Baseball and Church

Have you ever talked with a friend, a stranger, or a neighbor about the Lord?  The conversation may start out like this:
"I'm  such-and-such religion, so I'm good."   But then the conversations continues.

"Could I put it in perspective?"

He nods.

"Let's say you are playing baseball.  You are on Cee's team and another player is on Bee's team.  The rules of the Baseball Handbook are the same whether you are on Cee's team or Bee's team.  Cee's team is up to bat. The batter hits a ground ball; the short stops snatches the ball and wails it to the first baseman who catches it a split second before the runner stomps the base.  The umpire shouts the call.  'Out!'"

"It wouldn't matter if the batter were from Bee's team or Cee's team.  The player is out because that's a rule of baseball - if the first baseman catches the ball before the runner tags the base, he's out."

"So, what does that have to do with church?" your conversationalist asks.


"Glad you asked.  There are many different churches, right?"

Your friend nods.

"Churches can't make up their own rules either.  They have to go by the Book.  God is the One who authored the Handbook to Heaven, so it stands to reason, He has the authority to set the perimeters for the game of life.  When the Handbook to Heaven clearly specifies the means to eternity in heaven is through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ,  there is no other way."

Mr. Skeptic frowns.

"Let me ask it another way.  Do you think a baseball player who runs to second base, bypassing first base, can flagrantly ignore the rules of the Baseball Handbook and get away with it?  Of course not.  It's the same with God's Handbook to Heaven.  Anything added to the Gospel, such as good works or being a good person to gain heaven, is like a baseball player running around the bases twice in order to score an additional run.  That's ridiculous."

"The same holds true for anything short of the Gospel, like not having faith,  can be compared to the baseball player who hits a home run, but does not run the bases.  He simply stands at home plate swinging his bat back and forth.  He would not score a run. That is equally as preposterous.  Doesn't it make sense that man cannot add to or subtract from the Handbook to Heaven and think he is going to do it his way?  If he thinks he can, he's out!  He will never make it to home plate which in this scenario represents heaven. The  life-game player who does not abide by the Handbook to Heaven is out just like the baseball player who plays the game making up his own rules is out!"

Your friend smiles.  "What are you doing Sunday?"

Rita Kroon

Grace

What if all editors gave unmeasured grace to every writer who submitted his or her work?  That would be an unkind kindness.  Readers everywhere would be deluged with atrocious articles or books, although there might be a spattering of good reading material.   Unmeasured grace would do no good to increase the author's writing skills.

What if reviews gushed on with how great all published books are?  Or, what if the reviews did the opposite - tore down every aspect of a book without adding something of valued to help the author learn the skills of the trade?  Such reviews would be devoid of any grace.

What if critique group members listened with nods and a lot of "uh-huhs" as authors read from their pages?  Or, what if they attacked the writer's piece with the frenzy of sharks at supper-time?  Where's the grace?  Where's the mercy?  Where's the compassion?

What makes God's grace so different?  Grace as defined by the Random House College Dictionary, Revised Edition, is: "The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God."  Why is God's undeserved kindness so important that it is mentioned one-hundred-seventy times in the Bible?  (Thirty-nine times in the Old Testament and one-hundred-thirty-one times in the New Testament, KJV)

One reason would be that God shows grace for our good, to build us up; not in pride, but in order that we would grow in our walk of faith, to persevere in our calling.

Although grace was manifested in the Old Testament, it was but a candle compared with the brightness of grace that appeared at the birth of Christ when God became flesh.  Titus 2:11 says, "For the grace of God appeared bringing salvation to all men."  That's not to say that all men are saved - only those who receive Jesus, who believe on His name.

So, what makes God's grace so different?  It is that the value of one who receives grace is measured by the worth of the One who gives grace.

Rita Kroon

Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee

A very dear friend, Judy, sent this story to me, and I am pleased to share it with you.

A young woman went to her mother and told her, "Life is hard.  I don't know how I am going to make it.  I want to give up.  I'm tired of fighting and struggling.  Every time one problem is solved, a new one comes up."

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.  Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

The daughter thought.  Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? 

Or, am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If I am like the bean, when things are at their worst, do I get better and change the situation around me? When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do I elevate myself to another level? How do I handle adversity? Am I carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?  

The daughter was silent for a moment.  Then she smiled.  "I'll have another cup of coffee, Mom."

An old proverbial wish to you, dear reader:  May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

Rita Kroon

Taking Care of Authors

Taking care of business (every day)
Taking care of business (every way)
I've been taking care of business (it's all mine)
Taking care of business and working overtime

The words from Bachman-Turner Overdrive say it so well.  In our fast-paced world, we all feel pressure to be productive; to take care of business: athletes train to compete; business people strive for success; blue-collar workers work to survive; medical professionals study to be informed; innovators create to make life more convenient; and authors write to inform, inspire, entertain, teach, encourage, and more.  Just like the words say, "Taking care of business," we also need to heed the words, "Taking care of   authors."

Here's a list of ten suggestions by ten authors that every writer should put into practice in order to maintain good physical, mental, and spiritual balance.

*  Take time to let the subconscious 'play with the story' and do something creative.  Robin Carroll - mystery/suspense author of "Fear No Evil."  Painting, gardening, scrap-booking, cleaning cupboards, or whatever suits your fancy provides a great release from your story.

