It is Monday. It is 53 degrees here in Northwest Missouri. The skies are a clear blue, and the trees have not yet started to change colors, but the feel of Fall is all around.

It’s the last day of September, and the Full Fall is nearing. I admit, this is my time of year, with the changes in so many things that are signs of the promise of the new arrival of Spring in a few months. It’s a wonderful time to enjoy the beauty God has given us in that process of change.

Changes. Our faith seems full of changes so many times. Sometimes, that change seems good, and sometimes, it does not. Our perception of change is greatly determined by our perception of God and of our own faith.

I find myself in that place today. I’ve just spent a few weeks preparing for my first book signing. The event was good. I met new neighbors who are now new friends, spent time with old friends, and laughed and talked about our lives in the last years. I shared some stories about my writing and my jobs, as well as some personal things I rarely share. But God has been showing me to be more open again, that even as an extreme introvert, connection is still necessary for my life to be all God has planned for it to be. In His Grace and Strength, I was able to be involved in ministry for almost twenty years. Ministry doesn’t end. It just changes.

I find it puzzling and amusing, at times, that at my age, soon to be 68, I continue growing in my faith, in my knowledge of God, and in my understanding of how much I don’t know. This journey I began so long ago to walk by Faith in Jesus, a choice of faith I made, will continue with changes, growth, and the full range of emotions that go along with it.

I am about one-fourth of the way through a new novel, so the focus needs to be on writing again. The planning and get-together were fun, but writing is something God gave me, the one thing I’ve never stopped doing. In my novels, I can not only provide easy, clean stories, but I can share how genuine faith is active in the lives of believers. The Lord reminded me today where my serious writing efforts started—in this blog. So I picked up my first book, Faith By Choice, a collection of posts from the blog that began well over twenty years ago, and read it as my devotional this morning.

Somehow, in the busyness of trying to get my writing done, I lost the person who wrote those earlier posts. I lost the openness, the genuine attitude of seeking and trusting, and the desire to share the things God was teaching me on the journey of faith.

It saddened me, but it also gave me joy that I had those experiences to write about. I asked God to restore the best of who I was and continue to grow me into an even more productive believer—to be, not just do—to be productive according to his definition and not my own.

And because of that time I spent this morning reading, praying, and meditation, you have this long post to endure.

God bless you, my friends! – Vicki