Pepper Basham's Blog, page 26

The Big Picture of God’s Story

In the beginning was…

The story

It’s true. If you start with Christian (or Jewish or Muslim) history, “Genesis” even means ‘an origin, creation, or beginning’.

The Genesis of God’s story was creation.

But we can really sum up the entire Bible into one sentence.

What is the Bible about?

God rescuing His people.

A Father rescuing His children.

Pure and simple.

The BIG picture of the Bible isn’t about mighty men and women of God overcoming massive obstacles – although (with God’s strength) some of them do.

It’s not about amazing historical (and miraculous) events – although there are many.

At the heart of the Bible – it’s all about RESCUE! Rescue and love!

As a Christian, this should encourage you (and me).

Though our 2010 might not have been a year of celebration, or amazing things. In the grand scheme of things, it’s another piece to God’s BIG puzzle of rescue. His giant story of finding His lost children and bringing them back home.

There’s a great deal of comfort in the truth that All things work together for them who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)

We see our lives like this:

We’re looking through the lens of a camera. All we can see is the small square of site through the lens.  And what we see may look like a barren, deserted, wasteland…

Until we step back from the lens and see the ‘big picture’ to realize we’re staring at a small piece of the Grand Canyon.

(I’ve included several examples of this concept in my pics for the post. Check them out. If you only see a part of the picture, you’re interpretation is skewed – until you see the FULL picture. THEN you can understand how that small piece you saw through the lens, fits into the BIG picture)

We only see a piece of our lives, but God sees the whole span of eternity.

And our rescue is a part of His Master plan.

Because He loves us THAT much.

I want to leave you with these FABULOUS verses from I Corinthians 13, as paraphrased from The Message.

12We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

 13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

May you trust God to the Big Picture of your life and Rest in His LOVE for 2011.

For more on ‘beginnings and writing’, check out my Writers Alley post on Monday, Jan 3 at http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com

It’s all about the ‘beginning of stories’.

Blessings,

Surprised and Humbled by First Responses to The Thorn Bearer

I’m new to having my book ‘out there’ for people to read. Since beginning this writing journey toward publication (about 11 years ago), my stories have stayed within a select and somewhat limited audience of friends, family, and close fellow writers, but now with the upcoming release of my first publication, I finding a new side to the writing world.

A big, scary, amazing, daunting, and rewarding side too. Where I finally see how the words God stirred in my heart to place on a page can touch the hearts of others.

It’s hard to believe, but I’m ever grateful and extremely humbled by the initial reactions.

Yes, I’m sure there are going to be readers that do not like it or it didn’t match their expectations. We all have preferences, so that makes sense to me – but for right now, I’m going to enjoy this initial wave of surprise and delight!

Monday started with a beautiful endorsement from Rel Mollet of http://relzreviewz.com/.

Tuesday, I received my first full review from Charity Andrews at https://atransparentmom.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/the-thorn-bearer/

and Wednesday, I ordered my very first book….bookmarks!!

I write because God’s created a love for story in my heart. To see how this love can be a blessing to others is overwhelming, amazing, and fills my heart to the full with gratitude.

Remind me of this post later…when I’ve received my first 1-star review or when I’m on deadline and feel the weight of ‘failure’ creeping in like a shadow, but right now, I’ll revel in thanksgiving for this opportunity to take the inspiration of God’s gift to touch and inspire others.

Your Days Are Numbered

Your days are numbered.

Did you know that?

As in:

1

45

16,782

Numbered.

And not ONE of them is worthless or unimportant.

Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days so we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Whoa. So, how do we number our days? Well, the first few verses in that chapter give us some clues. It’s basically this:

Realizing who WE are and what We’ve done in the light of realizing who GOD is and what HE’S done.

Moses starts the Psalm by talking about the greatness and eternality of God.

v. 2 – “Before the mountains were born

   or you brought forth the whole world,

   from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

So, basically – we must try to see our lives from God’s perspective, since He’s been around a bit longer than we have, and knows a whole lot more than we ever could.

To make sure we get the point, Moses goes on to describe our humanness and mortality.

v. 5 – Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—

   they are like the new grass of the morning:

6 In the morning it springs up new,

   but by evening it is dry and withered.

Or

v. 9-10 – All our days pass away under your wrath;

   we finish our years with a moan.

