God Arranges Amazing Things by Zoe M. McCarthy

I had prepared the lesson for Wednesday’s Community Bible study. Even under a tight book deadline, writing the weekly lesson came first. God would give me the time for the deadline. Didn’t God arrange amazing things?

Zoe M. McCarthy

We’d had to change the venue of the study to my church’s basement fellowship hall. Sunday at church, a member approached me and said, “It will be very cold this week. I’ll come to the church and turn the heat and water on for you ladies, and on the way home from my dog’s teeth cleaning, I’ll turn them off.”

His thoughtfulness amazed me. I hadn’t thought of these necessary tasks, but the man read the change in the bulletin and realized our need. God arranges amazing things.

On the day of the study, I wondered whether we’d have many attend class this week. Some ladies had doctor appointments or needed to drive someone else to a doctor appointment. One suffered laryngitis and another was home battling an unknown diagnosis. Two others had to stay home with spouses recovering from surgeries. One worked at a temporary job. Our normal host was away on a trip. And the venue change might keep one or two away. The day was wet, blustery, and below freezing. Another deterrent to leaving homes.

Maybe no one would come, and that was God’s plan in answer to my prayers on making my deadline. Also, I wouldn’t have to prepare a lesson for the next week. Time was so precious.

When I arrived, the fellowship hall was toasty. I set up for the study. At ten o’clock, no one had arrived. Then a truck passed the basement window. I was disappointed that only two of us would experience the lesson from John 15 about how we disciples need to love each other. 

The one arrival, I’ll call her Sandy, entered. When she saw we were only two out of eighteen ladies, she suggested we spend the time praying. I liked the idea. While we talked about several concerns to pray for, the door opened. Lisa appeared. (Not her real name.) Lisa shocked me. She was the last lady I expected to come. But God arranges amazing things.

I told the ladies the subject of the lesson. They decided we should save the important lesson for the other ladies. I told them having a lesson prepared for next week would help me with my deadline. 

While Sandy and I shared with Lisa our concerns we’d pray in confidence, Lisa stopped us. She said, “I can’t believe how open you can be about your families’ problems. I want to do that where it’s safe.” Lisa shared a story that had been a concern in her heart for years. We held hands, prayed for all our concerns, and promised to keep praying for them privately. Lisa said. “I’m so glad I came!” 

We had learned the planned lesson—how disciples love one another. We experienced it in the room’s heat, in the tiny group, in the listening, in the praying, and, yes, even in my deadline. God can arrange amazing things.

What amazing thing has God done for you this past week? This past year?


What amazing thing has God done for you this past week? This past year? @zoemmcarthy #amazinggod http://bit.ly/2QZychT

About the Author

Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript
in 30 Days
by Zoe M. McCarthy

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Putting Green Whisperer, The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. She also has a nonfiction book, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, coming out in January 2019. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, hosting a prayer shawl ministry, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly at www.zoemmccarthy.com.

The revising method in Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days works for any fiction genre. It’s designed for the writer who has at least a draft of a completed manuscript. The goal is to shape a not-yet-submitted, rejected, or self-published manuscript with low ratings into a book that shines. The method can also be a guiding resource for writers starting a manuscript.

“Praise God!” by Zoe M. McCarthy

Thanksgiving is a time to praise God. Please enjoy a short story that came true about my mother’s salvation twelve years after I wrote the story. - Zoe

Illustration by Greg Lahti

“Praise God!”

        Eight women sat in a circle in the large hall in the old building of the church. Two exchanged recipes, three talked about the youth retreat, and three discussed a Christian book on prayer.

        “It’s six thirty,” Betty said. “We should get started.”

        The women wound down their conversations and turned to the center of the circle.

        “Let’s go to the Lord in prayer,” Betty said. “Father, we’re gathered here to share our concerns. We invite the Holy Spirit to direct our time together this morning. Amen.”

        Some women turned to fresh pages in their prayer journals while others dug pens from their purses. Just then, the large door to the hall clunked open. All the women turned to the sound. The door opened, but no one appeared in the doorway. After several seconds, an elderly woman, preceded by an aluminum walker, slowly entered the room. When she cleared the doorway, a younger woman stuck her head into the room.

