What's A Hero?

Valerie (God, I love that name!) Barrett paid me a compliment in an email that I really shouldn't repeat, but will anyway -- because it gives me a starting point for a blog!

Val emailed to say she has harp CDs too and loves them. She says I'll love mine and they should work fine at work without putting me to sleep. And they'll keep me relaxed and peaceful during all future double-duty weeks at work (www.onholdconcepts.com).

To that I responded, "I actually kinda enjoy the frantic pace this time of year -- it gives me a chance to feel like a freakin' hero!"

To which she replied, "Baby you ARE a hero!"

*****aaaaawwwwwwww*********

Now, Val is a school chum of mine. We go WAY back to the 60's. She and I were gonna be actors (known as actresses back then, before the world became gender neutral) when we grew up.

To think that a dear friend considers me a hero is high praise...

I wanted to react, "Oh, C'MON!" but then remembered that I am supposed to accept compliments and say "Thank you."

Deflecting a compliment is rude to the one who offered it and also reflects that the one complimented doesn't hold herself (or himself) in equal regard on the point on which said compliment was made.

I suppose that's my problem.

I think firefighters, soldiers, teachers, and most moms are heroes. I think all those who consider others before considering themselves on a routine basis are heroes: pastors, volunteers, caregivers... the list goes on and on!

Truth time here: I don't routinely consider the needs of others before considering my own. Whenever my conscience (which is johnny-on-the-spot in many instances, for which I thank God) would crucify me if I didn't do something I "should" do, I do it, no questions asked.

Some of the things I've done for others truly have been a sacrifice (of a career, of time, of money, even of close friendships -- when I told a truth that had to be told) but my conscience wouldn't have allowed me to get away unscarred without doing them, so where's the "hero" in that? (God's Spirit is the hero in that! Just answered my own question. The Holy Spirit prompts my "conscience" to insist on the proper course of action!)

DeForest Kelley's biographer asked me one time why I sacrificed my career at Warner Bros. (at heavy expense to me -- it took until just this year to recover financially) to help the Kelleys when they asked me.

My answer? "It never even occurred to me not to help them when they asked. They were my chief encouragers and mentors for over thirty years." I can't, to this day, even imagine telling them, "No." I'd do it again!

Yes, I probably "should" use my brain as well as I use my heart at times! But the analytical side of my brain is semi-retired or semi-retarded or something. And I'm glad. It frees my heart to do what it knows is right, no matter what the consequences feel like "analytically" after the fact.

This year I invested significant time helping Aunt Tod after she moved up to Washington. There were times I was exhausted and really didn't "want" to help. But that's when Love (Christ in me) does His mightiest work! It's easy to help when you WANT to. It's when you're dragging that Love keeps you going like the Eveready bunny!

Me, a hero? Naw. I'm just a vehicle. The Hero is sitting at the right hand of the Father writing names into His Book of Life. According to His holy word, my name is in it because I'm so eager to acknowledge him as my Lord and Savior and to follow His urgings (my "holy" conscience).

What better way to say "Thank you!" than to reflect His love into the world as best I can?

That's my plan!

"Mommy, Tell Me a Story!"

Mommy, Tell Me a Story! - MSN Lifestyle - Family & Parenting
http://lifestyle.msn.com/familyandparenting/raisingkids/articlesc.aspx?cp-documentid=5551331&GT1=10519


The above is a great idea for parents and grandparents!


Consider this: I got started writing because I was a huge Roy Rogers fan and RR comic books only came out once a month or so. I badgered Mom so often for another RR comic book, she finally said, "There aren't enough RR comic books in the world to satisfy you. You'd better start writing your own."

That's all it took. A light went on. I realized I could take my hero, Roy, and place him in situations where he could be a hero yet again! Revelation!



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Ladies and Gentlemen, Read This!

If you do this, stop it now.

