Posts Tagged ‘blessings’

Posted on January 31, 2012 - by Shannon Vannatter

Charity–Love Put into Action

I Corinthians, 13: 4, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind;” KJV

Charity is love in action. Love in action is kind. To me, being kind in marriage is to think of the other person’s feelings. When I’m tired, stressed, or have a headache, it’s easy to take my discomfort or displeasure out on my husband. I mean, he’s not going anywhere. Even more reason to be kind. God gave me someone who sticks with me through thick and thin. He deserves my kindness.

If my husband is having a bad day or a problem at work, I try to support him, think of his feelings, and help get him through it. Now that he’s a full time pastor, at least he has fewer irritants. We have so much more together time and family time. A blessing, but it’s even easier to take our frustrations out on each other since we spend more time together.

Kindness is a good rule for life in general. Maybe the lady behind you at the grocery store with ten items in her cart scowled at you. You figure because your cart is loaded down and it takes too long for the cashier to ring up your items, even though your cart was half unloaded before the scowling lady got behind you. But consider what her life might be like. Maybe she has three kids at home and only enough money to pay for the ten items in her cart.

I learned this lesson of putting myself in other’s shoes a few years ago. I traveled with several people to a convention. One lady bragged about everything she and her children had done for the entire hour and a half long drive. After we dropped her off on the way home, I commented, “Is it just me or did she invent everything and if she didn’t, her kids did?”

A kinder lady than I, replied, “Maybe she has low self esteem, so she tries to build herself up in other’s eyes.”

Knocked me off my high horse. I felt about an inch tall. But I learned my lesson.

My son consistently complains about a kid in his life. The child experienced a life altering incident several years ago. When my son complains, I remind him what the other child has been through and ask him how he’d feel if that happened to him. Yes the child probably needs a spanking and nobody does it. Instead, they coddle because of what happened, but my son can still be kind.

So the next time, your spouse comes home railing about his or her day, the guy behind you lays down on his horn because you didn’t put the pedal to the metal as soon as the light changed, or the bank puts your deposit in the wrong account, try putting yourself in the other person’s place. Aren’t you glad you don’t have your spouse’s job? Maybe the guy behind you is taking his wife to the hospital because she’s in labor. Maybe the bank clerk is distracted because her sick child is with the babysitter instead of Mommy. Or maybe they’re just grumpy. Even so, love in action is kindness.

Posted on December 6, 2011 - by Shannon Vannatter

The Best Laid Plans

Our Christmas season is even more stressful and hectic than usual this year. My husband is transitioning from bi-vocational pastor to full time pastor. This transition affects our finances, our lifestyle, and his mental peace. It’s scary to put your finances in the control of a hundred people. Christians are just people. Humans. Our finances are in the control of a hundred humans. Yes, I earn a little with my books now, but publishing is very inconsistent. My income would get us on food stamps fast.

This was our plan. We had some spendable money in savings. Grant needed time off after leaving the dental lab where he’s been a technician for 26 years. We planned for him to have two weeks between his last day at the lab and his first day at the church. Two weeks with spendable money. At the time, since Heartsong Presents was ending in December, I didn’t have any deadlines. We were going to relax, spend some time together, and enjoy ourselves.

We planned a trip to Texas for Thanksgiving. In Rodeo Dust, my hero’s ranch is in Aubrey and he rodeos at the Fort Worth Stockyards. We decided to stop in both places for book signings. It was perfect timing since Aubrey was having Christmas on Main—a festival with booths, crafts, and lots of people milling about. Aubrey’s city secretary got all excited and put my signing in several newspapers. It was during the day, so I could be at Fort Worth that night. Then we’d go on to San Antonio to see family. We wouldn’t have to worry about funds and we’d do some Christmas shopping when we got back.

Reality turned into a mixture of good and bad:

• Heartsong Presents extended the line.
• My car went kaput. The bill $1200.00.
• The booksigning in Fort Worth didn’t come together.
• Grant ended up with three checkless weeks off instead of two.

