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Sacrifice

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I just finished reading chapter 22 in Genesis. I think we all know this story: God tested Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It struck such a chord with me this morning. For a number of reasons.

One, the author does not touch Abraham’s emotions. He leaves it completely up to the reader’s imagination. As I read through it, I could only imagine what Abraham must have felt. Here God was asking him to sacrifice his son. The son he and his wife had waited and waited for. The son God had promised him great blessings through. Can you imagine how he felt, walking up that mountain?

Two, Abraham’s response. He’s walking up the mountain, and Isaac asks him, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” We don’t know how Abraham is feeling at this point. As a mother, I imagine he is terrified. I imagine he is filled with agony and desperation. But how does he respond? He responds with complete faith. “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

I don’t know about you, but Abraham’s response convicts me.

I started thinking this morning. Besides the obvious (my family), what would be the hardest thing for me to sacrifice? And the answer always came back the same: my writing. If God asked me to bring my writing up on that mountain and sacrifice it, would I do it? I’m praying I would. I’m praying I would respond with faith – just like Abraham. And I think, when I reach that point – the point where I completely trust in God’s provision as a writer just like Abraham completely trusted in God’s provision as a father – that’s when God will pour down His blessings.

Just in case you don’t know the rest of the story… God did provide the lamb. And because Abraham didn’t withold his son, God blessed Abraham’s socks off.

Question to ponder: Is there anything in your life God wants you to bring up to the mountain? How would your life look if you did?removetweetmeme

Duck Update

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

For all you romance writers out there, there was officially a duck love triangle this morning. My husband spotted Mr. and Mrs. Duck in the neighbor’s yard. Only there was a usurper in their midst. Another male duck – competition! The two males had a sort of face-off and flew away, leaving Mrs. Duck alone to contemplate her options. We were very sad about this until Mr. Duck (I don’t think its the usurper) came back. The two are now reunited. He fought for her!

No writing this morning. I have to go clean my atrocious house and I am dreading every minute of it. Why do I let it get so out of hand?
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Question to ponder: What’s the best love triangle you’ve ever read or written about?

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Mr. and Mrs. Duck

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Here they are – the two ducks that have been wandering around our neighborhood for the past week. (disclaimer: these two ducks are not the exact same ducks, but the resemblance is uncanny). I refer to them as Mr. and Mrs. Duck. Creative, I know. I imagine they are very much like those elderly couples you see holding hands and taking walks very early in the morning. I think they are in love.

My husband and I first spotted them in our neighbor’s yard, pacing the fence line, as if they wanted to get into our yard. But before they could do too much exploring, we let our dog, Bubba, outside (he was whining at the door). He ran to the fence and chased them away.

The very next day, we spotted them again, meandering on the street behind ours. And this morning they were in our front yard. Right now as I type this, they are across the street. They waddle from yard to yard, side by side, and I’ve grown quite fond of them. Ryan decided to put some bread on our front lawn. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Duck will have a little dinner date outside our window.

The other day, Mr. Duck was standing in a puddle on the side of the road while Mrs. Duck watched. I imagined their conversation going something like this:

Mrs. Duck: Dear, you do know that’s just a puddle, don’t you?
Mr. Duck: But it’s delightful! Look, my feet are wet.
Mrs. Duck would probably have no response for this. She probably would just blink several times and let Mr. Duck amuse himself.

Maybe I should write a children’s story about Mr. and Mrs. Duck. Oh wow, that would be a horrible idea. I have ideas for other kid’s books though. I thought of a whole series once about animals that were afraid of things they shouldn’t be. Like a bird who’s afraid of heights. Or a raccoon who’s afraid of the dark. Or a snake who’s afraid of mice. Or a worm who’s claustrophobic. Isn’t that sort of cute? What other ones could there be?

I got up at 3:30 AM this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. So I just stayed up and started writing. Can you tell I am currently sleep deprived? Who blogs about ducks, anyway?

Question to ponder: Have you ever thought of writing a children’s book? If so, what would it be about?removetweetmeme