Writings

Thoughts on the themes of my books

In my book, FEAR NOT, the main characters—Christina and her three children—have to face many fears. Christina loses her husband through death, and now, as a single mother, she has three children she must provide for. If that isn't stressful enough, she chooses to uproot them, and move to Texas, which in itself presents fears. The children have to attend new schools, adjust to the way people express themselves with their odd accents, and adjust to the heat, which is brutal. When the children begin their school year, Christina decides to take on a full time job at the local hospital, and ends up working with an old high school crush. During that adjustment time, she realizes that someone doesn't want her in Alva, and is trying desperately to convince her that she, and her children need to leave. The story unfolds during the time of increased terrorists activity, causing more stress and fear, not only in the Sander's family, but the whole world. Christina has to rely on her faith, her childhood friends, and new friends she has met, to get her through some of the incidences. The Bible verse that keeps popping up in her mind is found in Isiah, which tells us we are not to fear because God is with us. According to the NIV Bible, the are over 300 verses with the word “fear” in them. The only thing to fear is God, and that is a reverential awe, not shaking in your shoes kind of fear. There are only 5 scriptures dealing with the word anxious. My favorite verse dealing with anxiety is Philippians 4:6. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Sometimes we may forget that He says ANYTHING. Surely, He didn't mean anything? What about?—fill in the blanks. Even after the 911 attack, there have been many more terrorists activities which can instill fear in even the strongest believer. We have to remind ourselves over and over, that God is the One in control. Even though we may find ourselves in frightening situations, we as believers, have a hope and peace that passes human reasoning. God doesn't want us to live our lives in fear. We are to trust in Him completely, and his peace will fill us.

In the second book of the trilogy, TRUST ME, the story continues with Christina and her children, and a few other characters. Again, Christina is faced with situations which cause her faith, and trust in God, to be tested. Her children go through a few episodes themselves, which tend to make them question their own beliefs. I have discovered that one cannot have total trust, if fear reigns in their mind and spirit. The scripture that keeps popping up in Christina's life is, Proverbs 3: 5-6, which tells us to Trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct our paths. First of all, He tells us to trust Him, but trust Him completely—with all our heart. Really? ALL our hearts? Then He tells us to not lean on, or trust our own understanding (of the situation). We need to remember that God is outside of time, and He sees not only right now, but yesterday, today and tomorrow. The last part of that verse says that we are to acknowledge Him—be aware of His presence—in all we do, and be thankful for it. Then He says if you do this, He will direct your paths. He wants us to be aware, thankful, and open to His plan for our lives. How many of you just jump into doing something without council, prayer, or lack of research? I think we all do from time to time. Sometimes, God is silent, but it doesn't mean He isn't aware of your struggles. Sometimes in His silence, He says “wait,” “no,” or “later.” Sometimes the answer comes quickly. We need to remember that we can't put God in a box. That is where faith and trust come into play. There are many things which may happen to us, or around us, that we have no control over, but even so, we are to trust God to get us through it. As one of my former pastors used to say when he was serving in Azerbaijan, and folks would ask if he was afraid of being in such an unsafe place, he would respond, “I am safe in God's arms until He calls me home. I refuse to live my life in fear of what could happen, when so many people are dying every day, without being told about their Heavenly Father.” According to the NIV Bible, there are 170 references to the word TRUST. Many of which state that we are to trust God, our heavenly father. There are many people walking around with trust issues. Many have been hurt, disappointed time after time, or have seen others suffer through hurts. One lady said to me recently, “It's hard to trust someone I can't see.” I explained to her that that is what faith is. Knowing her background, and family dynamics, I can understand her fear. She has been hurt so many times by people she's trusted, it's difficult for her to get past those issues. I am, however the first person she calls when she needs advice or prayer. Babies and young children are usually very trusting others, unless there has been some kind of physical or emotional trauma. God instructs us to be like little children, who are mostly fearless, and trustful. My little granddaughter is very adventurous, friendly, and trusting, as she has never had a reason not to be. She trusts her grandpa to throw her up in the air, and swing her upside down without fear. Now if grandpa had dropped her a couple of times, or deliberately scared her when he was swinging her, that would be a different story. Children are like sponges, and depending on what they are taught, through words or experiences, they can maintain that trust for a long time. At least until some kind of circumstance, or unkind person hurts them. As adults, we have experienced enough events—like 911—to taint our ideas of trust, which results in fear.

In my third book, BE STILL, Christina and her children continue to struggle with issues of fear and trust. BE STILL is taken from the verse, Be still and know that I am God found in Psalms 46:10. I have a difficult time being still because of my personality. Even when I'm on vacation, I tend to be busy cooking, cleaning, doing laundry—kind of like being at home. I hear my mother's voice in my head saying, “Don't be lazy. Idle hands are the Devil's workshop.” If I slept past 9:00, she would come wake me up. As it is, I rarely sleep past that time, and when I do, I feel guilty. I say to myself, “You shouldn't sleep so late, because there is so much to get done.” God gives us 24 hours in a day, and sometimes that just doesn't seem like enough time to get everything accomplished. How many of you have that same problem? I have friends and relatives who can totally relax, and not worry about the opinions of others concerning their actions, or lack of. I sometimes wish I could be more like that. I am more like Martha—Lazarus's sister—in Luke 10:38-42, who was flitting around getting food ready, while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, listening to His words. I would be like, “It would be nice to get some help around here! Do I have to do this all by myself?” Martha even complained to Jesus, asking him to tell Mary she needed to help. After all, she was doing all the work! She probably felt like I do when I'm trying to get things done, and my family sits around chatting, or playing games on their phones, or disappear completely—until food is ready to be served. We had a rule in our family when the kids were growing up which stated: if you didn't cook, or help prepare the meal, you had to clean up everything. Fortunately, as the kids aged, they all enjoyed cooking, so the meal preparation and clean up was usually divided equally. I find it interesting that Jesus chastised Martha. He said that she was worrying too much about things getting done. He told her that Mary had chosen wisely, and He wasn't going to tell her to leave. I wonder if Martha walked away grumbling under her breath. I know I would. The Bible doesn't go into detail after the chastisement, but I have a feeling though, that she ended up sitting at Jesus' feet. She may have sighed loudly, and said, “Fine!” Before she gave in. When we feel anxious and frazzled, we just need to take a deep breath, and release it slowly. This will help calm our anxious heart. Then we may be still, and sit at Jesus' feet. I have to remind myself often, that life is too short to be so concerned about things beyond my control. My husband, bless his heart, has a personality opposite of mine. I get frazzled, and he is calm. He rarely gets worked up about anything. One of his mottoes is: “If something doesn't get done today, there's always tomorrow.” He's right, of course. In the whole scheme of things, sometimes what I get worked up over, isn't that big of a deal. There are times, I hate to admit, that I find myself having a little hissy-fit, or pity party. Fortunately, those are rare and short-lived, as I am reminded by the Holy Spirit, that not everything is about me! So I leave you with these thoughts. When the Lions, or trials, surround you, remember to fear not, be still, and trust in God. He's the only one who can give you peace in times of trouble.