I found this on a card and wanted to share it with you. This is a prayer of Francis of Assisi.

 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

     Texas Eyes wrote a great blog about some of her childhood memories. Most of the things she mentioned brought back memories of my own childhood. Those were the wonderful days when kids were still kids and there was nothing more high tech than a television and the old Atari 2600, which we could only use at night or if the weather was bad. Here are some of my favorite memories.

 

On the Tennessee side:

     Visiting my Granny. She'd treat us to penny candy, honey from a jar containing part of the comb, and great family stories.

     Going fishing with my mom's Uncle Charlie. I can still remember the smell of his pipe tobacco. Staying at his place sometimes scared me because he had this bobcat stuffed and standing guard by his fireplace. I always imagined it coming alive in the middle of the night and getting me.

     Some of you will find this one strange. Uncle Charlie owned and operated a funeral home. Sometimes we'd stop by to visit while he was at work. He'd let us roll down the ramp from the main floor to the lounge downstairs ... as many times as we wanted. Then he'd buy us orange sodas. It was in glass bottles you pulled out of the front of the machine.

 

On the Pennsylvania side:

     Living right next door to my grandmother, grandfather, and great-grandmother. I loved sitting on the glider on summer nights and listening to my great-grandmother make up fairy tales and stories.

     The whole family playing board games around the table.

     Mom, Dad, two brothers, the dog, and me all laying on my parents bed on Saturday nights watching Saturday Night Live and then the Saturday night horror movie.

     Me and my brothers riding our bikes all summer long.

     Playing in the woods and creek behind the local playground.

     My dad reading to his three kids before they went to bed. He read the classics ... Black Beauty, Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, and many others.

 

     I could list so many other things. Sadly, most kids today would find those things boring. Many of them probably wouldn't want to spend time with their family because there are too many gizmos and gadgets to take up their time. Think about it ... kids would rather text each other than sit down and have a real conversation. What a shame.

     Ok, this blog is going to me sharing my thoughts, complaints, and low points. If you'd rather not read it, go ahead and click away from this page.

     Yesterday was a great day. The weather was beautiful and I finally got a chance to get outside and get some things done. I worked in the front yard for about four hours. There were flower beds to weed, plants that needed moved, branches and twigs to pick up, and a driveway to get back into a little better shape. The whole time I was working, I had Christian music in the CD player and I sang along. I always tend to feel closer to God when I'm outside enjoying the nature he created even though I'm working.

     This morning is completely different. All I can do is sit here wondering when things will change. All of the people I call friends (those in real life, not cyber space) are either older than me and spend their free time at the bingo hall and such or are younger than me and would rather hang out at the bars and clubs, none of which I consider exciting or fun. I have a completed novel, but I can't get anyone interested enough to even ask to read the whole story before rejecting the manuscript. If the membership numbers at Christian dating sites are to be believed, there are thousands of lonely Christians in this country, but none of them (a lot of them my age) even want to talk to plain old me. NO, I'm not using this blog space as a dating site ... so don't even ask. I have a blog space about my book so I can network with other writers, yet their definition of networking must be to advertise their book by being in my network instead of actually being willing to help or encourage other writers. So many people I work with come to me for advice or just to gripe about everything, yet when I need someone to talk to they don't have the time. I admit, that's what I'm doing now ... moaning and complaining.

     So when are things going to change? What do I have to do? Change my behaviors and attitudes so I feel more comfortable hanging out at the bars and clubs? Forget about my dream to get my book published? Stop caring enough about people to try to help them? Let my hair grow longer, start wearing make-up (not to mention dye my hair), and wear "sexy" clothes so I can catch the eyes of men?

     I know, I know. Everything happens for a reason or God can make some good come from it. Everything happens according to God's plan and timing. I need to just give it all to God and wait. I've lost count of the number of times I've told people those same things. Maybe it all comes down to the fact I'm learning being a pastor can be one of the lonliest jobs in the world. People come to you for help and expect immediate relief, yet when a pastor needs help, it often seems there's no one there to talk to.