*  Every author needs to exercise regularly.  Lynette Eason, suspense author of "No One to trust", "Nowhere to Turn," & "When a Heart Stops," and Becky Wade - Christian romance author of "Meant to be Mine."  Work it so it becomes a part of your regular routine.  Use a pedometer to make sure to get your steps in each day.

*  Foster relationships with other writers - especially after a long stint of isolated writing.  Kellie Gilbert - fiction author of "A Woman of Fortune."  Nurturing relationships with other writers is essential to cultivating fresh ideas and to inspire creativity.

*  Get away from the computer and spend time with real live people.  Katie Ganshert - contemporary romance/romantic suspense author of "Wildflowers."  Talk with hubby.  Call a friend.  Go shopping and have a conversation with the person standing in the check-out line.

*  Pace yourself.  Be focused and disciplined with your time.  When you meet your goals for the day or the week, stop.  Give yourself time off.  Rachel Hauck - fiction author of "Once Upon a Prince."  Or give yourself a time-out and go to your room.  If you can't shut off your thoughts, jot down a few notes, then set it and forget it.  For a time.  Set reasonable goals.

* Preserve "you" in your writing career.  Learn to say "no" to ancillary commitments.  Strike a balance between necessary productive time and time-consuming unproductivity.   Ronie Kendig - rapid-fire fiction author of "Raptor 6."  Do not become a slave to writing so that it becomes drudgery.  Smile at yourself in the mirror to make sure you are still you.

*  Eliminate physical clutter in your work zone.  It does wonders for productivity.  Carla Laureano - inspirational/fantasy author of "Five Days in Skye" and "Oath of the Brotherhood."  One day this past week, my very-organized daughter, LaDawn, came to help me with a writing project.  She sat down at my computer, looked over the disarray, and said, "The first thing we need to do is to de-clutter your desk!"  I had to admit that even though I knew where everything was in each of the fashionably messy piles, I operated much more efficiently once we made space on my desk.

*  Get up every hour and move for ten minutes - not just to exercise, but to give your body movement.  Dani Pettrey - mystery/suspense romance author of "Sabotaged."  Go outside.  Breathe.  Walk.  Sing and dance to your favorite music.

*  Eat healthy and exercise.  Keep your mind and body in good condition.  Cindy Woodsmall - Amish author of "A Love Undone."  Healthy eating and exercise go hand-in-hand like love and marriage.  'Can't have one without the other.

*  Pray regularly - before, during, and after writing sessions.  Christian authors know the immeasurable worth of close communication with the Lord - not just asking that the writing be blessed when all is said and done, but during the process.  After all, His ways, His thoughts,  are much higher than ours.  Consider the timeless Book He wrote.  Rita Kroon - author of "Kiss Your Mommy Goodbye."

The Enemy

The enemy would like nothing more than to silence this mouthpiece for God who is confronting and pushing back darkness in our generation.

Billy Graham was a pastor to presidents and certainly addressed the moral slide in America as far back as the 1950s, but Franklin Graham seems to be wearing his dad's mantle on steroids. 

The once prodigal son is not shrinking back from hot button cultural and political issues. Why is Graham so bold? Because he sees an Islamic storm coming against America [and]... he has strong discernment and enough boldness to go toe-to-toe with the principalities and powers that have targeted Christians for destruction.

"For Muslims, peace comes only through submission to Islam. When they speak of peace, they mean submission to their religion," Graham says. "Worldwide, tens of thousands of men, women and children have been slaughtered in the name of Allah, under the bloody flag of Islam."

Graham made it clear... that followers of a peaceful religion do not cut off the heads of innocent people in the barbaric fashion the world has watched recently, [and] that believers in a peaceful religion do not kidnap 300 young schoolgirls as Boko Haram did in northeastern Nigeria in April and reportedly sell them to men to be sex slaves.

Men who practice a peaceful religion [he continued] do not detonate bombs on an American street during a marathon race to kill and maim innocent people. He said no one who belongs to a peaceful religion would even consider hijacking jet airliners and flying them into buildings occupied by thousands of innocent people beginning their workday, as happened in this country and in this city on 9/11.

Speaking to President Obama, he said, "Mr. President—no peaceful religion would tolerate, let alone practice, female circumcision, require a woman to have her husband's permission to leave her home and take up employment and restrict her ability to receive justice in the case of sex crimes. Mr. President—a peaceful religion would not condone and allow a father to drown a daughter in a swimming pool in front of the family in the name of family honor because she might have stayed out late in the evening with her boyfriend. Mr. President—why haven't the 3.5 million Muslims in North America rejected this gross, barbaric and despicable behavior by their fellow Muslims on American soil?"

 

IHOPKC's (International House of Prayer Kansas City) Mike Bickle last month called for Believers to support and pray for Graham as he has "boldly yet tenderly taken a Biblical stance in warning America in relation to Islam, gay marriage and several other important subjects."

Bickle is making an even more fervent call for intercessors to rise up and pray for Graham day and night. The enemy would like nothing more than to silence this mouthpiece for God who is confronting and pushing back darkness in our generation.

Rita Kroon