Lord, we receive Your words and treasure Your commandments within us. Help us make our ears attentive to wisdom. Incline our hearts to understanding. We cry for discernment. We seek wisdom as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures. Thank You, Lord, that You promise discernment and knowledge of You. Thank You, Lord, for Your wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Thank You that You are a shield for us. Guard our paths, Lord, and preserve our way. May wisdom enter our heart and knowledge be pleasant to our soul. Deliver us from evil. (Proverbs 2)

I started NaNoWriMo early this year as Thanksgiving week will take all my concentration, not only in cooking and cleaning but in welcoming my college aged kids home. (Thank God!) So by the middle of last week, when most of y’all were just starting, my brain was already feeling fatigued. I’d written about 241 words one morning and already felt like I’d hit a ten foot tall, four foot thick wall made of the hardest steel. Ever feel like that? So I had a choice. I could have closed my computer, given up for the day. Boy, did I want to! I could have eaten a few more peanutbutter M&Ms to see if they’d help. Or I could pray. God loves it when we’ve reached the end of our rope and reach for Him for help, and He showed up. It took me less time to write the rest of my word count then it had taken me to write those measly 241 words.

Because I was extending so much creative energy on writing, I didn’t touch my Inspire bible for any journaling time until late Friday night. I had started a page on Monday and decided to finish it. And a verse on the page opposite the one I was working on popped out at me.

Psalm 45:1
“Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem about the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet.” (New Living Translation)

I also love the translation from New American Standard Bible:

Psalm 45:1
“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

Don’t you love that? I do! I love words. I love when words are put together in a certain way and they make my heart sing. I thought how this verse is perfect for NaNoWriMo as I write my words for my King of my heart and soul. Let’s write for Him. Let’s pray for His inspiration. Let’s pray that He fills our hearts and minds with His words so they flow out of us and onto the page. Join me?

Father God, thank You for the love of words and stories that stir our hearts. Give us stamina and strength this week as we pour words onto the page for NaNoWriMo so that we can jumpstart our stories. Pour Your words and truth into our hearts and minds that they may fill the pages with what is on Your heart. What may seem impossible for us is possible with You. Make it possible, Lord, that we would stir other hearts to know You. Make it possible, Lord, to finish the books that you have placed on our hearts. Make it possible, Lord. We give You all the glory and praise!

Father God, may we ‘not forget Your teaching, but keep Your commands in our hearts, for they will prolong our life many years and bring us prosperity.’ (Proverbs 3:1-2 ‘Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. The Lord is their strength, and He is a saving defense to His anointed. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.’ (Psalm 27:6-9) In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen!

I’m very excited about my upcoming book, The Wildflower Inn Welcomes Mr. Darcy. As a friend said, “Who doesn’t love a Darcy book?” Well, I certainly do. Of course, knowing me, my tribute to Jane Austen and her beloved Mr. Darcy has a Texas twist.

Here’s the blurb for The Wildflower Inn Welcomes Mr. Darcy:

A husband was imperative for a woman of Elizabeth Bennet’s era, but not so much in the twenty-first century. However, that’s exactly what Dixie Belle Tanner believes her three daughters need—husbands. The three Tanner women have their own fortune and seem to have no need for husbands while pursuing their own interests, not their mother’s. After learning even her own father wasn’t trustworthy, LaurieBeth is content to read about the likes of Mr. Darcy rather than search for a flesh and blood variety. But when a twenty-first century Will Darcy drives into Bluebonnet Falls, Texas in a slick convertible, he undermines her prejudice about cowboys, proving to her that real love blooms and grows outside the pages of books.

The book is available as Kindle ebook and also in paperback!

Does it feel like the wheels are coming off our world when you watch the news lately? Ebola, beheadings, riots, earthquakes.

It feels a little like that to me, and I have to fight the urge to watch the news constantly. The news makes me feel frustrated and fearful, and I don’t like that. I’ve been trying to stay in the Word of the Lord rather than focusing on all the chaos.  Because ultimately, I know, God is in control.

Ebola seems far away, even though I am praying for those in West Africa and I’m praising God for the healing of Dr. Brantly. The Middle East crisis is frustrating and frightening, but also far away (at least for now). But Ferguson, MO is not far away. It’s here in America. It’s in a town, like yours or mine. I don’t know the answers in Ferguson, MO. No one does. No one really knows the truth, and yet all seem to have lined up on ‘their’ side. The news is reporting hearsay and unnamed sources. The media is a monster that needs to be constantly fed, so they find whatever bits and pieces they can. And how much is true? How much is false? How much do they just not know at this time?

I think it’s important that we look at the deeper issues, deeper than skin tone.

Here’s what I know:

1. Racism still exists. And that is heartbreaking to me. In my world, I thought it was pretty much eradicated, but in talking to a friend this week, who has children of a different color, I learned stupid people still exist. But racism isn’t one sided. It seems to me that a lot of folks were eager to believe a white cop maliciously killed an innocent black teen. A lot of people wanted to stir up more hate and fear. The truth, I hope, will come out. But I’m not sure the truth can bring healing when so many want justice according to their own views. Only Jesus can heal hearts. Truth only reveals brokenness. But this whole incident has shown me that deep down in hearts across America hate and fear and distrust reside.
2. Life is full of choices and the consequences of such. We all make choices—chocolate or regular milk, gluten or not, Diet Coke or water. Some choices are easy, some not so much. Some choose to follow the law, others do not. We also choose rather to forgive or not, whether to hate or not, whether to trust or not. We choose how we are going to look at the world through rose-tinted glasses or through squinty, distrustful eyes. We also choose whether or not we want to be offended. If we are looking to be offended, then we will. If we are looking to spread the love of Christ, then we will. Choices are all around us. And once we make a choice, we must accept the consequences.
3. Ignorance exists. Try walking in someone else’s shoes. Try looking at life from a different perspective instead of always from your own comfy chair. I often take this for granted because I’m a writer so I do this all the time. But most folks don’t. They should. Try walking around in Michael Brown’s shoes for a while, how he was raised, what was his life was like, what kind of family did he have. Then try walking around in Darren Wilson’s shoes. What’s it like to be a cop, to walk up to a car, not knowing who is inside or what their motives are, what is it like to confront folks on a daily basis?
4. Finally, if we let fear, hate or rebellion rule our lives then we will be towed around like we are wearing a leash, tugged this way and that and we will not have control of our own lives. If we hold onto fear, hate or rebellion then we cannot grasp the cross of Christ. We cannot grasp His mercy and grace (and boy do we all need extra helpings of His mercy and grace), nor can we extend it to another.

Finally, again, I don’t know what happened in Ferguson, MO, but I know that those who are there need Jesus. They need His healing touch. They need His mercy and grace. How can we ask anyone to love when they don’t know Jesus? Jesus is the only one who can teach us how to love. We need Jesus in our lives to change us from the inside out. He won’t make us perfect. We will still make mistakes, and we’ll have to pay for those mistakes. But Jesus will help us be better than we are and will save us from ourselves.