Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:
for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
—Hebrews 13:2
Angels unawares …
Mmm … you know what? I met one of these this week, and I gotta tell you—seldom have I been touched by the love of God more than through the hand of this very unexpected “angel,” who literally flew into my life.
You see, I am privileged to be a part of the amazing CHRISTIAN FICTION SCAVENGER HUNT to be held OCTOBER 25-28—a fun event involving 31 of the CBA’s top authors and LOTS of giveaways!! Not only will you learn exclusive tidbits never before revealed from each author, but you will be eligible to win TONS of wonderful prizes, including a grand prize of a Kindle Fire PLUS the latest release from each of the authors listed at the end of this blog.
But I digress—let’s get back to the “angel.” Her name is Tracy Higley, a Christy-Award nominee author who has written Biblical fiction a la Francine Rivers and Jill Eileen Smith for Thomas Nelson and B&H Publishing. I strongly encourage you to check out her books here: http://tracyhigley.com/books/.
Most of you know that when it comes to the Internet and computers, I am a virtual illiterate, bumbling my way through blogs, FB and Twitter, and don’t even get me started on Goodreads and Pinterest! In fact, I can’t count all the money and time I’ve spent paying people to do things like putting RSS feed on my Journal Jots or streamlining my blog so it is user-friendly. Other than the roller-coaster of emotions that comes with book sales, contests or bad reviews, the technical aspect of being an author has been my biggest handicap and pain in the tush.
Enter Tracy A.U. (Angel Unaware) Higley. In this very sophisticated 31-author scavenger hunt, each of us are sponsoring another author on our blogs, so I will be sponsoring Kristen Heitzmann here on Journal Jots and Tracy will be sponsoring me. It didn’t take long to see that Tracy was a technical whiz. You see, for my “exclusive” tidbit on Tracy’s blog, I wanted to post a Charity/Mitch scene that was deleted from A Love Surrendered when my editor asked me to cut 50,000 words. Trouble is, I not only write long books, I write long scenes, so too long of a post was a no-no that could cause the sponsoring author problems. Uh, not Tracy, apparently. She told me to send it in its entirety, which I did.
And this is where it gets good … You see, unbeknownst to me, Tracy checked out my website and noticed a lot of things that could cause me problems including the fact that Journal Jots loaded reallllllllly slow, which meant a lot of people might not wait for it to open. She is SO savvy technically that she was able to determine what the problem was, actually took the time to run a “load-time test” — AGAIN, totally unbeknownst to me — then looked to see what website company I was using, which is Squarespace. She then sent me a VERY detailed e-mail, giving me actual Squarespace links that she took the time to look up, which gave step-by-step tutorials on how to do what she said I needed to do.
Incredibly nice person, huh? No! Incredibly amazing angel who not only offered to do it for me, but ACTUALLY went in and fixed tons of other things as well, then offered to do whatever else I needed. HOLY COW … she even set it up so you can EASILY subscribe to Journal Jots with a click of your mouse (top right corner of page), which means when I post, you will get an e-mail telling you so!! All of this—simply out of the goodness of her heart, following a leading from God. OH MY … truly God’s tender hug to me during a very difficult time, telling me more effectively than He could have any other way that, “yes, Julie, I love you with an everlasting love and today—through an angel named Tracy—I am showing you that.”
Okay, where’s the Kleenex???
Angels unaware. A kind word, a gentle touch, a smile to let you know they care—all signs you’ve encountered an angel in your life, sent by God to show you HIS individual love for you. But a person who gives of their time and their heart just to bless you? That, my friends, is not just an angel, but a true gift from God, embracing you with His boundless love in a way few other things ever can.
Tracy—you, my friend, are a gift from God to me, healing my heart with the balm of His love. There is no way I can adequately express my gratitude, but as God is my witness, I will never stop trying. Bless you, dear friend, from the depths of my drama-queen heart and soul!
WHOO-HOO … LOTS going on, so don’t miss the giveaways this week because they won’t last forever!!
OCTOBER 1-19, 2012:
Right now Revell is giving away FIVE copies of A Love Surrendered on The Book Club Network, so here’s the link where you can leave a comment to win one:
ENDS TODAY, FRIDAY, 10/12 (my giveaway only; other prizes continue all month)!!!
Have a character named after you in my next book or win a $50 gift card and signed book at my Seeker blog entitled “KISS-ology 303,” which features a “caveman kiss” you won’t want to miss!! PRIZES GALORE ALL MONTH … FREE BOOKS, KINDLE PAPERWHITE, GIFT BASKETS, COMPUTER … IT’S SEEKERVILLE’S BIRTHDAY, SO STOP IN TO WIN!!
http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2012/10/kiss-ology-301-love-scenes-mega.html
ENDS SATURDAY, 10/13, 2012:
Win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book A Light in the Window at a giveaway at OVERCOMING THROUGH TIME WITH GOD’S HELP blog at:
OCTOBER 15 – 22, 2012:
Win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book A Light in the Window at a giveaway at SARAH FORGRAVE’S blog at:
OCTOBER 25 – 28, 2012:
CHRISTIAN FICTION SCAVENGER HUNT!! Books and prizes and fun from each of the 31 authors below including the chance to win a KINDLE FIRE and 31 NEW RELEASES from said authors. HINT: My giveaway will be choice of my books, a $25 gift card and having a character named after you in my next book.
It all starts at Lisa Bergren’s blog on OCTOBER 25 at the following link, so BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!
Here’s the author list:
Tamera Alexander
Ruth Axtell
Lisa Bergren
Lyn Cote
Liz Curtis Higgs
Margaret Daley
Melanie Dickerson
Melanie Dobson
Laura Frantz
Sibella Giorello
Leslie Gould
Winnie Griggs
Robin Lee Hatcher
Kristen Heitzmann
Tracy Higley
Sharon Hinck
Vicki Hinze
Ronie Kendig
R. J. Larson
Julie Lessman
Judith Miller
Nancy Moser
Nicole O’Dell
Marta Perry
Sandra Robbins
Susan Sleeman
Janice Thompson
MaryLu Tyndall
Kim Vogel Sawyer
Stephanie Whitson
Jill Williamson
Happy weekend and Hugs,
Julie
