Tag: writing

Stand Firm

Leave a comment

Since this is my last blog before Thanksgiving, I felt like I should write a devotional about gratefulness.  I thought I should go on and on about how grateful I am for each and every one of you (because I am so, so grateful!)

And while, yes, we should be “giving thanks always” (Ephesians 5:20) and “give thanks in in all circumstances; for this is the will of God,” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), there was something else God was pushing on my heart.

I like to be busy, especially if there is a reason to be busy.  I absolutely hate being bored, so I always make sure there is more stuff on my to-do list than I can actually accomplish.  Or, if I do finish my list for the day, I finish it like I’m sliding into home plate with the ball whizzing over my head – just barely made it! (What a rush that day is!)

I know this isn’t healthy – physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  But I actually enjoy the adrenaline built by racing the day’s 24 hours.

During the holidays, everybody is busy, so I feel less guilty as I continue on my mad pace, maybe even adding more to my plate – decorating? bake holiday cookies? wrap presents? – GO!

But I think it is more important that we stand firm in the faith.

“Woah, Caitlin,” you might be saying, “Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you’re straying from the faith!”

Eh, not exactly.  But consider the following Bible verses:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

“And he [God] said, said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you [Moses] rest.” – Exodus 33:14

God desires that we slow down and just enjoy time with Him.  He wants us to be reading our Bibles, praying, worshiping Him, and fellowshipping with other believers. 

He wants us to prioritize what’s important, and not waste time and energy just being busy.  

I want to encourage you to slow down this holiday season, just as I am going to try to do, and focus on spending time with God and family.  Doing the ‘holiday things’ can be fun and many are important (yes, I do really want to eat on Thanksgiving!) but do we need to do ALL the things?  Who are we trying to impress?  God is the only One who matters, and He just wants us.  He doesn’t need our fine china or perfect house.

First Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Watch your priorities, friends.  Guard them carefully.  Please enjoy the holidays.  Do all the holiday traditions that mean the most to you.  But don’t feel like you need to do ALL the things.  Keep Christ first, family second, and all the activities somewhere down the line.

And  yes, as Thanksgiving approaches, know that I am extremely grateful for you!  Your support means the world to me!

Just out of curiosity, what are some of your favorite holiday traditions?  Let me know! 

Our Thanksgiving tradition seems to be traveling, since we don’t live near any of our family (an hour is the shortest drive to see family). 

For Christmas, most of our traditions involve food.  Haha!  We cook Breakfast Casserole (more commonly called Potato Casserole) in the Crock Pot overnight, so it’s ready to graze on all day between unwrapping presents.  This is something my family did while I was growing up.  On Christmas morning, sometime during presents, we bake cinnamon rolls (a tradition from my husband’s family) and a birthday cake for Jesus (because I can never remember to do it BEFORE Christmas Day…)

So happy Thanksgiving, friend! Here is your permission to relax a little bit and check your priorities. 🙂

Always Learning

Leave a comment

When I was a kid, I thought writing came easy to me.  And in a way, it did.  My teachers in elementary school were always raving about my stories, I won a writing award sponsored by a local newspaper, and I loved writing.  I learned some of the grammar basics, learned how to use spell check, and wanted to be an author.

An adult close to me said I’d never make it as an author.  That hurt.

Then came my first job – a free-lance sports reporter for a start-up newspaper in my hometown.  I could not figure out how to write in AP style.  I think I made $50 in the two months I worked for them.  But I knew it would be best for both of us if I quit pretending to be a sports writer and graciously bowed out.

Then came college.  I got my first D on a paper.

I. Was. Devastated. 

Granted, it was a scientific paper, and I had never seen such a beast before, but it still hurt.  I was told my writing was ‘too flowery’ and I gave ‘too many details.’  

For my next report, I turned in a draft to my professor nine times before submitting the final copy.  I got a B.  B for Brutal.  

Along the way, I almost gave up on writing, but I slowly began to learn that I couldn’t live on what I knew.  I had to learn. 

And more importantly, I had to learn what I needed to learn.

I published my first book in the spring of 2021.  I learned so many things publishing Creative in COVID that I wish I had known before, but I didn’t know what questions to ask.

With each book, I learn a little more.  And I learn what questions to ask.

Life is like that, isn’t it?  Especially as many kids prepare to go back to school.

So is learning about God.

I used to think that just going to church was enough.  Then I learned I had to read my Bible on my own.  Then I learned about Bible studies (both the groups and individual workbooks).  Then I learned how to study my Bible (not just read it).

