Climbing Towards a Goal

September 16, 2013 by 4 Comments

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“With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” Psalm 18:29

I’ve been on the climb the past few years—scaling the wall toward traditional book publication. I’m not there yet, but I’m closer to having a shot than when I first started working towards my goal.

Thank goodness, I’m not making the climb on my own. God is scaling the wall with me. He’s providing guidance, the ideas and skill I need, and the strength to persevere as well as helping me connect with others in the writing world. He’s also blessed me with the support of family and friends.

I’ve had to put in the work, though. I’ve spent untold hours working to become a better writer. I’ve invested money in going to writers conferences where I can continue to learn and network. I’ve plunged into unfamiliar waters, taking steps to build my platform to reach readers. Yep, I’ve had to do the work.

Each step I’ve taken has been a step up the wall. I started my blog several years ago. Step. Joined the FCW writers group. Step. Attended my first writers conference. Step. Started publishing Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter. Step. Joined Facebook a few years ago and then just recently started my Cheryl Barker, Writer page there, too . Step, step. Became part of the FCW online critique group. Step. Launched my new website, started the Mother of the Bride Blog, and joined Pinterest all in one fell swoop. Step, step, step.

Believe it or not, these are just a few of the steps I’ve taken. And, of course, during it all, I’ve been writing. I’ve been submitting pieces for publication. And I won’t lie—it takes a lot of perseverance. I’ve experienced a lot of rejection. But the Lord has also rewarded my efforts with publication at times.

I’ve relied on God’s help and direction each step of the way. He has graciously provided technical help, instruction, and encouragement through other people just when I needed it. No doubt about it, book publication is definitely a wall I could not scale on my own.

Are you scaling a wall right now? Or does a wall loom in front of you that needs to be scaled? I hope you can learn from my climb. Put in the work, but don’t try to do it on your own. Take it a step at a time. Be patient and persistent. And most of all, rely on God. He will provide all you need.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

*What wall has God helped you scale? 

*Flickr photo by why 137 (slow!)      

Filed Under: books, bravery, challenge, determination, dream, fighter, goal, help, new thing, perseverance, preparation, writing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Shattering “Never Haves”

August 19, 2013 by 12 Comments

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Hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail for the first time in my life.

If you’re like me, you have a mile-long list of things you have never done. I’m talking good things here. Noble or interesting things. Fun things. Daring things. In other words, life experiences. And even though I’ve lived well over five decades now, there’s still a lot of life that I’ve not yet experienced. A lot of things I’ve never done.

I’m happy to report, though, that during our vacation I shattered some of my never haves. On the way home I go to thinking about how many new experiences I had racked up during our time away and decided to make a list. With each item I recorded, I realized how cool it all was. Not that the activities themselves were all so extraordinary—just that I felt really pumped to have done so many new things for the very first time in my life.

Here are some of the never haves in my life that I can now say that I’ve done:

*Finally traveled east of the Mississippi. We spent time in Tennessee and even made brief appearances in North Carolina and Kentucky.

*Visited the Smoky Mountains National Park. Absolutely beautiful.

*Straddled two states at once—along the Tennessee/North Carolina border in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

*Hiked on the Appalachian Trail. So happy to join the company of those who have done this.

*Saw a couple of bears in the wild. I wanted to see a bear while in Tennessee bear country, and my wish came true our very first morning.

*Followed a bear in an excited-but-extremely-unwise attempt to take some photos. Am thankful the Lord was watching over me!

*Ate at a Bubba Gump and a Johnny Rockets. My taste buds are happier for having visited them both :)

*Ate corn fritters—and were they ever yummy.

*Saw an American Idol winner in person—David Cook!

*Drove go-carts. And not only that, but drove go-carts with American Idol winner David Cook in our group of drivers. If I remember correctly, he left me in his dust :)

*Enjoyed a family-only worship service with my parents, my sisters, and all our families.

*Attended the Grand Ole Opry. They put on a superb show. Highly recommend it. During a backstage tour, they also took us out on stage where we got to stand on the famous circle from the Ryman Auditorium where all the performers have stood throughout the years.

*Acted as navigator in Nashville while Don drove. Quite challenging since I had never been there before this trip! :)

*Drove through the area where the Ohio River meets and empties into the Mississippi.

Pretty neat, huh? Some of these things I hoped and planned to do, but some were complete surprises. And now my world is larger simply because I shattered some never haves. I wonder what will be next? Can’t wait!

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things . . .” Psalm 98:1a

*What are some of your never haves you hope to shatter soon?

*Photo by one of my family members

*Don’t miss out on the “Back At It” Giveaway. Deadline to enter is 6 p.m. Aug. 28. Details are in my Aug. 15 post.

Filed Under: action, America, bravery, dream, fun, goal, memories, new thing, opportunity, surprise, travel, unplowed ground, victory

Got Guts?

April 7, 2013 by 8 Comments

Say what you will about the current craze of reality competition shows, but those contestants have guts.

It takes courage to not only perform and compete but also to stand before a panel of judges to be critiqued in front of a live audience and millions of viewers at home. Most of us would never attempt one—let alone both—of those very public laying-it-all-on-the-line chances at success—or failure.

For the most part, as a viewer I usually gravitate toward the singing competitions. I’m not into fashion, I can’t dance, and I’m only a marginal cook, but I know music well enough to know a good singer and musician when I hear one. In fact, I’ve slipped quite naturally into my at-home role of judging America’s wannabe recording stars. And many times I’m left wondering why everyone doesn’t agree with me :)

It seems a few contestants always make me wonder how in the world they’ve made it as far as they have. But I have to give them this: They are courageous. They are trying.

