August 2008

Sometimes days don’t go quite as we’d planned. Today had moments like that. After a visit to see my dad, I had an appointment with my hair dresser. Dad wasn’t quite ready for us, I itched after a hair cut (that never happens), and my dinner plans got canceled. So, such is life, yes?

On the bright side, Randy and the boys got the top soil spread on the spot where the lawn is to go and tomorrow the sod comes! So after seven months of a messed up front lawn, we will have sod and sprinklers and our bushes actually look good! :) Randy has spent weeks and weeks digging up roots from the maple tree we had removed, and then engineer that he is, installed and hooked up in-ground sprinklers. The man is a genius! :)

Tonight the house is in full use. Two of my guys are brainstorming with a friend in the kitchen, and Randy just came in from outside. I left the creative enthusiasts to the downstairs and am holed up in my bedroom with my laptop. We have an old recliner (bought back when our oldest was a baby) in one corner of our room with a file cabinet, that makes a perfect laptop resting spot beside it. I love hiding up here when the house is noisy, especially since we rearranged the furniture. So cozy and a good place for writing – just not all the time. I like to mix up the scenery, and downstairs, during the day, I can see into the backyard and enjoy a bit of nature.

I don’t actually like to write outside though. We get too much sun, which heats the laptop, and the wasps like the backyard. We actually have a small wasp or bees nest (not sure) attached to our screen door – on the inside! Guess who’s not opening the screen for fresh air any time soon? Hopefully, my sweet, fix-it-all husband will get rid of the thing this weekend. :)

Randy also noticed that we have some kind of critter living in the garage. He thinks it’s a mouse, but it makes a lot of racket, so the jury is still out on what it is exactly. Guess who doesn’t spend much time in the garage? Not that I ever did, mind you…but still…I’m not fond of sharing my space with critters that aren’t already welcome in our home – cats and kids being the main exception. :)

Ah the joys of home-ownership! In any case, I have the night free to write, and I’m in the process of brainstorming a new story myself. (My guys are not the only ones with that intent this fine summer evening, which actually feels almost like fall.) And while I would have enjoyed my dinner plans with my girlfriend, sometimes the best laid plans get waylaid. Then again, there is always next week.

For tonight, instead of Mexican, we had tuna noodle casserole. I would have preferred Mexican, but oh well…

Off to brainstorm…

I’m not a huge fan of physical exercise, especially the type that demands actual physical exertion beyond basic stretching. As long as I’m not in pain, why bother? But therein lies the trouble. The older I get, the more my body declares that physical exercise is indeed a wise time investment. Hmm…

So after surviving a number of medical tests that proved I needed to increase my physical level of activity, (MRIs and EMGs are on my don’t-ever-repeat-these-things list) I decided – I could do this. And I have. Four months ago, my activity level was keeping up with normal homemaking chores, running errands, and getting up from the computer to make dinner and do laundry. Climbing stairs was a fair amount of extra exertion, don’t you think?

But today, I spend 10-20 minutes every morning (except Sundays – I need one day off!) to work out with light weights and stretch and exert pretty much every muscle I’m aware of. And to be fair, I’ve seen improvement. I don’t ache as much, my carpal tunnel and numbness has improved. I’m stronger – I can even lift heavy cases of water and put them in a grocery cart! I’ve got more stamina – though I’m not volunteering to run in a marathon. And I feel better overall.

There are still some issues I happened to mention to the doctor today. Things he claimed were related to the pinched nerves he discovered four months ago. But those symptoms are still there, so what gives? Do you know, he had the audacity to suggest that I needed to push myself harder? To exercise more? The nerve!

“Push yourself past the point of comfort…stretch yourself…exercise to where you feel it more than you do now.”

“You don’t think working out six days a week is enough?”

“So work out every other day, just work harder.”

“But if I don’t work out every day, I ache more on the days I miss.” You’d think he’d cut me some slack here?

Instead, he went on to tell me that even if I had something other than pinched nerves causing my symptoms, like fibromyalgia, the one thing doctors would agree on to help me would be exercise.

Sigh.

I read this today in Colossians 1 – “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…”

Endurance and patience…

Though the verses are talking about spiritual character, I suppose physical exercise could be said to build both.

So maybe I’ll do as the doctor ordered…maybe…tomorrow. :)

Today has been productive. I spent some time reworking a synopsis for a new story that I brainstormed with my oldest son last Friday. He’s great at story structure, and he helped me understand what was lacking in my first draft of the synopsis. Now I think the story might actually be decent, and I’m hoping to propose it to my agent and editor in the near future. I’m having fun writing the first chapter. I think this story could be as fun and interesting to research and write as my current series. I hope my publisher agrees. :)

I also discussed some marketing ideas for Michal today and am looking forward to seeing all those things come together. In September, I’ll get to chat about such things in greater detail with the marketing people at Revell. Amazing what all goes in to the publishing of a book!

In the midst of writing, I tried a new cookie recipe that I got off the back of a bag of Hershey’s chocolate raspberry creme pieces. Yum! A definite keeper! :)

It felt good to stay home today. The rest of the week won’t be so laid back. I’ve added a new piano student, so Wednesdays will be really busy come Fall.

