Growing in Courage by Gail Johnson

The following post from Gail Johnson ran on my personal blog in 2018. She has graciously agreed to share it with the readers of Seriously Write, because we all need an extra measure of courage on occasion. ~ Sandy

Some people are born courageous while others must learn how to cultivate it. I fit into both categories. I was fearless as a child, but later I had to learn how to squash the weed of fear so the fruit of courage could grow. And the gardening never stops.

When I planned to write my memoir, I faced questions. Why should I venture out into unknown territory, a place of vulnerability? What will people think of me after sharing my story? Where will I find the answers to finish this task?

But no matter what I did, my story refused to leave me alone. One morning I conceded and put my notes together. Oh, boy! The more I typed, the more dissatisfied I became. I failed to find the perfect formula to share my story. Still, something rose inside of me.

I printed out the pages and laid them on the table. After scrutinizing the text, I could see the personal stories needed rearranging. So I took scissors—yep, scissors—and separated the stories and then taped them where I believed they should go. By the time I had finished, they were in the order they are in the book.

Meanwhile a friend, who is a developmental editor, contacted me and asked if I needed her that year. I stared at the question. I had a choice. Say no, or commit to write like a madwoman to reach my goal.

Suddenly, the Lord impressed me with a date. I typed that date into a message even while fear screamed, “Have you lost your mind? You can't do this. You’ll never finish on time.” Still, I hit the send button.” She penciled in the date. I felt sick.

Courage is not instantaneous. It grows as we reach our goal step-by-step. I arrived every day to write, cry, mourn, and hope. And I’m so glad I did. It was the most liberating experience of my life.

Viewing my story as a finished manuscript, I connected the disjointed notes and saw every drop of God’s grace in my life. And during the following months of rewriting and publishing, I watched the Lord knock over every obstacle of fear and doubt. To this day, I have yet to miss a deadline. He truly is faithful.

Experience teaches us courage. Go ahead. Take that leap of faith!