One of the most powerful lessons for me was the day I read Hebrews 4:12.  The first part of the verse (in the ESV translation) says, “For the word of God is living and active…”

I read that verse and thought, “What would happen if I prayed that verse before I read my Bible each day?”

So I did an experiment.  Before I read my Bible each day, I prayed, “God, please help Your Word become living and active to me today.”

Wow.  God really opened up Scriptures to me!  Not in a voodoo, weirdo sort of way, but I got to see deeper meanings in the passages I read.

I began to see the bigger picture of God woven throughout the entire Bible (I have only recently learned this is the metanarrative of Scripture).  

I began to see how these verses applied to me.

It was great.  God is great!

So today, I want to encourage you to dig a little deeper in God’s Word today.  Whatever step you’re at, go one step deeper.  He will reveal Himself to you in new ways.  It will be beautiful.

And don’t worry if you don’t know what questions to ask.  If you are searching, God will give you the answers anyway.  (Though if He’s putting a question on your heart, it’s a good idea to investigate it.)

I’d love to hear what you learn!  Because we’re all learning as we go through this thing called life.

Do You REALLY Know the Muffin Man?

Leave a comment

I am so excited to share with you that my newest You Draw book, “Do You REALLY Know the Muffin Man?” is available for order!  I had so much fun writing this book, and I think it shows in the writing.

Who taught the Muffin Man how to bake?  It might come as a surprise to you.

As with all of the You Draw books, there are no pictures in the book itself.  This allows the reader to be the illustrator (and there’s even room for the illustrator to add their name to the front cover!)

These books are fantastic gifts for those hard-to-shop-for family members.  Children can illustrate their books, then gift the book to Grandma and Grandpa to show off their artistic skills.  Or, if you’re an artist, you can create beautiful images to gift a niece or nephew (or other child in your life).

These books are also fantastic for homeschool families, because it merges reading comprehension and art.  

Even if you don’t homeschool, these books can be a way to watch your child develop as they grow older.  They make cute keepsakes that they will be proud to read for years.

What’s extra special about this You Draw book?  There’s a muffin recipe included!  Spend quality time with your family making very yummy (and crumbly!) muffins.

Not sure if this book is right for you?  Check it out on Amazon by clicking here.

Know someone who would benefit from this book?  Help them out by copying the link to this blog post and sending it to them.

Thanks for the support, friend.  

Grace and peace.

New Life

Leave a comment

You might be thinking, “Wait – what? Easter was last month?”

Yes, I know!

In my mind, MAY is the month that is all about new life.  For one thing, I was born in May, as was my son.  (Happy birth month to us!)  So my life started in May.

More than that, though, my dad and I were both baptized May 26, 1996.  He had been baptized as a child, but wanted to be re-baptized as a sign of re-dedication.  So our pastor baptized him, then Dad baptized me.  It was a special day (made more so by the fact that my aunt, who was a very good amateur photographer was there to take pictures.  They were the last pictures she took before she passed away less than a month later.) 

Now, my battle with depression and suicidal thoughts didn’t happen until after my baptism, but the baptism was a sign of new life.  I was laying down my life and being made new.  

After the first battle of depression, I have learned that I am constantly having to lay down my sinful life.  

Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Jesus came and took all our sins away.  They were nailed to the cross with Him.  I used to think that since Jesus was perfect, He didn’t understand what I was going through.  Then one day, He said, “Caitlin, I clung to your sins while I was on that cross.  I felt them.  I carried them for you.  I experienced your sins even before you did.  And I died for them.”

Jesus took our sins into death.  Then when He rose again, He left those sins in death and gave us life.  

We can have new life through Jesus Christ.  We can say NO to sin, and YES to life with the help of the Holy Spirit.  We can spend eternity with God.

This is why May reminds me of new life.

A Time to Grow

Leave a comment

God did not design us to be stagnant.  He created us to start as embryos, then grow inside our mothers’.  After we’re born, we start out as little babies, then grow into children, who mature into adults.

We see this in our spiritual lives, too.  Hebrews 5:12-14 (ESV) says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.  You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

This is saying that as we start our Christian journeys, we’ll need to be spoon-fed basic principles from the Bible.  As we grow in our faith, however, we’ll be able to learn more on our own, and God will reveal deeper Truths to us through His Holy Spirit.

God wants us to grow.  Growth can be hard and painful (shall we revisit the childbirth analogy?) but we always come out stronger.

As I was praying about what to include in this newsletter, Noah came to mind in terms of growth.  (You can read Noah’s full story in Genesis 5:28 – 9:29.)

