Lost Moments...no more

Do you mark a novel all up as you read it? I do. Some of the books I read look like textbooks when I'm done. Underlined. Circled. Page corners turned down. Nothing's sacred. Everything is fodder for learning, for remembering, for being WOW'd by words.

Here are some recent favorite sentences I've underlined in books I've read in the past couple of weeks:

Daylight faded to thin broth.

(Devil in the White City by Erik Larson)

You want to do good. You want your life to matter. You want to live in such a way that the world will be glad you did. 

(Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado)

Now that the sun was setting in a welter of crimson behind the hills across the Flint River, the warmth of the April day was ebbing into a faint but balmy chill.

(Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)

The greatest evil tips its face toward light with shining innocence.

(Deceit by Brandilyn Collins)

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

(Bible, Psalm 141:3, written by God especially for me, I have no doubt)

Words are powerful. We all know this. Because each of us has words we wish we could take back (hence, the scripture above, one of my "favorites"). And likewise, we all have words we wish we could go back and speak.

Yesterday, I saw one of our worship leaders in a little coffee shop where Dad and I had stopped in to eat lunch. As Dad and I left, I felt a prompting inside to go up and tell Carl how much I appreciate what he and his wife do. Not just for our church as a whole, which is certainly a blessing. But for me. For my personal worship.

But, I didn't.

He was in conversation with the guy he was with and I didn't want to bother them. Besides, he doesn't know me from Adam. Or well, Eve. But as soon as I left the coffee shop, even before I was out the door, I felt a tiny sense of loss. Of an opportunity passed. 

Then later yesterday afternoon (don't you love how the Holy Spirit works), I mentioned to my daughter Kelsey that I saw Carl at the coffee shop, yada, yada... And she said, "So you didn't say anything to him?" Go ahead, dear daughter, twist that knife. 

Now, is my opportunity to thank him lost forever? No. I can send him an email today or catch him Sunday and let him know. But that moment is lost. Looking back, when I let that moment pass, I'm convinced that I quenched the Spirit. The Spirit was prompting me, and I said..."Huh uh." And I'm determined not to do that again. Because words are so important. Especially those of edification, of "building up the body of Christ."

Be watching for someone today who needs "a word." Someone God will put directly into your path for you to encourage, for you to be Jesus to. It may be in a big way. More than likely, it'll be in a small way. In a way that you might be tempted to let pass. Please don't. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(R to L): Saundra, Pam, Tammy, Megan, Merry, Carol

Thanks to Megan Gaddis and the gals of Burkitt Place in Nolensville for inviting me to join their book club meeting last night. We were going to Skype each other (for a virtual book club meeting) until I realized they were only 5.6 miles down the road! I hopped in the car and and joined them instead, and we laughed and had such a fun time. Thanks, gals, for reading Rekindled and for being such an encouragement! Glad our eternity together started here!

A fun interview, from the PET'S perspective

Leanna Ellis hosted me for a fun interview over at her place, and she had a fun twist. She also interviews the author through the pet's eyes. And Jack was in a tell all mood that day! Not good...

Join us over on Leanna's blog where Jack Spills the Beans.

New Interview at CBD.com

I had the wonderful pleasure of chatting with Dianne from Christian Book Distributors (CBD.com) recently about the release of Within My Heart. Here's a portion of our exchange...




How did you come up with the concept for Within My Heart?
So far, all of my stories have grown out of struggles I’m having in my own faith walk or from questions I’m wrestling with at the time, and the story in Within My Heart (WMH) is no exception. When thinking of great faith, we rarely think of great fear. But the Bible shows repeatedly that people of great faith also trembled in their boots as they took that first step in following God’s will for their lives. Nevertheless, they took those steps, trusting Him and then running for Him with everything they had. We should do no less.


I believe the timing of my writing WMH was orchestrated by God, and I know without a doubt that He shaped and re-shaped the fabric of this story so that I would learn some crucial lessons of faith that I needed to learn at this time in my life. Lessons I needed in order to walk the road He set before me and my family. And I’m so grateful that He did.


How did you choose the time frame?
The timeframe for this series (1875-1877) is set just before Colorado was granted statehood, and the actual event of its achieving statehood is celebrated in the course of these stories. My novels are filled with historical events that I weave into the plot and lives of the characters. Not only is this an era of history I love, it was an exciting time to live in Colorado and in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.


