The Spice of Variety - Martin Wiles

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Colossians 1:16 NLT

Fog and low clouds enveloped our destination, giving it the proper atmosphere for the filming of a horror movie.

My wife and I set out for a day trip to Balsam Mountain, North Carolina. We planned to visit the primitive campground atop the mountain, perhaps as a future camping spot, and to drive the 18-mile gravel road back to Cherokee. Since hot temps had dominated our area, we looked forward to the cool temps the area boasted about—never getting over 70 degrees.

What greeted us was eerier yet more beautiful than we had imagined. Only a few people camped at the primitive sites which were soaked from the heavy fog and dew. A sign warned us we had entered bear habitat. We didn’t know whether this secluded area would be a good spot to take our young grandsons camping or not.

After scouting out the campsite, we began our trek down the gravel road. Rocks and rain-washed gulleys littered our path. We worried whether or not my wife’s small car would make it. But the road said one way. No turning back.

Though most wildflowers had bloomed out, many still shone their colors in this high-elevation area. Only four other people traveled the road with us. Like us, they were in no hurry. We made frequent stops to take pictures of wildflowers, odd-colored mushrooms, waterfalls, and old bridges. We had entered a rain forest, just not a tropical one.

Four hours later—and 800 pictures later—we exited the gravel road safely and made our way to Cherokee where we enjoyed a picnic lunch.

According to Paul, Christ created everything we can and cannot see. The beauty of the area we traversed reminded us of the statement’s truth. We marveled—and were humbled.

I’ve learned I can’t box God in. Just when I think I have Him figured out, He’ll do something differently. Traditions can’t define or confine Him, nor can my limited understanding. We couldn’t understand how the climate could be so radically different when we were only three hours away from our home.

God is sovereign, which comforts me. The beauty of the world He created and controls staggers my imagination, as does the fact that He saves all who call on Him.

Learn to enjoy the variety God has placed in the world. Don’t try to box Him in by your limited understandings and traditions.

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving us a world of variety to experience and enjoy.

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Flashback Friday - Life’s Tests - Martin Wiles

Life’s Tests

We called him the “grocery list” professor—and for good reason.

My theology and pastoral ministries professor was the most graceful but difficult college professor I had. Classes were fun and often off-topic, but he spared no expense on tests. Each question contained multiple answers. Some were only one word. Others were phrases or entire sentences. Hundreds of items required memorization to pass his tests. Fortunately, I had a good memory and performed well, but doing so required days of repeating the answers over and over until they were ingrained into my short term memory. My one consolation was that I only had to endure one semester. Read more...

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A Different Thanksgiving - Martin Wiles

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT

Our Thanksgiving gatherings had changed.

I remember them as a child. We gathered at my paternal grandparents’ home in Orangeburg, South Carolina. My grandfather cooked a turkey and a ham. My grandmother cooked the trimmings.

At the designated time, Mom, Dad, and we three boys showed up for the feast and to visit with the grandparents who treated us more like children than grandchildren. Then Dad’s sister and brother-in-law, along with their two children, arrived. We sat at the table to enjoy the meal—the adults at the dining room table and the children at the kitchen table.

After the feast ended, we traveled twenty miles south to Vance, South Carolina, where we enjoyed another meal with my mom’s parents, along with my mom’s sister and her three children. Although our stomachs bulged, we ate again anyway.

When all of the grandparents had died—or gotten too feeble to cook Thanksgiving meals anymore—Mom took over, and we three boys, along with our spouses and children, gathered at her house to enjoy the same kind of feast we had enjoyed at our grandparents’.

Then it happened. Well, more than one thing, actually. Dad died. Divorce touched all three of us boys. Remarriages took place. Parents and grandparents—and even some great-grandparents—multiplied. Steps were added. The family grew, but in a different and separated way. Then Mom remarried, and stopped cooking on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

My younger brother moved away and only visited once or twice a year—at Thanksgiving, but mostly at Christmas. One year, he decided to come for Thanksgiving. But it wasn’t what I imagined. My other brother and his new family planned to gather with his new wife’s family. His children had other plans. My daughter and her kids planned to “drop” in. My son and his family also had other plans.

