Gratefulness By Laura V. Hilton

"Just Breathe" Coloring Sheet

Thanksgiving is approaching in a couple weeks. I’m kind of excited for it – my daughter will be home from college – and kind of dreading it as my husband will be working two different jobs and I have to work, too or else I’ll never reach my deadlines. 

I was thinking about what to say in my second to final post for this blog (I think) and God brought to mind the verse from Philippians 4:11: 

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

At the end of September, our church had its Fifth Sunday Singspiration and we were told that in order to request a favorite song we had to give a testimony. I think it was designed to work so that no one would request a favorite. 

And then we have me. I am a pastor’s wife. I may hate speaking in public but I can do it. If God gives me something to say. And I have a favorite song. (Insert big smile)

So the song leader looks at me after I request my favorite and says, “You have to give a testimony.” He had a look in his eye that said, “Yeah, she’s going to back out.”

I might have smirked as I stood and made my way to the front. 

The song leader told me I didn’t have to go up there. He knows me so well. 

I said, “It’s sort of an object lesson.”

Sort of, because I didn’t have a clue what I was going to say, just that I had some coloring pictures and God said, “Go.” 

So I went forward and shared how we were having money problems and didn’t know how we'd pay our bills past mid-October. I talked about how it worried me that we'd have to tell the girls that we wouldn’t have Christmas and how God said something to me that my husband always says, “Breathe. Just breathe. I got this.” 

Then I held up the coloring picture that said, “Just breathe.” 

Sure enough, God provided my husband with a second job so we would be able to meet our expenses. 

"As for me, I will always have hope." Psalm 71:14

Then I held up the second coloring page. 

“As for me, I will always have hope.” Psalm 71:14 

And I am still clinging to that HOPE, giving thanks for His provision, and in this time of not-plenty, I'm being content with what He provides. 

God is in control. Breathe. He’s got this. With God everything is possible. Nothing is impossible. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Let’s give thanks to God right now for providing for our needs. As you pray the prayer below, share with us in the comment section.

Lord God, You are powerful and You are good. Please protect my relationship with You, keeping out anything that would take my eyes off You. Today I give thanks for _____________ Amen.


For more posts by Laura V. Hilton, click here.

About the Author

Award-winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and three of their children make their home in Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom, and home-schools. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor. Laura also has two adult children.

Laura V. HIlton

Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts (winner of the 2012 Clash of the Titles Award in two categories), and Promised to Another. The Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love (finalist for the 2013 Christian Retail Awards). Surrendered Love and Awakened Love followed by her first Christmas novel, A White Christmas in Webster County, as well as a three book Amish series with Whitaker House, The Amish of Jamesport series, The Snow Globe, The Postcard, and The Bird House in September 2015.

See below for information on Laura's latest, The Christmas Admirer. Other credits include Swept Away from Abingdon Press. Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer.

Connect with Laura

http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q
visit her blog: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Laura_V_Hilton or @Laura_V_Hilton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/

Firestorm

Firestorm by Laura V. Hilton

    

Bridget Behr and her family migrate from the bustling Amish community where she grew up in Ohio to the mostly unpopulated Upper Peninsula of Michigan after a stalker breaks into their home. While her father and brother try to find work in the area, the family is forced to reside in a borrowed RV until the house and barn are rebuilt. While Bridget is hoping for a fresh start, she’s afraid to trust anyone—even Gabriel, the overly-friendly Amish man who lives nearby. Bridget thinks he’s a flirt who serial dates and doesn’t even remember the girls’ names.

Due to not enough construction work in his Florida community to keep him out of trouble, Gabriel Lapp has been sent to Michigan to work. His father is desperate for his son to settle down. When the family walks into Gabe’s home in the middle of a thunderstorm and he discovers their circumstances, he offers to help with construction. For Gabe, the beautiful girl he teasingly calls “the recluse” once he discovers she doesn’t attend youth events, confuses him like none other.

As Gabriel and Bridget grow closer, they realize there is more to a person than meets the eye. Just as Bridget is finally settling into her new life, and perhaps finding love, tragedy strikes. Now Bridget and her family must decide if they should move to another Amish community, or dare to fight for the future they’d hoped for in Mackinac County.

Soul Care for Writers by Edie Melson

Edie Melson

Oh, friends, we're in for a treat today! Raise your hand if you've ever been burned out in your pursuit of your calling. Yeah, I see those hands in the back. (waving at you with my own raised hand) This fall, I learned about a book written by today's guest that has helped me find rest in the middle of the mayhem. Perhaps Edie Melson's advice will help you as well. Read on! ~ Annette

Soul Care for Writers

By Edie Melson

Those who write have opened themselves to specific stressors. We pull from what’s inside us to create a gift of words. Our specific goals and dreams are as varied at the words we use. But ultimately I believe we each fight this battle to bring forth words to make the world a better place. We are hope givers, joy bringers, and light shiners.

