The LORD has a way of influencing my thoughts. The thoughts of one of my characters in my book and what the minister said triggered new deeper insight into God.
I have a deep desire to make 2016 spectacular. That’s my goal each year but this year I mean it in a different way.
The character in my work has too many things going on in his life making things complicated. I suppose that is the result of me wanting to focus on just a couple of priorities to accomplish in 2016 besides all of the daily necessities and who knows what else will come along.
Men seem to have a wonderful way of just focusing on one thing at a time. But I believe God made women with desire to handle multiple things since she is generally the one who takes most of the responsibility of the children, the home and her husband. This is not a bad thing since God created women for that very purpose. He created man to provide for his family. That’s why most men can go to work and not get irritated with traffic, coworkers or the assignment given to them. Whereas women struggle with those issues. Men often have a hard time dealing with screaming kids, routine household tasks, shopping and so on. But women seem to be natural at dealing with it all.
So, now I’m finding myself in a dilemma of wanting to focus on just a couple major things I want to accomplish this year which will require most of my attention.
I figure if I can just select two things each year that over time it will be a significant change to the positive. But now how to accomplish that. I have made significant progress over the past few years but there are a few areas that are still lacking and that is due to the fact that I haven’t figured out a way of keeping my mind focused on them for more than a few minutes at time before I’m distracted just like my character in the book.
I think that’s why I love writing so much. It makes me evaluate the situations that come into my character’s life with the hope that I don’t make the same mistakes they do and also in the process of writing I learn more about how to deal with life. God gives me insight that helps me.
There are a number of old sayings like: “Keep it simple stupid. (KISS)
I believe that is part of the answer to life. Keep it simple.
That’s what I’ve discovered on my journey to know God and what He desires of me. It’s just a few simple things that He asks of me. To love Him. To trust Him. To get to know Him through His word. To mimic Him.
That’s what Jesus did. He only did what His Father did. He didn’t try to invent a new way of doing something. He didn’t invite anything into His life other than what His Father wanted. He kept things simple.
I remember years ago watching “The gods must be crazy.” It’s an old movie but it struck me at the time that was the answer to life. It showed this young boy tossing a coke bottle up to God. I saw what an uncomplicated life he lived and actually became envious. We’ve complicated our lives to the point that very few people actually find joy or peace.
I have found that the happiest times of my life are when I’m thinking about God, loving others and keeping things simple. My life gets out of control when my focus is turned away from God and put on worldly activities. That’s when sadness, discouragement and all those other negative traits surface.
When my mind is focused on God, it’s focused on the truth and it’s the truth that sets us free from all of the negative thoughts that are thrown at us. When we know the truth we can put life into its proper perspective. We know what’s important and what isn’t.
So, I suppose that should be number one on my list for 2016. Keep things simple. Keep my priorities to a minimum and in their proper perspective and focus only on what is important.
Wishing you all the best in the coming year. God bless and thank you for joining me on this wonderful thing we call life.
Isn’t that the case we often find ourselves in. We look immediately at our losses instead of our gains.
The truth is that 2015 was a very good year. If I were to be completely honest with myself and if I could examine the gains in their entirety, I would come to the conclusion that 2015 was one my best years ever… if not the best.
The wisdom alone that I gained this year is priceless. The panicky feelings that I would sometimes get when things went wrong are gone. That is priceless. The anger that arose inside when I saw a stupid comment on twitter or facebook or from family or friends is gone. This is priceless. The worry over what is happening to our world is gone. That is priceless. It’s impossible to buy peace but I have peace. I could go on and on with all the blessings God has granted me over the year. He gives us more blessings throughout the year than what life throws at us. I pray that in 2016 I focus more remembering the blessings and quickly forget any loss.
I may not have what I started 2015 with but I’ve gained so much more.
Farewell 2015. Thank you LORD for your kindness while You guide me through the year and I trust You will make 2016 even better.
This week I tried to catch up on the dozens of Youtube videos that have accumulated in my Inbox to view when I was reminded that the Bible is God’s love letter to us.
The more I study the Bible and allow myself time to reflect on what God is trying to reveal to me, the more I’m overwhelmed by the knowledge of how much He loves me. And He loves you that much too. His love is for us is outside our capacity to fully understand since we live in a different realm then He does and sadly, we have been deceived into thinking otherwise by earthy beings. Through indoctrination, many people don’t even know what love is.
