Devotionals for the Heart: Ginger's thoughts on saying "Yes" to God

On Saying YES!
A devotional by Ginger Solomon

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”

~Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)

This verse seems fitting to use it since this is my last devotion for the "God is Love" blog.

God asked me to step out and do something I had never done before, and I did. I stretched myself by writing a devotion for you for the last twelve months. I enjoyed it and learned so much.

But just as the verse says, “For everything there is a season,” and my season here at God is Love is complete with this post.

I don’t know exactly what God is calling me to next in my devotion writing, but I know He wants me to continue in some way. Maybe on my own blog, or maybe with someone else. When He reveals His will, I will follow.

That’s the gist of what He asks of us. When He calls, we answer. We obey. We say, “Yes, Lord.”

Oh, but it’s so hard at times.

It was HARD for me to say yes to writing these devotions. I’m not a non-fiction writer. Let me come clean. I’m rarely a non-fiction reader. What do I know? I read the Bible. I struggle through devotions and self-help books of any kind. I can usually only manage a few pages. But that’s not the point here.

I said yes, and I was blessed for the experience. Even if no one read my posts, I learned from what I wrote. God loves me that way. Even as I sit and write my novels, God speaks to me through my character’s self-talk or dialogue. He teaches me through the words that come through my fingers onto the screen. It’s how “I” learn best. And God is so GOOD to teach me in such a way.

As the New Year dawns in a few days, I challenge you to listen to God’s call. Say yes. Even if it seems like God is calling you to a place you’ve already been, or it seems like a step backward from where you are. Say yes. Oh, the blessings.

Let me tell you a quick story. First, I should say that I didn’t believe I could conceive children.

Oh, the grace and humor of our Father.

Three months after my husband and I said I do, I found out I was pregnant. Surprise! I was ecstatic, elated, emotional, etc. LOL

And then the fun started. Here’s the quick version:

· Son 1 – 1991

· Son 2 – 1993 (2 years, 1 week)

· Son 3 – 1997 (3 years, 4 months)

· Daughter 1 – 1998 (18 months minus one day)

· Daughter 2 – 2000 (18 months plus twelve days)

· Son 4 – 2002 (2 years, 3 months)

· Son 5 – 2004 (23 months)

Oh, my word. Seven kids in thirteen years. FIVE of them BOYS!

Our family (pictured above at my son's wedding)

I always say that God has a sense of humor. My husband wanted five children, and after having one, two sounded good to me. My husband got his five (boys), and I got my two (girls).

And it was HARD. Oh, so hard. I spent many nap times crying out to God. I was tired, frustrated, struggling with everything, and did I mention tired? AND I homeschooled them all. Hahaha.

But God saw me through. I didn’t kill anyone, and the experience didn’t kill me.

It was a season.

But now I’m about to step out of that season. My youngest is 14. In a few short years, he’ll be walking into his future just as his older siblings have done.

And the “being momma” 24/7/365 will be over. Oh, let’s be honest. It’s already over. Mostly. My teens don’t need me as much. My adults rarely do.

It’s bittersweet.

But it also means I’m stepping into a new season. And it’s a bit scary. I’ve been a mom for 27 years.

And yet, I don’t have a choice, because all those years ago, I said yes to God when he asked me to trust Him with my family size.

AND, OH, WHAT A BLESSING IT’S BEEN!

So, say “YES!” when God calls you because I KNOW, KNOW, KNOW He will blow your socks off with blessings when you do. (BTW, that doesn’t mean it won’t be hard.)

Many blessings on you and yours,

Ginger

~*~
Author Bio:

Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer—in that order (mostly).

She writes or reads inspirational romance of any genre, and if she’s busy homeschooling, doing laundry, or fixing dinner, books are on her mind.

She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), president of her local writing group, and blogs regularly for InspyRomance.com and at gingersolomon.com.

