Journal Jots – Blog

“Anything that tends to make you anxious is a growth opportunity.”

— Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

And, boy, oh boy, have I had a growth spurt this week! 😉

As an extremely wired CDQ (caffeinated drama queen), I used to get pretty anxious about a lot of things, but my faith in God has really help temper most of it over the years, thank God. And then, of course, the spiritual sabbatical I took in 2014 reallllllly helped to mellow me out … uh, at least as mellow as a CDQ can be!

But this week, if I must say so myself, I grew A LOT! So when I read the above quote in my daily devotional one morning, I had no idea just how true it would be.

You see, I have just finished writing A Glimmer of Hope, the prequel novella for an Isle of Hope, and I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about it. I hope to release it February 14 and post the first chapter and cover next week, God willing, so be sure to stop by then. But this week I wanted to tell you just how that novella helped me to grow, not only in my faith, but in my my hope.

For those of you who have already read Isle of Hope, you know that it’s a story about a woman who returns home after eight years to make amends to the father she defied, the boyfriend she deserted, and the best friend she denied. Only this time, the tables are turned because now she’s the Christian and her ex-boyfriend is the bad boy. Here’s the jacket blurb:

Can a wild girl gone good

rebuild bridges with a good boy gone bad? 

She’s the town flirt serving up trouble.

He’s a pastor’s kid bent on serving God.

Until tragedy separates them for eight years,

turning tables—and hearts—

to restore hope for them all.

In many ways, the prequel was a bit difficult to write because the reformed heroine in Isle of Hope was easy to like, but to show her before God got a hold of her wasn’t easy. But it was definitely therapeutic to explore that aspect of Lacey Carmichael because in so many ways her wild-child life mirrored by own before Christ.

Now, A Glimmer of Hope is actually what is referred to as a “teaser” novella, which basically means I’ve given the readers a taste of Jack and Lacey in the past to hopefully motivate them to read about this couple’s future in Isle of Hope. That said, this prequel novella is very important to me because if new readers don’t like Lacey (I already know they’re gonna love Jack! ;)), they may not want to go on to read Isle of Hope. 

Enter the “anixous” …

Now I’m reallllly thrilled to say that so far, Isle of Hope has gotten some amazing reviews and currently has a 5-star rating on Amazon with 94 reviews. But … as we all know in this biz, you can’t please everybody, so the three “not-so-good” reviews I got put a bit of a blip in my perspective, mainly because two of them specifically reprove the “language” I used in Isle of Hope.

I’ll be honest and say right off the bat that when I included expressions like “freakin’, flippin’, friggin,” in Isle of Hope, I had NO idea they would offend anyone. As a historical writer tackling her first contemporary, all I was striving to do was paint a realistic picture of today’s young people with actual expressions used to express emotion because heaven knows how I LOVE to express emotion! So to say I was shocked when I read that two reviewers took offense over these words, is an understatement. I am most grateful that the one reviewer (who mentioned the language in the book) was kind enough to spare me a 2-star like the other reviewer gave me, stating, “There are some wonderful characters and a beautiful story of forgiveness … but some readers will be offended by substitute swear words.”

Wow … what an eye-opener for me! I mean honestly, how many times have I said, “oh my gosh!,” never once trying to slip anything past God by secretly meaning to say His name in vain. Seriously?? To me, words like darn, gosh, gee whiz — and yes, freakin’, flippin’, and friggin’ — are not meant to disrespect God in ANY WAY, but to protect His holy name instead, with words that can stop some people from actually using His name in vain. 

So … being the type of person who would rather die than hurt someone’s feelings, I really and truly regret that I upset those two reviewers and any of you reading this post today who feel the same. So much so, in fact, that I was blue for a couple of days and very “anxious” about the prequel, which also has a few of these words.

And here ‘s where the “growth” comes in. For a space of a couple of days, I allowed the devil to beat me up over this situation, focusing my attention on those two reviews rather than on Jesus. Will I try to tone down the so-called “language” in my books in the future? Yes, I probably will, but God also reminded me that He has called me to march to a different drummer than most Christian authors. Yes, my books are more romantically passionate than most romance novels in the Christian market, but they are also more spiritually passionate than most too.

And that’s because I long to reach women like I used to be — utterly lost without Him. The same woman who would no more read a Christian romance than fly to the moon. And yet, although many believe in God (1 in 9 women in the U.S. profess some form of Christianity according to a Barna Group survey), many of those same women worship at the world’s altar instead of God’s (aka Fifty Shades of Grey and the like), living their lives according to the world’s standards rather than His. Those are the women I long to reach with my stories of passion. Mainstream inspirational stories that hopefully will not only draw women like that closer to the God, but teach (through lessons learned the hard way in my own life) practical application of God’s precepts to those who love Him as much as I do.  

