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| Image by Scarletina |
Perhaps,
you’re sloshing in the salty brine because God is fermenting you to be the salt
of the earth.
Verses
in the Bible assure us God is ready to give us success with one requirement:
As long as we seek the Lord, He will
give us success.
It’s
that simple.
The
hard part is truly believing God. But, dear friends, it’s time we decide.
I
invite you to read my story and then the passages below (NIV). And as you slosh
in the salty brine, believe and stand firm on these promises.
In
2007, John and I found the perfect hill in a remote valley surrounded by the
Blue Ridge Mountains. I wanted to build a house, move there from the city five
hours away, live on that hill, and write.
We
made an appointment for the next day with the realtor.
In
the motel that night, I woke at 4 am. “What am I doing?”
Back
home, I’d committed to Bible Study Fellowship and was called to be a children’s
leader. I had four years left in the program. Sick to my stomach, I sought God.
I asked Him to forgive me. I let go of my dream and recommitted myself to BSF.
Peace washed over me.
Then
God said, “You may buy the land, but complete your commitment before you go.”
Four
years later, John and I moved to this Eden, and I received a contract for my
first book. I’m still sloshing in the brine, but I’m learning to seek God and
discern the successes He gives me.
Scriptures
We seek God, then succeed.
2 Chronicles 26
5b As
long as he sought the Lord, God
gave him success.
We obey God, then receive blessings and prosperity.
Psalm 128
1 Blessed
are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.
2 You
will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be
yours.
We delight in God, then receive our heart’s desires.
Psalm 37:4
4 Take
delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires
of your heart.
We get into God’s Word and do what God says, then prosper
and succeed.
Joshua 1
8 Keep
this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that
you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous
and successful.
We seek God first, then receive things we need.
Matthew 6
33 But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.
We submit to God, then our paths straighten.
Proverbs 3
6 In all
your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths
straight.
We trust God, then we are helped.
Psalm 28:
7 My
heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
So
you see, it’s all about seeking God in everything. How has this worked for you?
Has there been a time you sought the Lord
and experienced success?
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| About the Author |
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| Zoe M. McCarthy |
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.
Calculated Risk
What happens when an analytical
numbers man meets a mercurial marketing Rep? Romance is a calculated risk…
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| Calculated Risk by Zoe M. McCarthy |
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.
