Romantic Reads: Borrowed Lives

Book Spotlight on Borrowed Lives by Carol McClain:

Today, we're shining the spotlight on a book about issues that people may struggle with in real life. This will be a short post filled with food for thought!

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Book blurb for Borrowed Lives:

Distraught from recent tragedy, Meredith Jaynes takes pity on a young girl who steals from her. 

 

Meredith discovers “Bean” lives in a hovel mothering her two younger sisters. The three appear to have been abandoned. With no other homes available, Social Services will separate the siblings. To keep them together, Meredith agrees to foster them on a temporary basis.

Balancing life as a soap maker raising goats in rural Tennessee proved difficult enough before the siblings came into her care. Without Bean’s help, she’d never be able to nurture these children warped by drugs and neglect—let alone manage her goats that possess the talents of Houdini. Harder still is keeping her eccentric family at bay.

Social worker Parker Snow struggles to overcome the breakup with his fiancée. Burdened by his inability to find stable homes for so many children who need love, he believes placing the abandoned girls with Meredith Jaynes is the right decision. 

Though his world doesn’t promise tomorrow, he hopes Meredith’s does. But she knows she’s too broken.

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Author Bio:

Carol McClain writes novels about the redemption of the unredeemable. Even her most serious works are laced with humor.

 

She is a consummate encourager, and no matter what your faith might look like, you will find compassion, humor, and wisdom in her complexly layered, but ultimately readable work.

She is a past president of ACFW Knoxville and its current treasurer/secretary. She facilitates Postmark Writers, an offshoot of the LaFollette Art Group. She teaches online courses and is a clinical supervisor for WGU.

In addition to the above, she’s served on the Board of Connections To Recovery, an organization dedicated to keeping addicts sober. She’s mentored recovering addicts, and at one time, had been a foster mother–the complexity and difficulty of that calling proved she was better off writing about it than performing it.

Aside from writing, she’s a skilled stained glass artist and a budding potter.

Carol lives in Tennessee with her husband, kitties, and Springer spaniel, and soon will own a passel of Nigerian Dwarf goats.

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Buy Carol's book, Borrowed Lives, on Amazon

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Connect with Carol:

Website: https://carolmcclain.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.Carol.McClain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carol_mcclain
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/vansgo/

Devotionals for the Heart: Depression

Four key ways to love people with depression
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

–John 13:35 (NIV)

Have you ever tried to love someone with depression but it feels like there’s a wall between you? Or maybe it’s you who has depression, and while your heart longs to love well, the depression feels like a barricade so thick and high you can’t possibly overcome it.

I’ve shared before that I have a number of close family members with depression, and there have been seasons in my own life when I, too, struggled with depression. It’s a rough situation—sometimes it’s genetic, sometimes it’s because of a tough situation (such as mine, after my divorce), and sometimes it’s a combination of these. Sometimes someone’s depression responds to medication or other aids, and it’s manageable—you can reasonably function in the midst of the dark spell, even though you are at an emotional low. Other times, you’re on the wrong depression medicine for your body, or your medication stops working or you can’t afford it anymore, and you spiral ever downward until you fear you’re headed toward rock bottom.

If you have depression and you are struggling to love your people well in the midst of it, please know your efforts and your suffering are seen and appreciated. Understand you are like a battery that has run out of a charge, or a cup of water that has been emptied. You need to be recharged to run again, or filled back up with water again in order to pour out that love upon the world. Accept the grace God’s love gives you in this time. Love is, whether we can show it or not.

If you love someone with depression, here are four key things that can help:

1. Love with acceptance: Depression isn’t something you can “get over.” It’s not a choice or a mindset, and it can be paralyzing. Like diabetes or cancer, it can be largely invisible, and it’s nobody’s fault. Often it’s inherited. So keep this in mind as you interact with the person you love. Accept them as they are. You don’t need to take abuse in the form of verbal attacks, but do understand their low mood isn’t personal or something they can change. Love them anyway.

2. Love with grace. People with depression often feel lonely, hopeless, and isolated. Again, don’t take it personally if they push you away or stop calling. Let them know you care and that you are there when they are ready. Send a written note, text, or voicemail saying hi. Your loved one might be pushing others away, but they don’t necessarily want to be alone—rather, they often just feel alone. Help them know they are not alone.

