What's Your Territory to Possess?

When the Children of Israel looked out to see the land the LORD was giving them, they were amazed, and maybe still a little fearful of what that possession might mean. But they had to understand that it would not be gained in their power. They had to be strong and courageous in God's strength, not their own. 

And this is also applicable to us. We do not obtain success in our own strength or by our own accomplishments or strength.But we also need to take the steps to gain that possession of our success. 

In Joshua 1: 3 God tells them: "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses."

God's encouraging Joshua to possess this Promise that was originally made to Abraham. He's being warm and tender as He tells him where this land He wants them to possess is. God also can lay out the borders of the territory He wants you to cover--if we are listening to Him. 

Further on in Joshua 1: 5 He encourages, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you or forsake you."

And He doesn't stop there.

Joshua 1:6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7: "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go."

 Being "strong and courageous" is repeated three times and we know that when God does this, it is extremely important. (vs. 6,7, 9) 

Applying this to your own purpose note these things:

1. You do not achieve success (God's success might look different than the world's version of success!) in your own power. It's by God's strength alone. 

2. Be strong and courageous. Do the tough things and possess that territory that God is giving you! But I caution you that you only need to be courageous and stay in God's will--then it will be easy.

3. Accept God's encouragement and rest in it. We all need encouragement. We all need to be wrapped in God's promises.


4. God never leaves you. You can shut Him out or push Him back but He doesn't leave you. So be comforted by that, embrace Him in your life, and wherever He has placed you or led you.

5. Do the work. Take the steps you need to in order to possess the Promised Land.   

Are you tripping yourself up on any of this as you seek to possess the territory that God has given you? You don't have to share the specific flaws, but if you can give encouragement to us, please let us know what helps you to move on and never give up. 

      

Who is This Who Darkens Counsel?

St. Louis Arch, St. Louis, Missouri

For all my friends who feel overwhelmed, discouraged and defeated today:
Read Job 1:6-12, chapters 38-41, 45:1-4

Job 38: 1-3

"Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 'Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'" 


In Job 38:1 God speaks out of the whirlwind because back in Job 9:17 Job was afraid that God would crush him. So, God shows He is not there to destroy him, but is breaking him into submission because he's going to restore him into being God's servant--in the role he is designed to be! 

And God speaks to us today in this very way--out of a tempest--He will cause His chosen ones to submit so we can finally serve Him and let God be the Great I Am. 

In verse 2, the theme is set for God to speak to Job. Job "darkens the counsel of the LORD. " God also challenges Job to teach Him, and this will wake Job up into seeing the consequences of Job's demands and trying be God's equal. It's all good.


Are you daring to meet God on equal footing or trying to claim the throne that belongs to God when you go through your own trials? I think we all can be guilty of it.

Feeling doubtful and hopeless about God's ability to take care of our needs--and the needs of those around us--comes from this awareness of our own limitations. God and His resources are not limited by anyone or anything. He sets the limits for us, and He sets the limits for evil. And that makes all the difference in our trust and peace. 

I do believe...I do believe...keep saying it until you do. 

Love and Peace & Praying for Joy,

  

The Winds of November

What will keep you going today? Are you feeling uncertainty and fear? Remember...


Psalms 27:1, 4, 13-14

1 [Of David] Yahweh is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? Yahweh is the fortress of my life, whom should I dread?
4 One thing I ask of Yahweh, one thing I seek: to dwell in Yahweh's house all the days of my life, to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh, to seek out his temple.
13 This I believe: I shall see the goodness of Yahweh, in the land of the living.
14 Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold, put your hope in Yahweh.

The Winds of November

Chapel of the Transfiguration, Montana

“… You have been created for the glory of God and for your own eternal salvation; this is your end, this is the object of your soul and the treasure of your heart.”  - St. Robert Bellarmine

I will be making some changes to this blog in focus and content. My goal is encouragement for the coming days, so I hope you will return.

ACFW Blog Post about Our Freedom to Write

Today I'm a guest at the ACFW Blog for ACFW members about Our Freedom to Write. I'll re-post this here tomorrow. 

For ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers: http://www.acfw.com/blog/?p=5560 

If you are interested in Christian fiction writing, I highly recommend you join ACFW: http://www.acfw.com .

All About Our Kentucky Adventure on The Barn Door

I share our Kentucky Fall Adventure on The Barn Door today. Come on over!

Talking Platform and Writing on Hoosier Ink

Once again I'm writing on Hoosier Ink, the official blog of the Indiana Chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers, and today I focus on how writers need to build a platform. What does a writer do when she doesn't have a clue? She finds books on the topic. And I list the books I'm reading. (Complete with links.)If you come by, do check out the other posts there--lots of collective wisdom for fiction writing.

Touchstones to the Past

Do you have touchstones in your life? I have a few. In redecorating my dining room, I uncovered several collector plates and items that connect to my mother and aunt and decided to group them. My post about it is at The Barn Door on this rainy Indiana day. 

Hoosier Ink Post Today

Today I'm at Hoosier Ink giving 10 Tips for writers at writing conferences. Are you going to a writing conference soon? ACFW (The American Christian Fiction Writers) is coming up later this month and those writers are excited about the opportunities presented there. (I won't be able to attend this year.) Hoosier Ink is the blog of the Indiana Chapter of ACFW and we have many published Indiana authors--I'm hoping to showcase them soon.

If you're interested in writing, do check out the Hoosier Ink blog. You'll find many of our authors and writers listed there with tons of informative articles.

