The Characters We Become

By Jo Sarah Stanford

We’ve all done those quizzes. The “Which Character are You?” ones. We answer the questions in hope of getting our favourite character. Or if we’re good, and know the story really well (and if the quiz is halfway accurate) we can “cheat” and answer in order to get the result we want. (And yes, I know there are some of you who have even created such quizzes for your own characters!)

What is it that makes us want to be these characters? Traits of loyalty, bravery and honour make us desire to be someone else, in a story where amazing things happen outside of the ordinary and mundane.

If you could be any character from any story, who would you be? Well, if you have a full bookshelf and more books piled on the floor then no doubt you don’t have to think twice about the answer. But if you, like me, have read that character’s story one hundred times over (probably not an exaggeration…much) have you ever stopped to wonder…

How much of who I am is because of the character I want to be?  

I am very good at picking up accents, mannerisms and speech patterns. To the point that when I hang around someone with a different accent I have to be careful how I speak, or they might think I am mocking them. If I have been watching a TV show or reading a book that has a strong voice, I will find my own thought and speech patterns mimicking them. (It’s quite fun when I want to make use of it! Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock is a great example.) 

I do these things without really thinking about it. However acting like a character because you want to be them is something a little different. 

 

 

When I was little, I wanted to be Michelle from Full House. (Encouraged by the fact a really looked like her as a baby…We were triplets, not twins!) I wanted to be The Next Karate Kid, because she was a girl karate kid! (I also wonder how much this influenced my decision in adult life to join a karate club.) Yet the character I have always wanted to be (and still do) is Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia. (Yeah…Those who know me all saw that coming, right?!)

Lucy, the child, full of faith and wonder.

Lucy, the Queen, valiant and brave.

I feel like I know her so well. After oh so many years of reading her story, I feel like I have become like her. (Or is it that, at least in my mind, she has become like me?) She has helped me to be braver, stronger, more full of hope. She has helped me to be a better person.

I’m sure you have all heard the saying, “What would Jesus Do?” These days the saying is often accompanied with a wry smile and a roll of the eyes. We all know that we should follow Jesus example, but sometimes I find the phrase, well, a little unhelpful. (Don’t get me wrong, this 90s kid wore the bracelet and quoted it with the best of them.)  I mean, haven’t you ever thought, ‘yes, I know what Jesus would do, but right now, I don’t want to do it!’

So I came up with my own: WWLD?

What would Lucy Do?

Back in my youth group days, I was hanging out with my friends and we got into an argument. I lost my temper and stormed off. Immediately after I slammed my door, the guilt hit. I knew I had to apologise. I also knew I really didn’t want to. But you’re a leader, Jo, you have to set a good example. I paced the floor trying to work up the courage to do the right thing. What clinched it was what would Lucy do? I thought back to the time in Prince Caspian where Lucy got angry with her siblings for not believing her. She complained to Aslan who scolded her, and she apologised, then she gathered her courage to go on the mission he had sent her. If Lucy could do that, I could swallow my pride and apologise to my friends. 

I also think to my favourite scene from the same movie: where Lucy is standing on the bridge before the entire enemy army. Alone. But she isn’t alone.

Even today, when I need to find courage, this scene comes to mind.

So, why do I want to be like Lucy? Because she is brave, and steadfast and kind. Because she makes me braver, more steadfast and kind. I guess she has become a friend: and as iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another. (Prov27:17)

What is the point I am trying to make? I’m not too sure. Perhaps it’s just rambling born from late night musings. Perhaps it is a wish that, one day, some young soul will long to be like a character I created. (And with that is a gentle warning about the type of characters I create.) Whatever it may be, I am still fascinated by how a few etchings on a page can create a world of characters and adventure that can have such an impact for years and years to come. 

 

Jo Sarah Stanford is a freelance writer with her own business Write it Up! She has recently spent a year as a journalist in Jerusalem, Israel and is the editor of Bridge Builders the national bi-monthly magazine for Bridges for Peace. She has works published in various anthologies including If They Could Talk; Something in the Blood; and Tales from the Upper Room. She is also a karate instructor and lives in the Adelaide Hills with her chickens.

www.writeitup.com.au

CWD Highlights - July to September 2020

Christian Writers Downunder is a diverse group of writers, editors, bloggers, illustrators. As a group we support each other through our facebook page and blog.

