Over the Edge by Martin Wiles

I heard their stories but had difficulty believing family could actually turn their backs on other family members.

I was one who had also given up everything to be where I was-at college preparing for the ministry. Though I didn’t sell a house, my family and I had moved to a strange place where we knew no one. My prior employment didn’t provide lucrative income, but it came with benefits and a steady paycheck. Now our family was 400 miles away, in another state, and presently unemployed.

But when classmates relayed stories of family rejection because of their decision to leave everything for God, I couldn’t identify. My family encouraged me. No doubt some were labeled “over the edge,” religious fanatics, and Jesus freaks.

Jesus could identify though. He was so busy doing his Father’s work that he didn’t have time to eat. Crowds thronged him. When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said (Mark 3:21 NLT).

Following God’s call puts me at risk of misunderstanding. Some won’t comprehend why I do some things “without pay.” Others will question how I can believe what I do. Jesus was foregoing rest and nutrition.

Taking up Christ’s cross also involves the danger of isolation. Jesus’ family thought he was out of his mind. Some will avoid me because of who I am and the stands I take on various moral issues.

I also chance persecution when others view me as having gone over the edge. Persecution typically follows what is labeled different or odd. Persecution can be physical, social, or mental, but it will come. Jesus said so.

Is following Christ so important that you’ll risk misunderstanding, isolation, and persecution? Will you go over the edge for Christ?

Prayer: Give us courage Lord Jesus to go over the edge for You as You did for us.

Do you know someone who might need a daily dose of encouragement? Why not forward this site to them?

God's Creation: Day One and Two by Martin Wiles

(All material is original to the author with the exception of songs and activities which have been borrowed from various sources. All studies are free for public use.)

God’s Creation: Day One and Two
Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:1-8
Memory Verse: Genesis 1:1
(Compiled and written by Martin W. Wiles)

Objectives: 

The lesson objective is to help children understand that God has created everything they see and can’t see. Children attending public schools will be introduced to the theory of evolution and will doubtlessly not hear creation taught as another option for how the world began. Teachers should introduce God as the source of creation without instilling a negative spirit within the children toward their teachers or others who might adhere to an evolutionary viewpoint. Rather, children should be given the knowledge needed to present just as strong of a case for creation as for evolution. Make sure children understand that they should give their beliefs and viewpoints with love not anger or hate. 

Icebreaker Questions: 

Is it possible for you to make something out of nothing? Why not? (Materials are needed to make all items.)

Do you think it’s possible for God to make things, animals, and people out of nothing? (The Bible says he did. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. Hebrews 11:3 NLT.)

How can God make things out of nothing when people cannot? (Because God is God and has powers people don’t. He created us which makes him more powerful than we are.)

Have any of you ever watched television shows or movies or played video games where you saw someone make something magically appear or disappear? Or perhaps they had superhuman powers? (Let children give examples, and then make sure they understand that these depictions are fictional.)

Say: Today we’re going to begin a month long story about how God created the world and made animals and humans. The story you hear will be different than the one you are taught in school in your science classes. They will teach you about a concept called evolution which means that life forms developed from other life forms. You may hear that at one time humans were monkeys but that over time we developed into what we are today. You will hear the same about animals. You will also hear your teachers teach that the world is billions of years old rather than thousands of years old. Most—but not all, of the people who teach this and write the books that teach it are not Christians. As a student, you have the opportunity to tell your teacher what you believe as a Christian. Perhaps your witness will help them come to know Jesus as their Savior.

Say: (Display the following verse where the children can easily see it.) Let’s say our memory verse together. This will be our memory verse for the entire month. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NLT)

Bible Story Time: 

Tell children about the first two days of creation:

Can you imagine a time when there was nothing but God and heaven—wherever that was. There were no animals, plant, trees, or people other than the angels in heaven and the animals and plants that might have been there. God loves, and he wanted to share his life with more than just animals, plants, and angels. He decided to create a beautiful world and fill it with animal life, plant life, and people. He wanted these people to worship him and love him in return. But how did it all begin? 

