Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Persistence Children may not know the meaning of the word persistent, but they have the concept down pat. "Can I have a snack?" "No." "Can I have a snack?" "No." "Can I have a snack?" "No." This is a typical conversation with one of the little people I babysit, only the conversation lasts a lot longer. I don't have a problem with snacks, but I do limit them to no more than 20 per day. She'd like more. She's persistent. As a child, I was persistent. Not for snacks, but for salvation. Every night I would pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart. I was afraid that maybe I didn't do it right or something. God was more than willing to listen to the persistent please of a child. Now, as a writer, persistence is key in my life. I have to send out a lot of articles and stories if I want to receive paychecks. You know that old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, ...

Reliable We all want to be friends with that person who is reliable. Reliable people are the ones you can depend on. They are the ones you can call on when you're in a pinch and need a helping hand. Reliable people get things done. I had a great example of reliability in my parents. If they made a promise to do something, it would be done, and it would be done well. That's something I'm still working on. A friend of mine falls into the category of reliable. She is always the first in line to fix a meal, bring a treat, or take care of any job that needs doing. I want to be like her when I grow up. A few years back I was convicted about my own reliability. A friend of mine desperately needed some help. She didn't call on me at that time, but I had to think about what I would have done if she had called me. Would I have told her I was too busy? Would I have dropped everything and ran to her immediately? I honestly can't answer about what I would have ...

Dedication Dedication is something I think is seriously lacking in today's society. So many people aren't dedicated to anything. Young people get a job and find out it isn't as much fun as they thought it should be so they quit, or better yet, they just stopped showing up. They have grandiose ideas about jobs they love with huge paychecks. There isn't anything wrong with enjoying the job or looking forward to payday, but the reality is that jobs aren't always what we expect them to be. Another reality is that companies aren't exactly dedicated to their employees anymore either. People would often take a job and plan on being there into retirement. My grandfather started working for the railroad when he was a teenager and stayed until he stopped working altogether. If someone wants to do that today, companies make it very difficult, if not impossible. But it isn't just the workforce where this is true. People say they'll work in an are...

Patience Years ago I had to make a trip to the DMV. Since I homeschooled my kids, they pretty much went everywhere with me, including the dreaded DMV. This was back before we could do most everything conveniently online. That day my little boy learned the word "patient." I thought he understood the meaning, but I learned the next day that I was wrong. I had to go to the fabric store – one of my favorite places, but not his. Again – homeschoolers – kids went everywhere with me. I had put The Boy in the cart so my hands were free. He wasn't happy and pleaded with me to let him out, "I will be patient!" A fellow customer standing nearby burst out laughing. So, he hadn't learned what patience was after all.  It takes all of us time to develop that  P word. Patience is not a natural human trait. We must learn and practice it. As we mature spiritually we will develop patience. It's one of the Fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. ...

Believe Here's a question for you: what do you believe? I know, it's a rather broad question. What do you believe…about what? I believe it's going to be a beautiful day. I believe I'm going to cross things off my to do list today. But… What do you believe about God? Some of my favorite times of the week when my kids were still all at home were Sunday afternoons. We would have Sunday dinner and sit at the table for a couple of hours talking. Those were the best conversations. These discussions don't happen as much anymore since the kids are all grown and have their own lives, but once in a while they do. One happened the other night with my son and his girlfriend. She was commenting on an article she had read about a Christian celebrity. The point he wanted to make was that we got so caught up in so many different things about worship and spirituality, people have a tendency to push the actual Word of God aside. People are more conce...

Captivating Captivating is defined as "to capture and hold our attention." Think about what captivates you. Movies we watch can certainly captivate and hold our attention. I read a lot and have friends who read a lot. We often share titles that sucked us in and wouldn't let us go.  But what about God? Are we captivated by Him? Does He hold our attention? In a world where attention spans have a limit of about 30 seconds, there is not a whole lot that keeps us interested for any length of time. I as a person am not captivating, but I want my books to be. I want them to draw readers in and captivate them with the presence and holiness of God working in the lives of ordinary people. If you are a believer and keep your eyes open to see the hand of God at work, you know it's an amazing thing that can capture and keep your attention. Even those who have ADD attention spans, every time you turn your head to look in a different direction, you can see God at work....

Valuable Sometimes as a mom it's hard to feel valuable. It's often a thankless job. Nobody sees even half of what you do. Work is often paid for with a screaming baby, a temper tantrum throwing toddler, a temperamental teenager, and a husband who just wants his dinner. I once read an article that said stay-at-home moms "should" be earning $162,581 a year. Where are my mom friends who see that in their bank account? You know something? Our mom value is not in money. Being a mom is the highest calling God gave to women, not climbing the corporate ladder. I am not dissing moms who work outside the home. Each one has to make choices as to what is best for her family. This is for all those who choose to stay at home, those who sometimes feel value less. Our value was in the little lives you are molding each day. Your payment is all the sticky, syrupy kisses and the I love yous from the lips of those to whom you gave life. Our value is raising ch...