President Paul or President Pilate? #GodTrumpsAll

Many Americans awakened this morning with a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs because the unfathomable happened.

Donald Trump was elected President. 

While there are many people celebrating his unprecedented victory over Hillary Clinton, many Americans are not. On one hand, you have a flood of liberal tears from people who think that he is the end of equality and the beginning of oppression. On the other, you have conservatives wishing he would immediately resign so Mike Pence can take the reins. Sprinkled throughout both the right and the left are Christians who have been praying earnestly that we didn't just watch the season finale of America since the electoral votes were counted in Trump's favor last night.

This blog is for the last group.

I understand your anguish and your fear about the future, but there is hope no matter what happens during President Trump's four year tenure in the Oval Office. Let me give you two of many potential scenarios for what could happen and why God comes out on top either way.

President Paul#DamascusDonald2016

A lot can be said about the man who watched and approved of Stephen's stoning then ravaged the church (Acts 8:1-3), but few people reflect on Paul without remembering his amazing conversion. On the road to Damascus, he had an encounter with Jesus that left him momentarily blinded, but when the scales fell, his eyes were ultimately opened to the sweet truth of the gospel. One interaction with Christ changed his life and our world forever (Acts 9:1-31).

This could be President Trump.

Imagine the testimony that could come from a man like Donald Trump becoming an abiding believer in Christ. As a new creation, the old would pass away, and behold the new that could come (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)!

If a man who has been called racist, bigoted, misogynistic, a pot-stirrer, financially unsound, inexperience, and hateful in his speech was filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), the world would be dumbstruck in awe and forced to face the power of God.

The Result: God wins.

President Pilate
#SackClothAndAshes2016

Pontius Pilate is a man remembered for little more than presiding over Jerusalem during Jesus' ministry, death, and resurrection as well as the early church's initial persecution. His chief concern seemed to be maintaining the status quo and order to please Caesar, which benefited him in the end, so pleasing God was nowhere on his to do list (John 18:28-19:16).

This too could be President Trump.

While he made campaign promises that sounded good to a lot of people and stood for platforms that many Christians support, which might have used as a basis for the votes they cast in his favor, it could all be smoke and mirrors. His chief concern could be getting in power, staying in power, and pleasing himself with God not even in the kitchen let alone on the back burner despite all of the high profile pastors who have promoted him over the last year.

But God is still good.

The early church, embroiled in persecution as it was, thrived. When the peril they faced under Pilate's rule and the religious authorities’ influence led early Christians to scatter (Acts 8:1-3), God used that dispersion to spread the gospel from Jerusalem to Samaria and the ends of the earth even though that was never Pilate's goal. While I'm not advocating that Christians flee to Canada, which doesn't even have an immigration website that can handle that kind of traffic, whatever hardships and difficulties come from a Trump presidency can be used for God's glory.
Your peace that surpasses understanding as you pray to lean on God during a tumultuous four years could soften a coworker's heart toward Christ (Philippians 4:4-7). Your joy that springs from trust in God can turn the heads of people whose joy was lost on November 8. The suffering you may encounter can produce endurance, character, and hope that points to Christ (Romans 5:1-5.

The Result: God still wins.

President Who?
#GodTrumpsAll

As I sit here typing this during a network outage at work on November 9, 2016, I don't know what the future holds for our country. Trump could be a Pilate, Paul, Jeroboam, David, Ahab, Hezekiah, Judas, Peter, or any number of biblical figures in terms of how his character reveals itself or changes during his time in office. However, there is one thing that I do know.

God is still good.

We have a Father in Heaven, Christ as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit guiding us on earth. In the span of eternity, a Trump presidency is a mere breath. One day, he will return to dust and be forgotten. Whether God uses him as a vessel for honorable use or dishonorable use, God still sits on the throne and has a purpose for him (Romans 9:14-24). There is not one inch of this world or moment in eternity that God is not sovereign over, and his victory over sin was accomplished over two thousand years ago.

So close your eyes, pray, take a deep breath, and exhale. Look to Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith so you can run the next four or possibly eight years with endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2). Be still and know that he is God. He will be exalted among all the nations and all the earth no matter who sits in the Oval Office (Psalm 46:10-11).

I Was Demetria (How My Heartbreak & Healing Inspired The Jilted Bride)

In The Jilted Bride: A Footnote to Cinderella's Happiness, Demetria is crushed after being left at the altar for Cinderella. Like most women, she struggles with anger toward Cinderella and Prince Caspar and wonders why the charming prince chose a servant over her. It's a story a lot of us can probably relate to. I know I definitely can. While there were no royals, servants, or weddings involved, I had a heartbreak that definitely influenced me while writing this book, and the On This Day app on Facebook reminded me of that inspiration yesterday.

Several years ago, I met a guy who was very much like Prince Caspar. He was good looking, charming, and sought after by quite a few women because while he wasn't a prince, he was the lead singer of a rock band. We actually met because he initiated a conversation with me while I was in line to buy merch for a band he was touring with. I thought he was cute and I'd liked his band's set, so we casually chatted for a little bit and then talked again a few nights later at another tour stop.

Many concerts later in the spring of 2012, I was fresh out of a six month relationship and he'd also recently broken up with his girlfriend. I'd always had a bit of a crush on him for the reasons listed above, so I decided to go for it and tell him at their upcoming show in Dallas. Much to my surprise, he was totally into it and asked me to go out the next night since they had a day off in Texas. Of course, I said yes and was on cloud nine. To make a long story short, I had a great time and we ended the night with a kiss  but on unsure footing because he still wan't over his ex. However, he still wanted to keep talking more so we could get to know each other better and figure out what was next.

