Be Ye Humble

I don't know that I'm on a trajectory here with "Be Ye" posts, but I just learned something new about myself, and it could definitely fall under the heading "Be Ye Humble." What did I learn? I am not Superwoman. 

When life raises challenges, I am the woman who says "I can do it!" I run faster, work harder, sleep less ... and when I was younger, I crashed less often. Looking back on my life as a young mother, I realize what my son said when he described me as a "tank." He meant I accomplished a lot. And he's right. Of course he wasn't privy to the "woman in a puddle" moments when I collapsed in tears because I couldn't keep up with the home-based business and organic gardening and four children and home schooling and homemaking and writing books and being a church elder's wife and ... you get the idea. 

Well, folks, that was then and this is now and wow is it humbling to realize that you are no longer a tank. You're more of a motorized golf cart, just trying to get over the green ... and hoping someone else is maintaining the lawn. 

How does this relate to writing? Well, I just had to humble myself before my new editor and ask for a couple more weeks to finish the re-write. I HATE DOING THAT!!!! The fact that I wasn't being a slacker and that the necessity was due to a true family emergency didn't make it any better. I still hate doing that. I am, after all, the woman who accomplishes much. 

At any rate, I realized something about myself. A Superwoman complex can be nothing more than pride disguised as a virtue. Ouch. I realized that humbling myself and realizing my limitations wasn't sinful. In my case, humbling myself and realizing my limitations was necessary. 

I am of the "I am woman, hear me roar" generation. 
Well ... I am woman, hear me whimper is more like it these days.
And that's OK.
The limitations aren't because I'm lazy. 
They aren't because I don't work hard.
They aren't because I'm a failure.
They are because ... I am who I am in 2013.

I think realizing that is going to be freeing after I think about it a little while longer.
Then again, I live with imaginary friends, so accepting reality may take me a bit longer than the average bear. 

On the journey ... 
Steph

Be Ye Thankful

Parenting is hard, and as I've matured and my children have grown and begun their own families, I've realized that potty training wasn't, after all, the hardest thing I would ever do. Being Mom to five grown kids is hard, too, because the dynamic is different and I don't always know how to do this part of parenting. 

That's the disclaimer, because I'm about to mention something that made me sad this morning. I'm staying at a hotel that I love, and there's a breakfast buffet that is "to die for" in my opinion.
A wonderful array of choices that I have thought in the past would please every palate. 

Not so. At least not one child's. I was getting my second cup of coffee when I witnessed a very frustrated father leading an equally frustrated eight-year-old boy from place to place, repeating, "What about this?" "Oh, that looks good. Want some X?" "How about I make you a waffle?" "Look here ... all these cereals to choose from." And so on. 

The problem was, the boy wanted a doughnut. Period. And there were only pastries, croissants, bagels, cinnamon rolls, white bread, wheat bread, and English muffins being offered this morning. No doughnuts.

This child wasn't throwing a fit, but he wasn't going to accept a substitute, either. I pondered the situation as I came back up to my room where I've been working for the past couple of days doing my best to finish, really finish, a re-write. And I came to this conclusion: Thankfulness is something I need. If they don't have a doughnut on the menu, and I really really wanted a doughnut ... well ... I can still be thankful for what they do have, because there is abundance if I will open my eyes and see it. 

Now, what does the photograph I've uploaded have to do with doughnuts and thankfulness? Those kids have a pailful of pies. Just not the edible kind. They've been out on the Dakota prairie collecting cow pies to fuel their mother's cookstove, and that cookstove will do double-duty this winter by keeping the family from freezing to death. And they are smiling. 

Of course I'm making a leap to say they are happy to be doing it and that they model thankfulness. Maybe not. But seeing that photo makes me thankful this morning. 

When life gets hard, I often think about the people I write about. The women who had to strain snakes and frogs out of the well water before they could make their morning coffee. The ones who had to pump the water and heat it over an outdoor fire before they could do laundry. The ones who might never see or hear from the folks back home again after leaving to head west. And here I sit in my air-conditioned, centrally-heated hotel room with my internet live and my coffee maker and ... well. You get the idea. 

Thankfulness. The world needs more of it. I need more of it. 

It's Sunday. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. 

Praise Him all creatures here below. 

Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, 

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Got Hope?

Last evening, I was privilege to speak on the topic of hope for a women's supper. The event itself was wonderful and is an ongoing tradition for a local church in which the MEN of the church prepare and serve a formal dinner to the women of the church. How is that for a servant's heart? What a great idea. So much work went into the evening. Tables were adorned beautifully, a live band played background music for the reception, and then the evening included worship music, fabulous food, a moving devotional by a young Mom ... and then everyone had to listen to me for a while. I "hope" that the theme of "hope" came through. As usual, I think I got more of a blessing out of the evening than anyone listening. One of the things I share when I speak on the topic of hope is this poem, and I'm so often asked for copies, that I thought I'd put it here on my blog. It was a gift to me back in the 1990s when my husband Bob was battling cancer, and I honestly cannot tell you how helpful and encouraging it was.

So ... if you are waiting ... may this give you comfort ... and HOPE.

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.

Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,

and the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait.”

“Wait? You say, wait!” my indignant reply.

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened?  Or have you not heard?

By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate

Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?

I’m needing a ‘yes,’ a go-ahead sign,

Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.

And Lord, you promised that if we believe

we need but to ask, and we shall receive,

and Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:

I’m weary of asking!  I need a reply!”

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

as my Master replied once again, “You must wait.”

So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

and grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting – for what?”

He seemed, then, to kneel, and his eyes wept with mine.

