Finding Focus

I wrote a children's book last month. This month I spent teaching stamp classes, studying magazine markets and starting a new freelance editing project. Next month I'll be running a new book giveaway over at CCBR. None of this has anything to do with my nonfiction book proposals. Three months pass and I'm not a single step closer to my goal.

Before our vacation one of my writing groups held a discussion about branding, setting a distinct way for people to remember you and what you do. People naturally brand, so the idea is to brand yourself before others give one to you. If you want to be known as a suspense novelist, write great books to earn you that title. Parenting books won't do the trick. If you want to be known as a missions advocate, speak about your passion, and I don't mean your baseball card collection. Once people categorize you, it's difficult to alter their perceptions.

Personally, I wish I had convinced Sunday school workers my son is assertive and passionate before they labeled him as difficult and aggressive. It's not lying or changing the facts, just putting a positive light on them. We admire assertive and passionate adults. Those same traits in a two-year-old, however, exhaust and frustrate us. I face an uphill battle convincing nay-sayers how wonderful my kid is when they've already decided he's trouble.

Our discussion revolved around pros and cons, hows and whys. A number of members grew concerned. They didn't want to be pigeon-holed. Is it "wrong" to write more than one genre? To enter diverse markets? One panelist explained it's not "wrong," but it's not expedient either. We can go in different directions at the same time, but we'll arrive at both destinations much later than if we had just chosen one path.

Rick and I experienced this last month. We were meeting a group of friends for our annual outing to a special resturant. Rick printed Yahoo maps and I copied directions from the website. After some off-roading (nearly driving into a lake), we arrived an hour late -- all because we tried to follow two routes at the same time.

I would rather be known as diverse than distracted. But then sometimes distracted is the better word. My time is limited. Spending it playing an online version of Boggle doesn't help me finish those book proposals. I need to focus.

What is the focus God wants you to have? Are you divided in your endeavors?

We all wear several hats. I'm a mother, a wife, a friend, a sister, a neighbor, a daughter. I'm also a writer, a teacher, an encourager, a stamper and scrapbooker. And this is just a glimpse! I'm not saying we can only be defined by one thing. I'm just saying that we need to emphasize the one thing God wants to be our focus. If He wants you to witness to your coworkers, you can't spend all your time together talking abour movies and never mentioning the Gospel. If God wants you sharing meals with the homeless, you can't avoid where they live.

Let's find our focus and reach our destinations.

Photo by Margo C, courtesy of Flickr.com.

Current Book Snippet

I haven't updated my bookshelf in a while, so I when I saw this "game" on Megan DiMaria's site, I had to take part. Here's are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages), or whatever book you are currently reading.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

I'm currently reading Someday by Karen Kingsbury. This is book 3 of the Sunset series, which is the third series of Baxter Family Dramas. I didn't want Karen to be one of my favorite authors because there are little things about her writing style that irritate me, but ... well, I have read 13 of her books in the last 3 months, so I guess, in spite of myself, I can't stop reading her work. I just love her characters!! Especially the Baxters. They make me want to move back to Indiana. And I'm getting off track. Back to the game. Here is a snippet from page 123 of Someday.

"Since he hadn't been raised by her, the letter was one of the only pieces of her Dayne would ever have. Ashley had found it in the box of letters i her parents' closet and through it was for Brooke, the only firstborn they'd known up to that point. Instead, Ashley read it and realized it was directed toward a son, a brother she'd never known."

I'm going to tag Heather, Dale, Miranda, Tina and Karen. Of course, you're all invited! If you're not listed here, drop a note in the comments so we can see what you're reading.

Walking with God

Noah and Enoch walked with God. It seems Isabel does, too.

This weekend she finished a task assigned by her father, then tells me: "I think I need to pray." As she walked from room to room, this is what I heard:

"Dear God, thank you for giving me the job Daddy told me to do and thank you for helping me to do it right. I'm sorry I was whining this morning. Will you forgive me? Thank you for listening to my prayers because I know you love me. I love you, too. Amen."

She spoke to our Creator with the ease of breathing. We are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17), but do we? Isabel is teaching me how. No matter what she's doing, she stops in the middle to thank God or to ask for His help. How often do we pray like that? Do we maintain a conversation with God as we walk through our days?

Guess who failed Basic Bible Interpretation?

Okay, I didn't fail the class. I actually did quite well, but I have certainly forgotten some of it in the 10+ years since taking the course. Or maybe I should just not publish my thoughts until I've processed my them more completely.

