Francine Rivers's Blog, page 12

A Redwood Tree in a Terracotta Pot

I saw a redwood sapling in a terracotta pot the other day and wondered where the owner planned to plant it.  I’ve passed by homes with redwood trees planted in the front yard.  They grow with surprising speed in the right environment.  Take that as a warning, if you’re new to California and you want ...

Read moreA Redwood Tree in a Terracotta Pot

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Chasing Turkeys

Ranger, our five-month-old German Shepherd, is away at Puppy Boarding School with a professional trainer for a few days and nights a week.  His loving attention can literally knock us off our feet.  Hence, the call for help.  A well-behaved and trained dog is pure pleasure.  Ranger will be that after he serves his time at K-9 Activity and Training Center. He is paroled on weekends and we’ll join him and his training for classes soon.

In the meantime, our delightful, deep-barking, shot-out-of-a-cannon fast canine is not here to chase the flock of wild turkeys out of our yard.  Ranger spots them and is quick to the call of duty.  I didn’t notice the rafter of turkeys until they were gathered on our back lawn, scratching, pecking, and gobbling about the upcoming festivities that put their plumper cousins on platters.

I barreled out the sliding glass door, bounded across the deck, launched down the steps and headed straight for them with flapping arms, barking as deeply and loudly as I could.  Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! Ranger can get them airborne in seconds.  With me, they paused from their gab session, stared in shock, then ran with long skinny legs and far more grace than I was managing.  I galloped after them like a thirty-year old horse who should be retired to the barn.  Still barking.  Ruff!  Gasp..  Ruff!  Gasp… Down to the corner, into the vineyard, back around to the other corner.  Finally, they flew!  Good thing because this old mare was winded and ready to nose-plant in the redwood mulch.

I can see them on the other side of the dry retaining “pond”, gathering and gobbling.  If they had lips, they’d be smirking.

They remind me of politicians who gather and gobble as they scratch dirt, looking for something to get their bills into, and when caught, run and hide, then gather again on the hill to smirk, always carefree and careless of the destruction they leave behind.

 

 

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Turning in a Manuscript

Lots of people think meeting a deadline and turning in a manuscript is the goal for a writer. Not so. That’s somewhere in the middle of the long road to publication – and publication, even for a previously-published author – should never be taken for granted.

The hardest part of writing a novel is starting. Usually I take a break between projects. I have to go back into “training” when I start again. Think of someone who exercises daily and then stops for weeks, possibly months. You must re-condition your body, stretching and strengthening those weakened muscles. The same thing is true of writing. It’s hard work getting back into a rhythm and flow of words and sentences, creating characters that live and breathe and tell their own story.

It can be especially hard for a “pantser”(writing by the seat of your pants without an outline). I have no idea where I’m going with a story other than a central question that starts the quest. Characters come, and I make a loose outline as a proposal, but it takes time to get to know the people in the story. I write down ideas and make the loose outline. So, I am neither a pantser nor a plotter, but somewhere between the two. I will say a plotline can feel like prison bars and writing by the seat of my pants often takes me down winding roads into the wilderness.

I’ve been at work on my current WIP since before COVID. I had decided to rewrite an old B.C. from a Christian POV – a work showing my thinking before I knew Jesus and after I gave Him my life. With the COVID SIP all trips were canceled. Any distractions like parks, movie theaters, restaurants, malls, and other places we might go for R&R were shut down. Hence, I’ve had plenty of time to work. And I’ve had a lot of fun with this project. It is my COVID book with many of the things we’ve weathered during this time of being held captive by a virus and state government mandates.

Now, it’s time to hand off the manuscript and begin the long process of revision work. I’ve been very close to this story, so close I won’t see the weakness and areas that need further development, or characters that might need more attention. This is where agent and editors are a blessing. We all want the book to be the best it can be. I will have time away from work, time to refresh and come back with clearer vision. I learn from every project. In my opinion, a writer is always an apprentice.

Isn’t that true of all of us? To live is to grow. Just as every story I write is a work-in-process, so am I.

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Fishers of Men

There are two fishers of men, and both know us very well. 

One knows our potential.  The other knows our weaknesses.

One gives us free will.  We can choose the path we want to walk through life.  We can choose to do what’s right or wrong.

The other knows our sin nature and uses that knowledge as he baits a hook with enticing false promises of happiness, pleasure, power, and control. 

One sees us bear the consequences of our choices and can use them to bring about an inner change of heart and mind – and in so doing can bring blessings even from the worst we’ve done. 

The other delights in the consequences of sin and uses the pain to imprison us in guilt and shame.

The eyes of the One move to and fro over the earth to support those who love Him.

The other roams like a lion looking for souls to devour. 

One whispers only TRUTH, but only a few listen and follow His ways.

The other tells lies, and vast populations hear and do his bidding.

