Devotional: Humble Myself

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 2:10)

Humble myself?

What in the world does that mean?

I find myself being humbled all the time—good intentions gone awry, a snarky comment I regret the moment it leaves my lips, my children spilling some juicy piece of our life story to total strangers. There seems no end to the situations God provides for me to learn humility. Why do I need to go to the trouble of doing it for myself?

But that verse tugged me by the heart a few years ago and whispered for me to pay attention, there was something deeper to be learned.

It’s one thing to accept those little (or not so little) humbling moments as they come, something else entirely to maintain an attitude of humility before the Lord. Easy, too, to speak of maintaining that attitude, then refusing to consciously take the path of humility when more subtle opportunities present themselves for it ...

... like, when I’m taken to task for something I don’t necessarily think was my fault. Humble myself.

Or when a stray comment by a friend hits a tender area inside me, and I’m struggling to not be offended. Humble myself.

When someone else reaps a blessing that I’ve prayed, waited, and/or worked for ... humble myself.

When I come across a lesson I’m sure I’ve learned a hundred times before ... humble myself.

It all boils down to choice. Choosing to overlook an offense. Choosing to consider that I just might have something God wants to correct in me, even if I don’t see it, because He’s the only righteous Judge. Choosing to ... humble myself.

Only God knows the whole picture of why blessings are bestowed here, and seemingly withheld there. (He IS God, after all!) And only He knows the ultimate purpose of whatever lesson or process or experience is laid in my path.

He is God, and I am not.

But in that is reassurance. Who better to leave the management of the universe to—or of my own small life? And if I choose to humble myself, whatever that may look like, then He promises when the time is right, He will lift me up.

That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting

That there is none besides Me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other.. (Isaiah 45:6)

Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:

I am the Lord your God

And there is no other.

My people shall never be put to shame. (Joel 2:27)

But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,

My glory and the One who lifts up my head. (Psalm 3:3, all NKJV)

This post first appeared March 17, 2013.

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Overcomers, Line Up Here!

by Cynthia Ruchti

Abingdon Press, May 2015

Seven years ago, I didn’t know how to answer people who asked me, “Why aren’t you published yet?”

“Nobody wants me” didn’t sound like a professional answer. Neither did, “I don’t have this figured out yet.”

The truth was I’d been writing professionally for more than 25 years for a daily scripted radio broadcast. I’d had magazine articles published and wrote for a monthly newspaper column. I’d attended writers’ conferences and taken online courses and practiced, practiced, practiced.

By that time, I had completed three novel manuscripts and collected ideas for half a dozen more. I’d networked, studied, pitched, entered contests for the unpublished, finaled, and prayed.

The one thing I hadn’t done was quit. But don’t think I wasn’t tempted. In fact, in 2008, I almost did. And I thought my quitting was noble. I prayed, “God, nothing’s happening here. If You don’t want me to pursue publishing a novel—or many novels—then I will lay it down. This is too much work and takes too much time if Your Hand isn’t in this. I’d rather give up my heart’s desire than disappoint You. So, tell me. Show me. If this pursuit pleases You, Lord, I’m all in, no matter what it costs. But I need You to show me.”

He did.

 A month later, I had a book contract and my dream agent.

One would think all my writerly concerns would be over after that kind of direct answer to prayer. I wonder what I might have done if I’d known I’d signed up for a fresh batch of concerns, some of them larger than any I’d known before.

In that quiet way God has of shouting profound truths to our souls, I’d “heard” Him tell me long ago that if I would persevere, He would respond. It sounded like this: “If you will press through, I will bless you.”

Backed into a corner, up against a wall of doubts, facing what looked like insurmountable obstacles, or the collapse of an idea, I’d hear that nugget of divine poetry. If you will press through, I will bless you. 

Soon it became routine—a soul-fortifying routine—to press through. Blessing lay on the other side of perseverance. The stories would fill many books. And maybe will, before I’m done with my writing assignments from Him.

 I was notified of a new review the other day and popped over to the blogger’s site for what I thought would be encouragement to start my workday. It was a reviewer who had read other books I’d written and enjoyed them. This particular book, however, she did not enjoy. And she said so publicly, which she has every right to do.

Those who commented on her blog said things like, “So glad you warned me not to buy that book.”

“Thanks for the heads up. If you didn’t like, I wouldn’t either.”

