Get the Dirt Out!

It's May and it's time for Spring Cleaning. Days are longer and the light is brighter. Now I'm seeing all those places where the dust bunnies were hiding all winter long. Goodness knows, I should be more vigilant in my housework.

Are you a great cleaner? Please respond to this post if you are and share your secret. My motivation needs a kick start. I would much rather be piddling in the garden, planting new living things, and moving overgrown plants around.

When I think about dirty vs. clean I am reminded of the scripture that says "our sins, though they be scarlet, will be made whiter than snow." Ever try to get dried cherry stains out of a white dress blouse or shirt? It's next to impossible. But all things are possible with God.

He says when we are forgiven of the "dirt" in our souls, those sins are tossed far away, as far as the east is from the west. How amazing to know God can and will make us whiter than snow inside for holy fellowship with Him and with others.

While we are preparing our homes for company this summer and getting the dirt out, let's remember to confess our sins, too. Admitting where we have failed as disciples of our Lord can be a time of much needed self-examination and also relief as we share with Jesus, the one who loves us most.



Blessings and Agape,

Dr. Linda B. Greer

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

Call for Submissions to a Bible Study I'm Writing

Dear Readers and Friends,

Dr. Edna Ellison and I are finishing a manuscript for a new Bible Study to give spiritual triage to grieving parents who've lost a child. But there's one testimony we don't have yet and would very much like to get. We need a parent who has about 5 years of healing from the loss of a child by self-murder.

I know this is a lot to ask since this particular loss carries more baggage than most deaths, but I really sense God wants us to include a testimony on how a parent was able to move through the first year toward healing and keeping his/her faith on course.

If you know anyone, please have them send me an email at drgreer@charter.net so we can exchange phone numbers and talk together. As you know, my own daughter's 10th anniversary of entrance to heaven was this year in February. As you may have guessed, I wrote the first testimony for our book and Edna did the commentary on my testimony. We have many brave parents who've made contributions and feel awed by their courage and faith in our Lord.

Well, hope all is well with everyone this Christmas. If it's not, take it to the Lord in much prayer and learn from your trials, friends.

Keeping the Faith One More Year,
Dr. Linda B. Greer

Waiting in Deep by Sandi Denkers

The first novel Sandi has written and published is a culmination of a decade of pondering sudden death and loss of a close family member. Sandi has taken from her own experience and added lovable and unforgettable characters in a story of faith, fear, and frustration in relationships. The setting is a small town in the Upstate of South Carolina, some of her own stomping grounds. The time period is in the 70's when friction should have been fierce between the black and white populations. Somehow this is not the case in such a small town as make-believe Mt. Brayden. For two neighbors, as different as North and South, it is a whole lot of laughs, some tears, some fervent prayer, and the friendship of a young white girl from up the street that bring the story to life.

Lottie Johnson learns over the course of this novel and the growing up years of her little friend, Rebecca, that life has more to it than just a flower garden and a pesky neighbor, Dovie. Lottie evolves from a tight rosebud to full bloom through her first tentative overnight sleepover for Rebecca's birthday party to a forgiving and caring older relation for her alcoholic cousin, Edgar.

The sparring between Dovie and Lottie is reminiscent of a Laurel and Hardy slapstick. Dovie is as jovial and big-hearted as Lottie is closed and sparse in her compliments. Rebecca has the ability to befriend both women, but particularly loves Lottie for her uncanny skill in making beauty come forth from the dirt. The two make a pact early in the novel to trade talent: Rebecca tutoring Lottie in her math and English, while Lottie teaches Rebecca about all her flowers and how to coax the best from them year after year to sell at the local florist, Rebecca's mother.

One of the best parts in the book are the journaling Lottie does. My favorite quote of all is from one of these:
     "Death is awful fierce. After it cuts those living into little pieces, grief comes along to watch
      them bleed."

There's more to the novel to help Lottie move along her journey of healing, but you'll just have to read Waiting in Deep for yourself. Enjoy the quick read and see how things turn out for Lottie, Rebecca, Dovie, and Edgar. The book is available at Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format. It is also sold at Barnes and Noble.

