Are You Under Attack? by Zoe M. McCarthy

• Is someone undermining your work?
• Has someone said something against you?
• Is someone trying to get you to do something you believe is wrong?
• Is someone tearing down something you’ve accomplished?
• Is someone trying to hack or take away something that belongs to you?

Writing or doing any positive activity is difficult when we’re under attack. We say we won’t think about the attack, then 2 seconds later …

We mull over the injustice and what we could say to the attacker, but as Christians, we believe we must be the example, not feed the problem.

We commit to pray for our attacker, but 2 seconds later …
We think about the counseling our attacker needs and that we could show the attacker how the assault feels, because the attacker is no saint.

We decide to let our feelings dissolve, but 2 seconds later …

We script the conversation we’d have face-to-face with the attacker—over and over.

Where’s the peace?

We’ve already lost sleep and walked around like a zombie whose sole purpose is looking for blood. We’re not doing this because of what the attacker did. We are in this state because we continue to allow the situation to commandeer our thoughts.

The attacker is winning and Satan is throwing a party.

image by johnhain

Here’s how we reclaim peace.

First, we concentrate on God’s truths and mercies, no matter how often we have to pull our thoughts from the situation:

• God does something huge for us: He credits us with righteousness because of our faith in Him. (Romans 4:23-35) We still sin (like worrying about the attack), but because we believe in Him who raised Jesus, Our Lord, from the dead, we have righteousness and can live accordingly.
• God loved us before we loved Him. He commands us not to worry, but even before the attack, He’s shown us how much He loves us and promises to care for us. We can count on His custody. (Matthew 6:25-34)
• Jesus went through attacks, and He understands ours. More than that, He knows what we need. (Hebrews 4:15-16) Spending sleepless hours with an upset stomach and worrying through the night is not what we need. We need peace.

Second, we talk to God as if He’s right there with us— because He is.

• We say: “Lord, I am Your child whom You love dearly.”
• We claim: “Lord, You are the only One who can take care of my agitation. I commit it to You, because You are sovereign over it. (2 Chronicles 20:1-30)
• We ask: Lord, please give me peace. 
• We praise God’s glory: Lord, You are [we list every attribute of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we can recall from Scripture and lift it up to God.]

During this time, we fall asleep.

Sometimes we have to approach God again the next night the same way.

I can usually list more than 40 soul-calming attributes of God. What are five attributes you love about God?

How to reclaim peace after a personal attack. Click to tweet.

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About the Author

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. 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. 

Learn more about Zoe M. McCarthy at her website: http://zoemmccarthy.com

Calculated Risk

What happens when an analytical numbers man meets a mercurial marketing Rep? Romance is a calculated risk…

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.

Purchase links for Calculated Risk: http://zoemmccarthy.com/books

How to Infuse Spiritual Warfare Naturally into Your Story by ML Tyndall

This Manuscript Monday, we're beginning a new series about including faith elements in our writing. It's tricky, so wouldn't it be great to have some advice? For this series, we'll hear from some pros on how to include spiritual elements professionally. Kicking things off is author MaryLu Tyndall who writes historicals for Barbour. One of the elements I noticed that sets her writing apart is her ability to include elements of spiritual warfare in a genre which traditionally didn't include them much—romance. She's here today to share some advice with us. Welcome, MaryLu!

How to Infuse Spiritual Warfare Naturally
into Your Story
by ML Tyndall

One of the main things that sets my historical romance novels apart from others is that I incorporate some element of spiritual warfare in each of my books. Let’s face it, when you think of historical romance novels, you don’t exactly think about demons and spiritual battles, Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti’s books, maybe. But romance? For example, in my very first book, The Redemption, Satan appears in the form of a black crow that harasses the heroine on more than one occasion, attempting to frighten her and distract her from seeking God’s salvation. In The Reliance, the heroine calls down lightning from heaven to disrupt a mutiny on her ship which would have certainly ended in her death. In The Red Siren, my characters are confronted with a band of warlocks who are attempting to cast a spell on the heroine’s sister. The hero rebukes them in the name of Jesus and sends them fleeing. In The Blue Enchantress, a woman is delivered of demons. In The Raven Saint, the heroine must deal with a Satanic Voodoo curse put on another character.

The question is, how do you incorporate this type of spiritual warfare without it seeming too unbelievable, too weird, and too silly? Here are some suggestions that may help you.

The spiritual battles should not solve the main struggles of the hero and heroine. In other words, don’t use miracles as a bandage to plug a hole in your plot. That’s when your readers will shake their heads in disbelief and put your book down. Along those lines, however, you can certainly use a miracle or a spiritual battle to rescue your hero or heroine out of a dangerous situation. These type of events happened all the time in the Bible.

Don’t use spiritual battle as the only thing that convinces your unbelieving characters that God exists. It can certainly be a main factor, but there should be other things, such as witnessing godly character in others and seeing lives transformed, that convince the character that God loves him or her.

The spiritual battle should be a natural part of the story, not just some crazy scene thrown in for entertainment. It should morph naturally out of one of the story themes or plot lines.

Most importantly, you should educate yourself on spiritual warfare. (And not just for writing. This is something we Christians need to understand and be ready to use!) Read books on demons and deliverance. Read books on other Christians’ experiences in spiritual battle. Read the Bible and see how Jesus and His apostles battled the forces of darkness. Recall in your own walk with God the times that you’ve personally done battle. The best writing comes out of personal experience.

Finally, taking all the things above into account, when you are developing your character arcs and plotting how your characters will grow and change, decide where and when to incorporate a miracle or a spiritual battle as part of their natural growth. Then keep that event in mind as you begin writing and how it will affect your story and all of the characters involved. Then it will seem more naturally a part of the story. Just like in real life when God comes through big time as He so often does in our own lives!

~~~~~

On the brink of the War of 1812, Marianne Denton must marry to unlock her inheritance. Without the money, her mother can’t receive medical care and her sister will be destitute. But Noah Brenin needs to sail his cargo to England before the war commences in order to prove his worth to his father and make enough money so he won’t have to marry at all.

But when Noah walks out on their engagement party, Marianne chases him down and ends up on his merchantman out at sea. The situation worsens when Noah’s ship encounters a British man-of-war and the couple are impressed into the British navy.

While a young lad’s prophecy of destiny looms over them both, Marianne and Noah are forced to face their darkest fears as they desperately try to find a way to escape and fulfill their destinies—destinies that could change the course of the war and history forever.

~~~~~

M.L. Tyndall, a Christy Award Finalist, and best-selling author of the Legacy of the King’s Pirates series is known for her adventurous historical romances filled with deep spiritual themes. She holds a degree in Math and worked as a software engineer for fifteen years before testing the waters as a writer. MaryLu currently writes full time and makes her home on the California coast with her husband, six kids, and four cats. Her passion is to write page-turning, romantic adventures that not only entertain but expose Christians to their full potential in Christ. For more information on MaryLu and her upcoming releases, please visit her website at http://www.mltyndall.com or her blog at http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/