Never Will I Ever . . . by Jordyn Redwood

If you are like me, maybe you’ve used this phrase at certain times in your life as an adamant statement of refusal. The first time I used this phrase with meaning was my senior year of college. I said, “Never will I ever move to Kansas, Wyoming, Utah, or Nebraska.” Now before I offend every person that lives in those states know that I didn’t have any personal animosity it was just a strong personal preference.

     

Where did I end up living after nursing school? Kansas. For thirteen years. Thirteen amazing years. I met my husband there. I had my two daughters there. Kansas is where I learned that I loved pediatric nursing. Kansas is where I decided to work on fulfilling my dream of becoming an author. Now, Kansas holds a special place in my heart.

The next time I used this phrase was when I was thinking about what kind of books I would write. I’m a thriller girl. Suspense is what I read. This is what I write. “Never will I ever write romance.” I said this more than a few times. What happens? I feel a nudge to enter one of the Love Inspired contests. I did it begrudgingly. I did it to essentially get God off my back. Fine. I’ll do this but stop keeping me up at night thinking about it. Okay? Deal.

That was three novels ago and I love my Love Inspired family. It was one of the best things that ever happened to my writing career.

I think when people who love God say this, He takes it as a personal challenge. He knows we’re against it . . . He also knows this is a way He can shine through us. A lot of people knew I didn’t want to write romance so now that I do they ask why. I can’t claim it was my desire to do it. It’s a story I share about how God kept me up one night about a contest that’s first deadline was three days away.

Hmm . . . three days. God does some amazing things in three days. 

As believers, God will use our lives so people can see Him. In our weakness, He shines! In those moments when we have said, “Never will I ever . . .” and we do that very thing, people will wonder why. 

I’m curious, have any of you ever said this statement and did God use you in a special way doing it?

Never will I ever . . . be careful using those words. It may be the very thing God uses you to do.

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Jordyn Redwood is a nursing supervisor by day, suspense novelist by night. She hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog devoted to helping authors write medically accurate fiction. Her first two medical thrillers, Proof and Poison, garnered starred reviews from Library Journal. Proof was shortlisted for the 2012 ForeWord Review’s BOTY Award, 2013 INSPY Award and the 2013 Carol Award. Poison shortlisted for the 2014 INSPY Award and the 2014 Selah Award. Her novel, Taken Hostage, won the 2018 Stiletto Award in published romantic suspense. Fugitive Spy recently finaled in the Selah award and the Stiletto Contest. In addition to her novels, she blogs regularly at Redwood’s Medical Edge and the Love Inspired blog. You can connect with Jordyn via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, her website and via e-mail at jordyn@jordynredwood.com. 

What Does Easter Mean to You? by Jordyn Redwood

Now that we are in the Lent Season, it's natural that our eyes would turn toward Easter and what that means to us individually.

I originally wrote this post several years ago, but it remains one of my favorite blog posts that I've ever written. To give context, I used to voluntarily manage a multi-author blog for a literary agency and it was my job to make sure posts were up and running as scheduled. This one night, close to Easter, there was nothing written for the next day.

So . . . off we go.

Here it is-- midnight MST. I've survived twelve+ hours in the ER on a Friday night, full moon (it must be!), holiday weekend. For those of you familiar with emergency departments you know I listed those out because it meant we got our tushes kicked a little bit. Not enough staff. Too many sick kids.

I am tired. I get home...

And. There. Is. No. Post.

Which means there is no happy new post for you... our trusted friends, our fabulous readers. I'm thinking-- no one is going to notice. It's Easter! This post will be unedited and full of typos (can I wake up someone, anyone, and have them proofread?)

But then, something stops me from shirking my responsibility. I start thinking I really should step in and write something-- substitute for the person who was supposed to post. And I really don't want to right at this moment in time. My warm bed is sweetly calling my name.

