A Step Closer

 I am nearing the finish line for two of my books. Yay! I am excited. :) 

For The King's Heart in the LORD's Hands, my modern-day Esther story, I asked my parents to read it. They were almost done when they gave me very beneficial advice concerning the antagonist. So, back to writing. I am glad that I had them read it because it helped me see which areas needed strengthening. My antagonist needed to be seen more throughout the book instead of just appearing all of a sudden at the end. I have enjoyed seeing the antagonist come to life. Being based on Esther, I wanted to get the antagonist right.

Recently, I made a goal list of things I would like to do before I turn 30 in 2028. That's only five years away! Sounds so old right? One of my goals is to publish five books before 2028. My hope is to publish two this year. 

The other book that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel is the book I started during NaNoWriMo of 2021, Redeeming Louise which is set in the Victorian Era. I recently sent it to a couple of my aunts to read. I read it to my mom, but I wanted to complete it before I read it to Grandma. Two weeks ago, we went to visit my grandparents in Fort Myers during spring break. On Wednesday, Grandma paid for Mom to take Silas, Callie, and Micah to tour the Edison Ford winter estate. Grandma was not able to take them because her knee was hurting so bad. (She just had knee surgery yesterday.) Since I had already taken a tour years before, I gladly volunteered to stay behind so I could read her my book. I was excited when she said, "Let's go to the tea room." I never pass up a good cup of tea, and a scone or baked good.😊 

Besides, it was the perfect setting to read this particular book since it is set in Victorian London England. (Would you like a spot of tea?) We ordered Cherry Vanilla tea and Lady London tea. For dessert, she picked creme brule, and I picked their special cheesecake - a peanut butter cheesecake with peanut butter cups then drizzled with chocolate and caramel and topped with whipped cream. The tea and dessert were delicious. Then I read a chapter in my book to Grandma. The other people could probably hear us, but oh, well. At least they heard the Gospel - in the particular chapter we read the preacher was witnessing to the hero of the story. We both enjoyed our tea time. Are not tea and books the perfect combination?

Next week, I have the privilege to head down south to help my grandparents out since Grandma just had surgery. I told her that I want to cook, clean, and of course, read my book to her. Perhaps after that and a few edits here and there, I will be ready to publish this book as well. I cannot wait to have the finished book in hand.  

Writing from the heart

Elisabeth Kristine

 One morning a few weeks ago, I stepped out onto the porch, and my eyes traveled to the bird feeder in our front yard. A cardinal perched there while eating his breakfast, and I was reminded of God's love for me. Every time I see a cardinal, I think, "God loves me," for that was the sign I chose several years ago. I noticed that cardinals often come out around Valentine's Day in January and February. They come out during more than just these two months, but I feel like right now they are making their presence more known.

The good thing is, God's love lasts more than these two months. Valentine's is just an extra special reminder. I may not have a human Valentine right now, but I have God - He's the best Valentine ever. He loves me. I am His, and He is mine. There is no love like God's love. God's love does not come and go or change like the seasons.

It led me to think of ways I can make God my Valentine this year. Maybe this will be a help to you, too. 

First, when we love someone or at least start to show an interest in someone, we want to get to know him/her.  We want to find out what he likes or dislikes. We want to know his personality and who he is. We want to know what they like to do. I am not in a relationship right now, but there was a short time that I talked to a young man. I wanted to get to know him and learn his likes and dislikes. No, it did not work out between us, but I did get to experience the talking stage of getting to know someone. We can do that with God. Last year for my devotions, I studied God and Who He is. I learned so much about Him last year. Even though I grew up in a Christian home, there is still so much to learn about Him. I will learn more all my life, and then I'll have eternity.

We can learn about God by reading His Word, studying it, memorizing it, and keeping it in our hearts. When you read His Word, it's like reading His valentine/love letter. (As a side note, do you know how couples would send letters to each other and they would spray their perfume/cologne on them? God may not do this with His Divine Letter to us, but when I get a new Bible, I like to smell its fresh paper and print smell. While that may seem silly to some, to true book lovers it would not. If you see my nose buried in a Bible, it's not because I can't see. It's because it is a new Bible with that new-book smell.☺) We can also get to know Him by watching Christians - the Christ-like children of God. Just about everything they do glorifies God. That's how it can be with people. We can sometimes learn about someone we are interested in by watching the ones they are close to or watching their family. The family has the inside scoop on how they act at home. Likewise, you can learn much about God by talking to the ones who spend the most time with Him.

