Robin Gilbert Luftig's Blog, page 2

Have You Lost Friends Yet

This past week has filled many of us with a myriad of feelings. I’m ashamed to say I could have been wiser when it came to posting on social media. Watching the assassination of  Charlie Kirk rocked many Christians in this country. Yet as hours passed, it became evident: the wheat and th chaff were separating. An action I experienced up close and personal. So let me ask … have you lost friends yet?

It comes down to Jesus

It’s confusing at the jump to say that Charlie was killed because of his political leanings. While he was a powerhouse, creating Turning Point USA at eighteen, His intellect, his humility, and his constitutional knowledge and passion for his conservative position on civil topics, he was so much more. What many learned over the past week was how unwavering he was on his love for Jesus Christ.

He stood steadfast with Jesus. 

As I watched several instagram and Youtube recordings of his exchanges with students, it was abundantly clear that he cared for college kids. Truly cared. He debated, but never fought. In fact, he would often quiet the crowd to have them show respect to student at the mic. He modeled how to share a dialog. He was truly amazing and the nation is feeling the loss.

Many have turned to Jesus

Looking over several posts on social media, a saw where a few stood proud on Charlie’s assassination. However, more shared processing their grief out loud. There was anger at the senseless loss. Then … slowly (and especially after his widow, Erika, took to the stage), I watched as people began internalizing what this meant for them personally. While Charlie’s death rocked many to their core, they slowly turned their focus away from their pain and back to Jesus.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28

I watched as this activity was going on around me. Hmmm, I thought. Good for them who are learning to put God first.

Then it happened to me

Then, out of the blue, a “friend” sent me a highly controversial a Youtube tweet about a man spewing hate toward Christians and their “propaganda”. I asked this person if they realized what they sent me was hateful, and did he realize I was a Christian as well. Then I said, “If you don’t know I’m a staunch Christian, then I’ve failed. If you sent this tweet to hurt me, then I question our friendship.” This person said, “If you condone the Christian stance in the YouTube for any reason, then we are not friends.  Choose wisely …”

This note caught my breath. To be honest, initially, my feelings were hurt. How could someone not like another person because of who they believe. Then I felt incredible peace as I remembered Jesus’ words:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
John 15:18-19

I choose Jesus

I know now, more than ever, that this is a spiritual battle.  My eyes have been opened to the hatred around me in a grand way. This week I’ve realized when I focus on Jesus, I am not moved by the opinions of others who don’t have my best interest at heart.

I know now, more than ever, that this is a spiritual battle. My eyes have been opened to that in a grand way.
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Do you see what’s happening around you? Have you lost friends yet? Are people asking you to “choose wisely”? Or, more seriously, do your friends even know you’re a Christ follower? I am more confident than ever that my days are limited; more days are behind me than wait ahead of me. How I choose to live these few days is precious. Yes, I intend to choose wisely.

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.
Proverbs 4:14-15

Watch who you stand with. I hope you do as well.

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Consider Gratitude

We know we’re going to have a bad day or two. Most of us can handle an unplanned blip in our schedule and ride it out without a care in the world. No harm, no foul, right? But what happens when the one or two days turn into three … or four? It may be hard to believe, but you may want to consider gratitude, because gratitude changes everything.

Not Sold?

Not sold? Think of the most joy-filled people know. They always seem to have a smile on their face and a kind word to say to you. If you know them well, you know their past is marred will find great tragedy. Their heartbreaking events could have destroyed them. Instead of letting circumstances run their emotions, they chose gratitude.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly�� ��. . . singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.�� Colossians 3:16

Let’s not allow what’s temporary to shake our forever. Gratitude can change everything . . .�� if we allow it to.

It may be hard to believe, but you may want to consider gratitude, because gratitude changes everything.
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What say you?

What do you wonder about?�� Are you happy ��� or are you doing what you never thought you���d do? Do you see consistencies ��� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I���d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God���s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

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Peek into Ladies on a Mission

We’ve fallen in love with the Ladies of the Fire characters … but I want to introduce you to new faces, changed faces, and even not-seen-for-a-while faces in this peek into Ladies on a Mission.

Ladies You Already Know

Lily-Rose Pembrick

Lily-Rose, the fiery-red hair, porcelain skin, and a soft-spoken woman and focus of Ladies of the Fire, is the level-headed one of the three and originally hailed from Lincoln, Nebraska. ��Her childhood was rough, but she rose above it and met the love-of-her-life, Edward. When Edward died in a freak accident, she questioned her and her children’s safety and fled to Applegate, Ohio and found solace in her new home.

