Updates on my books and other projects

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.”

Today, I’m in St. Louis at Women of Faith. Each year, I look forward to taking a break from the routine and focusing on God. These two days go a long way toward recharging my spiritual batteries.

Friday update: I’m actually writing this post a few days early, but if I’ve stayed on schedule, I’ve got one chapter to go. This is the intense resolution of the book with some of my favorite scenes.

What have I learned this week- technically speaking? Mozilla Firefox rocks! The add-ins are tremendous and it’s faster and slicker than IE. I also got some comments on my blog posts which were incredibly encouraging.

What have I read? I’m kind of on vacation so I’m reading , The Great Influenza about the 1918 pandemic. It’s a narrative nonfiction. The fascinating thing to me is the description of the world of the turn of the century. I don’t always grasp how different society was, how far we’ve come and the developments are not always positive. On the book so far, my verdict is: nerds only or skip a lot.

What did God teach me this week? He taught me I still try to handle far too much on my own. He showed me that perhaps ‘the way we’ve always done things’ may not be the best, most effective way.

You ever click along feeling like you’re making tremendous progress only to realize that the reason you’re so far ahead is that you forgot something? Welcome to my Friday morning. I forgot to write a post in the ‘before theater shuttle’ part of my morning. Now I’m having to do it in the ‘work on Contingency edits’ part. Rats. Oh well.

Friday update: I am on Chapter 23 of 25… Woo Hoo! Then of course comes the next read through, and proofing etc. So it’s still gonna be a while before it’s ‘done’. I’m also starting to formulate a plan for where we go from here. It’s looking like Claire’s book.

What have I learned this week? I found a group, Writer… Interrupted, that pulls together writers who are trying to balance the call to write with the rest of life. It’s comforting to see some of the same folks here as belong to TWV2 and that I connect with on Twitter. It gives me a great sense of community and proves once again that it really is a small world. I learned how to sync Facebook, Twitter and my contact list in Outlook through Plaxo. I downloaded TweetDeck but haven’t had a chance to use it much yet.

What have I read? I finished Steve Arterburn’s Healing is a Choice. He begins the books by asking what appears to be a ‘duh!’ question- do you want to be well? But on further examination, it becomes a deep, compelling question. Healing is rarely the instantaneous event we read about in Scripture. When God heals us today, it is more often spiritually and emotionally, and it is a long arduous process. It is through the process that we are blessed with a deeper understanding of God’s heart and our own frailties.

The chapters outline ten steps necessary for this process, and ten things we’ve heard or will tell ourselves to keep us from taking any of those steps. Each step is simple, straightforward and Biblically sound. Simple- yes, easy- no. I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly in Chapter 1 where the author encourages us to open up to those around us, to share our burdens and seek help from others. It is the absolute truth, and definitely the first step to healing of any kind. In Chapter 5 where he cautions against trying to figure everything out ourselves, I saw myself and the years I wasted doing exactly that. In Chapter 8 on choosing to risk and not reflexively insulate myself from any more pain, I had to back up and admit that area needed a lot of work! The companion workbook is my next project where I can take the opportunity to examine the topics in more detail after reading through the book.

Summary: Excellent, engaging, readable framework for the healing journey. (Journey… not single event.)

What did God teach me this week? Church camp finished up, and God taught me that our weaknesses not only teach us to depend on Him, but show how we fit together in the body of Christ. In order to carry out His commission, my weaknesses are offset by someone else’s strengths. I don’t think God ever intended for us to freelance, and in bringing us together He shows His wisdom, glory and grace.

Wow! Friday again. We survived the first week of camp and saw a bunch of elementary and jr. high guys and girls meet Jesus for the first time. Pray for them as they take their first baby steps. Next week- the high school kids. I have a few things to accomplish today then we plan to head to the pool (that is, if it will stop storming for a few hours). Baseball tonight.

Friday update- I am about to finish chapter 21 for this round of edits. I just need one killer/cliffhanger-y line for Bobbi, something that will pull the reader to the next page. Once that’s accomplished, I’ll have 4 more chapters to edit. Whew!

Next up- something new. I’m not sure if I’ll go to Matt and Shannon or if I’ll do Claire and Mike. Stay tuned. After that, I’ll need to edit something else, I’m sure.

Reading- I got almost nothing read this week. Check with me next week, or maybe after camp.

Psalm 39:4 Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.

Another beautiful Friday has arrived. The weather is fabulous, and we are looking forward to a tremendous match-up on the PeeWee diamond tonight as Crawford Healthworks faces down Cotillion Ridge Nursing Home (Well, not the actual folks from the nursing home… you know what I mean.) It’s Media Day for Crawford as the players will be available for pictures before the game.  We are most interested in the starting right fielder, veteran Alan Wiseman, who went 1-4 in the opener Tuesday night.

Ok- I got the ‘sportswriter’ out of me for the moment. I often get teased for including football and baseball in my books. I really need a basketball one.

This week, I had my opening critiqued by the awesome Mary DeMuth. You can see it here. I’ll be taking a break from writing for a while. Next week is the first week of church camp.

Books read this week: Still working on The Wounded Heart by Dr. Dan Allender, and I’m about halfway through Healing is a Choice by Steven Arterburn. Both are good, not to be read too quickly. Next week I have the first books in the Chronicles of Narnia on the schedule.