First printed in Highlights for Children, July 2009.

i can’t remember what was said
as they critiqued my poem;
but i could’ve kissed that guy who asked
if he could take it home.

©2006 by Patricia S. Baker
First printed in Writer’s Journal, (Nov/Dec 2006)

©2005 by Patricia S. Baker
First printed in The Lutheran Journal, August 2009.

Today’s Verse: But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…Deuteronomy 5:14 (NIV)

My car crawled slowly northward in the rush-hour traffic. I had stared at the same rear bumper for ten agonizingly slow miles. “The Best Never Rest!” it proclaimed. As I pondered that statement, I realized that, indeed, the Best had rested on the seventh day of Creation. In fact, He thought it was so important, that He mandated rest for the land as well as the people He had created. But why had He rested? Surely God didn’t get tired, did He?

With a start I realized that God rested because He was celebrating His holiness, His awesomeness, after a week that displayed His glory. And, as our Father, He was modeling that pattern for His children to follow. We set aside time for physical rest each day, even when we don’t feel tired. Vital health requires it. Likewise, regularly setting apart one day each week to reflect on God’s power and glory renews us spiritually, and gives us strength for the demands of the new week.

—Patricia S. Baker

“Day of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest.”            —John Newton, “Saturday Evening”

©2006 by Patricia S. Baker
First printed in The Quiet Hour, (September-November 2006, Vol. 70, No. 1, p.68)

Today’s Verse: God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel. Genesis 35:10 (NIV)

When we first moved to our present home seven years ago, we quickly began planting trees on our barren acre of property. Situated on a hill, I worried about the constant effect of strong winds on the young trees.

“Shouldn’t we stake the trees?” I asked my husband. With his background in landscape and design, I trusted his judgment in all things requiring a green thumb.

“Don’t worry,” he replied. “The stress of the wind actually makes the trees stronger, encouraging the roots to grow and take hold.”

Many people today believe that the Christian life should be one of smooth sailing. Yet, the winds of trouble actually cause us to grow stronger in our faith. After Jacob wrestled with God, God named him “Israel,” meaning “he who struggles with God and prevails.” The walk of faith is one in which we can persevere through difficulty because God is with us, anchoring our faith and giving us the strength to prevail.

—Patricia S. Baker

“I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”
—John Rippon, “How Firm a Foundation”

©2006 by Patricia S. Baker
First printed in The Quiet Hour, (September-November 2006)

BE still my child, come dwell with Me—
I STILL both heart and stormy sea.
Tho’ earth AND mountain fall away
My children KNOW and on Me stay.
I am the One THAT gives them peace;
Tho’ kingdoms fall, I cannot cease.
To Jacob’s house I AM a rod;
Be still and know that I am GOD.

©2006 by Patricia S. Baker
First printed in The Lutheran Journal, (September 2006)

FIND rest, my soul, in God alone,
The REST that comes to those who wait;
For You, O Lord, are a fortress strong—
Mere breath MY humble, low estate.
My heart and SOUL pour out to God
While on my knees IN prayer I groan;
My refuge is this GOD of love—
For hope is from my God ALONE.

©2007 by Patricia S. Baker
First published by The Deronda Review, (Winter 2009)

Each year, thousands of aspiring writers flock to writers’ conferences bearing suitcases, manuscripts, and high hopes for enhancing their writing careers. One of them might be you! Given that a considerable emotional and financial investment has been put into this endeavor, how can you optimize your chances for a successful experience? Here are 10 tips.

Find the Right Fit
Carefully research and prayerfully consider which of the many available conferences is a fit for your particular writing genre. Network with writers from your writers’ group who have attended conferences, or visit http://writing.shawguides.com/ for a list of conferences nationwide. Try to choose a conference that schedules critique appointments with editors or agents who are interested in the type of writing you do.

Register Early
Some conferences schedule appointments based on registration number. Attendees who register early are likely to get their first choice of editors, agents, or authors to meet with. The past two years I have been the first registrant simply by visiting a conference Web site early and printing off the registration form, rather than waiting for it to arrive in the mail.

Visit the conference Web site
Not only is browsing the conference Web site helpful in getting a jump on the registration process, but you can glean valuable information to prepare for the conference. Many times the site will have links to market needs or overworked topics. These can influence your decision as to what you’ll present during your appointments. It is also helpful if the site has pictures of faculty members, in case you want to familiarize yourself with them before attending.

Polish your Manuscripts
Polish your best work to take to the conference. Whether you are writing articles, stories, poetry, or book proposals, use the weeks before the conference to make your work shine. Have your writers’ group critique your work, or meet with another writer for feedback. Be sure it is typed neatly, free from spelling errors, and double-spaced; pack it carefully in a folder or manuscript box for travel.