“You just saved me time and money. Thanks.”

Not what an author wants to hear. I allowed myself a brief moment to mourn the review that not only wasn’t positive but had influenced others to run for the hills if they see a book with my name on it.

What else could I do then but press on? I had deadlines to meet, other books to connect with readers waiting for them, articles to write. And extended grieving over a bad review is injurious to health. So I pressed on.

Within minutes—no exaggeration—I was alerted to another review. You can imagine how hesitant I was to take a look. Same book. Completely opposite reaction to the story. Mourning minutes earlier, I was now laughing at God’s sense of humor in so quickly bringing me past the “press through” part to the “bless you” part.

Within an hour, I’d gotten a phone call that made the word blessing seem inadequate.

 It was no mistake that I was led to write on this subject. I needed the reminder as much as anyone else. So much of the writing life depends on perseverance, overcoming, clinging to the Overcomer, wading through the “press through” to get to the “bless you.” With that, I’ll say thank you for spending these moments with me and go back to pressing through on the edits for my fifteenth book.

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope through her novels, novellas, nonfiction books and devotionals, drawing from 33 years of on-air radio ministry. Ruchti has 15 books in print and has received numerous awards and nominations. She serves as the professional relations liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers and speaks frequently for women’s groups and serves on her church’s worship team and Creative Arts team. She and her plot-tweaking husband live in the heart of Wisconsin, not far from their three children and five grandchildren. To keep up with Cynthia Ruchti, visit www.cynthiaruchti.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook (CynthiaRuchtiReaderPage) or follow her on Twitter (@cynthiaruchti).

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My Default Setting

Abingdon Press, May 2015

by Cynthia Ruchti

A funny/not-so-funny moment occurred while I was writing As Waters Gone By. I needed a detail of
information regarding a potential prison sentence for a person who accidentally injured someone significantly, someone without family. I also needed details about visiting the incarcerated in a specific state prison.

My mind said, “Easy. I’ll ask one of the felons I know.”

Those are words I never imagined saying. I could have said, “I’ll ask one of the felons I love.”

Both my brother-in-law and two friends from church are open about the crimes that gave them more than enough experience with the legal system. They’re changed men, walking a path well-lit by God’s grace and their families’ forgiveness. But they’re still paying the penalty for what they’ve done.

I lived more than five decades without seeing the inside of a courtroom, without watching someone I love in the court news on television. I would gladly have skipped those experiences. But they birthed in me empathy and compassion I’d lacked before.

It’s heartbreaking to know more than I ever wanted to about the prison system, the justice system, and what incarceration can do to families. The embarrassment and consequences linger long after forgiveness.

 Like many law-abiding citizens, I’d held preconceived ideas about those who find themselves in trouble. I saw only the crime and not the person behind it, or the family behind that person. I saw punishment but missed the application of grace and the power of redemption.

Now that I’ve seen them at work in people I know, now that I’ve felt the blows of societal shame and the injustices family members of the incarcerated bear, my heart is rearranged. My empathy for victims can remain strong and steady, even while expressing compassion for the perpetrator.

That’s one of the reasons I wanted to tell Emmalyn and Max’s story in As Waters Gone By. The prison visitation scene came from my sister’s experience. The dropped phone calls. The long stretches with no contact. The reality that a prisoner’s release date isn’t the end of their emotional incarceration…or their family’s.

I’d lived under the assumption that my default setting was to love as Jesus loved. It wasn’t until imprisonment hit closer to home that I began to understand a shade more of what He meant when He said, “I was in prison, and you visited me” (Matthew 25:37).

Still learning.

Cynthia Ruchti

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope through her novels, novellas, nonfiction books and devotionals, drawing from 33 years of on-air radio ministry. Ruchti has 15 books in print and has received numerous awards and nominations. She serves as the professional relations liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers and speaks frequently for women’s groups and serves on her church’s worship team and Creative Arts team. She and her plot-tweaking husband live in the heart of Wisconsin, not far from their three children and five grandchildren. To keep up with Cynthia Ruchti, visit www.cynthiaruchti.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook (CynthiaRuchtiReaderPage) or follow her on Twitter (@cynthiaruchti).

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Devotional: Beyond Resignation

“God is sovereign,” I said to my friend about a recent answer to prayer. “Nothing to do but be resigned to that.”