Our Thanksgiving gathering wasn’t what I hoped for. Circumstances built a siege against us. But I thanked God for the gathering we had. Which is what Paul commanded. We don’t have to thank God for our circumstances, but we can thank Him in them.

I could spout off the typical things people say when asked what they are thankful for—family, friends, a job, good health, a house, a car, God—and I do thank God for all of that, but somehow my thanks needs to go deeper. I’m thankful God has chosen me as His child, and that I had the sense to say yes when He extended the invitation. His grace is enough.

My connection with my heavenly Father through Christ helps me give thanks even when the Thanksgivings are different or when they are not what I hoped for.

This Thanksgiving, ask God to help you show gratefulness, even though your circumstances may not be ideal.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for inviting us into Your family and for showing us how to demonstrate gratefulness even in trying circumstances.

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Dedicated to the Cause - Martin Wiles

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Philippians 3:12 NLT

“They are just testing your determination.”

My friend said it when I kept losing my bait but not catching the fish. On the second night of our camping trip with our friends, the husband invited me to accompany him to the dock for a little fishing. Years had passed since I’d put a cork in the water, but I agreed to go. Casting the line and watching the cork bob was difficult. Biting flies nibbled at my legs and neck. Stinging ants waited for me to lay my hands on the dock railing.

Misery kept me company, but I kept casting the line in various places, hoping to catch a fish. A Johnny-come-lately arrived, cast his line a few times, and began catching small bream. After landing a few, he left and wished us good luck. But luck didn’t come. We cast in the same spot he did, but caught nothing. My cork bobbled and ducked, but never hung a fish.

My friend wouldn’t give up and encouraged me not to either, but after one hour of bites and stings, I’d had enough. I wound my line and headed for the campsite—disappointed I hadn’t caught a fish, but glad to get away from my attackers.

Paul didn’t give up as easily as I did. God gave him an assignment to take the gospel to the Gentiles—to be a fisher of lost people—and he planned to fish for them until the end, even if it meant his death. And eventually, it did.

The believers’ cause—our mission, purpose, and plan—to take up where Paul left off by telling others of God’s love takes a concerted effort. It also involves a heart issue. My friend helped me by giving me the tools I needed to catch fish, but my heart left the endeavor shortly because of biting insects.

Lone-gospel rangers can’t do what Christians together can. Personal trials and persecution from others will attempt to stop our mission or suck the life out of us, but we must press on. Doing so is worth the effort. God gave us an assignment, and we need to keep going regardless of the roadblocks along the way.

God gave Paul the strength to remain dedicated to the cause, and He will do the same for you.

Prayer: Father, keep our eyes focused on the goal and our feet dedicated to Your purpose for us.

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Throwback Tuesday - Sorry: The Hardest Word - Martin Wiles

Sorry: The Hardest Word

As the teacher read over both students’ papers, she noticed striking similarities. Too many to be coincidental. She read and re-read not wanting to imagine that one of them had copied the other. After much consideration, she reluctantly confronted each student. Both denied copying the other’s paper, but the stories they told her and their parents had conflicting details. She didn’t accuse them, but the academic penalty was a failing grade for the assignment. Even when facing this consequence, neither student approached her with an “I’m sorry” or ever admitted to their mistake. Read more...

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Grabbing the Opportunity - Martin Wiles

Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. Galatians 6:10 NLT

“Let’s go help our neighbors.”

A couple whom my wife and I had been friends with for some time invited us to go camping on their maiden journey. The husband had been in a wreck, had surgery, and missed work for a number of months. His workman’s compensation settlement gave them enough money to purchase a new camper and a truck to pull it with.

