Just got back from Nashville - The American Christian Fiction Writer's Conference. Wow! What a wonderful time of growth! The weekend overflowed with defining moments. Defining moments in friendships, in career decisions, in spiritual things. Some pleasant, some painful, but when it was all said and done, I can only quote our fantastic keynote speaker, Karen Ball - "It's all good."

Now I'm home, determined and focused. Ready to write. Ready to pray. Ready to grow. I'm going to work from a schedule--a totally new concept for me, except for when I'm on a horrific deadline, then my schedule is something like:

Write. Don't Eat. Don't Sleep. Repeat.

Not fun. :) This new schedule is one of balance. When I get home from dropping the girls off at school, I'll go to my secluded writing place (no internet) with my laptop and except for a thirty minute lunch break, that's where I'll stay until time to go pick them up again. That's it. After we get home, my life will be mine to share with my family and do all the other things I need to do. :) I'm excited. No more guilt for not writing enough. By blocking things out, the only time I have to feel bad is if I'm not writing during that prescribed time! I'll let you know how this goes. I'm starting tomorrow. (Yes, a classic procrastinator's line, but I really am.) Today I have to finish unpacking from our trip.

I ordered the MP3 version of the whole conference and can't wait to get it. The only downside to a conference is that you can't go to all the sessions! But with the MP3s, it's all good. :)

Peace out.

I just ran across this devotional I wrote in October, 2001 - just a month after the 9/11 attacks. Thought I'd share it, as it still seems relevant. :)

Certainty in an Uncertain World

Imagine with me for a minute that President Bush calls a huge conference tonight and invites all of America, including every military person in service for our country, to hear him speak. When he has us all together, he speaks, and his words are like a balm to our weary souls. With a few sentences, he lays all our unspoken fears and doubts to rest.

We are completely revived and have no qualms at all about hastening back to the battlefield -- whether it be a cave in the wilds of Afghanistan, a high-rise news media tower in New York City or a rice field in Arkansas -- even laughing as we go. What could he say that would inspire us to do that?

What if he told us, “Your only job is to fight the fight. You don’t have to be perfectly-skilled warriors. You don’t have to count your mistakes. As a matter of fact, YOU don’t have to worry in the least about the outcome, because the victory is ALREADY won. All you have to do is keep fighting according to my plan.” Then, as some of the tension leaves our tight shoulders, he delivers the topper. . .

"Furthermore, as long as you keep fighting, not ONE of you shall lose your life in the battle.”

How could he tell us that? How could anyone say that about a battle not yet fought?

Quick! If you had to fill in the blank in this sentence with one word, what would it be? The Book of Revelation is a book of ___________.

Doom? Fear? Riddles? I can go on and on. Many of us shudder at the mere thought of the book. What if I was to tell you that the answer to the fill-in-the-blank question is HOPE?

Just like the rest of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation is a book of HOPE. Each terrible prophecy in the final book ends with the assurance that Jesus Christ HAS won the battle. He has done it FOR us. All we have to do is fight the good fight and don’t quit. As long as we do that, none of us will lose our eternal life in the battle. There’s a lot I don’t understand in that Book, but I do understand that.

We don’t know how long we’ll be called to continue in combat or when our term here will be up and we’ll go on to Heaven to celebrate the victory. But no matter WHEN it ends, we can know HOW it ends. Walk, therefore, rejoicing into battle, praising the name of God, Most High, for -- thanks to Him -- the victory is already won. Is there anything more certain than that?