MY BLOG POSTS

ONE WEEK from release date, and many of you are already reading Starring Me! Ah, that is music to my ears!

But if you don’t have a copy and you’d like one — you’ve come to the right place.

Today is also my son, Thomas’, ninth birthday! So in honor of that, the “entry fee” to have your name put in the hat for this giveaway is….

Tell me about your best birthday ever — party, present, surprise — below. The winner will  be chosen on Thursday.

There is so  much about writing that I love, and there is so much I have learned since I started writing. But one of the most special – and most unexpected – lessons I have learned isn’t about plot development or characterization, marketing or editing. It is about God.

I have never doubted that God is the Creator. I learned it as a child and I evaluated that teaching as a teen. As an adult, I have experienced the truth of it as I have seen some of his amazing creations firsthand – mountains and deserts and rain forests and volcanoes.

But until I started writing, I thought of only the creations that I could see. God is the Master Artist. But I have learned that is just part of God’s creativity. He is also the Master Storyteller.

When I create a character, I begin with her personality, history, likes and dislikes. Then I determine where she will live, who her friends are, I decide her strengths and weaknesses. And then I give her a goal. What is she working toward? How does she get there? And what stands in her way? That last one is a biggie. Stories are dull without that. Just imagine if Cinderella wanted to go the ball and her stepmother said, “Sure, honey. Let me help you find a perfect dress”? She goes, meets the prince, falls  in love and gets married on the spot, both glass slippers fully in tact.

How boring would that be? We love the ending of Cinderella because we are invested in her story, we are rooting for her. We have seen her through the struggles of her horrible stepmother, stepsisters and evil step-cat. She has earned that pumpkin carriage. That ending wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying if it weren’t for that. Cinderella – and her audience – understands how sweet this marriage to the prince is because we have seen the struggle it took for her to arrive at the altar.

And so it dawned on me — if God is the Master Storyteller (and he is!) — then he is doing the same things for us. He is creating a story in our lives. And our story has a plot and conflicts and a character who is being developed through those elements. Once I saw that, I began examining my “story” and found examples of the Master Storyteller at work in ways I had never recognized before.

Foreshadowing: I switched majors my last semester in college, from English Education to English Literature. I was a little nervous about this decision, but I believed it was what God wanted me to do.  Fast forward a couple years — I had my first child and was looking for part-time work to supplement our income while my husband was going through seminary. I applied to teach Remedial English at a local community college. The job requirement was no fewer than 18 college-level English courses. Had I not switched majors, I wouldn’t have had enough courses to qualify for the job. AND in that job, the majority of my students were non-native English speakers who were struggling to learn our language. I got a first-hand look at the difficulties inherent in language-learning, as well as some real-life case studies on what to do and what NOT to do when learning a language. Little did I know that a few years after that, I would be learning a new language (Spanish). God had allowed me to have that job for more than just extra income. It helped prepare me for the next chapter in my story. And it all started with a change in majors!

Internal Conflict: I hate moving. With a passion. Yet we have moved all over the world: Tampa to Texas, Texas to Costa Rica, Costa Rica to Spain, Spain to Tampa (great storytellers revisit old settings, too, I have noticed!). Every move was painful – saying goodbye to people we loved, places we loved, homes we loved — it is heartbreaking. Then starting over — every time but the last it was in a place we didn’t know. We had to make new friends, learn our way around, set up house. I hate starting over. The first move was the worst. Not because of the move itself but because of my attitude. I was mad at God, mad at Dave, mad at the world. I did NOT want to leave Tampa! But God used that move to draw me closer to him, to strengthen our marriage, and to prepare us for the next move – the biggest of our life. When it came time to leave Texas for Costa Rica, I was sad, but I wasn’t angry. I knew God was with us in the move and that he had plans for us there in San Jose. I can’t say that every move got easier, but I can say  that I am grateful for every move. The Master Storyteller knew that much in my character needed to be developed, and so he brought that conflict into my life. And he did that because he knew there were areas where I was “flat” and weak, areas where my character was underdeveloped. And God desires, not that our lives are perfect and conflict-free, but that we are constantly being shaped into someone who looks like Him.

I could go on, but hopefully my thoughts have caused yours to be ignited, and I want you to think about your story, now.

What is God doing in your story? What has he done already? What amazing plot twists has he thrown in? What unexpected conflicts has he allowed? Praise God that he loves us enough to be personally involved in each of our stories. And may we all be characters worthy of our Author.

The campus pastor at the Bible college I attended told a story that I have never forgotten:

He and his wife were visiting a church and ended up sitting behind an older couple. After the first song, the elderly woman turned around and said, “What beautiful voices you both have. I feel like I am being serenaded by an angelic choir.” My campus pastor was embarrassed and shook his head, saying, “Oh, we don’t sing all that well. But it’s nice of you to say that.” To which the elderly woman replied,

“False humility makes me want to vomit.” And promptly turned around.

He used that story to introduce a sermon encouraging us to acknowledge the gifts that God had given each of us. Because God has given gifts to each of us.

Now stop right there. I know some of you reading this just thought. “Nuh-uh. Not me. I can’t do ANYTHING.”

Do I need to bring the old lady back?

Here’s the problem — I think we can all acknowledge there are things we like to do. We like to cook, we like to play sports, we like to draw. But we know we aren’t the best at any of those. And we figure since there are so many others who are better, we are being arrogant to say that we are any good at all.

For example, I like to sing. But when I hear my favorites like Judy Garland or Ella Fitzgerald or Etta James (if you don’t know who these ladies are, look them up on Youtube TODAY!!), I know that even on my best day, I sound like a croaking bullfrog compared to them. They are amazing! But just because I am not the best singer ever doesn’t mean I can’t say “Thank you” when a song I sing in church blesses someone. In fact, my campus pastor helped me see that when I don’t say “Thank you,” when I roll my eyes and say, “That was rough,” or “I had a sore throat this morning,” or whatever, I am, in effect, saying to that person, “Your praise doesn’t mean anything.” I am offending someone who was trying to encourage me.

And furthermore, our abilities are gifts – given to us by God. If we are praised for our abilities, we thank the person who was kind enough to complement us, and we acknowledge that those gifts are from our Savior.

This isn’t just for singing. How about sports? Did you hit a ground ball that enabled your team mate to run home? Even if you got out on your way around the bases, you take those high five’s coming back into the dug out. God gave you the ability to hit that ball. You helped get your team a run!

It’s true for art, too. Maybe your English teacher assigns a group project where you have to create a sheild for the Montague family. You come up the idea and make it happen. Then you see the Capulet group. It looks like the Art teacher came in a made it. It’s perfect. Does that mean you aren’t talented? Not at all. Praise that other team and be proud of yours.

Concentrate more on doing your best than on being the best.

And for goodness’ sake, if an old lady tells you you sing like an angel, you tell her “Thank you, ma’am,” smile, and keep singing.

Tropical Storm Debby has hit my part of the world pretty hard. And she’s not done, yet. Thankfully, our neighborhood has been spared the worst of it, but not everyone has been so lucky. This is what I see when I check my Facebook page:

A friend’s back yard:

A local grocery store:

Tampa’s famous Bayshore Boulevard:

We are watching for floods,  tornadoes, and incredibly high winds.

So I am thinking I need some new shoes…

How about you? Debby bothering anyone else out there? Tell me about it!