Back to work

I admit it: I love winter. I took both of these photos in my backyard. And they don't do it justice--it really is beautiful.

For those of you who don't get my newsletter (or do get it but would like to comment on it) here's my musings for January from the Connecting with Keri newsletter. (If you like what you read and would like to subscribe, go to http://www.keriwyattkent.com/ and look for my newsletter info.) I'd love to hear your comments or feedback.

Now comes the hard part of winter, when the holidays are over. Here in the Midwest, it’s been cold and snowy for a month or two, but the season is just getting revved up. We’ve had ice storms, snow storms. We’re supposed to get a January thaw this weekend, although I know winter will return with a vengeance. It’s never really over around here until well into April.

I’ve enjoyed the holidays, and spending time with my family. I love just hanging out watching movies, reading Christmas books, visiting the city to look at the lights, or even shopping with my kids. I love the leisurely pace of our lives when they don’t have to get up for school and don’t have to be driven places on a schedule.

Yet there is part of me that longs to reclaim my computer and the quiet space of my home. I am ready for my darling children to go back to school, so I can work without Alvin and the Chipmunks singing “Bad Day” in the background (as it is right now. Again. Sigh.)

While the weather may be hard, this time of year presents a great opportunity to examine our lives, to see where, perhaps, we hope to go next; to align ourselves with God and His purpose.I finished a book manuscript in early December, and a few weeks later, my wonderful agent called with news of yet another book contract.

As a writer, I’m only employed for certain as long as I’ve got another project—this one will take me at least six months. To finish a manuscript and have another project right away is an amazing blessing. I’m grateful. Along with writing, I’ll travel to five states in the next four months for the other half of my job, speaking and teaching at retreats. My work provides meaning, purpose, joy and income. As much as I enjoyed a holiday break, I’m anxious to get back to work.

Perhaps this week, you too are getting back into your normal routine. Back to work, whether that work is caring for young children, adding value to your company, instructing others or engaging in creative endeavors. Whatever “normal routine” is for you, here’s something to consider: how do you go back to normal without falling into the same old rut?

There is no denying that being home with small children is hard work. But I’ve seen many women make it into an all-consuming career. The danger in that is that moms lose themselves, because they forget that parenting young children is a job for a season, not a lifetime. They don’t remember who they are, apart from the role of mom. It also backfires for the kids who can’t help but conclude that they are the center of the universe.

I really think that it’s important for moms to have something other than their children to occupy their thoughts, to give them meaning and purpose. Getting a job, volunteering for a cause that matters to you, taking a class (or maybe even teaching one) can help you hang onto your self during the parenting years.

I have several friends in various stages of the “empty nest” season. Some find themselves floundering—what are they now, if not a hands-on parent? Others are busy “re-inventing” themselves. Which is, I suppose, a healthy step, but one that makes me wonder: what if, somewhere along the way, they had kept a piece of themselves alive by nurturing their own God-given talents? We often find our purpose hidden in our passions. If we’ve spent some time seeking God’s purpose for our lives (beyond the important calling of caring for our family) perhaps we will find that an empty nest would not require complete re-invention, just a minor adjustment.

If you are a parent, do you have something to occupy your energy other than your kids? Something that fills you, invigorates you, challenges you? Something you think God is calling you to do, that fits with your purpose? Whether it is serving at church or on your school PTA, or even just a part-time job to give you a break from the kids and a little spending money to boot?

Whether you are a parent or not, January is a great time to think about how you spend your days, about your purpose and calling. It’s a great time to begin to explore some options. What work is God calling you to do in this season? As you “get back to normal,” take some time to consider whether you want to make some adjustments, set some goals, or perhaps make a fresh start altogether.

2008 Blessings

Outside, another storm coats each tree branch in splendid white frosting. I sip tea and reflect, on this New Year's Eve, on the blessings of my life. A warm house, enough food, my family, and a job I enjoy. But beyond these basics, I have been blessed by the struggles.

For some of you, 2007 was a difficult year. Others of us found joyful moments tucked amongst the challenges. When we engage in deep soul work, when we invite God to meet us in our weakness and allow him to "search and know" us, we often find that digging through our rough exterior of excuses and rationalizations leaves us feeling tender, exposed.

What will 2008 bring? what are your dreams, hopes? Are you willing to respond to God's invitation to know and be known more deeply? To say yes to relationship with God means saying yes to facing the truth about ourselves--but knowing that even as we face it, we are deeply and unconditionally loved.

