What do you hope for today?

No, seriously I want to know.


This week I listened to a small-group leader talk about what makes a difference in making our day feel successful, and one is achievement. Everyday, she said, we should have something we feel as if we've achieved-even if it's just cleaning out our sock drawer.

I suppose I never realized before how consistently I wake with a mental note of things I'd like to achieve at the beginning of each day. I wake with a "hope" that I can accomplish certain tasks in my day. They could be making a nice dinner, calling a friend I haven't heard from in a while, or taking my dogs for a walk.

Or they could be bigger things such as outlining a new novel idea, calling a cousin to inspire her spiritual walk, or planning a trip to visit a grandpa who I've recently found and never met before. (Which are all on my agenda for today!) Big or small I plan for them with hopes they will be achieved.

What do you hope for today? No, seriously I want to know.

Unlike the world's definition of hope, which is a "dreamy fantasy," my hopes (maybe yours too?) are based on the fact that Jesus is sitting on the right hand of the Father, He loves me completely, and He will provide whatever strength and wisdom I need to face the day He designed for me. (Boy, is that a mouthful! Or should I say, a heart-full!)

The more I think about it, the more I realize how important this hope is. It provides the inspiration behind our smile, or lack of one. It strengthens us because we know our efforts are not in vain. It also helps when the things we hope to achieve don't happen. After all, I trust God has a greater plan for that, too.

Acts 17:25-28 (NLT) says:"He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is. From one man he created all the nations through the whole earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose in all of this was that that nations should seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him-though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist."

So let me ask again: What do you hope for today? What things do you hope to achieve? Will these achievements help others to seek after God and/or find their way to Him? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

I love to hear the ways God works . . . in you, especially!


And...don't forget to check out today's stop on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour!

http://www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com/

Novel promoters...

Okay, so today I was reading through the Feb. 16th issue of Entertainment Weekly and there is a super cool column on the last page by Stephen King.

Here is the link: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20011653,00.html

Anyway, if you read it you'll discover that King is raving about a novelist Meg Gardiner. To quote him, "Meg Gardiner is as good as Michael Connelly and far better than Janet Evanovich. And she can be fall-on-your-fanny hilarious."Wow, wouldn't it be fun to receive that type of praise by someone so respected.

So ... then I got thinking, Who do I wish would promote my novels like that? (Oprah excluded, because that's too easy.)

Here are my top picks:1. Bodie Thoene, because Vienna Prelude was the first Christian novel I read after Jeanette Oke, and she is my writing-hero.

2. Stephen Spielberg, because he has done so much for Holocaust survivors and makes excellent WWII films. (Or Clint Eastwood because Flags of Our Fathers was soooo good.)

3. President George Bush Sr. because he was a WWII veteran himself, and I love sharing the stories of veterans.

Who else do you think would make great promoters for my novels???

And...today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour are:

http://lostgenre.blogspot.com/

http://didgodjustgoby.blogspot.com

And find out the Tricia Goyer love story here:
http://www.christianlovestories.blogspot.com

Reclaiming Nick by Susan May Warren...

is this week's Christian Fiction Blog Alliance blog tour!


About Susan:

Award winning author SUSAN MAY WARREN recently returned home to her native Minnesota after serving for eight years with her husband and four children as missionaries with SEND International in Far East Russia. She now writes full time from Minnesota's north woods. Visit her Web site at www.susanmaywarren.com.




About the book:

RECLAIMING NICK is the first of The Noble Legacy series. Book Two, Taming Rafe, will be available January 2008.

A Modern Day Prodigal Comes Home...

NICK NOBLE HADN'T PLANNED ON BEING THE PRODIGAL SON.

But when his father dies and leaves half of Silver Buckle--the Noble family ranch--to Nick’s former best friend, he must return home to face his mistakes, and guarantee that the Silver Buckle stays in the Noble family.

Award-winning journalist Piper Sullivan believes Nick framed her brother for murder, and she’s determined to find justice. But following Nick to the Silver Buckle and posing as a ranch cook proves more challenging than she thinks. So does resisting his charming smile.

As Nick seeks to overturn his father’s will--and Piper digs for answers--family secrets surface that send Nick’s life into a tailspin. But there’s someone who’s out to take the Silver Buckle from the Noble family, and he’ll stop at nothing--even murder--to make it happen.

Endorsement:
“Susan May Warren once again delivers that perfect combination of heart-pumping suspense and heart-warming romance.”--Tracey Bateman, author of the Claire Everett series


If you would like to hear more about Nick, he has his own blog. Also, the first chapter is there...


And...don't forget to stop today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour...

http://www.carolyneaarsen.blogspot.com/

http://stacistallings.blogspot.com/

Stories for buttons travel contest...

Here is our third entry in the story contest!

This is from Melanie Dickerson

My husband and I got married while we were living in Ukraine as missionaries. We decided to save money on our honeymoon trip by traveling within Ukraine.