        “I’ll return for you in an hour, Charlotte,” she said.

        The elderly woman nodded and continued her place-and-step journey across the hardwood floor toward the circle of women.

        The women were so taken off guard by the unfamiliar elderly woman’s presence that it took a full minute before Blaine went to greet the woman.

        Once Charlotte was seated, each woman introduced herself. Charlotte nodded to each woman in turn. Then she waved her hand, indicating they continue with their business.

        Ellen glanced at Charlotte. She felt uncomfortable sharing her concerns in front of a stranger.

        “Would you continue to pray for my son, Jerry?” she asked. “Please pray that God will give me the words to say to him. I don’t want to push him further away from me. I’ve been praying so long that God will help my Jerry find his way to Him that I wonder if God hears me. I trust He does, and so I keep on praying for Jerry.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte said.

        Charlotte’s outburst startled the women. They glanced at one another.

        “God does hear you, Ellen,” Cynthia finally said. ”We must be patient. I’ve been praying a long time for that man I sleep next to every night. Don sees my church as the ‘little thing’ I do to keep occupied. Please put him on your list—again.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte said and smiled.

        The women shifted in their chairs or doodled in their journals.

        Candace smiled at Charlotte. The poor old dear was probably senile. She turned to the other women. “My son, Billy, is discouraged with his job down at the plant. I’m certain if he knew Christ, he could have peace about it. The owner, Buck Grayson, really put the screws to him last month. Please pray for Billy to come to Christ.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte said.

        Betty glanced Charlotte’s way, then spoke. “Buck Grayson has done so many heartless things to the workers over the years. He docked my daughter’s pay because she took too long vomiting in the bathroom during her pregnancy. She asked if she could use the fifteen minutes she was in the bathroom as her morning break. He said no. He said her morning break was scheduled for ten o’clock, not nine. As if she could schedule her morning sickness! By the way, put Amy on your lists. Her faith has been lukewarm lately. I fear she won’t bring up my grandchild in the church, just as I failed to do with her.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte said. She lifted her frail arm to add punch to her statement.

        Blaine made certain Charlotte wasn’t going to say more before she spoke. “My son, Bert, is a supervisor at the plant. He told me that something incredible has been happening since last week. Buck Grayson has been doing kind things. In the elevator on Monday, he wished Bert a good morning and asked him if he was ready for the Christmas holiday. He told Bert he was especially looking forward to Christmas himself this year.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte said.

        “Are you sure it was Buck Grayson?” Pam asked. “I used to work at the plant, and he never spoke to anyone, even when he was alone with someone in the elevator.”

        “Yes, it was Buck Grayson. Bert said the company lowered their cafeteria prices too.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte said.

        “Billy also mentioned the lower cafeteria prices,” Candace said. “He was worried someone would be fired to make up the cost.”

        “And then yesterday,” Blaine said, “Bert said he and the other supervisors received a notice that, for the first time, Buck Grayson will shut down the plant at noon on Christmas Eve. It’s being announced today.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte said.

        Candace burst into tears. “Yes, praise God.” She wiped her eyes and composed herself. “Billy was so sad to tell his son he couldn’t watch him play Joseph in the Christmas pageant that afternoon. Now he can go. Maybe God will touch Billy’s heart with the Christmas story.”

        “Praise God!” Charlotte drew out the word praise. “Ladies,” she said, her voice quivering, “don’t ever stop praying for your lost loved ones. Keep dropping to your knees no matter what. Hold on to what Isaiah prophesied: All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace. I’m here to tell you ladies God will answer your prayers. I’m going to join you here as long as I’m able. I’m going to pray for Jerry, Don, Billy, Amy, and Bert. I’m going to pray for them every day and help you ladies bring your loved ones to Christ doing just that. If you’ll back off and let God do his work in them and just pray for them, He’ll answer your prayers too. I know. God just answered my repeated prayer of thirty-eight years for my son, Buck, to come to know Jesus.”