3. Love with open ears. Listening to your depressed loved one is often the biggest gift you can give them. You don’t need to offer wisdom or advice or even understanding. In fact, sometimes there’s nothing at all that can be said. But being a safe person, offering that place where they can talk about their feelings, can be exactly what they need.

4. Love with peace. Speaking to His disciples in John 16:33, Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The world can be a chaotic, troubled, terrible place sometimes. It is not heaven. Culture’s lies battle hard for our hearts and attention. People with depression are often very susceptible to this, and it can make them feel worse. But in Jesus, we can find peace. One way we can love people with depression is to show them that same peace, whether we introduce them to Jesus or simply model the peace of Christ for them, opening the door for the Spirit to move better within them.

These are just four ways to love someone with depression. And if you are that depressed person, know you can use these strategies with yourself, too. Be your own friend. Give yourself that same acceptance, grace, listening love, and peace you’d give someone else struggling with what you experience.

Your turn: Do you have any other tips to share? Any other words of wisdom to help loves others in the midst of sadness, anger, frustration, or despair? I invite you to share in the comments below.

Let’s Pray: Loving God, please help me to know Your deep, vast love in the midst of depression. You know our hearts better than we do ourselves. Help us love and reflect You and pass on that love in ways that are sensitive and beautiful and fully led by the Holy Spirit that lives within each of us. In Jesus's Name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach and the recipient of the 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for her novel, The Memory Garden. 

She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, and a member of the Wholly Loved Ministries team. 

Learn more about her fiction and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com.

Devotionals for the Heart: A life lesson about just how much Jesus loves you!

Just for You
A devotional by Mirachelle Canada

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” – Matthew 18:12-13 (ESV)

As an introverted teenager growing up in church, the worst words I could hear on a youth group outing were “street evangelism” and “tracts”. This meant we had to pair up. Then, with an adult chaperone, we had to go out into the neighborhoods to knock on doors in order to share the love of Jesus Christ with strangers.

I hated street evangelism because talking to strangers terrified me. I was good with words on paper, but not delivering them in person. I finally confessed my fear to my adult helper, who took over with my partner while I watched from the sidelines. At first, I was relieved and then I felt guilty for not fulfilling “The Great Commission” (Matthew 28:16-20). I felt like a failure.

What I didn’t know (or realize then) is that God gives each of us a different gift and talent in order to share His love. Just as not all of us are called to be athletes, doctors, or writers, not all of us are called to be evangelists or pastors either. And, contrary to some beliefs, not all of us have to have a theology degree to be worthy of furthering the Kingdom of God.

God made each of us different, and that means He has a plan for each of us with regards to how His love is shared around the world and in our local communities. He sends some people out to minister to the lost and the broken, and sometimes He sends the lost and the broken directly to us.

In college I choose the creative path of theatre, which forced me out onto the public stage, where I found my physical and singing voice, and the audience came to me. Once I earned the right to be in the spotlight, I felt God meet me each time. Eventually, He gave me unique opportunities to share His love with others. As I got to know people and they got to know me, relationship building led to Kingdom building. Under this principle there is a quote by Teddy Roosevelt that rings true: “People don't care what you know, until they know that you care.” I believe that’s why as a youth I couldn’t just share God’s love with a stranger. It had to mean something first, not just to me, but to the person on the other side of the door.

I have never felt a greater connection to the power of caring about such relationship, than the first time when God used my theatrical talent in church to write and direct an Easter passion play. In doing so, I had to fully rely on God’s Spirit not only to write about His life and death, but to bring it to life on the stage by guiding and directing volunteers from our congregation. People with some – or very little – experience decided to trust me to mold and guide them, and then put the spotlight on them to tell God’s story to an audience that had been sent to receive it.

The first night of a performance I felt as nervous as I did on the days of my old evangelist youth outings. What if I didn’t do enough, God? What if no one comes to the Cross to receive salvation? As our pastor called for the lost and the broken to come forward, no one moved. I felt the walls closing in, but then I remembered that Jesus would have died on the Cross if there had only been one, if there had only been me. That’s how He sees each one of us. That one sheep that broke away from the ninety-nine. He would give everything to go after it. After me. After you.

I felt it in my spirit, God asking me, “Would you do all this for just the one? Put all of yourself out there to bring but one into my kingdom?” I felt the “yes” response to Him in my heart. Suddenly, the audience stirred, and I saw a small boy walking toward the platform. He came up to the cross and touched it.

