Devotionals for the Heart: A Lesson Learned about God's Grace

Sufficient Grace
A devotional by Mirachelle Canada

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

Growing up in church, I often heard a song by Don Moen called “Jehovah Jireh.”

In Hebrew the title means “My Provider.” It comes from Genesis 22, where Abraham took his son Isaac to be sacrificed on the altar, but God provided a ram instead because of Abraham’s faithfulness. According to Genesis 22:14 (KJV): “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.”

Loosely translated, “God provides and sees everything.”

Lately, amid the current troubled times, I’ve been focusing on how God always provides. But it is the second verse in Moen’s song “Jehovah Jireh” that has been on repeat in my mind. The verse says, “His grace is sufficient for me.” I asked God why it was ruminating in my spirit, and He led me to recall a time when I had a personal “all is lost” moment.

It was the day of a mandatory teaching methodology class during my final semester in college. The final assignment was a 25-page paper and to be handed in inside of a red folder. So, when I walked into the class and saw red folders on everyone’s desk, I panicked. I hadn’t even started researching my paper! As a theatre major, I had been performing several nights, which had consumed me both mentally and physically. Without that paper I would not pass the class, which meant I would not be licensed as a teacher after graduation.

I quickly left the classroom and located the course instructor. He was formerly a Marine, strict to follow the rules, and the rule for a late paper meant you had to get a doctor’s note to receive a C passing grade. As I fumbled for words, he turned to me and said, “Miss Canada, you look sick today.” I started to reply, and he repeated himself. In a rare, contrary moment, he showed me mercy and I left without questioning it.

I had a solution, but I wasn’t sick, and the school clinic wasn’t giving out sick notes without symptoms. For three hours, I agonized and prayed to God over what to do, and by the time I arrived at an off-campus clinic, I was running a fever, congested, and had swollen eyes. I felt the clouds of heaven part when the clinic nurse handed me a sick note.

Now, please understand that I don’t condone lying or fraudulent cases. Yet, when I found myself in a dire, life-altering event (that I had gotten myself into) God showed me a level of grace to remind me of Hebrews 4:16 (ESV), “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” And though He is “Jehovah Jireh” it is His grace that will meet all our needs, as God says in 2 Corinthians 12:9a (ESV), “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Rest assured, the next day I locked myself in the 24-hour campus library until my paper was done to excellence, and I still received that circled “C” with a “well done” on the title page with thanks and praise to God because His Grace will always be more than enough for me.

Are you in need of God’s grace today? Let us pray together: “Dear God, you know and see my struggle today. I need your grace that is sufficient for my weakness. Thank you for always providing for and meeting my needs, and for your loving mercy as I lay this burden down at your feet. In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.”

~*~
Author Bio:

Mirachelle Canada is a writer, playwright, screenwriter, and theatre director/producer from Northern Virginia, where she teaches television production at her high school alma mater. 

She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Script & Screenwriting from Regent University and is an alumnus of Act One: Hollywood Film & Television Writing Program.

Mirachelle is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, American Fiction Writers Virginia Chapter, The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and Your Novel Blueprint.

She is currently working on her first historical fiction novel set during WWII.

~*~
Connect with Mirachelle:
Website: www.mirachellecanada.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirachellecanada/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/miracan

Romantic Reads: Dance Over Me

Welcome Candee Fick to the blog! 

Today, she's here to share the story behind her book, Dance Over Me.

Enjoy!

~*~

How a Dream and Song Turned Into a Book

A guest post by Candee Fick

Ever wake up in the middle of a dream and actually remember what it was about?

Usually the wisps of unconnected, pizza-induced, nonsensical images disappear within a few blinks, so when a vivid scene lingers and actually feels real, I pay attention. And when my imagination keeps the characters interacting at least until I’m brushing my teeth, I know it’s time to pull out my notebook and capture the idea so I can add it to my folder of story seeds.

In one such dream, I was a college-aged dancer standing backstage at a theater watching three or four couples rehearsing a slow dance onstage. I noticed their popularity and personalities enough to know I didn’t belong and stayed in the wings. But the romance and the music and the potential for something just out of reach still drew me in. What I remembered most about the situation was the emotion. The longing. The wishing. The hoping… Until a new young man stepped up beside me, started a conversation, and then escorted me onto the stage to begin the perfect dance that left the others speechless.