To do this though, we must have something to pull from. Writing is an exhausting endeavor and we cannot do it effectively when the well is dry. So we must constantly return to the One who understands us—and our craft—best.

God is the ultimate author, and it is His inheritance that we showcase when we put pen to paper. God planted a seed in each of us that bears the fruit of words. But this seed must be nurtured—shaded in the healing covering of His presence and watered by His spirit and His word.

It’s not always possible to stop in the middle of chaos and retreat to a place of peace. But we know from Jesus’ example that He often walked into chaos and brought peace. We carry His strength with us, so in the midst of deadlines, family struggles, even writer’s block we have that same inner core of peace inside of us. We just need to bring it to the forefront.

Tips for Soul Care When Chaos Threatens 

1.      Stop and Pray. I always pray before I begin writing—whether it’s an email, social media update, blog post or my current work in progress. In the spirit of transparency, you need to know that it took me way too long to develop this habit, but it makes all the difference. 

2.      Take a creative break. I know, deadlines are looming and it doesn’t feel like you’ve got thirty seconds to spare. But taking five minutes to reignite that creative flame may save you hours of work.

•  Free write using a writing prompt
• Download a coloring page and spend five minutes playing 
•  Write out a Bible verse on a piece of paper. Doodle around it and add color, underline words that speak to you.

3.      Take a walk. Not only will it get your blood pumping, it will get your creative blood pumping. When you return from your walk, take an extra couple of minutes and write down what you noticed on your walk. 

4.      Turn up the music. When I need creative inspiration, music is one way I get that. I may turn up praise music and sing along, or movie themes and do a little (very private) dancing. 

5.      Pull out your camera. I’m also a photographer and something magical happens when I take time to view life through the lens of my camera. It helps me remember to filter out and focus in on what’s important. It doesn’t matter if you have a big professional camera or are using your cell phone. The effect is the same. 

6.      Write in a different place. Go to a different spot in your house. Visit the library (if you like quiet) or a coffee shop.

There are many things that deplete our creative energy, both outward and inward. We must be responsible to take time to renew our reserves and reconnect with the One who called us to this endeavor. When I take time for soul care, I reconnect with God. It’s during these times of closeness, His Spirit floods mine with truth. It’s the truth of who I am and more importantly—Whose I am—that brings me relief.

Now it’s your turn. How do you nurture your writing soul? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Blessings,

Edie

~~~~~

Soul Care When You're Weary by Edie Melson

Soul Care When You're Weary

Our lives are busier each day, and the margin we have available for recovery and peace is shrinking. Edie Melson helps you find Soul Care solutions using devotions and prayers and opportunities for creative expression. She has learned that sensory involvement deepens our relationship with the Father and gives rest to our weary souls. She will teach you to tap into your creativity. Reconnect with God using your tactile creativity. Warning! This book may become dog-eared and stained. Draw in it. Experiment with your creative passions. Learn the healing power of play. Allow God’s power to flow through creativity. Soul Care When You’re Weary will become your heart treasure.

~~~~~

Edie Melson is a woman of faith with ink-stained fingers observing life through the lens of her camera. As an author, blogger, and speaker she’s encouraged and challenged audiences across the country and around the world. No matter whether she’s talking to writers, fellow creatives, or readers, her first advice is always “Find your voice, live your story.” Her latest book, Soul Care When You’re Weary is available online and in bookstores. Soul Care for Writers will debut in May 2019.

Her blog for writers, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month and has been named to the Writer’s Digest Top 101 Websites for Writers. She’s the Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Marketing Conference, and Soul Care Creative Conference. She’s on the board of directors for the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and the Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine. She’s also a regular columnist for Just18Summers.com and PuttingOnTheNew.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Comfort to Keep You Going by Melinda Viergever Inman

Melinda Viergever Inman

Comfort to Keep You Going

When I began editing the manuscript, I was exhilarated. But, as I worked, discouragement grew and enlarged. I began to compare how much I could accomplish when I first began writing fiction ten years ago with what I can accomplish now.

I’m a writer with a chronic illness. I’ve been sick with an autoimmune disease since 2013. My window of work each day is now small. Fatigue and brain fog now bring challenges.

As Christians writers, we’re on mission for the Lord. We’ve been gifted to write, and we serve God with our words, delivering the message he has given us. However, when completing any mission, obstacles will threaten to derail us.

