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Happy camper!

I’m at the Colorado Christian Writing Conference in Estes Park this week. After a great first continuing session this morning—how to set up a website that gets more viewers and readers and, therefore, book-buyers—I came back to my campsite for lunch.

It was chilly this morning, but it’s delightful now, so I opened the RV windows for Dolphin. He certainly does enjoy the wonders of God’s creation! He’s lying on the table now, just on the other side of the laptop, tail twitching meditatively, inhaling the breeze and watching passersby. Sallie would be barking hysterically at everyone; Dolphin just lies here, observant.

I’ll leave his windows open (hoping not to have an afternoon shower) for the afternoon session, most of which I’ll spend with Sue Halverson and Sandy Cathcart, working on the Lightbox Method of writing.

happy camper

Maggie Hope

lots of good books here!Miss Magnificent Hope, a friend from Write Integrity Press, is traveling around the world to share Jesus and bring smiles and hope to those who see her and/or read about her. This morning she packed her bags and climbed into The Meandering Moose, my 30-foot RV, for the drive to Estes Park and the Colorado Christian Writing Conference. She says this was her first RV trip, but she hopes to take more—although perhaps without the focused attention of Dolphin, a small saber-toothed tiger cleverly disguised as a tabby cat.

Once we got to the conference, however, Hope was ecstatic. “So many writers! So many books! Wow!” She is particularly interested in the books for sale, and didn’t want to leave to attend workshops. Nonetheless, she finally agreed to go to Chris Richards’ “Gift of Gab” discussion of speaking as promotion, and then to Karen Whiting’s “Brainstorm Sales Ideas for Your Non-Fiction Book.” She is planning on taking over Tracy Ruckman’s job at WIP now—better find her a desk, Tracy!

feeding the tiger

God’s Crayon Box

The deep black of a night sky

is punctuated with white-hot brightness

in God’s crayon box.

Spring’s shades of vibrant green

flow across the earth

in God’s crayon box.

All the rainbow variations

are found in the tulip and iris beds

of God’s crayon box.

The white of His purity is blinding,

the gold of His kingship fills the earth,

and there is no gray

in God’s crayon box.

Israel Miracles

People keep asking me, “What was the best thing you saw or did in Israel?” And I have no answer. I wish I did, but the power of my week in Israel wasn’t in anything I did there. Rather, it’s in the entirety of what the Lord did for me on the trip.

Just the fact that I went is a miracle in itself. I’ve never been remotely interested in traveling to Israel; if I can’t drive to it in my RV, I’ll stay home, thanks. So when a church elder said, on Christmas day, “You should go to Israel with us, Elsi,” I was astounded to hear myself answer, “I wish I could!”

He and his wife convinced me that my emotional and physical disabilities could be accommodated without interfering with others’ enjoyment, but the sign-up deadline was long past. To my surprise, there was still room to fit me in. And, later, to include a friend I invited to accompany me. Not only that, my grandmother paid for the whole thing, because I’m finally old enough to inherit her estate. And that meant I could fly business class, allowing me to have wiggle room for my arthritic hip and use of my CPAP machine so I could sleep at night. Miraculous, right? You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.

Our guide, Sheila, talked with me each morning, advising me to “skip this walk because of all the steps” or “stay back from that one so you’ll be strong enough for the afternoon trip.” When I couldn’t manage part of the tour, I sat happily with my journal and camera and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Israel till my group came back for me.

I knew I’d have to miss the Palm Sunday procession down the Mount of Olives and up to Jerusalem. No way I could walk that far, of course. And the crowds are so thick the bus driver couldn’t even get me to a place I could see. Oh, well. But the day before, we were at the Church of All Nations. As we left, a group of Indonesian tourists came down the road from the Mount of Olives, singing at the top of their lungs and waving palm branches. Hosanna!

The last day everyone on the tour was out in Jerusalem, enjoying Palm Sunday, wading through Hezekiah’s tunnels, or hiking and shopping in the city and museums. I stayed at the hotel, telling concerned friends, “I’ll be fine!” but feeling lonely and useless. Sheila suggested I walk across the street to the American Colony Hotel, where Anna and Horatio Spafford had lived (he wrote “It Is Well with My Soul”).