Today's blog will highlight some of the achievements of our members from July to September 2020

Awards

CALEB Awards

Congratulations to the CALEB award finalists including our CWD members - Helen Carr, Emily Maurits, Kirsten Hart, Judy Rogers, Jean Saxby, & Susan Barnes

Winners will be announced via a Zoom meeting on Saturday 17 October 2020

Check out the full short list here HERE

New Releases & Cover Reveals

Grace Upon Grace by Teri Kempe

Teri Kempe has published her book, Grace Upon Grace. My five amazing years in Fiji in June this year.

Teri Kempe had a job she loved in Sydney, Australia when her life took an unexpected turn. Having just reached retirement age, she heard the unmistakable call of God to move to Fiji as a missionary volunteer. With only her aged pension for financial support, she left her family, friends and church for five life-changing years.

Grace Upon Grace is the story of the author’s five amazing years as a missionary. She shares the highs and lows of her time there, as well as her trust in God as she went about his work. Over five years, without knowing what the future held for her, she made a startling discovery that God’s grace is tangible. She began to see life through a different lens as God worked his refining process.

It was not easy. Sometimes she cried, sometimes she laughed, but through it all she grew closer to understanding God’s unconditional love. She found a peace and joy she could not imagine possible as God saturated her in His grace.


Terri has been encouraged by good sales, but especially by a letter from a man in his final weeks who was encouraged and uplifted by Grace Upon Grace.



Terri has also had two short stories accepted for publication in an anthology - A story of WWII - my mother sheltered my sister in the Blitz" in the NSW Senior's Volume 6 Anthology on the theme of Resilience and a story (under a pseudonym) in the Stories of Life 2020 - Tabor Press.

Heart of a Princess by Hannah Currie

Hannah Currie's second book, Heart of a Princess, released 15 July 2020 through WhiteFire Publishing. It's the second book in the Daughters of Peverell series. 

To the watching world, Princess Alina has it all – maids to serve her, a kingdom to revere her, a prince to marry her, and a wardrobe filled with enough frills, flounces and shades of pink to rival a flower shop. But behind the smiles and designer clothes, Alina has a secret. She’s barely holding it together. 

After a moment of panic almost ends in tragedy, Alina is sent to a refuge far from the palace to recuperate. Her family claim it’s for her own good but – faced with cows, knife-beaked ducks and far too many of her own insecurities – Alina is pretty sure it will kill her first. And Joha Samson, infuriating man that he is, will laugh as it does.

Only there’s more to Joha than she realizes, and more to herself too. When the time comes to make a stand, will she find the courage?

Available from Koorong and other retailers (Amazon, Book Depository, WhiteFire, etc). 

Australian author, Hannah Currie, loves God, family, people, and the incredible privilege of seeing God use her words to encourage young (and young-at-heart) adults all over the world.

Wellspring of Time by Elizabeth Klein

Elizabeth Klein has published her YA fantasy novel, Wellspring of Time as an eBook on 24th July. As a paperback on 30th July.  

Dark forces released in the form of shape shifters threaten brothers Dougray and Robbie and their companion, Belle, when they embark on another perilous journey, this time to the Dead City. Here they are faced with the most fearsome trial of all when Dougray, poisoned by a rogue spell, attempts to kill them one by one. After a deadly sword fight ensues, Robbie flees the city with Belle, believing Dougray to be dead in the catacombs, along with his father.

You can buy it HERE. 

She has revealed the cover of Book 6 in the Bethloria series, Symphony of Star Songs, which is soon be published. 

Elizabeth has also published a short story called 'Abandoned' in Open House 4 on Monday, 3rdAugust, 2020 by Storm Cloud Publishing and her play 'A Museum Piece', was requested to be reprinted by The School Magazine on 28th July, 2020

Elizabeth Klein writes fantasy, fairy tale retellings and humorous middle grade adventures. She has a new website, which you can find HERE.

Under the Mountain Boxed set 4-5 by Jeanette O'Hagan

Jeanette O'Hagan has released the second Under the Mountain boxed set with the final two novellas of the series, Shadow Crystals and Caverns of the Deep on 8 September 2020

Shut fast for two hundred years and defended by deadly traps, the Gate stands between the people of the Glittering Realms and survival.

Delvina and Zadeki seek the key to opening the Gate from the Vaane overlords across the ocean while Delvina's twin, Retza and the former Overseer's daughter, Zara, face its cunning dangers. Will they find answers before it’s too late as food supplies dwindle and conflict intensifies in the Underground Realm. Madness and shadows, death and betrayal stalk the tunnels.