Most are at least a little—if not a lot—nervous. A few take some real beatings when the judges pronounce their verdicts. But still they put themselves out there in the hope of coming one step closer to their dreams becoming reality.

As a writer, I can identify with much of this. It takes courage to put myself out there, to submit my work to editors or agents knowing there is a good chance it will be rejected. A certain amount of guts even comes into play when showing a piece to my critique group. What will they think? How will they judge it? And even when blogging, I sometimes feel a little insecure about how certain posts might be viewed.

My writing will never make a difference, though, if I don’t risk the performance, the competition, the judging. And so I keep at it.

Are there areas in your life—or maybe even another in mine—where it’s time to step out in courage and give it our best shot? Have we got the guts to do it, to risk unpleasant responses or possibly even failure? If we don’t take the risk, we’ll never know the blessing and joy of succeeding in those areas, though, will we?

How about it? Got guts?

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

*Have you put yourself or your work out there for critique or judging? Are you currently trying to work up the courage to do it?

*Flickr photo by seanmcgrath

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early May. Sign up is free and to the right!

Filed Under: bravery, challenge, dream, judgement, writing

Keep Praying, Please: An Adoption Update

October 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

Believe it or not, I haven’t been forgetting to update you about our daughter Kristin and son-in-law Shawn’s adoption efforts. I’ve just been waiting for the next big step in the process to get here. And praise be to God, it’s finally here!

Back in June, I asked you to pray (and keep on praying!) for Kristin and Shawn as they began pursuing adoption. Since then, they—and we—have found out what an indepth and lengthy process it is to be approved as adoptive parents by an adoption agency. I’m sure this is a necessary and good thing for the babies, but it can sure be frustrating and emotionally draining for adoptive parents and those of us who love them.

But now, the first big wait is over. Kristin and Shawn have been officially approved by their adoption agency! This means that a woman who wants to give her baby a better life will now have the chance to allow Kristin and Shawn to be her baby’s parents!

As you can imagine, our whole family is excited :) Parenthood for Kristin and Shawn (and grandparenthood for us!) feels within reach now, but we also realize that we could easily be on the front side of another long wait. So once again we have to trust God and know that his timing is perfect.

The long road getting to this point has definitely taught Kristin and Shawn—and us, too—some lessons about waiting and trusting in God. I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say we’re tired of learning lessons now, though, and are ready to move on to the blessing :)

If there are more lessons to be learned through this experience, however, before the blessing comes, it’s a comfort to know that our Lord will be right by our sides, walking with us each step of the way and even carrying us when needed.

One of the ways God carries any of us is through the prayers of others, so will you please continue to pray for Kristin and Shawn (and for us)—and also for the birth mother and for the sweet baby who will one day join our family?

I appreciate each of you so much. Thank you for praying!

“On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on ourbehalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:10b-11

*By the way, I do know there are blessings even in the midst of lesson-learning. We’re waiting for one blessing in particular, though :)

*Photo by Kristin (as you can probably tell from her outstretched arm! :) )

**The Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is still underway. Details are in my Oct. 17 post and sign-up is to the right. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!

Filed Under: challenge, dream, family, perseverance, prayer, wait

Abandoned

September 12, 2012 by 4 Comments

Remember the robin who stayed focused and built her nest in spite of my interloping presence? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but something went wrong.

I’m not sure what happened. She faithfully sat on her eggs during the height of the heat wave. She watched over her nest and tongue-lashed other birds who came too close. When she wasn’t in the nest, she never seemed far away or gone for long.

When we left for vacation, I wondered if the sound of baby birds would greet us on our return. But no—no cheep-cheep-cheeps could be heard. No little upturned beaks gaped wide for a meal from momma.

Instead, momma bird was there, still faithfully sitting on the nest, still panting through the heat. I was glad I’d be on hand for the hatching. Glad I’d get to witness the birth of new life.

But one morning a few days after our return, the momma bird wasn’t in her nest. I thought it odd but not too unusual. When I checked that evening, again she was gone.

The next day the empty nest met me once more as I made my rounds. Now I feared something was indeed wrong. No sight of the momma bird in the days that followed confirmed my suspicions. The nest had been abandoned.

What would cause such a faithful and focused momma to walk away—or fly away, as in this case? More than likely, something happened to the eggs. I don’t know anything about the viability of birds’ eggs, but I suspect the unrelenting heat was the culprit. What a disappointment—for the momma bird and for me as well.

Poor momma bird. I wonder how long past the normal time she waited, hoping to see her babies pecking their way out into the world. I wonder how many hot days she soldiered through, doing all in her power to succeed. I wonder how she knew it was time to move on.

Some of us have had plans and projects that didn’t work out. A few of us may be in the midst of one right now. We’ve worked faithfully and done all we know to do. We’ve kept trying, and we’ve waited—and then waited some more. We finally reach a point when we know it’s over, when we know it’s time to move on.

Our hearts, heavy with the disappointment of an unfulfilled dream, sometimes want to cling to the pain and nurse our wounds. And that’s okay for a time. But like the momma bird, we need to abandon the dashed plans and move forward to what life has to offer now.

We’ll certainly learn from the experience and grow stronger, but for now—for today—it’s time to lift our eyes to the future and fly away.

“I lift my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

*Have you ever had to fly away from one of your hopes or dreams? Did a future blessing await you?

Filed Under: disappointment, dream, focus, hope, nature, wait
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