January 2013

It's taken a while for me to log on to my blog. I am soooo fond of computer technology. My apologies to those of you who have been waiting eagerly for a new post. Don't feel like you're only one of two or three (though you well may be). I don't keep track of who visits, etc. I'm just here because that's what the publishing industry says authors do. Okay. Enough already.

Is your New Year off to a good start? I hope so. If not, I recommend camping out in the many biblical verses that point us to the God of all hope. Like this one: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13, ESV; emphasis added). It doesn't get any better than that: hope, joy, power, peace--all in our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you're hoping for something in particular. Here's another Oswald Chambers quote to give you a smile...if not on your face, in the quiet place of your heart:

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what  He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.

SDG. I "hope" you have a good year. A very good year.

And please, check out my website which is in the final stages of reconstruction, thanks to Jodie Dye and the beautiful photography of a high school friend, Dena Kraft.

See you at www.katherinedouglas.com.

Merry Christmas!

Oswald Chambers wrote, "We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God; we must either receive it as a gift or do without it."
Whether Christmas hides just around the corner ,or Resurrection Sunday is two seasons away, or no holiday or holy day stares at me from the calendar, God's goodness to me in His Son Jesus Christ remains the gift that keeps on giving.
Whether your Christmas is tainted with tragedy or resplendent with joy, I hope you can hold onto this truth: "For our sake he (God) made him (Christ Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV). Soli Deo Gloria.

Christmas in Swanton Craft Show

This Saturday, December 1, Kathy will have her books for sale at the annual Swanton Christmas Craft Show. Bargain prices! Event is at Swanton High School and runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Christmas is coming faster than a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer! Hope to see you there!

NW OHIO CHRISTIAN WRITERS FALL SEMINAR

SATURDAY OCTOBER 20, 2012  HOLLAND, OHIO

Come join us for the 24th annual NWOCW Seminar from 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Holland Free Methodist Church in Holland, OH. This year's keynote speaker is editor, author, and humorist James Watkins. Cost of the seminar includes lunch and is $55 ($65 at the door) for non-members. If you want more information, contact Kathy at 419.825.1376 for a downloadable brochure.

This is a great opportunity for those just getting the writing bug as well as published authors. Local authors will have books available for sale. Kathy's new releases, Dog Lover's Devotional and Cat Lover's Devotional (pictured below) will be available for sale at a reduced rate too.We hope to see you there!

 

LIGHT

Fall Arrives...unofficially

Mid September and only the fewest of leaves have begun to tumble. Soon "tumbling" is all they'll be doing. The marvelous sights and aromas that assault us every autumn will begin soon enough. As beautiful as it is, the shorter days of fall bug me.

Some time ago I read that Shakespeare was no longer required reading for literature majors at one of our state universities. Today I read something William wrote centuries ago. "The bright day is done and we are for the dark."
Shakespeare said much that he alone had the wisdom to say, but this was one thing he learned elsewhere. Jesus said it first. "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).
I want to be one who loves light's true source.
The Bible says the unfolding of God's words gives light (Psalm 119:130). Christ proclaimed, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). The Lord Jesus said too, "Put your trust in the light while you have it, so you may become sons of light" (John 12:36).

So let the shorter days go and the longer nights come. The day approaches when there will be no more night (Revelation 21:25). You know why?

Look it up in the three verses that precede that one. Soli Deo Gloria.

A Hole in Two

My dad always said he'd rather be lucky at golf than good at it. He didn't start golfing until he was in his 50s. As a natural athlete, he took to it like the proverbial fleas to a dog. He was somewhat skilled, but luck may have played a "roll" in his career THREE holes in one.

My Uncle Tony, on the other hand, had the form of a pro. He was an excellent golfer. But the best he ever did was a hole in two. He teed up his ball and promptly hit it into the water. He teed up a second ball and it went right in the hole. That was the closest he ever came to a whole in one--his infamous hole in two.
The best I can hope for in my efforts to please a holy God is a hole in two. Only with Jesus Christ taking on my sin and imputing His righteousness to me can I have any hope of heaven. Christ alone lived a sinless, perfect life. "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19 NIV). Through the atoning work of Christ on the cross I can enter heaven with a perfect score. Not only because He is in me, but because I am in Him, the perfect One. SDG.

WORRIED ABOUT YOUR STUFF?

"Did you know the word 'stuff' is in the KJV?" my husband asked me one night.
"NO WAY!" said I.
And there it was right in Genesis 45:20: "Also regard not your stuff."
Joseph told his brothers to leave all their stuff in Canaan and move--as people used to say--lock, stock, and barrel to Egypt. Rough times were behind them, but things were going to go from bad to worse. So he told them to high-tail it out of there and move to where he could generously provide for them during the remaining years of drought and famine. They did, and he did.
Sooner or later we all have to leave our stuff behind.
One of my favorite stories is about a business man whose office got flooded. Just about everything was destroyed. When he saw it, he did something he hadn't done in decades. He started sucking his thumb. He said he sensed God there with him to comfort him in his loss. "It's okay, Charlie," that still, small voice whispered. "I was gonna burn it all anyway."
Fretting over the loss of stuff today? Focus on those things that flood, fire, famine, or drought can't take away: the "stuff" of heaven.

...because all the rest of it? Yep, God will burn it all anyway. SDG.