Will Zadeki, Zara and the twins - Retza and Delvina - find a way to save the Glittering Realms in time and secure a better future for their people?

Set in the World of Nardva, Under the Mountain Boxed Set Books 4-5 includes the last two novellas of the 5 novella series: Shadow Crystals & Caverns of the Deep. Buy it today and be immersed in the exciting finale of this epic novella series. Both boxed sets are available at a reduced price until the end of the month. You can find a it HERE

Jeanette O'Hagan's Nardvan stories span continents, millennia and cultures. Some involve shapeshifters and magic. Others include space stations and cyborgs.  

Events & Opportunities

Other News

Short stories from CWD members, including Jeanette Grant-Thomson (That Wonderful Peace) have been accepted for the 2020 Stories of Life competition. We look forward to the publication of the anthology later this year.

Save the date:  

CALEB Awards Night: 17 October

Congratulations to all our members for your milestones and achievements

Omega Writers: CALEB Award Night Update

By Iola Goulton, 2020 CALEB Coordinator

We are almost on the home straight for the 2020 CALEB Awards. The final-round judges are working their way through the entries. Scores are due back on 30 September, so it's not long to go now before we have winners in our three categories:

• Unpublished Adult Fiction
• Unpublished Young Adult Fiction
• Unpublished Nonfiction

CALEB Awards Night: 17 October

The winners will be announced via a Zoom meeting on Saturday 17 October 2020 at the following times:

• 8:00 pm New Zealand
• 6:00 pm AEDT
• 5:30 pm South Australia
• 5:00 pm Queensland
• 4:30 pm Northern Territory
• 3:00 pm Western Australia

The awards are scheduled to take an hour.

Members and finalists will be emailed with the meeting details and Zoom access codes. If you're not a member of Omega Writers but would like to watch the Awards ceremony, either:

• Click here to join Omega Writers.
• Email us at caleb [at] omegawriters.org and ask to be added to the invitation list.

Note that we may have to limit the number of people on the call. If so, we will give priority to members and finalists.

Zoom is an online webinar and videoconferencing platform that can be used on a computer or smartphone (search your app store for Zoom, or download at www.zoom.com). There is no charge to use the platform as a participant.

Omega Writers Annual General Meeting: 17 October

The Awards ceremony will be followed by the Omega Writers AGM. Members, you will receive an email with the starting time and Zoom access codes closer to the date.

Monthly Zoom Meetings

Omega Writers are also organising monthly member catchups via Zoom, including genre-specific rooms for members to connect with others writing in their genre. I haven't attended any of these meetings (because of timezones), but it's a great way to keep in touch between conferences.

Omega Writers Conference

As you will know, the 2020 Omega Writers Conference has been deferred until October 2021, and our guest speaker will be Susan May Warren, writing coach and owner of My Book Therapy, and award-winning author of over 80 novels.

Over the weekend, I was able to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers online conference. No, it didn't have the networking opportunities of a face-to-face conference and the time zone difference was a challenge for us Down Under, but there were some excellent speakers (and I saw some familiar names in the Zoom chat).

The final speaker was Susan May Warren, giving a presentation called Write Better. It was excellent, and shows what a great writing teacher Susie is. I'm looking forward to hearing her in person in October 2021!

Click here to find out more about the 2021 conference.

Remember, the CALEB Award winners will be announced on Saturday 17 October 2020.

Holy or Mundane?

Ben ‘Mortified” Morton AKA Morton Benning

If you’ve been a believer for a while you’ve probably encountered the idea that there is Christian music and also secular music, there are Christian films and there are secular films, and there are Christian books and secular books.

What I see here is a false dichotomy that western believers can be all-too-ready to accept, and in so doing, divide our writers into those who write Christian books (explicitly about Christian faith or having overt Christian-faith-associated themes), and those who are Christians who write secular books who have apparently crossed over into the secular world and are doing something somehow less worthy. That is, unless they try to covertly sneak their faith as an undercurrent of the work as a kind of guerilla evangelistic mission - to steal past those watchful dragons, as CS Lewis put it. This approach has the potential to be a little (or perhaps extremely) disingenuous.

Now I’m not here to say we ought not to write overtly Christian books, I absolutely am in favour of writing books that deal explicitly with Christian themes and faith issues. I am also not going to say that we can’t write for the general market and include undercurrents of faith-related themes. I’ve done (or perhaps attempted) precisely that myself. And I also am perfectly happy to advocate for Christian writers who want to write a book that doesn’t have any apparent Christian-faith themes (though I’d be surprised to see an instance of a person’s established Christian faith and worldview not having at least a subtle influence on their writing).