        All the women shouted at once, “Praise God!”

*Illustration by my nephew, Greg Lahti.

About the Author

Zoe M. McCarthy

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Putting Green Whisperer, The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly at www.zoemmccarthy.com.

The Putting Green Whisperer
by Zoe M. McCarthy

The Putting Green Whisperer

Suddenly unemployed, Allie Masterson returns home to Cary, North Carolina where she caddies for the father on the PGA Seniors Tour. There, she encounters a man who possesses an alluring gift of reading the contours of the green. Fascinated with his uncanny ability, Allie is excited to meet the Green Whisperer—until she discovers that the easygoing caddy is actually Shoo Leonard, the boy who teased her relentlessly when they were kids. Despite Allie's reservations, when Shoo is faced with having to overcome a hand injury, she agrees to use her sports science degree to become his trainer...and then she falls for him.

Shoo Leonard is grateful to Allie for her singular determination to get him ready for the PGA tour, but he isn't ready for anything more. Still raw from a broken engagement and focused on his career, he's content to be her fist-bumping buddy...but then he falls for her.

What seems like a happily-ever-after on the horizon takes a turn when Allie decides she's become a distraction to Shoo's career. Is it time for her to step away or can The Putting Green Whisperer find the right words to make her stay?

Moving Forward on a Retreat by Zoe M. McCarthy

Zoe M. McCarthy

Back in March, Gabrielle Meyer posted “The Importance of a Writing Retreat” on Seriously Write. It spoke to me because my husband and I had started to look for a cabin getaway. Besides a space for personal and family renewal, my dream was to find a place where I could invite church and writer friends for retreats.

After a seven-month search, we have a cabin on a lake. It’s big enough that after we get it in shape, I can host small retreats.

Now, as we work to freshen up the cabin and clear the woods down to the lake to open a view, I already feel revitalized. As I stroke on paint in the master bath, I forget about deadlines. I enjoy how the green wall color brings out the log walls and redwood pine on the ceiling and wainscoting. While I update the globes on the fan lights throughout the cabin, blog posts that need to be written never enter my mind. And snipping tree branches leaves no room for thinking about edits.

I pat myself on the back for the exercise I accomplish in climbing ladders, stacking cut branches, and walking through Lowes in search of pine planks, paint, and towel bars. The exercise is so good for me compared to sitting in front of a laptop for hours.

And then, I have fellowship with my husband. At home, he’s my marketing manager, CFO, and computer tech, but at the cabin it’s different. We work side by side in the basement workshop. He cuts pine planks, and I stain them. We shop for bedcovers, lamps, and stoneware dishes to “bearify” the cabin décor, laughing, discussing, and dreaming.

Don’t get me wrong. I love our home on a hill surrounded by mountains and overlooking a valley sporting sheep, cows, and corn and Christmas tree fields. And I love creating love stories. But sometimes a writer, or any worker, needs a retreat with husbands, family, and friends. I hope someday to provide that for a few.

Are we doing the right thing?

Yesterday, I drove forty minutes to have blood drawn for my annual checkup next week. I was sad that too many writing obligations might prevent us from making the ninety-minute drive to the cabin this week. As the lab technician prepared to insert the needle, I turned my head to look away. On the wall was this painting. I didn’t feel the needle.

A Cabin in the Mountains

Retreats don’t have to be a cabin. What are places you retreat to?

Click to Tweet: Have you ever wanted to go on a writing retreat? @ZoeMMcCarthy talks about the benefits of a "cabin in the woods" for #writers on #SeriouslyWrite. https://bit.ly/2EpAxO6

About the Author

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Putting Green Whisperer, The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly at www.zoemmccarthy.com.


