Journal Jots – Blog

WE HAVE WINNERS!!!!

 Joanne Bischoff’s Blog Tour is over, and the contest is now closed. BUT … winners are announced below and Joanne’s blog that follows is STILL fun and very inspirational to read, so enjoy!

Thank you to everyone who visited with Joanne and me during the blog hop. We were all so touched by your comments and stories.

The five winners below will each win one of Joanne’s books and one of the hosting author’s books. 

From Katie Ganshert’s blog: Morgan Tarpley

From Carrie Turansky’s blog: Linda Finn

From Beth Vogt’s blog: Wilani Wahl

From Jocelyn Green’s blog: Juanita Decuir

From Julie Lessman’s blog: Micaela Wood

And the GRAND PRIZE winner of the bundle of country goodies + the eReader is:

Ruth Anderson

CONGRATULATION, LADIES!!!

Julie, here and you know what?  I can’t count the number of times I’ve received e-mails from readers telling me they experienced such extreme emotions when reading my novels, that they either threw one of my books across the room or wanted to. I always smile when I read that because quite frankly, as a CDQ (caffeinated drama queen) who LOVES drama and angst, that’s what I live to do as an author — wring every last drop of emotion out of my readers!! 🙂

Or at least I did.

That is, until I experienced it myself, reading Christy-nominee Joanne Bischoff’s new Cadence of Grace series. No, I didn’t throw Joanne’s book against the wall, but I did have to resort to sleep aids when I finished book 2, something that’s never happened to me before. Because there was NO WAY I was going to peacefully nod off to sleep. Not after Joanne put me through the wringer with her powerfully written novels of Appalachian romance. Let me tell you, people, those babies grabbed hold of me hard and would NOT. LET. GO!!

I’m sorry, but in my book, that’s fabulous writing, so it’s no surprise whatsoever that Joanne’s debut book Be Still My Soul, book 1 in the Cadence of Grace series, was up for a Christy Award this year. That alone, along with the lack of sleep and angst the woman put me through, should be enough to tick me off. But when you read an author of Joanne’s caliber and talent and then she turns out to be one of the nicest, sweetest, most humble human beings you’ve ever met, well boo, you just gotta take a step back and give the little brat her due! 🙂

And so, it is my extreme honor and privilege to sponsor Day Five of Joanne’s “Something for Every Reader” blog tour so that you, too, cannot only experience the beautiful literary talent of this amazing new author, but have FIVE chances to win Joanne’s book plus one book from each of the following hosting authors:  Katie Ganshert, Carrie Turanksy, Beth Vogt, Jocelyn Green and me! The grand prize is a country basket with peach butter, wild blueberry soap, a cookbook, and your choice of E-READER (up to $350 value!), so be sure to check out the link at the end of Joanne’s blog below for all the details.

Without further ado, I give you my good (and very talented) friend Joanne Bischoff.

A bit about how I met Julie

A mutual friend introduced me to Julie while we were both in St. Louis and I confess, I was a bit star struck! Back home, a few weeks later, a comment came through on my blog. It was the Julie Lessman…I nearly fell out of my chair! I’d blogged on the makings of a hero along with a giveaway and Julie commented, entering to win the books. Completely amazed, I wrote her to tell her thank you for her sweet words and that I would love to send her some. She wrote right back, and in her gracious spirit, offered to send me some of hers!

She also warned me that if I didn’t like her books, her feelings wouldn’t be hurt and I mentioned that she might not be too pleased with Gideon O’Riley, the hero of my story, when she first meets him. It dawned on us that we had something in common.

We chatted about the nerves that go into writing a story where characters do things that can send the reader’s jaw to the floor. The knowledge that a reader just might want to throw it across the room (both Julie’s and my books have taken flight a time or two!) But we agreed that it’s worth that risk in hopes of reaching hearts with a story of transformation. It has nothing to do with the shock factor, and everything to do with the picture of how people can change.

I’m reading A Passion Most Pure… and while I didn’t throw the book across the room, I’ve most certainly put Collin McGuire in a time out. *wink* The other day, I emailed Julie that Gideon and Collin would have been friends. Oh yes. Those Irish boys would have gotten into quite a bit of trouble together.

