“Come on, Luke, for once in your life, embrace the moment.”
—A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman
Happy Weekend!!
And it will be, you know why?
Because I’m “embracing the moment.”
Yes, I’m losing my hair. Yes, I’ve gained a few pounds. And, no, I didn’t meet my deadline of finishing my Isle of Hope ms. by end of October.
Sigh.
But it’s okay because I’m insured:
All things work together for good to them that love God. —Romans 8:28
I’ll be honest—lately, I’ve been a tad blue over health issues my daughter is going through, waiting for God to resolve her problems. Unfortunately, things seem to be getting worse instead of better, which wrings more than a few tears from my eyes in the course of a week, trust me.
We always pray together, of course, wherever we are—even in the bow of a boat like this at Lake of the Ozarks. I always remind her of something I learned a long time ago—and something she diligently applies—and that’s to praise and thank God in ALL circumstances, even the bad ones like she’s going through now. Why? Because I truly believe it releases both His strength in us and His power in abundance in our situation.
I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. —Psalms 34:1
God inhabits in the praises of His people. —Psalms 22:3
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers. —Philippians 4:6-7
But … this morning when I was reading my devotional, I realized a very important aspect of praising God in trials that hadn’t occurred to me before.
Embracing the moment.
Unto everything there is a season. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing … —Ecclesiastes 3:4, 5
I mean, come on—you’re there, in the midst of something difficult—so what can we do to release the MOST power, strength, and blessing in our lives? Not self-pity, not murmuring, not jealousy, not anger.
Nope.
Embrace the moment. Wherever we are, whatever we are going through, embrace it like God is embracing us. Because He is. Just like Jesus embraced the moment He died on the cross, knowing that His Father had a glorious plan To make good out of it.
Father … into your hand I commit my spirit. —Luke 23:46
Likewise, we embrace the moment of pain, hurt, sickness, failure, mourning, whatever, knowing that through our trials, God is embracing us … strengthening us, healing us, blessing us.
Making good out of it.
I don’t know about you, but when it comes to my trials? I want that kind of return on my investment!
Happy weekend and happy “investing”!
Hugs,
Julie
FREEBIES, SALES, & GIVEAWAYS!!
LAST DAY FOR OCTOBER SALES!!
In honor of my latest release, Surprised by Love, my publisher put the two prior books in the “Heart of San Francisco” series on sale all of October, at savings of 66% for Dare to Love Again to 80% for Love at Any Cost, so you have one more day to take advantage!! Here are the links:
LOVE AT ANY COST (Book 1):
DARE TO LOVE AGAIN (Book 2):
CHRISTMAS IS COMING AND A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW IS STILL ON SALE!! My Irish Christmas love story, A Light in the Window—winner of three awards—is only 99 cents, so PLEASE PASS THE WORD, and here’s the video to help you! ALITW Video.
MITCH & CHARITY CHRISTMAS NOVELLA RELEASES NOVEMBER 10 AND AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER FOR ONLY $2.99! WHOO-HOO … I am very excited to announce that I am part of a Seeker Historical Christmas novella collection called Hope for the Holidays Historical Collection that not only features a story on Mitch and Charity, but novellas by Mary Connealy, Ruth Logan Herne, and Myra Johnson.
In addition to this historical collection, The Seekers are also releasing a contemporary Hope for the Holidays Contemporary Collection as well, so be sure to check both out on Amazon November 10.
Here’s the blurb for Mitch and Charity’s story, which is called A Whisper of Hope:
Christmas is the season of hope, which is exactly what Charity O’Connor Dennehy is counting on. Since the birth of her twins twelve years ago, she’s prayed and hoped for a houseful of babies to love, but it wasn’t meant to be. With a husband dead-set against adoption, there’s barely a whisper of hope to change his mind, but if hope doesn’t disappoint … could it be enough to find a precious bundle under her tree?
BLOG INTERVIEW/GIVEAWAYS!!
OCTOBER 20 – NOVEMBER 8, 2014:
Join me on Margaret Chind’s blog, Creative Madness Mama, for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 6, 2014:
Join me on the Relz Review blog for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
NOVEMBER 14, 2014:
Join me on The Journey blog where you can win your choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
NOVEMBER 17, 2014:
Get lost in a story with me on the “Get Lost in a Story” blog where you can win your choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
NOVEMBER 24-DECEMBER 8, 2014:
Join me on The Artist Librarian blog for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
DECEMBER 1-7, 2014:
Join me on the Carole Jarvis’ blog for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
