Rachel Starr Thomson

A 41-year-old man is on trial in Afghanistan for the crime of converting to Christianity. Radical Islamic leaders are calling for the death penalty, and much of the world is taking notice. The media buzz is unusual, and I’m grateful for it. Maybe the routine persecution of Christians all over the world is so routine that the media doesn’t consider it worth their attention most of the time.

Paul’s words to the persecuted church in Philippi ring down through the centuries:

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you [KJV -- "in nothing terrified by your adversaries"]. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.”

Philippians 1:27-29

I’m praying for Abdul Rahman, and for the family all over the earth. Let us, in prayer, and in every practical way we can, contend as one man, with one heart and one mind, for the faith of the gospel.

It’s a funny thing… when you spend your entire day buried in computer manuscripts, critiquing, marking, editing, reading reading reading, answering emails, trying to research marketing opportunities… well, eventually you hit a point when your brain lolls to one side, convulses a few times, and insists that it’s not going to work anymore.

Mine is doing that about now. This blog post is my way of very temporarily diverting myself. It’s not working over well, but then, I don’t expect anything to work over well until work is, well, over.

(That sentence was me amusing myself… just so you know.)

On the bright side, a client I really wanted to work with hired me today on the strength of my blog posts. Praise the Lord for that.

Signing off.

I just published a book, after a whopping three days of hard work. Ah, the wonders of modern technology… and oh, the innocence of us. I mean, who says “Sure, we can have that manuscript that hasn’t been touched in years published and ready to order by next week”? I do.

I’m sorta pleased with it… I wrote this book when I was very young (even younger than I am now) so it has a soft spot in my soul. In fact, it was my very first novel. I really wasn’t planning to publish it this year, but a strange thing happened. You see, some time ago my family was going to start a publishing company called Paper Birch Books. We built a Web site for it and everything. And one of the books we planned to release was Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe–the stellar piece of literature in question. Well, the publishing company never actually happened, but the Web site never came down. (We don’t take old Web sites down… we leave them to litter the cyberpaths of yore in hopes that someone may shed a tear for us, or trip on them, or something.)

Last week a woman was delving into the internet’s hidden secrets and she came across our Web page. Apparently she has a father who shares his name with my main character. The father is turning eighty or so and she wants a copy for his birthday. At the end of the week. So of course I said “Yes, we can do that.” What else should I say?

I formatted the book and put front matter together while my talented sister Deborah worked feverishly to create original artwork for the cover. We uploaded the whole thing to Lulu.com and bang whizz presto, there it is. Admittedly, it’s not very officially published. It still lacks an ISBN and a few critical go-overs. But it’s readable, it’s pretty, and it’s available for purchase. That’s what counts, right?

Theodore watched as the green thing plummeted to the ground. It bounced up and landed in the grass with a gentle thump. He raced for the landing site.

“Now where did it go?” he mumbled as he searched. His hands parted the grass in front of him and the thing was suddenly in plain view. His eyes got even wider, seeming to swell with wonder.

It was a spaceship.

Nice, eh?

“There is no spectacle in all the Bible so sublime as the silent Savior answering not a word to the men who were maligning Him, and whom He could have laid prostrate at His feet by one look of Divine power, or one word of fiery rebuke. But He let them say and do their worst, and He stood in the power of stillness–God’s holy silent Lamb.

“There is a stillness that lets God work for us, and holds our peace; the stillness that ceases from its contriving and its self-vindication, and its expedients of wisdom and forethought, and lets God provide and answer the cruel blow, in His own unfailing, faithful love.

“How often we lose God’s interposition by taking up our own cause, and striking for our defense. God give to us this silent power, this conquered spirit! And after the heat and strife of earth are over, men will remember us as we remember the morning dew, the gentle light and sunshine, the evening breeze, the Lamb of Calvary, and the gentle, holy heavenly Dove.”

- A.B. Simpson

For the past five years I’ve been writing an ezine called “Letters to a Samuel Generation,” with the intent of encouraging fellow believers to love and follow our Lord whole-heartedly. Alas, with everything else happening these days, I’m no longer able to write and send “Letters” every month, so I’ve decided to retire it.

However, I obviously haven’t stopped writing. I’m starting a new ezine, “Letters to a Peculiar People,” which will be made up primarily of the best spiritual gleanings from this blog. It should go out once or twice a month.

