Book Review: Where to Submit Christian Writing

A small but valuable resource for freelance writers. If you’re new to writing, Jake Doberenz lists many small, nonpaying markets you might break into. If you’re an experienced writer, you’ll be familiar with many of the publishers listed, but you’ll still discover many denominational and other small publications that aren’t listed in the traditional writer’s market-type books.

I liked the way the e-book provides website links to each publication. Just click and you can view writer’s guidelines and more. I also like the way Doberenz arranged his book by separating paying and nonpaying publications. And I appreciate the wide range of topics indexed—from “Academic,” “Apologetics” and “Art” to “Screen Writing and Film,” “Women” and “Writing and Blogging.”

 I am happy I discovered this handy resource with concise descriptions of magazines including denominational publications with which I was not familiar.

 

Two Steps to Fall in Step with God

             Has a verse you’ve read a hundred times ever struck you in a fresh new way? That’s what happened when I read: “His disciples had gone into the town to buy food” (John 4:8 NIV).

            There the disciples were, with Jesus, the Son of God, the man who turned water into wine. The man who, a few chapters later, feeds 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes. Why didn’t Jesus just conjure up some sandwiches and potato salad?

            Could it be that God wants us to participate with Him to accomplish His purposes? And as we work with Him, we get to know Him? We feel the satisfaction of doing His will?

Like the disciples provided food for Jesus, we provide God with something He needs—our interaction and support.

            So I ask myself, am I in step with God? What else might I do? How might we as Christians better participate with God?

Pray:

            It all starts by sitting down and talking with God. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus prayed: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9-13 NIV). In that day, bread was a staple. And for many, it’s a real need during this pandemic. What exactly are your needs? Bread or otherwise. Tell God.

            Early Christians prayed for direction. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:2-3 NIV).

            What kind of direction are you seeking? Whether you’re making a menu or making a move, pray about your next step.

Participate:

            And after you pray, get up and do something. If I’m praying for a different job, I must send out resumes. It’s no use wishing I had a different job. It’s no use complaining about my boss. I must do the leg work to find a different job.

            If I want better health, I need to maintain a healthy body. That means exercising. That means denying myself food I know isn’t good for me, like the two Hershey Miniatures I just ate. Sure, I can have treats, but treats cannot be my way of life. The definition of a “treat” is something out of the ordinary that gives me pleasure. Not something I eat every time a hunger pang pokes.

            If I want better relationships, I need to communicate. I need to ask forgiveness as needed. And grant forgiveness, whether or not others ask for it. That means I make an effort to stay in touch with kids and grandkids, reach out to friends who haven’t called, talk to people at church who I don’t know (once I get to go to church).

            It’s no use complaining about being lonely, even in these lonesome times. If we have computers or phones, we can reach out. Others need our touch as badly as we need theirs.

            If I want a friend to know Jesus, I can remind them of Who He is. If I want a better relationship with God, I can set a time to interact with Him. I don’t know about you, but it’s easy for me to forget about God. I get busy writing or cooking or talking and I totally forget about the God Who made me and craves my interaction.

            You get the idea.

So what are your needs? What are you praying for? And how might you participate with God to answer your own prayers? Think about it.

            I’m sure Jesus and His disciples enjoyed that picnic lunch, complete with ice cream for dessert. Well, maybe they didn’t have insulated bags in His day, so it was probably fruit.

God enjoys whatever we do to help Him accomplish His purposes in the world. And surprise! That makes our own lives more enjoyable as well. Now I must run, for I surely have things to do.

           

Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M. D.

Did you ever wonder why someone flies off the handle at the slightest provocation? There may be good reason. In this book Dr. Van Der Kolk clearly explains the imprint of trauma on our lives and offers ways to combat negative forces that shaped us in ways that disrupt relationships.

Our experiences affect our minds and our bodies. Our thinking and emotions are shaped by our past, according to Van Der Kolk.

This book was more detailed than I expected, but using case studies, the author clearly made his points in every chapter. The book delves deeply into the misbehavior of children and the post-traumatic-stress symptoms of veterans. But the analysis and case studies make it helpful to anyone seeking to understand their own reactions or the reactions of others. It was very understandable and enjoyable reading.

Van Der Kolk’s insight makes sense: “If trauma is encoded in heartbreaking and gut-wrenching sensations, then our first priority is to help people . . . manage relationships. Where traumatized children are concerned, the last things we should be cutting the from school schedules are the activities that can do precisely that: chorus, physical education, recess and anything else that involves movement, play, and other forms of joyful engagement.”

Broken into five parts, the book looks at what constitutes trauma and its effect on the brain. Part 5 offers “Paths to Recovery” with chapters on various approaches including the benefits of participating in theater. In a day that promotes quick fixes through medications, this man makes a strong case for alternate routes to healing.

Published by Penguin Books, the book includes an appendix, extensive notes and an index, which I found helpful. I especially recommend this book for school teachers, Sunday school teachers and veterans’ family members, but it will be very helpful to anyone seeking to better understand others and themselves.

Gift-Wrapped, Ribboned and Delivered . . . to You!

          My grandson Scott once gave me two bugs. Oh, not real ones. These are ornamental bugs with a terracotta look. One is dark red; the other, orange. Both have bulging eyes, multicolored spots, springy metal antenna and hooks for feet. They’re maybe 3.5 inches high.

One bug hangs on the handle of a mason jar filled with clear yellow balls and topped with a solar lid that lights at night; the other sits by the jar.

          These bugs warm my heart because Scott picked them out for me himself. He knows my love of nature and wanted to give me something that his little boy heart loved as well.

When women at his church made blankets to take to the sick, he grabbed one for me because “Nana’s always cold.” How thoughtful.