Rule #1: Always view Scripture in context.
Rule #2: If you don't know the original language, reference multiple versions before settling on an interpretation. This ensures you know what the verse is saying before you try to determine what the verse is saying to you.

I did look at the verse in context, but I completely skipped rule #2. Yes, I'm talking about this morning's post on Psalm 68. EVERY TIME I have seen this verse, it has always been in the New International Version (NIV). Well, take a look at it in a few other versions.

"God makes a home for the lonely." (NASB).
"God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell." (AMP)
"You find families for those who are lonely." (CEV)
"God makes homes for the homeless." (Message)

Obviously, my interpretation -- God makes us lonely -- is WAY off base. I discovered my egregious error and was about to delete the post entirely, but then someone commented on it. You'll have to settle for my sincere apologies.

Psalm 68:6

"God sets the lonely in families."
Psalm 68:6 (NIV)

What does that mean? I've read this verse on sympathy cards and birth announcements. It's been in devotionals and even book dedications. I don't get it.

At first I thought, well ... maybe it means God builds bonds within family so that when they're gone we miss them. I guess that works, but it still seems like a kind of mean thing to do. And then there are families, even Christian families, where the members can hardly stand each other. Their relationships just seem to work better over distance. It's best when these people live in separate states. So where is the lonely there?

I know someone who aches over the distance in her family. She works so hard to get them to function like she thinks they should. She knows what a family should be and hers just doesn't measure up. So she fights to make them be what they ought to be. The thing is: when she honestly evaluates the situation, she realizes she doesn't even like her family. If they weren't related, she wouldn't waste another minute trying reconcile these relationships. What's the deal there?

Maybe the verse isn't about the "lonely" at all. Maybe it's about the family. The previous verses say God is "a father to the fatherless." Maybe the family is the church. But the closer I grow to other believers, the greater the family I have in the church, the more I mourn over the disfunctional family I have -- or had. I see clearly how much I missed and continue to miss as a result of circumstances outside my control.

I wonder if the lonely God sets in families is a longing for what we imagine we could have. Like a discontentment. Families are never perfect. Even the Cleavers have their quirks. Maybe the lonely is simply missing what we thought could be; missing what we can only find with God as Father. Maybe we feel lonely because God wants us to know Heaven isn't here, that life could be so much better.

What do you think? What is the "lonely" God sets in families and why does He put it there?

Photo by Amanda Taylor.

Ellie-isms and Zach Attacks

This morning Isabel told me, in her oh-so-serious tone, "Mommy, I don't know if I'll love you always and forever, but I do love you happy Valen-time's Day." Nice - huh? Well, it made me think it's about time I share some Ellie-isms and Zach Attacks with you. ENJOY!

Ellie: "Mommy, I know what we can have for breakfast! It's in the freezer ... it's cold ... you eat it with a spoon. Do you know what it is?"

Ellie: "Zach, do I look pretty in my pink coat?"
Zach: "Um ... no."

Ellie: "Help, Mommy! There's a snooker coming out my nose." (I think this is a conjunction of 'snot' and 'booger', but I'm not entirely sure.)


Me: "Zach, you smell stinky. Do you need a new diaper?"
Zach: "Um ... no. No diaper, thank you!"

Zach: "Flashlight in me!"
Translation: "There's an eyelash in my eye."

Ellie: "When are you going to turn the light off? My brother's going to go deaf soon if you don't turn off the light."

Ellie: "Look! I drew a picture of you and Daddy on 'acation! Here's Daddy reading the newspaper. And here's you working on the beach because I know you LOVE to work!"

Me: "Isabel, what does it mean to be patient?"
Ellie: "To wait happily ever after?"

Zach: "Mommy, you tucka in me?"
Translation: "Please tuck me in."

Ellie: "Whoopsie-doodle!"

Ellie: "God, may You please help Katie to feel better 'cause she has a 'tomach-ache. Amen. Mommy! Katie's feeling better 'cause I prayed and God listened 'cause He loves me! She feels better!!"

Zach: "Um ... tank you, God, for Mommy and Daddy and I'abel and Gran-maw and Pa-paw and trucks and am-imals and cars and monkeys no jump on bed and hit their head and the doctor said --"
Rick: "Amen."
Zach: "Amen."


Oh -- and by the way, we had a WONDERFUL time on our trip! Thank you for all your encouragement and well wishes. We did have to deal with a little food poisoning and some militant mosquitoes, but it still amazing. I mean, it's been four years since I've had the freedom of being sick WITHOUT children climbing on me, so I didn't mind a bit.