Seeing the Light by Christine Johnson

Lighthouses that is. These structures hold a special place in my heart. I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan and would look for the light of the offshore lighthouse when it came on after dark. There’s something comforting about that reliable light warning ships and boats away from danger as well as guiding them to safe harbor.

During my sailing days when I was much younger, a lighthouse was a fixed point by which I could measure progress. Each one passed was a milestone. Others indicated where safe harbor could be found.

So when this Labor Day weekend our bicycle ride ended up at a lighthouse, I was overjoyed! We didn’t realize the bike path ended there, so it was a double treat. It was also a lighthouse that I had not visited yet. This one is located on the shores of Lake Huron. 

Forty Mile Point Lighthouse was built in 1896 and, to my delight, still has the foghorn building, bunkhouse, and oil house onsite. The lighthouse is now a museum and open to the public.

Note the foghorns above the door

Lighthouses are often a symbol of the Lord’s guidance and one symbol that I treasure. When life’s storms hit, we need that Light to guide us to safety. His Truth held me above the waves during recent battles with depression and anxiety. I would have been lost and broken apart on the rocks without His presence and guidance. 

I love to include lighthouses in my stories, so I'm thrilled that the real-life location for my Boom Town Brides series had a lighthouse. Actually, it had more than one over time. The first lighthouse collapsed when the sand eroded. The second lighthouse was built farther from the water atop a dune and is the one that existed at the time of my stories. See this article for a picture of it. 

http://www.lakeeffectliving.com/Feb11/Lighthouses-Saugatuck.html

I mention the lighthouse throughout the series, but look for it to play a larger role in the third and fourth books of the series. Book 3 is currently slated to be released in June of 2017.

Have you ever visited a lighthouse? Which is your favorite?

Christine Johnson

Mail Order Mommy (Nov. 2016)

Honor Redeemed  (Revell, July 2016)

Mail Order Mix-Up (April 2016)

http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

Remembering...

Are you a collector?

 

I used to collect stamps and coins and every other imaginable thing a child finds to collect. But I have one collection (besides books) that I still cherish and add to every year—my Christmas ornaments.

Some of the ornaments were lovingly crafted by my children. Some commemorate births and anniversaries. Some I crafted. But most were gifts.

Why am I telling you this?!

Because one of those ornaments, the dove photographed below, became an important symbol in my debut Love Inspired Suspense, Deep Cover (September 2011).

 

The undercover cop hero had given the dove to the heroine when they’d dated previously, saying, A soaring dove to remind you God is watching over you when I can’t be. She hung it from her rearview mirror. After the hero left her, it became a reminder that she needed to lean on God alone.

Later after the heroine’s world has crashed around her, and quite literally around the dove in the car, the hero sets out to rescue and return the gift as a symbol of God’s protection where he failed.

As I opened my box of Christmas ornaments this year and pulled out that dove, I was reminded of the story thread it inspired, and more importantly of the truth behind it. That God is watching over each one of us. We may not always feel that He is, but if we’ve surrendered our hearts to him, He has promised to never leave us.

My prayer is that each one of you will experience His love in a richer way this season.

As a special gift to my readers, I’ve generated some novel “Extras”. Think DVD extras, except for a novel. Things like deleted scenes, bloopers etc. You are all invited to hop over to my website and check them out. There are also two free recipe books you can download, and for my newsletter subscribers, a bonus Christmas story. 

Your turn: Do you have an interesting or unusual collections?