Journal Jots – Blog

YIKES … it’s Valentine’s Week, and believe it or not, despite being a romance writer, I have never put much stock in Valentine’s Day.

To me, love is something we should be giving away every day of the year because God knows that sometimes it’s in short supply in our world. So I wanted to just pop in today to give you a few fun things that made me smile, made me cry, and touched my heart, all love-related. May each one be a hug from me to you!

1.) First, I wanted to let you know that my dear friend and mentor, Joy Bollinger, has posted another anointed article on my blog called The Promise Keeper, so I hope you take the time to read it. Just scroll down till you get to the February posting and be blessed!

2. ) Secondly, a big hug to a reader friend of mine, Ms. Linda Finn, who sent me a link to an article entitled Eight Health Benefits of Kissing that I thought was fun, especially point #5 where you can burn calories by kissing! Now that’s the kind of weight-loss program I want to be on!! 😉 

3.) Another good friend, Sue Hamilton, sent me a Billy Graham video that reduced me to tears (not a particularly difficult thing to do with this CDQ, but a touching piece, nonetheless), so I hope you will check it. 

4.) Finally, before I disappear from the promo scene till next fall when Surprised by Love comes out (cover reveal coming on Journal Jots on 2/21 hopefully), I have a handful of giveaways left where you can win your choice of any of my books, so take advantage!

 

 

FEBRUARY 3-17, 2014:

So, what’s the “perfect kiss”? Join me for my answer in this blog article/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Carla Laureano’s blog, All Things Romance. Hope to see you there! 

 

FEBRUARY 12 – 15 (at noon), 2014:

Win your choice of my books on the Seekerville blog, when my Valentine’s Day blog topic is “Not So Stupid in Love,” or exploring the spiritual side of a hero.

 

FEBRUARY 13-15, 2014:

Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Carole Jarvis’s The Power of Words blog. Hope to see you there!

 

FEBRUARY 14 – 28, 2014:

Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at the Remain in His Love blog. Hope to see you there! 

 

I wish each of you a most blessed Valentine’s Day, and may our focus be on the love God gave to each of us through His Son, which I guarantee is far more satisfying and lasting than flowers and chocolates.

Hugs,

Julie

 

 

He must increase, but I must decrease.”

–John 3:30

Despite the fact that it’s January and a new beginning to the year, today’s quote is not talking about shedding those five lbs. I picked up over the holidays, although heaven knows I need to. Nope, today I’m talking about “dieting” of another kind — spiritual dieting where the ME in the equation has to shrink to let HIM become more — in my life and in my writing. To take a backseat on the bus and let God take the wheel, because heaven knows HE is far more qualified to take each of us to the peace and joy and contentment we all so long to have.

I won’t lie to you — I’m a very aggressive driver, which is why it’s probably a good thing that these days, I mostly let Keith cart me around. You know, “Driving Miss Julie”? You see, by nature I have a lead foot (tempered by speed limits, I assure you) and can switch lanes faster than Mario Andretti, sometimes on two wheels. So I’m pretty sure my blood pressure (and that of anyone driving with me or around me) is higher than normal when I am behind the wheel. Heck, the last time Keith even let me drive was when he had a colonscopy and had no choice, a procedure he swears was far superior than my driving.

Regrettably, I’m inclined to agree. By the time I get home from driving somewhere, I’m usually stressed and hyper and going a mile a minute, which for a CDQ (caffeinated drama queen) is NOT pretty. But … it’s the strangest thing. When Keith is behind the wheel, I am suddenly relaxed and content and able to read or chat as if I’ve been tranquilized (I know, hard to imagine, isn’t it?). And that’s when God finally got my attention with that still small voice of His:

“Julie, step away from the wheel.”

Excuse me?

“Lay it down,” the gentle thought came, brimming with love.

I swallow hard. “Uh … lay what down, Lord?”

A quiet pause, as if God were waiting for me to finally listen. “Your hopes and dreams. Your need for control. Your need for approval. Put it on the altar, Julie, and step away from the wheel.”

Gulp. “But you don’t understand, Lord — I have books to promote, emails to answer, comments to write.”

“Give me the keys, Julie — now.”

I blink, visions of my daughter wresting the car keys from my hands when I turn 65, like she always threatens to do. My hands begin to sweat as I stall. “I don’t understand, Lord — what keys?”

“The keys to your career. Lay them on the altar like Abraham did and walk away.”

A shiver travels my spine as “The Abraham Factor” looms large in my mind, something Bram Hughes introduces to Logan McClare in book 3 of The Heart of San Francisco series, Surprised by Love. And something I knew God was calling me to do the minute I penned that scene as follows.

