Five-Minute Peppermint Mocha (Optional sugar/dairy free)

Recently a Starbucks moved in to the parking lot of the Meijer where I get my groceries. Then my sister tells me you can get almost any drink decaf. Needless to say, I've had a few run-ins with temptation. And my new favorite thing in the world is a Peppermint Mocha.

After paying $5 for a tall (aka small) a few times, I decided it was time to try it on my own. And I was surprised how good the result was! Not to mention I made it without sugar or dairy, since I am sensitive to both. The flavor didn't suffer a bit, but you could make it with regular milk and sugar and I'm sure it would be just as good. So without further adieu, here is my recipe for a quick and easy peppermint mocha at home, sugar and dairy optional:

Ingredients you'll need:

6-8 oz regular or decaf coffee, brewed to your taste

2 tsp powdered cocoa

pinch of sea salt

dash of cinnamon

splash of vanilla (forgot vanilla in the picture)

5-6 tsp maple syrup (insert equivalent of any other sweetener)

1/8 to 1/4 cup unsweetened Silk cashew milk (or milk of your preference)

1/2 to 1 drop peppermint essential oil

All you need is your teaspoon to measure, and a large coffee mug. If you're especially daring, you can eyeball it. But I just use the teaspoon to measure and stir it. Put the cocoa in the coffee cup. Add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Throw in the maple syrup and give everything a good stir until you have the smooth consistency of chocolate syrup. 

This is the part you have to be careful with. You don't want more than 1 single drop of peppermint oil. If you don't want your peppermint taste to be anything more than a hint, you want a half drop, which you can get by putting a single drop in your teaspoon and using a paper towel to soak up some of it. Trust me, I've gotten a couple extra drops in there, and it was not as enjoyable. It was eye-opening, but not enjoyable so much.

Next add your milk to taste. Stir it up and then fill the rest of your cup with coffee. Give it one more stir.

It's as simple as that! If you're feeling naughty, add a touch of whipped cream and some shaved chocolate, and enjoy your much, much cheaper but delightful peppermint mocha!

Let me know what you think in the comments!

It's amazing to me how long an author can work on a story, get to know her characters, spend quiet but exhilarating moments with them until a story has been crafted . . . but still not know that story the way they come to know it when others join with the story and make it their own.

I don't know if there's a more artistic way to say it, but this new process of taking something that was private and making it something that belongs to the world has been both terrifying and one of the best experiences of my life. (Terrifying in that I've received threats promising to egg my house if the story did not end up the way the reader hoped!)

This book was released a month ago, but it needed a few tweaks. I can now say, with relative confidence, that it is free of typos, that the cover art is what we envisioned, and that I am ready to continue in the wonderful and amazing process of discovering the readers for whom God intended this story be written.

Check it out. You don't need to worry that it's one of "those" self-published books. You're dealing with a perfectionist who found a perfectionist editor, who spent plenty of time researching the art of publishing and with much time on her knees in preparation. If you like Christian historical romance, and if you like interesting protagonists that tend to fall in love with flawed, but equally interesting men, and if you like that love story to point to a deeper love story that every one of us is in the process of either avoiding or building with our Savior, then this book is for you. If you like twists and turns and not exactly knowing what might happen on the next page, this book is for you. If you like all of this with a reminder of the beauty of the Gospel, it's for you.

So check it out. And spread the word. And let me know what you think.

Find it here!

Advanced Quick Tips for Writers

If you know that glorious moment when you write THE END on the final page of your novel, you know that after the high wears off, you have more work to do.

Writing the rough draft is an act of complete creativity. All of your soul should be poured into those 70,000 - 100,000 words you've typed into your computer. Now it's time to take a surgical knife to your soul.

This isn't as scary as it sounds. You're not trimming the parts that will someday make you an example of genius in literature. You're cutting the stuff that distracts people from really experiencing your unique voice.

The greatest writer in the world will still have these problems in a rough draft. Even though I've noticed I have less to edit as the years go by, I still have plenty. And if I'm not convinced it's there, my editor is always happy to point it out! :)

These are four tips with examples that will give you a polished, professional edge with your manuscript:

1. DON'T BE PASSIVE
2. LOOK FOR "WAS"
3. NO CLICHES!
4. GIVE A POSITIVE SPIN

Look at the examples in the illustration for more info. Remember, you aren't cutting your genius moments. But you do want to edit out the parts that whisper of amateur. And you want to cut anything that doesn't change or define the plot or characters.

Happy writing!

Where We Belong is available now in print!

Where We Belong is available in print or Kindle
amazon.com

I'll let you in on a little secret, Where We Belong is available TODAY in print! (Official release is September 1, 2015.) You can order your copy today for 12.99 or preorder your Kindle version for 4.99.

Enjoy!

In the Days of Noah

I've been thinking about my ancestor today. Not only my ancestor, but your ancestor. Every person on earth, if they could trace their family tree back to it's beginning, would make an abrupt stop at an old man being tossed around on an earth of raging water and rain. I've been thinking a lot about Grandfather Noah. And I'm not sure we have him right. In fact, I'm pretty sure we don't.

Yes, I realize I'm behind the times. This movie has been out for quite some time and I've just gotten around to watching it on Netflix. 

