Christian writers

In Good Company

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Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

With Saint Patrick, We Stand in Good Company

Both young men must have thought their lives were over. Taken into a country of foreigners where they were sold into slavery, they must have despaired of ever seeing their families and homelands again. They had to adapt to a new culture, learn a new language and suffer the humiliations of slavery. They must have believed God had abandoned them. But God does not abandon his people. These two young men, one who lived hundreds of years before Christ, the other hundreds of years after, would change the course of history. God gave their lives a purpose and meaning that could only have come through the struggles they endured.

Joseph, son of Jacob, father of the Hebrew nation, was responsible for saving not only the people of Egypt from starvation, but his own family, and therefore the Hebrew nation as well. And Patricius, a sixteen-year-old Briton who would become known as Patrick of Ireland, was the first to take the message of Christ to that nation, the very country where he had been enslaved.

 There is another man whose life took a turn for the worse. He was in the prime of his life. He had a huge following among common people and those of influence. It looked like he was going to take the nation by storm. But then he took his friends aside one day and told them he was going to die, and very soon. He told them be would suffer indignities and be treated like a criminal. He told them it would look like utter defeat. But God does not abandon His people. That young man’s name was Jesus.

As with the stories of Joseph and Patrick, God had a purpose for the suffering Jesus endured. It was a purpose that would change the history, not just of a nation, but of mankind. The suffering and death of Christ freed us all from slavery, slavery that was meant to separated us forever from our Father. But God’s purpose could not be thwarted. Through the death of Jesus, His will was accomplished. We were reunited with our true family, reinstated in our true country. What looked like defeat was in reality complete victory.

There are times in all our lives when it appears God has abandoned us. We see the horrors of wars and famines raging all over our world. We experience the loss of loved ones to the plagues of cancer and other diseases that seem to be out of control. We cry out at the injustices that happen every day.

But God has not abandoned us. He will bring all things to completion in His time and according to His purposes. Therefore we can stand in good company, with Joseph, Patrick and Jesus, and repeat the words of Paul, “Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him, for that day” (2Timothy 1:12).

Mourning Turned to Joy*

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Photo by Mihail Tregubov on Unsplash

John burst through the door of the cabin. His voice rising to a high pitch, he yelled as all eyes turned toward him. “Gord, your house is on fire!” Everyone leaped up and headed for their vehicles. It was almost midnight but the sky was lit by an eerie glow. Gord and Wendy had built their two-story log home only a few months before. It was their dream house, but the building wasn’t what they were thinking about as they sped toward the blaze.

They had left their twelve year old daughter at home, babysitting her three younger sisters. As they pulled into their driveway it was obvious they could go no further. The heat from the flames shooting high into the air, was too intense. They held each other and watched their home burn to the ground, hoping against hope that their children had gotten out. It was a full hour before they knew the fate of their four girls. Wendy later said it was the longest hour in her life.

Their eldest girl, Leslie, had woken to a strange sound. As she came wide awake, she realized it was coming from the chimney of their wood stove. By the time Leslie ran downstairs, the roof was on fire. She woke her sisters, grabbed their winter boots and coats and got them out the door. In -50 degree temperatures, she knew they had to find shelter, so she led the girls to a neighbour’s cabin. When Wendy and Gord were reunited with their children, all the possessions they had lost in the fire were irrelevant. Relief and joy spilled out in thankful tears.

Their girls were alive! Nothing else mattered.

Some 2000 years ago, a group of men and women gathered in a closed room, hiding. Suddenly some women burst into the room, yelling. “He’s gone, His body is not there. He is risen!” Unlike Gord and Wendy, the men and women in that room knew their loved one was dead. They had watched his agony and been there the moment he called out, “It is finished.” No wonder they did not believe what the women told them. Imagine their relief and joy when Jesus suddenly stood among them, dispelling their doubts, telling them not to be afraid. Imagine the tears of thankfulness as they realized that what he had foretold had come true. Though he had been crucified, he had been resurrected. As the truth dawned on the followers of Christ, all the confusion and sorrow was swept away.

Jesus was alive. Nothing else mattered.

Nothing else matters. Jesus is alive, “and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God, through Him, since he always makes intercession for them. “

That is the joy of the resurrection, the joy that lives in the heart of every person who believes. It filled the hearts of those men and women 2,000 years ago and it will fill your heart today. Say yes to Jesus and experience the joy.

