Friday, August 10, 2018

Feeling Small ~ Donna Schlachter ~ Giveaway


Peg here ... I'm so pleased to once again bring you author Donna Schlachter. Read about her trip to Peru and her reactions to that visit. She's also offering a giveaway. Scroll down for the details.

Feeling Small in a Great Big World

By Donna Schlachter

Machu Picchu Peru - Image courtesy Pixabay.com

I recently went to Peru on a mission trip with my church. As a right-brain thinker—after all, I’m an accountant by training—I had a list of things to accomplish: paint a Sunday school class; install playground equipment; visit a halfway house for recovering addicts; teach English to Spanish-speaking students; visit Machu Picchu and see as much of the country as I could.

My first mission trip, my first visit to South America—all neatly bundled up in a To-Do list.

Nothing went according to plan. Or let me rephrase that—nothing went according to MY plan. No paint or rollers or brushes on hand; walls not finished or dry-walled for the playground area; spent more time than allotted at the halfway house; traffic was really bad; I was really sick; and I couldn’t communicate in Spanish because I only knew about six words.


Failure, right?

Wrong.

When it became apparent that my plan was out the window, I tore up the list and resolved to ‘go with the flow.’ So we only painted one-quarter of the wall for the Sunday school class—I was blessed to spend time with my fellow travelers as we dipped our hands in paint and decorated a sweatshirt. The playground was indoors, not outdoors as I’d envisioned, but we did end up painting the walls in vibrant, happy colors. And all that was required for me to teach English was to read a book with the students and help them with their pronunciation.

All of this became so clear when I stood at the base of Machu Picchu, beside a river, and just waited to hear God in the midst of the roaring water. I gazed up at the gigantic mound of granite facing me, marveling at the rocks as big as cars and buses. I enjoyed the sun on my face and reveled in the lush jungle growth.

And then my eyes were drawn to the ground. Peeking out from between the rocks was this tiny plant struggled for a toe-hold to survive.

I felt so small in the face of a so-big God. All my plans, my ideas, my lists—poof! Gone.

If God could care enough for this tiny bit of greenery that He would ensure it had enough sunlight, enough soil, enough water to survive, surely He cares enough about me—and you—to give us what we need.

What we don’t need are more plans, ideas, and lists. What we do need is more time with God, in His presence, listening for His voice. We need more fellowship with other believers and less time in front of our television. We need more service for His kingdom and less work for our own. We need more quiet and less noise.

When we feel small in a great big world, we need to run to our Father and climb up in His lap, enjoying the feel of His arms around us. And pretty soon, we’ll understand just how important we are to Him.


 About Transformation:
If you've ever wished you could start a devotional at some time throughout the year other than January 1st, then this is the devotional for you!

Each day is numbered, so you can start any day of the year and still walk through the Bible in a year. 

If you like to start out the year on the right foot on January 1st, then this is the devotional for you! However you like to structure your quiet time, today is the absolute best time to start!


About Donna:
Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters In Crime; facilitates a critique group, and teaches writing classes. Donna ghostwrites and edits, and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, and travels extensively for both. Donna is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.


www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com Receive a free ebook simply for signing up for our free newsletter!
Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2gZATjm

About the Giveaway ---
Question for readers: Briefly share a time when God spoke to you about how much He loves you.

A randomly-drawn winner will receive a free eBook copy of Transformation: A yearly devotional.
To enter, leave a comment below with your name and contact information. Giveaway ends one week from today at Midnight, Friday, August 17, CDT. 




2 comments:

  1. Donna, thank you so much for being my guest. I'm always happy to share writers with my readers. How exciting to have been able to visit the exotic Machu Picchu - I am so jealous. Blessings to you ...

    ReplyDelete