Thanksgiving 2020 - What Are You Thankful For? by Terri Weldon

2020 has been a year for the record books and it is all too easy to focus on the negative. Since Seriously Write will be closed on Thanksgiving Day in the United States, I wanted to take a minute to talk about our blessings today. Then we can take the week leading up to Thanksgiving to reflect on the good things in our lives.

1. God is still soverign. No matter what happens we can hold firm and fast to that truth.

2. My household is COVID-19 free. In the state I live in the virus is running rampant, so I'm very thankful for a healthy family. 

3. I have a roof over my head and plenty of food to eat. Things I take for granted, but necessities many don't possess.

4. Friends I can keep in touch with via technology even when I'm not able to see them face to face.

But wait, Seriously Write is geared toward writers. So how does this apply? Here are a few writing blessings I'm thankful for.

1. More time to write. Normally my calendar is jampacked with more to do than I can get done. A slower paced life, even if it is forced on me, provides more writing time. Now to make myself take advantage of that writing time. 😉 

2. More online opportunities for learning than I've ever seen before! I attended two conferences and countless workshops.

3. NaNoWriMo. I'm not participating this year, but I've seen some fabulous word counts.

4. Trusting God like never before to decide which direction to take my writing.

a. Traditionally published or focus on indie. I'm not telling yet!

b. Trying a different genre. There is a genre I've been wanting to try for quite some time and I'm going to give it a whirl!

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

I hope you and your family have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving Day.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever. - 1 Chronicles 16:34 

Trusting God like never before to decide which direction to take my writing.

A Match Made in Sheffield 

by Terri Weldon

Natalie Benton bounced from one foster home to another until she landed on Ellie Alexander’s doorstep. Natalie’s vagabond childhood caused her to yearn for a secure life, which led to Natalie’s five-year plan: complete her law degree, marry the perfect man, become a partner at Montgomery, Haynes, and Preston, and produce one child. Getting arrested wasn’t in Natalie’s plan. Needing a public defender wasn’t in her plan. Falling for Grady Hunter, her public defender, definitely wasn’t in her plan. Can Grady convince Natalie there is more to life than her five-year plan? Is Ellie the only one who sees a future for Natalie and Grady?

Terri Weldon feels blessed to be a full time writer. She enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, and shopping for shoes. One of her favorite pastimes is volunteering as the librarian at her church. It allows her to shop for books and spend someone else’s money! Plus, she has the great joy of introducing people to Christian fiction. She lives with her family in the Heartland of the United States. Terri is a member of ACFW and RWA. Readers can connect with Terri on her Website: www.TerriWeldon.com 

God Just Waits to Bless Us by Margo Carmichael

It’s Fortifying Friday, and we’re happy Margo Carmichael is visiting as our guest writer. Her passion and love for the Lord can’t be ignored. Enjoy!

God Just Waits to Bless Us

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! (Isaiah 30:18)

And if He called us to write, He’ll bless that, too.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6 NIV)

I heard a woman speak of a great book on characters. It was out of print, but she had checked it out of the library and it was so good, she kept it and paid for it. (Not recommending that, especially for God’s blessing.) Next day, I shopped at a produce stand that also sold used books. And there was the book. Hardback, for 50c. Later, I did see it advertised in paperback for more. It was God’s timing that really touched me.

At an air show, I remarked to a stranger that I wished my kids and I could sit in the V.I.P. section as I had as a child, the daughter of a Navy pilot, so they could see better. Now this show typically attracts several million people over three days. And of all those people, this woman happened to be the mom of Blue Angel pilot Pat Walsh. He was retiring and it was his last air show. She had passes to the VIP section and gave us one. Amazed, we went in but all the seats were taken. So we easily slipped down front and sat on the tarmac. Elsewhere, the crowd was probably twenty deep, pretty hard to slip through. When the show started, everyone stood. We couldn’t have seen from the seats, either.

But here we were. The kids were thrilled. And since an air show is part of my WIP, it was a great time for me to review the events.

There are many other examples of God’s sweetness in my life. I’m sure we all have them.

I’ve found that one way to really see God’s blessings, presence, power, and answered prayer is obedience. Jesus promises,

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21 NIV)

Well, I’m not the most obedient person in the world. But I’m trying. Sometimes, He must think, Very trying. But like the song says, He’s still working on me. In His goodness, He is blessing me. And He is so much fun.

To read more from Margo, please visit Margo’s Moments.

Margo Carmichael has been a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and/or Romance Writers of America and Sisters in Crime since 1993. She’s writing a woman-in-jeopardy set in New Orleans, Pensacola, and Israel about a bride who sees her husband crash in his training jet. Blaming herself, she delves into the occult. A Jewish believer leads her out again and back to God. She enjoys marriage (not housekeeping), two children and five grandchildren and all their dogs and cats, loves to travel, and has visited all these settings she loves. She has also taught art, Spanish and Bible, and sings in a church choir that’s awesome in spite her.