Peter: From Recognizing to Denying

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).

Painting of Peter by El Greco

Peter is an interesting biblical character. He was one of three closest disciples to Jesus, but he could be bold, brash, and put his foot in his mouth. When they were discussing who people thought Jesus was, Jesus asked Peter, "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered immediately, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus told him that God, the Father, had revealed this to him. But just a little later, Jesus was trying to explain to them what would soon happen and that he must die. Peter blurted out, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee" (Matthew 16:22b). But Jesus turned and said unto Peter, "Get behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things of God, but of men" (Matthew 16:23). We also must recognize Jesus for whom He is and what he did for us.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried saying, Lord, save me (Matthew 14:30).

You might also remember when Jesus came walking across the water in a storm to reach the boat with the disciples. Peter saw Him and wanted to walk out to meet Him. Jesus told him to come, and he did. Peter walked on the water toward his Lord until he let the storm take his focus off Jesus. Once he had his focus on the storm, he began to sink (see Matthew 14). That is true for us, too. As long as we keep our focus on Jesus, we are fine. If we give our attention to situations around us, we'll begin to sink into despair.

And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it and said, I am not (John 18:25).

And when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter slept with the others while Jesus prayed, but when Judas brought the soldiers to arrest, Jesus, Peter pulled his sword and cut off a soldier's ear, thinking to protect his Lord (see John 18). Yet, a few hours later, he would deny he even knew Jesus three times. What happened? First, Peter was always bolder when he could see Jesus. Secondly, in his fear and uncertainty, he started putting self-preservation above anything else. As Jesus told us, we must deny ourselves to follow Him. This is true for us, too. To live a godly life, we must get rid of selfishness and willfulness, and surrender to God. These are good, timeless lessons for us all.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24).

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Are Book Signings Becoming a Thing of the Past?

Book signings are not as common as they once were, and there're basically two major reasons for this. First of all, bookstores are not supporting them as they once did. Shop owners usually say that they don't find the signings profitable enough unless they are done by a top-selling author with a great deal of name recognition. Yet, part of the reason they don't do well is that the stores are not promoting them at all. I can't see why selling something like 25 - 50 books that they would not have sold otherwise would not be profitable if they only do in-the-store and free advertising. Has greed taken over so much that if they can't make huge sums they don't want any?

The second reason is that many authors have decided only to publish in ebook or audible formats and not in print. I don't understand this either. Why eliminate a large chunk of your potential readers. I have a good number of people who tell me they still only read print books. Admittedly, many of these are older adults, but they spend more  money on books than the younger generations. Although I have built my market and do sell many more ebooks than any other format, about a third of my sales still come from my paperbacks.

Another reason I like book signings is the one-on-one contact with readers. I like to see their excitement when they buy a new book or sometimes a complete series. I like to talk about my writing with them, answer their questions, hear what they have to say, and see their expressions. Just recently, a man discovered what "Tucker's Barn," inscribed on an antique gun he had bought, meant. It was the first name for Lenoir, North Carolina, a fact in my first novel, Cleared for Planting. He bought three copies of this novel and three other books. I just came from a book signing at the North Carolina State Baptist Convention where I not only sold a lot of books, but I enjoyed meeting and talking with hundreds of readers. I think book signings are a win-win situation for everyone. They may be dying out, but I, for one, intend to keep signing books as long as I can.

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Cutting Wood

Getting wood used to be a pretty endless job, especially in colder climates. My family once lived in the Appalachian Mountains, and it took a lot of firewood to see us through the year. At one time, people burned wood to cook with all year long, as well as to heat their homes in the winter. A few still do.

Getting in wood is one of the experiences I remember well from my childhood. Although I never did the initial cutting or splitting myself, I've watched and helped with sawing the logs into usable lengths and carrying and stacking the pieces. Pulling one end of a crosscut saw was hard work, but it made me feel special, especially when Dad was on the other end. Since I was an only child, I had no brothers or sisters to help.

My father's family owned a sawmill as he grew up, so he knew about wood. They moved about establishing sawmill camps. However, grandfather sold the sawmill, and all his sons had settled down before I was born. Daddy saw to it that we only used pine for starter or kindling and burned hardwoods in our stoves. Burning pine causes creosote to build up in the flue or chimney faster, which can cause a chimney fire and burn down the house. 

