Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Watching the Stars

  
 Growing up, I was the strange child that always answered the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" the same way with, "I am going to be a mother and author."

 I was the freshman in high school that already declared herself as a creative writing major when college was still four years away.

 I was the sophomore in college that got annoyed with the amount of people asking me if I had switched that creative writing major yet.

 I am the senior graduating in a month with a creative writing degree that has no regrets.


 There was never a doubt about pursuing creative writing in high school, or college, and now that graduation is approaching, it is still what I want to do. I didn't over spiritualize it, wondering if this is what God truly wanted me to do. I didn't take God out of the picture, either. Starting in eigth grade, I knew my writing would be to glorify God, to proclaim the gospel to beleivers and un-beleivers. I would pursue a degree and publication, and God would either grant those things to me or not.    
 
So this is my question for myself:

  Why have I always pursued my writing and nothing else?

 That friend who seems distant and I long to reconnect with- why do I not ask to eat lunch with her?

 That guy I like- why do I feel the need to avoid him instead of talking to him?

 This area of Michigan- why am I not trying to figure out a way to stay?

 I don't remember when my views on God's will became flawed, but I remember when I realized they were. A few months ago I read Kevin DeYoung's book Just Do Something, and I was waiting for God to give me some miraculous sign or obvious answer to big, life decisions I would soon have to make. I was waiting for an amazing and random job offer, or for the stars to spell out which state God wanted me to choose. Though God can work that way, He usually doesn't. DeYoung writes that generally, unless what we are thinking of doing goes against God's Word, we should just do it. 

 But I am not a natural doer. I am not good at initiating anything.

 However, my mom recently told me, "You can't make a mistake. You are not going to mess up God's plan." 

 I recently initiated re-connecting with my friend, and it has been wonderful. I wonder if she had been waiting for me to do so.

 I am praying. I am seaking God's council. But there comes a point when I need to just do something, when I need to stop watching the stars for a sign and do something. I pray He will give me the strength to do that, just as I have done for writing. I pray I will know when to watch and wait, and when to do.

 Do you have any big decisions to make soon? 
How has God been faithful to you during this time?


Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Easter Celebration




 This Sunday, after an amazing service with my church family celebrating our risen Savior, my sister, her friend, and I had our own Easter dinner together in my apartment.


 The color scheme happened to be purple. I used my bamboo plant and the African Violet my sister gave me for a center piece, and my sister brought purple mason jars for pretty glasses and Dove dark chocolate that happened to match.


 The menu consisted of our traditional family Easter dinner:

 Ham
 Scalloped Potatoes
 Freshly Steamed Broccoli
 Crescent Rolls with Raspberry Jam
 Raspberry Jello (A tradition in Gracie's friend's family)

 Though we would have preferred to have been at home with our parents, it was also good to make our own meal and begin our own traditions.

   Saturday night I was reading the account of Jesus' death and ressurection in John, and was happily surprised when John 20 was also the passage used for Easter morning's sermon. In my personal reading, I stopped after I read these verses:

 "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary'. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (John 20:15-17, ESV)

 I wondered why Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him. If I was in her situation, that is what I would do, too. My Lord and Savior is not dead but standing alive in front of me! How could I not cling to Him? But Jesus says not to cling to Him. What a hard command. And I thought of my own life, how there are things in my life that God has said no to. That also seems harsh and hard.

 But Sunday morning my pastor shared that Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him because His time on earth was limited. He would soon be ascending to heaven, as He continues to say after he tells her not to cling to Him. He was preparing Mary for that seperation, as well as all of His followers. 

 For some reason I often doubt that the God who died on the cruel cross for me has my best interest. It is days like Sunday where I am reminded how wrong I am. Sometimes they are hard commands. Often, I want to do the very opposite of what I am supposed to do or want the exact opposite situation than the one I am currently in. But God has an ultimate purpose.

Happy Easter! What are some of your special Easter traditions or things God has taught you this holiday?

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Journey to Love Blog Release Tour (Plus Giveaway)



 I am excited to do something different for this blog post and introduce you to a wonderful new book written by Amanda Tero. So get comfy with a blanket and a cup of tea or coffee as I share this book with you and don't forget to enter the drawing below for your chance to win a free copy of Journey to Love. 

About the Book

                 
   Now orphaned, Marie is swept miles away from the only life she knew to be sheltered by unknown gaurdians. Caught in the challenges     of a new life, she cannot prevent changes from happening, but she can keep the Bowles and their friends at arm's length. Or can she?                   While things appear to transition smoothly on the outside, Marie struggles against the turmoil she faces on the inside. She sees something in the Bowles and her new friends that she had never experienced before, but should she trust what the preacher is teaching when it goes against everything she had accepted as truth? Is God really a God of love? If He is, then is Marie willing to accept it?

  Follow Marie as she begins the journey to love.



About Amanda

 
Amanda Tero is a homeschool graduate who desires to provide God-honoring, family-friendly reading material. She has enjoyed writing since before ten years old, but it has only been since 2013 that she began seriously pursuing writing again- starting with some short stories that she wrote for her sisters as a gift. Her mom encouraged her to try selling the stories she published, and since then, she has begun actively writing short stories, novellas, and novels. If something she has written draws an individual into a deeper realtionship with Jesus Christ, it is worth it!

 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)

 Connect with Amanda

 Email: amandaterobooks@gmail.com





 You can enter to win a copy of Journey to Love here. 

 Blog Tour Schedule