When I last wrote you, Dear Reader, a reality check had convinced me that ditching the nerdy geography perspective for Running Toward the Danger, was a good choice. Hoping to run toward my publishing deadline, I mistakenly thought without the geography research, only a little brushing up of the manuscript was needed. What was needed was some serious monitoring and adjusting.
Time out for a public service announcement. Do you have any inner demons, Dear Reader? You know, something that drives you to distraction, not to mention desk pounding frustration?
First, I absolutely love writing! I love having to sit and wait for the Lord to tell me what to write next. Truly, there are times I must simply fold my hands in my lap and listen for a specific word.
But, I absolutely hate formatting! Sigh . . . I know it’s part and parcel of being self-published, but for some reason it is so hard for me. I’ll stop the whining now. Back to monitor and adjust.
My editor suggested I beef up some of the scenarios, a couple of reflections, and take another look at the journal prompts. Edits round one. Okay, polishing, cohesion, pushing the reader (hopefully soon to be you) a little more. I was on a roll. And then God does that thing He sometimes does, and held up a stop sign. This stop came during my current Bible study of the book of Mark.
I casually read about Peter’s denial in personal study, and later that morning I was in the midst of the chapter on doubt, Peter’s scenario about his major blunder. One short sentence in Luke’s account not only turned the whole chapter on it’s ear, it also rippled slightly into the subsequent chapters. All of a sudden I was researching, checking multiple translations of the passage in Mark, jumping over to the other gospels.
Have you thoughtfully chosen a gift you believed was perfect for someone very dear to you? The anticipation of her response was a tantalizing ache. And then she opened it . . . and the look on her face was a far greater gift to you, than yours was to her. I think that’s how God is with His Word. There’s more than we can possibly imagine, but He can’t wait for us to try. I believe the Lord longs for us to linger over His Word, carefully monitoring what we thought was old news only to discover its freshness. And perhaps His hope for us is that by carefully monitoring, our spirits will adjust increasingly closer to His.
Running Toward the Danger post Links
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