So would you do me a favor? Would you consider saying a prayer that God will help me reach mainstream Christian women for Him? I would SO appreciate that!

And remember:  Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. — Hebrews 12:2

Hugs and Happy “fixing”!

Julie

“Oh, Jack,” she whispered, eyes shining 

 with the same steadfast assurance 

he’d once espoused himself, 

 “you should know better than anyone—

 there is no hope without forgiveness.”

— Isle of Hope by Julie Lessman

As most of you know by now, my new contemporary novel, Isle of Hope, is a story about forgiveness and how without it, there is no hope of reconciliation, no hope of healing, and no hope for hope.

And we all need hope, right?

I wrote Isle of Hope because of the invaluable lesson God taught me about forgiveness with my own father, so I hope each of you get a chance to read it because for me, it’s more than a novel that entertains. It is a life lesson in forgiveness — one that God not only proved true in my own life, but will prove true in yours as well.

Want proof?

A few weeks ago I got an email from a sweet reader friend by the name of Bethany Hanger, who allowed me to tell you what she wrote:

“The theme of the book as a whole was touching! My short but heartfelt journey throughout the book was awakening! Having all of the characters show some sort of forgiveness through each of their difficult tragedies showed me that forgiveness is always on the horizon through God’s timing! I have had difficulty forgiving a life long friend for betraying my trust and ditching me. While reading this book, I realized that I needed to forgive her and start over! I called her today asking to meet sometime soon so I could apologize and also give her the chance to explain. We are meeting next Sunday. Could you please keep this particular situation in your prayers?”

Could I??? Oh, you bet I could!!! And did, rejoicing the entire time that God had used my book to not only touch a reader’s life, but hopefully change it for the better as well. Trust me — there is no letter from a reader better than that!

Imagine my joy when I received this response from Bethany a while later:

Okay, I don’t know about you, but I’m blubbering like a baby right now because OH. MY. GOODNESS!!! What a testimony as to just HOW powerful forgiveness is and HOW each of us holds it in the palm of our hands, just waiting to be given away!

So … who do you need to forgive today? I challenge you to ask God to reveal if you are harboring any unforgiveness because if you are, I promise you it is restricting the full wellspring of peace, hope, and joy that God wants you to have. Trust me, I know.

Like Bethany, I also had a girlfriend who hurt me — over and over again — until I finally said to God one day, “Lord, I’m done. I do not want to be friends with her anymore.”

You know what happened? That Still, Small Voice floated through my brain while I was on my knees in my living room, and this is what It said:

“No, Julie, you are not done because I have anointed this friendship.”

I remember looking up at the ceiling in shock, saying, “You can’t be serious??!!”

But He was, so I got serious, too, about forgiving this friend once and for all, telling myself that although she didn’t (at the time) stack up to what I wanted in a friend, she was ANOINTED to BE my friend by the God of the Universe, so I accepted her and forgave her on those grounds. And you know what?

Today she is one of my dearest, closest friends today and an invaluable prayer partner who has blessed me immeasurably throughout my life.

So don’t let satan steal from you what God intends as a blessing. Forgive. Heal. And Love. Because our God does NOT want His kids holding grudges.

I urge Euodia and Syntyche to

iron out their differences and make up.

God doesn’t want His children holding grudges.

–Philippians 4:2 

And neither do I! 😉

Hugs and Happy Forgiving!

Julie

HEY, WILL YOU CONSIDER DOING ME AND OTHER AUTHORS A HUGE FAVOR?

Nominations for finalists in the sixth annual Grace Awards are NOW taking place until February 28, 2016, so please consider nominating your favorite autors in various categories (one per category), and if I garner one of those nominations, I thank you!

Here’s the link where instructions can be found, but basically you nominate your favorite author in one or all categories, then send it in an email to the Grace Awards (email given on the Grace Awards page) along with the link to your website, blog, OR social networking site (Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, Pinterest, etc.). That’s it, so here’s the link:

https://graceawardsdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/reader-nominations-begin-grace-awards-2015/

AND THEN … if you want to vote on the MOST SWOONWORTHY KISSES IN CHRISTIAN ROMANCE, HOP ON OVER TO GOODREADS TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVES!

Here’s the link, and you can vote for as many as you want, so GO CRAZY!!

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/77076.Christian_Novels_Containing_Sigh_worthy_Kisses

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU (especially if you vote for me along with other favorites!! 😉

HUGS,

JULIE

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

— Psalm 46:10 

Happy New Year, Everyone!

And I have to say that so far—for me—it is!

Wanna know why?

Well, remember the post about three weeks ago where I talked about the little secret I discovered for getting things done with peace and joy? Well, if you don’t here’s the link: PEACE & JOY.

And all I gotta say is, WOW … things are a’changin’ … and all because I’m trying to put God first.

Am I perfect at it? No way!

Am I getting better? Oh, you bet.

And you know what? So is my life!

Like I mentioned in the blog at the link above, I used to get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee (hazelnut with Half ‘n Half, of course!), then mosey downstairs to our family room and putz with email while Keith and I watched the news. About 30 minutes in, one of us would make the other an English muffin, we’d eat and chat a bit, then Keith would go to work (at his desk 10 feet away). Of course there I’d be, still wading through days of emails I’d missed, stupidly thinking I could breeze through them in 20 minutes.

Yeah, right. You’ve read my books, yes?

Well, my emails aren’t much shorter.

By the time I was done with most of the emails (some I would set aside to give my full attention to later and you know who you are!), it was time for lunch. And yet I STILL hadn’t had my prayer/Bible/devotional/treadmill time (where I tackle my prayer list while listening to worship music).

So then I’d hightail it upstairs to check that off my to-do list (notice the frame of mind — it was a task I had to do rather than a pleasure spending time with the God of the Universe!). By now it was early afternoon, and because I was itching to get to writing, I felt pressured during “God’s time,” and it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that neither God nor I benefited very much.

So like I said in the Dec. 18th blog, God got my attention by nailing me to the wall with this daily devotional that stopped me dead in my tracks:

“I desire to talk to all of My children,

but many are too busy to listen. The “work ethic” has them

tied up in knots. They submit wholeheartedly to this taskmaster,

wondering why they feel so distant from Me.

Living close to Me requires making Me your first love—

your highest priority

—Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young

Ouch.

That’s when I turned over a new leaf, two weeks before I turned over the page of the calendar, putting God first in the morning. Now I get up still in my jammies and snuggle into my upstairs “prayer chair” (see pic) with a cup of hazelnut while I read my devotionals, Bible, and focus on God.

Which, by the way, is my word for the year: FOCUS. On Him!

Anyway, the first day of the new year that I did this, the Scripture God gave me was our quote above from Psalm 46:10 …

“Be still and know that

I am God.”

Well, I don’t know if you have ever been around an overwired CDQ (caffeinated drama queen) before, but being “still” is not something I do well … or really, ever. But all at once I swiveled my chair to lean back and look out the window, feet propped on the shelf of my credenza with a cup of hazelnut warm in my hands.

And that was when I saw — really saw — the muted dawn slowly wash across the sky in watercolor blue, naked tree limbs reaching to the heavens in holy worship. At that very moment, my spirit stilled and water stung in my eyes, a blink in time when I was fully aware of just Who He is — the Bright Morning Star Who lights up our life with His love, His peace, His  everlasting joy.

Suddenly worship welled in my spirit, pouring from my lips while tears poured from my eyes. I never really expected it, but I felt His presence, a truly magical communion between me and my Father, the God of the Universe!! The One Who longs for us to sit with Him, talk with Him, be still with Him so He can reveal Himself and His plan for our lives. To really and truly “know” Him.

Because the more we know, the more we will never be the same.

I know because so far this year, I feel so … different. Granted, it’s only eight days in, but every day this week, before I even open my eyes, I’ve been sensing a glimmer of excitement and anticipation for the day, as if I had something special planned. And when I came fully awake, I suddenly realized what it was.

I was going to spend time with the one Person Who cherishes me more than any other, the One whose love never fails, the One to Whom I am the apple of His eye. The God Who actually wants to spend time with me so He can reveal His plan for me, not only to guide me through my day, but through my life as well.

Imagine that!

Quality time … with the Everlasting God … for everlasting peace, hope, and joy!

What a way to start a new year! 🙂

Hugs and HAPPY FOCUSING!

Julie 

PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE FOR FAMILY FICTION’S TOP TEN NOVELS OF 2015! 

Guess what? YOU have a golden opportunity to say THANK YOU to the author who wrote your favorite book of 2015. There’s a ton of great books nominated (including my latest novel Isle of Hope, so THANK YOU to all who nominated it!). BUT … whether you vote for my book or somebody else’s, PLEASE VOTE because Christian Fiction needs all the support it can get and authors need to know their readers support them! So … 

 VOTE HERE … AND GO, CHRISTIAN FICTION!! 

SEEKER BLOG GIVEAWAY!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2016: To Review or Not to Review … That is the Question! Joinme on Seekerville when I explore—and answer—this question in a manner so complete, you will be sorely tempted to post a review. Ahem … it remains to be seen whether it will 5-star or 1, but at least there will be a giveaway of any of my ebooks … OR a signed manuscript copy of her new novella, A Glimmer of Hope, which is the prequel to my latest novel, Isle of Hope, that is due to release in February. 

And, YES, you read right — there’s a prequel about Jack and Lacey, so more about that next week!

Hugs and HAPPY FOCUSING!

Julie