Noah was just an average man.  Yet he and his family remained righteous in a time of much evil.  God set him and his family apart to save them from a flood that would wipe the evil away.  Noah and his family would have to start the world’s population over.

Think of all the growth Noah would have had to go through.  

First, he would have had to grow in his relationship with God in order to become this man of righteousness.  The Bible doesn’t go into detail about how Noah was raised, but we do know he was the great-grandson of Enoch, the only man in the Bible who was known to have “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24), and one of two men who never died, but was taken straight to Heaven (Genesis 5:24).

Then physically, Noah would have learned how to build a boat.  I don’t know what Noah did for a living before, but lifting the heavy beans would have developed his muscles.  His brain would have learned how to build the boat (God did give him directions, but he still would have had to learn).

Noah went through a lot of growth.

When we grow, we reach new heights.  We learn new things, gain new abilities, and are able to see God in new, deeper ways.  Growth changes us in beautiful ways.

Even if the growth hurts, it’s always worth it.

And if there’s a way I can pray for you as you grow, please just let me know!

Happy Valentine’s Day

Leave a comment

Ah, February.  The month that I equate with freezing temperatures and Valentine’s Day – neither of which I’m a fan of.  February is not my favorite month. 

However, my five-year-old daughter loves Valentine’s Day.  (I think she just loves an excuse to have a party!)  Having her enthusiasm in February has given me pause in my distaste.

Those that aren’t like me love to celebrate those they love, typically a significant other.  I’m going to take this moment to consider a different type of love.

I’m talking about the love of God.  The God who has been around since before the creation of time.  The God who wanted relationships and so created humans.  The God who didn’t completely wipe out humanity when we turned on Him and sinned.  The God who then sent His Son to die for our sons.
Why did Jesus have to die?

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them perfectly.  There was no sin, no pain, no death.  When Eve took a bite from the one tree God told them not to eat then gave the fruit to Adam and he ate, sin came into the world.

With the introduction of sin came all the consequences of sin: pain, death, separation from God.  God is so holy, He cannot associate with sin (Isaiah 59:2; Colossians 1:21).

In order to bring back life and repair the relationship that was broken, something had to die.  In the Old Testament, there are lists of rules that had to be followed for a sacrifice in order for someone to be forgiven from sin.

God is not a God of rules.  He didn’t want us to have to have a checklist in order to have a relationship with Him.  He wanted us to have easy access to Him. 

So He sent the ultimate sacrifice for us.  He sent His Son, Jesus.

The death of Jesus was the final sacrifice.  Through His death, we can have a relationship with God on earth.  Through the death of Jesus, we can have eternal life in Heaven with God.

Now this is a Valentine’s Day celebration I can get behind!

On a side note, I have nothing against other people celebrating Valentine’s Day.  (Fortunately, my husband feels the same as me!)  So tell me, what are you doing for Valentine’s Day?

Happy New Year!

Leave a comment

A new year, a new set of resolutions, right?

Ugh.  I hate New Years’ resolutions.  Why?  Mostly because I never keep them.  I hardly ever make it all the way through January.  I have found that the best thing for me to do is to make goals, and to write them out and post them where I’ll see them.

I have also heard some Christians say that I shouldn’t make many goals, because then I’m focused on what I want, and not what God wants.

When I write out my goals, I do it in prayer and keeping God’s Word in mind.  I don’t think it’s unbiblical to write out goals and to strive to achieve those goals. 

Luke 14:28 (ESV) says, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” 

This is a question posed by Jesus in regards to becoming a Christian.  If becoming a Christian can take thought and planning, then I believe that living a Christian life and living out God’s call on my life can also take such consideration.

Now, just because of how I am, it can be a struggle if God asks me to change my goals later in the year, but that is something I keep in mind.  I do want to “seek firs the kingdom of God,” (Matthew 6:33), so I try to keep God and His will at the front of my mind at all times.  (Please note: this is a struggle for me.  I am a workaholic, but I am striving to improve.)

That all said, I do encourage you to strive to grow in something this year.  Maybe it’s to eat better or exercise more; maybe you want to start a side hustle or go to college; maybe you want to be a better parent.

I had a Psychology professor who said, “The best time to seek therapy was yesterday.  The second best time is today.”

However you want to grow in 2023, I encourage you to write out your goals or resolutions and GO FOR IT!  You can do this.

What are my author goals for 2023?

