14 Days of Love: Random Acts of Shyness by Chautona Havig

Today, we're shining the spotlight on a book by my author friend Chautona Havig. 

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Book Blurb for Random Acts of Shyness:

"That man is going to be single for the rest of his life!" 

What began as a coping mechanism as a little boy became highly-effective date repellent as a man. He knows girls don’t care about the life cycle of a dung beetle, but Heath can’t help but spew facts like a docent at the zoo anytime he’s on one of his many first and only dates.

His sister is determined to fix that. So, she signs him up for the new betwixt2hearts.com matchmaking service. Her plan: simple. Just let him practice on a bunch of girls until it becomes second nature. Simple, right?

But Heath can’t get one girl out of his mind. So, with his boss’ help, and a little creativity, he embarks on a sorta-secret admirer scheme to induce her into giving him a second chance.

He's a good guy... and someday he'll figure out how to show it.

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Author Bio:

USA Today Bestselling author of Aggie and Past Forward series, Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge.

An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

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Buy Chautona’s book on Amazon

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Connect with Chautona:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChautonaHavig
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chautonahavig
Blog: http://chautona.com/blog/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/ChautonaHavig
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/chautonahavig
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/chautona-havig
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/chautonahavig
Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/chautonahavig
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/chautona/videos
Newsletter (sign up for news of FREE eBook offers): https://chautona.com/news

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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Love is in the Air: Your Not-So-Secret Admirer

Raelee May Carpenter, author of Liberation Song, visits my blog today to share a devotional God placed on her heart. It's sweet, clever and the message may resonate with your heart.

Enjoy! :)

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Your Not-So-Secret Admirer
A devotional written by Raelee May Carpenter

A few summers ago in late July, the peak of my irritation with what felt like a feverish Persian kitten lying across the back of my neck happened to coincide with a $7 haircut sale at BoRic’s, and short-story-long, the curls that had dangled a couple inches past my shoulders were chopped to brush softly against my chin. I was officially ready to take on the summer…now that it was half over.

This slight alteration in my physical appearance drew a lot of comment at the factory where I worked at the time, including from people (mostly) who I did not know.

In one such moment, I was walking the plant floor when a gentleman I didn’t recall ever laying eyes on said to me, “You got your hair cut.”

I smiled and said, “Yes” then headed back to my work area while he said to the person next to him, “Her hair was long yesterday.”

I related the “incident” to a coworker who responded, “Well, you never know who’s noticing you.”

I know she met this in a nice way, like maybe I sorta had a secret admirer or something which was sweet, but on another level, her comment kinda made me squirm. Like maybe I’d been caught stealing cookies or something. Weird, I know. But what’s weirder is: I used to feel that way about God.

Have you ever felt that way? Maybe like God is Cruella Deville with PMS? Or an angry boss you’re afraid of. You can work along at your job when He’s out of the office, but when you see Him, you’re so nervous you can’t remember what you’re doing. He’ll see you at your desk, seeming to be typing away industriously on a project, but if He’d look at your screen (hopefully He doesn’t), He’d see something like, “jtirjihj ihi ijihn uiw…”

When did God’s ever-presence become a source of anxiety, instead of a constant well of love, joy and hope?

Through my writing, I am constantly repeating the message: how much God loves you, no matter who you are or what you’re doing. This is why.

I mean, yes, you are guilty of sin. And, no, God is (as C.S. Lewis put it) “NOT a tame lion.” Yes, God wants you to live a good life. But He does not want you to live a good life just because you’re afraid He’ll hurt you if you don’t. Or even because you know that you should.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said a hundred times: God loves you. That is exactly why He doesn’t want you to live (or fake) a good life, because you’re running scared. Living scared is NOT part of the Love Equation (perfect love casts OUT fear, remember?).

If you’re a parent, you probably know on an intellectual level you should hug your children and tell them you love them. It’s “good for their development.” But I’m guessing that “good for their development” is not what you’re thinking when you snuggle your babies in your arms. You don’t do it because you should. You do it because you love them, and loving them makes loving on them about the easiest thing in the world to do.

That’s the picture of God you need. That’s a God you can fall in love with, and you should love that God, because he’s the real One. As big and wild and sovereign and holy as God is, He’s still your Da-da.

How many of you want your children to hug you and tell you they love you because they think you’ll spank them if they don’t? Or would you rather they hugged you because they knew you loved them? Wouldn’t you rather they say, “I love you,” because they actually do love you?

That’s what your Da-da wants too.

Or, if I may dare another comparison, God is less like an angry boss and more like a Secret Admirer. Only instead of sending Russell Stover’s and anonymous poetry, He created a whole universe, complete with mountains and oceans and planets and stars and signed it in big red letters with the pen of His very life: “I AM.”

What do you do with a love like that? I’d really like to know.

Watch the Light, Beloved.

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Author bio:

Raelee May Carpenter is a Christian and an author of contemporary fiction, inspirational essays, and modern mythology. Her work is passionate, descriptive and just a little edgy. Raelee's three lifelong passions are faith, people, and words. She's a tone-deaf music fan and "Mumma" to a young-at-heart, rescued Beagle mix. Her favorite thing to write about is the force that saved her life: Grace.
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Buy Raelee's book, Liberation Song:
Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/1GwBH4O
Barnes and Noble - http://bit.ly/1dsRlRl

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Connect with Raelee:
Website - http://www.raeleemaycarpenter.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/RaeleeCarpenter
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/raeleemaycarpenter

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3510962.Raelee_May_Carpenter