I’d cried over my two seemingly dead books, so miraculously having them resurrected was a blessing. Suddenly, I had a deadline, plus edits. But I had to work during Grant’s time off.

Our spendable money had dwindled. At least we had the money to get my car fixed, but we had to limp to Aubrey since it had already been in several newspapers that I was coming. We couldn’t afford to go on to San Antonio.

In the two weeks after we got back, we couldn’t Christmas shop or even eat out much.

How it turned out:

It was an awesome day in Aubrey. Nancy Downes, the city secretary had outdone herself with a 4′ by 8′ poster of me and the book. It was much bigger than it looks in the picture. The people treated me like royalty. My signing was in Moms on Main, the restaurant where my characters eat after church in books 2 and 3 of the rodeo series. I got to eat a yummy Philly Cheese Steak sandwich there and see where the peanut festival is held, which is in all three books.

For Rodeo Dust, I’d written blindly, since I’d never been to Aubrey, so Nancy critiqued my scenes to make sure I had Aubrey right. It was great meeting her and the Murrays who own Moms. They bought 30 copies of Rodeo Dust to sell in their restaurant and a small Christian bookstore bought copies also. In the end, I sold 58 books, some at full price and some for resale.

Though I sold books, the trip cost way more than I made. But the research was priceless. Actually being in Aubrey was so worth the trip. I can capture so much more for book 2 and 3 since I’ve actually been there. The Christmas tree decorated with American flags at the top of this post was in Moms. It’s definitely going in book 3.

The family member we were going to see in San Antonio ended up in the hospital during the very time we’d planned to be there for our visit. It would have been nice to be with her in the hospital, but it wouldn’t have been a very good visit. She’s fine, but still tired and sore, so having company would have been an added stress once she got home.

My contact from the Stockyards e-mailed me the week we got back. She’s missed my e-mail, but said I was welcome any time. Oh the irony.

We spent the two and a half weeks after the Texas trip with me working and Grant bored. But every year, our son gets a week out at Thanksgiving. With Grant off work, we got to share it as a family this year. And I worked after they were in bed at night, so I enjoyed the week with them both.

An added bonus, Saturday was the annual Christmas parade where we live. Our church always enters a float.

In 2009, our huge, 8′ by 16′ King James Bible won second place. In 2010, our blue lit city of Bethlehem won 1^st place. This year, we had a live nativity in blue lights on one end. An empty cross, Roman soldiers and mourners in the middle with red spotlights. Then a red carpet leading up golden stairs guarded by sword wielding angels at the foot of the throne where Jesus sat. We won first place again. Our prayer is always that we touched souls with our message. The banner along the side of the float said, “Believest thou this?”

Our horizon isn’t any less hectic. Grant went to the church today for his first week as full time pastor. I still have half a book to write by January 16^th. I’m trying to get the first draft done by the 20^th when our son gets out of school for Christmas break.

• Tonight is our church association pastors and wives dinner.
• Tomorrow night is our ladie’s prayer group Christmas party.
• Wednesday night is church.
• Thursday night, we’re loading up in the church van to drive 45 miles and see a live nativity and city of Bethlehem.
• Friday, my family is going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas concert. Our 7 year tradition.
• Saturday, my guys are going with the church to Branson to see The Miracle of Christmas. I’m going 45 miles to a book signing I’d already committed to before the church trip came up.

So things aren’t perfect in Arkansas this year. But life is good. We’ve prayed for Grant to go full time at the church for several years and never dreamed it would happen this soon. I have two more books coming out in 2012. We should have more family time since Grant only has one job. And in the end, we have to put our finances, stresses, and peace on God’s shoulders and trust Him to handle it all for us.

Posted on November 8, 2011 - by Shannon Vannatter

A Letter to My Teenage Self from Shannon

Dear Teenage Shannon,

Be yourself. Stop trying to mimic others. They’re not any cooler than you are, so stop feeling bad about yourself. God made you the individual you are. 

Don’t worry so much about what others think of you. Your audience is an audience of one. It only matters what God thinks of you.

