Guest Blog - When You Are Worried by Jeanette Levellie

Worry dogs us all. The famous and obscure; the wealthy and the indigent; youth and the elderly—few have mastered the secret of casting all their cares on the Lord and leaving them in his hands. Yet it can be done.

            With the Holy Spirit’s help and the prayers of a good friend, we can learn to rest in the Lord during fearful times. I hope you’ll consider me that friend today as you read the words of this prayer. I hope it will encourage you on your journey to touch God.

When You Are Worried

Lord, my friend is not only worried; she’s also mad at herself for worrying. She knows You’ve promised never to leave her or forsake her. Yet she frets and agonizes over everything, from what she imagines people think of her to the threat of cancer.

Her worries torment her, slithering at her feet and perching on her shoulders, hissing dark thoughts and cackling what-ifs. Very real what-ifs, Lord, or she would dismiss them as foolish.

Yet they are not more real than Your love for her, Your care for her. For You are her Good Shepherd.

Please reassure her that, should she entangle herself in the thorn bush of troubles or sickness, You will remove every thorn, pull her free, and carry her on Your shoulders to safety.

Convince her that if someone else should trick her into wandering from the path You’ve planned for her, if she should get lost and be unable to hear You call, You would search for her until You found her and brought her home.

Should a star fall from the sky and burn her, You would heal her. Should she jump to catch a star and fall down, You would bandage her bruises, pick her up, and help her stand.

Let her know that she is never far from Your help. Every beat of Your heart is for her; Your every breath is to see her prosper and be protected. You never abandon Your sheep. Never. Even when it seems You have walked away, You are still right there beside her, cherishing her, holding her close to Your heart.

Encourage my friend to doubt her worries and to believe Your love instead. Let her hear Your sweetest song that sings to her troubled soul, “I love you always, even to the end. I will never stop loving you. You are Mine, and I am yours. All will be well.”

In Jesus’ name, so be it.

References to Scripture: Hebrews 13:5; 1 Peter 5:7, John 10; Luke 15:3–7;

1 John 4:18

The above prayer is an excerpt from Jeanette Levellie’s newest book Touchable God: Finding the Lord’s Friendship Through Prayer.

“Every Christian longs for an intimate walk with the Lord, talking openly with their Heavenly Father and hearing from Him. Touchable God addresses this longing, helping you find a joy-filled relationship with the Lord instead of a joyless religion. In Section I Jeanette shares stories from her own journey in prayer. Written in her warm and casual style, these candid glimpses into Jeanette's tests and trials will help you believe the Lord's willingness to be involved in every area of your life. Section II consists of Jeanette's bold, often poetic prayers for friends in crisis. You need answers, and the Scripturally-based prayers will help you approach God's throne to find them. Touchable God gives caring friends, family members, and ministry leaders specific prayers for others' needs and guides you in praying for yourself during crises.”

  

A spunky pastor’s wife of forty plus years, Jeanette Levellie has published four books and hundreds of articles, greeting card verses, stories and calendar poems. She authors a weekly humor/inspirational column in her local newspaper, and enjoys speaking to church and civic groups, offering hope and humor in every message. She is the mother of two, grandmother of three, and waitress to several cats. Find her blog, Hope Splashes, at http://jeanettelevellie.blogspot.com

Disclaimer:  I endorsed this book but didn't receive any payment for the recommendation or this post. 

Writers and Readers: How do you deal with worry?

Guest Post & Giveaway - Author Kathi Macias

Kathi Macias and I met at a writers conference last year. She's become a good friend and mentor. When I asked her to guest post for my 4th Blogoversary, she not only agreed but offered to do a giveaway. The details are at the bottom of this post. Here's Kathi!

THE TRAIN-OF-THOUGHT WRITING METHOD:

Practical User-Friendly Help for Beginning Writers

By Kathi Macias

             It is said that writing is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. I absolutely agree, and I’m sure most successful writers would echo my sentiments. Inspiration is the easy part.

            Over the years I have spoken with and taught beginning writers from all around the world, in all sorts of settings. I have helped them review, edit, and rewrite their work, and I have found one common thread among those would-be writers who eventually become published authors: They are willing to devote themselves to the not-so-easy part of writing—the 90 percent perspiration.

            As I worked with these many writers I discovered what I consider to be the simplest and most practical writing method available: the train-of-thought method. This excellent, well known writing method did not originate with me (though I’ve tweaked it a bit), but it seems no one had ever taken the time to put the method into book form. I therefore decided to do so myself, personalizing each chapter with my own experience.