The reason I waited so long? Christians were so disparaging of this movie. I heard scoffing and criticizing across the board.  Disappointed, I didn't feel like watching it and being frustrated with a dramatic Hollywood version of events written by someone who hadn't even bothered to open up the Bible and read the story for themselves. According to the reports, it was completely void of Scriptural truth.

Only it wasn't.

I know I might ruffle a few feathers by saying it, but this movie was not, on the whole, biblically inaccurate. It was TRADITIONALLY inaccurate. It seems to me the person who wrote this movie paid attention to the biblical account, and asked themselves how to make it seem fresh and real to a cynical and critical generation of believers.

Where did we get this image of gentle Noah with white hair faithfully preaching to the jeering onlookers as his sons busily built a neat, tidy ark with their wives watching them with smiling faces? In preparation for this blog, I read through all the passages that address Noah's story. I couldn't find that image anywhere, and it surprised me a little, because I thought I would.

So that being said, why do we hold on to our whitewashed Sunday School version of Noah so that no one can pry him out of our hands? Why do we reject a movie that presents a very dark point of history with imagination and new ways of looking at the account, that challenge our deeply held notions and beliefs about this story? 

Our world was drastically different before the flood. The Bible DOES clearly tell us about a strange angelic/human hybrid that walked the earth in those days. The ground was cursed, it seems that no one knew what rain was, and people were rotten. As rotten as they get. As completely unconcerned with righteousness as we can imagine. This is the world the Bible paints for us, and one version of what that could have been like has been recreated in this movie.

Noah was a sinner. He was an imperfect person who did one thing different than his doomed counterparts. He walked with God. He tried to follow God. He obeyed God. But he wasn't perfect, and it is not such a leap to imagine that this man who grew up (for hundreds of years) in a society of evil and hardship, would look nothing like the sanitized, shiny-faced Noah we revere. It is not such a leap to imagine him determined to finish what God started, even if it meant destroying his own family. After all, we know he very quickly developed a drinking habit after the flood. We don't like to talk about THAT Noah, but that's the Noah God told us about in the Bible.

One thing saved Noah and his family, and it definitely wasn't his own merit and obedience. It was his relationship with the Creator. It was the ark God told him to make, and the careful instructions God gave him to make it. It was the Creator who saved the story of Noah, not Noah. God saved this family IN SPITE of their shortcomings. We have to be willing to admit that. And as Christians, we need to be willing to be supportive and open to a society that loves to give artistic meaning to stories that have been around for thousands of years.

Before you judge, experience. Then research. Then pray. Don't be critical of things just because they make you uncomfortable. Don't hold on to traditional views that cheapen the rich, often dark, history of the Bible. Be willing to look between the lines, or let the artists do it for you.

You may be surprised what you find.

                                 

Where We Belong by Miranda Shisler (Book Trailer)

How I Conquered IBD - An Introduction

I've had Ulcerative Colitis for a long time. My symptoms started when I was 13, 26 years ago. It would be another 6 years until I was diagnosed. Even then, it didn't take long for me to realize that no one understands Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Of the six gastroenterologists I was treated by over a 25-year period, most of them caring people whom I enjoyed interacting with, all of them had almost identical plans of action.

Meds. Tests. More meds. More tests. LOTS of appointments.

I went along with this for much longer than I felt I should. My intuition began to assure me every time I went to see them I was wasting my time. Because every medicine they insisted I needed to function in society did nothing for my colitis. Many times, it made it worse. All times, it made ME worse, by side effects and an undeniable emotional toll.

The last specialist I saw, four years ago, was not a nice and caring person like the others. He was abrasive, inattentive and arrogant. I already knew all the medicines he wanted to try would not work. I explained I could not tolerate medicines and asked him what I could change about my lifestyle and diet to control the symptoms and hopefully cause a remission. I had noticed that my UC went away during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and it had given me the idea that if I changed my body chemistry in some way, I might be able to control the disease naturally.

He told me, flat out, that it was impossible. I could do my own research, but I would be wasting my time. I left his office very discouraged. After three months, I received a letter saying that he was refusing to treat me because I had not made another appointment and so I was being considered an irresponsible patient.

My discouragement turned to indignation. What had he offered me that I should be excited about going back to his office? It seemed like his goal was to make sure he had enough patients walking through the door to make money, not making sure those patients were able to conquer their disease and live a normal life. 

And so I became my own advocate. I researched, scouring the internet for information about treating ulcerative colitis naturally. It was hard to come by. UC and Crohn's are notoriously hard to manage. But finally, I came across an obscure little article, written by a natural doctor in medical language that was admittedly very hard to read. It was an article on how to treat UC with supplements and diet. I didn't understand all of it, but I wrote down every supplement and how much I was supposed to take, jotted down each piece of advice concerning diet and exercise, and from that moment on made it my new lifestyle.

I have been in remission for almost all of the past four years, starting TWO WEEKS after I found that article. The only flare-up of UC I have had was related to the additive "carageenan" in my almond milk. As soon as I stopped drinking that brand, I was back in remission. I have learned more since then, and added other measures to my way of life that keep me from sinking back to where I once was, and I have been able to address other autoimmune issues and metabolism issues in my body, and as a result I have come to a place where I am almost at peace with my body, feeling good more days than I don't, having energy to do the things I want to do and need to do as a busy homeschooling mom and a writer.

It's time for me to share my story. Others are probably out there, being told time after time that it is impossible for them to manage their own disease. Suffering on meds, having tests that drain the life out of them and come at risk. I don't want anyone to have to live that way. So I'm telling you exactly what I did to conquer IBD. I'll be as brief as possible. I'll use language anyone can understand, even scared 13 year olds who have just started having symptoms or have been newly diagnosed.

You can conquer this disease, and the emotional toil that goes along with it in many cases. You can feel better on a long-term basis. It will involve some trial and error and a few different supplements, but in this day and age, they are easy to obtain.

Chances are, I will eventually publish a short book on this subject, going into a little more detail. It's a passion of mine to help others know they can take charge of their own health in cases where our medical system comes up short. For those of us living with autoimmune diseases, often our best course of action is a complete lifestyle change, and an adjustment in our thinking. It won't be easy.

But it's possible. More to come.

Living at Peace with Autoimmune Disease - the GET IN SYNC Detox Plan

Living with autoimmune problems requires vigilance.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this. Having had one autoimmune malfunction after another my entire life, I’ve come to peace with it at the age of 38. I’m just going to have to be vigilant in caring for this body, or it won’t work well enough to accomplish all the things I need to do, and all the things I want to do.

I went on vacation a couple weeks ago to spend time in upper Michigan with dear friends. I do great at eating right without angst at home, but when out of my comfort space and not in control of the food surrounding me, it gets harder to eat the way I know I have to in order to feel okay. It took a few days of this to start affecting me, but by the time I got home, I was miserable.

I have done okay for the past two weeks, but not great. If I listed all the things I’d done that were “bad,” most people would probably scoff, because it wouldn’t sound that bad. But for me, the difference between my disciplined eating plan and not-so-much is the difference between energetic, motivated and feeling good, or swollen, tired and anxious. Maybe you can relate.

So, this week I’m getting back on track, and to keep myself accountable and maybe help someone else in the process, I’m sharing my GET BACK IN SYNC plan for autoimmune dysfunction.

If you aren’t sure whether you fit the profile or not, consider this: Do you have aches and complaints that have not been solved by doctor visits and prescriptions? (And have you ever felt like medical professionals suspect you are making up your symptoms?) Have you been diagnosed with autoimmune diseases, such as IBD, Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriasis, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, (just to name a few of the more common)? Do you have sensitivity or allergies to medicines, foods, or environmental factors? If the answer is yes, you can give this plan a try and see if you end up feeling a little better than you did after a couple weeks. 

It’s not as hard as it sounds. The end of the first week is the hardest time to stay on track. After that, it becomes much easier. I’m sure that even people who do not have autoimmune problems would benefit from a week or two of clean eating.

Basic guidelines for eating:

·         No Gluten This doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone. Many people have no issues with gluten, and I’m not saying it should be avoided because it is “bad.” I have ulcerative colitis and it has made all the difference in the world for me, because of my oversensitive digestive system. If gluten is a problem for you, you will notice within a week or two that you feel better and you will probably have lost a few pounds that you associate with feeling less "puffy".

·         No Dairy Again, this is going to apply to the most sensitive digestive systems.

·         No Sugar This one makes a HUGE difference. During the times when I avoid sugar, I have considerably fewer hormonal swings and swelling, and I enjoy more energy and motivation. Sugar takes a good week of detoxing before you stop craving it, but it is easily and safely replaced by moderate amounts of maple syrup, honey or stevia. Check packaging – sugar is in so many things. NOTE: After you stop eating sugar and after the initial detox, you will find that you do not like your food as sweet, and that sugar leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Hang in there!

·         No processed food. Unfortunately, this means no convenience food for the most part, but you won’t miss it when you realize how it made you feel. Check all ingredients. If you can’t pronounce something and you know it’s not a vitamin or mineral that’s beneficial, usually you’d do better without it.

·         Coconut oil or olive oil. These are the oils that are on your side. I use only these two oils, along with butter or avocado for other good fats. (Fats are not your enemy! Just make them the right kind of fats.)

·         Leafy Greens. Spinach is my favorite. You can’t eat enough of them. Have them with every meal.

·         Probiotic. Whether in yogurt or kefir or by taking a probiotic supplement, we all need good bacteria to conquer any number of diseases and symptoms.

·         Moderate exercise. I used to kill myself exercising and only succeed in making myself exhausted and in pain. Now I walk a couple miles most days, and it feels great.

·         Supplements. Because our medical system does not generally make use of herbs and supplements, finding the right ones can be tricky. For me, it was a trial and error process that took years before I pinpointed specific supplements that helped me with my particular set of issues. Just because something worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for you. This takes research, recording results, and patience.

NOTE: With diet, certain supplements and moderate exercise, I was able to put my ulcerative colitis into a remission that has lasted about 3 years. This was after over 20 years of suffering as I was treated with prescriptions, tests and hospitalizations. Hopefully this is not true for all colitis patients, but it saddens me that of six gastroenterologists I saw, even when I asked for lifestyle change advice and explained that prescriptions made me more ill, no one ever told me it was possible to control my colitis on my own. I assume they didn’t know. So I say with resolution that it is ABSOLUTELY possible!

I’ve written an inexpensive little book for Kindle called “You Can Feel Well” that goes into a little more detail on this subject if you want to know more. If you don’t have a Kindle, the “Kindle for PC” app works great to read on a laptop or personal computer.

What do you think? Have you had success in conquering and controlling autoimmune diseases? Leave a comment and share your knowledge to help others dealing with the same issues.

Getting at the Truth of the Controversy

Part of me is against writing this post. I don't want to add to the problem. At the heart of my personality and convictions, most of me wants to stay completely out of it. But if my words can encourage or admonish someone and cause some good, so be it. Here's the thing.

Everyone that is either up-in-arms or ecstatically joyful over a ruling by the Supreme Court last week is missing the point. All of you. Both sides. A group of people deciding legislature means so little in the perspective of eternity. Who cares what a government thinks about marriage? I don't care what the government thinks of my marriage. If it tried to tell me I wasn't married, I wouldn't be un-married.

Marriage is really none of the government's business at all. Marriage was created by God, to bring Him glory, to provide a tangible picture of His relationship with us, and to create offspring to grow up in a family and learn to love God. Something created and maintained by God cannot be altered, in its inherent nature, by human interference. It's just not going to happen.

To those who see this ruling as a victory, a relief and a joy, the government's opinion will not change God's opinion. God still sees homosexuality as sin, and God still must punish sin that is not forgiven by the blood of Christ. That truth has been God's Word since the earliest days of man. It's not going to change, because that's not God's best for anyone. But trying to change our deep-seated sin, especially when it involves relationships, doesn't work on our own. You will never change your desires by "trying hard enough" or following some program or being shamed by people who claim to be speaking for God. I couldn't change my evil desires on my own, and yes, I have struggled with sinful attitudes and actions, even growing up in a Pastor's home and knowing the Lord from my earliest memories. None of us are immune to sin. And none of us can hope to escape our natural bent without the intervention of God and the humility to admit we need it. God loves you as much as he loves me, and it's more than either of us can comprehend being loved. He wants you, and His offer stands, to change your heart and your life and give you more than you imagined you wanted. All you have to do is trust Him. Let go of the life you thought you needed, and watch Him transform everything. He will. It's a promise. Not mine, but His.

To Christians who feel a foreboding, who fear the future, who feel it is their place and their calling to curse and shame other people for whom Christ died, please don't let fear cause you to get in the way of the Gospel. Our job here is not to create a perfect society or escape persecution or live in a bubble separate from the consequences of living in a cursed world. THIS IS NOT HEAVEN. Someday, we will live in a perfect place, but we have to stop expecting that place to be here and now. This country does not belong to us. We are the strangers here. We are the visitors. Let's behave as guests and be gracious, kind and loving to others. Our sin is just as ugly as anyone else's. Jesus loves sinners, and we have no right to act any other way than our perfect example. LOVE. ACCEPT. God meets us just where we are and we are to do no less. And I plead with you, brothers and sisters, not to be lazy in your walk. Expecting the government to eradicate sin and legislate moral standards is a futile way to live out your spiritual calling. It will never work. God does not ask sinners to clean themselves up because he knows they can't. Trying to tell people to live the right way without offering them the Gospel is completely against what God means for us to accomplish in our lives. We have to be willing to shoulder the burdens that others carry on their shoulders every day, since they are simply trying to make the best of it because they know no other way to get that weight off. It is our job to come alongside. Love them, pray for them, encourage them, show them a humble and godly example. It isn't our job to preach, shun, shame or ignore. When we approach another's sin with disgust or condescension, we have ruined our testimony and made ourselves hypocrites.

Words to the wise. All summed up neatly by God in Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

The Art of Moderation

Moderation. 

We talk about it. We advocate it. We know we should practice it. But is it our first impulse?

To know the answer, we need only look around. We need not look any further than our own life. There is something deep within our psyche that urges us to either overdo or underdo anything we take on. 

We can spend more energy defending our reasons for either obsessively pursuing an ideal, or staunchly avoiding a practice, than we can spend actually discovering what God wants us to do.

The answer isn't very complicated. Nothing in a believer's life should take the place of their love for Christ and commitment to following the clear instructions outlined in the Bible.

But spend any amount of time on Facebook or in the bookstore or in the grocery store or at the mall or in government, you quickly start to see the natural bent of the human condition. If it is good to eat healthy and exercise, it must be REALLY good to live on veggies and supplements, go gluten free, oil up, spend massive amounts of money on systems and products, and hit the gym as hard as you can every day, whether everything and everyone else in your life suffers or not. 

If it's good to provide options and care for those who might be tempted to turn to abortion, it must be REALLY good to go on a crusade to have the laws reflect our belief and to expose the evil deeds of the guilty. If it's good to live according to the Word and avoid what God says won't work in sex and relationships, it must be REALLY good to attack unbelievers who have been convinced by the circumstances of their life that they have no other option. It must be righteous of us to refuse to serve them, to fight for laws to prevent their legal unions. To shame them, somehow, into saving faith in Christ.

We all have to know better. We all have to be assured that this has never worked, and it never will. Shaming, hateful and arrogant, ignorant attacks have never produced genuine salvation in anyone. Likewise, as believers, our home is not this present world.

We are visitors. We're from out of town. We aren't going to stay here, and this life was never meant to be our perfect vision. 

It's the drawback of having a country that was founded on biblical principles. When we start to believe that we can have it all, that our every desire can be met and every discomfort avoided, we start to believe that everyone around us is getting in our way. We start to forget that God promised the life of a Christian would not be easy, and would often reflect the suffering of Jesus. We forget to be humble, and to remember where we came from, and what we were saved from.

Did Jesus eat healthy? Jesus probably ate whatever was offered, what others thoughtfully provided for him. He probably ate mostly fish, olives, dates and bread. He often fasted in order to pray more effectively. We can be certain that Jesus didn't have an entitled, over-zealous attitude about food, one way or the other. Can you imagine Jesus going on a tirade on facebook because he felt others were judging his eating habits? 

That being said, while Jesus lived in a culture where food may have been plentiful, it was all obtained through hard work and nature. We have a culture of people that crave so much, many of our foods have to be modified and filled and preserved to extremes. Our sustenance has become a business. Is it sin to eat this food, and eat so much of it even after we are aware those foods aren't good for the one body we get for our entire life?

God intends for us to enjoy the food He created for our bodies to benefit from. But I've learned the hard way that I am responsible to find foods and limits and abstentions that give me the best chance of getting through the day and fulfilling my responsibilities without being ill, tired or overburdened. I am a steward of the body God gave me. Sin makes it not work perfectly. But just as you would keep up the maintenance on a car you hope to last you a while, we have to learn to take care of our bodies and say no to our cravings that, in the end, cause us harm.

Does that mean we are responsible for others' bodies? If I see a cartful of junk food in the cart of a believer ahead of me at the checkout, am I obligated to say something? 

We are all in a different place. If we are believers, God has each of us on a plan that will get us where we need to be. Some of us are new to that process, others have been tweaked by God most of our lives. If you try to play God in someone else's life - or worse - try to shame an unbeliever into making decisions only a Holy Spirit-filled heart is capable of making, you are working against His methods and slowing down His work.

It's all about learning to control our desires and become moderate people. Moderate in our dress, in our diet, in our words, in our emotions, in our reactions, in our expectations. We should be moderate about everything, in fact, save our love and devotion to Christ. That means that the only thing we are passionate about is furthering the Gospel. That will take a few different forms, and branch out in a few different areas from the specific gifts and talents we've been given by God, but it's never going to take you so far that you are indifferent, apathetic, hateful, judgmental or cynical. It's never going to lead you into any sort of addiction to food, entertainment, money, drugs, sex or alcohol. When you fall into those negative places and find yourself at odds with everyone and uncomfortable in your life and in your skin, when you struggle to find any time left over for the things (people) that matter for eternity, you've probably gone off the course of moderation.

It's not something any of us come by easily. It's a process of learning to tell our selves NO when something (other than our love for Christ and for people) has become too important to us, and to motivate ourselves when we are distracted and unconcerned about the things that are important to our Savior.

It's a process that is worth the risk, and worth the humbling, and worth the uphill climb. It's a process that brings us closer to the only pursuit that will matter in the end.

Moderation in everything else leaves our hearts free to love Jesus with abandon.

Why He Needs to be Remembered

WHY HE NEEDS TO BE REMEMBERED

By Miranda Shisler

Few memories from childhood find him absent, though he remained quiet, though he listened more than he spoke. His face almost always bore a smile, or a contented contemplation. Corny jokes were the bread and butter of our conversations, and the teasing and sarcasm that themed his words strangely yet clearly translated into our minds only love. Acceptance. Pride.

I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone like my dad. I don’t know if I ever will again. I am like him in many ways. So is my mother, so are my sisters. I see certain attributes retained in his grandchildren. A preferred way of sitting, a facial expression, a favorite taste, a beloved phrase spoken as a mantra until it became ingrained in our brains and now slips as easily from our tongues as it did from his.

Dad had a tremendous capacity for feeling. He could feel the rush of passion over a sunset or a tiny flower by the path. He saw and zealously loved things that no one else noticed. Words flowed from his fingers, tumbling one over the other in a mad rush to find the page, displaying his every thought, every emotion, every color and shade of his person. Before digital photography made everyone good at taking pictures, he could capture emotion on whatever camera he could afford. He made art. He was genuine, letting his honest, quiet nature flow naturally into everything he created.

Dad never had anything to prove. He was more outspoken online in his last years, and may have engaged in debates or voiced opinions, but when you knew him up close, when you were paying attention, you became convinced that he was exceptionally humble. His faith never wavered. He knew that people can sharpen one another by being honest and real, but he was always able to separate the person from the opinion and love them because they were beautiful creations, no matter the disagreement. He saw beauty in everyone. He believed the best about everyone. He never worried over what people thought or took it personally when he was overlooked or disregarded. He knew where he stood with God, and it was enough.

Dad was a dream-follower. He believed we are each gifted with a measure of greatness and profound ability, ready to be used up for the glory of God if we can stay humble and willing to work. His interests as a child were the things he was good at as an adult. He didn’t give up on ideas. If it could be proven to his sometimes skeptical nature, he would change his mind.

My dad would change his mind.

How rare is it to find someone who is willing to change their opinion? Someone who is humble enough to admit they are not always right, that they make errors in judgment or give in to stubbornness, and they are willing to retrace their steps and admit “This is where I went wrong. I’m going a different direction now.”

When you have lost someone you loved and respected, you tend to forget the negative aspects of their character. “Forget” may be the wrong word. I still remember well that my dad could be stubborn, that he could overdo the teasing, that he was sometimes too timid in person and too outspoken online. He was a bit of a pack rat and sometimes he was a little antisocial. But now, looking back on his life and the obvious hole he left in mine … those things don’t matter anymore.

So be assured of this: that annoying trait in your loved one that drives you crazy … if they were gone tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter.

Dreamers come from Dreamers …

Dad didn’t just believe in his dreams. He believed in ours. You may have heard him talking about our skills. It didn’t start there, when we began to accomplish things as adults. When I was four years old, I sang in church. I am told I talked a lot about singing in church when I was little. And I got right up on that stage and sang the heart out of Away in a Manger. There’s a picture of me, most likely taken by him. I wish there was a picture of him holding that camera. I can see in my mind the look on my dad’s face. “That’s my girl. She wanted to express herself by singing, and there she is, doing it.”

He still had the same look on his face when I was singing on the stage at the age of thirty on any given Sunday morning. (I remember my eyes catching on him from my place on the stage—when he came into the service the Sunday before the Wednesday morning he died.) He didn’t wear a pride so much, that HIS daughters were good at things, but that we were willing to put ourselves on notice with our talents. We were willing to be used. We were willing to put the hard work in and let God develop us for whatever purposes he had in mind. And no matter where our interests led us at the time, if it was doing puppet shows in VBS or cheerleading or getting a job or playing piano or writing a story or getting a part in the spring play … he had that look on his face. That look of satisfaction. Approval. He said “good job” and “I’m proud of you,” but what I remember is the look on his face. That expression that housed more feeling than any trite phrase a parent feels compelled to say. He spoke infinitely larger with his expression. You are my treasure. You are loved by God and the interests and abilities he’s given you are important to him and to me. You will be used if you surrender your ambitions to him. You are my greatest offering to this world. You are my hope for the future, for my descendants, for the cause of Christ.

Dad loved. He loved people with a passion that exceeded his timid nature. He loved people so much he became a pastor instead of a journalist. And he could have been a successful journalist. But way back in his twenties he could sense the measure of his days, and he didn’t want to end them with awards and credits. He wanted people to know God, and thus be changed. He wanted the comfort and peace Jesus brings to broken lives and hurting people more than he wanted personal achievement and accolades. To me, that’s love.

Perhaps you were a recipient of Dad’s love. If you were a member of his flock or a friend or one of his students or a family member, rest assured—he loved you. He prayed for you. He agonized over the best way to teach you God’s Word. He strove to be a good example to you. Even if you had a few healthy debates with him, you can rest assured he never held a grudge. Trust me. I was his daughter, and not once in all my thirty-six years of knowing my father did I see him lose his temper. Ever. I can’t even imagine it. So I can be positive he never harbored any grievances. He probably respected you more for being willing to discuss whatever matter came up, whether you ended up agreeing with him or not. He probably loved you much more than he ever told you, and you might be surprised how much he thought of you.

My dad went to his home with Jesus long before he expected to, long before we expected him to, long before it made sense. He flew away in the breaking dawn of another normal Wednesday when he was scheduled to work at church and take care of responsibilities. He was about fifty pages into writing a new novel. He was in the middle of teaching an adult Sunday School class. He had stacks of other people’s manuscripts all over his office he was helping them to edit. You may be one of those people, and I know if he were able, he would sincerely apologize for not being able to finish those projects with you.

Dad flew away not when we expected, but at the perfect time. Even though my heart strains against the truth, he went when his days, numbered before he had been born, were through. After all, I have no way of knowing whether this very day is the final one allotted to my life from before creation. And I could not change it if I did know, nor would I want to had I all the information. Though our view of death—the view marred by sin—is dark, disturbing and ever-jarring, now Dad’s version is sweet, filled with reunions. Precious people he laid to rest over the years. Seeing his parents again. Seeing some of the mysterious ancestors he studied, as well as the people of the Bible. Being present with Jesus the moment he was no longer present in his body. I would never claim to comprehend the logistics of those who exist without their earthly bodies for a time, but I know that God says no one is dead to him, and that the death of his saints is precious to him. My dad is with Jesus. His faith has become sight, in that mysterious and inconceivable way that almost scares us this side of the veil, we who have yet to walk across that dark river.

Grief … a Year Later

What does it feel like a year past the time one loses the father they loved? After all, you have probably heard it said: that it never gets easier, and that time heals all wounds. Both are true. Though grief does not continually overwhelm your senses as it does in those first days and weeks, it leaves a scar that will continue to occasionally trouble a soul, just as a physical wound might. Wounds can harden if they do not heal right, wounds can leave scar tissue and mar permanently, and grief does the same thing to the soul.

As many times as I say that I believe Dad flew away at exactly the right time, and as much as I believe it, it is a truth I have to contend with on occasion. Unexpected grief leaves you gasping for air, reeling and trying to make sense of your life in its new version. That sense of panic can easily take hold if allowed a place. But I will answer to the unspoken question—if I could go back and rewrite time, if I could translate myself to Tuesday night, March 4^th, 2014, what would I do differently?

I would tell my dad I loved him. I would tell him he was the best dad a girl could hope for. I would tell him that I’m thankful for him, for his tender affection and guidance, for his example and his quiet spirit and his passion for life. I would tell him I was going to run on in his honor.

“Wait a minute,” you say. “Wouldn’t you tell him not to go to sleep? Wouldn’t you wait up all night with him, until the clock had sounded six chimes and he was still breathing; his heart still beating? Wouldn’t you try to change it?”

Honestly, if I were given that choice, I probably would try to stop him from going to bed. Who wouldn’t? It wouldn’t matter, though, because the moment I told him I was from the future and he couldn’t go to bed because he was going to die, that would be the moment he laughed at me and said “Nice try, goodnight.”

But do I regret my father’s passing?

I try to squirm away from the question, because the answer will seem odd. In every sense you would expect I do regret it, but at the same time, I cannot deny that his death formed me and created a deeper, more resilient character. His death made me see him and appreciate him in every way I had ever taken him for granted. I can see how I am more mature in Christ for having gone through this valley. I am closer to my mother and sisters than ever before, and we have always been close. I am less fearful of the worst, because I now have absolute trust that God is there with unexplained peace when life is suddenly darker than you thought possible. I have learned so much about my father from all the people that came rushing to our side the moment you all discovered he was gone. You have been gentle, and I have learned that my family is larger than I ever understood before it happened. I have become tender to grief in others, more apt to reach out to someone who has been knocked over by the cruel force of loss, rather than be awkwardly afraid to say the wrong thing.

So, no, I do not regret his passing.

I feel it as the mark of a traitor as I say it, but then I hear Dad’s voice in my head. Telling me it’s okay to think that way, because that’s the way he sees it, the way God sees it. To regret it would mean I would willingly turn over all that has been done in me to change a plan that God saw fit to create before time began. It’s not worth it.

Dad would agree.

Today I ask you to mark the one year anniversary of Dad’s last day on earth in two ways. First, I ask you to give testimony to something he taught you, something he wrote, some way that he made your life different. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little thing and you only met him once or you only knew him online. We crave more of the ones we lose, and my mother and sisters and I have all but exhausted our resources of Dad from his office and boxes and journals. Any morsel you can think of will be welcomed.

I also ask you to mark this day by telling someone what they mean to you. Maybe you’re afraid to be mushy, maybe you just haven’t had the time, maybe something has come between you and a loved one that has wounded your relationship. Today would be a good day, in Dad’s honor, to heal that wound, to say those words, to offer that hug or that promise. Dad would count it all joy if you would be willing to do it on his behalf, and on my behalf, because I realized it was time to say it one day too late.

May his memory go on, and may we who knew him live lives that honor what he taught us and more importantly, the God he loved and served with every last breath of life and strength he was given. May we approach our own time of passing, whenever it may come, with joy and hope, knowing our eternity has been secured through Jesus’ work on our behalf, and living with abandon and determination until we stand at the edge of that dark river … and see the brightness of Christ’s beautiful face shining in the distance.

“I do not believe in accidents. I do not believe in happenstance.

I do not believe in coincidence, or chance. I believe in the plan of God for

my life.

“That is comforting to know… God is always in control.”

-Thomas M. Parsons

June 5, 1941 — March 5, 2014

Available on Amazon Kindle!

If you haven't had a chance to like my author page, I have an ebook available on Amazon today! 

It started out as a journey to learn how to survive the day with multiple health issues not solved through traditional medicine. I've learned quite a bit and finally started to feel well, and I told myself if I got to that place I'd be responsible to share my story for others in that same place.

Find it HERE  and please share with others you think might benefit! 

Thanks!

Available Tuesday, February 10, 2015!

Have you tried everything to lose weight, or to shake off debilitating symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, depression and infertility? Have you been pronounced healthy by your doctor yet you are suffering on a daily basis? Are you tired of lengthy books and expensive fads that overwhelm or promise more than they can produce? Are you ready to give up on the process altogether, since nothing works anyway?

Don’t give up just yet! In this short, inexpensive, easy-to-read-and-follow ebook, you will learn (from someone who has been there) how to achieve weight loss, find your missing energy, and manage symptoms of thyroid problems, infertility, adrenal fatigue and autoimmune conditions, even if you have been unable to conquer these issues with prescription medicines or diet fads.

You will get an introduction to supplements and oils that can renew your metabolism and gut health, recipes and shopping lists that will give you a practical place to start your changes in food, and the emotional reassurance we all need that our health and weight struggles are not all in our head, are not all our fault, and ARE able to be defeated without the process taking over your life.

Hi! I'm Miranda Shisler, author of outside-the-box Christian fiction and healthy living advocate. I've been on a life-long journey to overcome these problems, and I've learned the things that really work and will get you started on your own journey to wellness and healing.

This ebook will be available this Tuesday, February 10! I hope you'll check it out! I will have a link up when it is ready.

Reforming Christian Fiction

I've started calling myself an "outside-the-box" author of Christian historical romance. But what does that mean? And why does it matter?

I recently wrote this post asking the question "Are you reading the wrong Christian fiction?" and I was encouraged by the response it received on Facebook. Maybe I'm not the only one standing alone on my soapbox, and there are more of you out there who are dissatisfied with the state of our stories.

Recently I read the blog post of a nineteen-year-old young woman who claimed she had stopped reading Christian fiction, especially romances, and one of the reasons she cited was that they were often blatantly inappropriate.

While I believe it is important for women to find the genre best suited to them, and what a nineteen-year-old and a woman in mid-life might think appropriate are two different things, she has a point. Any fiction that causes women to be dissatisfied with their husband (or their vision of what a husband might someday be) because of the "perfect" image of a hero in a romance, is not appropriate and should be avoided. But what the young woman doesn't realize is that there are some pretty complicated reasons why this is happening, and changing things is not going to be an easy, overnight process. But she's right about one thing.

We HAVE to stop buying or even just reading fiction that doesn't measure up to the standards we should have for our literature.

I say this with trepidation as an author, because I know I am putting myself on notice. It is one of my passions to pass along this commitment of reform to other authors. I can see that some of the authors I used to enjoy have "sold out" under the pressure of the demands of traditional agents and publishers. I know by my dealings with some of the people on the inside that it really doesn't matter what kind of writer a person is. If they aren't willing to cave to the formula expected (that will make money), they have no future in traditional publishing.

I believe we are on the edge of a new way of doing things. I firmly believe that agents and publishers have readers wrong. They are convinced that what we want as readers is what we are getting, because that's how they are making money. But I don't think it's necessarily the truth anymore.

Right now, this new way of doing things and thinking about Christian fiction is largely unorganized and haphazard. But it's time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to it. So what is a practical place to start for all of us as readers? For me, and others like me, as authors?

What I promise as a reader of Christian fiction:

I promise to be thoughtful in my reading choices, to raise my standards to those that bring me closer to Christ, and to have a voice in this reforming process happening right now.

This means we promise to stop reading or buying books that don't change us. That contain fairy-tale notions of romance that give us unrealistic expectations of our own lives. We agree that literature is critical to our thought-developing process, and important to our state of being. We promise to be open to new ideas, new genres, new authors and new ways of obtaining our stories.

We promise to find the authors that are writing with their whole heart and ability, for the glory of God, and help them get the word out, because they are doing it all themselves and cannot hope to succeed without the aid of readers.

What I promise as an author of Christian fiction:

I promise to write with my whole heart and all my ability, for the glory of Christ.

This means, ultimately, I promise not to write what pleases me, or what pleases other people, but what pleases Christ. I promise to edit carefully, with every resource, perspective and tool I can reasonably obtain. I promise not to let a book reach your hands before I have prayed over it and prayed for you, its readers. I promise first to have sculpted and shaped it, listened carefully to the perspective of other knowledgeable writers and readers, and changed what must be changed.

It doesn't mean you won't find a typo or two, or an awkward sentence here or there. I don't have all the resources of traditional publishing to ensure a perfect look and feel. But I will use my perfectionist tendencies to make sure you don't regret buying a book I have written. (Or getting it free on kindle once in awhile!) :)

This doesn't mean it will be written in the same style as the traditionally published books. After all, that's the point of reform. I consider very deeply what readers want, but it is not my highest authority. Sometimes we don't know what we want until we get it. And we don't all respond to the same things. From me, you will usually get something that pushes the edges of genres. I love romance, and I love historical, but not at the expense of a bit of mystery, adventure and maybe even a sprinkling of supernatural.

I love authors who look at things in a more detailed way, leaning in and focusing a bit more on any given scene. I want to explore what the characters might be thinking and feeling as they move through the story. This is one of the reasons I didn't fit in the traditionally published world, because the demand of the mysterious masses is that authors rush through a story as efficiently as possible so that everyone can be on their way. Don't get me wrong, I know we're all busy! I keep our shorter attention spans in mind when I write, and I try not to waste words. But I am searching for readers who would love to open the box with me and climb out to see the possibilities. I'm writing for the curious, for the imaginative, for the thinkers and feelers, and for the explorers. That person that sits for an hour staring at a painting, trying to unlock every secret, and who hates to get up and leave when the art museum closes? That's the reader I'm looking for.

My promise also doesn't mean that you will always agree with everything I write in a story. If you did, it wouldn't be much of a book. The purpose of art is to help us see different perspectives. To make us a little uncomfortable as we consider something we wouldn't have considered on our own. (Think about how disturbing a picture some of the Bible's stories paint for us!) A writer's job is to tell a story that communicates something - some idea important to understanding the nature of God or the nature of man. But I will make it my goal to present possibly bigger ideas in entertaining and fun ways.

I hope this post has inspired both readers and authors of Christian fiction. I hope we can all move toward a better place in order that we can all have a bigger impact for Christ.

What about you? What are you reading? What are you writing? What authors come to mind when you think about these things?

Author Page Happenings

My writer friend Tanya Dennis has been reminding me on a regular basis for quite some time that an author needs a dedicated Facebook page. I was afraid to make the leap, but I finally closed my eyes and jumped.

Knowing my difficulties with keeping up with a blog, I will probably be more active on the Facebook page. But you can still reach me and receive updates either way. Here's the link:

Miranda Shisler, Author

On my author page, there are two descriptions of projects that will be published later this year. If either interests you, please "like" the page and share it with others you think might also be interested. Indie authors depend on word of mouth like a lifeline to their calling!