Other than prayer and Bible reading, how do you grow your courage?

~~~~~~

Gail Johnson enjoys sharing her passion for life and Christ through the power of the written word. Whether it’s through stories, articles, or songs, she invites her reader and listener to “taste and see” the hope she has found in a faithful God and loving Savior. Born and raised in Georgia, she is a wife and mother of two adult children. She enjoys lots of family time, good music, maple pecan ice cream, and southern living.

My Worst Conference Mistake by Heidi Chiavaroli

This is Heidi's last post with us as a regular contributor on Seriously Write. I'm going to miss her posts and I'm going to miss working with such a wonderful individual. I look forward to having her as a guest on Seriously Write as often as she is able to visit. So long Heidi, we know God has a wonderful plan in store for you!

- Terri

As you read this, I’m no doubt excitedly preparing for the ACFW Conference in Nashville next week. While I’m not a stranger to both local and national conferences, I  do still get those butterflies. 

I’m certain you can find a multitude of blog posts on how to prepare for a conference, so I won’t outline that here. I’ll just give you one tip of advice—and it’s one that I struggle with myself.

Relax. Be yourself.

That’s it. Sounds easy, right? But it just isn’t, at least for me. So when I start getting wound up, I remember my first national conference six years ago. I was far from relaxed. Prepared, yes. Organized? Of course. I had all my appointment times carefully written down, and I thought, memorized. I’d remembered a whole pitch after all. Certainly I could memorize an appointment time.

Or so I thought.

You know that appointment that you really want? The one that you practically came to conference for? Yeah, that one. I was late for it. Ten minutes late. And as many of you experienced conference attendees know, ten minutes in Pitchland is like an hour in the real world. It’s bad. Really bad.

To this day, I still don’t know how I got the times mixed up. I’d been ready. Prepared. Maybe far from relaxed, but I had that pitch down.

And I blew it. While the agent did graciously squeeze me in, I could tell I’d already made my not-so-good impression.

I’d been so busy rushing around, trying to gather extra appointment slots, that I’d missed the appointment I wanted most.

I’m convinced if I had just taken a breath and relaxed, maybe even tried to enjoy the conference a bit, I wouldn’t have been late for that appointment. Maybe if I had went out of my way to bless another writer instead of racking up unneeded appointments, I wouldn’t have made such a naïve mistake.

Yet even so, God is full of grace. One busted appointment wasn’t the end of my writing career. Far from it. And that conference wasn’t totally ruined. I met some amazing women who are still very much a part of my writing life.

So yes, do relax. But even if you fail at that, if you make a mistake like I did, give yourself grace. Look around, find another writer who might need someone to talk to. In this business you are never alone.

Heidi Chiavaroli is an author, runner, wife, mother, and grace-clinger—not necessarily in that order. Ever since taking her first trip to Plimoth Plantation with her sister, mother, and grandmother at the age of nine, she has been fascinated with history and its significance to today’s people and culture. Heidi is the winner of ACFW’s 2014 Genesis Contest, Historical Category. Her debut novel will release next year from Tyndale Publishers. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and Howie, her standard poodle. Learn more about Heidi on her website: www.heidichiavaroli.com.  

The Inspiration Behind Aloha Rose—When Life Comes Full Circle by Lisa Carter

A college friend once shared her struggles regarding her adoption. The unanswered questions—despite a loving, adoptive home—about the most fundamental of identity issues such as who she was, where she came from, why she’d been given up for adoption, and what all this meant for the person she’d become. A void lingered inside her that she yearned to fill.

Now years later, she related how she'd located her birth father in Hawaii and how a wonderful, new chapter in her life had opened. Through a difficult personal journey, she and her family had come full circle. As we laughed and cried, rejoiced and remembered the pain along the way, the seed of Aloha Rose, was born. Just as Laney Carrigan in Aloha Rose and the Lokelani quilt come full circle.

Like a lot of us, Laney and hero, Kai Barnes, are on a journey, seeking family and a place to belong. A huaka'i, no matter our journey, requires truth, heart and extraordinary courage. The kind of courage Laney and my college friend displayed in traveling halfway around the world to find a family. The kind of courage required of those who seek God.

For Laney, it is an issue of forgiving those who’ve hurt her in the past. For Kai, it is a matter of forgiving himself. At a crossroads, how each answer this dilemma will determine whether they can be free of the pain of the past and find God’s best for them. There are many people trapped inside wounds. Myself included. Wounds that have scabbed over but never healed. They yearn to be free of the gaping pit inside themselves and to climb out of the hole that scars their life.

At the heart of Aloha Rose are questions we each must answer with God’s help—finding true freedom and real wings to fly to be the person God intended for us to be all along. The chains of our past can only be loosed in Christ. Our guilt, fear, and the past must be nailed to the Cross.

What do you truly believe about grace, the power of the Cross, and its sufficiency to save? At the Cross is where guilt meets His forgiveness. Where confusion meets His peace. Where loneliness meets His companionship. Where the lost find direction. There is a place at the foot of the Cross for the hurt and wounded, like Kai. Like you and like me. A place for restoration of relationships, like for my friend.

Will you—will I—choose to trust the Cross? Maybe the hardest thing to do. Maybe the only way you and I can ever truly come full circle to who we were meant to be.

I hope Aloha Rose will make you laugh. Perhaps make you cry. But most of all, warm your heart with the greatest of loves, God’s love for you.

Learn more at www.lisacarterauthor.com. For behind-the-scenes photos, visit the Aloha Rose board on Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/quiltsoflove/aloha-rose-by-lisa-carter/.

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The chains of our past can only be loosed in Christ. Click to Tweet

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Lisa Carter

As a frequent speaker and vocalist at women’s ministry events, Lisa Carter shares her own journey of faith regarding the sufficiency of the Cross and His grace in her life. Aloha Rose, a contemporary romance in the Quilts of Love series, releases in November 2013. Her debut romantic suspense novel, Carolina Reckoning released in August. She and her husband have two daughters and make their home in North Carolina. When she isn't writing, Lisa enjoys traveling to romantic locales, quilting and researching her next exotic adventure.

Aloha Rose

When Laney Carrigan sets out to find her birth family, her only clue is the Hawaiian quilt in which she was found wrapped as an infant. Centering her search on the Big Island and battling fears of rejection, Laney begins a painstaking journey toward her true heritage. Kai Barnes, however, is determined to protect the people he’s come to regard as family. He thinks Laney is nothing more than a gold digger and blocks every move she makes toward her Hawaiian family. As their conflict escalates, it puts at risk the one thing that Kai and Laney both want most—a family.

God's Grace and Blessings by Mesu Andrews

After the last ACFW Conference, I had to write a fan letter to a favorite author of mine, Mesu Andrews. Like me, Mesu has chronic health issues, so I told her how much it meant to meet her. Her response to me was so inspiring, I asked if I could share it with you. Here it is, reprinted with her permission. ~ Angie

I love to hear about God's triumphs in other people's lives. And believe me...I see your life as a triumph because you haven't given up. It would be so much easier to give up. I know. Those days when you wake up and want to pull the covers over your head and just stay there... But you don't. You get out of that bed, and you walk around the back yard, and you don't fall down, and you take another step, and you keep going to the doctors, who look at you like you're crazy. Ugh. I know. And you don't give up. It's grace. God's grace. All of it. What a blessing to hear another story confirming His work in another life like my own struggle. I hate that you're going through it, but I love that He's bringing you through it--triumphantly, on your knees. ;)

Continue in the direction He leads, dear one. That's all I can say. I must confess I laughed when you wrote, "...you're a successful author." How odd to think of myself that way! Ha! I still have so much to learn and struggle with the same insecure whispers that have always tried to rob me of God's best. Perhaps "success" for me will come when I can finally rest in Him fully. No more struggling or striving to do more, be more, live better. Perhaps that's when our healing really comes. ;)

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About Mesu Andrews

Mesu Andrews’ deep understanding of and love for God’s Word brings the biblical world alive for her readers. She and her husband, Roy, enjoyed fourteen years of pastoral ministry before moving to the Pacific Northwest to pursue the next step in God’s calling. They enjoy visiting their two married daughters and a growing tribe of grandkids. Their Rottweiler-pitbull, Bouzer, snuggles at Mesu’s feet while she writes, and both enjoy the cozy warmth of a fire on rainy Northwest days. Mesu loves movies, waterfalls, and travel.

Biblical fiction is her favorite genre to read and write. Her first novel, Love Amid the Ashes (Revell, 2011), won the 2012 ECPA Book of the Year in the Debut Author Category. Love’s Sacred Song (Revell, 2012), the Song of Solomon story, received a 4 ½ star rating from RT Reviews. And Love in a Broken Vessel (Revell), the story of Hosea and Gomer, is available now and received a 4 ½ star TOP PICK rating from RT Reviews. The Shadow of Jezebel is scheduled for release in March 2014.

Love In a Broken Vessel
While unfaithful Israel breaks God’s heart, Gomer’s broken spirit tests Hosea’s faith—an epic journey of intimacy, rejection, and betrayal.

Deserted by those who love her and betrayed by the gods she once worshiped, Gomer lives a bitter existence…until one day her childhood friend reappears—Hosea. But is it too late for Gomer? Is her heart too broken to capture even a drop of love? While unfaithful Israel breaks God’s heart, Gomer’s broken spirit tests Hosea’s faith. Can the two find faith in Yahweh’s power to love?

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/embed/nI5Cav_ApPI?rel=0