God began by creating the earth. After all, if he was going to create plants, animals, and humans, he had to have someplace to put them. In the beginning, the earth God created was empty and shrouded in darkness. If plants, animals, and humans were to exist and survive, there had to be light. This was the first thing God created. God said, “Let there be light,” and light appeared. He then separated the light from the darkness. The early earth was just as we know it now. We have so many hours of daylight and so many hours of darkness. God did this on the first day. Some people believe these days were actual 24-hour days like we have while others believe they may have been a longer period of time. Either way, God made the light and darkness. 

What would God do on the second day? He had to make a separation so that the water on the earth would be separated from the mists of the skies. The mists above are what we refer to as sky and space. 

Everything that God will make from now on he will say is good. God doesn’t create bad things. Make plans to come back next week so we can read about what God did after he created the earth and the sky. 

Craft Time: 

Planet Earth Coffee Filter Craft

This is one of those crafts that's really simple for little kids (toddlers and preschool) but remains fun as you get older.

Materials:

• coffee filter

• blue and green washable markers (we used Crayola brand)

• squirt bottle or small glass of water 

• black construction paper

• glue 

• Optional:  white paint, old toothbrush and popsicle stick

Instructions:

• Flatten out a coffee filter on a plate.

• Scribble the filter with blue and green washable markers. 

• Use a squirt bottle to spray the coffee filter 2 or 3 times.

• I like to squirt right in the center of the filter and then sit and watch the water wick the colors over the filter (this takes 4 or 5 minutes).

• Young children will tend to over wet the filter...The project still works, but it won't turn out quite as pretty (the colors tend to blend too much if you soak the filter). To help prevent this, encourage them to squirt it just once in the middle and watch for a bit for so they can see the process unfold.  You can always add more water later if it doesn't get wet all the way to the edge after 5 minutes or so.

• Let dry (This takes about 1/2 an hour, but will take longer if the filter has been soaked by an over-zealous crafter!).

• We found ours turned out mostly green (I think our blue was a bit too light).  After it dried, we colored some more dark blue in the center and squirted it once with water.

• Optional:  Splatter paint a piece of black construction paper: 

o Cover your work area with newspaper

o Dip a toothbrush into white paint and tap it off to get rid of the excess. 

o Hold it over the black paper and lightly rub the edge of the popsicle stick against the toothbrush to splatter dots of white paint onto the paper.

o Repeat until your black paper looks like a star filled universe.

o Set aside to dry

• Glue your earth to a piece of black construction paper (or to a splatter painted piece of black construction paper).

Transition:

Let’s sing a song about God’s creation.

Song:  

God in Heaven Made the Earth 

(to the tune of Old MacDonald)

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

and on the earth he made the seas – isn't God so good!

With a big wave here, and a big wave there,

here a wave, there a wave, everywhere a wave wave!

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

and on the earth he made the hills – isn't God so good!

With a big hill here and a big hill there,

here a hill, there a hill, everywhere a hill hill!

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

and on the earth he made the snow – isn't God so good!

With a big pile here, and a big pile there,

here a pile, there a pile, everywhere a pile, pile!

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

And on this earth he made the people – isn't God so good!

With a little boy here and little girl there,

here a boy, there a girl, everywhere a boy girl!

God in heaven made the earth – isn't God so good!

Activity Time:

Creation Story Anagram

Take Away:

Let each child tell one thing they learned from the story about the first two days of creation. 

Enter to win a free copy of my newest book, Grits & Grace & God. Visit the following link and sign up: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/99040-grace-grits-god-manna-from-heaven-served-up-southern-style

When Fear Takes Over - Martin Wiles

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 NLT

He flailed his arms and feet, screaming and crying. When fear takes over, we often act irrationally. 

A trip to an urgent care center can be traumatic for a six-year-old boy who doesn’t know what’s going to happen. And one of our grandsons didn’t.

As his schoolteacher passed back papers, he happened to move his head at the same time she gave him his paper. The edge of the paper slid into the corner of his eye, giving him a paper cut—a painful experience under any circumstances. The teacher immediately sent him to the school nurse who examined him and sent a text to his mom. 

