Month: January 2019

January 2, 2019

I’m Selective and I Don’t Apologize for it.

This is rewritten (just a bit) from a post way back in 2014. I still stand by it!

images[2]   

Yep, that’s me! There are days when all I want to do is sit and play computer games. It seems I go in cycles of being super busy to doing nothing. I get frustrated at times because of it. “Lord, what do You want me to do today?” I ask. I get no reply so I’m on my own to conjure up things to do.

This is especially true in the winter months.  I can easily be mistaken for a bear in hibernation.  imagesCAOCQE1C

On some days my pen just lays lazily on the desk. No wiggling or squirming to write. Maybe the Lord needs a rest, too. imagesCADFJQC0      I always ask Him to help me write, to give me His words. I want to write things that are informative, encouraging, and glorifies Him hoping others will find what I write to be interesting and hopefully make a difference in their hearts. Some articles will be quite serious where others might be humorous or tongue-in-cheek type of stories. I like to incorporate experiences I’ve had and hope they resonate with others. My short stories have some of those as well as my fiction and non-fiction books.

At times that is not always easy to do because I know there is such a variety of mind sets, attitudes, interests, and beliefs of those who will be reading what I write.        imagesCAJ69IQA

Of course I don’t want to offend. But I have been taught well and know not to break my number one rule.  I will not compromise the truth of God’s Word nor down play what He wants for us! If that offends, so be it, or they can research whatever I have written. I write for God not man.

I’m selective about what I write. I’m that way with the events involved with my published books, too. I think we have to be selective in many areas of our lives; who we select as our friends, what kind of novels we read, what we watch on television, where we spend our time, what church we worship in, and where we will appear for book signing events or speaking engagements.

imagesCA3B0FGY  For me, bars is not one of them.

If an establishment sells occult items, I guarantee my books will not be welcome. The same goes if I walk into a book store or a gift shop and have chills shoot up my spine. I’m out of there!

I get several suggestions as to how to increase my readership. This blog was one of those suggestions. But I have found that not everyone or every venue is conducive to my genre. I write Christian books and short stories. There is no “nasty” stuff in my novels and you’ll find no filthy language in any, be it fiction or non-fiction.
I have turned down some book signing events due to learning the event was nothing near being conducive to a Christian environment.

Yes, I am selective. At times it may cost me some publicity or some book sales but as a Christian author I am representing my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  For me, to lose a few sales is a small price to pay when I consider the price of losing His favor.

Matt.15:18 states, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” That which comes forth through our writing can also defile or glorify.

~~~~

 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.” Joshua 24:14

http://www.elahministriesinc.com

http://www.Cybersupportgroup.org

www.facebook.com/elahministries

January 1, 2019

I AM – Devotional Style Short Stories – “The Garden”

The Garden

The ground has been tilled, the weeds removed, and the tools set aside, for now. The woman sits at her kitchen table holding her hot mug of coffee while contemplating on the day ahead.

The doorbell rings startling her out of her revelry and she sets the mug on the table and walks to the door. Opening it, a Man stands smiling and asks, “Are you ready to plant your garden?”

“Yes,” she replies. “I’ll meet you out back.”

The Man is standing beside the tilled plot of ground looking down at it when she walks up beside Him. “It isn’t very big but you know how I love to garden.” She apologetically states.

“Did you know that only one seed can grow and multiply? Don’t worry about the size.” The Man wisely states.

They kneel down in the dirt and begin planting a few seeds, some plants she acquired at the nursery, and patting the dirt carefully around them she seems pleased with their progress.

The Man sits down at the edge of the garden and gazes over the now filled plot. He’s quiet and the woman looks over at Him, smiles, and then asks, “A penny for your thoughts?”

He chuckles. Scooping up some dirt in His hand He looks at her and holds out His hand. “This dirt represents people. If they are nurtured the seed will grow. If not, the seed will die. It all depends on the person.”

The woman sits thinking for a moment and then looks at Him a little confused.

“You are planting seeds here in this dirt and you fully expect all of them to grow.” He states. “But what about the seeds you plant in people’s hearts? Not all those seeds will grow but do you stop planting?”

The woman stares down at the garden they just planted for a long moment. “I never thought of that. This is like the parable of the seeds in the Bible.”

“Exactly. People get discouraged when they don’t witness the seeds planted growing and give up. Like the seeds here in this soil, some will grow into beautiful plants and others will be choked out by weeds if you don’t tend to the garden.”

The woman stands, dusts off her jeans, and replies, “Let’s get some ice tea. I think I understand.”

***

 

Matthew 13:8 – “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (See Matthew 13:1-9)

***

I love to play in the dirt planting flowers. This story reminds me of how I planted a seed, A Rose of Sharon, and came back the next year to see a grown plant with all the seed pods at the ends of the branches. In no time I found dozens of small Rose of Sharon plants sprouted around the foot of the main plant. That’s how Christianity is supposed to work. We plant spiritual seeds in someone’s life, nurture it, and watch how that person goes out into the secular world and plants more seeds. We, as Christians, are gardeners. We plant, we nurture, and hopefully, our seeds have taken deep roots and multiply into the kingdom of God. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see the results of your labor of love. Not all “soil” is receptive.

http://www.elahministriesinc.com

http://www.cybersupportgroup.org

http://www.facebook.com/elahministries