After finding out that foreigners were not allowed in the Crimea, and there was no hot water in Odessa that month, we decided to go to the Carpathian mountains. One of our friends, looking worried, asked us if we would like him to come with us, since we didn't speak much Russian.

Uh, no, thank you. It was our honeymoon, after all.

Our travel agent announced that she had gotten us tickets, which were very hard to get on such short notice during vacation season. We would be sharing our overnight train car with two other people.

Uh, no, thank you.

She couldn't understand how we could refuse. But lo and behold, she then found us a private compartment.

We boarded the train in Kiev to find that we would be spending the night on bunk beds. Bunk beds on our honeymoon. Wouldn't this make a funny story when we were back in America?

When we arrived in western Ukraine the next day, we had already been traveling for about 16 hours. We boarded another train, packed with mostly women in the common attire of rural Ukrainians-headscarves and long skirts, and one man who had a pig in a burlap sack wedged between his feet.

That struck us as pretty funny.

What was not as funny was the fact that our room at the hotel, where we would spend the next five days, had two single beds, bolted to the floor at right angles to each other.

Uh, no, thank you? Too late.

We found out later that if we had hired someone to drive us, the over twenty-hour trip would have only taken about five hours.



And...today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour are...

http://freshbrewedwriter.blogspot.com

http://shadowbearcat.bravejournal.com/

Weed...

I grew up in Weed.

No, not on weed, but in it-Weed, California to be exact.

I graduated from Weed High. And I was a cheerleader for three years. Can you imagine chanting, "Weed High is the best high, is the best high you can get!"?

When I speak to groups, sometimes I tell people that growing up chanting about "Weed High" is the reason for my wayward teen years. It gets a good laugh, but that's not the truth. It was my own sinful heart. Weed wasn't the problem-neither the city nor the drug. Actually, I was looking for love in all the wrong places. I was looking for boys to fill the God-shaped hole in my heart. As if a fifteen-year-old football jock could ever do that!

My heart was broken more than once during those years, and I remember times when I questioned if life was even worth living at all. Wasn't there someone, somewhere, who would love me completely?

Then, I found him . . . when I wasn't even looking. In fact, I had given up on true love completely. I was 17 and pregnant, and I was sure I'd never find Prince Charming. Who would be interested in a chick with a baby?

The God showed up on the picture. I don't know when He started pestering me. Looking back, I guess He'd always been there, loving me all the same. Yet as I considered my future, my baby's future, I realized He was what I'd been missing all these years.

So I opened my heart to God. I had no choice, because it was during those depressing days that I realized His love was the only thing that could satisfy. And you know what? It's been an ongoing romance ever since. God has shown me His love in numerous ways, and I grow crazier in love with Him day-by-day. In fact, my heart warms just thinking about Him.

And you know what? God is hopelessly in love with you too. Wait, that's not right. God is hopefully in love with you. Hopeful that you too can have an on-going romance. And do you know how I know that? Because it says so in my favorite Scripture verse:
Zeph. 3:17: "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (NIV).

Can you imagine that, God singing over YOU?

That's right. No matter who you are, how you've screwed up, or where you're from, God is mighty to save you. Even if you're from someplace called Weed.

Okay, especially if you're from someplace called Weed.


And...today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour:

http://southernbellewriter.blogspot.com

http://jlcary.blogspot.com/

Oh no!

There is a hit out on me ... someone wants to knock me off! I mean, really. I thought she was my friend.

Read all the details here.

Colleen Coble and Kristin Billerbeck, you better watch out, too!

And Cara just looks sweet on the outside ...

MOPS for Teen Moms!

My girl is on K-Love!

I first met Kayleigh at one of the Teen MOPS meeting. She was 15 when she had her first daughter MaCayla. At 18, she had Audrie-Onna. At 19 our Teen MOPS group, with the help of Hope Pregnancy Center, gave Kayleigh at wedding. That same year both her and Nathan gave their hearts to the Lord!

Now at 21, Kayleigh is a stay-at-home mom of three kids (Donovan joined the family in November), and Nathan has a good job. Most importantly they are raising their kids to love God. They attend church every week, and then the family comes to "Nana's house." Yes, I'm a 35-year-old Nana!

You can hear Kayleigh by going to the K-Love News Page. The title is: MOPS for Teen Moms. You can listen to the podcast there. And ... if you're interested in starting a Teen MOPS group in your area, go to: www.mops.org/teen

Here are some photos of their journey. The photo at the top is me with the girls at Christmas!





















And...this weekends stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour are:

3/23
http://jamessomers.blogspot.com
http://christianbookscout.blogspot.com

3/24
http://jennifersnapshot.blogspot.com
http://virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com

3/25
www.lindamaebaldwin.com
http://www.unseenworlds.blogspot.com/

It Happens Every Spring...

