The Blessing of Sacrifice ~Part 2 of The Price of Success by Christine Lindsay

Christine Lindsay

The winter has passed since I wrote Part 1 of my article on being a workaholic and that I was going to change. That blog post sounded like I was giving up my long-awaited writing career for love.  Sounds romantic. But I will affirm that six months later I am sticking to my commitment to put my relationships above that of my writing. Not an easy thing when you consider that since I wrote Part 1 my career seems to have taken some large leaps forward.

When I wrote that I planned on spending more alone time with my husband I didn’t realize that a few months later I would be accepting the position as Vice President of Christian Authors’ Network. An honor, a privilege, and lots, lots more work helping other authors network to promote their work. This new position is increasing my visibility as a writer.

Yet it came after a time of deep prayer because I am still committed to that alone time with my husband...that coffee-shopping time with my mother...some fun time with my grandkids...that time in prayer.

At the moment I am under the gun to meet the deadline for my next book, Veiled at Midnight to end my historical series Twilight of the British Raj. End of April is approaching for that deadline. But the plan is, after I meet that date to slow down, pack up the trailer, and head to the hills. Write only a few hours, and devote the rest of the day to my husband in walks, playing together with the dog, cooking the fish he catches, playing board games in the evening.

It puzzles me that after I made this commitment to put others first, that the very thing I was willing to sacrifice is the thing that God blessed.

Is it a formula?

No. For the moment you try to make it one, your defeat yourself.

Only when I decided to truly put the thing I loved on the altar, was willing to set the match to the kindling did the Lord step in and douse the flames before they flickered.

So, my career is still on. But His whisper on my soul as I pray each day is, Keep true to your promise child. I am watching, and I will bless as I see fit.

Dora here. Christine packs the camper and heads to the hills with hubby to renew her commitment to him and their marriage. What's your favorite way to unwind with your spouse? How do you balance writing and family?

Purchase Christine's Books

ABOUT CHRISTINE LINDSAY:

Christine Lindsay was born in Ireland, and is proud of the fact that she was once patted on the head by Prince Philip when she was a baby. Her great grandfather, and her grandfather—yes father and son—were both riveters on the building of the Titanic. Tongue in cheek, Christine states that as a family they accept no responsibility for the sinking of that great ship.

It was stories of her ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in Colonial India that inspired her Multi-award-winning, historical series Twilight of the British Raj. Book 1 Shadowed in Silk, Book 2 Captured by Moonlight, and Christine is currently writing the final installment of that series called Veiled at Midnight to be released August 2014.

Londonderry Dreaming, Christine’s romance novella set in N. Ireland released Feb. 21, 2014.

Aside from being a busy writer and speaker, Christine is also VP of Christian Authors’ Network. She makes her home in British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada with her husband and their grown up family. Her cat Scottie is chief editor on all Christine’s books.

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE:

Please drop by Christine’s website http://www.christinelindsay.com/ or follow her on Twitter and be her friend on Pinterest , Facebook  and  Goodreads.

The Price of Success As A Writer by Christine Lindsay

Christine Lindsay

Is it possible that some of us writers are workaholics because we like it?

At the start of my fifties I began my long-desired writing and speaking career. While things were challenging, God gave me the strength to rise to that challenge, and I thoroughly enjoyed reaching those long-sought-after goals.

OH MY, I FELT FULFILLED. I was woman. Hear me roar…or better still…maybe I was getting close to becoming that Proverbs 31 woman.   

But fifteen years after the fact, after my first two books had been published, and with contracts for more, I also discovered that it was hard to shoehorn leisure into my schedule. When was the last time I relaxed or took a day off? Sometimes months would go by.

AND THE BIGGER COST:

This past spring it dawned on me that my dear husband was suffering from loneliness due to my extremely busy schedule. The wrongness of this hit me between the eyes.

Around the same time I ran into two different sets of women. Six of one and half a dozen of the other, you might say.

The first group warmly reminisced about the wonderful holidays they had camping with their husbands over the years. The other group shared that quite recently their husbands had passed away, unexpectedly, suddenly, and all these dear husbands were around the age of sixty.

My husband was sixty.

A GOD-INSPIRED SOLUTION

The question echoed in my mind. What am I waiting for? That week we purchased a brand new, little travel trailer. My husband didn’t take much convincing.

On our first trip in July we drove through the majestic Canadian Rockies, and at the summit of Roger’s Pass I noticed a large artillery gun. My husband explained that avalanche control experts shot artillery shells into the snowcaps to trigger avalanches, to control the snows from building too high and thick and thereby causing a fatal avalanche.

WHAT I LEARNED DRIVING THROUGH THE ROCKIES

I compared this controlling of avalanches to my own life. My marriage had to come first, even at the expense of my writing and speaking ministry. So, like the avalanche control experts, I chose to cut back on my writing so I could spend more togetherness time with my husband.

My little Christmas novelette Heavenly Haven is the culmination of that thinking.

Dora here. As writers, it's difficult to shut down for the day. How do you unwind? Do you find your relationships suffer?

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Heavenly Haven  ~ Purchase Link

Heavenly Haven by Christine Lindsay

Avalanches happen to other people, not us. Marital problems happen to other people, not us, especially nine days before Christmas. At least that’s what Jack and Shaina Burke thought. Married for ten years, avalanche control expert Jack, and Shaina, only wanted to celebrate their December anniversary in a romantic way, until the shifting snows on the mountain bring havoc tumbling down upon them.

Heavenly Haven is available as an Ebook on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Kobo.

About the author:

Christine Lindsay was born in N. Ireland and is proud of the fact that she was patted on the head by Prince Philip when she was a baby. Her great grandfather, and her grandfather—yes father and son—were both riveters on the building of the Titanic. Tongue in cheek, Christine states that as a family they accept no responsibility for the sinking of that great ship.

It was stories of her ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in Colonial India that inspired her historical series Twilight of the British Raj of which Book 1 Shadowed in Silk has won several awards. Book 2 Captured by Moonlight is so far a Finalist for the 2013 Readers Favorite Award. Christine is currently writing the final installment of that series called Veiled at Midnight to be released August 2014.

Also coming out February 2014 is Londonderry Dreaming, a romance novella set in Londonderry Northern Ireland.  

Christine makes her home in British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada with her husband and their grown up family. Her cat Scottie is chief editor on all her books.

Christine Lindsay would love to connect with you on her website www.ChristineLindsay.com, or drop by her blog for inspiration www.ChristineLindsay.org or follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest