A Parable of a Parable . . . at the Ball Park!

Sunday night Chris and I took the girls to a Nashville Sounds game. (The Nashville Sounds are our minor league team - a farm team for the Milwaukee Brewers.) We had the best time! We had GREAT seats - second row right behind the Sounds' dugout. It was so close! It was also autograph night where the kids (and kids at heart :o) ) could bring their paraphernalia and get it signed by most if not all of the players. Ali and Livi ate this up! They loved being so close to the big boys! It was a gorgeous summer night. We could hear the CRACK of the ball on the bat, the SMACK of the ball into a glove. Of course, ball diamond food is worth the price of admission alone. I mean is there a place in this world where a hot dog tastes better??? The Sounds played an excellent game, had beautiful plays, and won 14-5! Everything was as perfect as it could be, but . . .

There was a man sitting right in front of us that bumped our experience up one more notch. We don't even know this man's name, but he wore a jersy with the word EXTREME on the back so we just called him Mr. Extreme, and he seemed to be totally cool with this. Well, Mr. Extreme was a very friendly guy. He seemed to know every player. He got them to come to him to get autographs. Of course Ali and Livi loved that because they'd get their little programs out and lean over to get more autographs than they already had! I think some of the players actually signed twice. *Shrug* It was fun. Anyway, we are a pretty friendly family so we were getting along well with Mr. Extreme.

Well, a couple innings into the game, our Sounds were in the outfield (which wasn't that far away from us as we were in the 2nd row and Mr. Extreme was in the first row) and our third baseman made a play (I think he chased down a fould ball, though I can't remember) and he did what all of the fans love. He tossed the ball into the stands . . . right at Mr. Extreme. When I got over the shock because for a split second I saw a ball coming right for my head, I was overcome with appreciation because Mr. Extreme, without hesitating, turned around and gave the ball to my girls! Do you know that just a few innings later, the EXACT same thing happened??? A player tossed him the ball and he turned around and gave it to my girls so that when we left that game BOTH Ali and Livi had a GAME BALL! Of course, we thanked him and he just smiled his goofy, happy smile. But I got to thinking, there's a lesson to be learned here.

The lesson I came up with? Let me bring to your memory the Parable of the Rich Fool. Luke 12:16-21 says, "Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.' But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

If you let your imagination take a little walk with me, you'll see that Mr. Extreme was NOT like the greedy, rich man. He did NOT lay up those treasured game balls for himself. He gave them away and caused "extreme" happiness when he did so. As Christians, we MUST be like Mr. Extreme. We must learn Scripture like Mr. Extreme learned the players so that when we have an opportunity tossed at us, we can give away a little piece of Heaven. How much more happiness would it cause for a nonbeliever to enter the gates of Heaven just because we did NOT lay up the treasure for ourselves, but shared the best gift we've ever received?! I don't want to keep the love of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, all to myself. I want everyone to know what He did for me and all of humanity. I want to be like Mr. Extreme and just . . . give it away.


This is where I have gotten stuck for two nights in a row because this computer has frozen up on me. I want to update you on our list of prayer concerns and I will on another night. For now I'm going to add two new urgent requests and I will make some changes to the list of prayer concerns.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Please pray mightily for Cathy Sue Hodges, who has been diagnosed with cancer in several areas of her body. Pray for complete and total healing. Pray for the strength she'll need to make it through the days ahead. Pray for peace and hope and comfort for her and her family. Pray for her doctors to have wisdom and know exactly how to treat this cancer. We know that our God is bigger than any illness, that there is NOTHING too big for our God to handle. I pray that faith in Him is strengthed through this and that Cathy and her family will use this sweet time to bond together comforting each other and the Lord comforts them.

