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I have a love-hate relationship with research.

I absolutely adore the beauty, intrigue, and detail good research brings to any story but I’m not a big fan of the massive amount of time it takes to discover those awesome details. I’ve spent hours in search of the name of a certain light fixture because it was an integral part of the story set in the Victorian era or another half hour in the throes of google-search mania to discover what type of fabric composed a certain gown.

Crazy.

However, research can also be dangerously inspiring.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been looking up information for one book only to find the research spanning beyond the framework of the current book and inspiring another one…or two.

Yesterday, after doing a little studying on our local ‘castle��, The Biltmore House, a story began to form between the lines of research. And then…another. A historical and contemporary, one interwoven into another.

Will they be in the same book? I’m not sure, yet. Maybe.

But it looks at employees of the Biltmore House, past and present, and how lives and love can span generations to impact the present.

How about you? Have you ever had a brand new story evolve out of the remnants of your research?

If you’re a reader, what tidbits of history do you enjoy in the books you read?

Early 20th century writer, G.K. Chesterton, was a brilliant philosopher of rhetoric, theologian, debater and��.WRITER! His writing is said to have contributed to author, C.S. Lewis�� conversion.

So I wanted to share this quote for today �� One I want to remember EVERY day):

G.K. Chesterton was asked why he became a Christian. His answer, ��To get rid of my sins.��

It’s so simple �� but if you think about it, exactly right! Why would Jesus stand out in history? Why would his existence draw such response from around the world? Why would he cause such controversy, if he was just another great man of history?

Except for one big thing:

Only HE can ‘get rid�� of our sins.

It’s the one thing we can’t work out ourselves, no matter how hard we try. We can strive for success, riches, power, and some measure of happiness �� but to eliminate the niggling awareness of our own imperfection? The darkness in our own hearts?

None of us can eliminate it on our own. Lots of times we don’t even want to acknowledge it, but it’s there �� reminding us of our humanity.

The beauty in the middle of it all?

Once we recognize our lostness and our helplessness to save ourselves, Christ reaches into our brokenness, heartache, and ugliness and gives us His purity. His perfection.

That’s what God sees then.

His perfect, beloved Son.

One of my favorite quotes by author C.S. Lewis is “some day you will be old enough to read fairytales again�� because I think it encompasses a gallon of truth in its simplicity.

When we’re young, there is a genuineness to us. Our focus is intense and raw. Our faith pure and powerful. Our dreams bigger than the sky. We have no problem feeding the imagination with dragons, knights, magic, and princesses, because, even if we know those things aren’t real, a piece of us knows something greater lives beyond our current time and world.

We don’t have to see the ‘science�� or learn the arguments. A deeper ‘something�� within us knows and grasps it with both hands. Stories of courage, self-sacrifice, harrowing battles, impossible odds, and unbelievable wonder�� children crave, accept, and find joy within the heart of these stories. Why?

Because it takes the wonder and faith of a child to see and believe in the impossible.

As we grow, life and circumstances can tend to blur our vision. Our wounds may harden our hearts and daily demands narrow our imaginations. Our minds become busy with the every-dayness, which is a part of growing up �� but in many cases we lose sight of the wonder that is still evident around us and it takes a moment with a child to remind us��.

The beauty of believing is still alive and well.

And it gives them hope…and the ability to dream big.

Jesus is recorded in 3 of the 4 Gospels to have encouraged the little children to come to him �� even rebuking the disciples from hindering the children to approach. He says “for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.��

Why? Oh there are many reasons, and some a theologian might answer much better than me, but I believe one of the reasons is imagination.

God created imagination. In fact, he displayed his remarkable imagination in the act of creation and then made us in his image. If we are ‘like�� God through creation, then we have imaginations too �� limited, of course, by the Fall and our humanity, but shadows of the Creators imagination nonetheless.

Imagination gives us the ability to not only create, but ‘see�� impossible things without fear of limits. Children believe. In their smallness, they haven’t grown too big to see themselves as having all the answers or becoming their own gods.

They accept the ‘impossible�� because it makes sense that Someone much larger than them, much grander, can do amazing things. Miracles.

There are moments in my life when I ‘glimpse�� for a few seconds into another world. A sense of the awesomeness of a greater plan or see the ‘impossible�� strength that comes from something beyond our comprehension. Even miracles.

It’s in those glimpses, God reminds me what it’s like to dance in wonder of who He is, His amazing love, and the beauty of just believing. Unhindered.

I’ll end my child-like post today with another of my FAVORITE CS Lewis quote:

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.��

Oh I love how the Bible is one BIG story with lots of little stories inside. It’s kind of like a ‘picture�� of our lives.

One BIG life with lots of little stories sprinkled throughout. A compilation, I guess :-)

Let’s look at the Man Born Blind story in John 9 �� but SOOOO many things were going on inside of this one little story.

I won’t go into them all, but I wanted to mention The Blind Man’s Story.

He was born blind. That was his beginning.

Jesus said he was born blind so that God could be glorified in his blindness (boy, did he mean that at so many levels)

In one day, this blind man has two miracles occur in his life.

Jesus gives him sight. Wow. For the first time in his life, he can see. His eyes are opened to the beauties of the world around him. The faces of his mother and father, the blue of the sky, the food he’d eaten all his life. His entire place in society has changed too. He doesn’t have to be a beggar anymore �� no longer lead a shameful existence as a nonproductive member of society. He has hope.

Jesus gives him sight. Wait, did I just say that? I meant it. Jesus gave the man sight twice. First physically, then spiritually.

We watch the man’s progression toward faith.

Jesus initiated the healing. He put the putty on the man’s eyes and sent him to wash. He’s healed. When asked about his healing, the blind man says “The man they call Jesus�� healed him.
Later when asked, the man tells the Pharisees a ‘prophet�� healed him.
When interrogated by the Pharisees a secondvtime, then cast out of the synagogue as a liar, Jesus comes to find the man. I LOVE that. Jesus had compassion on this man AGAIN, and seeks him out. Here is where the most amazing part of the story happens. The climax! Jesus reveals

himself as the “Son of Man�� to this blind man. In fact, Jesus says it like this:

�� “You have seen him.�� Then the man falls at Jesus feet and calls him, “Lord��, because Jesus opened his spiritual eyes to the truth.

Isn’t that amazing? A full and beautiful short story.

Beginning, middle, end. Conflict. Characters. Villains. And all summed up in a

few words.

But what’s at the heart of the blind man’s story?

It’s the same truth that is at the heart of all of us who call Jesus “Lord��. It’s the same faith statement we all cling to. The same heart’s cry we all give.

It’s what spurned John Newton to pen the words to his classic hymn Amazing Grace.

Your story.

My story.

The blind man’s story.

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!��

***

photo courtesy of

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been a lifelong writer. I can’t remember when I wrote my first ‘story��, but I do remember my Granny Spencer presenting me with my very first typewriter when I was ten. She said “because a writer needs one��. From that point on I’ve written…something. Whether the creativity resulted in novels, songs, children’s books, or poems, I wrote.

After 11 years of pursuing publication, I’m entering a different side of writing with a new set of stresses, rewards, and challenges (mainly deadlines and scheduling…with a little worry about what people will think). It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and listen to insecurities about the stories I’ve kept in secret now coming out to the world! Will people like them? Can I continue to be published? How will I be able to manage my family, my job, and writing on deadline?

Rachel Hauck gave me some FANTASTIC advice this week that really helped me refocus…and reminded me of the calling God place on my heart when I was a little girl. To write stories!!!

Here’s what Rachel said:

Decide in your heart and mind you’re in this for the long haul and don’t worry about temporary things like awards, reviews and even sales numbers.
Just decide you’re in it one story at a time for the next 20 years. :) 

One story at a time! God started creating stories in my heart as a little girl and He continues to grow them now. My focus and pleasure remain in the beautiful act of creativity��. story crafting!
If you’re struggling with the stress, fears, expectations, and uncertainties in this writing gig, remember God started a story IN you to be a story-creator! And if our ultimate goal is to write stories for His glory, then our calling is secure :-)

Splinters, something so small that can cause a whole lot of trouble. My daughter, Lydia, got one in her toe the other day and being the self-controlled six year old that she is, proceeded to wail, scream, sob, and whine from the playground to my side.

At first thought, one might think her entire foot was going to fall off or that the splinter was more the size of a 2 x 4, but��.no! Upon inspection, I discovered the 1/2 cm speck of wood chip stuck in her big toe and waiting for maternal surgery (which I actually enjoy…he, he, he)

Lydia wanted to try to get the splinter out herself, so she took my little set of tweasers and went to work, wailing and moaning along the way. After a few moments of vain attempts, she handed the tweasers back to me. “I can’t do it!��

“Are you ready for me to try?�� I asked.

“Is it going to hurt?��

“Yes, it is, but I’ll try to be as careful as I can.��

She sniffled, nodded, bit down on her bottom lip, and started wailing before the tweasers even touched her toe. I have no idea where she gets such a melodramatic personality from��;-)

So, after the trauma, she put both her arms around me and gave me a hug. “Thank you, Mama. I’m tougher now.�� Sure she is!!

God, I can do it. I don’t want to give it to You! You might make me hurt��.you might lead me through pain��..You might guide my paths through the valley of death, or the road of bankruptsy or up the hilll of rejection��..God, can I trust you?

Do you ever secretly wonder these things? For example, “Lord, if I really give you my whole heart and trust you to do whatever you will to make me more like you��..what will you do? What will you make me go through?�� At the heart of these questions, is doubt. We doubt that God loves us and has the best in mind for us.

Somehow, we forget the amazing truth that God sent his son Jesus down to die for our unworthy, hateful, embittered souls��..why? Because of love��.REAL love.

Sometimes we forget God’s promise of working ALL things together for our good and His glory because we doubt His control and His love.