Fall into Love: Gina Marie's story

The Promise Bride
A Fall into Love story written by Gina Marie Welborn

I first heard the call in July 1987. As I had ever summer since 5th grade, I joined four thousand other students for a week in attending Falls Creek, one of the largest Christian camp in the world, located in the Arbuckle Mountains in southeast Oklahoma. One sweltery evening in that naturally air-conditioned tabernacle, while sitting on a rock hard wooden bench, I heard God whisper to me that he wanted me to marry a man who would be a pastor. Logically I yes. Who wouldn’t want to marry a man in the ministry?

Umm, me. In my perspective, pastors’ wives had perfect hair, manicured nails, and spouted scripture like it was water. In no possible way would I fit “the mold.” (As I type this my left hand is blue because I forgot to wear a glove when I colored child #4’s hair.) Every pastor’s wife I knew fit that mold. Ugh, the responsibility of being a Proverbs 31 woman wife.

So I told God no. And I was miserable but happy because God stopped pestering me. Then in January of 1988, I attend the Youth Evangelism Conference. This time God spoke in that voice. If you’ve heard it, you know it, and you listen. I said yes and meant it . . . mostly. After several dating relationships and one engagement, I reached the point when I couldn’t continue ignoring God. He wanted me to marry a pastor. Well, the only way that to make it happen was go to where pastors (or wanna-be-pastors) corralled. I hightailed it to the Baptist Student Union, made a list of men called into ministry, and then start dating.

Hubby was #4. We first held hands during a college retreat at Falls Creek. He proposed to me one Sunday morning at the end of the worship service. At that time he was the youth and music pastor of the very church that (24 years and 5 churches later) we now attend. Instead of serving on the staff of a church, he now ministers to churches by helping them save money on insurance coverage. In all the years I was a “pastor’s wife,” I never fit the mold. I tried for ten years. It made me miserable. Being me is much easier. Even easier was letting go of being me and letting God make me into being like Jesus.

I know authors who talk about God calling them to write. Not me. In my life, I’ve had two calls I know came from God: (1) to forgiveness and new life in Jesus and (2) to marry a pastor. Over the years, love has ebbed and flowed. Marriage is hard. Marriage is also a rich blessing.

In two weeks (Nov 14th) my husband will have open heart surgery to repair a birth defect – a bicuspid aortic valve. I can’t—don’t want to—imagine life without him. While the surgery has a 98% success rate, I have moments of worry. In those times I speak truth: I know God is able to heal my husband. I know God can. But even if God doesn’t, my hope is in God alone. I know this because I know God keeps His promises.

God will fight for me. –EXODUS 14:14

God will never leave me. –DEUTERONOMY 31:8

God will strengthen and help me. –ISAIAH 40:10

God works for my good. –ROMANS 8:28

God will meet my needs. –PHILIPPIANS 4:19

He keeps His promises to you, too.

~*~
Author Bio:  

Gina Welborn is the bestselling author of sixteen inspirational romances, including the new Montana Brides Series from Kensington Publishing.

She’s a member of Romance Writers of American and American Christian Fiction Writers, and she serves on the ACFW Foundation Board. Sharing her husband’s passion for the premier American sports car, she is a lifetime member of the National Corvette Museum and a founding member of the Southwest Oklahoma Corvette Club. 

Gina lives with her husband, three of their five children, several rabbits and guinea pigs, and a dog that doesn't realize rabbits and pigs are edible. 

You can sign up for Gina’s newsletter via her website: ginawelborn.com

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Book blurb for The Promise Bride (A Montana Brides Romance):

“. . . a swoon-worthy romance!” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars, on The Promise Bride

Determined to save her father and siblings from a crumbling Chicago tenement, Emilia Stanek becomes the long-distance bride of a Montana rancher. But when she arrives in Helena, a rugged lawman shatters her plans with the news that her husband is dead—and deeply in debt.

County sheriff Mac McCall can’t afford to be distracted by the pretty young widow, not with scandalous secrets emerging as he investigates his friend’s suspicious death. Mac’s gruff order that she leave town at once only spurs Emilia’s resolve to take ownership of her late husband’s ranch and face his debtors. But as her defenses soften, Emilia begins to accept Mac’s help, feel compassion for his own wounded heart—and learns that trust means taking a leap of faith . . .