Who were they? Where were they? What did it mean? And what was I supposed to do with the scene?

Not long after my dream, the worship team at church sang “Amazed” by Phillips, Craig & Dean. It’s a song about the love of God that shows up in unexpected ways that leave us amazed. The opening verse states: “You dance over me while I am unaware, You sing all around but I never hear the sound.”

Immediately, my heart connected with the lyrics and my subconscious resurrected the imagery from that dream. And I knew it was God in the wings loving and encouraging the girl until she was able to step onto the stage.

Once home, I did some research and found the Scripture in Zephaniah 3:17 that inspired those song lyrics. “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice (dance/whirl with joy) over you with singing.”

Serious brainstorming ensued and more pieces started to fall into place. The girl became an orphan who was searching for family and a performance artist longing for a place to belong. The guy was a “somebody” in a “nobody” (i.e. overlooked) role. And since the onstage diva wouldn’t be happy to give up her spot at center stage, I had plenty of potential conflict.

Dance Over Me is now the first in a series exploring faith and fame. And while that duo-dancing scene from my dream never made it into the final version of the story, I worked hard to keep that raw emotion on the page. Not to mention the constant reminder that our ever-loving God is working behind the scenes.

Did I succeed? I think so, because one book reviewer said: “Dance Over Me is an emotional journey, from rejoicing over Dani’s successes to wanting to purse whomp the antagonists (or at least trip them) to crying with Dani over her frustrations. Through it all, we are gently reminded – through the authenticity of Dani’s walk with Jesus – to let Him fight for us and to rest in His love.”

And it all began with a dream and a song.

~*~
Blurb for Dance Over Me:

She’s spent a lifetime searching for family, but God’s been dancing behind the scenes. 

Danielle Lefontaine, an orphaned actress raised to the lullaby of Broadway, searches for her long-lost brother and her place on the stage. After a successful audition lands her a part in the same city his adoptive family had moved to, Dani believes she’s finally close to finding her place to belong.

Meanwhile, Alex Sheridan is living his dream playing the trumpet at his family’s dinner theater. He’s got everything he ever wanted…except someone special to share it with. When Dani dances into his life, he hopes she’s the missing piece to his heart but fears the bright lights of a bigger stage could steal her away.

However, after a jealous cast member’s vicious rumors threaten to drop the curtain on Dani’s career, everything they’ve worked to build may end up for nothing. Will the rhythm of dancing feet usher in their deepest desires or leave them stranded in the wings?

If you like tap dancing, musical theater, adoption-reunion stories, and faith-based romance with authentic characters, then you’ll love the first book in The Wardrobe series from Candee Fick.

~*~
Buy Candee’s book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble 

~*~
Author Bio:

Candee Fick is a multi-published, award-winning author. 

She is also the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. 

When not busy writing, editing, or coaching other authors, she can be found cheering on the home team at sporting events, exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.

~*~
Connect with Candee:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.Candee.Fick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CandeeFick
Website: https://candeefick.com

True Love Stories: An Unlikely Romance

"For the First Time," a sweet song Jane performs when she realizes she's in love with the wild and wonderful man named Tarzan, is what comes to mind when I think of today's true love story.

Tarzan, the musical, opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York on May 10, 2006. However, about four years prior to this play premiering on Broadway, God was moving behind the scenes to orchestrate a theatre-worthy real-life romance that was as swoon worthy as it was unlikely.

"An Unlikely Romance" is the true love story of Brandy and Jeff Bruce. It's a beautiful testimony of what can happen when you let God write your love story. Brandy and Jeff will celebrate their 12-year wedding anniversary tomorrow! So after you read their story, be sure to congratulate Mr. & Mrs. Bruce in your comments. 

Enjoy!

~*~
An Unlikely Romance
Brandy Bruce’s true love story

We met in the alley between our jobs.

Not the most romantic beginning, I know, but there it is. Jeff worked at a furniture store in downtown Conroe, Texas and I had just started working at a title company. Every evening at five o’clock I drove down the alley, past the furniture store. After a couple of weeks, I started to notice one of the delivery guys outside around five o’clock every day, inconspicuously sweeping the dirt.

