Category Archives: Christian Life

Christian Life, Personal, Writing

Christian Speculative Sites

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Back in 2004 I began my search for Christian speculative fiction. There wasn’t a lot, at least that I could find. Since then, over the course of almost eight years I have found books, publishers, and websites all dedicated to this genre. I know some of you are lovers of the weird and the strange like me, but have no idea where to look to find your fill of fantasy and science fiction. Let me share with you my discoveries:

Where the Map Ends. This is the first site I discovered years ago for Christian Speculative lovers. It has everything from interviews with Christian authors of this genre to book lists to forums where Christians talk about science fiction and fantasy. A bonus to this site is a section where you can learn great writing tips from Jeff Gerke.

Speculative Faith. I found this site about 2 years ago. Monday through Friday you can find articles written by people knowledgeable and passionate about the speculative genre in general and how it relates to the Christian faith in particular. Excellent site for discussion. Bonus: Speculative Faith has a current book list of pretty much all the Christian fantasy and science fiction out there. So if you’re looking for something to read along those lines, check out their list.

Speaking of books, the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour (also known as the CSFF) consists of 30-50 bloggers who each month review a Christian speculative book or site. The goal of this blog tour is to let people know good Christian fantasy and science fiction exists. I will be participating in the tour at the end of this month. If you want to read about my thoughts on past books, click on CSFF Blog Tour.

And lastly, publishers. Since I first began writing, there are at least 4 publishers that I know of now dedicated to Christian speculative fiction. I have not been able to read everything produced, but what I have read I have enjoyed and written up reviews on. Here they are:

Splashdown Books

Written World Communications

Risen Books

And of course, Marcher Lord Press.

I hope this helps many of you on your search for Christian speculative fiction. Enjoy!

Christian Life, God's Character

Walking on Water

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The Christian life is like walking on water. We see Jesus and He beckons us to come out and join Him in faith. So we do. We get out of the boat and low and behold, we are walking on water! Amazing!

But then the waves of life start to pick up. They climb higher and higher as the sky grows dark and the wind whips the water into a frenzy. Suddenly Jesus looks small compared to the things we fear in life:

I just got my paycheck and its not going to cover the bills this month.

My husband said he met someone else and no longer loves me.

Its cancer and I only have 3 months to live.

The medical bills are more than I make.

My teen daughter is pregnant.

No one will hire me.

Fear grips us. All we can see is the waves, each one threatening to crash over us. Jesus, where are you? We cry. All we can see is the storm. And we begin to sink.

I’ve felt that panicky, drowning feeling lately. I’m looking for Jesus, and I know He’s there, but right now, my life feels like a hurricane. I’m having a hard time setting my eyes on the small image of Jesus walking towards me on the water.

Faith is easy when the waters are calm. But when lightning flashes and the wind howls and the waves of life are higher than my head, faith for me is very, very hard. And when I feel like I’m facing the waves alone, they can overwhelm me.

But I am so thankful that Jesus doesn’t leave us there to drown, even when we have very little faith. Like Peter, we cry out. And Jesus comes. Does the storm stop? The storm didn’t stop when Jesus reached out to Peter. And many times the storms in our lives don’t stop when Jesus reaches for us.

Instead, we find a firm hand pulling us up and a face to look upon rather than the storm. And in my case, a reminder not to have so little faith because even the winds and waves -and life- obey the one who can save me.

 

Christian Life

Bullet Wounds

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Have you ever been shot by friendly fire? Many of us have. It comes from behind, hits you in the back and the next thing you know, you’re down on the ground bleeding out. Obviously these are not real bullets, but the damage is real. They are relational shots, the kind that comes from a person we trusted. Be it family members, friends, those we worship with or a coworker. You believed you were both on the same side and now you are deeply wounded.

So what do you do? You feel like everyone is walking by. No one sees you there; no one knows you’re in pain. And you have a bullet stuck inside you.

A)   Hide the bullet wound. Cover it up. You don’t want anyone to see that you were hurt. So you pick yourself up and quickly pull your shirt over your wound. Then you go on as if nothing happened. The problem is, you were shot. And you still have that bullet inside you.

I see a lot of people do this. They hide the pain. They are embarrassed that this happened or think the right thing to do is to forgive and forget. The problem is, the bullet is never dealt with. It’s just covered up. And someday that bullet will come back in a painful way.

Just like real bullet wounds, this is no way to treat a relational bullet wound.

B)   Get up and shout that you’ve been shot. Let the world know. Lift up your shirt and show them your bullet hole. You have a reason to be angry and hurt.

I think we’ve all seen people like this. They can’t wait to show you their bullet wound and tell you every gritty detail of how they were shot and left to die. And if you look closely, you’ll see the bullet wedged inside. The the bullet is never taken out and dealt with. It becomes a painful festering wound for the whole world to see.

If a doctor ever saw a bullet wound like this, they would immediately take you to the operating room and pump you full of antibiotics. Real bullet wounds are a serious threat to your health and need to be dealt with. So are relational bullet holes.

C)   Let God, the Great Physician, take the bullet out. Is it going to hurt? Yes! Probably more than you can endure-which is why so few choose to really deal with the bullet. Is it going to leave a scar? Yes. Will you bleed? Probably. But afterwards the bullet will be gone. You will have life again.

I’ve felt His hands as God has operated on my own bullet wounds. Some of those bullets were deep. I cried out as God began to remove them. I struggled to love those who shot me. But as God removed the bullets and tenderly bandaged me up, I found healing. I found forgiveness. And with God’s help, the festering infection of bitterness did not have a chance to set in and grow.

Do I have scars from those bullet holes? Yes. But I use them not to show that I was shot but to show how God healed me.

My friends, this is the only healthy way to live again from wounds received by intentional (or unintentional) emotional shootings. Don’t let the bullet stay inside. Don’t let an infection set in. Take your pain to God and let Him perform surgery on you. It may take weeks, even months to recover from such a surgery. But the resulting health is worth it.

Christian Life, Personal

A Day of Rest

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As a mother, I work seven days a week. I have twelve to fourteen loads of laundry to do, same amount of dishes. There are bathrooms to clean, floors to clean, counters to clean. Then there are 3 meals to prepare each day, baths to be given (both to kids and pets), and vacuuming. And that’s just my cleaning load :).

For years (if not all my life) I have worked every day. Sure, I would take the occasional afternoon off or vacation time, but it was not consistent and certainly not every week. When I would read the Ten Commandments, I would skim over the one that talked about keeping the Sabbath. Confession time: I didn’t believe it really applied to my life. It was an Old Testament thing, not as applicable as the other commandments like do not lie or do not murder.

Then two things happened this year to make me rethink that. I read a book that talked about the Sabbath. Not in an overtly religious way. Just the need in our fast paced gogogo world to slow down, be quiet, and hear God. I began to rethink the Sabbath after reading that book.

Then a few weeks later, it was the topic preached at church: our need to slow down and rest, to keep the Sabbath.

Another confession: I had some preconceived notions of what it meant to keep the Sabbath. Such as all you do is sit around and be quiet all day. Or… you can’t do any kind of work or you’ll be “breaking the Sabbath.” Or… be at church all day and listen to 3 hour-long sermons. The idea of keeping the Sabbath seemed too religious to me, too “works” oriented, archaic. Not applicable to a modern day Christian.

However, the book I read, the sermon from a couple months ago, and my dawning realization that with working 40 hours a week on top of being a mother and wife was going to radically change my life made me pause and rethink the Sabbath.

Could I do it? Did I really have time to take off every week? Would I fall behind in my housework? And what did keeping the Sabbath really mean?

It means a day of rest. Something I needed already in my life and would need even more once I started working.