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Buy Gina’s book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

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Connect with Gina:
Facebook profile - https://www.facebook.com/ginamarie.welborn
Facebook Author page - https://www.facebook.com/ginawelbornauthor/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/gina_welborn
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ginawelborn/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gina_welborn/
Inkwell Inspirations team blog - www.inkwellinspirations.com

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN your choice of a digital or an autographed-by-both-authors print copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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Words of Faith: Standing on God's Promises

Standing on God’s Promises
A Words of Faith story by Grace Marshall

In my heart, I know that God will take care of me. As Psalm 37:25 says, “I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." Yet when I lost my job last October, it was hard to keep that in mind. 

However, it was in the struggles that I realized how blessed I am to have a God-fearing and God-loving husband who could support me when I was weak and vice versa. It always seemed that when one of us struggled the other was there to point toward God and say, “Don’t lose faith.”

We knew for months that God was calling us out of southern Illinois to Missouri and we both really wanted to go but neither of us knew how. We prayed to the Lord to show us the way and we studied and researched options. Finally we decided that it would be better to stay in Illinois for a few years and then move to Missouri when our finances were in better order.

Then, at the beginning of October during a church service, the Lord prodded me to just move and I patiently explained that it would be better to wait. I didn’t tell my husband about the prompting but the Lord was goading him as well. During the altar call my husband asked if I wanted to go up and pray with him about the move. We prayed that the Lord would lead us. Unbeknownst to me, my husband had also prayed that the Lord would remove the barriers in our way and help us move. It is a prayer that God answered. About a week later, we both lost our high paying jobs. We knew that it was God pushing us to go where He was leading us. He had removed the obstacles. So without notice, we started packing up our things and looking for jobs.

We didn’t know how to arrange it all. Would anyone let us rent a place with an indoor cat and an oversized dog (a playful Mastiff)? How could we get jobs without living in the area? When people asked why we were moving to the area it seemed flighty to say, “I love the area.” The good school was a nice excuse but being a woman, it raised questions about if I was going to get pregnant, and being called to the area by God isn’t received well by most people. We had no friends or family in the area but we knew it was God’s will so we prayed and He guided us.

First, with the spare time we had I published my first book, Person of Faith. Our business was blessed with its first job contract even though we had been in business in Illinois for months without a landing a single contract. I was offered a job, and we were led by the Lord to ask to rent the first house we looked at that had been listed for sale. We found a church to call home before we even moved. All of it was in order within one month, just like that.

Our life was like a whirlwind to us but God orchestrated everything in His perfect timing.

Looking back at it, that month seems like a small amount of time but during that time we got scared and wondered how God could possibly work things out. Our human eyes could not see how he could fulfill the promises He had given us. The truth is that faith for us was reminding each other that God had us in His hands. My husband and I both had moments of doubt and fear but we knew what the Lord had in store was better than anything we could ever do on our own. Only He could give us our hearts’ desires.

I believe that faith is standing defiantly on God’s Word and promises even when the world and your own common sense tells you to do something different. Faith is believing that you have a Heavenly Father who is powerful enough to give you the things He has promised.

~*~
Author bio:

Grace Marshall is the author of Person of Faith, a self-help book that delves into what it means to be a person of faith. She’s an avid lover of reading as well as writing and many other forms of art.

She juggles her time between waitressing part-time, building a property maintenance business, and enjoying life with her creative husband J. Lindsey Marshall, who also writes. 

She also likes to hang out with her saucy cat, Amerigo Vespucci and playful Mastiff puppy, Mini. She loves all animals but especially horses. She enjoys exploring the countryside, talking with Jesus, and trying new things.

Grace has lived in Wisconsin and Illinois, and currently resides in the Missouri hills. She believes in living life to the fullest and can’t wait to see where God will take her or have her write next. Her next book, No Pizza Delivery? is the first book in her new series “Becoming Country” and is scheduled to release this June.