I also ask you to pray for the family of Linda Schafer. Linda and her family attended the church that I grew up in. I was friends with her daughters, Melissa, Robin, and Becky. Sadly, sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, 54-year-old Linda very suddenly passed away. Please pray for her husband, Don, and her three daughters. Also pray for her mother Laureen. Pray that they can find hope in God's promises and that through that hope their broken hearts will gradually heal. Pray for them not just today and tomorrow but in the weeks and months ahead when life just keeps moving on and they have no choice but to move on with it, though they may still be so deeply grieved inside that it hurts to think of one more minute without Linda. Pray that they find the strength in themselves, in their faith, and in each other to keep pressing on until the day comes when they can see Linda again.

I'm going to post this before I lose it again. As I said I will post the updates soon. Until then . . .

"Extreme" blessings to you and yours,
Jen

GMC

Um . . . sorry. This post IS NOT about the General Motors Corporation. It's not about how the government is or isn't bailing them out (because to tell you the truth, I lost track of exactly what the status was with that). In this post, GMC stands for: Goal Motivated Conflict.

I attended the monthly MTCW (Middle Tennesee Christian Writers) meeting this morning. It is a group of writers - some published, some not yet - who meet to help each other hone their craft of writing. I get a ton out of these meetings, learning something new each month, but I think I can speak for even our veteran writers that everyone takes something away from the two hours we spend together.

This morning, multi-published Tamara Leigh presented us with the importance of incorporating GMC in our works in progress and how to do it effectively. Basically, the heroine and the hero must have a GMC AND each scene must have a GMC. Sound complicated? It's not really. Let me explain further by using my heroine, Kate, as an example.

Kate Sterling has a goal of trying to start over and begin a new life for her and her young daughter three years after her husband has passed away. Her motivation is that she is tired of grieving, tired of being alone. Her major conflict is just that she's not ready to let him go yet. Other goals, motivation, and conflicts come into play throughout the book to keep the reader interested and to propel the story along.

As I was pondering Goal Motivated Conflict tonight, I had the thought that we can apply this same formula to our everyday lives. For example: I have a goal to finish The Heart's Journey Home and get it perfect for my February release date. My motivation? Truly and honestly, to change hearts and bring people to a closer relationship with the Lord. My conflicts? Ha! Ha! That's funny! It's called LIFE! Olivia getting sick with ITP set me back. During the school year, my time is really divided up. I could keep naming conflicts that I have to work through to reach this goal, but you get the point. Sometimes in stories (and often in real life), the goal doesn't get reached, but it gets changed. That is typically a result of personal growth, and is a very cool thing to witness in real people and in characters!

I just wanted to share that with you tonight, and, in closing, I'm just wondering what are your Goal Motivated Conflicts? Have you ever had a goal that has changed instead of being met?

Stay tuned. In the next couple of weeks I'm going to be updating you on the status of The Heart's Journey Home, updating my list of prayer concerns, and posting book reviews. Right now I'm reading My Son, John by fellow Sheaf House author, Kathi Macias, and, let me tell you, folks, it is a gripping read! If you like deep, heart wretching, soul moving fiction, get ahold of this book.

But more on that later. For now I'm off to the wonderful world of fiction! :o)

Graduating

Do you remember your graduation?


Last month my baby graduated from preschool. It was a very sweet little ceremony. The kids sang "Jesus Loves Me" and recited memory verses and then did a little diddy about how they're "ready to go off to Kindergarten". Of course my heart was swollen with pride, and of course I wondered how my baby has gotten so big. Where does the time go? Yet, at the same time, I can hardly remember what my life was like before my precious Olivia. Olivia is already reading simple sentences and doing simple math! Yes, I'm a proud mama!

I wouldn't be a very good mama if I didn't tell you about my Alison. At the end-of-the-school-year awards ceremony, Ali made all "A" Honor Roll and received second place in her class in Bible, English, Spelling, and Reading. Plus, she learned ALL of the books of the Bible and received the charater trait award of Attentiveness. I thought that was interesting. *Shrug* As long as she is attentive as school! :o) Next year, she will actually be in my class, so we'll see what kind of awards she gets then! Ha! Ha! She's a very good, smart girl!