And he tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want – but you wouldn’t know me.

You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint.

You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair.

You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.

You’d not know the joy of resting in me

when darkness and silence were all you could see.

You’d never experience that fullness of love

as the peace of my Spirit descends like a dove.

You’d know that I give and I save (for a start),

but you’d not know the depth of the beat of my heart.

the glory of my comfort late into the night,

the faith that I give when you walk without sight,

the depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked

of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.

You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that “My grace is sufficient for Thee.”

Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true.

But, oh, the loss! If I lost what I’m doing in you!

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see

that the greatest of gifts is to get to know me.

And though oft’ may my answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still, “WAIT.”

Author Unknown

The Next Big Thing ... Blog Hop!

I think I'm the last stop for this edition of the blog hop ... if you've hopped this far, THANK YOU.

What is the working title of your book?

 A Captain for Laura Rose

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was researching another book and came across a some information about a woman who was a well-known steamboat captain in the late 19^th century. Intrigued, I began to research a bit more. When I found a photograph of her, I was surprised. She was lovely and petite—not at all the kind of woman I had pictured when I first read about her. That began the “what if” part of my musings, and answering the “what ifs” turned into a book proposal.

 

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical romance.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

My characters ended up having a lot in common with the fictional Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler—at least that is the kind of romantic tension that plays between them, so it’s been hard for me to get beyond Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable when I think of a movie version.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Threatened with the loss of everything she holds dear, Laura Rose White is forced to ask for help from the last man on earth she would ever want to be beholding to.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m blessed to be represented by Janet Kobobel Grant of Books and Such Literary Agency. A Captain for Laura Rose will be published by FaithWords in the spring of 2014.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I was working on two books at once, so it’s hard to define that, but I generally like to have nine months to write a full length historical fiction novel.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

• romance ... 
• steamboats ... 
• post Civil War (1867) ... 
• early St. Louis ...  
• hoop skirts … 
• and a dog named Logjam.

Favorite books for a 20-month old

This is short and sweet, but it's always fun to know what others are reading. In this case, the "reader" is only twenty months old, but he's passionate about books, and so I thought I'd share his current favorites.  If you have a toddler to encourage with books, these just might do the trick.

A Patchwork Christmas Contest Winners

Ta Dahh!!!! 

You wonderful readers have made A Patchwork Christmas #10 on the ECPA bestseller list for December. 

YOU ROCK!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Thanks, also, to the hundreds of readers who entered the contest to win the mittens, the doll quilt, and the crazy quilt ornament. 

The contest ended at noon yesterday, and the prizes will soon be on their way to their new homes in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Virginia. 

We had entrants from as far away as New Zealand. 
All in all, it was an encouraging response. 
In fact, I'm already thinking of a way to celebrate the release of book 3 in the Quilt Chronicles, The Message on the Quilt, next spring ... so stay tuned. 

Thank you for all you do to encourage me. 
Christian fiction fans 
are some of the most wonderful people on earth. 

A new contest and three great prizes

A Patchwork Christmas Collection

Announcing a new Book,

just in time for Christmas!

A PATCHWORK CHRISTMAS

 Three historical novellas that revolve around Christmas—and quilts! What evokes a cozier feeling than quilts? And as a bonus, in the back of the book are recipes and directions to make a crazy-quilt ornament, a pair of knitted Amana mittens, and a patchwork doll quilt!

• THE BRIDAL QUILT by Nancy Moser: A wealthy ingénue—the toast of 1889 New York—
inadvertently causes grave injury to a poor man who protects a street urchin from a rearing horse.
Remorse forces her to bring the man home, where she discovers he is someone she once considered quite a catch. Can she give up everything to love him?

• SEAMS LIKE LOVE by Judith Miller: Jilted by a faithless fiancé, Karla Stuke of the Amana
Colonies packs away her wedding quilt in 1890, her faith in men destroyed and her hope for marriage and children shattered. Until an apprentice pharmacist arrives in town. Does Frank Lehner have the saint’s patience he’ll need to change her mind?

* A PATCHWORK LOVE by Stephanie Grace Whitson: Jane McClure, widowed too soon, is headed west in 1875 to marry a prosperous businessman she barely knows in order to give her daughter a better life. Given shelter when a show storm strands them both, Jane worries that her chance is slipping away—and so does the homesteader who rescued her. Will she see what’s
right in front of her?

Plus...

Enter the PATCHWORK CHRISTMAS CONTEST!

In the back of A Patchwork Christmas Collection are the directions to make the following:

• a doll quilt like the one Molly makes in “A Patchwork Love” (one similar to this photo)











• a pair of mittens made from the Amana pattern mentioned in “Seams like Love”

• a crazy quilt ornament made in the style of the quilt in my novella, “The Bridal Quilt.”











How would you like to win one of these items?



To enter the contest… you need to collect three KEY WORDS from each of our websites.  Visit Nancy's at www.nancymoser.com, Stephanie's at www.stephaniewhitson.com and Judy's atwww.Judithmccoymiller.com and collect the key words. Once you have collected all three key words, simply e-mail them to: apatchworkchristmas@gmail.com along with a shipping address
in case you win one of the three prizes. (You can state your preference of which prize you would prefer if you wish, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to make that wish come true.) Your entry must arrive by noon on December 1, 2012. On December 2, 2012, a random drawing will award three entrants with either the doll quilt, the mittens, or the ornament. Good luck!

I’d also like to invite you to subscribe to our newsletters so that you will receive new book news-- but you do not need to subscribe to be eligible to win one of the three prizes.

Thanks for visiting, and may your holidays be bright.