Fiona Boyd-Kasey

Fiona, the heart of Ladies Uncover a Secret, is strikingly beautiful. Her black hair exenterates her olive skin. Her piercing blue eyes have the ability to look beyond what is in front of her and straight into the mind of who she���s talking to. Her sharp tongue and dry sense keeps conversations lively. She can get the best of anyone in a debate on almost any subject.��

Sugar Bowersox

Sugar, the star of the latest episode of the ladies’ friendship in Ladies on a Mission, is the picture of perfection; tall, blonde and soft-spoken, with a smile that could warm any room. Her Appalachian Mountain charm and spoken twang keeps the reader on their toes.

Some Faces From the Past

You’ve met them before, but never really got to know them. Since we’re revisiting the ladies’ lives ten years later, there are some changes. Check out these brief descriptions.

I want to introduce you to new faces, changed faces, and even not-seen-for-a-while faces in this peek into Ladies on a Mission.
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Dungar Bowersox

Dungar, Sugar���s high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband, is so endeared by the Ladies, that he was granted honorary membership to the ladies of the fire. However, his tragedy has shaken all the ladies. He’s doing his best to maintain integrity, but the struggles beat him down.

Addi Bowersox

Addi, the middle daughter of Sugar and Dungar, is now a high school senior and is trying to find the kind of person she wants to be. It’s a struggle all teens face, but her father’s issues are flaring up in her face.

Christopher Pembrick

The love-to-hate character from Ladies of the Fire, comes to Trotter to lend a helping hand to Dungar. His insight knowledge to the workings of a corrupt world are what Dungar needs right now.

Granny (Betty May Thompson)

Sugar’s mother has a powerful presence in Ladies on a Mission. There’s more to Granny than what she wants you to know. Experience the roots of her sass and spunk.

New Characters for You to Love (or Hate)

Here’s a Trotter family, the Eldridge family. Some of these characters you’ll either enjoy or detest. Which will it be?

The Eldridge Family

Burl Eldridge – The head of the Eldridge clan. He’s earned millions from mining as well as moonshine. A nefarious person if there was ever one.

Lovey Eldridge – Burl’s wife. A woman closer to her Merlot than her husband. Her story is a sad one, but nobody cares.

Hasil Eldridge (pronounced Haa-sil,) – Burl and Lovey’s son and district attorney for the Trotter area. He still carries a chip on his shoulder from high school when Dungar outshined him in sports as well as relationships.

Dora Eldridge – Hasil’s daughter and Addi’s friend. Is she a normal teen or a psycho? Time will tell.

We’ve fallen in love with the Ladies of the Fire characters … but I want to introduce you to new faces, changed faces, and even not-seen-for-a-while faces in this peek into Ladies on a Mission.

Ladies��� Fans, Watch for Ladies on a Mission

Full lives aren���t necessarily lives fulfilled.

Years have passed and it���s 1984. Sugar Bowersox and her family recently moved to Trotter, Kentucky, where Dungar could take the head coach of the brand new Trotter College. They were both thrilled too come back. Sugar thought once they returned to their childhood hometown, life would be smooth sailing. But those thoughts ended when a star football player is found in the weight room ��� stabbed and holding onto life. Dungar���s a mess. Their daughters are struggling as they try to find their way in their new lives. And Gran is feistier than ever. When Sugar calls Lily-Rose and shares the upheavals to their lives, she ached for her friendship with Lily-Rose and Fiona. ���Lily-Rose, I don���t know where to start. But I need you and Weeds. I sure could use a fire.���

The Ladies��� latest adventure, Ladies on a Mission, takes them to Kentucky and a world unknown to Lily-Rose and Fiona. New and not-so-new faces participate in this newest who-done-it.

 

 

 

 

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A Writer-in-Waiting

Is there a story in you, thrashing around to get out? Is your glass half full or half empty���or is the substance in your glass dancing and whirlpooling? You may be a writer-in-waiting.

Check out Edie Melson’s post.��It offers seven tips on how to be ready when inspiration hits.

Be ready. Offer your impressions��to life. Tell your story. There are others who are waiting to read what you have to write.