On tour this week with Christian Fiction Blog Alliance (CFBA) is It Happens Every Spring by Dr. Gary Chapman & Catherine Palmer


GARY CHAPMAN is the author of the New York Times best seller The Five Love Languages and numerous other books. He's the director of Marriage & Family Life Consultants, Inc., and host of A Growing Marriage, a syndicated radio program heard on over 100 stations across North America. He and his wife, Karolyn, live in North Carolina.

CATHERINE PALMER is the Christy Award-winning, CBA best-selling author of more than forty novels--including The Bachelor's Bargain--which have more than 2 million copies in print. She lives in Missouri with her husband, Tim, and two sons.


IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING is the first of The Four Seasons fiction series, based on the ever-changing cycles of relationships detailed in Gary Chapman's nonfiction book The Four Seasons of Marriage. The novels will focus on four couples, each moving in and out of a different season.

About the book:
Word travels fast at the Just As I Am beauty shop.

So when a simple homeless man appears on Steve and Brenda Hansen's doorstep, the entire shop is set abuzz, especially when Brenda lets him sleep on their porch.

That's not all the neighbors are talking about. Spring may be blooming outdoors, but an icy chill has settled over the Hansens' marriage. Steve is keeping late hours with clients, and the usually upbeat Brenda is feeling the absence of her husband and her college-age kids.

Add to that the unsavory business moving in next to the beauty shop and the entire community gets turned upside down. Now Brenda's friends must unite to pull her out of her rut and keep the unwanted sotre out of town. But can Steve and Brenda learn to thaw their chilly marriage and enjoy the hope spring offers?

Buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414311656



And...don't forget to stop by today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour!

http://portraitofawriter.ginaconroy.com/

http://Lafuze.blogspot.com

Mama Ruth, part DUEX

The story continues...

(if she's not just the cutest thing...)

We left off yesterday being followed by two motorcycles in hot pursuit...

... Two policemen wearing full dress uniforms roared up, one on either side of me. They motioned and piloted me off to the side of the road. My foot was shaking so much on the pedal that the jeep was jumping like a green rabbit in tall grass. What in the world had I done wrong?

Turning off the engine, I leaned my quivering head out of the homemade window. The tallest officer stood by my jeep and asked, "How did you get onto this road, Madam?" His voice was stern and brisk.

"W—why, I just turned onto it way back there."

"Who are you?"

"I’m Ruth Seamands, an American living in Belgaum in Mysore State."

"Please show us your passport."

"I always carry my passport." I dug it out of my purse.

They both looked at it, compared the uncomplimentary picture of me with the real me.

The officer’s eyes narrowed. "What is your business here in Bombay?"

"I’m doing some Christmas shopping."

"Christmas shopping? Isn’t Belgaum nearly 600 kilometers away?"

"Yes, but I always come to Bombay to shop for Christmas presents. I am also visiting some friends who live on this road."

"What friends? Who are they?"I told them.

In great surprise, each drew in a deep breath. Face softening somewhat, the examiner asked, "Weren’t you informed you should not be on this road today?"

"No, I was not. What’s the matter, officers? Why am I being stopped?"

"You are being stopped because no one should be on this road. Our police force has sealed off every lane and alley leading to Marine Drive."

"I guess they missed the alley I was in. Why is the road shut down?"

"We are having a parade of honor today, and this road was sealed off for protection."

"For whose protection? Who are you honoring?"

He drew himself up as tall as his five-feet-four would allow. "King Saud of Saudi Arabia." His voice was as chilling as my goose bumps.

I gasped and felt my eyes rolling back in my head. "K—King Sa—?"

"Yes, Madam. And you are holding up his entire parade."

"Me? Imposib—, I—I’m very sorry—I d-didn’t know—" I shook my head. "

He—the King—he didn’t tell me he was coming—"

"I will stand guard with you, and my companion will go back to escort the King’s parade. We cannot hold off any longer." He motioned to his buddy, who screeched his motorcycle around, and with siren wailing, zoomed back to his convoy.

I gulped air and my stomach bobbled silently while I tried to keep from giggling. My mind flashed a mental picture of the King of Saudi Arabia drumming his ringed fingers on his limousine’s arm rest, and cracking his knuckles in impatience. Some stupid idiot was holding up his parade.

Of course the forlorn truth about that mental picture was, the king’s royal knuckles were cracking because of me. I was the stupid idiot delaying the honors due him. I glanced across the road and saw many people now strung out in front of their apartments, and lining doorways, waiting to see the King.

My face had a hard time keeping itself straight.

As thundering drums approached, I stood respectfully beside the officer and my dusty jeep, watching the long procession of flags, drums, horns, motorcycles, black cars, the King and his kin, army officers and police.

I waved merrily to King Saud as he passed by. I was closer to him than anyone else, but he didn’t wave back.

His knuckles probably hurt.

After the great retinue disappeared down the road, I climbed back into my jeep. "May I go now?"

The police officer guarding me moved his head from side to side which means "Yes" in India.

"I will have to report the reason for the delay to my superior officer, Madam. You may be questioned."