No sooner had we arrived than an elderly couple pulled into the campsite beside us. My friend, more perceptive than I am, noticed they were having trouble setting up their pop-up camper. He walked over, introduced himself, and helped them. The rest of us hung around our campsite.

Over the next several days, my friend visited with the husband, fished with him, and got to know his story. He and his wife once made a good living, only to lose their investments during an economic recession. Now they lived in an apartment and camped often. Neither enjoyed good health, and the husband was legally blind.

The morning my wife and I were scheduled to leave, the couple next door was also. That’s when my friend invited me to go help them break down their camper. Until this point, my camping involved only tents, so I knew nothing about preparing campers for the road. But I was ready to help … with instructions from my friend, of course. While helping, I discovered they were a nice couple. Before pulling out, the wife asked for our Facebook names. She wanted to stay connected. I felt as if I’d missed an opportunity to get to know some nice people.

Although I took advantage of the chance to do good, I wouldn’t have had my friend not made the suggestion. His initiative embarrassed me when I thought about it later. I wondered how many other opportunities I’d let slip by.

Opportunities abound, but I have to put on my spiritual glasses to see them. If I don’t see them—or if they’re not coming—all I have to do is ask God to send some and then to give me the spiritual eyesight to see them. Opportunities often provide conversation starters which can lead to friendships … or even salvation experiences. We never know what God can do with opportunities.

Ask God to send you opportunities to interact with others.

Prayer: Father, send us opportunities to do good to others around us.

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Whatever I Need - Martin Wiles

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to his rescue every time. Psalm 34:19 NLT

God is many things to many people, but whatever He is, He’s the right thing.

While waiting for my bathwater to finish running, I stepped into my bedroom, only to hear a loud crash. Running to the bathroom to investigate, I found the bathroom window lying in the bathtub, shattered into a million pieces. God became my Savior … of another type.

When I refused to walk outside after dark—despite my father’s reminder that it wasn’t anything in the dark that wasn’t there in the light—I needed someone to reassure me. God became my protector.

In those times when the paycheck hasn’t stretched enough to cover the monthly bills, God has shown me repeatedly that He’s sufficient to meet my needs regardless of what the math says.

When relationships disintegrated into nothingness, when people tore my heart to pieces, and when my kids went astray, God became my comforter, my rescuer, and my peace.

If I didn’t have the words to comfort someone who’d faced significant loss, God either gave me the words or supplied the strength to be exactly what they needed.

And when I was a nine-year-old young lad, my father told me I had sinned and fallen short of God’s forgiveness. But God gave me hope. He had sent His only begotten Son to pay for my sins. All I had to do was ask for forgiveness—which I did. God became my Savior.

The psalmist acknowledged that troubles don’t leave believers alone. Christian history and experience teach this truth. The difference comes in the response to the trials. Believers believe God controls the trial and will rescue them in one way or another. We have hope that nonbelievers don’t.

God doesn’t change shapes when He comes to us, nor is He shapeless. He is a spirit, but He manifests Himself in the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through the Father, He manifests the attributes any good father should when interacting with his children. As Son, He can save from sin, along with any other saving we need. And as Spirit, He resides in us to give us the daily guidance, support, wisdom, and courage we need to face life’s trials and troubles.

Whatever you need God to be to you, know that He’ll oblige.

Prayer: Father, we trust You to be just the right thing we need when we need You.

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Flashback Friday - Clean But Dead - Martin Wiles

Clean But Dead

On a recent school trip to Washington, DC, I visited the family-inherited plantation of General—and later President, George Washington. Washington had served the Continental Army of the United States of America well, and when the time came for the young and newly formed country to declare its independence from Great Britain and elect their first President, he was a natural choice. And when the time arrived for him to die, he informed his wife, Martha, he wanted to be buried on his beautiful Mount Vernon estate. She obeyed his wishes. 

I strolled down a lonesome path and observed the tombs where he, Martha, and other family members are buried. His remains are encased in a beautiful white shelter, but the outward beauty can’t change what’s on the inside: bones from which flesh has decayed and fallen away. Read more...

