About The Blog Title

   So why 'Write Hard and Pray Harder?'

Obviously, if you're going to be a writer, you have to write, write, and re-write.

And obviously in the Christian life, we're supposed to pray. So what's the connection?

When I started getting serious about wanting to write a book, I had a different idea of how things would be than I do now. It's kind of a long story but I didn't always feel the same way about writing that I do now. Basically, I used to write because I wanted to and I didn't care about what God wanted me to do. When I yielded my writing to God I realized two things. 1. I'm never as happy as when I'm fully surrendered to God and 2. I will never be able to write anything worth reading without God's help. I can't tell you how many times I've been stuck on writing a scene and when I prayed about it, a verse came to mind that helped me through the scene. If we're not writing for God's glory, we're not going to be writing things worth reading. The best advice I can give someone who wants to write, is to always talk things out with God. It may seem silly to be talking about fictional people with God, but God cares about us, and if our story is important to us, God will care about it as well. I've found that in every area of life, if I pray through my problems, God will help me. It doesn't matter how hard I write, without prayer, my writing is nothing. So I write hard, but I pray harder! No, my books aren't perfect, but I don't think God cares so much about my story and grammar, as He cares about me, and who I become through my writing.

I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

Father's Day (a little late)

   I know this post is a little late, but hey, we should appreciate our dad's every day of the year! So here's a little poem about fathers. Make sure you take time today to appreciate your dad.

An Excerpt from 'Mission of a Lifetime'

This is not the whole first chapter, but it's a little sneak at what I've been working on:)

                                                      

CHAPTER ONE

“God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him.” - Hudson Taylor

Pounding footsteps shattered the stillness of the jungle night. “Willie!” a voice called.

William Rodriguez groaned and rolled over.

“Willie!” the voice called again. It sounded like his friend Seth.

Willie sat up and held the light button on his watch. “Two-thirty in the morning,” he mumbled.

Feeling for a flashlight he tried to make sense of the noises he was hearing.

“Willie?” the voice sounded closer this time.

“I’m here,” Willie said pulling back his mosquito net. He stepped out of his hammock and walked towards the open door of his hut. “Seth? Is that you?”

“It’s me,” Seth said.

“What’s wrong?” Willie asked fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.

“You need to come with me.” Seth’s voice was a pitch higher than normal.

Willie followed Seth down the familiar path toward the mission clinic. The jungle noises cleared his head and the dew felt good on his bare feet.

What’s going on? Willie thought. He wanted to demand that Seth tell him what was happening but he knew that Seth would talk when he was ready and not before.

When they got to the mission clinic Seth stepped aside and let Willie go first. “I’m sorry, Willie,” he whispered as Willie walked by.

Willie had never heard that tone of sympathy in Seth’s voice before and it sent chills up his spine.

Inside the clinic, next to the communication center, Uncle Jim sat holding a handheld radio.

Uncle Jim’s face was contorted in a look of agony. He looked up when Willie came in. “I’m sorry, Son.”

Willie’s breathing grew shallow and his chest tightened. The look on Uncle Jim’s face could only mean one thing. “They’re dead aren’t they?” he asked.

Uncle Jim handed him the radio. “I don’t know. Mr. Kennedy’s on the radio. He can tell you more than I can.”

Willie grabbed the radio. “Mr. Kennedy? This is William Rodriguez. Where are my parents? Over.”

The radio crackled with static. “…didn’t show… can’t find… airplane’s down… missing… Carabayo territory… Over.”

Willie wracked his brain to figure out what he had missed. He hated these old radios. They couldn’t transmit anything clearly. Skyping people from the United States is clearer than trying to talk to fellow missionaries on these old radios.

“Can you repeat that? Over.”

Mr. Kennedy repeated the message and Willie sank into a nearby chair. He shoved the radio back into Uncle Jim’s hands and propped his elbows on his knees. Resting his chin on his fists he tried to control his emotions.

Seth placed a hand on his shoulder but Willie shrugged it off. He got to his feet and paced the room. “If my parents didn’t die in the plane crash, then the Carabayo natives will finish them off. I have to go help them.”

Willie turned to leave the clinic but Uncle Jim’s commanding voice stopped him. “Willie, you can’t go. Your parents are in God’s hands. Besides, if something happens to you, what will happen to Carmen and E.N.? Your parents wanted you to become their guardian.”

 Willie groaned. Why did he have to be twenty-one years old? If he were younger then he wouldn’t have to worry about being guardian to his siblings. Or if Jerry were here… Stop it, Willie, he chided himself. You can’t think about Jerry now.

He glanced at Seth. “It’s your tribe, will you come with me?” Willie felt a glimmer of hope. Seth was always ready for an adventure, especially if it involved fighting.

Seth shook his head. “I think we need to wait.”

“Wait for what?” Willie asked. “Word to come that they’re dead?”

Seth shook his head again. “I’m sorry Willie, but if my tribe has your parents, you won’t see them again.”

