YA Writing Contest

I'm entering an excerpt from Beyond the Red Door to this free contest for YA fiction. Wish me luck and I encourage anyone who's written an unpublished middle grade or YA book to enter as well.

Get more info on the contest here - http://tinyurl.com/yzbwj5h

We Win or Lose by What We Choose

Two elderly people inspired me this week. Last Friday I visited a friend in the nursing home. It saddens me to watch her gradually lose her mobility and mental sharpness. During this visit we talked about my five children and eight grandchildren. She clapped her hands in delight, exclaiming, "We have so much to be thankful for." Her response took my breath away. This dear friend has no children of her own, her husband has passed away, and all her relatives live hundreds of miles away. Visitors are few and far between. She could be bitter, but she has chosen to find joy in the blessings of others. The genuineness of her words penetrated my heart, reminding me of my need to be thankful in all situations. Would I weather old age as gracefully, choosing to find wonder in small things, ignoring the faculties I have lost?

Today I attended a Bible study and met a ninety-nine-year-old lady. She was spry, sharp, and witty. She recently moved to an assisted living center to ease the worries of family members. She had lived in her own home, far away from relatives who worried they wouldn't be nearby to help if she had an accident. She loves her new place despite the fact she must interact with some bitter and depressed people. "I choose not to be that way," she told us. "There are a lot of people here who need to see a smiling face." She chooses, not only to be happy, but to be light in the darkness.

I pondered the contrast between these two women. But the light of God that shined through their choices is what impressed me--choices based not on their circumstances, but on their ability to see God's goodness in an evil world. This kind of sight takes insight. They choose to use their imaginations to see what God sees.

When I choose God, everything else falls into place. Therefore, my primary goal in life is to look up. This is my writing goal, as well--to help others see from God's perspective.

What's in a Name?

On New Year’s Day my fourth grandson was born! My daughter and her husband spent many hours deciding on the perfect name for their child, Blaise. He is already setting my heart on fire. Every child is special. Each name is important.

My parents put much thought into my name as well. Trouble is, I never liked the name they picked—Cynthia. Sounded like a snooty spinster. Married forty years with five grown children—I’m far from that, but the image lingered in me. One day I stumbled upon a new way to look at my name. I was researching information about cocoons and found a silk worm named Samia Cynthia. Wow. Suddenly, I thought—my name is not aloof, distant, or uncaring. Silk is soft, shiny, luxurious. Something precious and desired. I read further. The Samia Cynthia moth eats leaves from the Ailanthus tree, a Chinese tree whose name means “tree of heaven.” I beamed with new understanding. Not only was my name valuable, it was God’s idea. He chose my name before I was born. I was his treasured child.

In my book, the main character, twelve-year-old Zach Jacobs, also discovers hidden value in his name. He and his friend, Renee McNichols, stumble upon a cellar once used to hide slaves on the Underground Railroad. They find a Bible with a family record page that includes the name Tillie Jacobs, a black servant who helped her mistress conceal runaways. Zach, who is bi-racial, wonders if they are related. A letter sandwiched in the Bible, and other historical information unveil a rich history about his ancestor. The difficulties Zach faces every day (divorced parents and bullies at school) temporarily fade as he ponders where he came from.

Long ago, the angel Gabriel whispered God’s chosen name for the Messiah to his servant, Mary. Did she tell Jesus how he was named? I imagine she did. The name Jesus means Jehovah saves. Did he ponder the meaning of his name in his formative years, as the Father disclosed to him his destiny?

God had a special plan for Jesus. Because he fulfilled what God called him to do, we may go to heaven. But it doesn’t end there. No matter what our parents named us, God has designed a destiny for each of us—something better than we have imagined. We find it when we seek him.

Is Your Imagination of God Starved?

Running late. No time to look for something to read on the two hour bus ride. I race down the basement steps anyway, and sort through some dusty volumes. Grab a small paperback copy of My Utmost for His Highest. Perfect size. Won’t weigh down my purse as I Christmas shop in New York City with my daughter, Kelly, a NYC resident. I arrive at the station just as the bus pulls in, board, and settle down with my book.

Years have passed since I read Oswald Chambers. The revisit refreshes me. I don’t stick to December entries, but skip around. The February 10^th title tugs at my writer’s heart. “Is Your Imagination of God Starved?”

Over fifteen years ago I began my journey as a writer when God invaded my imagination with a book plot for preteens. I labored on the manuscript over a decade, learning how to write in the process. I wrote, rewrote, attended writers conferences, and joined critique groups. Now my masterpiece hovers like an airplane in a holding pattern as I wait to hear from agents and publishers. Rejection letters are my traveling companions.

The word “imagination” speaks distinctly to me. God gives us an imagination, and wants us to use it to connect with Him and know him better. Oswald Chambers said the Jews in Isaiah’s day had starved their imaginations by gazing on idols. Hmmm. Times haven’t changed much. My heart grieves when I see some of what we gaze upon on television and in print. I think this is why God called me to write—to help young people open up the window of their imagination in a godly way.

Chambers points out the answer God gave to Isaiah. “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things” ( Isaiah 40:26). In other words, Isaiah asked them to look up at the heavens. The New American Standard version says, “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars.”

We need to ponder what God has made. “In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign of the sky, in every blossoming and in every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it,” Chambers says.

My book opens with the protagonist gazing at the Star Field screensaver on his computer, imagining he is flying through space to an exotic destiny. Zach wants to be a part of something great—something beyond himself. He would like to be a basketball legend like his dad, a former college star. On his journey to find what he’s looking for, he finds Who is looking for him.

Zach represents us all. We yearn for something more. If only we would realize God wants to come to us. Zach’s trek with God takes him farther than his Star Field daydreams. God comes to him in a way that is beyond his imaginings.

Some say that all are not called to great adventure in God. I believe we all have the capacity for it. God will meet us in the most improbable places—like on a shopping trip to New York. It begins when we look up.