1 John 4:16 tells us:
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:8 also tells us that God is love.
When we accept Jesus as our LORD and Savior, He abides in us. The Holy Spirit comes and lives in us to guide us to the truth.
Once we understand God’s love for us, then we can love others unconditionally. God’s love towards us isn’t based on anything we did. We cannot even earn His love. God cannot be bought. He gives us His love freely just like He gives us salvation freely. The only thing we need to do is accept it with our entire being.
He is my LORD and Savior. Not the world, not the things in the world, and not any one person or group of people. There is only one LORD. When we put anything above Him, that’s when our life starts going amok. That’s when we lose our peace, our joy, our happiness, our contentment with life.
Once we set our priorities, our beliefs, our behavior in line with God’s that’s when our world becomes almost as perfect as it ever could.
I love that time of night when I get snuggled under the covers with the lights turned off. The stillness and quiet allows me to reflect on the past twenty-four hours and give thanks and glory to God for granting me another wonderful day full of blessings including His love and peace.
I’ve gotten to the point that I can feel Jesus’ love deep inside of me. He is so close that I can feel His love and peace. It’s an amazing feeling that can only be felt and not described.
Philippians 4:7
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The terrors of the night disappear when we keep our minds on God.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
I used to recite this at night whenever my thoughts roamed keeping me awake. Now, I focus on the LORD, feeling His love and knowing that He never sleeps so that I can.
Christmas is upon us. It’s a time to reflect and be thankful that God sent His Son to bring peace between Him and us. It’s a peace and love that the world will never understand until they get to know Him.
My Christmas wish is for everyone who reads this to experience with a greater understanding God’s love towards you and what amazing happened to the world the day Jesus was born and the day He died, so that in 2016 you will have an abundance of love and peace that only comes from God.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
We all have concerns. However, from experience we should never allow them to dominate our life. Take it from me, when we do they become larger and larger to the point, if unchecked, they will cause anxiety and panic.
In high school, I started worrying about something. It started off small but over the years I allowed it to get out of control. We do that not understanding what we are doing to ourselves and the affect that it will have on our lives.
I understand that now but satan still uses that against me and my mind and body still try to respond to the thoughts he places in my mind.
It always amazes me how awesome our God is. He has a way of reminding me of the truth. I no longer have any anxiety or panic even though from habit my body wants to start that process once an old thought comes to mind.
I know the truth now. The truth does set you free. Knowing the truth will stop satan’s control and it will also make you wise so that you are not controlled by him or the people of this world that feed you with lies to manipulate you to their advantage.
Christmas Day I was reminded of an old fear I had and even though I put a stop to it, my mind kept trying to return to it.
I trust God now more than ever before and I know from experience that everything will turn out okay. It always has.
Yesterday God brought my mind to this tiny book I purchased that was placed inside a stack of other books practically hiding it from view. When I looked at the stack that small book was all I saw. It gnawed at me until finally late last night I removed it from the stack and started reading the first chapter.
God was speaking to me through that small, tiny book reminding me that with Him I would be okay and not to worry.
Then this morning I read Psalm 145 and underlined the entire Psalm. It was God speaking to me directly reassuring me that He would take care of me and that I need not worry. That He was my Father and that was His job.
When we were small children we didn’t have worries or concerns. We trusted our parents. God is like that. He is our Father and we are His children. Jesus mentioned that we are to come to Him as children. Oh, how true that is.
I have discovered that I must have the faith I had as a small child, “Only believe”, before the world changed me with its lies and deceptions. When I put my trust in God, He does amazing things.
We are only on earth for a short while in the perspective of eternity. God wants to take care of us so that we can live on earth in love and peace. He wants us to be happy just like most earthy fathers desire for their children. But that requires trust and belief.
Even when we were children we saw what happened to our relationships with our parents when we lost trust or belief. Now, even when I look back at my parents, who are both gone, I see how much they loved me and tried their best to provide for us. My father wanted nothing more for his children than for them to be happy and have the best life he could give them.
