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

Progress!

For the last while I've struggled. To find hope and joy in life. To let go of the past. To heal. Those of you who follow my blog probably read the post I did back in November - "Through the Valley". Things take time to work through and process. I've prayed for the Lord to guide and help me through it. He's been here every step of the way.

Photo by author - Southern White Rhinoceros

To help me through, and to give me some much needed time alone with the Lord, I made a trip a couple of weeks ago to the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. Getting away from distractions, walking, taking photographs, thinking, and praying always works well for me. It helps me regain solid ground and find some measure of peace. The zoo helped, as it generally does. But I wasn't there yet.

Photo by author

Last week, I accepted a photography challenge from MorgueFile, which meant hiking downtown to take photos. More distraction-free time for thinking and praying. Unexpected to be sure, but nonetheless appreciated. My legs are killing me from hiking those hills, but it was worth it.

This past Sunday, during worship service at church, something shifted inside me that I can't really describe. I know, that's amusing, an author at a loss for words. Well, I'm not completely.  Heaven forbid!  he he

In the middle of praise music that had me trying to hold back tears, thoughts, images, and Bible verses started darting through my head. I sat down and wrote them down, not worrying about whether they made sense or formed a cohesive line of thought. It was a challenge for my hand to keep up with it all.

I finally got it put into a cohesive form this morning (Tuesday). I feel I'm supposed to share it for any others who might be going through similar struggles.

THE IMAGE IS CLEAR

Dawn M. Turner

28 January 2014

In my mind’s eye, I see myself.

Smoke and haze hover over a battlefield,

eerily quiet and still, blocking out light.

A warrior lies there, broken and bleeding,

cut down by poisoned swipes of the swords of allies,

groaning in pain and grief over trust shattered,

opportunities rejected by those who should know better.

Light pierces the darkness.

Little more than a candle’s feeble glow

becomes the gleam of the sun across the land,

bringing comfort and assurance.

Justice will come.

Evil will be recompensed.

None shall escape.

The time for grief has ended.

The time of healing has begun.

I have been struck down, beaten and bloody,

but I am far from destroyed.

He has preserved me.

The Lord reaches down with a loving, faithful hand

to bind my wounds and heal my broken heart.

The warrior rises, not yet fit for a new battle,

but standing as the smoke and haze clears.

I seek to serve the Lord who delights in me.

Prepare me, dear Lord, to raise my sword again,

to fight for Your kingdom.

Break my heart for what breaks Yours,

and lift it up in praises to You.

Strengthen me, Lord, for the battles yet to come.

I stand for You, clinging to one certainty.

This life is transient; it withers and fades.

This pain will pass away and be no more.

The end is written.

You have already ensured victory.

In case you want to know what the Bible verses were, here's the list in nothing even resembling a logical order: Job 1:21; 2 Sam. 22:2-3, 20b; Ps. 40:11, 17; Rev. 5:8b, 21:4; Isa. 65:17; Ps. 147:3; 2 Cor. 4:8-9; Matt. 5:4; Ecc. 3:4; Gal. 5:15; Isa. 40:7-8; Zeph. 3:17; Ps. 18:19b.

God is good. All the time.

Through the Valley

I wrote the following post almost a week ago, and let me tell you, folks, it's been a less than stellar week for a lot of people. So many are struggling right now - to varying degrees and as a result of a wide array of circumstances - marriages falling apart; illness, acute and chronic, ranging from just annoying to potentially life-threatening; financial issues due to the state of the economy; hits to medical insurance due to new government regulations; career-impacting computer issues; and so much more. 

Please, folks, pray for each other. Pray for our fellow Christians going through trials you may or may not know about. Lift up family and friends. Pray for the countless lost souls that surround us. Satan and his nasties seem to be working overtime lately to wreck lives and discourage hearts. Support, encourage, and PRAY FOR EACH OTHER through the valleys.

For those of you going through various trials, no matter how big or small, remember the Lord cares about it all. Don't be afraid to ask Him to reveal His unfailing love and presence to you and to give you the strength and grace to endure the trials.

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Photo courtesy of Red at Morguefile.com

I told our pastor it's just WRONG to give a writing assignment to a congregation when he knows there are writers present. We often can't resist such a challenge (even when we want to). A couple of weeks ago, he gave us "homework" - write a Psalm. Come to God where you are, and write a Psalm.

