Journal Jots – Blog

“T’was the night before release and much to her dismay,

her nerves were all a flutter—what would the reviewers say?”

The Author’s Night Before Christmas by Julie Lessman

T’was a week and a half before Christmas and all through the Lessman house, not a present had been bought, not even a blouse …

Okay, okay, maybe a few presents have been bought, but not many, so today marks the day that hubby and I officially set book and project deadlines aside and kick up into hypergear to shop and wrap and mail. I have to admit, however, despite the busyness of the season, I am enjoying it and not freaking out as is my nature to do. Have even watched a Christmas movie or two, which I love, and I atribute this almost completely to my prayer partners and I, who started praying months ago that God would give us peace and wisdom and the ability to enjoy the holidays — a VERY wise thing to do!

And so, since I have until 4:00 PM CST today to make some hay on book 2 in the “Heart of San Francisco” series in which I have approximately 100 pages yet to write (deadline Jan. 15), I am taking a Mulligan and reprinting my Seeker post from this week rather than writing an official Journal Jot. It’s actually pretty appropriate because it’s called “A Christmas Story” and basically could be slated as an “Author’s Night Before Christmas” with a very important lesson I learned this holiday season. It includes a giveaway of the fabulous book that taught me the lesson PLUS winner’s choice of any of my books, NOT TO MENTION additional points in my December Contest at the end of this post if you leave a comment on my Seeker blog before 4:00 PM TODAY, Friday, 12/14.

But before I repeat the post here, I thought it would be fun to share a pic of my daughter who dressed up like the lamp in the window of the movie “Christmas Story” for her company Christmas Party and came in 2nd place in the costume contest. YAY, Amy and YAY, Mom, who actually took time out from her overdue ms. to glue fringe on a lamp. 🙂

And then the second pic is my son and daughter-in-law on our upper back deck with my precious granddaughter, now almost 15 months!! Goodness … what would the holidays be without family??

Once upon a time …

There was this not so bright CDQ author who had this very “bright” idea to write a Christmas story called A Light in the Window. Not just any Christmas story, mind you, but a prequel Christmas story that would tie a pretty bow around two series she’d written about an Irish family with a deep passion for God.

“Oh, it will have everything Christmas,” she exclaimed, hands clasped in delight, “from cookies and snowflakes to angels heralding at night. Laughter and tears, romance and more, all wrapped up with magic in a Christmas play fundraiser for the downtrodden and poor.”

As busy as an elf at the North Pole in July, she penned a 100 K novella that would hopefully make people sigh. Next she badgered her husband to design a cover extraordinaire, complete with snow globe from the story and her own daughter with silky-blonde hair. 

Dizzy with excitement, she spun into promotion without a single doubt, whirling and twirling to tell the world what Christmas was all about. There were blog tours and interviews till her fingers were sore, all coinciding with proofing and editing and contests galore. Facebook and Twitter and blurbs kept her busy, never as an author had she been in such a tizzy.

And then … t’was the night before release and much to her dismay, her nerves were all a flutter—what would the reviewers say? Worry and hand-wringing over rankings and reviews stole both her sleep and her joy—would they bring good news? Good news, bad, it didn’t seem to matter, for in her heart of hearts, gloom descended with a clatter. Stealing her hope, her joy, her peace all aglow, until that magical moment when she saw …

A light in the window.

A flicker, a flame, the warmth of a still, small Voice, take your eyes off Amazon, dear author, for you have much to rejoice. Your true joy lies not in sales or in the approval of but in the birth of a Savior who redeemed you from sin.

So let His light shine brightly within your window, aglow on your sill,                                      to spread the warmth of His love and peace, holy and still.                                                      To proclaim the true message of Christmas with all of your might,                                        that it may be a holy Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Regrettably, this Christmas story is true, but happily, ends well. You see, it took my own Christmas story—A Light in the Window—to focus my eyes on what Christmas is really all about. Yes, it’s about family and giving and reaching out to others with our love and our faith, but it’s also about receiving. Receiving His grace and His wisdom to focus on Him rather than ourselves. This “light in the window” came to me via my experience with my own Christmas e-book and a pretty amazing book entitled The Well, by Mark Hall, pastor and lead singer for Casting Crowns. My church has been urging each of its 6,000 members to read this book, and once you do, it’s pretty obvious why. Like Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, He is the only source of “living water,” and to try and draw our confidence, peace, hope and joy from stagnant holes of our own devise will never truly satisfy and only make us sick.