The Putting Green Whisperer

The Putting Green Whisperer
by Zoe M. McCarthy

Suddenly unemployed, Allie Masterson returns home to Cary, North Carolina where she caddies for the father on the PGA Seniors Tour. There, she encounters a man who possesses an alluring gift of reading the contours of the green. Fascinated with his uncanny ability, Allie is excited to meet the Green Whisperer—until she discovers that the easygoing caddy is actually Shoo Leonard, the boy who teased her relentlessly when they were kids. Despite Allie's reservations, when Shoo is faced with having to overcome a hand injury, she agrees to use her sports science degree to become his trainer...and then she falls for him.



Shoo Leonard is grateful to Allie for her singular determination to get him ready for the PGA tour, but he isn't ready for anything more. Still raw from a broken engagement and focused on his career, he's content to be her fist-bumping buddy...but then he falls for her.



What seems like a happily-ever-after on the horizon takes a turn when Allie decides she's become a distraction to Shoo's career. Is it time for her to step away or can The Putting Green Whisperer find the right words to make her stay?

"Testing, Testing." by Zoe M. McCarthy

Picture, if you will, a speaker testing a microphone to see if it works. The speaker taps it and says, “Testing, testing.” Have you ever thought of tough moments as God testing us to find if we’re working well so we can shout out to the world?

Zoe M. McCarthy

God may test us to grow our faith, confidence, courage, and boldness. He wants us ready to do tasks, such as:

• Teach a Bible study.
• Write a Bible study.
• Write a book that depicts a hero or heroine who handles conflict, testing, and challenges in a godly manner.
• Minster to someone who is confused or hurting.
• Give beyond tithing to charities that help others and share the gospel.
• Discipline our children so they can handle the challenges of life when they become adults.
• Do what's right when doing so will cause us hardships us.

I’ve noticed often when I’m tested, when God taps me, I take a leap in understanding a principle, changing my ways, or receiving the courage to do something God is calling me to do.

Here’s a simple example when testing changed my ways.

Years ago, I had a habit in grocery stores. If I saw someone I recognized in an aisle, I’d zip past that lane and come back to it later. After one shopping trip and I’d avoided a woman I knew, I received a heavy conviction that what I’d done was wrong. I realized the person I avoided might have needed to talk to someone that day. God put her before me, but I had refused to approach her. 

I confessed my habit to my small prayer breakfast group. I told them I couldn’t shake off how awful I felt that I had refused to speak to the woman. One lady captured my attention and spoke with kindness. She said my failure to speak to the woman and my resulting guilt may have been God’s way of preparing me for the future. In an upcoming outing, God wanted me to speak and listen to someone He placed before me. I received an epiphany. In His mercy, God was helping me to give up a habit which put up roadblocks for me to minister to the people He set before me. 

The next time I was in a grocery store, I spotted a friend. I marched over to her and listened to her story. 

What are other tasks might God test us on to prepare us for His future work?

About the Author

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Putting Green Whisperer, The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly at www.zoemmccarthy.com.


The Putting Green Whisperer

The Putting Gree Whisperer
by Zoe M. McCarthy

Suddenly unemployed, Allie Masterson returns home to Cary, North Carolina where she caddies for the father on the PGA Seniors Tour. There, she encounters a man who possesses an alluring gift of reading the contours of the green. Fascinated with his uncanny ability, Allie is excited to meet the Green Whisperer—until she discovers that the easygoing caddy is actually Shoo Leonard, the boy who teased her relentlessly when they were kids. Despite Allie's reservations, when Shoo is faced with having to overcome a hand injury, she agrees to use her sports science degree to become his trainer...and then she falls for him.



Shoo Leonard is grateful to Allie for her singular determination to get him ready for the PGA tour, but he isn't ready for anything more. Still raw from a broken engagement and focused on his career, he's content to be her fist-bumping buddy...but then he falls for her.



What seems like a happily-ever-after on the horizon takes a turn when Allie decides she's become a distraction to Shoo's career. Is it time for her to step away or can The Putting Green Whisperer find the right words to make her stay?

Listening to the Lies by Zoe M. McCarthy

Books on writing tell us to identify the lie our protagonist believes. This lie creates anxiety and drives conflict. Usually, in the protagonist’s journey, she/he has an epiphany concerning the lie, and changes in her/his life follow.