Flawed characters…finding their way home

I’m about halfway through A Passion Most Pure right now, and my favorite part about Julie’s book is the way the O’Connor family has welcomed Collin into their home. It’s his happy place. The place where this wandering and lost soul sees something different in a group of people—and himself—when he’s with them. A light in his life. I can tell he’s not entirely sure of what to make of that, but there it is, drawing him closer to them. Not because of who the O’Connors are, but because of Who is alive in their hearts. There’s just something about it… It’s so clear how Collin needs this family and at the same time, there’s a deep sense that the O’Connor’s may just need him right back. I can’t think of anything more fulfilling to that young man’s aching spirit, then to be loved and needed in all the right ways.

I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few years about families. Mentors. Those people who come into our path at just the right moment. It’s a God-thing, isn’t it?

Often when people ask me where the Cadence of Grace series came about, I tell them how it began with the heroine and hero…

But before that, which I never really share, is that I’d already had the Bennetts tucked in the back of my mind and heart. For those of you who don’t know the Bennetts, they are the older couple who takes the young O’Rileys under their wing.

Months before I began the first words of Be Still My Soul, I had woken from a dream with a heavy, heavy heart. The dream had been of an older couple living in the rural mountains of Appalachia. They were working alongside one another, both of them wondering—that with no living children—what the future might hold for them in the years to come. I woke and couldn’t shake the melancholy of that memory, so I quickly jotted down the image of who the Bennetts were, determined that somehow, I would not only write this older couple’s story, but I would find a way to bring them the hope of a family they yearned for. Little did I know that soon after that, Lonnie and Gideon would be wandering the mountainside lost and alone. So desperately needing guidance. A shelter, a home. And a story was in the making.

For there are times that a family can be born through circumstance, faith, and love.

 ***

Julie again, and I want to thank you for visiting Joanne and me on the “A Book For Every Reader” blog tour! Leave a comment answering one of the questions below to be entered to win not one but TWO books — one of Joanne’s and one of mine.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST PUT YOUR NAME AND EMAIL WHERE IT SAYS “AUTHOR NAME” AND “AUTHOR EMAIL” OR I WILL NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE!! 😐

Also, to enter in the grand giveaway prize which includes country goodies and an e-reader (up to $350), simply hop on over and fill out the entry form at the following link, where you’ll also find all the official details:

CLICK HERE TO ENTER FOR GRAND PRIZE

Finally, be sure to stop in at each of the following author blogs to increase your chances of winning Joanne’s book as well as one from each of the hosting authors: Katie Ganshert, Carrie Turanksy, Beth Vogt, Jocelyn Green.

Contest open until midnight Friday, September 27, and winners will be drawn on Saturday, September 28 and contacted via email. Thank you for joining us!

Hugs,

Julie

QUESTIONS:

Has there been a mentor in your life who showed you God’s love?

Has there been a time you were able to be that guiding light for someone else?

And… if you’re up for a bit of fun: have you ever wanted to throw a book against the wall? *smile*

 

JOANNE’S BIO:

Christy Award-finalist and author of The Cadence of Grace series, Joanne Bischof has a deep passion for Appalachian culture and writing stories that shine light on God’s grace and goodness. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her husband and their three children. When she’s not weaving Appalachian romance, she’s blogging about faith, folk music, and the adventures of country living that bring her stories to life.

  http://www.joannebischof.com/extras/blogtour/

 

“Therefore we do not “lose heart.”

Even though our outward man is perishing,

yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”

— Corinthians 4:16-18

As some of you may know, I attended the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference last week in Indianapolis, and it was, as always, simply AMAZING!!

But … I don’t usually feel that way on the first day. Why? Well, call it baggage from my past or just pyschological idiosyncrosies of a CDQ on endless cups of Starbucks, but … I usually cry in my room on the first day of every single conference.

Of course, Keith is always there to comfort and support me, praying with me to let go of my fears and just ENJOY the blessing of seeing old friends and meeting new ones. And I had a number of dear friends who were praying for me as well (and you KNOW who you are!!), so I popped out of the malaise quickly and had SO much fun connecting with people.

I am basically a one-on-one type of gal, so I suspect groups jolt me back to my childhood where as a wired drama-queen who was #12 of 13 kids, I was the butt of family jokes and ridiculed by classmates in grades 2-4 because of my psoriasis. That’s the only reason I can figure for sinking into a mind morass that sucks the life (and passion) out of me on day one of every conference, on which I always feel very insecure and lonely.