Also prepare orally. Memorize a hook of no more than three sentences that describes what makes your work unique, and be prepared to share it with editors or agents you meet at the conference.

Design and Print Business Cards
Business cards can add a professional touch to your presentation during appointments and be a networking tool during the conference. Be sure to include your email address and Web address if applicable. These cards are also handy for staying in touch with new friends and acquaintances after the conference….

©2005 by Patricia S. Baker
*Excerpt, first printed in Christian Communicator, (February 2006).

Though angels to His will attend
And mountains bow in fear,
This awesome God will gently bend
To lend a listening ear.

He stoops to meet my every need—
A Servant, though a King!
Oh, teach me Lord, Your ways to heed,
A humble heart to bring.

And not to greatness I’d aspire
But servanthood divine;
Your constant giving to inspire
A life that mirrors Thine.

©2005 by Patricia S. Baker
First printed in The Lutheran Digest, (Winter 2006, Vol. 53, p. 26).

We buried my Uncle Dan last summer. A World War II veteran, he was buried with full military honor in a solemn yet beautiful ceremony. One of the defining events of his life was his service in the war, and it seemed entirely fitting that his funeral and burial took place Memorial Day weekend. That, at least, made sense, though the events leading up to his death did not, humanly speaking.

Six months earlier, he’d suffered a massive stroke at the nursing home where he lived. It robbed my gentle and articulate uncle of the ability to speak or move, and after a month of unsuccessful therapy, the nursing home resigned itself to simply keeping him as comfortable as possible.

In the months that followed, I struggled to comprehend the sovereign wisdom of a God who apparently had a purpose in this type of existence for my uncle. I struggled, too, in prayer. My uncle and I were close, and I prayed fervently for his recovery–but instead, his miseries increased. He developed bedsores that stubbornly refused to heal, despite the attention of a concerned nursing staff. I thought of the testing of Job, and wondered how God was redeeming this experience in my uncle’s life. Lord, I prayed, hasn’t he suffered enough? How could increasing his misery make him any more fit for Your kingdom?

Yet it seemed my prayers went no further than the clouds. Five months after the stroke, it was determined that the tissue around the bedsore on his foot was dying, and that his lower leg would have to be amputated if there was to be any hope of recovery. Overwhelmed with the seemingly senseless futility and cruelty of it all, I now began to simply pray for a release from a painful existence for him. And although he survived the amputation, God granted my request when He finally took him home to be with the Lord two weeks after surgery.

Though relieved that he was now in heaven with the Savior he loved, I was left with a deep sense of loss and many lingering thoughts about the purpose of prayer in the midst of the sovereign outworking of God’s plans. In the weeks that followed, the Holy Spirit not only comforted me, but led me to a rediscovery of Psalm 57.

The psalm records the prayer of David during a time when he would’ve been hard-pressed to see the hand of God at work. King Saul was seeking to kill him, and David was hiding in the deepest part of a cave with a band of outlaws. Saul’s men were so close he could hear their shouts; he must have wondered how this fit in with God’s plans to make him king over Israel one day.

In the heading of Psalm 57, it is referred to as a miktam of David. According to The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, a miktam of David means a secret of David. A closer look at this psalm will reveal some of the secrets concerning prayer during those times when life seems like one big question mark. When nothing David perceived made sense, what gave him assurance and peace concerning God’s sovereign control over all the events of his life? What was the secret of his stability and confidence in the face of daunting circumstances?

God is a Sovereign Refuge. “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed” (Psa. 57:1, NIV). In the face of danger and uncertainty, David fled to the refuge of his God. Even as he hid in the innermost recesses of a cave, he sheltered his soul deep in the shadow of his Father’s wings. But where is this place, and how can we find it?

In the phrase “shadow of your wings,” the word for wings is the word which in the original language also meant skirt, or corner of a garment. These words refer to the four-cornered prayer shawl or tallit of the Hebrew man to which highly symbolic tassels are affixed. In Numbers 15, God told the Israelites to attach these tassels so that they might be reminded to obey His commandments. The blue cord symbolized His sovereign authority; the 613 knots in the tassels represented every one of the laws of Moses. Praying under the shawl symbolized yieldedness to the authority of God.

The act of praying under the prayer shawl also symbolized a desire to come into the presence of God. To enter into His presence was to enter into His rest; there one could find peace even when navigating the stormiest of life’s seas. David’s place of refuge was, therefore, both the protective, sovereign authority and presence of his God….”

©2005 by Patricia S. Baker
*Excerpt, first printed in The Breakthrough Intercessor, (Summer 2005, Vol. 26, Number 3, pp. 28-31).