Linda Brooks Davis's Blog, page 8

Freedom: Let’s Chat

Welcome, everyone. Let’s chat about … 

Freedom.

How free are you? I mean, really?

Are you free from pain? Discord? Disillusionment? Grief, heartache, trauma? How about illness, debt, or uncertainty?

Are you free from fear? 

How about your values? Is your freedom to live according to the tenets you hold most dear tottering on the edge of a pit? 

Welcome to our world, our nation, our communities, our homes. Ourselves.

Freedom in This World

Merriam-Webster defines freedom as “the quality or state of being free: such as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. Do you live with necessity? Check your pantry. How about coercion? Check your tax return. Or constraint? Check highway signs.

The United States prides itself on its freedom, so much so that it’s engraved in our Bill of Rights. Check the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly. Why do you suppose those rights are enshrined in this document that’s known around the world as the guardian of freedom?

Because without it, neither you nor I could live according to our faith without fear of interference from the government. Nor could we count on expressing our opinions publicly, printing our thoughts in a public venue, petitioning authorities concerning our grievances, or assembling with others in a likeminded cause. 

To safeguard those freedoms, guess what? We create laws to constrain the constrainers, coerce the coercers, and mandate provisions for our basic needs: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And our military, past and present, stands ready to protect us from tyrants who would impose, restrict, and coerce in every arena of life. Our freedom is fragile and requires a strong military and law enforcement officers to safeguard it.

Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to live under the U.S. Constitution?

Thank God for veterans who protect it.

But What About … 

Pain, illness, and debilitation. Death, grief, and despair. Disappointment. Disillusionment. Destruction. Hatred. Rage. Turmoil. Violence. Gossip. Lying and deceit. Don’t they hold us down? And coerce us into lives unlike any we would choose to pursue?

My pursuit of happiness has nothing to do with any of these heinous behaviors. Does yours? Can someone please write a Bill of Rights for these? Matter of fact …

Freedom in Christ

Once upon a time, humankind was devoid of these traits, circumstances, and behaviors. All around was perfection. We can only imagine.

Then came spiritual fallenness, the worst of tyrants, and all the evil and brokenness such tyrants impose. We don’t have to imagine. Just look around.

God’s original law provided mercy to the spiritually fallen. Under certain circumstances. And according to strict instructions.

But then, an answer appeared—a real one. It’s called grace, an undeserved, unearned gift on top of the mercy.

Jesus.

He paid the debt. Took the sin. The punishment. The coercion, discord, and shame. Mine. And yours.

He provides freedom that can’t be impinged upon, reduced, redefined, or paid for. The debt is paid in full. Best of all, he’s preparing a haven of rest, a place devoid of fallenness, out of the riches of his grace. And no military has to guard and protect freedom in Christ because Jesus has sealed His promise, He cannot lie, and He cannot be defeated. Freedom in Christ is literally free to us. And forever.

Who in the world wouldn’t want to live under grace?

Thank God for Jesus who saves us.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1 NIV

#freedom #VeteransDay #Christ #Jesus #freedomisnotfree #USConstitution #BillofRights 

The post Freedom: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Teresa Tysinger: Let’s Chat

Teresa Tysinger is an author of southern contemporary romance inspired by grace. She writes on the fringes of being a wife, mom, and full-time communications professional. Her novels Someplace Familiar and Suddenly Forever are the first two books in her Laurel Cove Romance series.

Teresa is a member of ACFW, the Association for Women in Communications, and the Religion Communicators Council. She loves coffee, traveling, and just about every genre of music. Born in Hawaii, raised in Florida, and educated in North Carolina, she now resides in Texas with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Join the chat below, and you’ll qualify for Teresa’s giveaway: Suddenly Forever in ebook format. Now, here’s Teresa Tysinger in her own words.

On Being Inspired by Teresa Tysinger

I’ve had readers ask me how I come up with the ideas for my books. Usually, a small detail or general theme kicks off a few weeks of brainstorming. I’m sometimes inspired by a line in a song, a feeling I’m struggling with in my own life, or a scripture verse on my heart. Slowly, characters start to take shape. A setting comes into focus. Eventually, the shell of a story forms enough that I can sit down and begin writing.

I wouldn’t say that I generally labor through a new story idea. As a pantser (an author who flies by the seat of her pants instead of plotting out the whole story), all I need is a general idea of where I’m going and who my characters are. But everything was completely different with my latest book, Suddenly Forever.

In April of this year, I finished writing Somehow, This Christmas – a Christmas novella for the Something Borrowed: Christmas Weddings Collection (available October 20). The same night I typed THE END on the novella, I laid awake in bed stirring with creative frustration. Vague shadows of a new story floated around in my head like ghostly flecks of snow in the night sky. I couldn’t quite grab a hold of any of it, but it was there. Then, before I knew it, the almost undetectable flurries thickened into a blizzard of ideas.

I tossed and turned as flashes of vivid characters sprang to my mind. They were so complete. Their faces and names, their hurts and mistakes, their deepest desires. It all became so clear so quickly. Scenes played in my head that swelled emotion within me all the way to a conclusion that left me blinking away tears.

This avalanche of inspiration was so foreign and both overwhelming and exhilarating. It was almost as though God was playing me a movie trailer version of a story He wanted me to tell.

Over an hour later, I set my smartphone back down on my bedside table and rested my quiet head on my pillow, finally ready for sleep. My note-taking app would be waiting for me in the morning full of the bits I could collect into phrases, bullet points, and even a few paragraphs.