If you know anyone else who does this -- male or female -- share this with them. I'm sharing it with a fellow copywriter at work...

http://lifestyle.msn.com/mindbodyandsoul/personalgrowth/articlerb.aspx?cp-documentid=5549932&GT1=10519

Do not belittle yourself with your words. Your words create your world.

Don't believe it?

God created the world with His words. What makes you think you don't?


Amy Grazda from New York writes, in answer to yesterday's final question of the day on my blog about why it's so hard for people to believe that Jesus is the full meal deal and that "Jesus light" (pick your favorite Jesus, even if you don't believe he's at the right hand of the Father as we speak) is easier to swallow:

Good morning. I read your blog last night....GREAT WRITING!!! But you wonder why it is so hard for people to believe?? Well...easy answer....since I was an atheist a little over a year and a half ago, I know how it is not to believe!!

It is hard because in this day and age, everyone is into VISUAL things......If it is right there in front of you, it is easy to believe in. There are so many VISUAL distractions between computers, phones, TVs, yada yada yada.......people use these things as FALSE IDOLS, so why would they need to look for anything more, especially when you can't SEE IT!!!

To repeat again, you know the saying SEEING IS BELIEVING!!!

Just like Jesus when was resurrected, and he went and showed Thomas the holes in his hands to show that it was really him.....and when Thomas said he believed, Jesus then said, "It is easy for you to believe because I am standing here in front of you, but what about the people that won't be able to see me??" They are blessed by faith waaaaaaaay beyond sight! Their faith in Jesus is what saves them!

I think I have answered your question????

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Indeed you have, Amy. Any other respondents to this puzzling phenomenon?

I Won An Award! But First...

My condo has been re-listed at rock bottom real estate prices for what it is. If it doesn’t sell by month’s end, I’m taking it off the market and living in it for several more years – or until I croak, whichever comes first.

If it doesn’t sell, I can bring stuff back into the house that I haven’t had ready access to in five months, and I will be able to park my car in the garage once again. For the winter months, that’s necessary unless I want to spend inordinate amounts of time scraping the windows, warming the car and, in general, making it habitable and survivable for the drive to work.

I put new tires on it. Just got the front tires replaced a week ago; the back tires were attached in January, so they’re almost new. (I don’t drive a lot.)

A week from today Alison Winter (http://senoritainvierno.blogspot.com) will be arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (God willing and the creeks don’t rise). I will make her comfy a hundred or more De portrayals and appearance so she’ll have something to do during the hours I’m at work. That should keep her busy for a good three weeks straight unless she OD’s on De and cries "Uncle!" (Do Brits cry "Uncle?") Don’t know that she’ll be here three weeks, though: she appears to have plans for warmer climes during November and December. I’ll find out more about her "shed-jool" when she gets here…

This time of year I’m going to seem like a drag, methinks. The sky goes dark around 6 (by December it’ll be dark at 5:00) and by seven my eyelids are coming down around my shoe tops. During the summertime, I have a lot of energy because there are 17 hours of daylight – but in winter we’re lucky if we have seven hours. My circadian rhythms are definitely solar-powered. I’m even thinking that my moods and attitudes are solar-powered. I have been cranky twice this week – just briefly, because I kick myself and get out of them almost as quickly as they appear. I don’t recall being cranky even once all summer long. This is the time of year when isolation is good for me.

I’m not happy being a bear, but being a bear is kinda native to me fall and winter. But I fight it and am good actor, so in most cases the bear just peaks out upon occasion in language that is unbefitting a Christian woman. I believe I uttered the f word this morning when the timesheet wouldn’t come up to log into – for seven minutes. (Clarification: I didn’t say the f word for seven minutes – I said the f word – very quietly in an empty room -- at the mid-way point in the seven minute frustration, then repented and used much less foul words, like "sugar jets," a word I came up with as a kid that has served me well for a lot of years when frustrated…)

Terri tints and cute my hair tonight starting at six o’clock. Wahoo!!! Tomorrow at noon I’ll be going to Safeway to get a flu shot. (My co-pay is so high that I’ll actually save money getting the inoculation at Safeway.)