If you’re interested in subscribing, I put a link on the sidebar.

Every Wednesday morning since November, my friend Alexis and I have grabbed up our “I Am a Child, Not a Choice” picket signs and gone a-trudging. Yes, we live in Canada; yes, it’s freezing and often snowy and icy out there; and yes, we go so early that it’s still dark when we get out there. But every time we do it, we’re blessed.

I did an image search on “abortion” this morning; not a pleasant experience unless you enjoy gruesome. But I found this. Makes it all worth it, eh?

This morning when we were about halfway through our lonely march, we saw a woman coming toward us holding a handmade sign. Our hearts didn’t exactly leap, but they fluttered. We squinted into the wind, trying to make out the words. Did it say “Yard Sale”? Or could it really be… it was! It said “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart.” We had a compatriot. She had seen us out marching the week before and decided to join us.

We were joking about it later. When we couldn’t read her sign initially, we wondered if perhaps we had a counter-protester. Can’t you just see it? The two of us walking one direction, this woman walking the other; passing in the middle; probably praying that each other’s signs will burst into flame. In a way, though, that’s what we’re doing every time we get out there. We’re speaking out in the battle for our culture. Every person who drives past us sees our message. It may confirm or contradict their own beliefs, or perhaps it just gives pause to the undecided.

We pray every week that God will change the hearts in this nation. I want my generation to learn to value life again. It really is a battle. Join us if you can… our culture needs you.

Secrets of Successful Homeschooling: You Have What It Takes to Homeschool
Compilation, Edited by Paul and Gena Suarez

Secrets of Successful Homeschooling is an easy-to-read ebook aimed at prospective homeschool parents (mothers in particular). It covers many of the questions newcomers are likely to ask: what curriculum should I use? How do I handle math? How will I ever get my laundry done when all my time is spent teaching my children? The authors, all of them homeschool mothers, handle these questions practically and expertly, leaving readers with a sense that homeschooling is not only fun and worthwhile, it’s also eminently doable. The book also includes chapters on the unusual challenges some parents face, such as homeschooling as a single parent or homeschooling a special needs child.

A few of the chapters seemed to veer off of the “you can homeschool!” subject a little, such as the chapter on running a home business or the one on homeschooling in the U.K… but I found both of these chapters fun to read and very informative. Overall, Secrets is a great read for anyone who’s thinking about taking the plunge, but is still unsure about the particulars. The book’s content is a solid body for its refrain: “YES, you can.”

– Rachel Thomson

BUY IT HERE!

I just made my to-do list for today, and yup, I’m going to be busy. A sample edit to do, an article to polish, a book to work on, lessons to prepare, research to research… wish me well .

Last night I spent a while talking to the Lord about the state of my heart. My epiphany at New Song the other night has got me thinking… where else am I missing fellowship with Him because I fail to recognize and serve Him in every mundane thing I do? “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord.” I mean, really do it for the Lord! What if I loved Jesus in every interaction, in every word I type and edit and read and speak, in every sink I clean, in every prayer I pray? What if I could find His presence everywhere and pour my love out on Him?

Alas, my heart’s such a lump of coal, when I want it to be a diamond. Even as I prayed over those things last night, I knew that halfway through my workday they wouldn’t seem so important anymore. In the distractions of life it would be enough for me that Jesus delivered me once long ago, and I would lose the hunger to walk with Him NOW… for a while.

I’m awed by His determination. His dogged perseverance. He came to Earth and lived every day, through the muck and muddle of life, without losing sight of His goal. He loved us to the end. He poured out His love for us in every minute of His life. And now, even as I sorrow over this cold heart of mine, He is keeping me by the power of God unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. The salvation of being like Him. The salvation of loving as He loves.

“I am broken,” she said. “My feet… my soul. I have nothing to give you now.”
He smiled and held out his hand. His fingers were closed around something in his palm. “But I have something for you,” he said.
“My heart?” she asked, managing a smile through her tears.
Slowly, he opened his fingers. A dazzling brightness escaped from between them, and when his hand was open Little One found herself looking into a light brighter and deeper and purer than any that belongs to the stars. In the very center she thought she could see something like a small gem: the diamond that her coal-like heart had become.
“The path and its treacheries have served my purposes well,” he told her. “Come, and receive your inheritance.”