Willie slammed one fist into the palm of his other hand. “We can’t sit here and do nothing!”

“We’ll just have to wait,” Uncle Jim said. “Mr. Kennedy will contact us when he knows more.” 

On another note, I went black light mini golfing with two of my friends/cousins yesterday and had a blast! If you're ever in Warroad, MN make sure you stop in at Hobby Plus and go mini golfing! (Sorry the picture is so poor, I took it with my phone:)

V.B.S.

    Do you know any kids between the ages of 4 and 12? Great! Send them to our Vacation Bible School next week! If you're interested, go ahead and visit our church website at http://www.familyfundamentalchurch.com/ Our theme this year is 'Choosing to Serve the King!'

     On another note, a friend of mine wrote an article on her blog that I really agreed with. It was titled "Three Reasons Why I Can't Stand Romance Novels." I've been asked before why I don't read and write romance novels, and this article pretty much sums it up. If you're interested in reading it you can click here.

     Until next time, this is Priscilla J. Krahn reminding you to keep your life salty for Christ!

(Matt. 5:13)

I.S.C.

   So I'm home from the International Student Convention in Warrensburg, Missouri!!! It was an absolutely incredible week and I had way to much fun! For those of you who don't know, I was serving on the 'His Servants 24/7 Squad' which basically means I do what I'm told when I'm told:) Our team had around 30 members and although we were busy, I loved every minute of it! Thank you everyone who prayed for me while I was gone, it was really a growing experience for me.

The first day, during registration while the adults were filling out papers and all that kind of stuff, they had a bunch of inflatables set up outside for the students. I got to run this Velcro wall. If you've never heard of one before, you should look it up. It was a lot of fun to run! You should have seen some of the flips people did! The not-so-fun part of it was when we had a guy get his beard stuck to the wall!

Also, on the first day, I got to do some tours of the campus for new schools. I really enjoyed that, and getting to meet people from all over the world. We had people on our team from a few different countries. We had some people on our team from Australia, and I absolutely loved their accents!!!!!

The campus had a bowling alley, and one afternoon a few of us were able to take a break and go bowling! I've never done much bowling so I really enjoyed the opportunity.

I was taking pictures on my phone, so they aren't the clearest, but here's some of my team in the dining hall. We did get a group picture with all of us, but I don't have it so you'll just have to be content with seeing bits and pieces of our team.

I got to help out a bunch in the 'Game Zone' where they have open events for people to compete in. I was able to score the 'Scripture Detectives' competition and I REALLY enjoyed that!! I also got to judge and score several Scrabble games which was also really fun. I enjoyed getting to meet and interact with people from so many different countries.

 This last picture is kind of embarrassing! On my family's way to pick me up and drop off my sister at the camp she's going to be working at, our beloved brown van gave up the ghost. Now if you know my dad, you know that we don't spend extra money on vehicles. After all, a vehicles job is to transport people, not look pretty. However since my family was broken down near a car lot, their options were limited. Beggars can't be choosers and the car pictured below was the cheapest one that was an option. Imagine my shock when my family pulled up in this thing to pick me up!! It was definitely a challenge getting the five of us and our luggage and sleeping bags and a big cooler in that small thing, but it worked and we made it home. Hopefully we'll be able to sell it and get a real van again, but I guess we'll see what happens.:)

I loved every minute of the trip! The evening rallies were always so encouraging with all the great preaching, but I think the biggest thing I learned was from being a part of the team. On the team, we help where we can, whenever we can, and however we can. During one of our staff devotion times, I was challenged with the thought that we're supposed to be God's servants 24/7, not just when we're at convention. You're probably thinking "Duh, we're supposed to serve God 24/7" but for me, it really got me thinking.  At convention, if we missed sleep, or a meal, or something we wanted to do, we didn't care because we weren't there to eat or sleep or have fun; we were there to serve. (And we had fun serving!!!!!)Yet how often in our Christian lives do we get frustrated when we lose sleep or miss a meal, or miss out on something fun? We're not here on earth to eat, or sleep, or have fun, we're here to serve. So yes, sleeping and eating is necessary to life, but that's not why we're here! We're here to serve God 24/7 however we can, whenever we can, wherever we can!

And THANK YOU Mr. John for running our team!! It was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!

At the Warroad Library!

   The Warroad Library is having their 25th anniversary, and they're doing a table of local books. My books are going to be displayed there, so if you're in the area, feel free to stop by! I probably won't actually be there, since we have a ministry training at our church that day, (www.familyfundamentalchurch.com) but you can stop by anyway!

     When I get home, I'll post about my trip and sometime soon I'll try to post an excerpt from Mission of a Lifetime.

     Keep trusting the Lord with ALL your heart!

   "God uses men and women who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him." - Hudson Taylor

Missouri!!!!!!

   This week, I'm in Missouri at the Accelerated Christian Education's International Student Convention!!! I'm on the 'His Servants 24/7 Squad' which basically means I'm helping around where ever I'm needed.

     If you're interested in watching the evening rallies, they're live streamed HERE!!!