            This is not a book about proper grammar or punctuation, or how best to choose the voice or set the scene for your great American novel. There are already countless books covering those subjects, if that’s what you’re seeking. But if you want to know how best to take your thoughts and dreams and put them into a clear, compelling, readable manuscript, then this is the book for you. Having personally seen the train-of-thought writing method help so many new writers learn to organize, write, and polish their ideas into successful manuscripts, I offer this book to those who would do the same. May it direct and encourage you as you enter into the 90 percent perspiration phase of your writing career—the serious phase through which true writers are formed.

***Direct order link (available in soft cover and Kindle):

http://www.amazon.com/Train---Thought-Writing-Method-User-friendly/dp/142083259X/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336148432&sr=1-16

www.kathimacias.com

www.boldfiction.com

www.thetitus2women.com

http://kathieasywritermacias.blogspot.com

Giveaway Details:

1. The contest is open to Followers of Christian Writer/Reader Connection.

2. Only U.S. residents are eligible to enter the drawing.

3. One entry per person by commenting on this post.

4. Deadline: Saturday, May 12, 2012 at midnight. The winner will be announced on Sunday, May 13, 2012. If the winner doesn't contact me by Saturday, May 19, 2012, another person will be drawn from the entries. Instructions will be given on the blog on how to contact me.

5. Once I have the winner's name and snail mail address, I'll forward them to Kathi Macias, who will send out the book.

Question for writers: How do you organize your thoughts when writing a manuscript?

Question for readers: When you write something for school, a letter, or some other correspondence, do you put them in some kind of order prior to the actual writing? How?

Guest Post - Christy-Award Winning Author, Cathy Gohlke

Today, we're welcoming Cathy Gohlke, author of two Christy-award winning books. Her latest novel, "Promise Me This," involved extensive research on the Titanic, its passengers, and the time period. I asked her to share her adventures and the development of this story. Here's Cathy.

Thank you so much, Susan! It's been an exciting journey.

Research for this book was fascinating! It began at a discount table in a bookstore, the moment I happened across a copy of a portion of Titanic's manifest, and found the name of a third class passenger, Owen George Allum, a London gardener sailing from Southampton, England.

My great-grandfather emigrated from England a few short years before Titanic sailed. Unable to find work as the gold-leaf artist he was, he embraced a lifelong hobby and was employed as a gardener for a wealthy Buffalo family. A Master gardener, he created beautiful arbors and arches of roses and developed new strains of flowers. I thought, what an interesting character those two combined would make!

I read a great many books on Titanic, poured over public inquiry records from America and England, toured exhibits in museums in America and Southampton, England, then trekked back and forth through Southampton, recreating as best I could the life of the ship's crew and their families (before and after the tragedy). I spent days in London absorbing its history, life, and atmosphere, as well as the story of John Bunyan's, "The Pilgrim's Progress," interesting features of Bunhill Cemetery, and Britain's experience in WWI.

I haunted a half dozen used bookstores tucked into the most intriguing places from Lincoln to London to  Southampton, then headed across the English Channel, saying good-bye to Dover's white cliffs and hello to Calais, France.

The next year, my husband, son, and I toured numerous WWI sites in France (east to west). In Berlin, Germany, our son flew home, and our daughter joined us for treks through Germany and Poland. Museums, historic sites, and individuals helped me flesh out the stories of each of my characters in ways I could not from this side of the Atlantic.

I read all of Charles Haas' work on Titanic and Lyn MacDonald's books on WWI. Digging up details of the American Ambulance Field Service in France was more challenging, but it was all pure joy.

When I finally returned to the U.S., I spent a few weeks in Cape May County, NJ (where I set Allen's Run gardens, modeled after Leaming's Run Gardens in Swainton). The Cape May County Historical Society staff and the Cape May County public librarians were wonderful companion sleuths, as was an elderly local historian.

Susan here. :) This post was originally part of the upcoming interview, but I wanted to give it prime space. While not all of us can travel far and wide, Cathy's research highlights some tools we can apply to our own writing experience.

Question for writers: What part of Cathy's research stood out to you? Please share some of your own favorite research tips.

Question for readers: How important is setting and time period in the books you read? Please elaborate.

Guest Posting at Write Now

I'm guest posting at Karen Lange's blog, WRITE NOW, today. I hope you'll check out Time Management - Jesus Style.