Wed, Jan 17th - 9:35AM

Good Bye for Now

My Husband and I had a talk yesterday about the blog, and we decided that I was going to have to quit blogging.  I have really enjoyed getting to know you all and sharing some of my testimony, but I guess I have been enjoying it too much at the expense of my other writing. 

As I have said before, I tend to be very one track minded, and I have been having a hard time concentrating on my novel.  Since both the book writing and the blogging are done on my computer, it is just too easy, when I start to get the least little bit restless with my writing, to slip over to the blog, and then my mind shifts gears, and I can’t seem to get back to the writing. 

What works far better for me is to switch occasionally to some physical work that lets my mind regroup, and refresh and when I go back to the book the writer’s block is usually gone.

So this is to let you know that you probably won’t be hearing from me unless you wish to receive my news letters with current testimonies, which I will still send out to friends and family occasionally.  If you leave me your email address I can put you on my email list.

If you wish to see more of my paintings, my husband is in the process of entering them into our web site: http://www.faithchristianmission.com/   Right now there are already some of my prints listed, but the quality of the pictures used was poor, so they look very dull.  Hopefully they will be updated soon as well.

So for now, I wish you all the best.  I’ll continue to pray for each of you as the Lord brings you to my mind. 

Tue, Jan 16th - 9:25AM

Painting of Jones falls, one of several around Owen Sound

Sun, Jan 14th - 5:58PM

My mistakes God's direction

About 17 years ago I decided to go to night school with my husband.  We were taking English and I found that I still enjoyed creative writing.  I had heard my Mother tell her stories all my life and had always felt that they were worth writing down.  So when my teacher started getting excited about the work I was producing I started getting excited to.

I became convinced that I could really become a writer, and I was bound and determined that I would be successful.  I started writing Mom’s story, with two thoughts in mind, one was that I could pass on something worth while to the next generation, but the other thought, (mistake #1) was that I could impress my family and friends by being a published author. 

I spent a lot of time with my Mom getting the details and when I had a few chapters written I took it over to a neighbor who was also a published author and children’s book writer.  He was suitably impressed but had a few suggestions to make.  I enjoyed his compliments but didn’t take much of his advice (mistake #2).  I sent a synopsis and first four chapters to three publishers and got two rejection slips and one very nice encouraging letter saying that they loved it but couldn’t do it.

By now I had finished the English course and was deeply immersed in art.  I discovered that I loved painting with oils.  During that course I did four or five oil paintings.  One of which I show here. 

One painting that I had painted during that time sold for $1000.  I had become an artist over night.  I figured it would be wonderful to do nothing but sit and paint pictures for the rest of my life. (mistake #3).  My ambition to become a writer fell by the wayside in my newfound success as an artist. 

I immediately became a self promoter. (mistake #4).  I knew people bought paintings from artists whose names they recognized so I started getting my name out there.  I also promoted every other artist in the area.  We had huge art exhibitions, I got a few of my pictures done into prints and I became part of the artist’s co-op.

My husband was impressed with my talent.  He decided that we should start an Art Center with galleries and art supplies and framing and classes.  It suited my ego and I encouraged it (mistake #5).

But God wasn’t in it.  Bruce had received a reminder call from the Lord to go out into ministry but his reply was, “not now, Lord. My wife needs a chance with her art. (big mistake).  We did everything possible.  I wrote columns in various news papers, did a monthly TV report, and spent tons on advertising, but we just kept going farther and farther under.

Fourteen months later after loosing our home our savings and our health, the Lord finally helped us bail out.  We were more than ready to go into the ministry He had planned for us.

Three years ago, when the thought started coming to me that I should finish Mom’s story, I tried to dismiss it.  I wanted nothing more to do with anything that would necessitate the promotion of “Carol Flett”.  But it continued to play on my mind until I begged the Lord to show me what I should do.

This is what He directed me to:

 Ps 78:3:  I will open my mouth in a parable which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

 4 We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come, the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

 5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

 6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

 7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:”

I knew that Mom’s story was a wonderful testimony of the workings of God.

Still, I was not totally sure that I wasn’t just wasting time, but then when I opened my Bible the next time I saw a long tedious genealogy, and I realized that God went to a lot of trouble to keep a record of parents and grand parents.  After that I flipped over in the Bible to another passage.  It opened to me at Psalm 145:4.  “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.”  And verse 2 says “Every day will I bless thee.”  I believed my writing would bless him, and I knew that I would have to do it every day.

My husband reminded me that my painting did not have much potential for winning souls to the Lord but my writing could.  I started back to my writing. 

I guess I will leave the rest of the story for the next blog entry.  It’s time to put the supper on.

Thu, Jan 11th - 9:14PM

I have struggled all day with rewriting a few short pages of “Susie’s Calling, and I begin to wonder what is wrong.  Have I lost my focus?  Am I forgetting who this project belongs to?  Am I looking for personal gratification in all of this?  Deep down is my motivation a desire to hear people say, “That’s Carol Flett, a terrific author?”  If that is the case, I may as well quit right now.  If my motivation is anything but a deep tremendous longing to see souls won to the Kingdom of God and others strengthened in their journey, then there is no point in writing one more sentence.

Lord Jesus You know my heart.  Let me be your tool.  Accomplish your will in my life.  If I am not yet ready to do this story, please do whatever work that needs to be done in me first so that I can be used of you.  Help me to remember day by day, hour by hour, word by word, why I am writing.