I’m going to sell a book to Terri tomorrow. She asked me about it last time I was in for a haircut. A relative of hers is a big TREK fan and she wants to give him my De book for Christmas.

Hey, gang – now there’s a thought! Do you know any other TREK fans (or animal fans, or Hollywood fans, or Christianity fans) who might enjoy receiving a copy of one of my books from you this holiday season? Put on your thinking caps. If you can’t think of anyone to get a book for, get my books for me!

Ain’t I shameless? Sometimes I astound myself. Hey, "If you don’t ask, you don’t get!" Carolyn (Mrs Kelley) always told me that. It’s even biblical. "Ask and ye shall receive…"

I am also going to leave a "lobby copy" of the De book at the hair dresser with the website address and toll free number attached to the back of it… in the hope people will pick it up and start to read it and get hooked and want to buy the whole thing… or get one for a friend or relative for Christmas. I made two other "lobby copies" out of the two others I have left over from the Vegas convention and am trying to pick the two best lobbies in Tacoma to put them in. Does anyone have any ideas? A medical lobby would be good…

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Oh My Goodness! I just got back from the staff meeting. I’m taking my break now to tell you I was awarded On Hold Concepts’ (www.onholdconcepts.com) Traveling Trophy for "Employee of the Quarter"! I’m thrilled to the tips of my toes and up to my eyes in sighs because the award is given by my peers. That’s HUGE to me!

But now the pressure’s on: Winners of the Traveling Trophy have to add something to it before it goes to the next recipient in three months, so I have to come up with something "appropriate." If I had some Spock ears, I would put those on it. Everybody around here calls me the Trekkie. Imagine that. (Well, I suppose it’s worlds better than being called DE-Mented…)

I have a very stretchable rubber alien I’ll attach, and will cut out the photo of the transporter that was on my On-Hold Concepts post card at the TREK convention. That should satisfy those who think of me as their own personal space cadet.

That should satisfy their funny bones. Thinking about what else I might place there instead will give me a headache…so I officially quit thinking any more about it right NOW!

But quit thinking about the honor of receiving the Traveling Trophy?? Not on your life… Not for the rest of this week, anyway!

I’ll take a photo and put it into my archives.

Sigh upon sigh upon sigh…

I work at the best place on the planet!

The Year Of Living Biblically -- A Total Joy and Hoot!

I’m enjoying the stuffing out of The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs. It’s very funny and has so many good tidbits of Biblical insight and history throughout that it’s substantive as well as humorous – something I appreciate, since I’m not necessarily into humor for the sake of humor.

I adore Dave Barry and tend to write the way he does when I write humor. Jacobs’ humor is tamer than Barry’s, but no less entrancing and at-times juvenile (which is just fine in short spurts). There’s a kid in all of us and when that part of us gets delighted, there’s almost nothing more fun!

The first three quarters of the book is mostly concerned with aspects of Jewish faith, except for brief forays into visits with lesser-known and lesser-followed sects of Christianity (a creation museum, an Amish farm and family, a visit with a Jehovah’s Witness member who Jacobs’ apparently out-visited: after three and a half hours, the fellow excused himself and went home at 11:30 that evening).

What Jacobs finds wherever he goes are sensitive, good-natured, sold-out souls living for the Lord in whatever flavor their Lord comes in. He learns to value the hearts and sensibilities of others and makes a lot of friends along the way (as we do, following along on his adventure).

I love humor when it’s good-natured and self-effacing – and Jacob’s is all of that. There’s nothing cruel or insensitive about anything he says when he does make an observation or a joke. I think he’s a sweet guy at heart.

When he dances with Hasidic Jews ("who danced like David danced") he gets caught up in the "joy of the Lord" in a way that has never occurred to him before. It’s fleeting and at first embarrassing and perhaps a wee bit frightening, but he "goes with the flow" and finds himself enjoying the freedom of behaving wildly ecstatic as he praises with his body. It’s just terrific!