Another way we can make God our Valentine is by talking to Him. When a couple is dating, courting, or simply in the talking stage. they will talk, and talk, and talk - sometimes for hours. God wants us to talk to Him in prayer. Pray without ceasing - be in a constant state of prayer like He is literally standing right beside us as we go about our day. I even like to write letters to God sometimes. Spending time with Him is a great way to make God our Valentine.

There is a place where spirits blend

Where friend holds fellowship with friend -

A place than all beside more sweet

It is the blood-bought mercy seat.

Not only can we make Him our Valentine by reading His love letter and talking to him, but we can also make God our Valentine by serving Him. This love language is called acts of service. Our lives are well spent when we spend them serving God. As one of our favorite preachers used to say, "It pays to serve God." Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." We can serve Him with our obedience and actions. When we love someone, we want to do sweet things for them. That is how it can be with our Heavenly Valentine. We also show our love for Him by serving others. Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. First John has much to say about loving God and loving others.

We can dive even deeper than this by giving our lives to Him. That is the most powerful way to show our love. Romans 12 calls it a living sacrifice. The Gospel of John goes yet deeper when Jesus talked of laying down one's life - "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - (John 15:13) "We love him because he first loved us." - (1 John 4:19) John could write about love, for he was close to Jesus. He also said in 1 John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." We cannot say we love the God Who laid down His life for us if we do not love others.  

Lastly, but not finally, we can make Him our Valentine by talking about Him.  When a couple starts getting close via talking, dating, or courting, they constantly talk about each other. That is all you ever hear practically. "He did this... He said this... He likes this... Oh, he's just so wonderful. I am so lucky." Their heads are in the clouds because of that person. You can just tell they are Valentines because they cannot help but talk about each other. 

You know that is how it should be with God. Think of it this way. You cannot stop talking about God and all that He is or has done. You have spent so much time with Him. You have read His Love Letter a hundred times, or at least more than once. You are constantly doing things for Him. You have given Him your heart (which is another way to make Him your Valentine). You are His, and He is yours. So what do you do? You talk about Him. You praise and glorify Him in your speech, even in the songs you sing. You talk of all His wondrous works. You tell others about Him and His great sacrifice for us. You want others to know Him and get saved, so you talk about Him. You proclaim His name. Then that love inside changes your countenance. Sometimes you do not have to say anything (but you cannot help but say something) for your face, eyes, and smile show you are in love. They notice. They ask why you are so happy, and who is the lucky guy. You smile again, and then you tell them His name - God. You tell them Who He is - your heavenly Father, your Savior, Your Comforter. You tell them what He has done for your - laid down his life then rose again to save you from your sins then give you earthly blessings and heavenly riches. You cannot help but tell them - whether they ask or not. You talk about Him constantly because He's your Valentine.

Keeping my heart for my Heavenly Valentine

Elisabeth Kristine

Meeting New Friends

 It is amazing to me how the Lord brings people into our lives. Just recently, I had the pleasure of meeting the Danfords from Indiana. Bro. Terry Danford is an evangelist. I was able to meet two of his kids - Heather and Melody. It was awesome to meet two young ladies who are around my age and are serving the Lord faithfully. It reminded me that I am not alone. There are people like me who have the same standards and convictions. I found two kindred spirits in Heather and Melody. A few weeks before, when my dad was scheduling them to come to our church, he approached me about taking the two daughters out for dinner. I was so excited to meet young ladies my age, but I was also a little nervous, too. You probably know how I can be very shy at times. I did not have any problems talking with them, however, as we ended up having much in common. On Friday was our church's Valentine's banquet. After Heather and Melody helped me, Ms. Nan, and the other servers dish out the food, I was able to take them out for Mexican food.The food and fellowship was wonderful. I enjoyed getting to know them.