I fell to my knees and wept with great joy. You see, I didn’t need to bring people to God. I only needed to be available to God right where I was, where I am, and because of Him people will come to His light that shines each time I step out, or sing a melody, or write words to be printed a page or acted out on a stage. Like me, He has a plan for you, to use you right where you are to touch that one who’s searching for their way back home.

Let's Pray: Dear God, you created me for a purpose. Thank you for making me unique and giving me special gifts and talents to use for the furtherance of your Kingdom. Grant me the courage to be your willing vessel. Thank you for using me to show your love to others. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen. 

*Note from Alexis: Mirachelle's message reminds me of the song "Just for Me" by Donnie McClurkin. Listen to it here.

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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.

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

Devotionals for the Heart: Everything can and will change but God ...

Does anything stay the same?
A devotional by Patricia Russell

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

–Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)

All around us things are changing faster than we can blink. You know this because the rules on what you can and cannot do keep changing in this era of pandemic.

We have had to stay alert, listen and learn a lot about what it is to make changes with very little time and very little notice. I know that for most of us it has been frustrating and we have truly had to rely on the strength of the Lord to bring us through. So how are you doing? Are you still enjoying little makeup as you don your mask and walk into public arenas? Am I the only one who misses walking in a mall versus curbside pickup? It’s been a lot of change, I know.

Back in the day when I used to play basketball, the word “pivot” was part of our language in the game. There was a drill we did where you stood with one foot anchored, holding the ball and shifting quickly on a different angle in an effort to either make your shot for the basket or toss the ball to a nearby team member. It was an exercise that you had to become proficient in because you would definitely use it at some point in the game.

You were doing several things at one time and you had to be quick! If you had a clear shot of the basket, you had to pivot and make the shot. The other option was to quickly hand off the ball before another player intercepted your pass. You had to stay alert to the game, to shift and adjust your game plan as needed. Sometimes it could become frustrating because of the constant changes you would be forced to make. However, that is the nature of playing basketball.

If there is one thing that we can be assured of it’s the fact that God remains the same. He doesn’t shift or pivot, nor is he surprised by anything. God is the same as He was from the beginning of time. He will not change. How comforting is that to you and I? How much does that bring us reassurance in the midst of turmoil?

Weather changes, gas price changes, people’s loyalties and your weekly grocery bill … everything can and will change. My husband remarked at the number of dandelions that have popped up this year. They have doubled between the time he mowed the lawn from one day to the next. Now I can’t say that I have stopped to count them but I’ll take his word for it. The neighbors agree with him. Like I said, everything changes!

If you have ever read the Bible from cover to cover, you notice God’s constant reassurance of His love for us and his commitment to us. Let’s look at an example of this beautiful truth in Isaiah 49:15-16 (NKJV):

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

And not have compassion on the son of her womb?

Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.

See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Your walls are continually before Me."

In Malachi 3:6 (NKJV) we also read: “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”

The Great I Am, always will be. He has made a commitment to us and made it clear that it is possible for a mother to forget her child (I know that sounds impossible). But God says that we are so important and so dear to Him that we are permanently printed on the palms of His hands.

I don’t know about you, but for me the love of our Heavenly Father is a deep commitment that is comparable to none. There is no human being, no mother or father whose love for us is comparable to His. Does this give you confidence? Does this give you hope? In the midst of a changing world we can rest assured that we serve an unchangeable God who loves us with a never ending, never changing, unconditional love.

Let’s Pray: Father God, I am so grateful for your love for me. Thank you for reminding us that while everything around us is changing, you remain the same. I stand in that confidence today, regardless of what I face tomorrow. Thank you for your faithfulness to us. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Patricia Russell is a speaker, worship leader, author, certified life coach and songwriter. 

Her gifts have been shared internationally with audiences to encourage, empower and share life lessons through words and songs. She has sung on national television broadcasts and shared the stage with several respected speakers. Over her 30 years in ministry, she has been a featured artist in musical cantatas locally and the United States of America.

Patricia had the honour of leading worship at the kick-off event for the 2006 the “Just Give Me Jesus” Toronto Revival with Anne Graham Lotz who is the eldest daughter of Billy Graham, a well-known American evangelist.

Patricia serves in ministry along with her husband Rev. Wayne Russell. Together, they have served as guest hosts on a local early morning call in program called “Nite Lite Live” that formerly aired on the CTS Television Network. They have two adult children: Raquel and Benjamin.

Patricia has recorded two CD’s: “Lord I Trust You” and a live recording “Draw Me Nearer.” She is also an author. Her first book is titled Lord I Trust You: Words of Encouragement. It is meant to further encourage and share life lessons as a result of her cancer journey. She is a co-author of a #1 bestseller book titled Crushed Diamonds Still Sparkle, and she has compiled the recent #1 bestseller book titled Stronger Resilience.

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Connect with Patricia:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrussellsings/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/patrussellsings
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrussellonline/
Email: patrussellsings@gmail.com

Romantic Reads: Rayne’s Redemption

Story Behind the Story: Rayne’s Redemption

A guest post by Linda Shenton Matchett

Twins run in my family, and I’ve always been fascinated by them, especially how vastly different their personalities can be. For Rayne's Redemption, I created twin sisters Rayne and Jessica Dalton to explore what it would be like for a non-believer to pose as a believer to get something she desired, in this case, a marriage.

Would she have feelings of guilt or would she be unaffected because she thinks the ends justify the means? Would she succeed with her deception? How would the subterfuge affect those around her and would there be any consequences?

I had great fun creating Rayne because of the challenges associated with her character. In some sense, she is the villain of the story, but in another way she is a victim of her circumstances and her own belief system. She needed to be a difficult personality, yet likable. Strong-willed, yet not rigid.

For her “foil” I decided to use an Englishman for several reasons. First and foremost, I’m an Anglophile. I love all things British and most of my WWII books are set somewhere in England. My last few releases have been set in the western US during the 1800s, and I’ve missed my English characters, so I decided to drop one into Rayne’s Redemption. Having a character from a foreign country also allowed me to use the fish-out-of-water concept, one of my favorite types of story. I enjoyed including contrasts in the characters’ cultures too.

I love to seek my readers’ input on stories, so I polled the followers in my Facebook author page about where they’d like to see a story located. They not only selected Wyoming, but also made suggestions about the name of the town which ended up being Rocky Mountain Springs.

A lot of mail-order bride and western stories tend to have a farmer or rancher as the main male character. I decided to take a different route by having him fail in his attempts to work the land which added to his personal “baggage” of being a second son and feeling like he’d already let down his family. Flynn purchases a mercantile, an important business in western towns not only for the products made available from flour and coffee beans to patent medicines and dry goods, but for the opportunity to gather and catch up on the latest news.

General stores were nothing like our modern shops. The shelves would have been crammed with merchandise, crates, barrels, and boxes. With the unpaved roads and walkways, customers would have tracked in dirt and other waste from outside, and during the winter the stove would have left a fine layer of soot on everything. Mercantiles would also be very fragrant, and according to social historian Gerald Carson it was a “well-dug-in odor...a blend made up of the store’s inventory, the customers, and the cat...with ripe cheese and sauerkraut, sweet pickles, the smell of paint on new toys, kerosene, lard and molasses, old onions and potatoes, poultry feed, gun oil, rubber boots, dried fish, and ‘kept’ eggs. Makes my nose wrinkle just thinking about it!

What is something you learned about by reading a historical novel?

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Author Bio:

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by.  

A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is a former trustee for her local public library.

She is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry.

Linda has lived in historic places all her life, and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

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Blurb for Rayne’s Redemption:

Will she have to lose her identity to find true love? 

Twin sisters Rayne and Jessica Dalton have been swapping places their whole lives, so when Jessica dies on the eve of heading west to become a mail-order bride, Rayne decides to fill her sister’s shoes. The challenge will be faking Jessica’s faith in God. Can Rayne fool her prospective groom without losing her heart...or her soul?

Flynn Ward fled England to escape his parent’s attempts at marrying him off, but locating a woman to love in the Wyoming mountains is harder than finding a hackney in a rainstorm. Then the Westward Home & Hearts Agency offers him the perfect match. But when his prospective bride arrives, she’s nothing like she seemed in her letters. Is he destined to go through life alone?

Can two desperate people overcome their differences to find common ground ... and love?

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Buy Linda’s book on Amazon

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Connect with Linda:
Website/Blog: http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindaShentonMatchettAuthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lindasmatchett
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linda-shenton-matchett
Newsletter signup (receive a free short story): https://mailchi.mp/74bb7b34c9c2/lindashentonmatchettnewsletter
Moments in History YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4b-o_6cD8HkHNyFP-wZwJg

Devotionals for the Heart: Pride

Pride is an Enemy of Love
A devotional by Gena Anderson

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” –James 4:6 (NKJV)

I once prided myself on being my family’s chief financial officer. When I began struggling to maintain, I first attempted to fix our finances by myself, then conceal them, and later blame them on my husband. Like a pudgy dog trying to jump on the couch, the weight of the struggle became too much, and when I fell flat on my face I was forced to see how low my pride had sunken me. Finding humility, I asked God and my husband for help.