God is always working. The photo above is of my garden. Although it seems as if nothing is growing right now, God is at work: nourishing the soil with the snow, replenishing the perennials with rest. Even in seasons of our lives when all seems dead and cold, so much is going on--God continues to work. Our spirits are formed not by our own efforts, but by the work of God's spirit in us. There is a time to plant, and a time to harvest. And a time to rest.

My prayer is that you would rest in the quiet of winter, and seek the intimacy of God's presence.

Blessings

Keri

a more meaningful advent

Several readers responded to the post below, which went out as my monthly newsletter yesterday. My dear friend Wendy from Richmond VA wrote about some positive steps she and friends are taking to implement a more meaningful Christmas this year. Here's part of what she sent to me:
"It is amazing to me that so many times your writings mirror what I have been pondering or experiencing in my own life. ...
In Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz, he refers to the Advent Conspiracy. I read that book several years ago and really loved it. This year our church has joined other churches in being a part of the Advent Conspiracy and our family has committed to keeping a Christ-Centered Christmas, spending 25% less, giving that money to 1 of 3 organizations and to be intentional about the gift of time to family and friends. What a challenge that can be in this world that we live in.

Our son plays basketball for the an organization called Upward Sports. Someone from the host church offers a devotion during half-time. At one game, a man talked about a mission trip which he and his family took to a village in Africa. He told a story about watching a young girl dig in mud to find water. She would put the water in a rusty can and then walk a couple of miles back to her home and repeat the process over and over again. Hearing this story, something inside me stirred. About a month later we were at the soccer fields and I watched over and over again as people threw empty and half full water bottles into the trash cans. It is amazing how much we can take for granted our easy access to so many things - especially clean water. Two days later I was watching Oprah and she did a segment on Heroes. She had a teenage boy named, Ryan, on the show and he shared his journey with raising money to build wells at the ripe old age of 6. He began the Ryan's Wells foundation. This moved me and I went on-line to research more. When I typed in Ryan's Wells a list of organizations came up and one of them was called "Living Water."
Visiting the website really touched me. Living Water offers a 2 week challenge. You can request the kit that they provide for this. For 2 weeks you drink nothing but water. For example, if at a time you would have normally had 2 cups of coffee then you put 25 cents in a cup and drink water instead and then offer a prayer of gratitude for what we have and a prayer for those who are in need. I took the challenge to my small group who immediately jumped on board. Our son, Connor, also participated in the challenge.
Our group raised over $400 by participating in this challenge and it was really fun to do.
Some folks would call for support - I'm really wanting to drink that cup of coffee. One friend decided in addition to drinking water that she would take 45 minutes to start exercising by walking everyday. During that time she committed to pray for those who live without clean, fresh water."

Wendy's story is inspiring--she listened to God's promptings, and joined with others to do something to make a difference! Let's hear from others of you who are changing the way you show God's love at Christmas time.

Later today I'll post something from another reader--meanwhile, add your own comments by clicking the "comment" word below.

Peace!

Keri

Birthday presents for Jesus

(For those who don't get my newsletter, here's a preview of this month's issue.)

Whose birthday is it anyway?
If Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, do we give him any gifts?
I find myself trying to swim through the thick of the advent season. I don’t really love shopping, or keeping track of what I’ve bought for whom, but I do love being able to give. I love demonstrating love and care to friends and family.
But do my gifts actually communicate my heart? Or do they simply fulfill my obligation?
Seduced by the slick ads in the Sunday paper, I am drawn irresistibly to the mall. I buy things I don’t need, things that are not on my list, and I realize when I get home, would be perfect for … nobody. Not even myself.
So I plan to return them, even before Christmas. Good grief.
As much as I want Christmas to be meaningful, to be about Jesus, resistance to the tide of materialism often feels futile.
I got an e-mail from my friend Karen Mains recently, with a link to the Advent Conspiracy website. It’s organizers suggest that rather than indebt ourselves to retailers, spending money on things nobody needs, that we invest in relationships, and give presents to Jesus, that is, to the poor. For what we give to the poor, we give to Jesus. Whatever you do for the least of these, he told us, you do for me.
I’ve often wanted to do this kind of thing: make donations to charity on behalf of those on my gift list. But I am afraid friends will feel gypped somehow, that they will be disappointed not to get the little trinket or book (I give a lot of books) that I usually buy them.
It feels like I’m imposing my charitable endeavors on friends, and frankly, a bit uncomfortable. But would I be willing to tell people, “don’t buy me anything—instead, donate to a charity?” I think that is the harder option. Especially when people just get you a gift and don’t ask—what do you want? To tell people what to get you feels a bit presumptuous. Or what if they tell you at the end of November—I’ve already bought your Christmas gift. Do I suggest they return it and donate the money.
The Advent Conspiracy has some great suggestions for families and groups—focusing on relationships, rather than shopping. And rather than giving unnecessary things, redirect that money to the poor. The website suggests letting God lead your giving, but it spotlights the African country of Liberia, where there is a desperate need for clean drinking water. Donating money so that deep wells can be constructed in small villages in Liberia will save lives. As in many third world countries, rural villages often use a local watering hole for all water functions. They bathe, wash clothes and draw drinking water, all in the same stagnant pond (in some cases, it's more like a puddle). Not surprisingly, the people in such circumstances, especially children, are often sick as a result. This is not an isolated problem. Millions of people all over the globe do not have access to decent water.
It truly is insane that we who have clean, purified tap water insist on spending millions a year to buy bottled water—which often comes from the same source our tap water does. What if you stopped buying bottled water, and donated that money to organizations that are digging wells in third world countries?
What does Jesus want for Christmas? Clean drinking water for people who have none seems like a good place to start.

