Journal Jots – Blog

“Crisis brings us face to face with our inadequacy,

and our inadequacy in turn leads us to the inexhaustible sufficiency of God.”

—Beyond Our Selves by Catherine Marshall

 ***

“Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you.”

—Psalm 55:22 

I won’t lie—this week has been a bit of a struggle.

First of all, it’s been hard to see my mother-in-law trying to recover from a fractured hip and broken pelvis incurred recently. It seems the pain is getting worse rather than better, so her family has been taking turns staying with her overnight after she left rehab. I was there two days and one night this week, and it’s incredibly hard to see her in pain.

Of course I also miss my husband who’s been gone all week on a fishing trip that I practically had to force him to go on because the man never takes off from work. But a good friend had a fishing buddy cancel on him at the last minute, so he asked Keith to fill in, and I was thrilled. He soooo needed a break, but I sure missed him. 

Then I find out just this morning that my son, daughter-in-law and precious grandbaby will be moving to Spokane, Washington in about two weeks rather than much later in the year as originally expected. 🙁 On top of that, it looks like my daughter and son-in-law will be moving out of state come January. 🙁 

Of course the sour cherry on top of this is a brick wall I’ve encountered on book 3 in the “Heart of San Francisco” series where I can’t seem to go forward—always a scary thing with a deadline looming. 

Needless to say, I experienced a lot of melancholy this week along with feelings of being overwhelmed. But the week did do one thing—it brought me face to face with my “inadequacy,” even though there was no real “crisis” involved like our quote indicates today. And that inadequacy—melancholy/sense of overwhelm—led me right back to the God who is WAY better able to handle my problems than I am.

And THANK GOD!! Because not only is His “inexhaustible sufficiency” better able, but it’s exactly what He wants us to do! 

“Cast your cares on the Lord,

and He will sustain you.” 

And, oh trust me—I did—and He has!! Just KNOWING that no matter what crises or melancholy or wall we hit, He is not only able to see us through, He is MORE than willing, has given me all the hope I need to take the next step. And then the one after that. Because the truth is, when push comes to shove (and before!!), He is all we need and more than enough! 

More than enough. A statement so brimming with truth and hope that I used it several times in my novels, so I thought it would be fun to end my blog with both clips. The first is from A Passion Denied when Patrick leaves Marcy and the second from A Passion Most Pure when Faith leaves her family.

        The door slammed behind him, effectively severing her hope. A frightening loneliness shivered through her, and she listed against the door, stunned at how easily love could be shattered. With a low moan, she turned and mounted the stairs as slowly as a woman twice her age, barely able to breathe. Like a sleepwalker, dully and without purpose, finally collapsing in a heap on her bed. She shut her eyes to block out the pain, but it only droned on in her brain—a mind-numbing lament, suffocating until she thought she would die.

       Oh, God, help me! Please! Restore our peace and heal my marriage.

       She forced her lips to pray, soundless utterings that seemed to silence the torment inside. She took a deep breath and allowed His peace to quiet her mind, as it had done so many times in her past.

       Her husband had left. But God would not. The only balm to her tortured soul.

       But more than enough.

*** 

       Bridget set a half-peeled potato down and wiped her hands on her apron, then moved to sit by Marcy’s side. “Marcy, Faith has been wounded deeply. Of course she’s angry with God. What human being wouldn’t be? But she knows His goodness, too, and in the end, it will woo her back. We have no choice but to trust Him. She’s His child too.”

       Marcy nodded, and Bridget reached for her hand, her eyes full of hope. “She will come through this, Marcy; I know she will. And do you know how I know?”

       Marcy shook her head.

       “Because God is faithful,” Bridget said, as if stating a fact no one could possibly dispute. “Faith has served Him with her whole heart, and He will not let her go. But I’m afraid you must. Let her go, Marcy, and trust Him to keep her.”

       Marcy’s head jerked up. “Mother, I can’t!”

       “Yes, you can. He won’t fail you, and He won’t fail her.”

       Marcy shivered, finally nodding. “Mitch has a right to know, Mother. For all his stupidity and failing … he has a right to see her before she goes.”

       Bridget sighed. “Perhaps not. What he did … well, I’m not sure I would forgive him myself, nor ever trust him.”

       Marcy’s eyes strained with fatigue as she looked up. “He deserves to be heard. I’ll call in the morning. Perhaps … perhaps even yet, he can change her mind.” Marcy extended her hand. “Mother, can we pray together, please?”

       Bridget smiled and placed her hands in her daughter’s. “It’s the only thing we can do, Marcy,” she whispered. “But, it’s more than enough.”

***

Yes, it is …

All prayers appreciated for my mother-in-law’s recovery, and I wish you all a MOST blessed weekend!

Hugs,

Julie

Grandmothers are just “antique” little girls.

—Author Unknown

Oh my, did I have fun this week!! You see, I had my precious grandbaby for FIVE DAYS AND NIGHTS, and I honestly don’t think my life will ever be the same again.

Yes, I was totally unbelieving when my girlfriends and prayer partners told me I would love being a grandmother. And, yes, I was even skeptical after my precious grandbaby arrived, thinking all my euphoria and giddiness would certainly wear off. 

Only it didn’t. 

And then I thought, okay, I love her to pieces and she is totally adorable, so probably I’ll enjoy this grandma gig, but I will never, ever enjoy having a baby overnight for almost a week. 