Oh, as Christians, we all talk a good game and most of us even trust God and love Him with a passion most pure (sorry, couldn’t resist!), but when it comes to the source we tap for our hopes, dreams and happiness? I suspect most of us—or at least myself, for sure—dip into stagnant holes of our own choosing to make us feel better rather than drawing our sustenance from the Well of Living Water. These stagnant holes can be anything we run to instead of God—be it food, drink, money, approval, success—you name it—and we may not even be aware of just how much of an idol these things have become. I certainly wasn’t fully aware that I was trying to draw my happiness from success as an author, and yet the more I drank from this stagnant hole, the sicker and weaker I became. Sewer water that almost ruined the joy of the beautiful gift God has given me—the privilege of writing for Him!

And so my Christmas story ends happily and to celebrate, I would like to give away a copy of The Well, a book I truly believe every author and person needs to read, along with your choice of any of my books. Just leave a comment on my SEEKERVILLE POST, and you’re entered!!

EXTRA BONUS POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In honor of Seeker Sandra Leesmith’s book Current of Love releasing this week, I am offering TWO ENTRIES in this Seeker blog contest and FIVE ENTRIES in my December contest below if you order Current of Love in paperback at $7.16 or e-book at $3.99. Just indicate the letters “COL” with your comment and the extra entries are yours. Here’s the link: CURRENT OF LOVE.

THEN … five extra entries in my DECEMBER CONTEST FOR SEEKER COMMENTERS ONLY for signing up for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION to Book Fun Magazine or getting somebody else to (five points for each subscription). Just tell me so in your comment and YOU COULD WIN THE FOLLOWING ….

$150 GRAND PRIZE of a KINDLE (or equivalent gift card), a copy of THE WELL by Mark Hall, choice of ANY OF MY BOOKS including Love at Any Cost or audio version of A Love Surrendered AND your choice of five of the following top CBA books :

—Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury

—Redemption by Karen Kingsbury

—And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers

—The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers

—Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

—Faith by Lori Copeland

—Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergren

—Long Trail Home by Vickie McDonough

—Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green

—House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson

—Breathe by Lisa Bergren

—Twice Promised by Maggie Brendan

—Snow Angel by Jamie Carie

—A Lady of Secret Devotion by Tracie Peterson

—The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian

IT’S EASY, IT’S FREE AND IT’S A GREAT MAGAZINE that will automatically come via e-mail each month, so here’s the link and GOOD LUCK IN THE CONTEST!!

 

Hugs and Happy Weekend!

Julie

 

 

“Joy and pain …

two arteries of the one heart

that pumps through all those who don’t

numb themselves to really living.”

 —Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

Salt and pepper, sweet and sour, comedy and drama—polar opposites that complement each other, enhancing the whole. Let’s face it—too much salt and not enough pepper prunes the tongue and scrunches the nose, ruining the taste. Too much sweet sickens the stomach, diminishing its appeal, diluting the wonder of favorite things like peach cobbler, red velvet cake or Reeses Cups. And I’m sorry, but those things are TOO wonderful to not enjoy fully.

And just when does one enjoy favorite things more fully? Well, how ‘bout that first burst of sweetness from a Hershey bar after a diet? That low moan when you sample a favorite dessert you haven’t had in a long, long time? Or even that first savor of chunky chicken noodle soup that you can finally taste when you’re appetite returns after the flu? The truth is NOTHING in life would look, taste, feel, smell or sound as good if there wasn’t a polar opposite to heighten the joy of things we love, an absence makes the heart grow fonder, if you will.

And actually, it’s the same thing with drama and comedy, as I point out in a Seeker blog I wrote once entitled “Ho-Ho-Ho! Funny You should Say That … Or Putting Humor in our Writing (http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2011/12/ho-ho-ho-funny-you-should-say-that-or.html).

You see, this blog on humor points out all too well how humor helps to enhance a dramatic scene as well as provide comic relief from anything too heavy. And quite frankly, too much humor makes my jaws ache from laughing and my stomach hurt because the bottom line is, we need the one to really enjoy the other.