I worship at a non-denomination church with numerous Pentecostals, and have seen some wild gyrations myself. They always bring joy to me and a smile to my face. My shyness keeps me from joining those who worship this way, but my spirit absolutely loves and leaps at the wild abandon that Pentecostals display when praising the Lord.
There are also Lutherans at CFAN – and every other denomination. You can tell by looking around which worshippers came from which denominations, almost. There are those who stand stock still, thinking the noisier, gladder portions of the congregation have lost their ever-lovin’ minds… and those who are "catching the spirit" and raising their hands waist-high, shoulder high or as high as they can reach; there are the members of Jewish Dance, who dance to the Lord; there are the prone or the kneeling, who contact the spirit of God in those ways. The deaf church signs the songs and sermons, leaving the sighted often in tears as we watch the translator using hand signals that so-well capture the essence of a word ("spirit," "God" and "Hallelujah" in sign language are lump-in-the-throat hand movements).

But back to A.J. I think his book is important because people will read it for the humor and may decide to look into the Book he’s living by (or trying to, with varying degrees of success at every turn) to find out why so many people have endeavored to live by it. Any attempt to do so definitely transforms one’s thoughts, views and behaviors -- not a bad outcome at all…

Jeremy Burris, Another Soldier Killed in Iraq -- Plus Two New Books to Read and Discuss

I rushed home from church to be here in time (noon) to reconnect with Billie Rae Walker (in New York) on the phone. (Billie Rae interviewed me for STARTREK.COM and STAR TREK MAGAZINE, as you may recall. We met in Vegas at the TREK convention in August after corresponding for almost a year.) Things have been so nuts with me here that we haven't talked on the phone since before the convention.

When I got home I had a voice mail from her. Her car broke down in the way to or from church; her brother and sister in law are en route to rescue her. She'll call again as soon as she gets home... Gads... I hope the weather is decent over New Yawk way. It's lovely here in the Pacific NW at the moment. We even have sunshine after a very foggy morning...

Sad news. One of the young men who went through our ministry course at Church For All Nations (CFAN) lost his life in Iraq this past week. His name was Jeremy Burris, and he was 22 years old, from Texas.

CFAN has been very blessed to have lost just one fighting man. Our congregation is pretty much jam-packed with soldiers and their families from the famous Stryker Brigade (and other military brigades Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy), so we have prayed for and sent many off to war. Until this incident, all of them have come back alive and well.

Jeremy was proud to serve, and said that if he lost his life there, he couldn't imagine any better cause to lose it for, as a devout Christian devoted to setting people free from oppression. To find out more about him, here's a link to his hometown newspaper, where he is remembered:

http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18900779&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=6

Pray for his family. Jeremy himself is now just fine, living with the Lord... ("To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.") That doesn't make it much easier for his family, but it does make it surviveable to know they will see him again...

I have two new books to recommend. The first is Lee Strobel's The Case for the Real Jesus, A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ. I was up until 1 am reading it. Bought it around 1 pm at Costco. Couldn't out it down until the last page. It's just fabulous!

The back cover reads (in part) :

"In this dramatic investigation, award-winning writer and former legal editor Lee Strobel explores such controversial questions as:

* Did Christianity suppress "alternative gospels" that portray Jesus more accurately than the New Testament?

* Did the church distort the truth about Jesus by tampering with early biblical texts?

* Have fresh insights and explanations finally disproved the resurrection?

* Were the essential beliefs about Jesus stolen from earlier mythology?

* Have new objections disqualified Jesus from being the Messiah?

Evaluate the evidence for yourself as leading experts grapple with the latest objections from today's foremost critics. Then reach your own verdict in The Case for the Real Jesus.


The six current and most-often voiced "challenges" to the veracity of the "Christ as Savior and Messiah" claim are these:

"Scholars are uncovering a radically different Jesus in ancient documents just as credible as the four gospels."

"The Bible's portrait of Jesus can't be trusted because the church tampered with the text."

"New explanations have refuted Jesus' resurrection." The cross examination.