Stepping out in faith

If God called, would you hear him? If he asked you to do something radical, would you do it?
Two years ago, I wrote a book called "Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life." Since then, God has challenged me to listen to my life, for the purpose of knowing him better. I'm always inspired when I hear about other people who are listening to God, and following his calling.

I received an e-mail this week from Esther Hall, an acquaintance from Willow Creek. I say acquaintance because I know who she is, we have mutual friends, we've bumped into each other via various ministries at Willow over the last two decades. Although I don't know her very well, I've always admired her.

Esther has been serving God through a ministry called PathFinders International for many years. But now, God is calling her to do something radical. she's getting ready to move to Africa!
You can read more about it on her blog, which is at http://www.hadassahscall.blogspot.com/
She has moved out of her apartment, is getting rid of her stuff, and getting ready to go. She's had to simplify her life (another of my favorite themes), paring her stuff down enough that it will fit in a few suitcases. That in itself is a spiritual exercise--to let go of our stuff so that we are free to follow God.
God may not call you to go to Africa, but I do think he calls each of us to serve him somewhere--in our neighborhood, our church, our workplace. And he calls us to live simply.
I know just walking through Target yesterday, I was so tempted by all the holiday stuff. I don't need any of it. In fact, I think accumulating stuff will only weigh me down, keep me from hearing God. And I think God has been saying, rather than wasting money buying more holiday junk, what if you were to use those resources to support Esther? Or feed people who are hungry and live right in my neighborhood? I hope that you'll join me on the adventure of giving this holiday season. If you'd like to contribute to her support, you learn more about that on her blog, or send it to PathFinders International 60-B W. Terra Cotta Dr #205 Crystal Lake, IL 60014.

California fires

Thanks so much to all of you who prayed for my parents. It appears that their home in Escondido is safe, miraculously. I blogged about it today over on Boomer Babes Rock, click on over to check it out.

while the pictures of devastation and destruction filled the news even here in Chicago, my mother said one of the most amazing aspects of this tragedy was something that was not tragic at all.

The story behind the story is about the kindness of the people of San Diego. My mother said Qualcom stadium was full of evacuees, but there were almost as many folks there volunteering to help. thousands of people brought food, bottled water, blankets, air mattresses and more to the places where displaced folks were staying. The Red Cross was overwhelmed by trying to manage all the donations.

My parents' home was very close to the fires, they were certain they would lose it. So far, it has been spared, for which we're very grateful.

Even my parents, hearing on the news a request for help with some nursing home residents who had been displaced, decided to go over and volunteer. They were turned away, even tho my mom is a registered nurse, because there were too many volunteers. People brought donations of everything, including numerous boxes of Depends, mom reported to me. :)

While it's scary and sad to see the fires, it is amazing to see how people are pulling together and helping each other.

Kids and Homework

Hi everyone,
thanks so much for your prayers, my parents house in Escondido is still standing, as far as we know (see post below). Right now they are not allowing anyone in to that area, since several houses in the neighborhood were burned. Keep up the prayers.
also, wanted to let you know about a cool site, Boomer Women Speak, run by Dotsie Bregel, one of the Boomer Babes I blog with. They published an article I wrote recently on an experience I had helping my daughter with her homework.
check it out here.

prayer request

Hi friends,
Just wanted to ask anyone who visits this site to please pray for the families in the San Diego area (including my parents) whose homes are being threatened by the wildfires. My parents were evacuated from their home in Escondido very early this morning, then evacuated again from the friend's house where they'd gone.
The fires are the lead story on http://www.cnn.com/ this morning.