      Bram propped elbows on the arm of the chair and steepled his hands, staring out the window over Logan’s shoulder, the gloom of night the perfect backdrop for the subject he broached. “You see, I’ve learned the hard way that when it comes to the most precious things in my life, the safest place to keep them is in God’s hands. To trust Him to do for them and me the very best thing.” His eyes met Logan’s. “No matter what that is.” He expelled a wavering sigh. “Because if I love someone—really and truly love them—I’ll always want to give them God’s best, not mine.”

      Rising from his chair, he nudged Logan’s cup of coffee toward him before he picked up his own. “Abraham loved his son fiercely, waited decades for God to honor His promise to give him a son in the first place. And then one day, God—Abraham’s ‘friend’, mind you—asks him to lay that precious son on the altar and give him up. Sacrifice him—just like that. And you know what?” Against his will, tears glazed Bram’s eyes as his gaze locked with Logan’s. “That man didn’t balk or miss a beat. Nope. Because Abraham’s trust in God was so strong, he actually told his traveling companions to ‘abide ye here and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you.’” Bram shook his head, overwhelmed as always at the strength of Abraham’s faith, the certainty that somehow, someway, God’s best would prevail. “And you and I both know what happened, Logan. God stayed the knife in Abraham’s hand, giving him his son back because of his remarkable trust.”

      “Trust,” Logan whispered in a low drone, “the very reason I’ve lost Cait.”

      Bram nodded, his tone quiet but sure. “And the very thing that will help you find God in a way you’ve never experienced Him before. He wants you to trust Him, Logan, to put your love for Mrs. McClare on the altar where God can do with it what He wills for your good and hers. And whether He stays your hand or not, your sacrifice of obedience will be rewarded with more peace and joy and hope than you ever believed possible.”

      Logan’s brows dipped, the deep wedges indicating his skepticism. “And you really believe that?”

      Bram smiled, remembering his own lack of faith before God had proven it true. “I do.”

 

And you know what? So do I. Deeply. Which is why I am finally taking my hands off the wheel and giving the keys to God. A God Who not only knows the direction to my ultimate peace and joy, but can steer me there while I sit relaxed in the back seat, enjoying the ride. Driving Miss Julie, if you will.

And you, too, if you’ll let Him.

What this means for me is I plan to become less while He becomes more in my life. So after my initial promo for Dare to Love Again this month and part of next and the spring Christian Scavenger Hunt, I will be pulling back from everything but writing and seeking God. No blog appearances except for once a month on Seekerville, almost no Facebook promo after Feb. 15 unless absolutely necessary, no checking reviews on Amazon and as few emails as I can possibly get away with. And, regrettably, withdrawing from weekly Journal Jots to post only when I have news you need to know, such as publisher-promoted giveaways or freebies or a personal or spiritual message I want to share.

This isn’t really what I want to do … and yet it is. I feel strongly that God has brought me to this point, and I suspect I’m not the only one He’s tapping on the shoulder. He wants each and every one of us to lay aside what encumbers us and focus on Him first and foremost. So I’m doing my level best to obey, as difficult as that may be for my anal, control-freak CDQ personality.

I want to thank each and every one of you who has been such a HUGE support to me through reading my Journal Jots and my books, and I encourage anyone who wants to keep apprised of any freebies or giveaways to subscribe to my Journal Jots blog in that little box at the top right-hand corner of this page beneath the Facebook, Twitter and other buttons. Since I won’t be automatically posting every Friday or Saturday now, if you subscribe, you will always get an email when I DO post something, and that way you won’t miss any giveaways or words of wisdom that might miraculously come from my daily devotionals. 🙂

I love you guys, and appreciate you more than I can say! And, hey — what do YOU need to put “on the altar”?? Because there’s plenty of room in the back seat …

Hugs,

Julie

 

NEWSFLASH!!!!!!!

NOW UNTIL 10:00 AM, MON, FEB. 3, 2014:

WOW … what a fun promo by my publisher Revell — just leave a comment telling them who your favorite Hollywood heartthrob is, and you will be entered to win DARE TO LOVE AGAIN!! Here’s the link and GOOD LUCK!  http://on.fb.me/Lj0XzI

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 3-17, 2014:

Join me for an blog article/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Carla Laureano’s blog, All Things Romance. Hope to see you there!

 

FEBRUARY 8, 2014:

Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at the Novel Rocket blog. Hope to see you there!

 

FEBRUARY 13-15, 2014:

Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Carole Jarvis’s The Power of Words blog. Hope to see you there!

FEBRUARY 14 – 28, FEBRUARY 3, 2014:

Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at the Remain in His Love blog. Hope to see you there! 

 

 

 

“Dark stubble on a jaw that would make a mule proud.

