Ever wonder if you can do the job God called YOU to do?

Check out Moses's conversation with God:

"Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow speech and slow of tongue." So the Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.' " Exodus 4:10-12

Just like God gave Moses Aaron as a spokeman, He gives us the Holy Spirit today to lead and guide us through the job, the journey, the joys He called each of us individually to experience in our own worlds as we seek to live a pure and holy life, walking in righteousness and service to our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have tried so many new things in the last year and now I am settling into a few things that I really enjoy but I daily face those nagging doubts of "God, I'm not good enough" and the quiet voice continues to whisper "But, this is what I gave YOU to do. You will be able to do it. I will make the way possible. I will give you what you need." Praise the Lord.

 
I was inspired to write this quick excerpt from my life after finishing R.C. Sproul's "The Mystery of the The Holy Spirit", a clear and precise teaching on the wonders and joy of the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. It is a rich, enlightening look at the work of the Living Spirit of the Living God. It is encourages you to think on a deeper, more theological level without going over your head and leaving you under the bus, spiritually speaking. I highly recommend it!

In conjunction with the release of her new book, Stay Home Stay Happy, Rachel Campos Duffy is giving out a limited number of free copies for review! See my previous review HERE for additional information on all the fun, witty advice Rachel shares in the book.

Let me know ASAP if you would like a copy!

Watch Rachel, former TV host, mom of 5, & now book author on Dr. Phil Tuesday, September 22. Check your local schedule for times in your area!

Mary E. Muth graciously answered my questions about her new novel Daisy Chain. I received a copy at Blissdom '09 and finally had time to read it this last week on a much needed vacation!

Daisy Chain is about a young girl who goes missing after playing with her good friend Jed, who leaves her alone to find her way home. Feeling guilty, Jed circles around to check on her and discovers her shoe along the path. Worried, he stops by her home where her less-than-attentive mother grows worried over her disappearance.

Jed's own father is a pastor with a hidden tendency to abuse his family when things aren't perfectly in order. Jed's guilt over leaving Daisy in an abandoned church where they played is compounded by his father's anger and retribution.

In the midst come two mysterious outsiders, Hixon, a black man called a prophet by locals and revered for his intimate knowledge of God and Muriel, a free-spirit who is believed by some to have killed her cultish pastor of a husband and who now fights for her life against cancer.

With the help of Hixon and Muriel, Jed finds his strength to stand against the hypocrisy of his father's torment and protect his younger sister and mother. Torn between family loyalty and the wisdom of outsiders, Jed must decide from whom he will grow spiritually and who he can trust as the search for his friend widens.

Definitely a must read with quick moving action that makes you think about faith, family relationships and motives behind murder!

Below see the Q & A granted to me by Mary:

Is there any one character in the book with whom you most closely relate? Or perhaps, which parts do you draw from your own experiences and life? There have been times when I’ve felt both like Hixon and Bald Muriel, on the outside of things, sometimes misunderstood for my desire to follow Jesus. But then there’s a part of me who is Hap, hiding away the icky parts of myself so the world sees the shimmer. And I totally relate to Jed, trying to figure out who God is when the adults in my life had a hard time demonstrating Him.

How many books do you anticipate in this series? For example, when you started did you have an idea that this would be a trilogy or other? It is already complete and is a three-book series. The second book, A Slow Burn, releases in October. Here’s a teaser: http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/ProductDetail.htm?ProdID=com.zondervan.9780310278375&QueryStringSite=Zondervan Yes, I knew it would be a trilogy.

Do you find settings similar to the story to go research or is the burned-out town, for example, completely created in the inspiration of your imagination (through the Lord, of course)? I had the opportunity to live in East Texas for two years, so a lot of what I learned, I gathered from that experience.

How has writing affected your own personal walk with the Lord? Where has it helped you grow the most? Every book I’ve written, whether nonfiction or fiction, has had an element of God healing me through the writing or editing process. I wonder if that’s why God called me to write, because He knew He’d be doing so much personal healing through the process. I’ve always been a communicator, so when I write or speak, I learn a lot in the process. I actually process my life by communicating about it. And when I do, I gain new insight.

Alas, you will learn, but you have to read the whole series. So sorry!!! My closest friends have asked me as well, and I can’t even tell them!

Thank you, Mary! To go to her personal website, click HERE!

Following my review of her new book "Who By Fire," the author Diana Spechler graciously granted me the following interview:

What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

I was inspired first by the time I spent in Israel (a summer when I was in high school and a semester during college), and then by the Kellerman family. Of course, the Kellermans are a made-up family, but I had written a short story about them in graduate school and I felt compelled to return to them. I wanted to understand the damage that had been done to them. I wanted to explore their dynamic.

I held my children closer after an afternoon of reading a book about the kidnapping of one child and the "rebellious" behavior of the other two. Even if it was fiction, I think mothers just tend to do that. If fact is stranger than fiction, I would probably never let them out of my sight.

Diana Spechler has written a raw, emotionally charged, information packed novel about a Jewish girl who doesn't want to be Jewish, a brother who is criticized for his extreme commitment to the Jewish lifestyle, and a mother who is just trying to understand what happened to her family in the years following the abduction and presumed murder her youngest daughter.

The chapters alternate between first person narratives. Beginning with the daughter, Bits, we are given a self-proclaimed sexually aberrant individual who is testing all the rules and laws of normal and legal behavior. She alienates those around her as she tries to find her true meaning in life, using and abusing the men around her.

The brother, Ash, is followed into the strictly religious life of a yeshiva in Israel where he is tempted by the outside world as he tries to live his religion fully, at the same time putting behind him all memories of the moment when his youngest sister was captured years earlier as he played in the drive near the incident.

The mother, Ellie, is the cliche Jewish mother, kitchy sayings and all, who spends too much time worrying and getting herself in trouble as she tries to save her children.

While, I enjoyed the well-researched cultural lesson about life in Israel, I didn't care for the depth of depravity we were drug through with the main character. While the story developed through delightfully interesting twists and turns, I think I want a main character I can sympathize with rather than dislike.

"Who By Fire" was a highly descriptive, explorative novel about a dysfunctional family dealing with a tragic circumstance that moves quickly and is written with skill of an practiced novelist. I look forward to seeing what Diana's future novels hold.