The hardest part of every week is visiting my dad in the nursing home. Seeing him there never gets easier. While I love knowing he is still living on the earth and can talk to me and is always happy to see me, I wish things were different. I’m so glad this life is not all there is.

The boys have been watching The Lord of the Rings behind the scenes footage for the past several days. I’ve managed to catch some of it with them. Fascinating stuff. I get a glimpse of the life they hope to live one day should the Lord open the doors for them to write and direct features.

Am reading Paul’s Epistles and am surprised at how much I’ve committed to memory over the years. God is so much bigger than we can imagine! His Word truly is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, pricking, piercing in places no human Word can reach. How blessed we are to have the privilege of reading it! How even more blessed we are that He chooses to let us know Him.

May each day, no matter how busy or laid back, lead us to do just that.

In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with Abraham – a promise to give him the land of Canaan and to make his descendants as the sand on the seashore. When Moses came along years later, from Abraham’s seed, God introduced the law as the means for the people of Israel to keep God’s covenant.

The only problem is, the law is impossible to keep.

Take the Ten Commandments, for instance:

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Even if we could keep the first nine, the tenth one would get us every time. “You shall not covet…” Impossible. At some point in our lives we will want what someone else has – coveting – thus breaking the commands and the covenant.

The law is good in that it shows us how far we fall short of the standard. But since we cannot keep such a strict and holy standard, God saw that another covenant was needed for us to be able to be close to Him – to know Him.

So He instituted a new covenant in His Son Jesus Christ. The first covenant was sealed with the blood of animals. Blood spilled from sacrificial animals to cover the sins the law exposed. But the blood of animals was like a temporary bandage, unable to remove the sinner’s guilty conscience. Though such sacrifices were offered day after day, year after year, all they could do was cover, not cleanse.

When Jesus came to earth, He kept the whole law (even the coveting part), doing what we in our sinfulness could not. His perfect life allowed Him to stand in the gap, in our place before God. When He offered Himself as the sacrifice to complete and uphold the first covenant, to pay for our falling short, our sins, His blood spilled once for all. His blood cleansed, as well as, covered.

Two covenants – the first, a picture of what was to come, introduced the law to show us how impossible it is for us to keep a covenant with God.

The second, the perfect representation of what is, introduced grace to show us that with God all things are possible.

I shipped my galleys off to my editor tonight. Whew! I was beginning to obsess over every word, so it was time to click send. :) One can over-edit sometimes.

I also had my first in-person interview today with a journalist from my church who is doing an article about Michal for the September edition of our church’s newspaper. I write a Christian fiction reviews column for the newspaper as well, and I think this article will run on the same page. Our church has a large membership and the newspaper has a good-size print run. I’m in awe of the love and support people are giving me for this book. I asked God to WOW me with this series, and boy, has He ever!

Speaking of the newspaper, I have a couple of articles I have to send them this month and the deadline is Saturday. This has been a week of deadlines! But the biggest one – my galleys – is done, and I’m relieved.

Last night we had our local Christian fiction writer’s meeting. Our attendance has remained around four people, but the fellowship is always so good. The rest of the people that could come are missing a great time. I do hope more can come in the future, but I enjoy each one, even if only one comes. What’s not to love about another writer? :)

I read the book of Hebrews this morning. My son was bugging me to read it, as he recently read it through in one sitting as well. I am honestly amazed at how much I understand about what the book is saying by reading it straight through. It’s like reading a letter from a friend. If you don’t read the whole thing all the way through quickly enough, you miss what they said or don’t quite get their meaning. I think the same principle applies here. Tomorrow I’ll try to articulate what I gleaned from Hebrews about the old and new covenants. Fascinating reading!

Until then~

Galleys are still taking up most of my days, but I’m happy to report that I’m nearing the end of my second read through, this time out loud, and am fairly satisfied with the story. There is one scene in the middle of the book that makes me emotional every time I read it – not because the writing is great, but because of what happens in the story. When I read it aloud today, the tears were greater than when I read it silently. How weird is that? I’d tell you what evokes such emotion, but then I’d give the story away, and I don’t want to ruin it! :) I’m hoping you all will read the book and then you can ask me, and I’ll be happy to tell you. :)

Last night we went to a church service for 40 – the celebration end to 40 days of prayer, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – a commitment made by our church’s young adult group. The worship service was awesome. I have a heart for young adults, particularly girls. Maybe God will give me the privilege of mentoring some of them some day. They are such a joy to be around. Maybe I enjoy them more because I live with all men. Hmmm…Love my guys – no question. But I do like being a girl now and then. :)

This week promises to be fun with a local writer’s group meeting on Monday, and I’m being interviewed by our church newspaper on Tuesday. Can you tell I love to hang out with other writers? We’re a strange breed, I know, but it’s great to be around people who are wired the same way. In another month, Ryan and I get to attend the ACFW Conference again, where we’ll get to worship, learn, and enjoy friends in the publishing industry we only see once a year. Can’t wait!

In the meantime, I have a few deadlines that won’t wait. My house, on the other hand, that needs cleaning, can wait. Amazing what mileage we can get out of a good excuse! :)

Have a blessed weekend~