I loved watching the Beth Moore Living Beyond Yourself video this week on the topic of “Faith” (I’m a little behind). We’re on Week 9 out of 10 (I think), and we’ve worked out a few kinks behind the scenes with our group. We now have a real “list” that is private, and we’re able to exchange emails and share things that we don’t even dare blog about. It’s been a great source of encouragement for me.

First of all, I want to tell you I’ve become a very quiet blog reader lately. For those of you who are wondering if I’m still around, I’ll tell you that I’m reading your blogs in my Bloglines, and I’m just not commenting. Forgive me. The end of the school year is CRAZY busy around here.

I love all the things I’ve been learning through this study. It’s beyond eery how I’ll hear or read a verse from Beth Moore, then I’ll read it again in a book or hear it from a sermon. The same day! God is speaking to me in so many ways.

A few months ago, I had a crisis of faith. I really had some major doubts — about EVERYTHING. Do you ever feel this way — like you’re being tumbled around in a dryer full of wet clothes? Well, it started with lightning striking our computer, despite those surge protector things. It zapped our modem, printer, and hard drive. I was disconnected for about four days while we got some things fixed.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. After spending months of scribbling down design ideas and agonizing over every detail, I’d finally sent off my design order to start my blog! I had used PayPal for the first time ever and even signed up for my hosting service. Then — ZAP! Computer gone.

I was so worried my designer would call me with a question! And I’d set the goal of starting my blog by the first of October so I’d have a few posts written before the Glorieta writers’ conference in late October.

My husband put up with my calling him two or three times a day and asking him to check my email. After the fourth day, I walked to the mailbox in complete despair. I’m sorry I sound so shallow — but I keep up with everyone by email — even my parents, siblings, and local friends!

I remember walking back from the mailbox, and I was letting my thoughts run away with worry. What would we do if I could never get online again? What if I missed my deadlines? What if my husband’s car wore out?

We have a long driveway, and my fears raced even further. What are we going to do when our kids discover we’re the only people around who don’t own any video games? What if they start realizing their clothes aren’t name brands? How will we ever put five kids through college? What about weddings?!!

Aaggghhhh!!!

For just a minute, I thought, Is God real? Is He really there? If He cared about me, then how come I’m feeling so lost and disconnected?

I know this may sound a bit kooky, but at that moment, I looked up, and the sky was completely clear and blue except for a white slash of clouds that were shaped perfectly like a cross. And I felt this impression in my heart of the Holy Spirit saying, I’m Here.

That was one of those moments I’ll never forget.

The next day, we were back online, and I had an email from someone inviting me to send a resume pronto for a possible devotional project. The editor was passing out assignments, and I might find a spot. So I sent it (by email of course). And I somehow got offered an assignment to help three other writers work on a book.

The title? Faith for Each Day.

So my crisis of faith led to an open door for me to help write a book on faith! Even more amazing, a friend invited me to join Beth Moore’s Believing God Bible Study, so I was suddenly surrounded by godly awesome women and the richest teaching I’d had in years.

I turned in my work on time, and the editor asked if I’d write a few more. I ended up writing over a hundred devotionals for this book. It’s being released soon — so if you see it, maybe my name will be written somewhere teeny-tiny along with a bunch of other people on the back of the title page.

Here’s what the publisher says about the book:

Like a daily energy boost, these inspiring entries begin with an insightful scripture followed by a powerful, relevant-to-the-day devotion that will remind readers that God truly longs for us to start the day with Him, that He is present in our lives even when things seem hectic, and He desires to richly bless us.

Hmmmm … So that’s what happens when I have a crisis of faith. From now on, I’m “Believing God,” and “Living Beyond Myself.”

Addie	Heather*	Carol
M	Rach	Jeana
Jenn	Amanda	MamaB
GiBee	Boomama	Maria
Blair	Heather	Nancy
Janna	Flipflop	Robin
Sherry	Patricia	Tara
Lauren	HolyMama!	Faith
Christy	Eph2810	Karin
Leann	Rachel	Janice

Before I read this book, I’d seen it for sale at the grocery store, but it didn’t interest me. I had no desire at all to read about a man who supposedly died and went to heaven, then came back to earth to tell his story. Yeah, right. I was skeptical to say the least.

But I felt compelled to buy the book at a Christian writer’s conference last weekend because I attended several classes taught by Cecil Murphey, the writer of this book. Cec told us the story of how the book came into being, about how Don Piper had tried to write his own account for years, how misunderstood he felt, and how he ended up seeking the help of a professional writer to help him tell his story.

