Praising the Beauty Maker

Do you love noticing the beauty God has created?

In my fiction work-in-progress, much is made of Grandma Rose's rose garden. Conversations are held here as my characters either sit in the swing hanging from the big maple tree, or perhaps they sit on Rose's inviting bench found at a flea market and heaped with pillows in the shade of Bobby's beautiful blue eyes. There's always citronella candles glowing, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves, and glasses of sweet tea to sip as they share their day. 

Beauty is one way God speaks to us. If He cares so much to create a world of beauty for us to live in, to spark wonder in our lives, doesn't that tell you of His goodness? 

In fact, He made us with five senses in order to fully experience beauty. Sight to delight in all the color; touch to feel the texture of grasses and velvety flowers; taste to experience the tang of citrus, the juicyness of watermelons, the crunch of apples; ears to hear the rustle of leaves and the loving tones of loved ones; and noses to smell the delightful fragrances of roses or bread baking. Who but a good God could come up with such a rich way for us to live in the world?

What do you think is the most beautiful thing God made?

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This is Day 9 of taking my reader along a journey with me as I birth my book. I hope you consider checking in daily to see my progress.

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I write for believers, but if you are not a believer and would like to know more, visit A Ticket Home. to find the way Home.

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All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy

Sunset

 

When Morgan, one of the main characters in my novel, was 27 years old, her mother, Sharon, took her on a picnic to the lake for the very first time. 

They were having a wonderful time when suddenly Morgan  thought about her childhood and how sad it was her mother never took her anywhere. She questioned Sharon about her reasons for becoming a recluse.

Soon an argument happened, and both Sharon and Morgan took off in opposite directions to cool down.

After stomping off angrily into a little clearing containing a bench, she plopped down. The atmosphere was so calming with birds cheeping and a breeze rustling the leaves of the bushes and trees. She found herself listening to the Holy Spirit as He dropped thoughts into her brain for her to consider. By the time He was done speaking to her, she had been gone an hour in real-time, but she had also walked awhile in her mother's shoes.

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I based this scene on one of my favorite places to go when I want to hear God's voice, Arrowhead Lake. Being outdoors in the middle of God's creation seems to be conducive for hearing God and thinking thoughts that never occur to you at home!

The picture above was taken just as dusk was beginning to arrive. Because I live over an hour away, and my husband and I try to avoid driving in the dark, this is as close to sunset as I have ever seen it.

The next picture shows how sunset looks at home. Sometimes God shows out and swirls orange and purple up there, too!

The point is, God's creativity in nature helps convince you He has answers for all the areas of life. Anyone who can dream up all this beauty and the way the world works is way smarter than me. I want to listen to Him and see what He has to say.

Do you hear God better outdoors?

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This is Day 8 of taking my reader along a journey with me as I birth my book. I hope you consider checking in daily to see my progress.

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I write for believers, but if you are not a believer and would like to know more, visit A Ticket Home. to find the way Home.

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All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy

The Writing Room

When we became empty nesters, we turned one of the bedrooms into an office. This is where I stady and prepare my bible study lessons. I work from home at my part-time church job here. This is also the "birthing room," if you will, of my book.

Mondays are my writing days. I consider it a good day when I can spend all day at the keyboard actually writing.

Sometimes, life presses in and it doesn't happen. I'm always sad when other chores squeeze out the writing. But I walk away with a pledge to myself, "Next Monday, I'll try again."

Do you have a place where you create, read or study?

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This is Day 7 of taking my reader along a journey with me as I birth my book. I hope you consider checking in daily to see my progress.

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I write for believers, but if you are not a believer and would like to know more, visit A Ticket Home. to find the way Home.

Sharing at InstaEncouragements Link-Up

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

How I Shifted to Writing Fiction

Dear Readers, my blog recently celebrated its eighteenth blogiversary and my one millionth reader. (I know one million is not a lot for 18 years, but it's still exciting that a lot of people at least read some of my words over the years) 

I started blogging with the idea of relating family stories to preserve for my kids and grandkids.

As time went on, I really enjoyed blogging about insights I had received regarding the Word of God. I began to believe some day I would write either a devotional or perhaps a bible study.

One day, I saw on Facebook that a former creative writing teacher who had visited our church was offering a free Writer's Club online. She would give prompts, and then we would write a story on the prompt and turn it it. We would meet once a week to go over what we had written and she would teach us a nugget about the craft of writing.

I am always up for a challenge, so I dove in and became a member of the club. I absolutely loved it! I was such fun and quickly became the highlight of my week.

I learned there was a reason God had given me such an imagination.

In fact, one story I had written for one of her prompts would not leave my brain. I kept thinking of more to add to the story until I realized, "Hey, this character has a story that needs to be told."

And that is how I made the shift from blogger to fiction writer.

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This post was written in response to the prompt, "shift," provided by the Five Minute Friday writing community.

It was also written as Day 6 of taking my reader along a journey with me as I birth my book. I hope you consider checking in daily to see my progress.

