So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. . . . Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep
your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times.
It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on
the faith. (1 Peter 5:6–9 MSG)
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Verse of the Day
Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life
of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially
the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with
endurance the race that God has set before us. We
do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from
start to finish. (Hebrews 12:1–2 NLT)
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Verse of the Day
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; the humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:1–4)
Friday, December 21, 2012
Verse of the Day
Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them. (Psalm 111:1–2)
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Verse of the Day
Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The
LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am
helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. (Psalm 28:7)
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Verse of the Day
Teach me how to live, O LORD. Lead me along the path of honesty, for my enemies are waiting for me to fall. Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I've never done and breathe out violence against me. Yet I am confident that I will see the LORD's goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD. (Psalm 27:11–14)
Monday, December 17, 2012
Verse of the Day
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. (Galatians 6:9)
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Verse of the Day
Stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw
yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do
for him is a waste of time or effort. (1 Corinthians 15:58 MSG)
Friday, December 14, 2012
Verse of the Day
For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does. (Psalm 33:4 NLT)
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Verse of the Day
From far across the earth I brought you here and said, “You are my chosen servant. I haven’t forgotten you.” Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories. (Isaiah 41:9–10 CEB)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
New Website
Lots of good things have going on in the background as we finish up this year and look forward to 2013. First, since I have three books releasing next year—not bad for a first-time-to-be-published author!—I have a new website, Discovering Foundations of Truth.
The guys at SKWD Ministries have done an awesome job with the design and teaching me how to maintain a website—what they use is SUPER easy! Something I value since my time is limited. I still have some tweaking to do and material/info to add, but it's a good start. It also includes my editing service and a link to this blog.
My first nonfiction, Calming the Storm Within: God's Peace in Depression and Anxiety, will release in the first few months of 2013 from OakTara. This book comes from my experiences growing up with a father who would now be considered bipolar. Twenty years ago I was working, with the Lord's help, my way out of my own severe clinical depression. The idea to write this book came shortly after that. But I didn't get serious about pulling it together until about 15 years ago. In 2004 my agent, Joyce Hart, took me on and started trying to sell it. Don't know how many rejections or expressions of no interest we got on it then, but it was a ton! Very discouraging. Most publishers wanted me to be at least a licensed counselor but it would be better if I were a psychologist. But that wasn't the focus of the book, and after praying about it, we tabled the proposal. Then last year, I met Ramona Tucker, an editor/publisher at OakTara. She showed a decided interest in the book when I pitched the idea. Joyce sent her the proposal . . . and we waited. Lots went on in both Ramona's and my life. When I saw her at the Colorado conference in May this year, she remembered me and the book proposal. And I received the promise of a contract to publish this book. Wow!
It has been interesting going back and writing/editing the material I already had. Some had to be updated since I wrote it at least eight years ago. I've taught the material in a small group Bible study, which provided much of the already written portion. I still have three chapters to complete, and the journey of getting it ready for publication has been challenging, interesting, and exciting. The Lord is already working good in those who are reading/critiquing the chapters as I get it done. Many more have expressed an interest in buying the book when it comes out. I don't know the exact publication date yet, but I will announce it here when I do know.
My first fiction also debuts this year in April. A Shelter from the Storm is one of four novellas in Sundays in Fredericksburg (TX) from Barbour Publishing. It's historical romance with a touch of mystery/suspense in it. Here's the blurb: Mildred Zimmermann, a nurse in World War I Europe, returns to Fredericksburg, Texas, which is dealing with an outbreak of Spanish influenza. Drawn into the hometown battle, Mildred opens her family’s Sunday house as an overflow to the small, overcrowded clinic. Death seems to plague those she loves, and she is determined not to allow herself to fall in love, afraid that man, too, would die. Nelson Winters, a newcomer to Fredericksburg and the protégé of the town’s doctor, succumbs to the flu, and he is placed in Mildred’s care. The war hero, rejected by his fiancée because he returned from the war crippled, both challenges and disturbs Mildred as she nurses him back to health. In order for them to have a future together, they must learn to accept their humanness and allow God to make them whole.
Finally, I have a devotional book on Hope in the Encouraging Words series from Barbour coming out next year. It's a work-for-hire project, meaning my name won't be on the front of the book. The deadline to turn the manuscript in is mid-January, so I've already started work on it. However, the bulk of the work will be after I finish Calming the Storm Within.
God has been so good to allow me to realize my publishing dreams. I never expected it to come all at once like it has, but He doesn't usually work in the ways we expect. So many people have been instrumental in getting me here, and I know there will be many more in the future. We writers like to think this is a lonely occupation, and it is at times. But in reality there are a whole bunch of people involved in the making of one book. When I first realized what that meant, I wanted to give up because that meant I would have to "put myself out there," self-promote in other words. My shyness and natural introvertedness put up major walls. So I asked the Lord that if this was the route He wanted for me, He would have to open the doors, put me in the way of the people I needed to know, etc. And He did! It truly amazes me.