Cec was also skeptical at first, until he began to uncover documentation that proved this man really was telling the truth. So he spent several months getting to know Don, interviewing him, researching the accident and recovery thoroughly; and he wrote the book.

I read it in one night. I absolutely couldn’t put it down.

Here’s the story: Don Piper was a healthy, 38-year-old father of three, who was driving home from a statewide church conference held in Houston, Texas. It was a cold, drizzly morning on January 18, 1989. When he reached a narrow bridge that had no shoulders, an 18-wheeler crossed the center line and plowed into Piper’s red Ford Escort. There’s a picture of his wrecked car in the book.

The EMTs arrived on the scene within minutes, checked Don’s pulse, and there was nothing. No pulse. They determined he died instantly on impact around 11:45 a.m. They covered him with a waterproof tarp and felt in no rush to extract his body from the vehicle. They began helping other people who were also sideswiped by the same 18-wheeler that hit Don’s car. Later, the EMTs came back to his car and checked him again. At 1:15, he still had no pulse.

Meanwhile, a pastor and his wife, Dick and Anita Onerecker, were also on their way home from the same conference and got stuck waiting in traffic because of the accident. After a while, Dick wondered whether he could be of any help, so he and his wife hiked half a mile up the highway and asked a police officer if anyone needed prayer. He was told there was no need to pray for the man in the red car because he was already deceased, and the other people were a little shaken up but were fine.

Now here’s the part of the book that gets me more than anything. Dick heard God’s unmistakable Voice saying to him, “You need to go pray for the man in the red car.” The impression from the Holy Spirit was so strong, he couldn’t ignore the prompting. But when Dick told the police officer he wanted to go pray for the man involved in the accident, the officer looked at him like he was crazy, reminding him the driver was officially pronounced dead. Dick persisted, and the officer finally allowed him to go, telling him that it was a real mess under the tarp.

So Dick crawled through the trunk of the Ford Escort, reached over the backseat and checked Don’s pulse. He was dead. But he still felt like God was telling him to pray for Don. So he put his hand on Don’s shoulder and began to pray with all his might. He prayed that Don would be delivered from all unseen internal injuries. Then he began to weep and to sing a hymn. Before he could finish singing, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” Don Piper returned from the dead and began singing with him. After over 90 minutes of death, he came back to life.

At first, the EMTs didn’t believe Dick when he emerged from the crumpled car shouting, “He’s alive! Get this man out — he’s alive!” They told him they were professionals and knew more than he did. The ambulances had already come and gone. But Dick persisted, and finally the EMT checked Don’s pulse one more time and discovered he was alive! Then they ordered the Jaws of Life to be sent so they could remove him from the vehicle.

The rest of the book relates Don’s recovery, as well as a brief account of what Don experienced while he was dead that hour and a half. He describes heaven in a way that is totally beyond my comprehension. His amazing description of the sights and sounds of heaven spans two chapters. The majority of the book is grounded firmly on earth, relating the excruciating pain Don Piper went through as he began the slow process of healing — physically and emotionally.

Now, 17 years later, Don Piper is still telling his story. The book has been a surprising runaway bestseller, published by Baker Books. It’s already been through at least eight reprintings and has sold over a million copies. You can purchase a recording of Don Piper reading the book, telling his story. Readers have been powerfully moved by this account, which gives hope of an eternal afterlife. Since the day of the accident, Don has had over 34 surgeries and hasn’t lived without pain a single day. Many people can also relate to the agonies of living in pain.

I’m thankful a writer as gifted as Cec Murphey was entrusted with writing the story, which is told through Don Piper’s first-person point-of-view. Cec has published over 100 books and has spent most of his adult life perfecting the craft of getting into someone’s mind to tell their story. His connections also helped to ensure this book got the attention it deserved from a major publisher.

I think this is a life-changing story that every Christian should read. Anyone who has doubts that God still speaks to people and performs modern-day miracles will emerge with a stronger faith. It’s also helpful for those who live in suffering, with daily chronic pain, or for those who wonder if there is hope for an afterlife. Don Piper’s story, along with truth found in scripture, will encourage readers that life must continue beyond tragedy, and that the kingdom of heaven is real.

Donna Shepherd passed along a wonderful link from CBN.com that contains the most information I’ve ever seen on the Biblical misinterpretations found in The Da Vinci Code, a work of fiction.