10 Our days may come to seventy years,

   or eighty, if our strength endures;

yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,

   for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Pretty gloomy sounding, isn’t it?

Almost in one breath – life is here, then it’s gone.

Does it matter to us?

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with being my own god.

With living my life as if it is going to go on forever, and forgetting why I was created.

I forget that by original design, this world is not my home and the things of it are as frail as a snowflake.

I live my life as if I am the author of my future, the keeper of my past, and the conqueror of my present, but I deceive myself.

The eternal Time Keeper sees the big picture of my life – the good, the bad, and the ugly- and weaves them all together to make me into a child fit for Heaven.

The troubles, the trials, the heartache and pain, serve a grander purpose. Moses’ words help us put grief and trials in their proper place:

See verses 14-17, particularly verse 15:

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

for as many years as we have seen trouble.

16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,

your splendor to their children.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;

   establish the work of our hands for us—

   yes, establish the work of our hands.

It’s really all about seeing things from the right perspective. Who we are and who He is.

If his ‘unfailing love’ truly satisfies us, then whatever the ‘affliction’ or ‘trouble’, we can ‘sing for joy’ and ‘be glad all our days’, because we recognize the extravagance of the Father’s love.

When we are satisfied with His ‘unfailing love’ – then everything else falls into its proper place. Our deeds and our ‘works’ no longer control us, but are controlled by the Holy Spirit in us.

The number of our days no longer matter – it’s how we fill each one of those days that begins to shape our points of view.

I don’t know about you, but I really need to get my mind off of me – and onto Jesus!

Check out a picture that speaks a thousand words about the Glory of God  by visiting Jon England’s site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/snappermcgee/4935860312/in/set-72157624710749646/

Truly, this picture looked like it belong with a prayer.

Blessings,

Pepper

When Research Inspires Story

I have a love-hate relationship with research.

I absolutely adore the beauty, intrigue, and detail good research brings to any story but I’m not a big fan of the massive amount of time it takes to discover those awesome details. I’ve spent hours in search of the name of a certain light fixture because it was an integral part of the story set in the Victorian era or another half hour in the throes of google-search mania to discover what type of fabric composed a certain gown.

Crazy.

However, research can also be dangerously inspiring.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been looking up information for one book only to find the research spanning beyond the framework of the current book and inspiring another one…or two.

Yesterday, after doing a little studying on our local ‘castle’, The Biltmore House, a story began to form between the lines of research. And then…another. A historical and contemporary, one interwoven into another.

Will they be in the same book? I’m not sure, yet. Maybe.

But it looks at employees of the Biltmore House, past and present, and how lives and love can span generations to impact the present.

How about you? Have you ever had a brand new story evolve out of the remnants of your research?

If you’re a reader, what tidbits of history do you enjoy in the books you read?

G.K. Chesterton and a memorable thought

Early 20th century writer, G.K. Chesterton, was a brilliant philosopher of rhetoric, theologian, debater and….WRITER! His writing is said to have contributed to author, C.S. Lewis’ conversion.

So I wanted to share this quote for today – One I want to remember EVERY day):

G.K. Chesterton was asked why he became a Christian. His answer, “To get rid of my sins.”

It’s so simple – but if you think about it, exactly right! Why would Jesus stand out in history? Why would his existence draw such response from around the world? Why would he cause such controversy, if he was just another great man of history?

Except for one big thing:

Only HE can ‘get rid’ of our sins.

It’s the one thing we can’t work out ourselves, no matter how hard we try. We can strive for success, riches, power, and some measure of happiness – but to eliminate the niggling awareness of our own imperfection? The darkness in our own hearts?

None of us can eliminate it on our own. Lots of times we don’t even want to acknowledge it, but it’s there – reminding us of our humanity.

The beauty in the middle of it all?

Once we recognize our lostness and our helplessness to save ourselves, Christ reaches into our brokenness, heartache, and ugliness and gives us His purity. His perfection.

That’s what God sees then.

His perfect, beloved Son.

Fairytales, Faith, and the Wonder of a Child

One of my favorite quotes by author C.S. Lewis is “some day you will be old enough to read fairytales again” because I think it encompasses a gallon of truth in its simplicity.