"Christianity's beliefs about Jesus were copied from pagan religions."

"Jesus was an impostor who failed to fulfill the Messianic prophecies."

"People should be free to pick and choose what to believe about Jesus."

The book concludes with two appendices. Appendix A is a summary of evidence from Strobel's earlier book, The Case for Christ. Appendix 2 offers helpful websites to investigate the real Jesus, to help separate the wheat from the chaff that exists across the Internet and around the world within different major religions.

About the author, Lee Strobel: Atheist-turned-Christian Lee Strobel, the former award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, is a New York Times best-selling author of nearly 20 books and has been interviewed on numerous national networks including ABC, PBS, CNN, and Fox.

He has won numerous journalistic awards. He has a free e-newsletter. Access it at LeeStrobel.com.

If you read both LEARN THE BIBLE IN 24 HOURS by Chuck Missler and THE CASE FOR THE REAL JESUS by Lee Strobel, you will begin to understand why it's vitally important to join a Bible study, if you haven't joined one already. There are very real consequences to living "Christian Lite" and to ignoring the claims Jesus made about himself. You are in a position to save lives for eternity, but until you believe the facts about Jesus as they are laid out in the Holy Bible (Old and New Testaments), to the core of your being, the likelihood that you will become an eternity-saver for someone you love and want to be with in heaven is pretty close to nil.

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The next book I want to recommend (even though I haven't read it yet -- I will start on it later today and take this segment away if I'm not as crazy about it as I expect to be) is The Year of Living Biblically, One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, by A.J. Jacobs. It has been recommended by Bruce Feiler (author of Walking the Bible and Where God Was Born), P.J. O'Rourke, Rabbi David Ellenson (president of Hebrew Union College), and Rev. Jim Wallis (author of God's Politics, a book I recommended a few months back for anyone who votes in this country).

The jacket cover reads (in part):

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, AJ Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible at literally as possible for one full year... [including stoning adulterers!] The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes... He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations -- much to his wife's chagrin. Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly-archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first century brain. Jacob's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part CliffNotes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.

"A hilarious memoir." -- Time

"Tender... Entertaining." -- Janet Naslin, The New York Times

"Inspired and inspiring." -- Vanity Fair

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I expect to laugh and learn!

May as well get started... until the phone rings and Billie is there to say, "I'm home, safe and sound!"

Be well. Read! Let me know what you think of these two books after you've read them. Also let me know what you think of LEARN THE BIBLE IN 24 HOURS, which I have been recommending for months. Let's get a discussion going!

Decisions, Decisions...

90 minutes stand between now and a 1 pm appointment at Les Schwab to have two new tires put on my car and the others rotated. My decision is this: Shall I work in the garage some more (did so this morning for a while) or write the Saturday blog?

Hmmm....

Guess I'll write the Saturday blog while I figure out which is the wiser of the two choices. :)
Works for me! hee hee hee

This morning I drove to Midland (about six miles) to watch grandniece Casey and her team (Casey will be seven on November 22) play soccer. It was my first time watching them and it was a blast. She has five more games this season and I will try to make most of them.

The whole family turns out for these games: Grammie Jackie and Grandma Sue, Grandpa George, Jackie, Phil, Wendy, and wee Jamie Lee, Casey's little sister. Jamie joins the team for the warm-up session and for the "bridge" session when the two teams run through a "bridge" made of parents and other supporters.

Casey did a fabulous job and her team mates are also very good. The other team didn't score any points -- I think Casey's team scored 10 or 12 in the 35 minutes they played. No one actually keeps score at this age -- it's just all in good fun and a training time as well as playing time.

It's easy to tell who's in the game to please their parents and who's in it to have a blast playing the game. There's one little lady on Casey's team who, I'm told, plays every sport with utter aplomb and great delight -- and she's very, very good. She isn't self-conscious or looking for shouts of encouragement or applause. I can envision her going into some sport as a career: she just loves it!

