Birthday Musings

Did you ever think, “I never thought I would live this lo-o-o-o-ng?” However, God knew it, and suddenly over half your life is behind you. It's an odd place to view things with your exit to Heaven much closer than your entrance to Earth.

If you are deeply honest, you can see you have made some great choices and some really bad ones. You can also see the sin in this broken world is truly a stumbling block. Praise God for taking all of it and making something beautiful of our lives!

When you mentally recount all the really difficult times in your past, you can also see how God intentionally grew you most as a disciple during those same times. Instead of tumultuous times, they were intense “go-to-God times”. You realized when the going got tough; you got going—to the arms of God. And why is it so? Because we are only strongest when we are weakest as the apostle Paul so aptly said.

Praise God in all things and give Him thanks for whatever part of your life you are living. His plan far surpasses any concoction we could ever cook up on our own. He’s our north star when everything in our earthly body is going south. Reminds me of this old hymn:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” (Helen H. Limmel, 1922)

In more modern language, instead of focusing on your problems and glancing at God, focus on God and glance at your problems. Isn't it a relief to know when God is in the middle of it all, we are securely headed homeward?

Blessings and Agape,

Dr. Linda B. Greer

Almost to First Base

Dr. Edna Ellison has written dozens of books and is a well-known speaker for Christian conferences and writers’ events. I remember sitting at Edna’s dining table several months ago while we were discussing some detail about our current writing project. I said, “Whatever is easiest. I like quick and easy.”

In her jovial repartee, she replied, “If you want ‘quick and easy’, then never write a book.”

I broke out in peals of laughter. Edna has certainly taught me to be patient and wait on the Lord’s timing for things to move forward on our project. So far she has had some family emergencies, a move of her household, and we’ve both had our computers to crash. We’ve both lost digital files, she’s had a printer die on her, and summer guests have come and gone for both of us.

But praise be to God, we are nearing first base in our Bible study project. This weekend we will be getting the proposal finalized. It’s only six weeks past our self-imposed deadline to submit it to publishers—but who’s counting? Tomorrow we meet again for one last look over the printed master copy and make final edits. The various cover letters are written and waiting signatures. The envelopes are addressed and awaiting postage. The rabbit has been killed and the test is positive—we are giving birth to a book!

I want to take this space to give great thanks to Edna for mentoring me through all things and giving me such great guidance. I thank God that He gave her the patience of Job, the cheerfulness of a bluebird in spring, and the wisdom of an Old Testament prophet. She has more experience than I ever hope to have in the writing world.

Several times she told me, “We make a good team.” When there was something she couldn’t do with technology I could. When there was something about technology I couldn’t do, she could. When I needed help, she gave from her own wisdom, and when she needed the right phrase, it sprouted like a weed out of my mouth. If it weren’t heretical, I would label us the Ying and Yang Writing Project Society.

Here’s a beautiful hat off to you, Edna!

From your favorite ogre,

Linda B. Greer