In my heart of hearts, I know while that might be an okay starting place, God will require more. He always requires more.

He wants me to move past resignation, into surrender.

By definition, they seem to be the same thing. To give up, to relinquish a position ... to hand over possession or control. But to me, the former seems more passive, tinged with despair. The latter seems more active—a deliberate yielding.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say I need to embrace surrender.

It’s something I’ve heard on several different fronts lately. John Piper preached about embracing suffering at the recent Passion conference in Atlanta. Our pastor keeps talking about taking that step of faith we’ve been nudged toward, how change is good because it forces us to acknowledge our need for God.

In some cases, change would be welcome. At times it’s the very sameness of life, day in and day out, that brings us face to face with our need for Him, the unrelenting, agonizing grind of a trial that just will not let up.

Regardless, I struggle with the tedium of what we call “the process.” How I would love to be able to learn a lesson and call it done. But growth only happens over time, and we can’t prepare for that all at once, any more than we can eat Christmas dinner and say we’re good for the next week or month. Or spend an entire day at the gym and expect that we’re suddenly fit and strong.

Why then do I expect myself to become everything God wants me to be in a week, or a month, or a year? For that matter, even ten, or forty?

Scripture talks about the need for us to become mature believers, but what makes me think that means getting to a place where I can use God’s grace as a means to coast, instead of being my absolute strength every single day?

And so, life happens, as it always does, and I’m brought to that point of struggle yet again.  I must surrender, to choose to believe, for the thousandth time, that God is indeed good, that He means what He says, that He does not lie when He says He’ll take everything that’s hard or tragic or seemingly pointless and work it all together for my good.

Why is it so difficult to embrace that surrender? Sometimes, it’s because of the pain I know it’ll bring—separation from a loved one, either permanently in terms of this life or indefinitely; the death of my own wants and expectations and yes, maybe needs. Sometimes it’s fear. Sometimes it’s just plain stubbornness—pride, or being upset that once again God chose a path I wouldn’t have for myself, one that seems the hardest of a handful of very difficult options.

As if He, being God, needed to consult me first.

There’s the heart of the matter, then: my thinking I somehow know better than God. Questioning. Pouting. Twisting away from any attempt to understand and accept and trust that He is God and indeed, His plan is best.

And oh, how sweet the peace when I finally lay down the pride—when I finally lay myself down at His feet and let Him have it all.

Lord, forgive me once again for presuming to judge You, the Creator and Judge of all the universe, for the direction You take me!

“Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.” (Job 40:2, NKJV)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28, NKJV)

This post first appeared March 10, 2013.

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Devotional: What Is Love?

Jesus loves me, this I know ...

But do I really know, in my heart of hearts? And what does it mean to love?

We're told He laid down His life for us, became sin for us, paid the price for our redemption while we were still enemies of God. For far too long, however, I’ve regarded that as something rather disconnected from human emotion.

After all, we are reminded over and over, love is an action, a choice—not a feeling.

I comfort myself with this as I work day in and day out to serve my family, to feed and clothe them and keep our home liveable. I wash the skinned knees and wipe the tears, scold those who pester their siblings, remind them to do schoolwork. I grit my teeth and pray just to get through the day. Oh, the guilt, because shouldn’t I be feeling some sort of satisfaction here? But wait, love is an act of the will, and every day I choose to keep going, to keep serving.

But it’s exhausting.

All the time I wonder, is this how it is for God, overseeing all us? Does He shake His head at us and wonder why we can’t just “get it”? I know He’s limitless, but really—isn’t He ever weary of us?

He loves us, I remember. But again, what does it mean?

Love. Such a slippery word.

The term came up recently in Bible study. In Deuteronomy, of all places, where Moses tells the Israelites that the Lord didn’t choose them as a people because they were greater than anyone else. No, He loved them and chose them to show that He and He alone is God.

I nodded. Pretty familiar territory, here.

The teacher went on to point out that in three successive verses, there are three different words used pertaining to love. Three!

Now, I knew about the differences in Greek words for love. I wasn’t familiar, however, with the Hebrew terms. And as the teacher expounded upon them, I was completely blown away with the intensity of feeling conveyed in them.

One carries a sense of strong desire and longing. The second is a word that covers anything from a need or craving, like for food or sleep, to the human bonds of affection between family or friends, and sexual desire. The third speaks of deep devotion, with the connotation of mercy and faithfulness.

