Every Dog Has Her Day

A first for me in this life--my name in print and my first short story published in a book! My story, "A Different Kind of Family", was published recently in the anthology: Too Soon to Say Goodbye, ed. Susan T. Osborn et al., Baptist WMU publishers. It's a great ministry for suicide victims and survivors including Holy Scriptures, true stories, Christian counseling snippets, poetry, and thoughtful chapter questions.

I received my complimentary copy in the mail last week and jumped around like a three-year-old with a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven. It was a benchmark day for my writing. Clearly, it was also a call to better writing. I saw many ways to improve on the story since submitting it about a year ago.

Someday the spiritual heartbeat of my short story will be interlaced into the romance novel I'm writing entitled: Forsaken but not Forgotten. Dear readers, pray for me to get back into writing jockey mode soon. I haven't touched the draft since before the holidays and here it is almost Valentine's Day. Also pray for acquiring an agent to spur me on (pun fully intended).

I have the plot line worked out, but those are just the bones of a novel, the kind of material you see on the inside flap of the book cover. Flesh, personna, and voice are still needed, the meat of the matter in writing a book. I have the imagination to create, but need the discipline to write...write...write beyond chapter ten.

I've even bought books on how to write better, currenty in need of a dustcloth. I'm pathetic. I have a freind who needs to write a series of short stories (Life on the Funny Farm?). She's further behind than I am, so somehow I feel comforted in a cock-eyed way.

If you want a discounted copy of Too Soon to Say Goodbye for someone needing Christian comfort from loss of a loved one by suicide or for someone who has attempted suicide, email me at drgreer@charter.net for info. It's a great book and a much needed addition to Christian world view literature on an agonizing and acutely touchy topic.

Blessings and Agape,
Linda B. Greer

New Year, New You?

Is this the year your spiritual heartbeats will thump with your highest joy for His utmost glory? Will you resolve to have a special time and place for reading God's Word each day? Will you sign up for your first mission trip? Will your prayer life blossom like a beautiful magnolia, large and fragrant?

I know we all make and usually break our New Year's resolutions. But some promises to ourselves are bigger than ourselves. If you were to increase your time in prayer and Bible reading by twice, would that be a great sacrifice? How can you do such a thing when the urgency of the banal calls? Dishes need washing, clothes need folding, errands need running, your workplace needs you on time regularly, homes need cleaning, and meals need to be made and eaten.

Even though we are part of the microwave generation, some things are just too important to breeze through in seconds or moments. Think about the vow that a priest makes: to be chaste, to be poor, and to obey God. As future citizens of God's kingdom, we must peel away the non-essential parts of our lives and dig down to the foundations of our soul to find the peace and joy only God can give us.

In order to be closer to God, perhaps you could peel away some of the obstacles between you and the lover of your soul, the one who makes your heart soar with undeserved love, mercy, and grace. Here are some of my own personal obstacles:

• too much TV watching
• too much email to manage, read, delete
• too much junk snail mail
• too much time wasted looking at online bargains for things I want but don't need
• too many dogs that need attention, food, snacks
• too much time doing my make-up and hair (vanity, vanity!)
• Disorganization at my desk, especially for my business cards

You may have an extremely different set of obstacles or perhaps one like mine. In the big picture, what will we leave behind as a legacy of how we spent the time God gave us on earth? Will it be one that includes great God conversations or the flotsom and jetsom of life?

Blessings and Agape for the New Year,
L. B. Greer

Christmas and the Christ Child

Take your imagination back about 2000 years ago to a small village called Bethlehem. There are two weary travelers, in love and expecting a very special firstborn. The road has been rocky, and shelter has been scarce. Their food supply has dwindled and their sad faces are evident at every innkeepers' doorway when each refuses to give them a room.

Finally, one innkeeper is beseeched for the sake of Mary's condition to give them a place in the straw beside the stock in the man's small stable carved out of the stone hills around Bethlehem. Joseph looks at Mary with as much encouragement as he can muster at this paultry offer of shelter. She smiles back and nods as if to say, "It's OK, Joseph. It's not your fault the inns are full."

They enter this manure and straw shelter and make a space amongst the beasts. Joseph helps Mary gently off the donkey. The animal is too tired to eat the straw and lays down to sleep after taking in some water from the trough. Mary's labor pains are coming more frequently now.

Joseph has helped to birth lambs and goats, but never a baby. He prays to the Father the delivery of His Son will go well. Mary's birthing cries are heard on high in the heavens and the angels begin their journey down to the stable and to the shepherds. These lonely and wayfaring men on earth are gazing into the night skies around Bethlehem at a remarkable star God has moved into their small corner of the world. The flocks of their beloved sheep are asleep close by.