Agape and Blessings,
Dr. Linda B. Greer

Kathi Macias Writes Two More Great Books: The Moses Quilt and Last Chance for Justice

I have done two book readings this summer of Kathi Macias' latest novels, The Moses Quilt and Last Chance for Justice. As usual, Kathi took her stand on interracial marriage and gave it a new twist in the first novel and also wrote a combination mystery and "redefining-yourself-as-a-widow" in the second.

In The Moses Quilt there's a love story about an older African-American Christian man, Edward, and younger Caucasian woman, Mazie. The story opens with Mazie's concern for her aging grandmother, Mimi, who lives with Mazie and her mother. The three generation of women in the house are a backdrop for a wonderful history lesson about Harriet Tubman of Civil War Underground Railway renown.

Each evening, Mazie and Edward learn more about Harriet Tubman through Mimi's stories about the patches on the Moses Quilt, a family heirloom. Mazie is inspired by Harriet's courage, her faith in God's provision and her life after the Civil War to help freed slaves and also speak for women's suffrage. Edward's love of the stories about one of African-Americans' heroines only endears him more to Mazie and her family.

Despite repeated efforts to get a commitment of marriage from Mazie, Edward stays mystified until he and Mazie make a trip to a small rural town in Georgia where the quilt was made. You'll have to read the book to find out if Mazie and Edward can "take the leap" for love when the quilt's meaning is fully revealed.

Last Chance for Justice is an unsettling homecoming story for Lynn, a middle-aged grieving widow, who is beckoned back to her small town, Bloomfield, at the death of her much older brother. Myron has left her his big old home next to the town cemetery, an eerie location to be sure. But he has also left a mystery for Lynn to solve.

Lynn and her adult daughter, Rachel, search through  Myron's papers trying to find clues to rectify the reputation of an African-American boy accused of stealing the church Sunday School offering many decades ago. As their search continues, they become acclimated to the town and the home. Bloomfield grows on both of them,  especially Rachel as she begins to have two love interests at once from two young handsome men, one a youth pastor and the other a successful businessman.

You will have to read Last Chance for Justice to find out which young man wins Rachel's heart and to learn whether or not they find the lost Sunday School money. Myron's dying wish was for Lynn to clear the name of this young man, Last Chance, long since buried in the cemetery beside Lynn's inherited home. Last Chance's only surviving sister is reclusive but still believing God can work a miracle on behalf of her deceased brother.

To purchase these books go to:
 http://www.amazon.com/Moses-Quilt-Kathi-Macias/dp/1596693584/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377358470&sr=1-1&keywords=kathi+macias+books

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Chance-Justice-Bloomfield-Novel/dp/1433677172/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377358470&sr=1-2&keywords=kathi+macias+books

Blessings and Agape,
Dr. Linda B. Greer

Memorial Day for our Armed Forces

This is a bittersweet day for many folks. Some have returned from wars to ponder their fallen friends. Some have spouses who served and died. Some have sons, daughters, or cousins who never returned alive. It is a day of contemplation and humble remembrance for the warriors of our country who put themselves in harm's way to fight the good fight.

They gave everything they could so we could be free in this country. I appreciate their sacrifices so very much having lived in a middle east nation for a year. I saw what it was like for people who did not have freedom and never tasted democracy and a republic nation.

Freedom comes in many forms. Even enslaved Americans from centuries past knew true freedom comes from an inward sense of worth given to each person by our God. Knowing Jesus, the Son of God, died to give us ultimate freedom to be his brother or sister for eternity can outweigh even the grimmest of our life's circumstances. The gospel songs of the South rooted in slavery speak to that level of freedom. "One glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away..."

Today is a bittersweet day. For the ones who survived and who remained behind, let us remember those who did not. But more importantly, let us continue to fight the real enemy of Christ, the devil and all his deceptions and lies. Daily, let us put on the "full armor of God" and do what we can to protect ourselves as believers. To pray for one another and a hedge of protection from the attacks of the devil is our due diligence as we trod this sin-torn earth, awaiting the day we "fly away" home.

Blessings and Agape,

Dr. Linda B. Greer