The problem I want to address is that the dichotomy is false. 

As a writer for Relevant Magazine’s Website reminds us, ‘the word secular means "without God," and there is no place on this planet that God cannot operate.’ 

Plato taught that the spiritual was higher and purer and the physical was a lower or lesser copy of the spiritual reality. This found its way into the teachings of the Gnostics. Paul wrote his letter, 1 Timothy, partly to address gnostic heresies that were showing up in the church. They held that the physical and the spiritual were two separate realms that did not belong together, and that worldly things were evil, and spiritual things were good. They could not allow that the divine Son of God could inhabit a worldly (and therefore evil) body. 

The early Church Fathers, particularly Clement of Alexandria and Irenaeus, argued strongly against Gnosticism’s dualism and false dichotomies. Though the ideas have been soundly refuted, their shadow remains in the minds of believers. 

German Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant is one who is noted for dividing reality into, the phenomenal (empirical) and the noumenal (spiritual or moral), but there have been many others who have suggested a dichotomy like this as a model of reality. This idea is particularly persistent.

The more modern version typically holds that spiritual things (and endeavours) are good, and non-spiritual (or secular) ones are less-good; that being a preacher is a holy calling and being a plumber is not; that writing explicitly Christian books is a good and noble thing for a writer to do, and writing a book for a secular audience with subtle and/or potentially negligible spiritual themes is more like a guilty pleasure that might need to be excused for some reason.

If you look at what the bible actually teaches about what is spiritual, you find a very different picture. From the beginning, in Genesis 1, God creates the world and declares every part of it good. And God tells Paul in the New Testament not to call unclean what Gad called clean (Acts 10:15). And most believers have heard that all things are permissible, but not all are beneficial (1 Cor 10:23). What is important is the heart attitude. The biblical position is that everything is (or is potentially) sacred if done with a heart that wants to honour God by doing what he designed us to do. The bible teaches us that the important thing to remember is whatever you do, make it an example of the best of your ability and dedicate it to God as an offering (Col 3:17, 1 Cor 10:31). 

1 Corinthians teaches us that the meat sacrificed to idols is not anything special. Meat is just meat, an idol is just a sculpture, and eating is just eating - except when it concerns shipwrecking the conscience of another believer. You can eat whatever you like and honour God by doing it - right up until you encounter someone who is unnecessarily concerned that idol-befouled-food might harm your spirit, and then you need to choose to use your freedom in Christ to stop eating it to care for your less-mature spiritual sibling. That being the case, can I suggest that maybe you can write whatever you like and honour God in doing it - so long as your heart is turned toward God and you are loving toward your fellow-believers in doing it?

For my part, God created me to be creative like him. And like him, I create all manner of things I think ought to exist, and not all of them need to have a cross carved into them in order to be a worthy offering.

Some stuff I read while thinking about this subject...

The Institute for Faith Work and Economics - H Whelchel 3.10.16 

How can the Church be salt and light today - early church’s attitude to non-sacred work.

The Institute for Faith Work and Economics - H Whelchel 17.10.16 

Historical Influences of the Secular Sacred Divide

Relevant - Anonymous 20.04.06

The Sacred-Secular Dichotomy

Peace Catalyst International - Rick Love 06.06.11

Seeing God in All Things: Why the Sacred-Secular Dichotomy is Heresy

Business as Mission - Mike Baer 19.01.18

Breaking Down the Sacred-Secular Divide

Patheos Philosophical Fragments - 03.08.11 Timothy Dalrymple

When Christ is Lord, Nothing is Secular

Crosswalk.com - Cindi McMenamin 19/12/19

Is Anything Really Secular or Christian?

Focus on the Family Canada - Subby Szterszky 2018

Is there such a thing as secular?

Ben Morton AKA Morton Benning is an author, illustrator, editor, publisher and occasional lecturer in speculative fiction, as well as a fiction-writing coach who runs his own assisted publication business called Immortalise [helping writers become authors]. He is the author of Playing God, and The Tale of Alathimble Spaide and Other Such Nonsense (Stone Table Books) and creator of Morton’s Anglish Fictionary (Immortalise) and largely responsible for encouraging a lot of creative people to attempt things they weren’t sure they could (or maybe should) do. He and his lovely wife are members of Christies Beach Baptist Church and have three adorable girls.