Check it out here — The Da Vinci Code: A Biblical Response.

When I left off yesterday, I told you I was eating lunch with some new friends at the “Life in Balance” conference in Chattanooga. I had gone to hear the FlyLady speak, but I ended up having this fabulous conversation with these very Spirit-filled women. I wanted to know how in the world their church was so passionate about knowing God.

They shared with me that their pastor had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit at the Glorieta conference center in New Mexico. He came back a changed man and set about renewing the vision for his church.

Well, I wanted to know more details. I love Glorieta! I went there last fall for a writer’s conference — here’s what it looks like.

“You should read his book,” one lady said to me. “He wrote his whole story in a book. It’s in the church bookstore. It’s called Awakened by the Spirit by our pastor, Ron Phillips.”

Oh, I wanted to read that book!

We talked for a while more, then I felt like I should get back to the sanctuary, so I’d be on time to finally hear the FlyLady speak. As I was about to leave, I decided to pass out a few of my cards — they have my website on there, and you just never know. I’ve been to enough of these conferences to realize that every person you talk to is probably a Divine appointment; it takes such effort and expense to go to a conference that each conversation may have a significant impact on your life.

Then one of the ladies asked if she could pray for me. Pray for ME! So we all held hands, all seven of us, and they prayed for me, that God would reveal His purpose for bringing me here. One lady had mentioned before that this verse was on her heart for the conference — Psalm 139:16: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

She said she believed God had “ordained” (called) each woman who came to this conference. Um … that would be … me.

WELL! Can you imagine being that nice to a stranger? I thanked them for their prayer, and then I headed back to the church building. On the way, I saw the bookstore, which drew me in like a magnet. I walked in and started looking around. Right away, I found Ron Phillips’ book, Awakened by the Spirit, published by Thomas Nelson.

I really wanted to read it! I picked it up and flipped through it, but I couldn’t justify buying a book when I’ve already got a dozen books I need to review. Then I saw that this pastor had written another book called Kiss of the Father, and it was published more recently. I thought it might make a good book for my CWO “Book Buzz” column next month, which will be featuring books written by and for fathers.

I didn’t know what to do. I wanted them both. But I knew I probably should only buy one.

Then a lady I recognized from lunch walked over and said, “I’d like to buy one of these books for you. God prompted me to come in here, that you were going to want to read these books, and you could only buy one. Well, you’ve got to read them both. They’re all part of his story.”

I couldn’t let her do that! “Oh, that’s OK,” I told her.

“No, really,” she smiled. “I’d love to do this for you.”

I was about to cry. Why was she being so nice to me?

So she paid for one of the books, and I paid for the other. I immediately went out to the auditorium and started reading, devouring Awakened by the Spirit. It was the story of a burned-out pastor who was on an airplane to New Mexico to speak at a retreat. He had just finished typing out a resignation letter on his laptop; he was so burned out and ready to QUIT.

But at Glorieta, he heard a powerful speaker one night — and then he sensed God’s presence filling him as never before.

I had to stop reading, as the conference started back up. And this time there were awesome praise singers. No shouting. Just music that filled the room with beautiful praise.

Next, there were some prize giveaways, and a short mini-drama about a woman who discovered how the secret to balancing all the things we have to do in life is through prayer, through Christ.

Then Marla Cilley (FlyLady) spoke, and I heard her say the words I know God wanted me to hear. She said, “God has a purpose for each of your lives. My mission is to help each of you find time in your day to fulfill that calling. If I can help you save time by getting your household routines in order, you’ll be able to do those things you’re called to do.”

Can you believe that?

But I still had more to learn. I came home and read that whole book in nearly one night. It ties in so well with all that we’re learning in the Beth Moore study about the Holy Spirit. Here was the story of another pilgrim, another example of a changed life through the power of God.

Those ladies who prayed for me have no idea how much I needed to read that book! And of course they also had no idea that I have a means to share what I’m learning with people around the world! If you’re at all feeling burned out and wondering if the Holy Spirit even exists, I highly recommend Awakened by the Spirit.

The funny thing is, if it weren’t for you blog readers, I would never have gone to this conference! So, thanks!!

Here it is: the picture you’ve all been waiting for. See? I met her!

This is me, with Marla Cilley, a.k.a. The FlyLady. I really got all nervous and tongue-tied when I actually met her — it’s hard to tell someone in person, “Um … I’m one of your 300,000+ readers who devours your emails every day, and you give me hope in the midst of my chaotic life. Thanks!” It’s much easier for me to write that! (So I gave her a pretty note instead — and a copy of my little book for mothers and daughters!)

