Skip to main content

Lifting up Christ

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.18.2005

One thing has pervaded my writing the past few days, and that is my "Mission" verse, John 12:32: "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me."

The Greek says "lifted up from the earth" or lifted onto the cross. But I like to also see the further implications of this: With Christ's sacrifice, he'll draw people to himself. Meaning, if I "lift him up," or if I emphasize aspects of Christ's sacrifice in my writing, he'll draw people to himself.

I'm rather post-modern in that I'm not comfortable with blatantly evangelical fiction, although I realize there is a place and an audience for it. I prefer showing what a true Christian would be like--flawed and struggling. Stumbling and learning. Stubborn, humbled, and then lifted up. That's what my Christian walk is like, and I relate to characters with the same.

So the past few days, I've been rethinking my heroines and my storylines, to try to emphasize Christ more. Not in dramatic conversion scenes or leading someone else to salvation. Rather, realizing something inside themselves that isn't in line with Christ's character. Struggling, resisting, wavering. Submitting. Being tested and attacked. Making wrong choices, making right choices. Then (because I'm a romance writer and need a happy ending) peace and a brighter future.

I guess the focus has shifted for me. Rather than writing a spiritual arc of awareness of God, I've shifted to awareness of Christ--the cross, the resurrection, his power and authority. I'm not sure if I can explain it, but the difference feels right.

Diet: Lost another pound. I ramped up my exercise last week--three weight-training sessions, four aerobic sessions. This heat is killing me, it's like running through hot soup. Blech. I also re-started my food journal, and it made me keep my calorie count down, but I'm a lot more hungry than I was last week.

I guess I kind of hoped that if I do super-well on my diet and exercise, the fat layer will magically melt away and I'll see some dramatic difference. I can hear you laughing. Yeah, but it's kind of depressing, despite the lost pound. My thighs still converse intimately, the rolls still jiggle around my midsection. My husband reminds me that it's a marathon, not a sprint. I'm just too impatient. I do hope God can help me stay motivated and have the self-discipline to keep this up.

On a positive note, my stomach is now smaller and gets full faster. So, the smaller portions are not so bad now because it doesn't take an hour for my body to feel satiated.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I hear you, I much prefer to read about real christians. good post hun.

yay on losing the pound
Pammer said…
I love the way you word things. Your thighs and mine must be related. :0)
Keep it up, Sweetie. I am praying for you.

Love ya,
Pammer
Lynette Sowell said…
Hey, Camy! I like that approach. Saved yet flawed, and as long as we live here we'll still have those thorns in the flesh. Thank God for grace! :)~~

Popular Posts

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Excerpt - A HUNDRED YEARS OF HAPPINESS by Nicole Seitz

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.05.2009 Update: Sorry, this giveaway is closed. A Hundred Years of Happiness by Nicole Seitz A beautiful young woman. An American soldier. A war-torn country. Nearly forty years of silence. Now, two daughters search for the truth they hope will set them free and the elusive peace their parents have never found. In the South Carolina Lowcountry, a young mother named Katherine Ann is struggling to help her tempestuous father, by plunging into a world of secrets he never talks about. A fry cook named Lisa is trying desperately to reach her grieving Vietnamese mother, who has never fully adjusted to life in the States. And somewhere far away, a lost soul named Ernest is drifting, treading water, searching for what he lost on a long-ago mountain. They're all longing for connection. For the war that touched them to finally end. For their hundred years of happiness at long last to begin. From the beloved author of The Spirit of Sweetgrass...

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...