The photo at right is not their home, but a news photo of a fire in that area. Currently their neighborhood is evacuated because the fire is nearby. Please pray that the fierce winds calm, so that their neigbhorhood will not be damaged.
I'd appreciate prayer for them and for all the residents of that area.
Thanks!

Teaching at Willow Creek

As many of you know, I've taught a women's spiritual formation class at Willow Creek for seven years. This year, I took a break from teaching, for two reasons. I needed more writing time, and I also wanted to let the women who have been a part of my teaching team step up and do more teaching. I love helping women discover their gifts, I love mentoring. Part of mentoring involves stepping aside to provide opportunities for others. This year, my friend Pam is leading the class and doing a great job. The book they are studying is a classic: Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline.
But this week, I had the opportunity to be the guest speaker. I taught on the discipline of fasting. Definitely an interesting topic--I had a great time learning as I prepared, and really enjoyed teaching.
Tahna, who is part of the team, has set up a website for the class that includes lots of info, including audio of the class.
So if you'd like to hear me teach on the spiritual discipline of fasting (don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds!) go to the site and take a listen!

Reader mail

First, I need to apologize for neglecting this blog. I'm working on a book, and my speaking schedule always revs up a bit in the fall.
One such speaking gig was at the MOPS International Convention in Orlando. I taught a workshop there last month. MOPS, you'll recall, sent out a copy of my book Breathe to all of its 110,000 members last May. So all 4400 women at this convention had received a copy--I don't know if they read it. But a number of them had, apparently. Several of them spoke to me during the weekend, and told me, "Your book changed my life."
You know, I have never written a best seller. My income from writing is small. Really. And I am often discouraged by that. But hearing from those readers was, to me, assurance that I am doing what God has called me to do.
This week, just when I really needed some encouragement, I received this e-mail from Darcy, a reader in Connecticut:

“Keri, my husband and I read your book "Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life" early this summer while enjoying "down time" with our five-year-old son and two-year-old daughter. We are changed because of it and have entered the first of our numerous school years with NOTHING on the calendar, except for MOPS 2x month.
We believe we are creating space for God to tap us on the shoulder and tell us where to spend our time and energy. We will add activities slowly and prayerfully, but have been so impressed by your words, that we have changed our lifestyle. Thank you for being so bold!”
It’s gratifying to hear that my book has had an impact, and even more gratifying that readers “get it”—that the purpose of clearing your schedule is not just so you can do nothing, but so that you're available to hear God's call and have the time and energy to respond to it. To make concrete changes that say no to a hectic life, so that you can say yes to God, who is ultimately the only one who really changes our lives.

Living as a Missional suburbanite

My newsletter was sent out today. for those that don't subscribe, here's the article. You can click on the link at right to subscribe.