Lord, help us to love you with our whole hearts so that the fears and doubts which so easily distance us from you, will be wiped away in the shadow of your great love. Help us to offer our lives up to you for service, in whatever way You see fit and may we look out what comes into our lives as opportunities to trust You. Help us to believe you truly love us and You are in control. Amen

Its�� so amazing to me how Big Idea keeps up the wonderful stories of hope, humor, and vegetables, but they’ve done it again in their newest release, Noah’s Ark. 20 years of veggie-fun and Bible truths.

The quirky humor and adventure was not lost in this newest release. Noah’s son, Shem, has his own plans, but God has bigger ones and through the use of a floating zoo, some crazy family members, and a few miracles, Shem begins to understand how to Trust God.

Leave a comment for your chance to win this newest release from Veggietales.

Life is filled with lots of people.

Some you are born with. Some who visit for a while and then are gone. Some who come to challenge and refine you. And some one who to stay, as constant influences and encouragement.

Through the development of a writing blog about 5 years ago, God has brought some of the most amazing women into my life. We all have different personalities, comes from different backgrounds, and have (sometimes) very different views on various theology, but God has bound us together in an amazingly beautiful way.

In the highly competitive profession of writing, we encourage each other to reach for our dreams. We pray for each other, weep with each other, and have fun together. We travel hundreds or thousands of miles to celebrate a baby’s impending birth!

Like we did last weekend!

Seven Alleycats came to celebrate Alleycat, Ashley Clark’s coming baby �� or ‘kitten�� as we refer to the babies born to alleycats. This will be our first official boy kitten :-)

It’s was so sweet to share her joy in person and spend time encouraging each other in story and life.  I love how God uses all these ladies to bring different perspectives and joys into my life.

Life is an even more amazing journey with such sweet partners along the way.

(I wrote this post from a memory of 5 years ago)

If you are like any other family in the U.S., this particular time of year can be somewhat unpredictable. Flu runs through the schools, possibly even pneumonia, and sometimes the ever-exhausting stomach virus. My kids had the virus this past weekend and in the middle of all the ‘excitement�� and cleaning, I stopped to pay attention to their responses to being sick.

Aaron, my 9 year old, was the first one to fall victim to the virus. He had a horrible case of it, but he never complained. The only way we knew he was sick was because we heard him vomiting in the bathroom. He spent the day relaxing and watching movies, but he never asked for anything except something to drink.

Lydia, my 7 year old, was next �� and you would have thought her arms were being ripped off. She whined, moaned, cried��.I’m sure she felt horrible too.

Ben, my 11 year old, was next. He didn’t complain, but his response was very interesting. He said, “If I could just ‘throw up�� in a predictable pattern it wouldn’t be so bad. You know, if I knew it was coming every 30 minutes or something.��

Samuel, my 3 year old, decided to stand in the bathroom for long period of time ‘just in case�� he got sick. He never did :-)…but he was prepared.

Phoebe never got sick either and was pretty oblivious to what was going on around her.

I thought about their various responses to being sick and wondered if we as adults have some of the same types of responses to troubles in our lives. Some of us glide through and trust our Heavenly Father to take care of it��.(this would not be me). Some complain, moan, cry to God because we don’t like it, we’re uncomfortable, and we want a change. Others of us could handle it so much better if we could control it a bit more�� and then there are those of us who are so worried about something bad happening, we don’t�� enjoy the present.

There’s something very comforting and beautiful in the Christian faith. Knowing that Someone greater than yourself knows you and holds you in His hands, gives a great deal of relief during times of unpredictability, grief, hardship, or despair. no matter how we handle it, God is still God and His love is strong enough to protect and strengthen us. It’s nice to know we can trust his control when life is out of control…we can give our worries and fears to Him��.we can cry into His love for peace.

My husband and I went to tour The Biltmore House for our Valentine’s Day celebration. It was such a fun time and there was a special exhibit �� the costumes of Downton Abbey were on display. Hubs bought me a Valentine’s gift too �� a Downton necklace ;-)

But among the beautiful costumes and fantastic information about the changes in styles from Edwardian to post World War 1, I found something else much more interesting. Actually…someONE more interesting.

Edith Stuyvesant Dresser Vanderbilt.

I’m fascinated by her �� and George Vanderbilt. Though she married into the wealth and opulence of a millionaire’s world, she kept a gracious spirit, adventurer’s heart, and overcomer’s will. Her story needs to be told!

She’s inspired my writing. She created schools, supported literacy for adults, created a school for African American boys to have a free and quality education. She visited mountain women, far back in the woods and hollers of the Blue Ridge, and trained girls and boys in skills such as sewing, knitting, and carving.

She had a healthy curiosity for the workings of the Biltmore Estate as well as the people who lived there. She often visited the families of the estate, providing food or clothes as the need arose.

I want to know more!

As one of the first people in my Appalachian family history to attend college, I love that she celebrated education and teaching skills. I love that she was more than the millionaire’s bride, but a true ‘lady��.

A great inspiration for life…and story.