It saddens me at times that I cannot tell them how much I appreciate all they did for me. Everyday I thank the LORD repeatedly throughout the day for everything that He has done, doing and will do. I may not be able to make it up to my parents but I can make it up to my Father.
Seek the LORD with your heart and you will discover His truths and wisdom to get you through each day as this world’s lies try to take away your joy. God will magically bring you the truth before your very eyes as long as you are open to receive.
The joy of the LORD is our strength. Keep your joy and don’t let anyone or anything take that away from you. You can overcome anything this world throws at you. With God all things are possible. Only believe.
Too many people are waiting for life to be perfect before they can be happy. I hate to break this to you, but life will never be perfect.
Jesus warned us in John 16:33:
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (trouble); but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Jesus told us to be of good cheer even through the troubles of life. He wouldn’t have said that if it were impossible.
There is a blessing that comes with age. We can look back and see these truths if we are honest with ourselves. Some of the worst times I’ve been through I found myself laughing the most which puzzled me at the time. Other times I found peace and comfort that couldn’t be explained.
When God is the center of our life then life isn’t as hard as others experience. Sure we still have troubles but knowing God’s Word gets us through those times. Trusting God and knowing that He’s with us and we are not alone is comforting in itself.
God promises in Psalm 91:14-16
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."
Trusting in the LORD and knowing His Word will get us through the troubles in life.
We often wonder why didn’t God prevent this from happening to me. We’ve prayed, begged and more trying to force God to do what He is unable to do. He wants to but He cannot go back on His Word. If He did the entire world would evaporate killing everyone. The LORD is true to His Word.
He gave us dominion over this world. He gave us free-will. He gave us the ability to choose. He cannot force us or anyone to do His bidding. However, there is good news. He gave us His Word to help us through trouble and to prevent most of the trouble we face. We can avoid much of the trouble we encounter by following His teachings. Most often, the trouble we face is trouble we brought on ourselves. Not that we intentionally did it. But nonetheless, we choose to disregarding warning signals, or we did things we knew we ought not to do, or we put ourselves in a dangerous situation.
Happiness is a choice. It is an attitude we choose every day. Every day I choose to be happy regardless of my circumstances. I no longer wait until everything is perfect to be happy.
What I found in my pursuit to be happy every day is that I had to eliminate those things that made me unhappy. I had to choose to love people and realize they were struggling to get through life just like I was. I realized that they were only acting like they thought they should. I also knew they were listening more to the devil then they were to God and didn’t even know it. I knew that I have been guilty of the same thing. Maybe not in the same way but I have angered people too.
I realized I had to forgive and that including most of all to forgive myself. I realized that forgiveness is a gift that I give myself. It releases the bondage of unforgiveness. It released the weight from dragging the past around with me all of the time. It set me free.
That’s life. Everyone finds different things offensive. It’s based on our philosophy of life. It’s how we see the world.
I changed my philosophy to align more like God’s. That’s when I found true happiness. That’s when I found my perfect life. At least as perfect as it can get here on earth at the present moment. The more I understand and learn about God’s way, the more perfect my life becomes.
The world thinks the opposite of God. They believe that to be happy everything must be perfect. But in fact it’s the opposite. To have a perfect life, first you must choose to be happy and get rid of the thoughts that make you unhappy and realize that troubles are never permanent but happiness can be. Happiness causes the troubles to become just a speck in time which are quickly forgotten. Most often, the troubles of last week are not the troubles of this week. They come and they go. But happiness can always be with us.
The next time you find yourself unhappy realize that you chose to be unhappy. Shake it off and decide you're going to be happy no matter what is going on around you. You are in control of your happiness. So take control and see your world change in almost the blinking of an eye. It's a wonderful journey that you'll be glad you decided to take.
It’s fun looking back seeing the accomplishments I made throughout the year and where I could have improved. It’s also fun setting goals and making plans for the new year. I dislike saying goodbye to the old year so making plans for the new year helps me try to look forward to what is to come.
God tells us where there is no vision the people perish. I love having a vision of the new year with goals to achieve hopefully that will improve my life and those around me.
When my life comes to an end or when I’m old, I don’t look back and see a life of watching TV, complaining, or doing the same thing day after day. I believe that wanting to make a difference or making our life meaningful is something God places inside of each of us.