Jackie was going to drive here after Casey's game and help me move a dinette set out, but we're re-thinking that for now, so the plans fizzled. This leaves me with less room in the garage to futz around and re-organize stuff. My plan was to get pretty much the same-size boxes and fill them, then stack them neatly against the walls, so that people looking to buy the condo could actually get some idea of how large the garage is. Right now stuff is pretty well organized but there's a lot of it. The better part of me wants to donate a lot of it and "simplify" -- which would free up a lot of room in the garage, for sure. To do that, I would have to divorce the "sentimental hoarder" in me, who thinks that every item ever given to me or bought by me should be preserved and cherished till I die -- at which time the less sentimental in my family can go through it and throw stuff out that nobody else wants. I realize the sentimental hoarder is largely nuts. So I am going to see if I can convince her to less loose of things that a less-well-off person would truly use, need and cherish in a daily manner, rather than keeping stuff hermetically sealed like a fly in amber. There is no need to keep stuff I will probably never use.
This is only logical. (Spock, thank you.)

OK. I've made my decision. I'm going out into the garage now and start looking at what I can donate to Goodwill. Yes. Good for me. I feel better now.


I just have to remember to keep my eye on the time so I don't forget the 1 pm appointment at Les Schwab. Multi-tasking is a dangerous proposition on weekends. I get so wrapped up
doing what I'm doing that I forget about time.

I will put a bothersome sign around my neck to remind me. That oughta work!

More later. Or not.

It’s FRIDAY! Gadzooks, and it’s less than three months to Christmas! Where has 2007 gone? I’ve been at On-Hold Concepts (www.onholdconcepts.com) for ten months and four days already! Incredible.

I’m a better writer than I was on January 2nd, for sure. This position has honed my skills as an ad writer. I’ve learned to "cut to the chase" and use words that draw the listener into what seems to be an intriguing private conversation, whether it’s a warm conversation, a fast-paced conversation or something in between.

I write differently for different clients, often based on the music background they choose. If they want smooth jazz, I write copy that’s smooth, elegant, lyrical. If they want something upbeat (as auto auctions and casinos usually do) I write copy that’s fun, energetic and sometimes even bizarre! A Mercedes Benz and Infiniti dealer expects (without saying so) different copy than a Chevrolet or Mazda dealer because the businesses cater to different kinds of people – well-heeled, status-conscious folks on the one hand and fun-loving, family-friendly rides with family pets on the other.

My aptitude regarding different clients has improved. It has become second nature to "know" the type of writing different businesses expect.

The amazing thing to me is that so few of "my" clients have ever rejected outright anything I’ve written – and in the few cases where they did, they decided to lean in a different direction than the direction they asked me to write toward; in other words, their vision of what they wanted running on-hold changed.

The bosses are always remarking how quickly I "turn copy around" – that is, how quickly the copy I write is approved by the client and placed into production with the voicing team and music men. It has always been that way, since the beginning. Rarely does a client find fault with more than a word or two out of six different fifteen to twenty second messages.

It’s a total blessing to find myself in a career where what I do is viewed as "right on" most of the time. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried when I first came on board. I was given the low-down on the job: It’s fast-paced and deadline-driven (we try to have an on-hold program ready to voice within 48 hours of the time a client says they want one).

The powers that be weren’t sure I could handle the "pressure," the stress of having to produce copy on command day in and day out. I certainly didn’t know, either – but I wanted to give it my best shot!

As it turns out, I write BEST when deadline-driven. There’s no time to be an internal critic or second-guess what needs to be said. I’ve been a writer long enough (40 years) to know that my Critic is the worst thing going and that other people think I’m a much better writer than I do. So being on a deadline frees me from the straitjacket of perfectionism and allows me to gallop full-speed toward whatever destination the client has outlined for me. I catch their passion for their business and head out with it, choosing words that reverberate and hypnotize as much as possible (using alliteration, empathetic resonances, and the like).