Why I am a Missional Suburbanite

God has been messing with me lately. That’s the only way to describe it. The “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3) has been making me uncomfortable, and while I trust that this is for my own good in the long run (and the good of the world around me) it still creates an uneasiness in my soul.
There’s a saying that God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable. And it is the comfort of my life that God has been challenging me about.
Six months ago, I took a class on urban development and leadership, trying to learn about the problems of the inner city and familiarizing myself with the work of various urban ministries. It was a part of a justice journey that perhaps some of you have seen evidence of in my writing lately.
In recent weeks, God’s invited me to take a few more steps on that journey, and on that journey, I keep coming to forks in the path where I feel I must make choices. As usual for me, God is speaking through books: His Book, of course, but also a few others.
In the past two weeks, I read Will and Lisa Samson’s new book, Justice in the Burbs, and also Shane Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution. Both confirmed what I’ve been learning for the past year or two, that faith in Jesus and caring for the poor are inextricably bound. And now, I can’t claim ignorance anymore.
You can see my reviews of both books below, but I wanted to tell you a bit about how these two works have come at just the right time in my journey.
I grew up in a church that valued the Bible, and that church instilled that value in me, by various means (raise your hand if you did “Bible drills”). The most prevalent was memorization, a gift I’m grateful for. One verse I memorized was Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Christian singer Ken Medema had a song based on that verse, which I heard not only when he came to do a concert at our church but at home when we listened to his albums. And I was so glad that Jesus took my sins away, that I was saved, that God’s love went beyond reason, to amazing grace. To me, that was what the words meant—forgiveness of sin, halleluiah. I’m not being flippant, that really is a thing to rejoice in. And that is what the verse is about. But it’s not all that verse is about. My reading is missing some of the context.
I’ve been reading Isaiah again lately, because I’ve noticed so many of the verses I didn’t read in my childhood are in that book.
For example, the verse directly preceding God’s invitation to “reason.” Reason about what? “Let’s reason together” sounds like an invitation to a thoughtful discussion. But about what? My need for forgiveness? My need for personal salvation? God’s willingness to forgive me, which goes beyond normal reasoning? That’s what I’d always assumed, in fact, been taught. Because it is about that, but it’s also about so much more. The previous verse, Isaiah 1:17 says, “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
So “do right” doesn’t just mean not drinking, dancing, smoking or running around with boys who do? (the behavior my tradition labeled as the worst sins) Doing right also includes seeking justice, fighting oppression, helping orphans and widows? Huh. I mean, who knew?
It is still true that God’s grace washes us all clean, makes us white as snow. And that we ought to spurn sinful activities. His forgiveness of course, makes us grateful. That is so obvious that the text doesn’t even mention that. But the next verse says God expects our response to be obedience. How? By doing what it says in verse 17—to do what is right: seek justice, encourage the oppressed (my Bible’s footnote on this phrase says another translation of the phrase might be “rebuke the oppressor”). It seems that God is asking us to fight for justice so that those who are oppressed or orphaned can experience grace. No offense to my church, but how come I didn’t hear this part of the story? I thought that I was supposed to tell other people about Jesus. But this text, which is clearly about amazing grace, doesn’t say anything about telling, except with our actions of justice.
If the Bible says we should seek justice and rebuke the oppressor, then the actions that Shane Claiborne describes in his book—protesting mistreatment of tomato pickers, feeding the homeless and fighting for laws that protect the poor—don’t seem so radical anymore. His term for himself, an ordinary radical, makes more sense.
So, how is God messing with me? He’s poking around in my privileged little life, challenging me to seek justice and help widows and orphans, right here in my neighborhood. As Will and Lisa Samson write compellingly about what they call “theology of place,” which basically means that “God has placed us where we are for a reason. …Wherever you are, that is where the kingdom of God is at work. There is no neutral place. That is good news. So doing missions means doing the work of the kingdom wherever you are sent. And the best place to think about where you have been sent is to see where you are…. If you find yourself in the suburbs, welcome to your mission field.”
Since I do happen to find myself in the suburbs, where the regional pastime is shopping, I’m really wrestling with what it means to be missional. To be counter-cultural. To be a light in a place that presents a well-manicured façade is in some ways difficult. To fight my own tendencies to run after comfort and possessions, instead of seeking God. After all, they say that a light shines brightest in the darkness. In my comfortable suburb, just convincing people they are in the dark is half the battle.
One step on my journey was to decide to let God do the convincing, but do my best to act in a way that will give evidence of my faith. That doesn’t mean speaking in Christian jargon, it means admitting your struggles but pointing to God. It means, I think, loving people even when they are difficult.
In order to love someone, you need to get to know them. Do you know your neighbors, no matter where you live? Does your circle of friends include any people who have a different set of beliefs than you do?
Join the PTA at your child’s school, be one of the parents who volunteers to help with your kid’s soccer team—but do it with a missional mindset. Get to know people—seek out those who are different than you. Is there an elderly person in your neighborhood who could use some help with maintaining her home or yard? Offer to help. If there is a single mom in your neighborhood, get to know her. It’s quite possible that she will have a messy life, she will be needy. Get to know her anyway. Help her out in practical ways. That’s what love is.
You don’t have to move to the inner city to work for social justice. The way we live, the choices we make about lifestyle, consumption, etc. are all a part of justice. But the best place to begin is where you are, and the best time to do it is now.

Sabbath devotional

My friend and colleague Rachel Olsen, with Proverbs 31 Ministries, posted an encouraging devotional on http://www.crosswalk.com/ today. She wrote about Sabbath, which as you know is one of my favorite topics, and she quoted from my book Breathe. Check out what she wrote.

Revolutionary living

I just finished reading Shane Claiborne's book The Irresistible Revolution. Wow. I highly recommend it, although I have to warn you that the book will challenge you. It might make you mad, if you are a little conservative. But I'd love to hear what you think.