I'm glad we don't have to work so hard to heat and cook today, but fresh cut wood still brings back wonderful memories. And all the hard work involved doesn't seem so bad as I look back. As the old saying goes, "Gathering in wood warms you twice - when you do the work and when you burn the wood."

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Sin and Salvation

For by grace ye are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8a)

When we ask Christ into our lives and accept the salvation he offers, we undergo some changes. One of these is that we look at sin differently. It no longer has the same appeal, and we are no longer amused when we see others engaged in those activities. If you don't begin to hate sin (never the sinner, though), then you might want to question whether or not you've really had a change of heart.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Believers may still be tempted and sin again, but their response will be different. They will feel guilt and remorse and be compelled to repent. Most likely, they will feel so bad about their lapse that they will be determined never to act like that again. We began to find more joy in following Christ and pleasing God than we ever had before coming to know Him.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As my husband likes to say, a Christian can do anything he or she wants to, but God just changes the follower's want-to. As we grow in faith, worldly things have less and less value because we know our real treasure is in heaven. The Lord is what really matters. That's where we find true value and worth.

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Struggling with Writing Mistakes

If you've been reading my Wednesday blogs for some time, you know that I'm constantly struggling to put out a book without any errors. I've always had an editor, and I've tried different ones. The most expensive editor let the most mistakes through of any. I also have beta readers, but no matter what I do, a couple still seems to sneak through much too often for my peace of mind. One good outcome is that this keeps me humble.

Thankfully, there aren't many mistakes, and most readers tell me they never see one. That's good because I don't want anything to distract them from the story. Perhaps they're like me and often read what they think is there according to the context. In fact, I can and have edited other writers' manuscripts but not my own without additional help. As I write, I'm seeing the movie of what's happening play in my mind and working to get it on paper. Then once it's on paper, I read what I thought I put. Thankfully, my print-on-demand publisher will make the needed corrections. The traditional one, however, is another matter.

However, in trying to alleviate this problem, I've learned two things. First of all, out of the thousands and thousands of books I've read, I can only remember one in which I found no mistakes, and another reader could probably locate some in it. The classics have them, the top sellers have them, and practically all books have them. Knowing how hard I'm trying to put out a perfect book, my husband has been showing me the errors he finds in the books he reads. In an 80,000-word book, the chances of making a mistake are great. Therefore, perhaps I'm being too hard on writers, including myself.

In addition, I think becoming a published author has opened my eyes to mistakes I wouldn't have seen before because I have more concern and discernment now. Of course, being a former English teacher also helps them stand out. All this thinking has sent me on the road to becoming more tolerant instead of overly critical. Almost all my mistakes come from typos and carelessness from having my focus on the content, and I can assume this is true for many other authors, too. I'm not sure why editors and readers don't catch them, but perhaps they get caught up in the story, too. Although I will continue to work to put out the perfect book, I probably need to quit putting so much pressure on myself. At least, my books have fewer all the time, and that does make me feel better.

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 A Recipe for Cranberry-Nut Bread

Around November and Thanksgiving, cranberries become a seasonal food, although they are great any time of the year. One of my favorite ways to use them is in cranberry bread. The blog with this recipe has been my second most visited page with thousands of views, and I thought I would reshare it today.

Cranberry-Nut Bread

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix together dry ingredients. Blend in orange juice, egg, and oil. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in a greased 5 x 9 inch loaf pan. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and let set 5 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!

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Do We Revere God?

Over and over in the Bible, God shows His holiness and His people are to revere Him. Only the best, unblemished animals were to be given to Him in sacrifice. Men, like Moses, were told to take off their shoes when He was near because they stood on holy ground. Only the High Priest could go into the holy of holies once a year. The Israelites who defiled His places or presence were often put to death.

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth (Psalm 96:9)

God is such a holy God that He deserves all the praise, worship and reverence we can give Him. This is vividly shown in the book of Revelation as all fall down before Him, the angels sing of His glory, and everyone worships Him. He is so perfect, so holy, so awesome that our mind cannot conceive His greatness. And yet, he declares Himself our Father -- not our friend, the big boss, or the man upstairs, but a loving, knowing, perfect Father who deserves our respect.


Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (Psalm 30:4).

Some form of the word "holy" is used in the KJV of the Bible 613 times, but have we tried to reduced God to our level to make Him seem more accessible to us? We shouldn't. As a loving Father, he is very accessible. His Son is our Savior and Friend; His Spirit lives within us to guide and teach us. He is our Three in One, our All in All, our Holy God and Father. Let's show Him the reverence we should.

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