Well, let me tell you a few details about this conference.

You know, on a whim, while I was writing my blog post a couple of weeks ago, I thought Maybe I’ll go to that conference and try to meet the FlyLady and hear her speak!

So I talked to my husband about it, and it turns out he has some old college friends in Chattanooga that he wanted to visit — and he decided he could take our older kids to Rock City while I went to the conference. Perfect, right?

Well, we got there late. It was a 3-hour drive, and our MapQuest directions had us take a wrong turn finding the church. But I finally got there! And I saw a table with name tags, and my name was on one of them! They even gave me a cute “Life in Balance” tote bag full of all kinds of goodies, including nail polish. Fun!

But when I walked into the huge sanctuary, I found out that I’d already missed FlyLady’s first talk. Instead, there was a singer on stage who was leading some kind of pep ralley, it seemed. She was shouting out things, and people were repeating after her. It was loud in there, and this is just not the type of worship style I’m used to. So I left and went out to the lobby to explore around.

I talked to some other ladies who said they had a headache from all that shouting, and one lady said it was messing with her medication. It WASN’T just me! I felt so foolish — why have I come all this way, Lord? I don’t know anyone, and I don’t fit in here.

I piddled around and found the FlyLady’s table of products. I bought one of her ostrich feather dusters — which I’ve heard so much about! After a while, I went on to the cafeteria, where they had cute little boxed lunches for us. I talked to a nice woman who said their “Faith Building” used to be a bowling alley, but the church bought it and converted it to be used for classrooms and fellowship for youth.

When I walked into the cafeteria, I was the ONLY one in there. The room was empty, silent, with white tables and folding chairs. Once again, I had my doubts about coming to this conference. I picked a seat and sat down. I thought about reading some of the magazines in my new tote bag, but then I didn’t want to look unsociable.

So I sat there alone, staring at the wall, eating my sandwich. Pathetic.

Finally, a few ladies started entering the room, group after group. Everyone seemed to already know each other. A few women came toward my table and asked if my seats were saved. I told them no, to please feel welcome.

Let. Me. Tell. You. There was something going on. These women were talking a mile a minute to each other, telling stories about “He told me this” and “He told me that.” At first I thought they were talking about their husbands. But it seemed to be the same person because someone else would say, “I know it! Isn’t He awesome?!”

I finally figured out they were talking about GOD! Like He talked to them personally! Like He was their best friend, and they knew Him so well that He was a major part of every decision they made. You’ve heard the term “salty” before. These women were “salty!” I wanted to know why they were as excited about knowing God as most women are about a half-price shoe sale.

I started asking questions. I found out they were all from this church where the conference was being held. One lady next to me said she’d been a member of this church for 35 years. I wanted to ask her, “So what’s the real story? Why is there a huge sanctuary and a converted bowling alley next to a small brick Baptist church? And why are you people so excited about your relationship with God?” I knew something major must have happened. A magazine editor I write for is always reminding me, “Heather, you need to dig and find the real story.”

Finally, I asked, “Have you seen a few changes in this church over the past 35 years?”

Everyone at the table burst out laughing. “We used to be so different!” the lady next to me said. “We were a very quiet church. You couldn’t even say ‘amen’ during a sermon without being frowned at.”

“So, what happened?” I was about to burst.

“It was our pastor. He had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. At the Glorieta conference center.”

What! I went to Glorieta last fall. Now they really had my interest.

I want to tell you his story, but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow. And I’ll share with you the REAL reason why I know without a doubt God wanted me to be at that “Life in Balance” conference!

P.S. If you’ve never read anything written by Marla Cilley, here’s a great editorial she wrote for The Augusta Free Press, Time Flies When You’re Having Fun. Read it, and you’ll see why so many women around the world LOVE the FlyLady!! She is meeting women’s needs and helping us attain peace in our homes. Who knew?

I don’t have time to post today, but I couldn’t stand not letting you know that we drove to Chattanooga yesterday, and I got to meet the FlyLady! I heard her speak three different times, and I know so much more about her now.

And I can tell you this: Marla Cilley, a.k.a. FlyLady, is a very strong Christian. She is one of the most humble women I’ve ever heard speak. I’m in awe, sheer awe, that I somehow found out about her!