Zoe M. McCarthy

Do we believe a lie? Has the lie caused conflict and anxiety in our lives? Could we begin a journey in which we grow and change as a fictional character does in her character arc? Could we create our own epiphany by stepping out of our own story and identifying that lie we believe? Or perhaps we already know what the lie is but we don’t want to put it on the table. We think it’s easier to ditch the truth and believe the lie.

I imagine we believe many lies. Most likely we wouldn’t need therapy to make changes. Often reading the Bible with an open mind can help us recognize what our old Self wants to believe.

But this believing-lies idea intrigued me. So I opened The Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. For every type of wound they provide “False beliefs that could be embraced.” For some lies we might believe, I chose five wounds from The Emotional Wound Thesaurus and picked two lies that might manifest.

Identity Theft

False Beliefs:
“Trying to make a better life is useless because someone will just take it from me.”
“Predators are everywhere; I can’t trust my information with anyone.”

Infertility

False Beliefs:
“God knows I would be a bad parent; that’s why I can’t have children.”
“People will pity me if they find out, so it’s better to pretend I don’t want kids.”

Living with Chronic Pain or Illness

False Beliefs:
“My life will never be better than this.”
“I’m useless. I’d be better off dead.”

Failing to Do the Right Thing

False Belief:
“I’m a bad person.”
“I’m untrustworthy.”

Being Disappointed by a Role Model

False Belief:
“People are all hypocrites.”
“Why try to be a good person when no one else is?”

I can see how these false beliefs could produce anxiety and keep people from living the abundant life Jesus wants for us no matter what our circumstances.

The next time I suffer anxiety, I’ll ask myself what lie I’m believing at the moment. Then with the Holy Spirits help I’ll tell the lie to jump off a cliff. I’ll also remember Philippians 4:6:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What lies have you struggled with or seen others believe?

About the Author

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Putting Green Whisperer, The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry, gardening, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly at www.zoemmccarthy.com.

The Putting Green Whisperer

The Putting Green Whisperer by Zoe M. McCarthy

Suddenly unemployed, Allie Masterson returns home to Cary, North Carolina where she caddies for the father on the PGA Seniors Tour. There, she encounters a man who possesses an alluring gift of reading the contours of the green. Fascinated with his uncanny ability, Allie is excited to meet the Green Whisperer—until she discovers that the easygoing caddy is actually Shoo Leonard, the boy who teased her relentlessly when they were kids. Despite Allie's reservations, when Shoo is faced with having to overcome a hand injury, she agrees to use her sports science degree to become his trainer...and then she falls for him.



Shoo Leonard is grateful to Allie for her singular determination to get him ready for the PGA tour, but he isn't ready for anything more. Still raw from a broken engagement and focused on his career, he's content to be her fist-bumping buddy...but then he falls for her.



What seems like a happily-ever-after on the horizon takes a turn when Allie decides she's become a distraction to Shoo's career. Is it time for her to step away or can The Putting Green Whisperer find the right words to make her stay?

Memorizing Scripture Verses by Zoe M. McCarthy

I was six years old, living in St. Petersburg, Florida. My first-grade teacher said, “I need a volunteer to read Psalm 100 at the assembly tomorrow.” My arm shot up, and I got the job. At home, I couldn’t wait to share the news with my mother. Her eyes widened. She knew I couldn’t read. We sat together and practiced until I memorized the five-verse psalm. I still recall verses in the King James Version.

Zoe M. McCarthy

Around age forty, I became a Christian. I fell in love with the Twenty-third Psalm. Again, I memorized it in the King James Version. I recite the psalm a lot. It comforts me. John 3:16, too, but in the NIV.

Sometime after that, I memorized 1 Chronicles 4:10, the prayer of Jabez in the NIV. Probably because it was a fad, I remember the gist but the words have left me.
As a more mature Christian, I attended a Christian church conference. In one workshop, a woman recited the whole book of Ephesians, speaking as if she were Paul. Her performance awed me. I couldn’t stop contemplating how she took the time to memorize all six chapters and become Paul for others. 

