One of the things Irene Hannon does so well is to give us a peek into the world of different types of law enforcement. In her new “Private Justice” series, she’s taken us into the world of private investigators.

As it turns out, they aren’t all 100 pounds overweight, kicked back behind a massive desk, and puffing on a smelly cigar.

In Vanished, we meet the three former law enforcement men who make up the private investigative agency, Phoenix, Inc. 

Cal, Dev, and Connor are great guys who now share the motto “Justice First.” Their goal is not to take the place of law enforcement, but to help those for whom traditional law enforcement has failed.

When lovely, Pulitzer-nominated journalist Moira Harrison shows up with a story of a dark road, a terrified woman, and a disappearing Good Samaritan, it’s not hard for former detective Cal Burke to understand why the police aren’t pursuing her case.

After all, there’s nothing to go on.

Or is there?

The stomach twisting opening of Vanished grabbed me and pulled me in. I was a little surprised by the quick revelation of the bad guy, but knowing who “done it” didn’t keep me from wondering how on earth Cal and Moira would prove it.

I enjoyed Vanished am looking forward to the next book in the Private Justice series. (Because Dev is a rascal, and I liked him a lot!)

Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The super fine print: I received a free copy of Vanished from Revell in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today’s post was going to be all about margin.

It still is…sort of.

When I chose my One Word for 2013, Margin seemed like the obvious choice. (You can read about how Margin applies to my writing life over at The Write Conversation). I knew my life needed more margin. More space to be creative, more space to be spontaneous, more space to serve, more space to just be. 

I also knew I needed to do a better job of setting my margins. Of giving myself some boundaries, of turning off the lights, of walking away from projects and being okay with the knowledge that they’ll be waiting on me tomorrow or next week.

What I didn’t realize was that living without margin is the equivalent to living my life on the very edge of a knife. Sooner or later, something is going to slip, and when it does, it’s not going to be pretty.

Last Thursday, I got a very painful lesson on the importance of margin.

I won’t go into detail, but my thumb is now sporting a very bulky bandage. I spent the weekend in a haze of pain medicine and the latest news is, “It will heal, but it’s going to take a while.”
Not what I wanted to hear.
All because I failed to maintain the margin between my thumb and the knife I was holding.
It’s a lesson I’ll be processing every time I try to pick up my son or open a zip lock bag. 
Margin is the difference between living life fully and hobbling your way through each day.
Believe me…I know.
We’ll talk about margin more in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, if you have a One Word for the year, or if you have suggestions for maintaining margins, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Grace and peace,

Lynn

photo credit: My one word button was a gift from the oh-so-generous Melanie over at Only A Breath. You should check her out!

Happy 2013 everybody!

I hope your Christmas was extra merry and your New Year is off to a great start!

I’ll be talking about my One Word for 2013 over the next few weeks, but since today is the first Thursday of the month, I’m over at The Write Conversation and  I’m focused on how my One Word applies to my writing.

I’d love for you to stop by and join the conversation!

Photo credit: The very gracious Melanie over at Only A Breath designed my One Word button. She did it for me and a whole bunch of people she doesn’t know – for FREE! If you think that’s as cool as I do, maybe you could pop by her blog and check it out!

I sent my daughter to school on Monday with the sure knowledge that, should unspeakable evil threaten, the teachers and staff at her school would do everything humanly possible to protect her.

And more importantly, that my Abba remains sovereign over all.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve got a handle on this.

I’m no theologian. I’m a mom. A mom who cried through the news coverage on Friday afternoon and again Friday evening after my precious ones were tucked into their beds.

I’m a mom who Does.Not.Understand.

And unless your faith is about as deep as the icing on the sugar cookies you like to decorate each year, Friday’s horror should make you ask questions.

It is not a sign of weak faith to bury your face in your hands and ask God, “Why?” 

The Bible tells us in James that, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him“. Besides, God knows we don’t understand, and faking it with Him makes about as much sense as going to Wal-mart on Christmas Eve.