I realize most of what we end up doing is meaningless other than the good we do for others and the time we spend with God. Busy time, like my mom used to say. I just hope my busy time is time that God can use to make me a better person and which is often pleasing to Him.
One of the events of the new year in which I want to participate is Burn Notice Club. The club will be starting to watch the complete series again from the beginning. With this in mind I have two options. I can continue to document throughout the week the dialog and narration and take screen caps or I can revisit my book on the life of Fi and start writing something each week that involves the time line of the episode.
At the end of NaNoWriMo I purchased writing software with more features than Word offers. I still prefer using Word but with Scrivener I can add index cards on my thoughts, motivational pictures, research material, character information and so much more without it interfering with the actual novel.
Most likely the following years will be a combination of all of the above. But with this new software I can now add index cards for ideas or memories that are triggered each week watching each episode with my dear friends.
I love writing about Fi and Burn Notice. However, my version of Fi and her life with Michael is quite different than on the show. My version of Fi starts when her parents meet, when Fi was conceived, her life when she was born, as a small child, her childhood, early adolescence, her teen years, as she became a young woman, the death of her sister, how she acquired her skills, her involvement with the IRA, how she met Michael, their adventures throughout Europe and Africa, how she came to live in New York and the time she spent there, then her arrival in Miami. My book covers the scenes not seen in the show. What her and Michael’s life was like as a couple. In my book Fi was never an ex-girlfriend. She never belonged to the IRA. She had involvement with them but not in the traditional sense. How she was used by the CIA and the cost she paid for her involvement with both groups.
My book involves the characters from White Collar, Simon Baker from the Mentalist, Matt Passmore from the Glades and many, many, more people than what we see in the show.
It includes how she met Seymour, how she became involved in gun running, where she lived. And no, it’s not as glamorous as depicted in the show. I put her though many trials and tribulations along the way.
In my book of Fi, Michael isn’t the only hero. Fi is a hero as well.
Fi is softer than the Fi in the show. She doesn’t go around hitting Michael, yelling or storming out leaving him. She is loving, supportive, and sacrificing her wants for his with the consequences that result.
She is funny, and always surprising Michael. He thinks he knows her but he only knows what the CIA has told him about her which isn’t the truth. The CIA hid the truth from him making her a mystery that he gets a glimpse of every now and then often leaving him and Sam speechless.
As with all of my books, God plays an intricate part in the life of the main character. With my book on Fi, God’s involvement is the major factor as to why she and Michael met. A divine union of two drastically different individuals brought together to complete each other.
God also uses Burn Notice to speak to me; to make me grow in the knowledge of Him, to understand life, and to be hopefully a blessing to others.
The following is an excerpt from the beginning of the story of how Fi came to Miami...
Chapter 1: Leaving New York
“Irish, you’re packing.” the dark haired, physically fit man in his thirties said after opening the apartment door instantly seeing what he had been dreading. He took off his black leather jacket tossing it on the couch by the door. He had seen this same image in his mind for the past few weeks but had been hoping it wouldn’t come true.
Neal had called her Irish since the first day they met on the sidewalks of New York as Fi contemplated robbing the First National Bank of New York to survive. After hearing part of her story he decided not to call her by her given name but rather ‘Irish’ because of her nationality and thick accent. For some reason that name seemed to fit her better than ‘Fi’.
Now, I have to finalize my decision about Burn Notice Club as I continual to define my goals for 2016.
Jeffrey Donovan mentioned in interviews before the series began that his character Dodd wasn’t very bright (I don’t recall the actual words he used). It wasn’t until Monday night that I saw what he was referring to.
There are so many life lessons in the episode Loplop which reminds me that God is everywhere and in everything.
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse
We have a choice to just watch something on TV, then turn the channel or turn our set off and go about our life or we can take what God is showing us and learn from it.
It’s been my experience that God shows us things in advance so we can avoid pitfalls. Every regret that I have I was warned in advance.
Dodd in Fargo continued to make mistake after mistake by not controlling his mind, the words he spoke and turning his back on danger. He was so focused on revenge that he lost sight of reality and what was going on around him.
James tells us in Chapter 3 how the tongue works like a bridle or a rudder on a boat:
James 3:2
For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
Our words are powerful and set in motion the course of our life.