Is there a story in you, thrashing around to get out? Is your glass half full or half empty���or is the substance in your glass dancing and whirlpooling? You may be a writer-in-waiting.
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Ladies��� Fans, Watch for Ladies on a Mission

Full lives aren���t necessarily lives fulfilled.

Years have passed and it���s 1984. Sugar Bowersox and her family recently moved to Trotter, Kentucky, where Dungar could take the head coach of the brand new Trotter College. They were both thrilled too come back. Sugar thought once they returned to their childhood hometown, life would be smooth sailing. But those thoughts ended when a star football player is found in the weight room ��� stabbed and holding onto life. Dungar���s a mess. Their daughters are struggling as they try to find their way in their new lives. And Gran is feistier than ever. When Sugar calls Lily-Rose and shares the upheavals to their lives, she ached for her friendship with Lily-Rose and Fiona. ���Lily-Rose, I don���t know where to start. But I need you and Weeds. I sure could use a fire.���

The Ladies��� latest adventure, Ladies on a Mission, takes them to Kentucky and a world unknown to Lily-Rose and Fiona. New and not-so-new faces participate in this newest who-done-it.

 

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I’m One Blessed Gal

Cleaning my hard drive files from writing God’s Best During Your Worst, I came across several I couldn’t delete. Like the letters I wrote to my children, just in case I didn’t survive brain surgery. These are not for public consumption, but I couldn’t delete them. However, here’s a file that shows my thoughts on being one blessed gal I chose to share.

A Glimpse Behind the Curtain

I learned during the ten-day journey from brain tumor discovery through surgery then on to healing, there are opportunities for a grateful heart. This is the file I discovered:

The strange places I���ve found myself over the past few days ���

I have no idea if any of this means anything, but it���s been fun to smile, giggle, and appreciate here and there:

I felt my pulse through my tear ducts the other day ��� too coolI did a little cough and heard fluidic noises through my head ��� awesome cool!!My kids are the best hug givers ��� not bone crushing but with purposeLew [my husband] is a multi-tasker and the ultimate everything for meSleep comes either in one chunk or little snippets ��� either are goodThere���s nothing finer than fresh, comfy PJ���s after a shower from being in day-old comfy PJ���sBruises fade and surgical tape can come off with light rubbing and vitamin E creamOther people can make great smells come from your kitchen ��� you don���t always have to be in chargeI love you���s come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and forms ��� all carrying the same intense meaning

I���m one blessed gal.

Cleaning off my hard drive, I was reminded that I'm One Blessed Gal
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Make Your Own List

What’s my story have to do with you? Not everyone has a brain tumor and needs immediate surgery. There are several areas of trauma that can wrap us up into knots. Financial … relationships … children … the list is endless. ��You can make your onw list. During even the worst of times, try and find areas for gratitude. It may be in the area of friendships. Because we are relational, friendships are powerful. Check out several of the Proverbs:

17:17 … “A friend loves at all times …”18:24 … “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”27:6 … “Faithful are the wounds of a friend …”27:17 … “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”Be Blessed as Well

Life comes with twists and turns. Tragedy can strike in a moment and change your world forever. But take heart, God is right there with you, through it all the challenges.

He was with me.

Looking for a Do-Over?

Do you feel like you don���t matter? Are you happy ��� or are you doing what you never thought you���d do? Do you see consistencies ��� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I���d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God���s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

 

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A Call Out to All Teachers

Here’s a call out to all teachers or to anyone who loves a teacher. What if your classroom could be a sanctuary and not just a battlefield? A place where God���s presence transforms every challenge? In From the Playground to the Battleground, veteran teacher Michelle Ruddell invites fellow educators to rediscover the joy and purpose in their calling. Through forty powerful devotions, she weaves together Scripture, prayer, and personal anecdotes, addressing the triumphs and trials of teaching with honesty and hope.

What You Can Expect

Ruddell���s words will resonate with teachers who yearn to feel seen, valued, and divinely supported in this vital field. This book is a lifeline for educators, offering daily inspiration to:
��� Embrace both the playground joys and battleground struggles.
��� Find strength in God���s unwavering presence.
��� Renew passion for shaping young minds and hearts.

