It was such a simple thing, and I’d done it dozens of times before… Schedule a blog post. Once it posts, a tweet is generated with a link to the post. Straightforward, uncomplicated… At least in theory.  Yesterday, the post missed its schedule. The tweet however, generated anyway with a link to a post that didn’t exist. And a minute later, another tweet was generated. And again a minute later. And again… for forty-seven minutes. (Something like that… I couldn’t count the  tweets. Frankly didn’t want to count the tweets.)

It was such a simple thing, and I’d done it dozens of times before… Schedule a blog post. Once it posts, a tweet is generated with a link to the post. Straightforward, uncomplicated… At least in theory.  Yesterday, the post missed its schedule. The tweet however, generated anyway with a link to a post that didn’t exist. And a minute later, another tweet was generated. And again a minute later. And again… for forty-seven minutes. (Something like that… I couldn’t count the  tweets. Frankly I didn’t want to count the tweets.)

I disabled the tweets. They didn’t stop. I disabled the WordPress plug-in. The tweets didn’t stop. Finally, I deleted the post. They stopped. How embarrassing!

That was a tough lesson for this perfectionist. I have a pathological aversion to looking stupid. A tweet- the same tweet- every minute for the better part of an hour certainly qualifies as stupid. So in the face of such a techie disaster, I could choose to crawl in a virtual hole, disable my Twitter account and not post for a while… like months. Then come back under an assumed name. I gave that more than a few moments consideration.  A much more reasonable reaction is to chalk it up as a learning experience, and move on. And here we are.

So near the close of the Authenticity Challenge, how does this apply to my faith? If I am putting forth any effort at all, at some point, I will fail, perhaps spectacularly. When that happens… (And that’s not saying it hasn’t already happened. Because it has.) I need to absorb the lesson and get back to work. I can never outfail God’s grace.

Tomorrow is the last post in this series… Be sure a check back for some parting thoughts. Tuesday’s post will be another study tip.

It’s that time of year again- birthday time. Time to take a little inventory. I think I’m healthier than I was last year at this time. I’ll find out for sure in a couple of weeks when I get some bloodwork done. I’m five weeks into this running deal, and although I have no real stamina, I have more than I did 5 weeks ago. (I’ve also not lost any weight yet. So much for positive reinforcement.) I did a year of homeschooling, and the second starts tomorrow. (One of the beautiful things about homeschool- I do NOT have to have school on my birthday.) Hopefully, I’ve learned some parenting along the way.  Professionally, I’ve written 2 drafts of new books, working on a third and did a killer edit on my first. I had several pieces published this spring. I have this website, a monthly newsletter, I Twitter, and I’m on Facebook. Not bad for someone ‘my age’. Of course, according to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything. Not age 42, just 42.
One thing’s for sure- I’d rather be 42 than 22. I’d even rather be 42 than 32. In fact, if we could get my youngest through potty-training, I wouldn’t care to hang out here for a few years. That’s not possible, I know. I guess it’s just another way of saying I’m tremendously blessed. (Including tangible, culinary blessings like Texas Roadhouse for dinner.) I wish YOU a happy day today.

I know God has taught me some incredible lessons this year. I’ve gained a real appreciation for the second ‘half’ of Isaiah (chapters 40-66). I’ll leave you with the first few verses of chapter 43.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

This week, everybody in the house was battling some sort of cold except me. I reckon Florida immunized me. So to keep from ever getting sick again- I should move to the beach! (There was plenty of property for sale.) Alan finished up his baseball season. And Jon found out he’s changing jobs as of August 3rd (moving from Tech Service to Process Safety Mangement).

What am I writing? I am doing the final proof for Contingency. I love Bobbi and Chuck.  On the horizon, I got a ‘call for submissions’ email yesterday, so I’ll look at putting together something for that. And just when I thought I was set on the next project, I started getting ideas for another book I outlined.

What have I learned? Major geek-y stuff this week. My husband has a new computer, less than a month old. When he sits down at mine he says, ‘yours is slow’, which ticks me off just a little. I searched the ‘net this week for things to speed up my baby. I found some easy tweaks and some ways to speed up the boot time. There are a couple of utilities, TweakUI and BootVis, that I used also. I tried out Hoot Suite and Seesmic Desktop, but honestly, I still like TwInbox best for my Twitter app.

What am I reading? School starts too soon and I’m starting to read up for that. We begin with a poetry unit. I spent most of my reading time analyzing poetry. H’ray.