The bookseller at the hotel showed me a biography of Anna Spafford, then said, “You know, the author stays here. Let me see … yes, he’s having tea in the courtyard. Would you like to meet him?” And the author even autographed my book. Just one more example of God’s personal care for me.

What was the best thing on my trip to Israel? God!

Jeran Smith: Wait! What?

Don’t miss my friend Jeran’s presentation on bullying. Click the links to see graphics and a video.

            I was intrigued by the concept of The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved by J. Phillips, and was glad to receive a copy through the BookCrash review program. Phillips presents and argues two questions: {1} Is there Biblical evidence to support the assumption that the Gospel of John was in fact written by the disciple John? And {2} If not, is there Biblical evidence to allow us to hypothesize who “the disciple whom Jesus loved” actually was? Phillips answers both questions with a resounding yes; I agree with the first and am unsure about the second.

            I’ve never questioned the assignment of John’s name to the fourth gospel; it’s one of those things “everyone” is confident of. Phillips first proves there is no evidence in Scripture itself to make that connection, and then goes on to demonstrate evidence that stands clearly against John’s having written the book. Powerful stuff, and a good reminder that we are to be Bereans, checking Scripture, not mindlessly agreeing with “experts” and “historians.”

            On the second question, though it’s clear that Jesus did have a special relationship with Lazarus, and there is nothing to contra-indicate his authorship, there is no way to make a definitive connection, either. Well worth thinking about, but no guarantees—that’s my take on it.

            I wish Mr. Phillips had taken time to clean up his writing a bit, eliminating repetition and side-trails, but this is a fascinating book, well worth reading and pondering.

My yard …

My yard is new-life green,
with red and yellow highlights:
tulip, iris, dandelion.
A turtle noses through the grass;
a rabbit stretches to scan the view;
earthworms dance in the soft earth,
and God’s cupped hands proclaim
a place of safety,
rest,
and food enough to share.

cimg7239.JPG

He is not here!

What was the best part of the Israel trip, people keep asking me. And I don’t have an answer. I know one stand-out was visiting the Garden Tomb. No guarantee that it’s the actual place Jesus’ body was buried—but I’m not interested in worshiping the place, anyway. A priest was quoted as saying, “If this isn’t the place Jesus was buried, it should be.”

Our guide, Paul, said to us, “You can go in and see the tomb now. But I want to tell you: He isn’t there. You can take Him with you, but don’t leave Him there. Bring Him back with you. And share Him with all you meet.”

So I’m here to say, “He is risen! He’s alive! Happy Resurrection Day! Happy Feast of Firstfruits! Hallelu Jah!”

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Camel riding

I’m beginning to recover from jet lag, and starting to go through photos. Since I couldn’t post pictures from my iPad, you may not have had the opportunity to see my newest skill in action:

yoiks!

jet lag

Yawn … supper last night at 1:30 in the morning, body-clock (Israel) time. Several courses: menu, order, beverage, nuts, salad, main course, dessert. And no one could help me get my carry-on down and the CPAP unpacked until everyone else was fed, of course. Then the power in my business-class seat wasn’t working, and they had to change my seat. And the power in the new seat didn’t work either. So I burrowed under my blanket and begged the Lord, “Please help me cope, and not be so sleep-deprived I’m unbearable!” So the Lord fixed the electricity; it worked till I got up about 5:30 (body clock), at which time it stopped again. ;-D

Breakfast … and we arrived in Philadelphia about 11:30 Israel time, but about 5 a.m. local time. Through passport control … through customs (”What did you bring back from Israel?” “Books, olive wood ornaments, scarves—typical old-lady-tourist stuff!” And the customs guy laughed, and sent me on my way.

They do feed you well in business class, and the seats fold out into an almost-real bed, which is a great blessing! In any event, I’m HOME! Sallie’s on the back of the sofa, SO glad her mama’s home again! Dolphin’s purring by my side. I think I’m going to take a nap … yawn …

But here’s Tefy, my bunny, admiring my breakfast on the plane:

USAirway breakfast

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