So I decided to give it a try. A couple weeks ago, I took Sunday off. No, I didn’t just sit around and be quiet. I certainly did not spend the entire day at church and listen to three-hour sermons. I just chose to do nothing but spend time with my family, spend time with God, and write a little. That’s all. Well, I put one load of dishes in the dishwasher :). But I didn’t even cook. We had cereal and sandwiches, meals that didn’t require much from me.

And I loved it.

I felt energized and ready to face Monday. I enjoyed my family. I was able to finally quiet myself enough to share my deepest fears and worries with God about my future. And found peace.

And you know what? I didn’t fall behind in my housework (like I thought I would). I ceased to worry about keeping the Sabbath “the right way” (whatever that way is) and just rested. I found the world could still revolve without Morgan.

So I decided to do it again. I took the next Sunday off. Then the next one. And now I’m wondering why I didn’t start doing this earlier in my life.

I will admit I have to work a bit harder on Saturday, like making sure I have sandwich makings or a frozen meal so I don’t have to cook (I love that part! the no cooking part on Sunday). But it is worth it. And I will need this day of rest even more as I start my 40-hour job next week.

Are you afraid to take a day of rest? Afraid everything will crumble like a house of cards if you’re not on it everyday? Or are you afraid of turning the Sabbath into a religious obligation? Those were my fears. But I’ve come to realize God knew what He was doing when He gave us the Sabbath and rested Himself as an example.

A day of rest. Permission to enjoy life, take a nap, play Uno with the kids. And leave the laundry for the next day :).

 

Christian Life, Personal

Church Planting: Nuts and Bolts

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Last week I talked about how important the foundation is for a church plant. If Jesus is not the foundation, then whatever you build will eventually crumble. A church plant needs leaders who are following Jesus wholeheartedly (by following what He says in His word both within church and in the home).

A church plant also needs people praying: praying for God’s power, strength and protection for when (not if) the enemy comes knocking. Prayer for godly leaders. Prayer that we do not lose sight of our first love, Jesus. Prayer for those whose lives will be touched. Prayer, prayer did I mention prayer?

Ok, great. Foundation. Got that. So how about the walls? The roof? When do you start building (or planting the church)? I know a lot of you are curious about the process. So I wanted to share this week what we are doing and how you can be a tangible part of this plant!

First: Finances. Someone asked me the other day what was the scariest part of church planting. Without hesitation, I said finances. For me personally, this is the scariest part. No paycheck. Trusting God to take care of us.

It is going to take time before this ministry can support itself. After weeks of prayer, seeking wise counsel, and looking at all our options, Dan and I decided to have me go back to work full time. Why? Primarily Dan is going to need the freedom and flexibility to meet with people and to help start the church. By working, I will be able to give him that freedom and serve the church in this way.

Not that Dan will be sitting at home eating bon bons :). He is going back to school and getting a one-year masters degree in church planting. This will serve twofold: financial aid to support us and give him some additional training in church planting. This also allows him to stay home with the kids and again meet with people.

Second: Support. No person is an island and neither is a church plant. Before we even considered the possibility of church planting here, Dan met with local pastors to ask their advice. Our heart is for the new church to not be in competition but complementary to other local gatherings. After receiving positive feedback, Dan then asked a couple local church planters to mentor him.

Along with local support, we are in the process of being evaluated by national organizations that help church planters.

Third: Connections. Church planting is a contact sport :). In order to reach people, we have to meet people. So over the summer, there will be casual events for people to come and check out Living Grace Church. Our first one will be tomorrow. Next month there will be another one. And more the rest of the year.

Along with casual events, we want to start connecting with people who feel led to be a part of this church plant. Those that have a passion for seeing a church birthed, those that like adventure with risk.