I will still continue with my editing service as the Lord has made it clear that He desires me to continue. It will be on a much lesser level of projects than I've had in the past, but I look forward to those projects He sends my way. I'm sure there will be more new adventures ahead as I continue to follow the Lord in this writing/publishing adventure.
So please go check out my new website here, and leave me a message through the contact form.
The guys at SKWD Ministries have done an awesome job with the design and teaching me how to maintain a website—what they use is SUPER easy! Something I value since my time is limited. I still have some tweaking to do and material/info to add, but it's a good start. It also includes my editing service and a link to this blog.
My first nonfiction, Calming the Storm Within: God's Peace in Depression and Anxiety, will release in the first few months of 2013 from OakTara. This book comes from my experiences growing up with a father who would now be considered bipolar. Twenty years ago I was working, with the Lord's help, my way out of my own severe clinical depression. The idea to write this book came shortly after that. But I didn't get serious about pulling it together until about 15 years ago. In 2004 my agent, Joyce Hart, took me on and started trying to sell it. Don't know how many rejections or expressions of no interest we got on it then, but it was a ton! Very discouraging. Most publishers wanted me to be at least a licensed counselor but it would be better if I were a psychologist. But that wasn't the focus of the book, and after praying about it, we tabled the proposal. Then last year, I met Ramona Tucker, an editor/publisher at OakTara. She showed a decided interest in the book when I pitched the idea. Joyce sent her the proposal . . . and we waited. Lots went on in both Ramona's and my life. When I saw her at the Colorado conference in May this year, she remembered me and the book proposal. And I received the promise of a contract to publish this book. Wow!
It has been interesting going back and writing/editing the material I already had. Some had to be updated since I wrote it at least eight years ago. I've taught the material in a small group Bible study, which provided much of the already written portion. I still have three chapters to complete, and the journey of getting it ready for publication has been challenging, interesting, and exciting. The Lord is already working good in those who are reading/critiquing the chapters as I get it done. Many more have expressed an interest in buying the book when it comes out. I don't know the exact publication date yet, but I will announce it here when I do know.
My first fiction also debuts this year in April. A Shelter from the Storm is one of four novellas in Sundays in Fredericksburg (TX) from Barbour Publishing. It's historical romance with a touch of mystery/suspense in it. Here's the blurb: Mildred Zimmermann, a nurse in World War I Europe, returns to Fredericksburg, Texas, which is dealing with an outbreak of Spanish influenza. Drawn into the hometown battle, Mildred opens her family’s Sunday house as an overflow to the small, overcrowded clinic. Death seems to plague those she loves, and she is determined not to allow herself to fall in love, afraid that man, too, would die. Nelson Winters, a newcomer to Fredericksburg and the protégé of the town’s doctor, succumbs to the flu, and he is placed in Mildred’s care. The war hero, rejected by his fiancée because he returned from the war crippled, both challenges and disturbs Mildred as she nurses him back to health. In order for them to have a future together, they must learn to accept their humanness and allow God to make them whole.
Finally, I have a devotional book on Hope in the Encouraging Words series from Barbour coming out next year. It's a work-for-hire project, meaning my name won't be on the front of the book. The deadline to turn the manuscript in is mid-January, so I've already started work on it. However, the bulk of the work will be after I finish Calming the Storm Within.
God has been so good to allow me to realize my publishing dreams. I never expected it to come all at once like it has, but He doesn't usually work in the ways we expect. So many people have been instrumental in getting me here, and I know there will be many more in the future. We writers like to think this is a lonely occupation, and it is at times. But in reality there are a whole bunch of people involved in the making of one book. When I first realized what that meant, I wanted to give up because that meant I would have to "put myself out there," self-promote in other words. My shyness and natural introvertedness put up major walls. So I asked the Lord that if this was the route He wanted for me, He would have to open the doors, put me in the way of the people I needed to know, etc. And He did! It truly amazes me.
I will still continue with my editing service as the Lord has made it clear that He desires me to continue. It will be on a much lesser level of projects than I've had in the past, but I look forward to those projects He sends my way. I'm sure there will be more new adventures ahead as I continue to follow the Lord in this writing/publishing adventure.
So please go check out my new website here, and leave me a message through the contact form.
