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| Marianne Evans |
“There
is one thing God cannot do. One impossibility.” Father Greg paused his homily
for a moment. He surveyed the church, waiting, taking in our doubting, puzzled expressions.
Impossibilities? For God? No way. “The one thing God cannot do is this: He cannot ever stop loving you.”
What powerful words. What a powerful truth I struggle to absorb and fully believe.
I
see my flaws. God sees my heart. I see my failures, God sees my hope. I see my
doubts and insecurities which mount by the day it seems. God holds me close and
whispers, ‘My child, be still. The battle is Mine, and you are My beloved.’
I
encourage and support; I work hard to write the best stories I can. I rejoice
in the success and ministries of so many precious people in my life while sometimes
beating myself up at the same time, wondering if my message, my call as a
writer, isn’t as effective or as ‘good’ as theirs…especially in those moments when
I feel like my own world is in a waiting pattern. The process of going still in
trust and faith is very hard for me.
The battle is Mine, and
you are My beloved.
There
have been times of late when waiting for word on contracts, edits, release
dates, is akin to falling. Am I trusting? No, I’m anxious. Do I know God will
catch me? I like to think so, but, in the heat of battle, in my broken
humanity, that’s hard to believe when the world spins by and I feel like I’m, perhaps,
the unfruitful vine. In those moments, I reach out, like Peter in the
storm-thrashed waves. I cry out, ‘Lord, help my unbelief,’ and there Jesus is,
grabbing my hand, lifting me, affirming me with the gift of family, friends,
and encouraging moments of support.
The
lesson I seem to be learning of late is that in every way—great, small, seen
and unseen—God has assigned me a
mission. God dwells in as I carry it out. That kind of Spirit-led call is
what fired up the apostles, and they probably had no idea the impact their
lives would leave behind. In much the same way, I might never see or know the
lives I touch through story. It may be one, it may be thousands or more. Doesn’t
matter. I’m driven to follow God’s lead. He knows. He loves...no matter what. And, he uses the gifts
He gave me to draw people to him. At longest last, I find trust.
‘Not to us, O Lord, but to Your name give the
glory.’
God cannot stop loving me…and he cannot stop loving
you. What’s your battle? Whatever it is, please remember, you’re central to the
success of God’s plan. His good plan. His perfect plan.
~~~~~
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to tweet!
~~~~~
Ethan Miller’s family has done…what?
His profile is plastered on MingleInFaith.com. Now this
career focused, happy-to-be-a-bachelor is forced to endure an episode of speed
dating.
Interior designer Natalie Gibbs is on the dating circuit,
eager to find ‘the one,’ but she has strict rules about the manner in which
she’ll embrace a romantic relationship. She wasn’t even supposed to meet Ethan
Miller, but God had other plans.
Ethan spends a month each year in Honduras, offering eye
care to the underprivileged. He senses a sweetness to Natalie that prompts him
to invite her along on the next mission trip.
The voyage leads them far from their home base of New York
City, but straight into the hearts of the Honduran people. Slowly, Ethan’s
heart is swayed toward the idea of love. But Natalie’s mission work teaches her
about a love that reaches far beyond romance.
What’s God’s plan? Should their hearts combine – or does He
want them to serve, and learn, from one another and an extraordinary date
night?
~~~~~
Date Night, is part of the Pure Amore imprint at Pelican Book Group. Pure Amore is a Book of the Month subscription service featuring Christian romances centered on the concept of
pre-marital purity and abstinence that doesn’t surrender one moment of the
thrill to be found when two people fall in love. Check it out at Pelican Book Group!
~~~~~
Marianne Evans is a multi-award-winning author of Christian
romance and fiction with over twenty titles to her credit. Her hope is to
spread the faith-affirming message of God’s love through the stories He prompts
her to create.
Happily married and the mother of two, Marianne is a lifelong
resident of Michigan who is active in a number of Romance Writers
of America chapters, most notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served
two terms as President.