Which is why the Scripture above SO spoke to me when my dear friend Joy Bollinger sent it to me along with a companion devotional she wrote, which I am going to include below. The lines that literally jumped out at me were:

The verse, “…we do not lose heart,” is a declarative statement. It doesn’t say, “We shouldn’t lose heart” or “Do not lose heart.” It makes a declaration that as Christ followers, WE DO NOT LOSE HEART. That is part of our re-born DNA.

WOW!! Because when I read that I realized that it is not just a declaration, it is a PROMISE that in the midst of any situation that is sucking the life from us, JESUS — looking UP into HIS face, focusing on HIM and HIM alone instead of the situation — helps us to not only “not lose heart,” but to be “renewed” with a mindset that says, “I matter to Him, I am special to Him, and He has endowed me with a heritage and inheritance of HIS peace and joy and hope.”

So … because of my AMAZING GOD who banished all insecurities and loneliness … I had a BLAST at ACFW!! Highlights were dinner with my amazing editor, time spent with the Seekers (my group blog partners), a workshop I co-taught with my fantabulous agent, and connecting and spending time with SO many AMAZING friends (and you know who you are!!). Oh, and Carol Moncado’s cookies … the brat! 😉

At the bottom of this post, I have included LOTS of fun pix from ACFW and some upcoming giveaways, so be sure to scroll all the way down to check them out. But first and without further ado, I give you the anointed words of my precious mentor and friend, Joy Bollinger, without whom I would not be here today, on fire for the true LOVE of my life, Jesus Christ.

DEVOTIONAL BY JOY BOLLINGER

Although I have been reading and studying the Word, I have neglected my book of devotions for some time. However, this morning, I felt led to open my devotional for today’s Word:

“Therefore we do not “lose heart.” Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things, which are seen, but at the things, which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal”(II Corinthians 4:16-18).

To “lose heart” means to become disheartened. Disheartened means to become discouraged, demoralized, cast down, depressed, disappointed, dismayed, put off, deterred, unnerved, daunted, intimidated, or crushed.

The verse, “…we do not lose heart,” is a declarative statement. It doesn’t say, “We shouldn’t lose heart” or “Do not lose heart.” It makes a declaration that as Christ followers, WE DO NOT LOSE HEART. That is part of our re-born DNA. So why do we allow trials and disappointments to dishearten us? Could it be that fissures of fear have formed in our hearts and have allowed doubt and unbelief to lodge and contaminate our faith?

God wants us to face trials with confidence that He will take whatever the enemy has intended for evil and work them together for our good and for the good of those whom we pray for and love. He has promised to give us a hope and a future. If our carnal eyes focus on a problem, then the enemy has an inroad to our heart. If our spiritual eyes focus on God’s Kingdom and the leading of His Holy Spirit, then faith and trust emerges to conquer darkness and achieve victory.  

Christians are called to be God’s warriors, who stand firm in their relationship with Christ, filled with His Holy Spirit, and clothed with the whole armor of God that they may bring forth His truth and power to a world encased in carnality and spiritual darkness.

Satan’s goal is to protect his kingdom by making God’s people ineffective through intimidation, discouragement, and depression. The good news is this: God daily calls us to boldly move forward with faith, confidence and — trust in His strength, because “WE DO NOT LOSE HEART,” and we know that our “INWARD MAN IS BEING RENEWED DAY BY DAY.” That is a fact! We must believe it.

God reveals the deeper truths in His Word, and when He reveals them, it can be an instruction, a revelation, or His loving correction. They all become a source of joy.

I believe that we all struggle with “losing heart,” and God wants us to know that He built inside of our re-born heart a truth that “we do not lose heart.” We are to live that truth and trust Him each and every day as He renews us. This day, this truth, was instruction and renewal for my heart.

GIVEAWAYS AND FUN THINGS!!

MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23-27, 2013:

BOOKS GALORE, E-READER, & GIFT-BASKET GIVEAWAY!! Don’t miss my Journal Jots on September 27 because I will be featuring Christy nominee Joanne Bischoff and the release of her new book, My Hope is Found. WHICH, I might add, is the only book I have ever read that wreaked SO much havoc with my emotions, I was forced to take a sleep aid!! First time that’s EVER happened!!