One created beauty for all to enjoy.

The other strives to ruin that creation, and mankind who was given dominion over it.

One is The Life-Giver.

The other is a murderer.

One opens the way and welcomes His followers into Heaven and serves them at a great banquet of celebration.

The other leads his followers down the broad road through the Gates of Hell to eternal torment.

Both are fishermen.

Will you be hooked by sin and death and an eternity of torment?

Or will you be drawn into the net of love and the scarred hands of the Fisherman who died for you and rose again so that you would not perish but have eternal life in the Presence of the Living Loving God?   

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Living with a Puppy

We lost our beloved German Shepherd, Sarge, in March, before COVID hit.  Rick’s heart ached for another dog.  I wasn’t sure I could go through loving one and then losing another in 11-12 years.  Needless to say, I gave in. 

We picked up “Ranger”, our all-black, fuzzy pup, along with instructions on diet.  (I barely cook for my husband; but found myself cooking for a puppy.)  Ranger was frisky and happy to meet us and didn’t get car sick on the way home.  We had a crate with section sized for him ready in our bedroom.  And I felt ready, having read The Art of Training a Puppy by the Monks of Mt. Skete and watched numerous YouTube videos on training a dog. 

Every puppy has a unique personality.  Ranger is very smart, walks like a prince, and has the attitude of an emperor.  The breeder told us he was “vocal”.  We listened to him tell us what he thought of his crate for the first two and a half weeks.  He experimented with his repertoire, from whining pathetically to canine cursing.  He barked.  He howled.  He rattled his cage.  Sometimes we laughed. Sometimes we wanted to howl.  We did not give in.  Rick can sleep through anything.  I slept on the family room couch.  Ranger finally gave up the battle. He now sleeps all night – which means until 4:00 a.m.   

Our dog has his “witching hour” first thing in the morning and after dinner in the evening.  This is a time of “mad dog racing around the house full speed ahead, ears flapping, canine grin spread across his face”.  He has energy to spend and boy, does he!  (This is why I worked diligently on “Fetch the Ball!”  I dream of the day when I can use a chucker!)   

He is house-trained.  (Actually, we’re trained to be watchful.)  He sits at the door, looks at us, and whines. Time to go out!  Better hurry!  When I say “Food”, he’s racing for his bowls in the laundry room.  We make him sit and wait a few seconds as we set the bowls in place. He’s learned how to take them out and bring them to us.  “Hey!  How about more?!”  He “sits”.  “Down” often earns me a “duh” look as he slowly, dramatically slides into the proper position, or flops over on his back to have a belly scratch.  “Ranger, come!”  When he feels like it, which is about half the time – unless he knows I have treats. 

He has big feet and floppy ears, one ear trying to stand up.  He was cuddly-lap-size when we picked up him.  He is now 25.5 pounds and strong.  I looked at him this afternoon.  Yikes!  I think he’s grown since this morning.  All the more reason to make sure he is trained and socialized properly.

We want him to obey on command because it’s our responsibility to protect him from danger and to teach him how to behave and be friendly to human beings and animals (within reason).  If I say, “COME”, I want him to race to me immediately (not challenge a skunk or raccoon or pack of coyotes).  While we’re teaching him to obey, we’re learning about his unique personality and his needs and gaining his respect and trust.

Puppies are adorable and fun, but they can be trying, too.  Our little “land shark” has sharp little milk teeth that pierce and tear with no effort.  He’s learning NOT to bite, even when it’s to show love or just out of rambunctious enthusiasm.  Training a puppy to become a good canine companion is hard work that requires consistency and a lot of love.

And all that makes me think more about God.  Am I listening to my Master’s voice, eager and ready to respond?  Or do I play keep-away or hide-and-seek?  Do I hear when I’m called and turn toward Him with joy?  Or do I blithely go about whatever it is I’m doing?  Do I crave being with Him or am I just too busy exploring this big world?   A puppy needs discipline.  So do I.  What are some of the methods God has had to use in my life to bring me to repentance and obedience? 

A good dog offers a good example.   He walks beside his master.  He obeys commands quickly and with joy.  He stays as close as he can because he loves the one who trains him.  That’s the kind of Christian I want to be:  one who walks beside my Master, moving with Him wherever He wants to go, one who obeys His Word quickly, one who stay as close to the One I love as I can be. 

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World Day Against Human Trafficking

Over thirty years ago, when I first began writing Redeeming Love, I put three pictures on my bulletin board where I could see them as I worked.  All three were of the same little girl; the first, a school picture of a pretty little 6-8 year old girl; the second, the same child, terrified and about to be raped in a pornographic film; the third, the same girl, at age twelve, with a sultry look and dead eyes.  In a way, I wrote the book for her. It wasn’t until recent years I learned that sex trafficking is going on – and at pandemic levels in America and around the world. 