Sure enough, the next day I began writing what felt like an already-complete novel. It poured out of me. Less than six weeks later, I typed THE END on a more complete first draft than I’ve ever had before. (See my writing space in the photo to the right.) And, early last month, Suddenly Forever hit the shelves! It’s been quite a whirlwind.

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on this experience of sudden inspiration. More than ever, it made me acutely aware of God’s role as my co-author. At the beginning of any project, I pray and invite God to be a part of the process. This time, however, God came knocking on my door and invited me alongside Him. How exciting!

I know it won’t always be this way.

Future stories will likely require flexing my creative muscles. Inspiration will hide and I’ll have to chase her through a maze of dead-ends on the way to THE END. Both experiences are valuable in their own way. Both require hard work, determination, and willingness to say “yes” to the task of co-writing with God. And, no matter which way inspiration reveals herself, I trust that my co-author will speak His Truth to readers in new ways.

Still, what a thrill it was to be stuck in the white-out of an inspiration blizzard at least once!

SUDDENLY FOREVER (Laurel Cove Romance, Book 2) 

Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2EIe1jQ

On the outskirts of Laurel Cove, North Carolina sits a quiet lake tucked into gentle mountains carpeted with the brilliant colors of autumn. Grief binds the lake’s only residents into an unlikely family, where old and new love build a bridge between loss and hope.

For years, best-selling author Cora Bradford has worked tirelessly to tread the unrelenting waves of grief in solitude. That is until a new neighbor moves in down the road and threatens to disrupt what she’s carefully preserved of the life she once knew. Will God ever answer her prayer for peace and calmer waters?

Following a scandal, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Luke Bassett escapes to the one place in the world he’s ever experienced peace—his mother’s cabin on the lake where he spent childhood summers.

But the memory of her and the mistakes he made are hardly peaceful. To make matters worse, he gets off to a rocky start with his bitter, but breathtakingly beautiful, neighbor. Was running away from the life he’s always known the biggest mistake of all, or the beginning of something he never knew he wanted?

Spunky, opinionated, and recently widowed Ina McLean is alone for the first time in over ninety years. When Cora and Luke come together to care for their only other neighbor, Ina’s belief in God’s goodness through life’s ups and downs works to restore their hope in learning to live—and love—again.  

Teresa’s Links

Readers can find Teresa Tysinger via the following links:

Website: https://teresatysinger.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teresatysingerauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmtysinger

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teresatysinger_author/

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39SyGgO

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16536072.Teresa_Tysinger

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/teresa-tysinger

~ ~ ~

Lord, please bless each word Teresa writes for you.

~ For Jesus’ sake

The post Teresa Tysinger: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Can Christians Turn Halloween Into Something Holy?

How Are Christians to Respond to Halloween?
Click for family Halloween treats.

Days are growing shorter and nights longer. Trees are changing colors. The air is turning cooler, crisper. Brown, orange, and gold decorations adorn porches and front lawns. It’s Halloween time.

Basically an American holiday, Halloween has become many things to many people. But what—if anything—should it represent for Christians? For some, its pagan origins disqualify it from their calendars.

Which begs the question: How, then, can Christians call the days of the week after Anglo-Saxon, German, Norse, and Roman deities? How can Christians meet on Sunday to honor the Lord Jesus when Sunday in its original context was “Sun’s Day” – in honor of the Roman Sun God?

Shall we observe Halloween or any special day in its pagan context of centuries past—with symbols of what Christ suffered and died to obliterate: Evil. Death. Darkness. Cruelty. Fear. Pain. Witches. Sorcery. Spells. Occultism. And every other work of Satan? Many Christians refuse to observe Halloween because of these dark, ghoulish connotations.

Deuteronomy 18:10-13 NIV – There shall not be found among you anyone who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord.

Other Christians “redeem” Halloween through the blood of Christ by shining the light of the gospel around their neighborhoods. They celebrate God’s goodness as seen in the harvest, abundance, and “treating” their neighbors.

Matter of fact, Pope Gregory IV reacted to the pagan challenge by moving the celebration of All Saints Day in the ninth century. He set the date at November 1, right in the middle of the pagan festival, Samhain. ~ Travis Allen, https://bit.ly/3lsCnhC 

Without question, observing Halloween—or not—remains a matter of conscience before God for Christians.

Romans 14:6 NIV—Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

But for me …

When the ghosts and ghouls of Halloween appear in our neighborhood each year, my thoughts race to the one and only “ghost” Christians can turn to, the only “spirit” we can worship—the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. 

The idea of a triune God … of the One-and-Only God’s 3-in-1-ness … How mysterious is that? Wrapping my head around how this could be possible always left me bumfuzzled. Until I became a grandmother.

Let me explain …

One day I said, “I love you with all my heart,” to each of six grandchildren in a single day. And a question raised its worrisome head: Can I really love six grandchildren with all of my heart?

How in the world does that work?

Does each child get a sixth of my affection all the time, as if I were doling out perpetual slices of pizza?

“Oh dear, what’s one-sixth of a 20-inch love pizza? Anybody got a calculator?”

 

Do my grandchildren receive all of my love one at a time, as at a drinking fountain?

“Whose turn is it for a drink of love?” 

 

Perhaps it’s more like serving punch: all of them get all of my love, but it’s mixed with everyone else’s in something akin to pond water?

 

“I have Daniel grape/Braden apple/Davis chocolate milk/Ella plain milk/Ethan water/McKenna tutty-fruity love today! Come and get it!”

Thankfully, no. 

