When it's beyond

When I first submitted a proposal to the publisher for my book, A New Thing, available today, I used this phrase as my tagline:

“When the nextchapter takes you beyond imagination”

That phrase points to a scripture which you will find on mybusiness card, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we askor imagine, according to his power that is at work in us” (Ephesians 3:20). Thissmall-town romance about Sophia, a woman facing an empty nest alone, is full ofsurprises, heartache, and I hope joy. It’s also about how she has self-limitedand not allowed God full reign in her life. There are several nuances to this,but you’ll have to read the book to find out about them.

Let’s not be too judgmental about Sophia. We all do it. We drawour lines in the sand not allowing God to move us beyond them. We want to stay safe,but what we actually do is stay small. We may actually bump up against theboundaries, but we don’t step over them, because who knows what might happen.

We might even fail.

But what if we do?

If God uses all things for good for those who love him asthe word says in Romans 8:28, then he’ll use even our failures for good.

Sometimes, boldness on our part is required and awillingness to go wherever and do whatever God has for us. His promise to us isthe same as it was to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; donot be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua1:9).

When we step beyond those self-imposed lines with the Lord, that’swhere we begin to see the exceedingly and abundantly above all we ask or think.It’s a life of adventure and wonder.

I’d love for you to see if that’s what Sophia found in ANew Thing, but even if you don’t, find it for yourself. Press into all thatGod has for you.

I’d love to hear your stories.

 

A New Thing Ebook available today, print version releasing next Tuesday, October 21.

 

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023