I've been going through a dark valley, interminable in many ways. Still there. So I thought about some of the Psalms that David wrote - written from a place of pain, struggle, and despair. I got up the following morning knowing what I needed to write. I decided I should go ahead and share it.

A CRY FOR JUSTICE
By Dawn M. Turner

Lord, have You forgotten me?
The smoke clears.
Quiet descends.
I lie broken and bleeding on the field of battle,
Cut down by those who should have been allies.

The wicked prosper and gain strength and numbers.
Their evil deeds go unpunished.
They count themselves righteous
And remain unrepentant.

When will there be justice?
When will the lies be stripped away
And truth revealed?

You promise that evil will be repaid,
That they will reap what they have sown,
That their deeds will not go without reprisal.
When is that time?
When will You say “enough”?

Still, I wait, broken and bleeding.
Still, I cling to You,
Knowing the alternative is darkness,
Loneliness.
I grasp Your promises in my hands,
Praying for the day I fully grasp them in my wounded heart.
I believe, Lord.
Help me in my unbelief.

I allow God to lead my Bible reading (I'm still not back to doing it daily, but I'm working on it). I pray and ask Him what I should read that day. One of the passages He has led me to was one I'd read many times over the years, but it never struck me as it did this time. 

"But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me." - Micah 7:7-8

How's that for a loving reminder from the Father? I love the Old Testament prophets, and it never ceases to amaze me how much encouragement is tucked into those incredible books that so many see only as "doom and gloom".

Now, you may read this and wonder what it has to do with writing (other than the most obvious). This dark valley has dramatically affected my ability to write. I don't mean my DESIRE but my actual ability. Concentration, ideas, all of it have been so far out of whack as to be just about worthless. August, September, and October, I worked on editing and filling in details for the fantasy world I had created for a series of books I'm now back to working on (i.e. pure logic work). Through those three months, I had days where ideas flowed and my brain actually managed to focus, but all-told, I wrote in those three months combined what I generally write in about a week.

November came with ideas flowing again. My concentration still hasn't been on par with where it normally is when I write, but it's way better. I managed to write in 10 days more than I had written through the previous three months. So color me happy. Interesting, the pastor's writing assignment was an answer to prayer. I had been praying about the direction of my NaNovel, a fantasy novel, asking for the Lord's guidance on an element of it that had me a bit stalled. Through the pastor's writing assignment, the answer came. A book Alaina carries is full of "poetry". I'm writing out parts of it that have the most meaning to her. I hadn't written poetry in over 20 years until the pastor's homework assignment.

I continue to learn and grow through the valley, reminded often that God truly hasn't forgotten me. Justice will come. In the meantime, He continues to answer prayer, sometimes in odd and unexpected ways. I continue to try to walk in obedience, despite the darkness.

Have you had prayers answered in unexpected ways of late?

Have you ever tried writing a psalm to the Lord? If not, give it a try. Write from where you are - be it a place of pain and struggle, or joy and praise, or both! David certainly did all three. If you're willing to share what you write, please do so below.

Answers Come....

Photo courtesy of taliesin of morguefile.com

I often have people ask me (or see/hear them ask others) what they're supposed to do with their writing, or some aspect of it, or some other task. My answer is always the same - PRAY ABOUT IT.

God knows exactly what HE desires for you, your life, and your work, and He won't hide His will from you. SO ASK HIM! And don't be afraid to ask others to be praying with and for you as you seek guidance and direction from the Lord.

Sometimes an answer comes right away, within minutes or hours. Other times, a response is much longer in coming - days, weeks, months, and even years. Needless to say, that takes patience and perseverance, or we risk jumping ahead of God and His timing.

I just had one such instance in my own life - something I've prayed about for the past couple of years. I had shelved an entire part of my writing when I started praying, not wanting anything I put out into the world to be contrary to God's will for my writing. My gifts, talents, and such are His, not mine, and I didn't want to get ahead of God and do things in a way that might "seem right" to me. I don't need that kind of disaster in my life, thank you very much. (Prov. 14:12 & 16:25 are warning enough for me.)