    You can pray for me while I'm here that I'll be a blessing to those I come in contact with, and that I'll be able to stay cheerful even if I get low on sleep:) Also, pray for all of the young people that will be attending the convention, that it will be a blessing to them, and if any of them aren't saved, that this would be used in their lives to bring them to Jesus.

  Until next time, this is Priscilla J. Krahn reminding you to stay thankful in EVERYTHING!!!!!

Mission of a Lifetime

       So people have been asking me what I've been doing now that Never Forget has been published. The answer is, I'm still writing.

     Here's a little peak at my current project:

              Life as a missionary kid has its ups and downs... but having your parents disappear after their airplane crashes in hostile territory is definitely one of the down days. Especially when it means you may have to leave your home. As twenty-one year old William Rodriguez struggles with taking the responsibility for his two younger siblings, he finds himself up against more than a mere plane crash. The number of missing people rises and Willie knows he doesn't have a choice. With his native friend he takes on the challenge to search for his family. Hostile tribes have always scared Willie, but could it be that his friend is the real enemy? Why does Willie feel the need to become a translator when his passion is mechanics? How can he survive the harshness of the tribes? And what is the real threat? Who's behind the disappearances and what are they doing with the people? Can Willie overcome his memories and use them to help him share Christ? What is it about Yara that makes him feel the need to protect her? Willie doesn't want to relive the past, but is it right to leave his brother behind? Can he accomplish the mission of a lifetime?

For Mother's Day...

      I'm not really a poet, but I've tried my hand at a few poems over the last ten years. I wrote this poem for Mother's Day several years ago and I thought now would be a good time to post it. Thank you Mom for being the BEST!!! This poem is for you.

"Our Gratitude"

To all dear mothers I direct this poem,

Whether your children are home, or you are left alone.

Our gratitude to our mothers cannot be fully expressed,

But if we keep silent, we are sure to get depressed.

Where is one to start in saying, thank you?

The things you've done for us are more than a few.

I'm sure as children we seemed ungrateful wretches,

Spilling our food and staining our dresses.

We remember the time we broke your mirror,

Then hid and cowered in fear.

It was a simple game,

But you said that our excuse was pretty lame.

We remember the times we scared you into a fit,

By "Accidently" giving a sibling a rough hit.

We didn't know what to think when you cried till your eyes were red,

Then, "I love you," you said.

So how do we thank you for fixing our hair?

For all of the stories that you did share.

For long walks,

Or late night talks.

When we were little, we kept you from sleep,

And now that we're older, we do things that make you weep.

You loved us enough to care for us,

Even when we put up a fuss.

Thank you isn't even enough,

To describe our gratitude to God for making you so tough.

All we can say is that God made our mothers,

To be like no others.

The only thing that we can say, is that we want be,

Like the mother that in you we see.

The greatest form of gratitude,

Is the imitation attitude.

Like you we really want to be,

So we will try to kiss every hurt knee.

And love others unselfishly,

Because you loved us, and that we can see.

So if anyone ever asks us how we learned to be a mother,

We'll tell them that we owe it to our Christian mother, and no other.

The form of gratitude that we want to give,

Is to show you that for Christ, we will always live.



De-junking!

   When you read that title, you probably have one of two responses. 1. "I love de-junking!" or 2. "I don't think I want to read this post!" Don't worry, if you're in either of those categories, I agree with you. I don't like to de-junk, but I also don't like things to be cluttered. With this warm weather we've been having, it makes me think of spring cleaning and going through closets and de-junking.

     In high-school, Mom had me read Clutter's Last Stand by Don Aslett.

    Honestly, I really enjoyed the book, and it motivated me to do some de-junking! Now I'm still not a clutter free person, but I've learned that there's certain areas of our lives that we can't afford to let get cluttered. For example, we can't let our minds get cluttered to the point where it's difficult to think on the Lord without getting distracted.

    This past week, I had a good conversation with a friend on de-junking books. Proverbs 23:7 says "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:..." My question for you today is what are you thinking about?  Because what you think about, is who you are, or will become. What kinds of books are you feeding yourself with? Are there books on your shelf that cause you to think in an ungodly way? Or do you read books that make you think godly thoughts? If you put godly things into your life, you'll get godly things out of your life, but if you put ungodly things in, you'll get ungodly things out.

     It's important for us to remember that just because a book is a "Christian" book, doesn't mean it's filled with the kinds of things we should be thinking about. People justify certain books by saying 'it's a Christian book,' or 'most Christian's have read it,' but that's not the point. I didn't ask you what kinds of books other Christian's read, I asked what kind of books YOU read. If you honestly trust the Lord with your reading life, you may find that you're getting rid of books that "all the Christians read," but it will be worth it.

     Go ahead and de-junk your bookshelf with the Lord's help. Don't compare your shelf to other people's, just think about what God wants YOU to be thinking about. It doesn't matter if people think you're weird for getting rid of certain books, what matters is what You're thinking in YOUR heart... because "as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."