You don’t have to dress immodestly to get the boys’ attention. They’ll notice, no matter what you wear. And if it takes immodest clothing to attract him, he’s not the kind of boy you need. (Your parents won’t allow it anyway, thank goodness.)

Stop being embarrassed by your parents. Some day, you’ll be in their shoes and realize how wise they are. And how much they love you. 

Start an exercise program now. That way, it’s second nature and when you’re older, it will already be part of your routine.

Don’t go to cosmetology school. You’ll only waste your parents’ money and get stuck doing your mother’s hair for life. Hairdressing isn’t glamorous. It’s hard, nasty, and exhausting. Stick with your first instinct: computers.

Even better—they’re books. Those stories in your head that you never know what to do with. Don’t wait until you’re thirty-three to figure that out. 

The move to rural Arkansas. Stop fighting it. Embrace your new home. You’ll grow to love it, never, ever want to live anywhere near a city again, and meet the love of your life there.

In fact, you’ve already met him. That new boy that lights your fire–the rumors are true–but be patient, God is working on him.

Pay more attention to young boys. Someday you’ll have one. The things he does and dirt he can find will astound you. 

Always remember. No matter what happens or what life throws at you, you’ve got Jesus to get you through.

Posted on October 20, 2011 - by Regina

MY CUP RUNNETH OVER . . .

Thou anointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over. Psalm 23:5b KJV

Blessings.

David knew both sides of blessings. As a boy, he was low on the “pecking order” at his house. The little brother. The older boys probably called him “sheep boy” when they wanted to degrade him even more.

When Samuel came around looking for the king that would replace Saul, did anybody inform David when daddy Jesse was told to round up his boys and line them up for inspection? Of course not. He was the bottom of the heap.

Interestingly enough, when Samuel had made his way through the entire lineup of Jesse’s sons, God whispered in his ear that there was another one out there, and that he was THE ONE.

When he arrived, probably dirty, stinky, and followed by a flock of sheep, Samuel anointed his head with oil.

The boy who would be king.

I would imagine that it was after this that David, ahead of his time as usual, probably coined the idea of “glass half full/glass half empty.” We know from reading the historical accounts of David’s life and from reading his poetry, that it wasn’t smooth sailing from there.

Saul tried to kill him.

He made bad decisions in leadership that led to adultery, murder, and the death of a child.

His children conspired against him.

He was not allowed by God to build His temple.

And yet he wrote this: My cup overflows.

This tells me more about David and his relationship with God than anything else. He knew that God’s blessings were far and above anything he, in his human condition, could possibly fathom. David understood the foundation of God’s love.

Grace.

Grace says that we get what we don’t deserve. We don’t deserve a relationship with Jesus, but He’s offered it to us. We don’t deserve salvation, but He gives it to all that ask.

David was, after all, a man after God’s own heart. Just like us.

Glass half full? Glass half empty?

Glass running over.

Posted on October 11, 2011 - by Shannon Vannatter

He Leadeth Me Beside the Still Waters

Facts about sheep: 

• They consume ½ to 4 gallons of water per day, depending on the weather and content of water in their food.
• They have trouble with depth perception.
• Rushing water frightens them.
• Because of their wool, they are poor swimmers.
• They prefer to drink still water.
• They require pure water.

This part of the 23^rd Psalm is four-fold to me:

• We’re to follow God just as the shepherd is to lead and the sheep.  

Let go and let God. But instead, we try to take control, handle decisions, and navigate the U-turns life throws at us. We blaze our own trail instead of following the shepherd. If we wander, He seeks us until we are restored into fellowship with Him. 

• God will provide for his flock just as the shepherd waters the sheep.

The shepherd leads the sheep where they can drink safely. God will never lead where He can’t provide for us. He understands our limitations as the shepherd understands the sheep’s weaknesses. He loves us as we are and provides for us.

• He’ll calm our turbulent waters just as the shepherd calms the sheep’s fears.

All we have to do is turn our worries over to Him. He can handle it all. His shoulders are much bigger than ours. But we keep taking our problems back and trying to handle them on our own.

• We are to drink of His Holy Spirit just as the sheep require pure water.

Sheep must drink pure water to stave off disease, just as our thirsty soul can only be fully satisfied when our spiritual thirst is quenched by God. He will provide eternal water and if we drink of it, we’ll never thirst again.

What’s your take on the still waters? Anything I missed?

Posted on September 27, 2011 - by Shannon Vannatter

Singing Praises of ACFW

I sing ACFW praises every chance I get. What an awesome organization. What an awesome conference. Put together by an awesome God. This year, I met Lynn Coleman, founder of ACFW. We chatted about how she wanted to start a Christian writing group to support and uplift one another, with no competition or jealousy. Like most things, ACFW started small as American Christian Romance Writers.

I discovered it by google in 2004. By 2005 when I attended the conference in Nashville, the name had changed to American Christian Fiction Writers. Though I’d been to numerous local conferences, writers’ group meetings, and workshops, ACFW made me realize I only knew the basics about writing.

ACFW goes deep in helping writers improve their craft. So deep, it boggles. I always get brain freeze and have to sort through what I learned when I get home. And yes, even though I’m published and an old hand at working with editors, I still learn from ACFW.

I had so many appointments, interviews, and meetings, I only got to go to four workshops this year. But I still learned. I’m not sure what yet, haven’t had time to sort it out. Oh, I did learn that the voice that tells me I’ll never get another book published when I don’t have a current contract or deadline, that’s the enemy and he tells all writers that. Now I know to ignore him and press on.

ACFW is also about having friends along for what can be a very solitary journey. I took the solo route until 2008. Though I’d been to the conference for 3 years, I stood on the fringes and wished I had someone to hug and cry over like all those other writers. In 2008, I met Linda from my local zone and rode with her to Minneapolis. I met my critique partners face to face, met their friends and Linda’s friends. We all went out to dinner together and had so much fun. The next year when I met them, I hugged and cried over them.

Lorna is my designated shoulder for phone calls or in person. Lorna and I have traversed our getting published journey together. When my husband is at work—I call Lorna and blubber over disappointments or triumphs in writing. When my husband isn’t at ACFW—he hasn’t been able to come since 2007—I blubber on Lorna over disappointments and triumphs. Lorna is getting soggy.

Linda is my designated roomie. We often dance in our room over triumphs. Dawn is my designated can’t find her writing friend. I once called her husband at home in Iowa trying to find her in the hotel so I could get the pie I left in her room. This time, I called a friend at home also named Dawn in my quest for Dawn’s room and went to the wrong room looking for Dawn.

Brenda, my other critter, is much better in person than in bobble-head form. We’ll look forward to seeing her in Dallas. Maybe we can wish her there. Kim and her sweet southern accent were missed this year, but Regina brought her husband. I wonder how many times did I say, “I love to hear him talk.” I also got to connect with Shari again. The only problem is there’s never enough time to spend with my writer friends.

ACFW is the highlight of my year. The knowledge to gain, the friends to hug, the contacts to be made. The kind of place where I can walk up to the keynote speaker–who is always way above the realm I live in–and thank them for what they said to inspire or encourage me. Knowing that all those writers sleep-walking through the conference totally get me. They hear voices too—not only their characters’, but God’s.

Posted on August 16, 2011 - by Shannon Vannatter

A Wondrous Beauty I See

I’m a traditional kind of gal. I like traditional weddings with poufy dresses dripping in lace and satin, pastel colors, and V-shaped bouquets instead of round hand-tied. I love traditional print books where can run your hand over the smooth cover, turn the pages, smell the printing press, and have the author sign it. I love traditional hymns, holding the book in my hands, seeing the music notes—though I can’t read them—printed with the words, and knowing that thousands upon thousands of Christians have sung them for hundreds of years.

It doesn’t make sense for The Old Rugged Cross to be my favorite hymn. I don’t like the cross. I love the cross and what Jesus did there for me, but I don’t like it. I prefer to think about the resurrection part. Yet without the cross, there could be no resurrection.