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I write for believers, but if you are not a believer and would like to know more, visit A Ticket Home. to find the way Home.

Sharing at Five Minute Friday

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

What bible verse are you living this week?

 

One of my characters in my fiction work-in-progress is Sister Clara who felt led to take in some new believers under her wing and teach them more about the bible. She started with Psalm 23, particularly emphasizing verse 1.
 

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” Psalm 23:1 NLT

 
As she explained to the bible study ladies: “Everything we need to make it in this life will be given to us. We are to live our lives believin’ that and standin’ on it. When lack comes knockin’ at your door, slam the door in its face and say, ‘My God shall supply my need, Lack, you go away and don’t come back!’”
 

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In my own life, this week this verse is speaking to me:
 

“May integrity and honesty protect me,
    for I put my hope in you.” Psalm 25:21 NLT

Since I have a horror of confrontation, sometimes it is tempting to smooth things over. But some things cannot be smoothed – to do so would be a lie.
 
I’m trusting in God to work out things for He knows my heart is to always honor Him above all else.
 

“To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:23 ESV

Have you ever had to make an unpopular choice to stand up for integrity?

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

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This is Day 5 of taking my reader along a journey with me as I birth my book. I hope you consider checking in daily to see my progress.

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I write for believers, but if you are not a believer and would like to know more, visit A Ticket Home. to find the way Home.

Sharing at Sweet Tea & Friends

The Book that Changed My Life

There are books you read that make an impression. Some of their words stick in your brain forever.

 

The book that changed the life of my character, Morgan Ford, in my fiction work, “The Hesed Files: Morgan’s Redemption,” in surprising ways was Grandma Rose’s bible. It wasn’t just the penetrating words of scripture in the bible that first affected her so deeply. That would come later.

 

It was the recording of the births in the pages of the bible that first caught her attention. She learned the names of the father and the grandfather she had never met.

 

There was a card in its pages that surprised her: a card from her mother to her grandmother expressing gratitude for the Proverbs 31 woman she had modeled for her. Up to that point, Morgan had never heard her mother say a word of thanks to anyone.

 

But the shocker was the newspaper clipping, old, yellowed, and tucked in the back pages that revealed the family secret.

 

Her mother had thrown away the bible after Grandma Rose died. But Morgan had found it and hid it away from prying eyes. 

 

The day she found it changed everything. Morgan set in motion a plan to leave town and never come back.

 

 

I, Jerralea, also had a bible change my life. I’d had different copies of the bible all my life, but I well remember the first study bible I ever had. It was a Dake Study bible, by Finis Jennings Dake, King James Version. I got it when I was in my late twenties because I was hungry for more and Bro. Chamblee, my pastor, recommended a Dake. 

 

I had never had a bible with commentary before! I dove in and highlighted my favorite verses. I wore the gold leaf finish off the sides of those pages in no time.

 

Nowadays, I do most of my study online. There are a wealth of commentaries and versions to study and compare. I especially love finding out what the original Greek and Hebrew words mean. Sometimes, it changes everything.

 

I don’t use my Dake as much anymore because of the fine print. But it will always be special to me because it instilled in me the love of searching out the meanings of the scriptures.

 

Is there a book that made a difference in your life? Leave a comment and let us know!

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

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This is Day 4 of taking my reader along a journey with me as I birth my book. I hope you consider checking in daily to see my progress.

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I write for believers, but if you are not a believer and would like to know more, visit A Ticket Home. to find the way Home.

Sharing at Sweet Tea & Friends

Grateful for Salvation Stories

 

It's good every day to reflect on the good things in our lives. An attitude of gratitude is important.

My main protagonist in my book, accepts Christ as her Savior in her sixteenth year; but by the time she turns eighteen, she learns some hard truths and turns away from Christ. For nine long years she neglects God and barely speaks to Him.

But over time, she learns the lengths to which the Father will go to find that one lost sheep. Once she realized her value to the Father, she became bold to testify about her story.

 

My salvation story contains a near-death experience when I was fourteen. A Sister at church had witnessed to me just a week earlier. I told her I would give my life to Christ later. I had things I wanted to do first. She ended the conversation, “Don’t wait until it’s too late.”

Days later, my family and I were travelling in a car that had a carbon monoxide leak.  I was discovered when my parents stopped way earlier than they normally did for lunch and realized I was in trouble. Rushed to the emergency room, I was revived in time to hear the doctor tell my dad, “It’s good you stopped driving when you did. I don’t know how much longer she would have lasted breathing in that poison.”

I thank God for that story because it woke me up. No one is promised tomorrow – not even a 14 year old girl!

The day of salvation (accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior) is today!

Don’t wait!

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

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This is Day 3 of a taking my reader along a journey with me as I birth my book. I hope you consider checking in daily to see my progress.

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I write for believers, but if you are not a believer and would like to know more, visit A Ticket Home. to find the way Home.

Sharing at Sweet Tea & Friends