That verse, interestingly enough, comes right after James tells us to count it all joy when we suffer. I think God knew we would struggle with this and wanted to make sure we knew we could always ask for help understanding the hard stuff. 

Thankfully, there are some incredible, Godly people out there who have shone light into the darkness. They’ve asked the hard questions and the answers are powerful.

The following is a brief list of some of the posts that have spoken to my heart over the past few days. They range from poignant to theologically profound.

As we celebrate the first coming of our Savior, my heart is longing for the second.
Even so, come quickly.

Deeper with Jesus in Rhode Island ~ Goodbye Little Christmas Angels

The Write Conversation ~ Weekend Worship: Where Was God?

A Holy Experience ~ The Truth About Sandy Hook: Where is God When Bad Things Happen?

Radical ~ The Gospel and Newtown (this one’s longer than the others, but there’s some serious theology here)

If you’ve come across a post that spoke to you, feel free to share it in the comments.

Grace and peace,
Lynn

As I’ve been mulling over the idea of how big God is and the miracle it is that He became flesh, I’ve also been thinking about how often God does things in ways that are both unexpected and incomprehensible.

I’m wondering how often I don’t see God’s hand because what’s happening doesn’t make sense to me.

I’m wondering how much Joy I miss out on because instead of resting in His plan, I’m arguing with Him about His methods or pointing out to Him that what He’s doing doesn’t seem like a good idea.

I could go on and on about it, but Christmas is twelve days away and my guess is you don’t have time for me to go on and on!

So instead I thought I’d leave you with one of my favorite passages from The Last Battle.

I love The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. (Please don’t ask how many times I’ve read them – the answer is, “I have no idea and if we don’t quit talking about it I’m going to have to start reading them again!”)

At this point in the story, the characters have been fighting all around a small stable and are now inside.

Ponder this, and find the Joy!

“It seems, then,” said Tirian, smiling himself, “that the Stable seen from within and the Stable seen from without are two different places.”

“Yes,” said the Lord Digory. “Its inside is bigger than its outside.”

“Yes,” said Queen Lucy. “In our world too, a Stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”

C.S. Lewis ~ The Last Battle

edited from the archives

Don’t look now…but my halo is crooked.
I blame it on the hot glue.

I had no idea how dangerous it could be to use a hot glue gun—until I totally lost my religion making Jesse Tree ornaments.

All I wanted to do was create a visual—a way to teach my children the true meaning of Christmas. Plus, it’s such a Christian-y thing to do. It should go a long way toward establishing my credibility as a good Christian mom. Right?

Yeah.

All was going according to plan—until I put a dab of hot glue on the back of some shiny fabric and that fabric took on an evil life of its own.

Before I could say “drat”, the fabric curled up on itself, trapping three of my fingers in the mess of shimmer and glue, all the while inflicting what felt like third degree burns.

In that moment, I didn’t think, I didn’t pray. I yelled. 

I did not yell “drat!”

I slung that little whale tail down on the counter with another expletive (or two).

Because it hurt bad. And the fabric was so pretty, but I only had enough to make the one little tail. And I wanted it to look nice. And I thought I had ruined it—and that I might need a skin graft.

I really can’t explain it. I don’t talk that way. I don’t generally even think that way. But it’s obviously in me, because it didn’t just leak out, it flew out.

So much for establishing my “good Christian mom” creds.

The actual tiny whale tail ornament

I managed to get the little tail, now slightly wrinkled, on the ornament, and as I attached it to the wreath it hit me—this was the ornament that represents Jonah’s story. 

Jonah had a good thing going before the whole Ninevah fiasco. People looked up to him. After all, God spoke to him and back then, God didn’t just speak to anybody. Jonah’s “good prophet of God” reputation was secure.

Until God threw a little hot glue in his direction—the idea of preaching to the Ninevites burned him up. And then all that junk inside him spewed out and he ran as far and as fast as he could in the opposite direction of God’s will.

So God chased him down.