It's a 2020 Kind of Day.

 Apparently 2020 has become an adjective. I know it kinda already was. You know, perfect vision and all that, but now it has a whole new meaning. I’m not going to try and define it for you, I’ll let the lexicographers do that for me when they add it to next years updated edition of the dictionary. But I have to say it. The old meaning has now joined the archaic words of the old century and a new meaning for the word/phrase is emerging. 

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Have you ever read the dictionary from start to finish? I know two people who have accomplished this, though I’m starting to wonder which version they read. Have they kept up with the new additions?

Over 2000 words, senses and subentries were added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018 and over 650 in 2019. Some of these blow your mind - xoxo, Jedi mind trick? I mean, seriously? Come on. Jedi mind trick is now in the english dictionary? Just take a moment to think about how language is changing. People are always creating new ways of how to communicate to each other; they want to use new words and phrases to express themselves in a unique way.

I just read an article about two AI robots creating their own language to communicate to each other without any influence from its creators. That’s astounding and relatively frightening, but that’s also a very big hole I don’t want to fall into discussing right now, lol.

So, how has the evolution of language affected the way we write? If you’ve read the likes of Jane Austin, J. R. R. Tolkien or even C. S. Lewis, the language they used is distinct to their time period. They were true storytellers, rarely showing the story and each having a unique, but similar melody and tone to the structure of their sentences. They breathed intelligence and depth into each page.

As books have become more accessible, the need to cater to all ages has helped drive the use of language and how we apply it to our writing. The words we use in a children’s book are very different to that of adult fiction, which in kind is very different to young adult. Where third person, past tense was the norm, we are now seeing first person, past tense; first person, present tense and even third person, present tense.

If you’re like me, you’ve thought first person, present tense is just too awkward to read or even write, but you have that little niggle to want to experiment and challenge yourself; just to see if you can pull it off and create an incredible story.

With the changes in language, the dialogue of the characters in young adult books has also adjusted and become fluid in its variety. I’ve read of so many authors getting their teenage children to read their manuscripts so the dialogue is up to date with how they communicate to their friends, right down to each word or phrase. Cool or rad are probably so outdated to describe something you think is … well, cool, but without knowing what words kids are using these days, my own young adult stories may be seen as old fashion and not even worth reading. 

I think it’s important for us as writers to be up to date with the new phrases of the 21st Century, especially if we’re writing contemporary fiction, but I think its also as important in young adult fiction as well as fantasy and science fiction so the characters relate to the current generation. But I also love the idea of using those old archaic words that no one uses anymore. You know, the ones that really roll off the tongue like discombobulate, flabbergast, fandangle, magnanimous or superfulous. We really need to bring some of these words back.

What other changes has language had on the way we write? What’s your favourite word in the english language? Let me know by posting a comment below.

K.A. Hart is a born and bred Territorian who moved to Queensland and had no choice but to stay after her assimilation into Toowoomba's infamous, collective known as Quirky Quills.

Since then, K.A. Hart has had two short stories published. Stone Bearer, appears in Glimpses of Light and Tedious Tresses, in the As Time Goes By Mixed Blessings anthology. She is currently working on a fantasy novel.

 

God spoke first!

 

MoorePerspective-blogger

 

 

Julia Archer

 

Our Bible begins with God communicating. ‘God said….and God said….and God said.’

            Scripture is both communication and a record of God communicating.

            And what creative, diverse communication it is!

            As Psalm nineteen says, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God

                                                    …The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy…

            God speaks audibly from a burning bush, from a mountain blazing with fire, and out of the mouth of a donkey.

            God’s Spirit inspires David to write poetry and music.

            God sends angels to speak to men and women.

            He speaks in dreams to Joseph the son of Jacob, and Joseph the husband of Mary.

            He gives visions to Daniel, Ezekiel, Amos and John the Apostle.

            We read, ‘The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of …The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of … The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of …The word of the Lord that cam

e to Micah … The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of …’

            ‘Son of’, and sometimes ‘in the reign of’ particular kings. The prophets were real men, with real parents, at a definite place and time. A word for that place and time and for all who have lived since. God’s word, revealing his character, his concern for our right worship and right living.

 

PostmillennialWorldView

 

            How did the word of the Lord come to them? It doesn’t say! I can’t help wishing it did. But God was certainly determined to get his message across, over and over.

