Verse of the Day

He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He delivered me from my powerful enemies. . . . They attacked me at a moment when I was weakest, but the LORD upheld me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. (Psalm 18:16–19 NLT)

Verse of the Day

I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. . . . You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:7–11)

Giving Thanks Day 3

Giving thanks day #3: So very thankful for my beautiful daughter, Kathy Vawter. She's our multitalented gift from God, proving that He works in His own time and in His own way. She loves to tackle the difficult jobs, is courageously independent, and loves to blaze a trail in "uncharted waters"—at least in this family. :) Love you much, sweetie! Can't wait to see what God has in store for your future.

November 2012 ACFW New Book Releases

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

A Wild Goose Chase Christmas by Jennifer AlLee — An heirloom quilt, secret messages, a hyper dog, and a possible treasure make for an unforgettable Christmas. (Contemporary Romance from Abingdon Press).

Freefall by Jodie Bailey — A soldier teams up with a retired commando, an undercover agent, and her ex-husband to uncover a drug smuggler, and while one man wins her love, another tries to destroy her. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired).

Christmas Stalking by Margaret Daley — Bodyguard Ellie St. James has one objective : protect her client without letting her know, but there’s an expected complication–Colt Winfield. They must trust each other to guard Colt’s grandmother, but someone wants to stop them. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired).

The Greenfield Legacy by Amanda Deed , Paula Vince, Meredith Resce and Rose Dee — How can one decision cause so much pain? Can it also bring hope? Four women. One story. (Contemporary Women’s Fiction from Even Before Publishing (Wombat).

Treacherous Skies by Elizabeth Goddard — A test pilot turned Learjet recovery man retrieves a jet only to find the kidnapped daughter of a Colombian drug lord concealed inside. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired).

Betrayal by Robin Lee Hatcher — It’s the turn of the twentieth century and drifter Hugh Brennan is a man well acquainted with betrayal. Hugh finds himself drawn to the attractive widow, Julia, yet when he looks into her eyes, he recognizes the same hurt that haunts him. Julia Grace has little reason to trust men, but she’s going to have to trust someone if she’s to keep her ranch from the clutches of her dead husband’s half-brother. Is it possible God had a hand in bringing Hugh to her door? (Historical Romance from Zondervan).

Christmas Countdown by Vicki Hinze — FBI profiler, Maggie Mason and friend, Dr. Ian Crane, set out to catch a serial killer who’s trapped them in a deadly game of cat and mouse. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired).

Legacy of Love by Christine Johnson — An unemployed housekeeper searches for a lost fortune in the home of the mysterious man who first of all evicted her from her childhood home and then gives her a job. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired).

Judge by RJ Larson — Biblical Fantasy Adventure: Kien Lantec struggles to fulfill his Creator’s commands, and to save his love, Ela of Parne, from a deadly vision. (High Fantasy/Spec Fiction from Bethany House (Baker).

Parrish the Thought: A Christine Sterling Mystery by Catherine Leggitt — The Golden Years have never been so dangerous! Unlovable people plague Christine Sterling’s world. Most difficult of all is Amanda Colter, a surly Goth teenager accused of murdering prominent Nevada City matron, Bessie Parrish. (Cozy Mystery from Ellechor Publishing House ).

Love Will Find a Way by Pamela S. Meyers — Someone doesn’t want Lovin’ Spoonfuls from April Love Catering to open and will go to any measure to stop it — including murder. (Cozy Mystery from OakTara Publishers).

Prophetess by Keven Newsome — One act of violence is not enough to fulfill Xaphan’s plans. One near escape does not justify Winter’s growing gift. There is more. She can feel it. The warnings swell within her. He’s searching for someone. A person of promise…a person of prophecy. And Winter must find her first. (Supernatural Suspense from Splashdown Books).

The Return of Miss Blueberry by Rachael Phillips — Callie Creighton ditches her Chicago lifestyle to be her hometown best friend’s bridesmaid during Plymouth’s Blueberry Festival. A decade after Callie fell off the Miss Blueberry float, will she fall for the gifted bad boy of her high school class who now claims he has turned to Christ? (Contemporary Romance from Heartsong Presents.

Soul’s Gate by James L. Rubart — What if you could send your spirit into other people’s souls to fight for their freedom? (Supernatural Suspense from Thomas Nelson).