Boy, did I have my pajamas on—along with Rory—because I must have been dreaming when I doubted I would enjoy every single, solitary moment of being with this child.

From her grinning and hopping in her crib when she first saw us in the morning till we rocked her on the porch swing at night singing Amazing Grace—my life was that of a 62-year-old “antique little girl,” laughing, running, chasing and giggling more than my granddaughter.

My only regret? Not getting a pic or video of her doing the fat-palms-to-her-cheeks version of Home Alone when she says, “Oh, no!!!” 

BUT … I did get one video of Rory dancing that I am able to share, so you tell me who’s more the giggling/laughing little girl — the grandbaby or the grandma!!

Hugs and Happy Weekend!!

Julie

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

SUPER CONGRATS TO THE WINNER OF MY REVELL CHAT EXTRA GIVEAWAY — LAURA POL — WHO WINS HER CHOICE OF ANY OF MY BOOKS!!  A HUGE THANKS TO EACH OF YOU WHO CAME BY TO CHAT!!

Then God said, “Abraham …

take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—

and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a

burnt offering  on a mountain I will show you.”

—Genesis 22:1-2

Uh … I don’t know about you, but this has never been one of my favorite Scriptures. I mean, yes, I know it’s meant to be a foreshadow of what God did for us with His Son, so in the spiritual sense, it’s truly a powerful and moving story.

But to my human side, the one that clings to my husband, kids and family? It’s a littttttttttle tough to take and a Scripture I always tended to avoid. So guess what one of the things God taught me was, during my month-long fast in May?

Yep, you got it—the Abraham Factor.

You see, while reading Catherine Marshall’s Something More, I came to the chapter, “The Prayer of Relinquishment.” Giving God our heart’s desire and actively trusting that He knows best and will do the best for us. In essence, it’s becoming as little children who totally trust the Father, not only accepting His will, but embracing it with the mindset that He loves us and will work all things out for our good.

Catherine Marshall carefully points out that there is a difference between acceptance and resignation—“one is positive, the other negative. Acceptance is creative, resignation sterile.” Acceptance opens the door of hope wide, while resignation slams it shut. One says God is good and loves us, the other says He is harsh and doesn’t care.

Neither is easy when it means relinquishing the desires of our heart, but “acceptance” promises that God knows best and will bless our obedience with a greater good. “Resignation,” on the other hand, damages or severs the Father/daughter or son relationship that is so critical to both God and to us.

In the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36), Jesus prayed, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

With this prayer of relinquishment, Jesus laid His will, His desires, His life on the altar just like Abraham, making His will one with God’s. Abraham’s trust in God was so strong, he told his traveling companions that “We (he and Isaac) will worship and then we will come back to you.” As we all know, God stayed Abraham’s hand that day, providing a ram for the sacrifice instead. 

But as Catherine Marshall states, in the case of God’s Son, Jesus’s heart-wrenching prayer “was not answered as the human Jesus wished. And yet power has been flowing from His cross ever since.” She goes on to say that, “that is why it should not surprise us that at the center of answered prayer, lies the prayer of relinquishment.”  I will even expound further and say it should not surprise any of us that at the center of God’s blessings, lies the prayer of reliquishment and obedience.

The prayer of relinquishment. Not an easy one to pray, but one I’ve learned brings the most peace and hope. In my latest release, Love at Any Cost, the hero’s crippled sister Jess MacKenna opens her brother Jamie’s eyes to the notion of trusting God’s will instead of his own:

She glanced up with a smile so full of love, it thickened the walls of his throat. “Promise me, Jammy, you’ll lay your will down for God’s so he can bring us the miracle we all so desperately need.”

Pulse staggering, he stared at his sister, his breathing shallow. Lay his will down for God’s? Pry his fingers apart and let go, just like that? Trust a God he’d never trusted at all, just on a whim? His eyelids weighted closed. No, not on a whim. On a request from the sister he treasured, the mother he cherished, and the friend he respected. The sting of tears burned in his nose when Cassie’s image came to mind. And the woman I love.

His breath caught at the twine of Jess’s fingers in his. “Let go, Jamie, and let God be God,” she whispered, the trace of an imp in her smile. “He does it so much better than you.” 

Yes, He certainly does. A lesson I wrote about in Love at Any Cost, but didn’t fully understand until the month of my fast, when God showed me His desires of His heart for me are far, far more wonderful than my own. And, as my own character taught me from the pages of my very own book — far, far easier when we pry our fingers off and let God be God …

Happy weekend and Hugs!

Julie

GIVEAWAYS!!!! 

1 to 2 PM CST — WED., JUNE 12, 2013:

WHOO-HOO … PLEASE COME SUPPORT ME AT REVELL’S AUTHOR CAFE FOR A SOLID HOUR OF GIRL (OR GUY) TALK AND A CHANCE TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF LOVE AT ANY COST. ASK QUESTIONS OR JUST LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!!

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https://www.facebook.com/RevellBooks

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013:

WIN YOUR CHOICE OF MY BOOKS ON MY SEEKERVILLE BLOG ENTITLED “WHEN THE PLOT THICKENS TO CONCRETE!” HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

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THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013:

HERE’S A CHANCE TO WIN A $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD IN A SUMMER READING GIVEAWAY IN WHICH I AND A NUMBER OF OTHER AUTHORS WILL TELL YOU WHAT BOOK WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS SUMMER. IT ALL HAPPENS ON THE “BREATH PERFUMED” BLOG AT THE FOLLOWING LINK:

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