At The Barn Door Today

Well, I put up a post about the drought and now it's pouring down rain! Hope it keeps it up since we are 8 inches behind in our rain. But this is what is going on in Indiana.

The Barn Door

Getting an Eyeball on Your Writing at Hoosier Ink Today

Today I'm writing at Hoosier Ink about finding your perspective on your writing. Come on over! 

Hoosier Ink

Pimento Cheese!

Pimento cheese is a comfort food for me--it came from my childhood. Lately I've been craving it so I brought out my recipe and have been tweaking it. 

Basic recipe:

Half lb. (8 oz package shredded) sharp cheddar cheese

Half lb. (8 oz package shredded) mild cheddar cheese

½ cup Hellman’s Mayonnaise (I don't believe in substitutes here, but you can, if you want.)

¼ cup pimentos (2 oz jar)

1 tsp. pepper

Pinch of sugar

Ok, here’s where you embellish it any way you wish:

Use any kind of cheese you like (I like to use Kraft Triple Cheddar Cheese with Philadelphia Cream Cheese, but you can even use American Cheese, whatever.)

I use 4 oz. or ½ cup of pimentos and do not drain them—I like the moistness and like pimentos.

I add a little kosher salt and a little more sugar. 

I add as much pepper as I like.

I mix it in the mixer and like it a little more creamy than chunky, so texture is a personal thing.

Do refrigerate it for a period of time. It’s best overnight. If it dries out a little, you can always add a little more mayo.

Serve it like you would any dip or spread. I’m really keen on the Meijers’ Baked Sea Salt Pita crackers right now, but breads(white bread takes me back!),crackers, on cucumbers, with tomatoes, celery, a spoon….LOL, your taste is your guide.Some people have even made grilled pimento cheese.

Do you have a favorite comfort food? Do you have a pimento cheese recipe to share? 

~Crystal 

Come Visit Me at The Barn Door Today

Today I'm blogging at The Barn Door about mourning, plants for memory gardens and blooming where you are planted. 

Come visit! The Barn Door

Over at Hoosier Ink Today!

Please come by Hoosier Ink today as I'm talking about Goodreads and how authors can use this social media! 

Hoosier Ink

I'm blogging today at Hoosier Ink about my writing space with links to photos of other writers and their writing spaces. Come tell me about your writing spaces! 

Hoosier Ink: Where Do You Write Right?

Posting About Lily of the Valley at The Barn Door

Today is my day to post on The Barn Door. I'm talking about grief and Lily of the Valley. 

My Lily of the Valley

My Post on Hoosier Ink Today

Just a note to let you know that I'm posting on ACFW Indiana's blog, Hoosier Ink today about author Sally Wright and what she had to say about writing in the middle of dealing with pancreatic cancer. Important words.

http://hoosierink.blogspot.com

 

Author Sally Wright

About Sally Wright

Sally Wright started writing “adventure stories” at the age of six when her mother taught her to touch-type so Wright would amuse herself while her parents worked at their small family business. Wright turned to writing songs when she was sixteen, performing them in the late sixties and early seventies while she got her degree in speech at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and she did graduate work at the University of Washington in Seattle.  “Making music helped me learn to write prose.  Shaping lyrics in a rhyme scheme, in a tight concise framework, helped me to understand rhythm and how to use images in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Wright wrote while she raised two children “on a flat piece of Ohio farm land” where she still lives with her husband of almost 30 years and a boxer dog named Maggie.  She writes eight hours a day and then walks her dog or rides her one-eyed horse.

Yet, while she brushes Max, the horse, or walks the woods with Maggie, she’s thinking about character and personality.  “Even as a kid, I loved asking adults about their lives and their family history. That’s why I’ve enjoyed writing biography articles for magazines—I like interviewing people who’ve done things that never would’ve occurred to me.  That’s one of the best things about writing the Ben Reese novels—I interview all sorts of people and learn all kinds of new things that help me come up with stories that seem worth telling to me.”

Good mysteries make us turn pages, and Wright’s definitely do that with cleverly crafted plots that vivisect human nature.  For Wright’s novels “grow from the characters,” with a depth and detail that makes them real and compelling.

Although Wright does read mysteries in her spare time, it’s the classics – Austen and Tolstoy and many others—that she returns to again and again.  The works of C.S. Lewis have been of tremendous importance to Wright too, his fiction as well as his non-fiction.  “I’m trying to do with mysteries what he’s done with children’s books and science fiction—talk about life in its largest context while telling an exciting story.”

 

Bibliography

Novels

Publish And Perish

Pride And Predator

Articles

“The Pilgrimage of Malcolm Muggeridge” Chronicles, December 1992

“Robert Woodson: Establishing Enterprise In the Inner-City” The World and I,  May 1992

“Legacy Of A Dark Lord A review of Russell Kirk’s novel, Lord of the Hollow Dark” The University Bookman Vol. 30, Number 4 1990

“Nikolai Tolstoy: Writing in the Tolstoy Tradition” Chronicles, April 1989

“The Vision and Inventions of Albert Calderon” Metropolitan Toledo, March 1988

“Clyde and Marian Sluhan: Building a Business Together” Metropolitan Toledo, July-August 1988

“The Mind Behind the Machines” Metropolitan Toledo, September-October 1988

“Hunter’s Run: A Home for Both Horses and Riders” Metropolitan Toledo, Spring 1989