When we’re young, there is a genuineness to us. Our focus is intense and raw. Our faith pure and powerful. Our dreams bigger than the sky. We have no problem feeding the imagination with dragons, knights, magic, and princesses, because, even if we know those things aren’t real, a piece of us knows something greater lives beyond our current time and world.

We don’t have to see the ‘science’ or learn the arguments. A deeper ‘something’ within us knows and grasps it with both hands. Stories of courage, self-sacrifice, harrowing battles, impossible odds, and unbelievable wonder… children crave, accept, and find joy within the heart of these stories. Why?

Because it takes the wonder and faith of a child to see and believe in the impossible.

As we grow, life and circumstances can tend to blur our vision. Our wounds may harden our hearts and daily demands narrow our imaginations. Our minds become busy with the every-dayness, which is a part of growing up – but in many cases we lose sight of the wonder that is still evident around us and it takes a moment with a child to remind us….

The beauty of believing is still alive and well.

And it gives them hope…and the ability to dream big.

Jesus is recorded in 3 of the 4 Gospels to have encouraged the little children to come to him – even rebuking the disciples from hindering the children to approach. He says “for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Why? Oh there are many reasons, and some a theologian might answer much better than me, but I believe one of the reasons is imagination.

God created imagination. In fact, he displayed his remarkable imagination in the act of creation and then made us in his image. If we are ‘like’ God through creation, then we have imaginations too – limited, of course, by the Fall and our humanity, but shadows of the Creators imagination nonetheless.

Imagination gives us the ability to not only create, but ‘see’ impossible things without fear of limits. Children believe. In their smallness, they haven’t grown too big to see themselves as having all the answers or becoming their own gods.

They accept the ‘impossible’ because it makes sense that Someone much larger than them, much grander, can do amazing things. Miracles.

There are moments in my life when I ‘glimpse’ for a few seconds into another world. A sense of the awesomeness of a greater plan or see the ‘impossible’ strength that comes from something beyond our comprehension. Even miracles.

It’s in those glimpses, God reminds me what it’s like to dance in wonder of who He is, His amazing love, and the beauty of just believing. Unhindered.

I’ll end my child-like post today with another of my FAVORITE CS Lewis quote:

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

I Once Was Blind But Now I See

Oh I love how the Bible is one BIG story with lots of little stories inside. It’s kind of like a ‘picture’ of our lives.

One BIG life with lots of little stories sprinkled throughout. A compilation, I guess :-)

Let’s look at the Man Born Blind story in John 9 – but SOOOO many things were going on inside of this one little story.

I won’t go into them all, but I wanted to mention The Blind Man’s Story.

He was born blind. That was his beginning.

Jesus said he was born blind so that God could be glorified in his blindness (boy, did he mean that at so many levels)

In one day, this blind man has two miracles occur in his life.

Jesus gives him sight. Wow. For the first time in his life, he can see. His eyes are opened to the beauties of the world around him. The faces of his mother and father, the blue of the sky, the food he’d eaten all his life. His entire place in society has changed too. He doesn’t have to be a beggar anymore – no longer lead a shameful existence as a nonproductive member of society. He has hope.

Jesus gives him sight. Wait, did I just say that? I meant it. Jesus gave the man sight twice. First physically, then spiritually.

We watch the man’s progression toward faith.

Jesus initiated the healing. He put the putty on the man’s eyes and sent him to wash. He’s healed. When asked about his healing, the blind man says “The man they call Jesus” healed him.
Later when asked, the man tells the Pharisees a ‘prophet’ healed him.
When interrogated by the Pharisees a secondvtime, then cast out of the synagogue as a liar, Jesus comes to find the man. I LOVE that. Jesus had compassion on this man AGAIN, and seeks him out. Here is where the most amazing part of the story happens. The climax! Jesus reveals

himself as the “Son of Man” to this blind man. In fact, Jesus says it like this:

– “You have seen him.” Then the man falls at Jesus feet and calls him, “Lord”, because Jesus opened his spiritual eyes to the truth.

Isn’t that amazing? A full and beautiful short story.

Beginning, middle, end. Conflict. Characters. Villains. And all summed up in a

few words.

But what’s at the heart of the blind man’s story?

It’s the same truth that is at the heart of all of us who call Jesus “Lord”. It’s the same faith statement we all cling to. The same heart’s cry we all give.