And Lord, I pray that you would keep me at peace as I strive to do what I believe You have led me to do. 

I started to write this post while feeling quite down, and wound up in tears pouring my heart out to the Lord.  I am OK now, and I know that one way or another He will keep me on track.  Maybe next time I will try to write a bit of a background.  It’s a testimony that is meant to be shared.

Wed, Jan 10th - 10:00AM

Family

Here is my family.  Bruce Jr. is next to his Dad on the left.  My oldest grandson, Isaac, (far right) is in need of prayer right now too, but I thank God for every one of my children and grandchildren, and especially for my wonderful husband.

I am not in these pictures because I was at the other end of the camera, and besides I didn't want to spoil the picture.

Tue, Jan 9th - 9:19PM

I sat down to work at "Susie's Calling" today, but I had only been at it a few minutes when my daughter walked in with a seed catalogue in her hand.  I didn't get very far with my book today but have all kinds of new ideas for my garden, and she is all set to order seeds for hers.  I am so glad that I can be available to spend time with my family.  I am also thankful that they all share my love for gardening.  

I wish I could say that all our children shared our love for the Lord Jesus.  I can say that our girls do, but we lost our son to the world while he was going to a public school, being fed a lot of Eastern religion by one of his favorite teachers.  This is one reason I try to convince young couples to home school or send their children to a good Christian School.  Statistics say that 75 - 85% of our kids from Christian homes will denounce their Christian faith by the time they get through the public school system.  Home schoolers and Christian schoolers have a far better chance. 

But I do believe that we will see our son come back to the Lord.  We know that he has a call on his life, and he probably knows it too.  If you feel like praying with us on this, His name is Bruce Jr.    He was the one who was updating our web page but he didn't get it finished, (a common problem) It will get done eventually.

Sun, Jan 7th - 10:31AM

I all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall dirrect thy paths

While I am waiting to head out to church I thought I would stop and say hello.  I may not have as much time for blogging after tomorrow.  Our son will be heading back to BC and I will have my desk back which means that I will be able to get back to my book.  Because I am working on a series, I have a lot of impatient readers waiting, and I need to get book three out before the garden season starts again.  I will probably use this as a writer’s block release though, so it is quite possible that I will be back more than I expect.

If you haven’t checked out my books yet, I would absolutely love to have you visit my other sites, and read a preview of one of my books.  Right now I am working on the Susie Series so if you go to Books by Carol Flett      http://booksbycarolflett.blogspot.com/ and click on Susie’s Story, Chapter One, it will give you a glimpse of what I am doing.  If I get a chance I will write a blog telling how I got started in writing. Have a good day in the Lord today.

Fri, Jan 5th - 2:10PM

More about gardens

I have been trying to post another garden picture, but I can't get it on unless I try and put it in the title, so let me give you a testimony about gardening instead. 

We had just sold our house and then found out that the Lord wanted us to stay in town so Bruce could pastor the church for a while.  I had planned on dividing my perenials to take with me for the next place, but since we were making a temperary move to a fourplex I had almost no where to create a garden.  A cried to the Lord a bit, and He directed me to a rubble heap at the back of our little church. 

This corner looked pretty hopeless with years of decayed leaves and branches mixed with garbage and chunks of broken up sidewalk, but I looked at it as a God given challange. I got rid of the bottles and wrappers, and the branches, and then I pulled out the cement chunks.  These, I arranged into a pathway around the outside.  I took the shovel and mixed the rotten leave with the rich soil underneath and then planted my perenials.   You can guess the rest.  The old garbage heap turned into a delightful little garden.  

Now, I'm not the preacher in the family, so I'm not going to draw the parallel here, but I am sure you can see it for yourself.  The story I want to tell you is about the neighborhood. 

I spent a lot of time in that garden, and one day the neighbor from behind the church came walking through the lot.  When he saw me he stopped short.  He had been drinking, (something he did a lot of) and he didn't know whether to turn arround and get out of there quickly or what.  I smiled at him and asked if he lived nearby.  He pointed to his house, the one that the church had constant problems with, and said that he didn't have a car and it had been a long way home.  I told him that if he ever needed a lift anywhere I was sure my husband would be happy to drive him.  He thanked me profusely, and left.  I never saw him again, but we never again had a problem with garbage being thrown over the back fence.

The neighbor renting the house beside us came out often with her little girl.  We visited as I worked.  The last day we were at the church she came over and gave me a hug.  She was moving away too, so she couldn't start coming to the church, but she let me know that I had made an impact in her life. 

The neighbor on the other side had ocasionally come out to offer me some orange juice.  They all let us know in there own way that we had been a blessing to the neighborhood. 

I don't know what happened to any of these people, but I do know that while I was out there puttering around, I was doing more than planting a flower garden in the ground.  The Lord had given me the opportunity to work up some soil, and plant a few seeds in the lives of the neighbors.  and if those seeds are watered by others, some day I hope to see the results of that garden.

Wed, Jan 3rd - 10:41PM

I Can hardly believe it.  My son came home and I tried to show him the problem and the problem was gone.  Thankyou Lord 

This picture is for all those of you who are longing for Summer.  I take lots of pictures of my garden in Summer so I can enjoy it all Winter long.  This weather really makes me feel like Spring is just around the corner but we haven't even had Winter yet.

Wed, Jan 3rd - 6:50PM

His Joy in all my Situations

    Isn't He wonderful!

Mon, Jan 1st - 9:52PM

Picture Trouble