Mary makes her last and final push to give birh. Joseph brings out the baby, clears his mouth of mucous with his finger, and holds him by his feet to spank his first breaths of this world's air into his nostrils and mouth. He cuts the umbilical cord and puts this small and holy being up to Mary's waiting breast. There are tears of joy for both these young lovers as Jesus nurses. Joseph plumps up the straw and lies down beside Mary to encircle her and the child with his arm. He nods off to sleep.

And so, "unto us a child is born and unto us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end...The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:6-7) 

Isaiah's words are given peering hundreds of years into the future for this momentous birth; and we stand amazed in the presence of the Holy Spirit, gazing back thousands of years to the grandeur of God's design. The Everlasting Father's desire for man to be justified by faith in the baby who became a man on mission to fulfill God's prophetic words has just begun. The Messiah has come, and our spiritual heartbeats are enlivened by this miracle!

Sleep in heavenly peace, little child of God. Sleep in heavenly peace.

Feeling Like a Fried Turkey?

Dear Saints in the Faith,

It's that happy time of year again when families argue over whose going where on what holiday and at what time. Grandma's too far away to visit, but she wouldn't leave her doctors anyway, not even for a free plane ticket. Uncle Brad is upset for hearing the truth a long time coming, Uncle Jeff wants to crawl into his usual cave of paranoia, and Uncle Rick could care less what happens to any of us as he has his wife and his mothern-in-law to care for. As one pundant said, "You can't pick your family, but you sure can pick your friends."

On this Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for my friends because they actually keep in touch with me and show they care. I'm invited over to a friend's home for this very family-oriented holiday. No more feeling like a fried turkey for me, no sir! I am going to have a blast even if the hostess doesn't stuff the turkey with Prozac to help things along. My part in all this is the mashed potatoes and the cranberry sauce. Wow, what a relief after decades of doing a huge dinner for my own family!

As it happens, I plan wearing my loosest jeans and sloppiest sweatshirt to make lots of room for food and good belly laughs, thus concealing midriff girth jiggling beneath loose clothing. When you're a guest, there are no worries. I can leave home with my bed unmade, my dirty breakfast dishes still in the sink, and the laundry half finished without a second thought. Ahhhh!

I imagine Mary's sister Martha, after she was scolded by the Master not to concern herself with the things of this world, feeling the weight of preparation taken off her shoulders, too. She could knock around in that first century kitchen with as much gusto or as little as she wanted, just so long as the meal eventually got served. People who were her guests didn't care. She probably kicked back on a kitchen stool and sipped a glass of wine before resuming her cooking. Maybe she even put a little of what she was consuming into the stew--who knew what she was tossing together? Maybe she had a food fight with a few of her maids and laughed herself silly?

Praise the Good Lord for laughter, it is such good medicine (Proverbs). I hope you laugh over at least one thing this Thanksgiving. Laugh because all you can afford is grilled cheese and tomato soup, laugh if you have to fast until Friday after Thanksgiving for your next check (turkey will be marked down along with all those thematic cakes and cookies), or laugh simply because God said it was good.

"Joy to the world, the Lord has come!" If he hasn't come to your home lately through laughter, let it deck the halls instead of holly.

Blessings and Agape as always,
L.B. Greer

When the Moon is Coming Up and the Son is Going Down

What is your first gut reaction to bad news? Do you have a group pity party? Do you try to console the one who is most affected with kind words? The challenge is to say nothing or at least very little. Just listening is perhaps the most important act of love. Those of us with verbose personalities will find this almost an impossible task, but even the Holy Spirit can tame the loosest of tongues.

Recently, I was with a group of friends sharing a meal. There were eight of us at the table, and one person monopolized the whole meal’s conversation. I was disappointed not to get to know the other six people in the group. I wish I could have found the politically correct way to get the woman to give it a rest for the sake of all the others. To be sure, the seven of us were being kind listeners.

This week I got bad news from my daughter. I asked her on the phone how she and the baby she was carrying were doing? Since she’s the only nuclear family I have left on this earth, she’s important to me. She said, “I lost the baby, Mom. It was an unusual condition and happens in about one out of a thousand pregnancies.” My heart was pricked. The words ripped another hope away from my sense of family.

She then said, “I have also broken off my wedding engagement.” I was stunned into silence. I let her tell me "how great it is to be back to just me and Andrew and to be so free". I said, “I’m sorry about your baby and about your fiancé. He seemed like such a nice guy.” It turns out he wasn’t so nice, and she elaborated.