Dark hair, almost black, clear gray eyes with a hint of green

and hazel around the iris, and a height and girth to give

the Flood Building a run for its money.”

— Alli McClare describing Nick Barone in Dare to Love Again

Merciful Providence, since Dare to Love Again officially released on January 1st, it has garnered a solid five-star rating on Amazon (24 five-stars and one four-star), which makes me exhale a big sigh of relief. Uh … so far, that is. The actual proof will be in the pudding next week when approximately 80-90 blogger reviewers post their reviews in the official blog tour for Dare to Love Again, January 20-24, so wish me luck. Or, better yet — say a prayer! 😉

And … speaking of prayers, I suspect the two winners listed below in the “Spirit of San Francisco” contest held by my publisher said a boatload because they’ve cinched a ton of fun prizes with 1st and 2nd place. And those winners are …

1st-Place Winner: Ashley Patterson
2nd-Place Winner: Shannon Stockton

SUPER CONGRATS to both Ashley and Shannon, and a big HUG to everyone who entered! I wish each of you could have won, truly!

But to help cheer up those who didn’t win, one of my favorite reader friends, Angi Griffis, gave me a great idea as to how to do that. You see, she’s currently reading Dare to Love Again and asked me if I had any pix of celebrities I had pegged to play Alli and Nick. And, OF COURSE, I do and can hardly believe I haven’t posted them before now! So … without further ado, here are the shots I pictured while writing the story.

ALLISON MCCLARE:  Alli McClare is petite with curly black hair in the typical Gibson Girl style of the day, usually up, as indicated in the 2^nd pic below. She has eyes that are a very deep green with creamy, porcelain skin. She is fun and adventurous and has a flair for drama. She wants to be an independent woman so she learns jiu-jitsu and carries a large hat pin to protect herself when she takes a notion to explore the Barbary Coast. She has a dry sense of humor, is down to earth and doesn’t trust men because she’s been engaged and brokenhearted by three men who were fortune hunters and frauds.

The first pic is what I sent to Revell of a model whose name I do not know, and the next four model pics are the model Revell hired who actually appears on the cover of the book.

Next … we have Detective Nick Barone, or as Alli calls him, Mr. Ga-roan! Nick Barone is a six-foot-four Italian and 30 years old with green, almost hazel eyes and dark hair that tends to curl. I see him as a the unnamed model below or a younger George Clooney. He is a no-nonsense, hard-nosed plain-clothes detective with a hair-trigger temper and an axe to grind with the upper class. He’s smart, good-looking and a bit on the grouchy side, but ALWAYS has his shoes polished and animal crackers in his pocket (and on his breath).

DO let me know if you read and post a review for Nick and Alli’s story so that I can enter you in my contest to have a character named after you in my next book and a signed copy and maybe — if you are the top poster — a $50 gift card, okay?

Happy weekend, and be sure to check out the following giveaways going on NOW and those coming up soon!

Hugs, Julie

 

WHOO-HOO … LOTS OF GIVEAWAYS!!!

FREE DOWNLOAD on my Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Inspirational and Sweet Markets, “a writing book that needs to be on the shelf of every author because nobody does romantic tension better,” according to Mary Connealy, so get your copy “hot” off the e-press HERE before JAN. 20, and we do mean “hot”!

 

JANUARY 13 – 20, 2014:  One of my WONDERFUL reader friends decided to post one review every few days for all my books leading up to the blog tour for Dare to Love Again scheduled for Jan. 20-24. And guess what?? She is offering winner’s choice of any of my books, so I hope you pop by to each of the reviews to comment and accrue points in her contest. Note: Since this is a spur-of-the-moment idea to feature all my books and not a scheduled interview, I won’t be responding to comments, unfortunately, but I will respond to comments on all the other reviews below that follow. But here’s the link for another giveaway at least, so check it out every couple of days or so for another chance to win a book. GOOD LUCK!! Christian Novels Blog.

 

JANUARY 15 – 18, 2014:  Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Amber Perry’s blog, The Historical Christian Review. Hope to see you there!

 

JANUARY 24 – 31, 2014:  Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Lena Nelson Dooley’s blog, A Christian Writer’s World. Hope to see you there!

 

JANUARY 27 – 29, 2014:  Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Casey Herringshaw’s blog, Writing for Christ: The Audience of One. Hope to see you there!

 

JANUARY 28 – 31, 2014:  Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at Savanna Kaiser’s blog, The Engrafted Word. Hope to see you there!

 

FEBRUARY 14-28, 2014:  Join me for an interview/giveaway of your choice of my books including my newest release, Dare to Love Again, at the Remain in His Love blog. Hope to see you there!