Calming the Storm...or the Child?

by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth—the Lord God Almighty is his name. Amos 4:13 NIV

I awoke to the sound of gusting wind and branches smacking our metal roof. I hate storms, particularly anything involving wind or lightning.

When I was a child, a tree had fallen on our house. Even though I had spent the night with my grandparents, who lived down the road, that accident created a domino effect of events that changed my life forever.

As the wind howled and prevented my return to Dreamland, I prayed and asked God to calm the storm. And if He wouldn't do that, then would He please calm this child.

For the next two hours, my mind drifted to my current WIP, the previous day's activities and the week ahead. For the most part, I didn't focus on the wind until it picked back up again, then I repeated my prayer.

These gusts of wind are nothing compared to storms others have endured, but they caused anxiety and sleeplessness in me. For me, for that moment, the wind was troubling. God heard the whispers because the wind died down at times, and I managed not to dwell on it.

Wind can be cool and refreshing on a hot summer's day. Or it can be devastating and wreak havoc. Even the strongest tree can crack if the wind is strong enough.

In my newest release, Season of Hope, Jake and Tori aren't strangers to the storms of life. They learn how adversity allows them to lean on God.

He stays constant, never bending or breaking. And no matter how small or heavy are the wind gusts in our lives, He hears every prayer, every cry of our heart. Sometimes we may think He can't hear us, but not only has He heard, but He's at work calming the storm...or the child.

Does howling wind comfort you or keep you from sleeping? How do you handle adversity in the storm?

His dreams can all come true...but only if his ex-wife will agree!
Jake Holland’s peaceful dairy farm is a sanctuary—one he wants to share with other worn and weary veterans. He just needs one more piece of land to start his program...and it belongs to Tori Lerner, his ex-wife. A collaboration could benefit them both, but with a past full of secrets between them, is there any hope for renewed love?

Heart, home, and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. Represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. Her latest book, Season of Hope, released in March 2019. She is the Operations Manager for My Book Therapy. Happily married to her own real-life hero for almost thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn't writing, Lisa enjoys family time, kayaking, good books, and creating with words, stamps, fibers, and photos. Visit her at lisajordanbooks.com.

The Beauty Of Change

Okay, I know what you’re saying…change can be beautiful? No way. I’m inclined to agree with you. I’ll be the first person to say I am not a fan of change. It can be disruptive and overwhelming to your peace of mind. But in life as in writing, change is inevitable.

So when I recently had an unexpected change occur in my life, I found myself searching for a way to find something good about change. And what I found was not only good, but beautiful.

 

First I thought about the changing seasons. If you live in the north where it snows a bunch, you probably love it when winter changes to spring. My favorite season is the fall. By the end of a long hot Texas summer, fall is a welcoming change in both temperature and scenery.  Good thing…right?

 

Then I thought about change in my family life. I’m a grandmother of three beautiful girls and I can’t imagine my life without them enriching it. Each are special and different in their own way. But if I’d never met my husband, who knows where my life would be. I thank God every day for those blessings.   

 

 

I considered the changes I’ve seen at my church in the years that I’ve attended. We’ve seen pastors come and go. Each brought value to our church. Youth pastors have moved on to serve other churches and members have gone to be with God. My life has been enriched by each of them.    

 

 

 

 

Then I thought about my writing. I’m so happy to be called a Christian writer, but if I’d never taken the chance to enter a Love Inspired writing contest would I still be searching for my place to serve God? Getting my first Love Inspired Suspense contract confirmed what I believe God wanted me to do with my writing.

 

 

 

 

 

So, if you are going through change in your life or your career, take a moment to look back on the changes you’ve gone through so far. I bet you’ll see the fingerprints of God throughout it all.  

While change is always hard and can turn your life upside down, as I’ve looked back on my life, I’ve realized change has always moved me toward good things. And looking at it now, I can see God’s hand through it all.

 

All the best…

 

Mary Alford
www.maryalford.net

Rocky Mountain Pursuit - Available now at: Love Inspired Suspense
IDENTITY: CONFIDENTIAL
Everyone believes agent Jase Bradford is dead—everyone but Reyna Peterson. Only he can protect her now that someone wants the information her CIA husband died to secure.

Forgotten Past - Available now at: Love Inspired Suspense
LOST MEMORIES
Faith McKenzie was the only survivor of a brutal home invasion. Viciously attacked and left for dead, Faith can't remember anything about that night—including the identity of the killer.

    

Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of ......... (posted by Lenora Worth)

Happy New Year! Happy 2016!

I've always liked a quiet New Year and this year is no exception. I thought about what kind of pithy words I could write here and something came to me when I was walking back and forth along what I call the Long, Spooky Hallway of our little townhome here on the bay. This hallway begins at the landing on the second floor and twists and turns until we reach the guest bedroom at the front of the building. I was walking back and forth, getting in some steps inside, because it's been rainy and dreary here for days now.

 

 

 

While I was walking, I got in some morning prayers. And two things came to mind. One, my prayer first thing when I wake up (for the past year) has been "Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of my children. Please love and protect them." The second thing that popped into my mind while walking was "Just one step." Because when I walk back and forth from our bedroom to the other end of the house, I pass a lot of things--memories mostly. Pictures, crosses on the wall, my tiny library in the twist of the hallway, my office full of books and pictures and trinkets I've collected over the years, beach-inspired sayings and photos and finally, an armoire in the guest bedroom where my husband has all of my books lined up and on display. I pass through my life over and over when I'm trying to get in just one more step. While I'm passing, I try to make it fun. As if I'm out on an open road and I'm experiencing these things for the very first time. It turns a mundane effort to exercise into a fun adventure. So I pray and pass, over and over. And I remember and plot and imagine, over and over.

 

 

Here's where you come in on this journey. How would you fill in the blank on this:

 

Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of ______. What if each day, we added another gift until by this time next year we'll have 365 gifts to be thankful for!

 

 

What would you do with... Just one step......? Which way would you go? What would you do that takes just one more step in the right direction?

 

 

There is a quote that is paraphrased from a passage in Thoreau's "Walden" that pretty much says "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. As you simply your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."

 

 

Can we simplify making a fresh start in the new year by praying thankfully for the gifts we have in life? And can we take just one step toward those dreams we imagine? I believe we can! Share with me your answers to those two things. I'd love to hear what you think about on your daily "walk."

 

 

Happy New Year from all of the Craftie Ladies of Love Inspired. I am thankful for the gift of readers and friends such as you. You make our words all the more meaningful! Here's to a great 2016!!!

 

(And here's some of the friends I see along my walk down the hallway!)