Heroines that are Stronger than they know.

Hello, Jolene Navarro here and I have a question.

Do you have a certain type of heroine you like? I have always loved the stories of the old west, stories of the women in my family.

Strong, independent and leaders. Women of faith that rode horses, took care of the land along with raising children and caring for a home.

The part of history we don’t see as much is the woman that mastered the tools of the cowboy trade such as ropes, spurs, knives, rifles and branding irons.  They rode beside the men of Texas. Some even before Texas was Texas.

Life was not easy as they carved out a home from the rock of the Texas land. They didn’t back down and they didn’t give up.

I was just reading about Bess Colemn.

She had a dream but as a daughter of a Cherokee father and an African American mother no one expected her to achieve them. Coleman defied all odds when she became the first black woman aviator (as well as the first Native American woman aviator).  It didn’t come easy. It was during World War 1 and she couldn’t find any one willing to teach a woman or an African American to fly. Undeterred, Coleman took a language course in French, and then sailed to France where she earned her pilot’s license at the age of 29. Unfortunately it would be just five short years later she was killed in a plane crash. She was a passenger when the plane malfunctioned in mid-flight.

But she changed the way people thought of women as she traveled across the country as a “barn stormer” or exhibition pilot. She didn’t follow the script someone else gave her.

Women in my family loaded up and headed to the unknown land of Texas in the mid-1820s. They ran ranches and farms, faced booms and years of devastation.

They loved their families and the possibilities in this wild untamed land. The heroine of my upcoming historical (My first with LIH and my last) LONE STAR BRIDE was influenced by stories of the women that helped build Texas.

https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Star-Bride-Inspired-Historical-ebook/dp/B01NBAA8OL/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1495021614&sr=1-2&keywords=Lone+Star+Bride

She wanted to help her father – growing up she was allowed to work with the cattle and excelled at the cowboy skills. After the death of her mother and brother she thinks it is a perfect time for her to step up and become a partner in the ranch.

But her father has other plans for her, to prove to her father she is more than capable, she dresses up as a boy and help drive the cattle to New Orleans.

To call her feisty and stubborn might be an understatement. She was inspired by the history I read of my own family. I loved writing her and as we get word that the LIH is being discontinued I think about the determination I put into her to success and live out God’s plan even as other events and people try to stop her.

She perseveres and stays true to herself and God’s plan for her, a plan only she can fulfill.  It didn’t go the way she planned, but it rarely does. Our characters come from us, from our experiences or from the people that inspire us. We create from deep inside us. The characters I develop never seem to know how strong they truly are until they are forced to change and find their essence.

Finding your essence is never an easy path. When I look back, I see that some of the scariest moments of my life ended up taking me in a new direction I would have never even know – a direction that was greater than anything I could have planned.

Have you had a time that didn’t go as planned but looking back you wouldn’t change a thing? Reminds me of the Garth Brooks song: The Dance. 

Encouragement in the Storm by Patty Smith Hall

Patty Smith Hall here, and I've got to tell you--this summer has not been the greatest for me. Health issues with my husband and youngest daughter along with several other setbacks have taken the wind out of my sails. The writing ministry which I’d had started with such high hopes seemed stagent.

I felt out of touch with God. I mean, I was doing everything He’d called me to do so why was I ready to give up? Why was I investing so much of my time and effort into writing and not seeing any fruits of my labor? I was lower than low.

Then God showed up and showed out. Last Friday night, after a particularly bad week, I was rolling through my Facebook page when one of the messages in my inbox caught my eye.

“Are you the Patty Hall  who was in Honduras in 1999?”

Years ago, I’d had the privilege of visiting San Marcos with a group called Opportunity of  a Lifetime whose mission was to cloth, feed, educate and share the Gospel to the families and children of Honduras. I say it was a privilege because I was going through an equally rough time then. While I might have gone there on a mission trip, it was the people of Honduras, through their faith and totally devotion to God, who ministered to me.

I clicked on the message. It was Noel, a boy I’d found living under a tree in a small village outside of Tegucigala. Only twelve or thirteen at the time, Noel had lost both of his parents, and had no immediate family. One look at this sweet boy, and I knew Danny and I had to help. For the next four years, we supported him as he went to school in San Marcos. After his graduation, we lost touch.

Until now.

I friended him immediately and went to his Facebook page. Noel is happily married now with three little girls of his own, and pastor of a church in Naples, Florida. He still has that sweet smile that captured my heart all those years ago. In our conversation, he told me he’d been looking for me for eight years just so he could thank me for giving him a chance, for introducing him to God.

For planting a seed.
 
The books I write, this writing ministry I have, it’s all about planting seeds. Some, I’ll see grow to fruition while others may only ripen after I’m gone. That thought—focusing on the eternal rather than the present—is what inspires me to write today. 
   

Promises

Merrillee here, wondering whether there is anything quite so lovely as a rainbow. On a recent trip to Niagara Falls, I took this photo. A rainbow had formed in the mist that rises from the falls. Every time I see a rainbow, I remember the story of Noah and how God placed a rainbow in the sky to signify His promise that we read about in Genesis 9:13-16. "¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

What a beautiful reminder of God's covenant. So every time we see a rainbow, we have a reminder that God is faithful. He will keep his promises. I like these two verses found in 2 Peter.

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

2 Peter 3:13 "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

Please share some of your favorite rainbows and God's promises.
Merrillee

What a Road Trip!

Hi Everyone, Debra Clopton here.

I have been buried in deadlines and have missed a couple of post and for that I'm really sorry. God has been faithful though and He's helping me get everything done and I'm feeling positive about making this one on time--I usually do but I always worry that I won't! Anyway, I've missed being here. You all know I love road trips...well here is one I'm glad I'm not on but it may show up in one of my books soon! This sweet man and his puppy and horse came by our church last month ( I go to the Cowboy Church of Leon County in Centerville) and so we are all about cowboys still this was unusual. This nice man came to our church in his covered wagon. The amazing thing is that he came from Corpus Christi Texas. That's over six hours away from us by car. It is a road trip I've enjoyed many times. However, by horse driven wagon it had taken this man since MAY to make the trip. Can you imagine. I can't. I talked with him for a long time about his trip since I was fascinated about what would make someone want to do such a thing. He wasn't through by the way, we were just a stop along the way since he was heading to Arkansas! I have no idea how long it would take him to get there. But you know what, he was witnessing as he went. Telling everyone how God had helped him out as he went. And people were so kind to him, inviting him to camp on their places and helping him fix things on the wagon when it would break and just being kind. It made me think about the goodness of people...it is so easy to think only of the bad things since we see so much of it in the news. It made me think that I want to show the kindness of God in all that I do--and you know what that can be hard sometimes since satan has a way of just sneaking up on me sometimes. I've been reading my Bible more and as always God's widom helps me keep my eyes focused on how I want the world to view me and what I can do to help those I meet. Even if its just a smile and a kind word. Sometimes, like I learned from my friend and his wagon its the simple things of life that bring out the best in all of us.

I have to say though that I'm glad I was born to write about the modern day cowboys of Mule Hollow Texas and to drive a T-bird rather than write about cowboys of the wild west and drive a wagon!

Until next time live, laugh, and love God with all your hearts!

Debra Clopton