Reviewed by Brenda Parker, Better Help Therapist:

Whether you are a new or a well-seasoned educator, this book will resonate with you. If it doesn���t, hold on to the book because it will! Let From the Playground to the Battle Ground be your companion as you step into the classroom each day, armed with faith and renewed purpose.About Michelle

Michelle Ruddell is an author, speaker, and 26-year veteran public school teacher who helps women find their strength in the joy of the Lord. It doesn’t matter if it���s pointing teachers to the playground moments in their classrooms or encouraging grieving parents to find that joy and sorrow coexist. Michelle draws on her experience and testimony of God���s faithfulness in both areas.

Whether you are a new or a well-seasoned educator, this book will resonate with you. If it doesn���t, hold on to the book because it will! Let From the Playground to the Battle Ground be your companion as you step into the classroom each day, armed with faith and renewed purpose.

 

In addition to From the Playground to the Battleground�� she’s written a handbook on healing, Welcome to the Club, I���m Sorry You���re Here, Hope for Grieving Parents .

Michelle also co-leads the Waco Christian Writers Workshop, leads a life group, and teaches with the women’s prison ministry, Freedom’s Gate. Her mission is to help others step outside their comfort zones, embrace God���s grace, and find enduring joy no matter the circumstances.

Michelle has lots to offer

Michelle offers a call out to teachers as well as general audiences. She speaks from her heart with compassion and clarity. She connects with audiences through relatable stories, biblical truth, and the reminder that God���s faithfulness shines brightest in life���s hardest seasons. If you’re in Texas and looking for a speaker for your women’s events , I highly recommend checking her out. (I may be biased … she’s a dear friend of mine.)

In From the Playground to the Battleground, veteran teacher Michelle Ruddell invites fellow educators to rediscover the joy and purpose in their calling.
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Looking for a Do-Over?

Do you feel like you don���t matter? Are you happy ��� or are you doing what you never thought you���d do? Do you see consistencies ��� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I���d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God���s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

The post A Call Out to All Teachers appeared first on Robin Luftig.

Today’s Going to Be Different

Tuesdays are the days when you and I connect here. Some posts are funny … some insightful. Today’s going to be different.

Today, I got nothin’.

I’m up to my chin in edits for the upcoming and final Ladies of the Fire novel, Ladies on a Mission. So come back next week. It’s my goal to be ready for blogging again.

Tuesdays are the days when you and I connect here. Some posts are funny … some insightful. Today’s going to be different.

I don’t want to rush this. These three friends, Lily-Rose, Fiona, and Sugar, are due the extra efforts. And their time in Eastern Kentucky is the best yet.

Full lives aren���t necessarily lives fulfilled

In Ladies on a Mission, years have passed and it���s 1984. Sugar Bowersox and her family recently moved to Trotter, Kentucky, where Dungar could take the head coach of the brand new Trotter College. They were both thrilled to return to their rootsk. Sugar thought once in Trotter, life would be smooth sailing. But those thoughts ended when a star football player is found in the weight room ��� stabbed in the chest and holding onto his life by a hair. Dungar���s a mess. Their daughters are struggling as they try to find their way in their new lives. And Gran is feistier than ever. When Sugar calls Lily-Rose and shares the upheavals to their lives, she ached for her friendship with Lily-Rose and Fiona. ���Lily-Rose, I don���t know where to start. All I know is I need you and Weeds. I sure could use a fire.���

Here’s a reminder how the friendship began

Can a woman on the run find herself again?

Ladies of the Fire��brought us to the late 1960s as we met the newly-widowed Lily-Rose Pembrick reeling as she fled Lincoln, Nebraska, with her children. Only taking the cash from the house safe and what she could get her hands on at the family bank, she left the recently-inherited and successful Pembrick Transportation company behind.��Exhausted from driving all night, she stopped in Applegate, Ohio, and decided to start a new life on Norwood Street. There, she met Fiona Kasey, an African-American no-nonsense housekeeper/companion to an elderly white woman, and Sugar Bowersox, a Southern spitfire who has lost herself in motherhood.

Together, they enjoyed Lily-Rose���s backyard fire pit, where dreams were spoken and secrets revealed. As they embraced a kinship they never would have sought, Lily-Rose began thinking her past could finally be laid to rest���until someone ended up dead.