Sunday we were able to have the Danford ladies sing and Bro. Danford preach. Sunday services in the Lord's house went very well. I enjoyed hearing them sing, because it gave my family the opportunity to sit down and listen instead of being the one's in charge of the special music. I believe that one of the songs that was sung was written by Heather. It was a blessing. She later encouraged me about writing music. I was able to purchase a cd with her music, and in the music pamphlet that goes in the cd case, it talked about how the Lord gave her the songs to write. In encouraged me with my music writing. (I think the Lord has been working on my heart about that a lot lately. During the Winter Revival, Mrs. Sommerdorf approached me about writing music as well.) 

We had them over at our house for lunch with the Blankenships and Josh's family. Liberty and Freedom love being with older girls, so they loved having Heather and Melody over. When they came in and sat down in our living room, right away either Liberty or Freedom brought out a children's book for one of them to read. Later that evening, Liberty was so cute; she wanted to be included in the pictures. ☺️

After being encouraged about it, I finished working on a song I had started a few weeks ago. Hopefully the Lord will have me use it to be a blessing to others soon. He led me to write this next song about the Remnant that God has in every age. It talks of Elijah and how he felt that he was alone in serving the Lord. Then God reminded Elijah that he still had people who had not bowed the knees to false idols. No matter how alone you may feel, God has more like you out there. You are not alone. Anyway, that is a glimpse of what this next song will be. I do not share this to be prideful. I just want to be a blessing and use what God has given me. I only hope that I am a blessing to someone.

I am so thankful for the people God brings into my life to be an encouragement to me. God is so good!

NaNoWriMo

 I did it! I compled the challenge. It is something I have wanted to do for a while. For years, scores of writers have come together for National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal? To write 50,000 words in the thirty days of November. That is approximately 1,667 words a day. It may seem like a lot, but it is an exciting challenge for those who are brave enough to accept it. 

  I heard about it a couple of years ago, but I had just never gotten around to it. For a while, I was just a wannabe writer - someone who started so many books, but could not complete one.When I finished my first draft for my book King's Heart, I felt a little more ready to tackle the writing challenge of NaNoWriMo. About three weeks before it started, I came up with a new book idea, and NaNoWriMo seemed like the perfect opportunity to get it started. I already had the major plot figured out. Next, I needed to plan and prepare. I found a post by the Reedsy blog ( https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/nanowrimo/ ) that taught me a lot about NaNoWriMo and got me excited for November. I started researching NaNo and how to go about it. I also found a character template from fiction author Tricia Goyer. It was a big help for me to get to know my main characters. You can find her template here: https://www.triciagoyer.com/free-printables-for-writing-your-novel/ . Next was plotting the story. I did not know where to start because I normally have the main idea but write each plot point as I go. To stay on track for the month of November, I knew I needed to determine the plot points before I started working towards the 50,000 word goal in November 1st. As I was researching NaNo, I came upon the Plot card method. I gathered a thick stack of notecards to plot each point on. I already had the opening scene, so I wrote it on a notecard. Since I already had my main characters, the theme, and the plot, it was relatively easy for me to plan each plot point, or scene. I ended up with 44 cards. 

   By November 1st, I was as ready as I could be. I sat down to write. Thankfully, I already had the first scene started, so by that evening (the first day is the easiest because of the excitement), I had a word count of 2,837. By weeks end on Saturday, I had a word count of 11,747 - almost one hundred words ahead of Sunday's goal I had already planned to not write on Sunday for we had a meeting to go to in Ocala for a sister church's 20th anniversary. Getting ahead that first week had been very helpful. In planning for November, I had already marked off Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I knew I wanted to set those times aside for family traditions. 

The second week was a killer. Mom was away in Michigan with Grandma to visit Mam-maw. I was in charge of taking care of my family since Mom was away, and Brenna was married by this time. I did enjoy planning the menu and taking care of them, but I made my time to write at night. I guess I would not recommend staying up until 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning, for by week's end, I was exhausted. Of There were many days in November that I really tried to work ahead, not too hard to do as I first thought since I was on a roll by this time. Then there were at least four days that I took off completely. Would I finish? Would I make it to the end? Or would I be counted in the number that would come shy of the word count? The race was on...