I love the gifts I get from grandchildren that reflect their knowledge of who I am. On my kitchen wall hangs an oven mitt my granddaughter Rachel brought back from a mission trip to Haiti. It was made by women there, and Rachel knows I support missions.

As I look around my home I see many such gifts, each one special, each one picked with thought and concern.

Perhaps it would be good if we saw the people, things and situations in our lives as special gifts God has picked out just for us.

We tend to take people for granted. Our spouses will always be there to bring home the strawberries, to do the dishes, to take out the trash. Our children may annoy us with antics more often than delight us with cuteness.

Our neighbors may be ordinary people whom we rarely see and make little effort to do so. After all, we don’t have that much in common.

What about our colleagues, the people at work? Do we know anything about their families? Their cares and their concerns? Their joys and their pleasures?

The people in our churches come and go Sunday after Sunday. We say “Hi” and “See you next week.” We may be known as a friendly church because we offer friendly greetings, but do we ever invite these people into our homes? If not, why not?

But what if God brings people into our lives for specific purposes? What if He gives them to us to enrich our lives? And for us to enrich their lives? What are we missing out on by failing to appreciate them, by not getting to know them?

We might also look at the situations in our lives as provided by a loving God. That burnt dinner. That challenge at work. That car that won’t start. Challenges bless us with the gift of patience, one of the spiritual fruits listed in scripture. Challenges force us to rely on others, to work together to solve a problem. And as we do, we may be God’s image-bearer to a watching world.

What about our homes? Are they not gifts? From the humblest hut to the most spacious mansion, our surroundings can make us happy. It’s not what we have, but how we value what we have.

     

So look around at the persons, places and things that touch your life. How do you feel about them? Is there anything you might do to enhance a relationship? Or improve your environment? Or change an attitude?

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Perhaps that means we shall stop wanting what’s on the other side of the road and appreciate what grows in our own backyard.

Is Church for You?

A painting of my childhood church, St. Matthew's, near Spring Glen. Painted by the late Ginny Alexander.

Who would have dreamed we’d ever be denied access to church? And once we get back to “normal,” I’m sure it will be a "new normal." More distance, less hugging. More scooting, less lingering. But have we taken church for granted?

The psalmist writes “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord” (Psalm 84:1 NIV). Two months after sheltering in place, I yearn with the psalmist.

Precious memories of church stretch across the years. I miss the sacredness of the sanctuary. I miss “dressing up” on Sunday mornings. Many of my memories come with clothes.

As a child, we dressed differently on Sundays. Taffeta dresses and Sunday shoes. Easter bonnets and gloves. My father and brothers wore starched white shirts, suits and ties to church. The only other time they wore them was for funerals. Which, of course, were usually held in a church. Church was where you dressed up to show reverent respect for the holiness of God.

As a teenager I knelt beside a wooden pew on a wooden floor, worried about snagging my newly acquired nylons. It was a holy moment. We always knelt, maybe four times a year, when we had communion. Church was where we confessed our sins and promised to do better.

I also "dressed up" for Halloween. We met in the church basement, before a panel of judges, and waited breathlessly behind a rubber mask to see who would be the last one guessed. Our family disguised ourselves behind Li'l Abner masks—the "Injun," Mammy, Pappy, Li'l Abner and, of course, pretty perky Daisy Mae. Church provided our social life.

In my teens, I stood before the congregation in a blue dress with rhinestone-dotted black velvet across the top of the bodice to profess faith in Christ, although at the time, I didn’t really understand salvation. (Can you find me in the photo?) We “confirmed” our faith, and I received a Bible of my own, which I read pretty regularly. Church informed my faith.

I wore Sunday dresses when “drafted” to play the piano for Sunday school. I had had only a year or two of lessons. My parents said, “If you don’t practice, we don’t pay.” So playing for Sunday school was a big deal and made me nervous. But I practiced the songs and my forgiving audience followed my lead.

In ninth grade, I played “Holy, Holy, Holy” on my clarinet for a baccalaureate service held in a church. I don’t remember what I wore that night, but to me, that was another holy moment, a special privilege. Church offered a place to explore using my gifts and talents for God.

One summer day I borrowed my friend Ginny’s wedding dress to get married in our little country church. I stood before a holy God, vowing to love, honor and obey my husband. It was a hot but holy moment. Church was where God blessed life events such as marriage, baptisms and dedications. (There’s our family in the clothes we wore for Terry’s baptism.)

As a young mother I wore a blue woolen sheath dress I had sewed myself as I walked to the front of a sanctuary to commit my life to Christian service. I didn’t know if that meant inviting a neighbor for coffee or going to Africa, although I must admit, I worried a bit about the latter. Church challenged us.

Photos remind me of maternity dresses I wore to church, many that I made myself. Throughout my life I “dressed up” for church. I cannot even imagine going to church in jeans on a Sunday morning. Not that there’s anything wrong with jeans. It’s just not me on a Sunday morning.

But lately, I’ve watched church in jeans, limited to worship by the screen of an I-Pad. And that too has been good. But I miss the fellowship. The “hi’s” and “good to see you’s.” I miss the singing and the prayers. The holy atmosphere of a sanctuary.

One good thing is that the church has been pushed out into the world. More people are probably tuning in via Facebook and YouTube than ever darkened the doors of churches.

Families now worship together, separated from others. Parents, I hope, realize they carry the prime responsibility of teaching their children about God. Perhaps they’ve never before prayed with their children. Now’s the time.

However, “Let us consider . . . not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV).

So I ask, will we have a greater appreciation for church now that we’ve been denied access? Will you go to church once your church reopens and you feel safe to attend? I hope so.