While a children’s leader for Bible Study Fellowship, we studied Romans. The eighth chapter was rich with meaning. Recalling the woman who memorized Ephesians and moved on to memorize Philippians, I decided to learn the words of Romans 8. I did much of my practice when I had insomnia, but I mastered it. The meanings of the verses sank in, and I liked to think I was Paul, as I recited them to myself.

I drew enough courage from the Lord to recite it at a BSF leaders’ group fellowship. I spoke it, as I believed Paul would emote the words. Now, I can’t recite Romans 8, but I understand that chapter better than most.

A friend has scads of verses memorized. I can count on her to know a verse when we need it in the Bible study I lead. Her retention of so much Scripture is a gift.

What is your verse-memorizing story?

About the Author

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, andCalculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry, gardening, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly atwww.zoemmccarthy.com.


Cooking Up Kisses (Five Sweetly Scrumptious Novellas)

Cooking Up Kisses (Five Sweetly Scrumptious Novellas)

LOVE ON A DARE BY MARY MANNERS
Alana Mulvaney’s life is in a holding pattern. Consumed by day-to-day operations of the family business, Alana has no time for fun or romance. But a little fun and a whole lot of romance is just what Alana’s sisters have in mind when they learn childhood friend Donovan O’Reilly has returned to town.

HUMMINGBIRD KISSES BY DELIA LATHAM
Toni Littlebird believes that when she meets the man God created for her, she’ll know—and she’ll love him in that very moment.
But then Dax Hendrick roars into Hummingbird Hollow on a noisy, crippled Harley, stinking up the air and chasing away her beloved hummingbirds. One look into the intruder’s eyes and her heart sinks. He’s “The One.” She’d been right about knowing, but wrong about something far more important: She will never love this man!

HEARTS ON THE HARBOR BY ROBIN BAYNE
Cara Peyton is content with her life, her trendy Baltimore bookshop is perfect for her. But when her ex turns up to remodel the store, asking for a second chance, she’s torn and unsure about risking her heart again. Can he convince her to trust him, and God, before the job is finished?

HIS VALENTINE PROMISE BY DORA HIERS
Another Valentine’s Day and Quinn Randolph prefers to spend it with her sweet rescue lab. Who needs men and their broken promises? Especially Pierce Karson’s! Years ago, his desertion shattered her. Now he’s trying to steal the property she targeted to expand her florist shop! Pierce only wants to belong…and for Quinn to choose him. His Valentine Promise…

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN IN A RED DRESS BY ZOE M. MCCARTHY
Candace Parks lives a passionless life in Richmond. The computer programmer returns to the empty family home in the Blue Ridge Mountains solely to evaluate her job, faith, and boyfriend. Her high school crush, Trigg Alderman, who barely remembers her, visits his Gram next door. Sorting her life out? How about nothing of the sort!

What Calms You Most? by Zoe M. McCarthy

My dear friend’s hip was in bad shape. She experienced much pain, especially at night. She could no longer sit on the floor with her great-grandchildren, and this devastated her. It determined her to schedule surgery for the love of her little ones. While she waited months for surgery, she didn’t let her pain keep her from coming to Bible Study. During the study, she told us that when she was with us deep in God’s word, her pain left her. The surgery went so well the doctor sent her home the following night. She has left me two phone messages. Praising God often, she said she no longer has pain, only soreness.

Zoe M. McCarthy

The bolded sentence above touched me and made me think of others in great physical or emotional pain.

Are you anxious, fearful, in pain, and sleepless?

Perhaps you have a

• book releasing in a few days,
• speaking engagement,
• pitch scheduled with an editor or agent,
• test results pending,
• surgery tomorrow,
• court appearance looming,
• appointment to face a foe,
• a child in the hospital,
• house inspection, or
• a trip on a rickety jeep in a foreign country.

Have you ever thought the following activities might calm you?

