“It took losing everything, Son, including my life,
to finally understand what I was too blind to see.
Everything to liberate me from the same pride that lost Lucifer his soul.
And that is—God alone is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beat of my pulse.
He is the strength in my bones. He is my beginning and my end,
and there is no hope in anything—anything—except Him.”
—Isle of Hope by Julie Lessman
And that, my friends, is my favorite quote from anything I’ve ever written!
Why? Because Isle of Hope tells the story of God’s first directive to me as a new Christian over 43 years ago—to forgive and love my estranged father. AND it tells the critical lesson I learned while writing it as well, as stated in our header quote above.
God is Everything. The End All, Be All. The reason we live, the reason we breathe, and the reason we are privilieged to be called children of God.
And … He the reason for the season! So my prayer for each of you, me, and my family this year is that amid all the papers and bows, tinsel and holly, and cookies and candy, we take a moment —and preferably several—to thank God for all the gifts we’ve been given, not the least of which is His Son.
The true Light of the World!
I wish each of you a happy, healthy, and holy holiday season!
Hugs,
Julie
Evie Update!
Thanks to your prayers and ours, our little Miss Evie is growing beautifully! She is up to 9 lbs. (from 4 lbs., 15 oz. at birth) and has grown a full three inches! Hear tell she can be a wee bit crabby at times, but I’m told that’s normal after surgery for up to a month or so, although I’ve been assured no pain is involved. But, hey, you’d be crabby, too, if you just had heart surgery, right? 🙂
See more pix below of Evie and my other grands as well as my Christmas tree/hearth (the only things I decorated this year!).
Final Giveaways of the Year!
ONLY TWO MORE DAYS–ENDS MON., DEC. 19:
Join me on Beth Erin’s Faithfully Bookish blog for a really fun interview where I list brief excerpts of my five favorite kisses I’ve written. The giveaway will be a signed paperback or e-book copy of my latest release, book 2 in the Isle of Hope series, Love Everlasting, and an e-book copy of Isle of Hope, so hope to see you there. Here’s the link:
NEW YEAR’S EVE ALL DAY LONG!! Prizes, prizes, prizes — ALL DAY AND NIGHT LONG!! Including a character named after you in my next book, a signed copy, and a signed paperback copy of my latest release, Love Everlasting!
So set your party-hearty calendars for December 31st, when the Seekers of Seekerville lead the way toward pet-love, fun, faith and fiction as we Kick Discouragement to the Curb with our Seekerville Rockin’ It New Year’s Eve party!
Party in your jammies, leave comments to be tossed into hourly drawings, including a Kindle Fire! In honor of the “pet” theme, we invite you to send pics of your fur-friends to loganherne@gmail.com, and we’ll try to include as many beloved buddies as time and space allow!
FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO FAMILY FICTION MAGAZINE! Check out the December issue for a cool article with Julie Lessman on Cowboy Christmas Homecoming along with to-die-for Christmas recipes by Ruth Logan Herne, Julie Lessman, and Lenora Worth. Just subscribe FREE to Family Fiction — one of the top Christian magazines in the CBA — and enjoy great articles on some of your favorite authors like Karen Kingsbury, Francine Rivers, Liz Curtis Higgs, and Mary Connealy.
PLUS … you’ll find an original to-die-for Christmas dessert I created using four of my favorite recipes called Apple-Cranberry Crisp Cheesecake Pecan Pie, and it won an award in a pie contest, I’ll have you know, so you’ll want to check it out! Simply subscribe at the link below and happy reading!
Free Subscription to Family Fiction magazine
ISLE OF HOPE 99-CENT SALE ENDS JAN. 1!
Because the message of forgiveness and hope in Isle of Hope is such an important one, I decided to extend the sale till the end of the year.
So, if you haven’t had the chance yet to read the award-winning, 5-star book 1, Isle of Hope, which made Family Fiction magazine’s Top 15 Novels of 2015, you better hurry because the 90% sale is over January 1st, so you can download it HERE.
YES! A smile from our crabby girl!
Rory enjoyed her first Dippin’ Dots, even if the lady behind her didn’t!
Micah liked them too!
This is my “winter view” from my writer’s chair, all toasty and warm!
Merry Christmas from my house to yours!