By November 30, I was so excited to complete the challenge and reach 50,290 words. I had done it. I had finished a dream. Now, I had a brand new novel to work with it. Did I use all my plot cards? No. :) I still have more of the story to write which is what I am going to do after I finish this post. I am excited to see where this story ends. Maybe I will post what my story is about here soon. Or maybe next year... Wait, what am I thinking? Next year is right around the corner. Hmmm...  I wonder where next year's writing adventure will take me...

Keeping my heart while keeping on writing,

Elisabeth Kristine 

Nearing the End - My Journey to the Editing Stage

Last time I posted about my book, 

I said that I was trying to work towards the climax before the two year mark. Well, now a few months later, I have finally finished the first draft. I am so excited that I actually finished a book. Now it is in the editing stage.

Sometimes I like to go on Pinterest. I even have a board on writing - If I Were an Authoress. Through Pinterest, I found a blog from a writer named K. M. Weiland. Her blog, Helping Writers Become Authors , is an awesome resource for writers. I have learned a lot through her posts. When I finished the last chapter of my book, I wanted to find material on editing and getting a book published. While searching, I came upon posts from the writer I just mentioned. The posts were about character arcs. If you would like to know what a character arc is, you can go to her blog - https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/. I learned a lot from those posts, and I decided to go back in my book and focus on each of my main characters' character arcs. I wanted to make sure that I was making my characters come to life. At least, I hope I accomplished that. Completing their character arcs took some time, but I am glad I did it. Now I feel closer to my characters and I hope my future readers will too :). 

As I wrote my book, I would edit as I wrote to get most of the spelling mistakes and grammar errors, so that helped some for the later editing stage. Finally, I realized that I needed to take a step back from The King's Heart so I could come back later with fresh eyes. Now I am having my dad read it for me. So far, he has given me really good feedback and advice. I can count on him to not be partial just because I wrote it. Every writer needs someone to read their book to give feedback and advice, I believe. Sometimes I wish it would go a little faster, but I know he has other things on his plate. Someday it will be edited as much as I can do myself, and I will be ready to send it off to a publisher.

Now, the hard part is finding a publisher. I never realized how much there went into it until I finished the first draft of my book. For all the bigger name publishers, I would need an agent. There is a publisher I had contacted a few years back, but I was no near finishing, so me and the agent I contacted stopped emailing. As I finished the first draft, I started looking into getting my book published in the hopeful near future, the publishing company I contacted came to mind. Please pray for me that the Lord will show me how to go about getting my book published. Also, if you have any advice about getting a book published, feel free to comment on the post. It would be much appreciated.😊

I am excited for what the Lord has in store for the next stage of The King's Heart in the LORD's Hands.

Keeping my heart while waiting for Him...

Elisabeth Kristine

The Wait is Worth It

A Time to Wait

"...All of us at some point in our lives are waiting for something whether waiting for God to answer a prayer, waiting for the next job, waiting to get married, waiting to have kids, or waiting for Heaven. Hannah had to learn to wait on God and His timing. When God answered in His time, Hannah was greatly blessed. She just had to trust God that He knew what was best. Even the Lord has to wait. Isaiah 30:18 says the Lord will wait for judgment so He can be gracious to you, be exalted, and have mercy. We are thus blessed when we wait on God. Verse 19 says He will then be gracious when you cry to Him and will deliever you. If the Lord can have patience to wait, so can I... In Isaiah 33:2, Isaiah asked God to be gracious to them, for they had waited for Him. None is ever ashamed that waits on God - Isaiah 49:23."

Thus reads a journal entry of a young lady who has been learning to wait. Is still waiting actually. It is not an easy task. Sometimes the wait is hard and long, but we just need to remember that everything is beautiful in His time. The beauty comes through waiting.

What are you waiting on? What are you waiting on God to do? You probably guessed that the young lady who wrote that journal entry a couple years ago was me. I am not a patient person, so God often sees fit for me to wait so He can teach me patience. The waiting is different for everybody. When the Lord asks us to wait, it is not because He loves to leave us hanging. No, He wants what is best for us, and His ways are not ways, neither His thoughts our thoughts. The same is for His timing. 

The wait sometimes changes. 

