Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 44

Finding God in the Everyday as Lenten Devotional

My recently released devotional book, Finding God in the Everyday, includes ninety devotionals about finding God in everyday experiences.

You can read an excerpt of the book here. 

While the book can be used as daily devotional for three months or read straight through, it also makes an ideal devotional for Lent. Reading two devotionals per day will take you from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday.

Finding God in the Everyday is available in paperback and ebook formats through online stores or directly from me.

Here’s what others have to say about Finding God in the Everyday:

If you like the smell of cookies in the oven and watching reruns of The Waltons, you will love the folksy flavor of Finding God in the Everyday. ~ Molly Noble Bull, Christian romance author

Lillie has written a refreshingly insightful book. This book is practical, inspiring, and highly readable. ~ Terry L. Sumerlin, Conference speaker and author

Lillie Ammann shares stories from her life, showing great insight in how God has used these experiences to help her and others grow in their faith. This book will encourage everyone who reads it to look for God’s hand in their daily lives. ~ Janet Kaderli, Christian author

I’ve been privileged to be Lillie Ammann’s priest for 13 years. She’s like an onion…lots of layers of wonderful experience, wit, humor, and talent. And God has used those layers in her devotional book. Read this and grow in Him Who is our Hope. ~ The Venerable Father CB “Chip” Harper++, Anglican Archdeacon Emeritus of San Antonio, Texas

“Where’s God” is a question everyone asks, particularly when life brings heartaches and difficulties. Lillie Amman answers the question by pulling back the curtain, allowing us to see and feel her personal struggles to find God’s presence in the good, the bad, and the ugly of daily life. Her message: we too can find God when we stop, look, and listen. Where’s God, you ask? He’s here with us; we can find Him in our daily life when we look. ~ Ben Ferguson, Adopt-a-Chaplain

You have within your grasp a key to ‘Finding God in the Everyday.’ The faith and stories shared in these pages are not only inspiring, they are instructive. They are helpful. They are down-home. They are everyday. And they are otherworldly. Read and be blessed. Welcome to the life of knowing God in the miraculous, other-worldly, plain ol’ life of every day. ~ Father Jerry Sherbourne

The devotional format of Lillie’s unique, real-life experiences, followed by Biblical Scripture and closing prayer, is a very effective procedure to help the reader arrive at a sense of ultimate gratitude. ~ Cedric D. Fisher, Publisher, San Antonio’s INFLUENCE Magazine

Lillie’s ability to view life from a faith perspective encourages her readers to do the same. Stories from her life and Scriptural passages inspire us to rely on God in all circumstances. ~ Jan Kilby, Ph.D., Writing consultant and freelance writer, San Antonio, Texas

 

How to Find a Blog Topic That’s Right for You: Guest Post by Avery Phillips

As an aspiring blogger, brainstorming can be a bit overwhelming. It can be difficult to rein in all the ideas you have in your head for that perfect post. On the other hand, you may have chosen to write about a topic, but don’t find yourself particularly interested in it. When getting together a blog or a blog post, it helps to have a blueprint of how the writing is going to go.

Finding your unique scope on topics not only serves to keep your interest, but also to enable you to write in an authoritative and captivating way for your readers. Below are a few ways in which you can find and pinpoint your niche.

Find Your Passions

Writing on what you are interested in is the first step to finding your niche. Your interest in the subject will show through in your writing, and since it is a passion of yours, your knowledge of the subject will allow you to write with a higher degree of credibility. Finding your passion will help your whole writing process, from brainstorming to final editing.

Research for your posts will be easier and more enjoyable when investigating a topic that is relatable and of interest to you. Topics you aren’t familiar with can be time consuming when familiarizing yourself with the material, and if you aren’t interested in it to begin with, you are more likely to stall or just plain give up.

Your passions can stem from a fondness or appreciation of a subject or from firsthand knowledge — whether positive or negative. For instance, if someone close to you has found themselves in debt, a subject you might be passionate about would include credit card management to help out others who may be in the same situation. In a more positive example, maybe your favorite author has come out with a great new book and you would like to write a review in promotion of it.

So, take note the next time you find yourself really passionate about something. This can be a topic that always pops into your head in the shower or something that makes you smile. Conversely, it could be a topic that makes you angry that something hasn’t been done about it yet. Taking a look at your hobbies can be a great way to find niches you will fit into nicely while maintaining a steady supply of material. A firm analysis of your passions can turn a boring post into an interesting, heartfelt piece that’s well received by your audience.

Read Your Competitors and Blogs You Enjoy

Ok, so maybe if you’re just starting out you don’t have competitors. But you can read the articles you enjoy and find their competitors. If you do have a competitor, that’s great. Reading a publication that you don’t necessarily agree with can be great for finding and reminding you of topics you are passionate about. It will give you material to write a piece in response to what you just read. Additionally, reading things that are conflicting of your views will solidify your reasoning and better prepare you for discourse, increasing your knowledgeable and authoritative tone on a subject.