This year my high school graduating class is celebrating our 15 year reunion! 15 YEARS! Yes, I know I'm dating myself, but . . . HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??? I remember very vividly wearing that cap and gown and clowning around with my good friends thinking that it would take F-O-R-E-V-E-R for me to get married, have kids, and a career. Surprise! Forever is here! I lost track of many of my classmates (Including my very best friend, Patty, for a while, but that won't ever happen again!) but recently I've been reunited with several of my classmates through facebook! It's been like a very special treasure to be in contact with the people who I spent so much of my childhood and teen years with! And this October, we are going to have a reunion. I just can't wait!

Between my reunion, Ali's awards ceremony, and Livi's preschool graduation I've begun to understand that life is a series of "graduations", isn't it? Moving from one stepping stone to another. Each one is exciting and scary and fulfilling, but none is more important the graduating into Christianity.

The Heart's Journey Home is moving into very exciting stages!!! We will be starting the editing process very soon and by the end of the month hopefully we will have a cover to proof. Can you believe in less than 8 months I will be holding it in my hands?!?! Please stay tuned and check back often for the latest updates as I have every intention of posting regularly from now on.

I will update my list of prayer concerns very soon also, so please be looking for that, too! Now, back to work. Until next time . . .

Love and blessings to all,
Jen

STORMS!

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I've postes last! Thank you to all of you who are still checking in regularly. All I can say is I've been working on The Heart's Journey Home like a mad woman . . . when I'm not being a mama, wife, or teacher. "Being busy" is such a lame excuse, but I promise you, my friends, I have never in my life been busier. Right now I'm tired, but satisfied, and that's a good feeling.

What's NOT a good feeling is knowing you have a storm coming, and, WHEW!, it has definitely been a stormy spring here in Middle Tennessee. The picture you see is actually a picture of our local news channel's website DURING OLIVIA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY! Talk about nerve wracking! It all turned out okay, though, as is the case with most storms. The hard part is weathering it, witnessing the power of Mother Nature. How often we forget the our God is bigger than any storm. Our God calmed the storm not with a huge, showy performance, but with thee simple words: "Peace, be still."

In chapel several weeks ago, Alison's teacher (who has also become my very dear friend), Mrs. Connie Roy, talked to the elementary about how we all go through "storms" in our lives. Now you can imagine that this idea varies greatly from child to child. You may have one child whose "storm" is that their cat ran away, and that really is a "storm". I'm certainly not down playing it. But then you have the child whose parents are getting a divorce or whose daddy lost his job or whose grandparent is very, very sick. I've wondered before how do you explain "big people" stuff like the ecomony, divorce, sickness, and death to children? Fortunately, for me this year, Connie taught that chapel because I took it into my classroom and we talked in depth, I mean really in depth, about life's many storms. How they aren't fun to go through, but when it's all over, you are bigger and stronger and that much closer to becoming exactly who the Lord is shaping you to be. As much as I hate going through a storm (Hate is a very mild word to describe how I feel about storms. Really.) I can't tell you how much I love the freshness and newness of the world outside when it's over. The same is true when I go through a life storm. Hate it during the wind and the rain. Love the freshness and newness in my spirit when it's over. Unfortunately, my students received an application of life storms this week that I didn't want to have happen. My student, the grand daughter of Janet Kraski on our list of prayer concerns, is going through a really, really hard storm right now. Janet lost her very short battle with brain cancer this yesterday (Thursday). Please note that I have moved her family to the list of prayer concerns that have lost a loved one. And please, please pray for them.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Larry Harris (and wife Kathy) have been on my list before. Larry recently had a procedure done on his heart and has been recovering well. So weel, in fact, that they went on vacation earlier in April. On the way back however, he got really sick and had to have emergency surgery. He's still in the hospital recovering from this procedure very, very slowly. Please pray for Larry that he can continue to heal and recover and pray that the Lord will just wrap his wife Kathy in peace and comfort.