At times, I have waited for God to answer a prayer. At times I have had to wait for a package to come in. Recently, my sister and I had wait for God to provide us a car. It took weeks for us to find the right car. We checked Craigslist and Facebook marketplace many times. We checked dozens of used carlots, but nothing popped up. We wondered if we would ever get a car. Weeks later, we found the one for us. Then we had to wait again for it to get fixed.  God knew the right time for us to get a car. The man who sold it to us first wanted a thousand, but then he learned Dad was a preacher and dropped the price down to $800. There were a few problems with it, but not compared to some of the other cars we looked at. Thankfully, there was a man in our church who was able to work on our car for us. It took over a week because he had to do it on top of other projects, and he also wanted to make sure that the car was in good working condition for his preacher's daughters. I do have to say though, it was worth the wait for our car. It runs great, and it is a pleasure to drive. I could not imagine what would have happened if we had settled for a different car sooner. We would not have gotten God's best for us, I can tell you that. 

 His timing is perfect and beautiful. 

He is never late and never too early. Like one song title says, He is "In Time, On Time, Every Time." One of my favorite hymns is "In His Time." It goes with one of my life's verses from Ecclesiastes - "He has made everything beautiful in His time." Several years ago, I was struggling to wait for God's time. I wondered why God had not brought a special someone into my life when other girls around me were already in a relationship with a young man. (Which seems so silly to me now that I am 23 and still single :) That was not the only thing I was struggling with at the time. I have noticed that when my relationship with the Lord has not been where it needs to be, those are the times that I struggle with other relationships. I needed a good long talk with my parents. They sat me down, probably in their bedroom, and we had a good talk. They gave me a verse to remember - Ecclesiastes 3:11. God often reminds me of that special verse. It helps me during periods of waiting. 

The Teacher called Wait

God uses the waiting time to teach us things - patience, trust, faith - but the end result is always beautiful. Lamentations of Jeremiah says, "The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." The verse before says "Great is thy faithfulness." Sometimes the wait is to remind us that God is faithful, even when the wait seems long and pointless. No matter what you are waiting for, remember that the wait is worth it, for when it happens -- whatever you are waiting to happen -- it will be perfect and beautiful.

How about you? What are you waiting for? Remember that God loves you and wants what is best for you. Just trust Him, and wait patiently. The wait will be worth it. No matter what you are going through, remember another favorite hymn of mine - "It will be worth it all when we see Jesus." All trials, troubles, and times of waiting will be worth it when we meet the Creator of time - Jesus.

Keeping my heart while waiting for Him and praying you will do the same,

Elisabeth Kristine

Miss Secretary

 

Photo by J. Kelly Brito on Unsplash

Where it all started...

I had just finished school. I did not know what God had for me. I just knew I did not want to spend my time after school sitting around and twiddling my thumbs. I knew that God did not have college life in store for me in the sense of leaving home and going away to college. What did He want me to do? For the first year, I did not do any college courses. I always wanted to write, and one day marry and be a mommy. What would I do until then? God has a way of working things out in His own time. Not our time, for it would surely be the wrong time.

I do not know exactly when it happened. Our church was probably just over one year's old. Back then, the preacher's office was my parents bedroom. That was where the church computer was. (Now the office has moved to Josh's old room. Quite a big move!:) ) For the first year, Dad had been writing all the checks, logging all the giving into the computer, and all that sort of church work. He knew that he did not necessarily need to be the one to log in the giving. He as the pastor, did not want to see all that the people gave. He needed a church secretary. Who did he call? Me, of all people. At first I was thinking, are you sure about this? I never dreamed of being a church secretary. It was just something I was never interested in. I never liked math, and I did not care for talking on the phone. But, as a dutiful daughter I pulled up a chair when my preacher/father said "You are going to learn how to do this." It was a lot to take in at first, but before long, I was starting to get the hang of it. Before I knew it, I was even writing checks. It seemed like a big responsibility, and it is. For a while, though, I just thought it was a dad-called thing, not exactly a God-called thing. He has a way of working through others, however. It was not until a year later that I recognized it was really a God-called thing. He wanted me to be a secretary for my father/preacher. I am definitely no expert, that is for certain. I still have much to learn.

