“You're not the boss of me” she said with a stomp of her tiny feet, a flick of her long brown hair and a defiant crossing of arms.
I have to admit a smile crept across my face. She looked so stinking cute with her jaw set with determination.
...................
To read the rest, stop by WOW- Writing On The Word. I'm hanging out there today :)
Be Blessed,
Mari
Showing posts with label devotional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label devotional. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Work Needed
My writers critique group was tonight. This was my month to present. I decided that I wanted them to critique two of the devotions I plan to use in my next devotional book. I felt the concept for it was good because, well, God gave it to me! And just like the book that is currently being edited by my publisher, it was one I wasn't sure I wanted to write. But the Holy Spirit is **SO** persistent! Anywho.....
So I put my work in the hands of these wonderful ladies and prepared to listen to their comments and suggestions. And boy there were a lot of them! They confirmed that the concept is brilliant. Can we get a little clap praise for the Lord? He's never wrong by the way :)
But then came.....the places where it needed work. Whoa Nelly! It needs work! Now don't get me wrong. I did not come away feeling like the work was crappy. I came away with some wonderful ideas for how to improve and enhance it. I came away with ideas that will make it marketable to more women than I originally thought. I was already passionate about it, but now, NOW I am ready to get rocking, rolling and writing. My heart is on fire anew for this work. And I can't wait for y'all to read it! And you will, as soon as I finish writing it and selling it ;)
So let me throw this little bit out to you. This was only possible because I was willing to be teachable. I was willing to accept some criticism. I was open to suggestion. Being closed to pride was my goal. Because of this attitude, the book will be better. In fact, I believe the book will be great!
We need to be that way with God because, frankly, we could all wear a "work needed" sign. Sometimes He's telling us we need to change. Or we need to do something. Or stop doing something. We need to be teachable and open to a little "holy criticism". We need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit whispering to us. We need to be closed to pride. And because of that attitude, we will be better. We will be blessed.
Get blessed today!
So I put my work in the hands of these wonderful ladies and prepared to listen to their comments and suggestions. And boy there were a lot of them! They confirmed that the concept is brilliant. Can we get a little clap praise for the Lord? He's never wrong by the way :)
But then came.....the places where it needed work. Whoa Nelly! It needs work! Now don't get me wrong. I did not come away feeling like the work was crappy. I came away with some wonderful ideas for how to improve and enhance it. I came away with ideas that will make it marketable to more women than I originally thought. I was already passionate about it, but now, NOW I am ready to get rocking, rolling and writing. My heart is on fire anew for this work. And I can't wait for y'all to read it! And you will, as soon as I finish writing it and selling it ;)
So let me throw this little bit out to you. This was only possible because I was willing to be teachable. I was willing to accept some criticism. I was open to suggestion. Being closed to pride was my goal. Because of this attitude, the book will be better. In fact, I believe the book will be great!
We need to be that way with God because, frankly, we could all wear a "work needed" sign. Sometimes He's telling us we need to change. Or we need to do something. Or stop doing something. We need to be teachable and open to a little "holy criticism". We need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit whispering to us. We need to be closed to pride. And because of that attitude, we will be better. We will be blessed.
Get blessed today!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Paint and sin
I spent days and days cleaning before my mom and sister got here for their visit. We even did some long overdue painting. Long overdue would mean about 3 years overdue. Now that it's done, can I tell you how much painting reminds me of dealing with sin? Yep. It sure does.
See, it all started with the living and dining room. We were just going to paint in there. No new color, just the same one. It's flat paint so if you try to clean it, it just comes off, leaving you with bare, unpainted walls. No thanks! So we painted.
Then we saw that the dirt on the foyer wall was really obvious now that the adjacent living and dining room walls were freshly painted and clean. So we felt we had to do the foyer. Of course, once we did that, the kitchen walls looked bad. So we did the kitchen.
And we thought we'd be done...except that the foyer walls also made the stairway walls look trashy. So...yes, you guessed it...we continued to paint. And we did this until every room was painted.
When we were done it all looked so nice and new, like we had never had dirty little hand prints on the wall. And that's when it hit me. If we start dealing with one area of sin in our life and we allow God to really clean us up in regards to that one issue, it's great. The problem (or great thing) is that our pleasure at God winning a battle for us in that area is tempered by the sudden realization that there's still this one other issue that we need His help with. And once we're doing good there, we realize that there's that other issue over there, hiding out behind the guilt and shame.
Just like my husband and I could not paint just the one wall, it's hard to just ask God to deal with one thing and say "Okay, I'm good. I'm done now." Even if we do, we'll keep looking at that clean area next to the the unclean one and it will bother us to action. And you know what? I like that.
So I say today, "God, paint on. Remodel! Have at it!" Will you join me?
As always be blessed! I'm off to help my mom reclean all the things I already cleaned before she got here. LOL
See, it all started with the living and dining room. We were just going to paint in there. No new color, just the same one. It's flat paint so if you try to clean it, it just comes off, leaving you with bare, unpainted walls. No thanks! So we painted.
Then we saw that the dirt on the foyer wall was really obvious now that the adjacent living and dining room walls were freshly painted and clean. So we felt we had to do the foyer. Of course, once we did that, the kitchen walls looked bad. So we did the kitchen.
And we thought we'd be done...except that the foyer walls also made the stairway walls look trashy. So...yes, you guessed it...we continued to paint. And we did this until every room was painted.
When we were done it all looked so nice and new, like we had never had dirty little hand prints on the wall. And that's when it hit me. If we start dealing with one area of sin in our life and we allow God to really clean us up in regards to that one issue, it's great. The problem (or great thing) is that our pleasure at God winning a battle for us in that area is tempered by the sudden realization that there's still this one other issue that we need His help with. And once we're doing good there, we realize that there's that other issue over there, hiding out behind the guilt and shame.
Just like my husband and I could not paint just the one wall, it's hard to just ask God to deal with one thing and say "Okay, I'm good. I'm done now." Even if we do, we'll keep looking at that clean area next to the the unclean one and it will bother us to action. And you know what? I like that.
So I say today, "God, paint on. Remodel! Have at it!" Will you join me?
As always be blessed! I'm off to help my mom reclean all the things I already cleaned before she got here. LOL
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