By God’s miraculous design, my affection for one child isn’t diminished because it’s extended to five others. It’s not exclusive to one child at a time. Nor is it a conglomeration of six loves that satisfies no one–not because love is unique to me but because God IS love, and His unity in plurality nature is present in the love in every beating heart … for all time.

Such a love is impossible to divide. It is undiminished when shared, and it is distinct though the same.

Sounds like the Trinity. 

Which brings me back to Halloween …

As Christians, let’s not allow pagan superstitions to invade Halloween. 

Evil spirits are no more active and sinister on Halloween than they are on any other day of the year; in fact, any day is a good day for Satan to prowl about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). But “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). God has forever “disarmed principalities and powers” through the cross of Christ and “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through [Christ]” (Colossians 2:15). ~ Travis Allen, https://bit.ly/3lsCnhC 

If we participate in Halloween activities, let’s use them as opportunities to shine the light of the gospel into an unbelieving, Christ-rejecting world. How about taking the time to communicate with friends and family about God, the Bible, sin, Christ, future judgment, and the hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ?

And—perhaps—about the Trinity.

What better time of the year to share such a message?

Click here for some yummy/easy Holy Halloween recipes.

~ ~ ~

Dear Lord, use us, your children, to shine the light of the gospel into this Christ-rejecting world at Halloween and all the time.

For Jesus’ sake

The post Can Christians Turn Halloween Into Something Holy? appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Katie Powner: Let’s Chat

Welcome, Katie Powner & Readers

Katie Powner is an award-winning author who lives in Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She is a two-time OCW Cascade Award and ACFW First Impressions Award winner, as well as a two-time ACFW Genesis Award finalist. Katie loves candy, Jesus, and red shoes (not necessarily in that order) and is a mom to the third power: biological, adoptive, and foster. The Sowing Season is her first book.

Join the chat below for Katie’s giveaway: a copy of The Sowing Season.

Katie Powner: In Her Own Words

I grew up on a dairy farm in Western Washington, climbing trees and stacks of hay bales. Swimming in the river. Listening to the lowing of cows through my open bedroom window every summer. Picking blackberries and selling corn by the roadside.

It sounds like an idyllic childhood maybe, and it was in some ways. But there were also a lot of hardships. The work on a dairy farm never stops—not for birthdays or holidays or weekends—and the challenges of running a family farm in particular are numerous. There were many strained relationships between members of our stoic, Dutch family, as well as many illnesses and injuries.

When I was eleven, my grandma’s house, which was next door to ours on the farm, burned down with her inside. A couple years later, a two-person plane crashed into our field in a ball of flames, instantly killing both passengers. Then, an elderly man wandered from his home and drowned in our river. By the time I was sixteen and my father was dying of cancer, I was really beginning to wonder where God was in all of this.

Katie Powner: Making Sense of the World

I’d always been a writer, but I think that’s when I started using writing as a way to process life. A way to learn and grow and understand the world around me. After my father passed away, I filled notebook after notebook with poems and snippets and song lyrics, searching for peace. For truth.

I moved away from the farm when I turned eighteen, but I carried it with me as I went to college and got married and moved to Montana. Every time I thought of writing a book, the farm was there in my mind. They say, “Write what you know,” and what did I know better than the farm? But I was afraid to write about it. Afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. Then, as happens with many family farms these days, our family farm was sold. The question became not “What do I know better than the farm?” but “What does life after the farm look like?” What does it look like to let go of the only life you’ve ever known?

Katie Powner: a story of letting go

It was through these questions that The Sowing Season was born. It’s a story of letting go and also of forgiveness. When I started writing it, I felt a strange sense of freedom. I didn’t know if it would ever be published—I’d already had four previous books rejected—so I really felt like I was writing it for myself. Would anyone ever be interested in a story about a retired dairy farmer? I didn’t care because I needed to tell the story.

I finished The Sowing Season in record time, faster than any of my previous books. When my agent started submitting it to publishers, I had very low expectations. There aren’t a lot of books like mine out there in Christian fiction right now. It has an older, male protagonist. A dog and a rooster. No romance. But I had told the story God put in my heart and was content with that.

Within weeks, I had a contract offer. I was dumbfounded. It felt like not only had God honored my efforts, but He was also encouraging me to keep making sense of the world through words and stories. After all, that’s what Jesus did, right? He told stories. Not only that, but He is the Living Word.

Katie Powner: Final Thoughts

What a blessing this process has been. I hope I will have the opportunity to share many more stories with the world.

What childhood events shaped the path of your life? How has God used words and stories in your life to teach you? Comment below for a chance to win a copy of The Sowing Season.

The Sowing Season by Katie Powner

Can an unlikely friendship give them the courage to start again?



Forced to sell the dairy farm he’s worked his entire life to make successful, Gerrit Laninga, now sixty-three, doesn’t know what to do with himself. He sacrificed everything for his cows–his time, his health, his family–with nothing to show for it but bitterness, regret, and two grown children who want nothing to do with him.

Fifteen-year-old Rae Walters is stricken with panic every time she climbs behind the wheel. But any failure, including not passing her driver’s test, jeopardizes The Plan–the detailed blueprint for high school and beyond that has her following in her lawyer father’s footsteps. Though she’s always been committed to The Plan, now that the pressure to succeed is building, doubts about whether she has what it takes haunt her. What was supposed to unite her family in purpose could end up tearing it apart.

When their paths cross just as they each need a friend the most, Gerrit’s and Rae’s lives begin to change in unexpected ways. Can they discover together what really matters in life and learn it’s never too late for a second chance?