A friend, Nita Belles who heads up In Our Backyard in Oregon and has been on the front lines of fighting sex trafficking for years, asked me to speak at the International Conference on Prostitution.  I had no idea what of value I could offer such a group.  They would know far more than I possibly could.  I had no expertise to offer these frontline fighters and certainly didn’t want to waste their time.  Nita told me they wanted to hear the story behind Redeeming Love. She then told me many of these organizations were familiar with my novel and some were using it as a tool in reaching sex-trafficked survivors.  The conference participants were coming from countries all around the world.  It offered me a lifetime opportunity to meet many face-to-face and hear their stories of what is going on and what can be done to stop this horrific and ever-growing criminal activity. 

I attended as many sessions as possible and learned far more than I ever wanted to know about the horrors that human beings can do to one another – while at the same time I was incredibly inspired by these men and women who are on the frontlines of the battle against sex trafficking.  This crime is not just in the U.S.A., but across Europe, the Middle and Far East.  It is a hidden global pandemic far beyond what we are experiencing with COVID19.  The virus kills.  So does sex trafficking.  Women and children are considered “product”, easily available (through abduction and grooming), their lives expendable. 

Becoming aware is the first step to fighting predators. 300,000 American children are considered “at risk for sex exploitation” each year.    

For those who want to protect their children from predators, I recommend Seduced by Opal S. Singleton.  Nita Belles book In Our Backyard is full of valuable information and useful tips in spotting a trafficking operation in our hometowns.  Listen to Mira Sorvino’s presentations on YouTube.  Do an internet search on ministries and organizations active in your area.  They are always in need of volunteers and supporters.  Even a call will give you the information you need to protect your loved ones, and your call will be an encouragement to the little-known heroes on the front line of this battle to rescue and restore lives. 

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Racial Reconciliation

I can’t watch any more news about the horrific murder of George Floyd or about the protesters who have violently reacted by burning and looting. I need to hear more from the peaceful demonstrators who seek much-needed change, who address racial hatred with clarity and truth, who seek equal rights and equal justice for those of all colors and backgrounds. I need to see more of the milk of human kindness and less of the poison of hatred.

A friend sent me a link to Michael Todd’s message about racial reconciliation. I’ve listened to his messages before and been challenged by them. This one is exactly what we all need to hear. I cried, laughed, was instructed with truth and challenged on what I can do. The presentation is long. I listened to 15-20 minutes at a time in order to get everything out of it I could – and came away with lots of notes I can review in the days ahead.

I hope you will listen to Michael Todd, too. This powerful speaker points out truth: that racial reconciliation will happen in heaven, for scripture clearly states that people of all nations, tribes, and languages will be standing before the throne of God in celebration. But we, as Christians, have a responsibility here on earth to bring “Thy Kingdom come on earth as is it is heaven.”

I challenge you to listen to what Michael Todd has to say:

The other thing I’m doing is watching and listening to the California Bay Area Churches Blessing video on YouTube. The coordination, cooperation and love that went into bringing all these people together to sing a blessing over you is amazing. There are other blessing videos as well, from Hawaii, from children.

This has been a long hard year for all of us, from fires to floods, tornadoes to coronavirus, from horrific scenes of hatred and violence pouring into our streets, and the financial devastation many are – or will suffer. We need hope. And there is One who gives it. The world hated Him and murdered Him, but He overcame death and offers salvation to all, even His enemies. I believe in Him. I cling to Him in troubled times because He is the only One who will get us through this.

We may be “in this together”, but the only way we will all make it through and out the other side with grace and mercy for all is with God showing us the way.

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COVID 19 and the Vineyard

As the shelter-in-place order has stretched from weeks into months, I’ve had more time to work in our vineyard.  We have one hundred pinot noir grapevines, all planted thirty-plus years ago.  When we moved in, the yard and vineyard needed a lot of TLC.  In the beginning, someone had laid out a beautiful plan, but over the years, busy owners didn’t have the time or interest to follow it.  (Sound familiar?) We knew nothing about tending ... Read more

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Mother’s Day Holds Sorrow and Joy

Mother’s Day is bittersweet for me because my mother went home to be with the Lord twenty-five years ago.  We always knew my dad would not live a long life.  He had his first heart attack at thirty-nine, and two open-heart surgeries.  He used to joke and say the doctors should put a zipper in his chest to make it quick and easy to change parts.  Mom was healthy.  As a young nurse, she caught tuberculosis ... Read more

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Making the Most of Enforced Staycation

Having to limit my time outside the walls of our home has had some benefits.  We have gone through cabinets and closets inside the house and garage.  As soon as stores open, Rick will be dropping off sacks of donations to our favorite ministries, and we’ll be wandering the mall just to be around people – hopefully without masks. While still waiting, I’m going through files and finding some gems.  One sheet of paper came from ... Read more

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