Because God had two plans at work. Sure, He wanted the people of Ninevah to repent. But He also wanted to expose the junk in His prophet’s heart at the same time.

God’s like that. He doesn’t wait on you to get it all together before He uses you. He’s big on using cracked pots to carry His message to a world full of people who don’t need perfect Christians setting some standard they can never hope to live up to.

They need real Christians who know they can’t measure up but who rest secure in the hope they have in Christ alone.

If you’re having a perfect holiday season, that’s great. Really. I’m happy for you (and not at all itching to lob a shatter-proof ornament in your direction and knock the halo right off your head. Nope. Not me).

But if your holiday has already run off the rails…if your kids don’t want to sit angelically and listen to Bible stories every night…if your Christmas tree looks more like Charlie Brown’s than Clark Griswold’s…if your plan to buy a water buffalo for a family in Asia instead of an iPad went over like Great Aunt Edna’s fruit cake…if you lost your halo in the toy department of Target…

Then join me in remembering that God does not care how perfectly you celebrate His birth.

He cares about what’s going on in your heart as you do.

And even when you blow it—spectacularly—He doesn’t condemn you. He chases you.

Because He loves you.

If you have a hard time believing that, maybe you need to remember what we’re celebrating.

When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7, ESV)

That’s not the message of a religion you can lose.

That’s the message of the Gospel that we need to proclaim to everyone—not that we have it all together, but that we have it all in Him.

Because 2000+ years ago, the Savior was born…

Books: I’ve been reading all sorts of stuff. While on the cruise, I read Opening Moves by Steven James (excellent, as always), Trinity by Ronie Kendig (loved it), and The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (YA, fantasy, fun).

Writing: I’ve enjoyed getting back into the writing groove. My main characters in my WIP (work in progress) won’t shut up. And they are getting quite cozy. Love it when that happens!

Scripture: Our pastor challenged us a few weeks ago to read the book of Luke and the book of John before Christmas. I think I may be the only person in the church who decided to read John first.

Family: James is four and is really in to our Jesse Tree Ornaments. He’s clear that we celebrate Christmas because it is Jesus’ birthday, but he is very curious about “that Christmas guy” and how he gets in and out of houses. He seems to think this may be a little bit shady.

Home: I realized today that there are five Christmas trees in the house this year. Plus two on the front porch. I’m not exactly sure how that happened. (Actually, I do know how it happened—it’s called the “trees are 75% off at Wal-mart on the day after Christmas” effect).

Food: I’m baking for the holidays. The salted caramel pretzel bark currently holds the position of best new recipe this season.

Music: I waited until December 1st to really get into the Christmas music, but I’ve got it playing everywhere now. My iPod playlist is a mixture of Brian Setzer, Mannheim Steamroller, Mariah Carey, Harry Connick, Jr., and Michael Buble. I have George Winston’s December CD in my van, and the Christmas CD from our church, The Best Time of the Year, in the kitchen.

Movies: White Christmas for me. Christmas Vacation for Brian.

Wonders:  When you consider the miracle of the incarnation, it’s impossible not to be filled with wonder. It blows my mind and makes me feel small—not an inferior kind of small—a “what is man that You are mindful of him” kind of small.

Weirdness: I’ve been in Wal-mart several times so far this season. Need I say more?

May your weekend be filled with wonders and weirdness—especially wonders!

Grace and peace,

Lynn

It’s the first Thursday of December, so I’m over at The Write Conversation today.

Stop by for some tips to help you keep writing, even during this crazy time of year!

I’m a wife, mother, and writer. I’m a daughter, sister, and friend. I’m a
reader, knitter, and scrapbooker. I’m a cook, maid, and seamstress. I’m an
engineer, manager, and bookkeeper.

With all that stuff going on,
you’d think I’d be fulfilled.

Nope. Not even close. More often than not, I
feel anxious. Desperate. Inadequate.

 
My task-oriented nature struggles to stay in the
moment. To focus my energy on one thing, without mentally scrambling to
determine the most efficient way to check off something else at the same
time.
 