Barely making ends meet, buried in debt, my husband and I worked together to rebuild and submit our money to God. I created a tight budget that fit like my Spanx, and prayerfully followed a plan to get into the black. After months of chipping away at bills the time came to revisit the budget and make use of some newfound wiggle room. Reworking the numbers, I yearned to use the new surplus on something indulgent, perhaps a night out or pedicure, but I knew what took priority.

From my view at the bottom of the financial ditch I saw the root issue: tithing. We were giving a comfortable amount, but God wants us to give freely and generously, promising abundance in return as He says to us in Luke 6:38 and Proverbs 11:24. In my realization of complete humility I had asked God to help me increase our tithe to an amount unimaginable in our broken state, and committed to getting there. This was the first opportunity toward generous giving, and I was ready. I allotted almost half of our long-awaited gain to tithe, knowing that investment would pay better dividends than a meal at Chilis.

Later that week I revisited the budget and realized I had miscalculated. Missing a monthly deposit, I undercalculated our income. We actually had a surplus double my original figure. After all the financial stress and penny-pinching this find was a God-sent gift, and I heard God’s message loud and clear: His ways are superior, and we benefit more by submitting and giving to Him than we do by withholding. I learned to love God instead of money and shed the weight of pride, gaining a pressed down, shaken together, running over gift that remains still.

James 4:6 says God resists the proud but blesses the humble beyond what they deserve. Reading that verse, I wondered what God finds so detestable about pride that he resists the prideful. Then I remembered, my pride led to financial destruction and sin, and humility was what ignited reparation. I believe that pride is more divisive in the church than adultery, murder, abortion, and any other headline issue, because it is the fuel behind all of those things and the root of selfish desires.

Pride is . . . trying to do it all and not asking for help . . . putting today’s achievement over eternal investment . . . finding satisfaction and pleasure in self over God . . . wanting to be saved without admitting the need for a Savior.

Christians like to hide our dirty laundry. The world needs to see our brokenness in order to witness God’s work in our lives and know they aren’t the only ones struggling. James reminds us God resists diving into our stinky pile of dirty clothes as long as we hide it, but brings powerful, heavenly-scented detergent to clean it all up when we release pride.

Christians sometimes struggle to work together, taking God’s design of a servant heart and twisting it into overbearing church volunteers that seek control and offer criticism. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says our gifts and talents are useless without love. The humble love of God and others over ourselves is one that collaborates with and offers praise to their brothers and sisters.

People who love others as Jesus loves them (John 15:12) sift out and remove pride. This is not a call to shame, but to repentance. Tara-Leigh Cobble said on The Bible Recap, “confident humility is when you’re not building or beating yourself up.” God loves us enough to forgive and forget any sin that’s confessed and turned from.

Humility is the elevation of God, more than it is the lowering of self, and what is the church if not adept at raising up the name of the one we claim to praise? Ask yourself and God today how you’ve let pride overshadow love. Humble yourself so God can exalt you (James 4:10), and be filled with a love so great it will spill out to the world.

Let’s Pray: Lord, you are the only one who can be and do it all. Open my eyes to see where I’ve allowed pride to divide and destroy my life. Forgive me and help me to do better. Thank you for your never ending love and patience with me, help me to offer the same to those in my path today. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Gena Anderson is a Jesus-lover, writer, nurse practitioner, and blogger who loves to share wellness information and inspiration with the world around her. 

She is the author of The Well Woman: A Journey to Wellness Through Loving Jesus, which is available on Amazon.com.

Gena proudly holds the title of wife, mom, and the world’s most average CrossFitter. She loves writing, reading, traveling, and brownies. She's working on that last one.

Gena lives in Hutto, Texas with her husband and two children.

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Connect with Gena:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellwoman.blog
Website: well-woman-blog.com
Email: wellwomanbook@gmail.com

Podcast interview with Ginny Owens

Listen to this episode of the Ready to Thrive podcast, featuring Christian music recording artist Ginny Owens! It will inspire and encourage your heart. God loves you, dear heart!