I sat there, stunned that God would choose such words to describe His own love for us. The mercy and faithfulness I understood, but—desire, longing, a deep affection or even craving—for His people? For us?

And I was amazed afresh at this truth, that the God who invented all the shades of human emotion chooses not to be unemotional.

This begged the question, then, where did I get such a utilitarian view of love and the human experience? Do I really think that Jesus died for us out of an obligation or sense of duty?

Yet, I somehow thought it was okay that I care for my family out of obligation and a sense of duty.

For a long time I’ve felt God challenging me to live more fully this love and grace I claim to believe in. And here is the point from which it all starts.

We love Him because He first loved us.

 ⁶ “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. ⁷ The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; ⁸ but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

⁹ “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments...” (Deuteronomy 7, NKJV)

(This post first appeared March 3, 2013)

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Things to Do While You Climb the Mountain by Dr. Richard L. Mabry

Readers of this blog who are seeking representation by an agent or are struggling to impress an acquisition editor often feel as though they’re in a valley, with a mountain before them that looks like Everest. Small victories may make them think they’ve moved to a camp halfway to the summit. And Sir Edmund Hillary never experienced more joy at planting his flag atop Everest than is felt by the writer who has that longed-for contract safe in his/her hands.

 For most of us, it’s a long climb and there’s a lot of waiting involved. I’ve faced these challenges, and thought I’d share some lessons I learned during my own climb.

Abingdon, May 2015

Don’t be a one-trick pony. Agents and publishers don’t envision you as the author of just one book
. They’re interested in your career as a writer. It takes time to get a contract offer, and by the time my first one came along, I had already written a draft of my second book. By having it ready, with the skeleton of a third sketched out, I landed an additional two-book contract before my first book ever saw the light of day. Even while you’re editing that first book, work on the second. Try to stay one book ahead. Editors will love you for it.

Build a platform before you need it. We may not like the word—I prefer “name recognition”—but whatever you call it, writers need a platform. If you wait until you have a contract to build one, you’re already behind the curve. Blogs were important when I started, but now it appears that Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads are taking their place. Establish yourself in each of these places. Get your name before agents, editors, and potential readers now, not later.

Start marketing yourself. You may say, “I’m a writer.” You don’t know anything about marketing. Besides, doesn’t the publisher handle that? Perhaps that was once true, but in the modern era of publishing the author has to take an active role in marketing their books. How do you do this when you don’t have a book published? You begin by marketing yourself, not just to potential readers but to agents and editors as well.

In addition to your own blog and a presence on Twitter and Facebook, visit other blogs. Leave comments, but avoid making them self-serving and promotional. If an agent or editor sees your proposal and already has a mental image of you as someone who follows the blogs they do and makes intelligent comments, what can it hurt?

Cultivate the guardians of the books. Make the acquaintance of librarians and bookstore managers. Let them know who you are. Leave a card. Offer to do a signing after your book is published. Do this so that when that big day finally comes, they’ll know who the person behind the cover picture is.

When your book is published, give a signed copy to your local librarian. They are asked for recommendations all the time. Do the same for the bookstore managers you’ve already called on. Buy and offer stickers that say, “Local author.” Many bookstores and libraries love that designation.

Spread your net. At my first writer’s conference, I was in awe of the published writers on the faculty. But as I got to know them, I discovered they were neat people, and I formed a number of lasting friendships. Later, many of those authors provided blurbs and endorsements for my books. I didn’t set out with that goal and neither should you, but it turned out to be a wonderful benefit of networking with other writers.

Get to know agents and editors. I don’t mean you should stalk them, far from it, but take advantage of opportunities to interact with them. One of the editors I met at my first conference rejected my manuscript, but we seemed to hit it off. Now she’s my agent. In this business, you never know.

Keep going. And most important, keep writing! Sir Edmund Hillary didn’t turn back, didn’t give up, and he ended up at the top. I wish you the same kind of success in your climb.