Katie Powner LINKS

Website: www.katiepowner.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/authorkatiepowner

IG: https://www.instagram.com/authorkatiepowner/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/katie_powner

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sowing-Season-Katie-Powner/dp/0764237594/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+sowing+season&qid=1588449996&sr=8-2

Baker Publishing Group: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/the-sowing-season/404780

~ ~ ~

Dear Lord, please bless each word Katie writes for You.

~ For Jesus’ sake

 

The post Katie Powner: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Change Is in the Air: Let’s Chat

Welcome, everyone!

Change is in the air. Can’t you almost smell it?

Excepting the Southern Hemisphere, of course, green leaves are changing to golden, orange, brown, and flaming red. Days are changing; they’re getting shorter. Nights are changing; they’re getting longer. The air is changing; it’s getting cooler, crisper.

How do you feel about change? Do you welcome it or dread it?

There Is a Time for Everything

As the poet said in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time for everything under heaven. Like it or not, that requires change.

In the halcyon days of my Ozzie-and-Harriet, farm-girl childhood of the 1950s, I thought worries were for someone else. I couldn’t claim a single anxious thought. My life was beautiful, and I saw no reason to think it would change. 

I was loved (adored, actually). Provided for. Kept safe. Healthy. Happy. Worry-less.

Mother, who had prayed for me for years, considered my birth close to miraculous. (She had had 3 boys and thought she was doomed for remain girl-less.)

Strong, vibrant Daddy whose face lit up like the sun when he looked at me, carried me around until I lost my first tooth!  

My brothers stepped aside for me. Humored me. Protected me. Soothed me.

In addition, I enjoyed every advantage. A bedroom of my own. New clothes at start of school, Christmas, Easter, and piano-recital time. Patent-leather shoes. Fancy purses. Hair ribbons, petticoats, dolls. Straight As. And friends galore.

Best of all, a little brother appeared on the scene, and I rocked a real-life baby to sleep. 

Not a worry in the world.

Then things changed. 

Out of the blue, first responders pulled one of my older brothers from his crushed car under an eighteen-wheeler. He lay in a coma for over a month. The whole town prayed, and we agonized.

Daddy dropped a bucket. Noticed one shoulder growing smaller. And couldn’t set his elbows on the table.

Suddenly, worry was no stranger.

Hail destroyed crops. So did the boll weevil and freezes. Crops failed. Machinery broke down. Accidents on the farm and the highway.

Consequetly, the family bank account dwindled, and homemade clothes appeared. No more vacations. Where would the money come from for 4-H projects? Formals? Costumes? Christmas and Easter and start of school? How would I afford college? And how would I get there?

Daddy worsened. His muscular body began wasting away. He couldn’t hold up his head up. Couldn’t drive. Could barely walk. Speaking challenged him. His fingers struggled to turn the pages of his Bible. And no diagnosis existed, not even at Mayo Clinic.

Worries multiplied. 

But I grew up anyway. And more change came.

I discovered worries of my own. Married to a college student, I wrote $1.00 checks. And discovered I was pregnant. Lost my teaching job (Pregnant women couldn’t teach in my neck of the woods in the 1960s.) Moved from a $75/month duplex into a $50/month clapboard farmhouse. $25 was a fortune.

My first baby died in his first day of life and was buried five days before Christmas. I was confined to bed for my second baby, who almost died in the hospital. 

Cracks in my marriage.

My beloved Daddy died.

Whisked away to Germany as a military wife while still grieving, I got to know Christmas, birthdays, and holidays devoid of family. And a kind of aloneness I had never imagined.

Another pregnancy. Another months-long confinement. A breach delivery. 

Cracks in my marriage widened. Conflict multiplied. Aloneness increased. Betrayal. Heartbreak. Fear. And shame.

Emergency surgery. And pain.

Divorce.

Alone. Afraid. Ashamed.

Jobless. Destitute. Heartbroken. Terrified. 

Reaching for comfort not in the arms of the Lord but everywhere else.

Children thousands of miles away in body and spirit.

Alone. Afraid. Ashamed.

Then came a different wind of change. Like the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord picked me out of the miry clay and set me on my feet.

I picked up No Wonder They Call Him the Savior by Max Lucado. Then God Came Near and Six Hours One Friday.

Learned the meaning of Grace.

Became a member of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. And made a vow: Jesus will be my first love.

Skies brightened. Fear dissipated. Shame scattered. And hope lived again.

Prayer and the Word became my daily bread.

Then I shook hands with an outgoing, servant-minded man at church. Single. God-loving. People-loving. And with a faith background that ran parallel to mine.

Marriage. Family. A growing, shared faith. Service. Loyalty. Devotion. Love.

So much love. Joy. Contentment. Peace. 

Reflections on Change

As it turned out, the essential change rested in me. I don’t pretend to know how God uses change to make lives better, certainly not when disasters strike in the forms of natural disasters and human evil (or when I’m agonizing over the latest revision of my personal expectations). At those times, I’m as bewildered (and, at times, grief-stricken) as you. It’s only when I view those changes through the lens of hindsight clarified by the Word that the fuzzy lines begin to come into focus. Sometimes getting there is pain-filled beyond describing.

In the meantime, when unwanted change is in the air, I must trust my Lord’s goodness, wisdom, and love. I may hang onto my expectations as stubbornly as the last red oak leaf out back, but until I let go, the change God intends can die before it lives.

Perhaps Job 38 can help. 

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

    Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

    Who stretched a measuring line across it?

Or Ecclesiastes 3 might say it best for you.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to search and a time to give up; a time to keep and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to mend; a time to be silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

What about you?