Snowflake Sweethearts by Carrie Turansky — Bringing her daughter to the one place she feels safe, single mother Annie Romano returns to Fairhaven, Washington. Though hoping to start a new life as a personal chef, Annie accepts a different job. Alex Jameson, the handsome man she secretly loved as a teenager, needs a live-in caregiver for his ailing grandmother. A big-city workaholic in town temporarily, Alex doesn’t seem to realize how much he needs family, faith or love. (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired).

A Bride Sews With Love in Needles, CA by Erica Vetsch — As Harvey Girl Meghan Thorson waits on doughboys at the El Garces Hotel in Needles, California, she meets Caleb McBride, a local horse breeder whom the townsfolk have branded a coward and profiteer. Will threads of love unite this couple, or will pride keep them forever apart? (Historical Romance from Barbour).

Giving Thanks—Day 2

Day 2: I'm very thankful for the husband God gave me over 34 years ago! Through all the good times and bad, he has taken the leadership of keeping Christ in the center of our marriage . . . and today I can honestly say I love and respect the man I married more than the day I married my best friend! Love you, Roger Vawter!

Verse of the Day

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8–9)

Giving Thanks

November. Again? Seems like we just celebrated Thanksgiving.

            Last year at this time, I was on automatic pilot. Roger had interviewed for a job—in Missouri. If he took it, it meant trading my beloved mountains for the Ozark “hills.” But after nearly a year of unemployment, this was the only job offer he had. After nearly a month of praying about it, we made the decision to move. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we packed, put the house on the market for a short sale, and celebrated the holidays with our kids.

            I thanked the Lord for His faithfulness, His provision, His never-ending love and guidance through all the chaos of the next few weeks and months. In fact, through that entire year of Roger’s unemployment I realized that a thankful spirit sustained me in the darkest times. But it wasn’t always that way.

            My mind went back to the time when the Lord first began teaching me about having a thankful spirit. Since my father had been manic-depressive during my childhood and teen years, I remembered much about his struggle, but only saw him defeated by it. I had determined as a teen that if I ever found myself in a severe depression, I would handle it differently. Dealing with my father’s suicide later only strengthened my resolve.

A few years passed, then I was diagnosed with a severe clinical depression. When I shared with my Christian doctor my desire to fight against depression more successfully than my father had, he directed me to specific portions of Scripture to find my answers.

            At the same time I was studying Philippians for a Bible class I led. I was impressed with Paul when he told the Philippians that he had learned to be content no matter what his circumstances were (4:11–12). He faced a difficult life with joy, confident that Christ was sufficient for every need. Through my study, I discovered Paul’s secret.

            A thankful heart.

            Earlier, Paul had exhorted his readers “not to be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (4:6, emphasis mine).

            Give thanks.

            As I continued to study about having a thankful spirit, I wondered why Paul emphasized thanksgiving, not just at set times, but always. I realized Paul was not giving an option, but a command, when he said, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). For the grammar buffs out there (and I’m one of them), this verb is in the present imperative tense, active voice. This means that we are commanded to give thanks, not just once but continuously and repeatedly.

            We give thanks because this is God’s will for each of us, no matter what our circumstances may be. To the Colossians Paul wrote: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (3:17). Paul encouraged the Ephesians to live “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:20).

            Thanksgiving is an act of faith. Faith is choosing to obey God even when it’s difficult or doesn’t make sense. It’s learning to trust a heavenly Father who deserves our total and complete confidence in His ability to answer prayer, to give us His best, to keep His promises. With a thankful heart we accept that God is able to do what He wills.

            David was another man in Scripture who learned to have a thankful spirit. Through all his difficult times in battle, hiding from Saul, and heartbreaking circumstances in his family life, David continuously gave thanks to God. He saw God’s hand in everything and was able to say, “I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to Your name” (Psalm 18:49).

            Thanksgiving helps us focus on God rather than on our circumstances or ourselves. We know that God can change the circumstances if He chooses, but more often a thankful heart changes our attitude toward our circumstances. It enables us to look at those circumstances from God’s point-of-view instead of our own, and it releases us from the anxiety that we so often experience because of our distorted view.

            A grateful heart allows God to be sovereign. By giving thanks I give Him the freedom to do as He pleases, in His time, in His way. Recognizing who God is gives me the ability to thank Him no matter what. David exhorts us to “sing praises to the Lord, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name” (Psalm 30:4 nasb).

            Another reason to give thanks is that it gives us strength to face both the difficulties and the dull routines of life. Corrie ten Boom once said, “Anxiety never releases tomorrow of its problems. It only empties today of its strengths.” When we accept that God knows the end, the outcome, of every problem, we can thank Him for it, and we receive strength to see that situation through to the end. Even when we are looking at defeat, we know that Christ has won the victory, and we don’t have to live in defeat.