I’m posting about the Mother’s Love contest tomorrow, but hopefully on Tuesday I’ll have time to sit down and write about the “Life in Balance” conference and post the picture of me and FlyLady (which I know you can’t wait to see — haha).

If you’d like to hear her for yourself, you can buy a CD set of the whole conference here. One surprise for me was that her friends, Peggy of the Sidetracked Home Executives (SHEs) spoke, as well as Leanne Ely of Saving Dinner. They were also wonderfully encouraging!

Besides hearing FlyLady, something absolutely amazing happened — a Divine appointment I had at lunch — that makes me know without a doubt God wanted me there. I’ll tell you later after I have time to pray about it and see what God wants me to tell you. I know someday I’ll have a testimony to share, and that experience will always be part of it.

Oh my. This is the best article I’ve read in a very long time. I have to give you the link and hope you can go read it. Rick Warren’s wife is no longer a “soccer mom.” She’s a woman on a mission. Read about her from this month’s Today’s Christian Woman magazine.

Purpose-Driven Wife

If you need a real dose of encouragement, the new May issue of Christian Women Online magazine is hot off the press. I can’t wait for you to see it because guess who is the new “Book Buzz” columnist? Me! I’ve found a fun place to buzz about the latest, greatest inspirational books for women.

There are plenty of cool things going on at CWO for bloggers — I hope you’ll join the party if you haven’t already. First of all, you can join the CWO Blogring and you’ll be linked to the site. Here’s what the purpose of the Blogring is:

The Christian Women Online blog ring was newly created to unite women of faith via the internet. Web users can use this unique list to easily find other women that share the same faith, without having to waste hours searching through secular blogs that may hold little or no interest to them.

This is a great way to stay connected to other like-minded bloggers. And once a month, CWO will feature a “Pick of the Month” blog, offering you the opportunity to introduce your blog to tons of new readers! This month’s feature is the beautiful My Prairie Rose blog, where “Carolyn shares her life as a 47 year-old Christian wife, mom and grandma who loves to read, scrapbook, and other crafty things.”

Besides the Blog of the Month, the May issue of CWO features a free book drawing and writing contest, as well as inspirational columns and articles on growing in your faith, scrapbooking, home organizing, eating healthy, homeschooling, parenting, new recipes, and more! I hope you’ll go check it out. Best of all, it’s free!

This morning I listened to Focus on the Family on the radio, and once again I’ve got to blog about it. There are so many great things going on in the world! Why is the news always so full of negative stories?

I learned about an organization called HANDS, Helping Americans Needing Disaster Support. Leisha Pickering spoke. She’s the wife of Congressman Chip Pickering (MS) and lives in Mississippi, along with their five children. She talked about the ongoing needs of Katrina victims.

There were nearly 70,000 homes destroyed when Katrina hit last August. Say that number slowly. SEV-EN-TY THOUSAND. Homes. Think what your home is to you. These homes were wiped out — completely.

She said at first there was so much help, as volunteer organizations mobilized and drove over to help with immediate relief. But now reality has sunk in for many of these victims, and they’re struggling with getting on with their lives. Many have lost hope.

So she founded this organization, HANDS. I hope you’ll be able to visit their website and watch the introductory video with your kids. There is so much we multi-tasking moms can do. Mrs. Pickering said her volunteers have compiled data on thousands of families, so there is a detailed list of their needs. She encouraged radio listeners to consider partnering with a family and seeking ways to bless them with whatever you feel led to do.

She talked about how one group had come down and actually built a new home for a woman who had lost her family, home, everything. Another time, her organization knocked on the door of a man, and when he opened the door, all he had in his apartment was a mattress. Two kids and a mattress. They offered him things he needed and came back the next day.

This time when he opened the door, he said, “Yesterday, I had nothing. Today I have hope.”

So, I started thinking — maybe there are some of you out there in Sunday school classes or other organizations, and you might be interested in helping out in this way. I mean, here’s where our faith goes into action. It’s important to read the Bible and learn the principles of Christianity, but an active faith also serves others.

Here’s my idea: I think this is something that would be wonderful for teens to get involved in. When I was a teen, I just wanted to hang out with my friends and do fun things to relieve the stress of school. What if teen groups partnered with families victimized by Katrina? There’s plenty they could do. Beyond the tangible donations, they could use their knack for understanding technology to give people hope.

Our church takes teenagers on mission trips every year, and they come back changed. Go look at that HANDS website. We don’t have to fly overseas to find a third-world environment. It’s right in our own backyard. What can you do to help?

