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Author Archives: Lori O'Gara
Light
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Create what sets your heart on fire, and it will illuminate the path ahead.~Unknown
Light is what allows us to understand the world we live in. The detection of light is powerful tool for probing the universe. It is through the study of light that we can understand the composition stars light years away or the living cells in us. It is no accident that humans can ‘see’ light. Our language reflects our fascination with light. Isn’t it said in scripture somewhere that after groping in the dark, we see the light and understanding dawns.
To me light is almost a living thing. It embraces us on the outside with visible light and on the inside with knowledge. God is the source of all light. He put the sun and stars in the universe. He gave man the knowledge to create light. He gave us fire and later man harnessed electricity. I know scientists can explain to me that light is a form of radiation. God made the radiation. We can trace all light to Him.
Create what sets your heart on fire. Create your light. Make a difference in this world of shadows. Even when we see shadows in our lives we should be encouraged. Shadows can not exist without light.
Believe in the light of good.
~Lori O’Gara
Listen to Your Heart
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Recently I gave a thirteen-year-old girl the some of best advice I had received. I did not know at the time when I got the advice that I would one day pass it along to someone else, but I did. She needed to hear it. It was perfect timing for what is going on in her life at the exact moment that she needed it. Just as it was perfect advice that I received at the very moment that I needed it. It is the kind of advice that once you hear it is seems so simple you wonder why you didn’t think of it for yourself.
I want to believe that it is a biblical truth and that it is from God. He sent this truth to someone and that someone sent it to me. Now I have passed it on like a mantel of truth to the next generation. I will pass it on again and again as it is needed, because it will be needed again. That is how this advice of truth works.
Here is the catch. Just because someone hears this truth does not mean that they will receive it and will use it. It must be followed exactly for it to work. Like an exact recipe. If you deviate from the truth it will not turn out right. It will fall like a cake with not enough flour in the mix. This truth will fix a multitude of problems. It isn’t a miracle cure. It is not easy to do sometimes, often not. Often it is where the rubber meets the road and the difficult decisions must be made. It is the difference between moving forward and standing still in your pain. It is healing or not.
It sometimes requires you to break before you can bend. If you follow this advice and trust it, it will work out right. It is the cross roads of survival. It is where things happen, good or bad.
What is the truth? What is this advice that will be there when you need it? If I tell you will you promise to use it correctly and share it when the moment presents itself again?
If you said yes, if you agree keep reading if you said no, you do not want that kind of responsibility, stop reading now.
Here it is, here is the advice.
“Listen to your heart. Trust your heart. Your mind will lie to you but your heart will always tell you the truth. It will always tell you what you need. Your heart is always right.”
Easy yet not. Simple yet complicated. Predictable however unfathomable.
Listen to your heart. Always.
Believe what your heart tells you. It will never steer you wrong.
~ Lori O’Gara
Would you read it?
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Publishers and readers alike have difficulty placing Lori O’Gara’s novels in one genre. She is a Christian writer who writes about subjects that other Christian writers often avoid. She has no problem tackling drug addiction, sex or other subjects that are often thought of as taboo for Christian writers. “The thing is sex and addiction are real life things that even Christians have to deal with.” she says “Why should we Christian writers be scared to write about it?”
Lori continues by explaining that even though the subjects are often avoided by Christians she will continue to write about real life issues. “We shouldn’t go through life with blinders on. We should face life and deal with it.”
In her first novel, We Will Get There, she writes about alcoholism and pre-marital sex. She does so in such a way that is tasteful, but realistic. She offers two sides of both issues in the way different characters deal with them.
What do you think? Should Christian authors avoid writing about certain sinful subjects?
Let us know by leaving a reply below.
Monkey Chatter
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We all have monkey chatter in our brains. It is the constant mental monologue that happens when we are trying to live our lives. Monkey chatter can be and often is negative. We have heard all the self help guru terms, negative self talk, automatic negative thoughts, inner critic and others. It’s enough to make you depressed. Pour me another cup of that happy juice why don’t ya?
William Porter, from the Perdido Key Novels, is an exception. He has no monkey chatter. The cowboy from Tennessee has a control over his thoughts. It isn’t something that comes easy to him. He has to work on it. He shifted his focus to God. As long as he keeps God in his brain and prayer in his fore thought, the monkeys stay in the shadows. Brianna Dario on the other hand is over run with monkeys. She can’t hear God’s still small voice for all the noise. She listens to the monkeys and as a result runs from love.
Controlling the monkey chatter is not easy. I have found that prayer works. Also, having a love in your life that reminds you what is important and what is simply not a priority helps kill the monkeys. Don’t waste your time on things that are not real.
Believe in what is important, keep your focus on what is real and trust love.
~Lori O’Gara
Trust & Love
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Love is handing another person the weapon that will destroy you and trusting them not to use it. Love and trust go hand in hand. I have learned that even if you know that you will get hurt or suspect that you may get hurt, it is always worth the risk to love.