It’s actually FUN! I’m not saying it’s not also hard work, but it’s FUN hard work. I realize how hard it is when I get home at night and my mind goes on the fritz and I can’t come up with words to carry on a conversation on the phone! It’s quite exhausting – but it’s an exhaustion I was born to meet daily! I just love what I do! And others do, too! How cool is that?!
So! Do you know of a business that can use what we do here at On-Hold Concepts (www.onholdconceps.com) ? Wrack your brain and tell me about the worst places to be put on hold. I will go after them and see if we can’t change your odious experience on-hold with them to a glorious one instead!

WE CAN DO IT. WE’RE DOING IT ALL OVER THE COUNTRY! Why not let us do it wherever you find yourself being put on-hold – and wanting to cry?

Your Fear Activates the Devil the Way Your Faith Activates God

Ooh-whee! I was watching Christian TV tonight and one of the pastors Jesse Duplantis was interviewing said, "You got to let go of fear. Fear activates Satan the way faith activates God!"

What a statement -- and boy howdy, is it ever true!

We stop ourselves when we feel afraid because of what we "hear" being "said" to us by the great deceiver about the situation or circumstance (or thought) we're having or anticipating trying: "You can't do that. You're not _____ enough!" Satan will fill in the blank: good, smart, old, young, educated, brave; whatever word or words it takes to get you to re-consider and STOP what you're contemplating doing; to make you give up the attempt altogether!

But when we pro-actively and consciously ignore the limiting thoughts that Satan brings to our minds and instead elect to activate our faith, we hear from God instead: "You are my child. I love you with an everlasting love. Nothing shall be impossible for you. You can do all things through Christ Who strengthens you... You are more than a conqueror. You are My heir and my friend. Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Believe and receive. I am with you always."

Powerful. Think about it. Act on it.

Go out on a limb.

That's where the fruit is, after all!

It’s monsoon weather! Gads, it has been years since it rained this hard up here all at once. The wind is blowing, too, so sometimes the rain goes sideways… Sure am glad there are such things as warm houses. I don’t think a cave would be my first choice during weather like this!

I’m pretty sure Jackie and I won’t be getting the "Kelley-like" duplex. The seller is dreaming to think she can get what she’s asking for in this market, especially in the location it’s in.. but let her continue to dream: it will give me more time to sell my condo and I won’t have go bargain basement with it to make a deadline…

I’ve lost about five pounds over the last week or so. Haven’t been trying, but have been so busy and have been watching what I eat, so reckon it’s a natural occurrence. I hope it continues… I would love to lose about 30 pounds.

There isn’t much other news. I’m tired. The long night-time hours of fall and winter at this latitude make me feel like a bear: I want to hibernate about mid-afternoon, which would be detrimental to retaining my job… drat!

Alison Winter will be here in a few weeks. That’s a bright spot on the horizon. I just have to remember to go get her when she lands on the 23rd!

She’ll be in America until mid-January but probably not with me (or Jackie and me, if I sell the condo before we find a duplex) all that time. She’s planning to fly all over, meeting folks I know (and that she knows) who live in various parts of the country. She’s looking for a possible place to land where she can get a job and also get into acting. That probably means LA, Chicago, New York or Seattle – oh, or Hollywood, but that’s the last place people should go to get discovered – because everybody goes there to get discovered, so it’s the biggest crapshoot in the country. LOTS of talent, limited spots to fill.

Canada is also blossoming as a creative area. There are many production companies working in Canada. I can give Alison some names and ideas, but that’s about all. I think she’s great and will vouch for her. She’s a lovely gal – people would enjoy knowing and working with her – and that’s important to employers in any field.

I wish her well. She has to stay strong and keep motivated. Don’t think I could do that as an actor. I’m too easily hurt by "rejection" even when I know it’s nothing personal, as it usually is in the acting business. You have to have the hide of a rhinoceros to volunteer for frequent rejection. I can hardly handle it when I’m job-hunting for a long-term, permanent job. Imagine having to go job-hunting every few weeks unless you land a contract on a series that becomes a hit?

No, thank you very much…