Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Don’t Worry, God Will Orchestrate Faithful Lives for His Purposes by Zoe M. McCarthy

Zoe M. McCarthy
In Richmond, Virginia, I attended Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) for seven years. Recently, I heard BSF added a new study: Revelation. I wanted to go. My husband wanted to attend the study also, his first time in BSF. I prayed God’s will.

Now that we live in rural southwest Virginia, the two closest night classes were two hours away. If we joined a thirty-week class, we’d have to spend 30 Monday nights in a motel. Attending looked bleak. I continued to pray about the class.

As registration time approached, my sister and brother-in-law, who have attended BSF classes in Sunset Beach, NC, needed to move near Winston-Salem. Their new home would put them within twenty minutes of the BSF class in Greensboro, NC. John and I could spend the night with them, and the four of us could attend the classes!

But my sister and brother-in-law couldn’t move into their new place until well after the Revelation class started. And 800 women had signed up for the women’s night class, and 400 men for the men’s class. Accommodating 800 in the women’s host church was an issue. I continued to pray. I trusted if it was God’s will, He’d orchestrate our attendance.

God connected my sister and brother-in-law with a couple in their Sunset Beach church, who happened to own a second house 5 hours away in Winston-Salem. They used the house only occasionally, and it was thirty minutes away from the BSF classes in Greensboro. My sister and brother-in-law moved into the couple’s Winston-Salem house temporarily.


image by anielbaez0

BSF arranged for many of the 800 women to attend satellite classes in Winston-Salem. So, the four of have been attending BSF classes in Greensboro, and John and I spend every Monday night with my sister and brother-in-law.

But what about God’s purposes? I thought God wanted me to understand Revelation. Though good, God had greater purposes in mind.

Weeks into the BSF classes, I heard disturbing things going on in churches. As my heart grew heavy for our churches, I received a request from the leader of our local community Bible study. She would be unable to lead the class until the New Year. She asked if I would step in. I accepted.

I share with the class what Jesus says to our churches through Revelation chapters 1 through 3. I’m amazed how thirsty the women are to learn. Preparing the lesson is a great review and a joy. John is a lay speaker and the lectionary scripture for his next speaking event comes from Revelation.

God is revealing to us the purposes He had in orchestrating our lives, as He did for faithful Daniel on a much larger scale in chapters 1, 2, 6, and 7 in the Book of Daniel.

Are you worried about events in your life or writing career? Seek God, be faithful, and watch what only God can and will do.

Will you share a time when God orchestrated your life for His purpose?


About the Author
Zoe M. McCarthy believes the little known fact that opposites distract. Thus, she spins Christian contemporary romances entangling extreme opposites. Her tagline is: Distraction to Attraction, Magnetic Romances Between Opposites. Now retired actuaries, Zoe and her husband evaluated the financial risks for insurance companies. Nick, in Zoe’s debut novel, Calculated Risk, is an actuary. Christian Fiction Online Magazine published two of her short stories. Zoe self-published two books of contemporary Christian short stories. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She enjoys leading workshops on the craft of writing; speaking about her faith; planning fun events for her 5 grandchildren; and exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she lives with her husband, John.
Learn more about Zoe M. McCarthy at her website: http://zoemmccarthy.com

Calculated Risk
Calculated Risk
by Zoe M. McCarthy

What happens when an analytical numbers man meets a mercurial marketing Rep? Romance is a calculated risk…

Jilted by the latest of her father’s choices of “real men,” Cisney Baldwin rashly accepts an invitation to spend Thanksgiving weekend with a sympathetic colleague and his family. Nick LeCrone is a man too much her opposite to interest her and too mild-mannered to make her overbearing father’s “list.” Now, Cisney fears Nick wants to take advantage of her vulnerable state over the holiday. Boy, is she wrong.

Nick wants little to do with Cisney. She drives him crazy with all her sticky notes and quirks. He extended an invitation because he felt sorry for her. Now he’s stuck, and to make matters worse, his family thinks she’s his perfect match. He’ll do what he can to keep his distance, but there’s just one problem—he’s starting to believe Cisney’s magnetism is stronger than he can resist.


Purchase links for Calculated Risk: http://zoemmccarthy.com/books