Merry Christmas!

Welcome to my stop on the Christmas Round-Robin blog tour! If you missed the beginning, and are looking for where to start, please visit Hallee Bridgeman’s blog.

At each author’s blog post, you will find a question that can be answered by checking out the free Amazon preview of their book. Provide the answer at this Google Form. Note: You must answer the questions for every author in the round-robin to be considered to win an Amazon gift card. The first prize card has a value of $300, second place has a $150 value, and the third prize card is worth $75. At the end of my post is a link to the next blog, who will provide a link to the next blog, and so on, to the very end.

I’m excited to tell you about my book After the Snow Falls. It is Book One in the Journeys of the Heart series, and you can read it without having read its prequel.

Celia Bennett is a dedicated mom. Every detail of her life is organized, including her son’s soccer fundraiser. But her whole world spins out of control when Caleb lands face-first in the grass and can’t get up.

After doctors deliver a stunning diagnosis, another unwelcome surprise awaits her. Her father walks back into her life after a thirty-year absence. When he offers an answer to Caleb’s problem, will she reject it, along with him? Or can she open her heart and embrace hope?

After the Snow Falls was my first novel. The story and characters are very close to my heart. The story is loosely based on some events from my childhood. As a mom, I relate closely to many of Celia’s struggles.

Let’s continue the scavenger hunt! Go to the book on Amazon at this link. What major landmark do Adele and Alfie visit? When you have the answer, fill out this form and head on to the next blog!

Thank you so much for visiting! The next author on the tour is Julie Lessman, who is telling us all about her Christmas book A Light in the Window. You can find it at this link. Remember that the round-robin will end on December 16th at 11:59 PM EST!

It seems like the whole world is talking war: from conflicts in the Middle East, to skirmishes with Russia, to the threats from North Korea. You don’t have to know very much about current events to be aware of it.

It’s interesting, then, that in our everyday lives we tend to act as though we have no enemies.

It wasn’t always that way. By my count, there are about a hundred references to “enemy” or “enemies” in the Psalms. While we think of the book of Psalms as a songbook or a book of worship—which it undoubtedly is—there are many psalms filled with laments by King David appealing for divine help and salvation from adversaries.

He was certainly aware of his enemies! Okay, so we don’t find ourselves in the same kinds of situations as he did. I don’t remember ever spending a night in a cave hiding from danger, for example.

But have you ever felt that way? I definitely have.

The Bible is pretty clear that we do have an enemy: Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

But most of us go through our days completely unaware of any strategies aimed against us. This doesn’t stop the enemy from attacking! We’re often ambushed by an enemy we didn’t see coming.

Just as the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, the first step to victory is admitting there is an enemy—and there is a battle going on.

On the face of things, this is pretty bad news. So where is hope?

Hope is in the fact that our Commander has identified our enemy for us. He’s the one who told us to stay alert. And he’s been studying the enemy’s tactics for a long time now. He tells us the enemy doesn’t need to outsmart us. Indeed, we can be “familiar with his evil schemes” 2 Corinthians 2:11.

Take heart. We have weapons and we can understand how to use them (Ephesians 6).

No matter what you’re facing today, take the first step to victory.

 

Leave a comment and let me know. Are you aware of an enemy at work in your life?

It’s January. Do you do the New Year’s Resolution thing? They’re not in style anymore, I know. We’re a world of cynics certain that by January 31—or sooner—we’ll have forgotten the gym, the scale, the promise to “unplug.”

Call me old-fashioned, but I still think of January as a time to reflect and reset. Coming into 2018, I made a few resolutions. I’d like to call them “goals”—because first of all, that’s more fashionable, and secondly, because that would be more prudent: making them achievable, realistic, measurable, and all that. But the truth of the matter is, coming into the new year, I had no idea how I would fit any of the things I’ve resolved to do into a schedule that won’t budge.

But I knew I needed to, and so I have.

What are my resolutions/goals for this year? And what steps have I taken to make them happen?

1. To love my Bible. A few years ago, I made it my focus to establish a habit to open my Bible first and daily. I read the Bible in a year that year and the year following, and I’ve worked through various reading plans since then using a Bible app. I’m glad I did. But this year my goal is to chew a little longer on each morsel and get back into a real Bible with real pages I can mark up and allow to mark me.I’ve printed out a copy of this reading plan—with a little variation on how I’ll journal with it—and tucked it in the front of my new Inspire NLT version Bible. (It’s just so beautiful!) I’m also reading Tim Keller’s fantastic book on prayer.
2. To make writing a priority and a daily habit. I had this planner professionally printed in bound book form. I’m sitting down at the end of a week to think through my weekly writing goals. And I sketched out my bigger-picture goals for the first quarter of the year. Little by little, day by day, I’m writing/editing/plotting consistently.
3. To nourish creativity. I’ve harbored dreams of delving into other creative endeavors for a long time. I dabble in drawing and watercolors, and while encouraging my kids in creative expression with pastels and colored pencils, have discovered a love for those as well. I’ve decided this is the year those deferred dreams will become a reality. I have gathered together a few basic art supplies, and I’m drawing or painting something in a sketchbook almost every day.
4. To exercise. I saved this one for almost-last for a couple of reasons. First, it’s usually the first thing on everyone’s list of resolutions. And while it’s important to me, it’s not as important as the things I’ve already listed. I feel like the health of my spirit and my soul need to come before that of my body. Second, I’ve been exercising and eating pretty well. I just want to step things up a bit. As part of my new regimen, I bought an exercise ball and I’m using it to do squats. Long, long ago—two children and a pre-mid-life body ago—when I’d see the inside of a gym, I saw positive results with squats and the Smith machine. The exercise ball helps me achieve similar results. Who knows? Maybe I’ll uncover that body I had 15 years ago!
5. To blog again. Yes, it’s been a long while, but I’m back. So glad to pick up our conversation again.

That’s it! I’m trying to keep it simple and go easy on myself. Those who know me well know that, in itself, is a struggle for me.

How about you? Do you make resolutions or goals in January? Would you share one or two?