Today was a day that I really needed to hear some good news, and it came from a source I didn’t expect! The Crimson Cord is #4 on the CBA Bestseller List for Historical Fiction! Thank you to all of my influencers, reviewers, and readers for helping get the word out about this book. Just knowing that so many of you have enjoyed my version of Rahab’s story and that it helped you enjoy reading the Old Testament more and see God’s grace there means a lot to me! So again, thank you! I appreciate you! Writing these days has been slower going but I’m getting pretty good at slopping “thin set” on ceramic tile! (Kind of like frosting a cake.) The bathroom is coming along, but we still have a lot to do. More work than time, but we’ll get it done! Randy and I had a pretty good rhythm going with it yesterday. Today, he is cutting more tile so we can get at it again.
In the meantime, I’m also preparing for our son’s wedding in California – coming soon! I can’t believe how fast the time goes. I long for time with all of my kids together in the same place. That sure doesn’t happen often any more, which makes me cherish every moment we do get. I told Randy the other day that it’s all Michael W. Smith’s fault that our kids love the west. When they were young I played his music in the car all the time and “Go West Young Man” was among our favorites. Hmm…maybe we need to go west too someday. Tiger isn’t quite sure he agrees with that.
Today – this week also brings to mind a lot of happy and sad memories. My mother-in-law would have been 103 this past Sunday and my dad would have been 93 today. Both have been in heaven for quite some time, and the older I get the more I look forward to seeing them again someday. Hard to believe Randy’s mom has been there for 15 years. Don’t blink. Time will slip right past us!
But even as time marches on and we move from one project, one goal to another, I think a better song for me today (rather than “Go West Young Man”!) is Mandisa’s “Where You Begin”. I heard it while driving today and it talked about going if God says go and staying if God says stay. I might want to move to greener/warmer pastures, but I need to be where He wants me to be. Like Abram of old, if God says, “go”, we better go! But if He’s saying “stay” then we must stay. Each person has a different journey and only God has the roadmap.
But my favorite line of Mandisa’s song was this: “Are you telling me to hang onto you for another day?” Sometimes that’s the best thing we can do. Even if we are hanging by a thin thread. God won’t let go. We forget He holds us in the palm of His hand if we are His.
And while He holds us, He also has this really cool tendency to bless us. Even with small glimpses of His kindness. Joy and sadness mingle, but above all, He loves us. Today is a mix of joy and sadness and gratitude for His love. But isn’t that true for most days of our lives?
Selah~