"Please report it to the TOP superior officer," I suggested.

My motorcycle friend managed a stiff smile.

The top superior officer and his wife were the friends I was staying with. He was the supreme captain of the whole Bombay police force, numbering 85,000 men at that time. With so much responsibility, no wonder he forgot to warn me at breakfast that morning. He had been riding in one of the lead cars in the parade—sitting ramrod stiff, looking straight ahead. I could imagine his shock seeing me with peripheral vision, in custody of one of his officers. The crazy person holding up the entire king’s parade—was his own houseguest?

Maybe that would help him remember he hadn’t warned me about the parade.

I bet his knuckles hurt.



And...don't forget to stop by today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour!

http://reviewsbydonnashepherd.blogspot.com/

Kayleigh to be interviewed for K-Love!

As many of you know, I mentor teen moms. One of them who has become like a daughter to me is Kayleigh. She first came to Teen MOPS when she was 15 and pregnant with her first child.

Later, she had a second baby. It was the Teen MOPS group that introduced her to Jesus. It was the Teen MOPS group that gave her a wedding, too. Nathan and Kayleigh are now both believers and parents of three kids!

I just found out that Kayleigh will be interviewed on K-Love tomorrow talking about Teen MOPS. Her interview will be on Friday on Jon and Sheri's morning show.

I'm so excited! I love Kayleigh. I love Teen MOPS. I love K-Love. Yahoo!

Stories for buttons travel contest...

Here is entry # duex in the travel story contest!

This one is from Mama Ruth...

...a total kick in the pants: I had my ears pierced at 65, went parasailing at 84, finally got braces to straighten my teeth at 85. I can still do a mean Charleston. I love God; I love life; I love to laugh; I love to get together with my four wonderful daughters.
(Click on her name to find out more...)



Part 1
(part 2 will follow tomorrow!)

Bombay is like an enormous dragon; its legs spread out in all directions except to the west.
The sea rules on that side.

Monsoon rains were over on this day in the early 1950s, and the dragon’s face had been washed but possibly not the underbelly. I had been shopping early, before the straight-up sun made my bone marrow melt like butter on a hot ear of corn.

Now I was on the way back to our friends’ home where J.T. and I had occupied the guest room for a few days. I wasn’t too well acquainted with Bombay traffic and kept looking out for a street which would open onto Marine Drive. A frustrating search.

My jeep had threaded its way through many needle-eye-sized lanes, and I breathed deeply of pungent aromas rising from tea and coffee stalls. Traffic through this lane was one way but barely moving at all. It was much more stop than go. Carts piled with crates of live chickens, motor scooters with whole families clinging on, children, dogs, and stray cows clogged the lane and created the same atmosphere found in any Indian bazaar.

Ah! At last. An opening at the end of this lane. After another fifteen minutes of almost impossible congestion, I reached the corner and turned onto Marine Drive. This was the most beautiful road in Bombay. It curved for miles along the west rim of the city, skirting the sea. I was headed for one of the tall apartment houses that overlooked the ocean several miles further on.

Breathing a great sigh of relief, I began to enjoy my ride. Controlling a left-handed-drive car in a left-lane-drive country has its problems. Usually Marine Drive was full of several lanes of fast moving traffic, but not that day. I was thankful to enjoy the view on both sides without any other vehicles in the way. I did enjoy the smooth pavement, sun on the sea alongside the road, and all the fancy apartment buildings on the opposite side.

Suddenly, I woke up. Not only could I see very little traffic on that road, I saw NO traffic. Absolutely none. Not another car, jeep, or truck had passed me on either side for at least two miles. And none in sight as far as I could see. Surprising! Since it was not after lunch—not nap time—how did it happen that not one single soul was driving on Marine Drive except me? My skin popped up goose bumps in spite of the Bombay heat. Suddenly, TERROR...Had the Trump sounded and I didn’t hear it because of my noisy ex-World War II jeep? Now that wouldn’t be the reason I didn’t hear it!

Had the Rapture taken place in the blink of an eye after I turned the corner? Had everyone gone to Heaven except me?

Would anybody be home at my friends’ house? I felt fearfully lonesome.

After some hyperventilating, I peered again into the rear-view mirror. Did my scared eyes imagine some slight movement far behind me? Did angels chase people? I kept checking...Ahhhh! Two motorcycles. Good—I wasn’t alone. But in double-quick time, I realized something.

Those two motorcycles were chasing me.

And they were gaining--fast...


And...don't forget to stop by today's blog tour stops for A Valley of Betrayal...

http://nottinbutknittin.blogspot.com/

http://beneaththeivywreath.blogspot.com/

His Story...

I just finished a non-fiction teen book on March 2, and this week I'm researching for my next novel.

The odd thing about writing fiction (which I'm sure the other writers will agree) is the challenge of living in two worlds at once.