However, the thought of substitution comes to the forefront. Now, I'm not one to clearly hear God's calling. I would dare say I'm mostly tone-deaf. I've prayed for God's Will to be left as a gold note card on my pillow for me in the morning. For me, God's voice is more like a subtle whisper in a hurricane that I have a hard time tuning in. What I have learned though is sometimes these instances (like no blog post) are orchestrated by God to create opportunities for other things, and I'm wondering if this forgotten post was left open for me to write to bring the thought of subbing for someone else to mind.

This is what Easter means to me. Christ as substitution. His death as a covering for my sin so that if I believe in what He did as He hung on a cross, spikes through his hands and feet, a crown of thorns on his head-- one of the most painful deaths a human can suffer-- I can have the glory of Heaven.

Grace. Mercy. Innocence hung for me...

So, maybe my foray into writing my novel, which led me to an appointment with my future agent, which led him to take me on as a client, which (for some strange reason!) led him to ask me to help run a multi-author blog was meant to culminate in this one moment in time where the Easter weekend post was empty (like the tomb was in a few short days) so I could write about the thought of substitution and what it meant for me...

And what it means for you...

May you have a blessed Easter.

Got Miracles? By Jordyn Redwood

Do you think much about miracles? I do. I don’t know why, but I do. I’ve witnessed a few medical miracles during my nursing career. Once, it looked like a co-worker’s son had leukemia, but when they went for final testing before starting chemotherapy everything was normal. A young boy I cared for in the Pediatric ICU made a full recovery—walking, talking, playing—when none of us thought he was going to survive his injuries.

Twenty-five years ago, when it was time for me to take my nursing boards, I had a miracle happen to me. I’m not usually a good sleeper before big events like this. As in—tossing and turning through the whole night watching the numbers on the clock slowly progress toward morning.

The nights before my test, I slept like a baby. It was truly remarkable to me.

Perhaps a year or more after this, I was telling one of my best friend’s from high school, who was a passionate Christian, about how well I’d slept before the test and how strange that was for me.

“I’d prayed that very thing for you—to get the best sleep of your life before that test.”

I was dumbfounded. As you read this story, you might be thinking—No. Big. Deal.

Do miracles need to be something big and profound? Or do they just need to be something meaningful for you?

I read a book that changed my whole thinking about miracles—about what they are and what they mean. It’s called Miracles and is written by Eric Metaxas.

In the book, he gives his thoughts on miracles and his assertion is that miracles are God’s way of communicating with us—to show us his presence and provision in our lives. In essence, to prove His existence. What might be a miracle for me might not impress you very much but it’s importance boils down to the interaction between that person and God.

Many people I come across believe in evolution—that this large, blue marble we inhabit came about by happenstance.

Science would like us to believe that life is not rare. That it’s common. Ordinary. That somewhere else in this universe is a place we could happily habitat if we could just find it. All that is needed is a planet about our size situated about as far as Earth is from the sun. And surely in our vast universe there is a planet like that that will support life.

What Metaxas argues in his book is that the more science discovers about life on Earth, the more statistically impossible it seems that we could live anywhere else. That even life on earth is statistically improbable.

That life on Earth is, in fact, miraculous.

I’d like to highlight here a few of the items Eric mentions in his book to demonstrate the point. My hope is that you are as awe inspired as I was and that perhaps you would look more closely at the evidence of God’s existence in every living thing around us and check out Eric's book for more details.

The size of Earth. If Earth were larger it would have more gravity. This increase in gravity would bring two poisonous gases, methane and ammonia, closer to the surface. Last I checked, we’ll die if we breathe either of those. What if Earth was smaller? Have less gravity? Water would then dissipate into the atmosphere. We absolutely need water to support life. We’re mostly made of water. No human raisins are alive.

The unique properties of water. Water, as it solidifies, get lighter. This isn’t true of other liquids when they solidify. Why is it important to us? If water were heavier in its solid state, it wouldn’t float. Lakes would freeze from the bottom up—killing everything.

How fast our planet rotates. If it rotated more slowly giving us longer days, the temperature swings between night and day would be more dramatic and deadly. Too cold at night. Too hot in the day. Shorter days from the earth spinning more quickly? Every day is a windy day—like hurricane windy—all the time.