When I was in the fourth grade and schools could still get away with such things, all of the students assembled in the gym to watch a movie about Jesus. Sitting cross-legged in the floor, when it got to the beating and crucifixion, I kept my eyes glued to my lap. The teacher came over and asked if I was okay. I assured her I was fine, I just couldn’t bear to watch.

Years ago, my husband and I went to see The Promise, a musical play of Christ’s life, in Branson, Missouri. Midway through the performance, the actor who plays Jesus carries his cross down the middle of the audience. We were close to the aisle. I literally sobbed, my shoulders shook, and I could barely stand to look in his direction. I’ve never seen The Passion of the Christ. From what I’ve heard, I know I can’t take it.

So singing about the old rugged cross where Jesus was crucified should be my least favorite thing to do. But I love the words, love the melody, love the timelessness of it.

Does your favorite hymn or inspirational song fit your other views or contradict what you normally love?

Posted on April 19, 2011 - by JerriLynn

Blessing in a Dressing Room

I’ve heard it said many times that God brings the people you need into your life, even if you don’t know you need them.  I believe that, because it had to have been through divine intervention that one of my dearest friends entered into my life.

If you keep up with this blog, then you’ve heard me say many times that I grew up a military brat. My father was a lifetime Navy man, and we were a lifetime Navy family.  That meant moving often – usually about every two to three years. And when you’re a Navy brat (or any other branch of the military) you learn how to make friends fast. You also learn to be discerning about the friends that you do make.

That’s a skill that stays with you through life.  I can tell within a few minutes of meeting someone if we’ll be fast friends, good acquaintances, or just strangers that had a brief interaction. It’s not judging a book by it’s cover, so to speak. It’s knowing if there is that instant connection that means you’ve found someone you can build a bond of trust with.

My friend, Jennifer, was a fast friend whom I’m convinced that God brought into my life for a reason. I was working two jobs when I met her and living an hour from where I worked. That meant that my days often started at five in the morning and didn’t usually end until after three the next morning.  I was sleeping an average of two or three hours a night, and it was killing me.

One night at my second job as a dressing room attendant in a store that stayed open until midnight during the week and two a.m. on weekends, I was telling a colleague that I really needed to find a roommate.  On multiple occasions I’d dozed off while driving home from work in the wee hours of the morning, and I was beginning to fear that I might end up dead on the side of the road.

A few minutes into the conversation this woman stepped out of a dressing room and said, “Who needed a roommate?” I confessed the need, we chatted for a while, and I was moving into her apartment a couple of weeks later.  It wasn’t until we’d been friends for more than a dozen years that I found out that she had been terrified to ask that question.  What drove her was certainty that if she didn’t find a roommate she would soon be unable to pay her bills.  As it was, the year that we lived together often found us with $20 between us to last for the week.

It was the best year of my adult life, and that’s not an exaggeration.  Since then, Jennifer and I have lived life together. It’s been fun and funny, sad and exhilarating. But I know that no matter where I am, she’ll be there.  She’s pulled me out of a nervous break down, celebrated all of the amazing blessings I’ve had, and been the best listener on the planet. And I pray that I’ve done one-tenth of the same for her.

I do believe that God brings the people we need into our lives.  I’ve had (and still have) other friends that are just as important to me as Jennifer. Sometimes, we don’t talk for months or even years. But then we’ll reconnect and it’s like there is no gap between the moment we last spoke and this interaction.

God knows that as human beings we need those girlfriends that step in where no spouse or family member can. And I believe he puts those people into our lives that we need, no matter how solitary our jobs may be or how often we move from one place to another. It is His blessing on us that fills a need that He designed us to have.

Posted on October 26, 2010 - by Shannon Vannatter

Surrender the Details

Our ladies prayer group at church set a goal of thirty shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Some of us have struggled financially this year. Some could only afford to fill one box, some no boxes, and some several boxes. We decided to all buy however little or much we could, then bring our gifts to the church and fill the boxes together. We ended up with a closet full of donated toys, jewelry, crayons, coloring books, school supplies, and hygiene products. 

