Father-Themed Book Author Named Writer of the Year

Saturday, we'd finished eating the chocolate mousse at the closing banquet for the Write-to-Publish conference, one of the oldest and largest Christian writing meetings, when Lin Johnson, the director, stood up and began to read:                                     

The winner of the Writer of the Year award truly
satisfies the reader's cry, "Take me there." She uses uncommonly
vivid sensory detail to transport her readers—to scenes from her difficult
years of childhood abuse through to her adult life of struggling to relate to
both her earthly father and her heavenly Father. Yet her sensitivity to
"how much pain to share" and her careful balancing of "stories
of hurt" with stories of people who showed her little glimpses of
unconditional love along the way, keeps this memoir uplifting. Trading
Fathers:  Forgiving Dad, Embracing God is beautifully written. And
it's a valuable resource to help readers–whether they've had similar
backgrounds or not–learn hope, healing, and forgiveness, as she has, by God's
grace.

The winner of the 2009 Writer of the Year Award is:  Karen Rabbitt

I had hoped, but I did not expect, to win. Thank you, Jesus.


The Voice of the Father

At Write to Publish while my daughter is still visiting with her son, Calvin, I missed this actual event yesterday. But I can see it in my mind's eye:

Our daughter is sitting in my floral recliner. My husband, Jerry, is crawling with Calvin toward the kitchen. Jenn's husband, Chad, is driving their truck camper out from Colorado to pick them up for a week-long camping trip to Wisconsin. Jenn has just phoned him. When she puts him on speakerphone, Calvin does an about-face, grinning with joy, speeding toward his father's voice.

What an image. The power of the voice of the father. Don't we all long to hear the sound of our Father's voice?

Father, today, may we rejoice at the sound of your voice. Come to us. Speak to us. We are hungry for you.

Wide Open

Wide open. That's how my grandboy holds his mouth when he's ready for the next bite of oatmeal. He couldn't stretch his lips any farther. He's a focused eater. He may stop a second to point at a bird that lands on the windowsill, or point to his sippy cup for a drink, but he stays with it. He knows what he needs and he is ready.

His mouth looks just like the four mouths of the robins just outside my friend's door, nested in her asparagus sprengeri houseplant, outside for the summer. When I saw them the other day, I couldn't even see their bodies, just their mouths, open to the sky, ready for mama robin.

How do I learn to be so wide open to the one who feeds me? How do I stretch my mouth to receive with abandon, all Jesus wants to give me? "Taste and see that the Lord is good," the psalmist says (Psalm 34:8) Though I know much of his goodness, there is always more with Jesus.

These images, of babies with wide open mouths, remind me again of need to be hungry. I need to be a focused eater of the word of God. A consistent seeker of his presence and power. We get distracted by a world out of control, old pain, new fears, and endless tasks. Right now, let's stop for just a minute, and practice opening our spiritual mouths. We need his food. Let's be ready when he brings nourishment.