Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Introducing Laura Thomas, devotional writer with food for thought

Let's welcome Laura Thomas to the blog! She's an author, wife, mother and all around awesome person! Laura's agreed to share a devotional that she wrote for every first Wednesday of the month starting this Jan. 4, 2017.

I'm going to let Laura introduce herself to you, in her own words. After you read her introduction post, please leave a welcome message for Laura in the comment section toward the end of this blog post.

God bless you! :)

Now, here's Laura...

I am rather a late bloomer in the world of writing. Growing up in England, I was a total bookworm as a child, and had a secret dream of being an author one day—a secret I kept under wraps for about 25 years! My husband finally unearthed my writing dream over coffee one day, and encouraged me to pursue my passion. What? I was homeschooling my kids at the time, worship director at church, and had zero room for anything else—but I felt a stirring in my heart, and eventually completed a couple of correspondence courses with the Institute of Children’s Literature, which set me on the path to being a “real” writer!

It didn’t take me long to discover my love for writing in many genres—I honestly thought I would be a children’s author initially, and had many stories and articles published in children’s magazines. I always had a strong desire to put good morals and Biblical principals into my work, and was thrilled when Dancing With Bear Publishing published my Christian teen fiction trilogy: Tears to Dancing, Tears of a Princess and Tears, Fears, and Fame. They were closely followed by my middle grade fiction book, The Candle Maker, set in Victorian England.

So what about the grown-ups? I’ve been blogging since 2012, and thoroughly enjoy writing my thoughts and sharing my faith with my readers. In 2014, my daughter got married, and Pearls for the Bride was published—a book for brides-to-be and newlyweds from a mother’s perspective. It was such a joy to dig into the Word and draw from my own marriage to offer some “pearls of wisdom”, along with a good dose of humor (a necessity in any marriage). This past summer, I wrote Diamond Devos 31—a FREE e-book devotional featuring 31 days in Proverbs 31 as a source of encouragement to my sisters of all ages. I hope you’ll check it out on my website! Did I mention it’s free?

Writing devotionals is a passion and a privilege to me. As well as writing for my own blog and several Christian magazines and websites, I’ve been honored to write almost 60 devotionals for Union Gospel Press for children, teens, and adults. For me it’s a win-win because I get to share what God has laid on my heart from His Word, which hopefully encourages and inspires the reader, while preaching to myself.

I have much to learn, and being teachable is key, especially as a devo writer. I have been journaling my own daily quiet times with the Lord for several years (mainly because I have a horrible memory so have write it down), and this has become a beautiful source of inspiration for me. When Alexis asked me to write here once-a-month for her monthly devotional slot, I was more than happy to agree. I hope you’ll join us here on the first Wednesday of each month, and I pray that the “food” for thought (my devotionals) will be nourishment for your soul.

Blessings and joy,

Laura

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