What is the symbolism for the title Within My Heart?
There’s meaning behind the title, of course, but practically speaking we needed to start this title with a preposition since we’d already established that pattern in the series. We have FROM a Distance, then BEYOND this Moment, so we naturally needed another “prepositional phrase” type title. But even more importantly, the heart of this story is about trusting your own heart’s desires to God. It’s about taking steps of faith while we’re neck-deep in fear. It’s about trusting that still small voice within your heart, even while the storms of life rage without. So…it seemed a fitting title.

What aspects of being a writer do you enjoy the most?
The glamorous wardrobe! Exercise pants and t-shirts all the way! On a more serious note… The connections made with readers are precious to me, and are such an unexpected and appreciated blessing!


To read more of our interview, click here. 


To read an excerpt from Within My Heart, click here.

What a great day

Had a great birthday today spent with family. We went to eat tonight, then to grab yogurt at Sweet CeCes in Franklin. Yum! Lots of laughter and fun and being together. Was wonderful. Thanks, guys! I'm glad you're mine!

And here's one last pic, taken the other day when my RITA Award arrived. Jack was thrilled The Inheritance won, can't you tell?

If you're on Twitter or Facebook, I'd love to connect there with you. (Just click "Twitter" or "Facebook" and you'll be whisked over to my pages.)

Blessings on your week!

A great way to start the day

Each morning, I receive a Verse of the Day from CLASH Entertainment. I enjoy opening my laptop to find these waiting for me, and thought you might too. To sign up, click here.

And check out CLASH, especially if you have a teen in your life. Give them the heads up too!

"She" arrived today!

Just thought I'd share a peek at the RITA that came today via UPS. No one else was home and Jack's not too good with the camera, so I had to get creative.

She even looked pretty in the box...

And Jack's excited, can't you tell?

Thanks again to RWA for this honor, and to you, my readers and friends, for celebrating with me, and for making what I do worth doing. And now, still need to make my word count for the day.

Funky Footprints in the Sand, and the 2010 RITA!

I got something special in the mail yesterday, and I promise you, this never gets old...

I'm holding my first copy of Within My Heart

Holding that first copy of a book somehow makes everything more real. As an author, you live with these characters day in and day out for months and months and months, writing and writing, and it's so fulfilling to finally hold the real book in your hands. This book was a long journey for me from start to finish, and a hard one at times. But also a good one, in so many ways. I hope you enjoy it!

Remember the girls time I blogged about a couple of weeks ago? Well, after that weekend, I flew down to Florida where my family was already vacationing. We had a nice week, although...the first day I was there I totaled our Expedition, so things got off to a not-so-great start. But! It's just a car, right? So we rented another one for the week then another to get us back home. And we did our best not to let it slow us down. We relaxed, we shopped, we played, we ate yummy seafood. And despite BP, the beaches were beautiful!

  

Joe bonked his head in the accident. I/we felt bad, can't you tell?

But he/we quickly got over that and after eating at Uncle Ernies (oh delicious!), we went for a sunset walk on the beach.

All in all, we had a wonderful time and I came back home even more grateful for family and ready to dive into a brand new series. A psalm I read while in Panama City has stayed with me, and I find I keep returning to it. Psalm 37. Here are some quick nuggets:

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.

Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

The Creator of the Universe delights, not just cares, about every detail of your life. Wow, that certainly changes how I look at my day. I hope it changes how you view yours too. When you have a minute, check out Psalm 37. I'm betting the Lord will meet you there just like he met me.

And one last thing...

I'm thrilled to share that THE INHERITANCE was awarded the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance this past Saturday night in Orlando at the RWA Conference. I wasn't able to be present for the ceremony so sweet friend and author Julie Klassen accepted the award for me. Thanks, Julie! And thanks to RWA for this honor. I'm still smiling!

Since I don't have a pic from this weekend's events, would you allow me to share a picture that's really special to me? It's of me and Mom, back in 2007, when Revealed won the RITA for the same category (Best Inspirational Romance). Sharing that event with Mom was so precious. We had such a wonderful, and memorable, weekend together.

Dallas, 2007, when REVEALED won the RITA

for Best Inspirational Romance

Blessings on your day, and now...off to write!