UPDATES: Trey Grant is being moved to a rehibilitation hospital already after his motorcycle accident! That is wonderful news! It will still be a long road for Trey so continue to pray for him, his wife, Jen, and their three children. My Olivia had blood work today and it seemed that her platelet count has dropped some over the month. Everything else in her blood work looks perfect so it's still this ITP. It's just going to take time, quite a bit of it from what I understand, and I'm not very patient. Please pray her prayer: "Dear Jesus, Thank You for healing me and please put more platelets in my body. Amen." She'll go back in a month for more blood work. Our little friend, Katie Leach, has reached a point in her chemo treatments that her hair has started to fall out. I know this is hard for adults to have to deal with because hair has so much to do with one's identity. Well, it is for a child, too. The difference is than an adult can at least rationalize that this is a direct cause of the chemo which is directly fighting the cancer. Rationalizing is a lot harder for a kid. They just know that everyone is going to "look at them weird now". People, especially women, value hair and it starts at Katie's age. Think about it, little girls watch fairytale movies and how many of the princesses have no hair??? ZERO! They all (well, okay, except for Mulan, which just may be my favorite) has long flowing thick gorgeous hair and every princess is sought after and beautiful. Well, Katie, you ARE a princess! You are fighting a battle bigger than the one Mulan fought! The Lord will use you in His army one day, Katie. I believe He already is, and I believe He is looking down from Heaven with eyes shining with pride for His special princess! I believe that. I also believe that God is going to work a miracle in out little buddy, Ethan Bibb. The last report I received was a fabulous one! He's going through treatments AND physical therapy and making incredible progress on all fronts. In both Ethan's and Katie's cases they are surrounded by extremely faithful parents and family and countless friends who are supporting the families and PRAYING for them both. Yes, there is power in prayer! So keep praying for them and all of the others on my list who are weathering their own personal storms.

Thank you!

Hope on the Train Tracks

I got an email a while back where apparently Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, was being interviewed. It was a very interesting interview but one thing he said struck me and stuck with me. He said that he used to view life as like a type of roller coaster going through hills and valleys, but now after the great success of his book coming at about the same time as his wife's diagnosis of cancer, he views life as a set of railroad tracks, running side by side, parallel to each other. With every praise in our lives right now, we do have something to pray about and with every prayer request we all have a blessing to be thankful for. Running side by side, parallel to each other.

I want to stop right there and say that I want to dedicate this post to Katie Leach and her amazing parents, Ashley and Ron. Folks, this family has more than their share of prayer needs. For those of you new to my blog, Katie is a 6 1/2 year old, sweet angel girl who recently had a FOOTBALL-sized tumor taken out of her abdomen. She also had a small spot on her lung that was cancerous. Yet, to read Ashley and Ron's posts on their Facebook group page, they are so faithful! They have counted their blessings amidst the prayer needs. They have been completely honest and open about what they are going through with their sweet child - things I personally can't get my brain to wrap around. I don't know Ashley, Ron, and Katie personally. I've never met them face to face, but they are in my heart and a part of my family much the same way that my characters in The Heart's Journey Home have become real, true, honest to goodness friends of mine. This is a part of Ashley's latest post. I think you'll easily see how I've come to love this family so much: There is relief in my heart and a renewed hope that Katie will be able to tell this amazing story of hers to anyone who will listen. There's a song that keeps running through my head these days (actually one of many) that says that "we can pray with hope." I studied the word "hope" some time ago and learned that "hope" does not mean just wishful thinking, as we sometimes use it. It is a confident expectation that God will fulfill His promises. That's what I feel: a confident expectation that God will do as He's promised. So, yes, I pray with expectation that God will work ALL this for our good; that He will remain faithful to His own character and love toward us; that His glory will be shown in my Katie's life. Thanks for praying with the same hope, even when Ron and I cannot. I truly believe Katie's "bounce-back-ability" is fueled by your prayers. You are quite the team! And we are so very grateful! I pray God's blessings for you, too, as you've somehow opened His storehouse for us! Ashley and Ron, if only you knew the storehouses YOU'VE opened for US through this journey you've been on. I for one have begun to see each and every day with a new clarity. So thank you!