By the time I picked him up after school, he covered his eye with his hand and complained that he couldn’t open it. What happened? Does it hurt? Can you see out of it? Don’t rub it with your hand. I asked all the questions and said all the things a good grandparent should. But Meme asked more questions and said, “He needs to go to the doctor.” 

Meme loaded him up and carted him to an urgent care center—a place he’d been several years before for a cut in his cornea. Perhaps he remembered the trauma—and the patch. He was in no mood to let the nurse or doctor insert the drops that would illuminate his eye. 

By this time, his mom had arrived. With the help of two nurses, one mom, and one Meme, the doctor finally dropped the drop in his eye. Fortunately, the cut only affected the corner of his eye. No major damage. He would only need some antibiotic drops. But my grandson’s emotions were another story. Hours passed before he stopped crying and settled down. 

Meme picked up the antibiotic drops the next day. When I came home from work, she said, “You’re gonna have to help me put these drops in his eyes.” I tried. The scene from the day before repeated itself. Flailing legs and arms. Squinted eyes. Crying and screaming. We finally gave up, and I texted his mom: “Good luck with the eye drops.” Her only recourse was to put them in after he went to sleep and before he awoke in the morning. 

I remember a fearful time when I wasn’t much older than my grandson. The time when an infected finger drove me to the emergency room and resulted in a shot and a removed fingernail. I, too, screamed at the top of my lungs. 

Fear kept our grandson from cooperating, even though what we tried to do was for his own good. Fear also crept over Jesus’ disciples when He told them He would be crucified. Afterward, He would be resurrected and ascend to His Father in heaven. In their coming moments of fear, however, He would leave them peace of mind and heart through the presence of His Spirit. 

Fear has disadvantages and benefits. Unhealthy fear takes over. We don’t understand what’s happening to or around us because we’re traveling in unchartered territory or don’t trust the One orchestrating our circumstances. 

Good fear leads us to take precautions to protect ourselves, our health, and the others we love. Perfect love—the kind God gives—casts out fear and leads us to let go and trust God. We’re always safe with Him. 

What can you do when fear grips you?

Father, thank You for not giving me a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. 

Tweetable: What do you do when fear takes over? 

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Throwback Tuesday - Over the Edge - Martin Wiles

Over the Edge 

I heard their stories but had difficulty believing family could actually turn their backs on other family members. 

I was one who had also given up everything to be where I was: at college preparing for the ministry. Though I didn’t sell a house, my family and I had moved to a strange place where we knew no one. My prior employment didn’t provide a lucrative income, but it came with benefits and a steady paycheck. Now our family was 400 miles away, in another state, and presently unemployed. Read more...

Tweetable: What pushes you over the edge?

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

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Author Interview with Leanna Sain

Today, Love Lines from God welcomes author Leanna Sain. 

When did you decide to become a writer? In other words, what made you actually sit down and write something? 

It was at a Halloween party at a friend’s house. We had hiked out to a spooky cemetery, and on the way back my flashlight glanced over to the right and spotlighted an old wooden gate. While gates on a farm aren’t unusual, this one was. There was no fence—just a gate—sitting all by itself at the edge of a pasture.

“Uh…why do you have a gate without a fence?” I asked my friend. 
  
“Dunno. It was like that when we bought the place.” 

Maintaining the Halloween spirit, I said, “Dum, dum, duuuum. The gate to nowhere.”

We both laughed, then she said, “That sounds like the name of a book.”

“Yeah, it kind of does, doesn’t it.”

“Why don’t you write it?”

“Maybe I will.” 

And that was the story seed for my trilogy: Gate to Nowhere; Return to Nowhere; and Magnolia Blossoms. 

Every writer is eventually asked this question, but where do your ideas come from? 

They can come from anywhere: newspaper articles, street names, a school bus covered with kudzu vines, or a homeless person on the streets of Savannah. I keep a little notebook in my purse to jot down things that strike me. Those get added to a Word document on my laptop. Right now, the list of story ideas is so long I’ll have to live forever to get them all written.

Why do you write what you do?