In God’s presence,

• shop for toys and school materials for four six-year-olds with a friend and together fill the children’s Operation Christmas Child boxes,
• gather with close friends, ask them to lay hands on you, and then tell humorous stories about each other,
• attend a Bible study that goes through a book of the Bible line by line,
• read Billy Graham’s and Corrie Ten Boom’s autobiographies or the biographies of George Müller, Oswald Chambers, or Eric Liddell.
• knit or crochet a shawl for someone that’s in a similar situation as you while watching inspirational movies,
• pray for the needs of a hundred people, then write notes to fifteen of the ones you prayed for,
• read through and pray the psalms, or
• memorize the twenty-third psalm and ten verses to recite in bed at night.

Pick one activity now and do it. If you’re concentrating hard enough, you won’t have room to host pain, fear, or anxiousness. May God bless you.

About the Author

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry, gardening, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly at www.zoemmccarthy.com.


Cooking Up Kisses (Five Sweetly Scrumptious Novellas)

Cooking Up Kisses (Five Sweetly Scrumptious Novellas)

LOVE ON A DARE BY MARY MANNERS
Alana Mulvaney’s life is in a holding pattern. Consumed by day-to-day operations of the family business, Alana has no time for fun or romance. But a little fun and a whole lot of romance is just what Alana’s sisters have in mind when they learn childhood friend Donovan O’Reilly has returned to town.

HUMMINGBIRD KISSES BY DELIA LATHAM
Toni Littlebird believes that when she meets the man God created for her, she’ll know—and she’ll love him in that very moment.
But then Dax Hendrick roars into Hummingbird Hollow on a noisy, crippled Harley, stinking up the air and chasing away her beloved hummingbirds. One look into the intruder’s eyes and her heart sinks. He’s “The One.” She’d been right about knowing, but wrong about something far more important: She will never love this man!

HEARTS ON THE HARBOR BY ROBIN BAYNE
Cara Peyton is content with her life, her trendy Baltimore bookshop is perfect for her. But when her ex turns up to remodel the store, asking for a second chance, she’s torn and unsure about risking her heart again. Can he convince her to trust him, and God, before the job is finished?

HIS VALENTINE PROMISE BY DORA HIERS
Another Valentine’s Day and Quinn Randolph prefers to spend it with her sweet rescue lab. Who needs men and their broken promises? Especially Pierce Karson’s! Years ago, his desertion shattered her. Now he’s trying to steal the property she targeted to expand her florist shop! Pierce only wants to belong…and for Quinn to choose him. His Valentine Promise…

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN IN A RED DRESS BY ZOE M. MCCARTHY
Candace Parks lives a passionless life in Richmond. The computer programmer returns to the empty family home in the Blue Ridge Mountains solely to evaluate her job, faith, and boyfriend. Her high school crush, Trigg Alderman, who barely remembers her, visits his Gram next door. Sorting her life out? How about nothing of the sort!É

You Can Wrap Anxious People in God’s Love by Zoe M. McCarthy

You can wrap anxious people in God’s love through your stories and various ministries. Here’s one successful ministry.

The Call. 

My call to start a prayer shawl ministry started with opening my big mouth. In our small rural church, my husband led a Sunday school lesson concerning service. At the end, he asked how we could serve people in our community. The class began the normal discussion. I thought talking about possibilities would be the end of the matter. So I said, “Why do we discuss it? Just do something.”

Right then, God told me to start a prayer shawl ministry for sick and hurting people in our community. Boy, was I convicted of my derisive comment. On overload with a full-time writing ministry and other ministries, I wanted to argue, but I knew I was the one to start this ministry. I’d been a member of a prayer shawl ministry in my prior city church.

Start up. 

God didn’t give me the call then desert me. He showed me that the people who participated in the ministry in any fashion could grow in faith and caring service. The ministry isn’t for the sick and hurting alone. In announcing the ministry in our six-charge churches, I asked church members to invite anyone in the community who enjoyed knitting, crocheting, or quilting.