Unfortunately, this is a fact I learn all too well in the month of December. Especially this December when I have a book deadline of January 15 and still have a 100 pages to go in the novel. YIKES!!! Didn’t plan it, but somehow I managed to bunch up three books releasing in a six-month span, and life has been CRAZEEEE!! Then add Christmas to the mix along with a Christmas e-book for which I have to do all promotion myself, and my back gets pushed to the wall. Unfortunately, this tends to pull the plug on my Christmas joy and pop my bubble of passion, leaving me flat, dull, and without the slightest desire to open my laptop. The fire and fervor that usually flows through my veins sludges to a cold stop, robbing me of the ability to work on things with deadlines looming. Of course I mope, I cry, I get mad. And then I get on my knees.

Oh the highs of lows of being a human being! That roller-coaster of laughter and tears, success and failure that zooms us to the heights, only to careen us into the valleys below. And yet, without the lows, the highs would never be fully appreciated and would, in fact, become commonplace and dull, grossly unappreciated, evoking little or no gratitude.

And gratitude, my dear friends, is everything. It’s the path to joy as Ann Voskamp so beautifully points out in her amazing New York Times bestseller, One Thousand Gifts (A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are).

Soooo … how can the negatives of a being a human being—sickness, financial difficulties, deadlines, conflict, etc.—possibly enhance our lives, you ask? Oh, honey, by drawing us closer to HIM, because when push comes to shove, hurt comes to tears, hope comes to despair, the God who loves us with “an everlasting love,” Who guards us as the “apple of His eye” is waiting to scoop us up, dry our tears and adjust our perspective. Gently, lovingly whispering in our ear that that awful thing that so disappointed us never did or ever could contain the joy we so desperately seek. No amount of success, money or even blessing from the hand of God such as a wonderful marriage and life, can EVER fulfill like the love of God. To teach the ongoing lesson that it’s only the lows, the valleys, the pain … that will set us free from focus on self, which like too much “sweet,” sickens the soul.

Today, the laptop is open and the hearth fire burning again, both in my cozy, twinkle-light hearth room and in my heart. Passion runs high yet again because I know I have a God who loves me SO much, He takes great pains to keep my focus on Him—the true source of all joy, hope and peace. Like a loving parent who insists a child wear seatbelts no matter the tantrum, He knows our journey is SO much more enjoyable and safe when we rest in His arms and are girded by His precepts. It’s not about the pretty sights we pass as we look out the window, it’s about the destination and the journey home … where hearth fires burn and His love warms our souls. Home to Him … the God who has a plan and a purpose for each of us if only we focus on Him instead of our circumstances, praising Him, thanking Him in the midst of good and bad, sweet or sour, laughter or tears. Because He is the God of all, the Light to our dark, the Hope to our despair, and the true Path for our souls.

DECEMBER CONTEST!!!! 

I have been blessed with the privilege of being on the cover of The Book Club Network’s Book Fun Magazine for December, so to say thank you to Nora St. Laurent and her husband Fred, I am holding a contest to drive subscriptions to this wonderful and TOTALLY FREE e-magazine. Inside you will not only find an extensive interview with me, but 88 pages of awesome articles including regular columns such as Passionate Spouse, Family Book Club, and articles by Kim Woodhouse, Jeff Petherick and Sandie D. Bricker, as well as two hilarious articles by Renae Brumbaugh.

SO, WHAT DO YOU WIN??? A $150 VALUE AS FOLLOWS:

— A KINDLE (or equivalent gift card for $69)

— COPY OF THE WELL BY MARK HALL (the fabulous book mentioned above)

— YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF MY BOOKS

— CHOICE OF FIVE OF THE FOLLOWING CBA BOOKS:

—Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury

—Redemption by Karen Kingsbury

—And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers

—The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers

—Faith by Lori Copeland

—Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergren

—Long Trail Home by Vickie McDonough

—Out of Control by Mary Connealy

—Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green

 

—House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson

—Breathe by Lisa Bergren

—Twice Promised by Maggie Brendan

—Snow Angel by Jamie Carie

—A Lady of Secret Devotion by Tracie Peterson

—The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian

SO, HOW DO YOU WIN? Simply get as many people as you can to sign up for a FREE subscription to Book Fun Magazine, 1 entry per subscription. If you personally subscribe or have already subscribed, that is an automatic entry. Please let me know the number of subscriptions you’ve gotten by contacting me through my website or Facebook. The winner from this random drawing will be announced in my December 28 Journal Jot.