Claiborne is a controversial figure in Christian circles, mostly because he has decided to follow Jesus to the inner city, where he and a group of friends live among the poor, in fact are poor themselves, and to actually fight for justice. (http://www.thesimpleway.org/)
This book is partly a memoir, with stories of how Claiborne went to Calcutta to spend time working with Mother Teresa, and his trip to Iraq as a “peacemaker.” Claiborne has been arrested numerous times for protesting various forms of injustice, including local laws targeting the homeless that made it illegal to feed people, or to sleep outside.
But the book is more than a memoir, it is a challenge to the church and to every Christian to live their faith in a radical way. To live as if Jesus words about when we clothe the naked and feed the hungry, we’re doing it to him, were literally true.
What I'm trying to figure out is how to live out my faith when I live in a comfortable suburb. God's using Shane's book, as well as my reading of Justice in the Burbs by Will and Lisa Samson, to challenge me. My neighbors need God's love--so how do I really show that to them? I'm insulated from the poor, so Claiborne's words really made me think:
“We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor.”

My monthly visits to a women's shelter have enabled me to get to know the poor a little, but I would say that it's only a start. I don't really know them.

This book will rock you, because Claiborne claims that while he’s a radical, he’s an ordinary radical, and following Jesus is a radical calling.
The point of the book is to call Christians to actually live out their faith. figuring out what that means for you will require prayer, but then action. He writes:
“If you ask most people what Christians believe, they can tell you, ‘Christians believe that Jesus is God’s son and that Jesus rose from the dead.’ But if you ask the average person how Christians live, they are struck silent. We have not shown the world another way of doing life. Christians pretty much live like everybody else; they just sprinkle a little Jesus in along the way. And doctrine is not very attractive, even if it’s true. Few people are interested in a religion that has nothing to say to the world and offers them only life after death, when what people are really wondering is whether there is life before death.”
I challenge each of you to read this book and take just one small step toward living your faith. And to offer suggestions to all of us about how to live justly no matter where we live.

Writing for magazines

As a freelance writer, I write for several publications, including Discipleship Journal and Today’s Christian Woman. Knowing this, reader Dianne had this question: ”How do you do research for ‘practical Christian living’ type articles? If you are not an ‘expert’ how do you put that ‘expert voice’ into your articles?”

This is a great question. A lot of people want to write. But in order to write, you need to have something to say. So often, the idea of being a writer is so appealing, until you have to actually gather your thoughts into something coherent, and then sit down and actually write, which is so much dang work.
Perhaps you do write, and you have lots of ideas. If you want to write for magazines, the first step is to read the magazines you’re like to write for. Study several back issues to determine the magazine’s style, format, topics. Figure out which magazines line up with the topics you want to write about. A magazine such as, oh, say, Practical Horseman, is not going to buy an article on resolving conflict in your marriage, no matter how well researched and written. An article that is perfect for People Magazine would likely be rejected by the Journal of the American Medical Association, no matter how intriguing or well-written. Research the magazines you are targeting.
An invaluable resource, if you are trying to write for the Christian market, is The Christian Writers Market Guide by Sally Stuart. Published annually, this book lists magazines, publishers, etc., and gives details ranging from whether they work with freelancers, how much they typically pay, what type of articles they are looking for, editors names, etc. There are tips on writing queries and articles. this year's edition also includes a CD-ROM which makes it easy to search.
Each magazine also will have its editorial guidelines, and an editorial calendar. (Often posted on their website or available by request). The guidelines give you rules for format and style and content. The calendar tells the topics or themes for each issue.
Magazine articles are not about you—they are about the reader. Your musings on a topic are not interesting, frankly, to anyone besides you (and perhaps readers of your blog, which is where that type of thing belongs—or in your own private journal—but that’s another topic). However, some articles begins with a story about you, and how you solved a problem in your own life. But they must move on to offer help to the reader to improve their life or solve a problem.

There are links on this blog to several other great sites that have more tips on writing. Or feel free to post a comment or questions by clicking on the word "comments" below.

Experience Africa

Just got back from a visit to Africa.

Well, actually, Naperville, IL, an affluent suburb about as different from Africa as you can imagine. But World Vision's traveling exhibit about Africa and AIDS was at a church there. What an amazing experience.

You can read more about it at www.boomerbabesrock.com/blog so click over and check it out.

then, visit World Vision's website and find out when this amazing interactive exhibit will be in your town. Make plans to go--you will not regret it.

book review

My book Listen was reviewed on a great blog, Unfinished Work, today. Click over and read the review, then leave a comment.

Postmodern parenting

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood words of our day is "postmodern." There are plenty of explanations of this term, and you can google it to your heart's content and find all kinds of different ideas.

But at the surface, break it down. "Post" as a prefix means "after."

