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Stir It Up: Do You Have the Gift of Writing?

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I love to write!

And I love meeting others who share my passion for words. Last month, I was privileged to be part of an event hosted by His Story Christian Gift Center in Lewiston, Idaho. We had a lot of fun meeting and working with aspiring writers. As part of this day, we handed out a worksheet to those who wanted to write but didn’t know how to get started. Today, I’m sharing this worksheet with you. Whether you’re a person who likes to carefully plan your writing projects or like to write without a net, it helps to get to know yourself a little bit better. It took me years to discover what my focus is and what motivates me to write. Here’s the first segment of the worksheet:

 

Getting Started

You’ve felt for some time that you have a story in you. It could be a novel that’s been shuffling around in your mind for years. Or you have an incredible life story that you long to share with others. Perhaps you yearn to write for children or parents or youth. You know God is urging you to step out in faith and put the dream to paper.

Now what?

The journey to publication, whether through independent or traditional channels, is an arduous one. Although it’s not for the faint of heart, it’s within your reach. It takes a lot of discipline, hard work, and willingness to learn. So where do you begin?

It’s best to write down a few things to help you solidify your goals. These next questions will help you put into words what’s brewing in your heart. Take your time, think them through, and commit them to prayer.

1. What genre are you interested in pursuing (non-fiction, fiction, fantasy, young adult fiction, devotional, children’s books, etc.)?

 

2. Why did you choose it?

 

3. Who are your favorite authors, and why?

 

4. What Scripture(s) best describe your walk with God?

 

5. Describe your life’s calling in one sentence.

 

6. What gifts and talents do you think God has placed in you that qualify you to speak to others?

 

7. If others could describe you in one word, what might that word be?

 

8. Do you have the support of your family to take on writing?

 

9. What is your educational background?

 

10. What do you hope to accomplish through writing?

 

 

Fill this out and keep it. Pull it out occasionally and see where God has taken you in your journey. Next week, I’ll post the second half:  Now What?

 

Spinning My Tires

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Around and Around

It should have been a banner year. How many people get to be authors? And have an article published in a print magazine? And get to work at a job they love? How many parents see their children and grandchildren living solid lives of faith and hope?

  • This year I had the honor of working with my daughter Grace, who, by the way, is the best office assistant/publicist ever.
  • I had the joy of seeing our youngest son get his own place and grow in a job he loves.
  • I celebrated when our eldest granddaughter was accepted into the college of her choice.
  • I joined my beloved family for a nine-day trip to my favorite Pacific beach and attended my first Hot August Nights car show in my hometown.
  • My precious husband and I celebrated forty-two years of marriage with a two-day trip to the Big Town, where we got our Cabela’s fix and my husband finally bought a buffalo picture. He’s maintained for years that a log home needs a buffalo pic. I maintained otherwise. We finally agreed on one that would nicely grace the upstairs hall at the top of the stairs. At a vintage lamp shop downtown, I bought my first Quoizel Tiffany lamp, something I’d been coveting  for several years.
  • The ancient mint and green carpet in our house is giving way to a handsome porcelain slate tile that will hold up better to country living, wheels, and our son’s German Shepherd/cross dog.
  • I’ve been able to share our story and God’s comfort with others through my writing and speaking. My first book, Song in the Night, recently was re-released in e-book form. I’ve met and re-connected with many wonderful people and heard inspiring stories of faith across this country.
  • I even learned how to use Google+ Hangouts to make a video presentation at a virtual caregiving conference, no small feat for a sixty-year-old woman who still struggles with the t.v. remote.

Yes, 2014 should have been a great year. In fact, it has been. And for that I’m eternally grateful to my Savior.

So why did I lose steam mid-summer? Why did I feel like I was spinning my wheels?

Mostly, I think, it was because in the midst of everything else, I am, first, a caregiver. Everything that I do comes after and along with my caregiving duties. Simple things like a trip to town involve a a lot of work and planning.

Every step is hard work. Every victory comes with much warfare. The joys have been interwoven with sorrow.

We lost Aaron’s beloved mother in January; my dear uncle in July. Kevin had an infection and sternum injury in May. He received emergency care during our coastal trip and again back at home. My father endured a hard winter of medical struggles. Then I suffered a severe lumbar strain and was completely out of commission for a few weeks. The family had to take up the slack in the daily chores.