     Ok, I'll let you all get back to whatever it is you need to get back to.

     Do you think you can learn anything from a Jehovah's Witness? I think you can.

     Today at work, I got a chance to have some interesting discussions with one of our temps. We got to talking about how people will kill for many reasons and how people seem to resort to violence more than ever. He then mentioned that J.W.s will not serve as police officers because they don't believe in carrying guns and using violence to resolve conflicts. The conversation was interupted by break time ... and I never miss break time. Anyway, once we got back from break, I ask if J.W.s were pacifist. It's so nice, at least for me, to find other people who believe as I do and live life as a pacifist.

     This blog isn't about being a pacifist, it's about learning something from a J.W. As usual, the conversations flowed from one thing to another. I think it was irritating the other two people working beside us, but Brad and I were very involved in discussing religious beliefs. I love it when I can find someone, anyone, who is as passionate about their beliefs as I am and will have a rational and calm discussion even when we disagree on many points. Even though we avoided the major differences (at least for today), we spent at least two hours of the day talking about the beliefs we share ... pacisifm, living our lives as examples for other people to follow, and how we can only be doing our "jobs" for God if we talk to people about Jesus.

     And that last is what I'd like to present as a valuable lesson we can learn from the J.W.s. Even if you're like me and disagree with many of the core beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses, take some time to listen to the passion with which they discuss their beliefs. Most of the J.W.s I know will find an opening in almost any conversation and use it as a way to present their religious beliefs. Why aren't we as Christians (Catholic or Protestant) doing the same? Or if we do talk about our beliefs, why is the passion missing? Why do we think we have to talk only to other Christians in hushed tones, yet never get passionate and discuss God's truth with non-Christians? Learn something from the J.W.s. Our job is to bring some light into the world and we can't do that by keeping the light to ourselves and only sharing it with other light bearers.

     I hope all of my friends had a blessed Easter and may those blessings continue throughout the week.

     As for me, I spent the weekend doing some work on my manuscript. Part of that work is reformatting the entire thing. From what I read at various agent's sites, any manuscript they request (not that they've requested mine yet) must be submitted as a .doc file. This means using Microsoft Word, a program that until this weekend I didn't have on my computer. Our computer guy at work had a copy of Microsoft Office (with Word) that he bought but never used. Amazingly, he gave me the software. Yes, it's all legit as the software had never been previously registered and came with all of the necessary licensing numbers and such. I will have to mention his name under the "Special thanks" at the front of my novel. In fact, his name should be in very large bold letters because that was a $200+ package of software.

     Another thing I'm working on while waiting to hear from any agents who currently have query letters from me waiting in their email inboxes is to pare down my manuscript word count. As it stands, the novel is 110,000+ words. While that's ok for a novel, common advice available on the internet says that for a first novel from an unknown author, publishers are looking for a length of between 80,000-90,000 words. I really don't want to cut anything, but after reading back through my story, I found quite a bit that I can cut and not change or take away from the plotline. The great part is that I think a lot of what I cut is good and I can use it later in other books in my series.

     I also found listings for some other published writers and located their websites or the sites of organizations they either work for or operate. I sent out emails explaining that I have an unpublished manuscript that I'd like to have evaluated by people who are "well known within the Christian community". Am I crazy? The worst they can tell me is they won't read it. What's three or four more rejection letters on top of what I've already received? And they just might agree to read my manuscript. No, I'm not holding my breath.

     Well, it's time I get back to editing and reformatting.

     Because a few friends have had problems with receiving private messages from people trying to scam them out of money, I want to tell you all how to block people you don't know from sending you private messages. Just follow the following steps.

