I remember when I was growing up I had and enemy.  It was a guy who I did not get along with and I would constantly antagonize him with my smart mouth.  I know you would never think it of me, but I had a sarcastic and sharp tongue.  One day, I was spouting off to my enemy and he said a few simple words, “You better watch your back.”  And yes, he made good on his promise, no matter how painful it was to me.

In a spiritual sense, we have an enemy as well, who says the same thing, “Watch your back!”  He is looking for ways to devour you.  The devil does not like the child of God and will ensnare him any way he can.  That is why we must truly watch our back to make sure that we are not caught off guard.

I read an interesting passage in Nahum chapter 2, “ The one who scatters has come up against you.  Man the fortress, watch the road; Strengthen your back, summon all your strength.”

Nahum is relating this to an enemy of the nation but in the spiritual sense we can learn how to guard ourselves:

1.  Man the fortress

I see this as guarding the heart.  The fortress of our soul.  We must be diligent to guard ourselves from temptation and never leave our post.

2.  Watch the road

Pay attention!  Be alert!  Watch for the entrapments of our enemy.  Make sure you do not get ambushed.

3.  Strengthen your back

Not only do we need a hedge of protection, but we need someone to stand with us.  We need accountability and to surround ourselves with strong believers who can be our rear guard.  Standing together is better than standing alone.  Solomon said, “Two are better than one.”

4.  Summon all your strength

Sometimes the battle gets so intense that you have to use up all your strength.  You have to muster up courage and strengthen yourself in the Lord.  Our strength comes from Him. 

These are things to keep in mind when you are going through the heat of the battle.  Stand ready.  Having done all to stand, stand!  No weapon formed against us shall prosper.  When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him.  God is on our side.  If you will do these things, God will help you fight your battles.

Maybe I am blogging too much about this ice storm, but it is my first ice storm and, after all, it is my blog.  I can write what I want:)

I just went to the post office and passed a gas station that I often get fuel at.  Apparently the weight of ice is immense.  The covered awning over the pumps came crashing down on a car.  Not sure if anyone was hurt, but the car had a lot of damage. 

After three days of Ice and Snow, we have ventured above freezing.  Now everything is thawing out.  Ice is breaking off from power lines and dropping to the pavement below.  The ground has become slush as the melted water mixes with the snow.  The sun has come out to help the thawing process.  The warming trend is nice.  Hopefully it will all be better tomorrow.

As I was looking at the ice melting and the ground thawing out, I was reminded of how this is often like our spiritual lives.  We become cold and hardened to the things of God, or at least our spiritual fire cools off.  Our growth seems to freeze and we do not sense God like we used to.  But when the sun comes out, or shoudl I say the SON, He helps thaw our icy hearts and begins to warm us up to Him.  The Son causes us to have a fire where we had become cold.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”  Ezekiel 36: 26

God wants to light a fire in us again and give us new hearts and a new life.

The Resource Guide to Getting Published

For 24 years running, the Christian Writers’ Market Guide has remained the most comprehensive, complete, essential, and highly-recommended resource for beginning and veteran Christian writers, agents, editors, publishers, publicists, and those teaching writing classes.

This year’s Guide is even handier with a CD-Rom included that features the full text of the book for easy searches of topics, publishers, and markets, as well as 100 pages of exclusive content including indexes and writing resource listings.

This is the resource you need to get noticed—and published.

Completely updated and revised to feature the latest on…

• more than 1,200 markets for the written word
• 416 book publishers (32 new)
• 654 periodicals (52 new)
• 96 literary agents
• 100 new listings in Resources for Writers
• 226 poetry markets
• 316 photography markets
• 25 African-American markets
• and 166 contests (29 new)

Sally E. Stuart is the author of thirty-six books and has sold more than one thousand articles and columns. Her long-term involvement with the Christian Writers’ Market Guide as well as her marketing columns for the Christian Communicator, Oregon Christian Writers, and The Advanced Christian Writer, make her a sought-after speaker and a leading authority on Christian markets and the business of writing. Stuart is the mother of three and grandmother of eight and lives near Portland, Oregon.

The Christian Writers Market Guide 2009 (CWMG) is a great resource for aspiring authors and freelance writers.  It is an encyclopedia of helps to get published.  CWMG is broken down into sections that give you insight to publishing into many fields.

Book Publishers, Subsidy Publishers, Periodical Magazines, even a field for Greeting Cards and other specialty publishers.

The author Sally Stuart, lists each publisher in alphabetical order and gives insight into  what you can expect from that publisher.  Stuart gives contact information, types of manuscripts accepted, how many titles they publish a year and more.  One of my favorite things she reveals is how many first time authors are accepted.  This is beneficial to know for those trying to break into publishing because some publishers rarely accept first time authors.  Stuart also informs the reader how long the submission process takes for each publisher.

This resource is not for everyone, but for those interested in publishing their writing, this is an invaluable resource.  Every aspiring author must have a copy of this on their bookshelf.  Stuart’s book will save the author hours of frustration by helping them select the right publisher for their work.  Also, included is a CD-Rom with more helpful resources.

You can find a copy of this great writer’s guide at Christianbook.com

For the last couple of months I have been looking for Adam Clarke’s Commentaries in book form.  I have lost twice on eBay bids and I had given up.  Until today!  In the words of Gomer Pyle, “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!” 

I had a mystery box in the mail today.  When I opened it up, there was a full set of Clarke’s Commentaries in almost mint condition.  God is an amazing God!  I have been wanting this 6 Volume Set for a long time, but they have been out of print. 

A friend of mine found them on eBay and sent them to me.  Thanks Wead!

When I was growing up I remember it was said that the postal service would deliver mail through rain, sleet and snow.  I always wondered if that was really true.  As we have been in the middle of this ice storm our mail has been delivered without fail.  The mailman has to walk in snow and ice to bring the mail.  God bless the mailman.