What did God teach me? I wrote a little bit earlier in the week about some verses God highlighted for me, but one concept that keeps coming back is the idea of ‘more faith’. Jon and I discussed it some. I don’t believe you can increase the ‘quantity’ of faith, like you have 1 unit when you get saved, then after the first crisis, you get 2 more, but if you doubt, you lose 1… Then when you pray, God doesn’t check to see if you have enough ‘units’ of faith before He decides to answer your prayer. (To heal Aunt Martha, you needed 67 units, and you only have 65. I’m sorry.)

Faith is faith. You get it all when you trust Jesus Christ. Jon compared it to a baby who is born with all the muscles she’s ever going  need to walk, even though it’ll be a year or so before she’s strong enough to get the hang of it. I’m either exercising my faith to make it stronger, or I’m trusting in myself and my faith in God is languishing. The strength of my faith isn’t going to wrestle God into doing the things I want. The strength of my faith makes me let go of those wants. The more I want, the weaker my faith.

What am I writing? – After incorporating the changes Mary DeMuth suggested for my opening, I’m proofreading then entering Contingency in a contest. The prize is a look at the first chapter by an agent. After this, I’m taking the rest of July off. (We’ll see how well I stick to that ) The next project looks like Claire and Mike Jamison’s story. Claire was Nick’s attorney from the 5th book, and she was a scene stealer. Her ex-husband Mike, left her for another guy and she turned all her hurt and bitterness on him in divorce court. As this story opens, their oldest daughter is getting married and she wants her father to give her away. How will Claire deal with this and with facing Mike again? It has the makings of a great one. I hope I can capture it all. Interestingly, the book that has stayed with me the longest is the story of Doug and Cass’ struggle with his Alzheimer’s. That’s the one that constantly runs through my head even now.

What have I learned? – No geeky stuff this week. I was too busy catching up. However, if you Twitter, I will recommend the new and improved Mr. Tweet. Refollow helps organize your followers with a slick interface.

What have I read? – One of the glorious things about vacation was that I got to read a book a day! I finished The Great Influenza. In the 1918 pandemic an estimated 50 million (!) people died. Adjusted for today’s population, that would mean 1.75 million deaths in the United States. Now consider the Tribulation when 25% of the people succumb through disease or famine or war. That’s 95 million people, just in the U.S. It causes the mind to reel.

Next, I read Karen Rabbit’s Trading Fathers. It’s memoir about learning to trust God after her father molested her. She describes the freedom and healing that come in forgiveness and in turning things over to her Abba Father to deal with. A tough topic but she treated it with frankness balanced with sensitivity.

The Mom Factor by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend is a look at how our mothers impacted us. I enjoy reading these kinds of books, not just for myself, but they are invaluable when I build characters. I grabbed tremendous insights for Nick and his mother when I get to rewriting Stolen Blessings.

Sin, Pride and Self-Acceptance by Terry D. Cooper was not what I expected. It is a summary overview of all the theological viewpoints of what man’s greatest sin struggle is. Is it pride or is our inability to approach God rooted in our inability to accept ourselves? I’m old school, so I agreed more with the ‘pride’ people, but it was good to read a balanced, thoughtful treatment of all sides. I felt like I was in seminary that day. I need a good brain workout like that.

In the Grip of Grace is an old Max Lucado book that I bought for a dollar. It’s a conceptual overview of the first eight chapters of Romans. There’s very little sermonizing, and much more explanation and application. It would be a great introduction for new Christians or for someone mentoring new believers.

Finally, I read Soul Repair by Jeff Van Vonderen and Dale and Juanita Ryan. This book was really the heart of what I wanted to accomplish on my trip. They introduce four types of damage done to our spiritual selves, whether it be spiritual abuse of authority, addiction to the ’stuff’ of faith, trying to single-handedly bring changes in the lives of those around us or spiritual anorexia where, for whatever reason, we have difficulty receiving from God. They also invite us to examine the distorted images of God we may have developed. They offer several steps toward rebuilding genuine intimacy with the God of the Bible. I highly recommend it.

What have I learned? – In Soul Repair, there was a look at the parable of the prodigal son. I recently taught that on Wednesday and in Sunday school. If God brings something in front of you that many times, He’s trying to say something. The story is so rich in meaning and there are so many lessons we can take from it. This time, I realized I have a lot in common with both sons. I could feel how awkward it would be to be the guest of honor at the banquet the father threw. Everyone, all the friends and family knew what the boy had done. Did they welcome him as the father did? Were there uncomfortable moments between the boy and the other guests? The father didn’t care, though. He lavished his love on the boy. That’s what the young man (and I) needed to focus on. But then I’ve also accused God of not providing things I never asked for, just as the older boy did. I’ve harbored bitterness over a host of perceived slights that existed only in my mind. I need to hear the father’s words to the older son. “All I have is yours.”