Process. We meet once a month, bring in our completed shawls, share patterns, and enjoy fellowship. As we work on shawls, we use the prayer list in the charge-wide bulletin and word-of-mouth suggestions for identifying people inside and outside the community who need God’s love. We lay our hands on the new shawls and pray for the people who will receive them. I tie a card to the shawls that gives our church contact information and the following message. We have laid our hands on this shawl and prayed that God’s grace be upon you. May you be wrapped in hope, joy, peace, comfort, and love.

Participants. 

One, who is now with Jesus, was a faithful knitter for two years from age ninety-three to ninety-five. She created sixteen shawls. We named our ministry after her. Three are recent widows. Two are community members that don’t attend one of our charge churches. Two are snowbirds from Florida. Another lives in an adjacent state, a participant’s sister. Two women learned to crochet and now make beautiful shawls. A woman and her husband, who don’t knit, crochet, or quilt are excited to help deliver our shawls and pray with the recipients.

In between meetings, we often invite Sunday school classes, our congregation, Bible study attendees, or women’s group members to come and lay hands on and pray over shawls we want to deliver to others.

I’m convinced our prayer shawl ministry nurtures its participants and others we enlist to get involved, giving them a purpose and a way to share God’s love.

Recipients. 

Anyone needing a helping of love may receive a shawl. We have delivered shawls to our rural community and the three small cities near us. We’ve sent some to people out-of-state. Even though we don’t tell recipients who made the shawls or expect anything in return, we have a fat envelope containing thank-you notes that often tell stories of how the shawls and quilts have ministered to the recipients. One gentleman with terminal cancer always kept his shawl with him and often read the message on its attached card.

The item of love doesn’t have to be shawls. I know and have participated in ministries that collect inspirational books from authors to give to people in prisons, to libraries in third world countries, and to people in hospitals. Like for the shawl ministry cards, loving messages can be written in the front of the books by the authors.

What ministries have you been part of that wrap anxious people in God’s love?

About the Author

Zoe M. McCarthy

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy, author of The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, andCalculated Risk, writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. When she’s not writing, Zoe enjoys her five grandchildren, teaching Bible studies, leading workshops on writing, knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry, gardening, and canoeing. She lives with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Zoe blogs regularly atwww.zoemmccarthy.com.

 Cooking Up Kisses (Five Sweetly Scrumptious Novellas)

LOVE ON A DARE BY MARY MANNERS
Alana Mulvaney’s life is in a holding pattern. Consumed by day-to-day operations of the family business, Alana has no time for fun or romance. But a little fun and a whole lot of romance is just what Alana’s sisters have in mind when they learn childhood friend Donovan O’Reilly has returned to town.

HUMMINGBIRD KISSES BY DELIA LATHAM
Toni Littlebird believes that when she meets the man God created for her, she’ll know—and she’ll love him in that very moment.
But then Dax Hendrick roars into Hummingbird Hollow on a noisy, crippled Harley, stinking up the air and chasing away her beloved hummingbirds. One look into the intruder’s eyes and her heart sinks. He’s “The One.” She’d been right about knowing, but wrong about something far more important: She will never love this man!

HEARTS ON THE HARBOR BY ROBIN BAYNE
Cara Peyton is content with her life, her trendy Baltimore bookshop is perfect for her. But when her ex- turns up to remodel the store, asking for a second chance, she’s torn and unsure about risking her heart again. Can he convince her to trust him, and God, before the job is finished?

HIS VALENTINE PROMISE BY DORA HIERS
Another Valentine’s Day and Quinn Randolph prefers to spend it with her sweet rescue lab. Who needs men and their broken promises? Especially Pierce Karson’s! Years ago, his desertion shattered her. Now he’s trying to steal the property she targeted to expand her florist shop! Pierce only wants to belong…and for Quinn to choose him. His Valentine Promise…

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN IN A RED DRESS BY ZOE M. MCCARTHY
Candace Parks lives a passionless life in Richmond. The computer programmer returns to the empty family home in the Blue Ridge Mountains solely to evaluate her job, faith, and boyfriend. Her high school crush, Trigg Alderman, who barely remembers her, visits his Gram next door. Sorting her life out? How about nothing of the sort!