Pressing On!

The days keep marching on as the year unfolds with many blessings and challenges. But, I’m pressing on! Where do I go from here? Do I try to get a book published by a traditional publisher? Do I keep writing? blogging? podcasting?

Well, writing is my passion so I will keep at it until the Lord tells me to stop. However, as I research publishing, I realize that I’m not in a good position to do that so, instead I’m going to try to branch out locally. God moves in amazing ways!

Something we have noticed in the ministry is that God honors our efforts but not necessarily in the way we would expect. When seeking a new ministry, my husband would often put his name/resume in a database to match pastors and churches. None of our ministries ever came from there but from other God-directed paths. Many times we would faithfully make visits, never to see those we visited come to our church, but God would bring someone! His time–His way. So, I’ve sent out several letters to friends in other churches asking them to prayerfully consider allowing me to present my books and speak/teach at their church. So far, I haven’t had much response BUT I did hear from a friend inviting me to present my latest book at a local library. Praise the Lord! His way is perfect.

The podcasts are sort of percolating. Next up is chapter five, Cleansing Waters from the devotional Still Waters–Finding Calm in a Crazy World. If you haven’t listened in or subscribed, check it out: Beyond Common Sense podcast. Many of these recordings are NOT posts from this blog site, so drop on by. (and I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask for a LIKE.  )

(And for you who have joined my emailing list but haven’t gotten any emails, that would be my fault. Perhaps effort number three will be successful sometime in the future, but as of now, I just can’t seem to get that venue

But may the God of all grace,
who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after you have suffered a while,
perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Some of you may not know that my mom passed away on December 17th after a heartbreaking battle with dementia. The Lord gave me the verse above while going through some of the most difficult moments. Her battle is now over, and I’m so thankful for the time we have to care for her in her home. It was her wish and we were able to make that happen. God’s process of perfecting (completing, not making me perfect! IMPOSSIBLE) my character, establishing me by planting my feet upon my Rock, strengthening me through the difficult times, and settling my heart with a peace that passes all understanding took a deep dive these past two and a half years and I’m anxious to be able to share many of the lessons I learned along the way–a way that was truly beyond common sense!