Intro

Hi there. My name is Renee, and I'm a writer. A novelist, actually. I'm also a Messianic Christian, a wife, and a mother. And I guess some might say I'm an artist, although my artistic talents are limited to combinations of paint and silk.

My husband and I recently started attending a great church in our area. I love this church. It's nondenominational, and seems to be spirit-filled. The praise and worship is energetic, and most importantly, the pastor's teachings are biblically grounded and usually hit home for me. We're probably going to join this church soon. It's the first place that has felt like a church home to me in several years. Right now the entire church is participating in this program that they developed, called Building Our Legacy. It's a 40-day period in which each member spends time with God in reflection, prayer, and daily devotions, guided by a book that was written by members of the church. It's a really neat program, and I've already been blessed and challenged, and I'm only in the first week.

I normally read a lot. A whole lot. And I read a lot of secular fiction. But right now God has put me in a time-out, so I'm not allowed to read any secular fiction for a 40-day period, which conveniently coincides with this church program.

It's for the best, I know. I mean, I read so much some days that I can't stop thinking about it and can't fall asleep at night. Hello, that's not healthy, you know? And not all of what I've been reading lately is Christ-centered, to say the least. So I'm not reading anything except my bible and devotional. For 40 days. And I may read my own novels, which are still works in progress and are definitely not secular in nature.

Now, some folks out there probably wouldn't believe that God would speak to an individual today, much less that He would tell me to fast something as bizarre as secular fiction. But there it is. And He did. He didn't tell me to cut it out entirely, just for 40 days. I can do that. I mean, when the Creator of the universe is sitting in your living room, in His white robe and sandals, it's pretty easy to do what He says. He has a great smile, by the way.

And no, I'm not delusional. I'm just honest. Some might say that I have an unusual relationship with God. Part of it, I'm pretty sure, is the creative imagination that He gave me when He shaped and molded me in my mother's womb 30-some years ago. But it's also Him, and it's also real. Keep in mind that we're talking about a thing called faith here. Let's keep that in perspective.

You know, I never thought I'd create a blog. I've usually been the one person on the sidelines who made fun of blogs and refused to read them (well, okay, that's a lie...I read Anderson Cooper's blog sometimes, and I stumbled on this one blog by a Muslim-American woman that fascinated me). And I certainly never thought I'd write anything like what I just wrote in the paragraphs above and put it on a blog for the entire internet to read. Wow. Freaky. But there it is, so let's go with it. Maybe I'll write about divine creativity and imagination. Maybe I'll write about Hebrew Roots of Christianity and Torah. Maybe I'll even talk about my journey as an author. Or maybe I'll just brag about my kids. This is kind of fun, after all.