  • Excerpt from Marcia’s devotional book, Spur of the Moment, available from the author or on Amazon.

Daffodils and the Longings of Our Hearts

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Photo by Christopher Martyn on Unsplash

I purchased a bunch of yellow flowers yesterday. Those who decide where to put what in grocery stores must have lived in Canada during the winter. The profusion of daffodils placed at the entrance of the store were not only eye-catching, they filled me with longing for spring and a need to relieve that longing. I had a bunch in my cart before I even thought about the price or the marketing strategy.

When I woke up this morning, the buds that were just starting to open had bloomed, their bright yellow faces greeting me cheerily. Then I looked outside and groaned at the swirling snow and howling wind. These daffodils obviously did not come from any garden in Alberta. As I admired them, I thought of a friend of mine. She told me they were her favourite flowers because they are among the first to pop up when spring has arrived. She knows about longing for spring too. She too has lived in cold and desolate places where people are sustained by the warmth of friendships and dreams of sunshine. She too knows about longing for colour and fragrant winds and the smell of the earth. Daffodils are a sign that we will not always have to wait, that the longing will be satisfied with good things. They are a sign of hope, telling us to hang on, spring is coming. When blizzards are blowing, we desperately need that hope.

When the storms of life are blowing we are in desperate need of another kind of hope. When the ordinary cares of daily life swirl around us, we need to know that the goodness of God is enough. We need to believe He will satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. The longing for spring, for beauty and for good things are only shadows of that deeper need, the need for spiritual satisfaction. In Psalm 63, David says – “My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (v.1). Then he declares – “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you” (v.5). 

Nothing can satisfy that deep longing but God Himself. We can try to fill it will all kinds of “good” things, but that will only take the edge off, only satisfy temporarily. In the end, the longing increases. The daffodils on my kitchen table won’t really satisfy my longing for spring. As they die, they will only serve to increase it. The writer of Proverbs says – “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). The longing will continue until our focus is turned to the One who can completely relieve it.

Jesus promises to satisfy that longing. He longs to meet us, to draw us into a relationship that will ease the ache of being apart from Him. Let Jesus satisfy the longing in your heart. Meet with Him today.

Excited About this

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Coming Soon!

Somebody Help the Girl!

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I have a problem and I hope someone out there in cyberland can help me with it. You see, I have a morning routine – I wake slowly, so I move slowly, wrap myself in a warm housecoat given to me by my wonderful mother-in-law several years ago, and wander to the kitchen, where I make a cup of coffee and usually a single piece of toast with crunchy peanut butter and jam of some kind. This morning it was homemade by a neighbour – mango and strawberry, also chunky.

I then sit in my favourite chair which faces the front window of our home so I can keep track of the few vehicles that might drive by, as well as the deer that wander the neighbourhood every day. I sip my coffee and munch my toast, then pick up my laptop and check my email. After that I open a Bible app and read a chunk of scripture. It’s a rather big chunk right now, because I’m doing a challenge, put out by Mary DeMuth to read the entire Bible in 90 days.

This is when my problem occurs. His name is Little Duffer (aka Little Stinker, Little Terror, Bad Cat, Cheeky Cat, etc.).

You see Duffer likes to jump up between the laptop and the arm of the chair and crawl up to lie on my chest. That effectively restricts the ability to move my left arm, and view the monitor, which makes it a little awkward to type. I could put up with that, I suppose, but then Duffer wriggles a bit higher and begins to knead with his sharp little claws, while twisting his head around to lick my hand. Not just one lick, mind you, but over and over again until there’s a small river running between my fingers. If I push him down, he immediately comes right back. By then I’m ready to do some writing or editing on my WIP (work in progress), so Duffer’s habit becomes rather annoying.

To this point in time, I have found no way to stop him from doing this. Can anyone help me? Pleeeese! I like the little critter but he’s driving me crazy!

By the way, I am following the advice of Garrison Keillor in writing this post.  Mr. Keillor wrote – “Life has its sorrows. Make something beautiful out of it.”

I don’t pretend that this is ‘beautiful’ nor would I class my problem with Duffer as a ‘sorrow’ but I hope it gives you a chuckle as well as a proverbial light bulb idea that works to solve my dilemma.

If not, I may have to resort to putting a wire cage around my chair so I can get some work done!

I hope you have a wonderful cat-licking free day.