Anyway, you’ll have a chance to win both Joanne’s book AND your choice of mine PLUS books from Katie Ganshert, Carrie Turanksy, Beth Vogt, and Jocelyn Green beginning Monday, September 23 as well as a goodie basket with peach butter, wild blueberry soap and your choice of an E-READER (up to $350!), so be sure to drop by and enter, okay? Here’s the link:

http://www.joannebischof.com/extras/blogtour/

 

HEAR MY FAVORITE EXCERPT FROM LOVE AT ANY COST READ BY YOURS TRULY:

I’m thrilled to say I am featured on the fabulous Southern Writers Magazine, both on its Open Mic page AND its Take Five page of the magazine’s website. So take a listen at Take Five, where you can hear me read (more like stumble through) my very favorite romantic scene from my latest book, Love at Any Cost.

 

ACFW PHOTOS!!!

A Seekers dinner … SO fun!!! L to R, Mary Connealy, Myra Johnson,

Missy Tippens, Janet Dean, Debby Giusti, Pam Hillman and moi!

 

WHOO-HOO … got to meet my good bud, Becky Wade, who did the

“Fall in Love … Texas Style” contest with me this summer. Can you tell

why I had Keith fix my height on the poster??

 

My agent extraordinaire, Natasha Kern, who — YAY!!! —  won Agent

of the Year — SO deserved!!

 

My dear friend, Casey Herringshaw.

 

A new friend in Joanne Bischoff and an old (as in friends a long time!)

friend in Carrie Turansky, both authors extraordinaire!

 

Me and Seekers Mary Connealy, Myra Johnson, plus good friend Pepper

Basham at the Awards banquet.

 

Me, Becky Wade and COOKIE LADY Carol Moncado!!

 

Me, Melanie Dickerson and dear friend Debbie Lynn Costello having a blast!

 

FINALLY … fab author Cathy West and I meet AT LAST!!

“Katie,” she whispered, “you say He’s not real to you,

that you’re not sure He even exists. But right this minute,

one of us is right and one of us is wrong.”

—Faith O’Connor from A Hope Undaunted

Okay, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. Yes, I’m a fiction writer, but as with all fiction writers, much of what I write about is drawn from personal experience. Be it a spiritual lesson I’ve learned, an emotional lesson, or actual events or scenarios from my own life, I often—frequently, in fact—force my characters to travel the same road.

So, I thought it might be fun to give you a peek into the stories behind the stories for various scenes from my books, and to begin, I’ll start with my favorite of all the books I’ve written, A Hope Undaunted, which is Katie O’Connor’s story.

Out of all the O’Connors, Katie is the least spiritual, and, in fact, is not even sure she believes in God. In the following scene, Katie’s sister Faith talks to her about God, making a statement that I myself made some 36 years to a coworker who was an atheist.

One night after work, the two of us were shooting the breeze in her office, chatting about any and everything. The subject of God came up and I remember how shocked I was to learn that this girl who I considered a friend did not believe in God.  I tried to witness to her, of course, but she simply sat there with a patient smile on her face, certain she was correct in her assumption.

My heart ached for her, and so with a silent prayer, I proceeded to tell her exactly what Faith O’Connor tells her sister Katie in the following scene. The scene in A Hope Undaunted ends with Katie’s conversion. Unfortunately, the actual scene with my coworker did not and months later, I quit my job to stay home with my new baby and never worked with this girl again. But … the good news is that I received a letter from this same coworker ame some 30 years later, telling me how much she loved my books and the inspirational message they carried. And although she never came out and told me she now believed in God, somehow I knew in my spirit that she did and deep down I know that those precious words the Holy Spirit gave me that night helped to sow seeds in my friend’s life. I like to think that that encounter and the many prayers I said for her thereafter helped to bring one of God’s lost sheep back home to the Good Shepherd, and every single time I read the scene below, I smile.

It’s moments like that in my life that I SO love incorporating into my novels, helping them, I pray, to become so much more than just fiction.

Have a blessed weekend, and I hope the background for this excerpt helps you to enjoy it all the more.

Hugs,

Julie

 

Faith grabbed her hand and held on tight. “Katie, I’m so sorry. But all the more reason to cling to God, because you have nothing to lose right now and everything to gain.”

Katie pulled her hand away and closed her eyes, her voice dead. “I don’t know, Faith. I know God is real to you, but to me, it’s always been more of a fairy tale. You have faith in Him, but I don’t. Sometimes I even wonder if I believe in Him at all. I pray, but I feel like He doesn’t hear my prayers, like they’re long-distance and lost in the shuffle. I don’t feel any closeness with Him, any desire to pursue Him.” Her shoulders slumped forward, weighted with despair. “I guess the bottom line is . . . ,” a knot shifted in her throat, “I’m not sure He even exists.”