            He told Ezekiel to make a little model of the city of Jerusalem, and set up a toy besieging army around it!

            Hebrews opens by telling us that in the past God spoke to his people through the prophets, ‘but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.’

            Jesus spoke in a human voice, and family men with a living to make, dropped everything to follow him and depend on the kindness of strangers.

            Jesus spoke, and the blind saw, lepers were healed, the storm subsided, demons fled, the dead were raised, sinners knelt at his feet, and the nation was divided into those who believed in him, even worshipped him, and those who planned his murder.

            Jesus spoke and a kingdom was launched. From his lips we have the good Samaritan, the father who welcomed the prodigal son, and the shepherd who rescued the lost sheep.

            From his lips we know the meaning of his death, and the promise of his return.

            And to each generation since, the Father has sent the Spirit to communicate God’s love for the world, and communicate the meaning of scripture.

 

knowjesusnow-WordPress.com

 

            As Christian writers, we are communicators. As God’s communication with us takes many forms, so does our writing.

            When we are discouraged – and we all are sometimes – we can turn to God and ask for help in what we are trying to say. We can ask, ‘Is this what I actually should be writing?’ Is this is how I should say it? Is this how I should try to get it to the right audience?

            Life stories, dramas, prayers, liturgy, sermons, fiction (think the parables!), poetry, proverbs, family sagas, courtroom drama, mystery, romance, travel and adventure (Luke’s account of Paul’s journeys), it is hard to think of any area of writing suitable for a Christian author that does not appear in Scripture.                  There’s humour, too. Imagine, seriously, the man with a great piece of timber in his eye trying to pick a bit of sawdust from his friend’s eye.

 

on-writing-history

 

            That God places such value on communicating should inspire us not just to continue writing, but to persistently seek to live closer to him, so that we first hear from him, before we try to write.

            He has plenty to say!

            I must leave to Jesus the last word on our listening to God’s communication.

            ‘Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."’ Mark 4:9

 

 

123RF.com

 

2020, The Novel.

 

2020 The Novel

The plot gets more and more intriguing. If it’s a good book you are desperate to find out what happens – but at the same time you don’t want the book to finish.

You flip the page to start a new chapter. A sudden turn catches you unaware. You are shocked! The good guys start to play nasty and you wonder - maybe the good guys will end up being the baddies? What was hidden is starting to be revealed – just a corner lifted so you can get a glimpse and it sickens you. You slam the book shut and find something else to do while composing a long negative review in your mind. How dare the author turn the narrative on its head?

But soon you sneak back and pick up the book because you must know what happens.

You turn the pages at speed, caught in the unexpected dreadful revelations only to reach the end of the book with the story still up in the air. ‘To be continued,’ it states.

Welcome to 2020 😃

The year began with such promise. The year of 2020 vision. ‘The old has gone. The new has come,’ as the prophet Isaiah stated. Both of those promises have proven to be true. But we don’t like what we are seeing and the new isn’t what we were expecting. Instead of reading the book, we find ourselves caught in a narrative which is rushing onward at speed, but we can’t see the end. And like the Israelites we long to go back to where we were at the beginning of the year, to do a rewrite. 

Yet I think we are starting to understand that life as we knew it will not return. The new thing is being birthed.

There are two plans for the world’s future. Those opposing sides are caught in a dreadful war in the heavenlies as well as on earth. Like any war, people are puppets and dispensable in the eyes of evil men and women.

 

But maybe this is a write-your-own ending story?

Do we have a choice? Yes, absolutely Yes!

We can bow to fear or we can trust in the Lord. We can curl up into a ball or we can rise up and pray. We can feel sorry for ourselves, or we can look for someone to assist and pour out the love of God on them. We can acquiesce, saying 'Who am I'? Or we can decree and declare the truth of scripture and oppose the enemy’s plan.

It is time to read Psalm 2. Here is a couple of selected verses.

Why do the nations conspire
and the people plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together.....

The One enthroned in heaven laughs:

the Lord scoffs at them.

He rebukes them in His anger

And terrifies them in His wrath.

 In the book of 2020, the Lord God Almighty is still in control. He does have a plan and it is for our good. As we wait for next chapters of the book to be revealed, can I encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on ‘the Author and Finisher of our Faith’?

Jo Wanmer wrote this from her sunny office in the north of Brisbane, God's own country! She trusts her thoughts encourage you and bless you. Together may we rise up as an army of God in prayer and watch as He resolves the issues.