Proverbs 2:11 tells us:
Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
The word "discreet" means "Having or showing good judgment and self-restraint in speech or behavior; prudent". It's important for us to master discretion in what we say and do.
Also, what we magnify is more important than we realize. Dodd magnified on getting revenge on Ed, where his focus should have also been on Peggy. He put his back to the enemy. He didn’t see her as the threat she was. He didn’t subdue her completely since his attention was mainly focused on Ed. Then when his savior came he blasphemed him. He failed to rule his tongue and it killed him.
I see people blasphemy everyday not realizing what they are doing and bringing things upon themselves they do not wish to have.
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;"
An worse yet, I see people often blaspheming the LORD, our Savior. The One who we need on our side at all times.
We see that as a common thread with Dodd through the series. He can’t see the big picture since he is too focused on the wrong things.
He isn’t unlike most of us. He is just an extreme example. I have been guilty of placing my attention and magnifying something so large that I’ve lost perspective of what I was doing and causing harm to myself as a result. I have allowed words to escape that I shouldn’t have entertained in my mind.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:34-35
Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
Dodd’s thoughts as well as the words he spoke from his heart brought forth evil against him.
God keeps reminding me that He is everywhere and in everything. If I think of the life lessons that God is trying to show me, like through these episodes, I can avoid the web of deception that satan wants to weave into my life. By focusing on God’s Word I can avoid the ropes that want to tie me down so the enemy can grab a foothold into my life. If I trust God, He will warn me of the dangers that surround me. If I allow Him to do what He does best, like vengeance, I can avoid the hurts that come with trying to accomplish it myself.
Thoughts of this episode with fade in the days to come but hopefully the lessons it contains will remain for a lifetime.
At the beginning of November I had a vision for a new book involving the character Dodd from season two of Fargo. This book will be more difficult to write since I’m not as familiar with the characters in my mind but that will change shortly like it has with the other characters in all of my books.
The book is actually the story of Dodd’s wife who hasn’t been mentioned in the series. I love creating my own characters then inserting them into the lives of others that I know something about.
For example, I love writing books involving the characters or cast members of Burn Notice by introducing a new character non-related to the show and making that character the primary focus. Since I can visualize the other characters it helps me to create a new character and how she could become entangled in their lives.
In my latest book, Dodd’s wife is out of the normal as far as the family is concerned. She is an “outsider” who everyone sees as being “weak.” This is typical in my stories. The main character doesn’t fit in making her very interesting and adding a new twist to the other character’s lives.
As each week has progressed through the series, I’m seeing how my original idea is fitting nicely into the plot. I’ve had to make a few tweaks as more knowledge of Dodd is shared by the series creator.
However, these new glimpses into Dodd doesn’t have to affect my book. That’s what I love about writing. I am in control and can make Dodd into anyone I choose or change any scene to my liking. I choose the end of the story and not the series creator.
In a way, we have the same ability with our lives. We choose our destiny. We choose how we see life. Two people in the same situation see the situation differently. One is miserable whereas the other is happy and content. We see that in siblings who grew up in the same environment. One goes in one direction and the other chooses a different direction. Life is just a series of choices and perceptions.
In life I allow my Creator to lead and direct my steps. However, in the background is another force that wants to be my creator who will lead me down the wrong path every time. His path seems right to a point but in the end it only brings death. Whereas, my Creator will bring me life if only I keep my mind focused on Him and His ways.
We all try to play God at different times in our lives taking us in a different direction, leading us away from the life God intended for us. We see this in Fargo. The characters are playing God and listening the voice of satan which is drawing each one to death.
In the end of my book, Dodd’s his wife will prove to be the strongest Gerhardt showing how vulnerable and weak the others were by listening to the wrong voice of reason. She will survive against all odds and triumph.
Each day we are writing the book of our life. How is yours turning out? Just like in writing, we have the power to change the direction our life is going. We have the power to see life as we choose. We can see it as the world sees it or we can see it as God sees it. God is good. Therefore, if we choose to see it and live it God’s way our life will be good. That doesn’t mean we won’t have bumps, turns, ruts and potholes but we will quickly get through them and hit solid pavement once again as we enjoy the view as we travel down the road of life.