It was during that time down in bed that I finally could stop. The enforced rest gave me a chance to re-think what I’ve been doing and what I want to achieve. One thing I know for sure:

I never want to be spinning my wheels on this journey. I want to listen carefully to God and only go where He guides. That may not mean a smoother ride. In fact, that may only increase the warfare in my soul and on the home front.  The road to Zion is narrow and often filled with detours. I’m thankful to be on this trip, though. My destination is assured; a room in God’s mansion is already reserved for me heaven. It’s just a matter of staying on course, listening for God’s guidance, and remembering to enjoy the view along the way.

I will not spin my tires.
I will not spin my tires.
I will not spin my tires.

Photo courtesy Kevin Thorson/copyright 2014

Out from the Shadows Book Excerpt

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Today we celebrate the release of Out from the Shadows by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Many thanks to my publisher, associate editor, agent, and my friends and family. I’m so grateful to God for His inspiration, leading, and encouragement throughout the long two years it took for it to come to birth.  In celebration of the launch, I just had to share an excerpt from the book with you. This one is very special to me.

Jimmy’s Hunger

A good name is to be more desired than great wealth. Proverbs 22:1

He was just a little boy when he was abused for the first time. His dad raged at his mother again over some imagined offense—the rough German carpenter never needed a reason to be angry. The tiny house rattled with the sounds of the man’s raving.

Jimmy was afraid.

Suddenly his father turned on him. The man hit the child broadside, striking him so hard he slammed backward against a wall and soiled his pants. Jimmy never knew what he had done to deserve a beating.

But that was just the beginning. He grew to manhood under the constant shadow of a father given to adultery and violent, drunken rages. The entire family suffered, but the boy was the favorite target of his father’s wrath.

When the man wasn’t beating them, he was often gone. Jimmy helped his mother support the family with his meager earnings from odd jobs. Their food supply was scanty, and their threadbare clothing offered little protection from the brutal Wisconsin winters. Jimmy owned no underwear. He slept naked in order to save his one set of clothes for school. His father loved to shame him by yanking him out of his bed in the middle of the night and beating him in front of his mother and sisters.

The physical abuse stopped the night Jimmy was big enough to sit in the dark, fully dressed, to initiate the fight when his dad first walked through the door. He learned, too, how to stop the mocking boys at school with his fists.

Fighting gave him a feeling of power for the first time in his life. People said he would grow up to be just like his dad. He had learned all the wrong ways to live. He had every excuse to victimize others as he had been victimized.

But he didn’t. Jimmy grew up to be like his mother, gentle and kind. He finished his schooling in the Navy, married a lovely young woman, and started a family. He adored his children and worked hard to give them the stability he never enjoyed as a child. He became a musician, a newsman, a broadcaster, a businessman, a county commissioner, a caregiver, and a pastor.

Jimmy is my father.

If anyone ever had an excuse to give up, he did. He had nothing going for him in life, except a mother who loved him and the desire to be different from his father and his grandfather. Instead of continuing the family line of shame, he taught my brother and me an important lesson: It’s not where you come from, but where you’re headed, that matters.

When my father was growing up, children shouted our surname at other kids when they wanted to insult them. My father was determined to have a name his own children would never be ashamed to wear. He not only redeemed the family name, but he also has lived with such integrity that we are proud to be known by it.

Today, his adult grandchildren love to tell people who their grandpa is. He is a well-known local personality and beloved icon in our community. As a pastor, he tells others of the Father God who took him out of a life of poverty and abuse and gave him a real daddy’s love.

My dad’s hunger for God inspired my own search for life’s meaning. His determination to break free has challenged me to wear my heavenly Father’s name with integrity and leave a legacy my family can be proud to claim.


Father God,

I understand my perception of You
has been shaped by my earthly father.
I ask You to reveal to me the ways
in which I have misunderstood who You are.
Help me break free from wrong pathways
and understand the depth of Your unconditional love.
Amen.

Reflections on “Jimmy’s Hunger”

1. Do you know anyone who has a similar story of abuse?

2. Have you experienced this kind of abuse yourself? Have you been able to break free?

3. List the qualities of a father you think are the most important.

4. In what ways has God displayed these qualities in your life?

5. How can you use these qualities in your role as a caregiver?

Pam Thorson/copyright 2014

Find Out from the Shadows here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/194110312X/

The Nurse Who Remembered

 

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This post is part of the #Blog4Care blog carnival being hosted by Caring Across Generations. We’re hoping that by sharing our caregiving stories, we can begin to come up with solutions to the care crisis that is affecting millions of Americans. 

