The Flight

Have you ever had a dream? Sure. We all have. But I'm learning that the funny thing about dreams is they're most clear when we aren't looking directly at them.

I had a very good experience at the ACFW conference this year. A lot of positive feedback, great time with friends, and the editor interest I was hoping to find for my new book. So there I am, sitting on the airplane headed home, and what do I do? My thoughts jump to what is coming next. I begin to pray and ask God to lead me to the next step of His plan. But then it hits me. He already is.

As I sat there trying not to breathe in too many plane germs, God spoke to me. You know what He said?

You're already on the plane.

Did you catch that? YOU are already on the plane too. That thought overwhelms me with thanksgiving. I may not know where I am going next, but the thing is, I am going somewhere, and so are you. The plane is no longer on the ground. We have left the former things in pursuit of the things to come.

That can be very nerve wrecking when you're a planner and like to know what comes next. But slow down for a second and let it sink in. But we aren't just waiting around. We are moving forward. The plane has left the ground. God's purposes for your life are already in action. Isn't that an incredible thing?

This was my view from my airplane window leaving Dallas.

I like knowing what comes next. I always have. So many times, I pray about God's next step for my life, and when I say I pray, I pray a lot.

But really, when it comes down to it, what I'm doing is taking myself out of a reliance on God. The praying is just a ruse for trying to take control. Instead of trusting Him to put the next step in front of me when it feels like I'm stepping into air, I'm looking for a step on my own. This is not how faith operates.

I know I've referenced this verse a lot lately, but let's look at it again. Hebrews 11:1. The NIV says it this way, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

KJV says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

The moment we cannot see the future is the precise moment we learn to step out in faith. Faith in what is seen is no faith at all. Hold fast to your calling, for if it is true, then even when you can't see it, that calling is the surest ground you could ever walk upon.

This past week, God has spoken to me that I need to slow down and just trust Him along the journey. So often, I get myself stressed out because I'm spending too much energy trying to figure out "the best thing" to do in every situation. But that's wasted effort. If we just look to Him, our footsteps will align with where they ought to be.

Our Heavenly Father delights in giving us good things. If He has put a calling on your heart, there is a reason. Keep your confidence in the work He is doing in your life. Being confident in His purposes is not pride--it's a very good thing. You may not see where He is taking you, but the important thing is, if you've committed it to Him, you're already flying.

Do you ever find yourself getting ahead of the place God has put you in? Maybe you haven't yet achieved your dream, but have you taken time lately to let the progress you've made sink in? How can we remain sensitive to what God is doing in our lives now instead of being so overwhelmed by future things?

Being Available

Today I want to encourage you with something I am constantly having to remind myself of: the importance of being available.

So imagine you're a writer, and your dream editor is sitting in the lobby of a hotel. This could, by the way, be a reality for some of you going to writing conferences this year! You, like every other writer on the face of the planet, are nervous about your pitch, so you are hiding in the corner of a hotel coffee shop and mumbling your pitch over and over again to yourself. It's not perfect. You're forgetting words. You're forgetting details. You may even be forgetting your characters' names. At this point, you have two options. You can sit in that same spot in the coffee shop, rehearsing your pitch until you turn blue, or you can put one foot in front of the other until you end up in the lobby.

I don't know what the "coffee shop" may be in your life, or what your "lobby" is, but I know this. We spend too much time focusing on our insufficiency and not enough time focusing on God's ability.

I think one of the most vital and challenging aspects of the faith is simply allowing ourselves to be open. We like to have our own plans and feel prepared. We like to keep fiddling with details until every little thing turns out every little way we want it to. But life is messy, and sometimes being available means stepping out into the unknown. But isn't that what it means to have faith?

So much of the time, we need to remind ourselves that it's not about being perfect. It's about being willing.

For those of you who will be attending ACFW this year, this message is one I hope you carry with you as encouragement this week. God can use you no matter what you have done wrong. Whether you're sinned or whether you've forgotten your one sheets or whether you've accidentally slept through breakfast. Open your eyes to the opportunities He has placed in your pathway, because the plans He has for us are far greater than we could ever imagine. And if that's truly the case, why do we try so hard to stick to our own plans when He has something so much greater in mind?

Have you ever stepped out in faith and found God met you there in a cool way? We would love to hear your stories!

Now, Faith...

I have a sensitive heart.

I worry about dogs wandering the side of the road, butterflies in traffic, and kids who seem sad.

I carry these things with me--all the time--until, after a while, they get heavier, and heavier, and I break down. I give them to God, and I lay them down. And then when I'm feeling strong enough, suddenly I find myself in a new day, picking up new burdens like little packages that need my care. And I start to worry more and more that if I don't tend to them, no one else will care.

This is a problem in my life.

This might be my biggest struggle against God.

I have a hard time letting go because I care so much. Recently, a mockingbird made a nest in our maple tree, and I started using leashes when I took the dogs outside because I was just sure they were going to get the birds. I fretted and fretted and prayed and prayed and prayed, and one day I went out there and found the nest on the ground. This was very upsetting to me. Just three mockingbird eggs, but they had life. And I feel this ever-present responsibility to care for life.

Have you been there? Maybe your circumstances are different, but do you pick up little burdens throughout your days and hold on to them as if they won't inevitably bring you down? As if they somehow need your care to be okay?

God has been teaching me two things lately. Letting go, and that little acts of faith matter. Let me explain.

What is faith if we cannot, at the end of it all, simply let go to God? 