Reading blogs you agree with has the benefit of further exploring a topic you would write about. Maybe you missed something that a writer has chosen to illuminate on a topic you enjoy. On the other hand, maybe you can fill in the gap on something the author failed to notice. As Sydney Lines puts it, “It expands my knowledge of other cultures, people, and ideas and exposes me to ideas I’ve never considered.” You should always be looking for a slightly different perspective on things that you’re passionate about, as you can never be too knowledgeable about your interests, and this knowledge can turn into great, consistent writing for your blog.

In the world of writing, coming up with fresh, relevant topics can stop your process before it even starts. Being aware of your passions to find your niche, and keeping up to date of the topics on your niche will provide you with a never ending supply of starting points and interesting topics for your writing. So, the next time you are brainstorming, keep the above information in mind!

About the Author:

Avery T. Phillips is a freelance human being with too much to say. She loves nature and examining human interactions with the world. Find her on Twitter; comment or tweet her at @a_taylorian with any questions or suggestions.

January 22 and the Sanctity of Life

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court decided that precious children made in the image of God had no value and could be killed on the whim of the mother.

On January 22, 1992, I suffered a stroke that severely incapacitated me, to the point that I was as dependent as an unborn baby.

When the value of a life is determined by how independent the individual is, anyone who is handicapped or elderly or in any way unable to care for themself is as devalued as that baby before birth. No wonder we now hear calls for euthanasia of people who are sick or incapacitated.

Our value is not determined by how independent we are, by how successful we are, how intelligent or strong or good or anything else we are. As human beings, we have inherent value because we are created in the image of God. Human life is sacred because it is created by God. 

Lord God, we ask Your protection for all Your children who are at risk. Save the unborn from abortion, the sick from neglect, the disabled from the euthanasia/assisted suicide. Open our eyes to see the sanctity and beauty in every life You have created. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Related posts:

Two Anniversaries: Roe v Wade and My Stroke

Slavery and Abortion: Moral Relatives

National Stroke Awareness Month: My Stroke (this post and the other two in the series, which are linked)

Blog Formatting and Editing Tips for 2018: Guest Post by Avery Phillips

The art of blog writing can be very different from any other form. If you’re an author, making a blog post work can be counterintuitive.

The blog reader is a different beast; the complex vocabulary and slow burn of plot that carries a reader through a book can turn people off a blog post quickly. You can still inject the prose with your stylistic flare, but the format of a post is more akin to a resume crossed with news brief.

It might not be practical or affordable to contract an editor for every blog post, especially if you post frequently. It might be a good idea to get a professional edit two or three times, just to see where your weaknesses lie, though!

Here are a few tips to optimize your posts on your own for online readers.

Screen Readers Need Breaks!

Just like a resume, a blog post needs plenty of “white space” on the page to balance out the text. This is partly because blog readers are notorious skimmers, but also because reading on a screen can be hard on the eyes. It’s important to make sure there is plenty of contrast to help the reader along. This goes hand in hand with making sure that the template you chose on your blogging platform (or your website, if you got one designed) is responsive to mobile. Responsiveness has that technical element, but your writing needs to be mobile responsive too.

Frequent paragraph breaks are a favor to mobile readers. As smaller screens scale down, they have to deal with increasingly long walls of text. Breaks will help them make sense of the flow of the article on a smaller screen.

Pictures are also a great way to break up a post, like little rest points or punctuation marks in the flow of the blog. Just be careful how you format them. Text wrapping might look great at 1920×1080, but it doesn’t scale down well.

Headings, Subheadings, and Meta Descriptions

It’s worth taking extra time to make sure you’re setting the right expectation. There is too much nuance that goes into titles to recount here, but here’s some great further reading. Generally, you want to let a reader know at a glance exactly what they’ll get out of their read. There is a ton of competition for the attention of readers, so content saturation happens quickly among many topics. In short, it’s important to respect the reader’s time.

The most important part of the title is how descriptive you can be about your post in 8-12 words. Don’t try and trick readers with “viral” titles; just be upfront about what they’re getting out the post.

Most content management systems these days let you input a “meta description” — always make this part of your editing process! It’s a 160-ish character summary that is displayed by search engines. Take the opportunity to briefly describe your text. Try not to just summarize, but talk about what a reader will learn or take away!

Subheadings are an important internal resource for readers. Remember, online readers are skimmers, so do the resume thing: try and catch their attention with a subhead so that they stick with your content.

Learn How to Self-Edit

Chances are you won’t always be able to run a post by someone before it goes live. A lot of writers have trouble with self-editing, so here are a few quick tips:

Always sleep on it! An important part of the editing process is seeing your piece with fresh eyes. So once it’s written, put a post down and forget about it until the next morning. You’ll notice so much more tomorrow.
The good news, if you’re not very good at self editing, is that there are apps and extensions for that. Don’t rely on them 100 percent, of course, but the best writing and editing tools will even identify needlessly complex sentences, passive voice, and give you a sense of your work’s readability on a grade level.
Use a style guide and make note of your common mistakes. Try to develop a consistent writing style. You can make up your own personal rules, but it’s always best to start with a style guide and make your choices about where to deviate afterward.
Cut words viciously. It is perfectly acceptable to write a long blog post if the topic demands one. If, however, you find yourself straying into new territory over the course of a post, cut it and set it aside as an idea for a new post.