 

1. Go to the home page (where you check for updated blogs, etc)

2. Click on the link you'd use to be taken to your private messages

3. Click on the "Options" link (on the right side under your picture)

4. In the drop down menu, click on "Communication preferences"

5. On the next page, use the drop down menu under "Private messages" to set your preference to "People in your network"

After you finish these steps, the only people who can send you private messages are people you have in your network list. You can also choose not to allow anyone to send you private messages.

     One of the greatest holidays of the Christian faith occurs next weekend. We celebrate Easter on Sunday. I'm not talking about the easter with a rabbit who delivers candy and such to good little boys and girls. I'm talking about the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. If you ask me, and you didn't, I'd tell you without the resurrection, the Christian faith would be meaningless. Sure we needed Christ to be born and live on this earth and we needed him to die for our sins; however, without the resurrection, we'd be following yet another dead prophet.

     You've heard the quote "A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet"? Perhaps it would. You could call a rose a daffodil, tulip, or by the name of any other flower and it would still be a rose. You'd be incorrect in the name, but it is a rose. Each type of rose has a specific set of characters and characteristics (botany terms) which make it a rose regardless of what you may call it. It's the essence of the rose which makes it a rose, not the name anyone chooses to use. The same can be said of people. You can call me Sheila or by one of my many nicknames and it doesn't change who I am at the core of my being.

     But there are other things in our lives which lead to confusion if you give them one name and the core being of that thing is something other than what the name implies. Here I'm talking about Christians and Christianity. As I've said in other blogs and comments, I consider people from many denominations my brothers and sisters in Christ. That only goes so far. There are many people out there claiming to be Christians and teaching things which completely oppose Christ and his teachings. These people aren't Christians and they definitely aren't my brothers and sisters in Christ. If a person's core values aren't Christian, then they can use that name but they aren't what they claim.

     It's time we real Christians take a stand for Christ and his truth. The Bible says we must confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. How hard is that to understand? Why is it there are people calling themselves Christians who use that title yet don't believe Jesus died for their sins or that God never raised him from the dead? Why are there people who believe that while Christianity and accepting Christ works for us, it's not what God planned for everyone? I'll tell you why. While many Christians are fighting the political battles to have laws enacted which reflect a Christian worldview, they forget about Christ. They want to be accepted by the secular world, so they ditch proclaiming the truth so they don't make anyone angry. They're more worried about their own personal comfort level than they are about the millions of lost souls.

     If you don't believe Christ died for your sins and/or that God didn't raise him from the dead, stop telling people you're a Christian. If you teach other people that it doesn't matter what religion they follow because everyone will be saved in the end (all religions lead to God), stop telling people you're a Christian. In the first case, you're a liar and headed for the eternal fire. In the second case, you're leading other people astray and away from the saving truth and Jesus is going to tell you "depart from me". If you're thinking I'm being judgmental, read the Bible which tells you the truth about Christ and salvation. The disciples had their disagreements, yet they never backed down from the basic truths about salvation. They went to their deaths proclaiming Christ crucified and accepting him as Lord and Savior as the only means to salvation. Unless you believe they died for an outright lie or were mistaken in their beliefs, you should be willing to do the same.

     Your pastor may be changing the truth to be more tolerant of other people. The truth is being watered down to get people from other religions to like us and, perhaps, join our ranks without having to take the final step of accepting Christ. They have no problem with alienating people by using the pulpit to proclaim the need for anti-abortion laws and laws against gay marriages, yet they do have a problem with alienating people by proclaiming the one and only way to salvation is through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Obeying such laws do not make people Christians, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior does. People who obey the world's laws still end up in a state of eternal punishment, people who accept Jesus as Lord don't.

     Which way do you want it to be? Do you want friends and allies here on earth or do you want to live with Christ when your life here is over? It's up to you. God told us what's required. If you want to be called a Christian, then you need to be a Christian at the core of your being where it really matters. In the end, there are sheep and there are goats. Which are you? If you're a sheep, be a sheep to the very core, not a goat trying to look like the other sheep. God knows the difference.