Many times, when we feel this urge to tend to things, it comes from a good heart. I am passionate about creation and want to care for it the best I can. Praying about these things is good. Praying as a vehicle for control is not. There's this fine line where we step back and realize that our attempts to please God are nothing and that He simply wants us. Not that we shouldn't bring our concerns, our hearts to God, but rather, if we pick them right back up afterwards, what good has it done?

And then the other thing--how little acts of faith matter. I don't know about you, but I live under this constant feeling of not being good enough. I don't know where this came from. I was never in an environment that perpetuated this tendency, so the only conclusion I can draw is that it must've come from somewhere deep within. I am a perfectionist. I like things well-done, but I am rarely satisfied. And so when I am filling my figurative backpack with all these heavy rocks, they begin to weigh on me. I inevitably try to tackle the problems myself, all at once. And I always, always fail. Oh, it may look like a great success to the outside eye. But I know where I could've done better. And this makes me tired.

But is this the life God has called us to? Has He not given us a framework for laying these burdens down, once and for all? Has He not offered us peace instead of the worry that comes when we become overly invested in solving our own problems?

Last night, God led me to Hebrews 11 before bed. Speaking of which--daily quiet times, there's a great example of a situation where I always feel like I'm dropping the ball. Can you relate? I wish I had space to copy the whole chapter here, so instead, I'm going to give this link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+11&version=NIV

"Now faith," it says, "is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for."

The rest of the chapter goes on to outline some of the giants of the faith and all of a sudden, you come to see the Old Testament is this beautiful outline of people who believed God, and it was counted to them as "righteousness." Moses is one of the examples given, and I'm always amazed by that, because really, it would seem Moses lost his faith in God's promise, would it not? But he still gets a shout-out. Which is so encouraging, isn't it, to know our faith doesn't have to be perfect in order for it to count.

I hope you're encouraged today to know God loves you right where you are. And as well all strive to be better, to do things well as we run around throughout the day, may we also remember the reason behind it all.

Running for Our Calling

I Corinthians 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

Recently I saw a teenager from church post this verse on his Facebook status as a way to shame people out of watching movies because they can't glorify God, apparently. And that bothered me, so it got me to thinking, why do we as the church have such a hard time with this concept? And what does living our lives for the glory of God really look like?

The best I can tell, it has a lot more to do with the motivations behind our actions than the actions themselves. Sure, we should avoid sin, but what if there's more to it than that? What if we have a higher calling, something to run . . . towards instead of away from?

We often hear this verse associated with things we shouldn't do. Don't watch R rated movies. Don't have sex out of wedlock. Don't say curse words or look at pornography. And I agree wholeheartedly--it's of vital importance that as Christians, we avoid these things. That we avoid the sins that would burden God's heart and make Him displeased.

But there's so much more to live for.

Notice what the verse is really saying. It's not a list of things we shouldn't be doing. You often hear teenagers asking youth ministers about the lines of appropriate behavior. How much is too much when it comes to difficult friendships, dating unbelievers, even kissing. But what is wrong with our doctrine that we've encouraged young believers to ask these things, to come to think of faith as a line we shouldn't cross rather than a marvelous light we're running toward?

Far from a list of sins to avoid, this verse takes on a different tone entirely. The English major in me can't escape the word "for" in the latter part of this passage. We are to do everything for the glory of God. Wow. Now there's a new thought entirely.

God has given you, and He's given me, the blessing of today. Often, I find myself going through the day, satisfied to not commit any blatant sins. But battles are never won simply because warriors didn't do anything that day worth mentioning.

God has placed a purpose upon your life, upon your heart. Allow me to encourage you today. We aren't made to be running away from something. We're meant to run toward something else entirely. Whether that's smiling at your kids while you're doing the dishes, or whether that's polishing the WIP you feel will never see the light of a bookstore, remind yourself today. God has a plan for your heart, for your life. And sometimes the littlest steps accomplish the biggest things.

Faith, Belief, and... Will Someone Please Write My Book Already?

Have you ever felt a struggle between faith and action? Sometimes it's so easy to believe and so hard to actually do, and other times believing in ourselves, in God's call upon our lives, is the hardest thing in the world. So how do we learn to negotiate the space in between the two?

You see people who believe whatever they say will magically poof into being. Hate to break it to you, folks, but you're not a fairy godmother. You need special fairy dust for that. I saw it on Once Upon a Time. And then you have other people who have to be doing something at all times just for that feeling of accomplishment. Like those people who clean their cars every day. I've never understood that... how will you find random dollar bills shoved between the seats years later?

Well, let's look at the story of Abraham. We're all familiar with his situation. God promises to make him the father of many nations. But years go by, and Abraham and Sarah start getting too old to have a child, so Abraham takes matters into his own hands and impregnates Sarah's servant. Clearly this is a mistake, but God still fulfills His promise by giving Abraham another child through Sarah. Seems like Abraham has failed the test, right? And in many ways he has. And yet, what does the Bible say about Abraham's faith?

Romans 4:3-5:

"What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."

Wow! This passages always gets me because Abraham clearly blew it, and yet, God still "credits" his faith as "righteousness" because he never gave up on the promise. What a powerful concept.

If God has placed a calling on your life to write, that calling matters. And believing in this calling begets righteousness and action. Faith should lead to fulfillment as we respond in an appropriate way to the promises God has given us.

But here's my question, and I want to hear what you all think. What does that "appropriate way" look like in reality? Sometimes it's so easy to believe we're called to write, but how do you put action to this belief, especially when tough feedback begins to roll in?

How does "faith" translate for you to actually sitting down in a chair and writing each day?