It’s what I like to read. I love a good edge-of-your-seat story with a dash of history and sometimes a touch of magic realism stirred in. 

What is the hardest thing about the creative process of writing? 

Having enough time to get it all done. I don’t have a problem with the actual writing. It’s the “marketing part” that gives me fits.

If you’re a Christian, what are the challenges you believe Christian writers face now and in the future? 

I’ve heard a Christian man—a Sunday school teacher, no less—say you have to include the sex and bad language if you want to sell books. That comment floored me. I disagree. For a Christian, our writing is part of our testimony. And I think people are desperately looking for books and TV shows that don’t include all that. The problem is they’re hard to find. I’m doing what I can to remedy that.

If you would, please tell us what was the hardest thing about writing your last book? How long does it typically take you to finish your books?

My latest book, Hush, is different than the rest of my books. I wrote it while watching my mother struggle through the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease. It probably took six months to finish the first draft. I used the writing as a sort of therapy, a way to get rid of some of the hard emotions I was dealing with. 
As a result, this book is a little edgier than my others. I created a minor character suffering from the disease, which allowed me to weave some of the things my mother said and did right into the story. I dedicated the book to Mama to honor her. But that didn’t seem to be enough, so I decided to donate half of what I make on sales to Alzheimer’s research. There’s not a cure for this horrible disease and there’s a 100% mortality rate. We need to find a cure.
  
Name your three biggest frustrations about the writing business.
  
First, the time I must take to promote the book when I’d rather be writing

Second, when the words are flowing and I’m in the writing groove, and I realize I forgot to make dinner.

Third, saying goodbye to the characters I create when I reach the end of the story. They become real when you live with them for so long. It’s a bittersweet feeling.

On the flip side, what excites you the most about the creative process?

Creating these people and their lives and conflicts and being in control of it all. Well…sort of in control. Sometimes, the characters take the story off in a direction I never intended. But that’s okay, too. I call that “the magic.” 

What are you reading now, and who are a few of your favorite authors and why?

Sue Grafton: I love how her mind worked. Amazing mysteries. I hate that she never got to finish her “Z” book. Sarah Addison Allen: I love the magic realism she weaves through her stories. Frank Peretti: What a great storyteller. Ted Dekker: He is consistently able to produce those “edge-of-your-seat” books I mentioned earlier.

Can you please give us your buy Links? 

https://shoplpc.com/hush
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hush-Leanna-Sain/dp/1645262502/ref=sr_1_1?
https://www.amazon.com/Hush-Leanna-Sain-ebook/dp/B07Z5QVSHQ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hush+Sain&qid=1571343107&sr=8-1 

And what are your social media links if people would like to follow you? 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Leannasbooks
Twitter: https://LeannaSain@Leannasbooks
Website and blog: http://leannasain.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/LeannaSain

North Carolina native, Leanna Sain, earned her BA from the University of South Carolina, then moved back to her beloved mountains of Western NC. Her Southern romantic suspense, or “GRIT-lit,” showcases her plot-driven method of writing that successfully rolls the styles of best-selling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Nicholas Sparks, and Jan Karon into a delightfully hybrid form that is all her own. Her books have stacked up numerous awards, from Foreword Magazine’s Book-of-the-Year to the Clark Cox Historical Fiction Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians. She loves leading discussion groups and book clubs. 

Author Interview with Hope Bolinger

Today, Love Lines from God welcomes author, Hope Bolinger. 

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a recent graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 300 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 2,700 readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young's blog, which receives 63,000 monthly hits. She is excited for her modern-day Daniel Blaze to come out with IlluminateYA (an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas). She enjoys all things theater, cats, and fire.

Hope, tell us when you decided to become a writer, and what made you actually sit down and write something?

Although I’ve been writing for as long as I’ve known how to put a pen to paper (I have some stories from first grade buried in my room somewhere.), I didn’t know I could professionally write until I was in high school. My AP Literature teacher met with me to discuss an upcoming class project and in passing said, “Well, Hope, obviously you’re a good writer.” 

