orphaned and abandoned in the AIDs ravaged country. Swaziland natives would staff and run the facility and the children would be raised in a home-like atmosphere. The land had been purchased, but funds were needed to build.

Gary and I knew we had the opportunity to make a difference for these children who had no one to fight for them. We decided to donate our proceeds from my novel to Pour International, the non-profit organization founded by the Borgs. If Atonement for Emily Adams sells well, the book will build the abandoned baby home.

The dream of one little starry-eyed girl was a very long time coming. But it now has the potential for touching thousands of lives. A dream deferred is only a bulb, waiting underground for the right season to grow, sprout, and blossom.

Has your dream been deferred? What are you doing to nourish your underground dream?

Susan Lawrence, a graduate of Kansas State Teacher’s College, taught special needs children for thirty-three years before retiring to devote more time to writing, speaking, and storytelling. She has published two family devotion books, contributed to three anthologies, and has written articles for various Christian publications. Atonement for Emily Adams is her first novel. Susan lives with her husband, Gary, in the woods of Iowa. She is the mother of three and grandmother of seven beautiful and brilliant grandchildren. Contact Susan at: srlauthor@mchsi.com.

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Lynne Gentry’s Return to Exile ~ Reviewed

Review by Elizabeth Ludwig
 

Howard Books, 2015

Return to Exile

Published by Howard Books
ISBN 978-1476746333

BACK COVER:
 

How far would you go to save the ones you love?

Six years ago, impossible circumstances forced Dr. Lisbeth Hastings to leave behind the love of her life, not just in another country, but in another time. Her work as a top-notch epidemiologist and parenting her little girl helps alleviate the pain, but at night when her exhausted head hits the pillow, images of her beloved Cyprian haunt her sleep.

Cyprian Thascius returns from political exile a broken man. He’s lost his faith, the love of his life, and his purpose. He attempts to move on, to face the danger that is looming over Carthage, but when Cyprian’s true love suddenly reappears, his heart becomes as imperiled as the fledgling church he seeks to save.

Have the years that kept Lisbeth and Cyprian apart created too wide a chasm to bridge? In the midst of a new epidemic and rising oppression, will their love be the most costly fatality? Filled with gripping action and raw emotion, this spellbinding adventure of star-crossed lovers captivates with every turn of the page in this electric continuation of The Carthage Chronicles.

REVIEW:

Gentry has done it again! Book two in the The Carthage Chronicles had me weeping and cheering right along with the main characters, Lisbeth and Cyprian. Their struggle to forge a life from the ashes of Carthage’s diseased city made my heart pound, and as the peril facing them ratcheted, so did my pulse rate. Adding to the story’s overall appeal is Gentry’s enviable talent for wordsmithing as witnessed in the following:

She thought she’d chosen her future based on based on her experience in the past, but now it seemed her past had been a preparation for the future…in the past.

Finally, weave in unfathomable sorrow with passionate hope and Return to Exile makes for an incredibably entertaining read.

Purchase on Amazon

Purchase on CBD

Purchase on Barnes and Noble

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Sunday Devotional: Psalm 46: He is God

So much going on in the world recently ... natural disasters ... war in the Middle East (again!) with the usual furor over whether the Israeli or Palestinian cause is more righteous ... or Ebola, a growing viral epidemic that nobody can stop.

So much in people’s individual lives, as well. A husband out of work and his wife is expecting a baby. A child suffering with a life-threatening but unexplainable medical condition. Decades of marriage tossed away by one spouse’s careless, selfish choice. A house fire that destroys a lifetime of possessions and memories.

What earth-shattering thing are you facing right this minute? What do you fear most?

Psalm 46 (NKJV)

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³ Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

I’ve heard it said that “Selah” is a musical notation indicating an interlude, a “pause here and meditate,” forming a natural break in the piece. So, let’s stop and reflect.

Think about your answers to the questions above. Regardless of any of that, if the landscape of our lives as we know it is destroyed, and even the mountains—the great, the permanent, the markers of who we are and what we know—are washed away, God is ours. He’s our hiding place. Our strength. (No other word for that!) And He is, as I’ve discussed before, WITH US, in the now.

⁴ There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
⁶ The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

God only has to speak, and the plans of the peoples—of whole nations—come to nothing. Even war itself will come to an end, someday:

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

This—the crowning verse of this Psalm, in my opinion—holds everything we need to know when our worlds are threatening to fall apart, or more than threatening.

Be still ...

Know ...

I am God ...

I will be exalted ...

Like Moses at the Red Sea, we only have to stand and be confident that God knows, and sees, and will be revealed as Sovereign, no matter what rips our lives apart.

¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

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