This will be a community launch, not a Dan and I thing. I know some of you have been following our church plant and wondering where you fit in. You are welcome to join us and see what God is going to do. Someone asked a few days ago; “I love my church, but I want to help you.” Great! You can still be a part of the Launch Team, and when we are birthed return to you home church. This plant is a God thing, not an us thing. We want to reach as many as we can, and that is only accomplished when we put aside differences and live out our faith in community where others can see it.

After all, church is who we are, not something we attend :).

If the launch team is not for you, or perhaps you live far away, then consider being a prayer partner for Living Grace Church (a very vital part of our foundation).

If you are interested in being a prayer partner, click here for more info. By joining the Prayer Team, you will receive emails with specific prayer requests and updates on what is happening.

If you want to help us launch Living Grace Church, click here. We are looking for people who will help with events, help us connect with the community, perhaps provided skills or gifts that we don’t possess (like graphic design, music, visual media, or just love hanging out with people and being goofy… although that’s a skill Dan has in abundance :P).

Thanks for taking time to pray for us and considering being a part of the Launch or Prayer Team. Tomorrow is our first official event. Come with any questions you have and an appetite. Falls Park, 11am-2pm. Free hotdogs and a drink (yum!).

 

 

Christian Life, Personal

Church Planting: The Foundation

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How do you start a church? Do you spam flyers everywhere, then rent a room and start doing Sunday morning services?

How is a church really born?

First, it must begin with a foundation. Just like building a house, you don’t just set up the walls and roof and call it good. All it would take is one nice big Midwestern storm and poof! The house falls. Same with a church. Without a solid foundation, a church falls.

So what is that foundation? Jesus.

Before a church even begins, it must be founded on Jesus. Those starting the church must be following Him, listening to Him, asking Him what He desires for the church. If a church does not start with Jesus, then it does not have a foundation.

So how does that look practically?

First, the leaders. Those who desire to lead the church should first look at the qualifications listed in the Bible. Are they living out these qualities? Are they living obedient to Jesus? Here are a few of the qualifications listed:

  • Lives a blameless life.
  • Faithful to his wife.
  • Not arrogant or quick tempered.
  • Not dishonest with money.
  • Love what is good.
  • Live wisely and be just.
  • Live a devout and disciplined life.
  • Must have a strong belief in the message he was taught.

There are more, but these are just a few of the qualities the Bible lists for those desiring to lead the church. I’m overwhelmed even looking at them. Whew!

Does this mean that leaders need to be perfect? No, or else they would not need Jesus. But a leader should be known for living out the qualities listed in the Bible. And humble enough to admit when they do sin, ask forgiveness, and move on.

Now notice, it doesn’t list leaders need to wear ties, have the right shoes, hairdo, or anything external like that. It lists qualities of the heart, character. It matters what the leader is on the inside, not the outside. A Spirit-led humble heart that follows Jesus. A leader who is worried about putting on a good front when at church, but acts differently at home will weaken the church’s foundation. A church’s foundation will only remain solid as long as the leaders are godly both at church and in the home.

Practically, what does that mean for Living Grace Church? First, it means that Dan and I need to examine our own lives. Are we following Jesus and obeying his Word? Are we living out these qualities (not perfectly, but consistently)? I include myself because as a pastor’s wife, I am a leader too, if nothing else because people are watching me.

This also means those desiring to help lead Living Grace Church need to be godly leaders. As those people come forward, we need to ask them if they are following what God says about leaders in the church. And then see if their lives back it up over time.

Godly leaders are crucial to the foundation of a church. It is the leaders who guard the flock, lead by example, serve like Jesus served (with a towel in hand, washing feet), and sacrifice because they know people matter to God. When a church is built on these kinds of people, people who love and follow Jesus, then the foundation will be solid.

Another crucial part of planting a church is prayer. Prayer goes hand in hand with godly leaders when pouring the foundation of a church. Without prayer, how will we hear God? Prayer is time spent with Jesus, asking and then quietly listening. It cannot be rushed. Let me say that again. Prayer cannot be rushed. It takes time to align ourselves with Jesus, to finally quiet our heart before Him, then hear Him.