A few weeks ago, He finally gave me the answer I've been asking for for so long. And the ideas THAT has generated have been wild and numerous. More inspiration than I ever imagined possible, and it all fits so beautifully.

God not only answers our questions, He does so in HIS time, not ours. So we must be patient and wait for His time for providing the answer we seek. BUT, we first must ask them. Too often, we don't even think to ask.

So ask! And be prepared to take a step or two or more in obedience when the answer comes. It may not be what you expect, or possibly even the path you believe you WANT, but be obedient. What the Lord provides is WAY better than anything you might imagine.

Is there some decision or need for direction that you've struggled with that you need to lay at the Lord's feet?

Fear and the Writer - Part 2

Photo by author

Last week, I talked about fear. For those of you who missed that post, you can see it here.

The question - in six words or less, what do you most fear as a writer?

So what was my "off the cuff" but uncomfortably accurate response to that question?

Revealing my heart.

Talk about scary, particularly for an introvert who had learned at a very young age that revealing your heart meant showing vulnerability, which was like blood in the water in a society where I'm surrounded by sharks (people who will prey on that weakness). Attention can be good, bad, or indifferent - I've known that my whole life. But showing vulnerability? Only stupid people who didn't value their lives did such things.

Thankfully, God doesn't give up on those of us who an evil, fallen world has taught to hide behind walls as high and thick as a European keep. He gently, with love and persistence, leads and teaches until the walls come down. Because He knows something VERY important....

How effective can we be as writers if we don't do reveal our hearts, bare our souls, expose our inner thoughts and emotions to a potentially hostile world? Whether we do so in blogs or other non-fiction works, or we expose our hearts through fictional characters and their stories, we put a piece of ourselves into everything we write. And readers can generally tell when that element is missing.

It's taken a LONG time to learn to share my emotions, imperfections, fears, and deeper thoughts with others. A very long, arduous, often painful process. Through it, I've learned two things:

1 - God doesn't want me to live in fear, closed off to those my life touches, unable to reach out to others who may be struggling in the same way I have. He wants us to step out in faith in HIM and not allow fear and the evil in this world to take us hostage and cripple us emotionally and spiritually.

Photo by author

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
 
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. - 1 John 4:18a (NASB)

The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? - Psalm 118:6 (NASB)


2 - When others act like "sharks" and try to prey upon me when I open my heart to them, IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. No pity party or wallowing allowed. Let it go. It's about THEM. It's a reflection of just how miserable they are in their own lives, and if I really watch, I'll see they tend to treat others the same way they've treated me. Their words and actions should NOT cause me to close myself off to the world again. To do so gives their negativity, hatefulness, etc. power over my life that those things don't deserve to have. More than anything, such behavior demands prayer for them.

But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. - Luke 6:27-28 (NASB)

I think most believers understand how these apply to our daily lives and dealings with people. But how do they apply to us specifically as writers?

One, negative reviews on published books. If we haven't (yet) received them on our own work, we've all at least seen scathing reviews written by those who just like to tear others to shreds (if you look at other reviews they've done, you can readily identify these individuals - they never seem to have a nice thing to say about anybody) or hate someone's work simply because it reflects Christ (even if they've never actually read the book, interestingly enough).

Should we let such reviews make us change what we write because we shudder in fear of receiving more such comments? Absolutely not! We should seek to please God first and foremost, above every person out there. If people don't like that, well, that's their problem, quite frankly. We're not to be conformed to this world. (Romans 12:2)

I'm not saying we should be sloppy in our work or disregard actually-constructive criticism, but that's a whole different ballgame from letting fear drive us to write other than as God desires us to.

Two, the writing itself. If we truly want to touch readers, we MUST be willing to share our hearts and souls with them. And, yeah, I know this isn't easy. Boy, howdy, do I know. This is my biggest struggle. Each layer of emotional depth we put into our work is that much more of us we're letting the world see in some way or another. That's not easy. But the Lord doesn't call us to reach out to others only when it's emotionally "safe" or we simply can't keep ourselves bottled up, so we should approach our writing the same way - with an open heart obedient to His leading.