I have to give her credit for not marrying because he wasn’t the kind of match she wanted, but I do hope she won’t remain a single mom forever. My preschool grandson is precious, and I believe he deserves a dad on a full-time basis; and my daughter needs to have the love of an excellent Christian husband. So I pray. And I pray some more. I pray until God is weary of me knocking on the Gates of Heaven with my intercessory missives. It seems life now is upside down with the moon above the sun. The son-in-love I hoped to have soon is going down into my daughter’s list of “thrown-to-the-curb” men in her life of twenty-four years.

I searched the scriptures for the exact words to weld onto my spiritual heartbeats after I hung up the phone from my daughter’s call. This scripture spoke intimately to a widow with one adult child.

"I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."

--Psalm 130: 5-6.

I will wait with hope for a bright morning, a day of fulfillment of my hopes as God is my witness.

Can you wait upon the Lord, too? Can you keep the watch for those you love and your hope at the same time? I pray you can, my dear sisters and brothers in Christ.

Blessings and Agape from L. B. Greer as always.

Are you Growing or Just Going?

In the mind spinning and hectic pace of our lives, there are times when we need to jump off the six lane highway. Retreat means something negative when you are in a war. But when your enemy is time pressure, “retreat” is a positive term of refreshment and rest. Praise God for retreats with other Christians, but an extra hurrah goes for retreats with Christian women.

This weekend I sojourned to such a place. A special retreat for writers of Christian media happens each year in October in a private cabin in the North Carolina Mountains. Many of the women have been coming for all six of the retreats thus far. As a result we’ve melded into a sisterhood of Christian writers. We keep in touch throughout the year by email or blogging. Our accomplishments in publications and our lives’ highs and lows are celebrated and prayed over. We’re family.

During the retreat we had the blessings of a live-in chef extraordinaire, and a loving hostess who provided extra toiletries and accommodated for any special needs. The paramount blessing was being cocooned inside the grandeur of God’s creation. What is it about these Appalachian Mountains that puts our hearts and lives into perspective? Is the air clearer, the sky bluer, the birds more joyful in song? Whatever it is, life is at a pace of ease allowing our minds to unlock secrets and satisfy the thirsting soul for drops of love from Heaven.

This past weekend we have shared from our hearts and souls through our writing, our reading, our devotions and all the great meal conversations. I had one of the best roommates ever. It seems we have lived very similar lives and experienced much of the same heartaches within a half century. Our friendship reached a higher level and now we have promised to be accountable to each other within a small critique group birthed out of our retreat. “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our joys and griefs to share…”

Can you find a time in your own life where you can retreat for several days without your own biological family? I think this is critical for your soul and spirit to grow immeasurably. It broadens your network of friends in Christ. It opens your heart to the trials and dreams of others. Lastly, it spreads a sense of awe about God and his ability to give you such wonderful gifts in this life. Makes me want to shout—Hallelujah! I see a glimpse of heaven here on earth.

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." NIV, 2 Peter 3: 18

Inching My Way into Christian Writing

Who would have thought when I was diagnosed with two chronic and incurable diseases about 10 years ago I could have an article published on coping with them? Who would have thought that very article would reach millions both nationally and internationally? God is good. God is faithful. And God is sometimes very surprising!

This past weekend I attended yet another Writing Workshop to hone my skills as a Christian writer and blogger. Even though doing these activities wipes my energy level out for at least two days, and I "make like a rock"; it is what is needed to keep me writing and telling others about life with Christ. For who can bear the thought of life without the hope He alone can offer? (John 3:16-17)

I am reminded so many times of the scripture song from a monk years ago about Mathew Chapter 11, verses 28 to 29. We must take up Christ's yoke, for it is easy and His burden is light. What a conundrum! When we, as Christians, are under the worst of circumstances and trials, Jesus says: take up my yoke, my burden, don't worry my little child.

I have already gotten an email from a fellow vertically ill (FMS) woman in Myrtle Beach--the very location where we were having our Writers' Workshop. She felt that God wanted her to email me although nothing about my faith was allowed in the article. Divine providence? I checked my email after I returned to the Upstate. If I can point her to this blog site for comfort and assurance, to her Savior, Jesus Christ, and to the Almighty Father who reigns supreme, my spiritual heartbeats will target those of God.

When was the last time you really spent time praising God? He lives within the praises of His people. Praise Him now for both the good and the difficult things in your life. He needs to know you are aware of His acts in all aspects of your life. There are no coincidences, only Divine Appointments. He's waiting for your appointment with Him right now.

Blessings from and to all the "vertically ill" everywhere,

Dr. Linda B. Greer

"Living Single with FMS: Advice from a Ten Year Veteran", Fibromyalgia Network e-newsletter, August, 2009