The "modern" era was the machine age, an age of rationalism, when people basically believed that our knowlege and powers of rational thought would take us to, as that icon of modernity, Buzz Lightyear, proclaimed, "to infinity and beyond."

So postmodern means "after the modern era." Well, and a whole lot more.

Many conservative people tend to wring their hands a lot about postmodernism, as if it were a religion people sign up for, or a force of evil, like terrorism or oh, say, legalism.

Anyway, the fact is, because we live in the 21st Century, we live in the postmodern era. It is simply an observation about where we find ourselves on the timeline of human history. We live after the modern era, so it is now the post-modern era. Now, the term also encompasses the prevailing thinking of our day. And we can agree or disagree with some of the tenets of post-modernism, or not.

All to say, we have to live in this culture, where people around us often unwittingly ascribe to postmodern ideas. It is still very fluid and changing, which is indeed part of post-modernism--our desire to define things before they have even fully happened.

If we don't want our kids to simply absorb post-modern values by osmosis, we need to understand what those ideas are, and even to discuss them. To be informed and intentional as parents and as people.

As a parent, I want to be relevant and authentic. Writer Mary Demuth has provided a guide to help me achieve both with her new book Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture. I'm honored to be a part of her blog tour this week.

INTERVIEW WITH MARY
Welcome to Deep Breathing for the Soul, Mary. Let's start with an important question: How would you define the term "postmodern"?

Postmodernism is the waiting room between what used to be a modern worldview and what will be. According to several postmodern scholars, we’re in a shift right now, leaving modern ideas behind, but what we are shifting to is not yet fully defined. Postmoderns believe that rationalism and/or more education doesn’t necessarily create a better society. They typically don’t embrace the notion of absolute truth, though they reach for the transcendent. They are skeptical, and often question whether science is something to be embraced or feared.

Okay, how does this intersect with my parenting?

The question for parents is how will we mine the current worldview, even as it shifts? What in it can we embrace as biblical? What is not biblical? What I’ve seen in the church is a fearful adherence to what is familiar. So we cling to modern ideas, even though they may not be biblical and shun postmodern ideas even when they might be biblical. Our children will meet this shifting worldview no matter what our opinion of it is.

So as a mom, what can I do to help my kids?

Become a conversational parent. Talk to your kids. Listen. Share your story.Dare to believe that God has much to teach you through your kids. Be humble enough to learn from them.Create a haven for your kids, an oasis in your home that protects, supports, and gives kids space to be themselves. Take seriously the mandate that you are responsible for the soul-nurturing of your children.Teach your children to joyfully engage their world, while holding tightly to Jesus’ hand. Teaching this comes primarily from modeling it in your own life. Do you engage your neighbors? Are you more interested in God’s kingdom than your own? Admit your failures openly with your children, showing how much you need Jesus to live your daily life. You are the first to admit that being authentic might require a parent to apologize after an angry outburst.

So, authentic parents are real--they don’t always have it all together? We're allowed to make mistakes?

Yep! We are all frail, needy humans. If we present ourselves as perfect parents, never failing, always doing this correctly, we show our children we have no need of Jesus. We also set up a standard of perfection—that to be a Christian, one has to be perfect. This can lead to our children creating elaborate facades or hiding behind masks. I’d rather have my children see that even mommies make mistakes, and we all need Jesus every single day.You talk about the twin values of engagement and purity.

Well, that makes me feel good because my kids are highly aware that their mom is anything but perfect! But tell me more about these ideas of engagement and purity.

Many parents subconsciously believe that true parenting means protection at any cost. when we lived in France, we received a lot of flak for putting our children in French schools because the atmosphere there wasn’t exactly nurturing. Believe me, the decision was excruciating. But through it all, I realized that Jesus calls us all to be engaged in the culture we live in, yet not to be stained by it. That’s the beauty of engagement and purity. Abraham understood this. After God told him to leave everything and venture to a new place, he obeyed: “From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 12:8). Oswald Chambers elaborates: “Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abraham pitched his tent between the two.” As parents journeying alongside our children through a postmodern world, this concept of pitching our tent between communion with God and engagement in the world should encourage us.