I didn’t hear the rest about ways to fix my paper on Kite Runner, and henceforth got a B on that paper. But that didn’t matter. In that meeting, I heard, “Well, Hope, maybe you can do something with this funny thing called writing.” So, I wrote. 

Every writer is eventually asked this question, but where do your ideas come from? 

I like to say they come from “what if” scenarios. What if Daniel was set in modern times? What if your school burned down on the first day? Or, often, I ask myself, “What situation would you never want to end up in?” And then I make that situation the plot of a book. 

Why do you write what you do?

I love clean teen fiction that has an edge and is honest. I write characters who have divorced parents, who have suicidal thoughts, and who deal with anxiety. I think teen fiction tends to swing one way or the other: clean but with a cleaned-up sort of story or edgy and dark with no redemption. I want to come alongside teens and say, “I’ve been there. It’s awful, but there’s still hope.” 

What is the hardest thing about the creative process of writing? 

Honestly, editing. I can write books relatively fast. Blaze came out in about 45 days while I worked three jobs and attended school part-time. But I often have difficulty taking blinders off and killing darlings. 
If you’re a Christian, what are the challenges you believe Christian writers face now and will face in the future?

As a literary agent, the biggest thing I see is that most Christian publishers have moved away from Christian fiction, at least in the sense that we know it. They want to publish stories with good morals, but not necessarily overt Christian themes. And I totally get it. I’ve even had frustrations as a Christian with past Christian fiction that seems to beat readers over the head with the Bible. 

How long does it typically take you to finish your books?

It takes me an average of 20-45 days to write a book (about 80,000 words). Blaze took me the longest because I worked so many part-time jobs. There was one time I co-authored a novel with someone that took nine days, but man, oh man, that was a wild ride. 

Tell us about the hardest thing in writing your book. 

The hardest thing about writing the sequel to Blaze (Den) was a lot of insecurity surrounding the work. Blaze and Den tackle insanely dark topics ranging from suicide to racism. Although YA fiction encourages writers to dive headlong into these, Christian YA publishers are still warming up to it. I think a lot of my anxiety was over whether or not people would put the book down because it didn’t shy away from the nitty-gritty. I still deal with a lot of that worry for Blaze. 

As for Blaze, dealing with depression threw the largest hindrance into the writing process. My parents split around the time I wrote it, so a lot of raw emotions got poured into the first draft. Some remnants still lurk behind in the final.

Name your three biggest frustrations about the writing business.

First, it requires patience, and I’m not a patient person. Second, it requires thick skin. I’ve gotten literally hundreds of rejection slips and I’m 22. If I want to keep up with this my whole life (and I do), I can’t imagine how many I’ll collect. Finally, it means competing with more and more people every year for fewer and fewer publication spots. 

Everyone wants to write a book. Which is great, except, now that means publishers not only get inundated with thousands of manuscripts, but they also tend to publish fewer books per year. That means a person has to have incredible writing, incredible platform, and incredible timing. 

On the flip side, what excites you the most about the creative process?

Just about everything. You feel light explode in your chest when you get an idea, when a character’s backstory finally clicks, or when you write a mic-drop piece of dialogue. Even though you literally spend hundreds of hours marketing, editing, and crying over a book, the ecstasy that comes from the creative process makes it all worth it. 

What are you reading at the moment, and who are a few of your favorite authors and why?

I’m actually making my way through Beckett’s plays at the moment (I’m a playwright and theater nerd.). But I would boil some of my favorite authors down to C.S. Lewis, Francine Rivers, Markus Zusak, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.K. Rowling, and Oscar Wilde. 

Give us the buy links for your book.

https://www.amazon.com/Blaze-Hope-Bolinger-ebook/dp/B07Q44JDNQ/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=hope+bolinger+blaze&qid=1554054306&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull  

What are your social media links? 

Facebook: @therosewoman
Twitter: @hopebolinger
Instagram: @hopebolinger
Website: hopebolinger.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Bolinger/e/B00V0VWFKQ?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_fkmrnull_1&qid=1550020518&sr=8-1-fkmrnull 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13700140.Hope_Bolinger 

Thanks, Hope, for spending time with us today. We wish you the best as you continue your writing career. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.