Before everyone arrived to fill the boxes, we decided we didn’t have enough items for older kids. Some people had donated money, but the treasurer hadn’t arrived yet, so we didn’t know how much. On faith, a couple of us went shopping and ended up spending more than we thought we should. When the treasurer arrived, the donations amounted to almost exactly the money we’d spent.

By the time we ran out of boxes, another donation had come in to pay for more. Another shopping trip only brought in four more boxes. Apparently several of the churches in my town are participating in Operation Christmas Child. Once we find more boxes, we should be able to fill a total of fifty.

We didn’t make any plans on who would buy what, how many, for a boy or girl, or what age group, but it all worked out above and beyond our goal. See what happens when you surrender the details to God?

Posted on October 7, 2010 - by Regina

LITTLE SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY

Looking back at my school career (which, I might add, spanned several years and two states), I can think of something just about every year that I could say “inspired” me and made me what I am today.

I had a tough-as-nails first grade teacher who would have made a great drill sergeant, but had a tough time knowing what to do with a child who found somebody to talk to no matter where she was sitting. I thought she was at least 100 years old, but she was probably no more than 60 at the time.

In second grade, I had a first-year teacher who I’m sure just hoped to survive the 30+ kids that were crowded into her mobile-unit classroom. Did I mention that I was in a large, lively class?

Third grade is memorable for many reasons. There were 40 kids in our classroom. In Social Studies we followed in our textbook a family traveling across the country in an RV. I was amazed at that. And my grandfather died. I was quieter that year.

All of my teachers made an impact on me, in some way. I can think of some snippet of relationship that I formed with each one. The woman who would one day be my mother-in-law was one of my teachers, and I basked in the knowledge that she had loved me all my life, and was glad to have me in her classroom.

I remember one of my high school teachers, a simply awesome English teacher, who for punishment for either talking or passing notes in class (could have been either one, I’m afraid) made me memorize and recite Psalm One.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers….

I feel chastised every time I hear it…

Then there was the home economics teacher who took me under her wing when I moved from Kentucky to Indiana in November of my junior year. I was miserable, but she made me feel welcome, and smart. I’ll never forget her.

But when it came time to think of someone who made an incredible lasting impression on me, my fourth grade teacher came to mind. She made me feel like she liked me for ME, and that she cared that I liked what we were doing in class. And she was young. I think she may have been twenty-four years old at the time. I thought she was beautiful. It was 1974, and in the beginning of the year, she had shoulder-length “Mary-Tyler-Moore” hair that flipped up at the ends.

But it wasn’t that she was young and pretty and fun that made an impact, although that was part of the package. What impacted me was that she introduced me to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books. After reading one aloud to the class, I asked her about them. She told me which one to get next, out of the library, and I pestered the librarian, Ms. Lorraine, until she let me check it out. She had told me the year before that I was too young to read “The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.” I read it, anyway.

But I digress…Carol Ann Schmidt also had a funny name. In fact, she gave us extra points on spelling if we could spell her last name correctly! I can STILL spell it correctly, although we found out by the end of the school year that the NEXT year we would have to call her Mrs. Phillips, as she had gotten engaged. I still get goosebumps when I think about her telling US, her students, about that most important moment of her life.

The next year, Mrs. Phillips was no longer a classroom teacher, so we were her last class. Instead, much to our delight, she became our school librarian. At the beginning of the year, she pulled some of her former students to poll us about what WE would like to see in the library, as she was looking to update the books available. Talk about making students feel important. It’s something I will never forget. When you make a child feel that they have a part in decision-making, they usually will do their very best to make the right decisions.

I thought about Carol Ann Schmidt Phillips when I went out west a few years ago, and visited all the “Little House” sites, including the house Laura and Almanzo Wilder lived in until they died. It took me right back to that K-12 school with hardwood floors, noisy radiators, pictures in the hallways of past graduating classes (including both my parents just down the hall and to the left of that classroom), and a beautiful dark-haired teacher sitting in front of a classroom after lunchtime recess, reading to us the adventures of a little girl on the prairie.