Joyce Long's Posts

Run to the Mountains

Posted by Joyce Long on January 9, 2012 at 9:52

While I love to read, once I’ve finished a book, I usually don’t want to read it again. Except for one book–God’s Holy and Living Word. This morning in Genesis 19, I discovered something new about Abraham’s brother Lot. When commanded to flee Sodom (an openly wicked city), he was told to take his family and run to the mountains.

“After they brought them out of the city, one of the men said, ‘Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Run to the mountains, or you will be destroyed’” (Genesis 19:17, New Century Version).

Amazingly Lot negotiated with the two men who were sent to save him. His excuse? “I can’t make it.” Rather he wanted to run to the little town Zoar because it seemed “reachable”. The men agreed and paused Sodom’s destruction until Lot’s family arrived safely. Soon Lot feared staying there.

“Lot was afraid to continue living in Zoar, so he and his two daughters went to live in the mountains in a cave” (19:30, NCV).

Spiritually we often settle for “little,” especially when we’re depending upon our own logic and strength. God’s plan always involves rock solid faith found in his mountains of truth. When obedience is at stake, little doesn’t work.

Cultivate Your Writing

Discovering New Insight - 2012

Posted by Joyce Long on January 3, 2012 at 9:18

Call me old-fashioned but I still make New Year’s Resolutions. Do I keep them? Not always! Yet I’m old enough to know if expectations and goals aren’t set, they’re not reached. So here’s my list for this year:

Read through the Bible in its entirety.
Read more books. (Currently my Kindle is used primarily for the Every Word game. What a waste!)
Become a better finisher. (My mom continues to teach me this.)
Cultivate discipline as a writer by designating specific times.
Keep a cleaner, less cluttered home. (There are spiritual applications here, too.)
Pray more fervently and consistently!
Love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.

I can’t really look ahead without reviewing the main principle learned in 2011. Knowing when to say “yes” and when to say “no” has always been a struggle in my time management. Last year the Lord taught me a very significant precept about this. I have to measure each decision by this question: “What is it that only I can do?” When that is answered after prayer and petition, deciding how to spend my time is much easier.

Thanks you, Lord, for giving me insight this past year. I pray for more wisdom in the coming days. In Christ’s holy name, Amen.

4-Way Stops

Posted by Joyce Long on August 26, 2011 at 9:02

Yesterday I listened, as did anyone in a two block radius of the bank, to a customer's explosive rant proclaiming they wouldn't let him cash a check. On my way home from work, two cars log-jammed in the middle of a 4-way stop with both drivers gesturing their frustration while jabbing their horns. Whew! Rage in action!

Why are people so angry? I wish I knew the answer. My best guess is that most of us think we deserve to be first. Our unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness clouds our vision, exuding the "me-first" mentality.

Jesus must be shaking his head in disgust at us who call ourselves Christians acting like we have "rights." The Bible teaches there are no "first-place" Christians. Remember Salome's request that her two sons, James and John, sit at the right and left of Jesus in the kingdom of God? Graciously Jesus replied this authority was not his to give, but only God's. Yet, note the reaction of the other disciples. "When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers" (Matthew 20:24). And rightfully so.

Follow Jesus' response: "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26-28). If we follow Jesus' example, our rights lessen in our service to others. No more racing at 4-way stops!

Finishing Strong!

Posted by Joyce Long on March 30, 2011 at 14:17

Last week I helped edit a friend's novel, and the story kept me in suspense all the way through 300+ pages. But the ending wobbled. He avoided the "everyone-lives-happily-ever" ending, which often seems fake. Yet, I wanted more than what he gave me. As we all do, he's struggling with the finale. Closure in relationships, in stories, and in life often generates angst. Because this is a Christian-based novel, my friend's ending must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading, neither too vanilla nor too dark.

If you're like me, I can start things with lots of enthusiasm and, on a good day, with a ton of creativity. But when the novelty fades and the hours accumulate, I often lose interest. Aren't we glad God's not like that? He never tires of our countless requests, failures, and concerns. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

So how do we end a story? My best advice is to ask God for a strong finish. In fact, expand that to include your life’s story. That’s what I want!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Writing Strong Endings

Writing Strong Endings

You've Got Mail!

Posted by Joyce Long on March 15, 2011 at 19:17

Somewhere in our attic there's a box. You're thinking, "Whoopee! Tell me something fresh, something I don't know about attics." Actually in our over-the-garage, folding-stepladder-entry attic, boxes rule--all sizes including boxes inside of boxes, boxes with legos, boxes of Golden Books ready to rot, boxes of school papers, and boxes of homemade blocks that my dad made for the kids. But this box is different. It's full of letters my husband and I wrote to each other during the dinosaur era of no cell phone, texting, or email, otherwise known as the 70's.

Someday our children will read those letters and smile. "How primitive of Mom and Dad! To communicate from Michigan to Indiana and vice versa via snail mail." But they will read them. They may even save them because in those letters we shared our activities, our thoughts, our hearts.

Now I'm starting to write our 26-year-old daughter and 28-year-old son a letter a week [both live a day's drive from us] because during a frigid January epiphany, I realized they have never in their entire life received a letter from their mother. Just emails, birthday card notes, and texts. They wouldn't have a cigar box full of letters like my grandmother had written my dad in 1942 when he was in Europe fighting the Nazi regime. When he died 68 years later, the letters were still there, a mother's heart shared with her child.

Imagine the apostle Paul twittering the Corinthians about some of their bad habits. "ur driving me nuts with your idols. stop!" Forget 140 characters or less. Instead he spent 500+ words just to tell them how much he cared. Then he wrote what they needed to hear and explained why. He often ended with personal notes. His letters encouraged, explained, and evoked response. The power of a heart-felt letter does that. And they last. Who can you bless with a letter?

Joyce

Check out the following link that encourages parents to write their children meaningful letters:

Letters from Dad