Prayer changes our hearts. We begin to see the world as Jesus does. We begin to love people as Jesus does. Prayer prepares us to follow Jesus wherever He leads because we have spent time with Him, quietly, daily.

Again, what does that mean for Living Grace Church? It means we need people praying for this newborn church. We need people quieting themselves before Jesus, asking Him to direct His church. We need prayer for godly leaders, for endurance when the enemy fights back, for those whose lives will be touched. And soon we will need prayer for things such as a facility, finances, and partners.

It is not ambition that will plant this church. Nor hard work or luck. The church will be built on Jesus. It will be built on those who choose to give themselves to God to be used in whatever way He chooses. It will be hard, scary, and sacrificial. But by choosing to give ourselves to God, many more will come to know Him. And that, my friends, makes it all worth it.

 

*If you are interested in joining us, we need people for both our Launch Team and Prayer Team. To find out more, go to www.aplace4grace.org or facebook.com/aplace4grace.

 

*For more passages on godly leadership, check out Acts 20:28-31; 1 Pet 5:1-4 ; Titus 1:5-9 ; 1 Tim 3:1-6 .

 

 

Christian Life, Personal

Church Planting

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Freefalling. Leap of faith. No safety net. I call it church planting.

I know many of you have been wondering what Dan and I have been up to the last few months. Truth be told, Dan and I have been wondering the same thing. What next? What path do we take? Where do we go? But most importantly, what does God want us to do?

Now we know. And we want to share with you.

A couple years ago, a seed was planted inside both our hearts and minds. The idea of church planting. We began to research what that meant and how one begins a church. Then God brought along a church for Dan to pastor at, so the idea settled in the back of our minds.

Two months ago, we found ourselves facing a blank future. Should we continue in ministry? Find secular jobs? Or… revive the dream of a church plant?

I will be honest, the thought of church planting scares the pants off of me. I am a creature of security. I like to have a stable life with a stable income, savings in the bank, something for a rainy day. To church plant means no security. No guarantees, no income, no safety net. Yet lately, as I look at life, that’s true of anything we do. Our health can vanish in an instant, bank accounts can disappear overnight, jobs gone within minutes. The only guarantee in life is God. His hands are the best security there is.

So we are taking the plunge. Dan and I are church planting in the Madison and Hamilton counties of Indiana. Our heart and mission are for the unchurched and overchurched (those who have been Christians/churchgoers all their lives, but are chained to religion). We not only want to share God, but also our lives with those who God brings. We want to be a safe place for life changing grace.

However, no man (or church) is an island. I have learned over the years the power of prayer. And so I am asking for anyone who is lead to pray for our mission to the people of Indiana. And if you feel even more risky, be part of our Launch Team. Both are vital to launching a church. To find out more, visit Living Grace Church on facebook or http://www.aplace4grace.org.

Dan and I are currently working on a more detailed website and hope to have it up sometime in the next couple weeks. I will also be blogging about how exactly one starts this crazy adventure called church planting next Friday, so stay tuned :).

 

 

Christian Life, Personal

Is it Wrong to be Rich?

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What do you think? After all, Jesus said blessed are the poor. Right?

But what about people like Abraham, Job, and King David? These men were rich, even famous for how rich they were. However, there is one thing I notice. These men did not follow their riches. They followed God. So is it wrong to be rich? No. But God does have some specific instructions for those who are rich:

“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NLT).

Now notice Paul doesn’t say save six months of your salary or save up for that car. He says not to trust in money, but in God (I find it too easy sometimes to trust in a savings account than God). Instead, Paul instructs those who are rich to use their money for good, to do good works, to be generous to those in need, to share with others. I like to call it Wild Abandon Giving (WAG for short).

