Christian Living

We’re God’s Children

The other day I got home from work, and the living room door was slightly open. I heard it open wider as I shut the front door, so I assumed it was my husband coming out of the living room. When I turned I found that it was actually Rhema. She started walking properly  a few weeks ago on our second wedding anniversary, but this was the first time she’d walked out of the living room. I can’t explain how I felt when I saw her. I was so happy and so proud of her just for walking out when she heard me come in. The smile on her face was priceless and I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment. It made me wonder whether this is how God views us. Many times we’re hung up on our imperfections and inadequacies when God doesn’t see imperfection and inadequacy when He looks at us. He sees a child that He is proud of.

I have never for one moment told Rhema off if she was trying to walk and fell over. I have never for one moment been annoyed at her for falling over or getting something wrong. Instead I pick her up, or hold back to see whether she can remedy the situation herself. And I celebrate every milestone, every tooth, every baby step, every word (which at the moment are: no, uh oh, and wow. Occassionally she’ll say thankyou and daddy) and every new trick she discovers.

God is like a parent. He just wants the best for us. He’s not looking to condemn us but to help us and encourage us. If only we knew just how much He loves us, maybe we’d beat ourselves up less.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!…” 1 John 3:1a (NIV).

Beauty for Ashes Series

A Real Life Lexi Dixon

Okay, I’ve never actually heard of Kylie Bisutti. Here in the UK Victoria’s Secret isn’t what it is in America, but we do know about it. I think there’s even a Victoria’s Secret store in London, and a few more scattered around the country. Anyway, Kylie B is apparently a Christian Victoria’s Secret model, or should say she was. Dunno if everybody already knows about this since it happened in February apparently (I’m a little behind the times!) but she quit, and said: “My body should only be for my husband and it’s just a sacred thing…I didn’t really want to be that kind of role model for younger girls because I had a lot of younger Christian girls that were looking up to me and then thinking that it was okay for them to walk around and show their bodies in lingerie to guys.” Good for you Kylie B (For those interested, read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/192809/kylie-bisutti-christian-victorias-secret-model-quits/#A2B6Zd16tAGLXsTq.99)

She must have had the same concerns about it as Lexi did in my book Refiner’s Fire. This news warms me on two levels. 1. Lexi’s struggle was realistic (patting myself on the back, lol). 2. Kylie B must be feeling so relieved, and her Christian fans must be so encouraged to make decisions that might seem hard at first.

Anyway, the emails I’ve had over the past few months have been very touching, especially when they’re from young people who say ‘I was really encouraged by your books.’ Each time I read something like that I really feel the pressure to continue to write things that help people, and entertain them at the same time. In fact, I’m trying to move into writing more adult themes (not ‘adult’ as in ‘X-rated’ but as in ‘grown up’) but any time a young person emails me I feel like throwing out the books I’ve been working on and just writing a teen series.

I wrote Prodigal and Raw Deal when I was 19/20 so it was pretty natural for me to focus on teens. Then I had a break for a few years where I wasn’t able to complete a full book because I met my husband (although he wasn’t my husband then obviously) and everything else went out the window. C’mon who can focus on anything when you have a hunk to obsess over, lol. Anyway, so by the time I wrote Red Carpet and Refiner’s Fire I wasn’t in the teen fiction frame of mind anymore. I will write more teen books, in fact I have a series lined up for me to write later in the year or early next year (by God’s grace!), but I want to write about adults now. I’m so torn.

Anyway, I’ll post the first chapter of my next novel sometime over the next few weeks. Watch this space…