God

Our Faithful Love

Today I’m posting an interview with Melanie Meadows, heroine in Our Faithful Love, the newest release in the Love in Pleasant Springs series. She just moved back to her hometown here in Tennessee after being gone for several years and agreed to chat with me at Mama Lou’s Café.

Thank you, Melanie, for agreeing to meet with me.

She smiled and nodded. “Please call me Mel.”

Mel? Didn’t the café owner call you Lanie a few minutes ago?

“Yes. But Mel suits me better.” She sipped her coffee. “I’m not the same person who grew up here in Pleasant Springs.”

How have you changed?

“I realized I couldn’t trust anyone, and I had to be strong all on my own. The name Mel conveys more strength than the name Lanie.”

Interesting. Tell me about yourself. What brings you joy?

Her eyes sparkled, and she grinned. “The kids I serve. I’m a caseworker. Doesn’t matter if I’m finding them a good foster home or reuniting them with their birth parents. I love working with the kids.”

That’s good to hear. As a Christian author, I’d like to know where God fits into your life.

“My parents and church taught me about God, but I’ve learned that He doesn’t care about me.” She fidgeted in her chair and stared at her coffee cup. “I haven’t gone to church in a while.”

Why? Do you no longer believe in Him?

She lifted her head and widened her eyes. “I think He exists. But He doesn’t care about what I do.”

Oh, but He—

“I’m sorry.” She leaned toward me and furrowed her brow. “Could we please change the subject?”

Okay. You moved back to your hometown after living in Chattanooga for the past eleven years. Are you excited to be home?

“If you include my time in college there, I’ve been gone for fifteen years.” She sighed and picked at a piece of fuzz on her shirt. “Coming home wasn’t my first choice.”

Why did you return?

“My sister Jill talked me into coming back. But it’s a temporary arrangement. The agency I worked with in Chattanooga had to downsize and let me go.” She took another sip of her coffee. “I’ve applied in Nashville at two private agencies and hope one of those will come through soon.”

What will you do in the meantime?

“Jill arranged an interview for me two weeks ago with Clancy County Children’s Services here in town. I’ll start on Monday.” She pinched her bottom lip. “I moved in with Jill and will try to make this work for now.”

You said, “try to make this work.” Do you and your sister not get along?

“Oh, no. I love my sister. We get along well.” She rested her elbow on the table, placed her hand on her forehead, and squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s just that I vowed to never return home. There’s a person here. Someone I don’t want to see. I must avoid him.”

Sounds like a story worth sharing. Care to elaborate?

“No.” She lifted her eyes to mine and placed her hand on her chest. “I haven’t shared what happened between us with anyone.”

 

I finally got the story from both her and the man she never wanted to see again, Luke Gibson. Learn why Melanie lost her trust in people and in God and the circumstances that led her to trust again. Join her, Luke, and a full cast of characters including Billy, an eight-year-old boy in need of a foster home, a dog named Grizzly, and a cat named Mims. To discover their story, check out Our Faithful Love, a tale of forgiveness and reconciliation available from Amazon! 

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven,
but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9, NLT 

And coming soon, for one day only, the Kindle edition for Book One of the Love in Pleasant Springs series will be available on Amazon for $0.99. Mark your calendars and grab your copy of An Odd Request on Friday, March 17!

Photo by Gemma Evans - Unsplash

He's Holding on To You

My husband and I like to hike. We spend time in God’s creation to appreciate His beauty, get needed exercise, and to be together as a couple. On an outing last week, we traveled over sixty miles to visit South Cumberland State Park here in Tennessee. We have hikes much closer to home, but we drove to a park near the setting of my fictional series, Love in Pleasant Springs. Though we didn’t see what we’d hoped to find.

We visited Foster Falls, where Luke, the hero in Book Two, plans to propose to Lanie, the heroine. But his plan falls through because of an interruption. Don’t worry! It’s a romance! He’ll get another chance.

Despite a glitch in his plans, they enjoy a lovely view of the waterfall, a picnic, and a kiss or two. They’re together and happy after several misunderstandings and disappointments in their stormy relationship.

Kenn and I endured a hiccup, too, on our hike. We made a steep, rocky climb down to the waterfall and crossed a suspension bridge near the base of the falls. But what we saw differed from my two characters. Only a trickle of water fell into the gorge below.

Were we disappointed after what some might consider a strenuous trail for two senior citizens? A little. But I got what I wanted—to see and sense the location for a scene in my story. What might the characters experience while there? Could they enjoy a picnic at the falls, or would they need to hike back to the trailhead to eat their dinner? Was the suspension bridge wobbly? How could that play into my story?

Kenn and I shared special moments that day. We were alone to appreciate God’s goodness and peace. After several minutes and many photos, we made the trek back to our car. The upward climb out of the gorge was steep, but worth it. We even found another trail to hike. We weren’t ready to quit.

