He Never Ceases to Amaze Me

The Lord never ceases to amaze me. I try to make it a habit to ask His input about things before I proceed, since I know He's far wiser than I am and He has the added advantage of knowing what the future holds.

I get a lot of emails and such about ways to promote books. To be quite honest, I end up hitting delete on a lot of them. There's just no way feasible I can do even half of them, much less all of them. Not enough time or money. Every now and then, one pops out at me and I know it's one I'm supposed to do.

I had one of those come up recently. Then the question became, so what book do I use for this? I took it to prayer and waited. And waited. A few days after this prayer started, I got the answer. Not the one I expected.

I've noticed God has this tendency to select invisible (to me) door number three when I ask if I should take door #1 or door #2. Door #3 generally means a lot more work, oddly enough. Hm. In this case, my response was "Are you nuts? Do you have any idea how much work it'll be to get that done in that short amount of time?" Well, duh, yeah, He knows. LOL

Once the shock passed, I buckled down and worked my tail off to get things pulled together. I'm a big fan of the "Why?" question. I can drive teachers as crazy as a small child does their parents, because until that question is answered to my satisfaction, I keep asking it. Thankfully, God has more patience than any person who ever existed, and He knows how I am. In this case, I asked "Why?" and He answered. And the answer made perfect sense, and I never would've thought of it. See what I mean about Him being wiser than me?

Anyway, as a result of this big push, my award-winning novel, In God's Time, is now available. Chapter 1 is posted in the NOTES section of my FB Author page. The book can be purchased at any of the following:

Standard print paperback edition - CreateSpace and Amazon. 
Large print paperback edition - CreateSpace and Amazon. 
For Nook - Barnes & Noble 
For Kindle - Amazon

Life Interrupted

Photo courtesy of Melodi2 at morguefile.com

It seems like, just when life is on a smooth track and you can get so much done, it suddenly gets interrupted by things beyond your control. At least, that's how I feel lately.

The full heat of the Arizona summer is upon us, so working outdoors is out of question. Even working inside can be hard as the room we're currently hitting has no heat or cooling. Ugh. So work on our house has slowed to a crawl. At least it's still easing forward, even if very slowly.

I've been too distracted to write lately. Through the first week of June, I haven't had much success sitting down to edit either. Even as I'm preparing for the release of my third book, I can't seem to maintain my momentum. I'm spending a lot of time in prayer and contemplation instead, as well as seeking the stillness of mind that comes with crocheting (working on a couple of large projects). Sometimes I escape into old TV show re-runs on Netflix, something I can do while crocheting.

With many of life's difficulties, I find writing to be a good escape, or therapy to work through the emotional struggles that come with so many situations. But this time, one of my aunts lies dying in hospice from metastatic cancer. I've waited to receive the call any moment of each day for the last several days to tell me that she's gone. Still I wait, and she continues to slip away in painful fashion.

None of this is unexpected, but that doesn't make the reality any less difficult in some ways. I pray for the Lord to show mercy and take her quickly to end the suffering. I pray for her children and grandchildren to be ready in their hearts for her inevitable death. Some of them are believers, some aren't. I pray for my grandmother as she watches one of her children die. She's already lost two children, as well as a grandchild. Now she's losing a third. It's taken a toll.

In the last few days, I've also dealt with the loss of a beloved pet. Salt in an already raw wound of sorrow.

Life gets interrupted. By life. It really is that simple. I take comfort in knowing none of it catches God by surprise, even on the occasions it totally blindsides us. He saw it all coming. He knew the pain I and others would feel. He prepared our hearts to reach this moment in time. I wrap myself in the knowledge that He promises comfort to those who mourn (Matt. 5:4), so there's no shame in grieving the losses that come with life in a fallen, sinful world.

And as always, life will go on. Time doesn't stop under the weight of loss. It marches step-by-step ever forward. And thus it will do until God brings an end to this world and all its sufferings. Times like now, I crave that time. No more illness. No more death. No more sorrow.

And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall no longer be any death; here shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. - Rev. 21:4

But that time is not here yet. So I keep moving forward with life, walking the path God has laid before me (or at least trying to), performing the tasks He has for me, giving thanks for His loving, faithful presence through all of life's difficulties.

Lord, help me hold to the narrow way and perform the tasks You've assigned to me. Help me hold true to You, no matter what. Amen.

Thankful for God's Provision

The things I’m thankful for are numerous. My cup truly runneth over. But the top 5?

1. For God’s love and faithfulness, even when I fail at both. He never gives up, even when I’m a total screw-up. And He loves me enough to offer correction and not leave me floundering on the wrong path.
2. My husband of 19.5 years. We’ve been through a great deal together over the years, and our relationship grows in strength and love each year. It doesn’t get any better than that.
3. For a small but faithful group of true friends and a wonderful family who love me enough to help me walk the narrow path. They’ll even give me a good strong nudge if I wander off it rather than “spare her feelings” and not be honest with me. Thank you for them, Lord.
4. For the gift of writing. With my physical issues, it not only saves my sanity and provides wonderful therapy, it has given me a ministry I probably never would have chosen for myself had I been fit and physically active.
5. For answers to so many prayers over the years, and God’s faithfulness in answering prayers, even when I ask the wrong questions.

 Lord, I thank you for the many blessings You continue to bestow.