 

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The Virtues We Choose

I���ve been thinking about the difference between the r��sum�� virtues and the eulogy virtues. Whether we realize it, they are the virtues we choose. Here’s what David Brooks, author of The Road to Character says about virtues:

R��sum�� virtues are the ones you list on your r��sum��, the skills that you bring to the job market and that contribute to external success. Eulogy virtues are deeper. They���re the virtues that get talked about at your funeral, the ones that exist at the core of your being ��� whether you are kind, brave, honest or faithful; what kind of relationships you formed.

I know little of David Brooks, other than he writes for the New York Times and was a Jew who converted to Christianity. With that said, I fear someone will comment, “You call yourself a Christian but you quote a man who … (fill in the blank).” But the thought of choosing virtues intrigued me.

Virtue vs Character, Is There a Difference?

Definitionally, virtue refers to a specific, praiseworthy moral trait or quality, whereas character encompasses the totality of a person’a moral and ethical dispositions, including virtues and vices. Essentially, virtues are the building blocks of character.��

Virtue refers to a specific, praiseworthy moral trait or quality, whereas character encompasses the totality of a person’a moral and ethical dispositions, including virtues and vices. Essentially, virtues are the building blocks of character.��

God Says …

Virtues are not merely human aspirations but are divinely inspired and empowered, leading to a closer relationship with God. A few of these are listed as Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ��gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

God’s thoughts on Character threads through the Book of Proverbs:

The integrity of the upright guides them … (Proverbs 11:3a)

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely … (Proverbs 10:9)

Where Do You Stand?

Different places in Life cause us to lean in particular directions. Because I am in the winter of my life, I find myself taking inventory of the types of relationships I have fostered over the years and if my relationship with Christ has ��(or has not) influenced them.

We all make a mark on this world. It’s what we choose that determines what type of mark we leave.

Whether we realize it, we make a choice over which virtue we live. Resume or Eulogy?
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NOTE:
I cannot recommend reading The Road to Character because I haven’t read it. But when I came across that line–that explanation between virtues–I stopped me in my tracks and ��pondered over how I think others see me.Looking for a Do-Over?

Do you feel like you don���t matter? Are you happy ��� or are you doing what you never thought you���d do? Do you see consistencies ��� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I���d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God���s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

 

 

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God’s Promises

God’s promises still pack a punch.

Consider this …

While our nation–even the world–struggles to find a way to reset into an upright position, God’s promises stand the test of time.

Ponder this passage. Let it weigh on your heart. Embrace God’s love he has for you. It’s pretty awesome.

Looking for a Do-Over?

Do you feel like you don���t matter? Are you happy ��� or are you doing what you never thought you���d do? Do you see consistencies ��� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I���d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God���s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

 

 

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No Matter Where You Are

God sees you, no matter where you are. No matter if you feel seen. Not even if you don’t think you can see Him.

Recently, I attended a conference and, can I say, I was a bit overwhelmed. I had so much to do waiting for me at home. I had deadlines to meet … commitments to keep. My focus was … out of focus.

I decided to take my unfinished manuscript to the lodge. My plan was to grab some time and focus on what I needed to finish. I purposefully sat with my back to the door, hoping I gave off the vibe, DO NOT BOTHER ME. After a few moments,��a woman I did not know walked up and stood in front of me.

Clearly, she didn’t understand what I was saying with my body language, so I looked up and smiled.

That’s when her words–and obedience–blew me away. She smiled and said, “God told me to tell you something.”

She had my attention.

I closed my laptop, leaned back in my chair, and smiled back. She had my undivided attention. “Please, what did he tell you?”

“God told me to tell you something.”

“The Lord said you are an encourager and He wants to encourage you. Your kindness and gentleness are not overlooked and He wants to reward you���every effort you have��made to be there for others has been as His��hands and feet and words. He Loves you.”

I could have missed it

Tears traced my cheeks. I could have missed it! In my it’s-all-about-me moment, I could have missed this precious gift a stranger wanted to give me. I saw tears in her eyes, too. I thanked her for listening to God and for having the courage to share. She smiled and went on her way.

Needless to say, my steps were lighter when I left the lodge … and so was my heart.

Please know, friend, that God sees you, no matter where you are. He sees you in your troubles and well as in your celebrations. When you’re alone or in a crowd.

For I am the��Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help��you.
Isaiah 41:13

He’s with you right now.

God sees you, no matter where you are. No matter if you feel seen.
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Looking for a Do-Over?

Do you feel like you don���t matter? Are you happy ��� or are you doing what you never thought you���d do? Do you see consistencies ��� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I���d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God���s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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