There you have it! I hope this helps you get your blog all spick-and-span for the new year.

Religious Freedom Day

Today is Religious Freedom Day. According to ReligiousFreedomDay.com,

Each year, the President declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day, and calls upon Americans to “observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship.” The day is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.

Read the presidential proclamation for Religious Freedom Day 2018.

My Christian faith is very important to me, and I am so thankful to live in a country where I can practice my faith. There are disturbing trends in this country—bakers losing their businesses because they refuse to bake cakes for ceremonies that violate their beliefs and florists fined exorbitant amounts for not providing flowers for events that conflicts with their faith. If we want to continue to be able to worship—or not—as we please, we must stand for religious freedom.

Lord God, thank You for the religious freedom we have in this country. Please give us the will, the strength, and the wisdom to keep it. And we pray for people around the world who do not have freedom to practice their own religions as they see fit. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Martin Luther King’s Legacy

This video is not directly about Martin Luther King, Jr., but it is about why what he did was so important.

And Reverend King’s niece, Alveda King reminds us we need to use his nonviolent methods in today’s biggest civil rights fight: ending abortion. She talked about Reverend King’s legacy in an interview with The Daily Signal:

“He said the Negro cannot win if he is willing to sacrifice the futures of his children for immediate personal comfort and safety,” King said. “Abortion, of course, forces us to do exactly that.”

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. We like to think that slavery was abolished a century and a half ago. Unfortunately, slavery still exists around the world–even in the United States.

According to End Slavery Now,

There are an estimated 20.9 Million people trapped in some form of slavery today. It’s sometimes called “Modern-Day Slavery” and sometimes “Human Trafficking.” At all times it is slavery at its core.

The United Nations defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor or sexual exploitation.

Today is a good day to become aware of this abomination, which takes many forms: forced labor, domestic servitude, bonded labor, child labor, forced marriage, and sex trafficking.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages individuals to join the fight to bring an end to trafficking. Learn more about how you can help at the Blue Campaign.

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

Today is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, and I want to say “Thank you!” to all law enforcement officers of all kinds  at every level of government.

Years ago, I was a victim of crime. I was so thankful for the police officers who responded to the crime and those who captured the criminal.

During the search for the perpetrator, as he continued to attack other women working alone in small retail stores, my husband Jack coordinated with the detectives from the three police departments investigating crimes committed by this same perpetrator. Jack became very interested in law enforcement. Soon after that, a good friend decided to run for constable. Jack managed his political campaign, then became a volunteer deputy.

For a time, he was employed by the department, but he preferred being a volunteer to being an employee, so he resigned from the job but continued to serve. He achieved Master Peace Officer Proficiency Certification, the highest certification for peace officers in the state of Texas.

Based on my own experience, I know how important peace officers are and how difficult their job is.

A big “Thank you!” to every law enforcement official doing a difficult job with a high level of personal risk. We are all safer because of you.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/dechevm

Devotion for Epiphany

After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. ~ Matthew 2:9-12

Although there are many traditions about the magi, also known as Wise Men and kings from the east, there isn’t a lot about them in the Bible. We sing about “We Three Kings of Orient,” but we don’t even know if there were three, just that the magi gave three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But as little as we know about them, the Wise Men are incredibly important. We may not know exactly who they were, but we knew who they weren’t—they weren’t Jews. The visit of the magi—the Epiphany—was the manifestation (the meaning of Epiphany) of Christ to the Gentiles. The Messiah prophecies had been given to the Jews, and so they expected that the Messiah, the Christ, would come to the Jews alone. Instead, God revealed the Christ by a star shining in the east that led men from far off to come worship. Now everyone can be saved!

Thank You, Lord, that You sent Jesus to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. If You had saved only Your Chosen People, I wouldn’t be worshipping You and loving You and praising You today. Hallelujah! I am saved by Your grace and mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/jamesgroup

Devotion for the Twelfth Day of Christmas

Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

May he judge Your people with righteousness

And Your afflicted with justice.

Let the mountains bring peace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

Let them fear You while the sun endures,

And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,

Like showers that water the earth.

In his days may the righteous flourish,

And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

May he also rule from sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,

And his enemies lick the dust.

Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

And let all kings bow down before him,

All nations serve him.

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy he will save.

He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be precious in his sight;

So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;

And let them pray for him continually;

Let them bless him all day long.

May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;

And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.

May his name endure forever;

May his name increase as long as the sun shines;

And let men bless themselves by him;

Let all nations call him blessed.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

Who alone works wonders.

And blessed be His glorious name forever;

And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Amen, and Amen.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. ~ Psalm 72:1-20

David’s prayer is a prophecy of Jesus’s rule. The whole earth will be filled with His glory. His Kingdom will extend from the earth to the other. He will judge the people righteously. Kings and nations will bring Him gifts and bow before Him. He will rescue the weak and afflicted and needy. Abundance and wonders will flourish, and He will be blessed forever. Of His mercy and compassion, there will be no end.

Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/Krisdog