Steadfast - Guest Blogger, Teresa Pollard

Another Wednesday and another guest. It is my pleasure to welcome, Teresa Pollard.

Teresa Pollard is from Richmond, Virginia, and was saved at a young age.  She has a Masters degree in English and Creative Writing from Hollins College, and has served as a Sunday School teacher and children’s worker for most of the last forty years.

Married for forty years, she was devastated by divorce and the death of her youngest daughter, but God has blessed her with a new home and another grandson, and she now resides in Dacula, Georgia.  Her website is http://www.TeresaPollardWrites.com.
http://www.Teresatalkstaboo.Wordpress.com




The Breaks

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.  Isaiah 40:31

“Give me a break.”  People have been using that expression all my life (long before they made Kit Kat bars).  But what does it mean? “Have mercy?” Or, “Forgive me?” Or, maybe  ... On the other hand, I’ve also heard all my life, “That’s the breaks,” meaning “Tough luck, you fool.”  

So which is it?  What is a “break”?

I suppose it’s both.  It’s a fork in the road where we have to make a choice.  Do we keep going along the same path we have been traveling or do we turn in a different direction?  Maybe the “big break” is straight ahead, waiting just around the bend where it can’t be seen yet.  But maybe it’s in that turn if we take the risk of making it.  

Sometimes we make the right choice. We find the “big break.”  Or maybe, what we found wasn’t what we were looking for at all, but for us, it’s even better.  

But what if we made the wrong choice?  What if we were supposed to make that turn a few miles back, and we missed it entirely. Are we just supposed to keep trudging on, putting one foot if front of the other? 

I don’t think so.  I think that’s exactly when we’re supposed to cry out to our Heavenly Father, “Abba, Daddy, please give me a break. I’ve lost my way, and I can’t find the path. 

Getting lost is always easy.  Until recently, I thought I was the most directionally challenged person on Earth.  Now I know better.  That “honor” belongs to my roommate!  Finding our way back to the right road is usually much more difficult. But God is good.  He’s merciful, and He has given us His Holy Spirit to help, comfort, and guide us.  

The only problem is we don’t always listen. It’s like we’re little children who babble, “I can do it myself” when we know, deep down, that we really can’t.  

But, maybe sometimes, the problem is that we aren’t lost at all. We’re actually right where He wants us to be, but we’re in a holding pattern (yes, I know I’m mixing my metaphors!) and 
we’re getting frustrated at the wait. We don’t know what lies ahead, and the temptation is to settle for something less than God’s best.  

My prayer is, “Lord, please help me to never again settle for less than Your best.”  

Not Guilty

It's 1974 and Carrie Shepherd, daughter of the minister at Windspree Community Church, is a college senior with plans to be a missionary in Africa. Raped by a masked assailant, Carrie is so traumatized she tells no one until she realizes  she's pregnant. Refusing to have an abortion, she must find the courage to face her family, her fiance, her friends, and a gossiping, angry congregation which m may include her attacker.

This book sounds great and Teresa is offering a free copy of Not Guilty or a copy of her soon to release, Not Ashamed. All you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment. Make sure to include your email address so Teresa can contact you.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie

Quiet Moments With God - In the Middle of a Muddle

Sometimes our days seem to be filled with decisions. We have choices - what will I have for breakfast - which book should I read next - do I really want to watch American Idol? Of course having choices is better than not having choices. And the ones I've mentioned don't affect our lives much one way or the other, but there are decisions that are truly major and even life changing.

Just as no two people are the same, neither are the ways in which we make decisions. Take baking a cake, for instance. Some like to weigh and measure every ingredient while others simply toss in the elements and trust that the results will be good.

I live somewhere in the middle of those two options. Probably most of us do. However, I presently find myself befuddled. I've got a relatively big decision to make about a writing project, one I've invested hundreds of hours of my time. The results of all my hard work were not what my agent or I had expected and now I need to decide what to do about what we both feel is an amazing story. 

At this point, all I know to do is to talk to God about it. I think back to the day when I felt called to this project. I was certain it was the Lord's will for me, but like us all my heart and mind can be misled. No matter how I got here I am in a quandary.

Wrestling through this decision I found myself in the midst of 1 Corinthians, specifically verses 1:18 - 2:5. Powerful verses. 

Paul speaks about God's wisdom versus the wisdom of the world. Verse 20 says, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" And then in 2:4-5 he says, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

Wow. There he goes again. The apostle Paul always speaks right to my heart. 

But I still don't know what to do specifically about this project. I guess I'd better begin by resting in God's power not man's wisdom. And not my wisdom.

I do not have an answer to my dilemma, but I know who to listen to if I want to find the right direction. Certainly seeking wise counsel is a good thing, but ultimately I need to rest in the Lord - wait on Him to show me the way I should go.

While I wait, leaning on The One who knows the beginning and the end of all things I'm asking for your prayers.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie

Thoughts For Today -- Choices

Life is made up of choices. And there are consequences, good and bad, that follow the choices we make.

I'm not one who usually has a difficult time making choices, but today I'm absolutely stupefied. I have a great opportunity, but it means choosing between something that's new and great or sticking with the status quo, which is also really great.

I can't decide. The phrase, "I could pull my hair out," seems appropriate just about now.

I'm reminded of my oldest daughter who used to have the worst time purchasing a book. When she was young, she loved books (still does) so much that when we went into a bookstore she had a terrible time making a decision about which one to get. Often times, after having spent a good long time in the bookstore, I would have to apply the count down rule  and tell her she had ten minutes to decide or have to leave with nothing. I'd remind her at five minutes, then three and two . . . and more than once she walked out of the store without a book. It was sad. I hated having to follow through with the rule, but otherwise we might have spent hours waiting for her to make a decision.

I'm feeling like her right now.  There are two awesome choices and I can't figure out which to choose.

I know all about talking it over with God. I'm doing that. And I know about making sure that whatever decision I make lines up with scripture. Both are fine when held up to the light of God's Word. I've discussed the options with someone I trust. They don't have a definitive answer. And I know that I need to make sure that I have peace with my choice. The trouble is that both choices offer rewards and I can see that once I make up my mind I will have peace. I just don't have any  now.  Groan.

I'm beginning to think that neither one is right or wrong. That all will be well no matter what choice I make. But I still can't decide.

Sigh.

I'd be more specific, but the choices affect others so I can't say anything at this point.

Have you ever been in a situation like this? How did you resolve it? And how did it turn out?

I'm going to continue to pray and contemplate the positives and negatives. Pray for me. I really need help with this.

Thank you.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie