New Site!

Good Morning!

Some of you have noticed changes to this blog. After about a four month break and much contemplation, I've decided to restructure this blog, originally titled BeforeTheBeginning. While that may have to remain the web address, I'm dedicating this blog to my upcoming book and my current blog series Ages and Stages. I'll feature articles on parenting styles, home schooling trends, advice for moms and dads they learn how to love well through the process of parenting.

"the process of learning how to love well is one of the most worthwhile missions that we can undertake"

Meanwhile, Doug and I are featuring our books on a new website, better suited for our vision. 

myfatherscrown.com features books, bible studies, and blog articles for those who desire to understand God as a father. He is our heavenly Father, but many stay at arms length from him due to their primary perceptions of him as boss, stern God, or distant friend. We want our readers to know him the way Jesus knew him first, as Abba Father, dearest Daddy. Our heavenly Creator desires us to curl up into his bosom and find complete peace, security and rest. He sings over us. He loves us extravagantly.

So come and read.
Come and listen.
Come and watch.

myfatherscrown.com

Perspective

June 23, 2015

It's been awhile. My house renovation is over. My second child graduated from college Summa Cum Laude. My five year old thinks he's fifteen and my youngest daughter gets her driver's license on Friday. Yeah! But.....

I have a friend who is fighting for her life. We are fighting for her life. She has six kids also....

My heart aches for their daily suffering but my faith rests in my Heavenly Daddy's power.

I didn't sleep well last night. My soul is yearning and my mind is stretching upwards to see and hear what the Father is doing and saying in so many situations on this topsy-turvy planet of His. The shootings in Charleston happened a week ago tomorrow.

Perspective. My lenses have been adjusted quite a few times in the last 90 days. Life is precious, worth fighting for and I realize that while we have breath, we must fasten ourselves to God's priorities for our lives. Biblical faith and family are His agenda. One guarantees a foundation that cannot be shaken, no matter what storm, what disease, or what murdering spree attacks our communities. The other is the building block of healthy communities, and in turn, a life-giving society. Death's defeat was secured by Jesus upon His resurrection, but yet, we see death's dance in the daily news over and over again.

Perspective. Whether we are in the last days according to Christian history or not, we need to have our faces set against ideologies and systems that seek to undermine individual faith and the jurisdiction of the family. 

My five year old son hasn't grasped his immaturity because his brilliant mind somehow comprehends the adult conversations that happen in his presence. Just yesterday he explained to my husband the definition of "figure of speech". So much for using idioms and coded language around him. In our perspective, he is a little boy. However, his perspective takes him beyond the evident, the natural, the societal tradition of exclusion for children. He is a little boy who operates in the security of relationship and acceptance to the extent that he has no expectation of being left out of mature dialogue. Perspective.

We need divine perspective these days. We need to see all life as valuable no matter the quality, the race, or the age. We need to yield our rational minds and live in the abandonment of child-like faith. We need to look up, beyond the disarray of this human experience and set our eyes on a kingdom that has no end, a kingdom whose ways transcend natural comprehension.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

Amen.

Free Book Day

Hi friends,

I just want to let you know that two of our books are free today on Amazon for anyone that uses Kindle for e-reading.

Feel free to send this email along to anyone you think might be interested!

Doug's book: "I Was Framed!" Signed God is the first of a three book series that takes readers through many of the hard questions in Christianity. 

Reader Review: I've always wanted to read a book like this one, and this one hit right on the mark. There were so many necessary truths about God that had been buried in my heart under a mountain of pain and disappointment, and this book reminded me of those truths. I encourage you to put on your detective cap and journey through some questions you may have asked in the secret place of your heart.

http://www.amazon.com/Framed-Signed-Trial-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00FZ32CJE

Tina's book: "Abba's Lament" was inspired by a family bible study. This fictional account of heavenly events before the creation of the Earth portray God the Father's emotions when one of his chief angels succumbed to the poison of sin.

Reader Review: If you are familiar with the Bible's story of the fall, prepare to see scripture pieced together like never before. Webb brings the reader on a journey to the beginning of time where the untold story of Jesus and Lucifer unfolds. With rich scenery, powerful moments, and heart-wrenching dialogue, Webb's writing is clear and concise but knocks you off your feet. Her ability to succinctly describe the most epic moment in history with such grace is key in one of my favorite quotes:

"Silently, a longing filled his being. Deep within the belly of his being, the first dissonant chord whispered." I just finished, but I am already eager to read it again!

http://www.amazon.com/Abbas-Lament-Tina-Webb-ebook/dp/B00EBUKVF4

My Writing Nest

If you have borne, adopted or fostered children then you understand “nesting”, the almost insatiable need to organize, clean, secure and make the home ready for a new family member. I remember the nesting instinct hitting me quite strong before I had my third child. I’d been 4 centimeters dilated and uncomfortable for 3 weeks and by week 37.5 my doctor gave the okay to do whatever it was that I was inclined to do. I yielded to recommendations and purchased castor oil and orange juice.

But before drinking my dose, I had to wash baby clothes, clean our small three bedroom apartment and set up the baby bed. Doug still worked roughly 90 hours per week at that time and I praise God for a good friend who would pick up my 2 ½ and 5 year old for a few hours.

I got a phone call a couple of days before I had scheduled myself to induce. It was my mom. “I’m going to paint all of your walls for you so that they are nice and clean by the time you get home from the hospital.”

My ferocious nesting drive turned off and all was right in the world.

Although I am done having children now, I am in a type of nesting season. Our house was unsuccessfully on the market for four years so last January we decided to investigate renovating. We desperately needed an additional bedroom so that our newest two children didn’t have to share a bedroom with us!

As I turn my head and look out of the French doors of our great room, I see the faithful workers finishing up the last stages of a very extensive home renovation: a 2^nd deck. You can read more about this renovation on my personal blog: http://webbwilderness.blogspot.com/

My nesting-like desire was in force last night. I attempted to hang pictures, to paint old trim, to prepare a DIY wall hanging, and to declutter the music room so that my castor oil induced daughter can set her drum set up again. After living in tempered chaos for four months, I want everything to be in place and done as quickly as possible.

Can you guess what I’m looking forward to? Well, besides a wonderful spa-like master bathroom and a larger kitchen, I’m looking forward to sitting outside on our top deck in the cool of the morning and letting the inspiration of God meet my pen.

I look forward to sitting in one of my new UVa orange Adirondack chair, gazing at the stars in the night sky and letting God whisper into my heart. As an introvert, I need these quiet spaces to recharge my soul and invigorate my creativity.

In a few weeks, after our end-of-year basketball team party, the completion of our home renovation and my son’s college graduation, I’ll be able to buckle down again and continue my journey as a writer.

Until then, time to paint my son’s room.

Please visit my page, Ages and Stages, to find out about my current work in progress.

What really matters?

My Unedited Journal, March 1

Recently, while driving to an appointment, one of my older kids and I were discussing the roots of anger. The crux of our discussion centered on household pet peeves. The “little things” that people did or didn’t do in regards to our house “rules” had formed a mountain of angst that had begun to affect my child’s demeanor and tone of voice.

After asking some open-ended questions and listening to the answers, I remembered a phrase that had helped me overcome my own frequent bouts of frustration and aggravation.

Why does it matter?

Years ago I’d realized that I too was majoring on the little things when it came to house “rules” and this focus was affecting my peace and more importantly my relationships with various members of my family. 

Why did it really matter if someone left their towel on the floor again?
Why did it really matter if someone forgot to do a chore, spilled milk again, or put the carton of juice back in the refrigerator when it only had an ounce left?

In the grand scheme of things, these pet peeves were….petty.

I explained to this child that my angst had to do with inconvenience. I didn’t want to be inconvenienced by another person’s lack of attentiveness to our house “rules”.

But life happens and inconveniences will never go away.

Life isn’t fair and frankly, as a teenager I learned that the idea of fairness is an allusion.

I explained to my child that what began to matter more than the inconvenient habits of family members was my relationship with those same family members.

I was responsible for my attitude towards them just as Jesus is responsible for his attitude towards the law-breaker. The Bible says that Jesus did not come to condemn them, but to invite them into empowering and life-giving relationship with Him.

I shared that the more I focused on God’s love for me, the more I cared about the little things that I did that hindered my relationship with Him. No matter what I did, big or little, God never withdrew from me. It’s like in the Garden of Eden. Although Adam hid in his sin, God the Father came to find him.  God always pursues us even when we break His house “rules”.

So now, no matter what infringement to the orderliness of the household, no matter how many times someone forgets the “simple” requests that I make, no matter how many times they leave their bedroom light on all day, I make sure that any quick frustration that comes up is dissipated by my desire to keep peace and harmony flowing between me and the offender. This doesn’t mean that the offender doesn’t get a consequence. For example, I have a mason jar in which my kids have to put a dollar if I find their bedroom light on for more than 30 minutes when they are sitting somewhere else in the house. With a big family, our electric bill can get sky high! This has proven to be a successful deterrent. I am no longer angry or aggravated when I address the particular child. I simply remind them of the consequence.

When the cup of water spills on the table for the second day in a row due to a younger child’s carelessness, I take a breath, remember their age, and remind myself that I am still training them to be aware and careful. The inconvenient timing of the spill should not determine my demeanor and interaction with them. With every infraction, I want to model God, who continues to pursue our hearts with kindness, even when consequences (like giving them a paper towel and showing them how to wipe up their mess) must be meted out.

Peter denied Jesus three times. Yet Jesus pursued Peter in his shame not to accuse him or berate him, but to affirm and reestablish him as his disciple. Maintaining relationship is what matters to Jesus.

Accused or Excused? Book 2 of God On Trial Series

Have you ever started watching a murder mystery in the middle of the program?  Trying to determine what’s going on can be so confusing especially if you turn it on during a fight scene. You can’t tell who is the good guy or the bad guy. Perhaps you overheard a short conversation between characters before turning to watch the fight scene. You can end up having to choose a side based on a snippet of a conversation.  Depending on the characterization, you can end feeling sorry for the bad guy.  

What if you become glad that a feature character got hurt, not realizing that it was the good guy. Your friends might look at you oddly and say, “Why are you so excited?  That was the good guy!”  If you become really engrossed without knowing the back story, then your emotions will be mixed up.  

If you are like me, you’ll ask your companions to press pause and explain what you missed or you'll just leave and decide to watch it another time from the beginning.

Becoming a Christian or opening up the Bible is very similar to walking into a movie in the middle of a scene.  Many people come to church and hear brief snippets about God such as “God loves you! God wants the best for you!  Come to Jesus! God is all powerful! He will take care of you!” However, when you look around or watch the news, all you see is destruction and heart ache.  Any reasonable person would have to question the statements about God.  I would!  In fact, I did. This is why I chose to write these books. 

If I had to give the one minute version of the history of Christianity, this is how it would read:  God made the world and everybody in it.  God made them perfect.  The man and the woman disobeyed God.  “Sin” entered the world.  People began to do bad things on a regular basis.  To save Mankind, God sent His Son into this world. The Son of God was named Jesus. He became a man and gave up his God powers temporarily. He was falsely accused by His own people. He was brutally beaten and tortured and killed. He rose again from the dead. Because of His death, God is “allowed” to forgive sins now. Those who believe these facts become “born again or saved”.  We die and go to a place called Heaven. Heaven is God’s home.  The end.

Come on. Seriously! Reasonable people are expected to believe this?  First of all, if God is all powerful, then why in the world wouldn’t he just obliterate sin?  Who is going to tell Him, “No, you can’t do that?”.  Why wouldn’t he just obliterate people that opposed him? He’s God, for goodness sakes!!!  It appears that this Christian God doesn’t use his power very well. Who could possibly make the decision to allow his son to be killed by torture, to save bad people? Why did God make this decision? 

Wow!  If I were God, I’m not sure I would have decided that my son would ever die for anyone.  Let’s think about this. God makes the rules and he decided that the death of his son had to be a part of the rules. Any reasonable person would have to ask why. 

Suffice to say, this Christian religion is not the easiest to accept logically. Now I can see why faith is so important. Stay tuned for more.

Now Available:

To read excerpts, click here

Book One of 3-part God On Trial Series

Slumps and Resurrected Vision

January is the time where many people celebrate newness. But what if you’re stuck in an old season? The reality is that the challenges of the past calendar year did not just go away at midnight on January 1^st.

While life’s seasons may not automatically be deleted in one minute, we can use the first few days of a new year to reassess, to ponder, to clarify vision or simply to see what is needed to move forward.

We never want to be needlessly stuck in an old rhythm, just because we can’t see what lies in our future.

Without a vision, the people perish.

Last September, I began to have a vision attack. Disappointment and discouragement set in because goals hadn’t been met. I grew blind. My passions were tossed aside because I just don’t like to waste my time if there is no promise of fruitfulness.

So I constantly prayed for God to show me what desires or dreams I had that were not for then or ever because I knew that sometimes childhood’s imagination can build fantastic adventures that have no borders. And while I was and am convinced that God plants seeds of destiny in our hearts while we are young, I knew that we see in part and it takes years of maturing to really discern the God-seed from the parent projected-seed or the fairytale-planted seed or the soulish seed that covets someone else’s destiny.

So my new “year” started way before Jan. 1, 2015 when I began to ask God to dismantle any vision that I had that was a mistake and birth His vision for how I am to spend my time and how much time to give to the passions that I know He put in my heart.

Oh my passions!

Most involve allowing the Creator to create through me: phrases, sounds, gardens, food, and the artistry of the home.
  

Oh my passions!

One book on the shelf: the plot is decided, over 60,000 words, but the falling action and resolution remain in my mind.

Another book just started, Ages and Stages: The Book, inspired by my blog series by that name. This one will be a soul journey as I write.
A series, part fantasy, part historical fiction: The Ages of Laus Perennis, which was started too many years ago…. (sigh)
So many songs lay in a drawer in the music room, done or in need of editing but my skill has maxed out.
The advice of my kids: “Buy a viola and play again!” but really kids, when?
A piano that calls me, but once I sit down, the warfare overcomes me.

Oh my passions!

Six children and a husband, house and yard that need seventeen hours of my day.
My spirit’s need to clutch heaven’s Heart every moment of every day, for this is what maintains my sanity.

I wake up each morning to a world that needs my tongue to pray and my hands to serve in whatever way.

My passionate list goes on...

I long for His presence to be known, experienced, celebrated…His name revered, adored…His heart kissed and understood, our worship of Him as extravagant as His love, and His world redeemed through the people that He calls His own. (selah)

I told my husband that my productive nature was feeling unfulfilled these days. Sometimes fruit takes too much time see. But like I said before, I want to make sure that I don’t waste my time on things that were never meant to be.

So that’s when it’s time to scale back on everything, except the necessities:
my family, household duties, and the God that maintains my sanity.

This is the ground in which He can plant or prune vision in me.

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Author Tina Webb

Visit my Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00GDOJJ22

To purchase books: http://beforethebeginningbook.blogspot.com/p/book-info_2.html