MCL

An Update At Last

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Hello everyone and thank you so much for hanging in here with me. It has been a while since I posted, I know, but I hope to do so more regularly from now on. I do wish I could slow the days down a bit. How did it get to be the end of January already??

What’s Up Next?

Well ….I’m really excited to join with others once again for the Abundant Rain Writing Pilgrimage, starting with a meet and greet on Feb. 3rd – that’s this Saturday! We’ll have some special bonuses for you that morning (11:00 a.m. MST) and will outline how the pilgrimage will work. We’ll be using a revamped copy of Volume 1 and will get the link to you as soon as we can. In the meantime, there will be a download of the PDF. Do join us, even if you can’t, or don’t want to, do the whole pilgrimage. Here’s the link to get you started

Feel free to share that link with anyone you think may be interested in joining with other writers of faith as we walk this path together.

Update on My New Fantasy Novel:

For those of you following my progress with Pebble, my next fantasy novel, I have been working on it slowly, and hope to have the first draft ready for Beta readers soon. If you would like to be a beta reader – (all that means is, you read the pdf I send and give any feedback you wish) – let me know and I’ll put you on the list. Please pray that I’ll be consistent in the work and that the Lord will lead as I write.

BTW, the other series I’ve been working on has been popping into my head a lot lately too, so stay tuned for more on that as the days go by.

A Bit of Personal News:

Many of you know that we had a tragic thing happen over the holiday season, with the suicide death of a young man who left his wife and three little ones behind. It hit us hard, since it was in the family, though we did not know him well. Please pray for the young mom, that she would find help and support and above all that she would find the Lord.

Otherwise, our Christmas was great, with my 3 daughters, their husbands and our 2 grandkids all in attendance. Little Sparky was a delight – I think he loved tearing the paper off all the presents more than the presents themselves. 😉 And Thea was thrilled with the big blanket picturing the front cover of my children’s book, Merrigold’s Very Best Home (a lovely gift from my publisher at Seritona Creative Publishing).

The New Year roared in with very cold temps that kept us inside most of the time, except when we had to venture to Calgary for some medical appointments, mostly for my husband. We were very glad to finally have some tests and prodedures scheduled after many months of things falling through the cracks. It really does help when you have a family doctor who gives consistent care. Spence is scheduled to have a hernia repair done on Feb. 6th. Prayer appreciated for the surgery and for the recovery. 🙂

Livy’s Life

Liv seems to be adjusting to life with her new companion, Little Duffer. I’m not so sure about Spence and I!! 🙂 We keep renaming him – Little Terror, Little Stinker, Mr. Pest, Psycho cat, etc. etc. He is most persistent about joining me as I work on my laptop!

(sorry, for some reason it’s not letting me adjust the size of those 2 pix).

February is shaping up to be quite busy but one of my priorities is keeping in The Word more. I’ve taken on the challenge to read through the Bible in 90 days (thank you, Mary DeMuth!) Tomorrow will be day 30 so I’m 1/3rd of the way through! It truly is wonderful to read large chunks of the scripture and get a more ‘big picture’ view. Our God truly is an awesome God!

Thank you all for your interest and support, once again! I love to hear from my readers, so do pop me a note if you have a minute! Or, if you feel so led, use this link to support my writing. thourgh paypal.

Cheerio for now! Marcia

Home: Is It Where Your Heart Is?

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A while ago our neighbourhood was turned into a beautiful winter wonderland. The temperature had dropped suddenly and for a while we were shrouded in thick fog. When that cleared, the sun came out and everything sparkled as though it had been painted with a fairy’s brush. The thick frost was dazzling. As I walked Livy that day I remember thinking,

What could be more beautiful?

I love where we live. It’s a quiet neighbourhood full of large trees, crisscrossed with walking paths dotted with boxes of doggie bags at strategic places. On a calm night we can hear the gurgling of the river behind us and the lights from the small town aren’t enough to block out the stars. Deer often wander up from the nearby woods and now and then a moose will jog down the street. I often fall asleep to the sound of coyotes yipping at the moon. Yes, I love it here.

But it’s not where my heart belongs.

