S is for Steeped by Lorilee Guenter

To steep something is to let it change the water it is in. Those who enjoy a good cup of tea know that the longer you leave the tea bag in the water, the stronger the tea. The water takes the flavor and aroma of the tea. I enjoy herbal teas, which don't have bitter undertones, and have been known to leave the tea bag in the water overnight. The flavour is strong. The aroma permeates not just the water but the room.

We are called to be imitators of Christ (Eph. 5:1-2). In order to do that, we need to let Him permeate our lives. We need to be steeped in His presence. The more time we spend in prayer and reading (listening) to God's word, the more we take on the characteristics of Christ. His aroma permeates our lives. We become saturated in God's love and faithfulness until we overflow with praise. We become a fragrant offering to God. Beyond that, the character God is refining in our lives influences everything we do. It spills out into our families and our communities. As writers, it also spills out across the page. 

Once I've brewed coffee, or steeped tea, I can no longer separate the flavour from the water. Likewise, when we become steeped in God, immersed in His Word, we are changed. We are His and we are told nothing can separate us from His hand (Romans 8:38-39). We are changed and that change can not be undone. 

As I choose my words,  spoken or written, I recognise they are influenced by how I spend my time. My response to the events of the day are a result of my ongoing choices. Today, I choose to let Christ permeate my words and actions. It is my prayer that each day I make that choice to be steeped in God's love and instruction. 

May our lives be a fragrant aroma as we become imitators of Christ.

"but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,    and who meditates on his law day and night." Psalm 1:2

Ethical Dilemma - A Matter of Choice by Ramona Furst

"Art, like writing, can be so frustrating," I thought as I trashed my third attempt of a sketch. "What am I missing? I love the challenge of faces. The planes, angles, contours, the tonal values..."

I studied the photograph from an upside-down position, noting how the shadows of my daughter's face accentuated her cheekbones."That's it," I thought, "I need to work first on the shadowy areas of the face, then move to the darker angles much like an abstract." As I picked up a pencil something within me whispered, "Nothing's ever black or white."

"Ramona, is that you? It's hard to know for sure with your mask on." Stepping away from the shelves lined with kidney and lima beans I didn't recognize the masked gray-haired woman standing two meters away from me, but I recognized her voice. "Joan! I haven't seen you in years. How are you?"

 We reminisced about how she founded an organization in the 1980's for clients who were terminally ill and how her volunteers assisted family members with their loved ones who were dying in the hospital or at home. "Do you remember," Joan asked as she pushed the mask back up and under her glasses, "your interview for the position to teach 'Orientation to Palliative Care' so we would have enough volunteers to help with our growing caseload?"

"I remember being nervous, hoping I answered all the hypothetical scenarios correctly. When you later offered me the teaching position, I often wondered why you chose me."

By now we had left the aisle of tinned foods and found ourselves walking towards frozen pie crusts and pizzas. "Yes," Joan replied, "I saw you struggle to keep your personal opinions to yourself even when family members or a dying patient asked, "What do you think?" You wanted everyone to have the best death possible and it broke your heart when you couldn't fix the families' emotional problems or the messy death some clients experienced and all the while making sure you handled things professionally. You cared. "

"And I remember. Joan, what you would say to all of us in your tiny office after one of our clients had died. It's their story and journey not ours."

"Do you remember what you said to your students hoping you'd see it remembered and written down in their journals?"

While I closed my now open mouth, Joan laughed saying, "Yes, I often read your students' homework assignments and take-home exams. You were quoted to have said, "Nobody knows the whole story, and nothing is ever black and white. You would tell them about the elderly couple who had been married for sixty-five years. Both of them were suffering from two very different diseases. You had earned their trust and they wanted you to 'help' them die together at home."

Yes, I remembered how miraculously my shifts were changed and I never had to care for this couple again after our conversation. God released me from my need to say anything. And yes, there will always be people who are suffering or have a terminal illness. Christians will reach different conclusions on whether or not they wish to support assisted dying, but the Christian gospel of God's love transcends all such discussions. As Paul said to the church in Rome,

 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39 (NRSVA).

Ramona Furst lives with her husband in Northern Ontario. She facilitated a bereavement support group for fifteen years, taught Orientation to Palliative Care for ten years giving input for the program's "Biomedical Ethics" module for students.  

Hope to the Hopeless - Lynn Dove

When I wrote my first Y.A. novel, "Shoot the Wounded", I had two goals in mind: Become a published author and bringing Glory to God in the process.  I was purposeful in writing my book that any young person who read it, no matter their circumstances, would see that "hope" is found in the Person of Jesus Christ.

The themes in that book and later in the trilogy, were heavy ones for a teen and a young adult to process and deal with.  I incorporated themes into my books, such as teen pregnancy, cancer, grief and family violence, based on my many years of teaching and working with youth who were struggling with these societal issues.  Later, after my books were published, I began writing my blog to help promote my books, but soon discovered that people who started reading and then following my musings responded especially well to posts that contained encouraging scripture and anecdotes that pointed them towards God.  One posting in particular about Grief, that I wrote in 2013, after my daughter lost one of her friends in a horrific traffic accident, has since been viewed an average of 500 times daily!  People share heart-wrenching stories of loss in the comments section, looking for some comfort as they deal with the excruciating pain of losing someone dear to them.  Truly, I have been humbled by the response.  Even more humbling is the responsibility we have as writers to share our faith openly and honestly with people who need to hear The Good News!

As Christians here in Canada and in the United States in particular, we have been openly maligned and denigrated for our faith and belief.  Just last week on my Facebook page a man commented that "Christianity is based on falsehoods and fables, and only idiots would adhere to that religion."  Social media has become a gateway for all manners of attacks and persecution against us, but it also opens up a means for us to share openly with those who "hunger and thirst" for Truth.  (Matthew 5:6)  It is a great responsibility for us, as Christian writers, to boldly proclaim the Truth, no matter the opposition levelled against us.

 "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"  (Romans 8:31)

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:38-39)

I want to send out a "shout out" to Connie Inglis, InScribe's prayer warrior.  I have benefited immeasurably by the many times she has sent me an email saying she has prayed a Scripture passage for me.  This always greatly encourages me in keeping me focused on my writing ministry.  Thanks, Connie for your faithfulness!  We need prayer as we face an often hostile world that opposes our message of hope to the hopeless. 


Lynn Dove is the award-winning author, of the YA “Wounded Trilogy”- a contemporary Christian fiction series with coming-of-age themes.  A wife, mom, grandmother, and free-lance writer with articles published in several magazines and anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul books, her blog, “Journey Thoughts” is a Canadian Christian Writing Award winner.  Readers may connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and at lynndove.com