Dr. Richard L. Mabry

Dr. Mabry is a retired physician whose writing career began with his non-fiction book, The Tender Scar. He now writes “medical suspense with heart.” Fatal Trauma is his eighth published novel of medical suspense. A past Vice-President of the American Christian Fiction Writers, he is also a member of the International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. His medical thrillers have won the Selah Award of the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, and been finalists in competitions including ACFW’s Carol Award, Romantic Times’ Inspirational Book of the Year, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. His work has received glowing endorsements from numerous authors and rave reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. In addition to writing novels, Dr. Mabry’s articles and meditations have appeared in The Christian Communicator, In Touch Magazine, and The Upper Room. Dr. Mabry has taught extensively, including the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference, and numerous groups and venues throughout the Southwest.

Order Fatal Trauma today:

Connect with Richard Mabry:
Website: http://www.rmabry.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rmabrybooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardMabry

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3 Things That I No Longer Fear by Dr. Richard L. Mabry

It’s okay to be afraid. Some fears are healthy. For instance, I fear Black Bears and Grizzlies, and if I’m ever near one of them I plan to seek safe shelter ASAP. That’s a healthy fear. Then again, other fears aren’t rational—like those to which writers are subject. 

Along my road to writing, with eight published novels and a non-fiction book under my belt and more under contract, I have learned not to be afraid of some things. I’d like to share three of them with you, and hope that the writers in the audience will see my logic and join me in discarding these three fears out of the many that plague us. 

Abingdon, May 2015

The blank screen: People frequently ask me, “Where do you get your ideas for your books?” Ideas are all around if we start with the two magic words author Alton Gansky taught me years ago: “What if?” For example, while reading Robert Frost’s words about home being the place where they have to take you in, I thought, “What if a doctor fled to her hometown, only to find that someone there wanted to kill her?” This gave rise to my first novel, Code Blue. Other questions led me to write Medical Error (my step-son’s paranoia about identity theft), Diagnosis Death (charges of mercy killing brought against a colleague), and most recently Lethal Remedy (a retraction in a medical journal of fabricated drug research). So ideas are all around us. Writers need not fear the blank screen—only our unwillingness to fill it. 

Agents and editors: The current climate of publishing requires that a writer either self-publish (which is the subject for a different blog post) or acquire an agent to act as advocate with editors and publishers. The latter is tough, because we tend to hold agents and editors in high regard. We go out of our way in our dealings with them to put our best foot forward. But once I had an agent and a contract, I noticed these were real people, not demi-gods to be placed on a pedestal. And if I said something wrong, I wouldn’t be cast into utter darkness. I can truthfully say that my agent and my editors have become my friends. My advice to as-yet-unpublished writers: be respectful of these people, don’t be fearful. 

Reviews: After the publication of my first novel, I checked my Amazon rankings almost every hour. I set Google alerts (it’s free, folks) to notify me every time the book was mentioned on the Internet. I exulted in good reviews, descended into the depths of depression with the bad ones. I even pestered my publisher for sales figures, only to be told that the information wasn’t currently available. But eventually I got tired of it all, so I stopped worrying. A good friend once loaned me a tape about success, and one line stuck with me: “I cannot expect to be universally loved and respected.” So when I run across a bad review, whether on a bookseller’s site, a blog, or in social media, I shrug it off. And I try not to make too much of the good reviews as well. I write because I believe God has some messages He would like me to share. Beyond that, it’s out of my control. 

So there you have them, three things I’ve learned not to fear on my writing journey. How about you? Are there still things in your closet and under your bed that make you nervous? Don’t let them make you afraid. Meet them head-on. Or, better yet, incorporate them in your next story. That’s another way to deal with a blank screen. 

Dr. Richard Mabry

Dr. Mabry is a retired physician whose writing career began with his non-fiction book, The Tender Scar. He now writes “medical suspense with heart.” Fatal Trauma is his eighth published novel of medical suspense. A past Vice-President of the American Christian Fiction Writers, he is also a member of the International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. His medical thrillers have won the Selah Award of the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, and been finalists in competitions including ACFW’s Carol Award, Romantic Times’ Inspirational Book of the Year, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. His work has received glowing endorsements from numerous authors and rave reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. In addition to writing novels, Dr. Mabry’s articles and meditations have appeared in The Christian Communicator, In Touch Magazine, and The Upper Room. Dr. Mabry has taught extensively, including the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference, and numerous groups and venues throughout the Southwest. 

Order Fatal Trauma today: 

Connect with Richard Mabry:
Website: http://www.rmabry.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rmabrybooks?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardMabry

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