Some thoughts...

I hope your Christmas celebration has been restful and satisfying. Our time during this holiday break has been sweetly spent as a family. I've enjoyed my children and the quiet times we've shared. We've appreciated having Chris home, eating yummy food, snuggling down during rainy weather. 


Now in the last couple of days as Chris has gone back to work, and we're telling the Christmas season goodbye, the weather has changed. The sun has come out and warmed us, waking us from our quiet cocoon. Yesterday was spent in the sand and water of the bay, what a treat. Today was spent at the park and library and later making fresh squeezed lemonade, from local lemons.


In this new season of our lives I'm constantly turning my ear to catch traces of the Father's voice leading. I find the need to reflect and quiet my heart, heal from old wounds, catch a fresh vision. Interestingly it seems that quiet time is being enforced by my Parent, to some degree. 


I struggle to let loose the voice I was carving out in blog land, connections I've enjoyed making, lessons learned. It's antithetical to me to be less visible and consistent as I work on completing my book and will need a platform from which to present it. And I will sorely miss the encouragement I find through your blogs chronicling your journey towards godliness, shared with candor and grace.


However, I don't have much choice. My own computer is showing it's age and is unable to connect to the internet anymore. My access will be limited to the occasional use of my husband's computer. So I'm not sure how frequently I will be posting or visiting your sites. Hopefully this situation is temporary, but it's hard to tell.


In the meantime, let me say, may "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace," in this New Year! (Numbers 6:24-26)

Little surprises

The setting for the story I'm working on is a small North Carolina town called Shelby. I chose it because it's where my maternal grandmother was from, though I've never been there, and I love the name. The main character of the book lives in a house that has been turned, by her mother, into a bed and breakfast called Sisters.

I decided to look Shelby, NC up on line. I don't necessarily intended to be accurate in the setting of the town, I'm mostly using the name. But I was surprised when I went online and saw a picture of this house on the city of Shelby website. That site's picture was taken in the summer and is so much prettier, but I couldn't download it because it's in a photo loop. I then found out about the house, the Fanning-Washburn house, on this site. I felt like I was looking at Sisters, I was so tickled!

Here's my description of the B&B in the book:
My Mama has a Bed and Breakfast called Sisters; only women are guests there. Ever since Daddy died Sisters has been Mama's pride and joy. It’s a beautiful old house, the color of butter, with a big white porch and gingerbread trimming. There’s a brick pathway lined with purple irises to the street and the house is surrounded by a white picket fence. It’s situated a little back off the main street behind a big live oak that I used to climb when I was little. Back behind the house is a vegetable garden and gazebo where ladies sit and talk. Along the side of the house and in front are flowerbeds.

The yard doesn't quite match the description, no picket fence or irises, but the house is just what I had imagined. I was so pleased to find that there actually is a house in Shelby, NC that I had never seen but envisioned!

Self-control is a blessing

"Any person without self-control is either an accident looking for a place to happen or a slave in chains." (Beth Moore in Living Beyond Yourself)

"You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. " 1 Corinthians 6:12

In a culture of self-indulgence the fight for self-control can be an uphill battle. I've spent many years, sometimes without fully realizing it, trying to free myself from the chains of selfishness. I don't want to live like that anymore.

In my frenzy to write my novel I found studying this aspect of the fruit of the Spirit to be so timely. I would love to sit and write for hours and see real progress made in the completion of my story. But I have boxes to pack, kids to take care of, relationships to engage in. As I felt the tug of the novel becoming stronger, I knew it could overshadow everything else, I made the commitment to continue starting my day in Bible study. I'm glad I made that conscious decision, I need the grounding, and I believe it honors God. I think if it hadn't been a conscious decision, one from my heart, I would have been so tempted to wake up early and start the day writing.

I know that if I don't allow the Spirit to flow into my heart I won't have anything good flowing out. Healthy parameters and discipline facilitates that flow. So where do you need a fresh overflow of the Spirit in your life, guiding you in healthy boundaries and self-control?