Part of the day I'm here, in Montana. I homeschool and attend church. I cook dinner, take my dog on walks, cuddle with my husband on the sofa, and chat with friends on the phone while drinking my favorite double-shot, sugar-free mocha.

My other world is one I created in my mind. In that world, I'll be traveling back to Spain. A harsh, cruel world very similar to the one in Pan's Labyrinth. (Except for the mystical creatures, of course.)

Two worlds ... and only one me. I'm sure you can imagine what a challenge it is. "Yes, Nathan, I'll make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but can you wait until my bomber safely lands on friendly soil?" Then again, there is also a place where both of these worlds meet . . . and that is in my heart.

When one of my good friends, Kathy, read my first novel From Dust and Ashes, she wrote me and said, "That book was so much of your story. I felt it was you within those pages."

Huh? In that book, I was writing about a pregnant Nazi wife, abandoned by her husband, and feeling guilty for what she'd witnessed inside the concentration camps. Yet her life is transformed by an American solider who liberates the prisoners and gives her love and hope.

Pregnant.

Abandoned.

Feeling guilty.

Rescued by a liberator.

Yeah, I guess it was my story after all!

You see, I can write about concentration camps and about those chained in darkness, because I've been rescued in the same way. Not physically, but spiritually. Psalms 102:19-20 says, "Tell them the Lord looked down from his heavenly sanctuary. He looked to the earth from heaven to hear the groans of the prisoners, to release those condemned to die."

When I was pregnant, abandoned, guilty (you get the picture) . . . well, those were the darkest days of my life. Yet, I praise Jesus my liberator. Like the American soldiers who opened the gates to the concentration camps-Jesus heard my groans and saw that I was condemned to die. Jesus rescued me from the darkness, swinging wide the gates, and releasing me from my death sentence.

So, I guess for me writing is not just escaping into a world that happened 60 years ago-one that I recreate in my mind. It's creating a story where I can share His story. Not with preaching or a three-point sermon, but by showing how lives are changed by liberation and love.

So today, try to consider how His story has affected the story of YOUR life.

And I'll think of you as my characters overcome obstacles and save the day, because even if I don't know you . . . I know your heart.

And...today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour:

http://sj-lookingforward.blogspot.com

http://www.teresaslack.blogspot.com/

How Will My Service in Life Be Remembered?

Ever since I heard the news, I can't stop thinking about Jane's death. I've only met her once in person, and that was last year at a retreat I attended for profession writers. Jane and another wonderful lady (and Jane's dear friend) Sandra had organized our opening event--the food, gifts, the games . . . Jane shined in the midst of it all.

It was evident to see that her service to us was from her heart, and I was given a glimpse of the type of person she was--someone who not only shared God with her words, but with her heart and service, too.

I think that's so important for writers and/or other Christian artists. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in our "work" for God that we forget there is a needy world all around us.

At least 2-3 times a week I serve outside my home. I serve weekly in children's church and I teach a Wednesday night parenting class. (It's a great book called Generation NeXt Parenting, you should check it out! :-) And I meet and mentor other women, including teen moms.

I volunteer by mentoring teen moms, because I know what it was like to feel so scared, alone, and shamed. I found Christ when I was 17 and pregnant with my first child. (He's 17 now!) I want to share the same hope I had with others.

I also volunteer because I feel Christ's pleasure. I can be tired, and I can just want to stay home and veg out, but when I give and serve my whole outlook changes. I'm more thankful for what God has done in my life, when I walk alongside needy people. Soon God pours through me, and fills me in the process, and I have the joy of the Lord!

So what about you. How do you like to give and serve? How does it change YOUR world? How does it change YOUR outlook on life?Mostly, as I think about Jane today, I have to ask myself ... In what ways will my joyful service be remembered?

A Sad Day

I just found out that a friend and fellow Christian Novelist Jane Orcutt passed away today from cancer. Jane wrote beautiful stories and was an amazing Christian woman.

You can read a recent interview with Jane here.

Please keep Jane's husband and two sons in your prayers. My heart aches for her family, but my soul rejoices when I imagine what Jane is experiencing this moment at the feet of Jesus.

BELIEVE IN MIRACLES . . . THEY HAPPEN

Last night I attended a fundraising banquet for Hope Pregnancy Center.

Hundreds of people were in attendance, which awed me. Especially, because the vision started less than ten years ago in the heart of three women--one of them mine.When we started Hope Pregnancy Center, we had nothing.

No, I take that back. We had one thing. We had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what he could accomplish through a few people who had no idea what in the world we were doing.

Because we had nothing, and knew nothing, we prayed about everything. Every young woman who walked through the door was a miracle. Every small donation. Every new volunteer. And our hearts will full of joy. We were in awe of our amazing God.

I remember moments when a dozen, broken women circled around to pray and more tears flowed than words. We could accomplish nothing in our own strength,and we depended on Jesus for everything. Our hearts were full with joy because we saw Him in everything. He was there in every small request answered. We prayed about new carpet and a check arrived in the mail THAT DAY. We prayed about reaching the teens in our valley, and there was a knock at the door telling us about a grant for abstinence education (which we received!). We saw young girls choose life for their children. We saw the abortion rate drop by 100! in the first year, and we were overjoyed.

