Plot Snags

[Chad]

Plot Snags - November 04, 2005

My daughter and I were polishing a fiction story line. I glanced at the clock when I mentioned that we still had a few plot snags we needed to iron out and we didn't have much time. "No wait," I corrected myself. "You can't 'iron out' a 'snag.' That's a total mix of fabric metaphors."

"Yeah, but what do you do with a snag?" Kaley pondered.

"I think it might depend on the percentage of polyester. But if it's a snag on a sweater you can usually pull it through to the back side." Okay, that didn't help.

"Sometimes we snip them with scissors, don't we?" Kaley offered.

We discussed other options for proper snag disposition for the next several minutes. "Doesn't matter," she finally said. "We're not going to pull the story line to the back side and I can't see us snipping it either. I don't care how much polyester is in this thing, if we need to iron it out, then it's going to need to be a plot wrinkle instead of a plot snag."

"Yeah, that's it! Let's iron out the plot wrinkles." The resolution of the plot wrinkle tag was so satisfying. Until I started feeling stupid because we'd spent fifteen minutes of the time we didn't really have labeling our plot wrinkles instead of ironing them out. Oh, the irony! (Get it? Iron-y?)

I wonder how much of our lives we waste labeling things that we really should just plain get rid of. We spend time trying to decide if that was really a lie or if it was just a bit of an exaggeration. Were we being impatient and unkind or were we just a little tired? Was that really a sinful desire or just a random thought that no one needs to know about?

We need to label sin as what it really is: sin. 1 John 1:8-9 says, "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." (NLT)

Coming face to face with our sin can be pretty ugly. But it's what we need to do in order to be able to bury that sin and move on to the new life of adventure God has called us to. When we confess our sins, God forever removes those sin wrinkles in the most wonderful "permanent press" kind of way. The Message gives us Romans 8:12-14 this way: "So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!"

Confessing sin instead of excusing it will help us move on in this wonderful life of adventure. Yes, we have adventures to seek, things to do, places to go, people to see, manuscripts to write and various other "pressing" duties.

 

[Mike]

Chad . This topic is the true heart of every issue of our walk with the Lord .

We need to label sin as what it really is: sin. 1 John 1:8-9 says, "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." (NLT)

Amen and Amen ! This is the easiest way out of the messes we cause ourselves . We all have sin . But we all don't have progress in Christ through just doing what you said here , simply calling our sin SIN . As the word say's in your quote , [ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." ] What an awesome deal huh ?

Coming face to face with our sin can be pretty ugly. But it's what we need to do in order to be able to bury that sin and move on to the new life of adventure God has called us to. When we confess our sins, God forever removes those sin wrinkles in the most wonderful "permanent press" kind of way. The Message gives us Romans 8:12-14 this way: "So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!"

This is the hardest part in our Christian walk . Facing our sin is ugly , but the benefits out weigh the ugly by far . After we acknowledge sin , a miraculous transformation starts to take place . We feel free , more at peace , and just plain relieved . The great thing is that by facing the sin , and repenting , the Holy Spirit now has freedom to impart Wisdom into our live's . Wisdom causes us to move on , see the truth and act on it properly . Of course we have to forgive others who maybe a part of our sin , but Wisdom will move us away from them at times also .

Many times satan will tell us that we are not walking in love unless we keep hanging out with our sins , or stumbling blocks . Our Salvation is our own . We need to stay on course in our walk with God . Jesus Christ is Lord because he obeyed the Father . Not because he was approved by men . He would have died of old age had he waited for all to agree with him . Last I heard , only one person to a coffin , right ? If I have to die and be in that coffin alone to pass on through to eternity , then others opinions mean very little against Gods word . All the ones who gave their opinions will close the coffin on you and walk away . Close it now , and give God his proper place in our live's .

Confessing sin instead of excusing it will help us move on in this wonderful life of adventure. Yes, we have adventures to seek, things to do, places to go, people to see, manuscripts to write and various other "pressing" duties.

Chad , this is sooo right . Life is too short already . Let's roll and not look back . Thanks for the edifying truth you shared here . I am truly blessed after reading it . Peace be with you and over all you do for our Lords children here at TalkJesus . Mike