Humility
Indebtedness
I just wanted to be nice.
I had the ability to give a small gift and I wanted to do something for them. My daughter was going to be in the dentist’s chair for an hour, so I had both the time and, fortunately, the money for a run to the coffee shop. So I offered to treat the office staff to an afternoon indulgence. They were eager for lattes, but misunderstood my desire to pay. All three opened their wallets, counting out the bills and jotting their orders on yellow sticky notes. I protested, reiterating my offer. They hemmed and hawed, reluctant to permit me the pleasure of giving. Read More
(gr)Attitude Adjustment
Last week I spent two hours in my car to accomplish merely two simple tasks:
I had to take my vehicle in for service and then attend a meeting. It took an hour and a half in traffic to get to and from the repair shop and another 30 minutes to get across town again to the meeting venue.
While I began grumbling as soon as the traffic congestion reared it’s ugly head, I was in a full tirade by the time I hit the 90 minute mark. Crabby because my car needed some expensive work done, I was on a verbal roll. (My car wasn’t going anywhere, but my mouth sure was.) Read More
Whose (by)line is it, anyway?
It was mine. All mine.
As a ghost writer, I don’t get the byline in the publication. And I’m okay with that: I do the writing, but the client is the subject-matter expert without whom I couldn’t write the article. Last week, however, I had been offered the byline for an article to be published in a nationally recognized magazine whose publication reaches 40,000 people. This is an uncommon honor for a ghost writer, and I was tickled pink.
The editor asked for my headshot; I sent it. My bio was requested; I submitted it. The writing was done, shipped off for publication. Read More
Keep out. Come in.
Are privacy and authenticity mutually exclusive?
The call for authenticity has taken up residence in yet another forum. It’s no longer the mantra just of small groups and friendship; now blog posts and Facebook status updates are required to contain some degree of personal drama to qualify the writer as being ‘real.’ It appears there’s no venue in which privacy is deemed appropriate or even important. Read More
Duty with Dependence
“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.”
— John Hancock, 1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Independence Day, for many Americans, is synonymous with grilled meat, baked beans, potato salad, lawn chairs and fireworks. Perhaps a watermelon thrown in for good measure.
While celebrating in such a fashion is certainly enjoyable, Independence Day is meant to remind us of our hard-fought liberation from oppression. Read More
To Regret or Not To Regret?
It’s gotten under my skin, this quote. Yes, there are positive ways to mean/understand it, but I think it’s too easily skewed.
Never regret anything because at one point in your life it was exactly what you wanted.
(I don’t even know to whom to attribute the quote, so I extend my apologies for not noting it. Whomever you are, I wish I could hear the way you intended it because I think I beg to differ with you. Respectfully, of course.)
My deepest regrets in life are over the very times I did exactly what I wanted instead of what was wise. Read More
Comparatively Speaking
In my personal study early this week, I read about the tongue and what our speech reveals about our hearts:
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
— Luke 6:45 ESV
Later in the week:
That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.
— Galatians 5:25 MSG
And then I conversed with a woman who has recently launched a non-profit organization and is seeing God at work in and through her ministry; it is bearing much fruit. I genuinely rejoice with her at God’s blessing; I thrill in the knowledge that lives are being changed in most tangible ways as a result of her obedience. Read More
Washed Away
I consider it chemotherapy for my prideful, sinful nature.
All it takes is a few moments standing at the edge of the ocean for me to be reminded swiftly and surely of my utter insignificance but for the love of God.
I got a hefty dose this week during a trip to Portland. We’d migrated to the coast mid-morning and were frustrated at the onslaught of rain, which relegated us to indoor activities instead of beach-combing and tidepool-sleuthing. My kids were quickly disinterested in the options available to us. I was quickly ‘disinterested’ in their attitudes. As the day progressed, our patience for one another eroded. Eventually, as darkness approached with rain-unabated, we pulled on rain boots, donned hats, gloves and coats, and extended umbrellas. Out we went to savor whatever we could of this precious time at the edge. Read More
Ghost Writer
I am a ghost writer. It’s scary enough to think that I’m gainfully employed after more than a decade as full-time mama, but the title has me a bit itchy. The ‘writer’ portion of the job description is daunting, considering my background is in Finance, not English. It’s the ‘ghost’ part that really unsettles me.
ghost writer –
a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person
Another person receives credit for my work, and that’s why it’s unnerving. I don’t mind not getting the byline; I’m worried about whether or not I’ve represented them accurately. I paint the client through content and voice. I am the channel through which the client’s story is told, communicating their knowledge, expertise and abilities.
At the end of a project, I want to know they are pleased with my efforts and feel well-represented. If I do my job correctly, I am unseen — virtually transparent to the readers. As such, the credited ‘author’ gets exactly that: the credit.
The Christian life is no different. We are all ghost writers, employed by God Himself to represent His character, work and love. I think this is the heart of Matthew 5:16:
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
If we allow Christ’s light to radiate through us, then He will receive the glory for our good works. Some of our good deeds must be done in private (Matthew 6:3); when deeds will be seen by others, we must mindfully redirect accolades to the One who inspires and enables them. Like a ghost writer, we should be transparent to the observer; they should see only Him in those good works.
We must tell His story faithfully, truthfully, and authentically through our own. If we do our jobs properly, the Author will receive the glory.