Unconditional Grace

Below is an excerpt from my own book, "Unconditional Grace," which was posted on facebook by my niece.  This is just a little book of prayers, but it has sold out in some of the stores locally.  I gave a copy to a friend for her mother (who has cancer), and my friend keeps telling me that her mother reads the whole book through each and every night, and won't let anyone else touch her copy.  Another friend bought a copy for a friend of hers, a young woman who is dying from a rare, incurable form of cancer.  Her friend told her it "was the perfect gift."  I am absolutely blown away by the effect it has on people!  And I thank God for putting these words on paper through me!

 

“Deliver me, Father, for my heart breaks, and my soul is wounded within me. My days slip away like shadows, and who can help? But I know that You go before me wherever I go, making my paths straight, making my way joyous, surrounding me with Your infinite wisdom and unparalleled protection. I know that Your hand guides and directs me always, and I exist from moment to moment within the sacred sphere of Your unending, unconditional grace and love. I am enfolded at all times within Your Sacred Presence, and You direct all of my ways, each and every one of my footsteps. You dry my tears, Father, and make them as if they had not been. I give You each of my days, and You take my hand and guide me through the hills and valleys of my life, shielding me in every storm so that I do not slip or fall, making my soul radiant with Your love and protection. You saturate each of my days with peace, and my life overflows with the miracles You pour into my life. Your blessings constantly fall down upon my head and flow unchecked through the hours of my days. Your brilliance, Father, illuminates every darkness, enlightening every nook and cranny of my existence, saturating my soul with Your all-encompassing love. I live and breathe in Your presence. Without you I am nothing. Thank You, Father, for being here beside me through all the long, lonely hours. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen." - Excerpt from “Unconditional Grace”, a book of prayers written by my aunt, Nancy Millikin Tubbs and available on Amazon. I think she was looking into my brain when she wrote this prayer. It completely summarizes how I am feeling these days.

Free ebook!

The ebook of Hummingbird Inn will be offered free on Amazon for one day, April 20, 2013! 

Hummingbird Inn

Hummingbird Inn was written, and re-written, before my husband died.  It actually took shape over the course of seven years, as I continually tried to modify the content to please other people!  I finally just wrote it the way I wanted to write it.

I wanted it to be a clean, funny romance.  I didn't call it a Christian romance because it does have a bit of hugging and kissing in it!  One of my friends called it "steamy," another said that it didn't have enough "steam!"  It's all in one's perspective.

I wanted to set it during my grandmother's time, although she was actually only ten years old in 1900.  There was so much going on around that time!  So many new developments, like electric lights and canned goods.  If you've ever seen the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis" with Judy Garland, that is the same time period.

People did for themselves then.  They raised their own livestock, grew their own vegetables, and rode in wagons drawn by horses.  They washed their clothes in buckets on the back porch.  They milked their own cows and made their own butter.  And jelly.  And anything else they needed.  My grandmother made extra money by selling butter and eggs, and by sewing.  People sewed for themselves then, but my grandmother was especially good with buttonholes, and people would pay her for it!

Am I romanticizing all of this in my mind?  Probably!  But I am a do-it-yourselfer to the core!  I love the idea of anyone being smart enough and talented enough to do things without help from anyone else!

Would I want to have to do for myself, all of the time?  Probably not!  (Way too much work!  I'd rather be writing!)

So much of the background for this book came from stories heard from my mother, grandmother, aunts and great aunts and any other friends or relatives who would talk to me about things past!  This book began with a story about "how to take a bath," which had originally come from one of my great aunts.  The conversation "what kind of eggs do you want?" came from a conversation with my husband one morning.  And the description of washing clothes in buckets on the back porch came from my mother.

So much of my own life and my own family history got wrapped up in this book!