When you WAG, the Bible says you will experience true life. Think about that for a moment. Isn’t that like God to turn upside down what the world says? Instead of saving and buying what you want, give; give it all away. Do good works. Be generous. WAG! And you will experience true life.

You know, I am rich, so Paul’s words are for me too. I have a roof over my head and food to eat three times a day. My children are receiving an education and I even have Internet so I can blog.

I’ll admit, it can be hard to WAG when the bills come in. But I realized a couple days after Dan lost his job that I did not want fear of the future to stop me from being generous now.

And you know what, God doesn’t want me to stop being generous either. If I WAG (Wild Abandon Giving), He will take care of my needs. So how about you? Are you ready to start WAGGING :)?

Christian Life

The Emotional Christian

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I currently finished a book that both reinforced what I have learned the last few years and challenged me to take the next step. I won’t give away the title yet, that’s for next week’s blog. But the topic this book touched on is emotional maturity.

Huh? What? Yeah, I never heard that term before either. But once I started reading this book, I knew what the author was talking about. It is something I have come to learn in my own Christian walk: the need to be honest with both God and ourselves.

More often than not, we as Christians are encouraged to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. We need to live a balanced life. But rarely are we encouraged to take a look at the emotional part of our lives or how to balance it.

I think this is because this is a subject we don’t even realize exists. We are so busy putting our lives in order, exercising and eating right, making sure we have time for our daily devotion, reading to keep mentally fit (you are reading, right?), but we seldom if ever slow down to take stock of where we are at emotionally.

Why is that? After all, we feel everyday. Perhaps it is because of busyness. Or perhaps it is because we have no idea how integrated feelings are in our lives. Perhaps it is because we subconsciously see emotions as a pediment to a stronger Christian walk. After all, mature Christians don’t get angry, depressed, or lonely. That’s too close to sin, right?

Wrong.

We ignore the stirrings inside our hearts. We do not face them. We do not acknowledge them. And in doing so, we are not being truthful with ourselves and with God. God knows how we are feeling. He’s even been there. Jesus was fully human. He wept (look at how he reacted when Lazarus died), he was angry (yep, remember when he cleansed out the temple?), he felt anguish (in the Garden of Gethsemane). Yet I think we think of Jesus being more God than man. A stoic teacher above such base feelings.

Feelings are not a bad thing. After all, God did not make a mistake when he made humans and put feelings inside of them. It’s what we do with them. But we can’t do anything with them if we don’t even acknowledge our feelings in the first place. And many times we are too busy, too scared, or too uncomfortable to take a deeper look at what’s going on inside of us.

Next week I will share the book that prompted such thoughts. So stay tuned!

Christian Life

Rejoice and Weep

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Sometimes it can be easy to get wrapped up in my own little world. I only see my problems; I only find joy in what is going on in my own life. This past week God reminded me of the verse that talks about rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. He reminded me that I’m not an island. When I look past my own life, I can experience His work in the lives of others.

So how do I rejoice? I rejoice when a friend who has been laid off for a couple months finds a job. I rejoice when another friend finals in a writing contes. I am giddy for a friend who is taking her kids on a surprise trip to Disney World this summer (how fun is that!).

When I open myself up to enjoy the blessings God has brought into the lives of others, I find myself filled with pure and unselfish joy. My heart is light and free of envy or jealousy.

But not everyone is receiving sunshine and flowers right now. And so I also weep when those around me are going through difficulties or disappointments. I feel for a friend who did not place in the same writing contest. I weep with another friend as she shares her story of losing her little one. I sympathize with the mom who sometimes secretly wishes she were anywhere but home alone with 3 screaming kids.

When I weep with those who weep, my heart connects with theirs and I lifted them up to God. Their pain brings me to my knees. I believe that by weeping with them, I am helping them carry their burdens.

Rejoicing and weeping with others takes our eyes off our own problems. We see hope. We enjoy God’s blessings through others. We have an opportunity to comfort those hurting with the same comfort God has given us.

So this week, let us rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).