When Joy is Scarce

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You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
. . .
Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 63:5,7 NLT*

Joy has been scarce in my heart lately, and I’ve felt more like David’s “parched and weary land.”

These two verses from Psalm 63 are my antidote, if I can let my mind and spirit truly believe them.

God satisfies. He is enough, and abundantly more than enough. That negates the joy-drain of discontent. I need to practice intentional gratitude, not just for His gifts but for who He is.

God helps. He is our ever-present helper and sustainer, and His strong hand holds us securely.

That truth eliminates anxiety, if I really believe it.

God who is all that I need, I believe. Help my unbelief. Help me realize, accept and rely on the truth of who You are and what that means in my life. Help me live confident and secure in You, aware of the many ways You satisfy and delight. 

∞

God used the Newsboys’ song, “The Letter,” to challenge me about believing what He says. 

*New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Review: Dying to Read, by Lorena McCourtney

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Dying to ReadDying to Read, by Lorena McCourtney (Revell, 2012)

Cate Kinkaid is working for her Uncle Joe, “dipping her toe into the world of private investigation” until she can find a real job. Her past work experience, and her ex-fiancé, have left her feeling like a failure.

Her first investigative assignment seems to be more of the same: all she has to do is verify the address of a young woman named Willow, but Willow’s gone. Instead, Cate finds a dead body and ends up saddled with the deceased’s cat.

But Cate has spunk and some good instincts, and the official verdict of accidental death doesn’t feel right. Plus, she’s determined to find Willow before her uncle discovers the assignment’s still unfinished.

Suspects abound: Willow, the dead woman’s book club, her niece, her boyfriend. It’s not all bad, though. Cate meets a handsome handyman, Mitch, who appoints himself her bodyguard. Even that’s troublesome, because she still wonders if God will bring her ex-fiancé to his senses.

Dying to Read is book one in Lorena McCourtney’s new series, The Cate Kinkaid Files. After enjoying her Ivy Malone books, I was eager to give this one a try, and I look forward to reading more of Cate’s adventures.

Lorena McCourtney’s characters are always a treat, blending humour and eccentricities with hearts that are surprisingly real. Cate doesn’t trust her intuition, but she’s wiser than she knows, and she’s too stubborn to quit.

To learn more about the author and her books, visit Lorena McCourtney’s website. At the publisher’s website, you can read an excerpt of Dying to Read, or if you’ve already read the novel, check out the discussion questions.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

7 Links for Writers

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Novel Rocket looks at The 5 Stages of Rejection Grief.

Brian Feinblum’s guest post at Live, Write, Thrive offers 16 Tips on How to Succeed as a Writer.

At A Word of Encouragement, Laura Hodges Poole shares two key tips and a video: How to Develop Effective Writing Habits.

At Live, Write, Thrive, C.S. Lakin shares the three most important things to know about your main characters.

Jerry Jenkins shares his secrets on How to Overcome Writer’s Block.

Jeff Goins offers The Writing Class You Never Had.

And to keep us focused, check out agent Chip MacGregor’s thought-provoking post on the difference between success and significance.

The Best Response to Trouble

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Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
May your glory shine over all the earth.
Psalm 57:11, NLT*

This is another David-hunted-by-Saul psalm. It’s only 11 verses long, and twice David repeats the lines above.

He cries out to God for help, describing his danger and the strength of his enemies. Then he first calls for God to be exalted and glorified. The context implies “bring glory to Your name by defeating my powerful enemies.”

When I look at troubles and dangers and ask God to be glorified, that’s what I mean too.

But David keeps on writing. Now he’s talking about his confidence in God, how he can praise God and how he’ll thank Him. Present and future. Because of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness.

Then he repeats “Be exalted… may your glory shine.”

David’s faith response, and his confident trust in God despite the circumstances, also exalts and glorifies God. Isn’t that something we can do, too?

Holy and majestic God Most High, be exalted. Let Your glory shine. We pray to see Your intervention in the troubles that shake us—and our world. Strengthen our faith so we can stand like David in hard times. Be exalted, let Your glory shine, through us, Your children, as we trust You.

∞

Third Day’s “Your Love, O Lord,” is a good song to keep us focused in worship and trust.

*New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

Review: Dancing with Dynamite, by Tim Huff

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Dancing with Dynamite, cover artDancing with Dynamite, by Tim Huff (Castle Quay Books, 2010)

Dancing with Dynamite is subtitled “celebrating against the odds.” Something we all need to learn sooner or later.

It’s not a feel-good book, but it’s not depressing or painful either. It’s a good-for-you book, introducing real people in hard places and revealing surprising—and thought-provoking—moments of celebration.

It’s an invitation for us to really see the people around us, to see ourselves, and to dare to celebrate no matter what our circumstances.

Tim Huff writes with honesty about individuals he’s met: street people, group home residents, orphans and the aged, and more. The people society tries not to see. Sometimes the deeper story is how they affected his life—and how they can touch ours.

The book shares vignettes of his experiences in ministry to street youth in Toronto, working at a camp for the deaf, and playing Santa for orphans and the elderly in Romania. Although they’re accounts of the poor and marginalized, they’re about the larger human condition.

The author’s goal?

“My prayer is that you’ve found some semblance of yourself within these pages. And in that, that you know you belong. That you are worthy to be celebrated.” (p.163)

Canadian author and speaker Tim Huff has also written Bent Hope: A Street Journal for adults, and the children’s picture book The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge: Helping Children Understand Homelessness, both bestsellers. All three books have won awards (in 2011 Dancing With Dynamite received the Grace Irwin Award, Canada’s largest literary prize for writers who are Christian).

