Hi Friends,

Well, yesterday I found out I have bronchitis. I've got a list of over 20 things that need to be done ASAP. The twins are being potty trained (no fun), and I feel like some elephant is using me as a dance floor. Ever feel like that?

So, in the midst of pull-ups, cough medicine, and trying to ignore that to-do list, I was reminded of something that happened just a few weeks ago. Here's how it happened:

Sometimes parents are right. This was one of those times.

Joelle paddled around the shallow end of the pool with a long, skinny floater tucked under her arms. She made a few circles then headed for the far end of the pool.

I watched her go. Past the ladder, past her sisters, past the light that marked the end of the area where she was allowed to swim. “Don’t go in the deep end!” I called out the warning after her. “Stay where you can touch bottom.”

She didn’t turn.

“Joelle!”

I started to go after her.

My husband, Bryan, touched my arm. “Give her a minute. She’ll learn.”

Joelle glanced back at me. “I’ll be all right, Mommy. I’ve got my floatie.”

“You could let go of it, and it would float away.”

She turned back around away. “I won’t. I promise.”

“Stay out of the deep end.”

But of course she didn’t. Soon after, the floatie had drifted off and there was Joelle, floundering, gasping, sputtering in the deep end of the pool. Arms flailed, water splashed. And the floatie moved even further from her reach.

Bryan shook his head and went after her. A moment later, he’d hauled her back to the shallow end.

Joelle trembled, and wailed, and hung on to her Daddy.

He sighed. “Well, what did Mommy tell you?”

“Waaaaa!” She buried her head deeper in his neck and refused to look.

He loosened her grip from around him and placed a finger under her chin. “You’re all right. Next time listen to Mommy.”

She sniffed and nodded. “I was s-s-s-scared.”

Bryan smiled at her. “I know. Now, let’s practice how to float, in case that ever happens again.”

So they did. They practiced being still, letting her body float at the top of the water, and raising her head above the surface to breathe. No flailing, no panic.

The strange thing is, bodies are buoyant. Yet people still drown with their noses a couple inches from air. Joelle had gasped and thrashed when all she really needed to do was calm down, stop flailing, and raise her face above the level of the water.

She only had to lift her chin and look up.

I wonder if it’s not often like that in life as well. We do something foolish, and we start to drown in our mistakes. But God doesn’t abandon us. He’s given us what we need to float. We just have to listen when he says to "Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10, NIV) All we’d really have to do is look up, look to Him, and we’d find our head above water. We’d be okay.

But instead we panic. We flail about in fear and desperation. And all the while God is swimming toward us, calling out to us to just look up.

The Bible says in Psalm 121 (NIV), “I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth… The LORD watches over you … The LORD will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

God is not far. There’s no need to panic. Instead, we just need to be still and look to Him.

So, today, as I feel the waters rising, as I'm tempted to flail around in fear, I'm remembering the lesson of Joelle’s trip to the deep end. I'm reminding myself to not panic, look up, and breathe in the peace of God. Because my Father in heaven is here with me. He won’t let me drown. He’s given me what I need to stay afloat in all the circumstances of life. Even bronchitis, potty training, and a 20-item list.

Hi Friends,

I just got back from Mount Hermon Christian Writers conference near Scotts Valley, California. What a rich, wonderful time of being with God, friends, and other writers! As usual, I stayed up late in Central Lounge laughing at the stories told by long-time friends like Steve Laube (my agent), John Olson, Randy Ingermanson, Tracy Higley (my roommate for the conference - fun!), Lynne Thompson, Meredith Efken, Mary Hampton, and others. And new friends like Tosca Lee and Rick Acker. The seminars were fantastic, the weather mostly sunny, and the food yummy.

Now I am both exhausted and refreshed. :-) So, no story with a scriptural point from me today, but I did want to share a thought that was meaningful to me over the time of the conference. Here it is:

A recurring scripture for me (both in life and this past weekend) is Ephesians 2:10, which when translated from the Greek reads something like: For we are His masterpiece, having been created in Christi Jesus for good works which God before-prepared, that in them we may walk.

What I love about this verse is both the idea that God has already PREPARED (not just "assigned") the good works for us but also that we're not just to do them, but walk in them. The Greek there for "walk" literally says "walk around." So, there's the feel not of a good works to-do list, but these good things that God has prepared for us to walk around in, to live in, experience and become.

For me that is a huge encouragement. I don't need to force my own plans into my life. I don't need to compare my success with others. I don't need to fret because things don't work out the way I want them to. God has prepared the good works for me. They are a gift, not a task. Now, I may walk around in them. I have a chance to live them.

I just need to walk. That's all. God says to me "This is the way, walk ye in it." (Isaiah 30:21) So, I just need to go forward, love Him, and be looking for ways to love others, ways that He has already prepared for.

That's the wonder of my walk, your walk, with a VIVID God.

(P.S. I've got some news coming out on my newsletter soon, so make sure you're signed up -- go to my website homepage - see button above - and enter your email address in the box on the right column! And please feel free to tell anyone else who might be interested about the newsletter too!)

Hi Friends,

Hi Friends,