But by refusing to do one thing at a time, I’m
not doing any one thing well.
 
And I’m robbing myself of so much
joy.
 
Jim Elliot is quoted as saying, “Wherever you
are, be all there.” I love that. I want that to characterize my life. I think
it’s another key to rediscovering joy.
 
Because something tells me that when Jesus took
on humanity, He was an “all there” kind of guy. Would you care to guess what
makes me think that?
 
Jesus spent nine months in a
womb.
 
NINE MONTHS.
 
Have you ever thought of the challenge that must
have been? To go from omnipresence to embryo. To grow inside a body You
created.
 
But He did it. He was all there. All God. All
man. All at the same time. All miraculously contained inside Mary’s swelling
body. The Word that spoke the world into existence limited Himself to baby
babble. The hands that carved out oceans and piled high mountains were content
to bang on a pot with a wooden spoon.

Wherever He was, He was all
there.

 
And because He became Immanuel, God with us, we
have Joy. True Joy. Not fleeting happiness. Not momentary pleasure.
 
Eternal Joy.
 
So as I stand in football field length store
lines or sit in gridlocked mall traffic, instead of chafing at the limitations,
I’m trying to practice being all there.
 
I’m not always successful, but when I am, I’m
discovering there’s so much Joy to be found in every moment.
 
So what about you? Do you feel up to a
Christmas challenge?
 
This week, join me. Wherever you are, be all
there. Wrapping presents? Be all there. At a party? Be all there. At a Christmas
program when you still have Christmas baking, shopping, cleaning, and wrapping
to do? Be all there.
 
I think you’ll find Joy there.
 
And when you do, please come back and tell us
about it.
edited from the archives

I’m no Scrooge. Far from it.

I’m a present shaking, Christmas music listening, holiday baking, 38-year-old wanna-be elf.

But even my twinkle light loving self has to admit that a part of me looks at the December calendar with more dread than delight.

There’s just so much to do! And so little of me to do it.

Which is why I have to slow down.

Yep. You read that right.

I didn’t say I needed a clone (which I do) or a housekeeper (yes, please!).

I need to slow down because God is going to keep throwing this idea in my face until I get it. He’s been really pushy about it for the past week.

It started while I was chatting with a friend. We were commiserating about how busy we both are and as we talked, I glanced at my Facebook page. Yes, that’s right. Now, don’t look like that. You know you do it to. It’s called multi-tasking and we’ve already established the fact that I’m very busy. 🙂

Anyway, there, right smack in the middle of the page was the following post from Lysa TerKeurst.

Spending some time getting quiet this morning can really be the best remedy for tangled situations. Taking a step back from all the emotion, frustration, and exhaustion to sit quietly with Jesus will do more to untangle a mess than anything else I’ve ever found.

I read it to Sara and we were both struck by the truth in her words . . . and the harsh reality that neither of us had time to do what she was suggesting.

Then, on Sunday, our pastor stomped all over my busy little life when he reminded us that we do make time for what is a priority, and that nothing should be a bigger priority than time in the Word.

I had already made the connection that God was getting all up in my busyness when my four-year-old raced out of the church doors and ten feet later crashed in spectacular fashion. As he cried, I scooped him up and carried him to the van. When he calmed down I asked him what happened.

His response?

“I forgot to slow down!”

Out of the mouths of babes. All I could do was shake my head and say, “OK, Lord. Point made.”

So as the holiday season spins out in front of us, I’d like to challenge you with this.

Don’t forget to slow down.

Slow down long enough to read the book of Luke. Or John. (Or both!)

Slow down long enough to relish the Joy that is ours because a virgin conceived, and bore a son, and called His name Emmanuel.

Slow down long enough to remember the first tree and the the Ultimate Gift that hung on it.

Slow down long enough to revel in the love the God of the Universe has lavished on you.

This really is the best time of the year…let’s slow down long enough to enjoy it!

Now it’s your turn: How do you plan to slow down?

Grace and peace,

Lynn

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