For which changes are you grateful? Which do you fear? How have you learned to trust our Heavenly Father through pain-filled change?

~ ~ ~

Dear Lord, please teach us to trust You through life’s changes. 

~ For Jesus’ sake

The post Change Is in the Air: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Joan C Benson: Let’s Chat

 

Welcome, Joan C Benson and Readers 

Joan C Benson grew up in the Midwest and graduated from Kansas University with a B.S. in Education. She taught a few years before becoming a parent, and while her youngest child was in elementary school, she earned a Master’s degree.

When she was eight years old, Joan wrote her first story. Imagine that! I’m eager to get to know Joan. Comment below to qualify for her giveaway.

Welcome, Joan C Benson

At a young age, I began writing stories and poetry. There was one memorable story called, “The Golden Keys of Life,” which revealed the importance of my relationship with God. I was about eight years old and was eager to share it with my family and anyone who would listen. That was my first experience with a book launch; I was so excited that I wanted everyone to read my book. That seed of inspirational writing began my later multi-faceted career of teaching and writing.

In my educational career as a reading specialist, I had responsibilities for mentoring both teachers and students in the craft of reading and writing. I honed my writing skills in the field of educational publishing through contract writing, developing leveled reading books, teachers’ guides, and ancillary reading materials for students (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry). When teaching middle schoolers using young adult literature, I noticed how few contemporary books represented wholesome virtues and values. My love for sharing God’s truth had matured, and I could see my aspirations merging. I felt compelled to write young adult novels embedded with inspirational and Biblical concepts, to teach and nurture faith.

His Gift by Joan C Benson

His Gift is the first solo book I have written that is not a part of an educational publisher’s collection used as a curriculum. I have authored several leveled books for use in reading instruction from elementary to middle school ages: The Power of Sunlight, The Savage Stinger (a jellyfish), and Shaq the Giant.

I first pitched His Gift at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers’ Conference a couple of years ago. There I met a very kind agent, David Fessenden with WordWise Media, who showed interest, and ultimately said he would work with me. Soon after I had everything ready, Elk Lake offered to publish the book, much to my excitement. A teacher’s guide for the use of homeschool or Christian School use will be available to help teachers and parents take advantage of its historical context while developing reading skills.

Metamorphosis of a Novel: Joan C Benson

My first draft of this debut Young Adult novel, His Gift, was written with embedded Christian values, with hopes it would be admissible in public education. Then, upon prayer and conviction, I realized that His Gift contains a true spiritual conflict, which should be openly addressed. Thus, the rewrite of His Gift created a metamorphosis of the original plot plan. His Gift is a historical fiction novel, based on a true conflict in my mother’s life.

His Gift by Joan C Benson

On the cusp of the stock market crash of 1929, seventeen-year-old Molly has big dreams for a professional career in music after high school. Her challenge is to find peace and purpose when her world shifts in unimaginable ways, similar to people today during the pandemic. His Gift has a classic theme for all who have experienced unfulfilled dreams and a consequent crisis of faith. Though the message of His Gift is delivered through a girl’s musical aspirations, the conflict is universal. Anyone who has ever dared to dream may encounter a test of faith when the dream isn’t fulfilled the way they imagine. The reader will discover with Molly the hope and peace in a life yielded to the Giver of all gifts.

I began writing His Gift in honor and memory of my mother, Mildred M. Isle, after she passed away. She was a gifted pianist and this is her story. Her talent was recognized early on, which led to permission to study at the Royal Oak Conservatory of Music. She off from her afternoon high school classes. Every fall, the Detroit Symphony held a student audition to select one outstanding student to perform with the symphony during the season. In October of 1929, my mother won the privilege of playing a Rachmaninoff Concerto at the Detroit Orchestra Hall the following January. She had once dreamed of becoming a concert pianist.

Interruptions to Dreams

Molly, the fictional character portraying my mother, had worked very hard to use her talent well. She believed the concert was her breakthrough moment which would lead to a career launch after high school. She single-mindedly focused on this, her ambition. The market crash of 1929 occurred shortly after Molly won the audition. Readers will need to check out the story to see how Molly wrestled with God over the interruptions to her hopes and dreams. How will she resolve this crisis of faith?

Joan C Benson: Blogger

I also am a blogger where you can find me: https://bensonjj.blog. Find my website using “Joan C. Benson,” the same as my Author Facebook page. (My website is currently under construction.) I am linked to a women’s speaking group called Women Victorious—Ordinary Women, Extraordinary God.  Find us on Facebook under that name and a website coming soon. My book released at the end of July 2020 and is available on Amazon. I will be offering a giveaway.

Joan C Benson: Looking Ahead

Going forward, I am excited to be writing a new contemporary fiction novel with the working title of Eva’s Choice. It is based on my experiences working in a pregnancy resource clinic as a volunteer; I am hopeful that it will reveal the truth about a difficult issue in our day and its impact on the lives of our young women.

~ ~ ~

Lord, please bless each word Joan C. Benson writes for You.

~ For Jesus’ sake

The post Joan C Benson: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Pat Nichols: Let’s Chat

Welcome, Pat Nichols and Readers

Pat Nichols drops in for our chat today. This award-winning author of contemporary women’s fiction was born in Illinois. She grew up in Orlando and has hailed from the Atlanta area since the eighties. 

As an author, Pat draws on twenty-seven years’ experience with amazing women in all walks of life in the Avon world. She writes emotional stories punctuated by humor and a touch of romance. Her characters face tension-laced challenges and heart-warming triumphs in pursuit of their dreams. 

