God's Provision

If I had to choose one word to describe the first book in The Good Earth series, perhaps it would be provision. Of course that is a theme in most every life, but for my characters Bethrina and Kjell, God's provision is phenomenal.

It is interesting how God chooses to provide sometimes. Many people call it a miracle. Others simply call it life. I know in my own life God has provided some pretty amazing things. The problem, as I often see it, is timing.

My novel begins with a young woman who has experienced little or no caring in her formative years. She is longing for a home of her own and someone to love her. What she does not realize is that the Lord is waiting with open arms. Not until she is forced away from the life she knows does she let go enough to experience God's extraordinary provision.

Bethrina suffers from a bit of the same problem I do. Timing. God's timing is not her timing. She has hopes and dreams and when things do not go as she planned she assumes God must not love her. As I write her story I lead her down that path, which I know God has sent me on a time or two. I help her--one day at a time--learn her own worth in the kingdom.

Therein lies the key. One day at a time. If we live one day at a time, we will all see the blessing of God's provision. The hope that we have is in Him. He is our all in all.

Editing

A great deal of my time as a High School English teacher is spent editing. In my free time I work on my novel, and often times that means editing. Even in my free-free time--those times when God, family, writing and work are not requiring all my time--I search multiple listings* for homes and end up editing. My husband and I have decided there is absolutely no prerequisite for a real estate agent to spell, be concise, or use grammar rules of any sort.

How tragic that our culture puts so little emphasis on literacy that a professional has no need to be professional.

One thing I can't seem to get my students to understand that editing is not a one time proposition. Read what you've written. Read it out loud. Read it to someone else. Read it again. Perhaps you will still make an error, but your effort will make a much better product.

To my loyal readers who are eagerly awaiting my novel, I say all this to let you know that after a bit of polishing the first three chapters have been submitted to an editor--per request.



*For those who are not familiar with "multiple listings," this is the real estate business' fancy way of saying a house is searchable by other real estate agents, and in the day of the internet, house hunters everywhere.