Memes and More Memes - Part 7i

Continuing on, this post is about the ninth & FINAL book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Thanksgiving Moon releases tomorrow, Wednesday, December 24th.

This completes this series of short stories. All 9 are currently available for Kindle through Amazon. The paperback version will release soon and includes all 9 short stories plus 4 more short stories that weren't published separately. The complete collection will be made available for Kindle on Wednesday, December 31st. The Complete Collection will also be available in paperback by the end of December.

WOLF: Thanksgiving Moon (December 24, 2014)

The November full moon brings a time of great change, and something unexpected.

To purchase for Kindle, click here.

 

Photo by "rawnsr1" of morguefile.com

Photo by "chelle" of morguefile.com

Progress!

For the last while I've struggled. To find hope and joy in life. To let go of the past. To heal. Those of you who follow my blog probably read the post I did back in November - "Through the Valley". Things take time to work through and process. I've prayed for the Lord to guide and help me through it. He's been here every step of the way.

Photo by author - Southern White Rhinoceros

To help me through, and to give me some much needed time alone with the Lord, I made a trip a couple of weeks ago to the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. Getting away from distractions, walking, taking photographs, thinking, and praying always works well for me. It helps me regain solid ground and find some measure of peace. The zoo helped, as it generally does. But I wasn't there yet.

Photo by author

Last week, I accepted a photography challenge from MorgueFile, which meant hiking downtown to take photos. More distraction-free time for thinking and praying. Unexpected to be sure, but nonetheless appreciated. My legs are killing me from hiking those hills, but it was worth it.

This past Sunday, during worship service at church, something shifted inside me that I can't really describe. I know, that's amusing, an author at a loss for words. Well, I'm not completely.  Heaven forbid!  he he

In the middle of praise music that had me trying to hold back tears, thoughts, images, and Bible verses started darting through my head. I sat down and wrote them down, not worrying about whether they made sense or formed a cohesive line of thought. It was a challenge for my hand to keep up with it all.

I finally got it put into a cohesive form this morning (Tuesday). I feel I'm supposed to share it for any others who might be going through similar struggles.

THE IMAGE IS CLEAR

Dawn M. Turner

28 January 2014

In my mind’s eye, I see myself.

Smoke and haze hover over a battlefield,

eerily quiet and still, blocking out light.

A warrior lies there, broken and bleeding,

cut down by poisoned swipes of the swords of allies,

groaning in pain and grief over trust shattered,

opportunities rejected by those who should know better.

Light pierces the darkness.

Little more than a candle’s feeble glow

becomes the gleam of the sun across the land,

bringing comfort and assurance.

Justice will come.

Evil will be recompensed.

None shall escape.

The time for grief has ended.

The time of healing has begun.

I have been struck down, beaten and bloody,

but I am far from destroyed.

He has preserved me.

The Lord reaches down with a loving, faithful hand

to bind my wounds and heal my broken heart.

The warrior rises, not yet fit for a new battle,

but standing as the smoke and haze clears.

I seek to serve the Lord who delights in me.

Prepare me, dear Lord, to raise my sword again,

to fight for Your kingdom.

Break my heart for what breaks Yours,

and lift it up in praises to You.

Strengthen me, Lord, for the battles yet to come.

I stand for You, clinging to one certainty.

This life is transient; it withers and fades.

This pain will pass away and be no more.

The end is written.

You have already ensured victory.

In case you want to know what the Bible verses were, here's the list in nothing even resembling a logical order: Job 1:21; 2 Sam. 22:2-3, 20b; Ps. 40:11, 17; Rev. 5:8b, 21:4; Isa. 65:17; Ps. 147:3; 2 Cor. 4:8-9; Matt. 5:4; Ecc. 3:4; Gal. 5:15; Isa. 40:7-8; Zeph. 3:17; Ps. 18:19b.

God is good. All the time.

Life Interrupted

Photo courtesy of Melodi2 at morguefile.com

It seems like, just when life is on a smooth track and you can get so much done, it suddenly gets interrupted by things beyond your control. At least, that's how I feel lately.

The full heat of the Arizona summer is upon us, so working outdoors is out of question. Even working inside can be hard as the room we're currently hitting has no heat or cooling. Ugh. So work on our house has slowed to a crawl. At least it's still easing forward, even if very slowly.

I've been too distracted to write lately. Through the first week of June, I haven't had much success sitting down to edit either. Even as I'm preparing for the release of my third book, I can't seem to maintain my momentum. I'm spending a lot of time in prayer and contemplation instead, as well as seeking the stillness of mind that comes with crocheting (working on a couple of large projects). Sometimes I escape into old TV show re-runs on Netflix, something I can do while crocheting.

With many of life's difficulties, I find writing to be a good escape, or therapy to work through the emotional struggles that come with so many situations. But this time, one of my aunts lies dying in hospice from metastatic cancer. I've waited to receive the call any moment of each day for the last several days to tell me that she's gone. Still I wait, and she continues to slip away in painful fashion.