My heart is filled with memories of what God has done through Hope Pregnancy Center, and I will forever be grateful for those days when the center first started. Philippians 3:3 says, "We put no confidence in human effort. Instead, we boast about what Christ Jesus has done for us."My faith grew because I saw a miracle-working God moving daily in all we did. That will forever be a transforming moment in my own personal walk with Jesus Christ. My life will never be the same again.

On a personal level, I'm walking in the same faith I once learned. I know miracles intimately, and I don't ever want to go back. I want my faith and trust in God to grow and grow, and it has. In the last four months, I have written three books for three different publishing houses. They were books that, in the end, have needed nearly no editorial input. Some people say that's not possible. By human standards they are absolutely right--it's especially impossible as I still love and take care of a husband, three children, and a grandmother in my home, and as I still volunteer at church twice a week and reach out to others God brings in my life, too.

But what I learned through the early days of Hope Pregnancy Center I'm applying to my every day life--especially these writing projects. I serve a miracle-working God who goes before me! Praise Him! I can do exceedingly more than I ask for or imagine, because of Christ Jesus who is at work in me. If God calls me to do something, I step out in faith knowing that His wisdom and power will be provided. It doesn't matter what human effort can accomplish, because human effort leaves out my amazing God. Miracles happen everyday when I sit down at this keyboard because I sit down with eager anticipation of what God can do. And I learned these truths in what God did through those early days at the center.

My humble prayer is that none of us forget what God has done for us in the past. That none of us forget to proclaim the miracles of our Lord. My prayer is that we not spend more time planning than praying, and that we continue to see every single person who walks into our lives as a miracle. My prayer is that we realize the amazing God who goes before us.

Mostly let us NEVER forget what God can do through a few people who choose to BELIEVE.

Love in Christ,
Tricia Goyer


The blog tour continues this weekend...stop by these great blogs and check out what they'v got to say...
3/16http://justtellthestory.blogspot.com
http://www.lindaford.org/wordpress/

3/17http://cjdarlington.blogspot.com/
http://Proverbs2525.blogspot.com

3/18http://juliecarobini.blogspot.com/
http://www.gailmartin.blogspot.com/

The Reliance by Mary Lu Tyndall

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing THE RELIANCE
( Barbour, January 1, 2007) by Mary Lu Tyndall!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
M. L. (MARYLU) TYNDALL grew up on the beaches of South Florida loving the sea and the warm tropics. But despite the beauty around her, she always felt an ache in her soul--a longing for something more.

After college, she married and moved to California where she had two children and settled into a job at a local computer company. Although she had done everything the world expected, she was still miserable. She hated her job and her marriage was falling apart.

Still searching for purpose, adventure and true love, she spent her late twenties and early thirties doing all the things the world told her would make her happy, and after years, her children suffered, her second marriage suffered, and she was still miserable.

One day, she picked up her old Bible, dusted it off, and began to read. Somewhere in the middle, God opened her hardened heart to see that He was real, that He still loved her, and that He had a purpose for her life, if she's only give her heart to Him completely.





ABOUT THE BOOK:
A YOUNG BRIDE separated from her husband just as a child has been conceived...

A GRIEVING HUSBAND tempted to take his anger out through the vices of his past...

A MARRIAGE AND A SHIP threatenend to be split apart by villainous Caribbean pirates...

In THE RELIANCE, Edmund Merrick tormented by the apparent demise of his pregnant wife Charlisse, sails away to drown his sorrows. He turns his back on God and reverts to a life of villainy, joining forces with the demented French pirate Collier. When his mind clears from its rum-induced haze, will Edmund find the will to escape?

Seemingly abandoned by her new husband, Charlisse battles her own insecurities as she is thrown into the clutches of the vengeful pirate Kent, who holds her and Lady Isabel captive.

Will she be swept away by the undertow of treachery and despair? Can Edmund and Charlisse battle the tempests that threaten to tear them apart and steer their way to the faith-filled haven they so desperately seek? Or will they ultimately lose their love and lives to the whirlpool of treachery and deceit?


And...don't forget to check out today's stops on the blog tour for A Valley of Betrayal!
http://deborahraney.blogspot.com/
http://blog.alisonstrobel.com/

Opening lines...

I've discovered you can tell a lot from the opening lines of a book.

The opening is a promise of what's to come. A promise of mystery, or romance, or intrigue.

Here are some first lines you might be familiar with. See if you can guess what they are. (Answers are at the bottom of the blog.)

1. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

2. "All children, except one, grow up."

3. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug."

4. "Pet and Patty began to trot briskly, as if they were glad, too. Laura held tight to the wagon bow and stood up in the jolting wagon. Beyond Pa's shoulder and far across the waves of green grass she could see the trees, and they were not like any trees she had seen before. They were no taller than bushes."