Life is like that, isn’t it? Our plans don’t always turn out as we envisioned. Disappointments come, and we may want to give up. But God gives us strength to keep going.

I love the Bible’s stories of faith and trust. Stories of people with problems and triumphs we can learn from. God hasn’t changed. His Word applies to us today. We find hope and determination to persevere. God walks alongside us through our disappointments and struggles. Hang onto Him and don’t let go! He’s holding on to you!

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Isaiah 40:28-29, ESV

Seek the Third Solution

Please welcome guest author, Sherri Stewart, to my blog today as she shares about seeking the third solution and her new release, Deer Eyes!

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:5, NIV 

Being a believer of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean life will be smooth and easy. Sometimes we face huge dilemmas at work and at home where there doesn’t seem to be a good solution. As an immigration attorney, I dealt with cases like the one with the twenty-four-year-old widow who was being deported to the Philippines because her American husband had died in a car accident while her application for a green card was being processed. But God often gives His children a third option, as He gave me with regard to my widowed client. God brought a happy ending to this case that seemed unsolvable. Often the characters in my books face practical problems with no apparent solution, but they pray and usually find their third option in the Bible.

Ask high school principal, Judd Trudeau, who deals with people problems at work every single day. But what he also has learned is God often gives a third solution when there seems to be no answer. In Deer Eyes, Judd’s most immediate problem is more personal. Newcomer to Bar Harbor, Selah Brighton, is as skittish as a deer in the headlights when he encounters her in Acadia National Park. Once she learns to trust him, together they seek God’s third solution to thwart the plans of the enemy who’s followed her to town. https://amzn.to/3oGaI0s

Author Bio & Links

There’s a lot of me in the book, Deer Eyes. Authors are advised to write what they know, and that’s what I do in all my books. In Deer Eyes, Judd deals with the same conflicts at school as I did as a principal of a Christian school. Selah’s disclosure about her father came straight from my own life as a fourteen-year-old. I’ve written twenty historical fiction/romance and romantic suspense novels. My hobby is traveling to the settings of my books. Next month, I’ll visit Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you have any suggestions about what I should see, let me know.

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gZ-mv9

https://www.amazon.com/author/sherristewart/ 

https://twitter.com/machere

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/758893.Sherri_Stewart

www.stewartwriting.com

https://www.instagram.com/stewart_sherri/

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sherri-stewart

www.hhhistory.com

Title photo by Nathan and Kiran Edwards

Monuments to God

Have you ever thought of trees as monuments to God?

Six weeks ago, Candyce Carden asked the following question in her blog post. “What do you value about trees?” In the Company of Trees

I responded, “On Friday, I valued the trees that formed a canopy over our heads as my husband and I waited for a light rain to pass so we could continue our hike. I’ve always loved trees and find them beautiful even when they have no leaves. Their trunks and branches often form unique designs that cause me to pause and take notice.”

Have you noticed the designs and differences in the trees our Lord created? Trees are as unique as people. They come in different sizes and shapes. Some bear fruit, others show off their flowers, and many die before they fulfill their purpose.

We found the tree above on our recent trip to Kauai, Hawaii. I believe it’s a Moluccan Albizia. They are one of the fastest growing trees in the world, with a growth of 15 feet per year, reaching heights up to 150 feet. Amazing giants, but many people in Hawaii consider them an invasive species. Another interesting tree we found was the Cook Pine. I’m used to seeing the pine trees in North America with full branches. The pines in Hawaii looked bare to me, but lovely. The smaller tree in the picture below may be a monkeypod, also a part of the Albizia family.

I found the trees along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, fascinating as well—their winding branches and the way they blocked our path. We enjoyed our walks in the woods because there aren’t many trees in the desert.

When we moved back to Tennessee a year ago and searched for a home to buy, I told our agent I wanted trees. But the home we purchased had only one small tree, and we removed it due to decay. Last fall we added a redbud, red maple, dwarf Norway spruce, and a serviceberry to our yard. The spruce didn’t make it through the winter, but the others have done well.

Earlier this week I read Psalm 1, another reminder of trees.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company
of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not
wither—whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV)

The godly delight in God’s Word because of the nourishment He provides there. They bear good fruit and produce more to share again with others. I want to produce more fruit in honor of my Lord.

This is what Isaiah 55:12-13 says about trees in The Message.

So you’ll go out in joy, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade, bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession, exuberant with applause. No more thistles, but giant sequoias, no more thornbushes, but stately pines—Monuments to me, to God,
living and lasting evidence of God.

Why do the trees join the procession? They are monuments to God and evidence of Him. May we also be evidence of God, brimming with fruit, bursting with song, and boisterous with applause!

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