CONTEST!! - WIN A BOOK

So, here are three things that I learned at the writers’ conference I attended last week.

1. I need a brand. A brand should be something about me that’s a signature type of outfit, activity, possession, statement, that makes me stand out from a crowd. (For example, the bright colors I like to wear.)

2. I need a tagline. A tagline is a single phrase, or a sentence or two that sums up me and/or a general, over-arching theme or trait you see in my writing as a whole (NOT my specific writing projects). An example would be the way I seem to look at things from a different perspective, the way I look for what’s beneath the surface.

3. I should try to get my followers on the internet to be more involved. So, I think I’ve found a way to solve all three issues at the same time.

I’M GOING TO HOLD A CONTEST!

* Anyone may enter—young or old, male or female, writer or non-writer.

* I’m looking for a one-phrase to one-sentence long tagline.

* It should incorporate my love of color and my unique way of looking at things.

* It must be entered as a comment on my Facebook group “The Book and Blankie Society.”

* The deadline is 11:59pm, July 3, 2019

* The winner will receive their choice of any one of my books.

You don't have to be a "word nerd" to win! The winner will be chosen by a random drawing, probably conducted by one of my grandchildren who is too young to read. 

AAAAAANNNNNNND . . . GO!

Prayer Update

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Thank you, not only for your prayers, but for you patience, as you waited for an update. So...an update.

We met Thursday night, as planned, and spent the next three hours reading scripture, talking, crying, and praying. God definitely met us there. The Holy Spirit was clearly present. Old wounds were healed, and old strongholds were broken down. I can hear some of you, though, saying, "But the healing? What about the healing?" Well, here's the report (so far).

I definitely have more peace and joy than I have had in a long time! What about my physical symptoms?

1.  For the past two nights, I have slept longer, more soundly, more deeply, more restfully than I have slept in months--if not years.
2.  For the past two mornings, I have not had a "smoker's cough" when I woke up.
3.  My capacity on the incentive spirometer has increased by 500ml!
4.  I feel like I'm breathing deeper and easier than I have in the recent past.
5.  My appetite has improved.
6.  I don't feel the need to take my parkinson's med as frequently as I had been lately.
7.  Yesterday, I helped Lloyd and some students clean, organize, and shut down his classroom.
8.  I met a friend for breakfast.
9.  I spent some hanging out with my daughter.
10. I went to a graduation open house.

Today, I have a busy day planned, too.

1.  Shopping
2.  Getting ready for church tomorrow
3.  Meal planning
4.  Groceries
5.  Clean house
6.  Go to a couple more graduation open houses
7.  Have friends over for a game night

Sometimes, there's a little nasty voice trying to tell me that this is a fluke, a coincidence, a temporary occurrence--that I'm just going to be disappointed eventually, so I might as well give up hope now. But, I just say to the little voice, "SHUT UP! I don't know what God's plan is for me in the future, but I know I can trust him, and that all his ways are good. So I'm going to enjoy what he's given me right now, and you can go away and leave me alone, and go talk to Jesus about THE PLANS HE HAS FOR YOU!!!"

"This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

Marcia

In Case You Don't Know What to Pray

For those of you who are wanting to be involved with the time of praying for me, but are feeling uncertain about what to say to Jesus, you can feel free to pray this prayer that I wrote. It was a prayer I wrote to pray for a friend of mine who was sick. Thank you again for your care and involvement.

Prayer for a Hurting Friend

Papa Healer,

My friend is hurting so.
It seems hard
To face such intense pain, sickness, sorrow. 
Often,
It seems harder still—
To stand by,
To feel helpless,
While someone I love so deeply
Suffers so deeply.
I want to do...
Something!

...Something like You did.

With a touch,
Burn all disease from my friend's body. 
With a word,
Tear out every microbe, toxin, cancer cell. 
With the force of my faith,
Cast every wound,
Every sorrow,
Every loss,
Into the Pit from whence it came.

Papa....
Guide my eyes to see,

My lips to pray,

My hands to serve,

My arms to hold,
My feet to go,
My heart to love,
In ways my friend most needs.

Let me be as one of the faithful ones
Who carried the paralyzed man to You. 
Grant that my faith be enough for my friend's healing.

Papa Healer,
I "open the roof"
And bring my friend to You. 
Open the heavens,
And bring Your healing touch 
To my friend. 

Ditch the Ratty Old Sweats!

OK, confession time. Thursday night scares me. Why? Because...I know how to "do" the role of sick person. I'm comfortable in the role of patient, long-suffering, gracious invalid. That doesn't scare me. What makes me nervous is the idea of being asked to "play the character" of the healthy person, I think I've almost forgotten what a healthy person's life is like. As a matter of faith, I've been trying to retrain myself to "think healthy" but numerous times every day, I catch myself about to slip back into the old ways of thinking. It feels soooo cooommmforrrrrtabllle, kind of like coming home at the end of the day and changing out of your crisp, impeccable suit and into you comfy, ratty old sweats. So if you'd like to pray for me today, you can pray that God will help me remember to "think like a healthy person".