I went through our chart this morning trying to update Jeana’s new WordPress address, and I accidentally typed in “Daystocome.com” instead of “Daystocome.net.” Whoa. You DON’T want to do that. But I hope everyone can update her new address in your code — her new FABULOUS design is much easier on my aging eyes (those Blogger dots played hide and seek with her words for me).

Once again, I learned so much this week, and I’m kicking myself that I haven’t been doing these Beth Moore studies for the past several years. My faith is growing like a weed under her teaching … a good weed, I think. The kind of weed that blooms through the cement cracks, even in the hot sun. That’s me.

I’m going to a coffee shop in a couple of weeks with the preschool moms who I did the Beth Moore Believing God study with that ended right before this one started. We’re going to discuss what we’ll do this fall — right now, some people want to do Living Beyond Yourself — woohoo! Me and my big mouth. I’d love to do it again — although I did read that the ladies in Carol’s church are revving up to start Beth Moore’s new study of Daniel, and I’m sure that will be amazing too.

My title for this post is “It’s All Greek to Me” because I honestly could not get over what I learned on Day 1. The Greek words for GRACE and JOY.

Grace = Charis
Joy = Chara

Charis means “unmerited favor.” And Chara means “joy, rejoicing, gladness — enjoyment, bliss.”

I never knew that.

Beth Moore writes:

Do you see a very close relationship between charis and chara? That’s because joy is an absolute assumption in grace. Joy is literally written into grace! God is telling us, “If you only understood what grace means and what you have received by way of it, you would never cease to rejoice!”

She gives us the verse in Luke 10:20, where Christ told the disciples, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Yes! The joy of our salvation is all because of God’s grace in rescuing us from the pits of hell — not only in where we spend eternity, but also in this life. We don’t have to live in the pits of depression, despair, and bondage in THIS life — because God’s grace sets us free to REJOICE daily through Him.

I can’t get over this. I have so much to think about. We really miss so much of the Bible by not being able to read it in the original languages. Now Beth Moore has spoiled me rotten. I want to learn the Bible from someone who can teach it to me in the original languages — Hebrew in the Old Testament, Greek in the New Testament. And I guess there’s Aramaic somewhere in there as well.

In the Believing God study, Beth taught that FAITH leads to HOPE over and over again in scripture. Now she’s taught me that GRACE leads to JOY. These concepts are amazing to me. I may never truly understand what faith means or what grace means. But I can’t live a day without hope. And I want my life to be characterized by joy.

My kids are up! Early. On a Saturday. OK — I’ll have to finish this post mentally, while I make pancakes. I have lots I wanted to say about the video, about Beth’s statement “All we need to create an environment for rejection is relationship.” Because MAN! I’ve been rejected a lot lately, and it’s because I’ve crawled out of my shell, and I’m developing a relationship with thousands of people through writing.

And you are too, fellow bloggers. Guess what? Not everybody is going to like you or your blog topics or your ideas that show up in your posts!

Wouldn’t it be easier to log off and quit writing? Of course. Then no one could reject us. But Jesus developed relationships with people. He didn’t sit around the quiet mountaintops, meditating and praying all day. His sandals got dusty from walking the roads of humanity.

Sometimes, I get overwhelmed when I see how many people have stopped by my site — not a huge number compared to the top blogs, but still a lot for a little ol’ mom. When I write, I know some of the people who will read, and I can’t please them all. It makes me dizzy knowing how different all of you are — I can’t make you all agree with me. So some of you will reject me.

But that’s OK. The best thing I’ve learned from my long, rambling road to getting a few things published is that THICK SKIN is required to be a writer because you’re going to get rejected. I got rejected just yesterday. Thanks, but no thanks. When I send stuff off to editors and it comes back with drastic change requests, I feel like a horrible writer, a horrible person. Then I get over it, do my rewrites, and send it back off again.

It’s the same in life. We have to take a risk to develop relationships with people. They may ignore us or outright reject us. But then there are some who will respond — and we’ll be blessed with that deep CHARA, the joy that comes from the Almighty, All-merciful, Never-Failing God of the Universe.

Off to make pancakes now …

Addie	Heather*	Carol
M	Rach	Jeana
Jenn	Amanda	MamaB
GiBee	Boomama	Maria
Blair	Heather	Nancy
Janna	Flipflop	Robin
Sherry	Patricia	Tara
Lauren	HolyMama!	Faith
Christy	Eph2810	Karin
Leann	Rachel	Janice