It’s what spurned John Newton to pen the words to his classic hymn Amazing Grace.

Your story.

My story.

The blind man’s story.

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

********************************************************************

photo courtesy of http://www.gerhardy.id.au/lent4_08.htm

Keeping the Long-Term Goal in the Short-Term Stress

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been a lifelong writer. I can’t remember when I wrote my first ‘story’, but I do remember my Granny Spencer presenting me with my very first typewriter when I was ten. She said “because a writer needs one”. From that point on I’ve written…something. Whether the creativity resulted in novels, songs, children’s books, or poems, I wrote.

After 11 years of pursuing publication, I’m entering a different side of writing with a new set of stresses, rewards, and challenges (mainly deadlines and scheduling…with a little worry about what people will think). It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and listen to insecurities about the stories I’ve kept in secret now coming out to the world! Will people like them? Can I continue to be published? How will I be able to manage my family, my job, and writing on deadline?

Rachel Hauck gave me some FANTASTIC advice this week that really helped me refocus…and reminded me of the calling God place on my heart when I was a little girl. To write stories!!!

Here’s what Rachel said:

Decide in your heart and mind you’re in this for the long haul and don’t worry about temporary things like awards, reviews and even sales numbers.
Just decide you’re in it one story at a time for the next 20 years. :) 

One story at a time! God started creating stories in my heart as a little girl and He continues to grow them now. My focus and pleasure remain in the beautiful act of creativity…. story crafting!
If you’re struggling with the stress, fears, expectations, and uncertainties in this writing gig, remember God started a story IN you to be a story-creator! And if our ultimate goal is to write stories for His glory, then our calling is secure :-)

Splinters and Stings

Splinters, something so small that can cause a whole lot of trouble. My daughter, Lydia, got one in her toe the other day and being the self-controlled six year old that she is, proceeded to wail, scream, sob, and whine from the playground to my side.

At first thought, one might think her entire foot was going to fall off or that the splinter was more the size of a 2 x 4, but….no! Upon inspection, I discovered the 1/2 cm speck of wood chip stuck in her big toe and waiting for maternal surgery (which I actually enjoy…he, he, he)

Lydia wanted to try to get the splinter out herself, so she took my little set of tweasers and went to work, wailing and moaning along the way. After a few moments of vain attempts, she handed the tweasers back to me. “I can’t do it!”

“Are you ready for me to try?” I asked.

“Is it going to hurt?”

“Yes, it is, but I’ll try to be as careful as I can.”

She sniffled, nodded, bit down on her bottom lip, and started wailing before the tweasers even touched her toe. I have no idea where she gets such a melodramatic personality from…;-)

So, after the trauma, she put both her arms around me and gave me a hug. “Thank you, Mama. I’m tougher now.” Sure she is!!

God, I can do it. I don’t want to give it to You! You might make me hurt….you might lead me through pain…..You might guide my paths through the valley of death, or the road of bankruptsy or up the hilll of rejection…..God, can I trust you?

Do you ever secretly wonder these things? For example, “Lord, if I really give you my whole heart and trust you to do whatever you will to make me more like you…..what will you do? What will you make me go through?” At the heart of these questions, is doubt. We doubt that God loves us and has the best in mind for us.

Somehow, we forget the amazing truth that God sent his son Jesus down to die for our unworthy, hateful, embittered souls…..why? Because of love….REAL love.

Sometimes we forget God’s promise of working ALL things together for our good and His glory because we doubt His control and His love.

Lord, help us to love you with our whole hearts so that the fears and doubts which so easily distance us from you, will be wiped away in the shadow of your great love. Help us to offer our lives up to you for service, in whatever way You see fit and may we look out what comes into our lives as opportunities to trust You. Help us to believe you truly love us and You are in control. Amen

Veggitales – Noah’s Ark

Its’ so amazing to me how Big Idea keeps up the wonderful stories of hope, humor, and vegetables, but they’ve done it again in their newest release, Noah’s Ark. 20 years of veggie-fun and Bible truths.

The quirky humor and adventure was not lost in this newest release. Noah’s son, Shem, has his own plans, but God has bigger ones and through the use of a floating zoo, some crazy family members, and a few miracles, Shem begins to understand how to Trust God.

Leave a comment for your chance to win this newest release from Veggietales.