The book we've been discussing, Authentic Parenting in a Post-Modern Culture, by Mary DeMuth is available now. You can purchase your autographed copy directly from Mary at the link above. I highly recommend that you order it today!

speaking podcast

Back in May, on Mother's Day weekend, I had the privilege of traveling to Utica, NY, where I was the guest speaker at all three weekend services of Mount Zion Ministries chuch.
What a great community of people who love God.
My talk was about what moms need. I won't give it away, but validation and a sense of purpose were among the things I talked about.
Mount Zion podcasts most of their sermons, so mine is on their site. here's the link.
http://www.podshow.com/shows/index.php?mode=ext_detail&episode_hash=5a064391d865a30dfd80b8853718784a


If you're considering me as a speaker and want to hear a sample, listen in for a bit.

Reader questions

Thanks to MOPS International mailing out 110,000 copies of my book Breathe in May, lots of folks are reading it over the summer. And many of them have written to me with questions, observations, critiques. I really do appreciate hearing from everyone.

Here's one question that a reader posed, and since it's one that others have asked about as well, I thought I'd answer it here.

She asks: "I have a question about chapter 8... I am confused by the story of the Jewish girl named Naomi. I understand the beauty and focus of Shabbat however, I don't understand the piece about her getting a divorce. Why was this included in the book? The Jewish faith is rich in tradition but lacks the focus of Christ and divorce is the last resort in the Christian faith. I felt like I was missing something. I had to reread 3 times to see that I had not. I was left with confusion on why a Christian author and Christian organization (MOPS) would include something like this. We are doing a bible study on this book and are not sure how to explain this."

If you haven't yet read Breathe, it's about simplicity, slowing and Sabbath. It includes the true stories of real women. the chapter that includes Naomi's story is about Sabbath. Since Sabbath is a practice of both Jews and Christians (and frankly, a much richer tradition in the Jewish faith), and because Naomi has a compelling story, she agreed to be interviewed.

As a journalist, I don't get to decide the facts of people's lives. So Naomi's story is her story, not mine. I'm just conveying it, asking questions about the parts that interest me. I wanted to give a glimpse of her spiritual journey, which is in large part a Sabbath journey.

Other readers have asked why I'd include the story of a Jewish person in a Christian book. Well, the Bible is a Christian book and the overwhelming majority of its stories are about Jewish people. I'm not trying to be flippant, but it sometimes seems like we forget that the roots of the Christian faith are in Judiasm. And that Jesus was in fact Jewish. I'm not suggesting we convert to Judiasm, but only to be aware of and appreciate our faith heritage. To not be afraid of it.

I wrote back to this reader to remind her of that, and also, to try to address her question about divorce. Christians divorce at about the same rate as the general population. Perhaps we feel more guilt about it, but it does happen. And the reasons are never simple. But I included that fact in the book because it affected Naomi's life, especially her practice of Sabbath, which was the focus of the chapter. And God used that painful situation to draw her toward himself, and toward loving others. That's a step of growth in her journey.

Also, here's the thing about how I write--because I know myself to be stunningly imperfect, I prefer to tell stories of people who are real, people who don't have every little aspect of their life neatly boxed and shelved. Group leaders who've written to ask about Naomi and why she's in the book only made me question the other stories--were those people too perfect? While we need role models, we also need to know that no one, even role models, is perfect. Ife we think we can't learn from people who are in a different place spiritually, then the fact is we simply can't learn from people at all.

If you lead a group, don't worry so much about "how to explain" everything. Spiritual growth is less about figuring out the answers as figuring out which questions are even worth asking.

Think about Jesus. Did he typically "explain" things? Or did he answer people's questions with more questions?

I love Naomi, she's a friend and a treasure. She's on a spiritual journey just like the rest of us. She's asking questions, and I hope those questions resonate with readers.

Supper Swapping

Trish Berg, whose book The Great American Supper Swap I reviewed previously on this blog, will be talking about her book on TV today.
Catch her on The Harvest Show on Direct TV Channel 321 THIS TUESDAY August 7th at 9:00 am (replays 2 other times as well).

If you don’t have DirectTV, you can also watch online at www.harvest-tv.com if you wish.
Tune in if you can. Then visit Trish's website for some great tips on simplifying motherhood!

Urban adventures

I'm blogging on the Boomer Babes blog today about my urban adventures with our family this summer--rather than take a vacation, we visited Chicago numerous times.

Most recently, we were there for Venetian night, a free parade of decorated boats through Burnham Harbor, which draws about a half million spectators to Chicago's gorgeous lakefront. As we sat on the lakefront near the Shedd Aquarium that night, the moon rose, reddish in the evening sky. You can see the moon and the Shedd in the background of this photo of Scot and I. It was a night of family, friends and fun that we'll remember a long time.

Click on over to my post to see photos and read about other adventures we've enjoyed this summer--without having to travel more than an hour from our home.