Abundant Life

From ibelieve.com: Our lives can be falling apart all around us, and we can still have an abundant life. The abundant life is a state of being from within, not a result of external circumstances. It is the result of the pruning God does to make us more like Him, and it is what we will take to heaven with us (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). An abundant life is a life that keeps on giving.

From gotquestions.org: Although we are naturally desirous of material things, as Christians our perspective on life must be revolutionized (Romans 12:2). Just as we become new creations when we come to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), so must our understanding of “abundance” be transformed. True abundant life consists of an abundance of love, joy, peace, and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), not an abundance of “stuff.” It consists of life that is eternal, and, therefore, our interest is in the eternal, not the temporal. Paul admonishes us, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:2-3).

As you can see, I focused on the abundant life promised. So, I shared a couple quotes from the noted websites.

When I knew God was leading me into a simple life, with the focus on studying His Word, on writing, and on learning not to misread the offers the world has to give, I gave up comfort things for the sake of having them. I don’t disregard comfort or the need for it. But sometimes comfort is used to describe having an abundance of things, not an abundant life. I like the comfort of a safe and comfortable home. I like the comfort of knowing my family and friends care about me. I enjoy the comfort of flannel clothes in the winter and jersey clothing in the summer.

But my choices aren’t always the same as those of others. God will direct those who want to be directed, and I can’t, and I won’t, judge someone whose life is so different than mine. And I’m not talking about a life full of sin. I’m talking about the choices within our faith that make us a representative of who God created us to be. What He created in us to enable us to share Him with others.

Oh, yes, being an ambassador for Christ is an abundant life!

For those of you who prayed for me last week, thank you! I am moving much better, the back is settling into its normal state of minor annoyance, and if I use wisdom, the shoulder/arm, and knees allow me to spend time at my desk.

I am writing again.

In my seemingly endless days of inactivity (even I can only watch so much Dr. Who), I sought God on a new level regarding some things in my life. There was a lot of focus on writing. Should I stop? Should I change directions? Am I putting enough of my faith in my novels? Should I continue this blog?

In early December, I invited people on social media to be beta readers and to read and respond to a novel I started just after my Mom died. I had found it, read through part of it, and wondered if there was a future for it in my writing life. Long before I took courses in writing, editing fiction, etc., etc. I just wrote, and no editing was done. The grammar was pitiful, I wrote like I was speaking, and it showed.

Two high school friends told me they’d like to do that, and I sent them the first three chapters. This week I got a response from one of them. What she saw in it was what I’d seen in it. Me. The writer with a renewed childhood passion for writing fiction. Interestingly, it read very little like the books I’d already published.

So I thanked God I still had the original in the Cloud, downloaded it, and was surprised to see it was already over 86,000 words. Almost done. With a seeking of God, a seeking of explanation, that I wanted future novels to have. More than mysteries, more than love stories. Stories of people seeking and finding abundant life.

So, that is where I am headed in my writing. The only other clear answer I got was to use my own name, not a pen name. And today, just because doing so is fun, I think I’ll change the website’s look slightly.

Thanks for your patience in enduring this long post. God bless you! – Vicki