And here's a question for you: What old, detrimental ways of thinking are you still holding onto--a way that you know you should break free from because you have no doubt is holding you back from all God has planned for you. Something you know you should have thrown away a long time ago, but it's soooo cooommmforrrrrtabllle?

"Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert. Be present. I am about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is!"  Isaiah 43:17  (MSG)

Better....

There’s a well-known saying about change and risk: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.” But I think that unfortunately for far too many of us, even believers, the saying that would more accurately express our lives would be, “Better the devil you know than the God you don’t know.”

Why would we feel this way? Why would our knowledge of the enemy be more comprehensive, more comforting than our knowledge of God? Why would we choose the mistreatment and bullying of the enemy as preferable to the love and care of our Heavenly Father?  And yet we do. We resist throwing ourselves headlong into the Father’s arms of mercy and grace, yet willingly fling ourselves into worry and fear. 

Is It because we want the comfort of relationship predictability, even if that means predictable abuse and humiliation? Do we resist the Father’s love because it seems strange, unfamiliar, unpredictable?

Do we resist the new, deeper waters He calls us to because we can’t predict what He will do, how His love will be expressed? At least in the shallow waters of the enemy, we know what to expect—as always, the enemy’s intentions toward us are evil. But they are predictable. It may be a losing game, but at least we know how his game is played. 

Maybe what we need is not to spend more time learning about ourselves or our problems, but more time spent in learning who God is, in getting to know Him better.

Tuesday -- Poetry Day

He [Jesus] pressed them, "And how about you? Who do you say I am?" 

Simon Peter said, "You're the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God."  

Jesus came back [replied],"God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn't get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out." Matthew 16:15-18 (MSG)

I think I'll publish one of my poems every Tuesday! (We'll see how long this determination lasts.) Today, I'm starting with a poem that I wrote just recently. It's based loosely on Matthew 16:15-18, along with a statement I once heard a speaker make, that gates are a defensive weapon, NOT a weapon of assault. So this statement was probably quite an attention grabber for Jesus' listeners that day. Many of them probably had first- (or second- or third- or fourth-hand) information about what it was like, sitting huddled in the dark, inside a walled city. What it was like, listening to the rhythmic thud . . . thud . . . thud, as the opposing forces applied their battering ram to the city gates. And what it was like, experiencing the unstoppable power and confidence of the victors, as they charged through the yawning gap where the "invincible" gates had been, and claimed the victory for their sovereign.

So, no more "speechifying"—here's the poem!

*****

Battering Ram

The Enemy reaches out
With claws,
Threatening to tear me down,
Declaring I have no value.
But you remind me
The battle for my soul
Was won 
By you,
So long ago.

The victory is ours.

And I run
Straight at the gates of hell,
And batter them open.

And I Know....

Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand,

But I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know He holds my hand.

Well, it seems I'm in "Hurry up and wait" mode! We need to get this taken care of, but there seem to be so many checks and double-checks and failsafes. Augh! It's like Tom Petty said, "The waiting is the hardest part.

So now, not only do I feel a twinge of fear at the thought of thoracic surgery (been there, done that, didn't want the t-shirt!), I also feel a twinge of fear at the thought that "they" might decide that I'm not a candidate for surgery. I feel like a toddler: "I don't wanna! I don't wanna! I don't wanna! Why won't you let me?!"

What I think would be really cool is if God miraculously healed me! Wouldn't that be amazing? One moment it's there, and the next moment, all my internal organs are in the right places! Or I wake up one morning, and everything is back to normal. What would be really amazing would be if He healed everything while He was at it!

You know what? I'm gonna ask. Jesus said, "You don't have because you don't ask." And he told his followers a story to remind them that they could always ask and keep on asking. So, I'm going to set a time and if you'd like to join me in asking Jesus to heal me, you're welcome to join in. I'm setting the time and date from 6pm - 9pm, Thursday, May 30. You can pray as much or as little of the time as you like. And it doesn't matter if you've never talked to Him before, He'd still like to hear from you, and you don't need any fancy words—just talk to Him.

I'm already planning on having some people praying with me. If you'd like to let me know that you're planning to pray, I would find that so encouraging. 

Thanks!

Marcia

Amazing How Crisis Brings Us Back

Aaack! It's been almost two years! That's a long time to go without talking to your friends.  😞  I'm sorry. I've started posting again, because of one thing...my health...again. I've promised several friends that I will post updates on here, whenever I can. So I'll get everyone up to speed and then we'll go on from there.

Here's how it all began (this time). For quite some time (several months to a couple years) I have been having unexplained episodes of fatigue. I would frequently wind up at the ER or the doctor's office, tests would be ordered, images would be made, and they would find...NOTHING!

This time, however, they DID  find something! Not what they were looking for. Not what they expected to find. They found what appears to be a hernia in my diaphragm. So I'm probably going to need surgery.

The process has begun. Figuring out what, exactly, is wrong. Deciding what can be done about it. Finding the best person for the job. Testing, imaging, etc., etc., until the day (of surgery?) arrives. And I'm going to try to take you along for the ride. So if you want details, stop by here, And if you just want to pray for me, that's OK, too. And if you're a medico, and want lots and LOTS of details, I can probably oblige there, as well!

Ta-ta for now!

Marcia