The reason that first lines are so important is because a writer is a creator. Books are designed. They don't simply appear by chance. They have a purpose, whether it is simply to relay information, give instructions, or to take you on a journey of discovery.

Writers are creators. And our Creator was a writer. He used the pens of many men, to achieve His desired communication with us.

God wanted to relay information. He also God wanted to give instructions. But more than that, God wanted to tell us a love story, which can also be considered a journey of discovery-a journey to Him.

You can call it a Divine Design, and hints of it can be seen in the opening line of God's Good Book.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

That tells us many things about God all at once:

His power.

His greatness.

It tells us He had a plan.

He had a purpose.

He had good things in mind for us.

But that's not all. God not only gave us a great opening line in His word. He gave us the Word, Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-5 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

"The story of Jesus being life for us, and the light of men, is the greatest of them all. And because of Jesus, God can create a beautiful story with each of our lives. Decided to make Jesus the Lord of your life can be the plot twist to turn your story from tragedy to victory!

Today, can be the opening line to your beautiful romance and the start of a grand new adventure with God. All you have to do is have a heart eager to seek God and love Him. Then, as you prayerfully open your life up to His pen, God will writes His Story through the moments of Your day-one pen stroke at a time as your romance flourishes and the adventure of a lifetime takes you closer to Him.


Answers:
#1 Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
#2 Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie
#3 Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
#4 Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder

And...don't forget to stop by the these locales on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour!

http://splashinginthedeepend.blogspot.com/
http://supernaturalcraving.blogspot.com

Stories for buttons travel contest...

Here is the first travel story contest entry, it's from Martha Rodgers.

Enjoy!

And, don't forget to leave your comments...the prizes will be awarded according to the amount of gab generated by each story!

Oh, Tricia, I have a funny story that happened at the San Jose, CA airport on our way home from Mount Hermon (a writer's conference). I was traveling with DiAnn Mills and Kathleen Y'Barbo.

When we checked our bags, the ticket man said my bag was only a 1 lb below the limit, and he had a difficult time getting it checked. We laughed about it and I went on to security. Well, I got flagged and the handlers started pulling everything out of my carry on satchel. Way down in the bottom of an inside pocket they found a small Swiss knife.

I had completely forgotten about and had left it there instead of the big suitcase. The guard saw my initials on it and knew it was special. He called over the manager and the security manager walked me back to check in. The clerk recognized me and when the manager asked if he could put my knife in my checked bag, he just grinned and said "Sure, I know right where it is."

I headed back through security and joined DiAnn and Kathleen to wait for our flight. About 10 minutes before the flight we decided to move closer to the gate. Clumsy me tripped on the edge of a mat and went down on all fours. I hurt my hand, but brushed it off and got up to follow my friends.

Well, before we boarded the plane, my fingers really swelled and hurt. I asked the flight attendant for some ice to put on them. She asked me how it happened and when I told her, she quickly showed me to my seat and then hurried away. Another attendant gave me the ice pack. A few minutes later, an airlines employee showed up with a clipboard. Yes, the same baggage clerk. He saw me and shook his head. Anyway, he had a bunch of questions for me about the fall. He had to fill out an accident report. He was very kind and very concerned about my fingers which were now quite swollen. He told me to be sure to check in with the Continental desk if there was any more pain or other injuries to my knees.

I was fine when we got back to Houston and went on home. Later I sent an email to Continental telling them how wonderful the young man had been. Later I wondered if they were worried that a 67 year old woman was going to sue them. :) Needless to say, Kathleen and DiAnn had a good laugh and Kathleen threatened to put it in one of her books.

Thanks Martha!

And...Don't forget to check out today's stops on the A Valley of Betrayal Blog Tour!

http://michelleswritingspace.blogspot.com
http://mountainbreezewriter.blogspot.com

Guest Blogger Stacy L. Harp

This is a great article from Stacy's recent newsletter. She was kind enough to let me share it with you...

Becoming Sold Out

This week I wanted to talk to you about being sold out because I often am asked by authors how they can sell all of their books. In fact, many when they fill out my inital inquiry form tell me that their goal is to sell 5000 books or sometimes even more.

However, what I've observed is that rarely are these authors willing to pay the cost. If they are self published they usually had enough money to publish their book, but didn't budget for marketing. In other words, they want me to do the work for them without them paying the cost.

Which got me thinking about the whole idea of being sold out and what we are truly willing to do to be sold out. My hope and prayer is that all Christians would be sold out for the gospel. Sold out to Jesus and sold out to living for Him in the best way we can.

However, many Christians do not want to pay the cost so that they can be sold out.
They don't budget time for the study of the Word of God and instead expect to have all the blessings from God without the effort.

So how do we become sold out? Easy, do the work. If you're an author who wants your books to sell, do the work it takes to get them sold. Pay people what they are worth, or be creative and raise money for yourself if you believe in your product.