Ever think much about Jupiter? That impossibly large planet with its one glaring red eye? It’s a shield for earth. Eric states without Jupiter, comets and comet debris would strike us about a thousand times (emphasis his) more frequently.

The moon. The moon’s gravity gives us tides. If the moon were larger, tides would be so large that coastal cities wouldn’t exist. Any smaller, the tides would be insignificant to “cleanse costal seawater and replenish its nutrients.” The moon is the perfect size. The moon also influences the Earth’s tilt that gives us our seasons.

In 2001, there were approximately one-hundred and fifty characteristics science felt were needed to support life on Earth.

For me, as a medical nerd, that’s miraculous. The question then becomes—what is the force behind this that put all these conditions into place?

What about you? Have you witnessed a miracle in your life? If so, I’d love for you to share it with us. If not, what is something that you marvel about in God’s creation?

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Jordyn Redwood is a nursing supervisor by night, suspense novelist by day. She hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog devoted to helping authors write medically accurate fiction. Her first two medical thrillers, Proof and Poison, garnered starred reviews from Library Journal. Proof was shortlisted for the 2012 ForeWord Review’s BOTY Award, 2013 INSPY Award and the 2013 Carol Award. Poison shortlisted for the 2014 INSPY Award and the 2014 Selah Award. Her novel, Taken Hostage, won the 2018 Stiletto Award in published romantic suspense. In addition to her novels, she blogs regularly at Redwood’s Medical Edge and the Love Inspired blog. You can connect with Jordyn via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, her website and via e-mail at jordyn@jordynredwood.com. 

Seeing God in the Hard Times by Jordyn Redwood

This time of year can be difficult for people going through hard times. Everyone on social media is posting their thirty days of gratitude and all you might want to do is put a big red "X" through every post. As a nurse, I see lives turn head over heels every day. Sometimes, in small ways, but other times in a life changing event. That day becomes the before and after day.

This was Christmas for me last year. About a week before the holiday, my grandfather unexpectedly had a stroke. Complications of the stroke are what ultimately killed him two days before Christmas.

Looking back, there were blessings during that time. Conversations and bonding happened between distant family members. I solidified with my step-grandmother how important she was to my daughters as they had never known my biological maternal grandmother as she had died when my oldest was not even six months old.

To say the least, it put a damper on the holidays. I felt slightly robbed and so I decided to leave a small Christmas tree up through the year. I only took it down this last August just before my oldest daughter's 16th birthday. It would have been just too much to explain why it was still up.

I think it's natural to ask and wonder why we are suffering. Whether illness, loss of job, loss of dreams, loss of income . . . name any type of hardship you want here. However, more often times than not, when looking back, there is some sort of blessing in the tragedy. Most often times, it has pulled us closer to God. It's helped us to recognize His domain over our lives-- that really He is the one in control (all control freaks-- you can get in my pick-up truck. This is my daily battle).

I've suffered with migraines for years. I'm doing much better now, but there are still times that they get the better of me. This was the case a few weeks ago. I had worked several night shifts and still had one more to go when I woke up in the afternoon with a crushing headache. I've never called out sick for a headache-- let alone a migraine-- but there wasn't a way I could battle through another twelve hours with that pain. Graciously, my manger let me stay home without it counting as a sick call because another nurse was able to cover.

About 10:30pm, my youngest yells down from the top of the stairs with complaints of not being able to sleep. She wants to "snuggle". Now, she is fourteen, but whatever-- I'll take these moments when I can get them. After she was settled in, she immediately begins to cry. Fifteen minutes later, I'm able to coax out of her what's been going on. She says, "Mom, I'm so glad you were home and that you were up."

Which I wouldn't have been if I'd woken up headache free.

All I could think was, "This is the reason for my pain. This is why I'm home tonight."

And I was grateful in that moment.

