Good morning. This is day 2 of the Christian novelists’ retreat, and already I feel so refreshed. I am rooming with two of my dearest friends. And there is nothing quite like being surrounded by like-minded people. There are 60-some Christian novelists here in this hotel, and it is sweet. (The photo is of my two roomies, on laptops of course!)
Yesterday, after worship and devotions, I moderated a session on "What the Lord Taught Me This Year." First I shared a selection from Streams in the Desert that talked about the white pebbles on Pebble Beach that are smooth and round and collected by many people. But they get that way, beautiful and white and collectible, by being constantly rolled and washed and battered against the shore. The point of the story, so well told in the book but not here, is that we are refined through the hard times in life.
So then I shared briefly all that has happened since I was with them a year ago, and then I shared what God has taught me through the experiences and lessons of the last 12 months. Those I will share with you now. This year, God has taught me (or confirmed to me) that…
- He supplies all my needs through His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
- He will be my Husband, my Father, my Friend, my Savior, my Lord, my Everything.
- I am never alone.
- I need the family of God and how very grateful I am for their love and their prayers and their compassion and their wisdom.
- I can trust God to continue to reveal truth and to guide me, no matter how long a desert experience may last. Again, I am never alone.
- I can be sure that nothing enters my life, absolutely nothing, that isn’t caused or allowed by God for the purpose of me being refined and becoming more like Christ.
Amen.
So today I am participating in something totally silly. It is a secret so I cannot blog about it lest some of the people who are here read my blog before it transpires. But it’s gonna be a hoot! I will have pictures to share.
Oh, the ARCs of my Christmas novella, A Carol for Christmas, did make it to the retreat. Zondervan really went the extra mile to get this ready for me to sign on Monday at the booksellers convention. Yea for them!
Time to get dressed and get a move on.
-rlh-