Okay. I got that much written last night before I fell asleep! Isn't that terrible?! So, now time is of the essence. I'm going to get through this as quickly as I can and still do justice to all of the prayer concerns on my lists, but I have to also get some work in on The Heart's Journey Home before Ali's softball game this afternoon and right now the girls are actually behaving nicely. Opportune time!

Status update on The Heart's Journey Home: Progress is still good but slow. I got over 800 words done Thursday night which was really great progress for me on a school night, but then last night I fell asleep before I could open the file so tonight I have some makin' up to do. And I will. My deadline is May 1st - less than 2 weeks away. It's slightly nerve wracking. I'm not for sure but I think every author gets nervous as it gets closer to their deadline. My biggest "issue" is that I want it to be perfect NOW, even before editing, and it won't be. I've really got to put that out of my mind and JUST WRITE! After my manuscript is turned in and we begin editing it, the real fun begins - cover design, the editing process itself (isn't it always such a great feeling to make something good even better?!), and all of the little extras that The Heart's Journey Home will include. Oh, you'll love it and I'm beyond excited! I feel like a kid two days before Christmas!!! Really!

Moving on . . . You might have noticed I changed the list of Prayer Concerns to two lists. I was starting to feel like I was getting so many requests and I'm pleased with that. I want to be able to serve you all in this way, but I didn't want any of the requests to get over looked on a growing list of prayer concerns. I didn't want to take off the requests for those who've lost loved ones because the grief process is a long one and comes in waves. Someone may very well need more prayer 6 months after their loss. So I put them on a separate list and intend to keep them on the list for a year. Please pray mightily for those individuals. I don't have updates on any of them - what really can be said? As for the rest of the list, I am going to go down the list and update you on the ones I have updates on, but first let me bring your attention to a concern I just added yesterday:

Trey Grant is a friend from our church. He's a husband and a father of two girls (the oldest is my Alison's age) and a baby boy born this past summer. Trey was in a very serious motorcycle accident. From what I understand, he sustained a brain injury, skull fracture, broken sternum, and many other broken bones. He HAS moved his legs so that is a good sign, but as of last night they had him in an induced coma. Please pray for Trey and his family.

My granny, Betty Moltz, was recently readmitted to the hospital with fluid retention in her legs. She is very weak trying to recover from her mild heart attack. Please pray for strength for my granny and my grandpa who has been wonderful at taking care of her during this time - a true role reversal after 60+ years of marriage.

Time for not one but two HUGE praises! Both of the missing persons on the list - Dave Dean and Leif Sherry - HAVE BOTH BEEN FOUND ALIVE AND SAFE! Praise God!! Please continue to pray for them for hope and healing as I believe both men have some issues to work out.

Ethan Bibb is an 8-year-old who recently underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. Unfortunately, the tumor was cancerous and the doctors discovered the cancer went down the poor baby's spine. Ethan needs a lot of prayer, as does his mother and father, Robyn and Farris, and sister Lana. Ethan is in an immense amount of pain. If you have a facebook account, please join the group Prayers for Ethan Bibb and follow the link provided to his Caring Bridge site. Leave them a note of encouagement. They SOOOO need it! According to the last update on the Caring Bridge site, he will be starting radiation on Monday and hopefully that will help a lot with the pain. Please lift this "Small Soldier" up to the Lord in prayer and let your hope or "confident expectations that God WILL fulfill His proimises" cover Ethan and his family.

I took off Mr. Fred Gross because he has been doing so well the he and Ms. Esther have traveled to Texas recently! Praise God for that!! I also removed my sister Julie and bother-in-law Jon Roeder as their sweet little Kaylee Ann is doing just fine. I can't wait to see them and love on that gorgeous little angel baby. June can't get here fast enough for that!!!