As a Christian if you want to be sold out, do the work. Offer yourself to the Lord honestly, and strive to do what He tells us to do. Step out of your comfortzone and exercise your faith and walk with God. It's only when you're out of that safe box that you will see your dependence on God and allow Him to work in and through you. Once you experience God's faithfulness to you, you can't become anything less than sold out for him.

God is always faithful, and He will reward those whom He loves.

And if you're an Active Christian you are sold out.
Your buddy and pal,
Stacy
www.activechristianmedia.com
www.blogforbooks.com


And...don't forget to check out today's stop on the A Valley of Betrayal blog tour!
3/12http://reviewsbyjeanette.blogspot.com
www.mom2momconnection.com

The Watchers by Mark Andrew Nelson

This week on the CFBA Blog Tour is:

MARK ANDREW OLSEN whose novel The Assignment was a Christy Award finalist, also collaborated on bestsellers Hadassah (now the major motion picture: One Night With the King), The Hadassah Covenant, and Rescued. The son of missionaries to France, Mark is a graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado Springs with their three children.

About the Book:
Just below the surface among the family of God lives another family tree--one traced in spirit, invisible and ageless, known as the Watchers. For two thousand years they've seen beyond the veil separating this world from the next, passing on their gift through a lineage mostly overlooked. Throughout history they've scouted the borders of the supernatural frontier, but now their survival hangs by a thread. And their fate lies in the hands of a young woman, her would-be killer, and a mystery they must solve....

"Congratulations. You just reached my own little corner of cyberspace.

Who am I?

Abby Sherman, that's who.

Who are you? And why are you checking me out?

Drop me a few pixels, and let's find out!"

With that innocent invitation, Abby Sherman unwittingly steps in the crosshairs of history, and thus begins her harrowing tale--taking her from ocean-front Malibu to the streets of London, the jungles in West Africa, the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, and to the very gates of heaven itself!

A sneak preview of eternity becomes her one-way ticket to danger--and discovery….Two lives collide in a globe-circling adventure involving both peril and discovery: Abby, a young woman whose visions of heaven turn her into a Web-celebrity; and Dylan, a troubled young man sent by an ancient foe to silence her. From California beachfronts to Nigerian rain forests to Jerusalem and back again, THE WATCHERS is high-octane blends of action, mystery, and spiritual battle spanning centuries.

A woman's awe-inspiring vision launches her on a quest through distant lands and ancient history, face-to-face with eternity and into the arms of a family line on the brink of annihilation...A man who is hired to exterminate her discovers the folly of blind loyalty, then learns how to wage war in a realm he never believed had existed...An extraordinary saga of the unseen war against evil, the reality of the supernatural, and the transforming power of forgiveness.

ENDORSEMENT:
"A writer who can take your breath away with a single sentence. A welcome, fresh voice that must be read!"--Ted Dekker

#1 on Technorati....

Thanks so much to all of you that made this possible!











The tour continues on, stop by these blogs over the weekend:

3/9
www.victoriagaines.com


3/10
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/cappuccinosmom/profile/


3/11
http://relevantblog.blogspot.com/

It's March already?

I can't believe it's March already.

Somebody, please tell me that there has been a mistake. It's REALLY only January 10th, and two months have not passed since I made my New Years Resolutions ... the ones I quickly forgot about.

Of course, not that my resolutions HAVE to center on the New Year. In fact the personal, internal struggles I faced on January 1 are the same ones I still deal with now. And the same things I dealt with July 8, 2006. And the same things I dealt with December 6, 2005. You get the picture.

So what's up with that? Why do each of us have personal struggles we find so HARD to overcome? I was thinking about this, when I read this quote from Beth Moore.

"I've experienced trials that I finally was forced to acknowledge as the absolute will of God. My life has never been easy . . . and I have finally confronted the fact that it will probably never will be. Yet, in the same, breath, I can readily proclaim that my life has been good. Part of the still-limited maturity I have gained is the result of realizing that good does not equal easy. Rarely has God removed from my life circumstances or people that force me to my knees. Many of my trials must have been ordained by Him because of the results they rendered."--Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself, p. 77

Wow, I'm going to repeat Beth's Words: "Rarely had God removed from my life circumstances or people that force me to my knees."

Sorry, there are some things God refuses to touch with His magic eraser, no matter how much we beg. Instead, it's a wonderful chance to again come to God on our knees.


I don't know about you, but for me it's time to get out those kneepads! They work every month of the year, after all.

P.S. I HIGHLY recommend the Beth Moore on-line Bible Study: Living Beyond Yourself. You can find more information here: http://www.lifeway.com/lby/

And...another stop on the blog tour

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/ACP6HUA1KLRGO/ref=cm_blog_pdp/105-7469114-2165215

Doing What Works

Last weekend I had a special day out with my grandma. We went to lunch, went shopping, and I found some items on clearance for 85% off! Grandma found a few things too, bu