Recently, a friend of mine broke her arm. Because of that injury, she was able to go on a trip with her husband who needed her support emotionally. An oncology nurse once told me cancer was a blessing. I was flabbergasted and asked her why. Her statement, "In emergency medicine, death is sudden and unexpected. In oncology, we have time to say goodbye."

It may not happen right away, that clear vision that hindsight represents, but look for it during those times of hardship no matter what the season. Always remember, God does not abandon His people.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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Jordyn Redwood is a pediatric nursing supervisor by night, suspense novelist by day. She hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog devoted to helping contemporary and historical authors write medically accurate fiction. Jordyn’s novels have been nominated for multiple awards and she recently won the Contemporary Romance Writers Stiletto Contest with her novel Taken Hostage. You can connect with Jordyn via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and her website.

God's Promise in a Tomato Plant by Jordyn Redwood

There’re a lot of things I do well . . . gardening is not one of them. This is somewhat surprising since I’m a nurse. You would think helping heal children would translate well to the botanic arts. It doesn’t—at least not for this author. If your child has a broken arm I’m right there with you, game plan in hand. However, if your garden is suffering from any sort of terrible plant disease (Club Root, Downey Mildew, and Mosaic Virus—keep in mind I have no idea what these are or how to treat them) I’m the last person you should call.

All this doesn’t mean I don’t try my hand at gardening. I don’t know why—it’s like playing a game I seemingly can’t win, but I pursue the battle none the less. Call me Nurse Black Thumb. This year was more trying than ever. I tried growing starter plants inside (which I have successfully improved upon

over the last three years), but as soon as I planted them outside, they died in the blistering heat in three days. Some of my problem is my family is not as dedicated to the garden as I try to be so if I’m working a stretch of night shifts no one is really keeping my little samplings alive. 

After all my starter plants died, I headed to a large nursery to see what they had left over, which was quite a bit—and at fifty percent off because it was now mid-June. Nevertheless, I purchased zucchini, yellow squash, and a lot of different tomatoes and babied those younglings along, sunbathing them a little each day, until they were “acclimated” so I could plant them in the sun and hopefully they would stay alive. They did—and actually grew.

However, the plants didn’t perform as well as I would have liked. I think the bees were not busy enough as I only got a measly two zucchini from three plants and there were plenty of blossoms. I thought about shaking my fist at the sky, “Come on bees, there are talks named after you. Don’t let me down!” Come to find out, you can aid in this process of pollinating blossoms, but that seemed a little bit beyond my gardening wherewithal. My “healthy kick” tomatoes (this was really their name) were the most sickly of the bunch—go figure. I think God finds humor in all of this.

Two tomato plants I tried to grow in pots on our patio. I did well forcing my children to water them daily. All was well until I went to a writer’s conference for four days straight. Guess what? No one watered those two tomato plants. They’d already been through several traumas—knocked over by wind storms, etc. When I saw their brown, curling leaves I gave up trying to salvage them. Too far gone.

I don’t know why, but I kept those plants, slowly dying, on my deck for the rest of the summer. A few days ago, I looked out and among the dead, crispy corpses was one bright red tomato. I had my youngest daughter, a budding photographer, capture the sight. Seemingly, every bit of life that plant had to give had been poured into this one, single tomato. All I could think was—this is what Jesus did for us. Dying, withering on that cross so each of us could have life.

I don’t know if this spiritual lesson was something God wanted me to see from my gardening failures, but I do believe there are little insights into everything we do if we just put down our phones (or whatever glowing rectangles you might be looking at) and consider the divine intricacy of the world around us. When I do this, I see touches of God in nearly everything. A child’s smile. A neighbor helping another.

And in one tiny perfect tomato.

Where do you see miracles?

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Jordyn Redwood is a pediatric nursing supervisor by night, suspense novelist by day. She hosts Redwood’s Medical Edge, a blog devoted to helping contemporary and historical authors write medically accurate fiction. Jordyn’s novels have been nominated for multiple awards and she recently won the Contemporary Romance Writers Stiletto Contest with her novel Taken Hostage. You can connect with Jordyn via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and her website.