When not writing, Pat enjoys reading, jigsaw puzzles, watching movies, time with family and friends, Sudoku, and volunteering. She also enjoys speaking to groups and reading clubs. You can reach her at patnichols41@gmail.com. 

Join the chat to qualify for her giveaway: two ebooks, one each of the Willow Falls Series. 

Now here’s Pat Nichols in her own words

I‘m proving it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

In June my high-school sweetheart and I celebrated our fifty-fifth wedding anniversary. Where did the time go? Our son, daughter, grandson and two granddaughters live close by. Sadly, one precious granddaughter, who blessed our lives for eleven months, lives with the angels.

The day I retired from a twenty-seven-year career three goals topped my list. Finish decorating our home. Transfer hundreds of pictures to photo albums. Finally, use hotel and airline points to travel the world. A large map with pins noting our destinations is displayed in our guest room.

Bucket list completed.

Nine years after bidding farewell to the corporate world, a tragedy set my feet on a new path. A close friend, who had drifted in and out of our lives for two decades, lost her a struggle with addiction. Her tragic passing compelled me to write a story based on her life, except with a happy ending. During the year-long process I fell in love with writing.

The moment I typed “the end”, the vision of a published novel danced in my head. Until a close friend edited my work. She sent me a list of ten mistakes new writers make. Yikes! I had made every single one. At that point I faced a critical decision. Chalk the year up as a fun exercise and move on? Write as a hobby? Or put on my big-girl skirt and learn the craft? Opting for the latter, I began reading everything I could find about writing. I enrolled in online courses and joined ACFW and Word Weavers International.

Pat Nichols: Goodbye retirement. Hello new career.

Finishing that first manuscript cemented my desire to create character driven stories peppered with emotional highs and lows. My corporate experience led me to choose women’s contemporary fiction. It also equipped me with the discipline and determination to pursue publication. My faith led me to Christian Fiction.  

An internet search launched that journey. One publishing company grabbed my attention and compelled me to pitch my manuscript in an email. Two hours later my phone rang. The publisher was calling me. Yay! Instant success?

Another example of newbie inexperience.

My excitement vanished the instant the company representative declared that I had less than one chance in a thousand of ever landing a traditional publishing contract. When she pitched a pricey package and a boatload of promises, my corporate experience and mid-western stubbornness kicked in. I declined and made it my mission to prove her wrong.

While writing a second manuscript, I continued to study and attended conferences. Meanwhile, an idea for a series emerged. Three women, strangers drawn together by a tragedy and a long-held secret. Each growing up without siblings. Perhaps because my mother was an only child who longed for a sister.

The Characters

The characters began to take shape. Emily Hayes, driven to write a novel based on her hometown’s colorful history and rescue it from a slow painful death. Rachel Streetman who secretly clung to her acting dream while living the corporate life her father commanded. Sadie Liles paroled after serving a thirty-year sentence for killing the town hero.

The Setting 

I planned to split scenes between Atlanta and a small town. I opted for a fictional location so I could tailor the setting and history to the story. Willow Falls emerged. A north Georgia town where everyone knows everyone’s business.

After finishing the first manuscript, I began the second, keeping the three main characters and adding a new supporting cast.

Four years after first typing “Chapter One”, I was blessed with a contract from a traditional publisher for The Secret of Willow Inn. Three months later I signed a contract for The Trouble in Willow Falls, the second book in the series. Book three, Star Struck in Willow Falls, is scheduled for release February 2, 2021. The fourth book is finished and hopefully will release in 2022.  

If only that saleswoman knew her comment about landing a contract motivated rather than discouraged me. The corporate world taught me to accept challenges and rejection as opportunities. Starting a new career later in life has its advantages. 

Pat Nichols Today

I received NGCWC Georgia Peach Awards for short story, The Vet and Valentine’s Day, and Willow Falls series book three. In 2019 I was featured in Voyager Magazine and appeared on WATC Television Atlanta Alive.

My current work in progress? Re-writing the manuscript with all the novice errors. 

The Secret of Willow Inn

Three Strangers and Willow Falls’s quirky, opinionated residents are forced to face the past and accept the truth. Emily Hayes, Rachel Streetman, and Sadie Liles experience the power of forgiveness, sacrifice, and redemption. The shocking, heart-warming conclusion leaves readers yearning to stay connected with characters who have become friends in a town that captures their imagination.

The Secret of Willow Inn is a 2020 Selah award finalist.

The Trouble in Willow Falls by Pat Nichols

Rachel Streetman is one audition away from landing the lead in a play and jump-starting her lackluster acting career. Months after submitting her first novel to publishers, Emily Hayes receives one response—a rejection. Famous artist Naomi Jasper offers her much-needed cash to finish writing. And to cast and direct a play about Willow Falls’ colorful history. Emily faces a difficult decision—rewrite her novel or accept the offer. Aware the project has a high probability of failure she recruits the one person who has the experience she needs.

Links

https://patnicholsauthor.blog

https://www.facebook.com/pat.nichols.52459

https://twitter.com/PatNichols16

https://www.instagram.com/patnicholsauthor/

https://www.pinterest.com/patnicholsauthor/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946016772/

https://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Willow-Falls-Book-ebook/dp/B0818B6R8T/

~ ~ ~

Lord, please bless each word Pat writes for You.

~ For Jesus’ sake

The post Pat Nichols: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Linda Shenton Matchett: Let’s Chat

Welcome, Linda Shenton Matchett 

Linda Shenton Matchett graces our chat circle today. Linda writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by.

A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is also a trustee for her local public library. She is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry.