Now if Jeff were telling this story, he’d probably pause here to include my dad.

For the first couple of weeks, Jeff thought I was dating my dad. It’s true. My dad was a patrolman for Conroe P.D. and the police station was right by the title company. So he’d stop by to see me, sometimes bringing flowers (specifically on my birthday) or donuts (my dad is awesome like that). So Jeff saw this 6’3” guy in uniform (carrying a gun) visiting me. What was he to do? Well, he could always have his boss call the director of the title company to see if his new employee was dating that cop who kept stopping by. Because that wouldn’t be strange at all, right? Yep, that’s what he did. Next thing I know, Jeff is stopping me in the alley after work and asking if I’d like to have lunch sometime.

We found out that we had mutual friends at this point, which you would think would be helpful in getting to know each other. But you’d be wrong. My friend Colleen was dating Jeff’s BFF Larry. At first Colleen told me she didn’t really think Jeff would be a good person for me to date. THEN she changed her story and said that Jeff would be a great person for me to date! I finally decided that a lunch date was pretty harmless. So I told Jeff I’d meet him for lunch.

Jeff is a pretty quiet guy. But not on that first date. Over chicken tenders and honey mustard sauce, I listened to this guy tell me his life story. I realized that our backgrounds were fairly different. I’d grown up in a very strong Christian home. Church, faith and a loving, peaceful family had made up my childhood experience. Jeff’s parents divorced when he was fourteen and he’d experienced a lot of things that I hadn’t. I just listened as he told me that he had made some major changes in his life recently and was now going to church with his friend Larry. (Also the church I attended! It’s a big church.)

I appreciated his openness and his honesty so much and I was shocked by how much I enjoyed our conversation. Then I had to leave the restaurant to make it to my orthodontist appointment on time (did I mention that I was just a young thing of 19 and Jeff was 22?). On the way to my appointment, I couldn’t stop smiling. I really liked this guy. So we kept dating. He met my family. I met his dad and his sister Jamie. Christmas came and Jeff ended up spending the holiday with my family. Everyone liked him, and I was crazy about him. I was leaving for college in Virginia in January, so we said we’d keep in touch during that semester apart. My dad drove me from Texas to Lynchburg, Virginia. I remember that we had breakfast together the morning before my dad had to leave for Texas. He asked me how serious I was about Jeff. I looked straight at my dad and said, “I’m going to marry him.” My dad looked back at me, nodded, and said, “Really? Well, all right.”

I knew in my heart that I would marry Jeff. I didn’t know when, but I knew it would happen. God had drawn Jeff to Himself before He brought me into his life and then God brought us together. I was there the day Jeff was baptized at our church. Honestly, God wrote our love story.

We talked on the phone every single day while I was in Virginia. But after that semester apart, Jeff decided to move to Virginia so we could be closer. He drove up to Lynchburg and found a job and an apartment with some roommates. And I realized how much he loved me, that he’d change his whole life to be with me. We were engaged a year after our first date and married three years later (right after I graduated). 

We’ll celebrate our 12-year wedding anniversary on February 8th. Our journey together has been exactly that—a journey. And God has been with us every step of the way. He’s still writing our love story.

~*~
Author Bio: 

Brandy Bruce was scribbling stories in spiral notebooks by the age of 12. Her love for books never left her. She graduated from Liberty University, married the one person she could never get enough of, then started working as a book editor for a publishing house. Brandy and her husband, Jeff, live in Colorado with their two children.

~*~

Recipe for Love book blurb: Overworked chef Jeremy has ordered up the perfect vacation: a fly-fishing getaway and some much-needed alone time. But when he arrives in the Colorado mountain town, he's immediately captivated by the lovely proprietor of the bed-and-breakfast, not to mention her young son. 

Alison Taylor still mourns her first husband even as she fights to keep their shared dream of a B and B alive. But there's no denying that she and her big-city guest have all the right ingredients for something special. Will this star-crossed pair realize that second chances can happen…if only they'll let them?

~*~
Buy Brandy’s book Recipe for Love:

Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/16Jmhdn

BarnesandNoble.com - http://bit.ly/1C3WlDF

~*~

Connect with Brandy:

Blog- http://brandybruce.blogspot.com/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/brandybruce