A first look at a A LASTING IMPRESSION

I'm thrilled to share the cover of my next book, A LASTING IMPRESSION, a Belmont Mansion novel, with you. The book releases this fall. More on the story soon. Let me know what you think!

Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs

I recently had the pure pleasure of reading Liz Curtis Higgs' newest novel, Mine is the Night, and oh! What a beautiful love story. And the cover…stunning!


Below is the trailer to whet your appetite, followed by a brief peek at the story. Mine is the Night releases in March, and is already available for pre-order. Enjoy!

When Elisabeth and Marjory Kerr leave behind the crowded streets of Edinburgh to flee to the Borderland, they've lost their husbands, their titles, their property and nearly everything they hold dear. As supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebellion, they've been branded as traitors and outcasts. An accomplished seamstress, Elisabeth eventually finds work as a dress maker for the local gentry, which brings her into contact with Lord Jack Buchanan, an unmarried gentleman of considerable means. Will Lord jack step forward to help Elisabeth and Marjory, or will their scandalous ties to the Jacobite rebellion prove too great a risk to his reputation and wealth?

Tracie Peterson...Keynote Speaker

It's official! Tracie Peterson is the keynote speaker at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference this September. If you're a writer, this conference is a must! More details here. I hope to see you there!

On the homestretch

I'm almost there!

Almost to "The End" on A LASTING IMPRESSION, book one in a brand new series that releases this fall. And I'm already excited about diving into rewrites too. Over the next month, my editors will read the manuscript and send me their (always marvelous) comments and suggestions to strengthen the story. It's a team effort, for sure.

I got a sneak preview of the cover this week and OH MY GOODNESS! GORGEOUS! I'll share it soon!

Back to writing, but first…

Have you ever climbed a musical staircase? Check out my post today on Writes of Passage to see what one company did to encourage folks to take the stairs...

What I know for sure

We're studying the book of Luke at church for the next year, and one of our first lessons centered around what we know for sure. 

The book of Luke starts out:

Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.

Did you catch all the bolded words (and circled in my Bible to the right) in that opening passage that point to how Luke, the physician, painstakingly researched and investigated all the minute details, then penned a careful account (not a quickly jotted down note) so that Theophilus could be CERTAIN of what he already knew?

Five thoughts stuck with me from Lloyd's sharing that Sunday:

1) You can't be sure about everything, but you must be sure of some things.

No way are we ever going to perfectly understand everything in the Bible and be totally right in every single opinion, much less agree about them all (here on earth). But there are some things that we MUST be sure of. Luke is going to tell us what those things are...

2) Certainty doesn't come by looking at ourselves, but at Jesus Christ.

We don't grow in our faith by looking at or within ourselves. Our faith is strengthened and our confidence in our salvation is made more certain when we fix my eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith.

3) Certainty doesn't come in an instant, but with time.

God is often depicted as a farmer in the Bible. Jesus used this analogy in many of his parables. One of the attributes of a farmer, a good farmer anyway, is patience. Crops may be planted in a day, but it takes time to produce a harvest. It's the same with the heart.

4) Our deepest convictions are born from our deepest pain.

This may sound familiar. It's similar to what Rick Warren wrote in The Purpose Driven Life. Just as God is going to work through our deepest pains and will enable us to minister to others who are hurting in similar ways, so our deepest convictions––the beliefs that are going to be rock solid for us––are going to be rooted in our deepest wounds.

5) There's no certainty apart from application, from living what you know.

Very simply, if we're certain of something, we act on it. That belief changes our lives. Likewise, whatever we "know" is going to inform how we live. How we treat others. How we make decisions. Dare I say how we drive? How we react in the check out line? Because when we know something for sure, it changes everything.

Before Lloyd started sharing that day, he asked us to jot down some things we knew for sure. This is what I wrote:

I know for sure that the love (agape) we experience here has no end, because God is love and He is eternal. I know for sure that God is sovereign, merciful and just, and that He has my eternal best at heart, and that He will move heaven and earth––and already has, through Christ––to save me.

I'd love to know…what do you know for sure?

And lest you think I'm not eating Dove Dark Chocolate anymore (what were you thinking!), here's my wrapper from yesterday. It's so true of God's love. It says: A good love is delicious, because you can never get enough.

Wishing you some "good love" today...

Winner of the One Year Bible

I'm reading through The One Year Bible this year and am enjoying it so much that last week I offered to give one away. Thanks to everyone who signed up. The winner of the no-strings-attached giveaway is...

Vanessa P ( who said...I really like the NLT translation. Thanks for the opportunity to hold the book in my hand :)

Vanessa, if you'll contact me through my website, I'll get your choice of either the print version or Kindle version of the One Year Bible on its way.

Blessings all, and here's a quick glimpse of what we awakened to this morning in Nashville. So pretty!

And it's still coming down! A great day to stay in and write...

Jan 4, The One Year Bible

On occasion this year, as I'm reading through The One Year Bible, I'm going to share thoughts from my personal notes. Here are some from today:


Reading in Genesis 8, I noticed that "on the first day of the new year, ten and a half months after the flood began, the floodwaters had almost dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying."


On the first day of the new year...  Isn't it just like God to bring Noah and his family a new beginning on the first day of the year? God knows our hearts. He understands what new beginnings mean to us, and how much we need fresh starts.


Then on down it's written, "For God made human beings in his own image." What a privilege we've been given, without the slightest bit of merit on our part. We're created in the image of the Living God!


Later we read of Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world, who built his kingdom in the land of Babylonia, which I'm studying about right now in the Isaiah study with BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). I love when studies of the Bible intersect. [Are any of you involved in the BSF Isaiah study too? What a rich study that is. If you haven't been part of BSF before, I encourage you to check it out. This is my first study with them and I'm learning so much.]


And closing with Proverbs chapter one, "Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square... Come and listen to my counsel. I'll share my heart with you and make you wise."


Lord, you promise in James 1:5 that if I ask you for wisdom, you'll give it to me. That you won't rebuke me for asking. But that you'll give wisdom generously IF my faith is in you alone. It is, and I'm asking. And I'm trusting in Christ's sufficiency, not my own.


Which leads me to my word for 2011, which I posted about over at Writes of Passage today. 


If something spoke to you in your own personal study of scripture today, I'd love to hear it! Blessings all...

A Fresh Start to a New Year

As I wrote in a recent post, I love fresh starts, so I'm welcoming this new year with open arms. 


And part of that "welcome" is reading through the Bible this year using the One Year Bible. I downloaded it to my Kindle, but you can download it and read it from your PC or Mac too. Or printed version, if that's your preference. 

It has sections from the Old and New Testaments, along with Psalms and Proverbs divided into daily readings. Very convenient. And I really appreciate the continuity of reading from the varied scriptures every day. 


I was delighted to read Francine Rivers' blog this morning and discover that she's using the One Year Bible this year too. She posted some very thoughtful remarks, when you have a moment.


If you don't have a reading schedule chosen yet for 2011, why not join me? It's my privilege to give away a copy of the One Year Bible to someone this week (their choice of printed or Kindle version). Just leave a post telling me you'd love to read through the One Year Bible, along with your email in this format (name[at]whatever[dot]com), and on Friday I'll draw one person's name from all who posted.

And don't forget, using Kindle software, you can download your FREE SAMPLE of the One Year Bible and get started today!


Blessings in this New Year, friends. And as I prayed this morning, may 2011 be a year of glorifying God's Name in ways we've not imagined before, and may He draw us closer as we draw near to Him through the power of His living, breathing, life-changing Word.


Praying for you...