Linda has lived in historic places all her life, and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors. 

Early Days

My parents must have seen some glimmer of creativity in me or perhaps they were simply trying to keep me out of trouble, but whatever the reason, when I was around seven or eight years old they gifted me a package of pens and a notebook (that featured a bouquet of pencils) and told me to fill it.

I happily wrote story after story through my early teen years, with such gripping titles as Sandy, the Toy Elephant and The Hedgehog and The Zebra.

Neena Gaynor: Let’s Chat

Welcome, everyone

Neena Gaynor is a former nurse who has spent much of the last decade traveling with her husband, Wade, a former professional baseball player.

Throughout the 29 changes of address and the stresses of moving a young family, Neena learned to embrace the peace that only comes from the steady accompaniment of Christ in her heart.

Today, Neena is ecstatic to be back in her old Kentucky home, beekeeping, writing, and being Mom.

Neena is offering a giveaway: The Bird and the Bees in ebook format to someone who joins our chat below.

Neena Gaynor: A Story Behind the Story

Writing a novel about a nurse and tall/dark/handsome professional baseball player, the grit of a relationship, learning to trust another and the Lord was very autobiographical for me. It was easy to pull from experiences, especially those times when life was a whirlwind of bleacher seats, late suppers, and travel-sized toiletries.

I will never forget washing my baby’s bottle in a hotel sink. We had just moved “home base” for our family for the fifth time in three months. I’d made the inaugural grocery run that accompanies every move: peanut butter, diapers, and Lysol wipes. After hauling the extra bags and a road-weary infant up six flights of stairs (the elevator was out), I was exhausted and frustrated. I turned on the radio, tuned to the local sports broadcasting station, and prepared to cheer on the AAA Baseball team, the Toledo Mudhens. The phone rang. 

As the announcer described the competing team, Wade was on the line telling me to start packing. After the game, we were being moved yet again. Another city. Hotel. Team. We said our goodbyes and good lucks, and the commentator went on to announce Wade Gaynor as the night’s starting third baseman. Tears raced down my cheeks as I rinsed the bottle, and I felt the Lord drawing me into His gentle arms. I heard Him whisper to my heart, “Am I not enough?”

After being delivered from Egypt, the Israelites were led to the desert where they muttered and moaned to Moses and grumbled against God. Even still, this same wilderness was where God provided for their every need: food, protection, and more. 

Neena Gaynor Insights

The Minor League Baseball lifestyle is its own sort of wilderness, as can be motherhood, empty-nesting, infertility, losing parents, losing children, or losing jobs. But where delight is dehydrated, who walks with us and provides for our needs?

He does. God will lead us through the wilderness just as He led Israel. With eyes wide open, we see how completely He fulfills our every need and the pure desires of our hearts. 

When we moved to our next team, we leaned into the constants of our lives: Our Lord and our gift of marriage. It wasn’t easy—another grocery trip, another hotel with a rattling AC or broken elevator, and more professional uncertainty. It was a season of our lives that I naively hoped for something different than a demotion. But we ended up with front row seats watching God provide for our greatest needs through a community of fellow believers. Everywhere we went, God delivered support through faithful coaches, players, player’s wives, chaplains, family, friends, and more. 

Ten Years Later

Wade is now retired from baseball, and I’m a stay at home mom of our two little boys. Our ten years of marriage have been a blessing because Jesus is a central part of our relationship.

Something happens when you marry a professional athlete—they encourage you to pursue your own dreams. I had learned so much about our gracious Lord, I wanted others to know. My hope and dream is that through a contemporary romance novel, readers will not only be entertained but fall deeper in love with Jesus … because, friends, He’s more than enough.

Neena Gaynor: The Bird and the Bees

When Larkin Maybie buries her mother in the foothills of Appalachia, she is left all alone. Her only inheritance? A crazy aunt, a mountain of debt, and a run-down, secluded cabin left by a mysterious benefactor. Larkin thinks an escape to cabin miles from anything familiar might be exactly what she needs. But the quick answer to her problems only leaves her with more questions… Questions concerning her true identity.

As Larkin searches for her link to the Lewandowski Estate, she begins to accept the kindness of strangers on Presque Isle. And the affection of professional baseball player, Ketch Devine. Charged with caring for the cabin’s honey bees and haunted by past choices, Larkin struggles to move forward in a new direction. But she is running out of time. With summer and baseball season coming to an end, she must decide: what is the value of true love?

Neena Gaynor Links 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/2AI5a08 

Website:  www.wordslikehoney.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/neenagaynor/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/neenagaynor/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/neenagaynor/

Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/neenagaynorwriter/

~ ~ ~

Lord, please bless each word Neena writes for You.

For Jesus’ sake

The post Neena Gaynor: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.

Melissa Wardwell: Let’s Chat

Welcome, Melisssa Wardwell and Readers

Melissa Wardwell visits with us today, readers. 

This inspirational romance author lives in Owosso, Michigan with her husband Jonathan, three children, a cat, and two pit bulls. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, having coffee with friends, and spending quality time with her husband kayaking and fishing.

Melissa likes to joke about the voices in her head, but it is those voices that have inspired her to write several romance novels. When she isn’t penning works of fiction, she is busy reviewing books on her blog, Back Porch Reads.

She’s offering a giveaway–Scrumptious Independence–to someone who joins our chat circle below.

Now … here’s Melissa.

Melissa Wardwell: Waiting on Him

I never had this long-held dream to write, it was something I just did. Journaling, poetry, essays, book reports, short stories—I enjoyed writing all of it. I even have some of the poetry and short stories a girlfriend and I wrote in middle school and high school we would sit in science class and re-write “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue” poems. Some were funny while others were sappy. We even dabbled in songwriting. But never was it a dream to grow up and become a writer.

Melissa Wardwell: Then, one day, I had a vision.

Well, more like my imagination ran away with me. I drive thirty minutes one way to take my daughter to dance class. On one of these days, I passed a barn that had loose boards, faded paint, and was starting to bow in the middle. As I looked at the barn, I started to see images play out of a woman exploring that barn. I could feel her curiosity, hear her questions, smell the freshly plowed dirt. It was strange to me.

While waiting for my daughter in class, I began to ask myself, “What is she doing in that barn? What is her life like? Does she have a family?” And the “beast,” as I like to call my imagination, was released from the cage. I couldn’t stop seeing this woman’s life play out in my mind like a movie. When I told a friend, she reminded me that God will give us talents. Eventually, He will call them in to be used for His glory. So I began the journey.

Melissa Wardwell: Fast forward five years and I am lost.

In five years, I published five books and added my name to a couple of other collections. It had been a time of emotional ups and downs as I navigated independent publishing, but I was sure that if I kept going, God would continue to provide away.

For those who don’t know, independently publishing is not an inexpensive endeavor. Every single thing you do to make that book look nice, read well, and entertain readers comes directly from your pocket. Don’t get me wrong, the rewards are worth it. There is just so much more that I had never considered.

Anyway, in the spring of 2019, I was financially done. The last book I published cost so much that I think it will take me a few years to break even. (But this is not the point of the story, so bear with me.) I was feeling emotionally lost, physically drained, and utterly frustrated with writing. I had more stories I wanted to tell, but I didn’t want to write something and not have the funds to produce it.

One Thursday evening, I was sitting in my parents’ living room, lamenting about how lost I felt as well as concerned over not having the funds necessary. They let me ramble on for a bit, only nodding their heads from time to time. When I stopped to take a breath, my dad leaned forward in his chair and asked me, “Why do you write?”

It took me a minute to think about it because it was such an out of the blue question at the moment.

“To give God glory,” was my textbook answer but there was more. “To encourage others. Show the world that even Christians can make a mess of their lives but Jesus can bring us out. But more importantly, to Give God glory.”

He sat back with a smile and said, “Then keep trusting Him to provide the way to make it possible.”

Dad was right and I knew it. I felt that same phrase in my heart throughout the five years I had been writing. If we are doing something that is put into place by our Creator, He will make a way for it to get out and for Him to be glorified.

When I left their house to go to worship team practice, I began to cry. I asked God to forgive my doubting heart and intervene if I was to continue writing. I worshiped my heart out that night and went home feeling 1000% better than I had in weeks.

Melissa Wardwell: And then I saw a Facebook post.

I have done a lot of work, mostly book reviews, for CelebrateLit Publicities, but the day after that conversation with my parents there was a post. It was a post from the company’s publishing department asking for submissions. They were looking for six authors to take part in a two and a half year, thirty book collection that all books would take place on a fictional group of islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. When I saw the post, I knew in my heart that one of those places would be mine.

I talked to the publisher, Sandra Barela, about exactly what would be expected because I had never taken part in something like this. After our talk, she directed me to speak to the brainchild of the collection, Chautona Havig, for more in-depth details. After that conversation, I went to my computer and wrote out a brief description of what my five books would be, the characters involved, and the mobile business my main character would be owning. It all came to mind so easily, like my very first story back in 2014.

In the fall, I was informed that I was one of the chosen (sounds like another book title, doesn’t it?), and I began the task of plotting. Now, this has proven to be a new kind of challenge in and of itself, but I welcome the growth that comes with it. I am learning things about Melissa the woman and Melissa the writer. What she is capable of when she doesn’t overthink things and trusts God’s plan.

Waiting on God is never easy for me. Probably isn’t easy on anyone. When we do the rewards are so much great than if we had just done everything on our authority.

Chat with Melissa

Share with us something you have had to wait on God for. How hard was waiting? Were you patient or did you try to shoulder your way through a couple of times?

Each person who comments will be entered to win a digital copy of my first book in the collection mentioned, Scrumptious Independence.

Finding Melissa and her Books
Scrumptious Independence by Melissa Wardwell

Release date: August 27, 2020

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

And so is Beth’s cooking! It’s a good thing, too. After a lifetime of her family’s smothering embrace, a whole new world opens to her with the passing of her beloved grandmother.

Armed with an inheritance she never expected and orders on how to use it, Beth sets off for Merriweather Island and fulfillment of a lifetime of dreams.

Or so she hopes.

What she didn’t hope for was what most women would—a man who fills her thoughts at the most wonderfully unwelcome times. She doesn’t have time or space for a relationship, but how do you tell love to just go away?

Of course, starting over in a new place is never easy, especially as an outsider in a small community. Add to that a mayor who has her dander up and a woman bound to make her life miserable, is it any wonder that Beth begins to doubt God’s and Gram’s plans?

With her heart betraying her resolve and challenges to her faith, Beth finds it takes bravery she didn’t know she had to discover just how scrumptious independence can be.

This “Merriweather book” is the second in a new series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

 

The Independence Island Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

August 2020:  Scrumptious Independence

Publisher: Celebrate Lit Publishing Group
Promises From Above Series









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~ ~ ~

Lord, please bless each word Melissa writes for You.

~ For Jesus’ sake

The post Melissa Wardwell: Let’s Chat appeared first on Linda Brooks Davis.