Verse of the Day
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say
to those who are afraid, "Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is
coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you." (Isaiah 35:3–4 NLT)
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Verse of the Day
He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. The wise in heart will be called understanding [discerning], and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the discipline of fools is folly. The heart of the wise instructs his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips. (Proverbs 16:20–23)
Monday, December 10, 2012
Verse of the Day
We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word. We may think we know what is right, but the Lord is the judge of our motives. Share your plans with the Lord, and you will succeed. The Lord has a reason for everything he does, and he lets evil people live only to be punished. (Proverbs 16:1–4 CEB)
Friday, December 7, 2012
Verse of the Day
And
so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to
God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will accept.
When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't
copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you
into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what
God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and
perfect his will really is. (Romans 12:1–2 NLT)
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Verse of the Day
O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. (Isaiah 33:2 NIV)
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Verse of the Day
"But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Verse of the Day
If
you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask
him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But
when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a
doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and
tossed by the wind. (James 1:5–6 NLT)
Monday, December 3, 2012
ACFW December 2012 New Releases
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.
A Wedding Date in Hot Springs, Arkansas by Annalisa Daughety — Violet and Jackson both need dates to special events, so they hire a matchmaker to find somebody. Horrified when they meet—they already know and dislike each other from college—but with no other recourse, they agree to “pretend.” After a planned kiss with unexpected chemistry, will this sham arrangement turn into love?. (Contemporary Romance from Barbour Publishing).
The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson — In this retelling of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fairy tale, Sophie has little choice but to trust her betrothed’s brother, Gabe, to help her escape the evil Duchess Ermengard. (Historical from Zondervan).
A Christmas Homecoming by MaryAnn Diorio — When Sonia Pettit’s teenage daughter suddenly disappears for seven long years, Sonia faces losing her mind, her husband, and her son as she struggles to forgive her wayward daughter and trust God for her return. (Contemporary from Harbourlight Books (Pelican).
A Promise to Protect by Liz Johnson — Navy SEAL Matt Waterstone knows about keeping people safe. When his best friend’s sister is attacked, Matt promises no harm will come to Ashley Sawyer-not on his watch. But Matt’s not the only protective one. Ashley will do anything to safeguard the residents of the battered women’s shelter she runs. She’s sure she can handle the threats she gets in return. What she can’t handle is the way Matt scales the walls around her heart. Yet when she falls prey to a crime web far more sinister than she’d realized, trusting Matt could be the only way to survive… (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired Suspense).
Sagebrush Knights by Erica Vetsch — Evelyn, Jane, Gwendolyn, and Emeline Gerhard arrive in Wyoming Territory in search of husbands. But when the men awaiting them are not the knights-in-shining-armor they hoped for, it will take a hearty dose of faith to see them through. Will love prevail or bring a not so happy ending? (Romantic Suspense from Barbour Publishing).
Counterfeit Cowboy by Lacy Williams — A con man with a conscience meets and falls in love with a girl way out of his league. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired).
Happy reading!!
A Wedding Date in Hot Springs, Arkansas by Annalisa Daughety — Violet and Jackson both need dates to special events, so they hire a matchmaker to find somebody. Horrified when they meet—they already know and dislike each other from college—but with no other recourse, they agree to “pretend.” After a planned kiss with unexpected chemistry, will this sham arrangement turn into love?. (Contemporary Romance from Barbour Publishing).
The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson — In this retelling of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fairy tale, Sophie has little choice but to trust her betrothed’s brother, Gabe, to help her escape the evil Duchess Ermengard. (Historical from Zondervan).
A Christmas Homecoming by MaryAnn Diorio — When Sonia Pettit’s teenage daughter suddenly disappears for seven long years, Sonia faces losing her mind, her husband, and her son as she struggles to forgive her wayward daughter and trust God for her return. (Contemporary from Harbourlight Books (Pelican).
A Promise to Protect by Liz Johnson — Navy SEAL Matt Waterstone knows about keeping people safe. When his best friend’s sister is attacked, Matt promises no harm will come to Ashley Sawyer-not on his watch. But Matt’s not the only protective one. Ashley will do anything to safeguard the residents of the battered women’s shelter she runs. She’s sure she can handle the threats she gets in return. What she can’t handle is the way Matt scales the walls around her heart. Yet when she falls prey to a crime web far more sinister than she’d realized, trusting Matt could be the only way to survive… (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired Suspense).
Sagebrush Knights by Erica Vetsch — Evelyn, Jane, Gwendolyn, and Emeline Gerhard arrive in Wyoming Territory in search of husbands. But when the men awaiting them are not the knights-in-shining-armor they hoped for, it will take a hearty dose of faith to see them through. Will love prevail or bring a not so happy ending? (Romantic Suspense from Barbour Publishing).
Counterfeit Cowboy by Lacy Williams — A con man with a conscience meets and falls in love with a girl way out of his league. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired).
Happy reading!!
Verse of the Day
"But as for me, I would seek God, and I would place my cause before God." (Job 5:8)
"Is
anything too difficult for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14)
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