My heart belongs in a faraway place that I’ve never seen, a place that, unlike our current home, can never be corrupted or destroyed. Matthew 6:19 & 20 says – “do not lay up for yourselves treasured on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (ESV)

I thank the Lord every day for giving us such a beautiful place to live, but my true home is where my Saviour is, where my Heavenly Father lives. Remembering that truth keeps me from grasping for the eathly things that will fade away, rather than focusing on those things which are eternal.

Home. Is it where your heart is?

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Another Step in the Process

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This is the opening illustration in Merrigold’s Very Best Home

Hello folks! I’m excited to announce that the Pre-launch page for my Indiegogo Campaign, Picturing Merrigold is now live. I’d be delighted if you’d check it out and sign up there to receive updates. I so appreciate your support. Feel free to share the link with friends and family. 🙂

Letting Go and Holding On

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Photo by Meghan Schiereck on Unsplash

When we made the decision to sell our home our middle daughter, Laura, was living with us. She had come home from Bangladesh where she’d worked with a mission group for a year. She was excited when she realized we would have to pare down our belongings. Every day she would ask, “What room can I de-clutter now, Mom?” She’d grin at me. I didn’t grin back. I would remind her we had six months before we had to move. She’d laugh and remind me that we were moving from a five bedroom into a two-bedroom house. It was like a cold cup of water – thrown in my face!

But it was reality. My husband had convinced me to follow the advice of the realtors and renovate our home before putting it on the market. We tore down and built up, we ripped out and replaced. We even bought new furniture. The process was not easy for me. I resented and resisted all these changes. I confess I am a packrat and I tend to hold onto things a little too tightly. I had a hard time letting go. I felt safe and comfortable in the midst of my clutter, my own little nest, surrounded by all my things.

And Laura, dear minimalist that she is, set about enthusiastically deciding what had to go. The problem was, she was a little too enthusiastic and my husband was cheering her on! For the next few months there was a litany that sounded in our house. “Laura, what did you do with… Laura, you didn’t throw that away, did you?”

Then came the day I couldn’t find my favourite potato peeler. I didn’t care that the handle was cracked, it was my favourite! Laura had thrown it away. And I was upset. In fact I was downright angry. The potato peeler was the proverbial last straw. Nothing in my house was the same anymore. It didn’t feel like my home, my nest. It had been disrupted and I was disturbed.

I realized that day that I’d forgotten something. My reaction was disproportionate to what was happening. I told myself that it was only stuff, that I shouldn’t be so attached, that it was good to let go. But when you let go of something you have to find something else to hold onto. I knew what that something else should be. Or rather, that Someone. I knew I had allowed my identity to be wrapped up in a house and a lot of ‘stuff’ instead of in Jesus Christ.

I remembered the passage in Matthew, one my husband would half jokingly point me to – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth …” (Matt.6:19).

I realized then I needed to not only reorganize my home, but my heart as well. I pray we can all let go of those things that don’t matter and hold onto the One who does.

I Want To Be Like Babe

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Photo by Danny Gallegos on Unsplash

The wrangler patted my horse’s neck. “This is Babe,” he said, “and she’s been trained as a cutting horse. Know what that means?”

I nodded. I’d seen cutting horses in action as they stepped into a herd of cattle, singled out a steer and manoeuvred it until it stood alone or was forced into a nearby shute. I knew cutting horses were trained to respond immediately to the rider’s cues.

Babe was definitely a cutting horse. The slightest touch of the rein on her neck made her respond, indeed, leap to respond. She almost put me off a couple of times, as we made our way along the mountain trails, but once I got used to her she was a delight to ride.

I thought of Babe one time, when I felt a nudge from the Lord. But I was busy that day so I ignored it. The next day I felt the push again, but again, I dismissed it. I’ll make the call later, I thought. But the days flew by. The nudge kept coming, so finally, more than a week after I felt that first prompting, I picked up the phone and called my friend. “Been thinking about you,” I said. “How’s life?”

There was silence for a moment, then a soft whimper. I heard my friend take a deep steadying breath. “My mom died a week ago.”

I groaned and expressed my sorrow. We chatted for some time and then said good-bye. “Thanks so much for calling,” my friend said. “It means a lot.”

I was so glad I’d finally responded to God’s prompting. But I couldn’t help but wonder if my words would have been more of a help if I’d called right away, on first nudge.

Lord, I prayed, make me like Babe. Make me willing to respond to your voice immediately. Make me as eager to obey as Babe was.

I want to be like David, too, as he says in Psalm 119:59,60 – “When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commands.”

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