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Bible Verses that Make a Difference

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Photo of the Book of Isaiah page of the Bible ...

Photo of the Book of Isaiah page of the Bible (cropped version) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

On Wednesday I mentioned some of the verses I’m using these days to keep my thoughts and emotions aligned with God.

In various stages of my life, I’ve clung to different verses.

Here are some that have meant a lot to me over the years:

“Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.”   ‑ Isaiah 50:10b NIV

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”         ‑ Isaiah 40:31 NIV

“The Lord is faithful to all His promises, and loving toward all He has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”    ‑ Psalm 145:13b,14 NIV

“He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.”    ‑ Isaiah 40:11 NIV

“A bruised reed He will not break, and a smouldering wick He will not snuff out.” – Isaiah 42:3a NIV

What are some verses that have meant the most to you?

Because God Said So

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For you have rescued me from death;
you have kept my feet from slipping.
So now I can walk in your presence, O God,
in your life-giving light.
Psalm 56:13, NLT*

In this psalm David declares his trust in God and praises God for His promise. Twice he asks “What can men do to me?”

The first time, he follows with a list of what his enemies want to do to him. The danger is real. He asks God to prevent them from harming him. He reminds himself of how intimately God cares for him, and then he reaffirms his choice to trust in God.

Three times in the psalm, he praises God for “His promise” and I think that’s the promise that David would be king. At this point he’s still on the run from King Saul and is in the hands of the Philistines.

Logic and faith say he can’t be killed before God accomplishes His purpose, so David has confidence that his enemies won’t be allowed to kill him.

Most of us don’t have a specific, personal promise from God guaranteeing we won’t be harmed. We do have lots of promises, though. And if we don’t have physical enemies, we still have spiritual ones that would bind or hamper us and keep us from the life God promises.

One of the “enemies” stalking me is anxiety. Today’s verse is one I’m using as a prayer-promise. Another is “who the Son sets free is free indeed.”

Perhaps my favourite “weapon” this year is “I have a Good Shepherd.”

Father, Saviour, show us the individual promises to cling to for protection from the unseen forces, thoughts and behaviour patterns that want to deny the new life You’ve promised to grow in us. Yes, they could do it – if not for Your promises. Help us be confident in You, help us walk in Your presence and in Your life-giving light.

∞

Here’s Carolyn Arends singing “I’ve Got a Hope.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEKW4DCoVoA

*New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Review: Cooking the Books, by Bonnie S. Calhoun

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Cooking the Books cover artCooking the Books, by Bonnie S. Calhoun (Abingdon Press, 2012)

When Sloane Templeton fled her abusive husband, she moved into an apartment above her mother’s bookstore in Brooklyn, NYC. Her mom’s sudden death left her co-owner of the store, and business partner with store manager Felicia Tyler.

Sloane’s not the bookstore type. She’s a computer forensics pro. But she’s not ready to let go of the connection to her mother and move on with life. Especially not now, when community business owners are under pressure to sell out to a big developer and she can still hear her mother’s thoughts on the subject.

Sloane is a vibrant, sassy character with a penchant for strays (of the human variety). Her self-appointed mother-hens, Felicia and Aunt Verlene, are as supportive as they can be. Sadly for Sloane, that support comes in the form of shooting lessons, fear-inspiring home cuisine, and a concerted attempt to set her up with nice young men despite her current relationship.

Then the email threats start. Her former boyfriend (not the ex-husband, he’s trouble of a different sort) wants her back. Rude but wealthy men compete for a valuable book. And the developer piles on the pressure to sell. What’s a girl to do?

The characters make the novel. Felicia and Verlene are larger-than-life comedic individuals like you’d find in Janice Hanna Thompson’s Weddings by Bella series. Between the fast-paced banter and all that’s going on in Sloane’s life, it’s a fun read. And a good mystery: who’s behind all this?

When the immediate mystery is solved, there are enough threads left to warrant a sequel. Always a good thing… I hope we’ll see more Sloane Templeton Mysteries. For a bit of fun, click this link to meet Sloane Templeton.

Bonnie S. Calhoun is director of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and owner/publisher of the popular Christian Fiction Online magazine. Cooking the Books is her first novel, and it fits her tag line: snark & suspense. For more about the author, visit bonniescalhoun.com. And check out Vonda Skelton’s interview with Bonnie.  You can also read the first chapter of Cooking the Books.

[Review copy from my personal library.]
Related articles

Rest. Is it possible?

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Rest — physical and spiritual — can be an elusive hope. Here are five helpful links I’ve read lately:

rest: tranquil ocean sceneSheila Seiler Lagrande says “We can’t earn rest any more than we can earn salvation. So let’s show ourselves some grace, shall we?”

Grace Fox shares the secret to a restful sleep.

Bonnie Leon reminds us of the peace that comes when we remember God is always with us.

Mary deMuth encourages us to Say No. Rest.

Reba J. Hoffman, PhD tells us it’s crucial to develop the habit of stillness.

Thriving and Trusting

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But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.
I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.
Psalm 52:8, NLT*

This verse sounds like a prayer. It’s not how I am, but it’s how I want to be.

To thrive… when I feel God’s presence I feel my soul thriving.

To trust… when I think of trusting in God’s love, I think security, soul-rest in Him, confidence, necessarily in the physical sense but definitely in the spiritual.

Sometimes we have to trust Him in the darkness. We can choose to trust that He is still nurturing us.

Creator and Sustainer God, plant me like an olive tree in Your presence, so that I can’t wander away from You. Help me always trust and remember Your unfailing love, so I can thrive in Your care.

∞

Here’s one of my favourite classic Newsboys songs: “Thrive”.

*New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.