College Life

A year passed since I finished school. I had taken the year off. I guess the Lord knew I needed that break from school. The fall semester was drawing nigh. It was less than a month before college life would begin for most young people.  We had talked of doing online college before, but it just had not worked out. Somehow, somewhere, my parents heard of an online college. It would be inexpensive, for federal aid would pay for most of it. My parents talked to me and Brenna about doing college. They did not force us. With some thought and prayer, I pensively decided yes, though still a little unsure of myself and what I was getting into. College started, and it was a little difficult for me. I had been out of school for a year. Now I was back in. I had to learn to juggle school, work, and life. There were times I got stressed, frustrated, and ready to quit, but I got through it with the Lord's help. As one song says, "If God brought you to it, then God will lead you through it."  There were some trials along the way. I will just leave it at that. School always took a little longer for me and that carried into college. It took me three years to get a two years associates degree, but I am glad I did it. The Lord had much to teach me those three years, all while staying at home, in my church, where God had called me. Two years into it, I started getting paid for what God called me to do. Hey, $50 a month is $50, and I was thankful for it.

The job after college...

Now was the time to put what I had learned into practice. There were some things I wish I had been taught, but I learned them while on the job. I am still learning. It was amazing to see how God just started providing. I got a pay raise a year ago, and then another pay raise this year. I was so surprised when they told me what I would be getting for just serving the Lord. It may not be a lot, but to me it is a big blessing. And it was earned by just serving the Lord. As one of our favorite preacher's, Pastor Dave McCoy, likes to say, "It pays to serve God."

5 Things a New Secretary Should Know

Photo by Emma Matthews Digital Content Production on Unsplash

I am by no means an expert. I still have so much to learn about being a church secretary, but God has taught me a few things along the way.

1.) Faithfulness is needed. 

No, it is required. First Corinthians 4:1 says, "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man" or woman "be found faithful." Before you can be a faithful church secretary, you must be faithful to the Lord. You cannot be a secretary if you are not faithful to church. 

2.) It requires diligence.

It takes diligence to get all the work done. It takes diligence to get the work done on time, and to pay the bills on time. Yes, that is a lesson I had to learn quite a few times. My dad had to be VERY patient with me. I could not imagine if I had started being a secretary under someone who was not my dad. I would have cried at the drop of a hat. Well, sometimes, I actually did. But one rebuke from the preacher about not doing something right, I would have run home in tears saying, "I give up. I quit!"

3.) Respect the pastor's wishes.

I love and respect my father, but at times, I have found it a little tricky balancing being his daughter and being his secretary. I hate to say it, but I fear that at times, I see him too much as my dad, that I fail to respect him as my preacher. That is not something every secretary has to deal with. I am just thankful that my dad has been very patient with me. I really want to please him. I hate it when I mess up, or forget. Ultimately, I need and want to please the Lord. Even though I have only worked for one preacher, I realize that every preacher is different. Different preachers may want their secretary to handle things in a different way. A secretary has to learn how that preacher likes things done so there will be understanding.

4.) Keep things in confidence.

Being my dad's secretary and working at the same time, in the same room, there have been some things that I heard while working, that I had to keep in confidence. Basically, a secretary should not be a gossip. I do not share what one person gives to the Lord with the next person. I do not even tell my dad how much each person gives, or gossip about who does not give. He does not want to know that. He wants to be able to preach freely. I hope I worded this right, and that it makes sense.

5.) The job is rewarding.

"It pays to serve God more than anything I know." Like any job, there may be some difficulties along the way, but it can be very rewarding. Not just in money. Though it is nice getting paid for what I do, that is not the only reward. One of the rewards is seeing God's people give faithfully. Another reward/blessing is helping my preacher and taking a load off his shoulders. Another blessing is seeing how God provides the finances for the church. Yet another reward is having a part in paying the missionaries. I have given to faith promise missions since I was at least nine, but there is something special in writing out and sending them their checks each month.

I never saw church secretarial work in my future, but God did. He has a way of leading us to His will and giving us what we need to do it. I am still learning, but when I remember the rewards, it makes me want to keep on going for the Lord.

Keeping my heart while serving Him

Elisabeth Kristine