I know my struggle is not the same as what others face. Some cling to fear of not finding an agent/publisher/editor for their book, not getting the cover design quite right, not getting a back cover blurb exactly right, the book not selling, knowing what promotional tools and techniques to utilize, and a slew of other things along those lines. God has all of that well in hand. Does He expect us to do work to get it all accomplished? You bet! But He's already handpicked the agent/publisher/editor for each author's work. (He also knows whether He wants your work to be traditionally or indie published, too - just ask Him.) He knows whose hands need to receive a particular book. He can and DOES provide guidance regarding cover designs, back cover blurbs, and/or promotion options.

He knows what He desires for the outcome of a given work. If we ask, He WILL lead us down the right path, to the right people, and put our books into the hands He desires if we seek His will.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. - James 1:5 (NASB)

That's a tremendous comfort to me. He asks me to take steps of faith, do some work with regards to editing, book cover design, back cover blurbs, and promotion as He guides me. He takes it the rest of the way. But for me it all begins with a mighty step of faith in revealing my heart in the act of obedience - the writing itself.

What fear do you find yourself struggling most with in regards to your writing? What verses have you found that help you stand against it?

Christmas Story Hop

Grand Prize: $100 Amazon Gift Certificate!

Please join us in the celebration of our Lord and Savior, and rejoice with us our favorite Christmas movies and join us on a progressive Christmas story hop.

Here’s how it works:

1. Go to each blog in the order that is listed below.
2. Read the first section of the story. Then follow the link to the next section of the story.
3. At each blog, comment to get entered in both the Grand Prize drawing ($100 Amazon Gift Card) and to be entered in each author’s individual drawing. Your comments can be about the story. Or you can tell us your favorite Christmas songs or movies or books. You can also tweet and like us on Facebook to be entered multiple times.

Feel free to browse each author’s bookshelf.

Comment on this blog and you will receive a FREE autographed, paperback copy of "Beyond Hope" or a FREE e-book download of "Beyond Hope" from Smashwords, whichever you prefer! I love Smashwords because readers can download novels in multiple formats. 

Blogs to visit for the Progressive Christmas Story, "A Christmas to Remember", should be visited in the order listed below:

1.    Gloria Harchar
2.    Emerald Barnes
3.    Bonnie Blythe
4.    Anita Green
5.    Marian Merritt
6.    Rich Bullock
7.    Dawn Turner

My Favorite Christmas Songs

It's that time of year again. No matter where you go, there it is. Christmas music. If you're like me, by the time Christmas rolls around, you're so sick of most of it, you could puke. But I'll bet you're like me and have your favorites, too. Those songs you can listen to all year long and never get sick of them. (If only they were all so palatable over the long haul, eh? he he)

Two of my favorites are relatively new. The third is very traditional and has multiple renditions in several languages.

The traditional one that hits me deep is O Holy Night. I don't think anyone sings it as well as Nat King Cole did. What strikes me about this song is how beautifully it reveals what Christ came to do for us as well as how we should respond to His precious gift (fall on our knees and raise our voices in joyful praise).

The two songs I absolutely adore that aren't traditional Christmas songs but exemplify the meaning of the season are "Mary, Did You Know" and "Joseph's Song".

People have spent centuries speculating and talking about the kind of young woman Mary was that God chose her to be the mother of the Christ child. The Bible reveals her humble servant heart. The type of heart every single last one of us is supposed to have. Just think for a moment about the faith and obedience she showed.

But she wasn't the only one. And she isn't the only one I've often wondered about.

Have you ever thought about what kind of man God chose to raise His Son? Joseph was just as important in Jesus' life in many ways as Mary was. Think about the faith and obedience he exhibited, not to mention the love he must have had for Mary.

God worked through two humble, obedient people with incredible faith. It's amazing when you read scripture how often God chose the lowly of society to do incredible things. He chose a young virgin with a servant's heart to be mother to Jesus. He chose a humble carpenter to be Jesus' father. He chose a shepherd named David to be the king of His nation Israel. Jesus chose fishermen and tax collectors to share His message with a lost world.

As we think about the incredible gift God gave us by coming in the flesh to sacrifice Himself for our sins, how joyful and obedient is your heart? And who would He have you reach out to and share His love with?

So, what's your favorite song and why?

If you haven't yet read "A Christmas to Remember", check it out!

Participate in the Amazon gift card give away using Facebook or your email by clicking here December 13th through the 15th (be sure to leave a comment on this blog posting, too, to be eligible):

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