Sometimes we wonder why God would allow this. Why wouldn’t he keep struggles away, so we can devote our time and attention to serving him?

The Lord’s tactics are usually the opposite of what we expect.

Today I’m writing to encourage other writers who face large obstacles of any kind. One of the most encouraging passages in Scripture tells us:

Trials actually equip us for the task. They give us quality content to write. God allows those who serve him to suffer for these reasons:

So we can be comforted by God, learning experientially that he is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, the One who beckons us near to encourage us, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4a.

We must know this in our bones. Why?

So that we can then encourage others in any trouble with the same strengthening and consolation that we’ve received from God. Through Christ our comfort overflows, 1:4b-5.

If you’re like me, God often uses your writing to encourage your readers. Therefore, this is a lesson we must learn, if we hope to uplift others. In trials, we learn that the more we suffer, the more Christ comforts us in abundant measure, 1:5.

Our written words are tools he then uses to come alongside others, encouraging them to endure, 1:6a. Thus, they share in this same comfort from God, 1:7. In this way, we’re distressed for the comfort and salvation of others—our readers.

More reasons God allows us to suffer:

Trials and God’s comfort in them produce character and patient endurance, 1:6b. This enables us to persevere, a necessary requirement for Christian writers.

Trials, hardships, and pressures are felt beyond our ability to endure, even to the point of despair, so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead, 1:8-9.

In our own strength, we can’t live the Christian life or fulfill our ministry of writing. Realizing that we can’t rely on ourselves, but only on God, must be learned experientially. Suffering is required. We are strengthened by learning to rely on the One who raises the dead. 

Our trials keep us ever mindful of our weaknesses, so that we set our hope on God, who has delivered us and will continue to deliver us, 1:10. And he does. And he will, even in our death.

In this same letter, Paul also wrote:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:7, 10 NIV).

Any ability we have is from God. It isn’t us. It’s him. The life of Jesus has given us all we need to complete our mission. As we rely on him, we are able. These trials are for our good. Press on!

“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV).

Author Melinda V Inman, Author of: Refuge; Fallen; and No Longer Alone

Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family, Melinda Viergever Inman now spins tales from her writer’s cave in the Midwest. Her faith-filled fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives. Find her weekly at http://MelindaInman.com/blog/. To find her work and to be notified of future published novels, follow her at http://bit.ly/MelindasBooks/.

Connections:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470

Website: http://melindainman.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman  

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melindavinman/  

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MelindaViergeverInman/posts/p/pub

Of Shipwrecks and Romance by Pegg Thomas

Who would start a historical romance with a shipwreck? Oh … that would be me. I love starting my stories with true historical events and using real historical characters if I can. Besides the ship, my story also includes Captain John and Celia Persons, who ran the lifesaving station on Thunder Bay Island in Lake Huron near Alpena, MI. Thanks to the Persons and their crew at the station, all hands were safely brought to shore after the wreck.

 Anna’s Tower, part of The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides collection, begins with the wreck of the James Davidson. That wreck—rather conveniently if I do say so myself—allowed me to add a fictional stowaway who becomes the hero of Anna’s Tower. I also employ fictional characters to inhabit the lighthouse on Thunder Bay Island, but the tugboats that bring supplies to the island were named after the actual tugboats that worked in that area at that time.

Knitting together real history with my fictional stories is what I love to do. It brings the reader deeper into the story, knowing that some of the characters, places, and even boats once existed. While they were entertained and engrossed in the fictional story, they were also enriched with a bit of the culture of that day.

 

The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides Collection

 

Lighthouses have long been the symbol of salvation, warning sailors away from dangerous rocks and shallow waters.

 Along the Great Lakes, America’s inland seas, lighthouses played a vital role in the growth of our nation. They shepherded settlers traveling by water to places that had no roads. These beacons of light required constant tending even in remote and often dangerous places. Brave men and women battled the elements and loneliness to keep the lights shining. Their sacrifice kept goods and immigrants moving. Seven romances set between 1883 and 1911 bring hope to these lonely keepers and love to weary hearts.

 

Amazon Buy Link

 

And speaking of knitting … I am giving away one of my signature handspun, handknit shawls to celebrate the release of The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides. The only way to enter is to subscribe to my newsletter.  One lucky subscriber will win the Beacon on the Bay Shawl on November 30, 2018.

Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. They raise sheep and chickens, keep a few barn cats, and Murphy the spoiled rotten dog. A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” Pegg is published in the Barbour historical romance collections. Pegg also works as Managing Editor of Smitten Historical Romance, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls.

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