To Brag, or not to . . .

This is a test.

I've been working on my LinkedIn profile, in preparation for a few promotional ideas I have planned. In doing so, I put together a slide show of my book covers. I've not worked with PowerPoint a lot, so this was a real experiment for me. Nothing fancy, just a look back at my recent publishing efforts.

I was raised not to brag, so getting my mind in gear to promote my books has never been easy for me. On one hand, if I'm going to succeed as a writer, I need to share what I've done with other people. On the other, how do you remain grounded and humble while crowing about the gifts God has bestowed on you?

My solution is to remember the Source of those gifts. Sharing them is appropriate, but I have to keep utmost in my mind that God, I'd just be wandering aimlessly in the wilderness.

With a Little Help

Writers, especially in the Christian arena, just don't succeed on their own. In addition to help from the most obvious Source, other writers, editors, agents, and readers pitch in, celebrating our successes and consoling our misses. The network of folks I've met through ACFW, Facebook, RWA, and a dozen other sources have been instrumental in my continuing to write and sell. I am eternally grateful to everyone who shines a bit of light on my path.

This week, my latest helper is up-and-coming writer Beth Ann Ziarnik, who has posted a great review of Field of Danger. Please take a look at her work and her review.

And I still have room for five more influencers from this blog, before I send out the postcards announcing the remaining review copies. If you're interested, just post below with your email address, or email me at ramona@ramonarichards.com, and I'll be in touch.

News on the website contest to come soon. Thanks to everyone who entered!

From Dusk to Dawn: Finding the Solace of God in the Night

Disabilities
God’s Can Use Anybody

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)


Like a lot of parents, I love to watch my child sleep. The peace that settles over her features comforts me. I have spent many hours by her bedside, gazing at her and praying for her, asking God to watch over her and bring her happiness and good health.

I no longer, however, pray for her to be healed.

Rachel is severely disabled. She can’t walk, talk, or feed herself, and over the years, many people have asked me if I would “wish her normal.” My response is always, always the same: “No, because that’s not what God has led me to do. He will use her as He sees fit, just as she is.”

Just as He will each of us, no matter who—or what—we are.

A lot of Christians recognize that fact intellectually, but they don’t always take it into their hearts. I think that’s one reason that Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life became a best seller. I know a lot of folks who’ve read it, studied it, because they want to discern God’s plans for their lives. It’s something that most of us wonder about from time to time, and I wrestle with it almost daily.

With Rachel, however, I think her purpose for being here is exceptionally clear. I’m convinced that one of her main purposes in life is to make people think about God.

Rachel may be disabled, but she’s also twenty-two, more than five feet tall, and loves rock ‘n’ roll, Southern gospel, and big band jazz. She has the motor skills of the average three-month-old baby and frequent seizures . . . and a smile that will light up the night. She loves other kids and has a joy for life that is as pure as a perfect diamond. Her nurse, Phyllis, calls her the perfect therapist, because fifteen minutes with Rachel will send all your blues scattering into the sky.

Yet people can’t look at her without thinking about God, either to blame Him, question Him, or praise Him. No matter what direction those thoughts go, they are still thinking about God and His ways with His creation. And I hope it makes think long and hard about the beauty of all life and how carefully He has planned a path for each of his children.

Even kids like Rachel. Especially kids like Rachel.

While they think, I’ll still be stepping into her room at night, cherishing these quiet moments in the dark and praising Him for every moment He allows me to have with her.

Prayer starter:
Lord, thank you for the gifts of all your children. Please help us hold them close with love and comfort, whatever their condition or place in life.
Amen.

A Closer Look

I’m celebrating the arrival of my author’s copies of Field of Danger. I've been standing at the end of the drive, waiting patiently. It’s always like Christmas opening a box of new books, hot off the press. I’ve set aside about half to send out to influencers – those folks willing to read the book and blog about it, or share it with friends, etc. So if you’re interested, email me (ramona@ramonarichards.com).






In the meantime, I want to talk a bit about Caralinda, Tennessee. Like most writers, I base places and people on locations and folks that I know well. Most heroes are blends of this, that, and the other guy that I know. Likewise, Caralinda is a combination of several small towns in northern Middle Tennessee.