Nursing carries heavy responsibilities. It requires long days, longer nights, and impossible schedules. In celebration of one of my favorite nurses, I’ve reprinted an except of our story from my first book, Song in the Night. The nurse’s name has been changed, but everything else is as it happened in the summer of 1997.

More than just a nurse…

One nurse in particular that we loved was named Mandy. She was slender and petite, with lovely dark hair and makeup that was always perfect. She had an exotic air and a husband who was a businessman in Africa. She always seemed to know what to do and did it expertly. Kevin said that she did the best job of suctioning the secretions out of his lungs of anyone on the floor, so I watched her carefully and had her teach us her own technique.

One day in particular, things were very trying. Kevin was still stick, and I just had to go run a quick errand. There was no other family member to stay with Kevin while I was gone, and Kevin kept begging me not to leave him. Mandy saw my dilemma and offered to sit with Kevin until I came back.

Thankfully, I took her offer and rushed out. I knew she was busy, and Kevin wasn’t the only patient that needed her. So I hurried as fast I could and breathlessly returned to find her sitting peacefully at his bedside, chatting amiably with Kevin as she gave him a manicure.

A warm rush of gratitude flowed over me. She could not have realized how little of our human dignity was left after these long weeks. The harsh environment of living in the world of the near-dead had ground us far into the dust. Although people around us had been so good to us, and most of the medical people tried, the very nature of the situation was immensely dehumanizing. We existed on little food, sleep, or comfort. Rehab schedules did not allow time for living. Whoever was staying with Kevin slept on a big chair that folded out into a small bed that was in his room. We often slept and lived in the same clothes. Our world revolved around learning a myriad of medical procedures, basic caregiving, and getting Kevin through another day.

There wasn’t time to truly grieve, to hurt, to process what was happening, or even to feel. We were often treated like machines, pushed and prodded and educated in things we neither envisioned nor wanted to learn. There were days Aaron and I didn’t know who was taking care of our youngest daughter or even where she was. That haunted me, and it caused recurring nightmares in which I had lost her. For a while, she bounced between friends and family. At fifteen, Daniel was learning physical therapy techniques and sitting long hours with his brother. Erik worked full-time down in Lewiston and drove the 100 miles to Spokane every weekend to be with us.

More than “the C2” in Room 210…

I understand that by necessity, the medical world is run by schedules and operates under financial limitations. Faced with the politics of medicine, it’s easy to reduce a patient to “the C2” in Room 210 or “the gallbladder” on the fourth floor.

But Mandy had remembered that we were more. She remembered that we were people – hurting, frightened, and overwhelmed. And she cared enough to stop and give us the help we really needed.

~ Pam Thorson

Podcast March 1st

 

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Join me for a podcast with Denise Brown of Caregiving.com on Saturday, March 1 at 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT; 8 a.m. MT; 7 a.m. PT). Listen live or download the podcast here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/caregiving

Denise is the founder of a vibrant online community of caregivers. I’m honored to join her for an interview tomorrow morning as I share the story surrounding our son’s disability and my perspectives on caregiving.

Hope to see you there!

Coming Soon: Out from the Shadows: 31 Devotions for the Weary Caregiver

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Coming Soon…

 

Out from the Shadows: 31 Devotions for the Weary Caregiver

 

 

No place is so dark, no shadow so deep, that God can’t find us…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After nearly two years in the making, my newest book is almost ready for its March release. The editors and design team at Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas have done a masterful job of guiding me through the process. Although this is my second book, I’ve discovered that traditional publishing is much different than self-publishing. I’ve had a lot to learn. It’s been hard work, too, but I’m honored to have this opportunity to share with others.

       “There are only four kinds of people in the world: Those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” -Rosalynn Carter

If you’re not a caregiver now, it’s likely that you have taken care of someone you love at some point in your life. You know the daily stresses they endure.

Perhaps you know someone who cares for a family member or have received care when you were injured or ill. Out from the Shadows is a collection of thirty-one stories that pull back the veil on the unique joys and challenges of caregiving. Why not refresh someone you know with a gift of hope? Out from the Shadows is now available for pre-order at amazon.com. Order early and save $.99 over the regular price.

We still have a lot to do before the book launches. Dragonfly Core is producing a book trailer which I’m very excited about. It will feature some people I love and tell a story I’ve been dying to shout to the world:

Caring for others is one of the most important jobs you will ever have.