Her sister’s tone was gentle. “It doesn’t matter, Katie, not one little bit. All you have to do is ask Him to reveal himself to you, to prove that He’s real and that He loves you and has a plan for your life. Just the frail consent of your will to invite Him into your heart is all it takes. And you can have a living, breathing relationship with the God of the universe, overflowing with a love and passion as real as anything you ever felt for Luke. Go ahead, Katie, do it! And if you do, you have my word—your life will never be the same.”

Katie’s eyes widened as she stared, her sister’s gaze aglow like a beacon of hope. She swallowed hard, knowing full well that no matter any storms in her life, this was the sister who carried a reservoir of peace wherever she went. The sister who had scaled every mountain, weathered every storm with her resilient faith in God. Katie blinked. Could it actually be real?

As if she sensed the shift in Katie’s thinking, Faith placed a palm on top of Katie’s hand, warm and stable, cupping it, shielding it, like an anchor of hope in this storm of her soul. “Katie,” she whispered, “you say He’s not real to you, that you’re not sure He even exists. But right this minute, one of us is right and one of us is wrong.”

Katie looked into her sister’s face, as if compelled to listen by some strange force that pulled at her with a tentative thread of hope.

Wetness shimmered in Faith’s eyes. “If it’s me who is wrong, then I have lost nothing. Because even if I have believed in a lie or a fairy tale, then that lie or fairy tale has given me more joy, more hope, and more strength than anything I have ever encountered. But if it is you who is wrong, Katie, I tremble to think that you will have lost everything—His joy, His peace, His hope . . .” Her voice softened to a bare whisper. “His salvation.” She straightened then, her manner as sure as the conviction in her tone. “I repeat, Katie, one of us is right and one of us is wrong. Do it now, I beg of you—invite Him into your heart. Because truly, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Katie stared while seconds ticked by like heartbeats, thundering increments of time in a reality she could feel, see, touch. She was a realist, a woman bent on the law, with a penchant for facts, statistics, and tangible proof. How could she lay all of that down to embrace an intangible God? A God her family had embraced all of their lives, depended on, lived for . . . while she herself had stood in the wings, master of her own future. She closed her eyes, grief piercing anew. A future that now lay in shambles at her feet. She swallowed the pride in her throat. Nothing to lose . . .

And then out of nowhere, Emma’s words that day in the store haunted her thoughts, and in a catch of her breath, Katie’s heart began to race.

“Whatever your hurts or fears or scars, Katie—call on Him. He’s waiting to love you like you’ve never been loved before.”

“I don’t know, Emma, it all sounds wonderful, but God . . . prayer, well, I’m just not sure that it’s real.”

“I understand, but hear me, please . . . you won’t know till you try . . .”

Till I try . . . Katie’s breathing accelerated, and all at once, in the thud of her pulse or the trail of a tear, her decision was made. Gripping her sister’s hand like a lifeline in a stormy sea, Katie lifted her face to the ceiling while water seeped from her lidded eyes. Her voice quivered, but her resolve was sure. “God, Faith says you’re up there, that you care for me and have a plan for my life. If you are, and I’m not just talking to a ceiling, will you show me? Reveal Yourself to me, your love, Your purpose for my life. Please, God, come into my heart and make me the woman you want me to be.”

She opened her eyes then, and somehow the room seemed different. The same ivy wallpaper covered the walls, and the lace-curtained windows still wore pretty green ribbons tied back in a swag. The scent of rosewater hovered in the air, and Miss Buford—the porcelain doll from her youth—still perched on her vanity like some regal judge presiding over her bench. And yet, in the beat of Katie’s heart, everything had changed. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of her freedom, tears escaping as surely as her heart had escaped its gloom.

Dear God, can it really be this easy?

Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked at her sister, her words soft with wonder. “I never knew . . . never knew that it could be so easy . . . so real.”

A smile lighted upon her sister’s lips as Faith placed a gentle hand to Katie’s face. “Believing in Him is easy, Katie, because He gives us that tiny seed of faith. And loving Him is even more so, because when you see how He moves on your behalf, your heart will spill over with joy. But unfortunately, living for Him is not so easy. Feelings and doubts will come and go, but his Word stands forever. Study it, commit it to memory, learn through his Bible what He wants you to do. Because everything in this world will come and go—people we love, financial security, jobs—but God is a constant, and His promises endure forever.”