After several days of talking and him checking in when he reached the next stop on tour, the communication ground to a screeching halt. No calls. No texts. Nada. I didn't quite know what to think about it until I logged on to Facebook and saw that he'd changed his relationship status to being in a relationship with another girl and all of the likes, comments, etc... that came with such an unforeseen announcement.

I was in shock, and I was livid.

Even though I wasn't in love with him by any stretch of the imagination and we weren't in a relationship, I'd expected more from him than a relationship status change and the cold shoulder since we'd been friends for a couple of years. Insecurity was a big struggle for me, so his rejection also triggered both anger and a stream of questions and comparisons. Was she prettier, cooler, or more interesting than I was? Had I done something wrong? Why wasn't I good enough?

At that point, I wasn't a Christian, so I hadn't been taught how to process through my pain well and to forgive, so that incident also left bitterness in my heart that didn't fully heal until I came to know Christ and realized that I needed to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving to others since God in Christ had forgiven me (Ephesians 4:32). I'd been so hyperfocused on his part in our failed friendship that I couldn't see my own sin or forgive his.

Do I still have some regrets about that situation? Definitely. I wish that I'd been more rational, humble, gracious, and forgiving upfront instead of destroying our friendship by losing my temper and questioning how God created me, but I can't change the past. However, some of that initial pain and resentment I felt helped me write The Jilted Bride: A Footnote to Cinderella's Happiness. In the book, Demetria experiences heartbreak and embarrassment much greater than what I had to deal with, but she finds healing as I eventually did by focusing on something greater than her predicament.

As you read my Cinderella sequel and get to know Demetria, I invite you to think about your own past hurts and failed relationships. Are you holding onto bitterness? Are you letting a past rejection define how you view yourself? I know from personal experience that it can be hard to heal from heartbreak even when it's minor like mine was, but there is one person who can put you back together. Jesus.

He can help you not just forgive but love the people who have hurt you the most and fully, lovingly forgive you for how you've harmed others past, present, and future. While my latest book wouldn't be the same without my heartbreak, Demetria and I wouldn't have a happy ending without the restorative power of Christ. God sent Marianne into Demetria's life to help her with her heartbreak and countless faithful believers into mine to help me heal from the wrongs I'd committed and that others had committed against me. Jesus infinitely better than any fairy god mother, He's real, and He wants you to know Him and the perfect love He has to give.

Faith & Fantasy

***WARNING: This blog post contains spoilers***

When I first dreamed up the world of Faerie that’s featured in The Alazne Series, the word “faith” to me was synonymous with the gutsy gal played by Eliza Dushku on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the only divine beings I contended with were the ones who existed in my book. Then, in early 2013, everything changed.

After I wrote the first draft of The Prophets’ Guild (The Alazne Series Book 2), God gave me what my friends and I like to call a “grace slap.” He stepped into my life, changing my heart and healing damage from my past in an unmistakably divine way through Jesus Christ.

On several occasions, new friends who I’d met through attending and serving at my church regularly over the past year discovered that I had written a book. Every time I explained the plot and characters, I had to preface my explanation with the disclaimer that I’d written The Kings’ Council before I became a believer. I would jokingly discourage them from reading my book because it had three shades of gray in it (instead of fifty) and wasn't fit for Christian consumption. After using that colorful, tongue-in-cheek reference repeatedly, I decided to do something a little crazy: Release a “clean” second edition.

In the months that followed, I pored over The Kings’ Council and removed pages of passion while making other improvements to the text. Eventually, I had a finished product that I could hand over to my Christian comrades without humorous warnings and a fear of causing someone to stumble. Despite the new “cleanliness” of the book, I realized that there was still a bit of a problem. The characters had sinned time and time again during the story, and the protagonists still managed to find some semblance of happiness and decided to (gasp) live together without being married at the conclusion of the book.

Sure, Alazne and Garaile exist in a fictional land with four gods instead of one God and no Jesus, but I didn’t feel right letting them ride into the sunset without contending with the fallout of their transgressions. After all, in the real world, we have salvation through Jesus Christ because he cleanses us and justifies us through his death and resurrection, but we still have to deal with the earthly consequences for our sins, and I didn’t want my characters to be any different.

For that reason, I sat down with the untouched printed proof of The Prophets’ Guild and made some drastic changes to the plot and the characters’ relationships to show the effects of their actions in the first book. My renewed fervor for the land of Faerie and my faith-stoked passion for writing also inspired me to write the third book in the series, The Valley of Eternity. In this in-progress book, all of the characters’ transgressions as well as the insufficiency and iniquity of the gods themselves cause a calamity that forces the characters to form unlikely alliances and to take steps toward reconciliation and peace that are oftentimes uncomfortable.

Readers who stick with the series and read all three books once they are released will have the opportunity to see the characters face the consequences of their innate brokenness and find new hope in the same way that I have during my transition from a “check the box” Christian-by-default to a true Christ-follower.

If you’re interested in reading my story of transformation, check out the blog I wrote for The Porch, and if you haven’t heard the gospel before, e-mail me at kristenreedtx@hotmail.com. It’s a (true) story with a joyful ending better than anything I could ever hope to write, and I’d love to share it with you.