Katie Leach has started her chemo and according to her mama and daddy, is doing great! Seriously, if you haven't joined the group, Praying for Katie Leach, on Facebook, do it. This amazing family has changed my life and I truly love them! Please pray for continued healing for our sweet Katie. Pray that the world can one day know a faith like this family has! What a wonderful world this would be! Love and prayers go out to you, Leach family and especially to you, Angel girl! :o)

Kelly M is the daughter of one of the fellow authors at Sheaf House. The last report I received is that Kelly is in constant pain. Please, please pray about this for them. Kelly has a young daughter that is torn up to see her mama in such pain and of course Kelly's mama is torn up to see her daughter in such pain. Something HAS to be done for Kelly. Please, pray for hope and HEALING for her!

2-year-old Lilly with lukemia is receiving maintenance chemo for another 9 months or so but the report is that she is doing well. Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray for her, that God will remove this disease from her little body PERMANENTLY! That is my "confident expectation"!

Logan West is a 12-year-old that was recently added to the list. It sounds like he is having problems with his platelets dropping. From the information I received, he was rushed to the hospital three times with excessive bleeding. His mother is frantic, and I'm fairly confident that she has a constant knot in the pit of her stomach. It's how I was with my Olivia. Bleeding and issues with the blood is very, very scary stuff! Nancy, if you read this, please have Logan's mother email or call me with any new information. In the meantime, my friends, please pray Jesus' own words over Logan: "This is my blood given for you."

Mark Frohock is a friend of my publisher, Joan. Mark has been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that has mestacised to the bones in Mark's spine, the lymph nodes, and the liver. He will start this Monday. Sounds not very good, but our God is bigger than any kind of cancer. They gave percentages, but I'm not going to report that. Mark is an individual, not a statistic (I learned that from the family and friends of Ethan Bibb - I learn so much from all of you!) and God IS still in the miracle business! Please pray MIGHTILY for Mark, his wife, Tillie, and his children. Pray with CONFIDENT EXPECTATIONS THAT GOD WILL FULFILL HIS PROMISES! Pray, friends, pray!

Ned Oeder, suffering from liver cancer, went to the Cleveland Clinic yesterday. I haven't heard yet the outcome of the visit, but I know that over Easter weekend he had to go to the hospital because of complications with his blood. I'll have an update on our friend, Ned, soon. In the meantime, please lift him up to the Lord. Pray for healing and HOPE!

Yesterday there was a benefit dinner at our old high school for my best friend, Patty Smith. I couldn't be there, naturally, so I'm waiting anxiously to see how it went. My mom went and said it looked liek they had a good turn out and she said Patty looked really good, too! Yesterday before the dinner Patty said she was just a little achy. I suppose that is to be expected when your body's fighting such a battle! Other than that, she seems to be doing well! Please pray for continued HOPE and healing for my very best friend! I love her so much and I WANT HER HEALTHY!!!

Oooo, oooo, oooo. I just couldn't wait to give you this update! Robin Baughman, the 40-year-old mother of 4 that was diagnosed with STAGE 4 cancer in her brain, breast, and lung, IS CANCER FREE IN HER BRAIN!!! Her one lung is completely clear now and the breast cancer seems to be only an outer ring of cancer cells attached to a fatty tumor. The doctors are still concerned enough to begin radiation soon, but, my friends, THAT IS GOD! There's nothing else to say! When my friend Shelly brought Robin to us as a prayer concern there was minimal hope. Just look what our God can do! Just look!!! (Whew! It moves me to tears that I love and serve such an awesome God!) Please continue to pray for Robin for HOPE and healing. The next update I want to give you is that our friend, Robin, is cancer free. That is my confident expectation!

That is an excellent way to end this post and so, until next time . . .
Love, blessings, and HOPE to you and yours,
Jen