One of the many wonderful blessings about being an Anaiah Press author has been getting to know the other authors with Anaiah. I am honored to have the lovely Laura Thomas, guest post here today. She is the Anaiah Press author of Glass Bottom Boat. Laura, it's a joy to welcome you to One Ringing Bell.
But what if we started counting our blessings rather than counting the days?
Laura is a published Christian author with a heart for
inspiring and encouraging readers, especially in her romantic suspense, teen
fiction, marriage, and children’s books. Laura is a chocoholic mom of three,
married to her high school sweetheart. Originally from the UK, they live in
Kelowna, B.C. as audacious empty-nesters.
Waiting
is the worst. And we all seem to be in a perpetual existence of waiting, don’t
we? Straining our necks to see the next chapter, always wanting to be further
along, counting the days until our next goal is met or season is here.
But what if we started counting our blessings rather than counting the days?
It
changes everything, doesn't it? When our hearts are filled with gratitude, the
grappling for more or sooner or when subsides. Faith replaces fear and
adoration replaces anxiety. The gift of a new day is suddenly precious and next
week, next month, next year pales in significance when we appreciate the
blessings of NOW.
I
waited SIX LONG YEARS for my latest book, The
Glass Bottom Boat, to be published. It’s my sixth published book, but my
first Christian romantic suspense novel and today I am thrilled to bits—but
this adventure has stretched my paper-thin patience to the limit. It's been
rejected too many times to mention and it certainly wasn't the literary journey
I would have chosen, but it was God's journey for me and my book. His timing is
always perfect. Sometimes we see that in hindsight and sometimes we simply have
to trust.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
As
a writer, I learned early on that when we submit our precious book-baby,
magazine manuscript, or online article into the big, wide world, we have to LET
IT GO. Leave it with the Lord. We move on to the next writing project and put
our heart and soul into that, we live our lives to the fullest whilst finding
joy in the craft in the present.
Likewise,
in other areas of life, we get to give our worries or requests over to the
Lord, and then we have the opportunity to make the most of every single day in
the meantime—growing, learning, listening, loving, even marveling in the mundane
moments.
If
you are in a season of waiting, friend, know that you are not waiting alone.
There is One who never leaves or forsakes us, never slumbers nor sleeps. He
will answer in His time and he will walk through that answer with us. And in
the waiting, may we count our blessings, dig into the Word, revel in the beauty
of creation, find sweet fellowship with others, adore God deeply.
Fill
the waiting time with Him. Not a minute will be wasted. Ask anyone who has
waited six years for her book baby to be born . . .
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| www.laurathomasauthor.com |
Surrounded by the romantic paradise of her sister’s
destination wedding in Jamaica, Madison Grey realizes she must overcome her
paralyzing fear of the ocean—and her broken heart— to start living again. Luke
Alexander, the groom’s brother, is a missionary who has come to terms with a
life of singleness—until he meets Madison.
During the wedding, their personal connection intensifies
when a stalker stirs up haunting memories of her gold-digging ex-fiancé. After Madison mysteriously disappears and the
newlyweds receive a ransom note, Luke dives into action to find her. Will he
save Madison in time or will she be forced to suffer her worst nightmare… in
the depths of a glass bottom boat?