            Thankfulness is not a way to manipulate God into giving us what we want. Instead, a thankful spirit rests in God’s promises, knowing He cannot fail. Since God has promised to provide my every need (Philippians 4:19), then I can thank Him for that provision even before it happens. Doing so releases me from the anxiety and pressure to meet my own needs. While it is tempting for me to bargain with God over my circumstances, I choose to thank Him for the opportunity to see Him provide. By doing so, I didn’t experience as many anxious moments as I could have.

            Being thankful does not change or speed up God’s timing, but it does enable me to wait patiently and readjust my time to His. Waiting isn’t anxiously expecting God to do something now. It means that I expect God to work, while I go about living with a quiet spirit (Psalm 46:10). When I release control, then God is able to work.

            Thanksgiving doesn’t eliminate or delay the inevitable. God knows the end from the beginning; our anxiety doesn’t change that. Neither does thanksgiving. But being thankful does enable us to face the most difficult circumstances with graciousness and peace. Paul tells us that the result of prayer with thanksgiving is peace (Philippians 4:7).

            Paul used the word peace to denote a state of untroubled, undisturbed well being. It is the tranquil state of a person who has been relieved of all the distresses of life. Nothing can explain it. It is beyond human comprehension. But we all have experienced it. And it is ours to experience all the time, when we simply obey the command to be thankful in everything.

            Finally, when we are thankful, what used to disturb us can no longer do so. The end of Philippians 4:7 states that this peace will guard our hearts and minds by putting up a protective barrier that will not allow the disturbing influences to penetrate. It only slips when we cease to be thankful.

This month I want to focus each day on something I am thankful for. Each day I will post a short devotional thought. I hope you will join me in saying with the psalmist, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” (118:1).[i]

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[i] Adapted from “Freed by Thankfulness,” Marjorie Vawter, Discipleship Journal (Nov/Dec 2004), Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress. The author retains the reprint rights. (http://www.navpress.com/magazines/archives/article.aspx?id=10201)

Verse of the Day

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7 AMP)

Beyond the Storm by Carolyn Zane

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Beyond the Storm

Abingdon Press (October 2012)
by
Carolyn Zane




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Author of 35 books, wife, mother and yes…hot (flasher) lives with her fabulous husband, Matt and their 5 children and 3 dogs in the scenic Willamette Valley in Oregon.  When asked to describe her family, Carolyn likens her crowd to the Brangelia Bunch saying modestly, “Only we’re better looking.”  Right now,Carolyn is back in the saddle with her new title: Beyond The Storm, coming out in October 2012!  In the meantime, be sure to catch her on the critically acclaimed TOOHOTMAMAS Blog where Carolyn and Wendy tackle marriage, motherhood and menopause: How to do all three and stay out of prison!  They are hilarious!  You'll wet yourself, guaranteed!  Visit them at: www.toohotmamas.wordpress.com.


ABOUT THE BOOK

After a tornado rips through her town, store owner Abigail comes across a piece of fabric from a wedding dress among the devastation. Abigail is moved to start collecting other swatches of fabric she finds – her neighbor’s kitchen curtains, a man’s necktie, a dog’s bed – which she stashes in shopping bags. As she pursues her seemingly absurd quest, horrible realities spark the question, “What kind of a God would allow such tragedy?”

As she struggles to reconcile her right to happiness amidst the destruction, Abigail begins piecing together a patchwork quilt from the salvaged fabric in hopes it will bring some peace. But a new relationship with Justin, a contractor, may require too much of her fragile heart.  Will her pain and questions of faith give way to the courage to love?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Beyond the Storm, go HERE.

Margie's Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Beyond the Storm by Carolyn Zane. The author very realistically describes the time before the huge tornado that totally devastates Abigail's community, setting up each of the characters who people this book. Then the storm hits in all its horrible ferocity. Then finally the aftermath of the storm, assessing the damage, coming to grips with how a loving God could possibly have allowed this annihilation of the good life they enjoyed. The love story is expertly woven into the fabric of the book and serves to give hope in the midst of tragedy. Excellent book to start off Abingdon's Quilts of Love series.

Verse of the Day

I came across these verses yesterday in a book I was proofreading. This so clearly describes what the Lord has been impressing on me these past few weeks.  

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. (Galatians 6:4–5 MSG)