 

God IS in Control

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 God…is the blessed controller of all things. 1 Timothy 6:15 (Phillips)

God IS in Control

What a year it has been already! There have been some sad events: burying my mother-in-law, watching my father suffer through a serious infection. There has also been a rumbling in our lives as the stone has been rolled away from the tomb of some long-standing dreams. I can’t share the details, but I have witnessed enough miracles in the last month alone to move me to tears and remind me that God is a God of wonders.

When He closes a door, it’s closed. Solid. No amount of moving or praying can budge it.

When He opens a door, it’s flung wide to let in the fresh air of hope.

Whatever’s going on in your lives, rest in the trust that God does hear your prayers. And He really cares about you. As I’ve shared in the last couple of weeks in recent devotionals When Dead Men Speak and Beyond the Grave at CMADDICT.com, God moves in sovereign and powerful ways far beyond our ability to imagine.

Events of these last weeks have encouraged me to step out more boldly in His steps. It’s a fearsome thing to follow behind the Savior, knowing all He gave up to answer His Father’s call. But it’s more frightening to remain in the shadows of my faith, where fear rules the night.

Come with me, my friends. Let’s push aside the stumbling blocks that have kept us from being all God has called us to be. We can serve with joy, knowing our struggles are not in vain. He is still “the blessed Controller of all things.”

Do you know someone who takes care of a loved one?

Can you imagine how hard it is for them to make it through another day?

You can help! I still need people to join my team for the launch of my new book, Out from the Shadows: 31 Devotions for Weary Caregivers. You don’t need special skills or a great social media following to help. Just read my previous post (click here) and pick 5 ideas there or send me 5 of your own ideas and you’re on the team. There will be a drawing for a Kindle Paperwhite e-reader in March for those who become team members. E-mail me at thesong2008@live.com and put “Influencer Request” in the subject line. Thanks!

Know What You Believe…and Why

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A fossil was recently found in Gilboa, New York, in sedimentary rock that supposedly dated back 380 million years. It was the fossil of a spider. What was this spider doing? Nothing new. It was making a web, just like modern spiders.

Ever wonder why a spider doesn’t get caught in its own web? It’s because each silk gland has a specific purpose. They have one to four pairs of spinnerets in their abdomens, along with seven silk glands connected to dozens of tiny tubes. Each gland secretes a substance that begins as a liquid but hardens in the air. The silk thread it produces is fine enough to make bomb sights but as strong as steel.*

If the spider evolved over millions of years, how did it and its young survive without dying in its own web until it evolved the correct glands?

This is just one of the many questions scientists have yet to answer as we explore Earth’s beginnings. The more we study nature, the more complex our world appears. It is not a random collection of organic and inorganic mass. Everything has a purpose. Every species has an unseen boundary built into. Bears always produce more bears. Spiders stay spiders. Nature seems to know its place and thrives there.

Is this chance?

I’m not convinced. If just once, a pack of wolves would have a video conference, a bear would become a beekeeper, or a roomful of monkeys could type a book in a million years, I might be swayed. If just once, a sealed can of peaches produced even a molecule of a new life form (the unsealed stuff in my fridge doesn’t count), you might have me.

But don’t show me a moth that changed its color or a snake with two heads.

Show me a Norwegian that is evolving a fur coat. Show me a youth pastor that is growing a guitar on his chest. I want to talk to a lizard that decided to improve his mind or a teacher with a finger that oozes red ink for correcting papers.

I want to see random processes produce order.

Let’s see mutations make something without using God’s dirt and God’s laws of nature. If you’re going to take God out of the picture, be fair and start from scratch, like He did.

Both evolutionists and creationists believe that all things came from nothing. The Bible tells us that He spoke the universe into being by the power of His word alone. Evolutionists believe that nothing somehow sparked a life form. Some folks believe God started the process and let evolution take over.

What do you believe? Why do you believe it?

Tonight Bill Nye “the science guy” and Ken Ham of the Creation Museum of Petersburg, Kentucky, will publicly debate the tenets of both theories. NPR has announced the debate, along with competing videos from the two men http://n.pr/1frnFz5. The debate begins at 7:00p.m. EST.

Here’s the link to watch it free online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI

Know what you believe. Listen and weigh the evidence from both sides. The truth will always withstand scrutiny.

 

*From “Origins Issues” by Frank Sherwin, Acts & Facts, vol. 35, #5

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