a very little thing

The parable of the ten minas, Luke 19, has the returning nobleman saying in verse 17, "Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities."

Am I faithful in the very little things of life? Am I a good servant?

What I do — my writing — is a very little thing in many ways. It isn't brain surgery, and it's highly unlikely that a hundred years from now people will be reading my books the way they read Jane Austin or Mark Twain today. And yet it's a big thing, too, because it's what God called me to do. I can be in doubt about many things in my life, but about that I have no doubt at all. The morning God confirmed that call on my life is forever burned into my memory. Lord, let me be a faithful servant, doing what You have called me to do.

Okay, I feel a rant coming on. It seems that so many people like to diss Christian fiction lately. I don't mind so much when a secular reviewer or reader does it. How can they understand what makes a Christian novel a Christian novel if they don't believe in Christ? What I hate is when said a CBA author or publisher implies that they are the exception to the rule. Other writers/publishers are putting out sub-par books but mine/ours are better. It especially irritates me when what is implied/said is that CBA (Christian market) fiction can't/doesn't measure up to the ABA (general market). Hey, we can all improve. I don't dispute that. Raising the bar, striving to do better with each new book, is what all writers should be doing. Certainly my books are never what I wanted them to be. But I read many CBA authors, and I can say without hesitation that the CBA market is offering readers lots of high quality fiction. Sure, not every CBA book is a classic, but I've read lots of garbage published by the ABA. (Hey, they are about ten times bigger in terms of the number of books published each year, so they've got about 10x more books to complain about. Right?) Anyway, IMHO, the ABA has nothing on the Christian market. And I pray that all of the CBA authors who are being true to the call God placed on their hearts will be blessed a hundred times over for it and know that He is saying, "Well done." End of rant.

Proud "Mom" moment. Poppet is getting close to graduating from her training classes. I'll be going out with the trainer today so he can assess how she is doing. My assessment: She does great indoors, but if she is loose in the backyard, barking at the neighbor's dogs on the other side of the fence, forget obedience.

-rlh-