Sears is here with our new freezer and to carry away the smelly one. I wonder what they will do with the old one. No one could ever use it again and I'm sure landfills don't want it.
Since the last time I blogged I found out the first novel in the Joe Denali mystery series isn't a mystery. I had a pitch session with an agent Saturday and felt like a real dunce not knowing this. She asked for the first 50 pages of both number one and number two-which is a mystery. But I think she was just being nice. I have a feeling she wrote down my name, and when she sees it coming across her email, she'll hit delete. Fingers crossed, prayers said, I hope she'll give both of them a chance as stand-alones. I'm dubbing the first one, Copper Penny as suspense. When I think of suspense, I think of scary, horror or heart-stopping. This one isn't that, but there is a bit of suspense involved for Penny. The second, Plugged Nickel, is definitely mystery because it's a whodunnit. The third one, Turn On A Dime, is going to be suspense, too.
I asked the agent why the series (if I ever write the others) couldn't be the Joe Denali series, and she said because she couldn't sell it like that. If the first one is suspense, then the reader will think the next one will be the same. What if the reader isn't as 'inside the box' as a publisher and likes variety? Oh, well. if I sell one, then the next ones will be easier. Prayers will probably work better than crossed fingers.
Writing problems are secondary to what our friend is facing. She had a biopsy last week and got the news it was positive. She went forward Sunday to ask for prayer and the outpouring of love from our church community was overwhelming. She knows they will all be praying for her. How do people survive without this kind of support? They see a surgeon today, but we're praying she's had a false diagnosis. If not, then we're believing God is who He says--..."for I am the Lord, who heals you." (Exodus 15:26.)
Yes, I know He was talking to the Jews in Egypt. If I believe He isn't talking to me in that scripture, then I can't take anything that is said throughout the Bible for myself because I wasn't there. Jesus was talking to those around Him. Paul was talking to specific churches. Either I take it all personally or I take none of it.
That brings up some of the more troublesome scriptures--about women in particular. We look at those as cultural which makes all of it confusing. Do we pick and choose what we want to believe or take it all? I wish I knew. This I know for sure: "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." That's not cultural. That's truth!
How much should we allow cultural influence to color our interpretation? That is a perpetually thorny question. The culturally relevant passages are significant but, fortunately, they don't cloud that passages that pass uninterrupted through time or culture, like the one you quoted. That's good news!
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