Specifically, April’s cottage is based on a real home. Corn fields really do run right up to the edge of the yard, and a field road cuts through the middle of them, so that the first thing you hear in the morning is the clanking of farm machinery on the way to work. I’ve walked the corn fields, felt the cut of the blades.


The idea for the book also came from a couple of real experiences, which I can’t share here (it would give away the ending!). But the general inspiration for Field lies in the people, small towns, and farms of Robertson and Sumner counties, here in Tennessee.

Writers don’t have to look far for ideas. Usually they’re cropping up all around, even right next door.

Phone Home . . .

OK, Saturday.

The last six weeks or so have been truly awful for me professionally and personally. Mentally and physically. Why? I don’t know entirely, and going into a lot of whiny details wouldn’t be great for you or me. I know I’ve made some bad, really horrible choices, and I’m paying the consequences. I’m bottoming out in more ways than one.

For now, I have to look both around and UP. Really UP. Around at blessings and UP toward God.

Rachel is relatively healthy. It’s fall and the weather is roller coasting, which means her sinuses are playing havoc with her. But she’s coping, for the most part.

I reconnected with an old friend, which was a beautiful thing, and I have friends who’ve supported me all along the way. I couldn’t get through this without them. Fortunately for me, I have TRUE friends, who lift me up and tell me when I’ve been stupid. We all need friends who do not pull punches.

I have an agent interested in my work. This is a VERY good thing, and I hope to continue talks with her this coming week.

Even as most of my projects are winding down, I have another coming along. I’ve missed some deadlines, however, which adds stress and doesn’t help the physical issues I’m dealing with.

The bad choices I’m turning over to God for guidance and resolution. We all stumble. I went down hard this time, but there is always hope in Him.

There you have it in a nutshell, why I’ve been so long gone from the blog. Mostly this spot is for sharing my writing more than my personal life, but occasionally, you’re going to get the emoting. It’s all part of the journey. Vulnerability and strength, hope and despair have to go hand-in-hand or we get out of balance and our true vision blurs.

Here’s a prayer for clarity, for all of us.

Blogging at the CRAFTIE Ladies

About younger men, also known as our heroes.

Please check it out.

I'll be back shortly. Friday.

Promise.

From Dusk to Dawn: Finding the Solace of God in the Night

Hospitality & Holidays
But the Placemats Don’t Match!

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
1 Peter 4:9 (NKJV)


Poor Martha! Over the years, this warm, industrious woman has become the poster child for spiritual priorities (see Luke 10:41-42). Yet she was doing something that not only seemed to come naturally to her but was expected in her culture: she was taking care of her guests. After all, she wasn’t exactly used to serving a man who could turn two fish into dinner on the grounds for 5,000 without even breaking out a cutting board.

Hospitality in Martha’s world wasn’t a privilege; it was a necessity. Towns and villages lay miles apart, and the usual mode of travel was on foot. The climate could be harsh and severe, and guests arrived exhausted, filthy, and hungry. The normal priority for a woman like Martha would have been to provide her guests food, water, and a place to rest and clean up. Especially special guests like Jesus and His disciples. And His last visit to her home was just before Passover and His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Her home must have swarmed with people ready for the holiday!

Far too many women can relate to Martha, even today. We have jobs, families, homes, all demanding our love and attention. We have to provide food, transportation, support, and the occasional cupcake. The whirlwind builds around the holidays, with arriving guests, the need for one more gift, or a run to the store for vanilla flavoring, until the air rings with “I can’t stop to pray! I have to find matching placemats!”

Make yourself stop. Tuck the kids away into bed, let the garland or the flowers lie untended for awhile. Step into the night and take a deep breath.

Hospitality is a gift. Some women are better at it than others, but as Christians, we are, in fact, called to be open and welcoming to each other. It is in our nature to want to celebrate the holidays together, especially Easter and Christmas. This does not mean, however, that we must corkscrew ourselves into the ground in a frenzy of decorating and baking.

Look up instead. The Creator who put those stars in the sky also wants to be welcomed into your home and heart. He loves you, no matter what, and He created the night as a time for you to rest. Talk five minutes to talk to Him. Another five to listen. After all, He is the only one who can truly give you the peace you seek in your frantic day. Rest in Him.

The garland will still be there in the morning.

Prayer Starter:
Lord, take me in your arms and give me the rest I so dearly need. Show me how to be a true hostess for you as well as your children.
Amen.