To trust is a choice. Once someone has broken trust is hard if not impossible to get it back. There are some of us who can’t trust even when there is no reason for the doubt. Trust does not come natural to those people. They will doubt you while loving you. They will keep you at a distance. It is human nature to protect one’s self. We must keep life in perspective. Remember people are not perfect. You are not perfect. The one you choose to love is not perfect. Trust them anyway.
Believe in love and choose to trust those who mean the most to you.
~ Lori O’Gara
Believe is a Verb
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To believe is to act. It is not a passive thing to just believe in something. You have to act on that belief. Before you can act on your beliefs you must have something substantial to believe in and make a commitment to it.
The Latin term notitia means “believing in the data” or the information. It’s an intellectual awareness. You can’t believe in nothing; there has to be content to the belief. Once you have decided what exactly you are going to believe in, you then have to put your trust in that belief. Once you trust something as truth you can act on the truth.
Fiducia refers to the fiduciary commitment. You can’t believe without commitment to your beliefs. Our cowboy, William Porter, who we meet in We Will Get There, is the embodiment of commitment to a belief in God. He made a promise to God and he honors it because of his loyalty to his chosen belief. The very act of dedicating one’s self to a belief is the first action in believing.
Don’t be one of those people who say, “I believe in…” this or that and then show no devotion to that belief. This type of person’s beliefs are faltering and ever changing. No one trusts a person like that. They are the people who follow the latest trend but never stand for anything real. They are gullible and believe anything that their friends are believing. They are wishy washy and flighty. They bring stress to those around them. They them self’s find it difficult to be at peace.
Decided what it is you will believe in, make a commitment to it and then act in the best interest of that commitment. Wrap your soul and your life around your beliefs. If it is right your institution will tell you so. If it is wrong you will know that too. Believe in goodness and in what is right. Be a trust worthy believer. Believe in what makes your heart happy. Listen to your soul. Then take that belief and act on it in truth and compassion. Bring peace to your life and to those you love through your commitment of belief.
Believe in commitment to the truth.
~Lori O’Gara
Escape
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How many times have you wanted to escape your life? We hear stories all the time about people who have dropped everything, quit their job and hopped on a train going anywhere. Running for whatever reason to get to something they think is better than what they leave behind. Greener grass on the other side of the fence thing. Sometimes they run to avoid facing a truth that is staring them in the face. In reality unless you are independently wealthy, running isn’t an option for you. I know it isn’t for me.
Other people use things to virtually escape. Drugs, sex and alcohol are the obvious things they use. Now there are video games, social media and other things that serve as perfect escapes. Others use the ostrich method, one of my old favorites. Ignore it and it will go away. Escape, running, hiding all to avoid problems.
The Perdido Key novels are full of people running. Krystal Sabine hides behind OCD and Bloody Marys. Brianna uses sex and runs away on the first flight out of town. Later we will meet other characters who run, medicate and use other ways to escape. (Spoilers!) In the end they learn a similar lesson, among other things, you can’t hide or run from the truth. Ignoring it, running from it, or hiding from truth will not make it go away. It only makes the bad stuff worse. Truth will not leave until it is dealt with or faced in one way or another.
What are you running from? Maybe it is time to stop running.
Believe that you are strong enough to face whatever truth you are running from, hiding from or ignoring.
Believe in your strength.
~Lori O’Gara
In the Pursuit of Happiness
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In Amlost There the main character Brianna Sabine Dario has the belief that she is not worthy of happiness. Throughout her story we see her pursue it and when she gets close to attaining joyful peace she bolts away.
How many of us can relate to the feeling of not being worthy? We sometimes wallow in the difficult situations in our life because we feel we do not deserve better. We laminate over the sadness and accept it as just how life is meant to be.
This is a device of evil. We can and should embrace the happiness no matter what is happening to us. Even if the world is crashing down on us if we grab that one thing, that one blessing that makes us smile, we will come through the storm succeeding.
Believe that you are worthy and deserve happiness. Fervently pursue it and do not settle for less.
~ Lori O’Gara
In the Weeds
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Now that the first of the Perdido Key Novels is released in to the wild I am pecking away in the weeds at number three, There and Back. In this installment we will see that Mr. William Porter is put to the task to save yet another damsel from an evil force. Mr. Porter doesn’t see himself as a hero, but everyone who knows him would disagree with that. He is trying to do what is right. Oh my, and that hat. I should give it a name!
The second book is finished and in the hands of my editor J.B. Garner. OK, I say finished, it is in a decent third draft state, but not finished. Garner and I are about to begin the dissecting surgery of the editing process. In Almost There we jump several years in to the time line and meet a very adult Briana Dario with some interesting drama in her life. You will get a snipet in the epilogue of We Will Get There (WWGT, as I have affectionately started calling it.) So let me know what your impression is of her. I think she is amazing.
As always, I welcome your comments and emails. I respond to them all.
Happy Reading!
Lori O’Gara