  • Set up an official publishing business.  In 2022, I made so little that the IRS would consider my writing a hobby, but I’m ready to take this to next level!
  • Finish the first draft of my first Christian travel romance, Tumbleweed.
  • Plot the next two stories of the series (come up with name for the series), and start writing Underground.
  • Publish one more You Draw book.
  • Complete the 2023 StoryWalk season.
  • Get up to 50 people in my author E-mail group.  (Do you know anyone who would love or benefit from these E-mails?  Please tell them about it!  You can direct them to my homepage: CaitlinNikolai.com.)
  • Set up a book fair at a Farmer’s Market.

 
There was a poster hanging up in my middle school classroom that said, “Reach for the moon.  Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”  That’s a quote by Norman Vincent Peale.

I encourage you to reach for the moon in 2023.

If any of your goals or resolutions have to do with growing your relationship with God, I strongly encourage you to check out my new book, Enoch Walked with God: And You Can Too. You can view it on Amazon here. It’s a short but powerful read, and I have free downloads to go along with it on my website under “My Bookshelf.”

If any of your goals involve reading more, check back tomorrow for a free bookshelf book log download!

Grace and peace, friends. I pray you have a wonderful 2023!

Contentment in a Crazy World

Leave a comment

As an indie author just starting out, I am thrilled when my books pay for themselves.  I am very much in the ‘struggling author’ phase of my journey, and that’s okay.  However, it can make me start to stress out when I think about Christmas and buying gifts for my children.

However, that is not what Christmas is supposed to be about.  God provides for me and my family with our daily needs, which is both what Jesus prayed in the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and also what is mentioned in Proverbs 30:7-9 (ESV):

Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove farm from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

My husband makes enough money for us to live on, and I should be content with that.  This does NOT mean I should give up my dream and my calling of writing, but in this season of life, I need to content with where I am. 

I am learning and growing as an author.  My books are starting to pay for themselves, which is a huge next step!  I am excited about the process.  Since resigning from my ‘day job,’ I can now focus on my writing.

Matthew 6:25-26 (ESV) says, “… do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?”

God provides.  He is the good Father.  He may not give us everything we want, but He will give us everything we need.

Sometimes what we need is hardship.  These times of difficulty are meant to draw us closer to God. 

Sometimes what we need is plenty.  During these times, we can turn our blessings into praise.

No matter where we are, we can turn to God and be content with what He has given us.

As Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13: “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

How can you learn to be content?  Take your eyes off the world and what the world may offer, and turn your eyes toward Jesus.  I encourage you to take what you do have and praise God for it.

What are you grateful for?

Leave a comment

What was the first thing that came to your mind?

Many scientific studies have shown a strong correlation between an attitude of gratitude and overall well-being.  It is good to slow down and just be grateful.

In this busy world, how often do we slow down and just be grateful?
 
In the Psalms, we see David often stopping and thanking God.  In Psalm 116:16-17, for example, we see him exclaim, “O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.  You have loosed my bonds.  I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord,” (ESV).

The ‘sacrifice of thanksgiving,’ David was referring to, is found in Leviticus 7:11-21.  One of the sacrificial offerings God instituted was the fellowship offering, or the peace offering.  This is a voluntary sacrifice to be made in one of three instances:

  1. A general thank-you to God for his mercies,
  2. A vow that someone had made before God was fulfilled (think Hannah bringing Samuel to the temple in 1 Samuel 1:21-28),
  3. A thank-you to God for deliverance.

This sacrifice was meant to maintain peace or fellowship with God – for our own hearts.  God has never and will never break fellowship with us.  It is our sin that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). 

When the Old Testament church (like David and Hannah) would take time to thank God, they would show their willingness to remain in Him.

We no longer have to make these sacrifices.  Ephesians 2:13-14 (ESV) says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace, who made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”

Jesus came as the ultimate sacrifice for us.  We can now have peace and fellowship with God.  We no longer have to slaughter an animal to show God this.  We can just, “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice,” (Romans 12:1, ESV) and walk with God.  This is a daily choice we can make.  We can constantly choose to love and follow Him.

And this is something to be thankful for.
 
There is so much more I could have said about this offering.  If you want to read more on it, here are links to some of the resources I used:

Got Questions: https://www.gotquestions.org/peace-offering.html

The Biblical Illustrator Commentary: https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tbi/leviticus-7.html

The Expositors’ Bible Commentary: https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/teb/leviticus-7.html

Links to scientific studies I skimmed:

The Journal of Positive Psychology: https://www.davidbenjaminnewman.com/uploads/1/3/2/7/132771163/jopp-2017-gratitude_and_well-being.pdf

Berkley University: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/pdfs/GratitudePDFs/2Wood-GratitudeWell-BeingReview.pdf