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Stay Away - Martin Wiles

Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Romans 16:17 NLT

“Don’t drink or chew or hang around with those who do.”

Mom and Dad reared me in a Christian home with a very strict—almost legalistic—view of right and wrong. Smoking was one of the questionable activities. My parents told me not to, but more so for the health concerns than for the sinful nature of it. Drinking and drugs, on the other hand, stood out as sinful acts. And sex before marriage? Fornication, Dad called it. Out, too.

Sunday was an issue as well. Other than Mom cooking—most of which she did on Saturday night—no work took place on this sacred day. No shopping—which wasn’t a problem at that time since nothing but drug stores and gas stations were open. No working, no sports, no washing clothes, no working in the yard, no hanging pictures. Sunday was church day.

And, of course, I shouldn’t hang around with anyone who did any of these things or who came from families where parents did them. Like the sign that reads, “Wet paint. Don’t touch,” all the don’ts made me want to do.

Looking back, my life seemed more about what I couldn’t do than what I could do. Later, I realized the need existed for the don’t rules. Quite a few of them dot the pages of the Bible, including Paul’s admonition to the Roman Christians to avoid those who cause divisions and teach false doctrine.

Bad company carries the very real possibility of corrupting good morals. Yet Jesus tells us to be light to the world, which can’t happen if I don't stay away from those who are doing the don’ts. Peer pressure taxes even the best of believers, and it doesn’t evaporate when we graduate from high school or college.

Staying away yet influencing takes walking a fine line, and it requires spiritual fortitude and godly wisdom. All of which God is more than happy to impart when we ask and do our part. The spiritual acts of Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with other believers hone our spiritual skills so we can influence without being influenced.

Paul and Jesus’ command isn’t contradictory, just issued in different contexts. God will give you the power to stay away when needed and to get involved when He wants you. Ask Him for wisdom. He's more than happy to give it.

Prayer: Father, give us the wisdom to know when and when not to stay away.

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The Slump Called Summer - Martin Wiles

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NLT

The slump had hit.

Some slumps I enjoy. Such as the one I get to experience from the last of May until the first week in August. We teachers call this our summer break. The one we need after slaving with kids for nine months, trying to impart knowledge and skills they’ll need in life. Dealing with paperwork and grading an unending string of papers. The slump allows us to put all this aside and slump in our recliners … or on a cruise ship … or in a mountain cabin … or in a pool … or at the beach. But even this slump bores me after a few weeks, and I’m ready to return to the grind.

Other slumps I don’t enjoy. When I pastored churches full time, I hated summer slumps. Since the churches were smaller membership, a few families going on vacation significantly decreased the size of our congregation. And with more people vacating, the church also faced the giving slump. Same bills. Less money.

As a writer who works hard to build his social media platform, I too feel the effects of the summer slump. Fewer website visits, fewer friend requests, fewer likes.

My wife sells avidly on Facebook and eBay. Summer slumps hit her too. People busy themselves saving for or spending money on vacations, not buying the goods she tries to sell to help us make ends meet.

While some summer slumps are enjoyable, others God doesn’t plan for us to get caught up in. Paul names them.

Summer isn’t a time to skimp on kindness—although it sometimes happens. Long stretches of hot weather tend to make people irritable. The patience fuses get shorter. Fights break our easier. Curse words fly faster. God wants us to give kindness year-round, not just nine months out of the year.

Forgiveness should never slump. God never stops forgiving, regardless of how many times we mess up. He never says, “Oops, it’s summer. No forgiveness for three months.” Sometimes, I need more forgiveness in summer than during the remainder of the year. The old adage is true: “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Even in the down months, I try to stay busy.

Slumps are sometimes needed—and can be good for emotional, physical, and spiritual strength—but don’t slump on kindness and forgiveness. They are always needed.

Prayer: Father, whatever we slump from, let it never be kindness and forgiveness.

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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.