IT’S EASY, IT’S FREE AND IT’S A GREAT MAGAZINE that will automatically come via e-mail each month, so here’s the link and GOOD LUCK IN THE CONTEST!!

CLICK HERE FOR FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO BOOK FUN MAGAZINE!!!

 

HEY … DID YOU LIKE STEVEN O’CONNOR IN A LOVE SURRENDERED? Here’s your chance to vote for him (or another favorite hero) in the following “Hero of the Year” contest. Vote and leave a comment and be entered to win the book of their choice (including A Love Surrendered!) from any of the heroes’ books featured this year. Here’s the link and GOOD LUCK!!

CLICK HERE FOR “HERO OF THE YEAR” CONTEST

 

BLOG INTERVIEW GIVEAWAYS:

SURPRISE LAST-MINUTE GIVEAWAY OF THREE COPIES OF A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW!!

Sweet Carrie Fancett Pagels is giving away THREE COPIES of A Light in the Window with her review of said book at the following link, so hop on over to:

http://cfpagels.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-of-light-in-window-by-julie.html

 

ENDS DECEMBER 7, 2012:

Win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story at a giveaway on LENA NELSON DOOLEY’S blog at:

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-love-surrendered-and-light-in-window.html

 

ENDS DECEMBER 10, 2012:

Win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story at a giveaway on THE SWORD AND THE SPIRIT blog at:

http://theswordandspirit.blogspot.com/

 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2012:

Win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story at a giveaway on my Seeker blog entitled, “A Christmas Story …” Here’s the link and hope to see you there!

http://seekerville.blogspot.com/

HUGS AND HAPPY WEEKEND!!

Julie

“My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

—Jeremiah 2:13

WHOO-HOO … HAPPY DECEMBER!! Time for Christmas egg nog, mulled cidar, and steaming hot cocoa — bottoms up!!

And speaking of beverages … have you ever been so thirsty that you glugged half of glass of something before you even tasted it? Well, I have, and it’s a memory that will stay with me forever.

It was a steamy St. Louis summer and I was hot and sweaty from playing outside with my friends, chest heaving with exertion and throat parched as I bolted into the kitchen where my mom was making dinner.

Talk about a mirage in the desert! There on the counter stood a tall, icy glass of Kool-aid, rivulets of water slithering down its frosty sides faster than sweat slithered my face. Without a second thought as to whose drink it might be, I promptly upended half the glass before I realized it was the bloody water from the roast my mom was cooking for dinner. Stomach roiling, I gagged and spewed into the sink, quite sure I would never drink anything that nasty again.

Boy, was I all wet! Throughout my life, I guzzled aplenty—drinking stagnant water from broken cisterns that could never quite quench my thirst. Instead of drawing “springs of water” from the true Well of life, I opted to draw from deep, dark holes filled with dirty water that left me parched and thirsty and sick to my stomach.

Holes of Approval.

Holes of Talent.

Holes of Success.

Talk about roast water!!

You know, I always assumed “my mama didn’t raise no stupid chillin’,” but at the ripe old age of sixty-two, I’m definitely rethinking that. You see, it’s taken me that long to understand something that could have saved me from years of sucking dirty pond water. Like the lone Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, I failed to fully grasp that Jesus is the only Well, the only true Source of “living water,” and the only replenishment that can quench and satisfy our souls.

Five years ago, my first book hit the bookstore shelves and from that point on, I’ve struggled with the age-old problem with which all authors grapple, and that’s the annoying focus on sales, contest wins, good reviews and contracts. You know what I mean—drawing satisfaction and confidence from the holes of success and approval rather than from God?

Oh, as Christians we all talk a good game and most of us even trust God and love Him with a passion most pure (sorry, couldn’t resist!), but when it comes to the source we tap for our hopes, dreams and happiness? I suspect most of us—or at least myself, for sure—dip into stagnant holes of our own choosing to make us feel better rather than drawing our sustenance from the Well of Living Water. These stagnant holes can be anything we run to instead of God—be it food, drink, money, approval, success—you name it—and we may not even be aware of just how much of an idol these things have become. I certainly wasn’t fully aware that I was trying to draw my happiness from success as an author, and yet the more I drank from this stagnant hole, the sicker and weaker I became. Sewer water that almost ruined the joy of the beautiful gift God has given me—the privilege of writing for Him!

Well, sweet rivers of grace—the good news is that after almost five years of being published, I have finally turned a corner on this nasty problem through a combination of prayer, fasting and a pretty amazing book entitled The Well by Mark Hall, pastor and lead singer for Casting Crowns. You see, my church has been urging each of its 6,000 members to read this book, and once you do, it’s pretty obvious why. Like Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, He is the only source of “living water,” and to try and draw our confidence, peace, hope and joy from stagnant holes of our own devise will never truly satisfy and only make us sick.

The pastor of our church did an incredible job speaking on this very subject not two weeks ago, and I have to say that it is easily one of the top two best sermons I have ever heard in my life. And to show you just much it impacted both me and my husband, Keith told me that this message is one of only two times he has ever teared up in a sermon, so I encourage you to check it out on the link below if you have a chance. You won’t be sorry.

“PLANS FOR GOOD” SERMON FROM THE CROSSING CHURCH

DECEMBER CONTEST!!!! 

I have been blessed with the privilege of being on the cover of The Book Club Network’s Book Fun Magazine for December, so to say thank you to Nora St. Laurent and her husband Fred, I am holding a contest to drive subscriptions to this wonderful and TOTALLY FREE e-magazine. Inside you will not only find an extensive interview with me, but 88 pages of awesome articles including regular columns such as Passionate Spouse, Family Book Club, and articles by Kim Woodhouse, Jeff Petherick and Sandie D. Bricker, as well as two hilarious articles by Renae Brumbaugh.

 

SO, WHAT DO YOU WIN??? A $150 VALUE AS FOLLOWS:

— A KINDLE (or equivalent gift card for $69)

— COPY OF THE WELL BY MARK HALL (the fabulous book mentioned above)

— YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF MY BOOKS

— CHOICE OF FIVE OF THE FOLLOWING CBA BOOKS:

—Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury

—Redemption by Karen Kingsbury

—And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers

—The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers

—Faith by Lori Copeland

—Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergren

—Long Trail Home by Vickie McDonough

—Out of Control by Mary Connealy

—A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

—House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson

—Breathe by Lisa Bergren

—Twice Promised by Maggie Brendan

—Faith by Lori Copeland

—Snow Angel by Jamie Carie

—The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers

—A Lady of Secret Devotion by Tracie Peterson

—The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian

 

SO, HOW DO YOU WIN? Simply get as many people as you can to sign up for a FREE subscription to Book Fun Magazine, 1 entry per subscription. If you personally subscribe or have already subscribed, that is an automatic entry. Please let me know the number of subscriptions you’ve gotten by contacting me through my website or Facebook. The winner from this random drawing will be announced in my December 28 Journal Jot.

IT’S EASY, IT’S FREE AND IT’S A GREAT MAGAZINE that will automatically come via e-mail each month, so here’s the link and GOOD LUCK IN THE CONTEST!!

CLICK HERE FOR FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO BOOK FUN MAGAZINE!!!

 

HEY … DID YOU LIKE STEVEN O’CONNOR IN A LOVE SURRENDERED? Here’s your chance to vote for him (or another favorite hero) in the following “Hero of the Year” contest. Vote and leave a comment and be entered to win the book of their choice (including A Love Surrendered!) from any of the heroes’ books featured this year. Here’s the link and GOOD LUCK!!

CLICK HERE FOR “HERO OF THE YEAR” CONTEST

 

BLOG INTERVIEW GIVEAWAYS:

NOVEMBER 27 – DECEMBER 7, 2012:

Win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story at a giveaway on LENA NELSON DOOLEY’S blog at:

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-love-surrendered-and-light-in-window.html

 

NOVEMBER 29, 2012:

Win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story at a giveaway on THE SWORD AND THE SPIRIT blog at:

http://theswordandspirit.blogspot.com/

HUGS AND HAPPY WEEKEND!!

Julie