None of this is unexpected, but that doesn't make the reality any less difficult in some ways. I pray for the Lord to show mercy and take her quickly to end the suffering. I pray for her children and grandchildren to be ready in their hearts for her inevitable death. Some of them are believers, some aren't. I pray for my grandmother as she watches one of her children die. She's already lost two children, as well as a grandchild. Now she's losing a third. It's taken a toll.

In the last few days, I've also dealt with the loss of a beloved pet. Salt in an already raw wound of sorrow.

Life gets interrupted. By life. It really is that simple. I take comfort in knowing none of it catches God by surprise, even on the occasions it totally blindsides us. He saw it all coming. He knew the pain I and others would feel. He prepared our hearts to reach this moment in time. I wrap myself in the knowledge that He promises comfort to those who mourn (Matt. 5:4), so there's no shame in grieving the losses that come with life in a fallen, sinful world.

And as always, life will go on. Time doesn't stop under the weight of loss. It marches step-by-step ever forward. And thus it will do until God brings an end to this world and all its sufferings. Times like now, I crave that time. No more illness. No more death. No more sorrow.

And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall no longer be any death; here shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. - Rev. 21:4

But that time is not here yet. So I keep moving forward with life, walking the path God has laid before me (or at least trying to), performing the tasks He has for me, giving thanks for His loving, faithful presence through all of life's difficulties.

Lord, help me hold to the narrow way and perform the tasks You've assigned to me. Help me hold true to You, no matter what. Amen.

Ready or Not, Here It Comes!

Photo courtesy of taliesin on morgueFile.com

It's said only two things are certain in this life - death and taxes. That's not exactly true. There's a third absolute certainty no one escapes.

Change.

Change comes. Like it or not. Ready or not. It comes. Every single person on the planet faces it.

Life is not stagnant. It's ever-changing, ever-shifting, which means we're ever-changing and ever-adjusting, whether we realize it or not. Even the slow creep of age hits us all and brings its own changes and challenges.

Sometimes, change is good. The birth of a child. A new job. A squirming, playful new puppy. Marriage to your beloved. The arrival of spring after a long, cold winter. The start of the summer rains. Or, as an author, one of your books being published.

Sometimes, it's not so good. Loss of a loved one. Losing a job to downsizing. Foreclosure of your home. A very dear friend moving away. Loss of health or ability. Having to walk away from a well-loved hobby. A publisher you've worked closely with closing their doors and leaving you floundering.

If you notice, all of those involve loss in some way or another.

We don't tend to lament change when it's good, even if it causes stress. Like the adjustments to life that a new child or bringing a new puppy home requires. Or the mega-huge adjustments getting married brings. Although, most aren't too keen on "spring cleaning". he he

When the circumstances of the change aren't so good, we tend to have a very different response. We whine, groan, cry, grieve, rage and/or go into depression. Or just try to pretend nothing is going on - go about our day putting one foot in front of the other and keep ourselves too busy to stop long enough to face whatever the change is. And no two people deal with change exactly the same way.

The key to remember when facing change, no matter how difficult?

GOD IS IN CONTROL.

Even when we know a change is in God's control and He won't allow anything without a purpose and a reason, it's still hard. As human beings, we go through the emotional process even if we're trusting the Lord. Trusting God with a loss doesn't make that loss magically go away. It just makes it more bearable and assures us that it's not random happenstance.

It's hard sometimes to keep focused on God's will and God's work when we don't like the changes He's allowing in our lives. I'm going through this right now - struggling to stay focused and do what's right in God's eyes even as I grieve. It ain't easy. The human part of me wants very much to be angry, hurt and rail against God and a few folks along the way. But I know that's not how He wants me to deal with it.

Change isn't easy. Neither is the grief that so often comes with it. But at least we don't have to walk that journey alone. We may not see Him, but the Lord is always there.

... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. 

Matt. 28:20 (NASB)

His unwavering presence is certainly what's getting me through these days. I've had some major changes thrown into my life of late, and I hate them! I'll be flat-out, dead honest about that.

But I decided I have three choices:

1. I can sit around feeling sorry for myself (yeah, I want to do that).
2. I can rage about how unfair it is (um, yeah, kinda want to do that, too, some days).
3. Or I can put on my big girl pants and accept God's will and plan in these matters (did I mention I actually DON'T want to do that?).

The former two won't change matters. The change has come and will come regardless of how grown-up (or not) I act about it. So, I figure it's less stressful to be a grown-up and go with the flow. Even if I don't like it. At least I'm not facing any of it alone, and I'm not grieving alone. Others grieve with me, and the Lord is always there.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Matt. 5:4 (NASB)

So what changes are you currently facing? Are they good or bad? Are you dealing with them the way you'd like? Are you letting the One who loves you most see you through?

And for you writers - is it affecting your ability to write? Affecting the writing itself if you ARE writing your way through it?

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