Meet the Meet Cute Socks

So in the writing world, there is a term called the "meet cute." It's that moment when the hero and heroine first meet. The more abnormal this first encounter - at least in my opinion - the better. The future couple just can't meet at a Bible study. There needs to be drama, humor, some kind of physical collision, or clash of personalities. My favorite way to write a meet cute is with a clash of personalities. Usually ending with the heroine embarrassing herself.

For instance, Erynn Mangum has a meet cute in Miss Match (Book 1 of the Lauren Holbrook Series). The heroine meets her future husband at a Bible study, BUT she meets him while hiding a bag of Oreos from the rest of the Bible study. He totally catches her. ;)

Cute?

Yes. :)

In Robin Jones Gunn's popular Christy Miller Series, the heroine meets her husband-to-be when a dip in the ocean goes horribly wrong. She ends up crashing to the shore, tangled up in seaweed.

In Janice Thompson's hysterical Weddings by Bella Series, the heroine meets her dream man when she mistakes his name, DJ, for his profession. She tires to hire this cowboy to do the music for her first wedding as a "professional" wedding coordinator.

See? All cute, funny, horribly embarrassing meet cutes. :)

Lately I've been toying over the idea of a meet cute over warm socks...

Yes, I said socks. Warm socks to be exact. There's a story behind this crazy thought. You see, when my husband and I were dating, I had a tendency of having cold feet. In the physical sense. When it was a beautiful day outside, I had (and still do) a habit of wearing shoes that are not very warm. Flip-flops, flats, sandals. And every time my feet would start to FREEZE!

And every time my now-husband would give me a pair of his socks to stop my feet from turning blue and falling off.

Sam's socks were never this cool. ;)

 

He takes care of me.

This always makes me think of how God takes care of us. How He says if he can take care of the little birds, and make sure they eat, then how much more will He take care of us? Is there a spiritual meet cute where God gives us warm socks? I think there is.

Every day of our lives.

After the story's meet cute, there is always angst, drama, and confusion. It's the page-turning conflict that keeps us reading the book. The characters are never certain what's going to happen next, or how their lives will turn out. Will Sally get her happy ending? The reader can find out by flipping to the end of the book, and seeing that Sally does indeed marry the Tony Stark look alike. The average writer usually sometimes sort of knows what will happen to the character.

But us? Well, we haven't got a clue what's going to happen next in the story of our lives.

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6:26

But I know that the Great Author is good. I know that from first page to meet cute from confusion to last chapter that He is going to take care of me. He's always going to give me a pair of cozy, fuzzy socks.

And God is way nicer to us then any author out there. ;)

V. Joy Palmer

The Spitfire Heroine

I've had to literally tear myself away from an absorbing book series to write blogs this weekend. If you've ever read a book that causes you to loose track of time, hygiene, and food, then you understand my plight.  :)

I read A LOT. Some of you have probably seen my book reviews or random posts about books that I couldn't help but gush about to you. I read a wide variety of books, too. Historical romance. Contemporary romance. YA. Dystopian. Fantasy. Biblical fiction. The set of books I working on right now is a dystopian series that is awesome. I notice that whenever I read dystopian books, I always get very reflective. On our nation. On people. On myself.

I've come to a conclusion.

In dystopian books it's always a futuristic society that arises out the ashes of devastated nation. Usually, the nation that comes about is unfair, corrupt, and held together with manipulation. There's always unrest among the people, and almost always there is a spitfire heroine. Often she is a somewhat unwilling hero thrust right into the middle of the situation.

She is always so relatable. Fearless. Headstrong. She doesn't turn a blind eye and just take stuff. A born leader. She fights for what she believes.

Like Katniss.  :)

So many times I run and hide. Keep my mouth shut. Give up. This girl isn't relatable because she's just like me. So why does a part of my spirit just get her? She's relatable because there is part of my spirit that longs to be the special spit-fire heroine. I think it's that way for a lot of people.

I especially want to be like that for God. Brave. Unwilling to let evil win. Bold. But there's always that voice in my head that says, "God didn't make you for that. You are just you. Nothing special. Nobody important. You are the perfect mouse, so just be content with your ordinary roll in life.

I am so tired of listening to that voice.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." Psalm 139:13-16

 

 

Five years ago, when I first started teaching in the youth group, I was preparing a lesson. I had an idea in mind, but it was just an idea. I was spending some alone time with God, praising and worshiping. Then WHAM! He gave me an awesome idea, tying the whole lesson up with a nice little bow.

I brought a ton of hair brushes and a cd with me. After dragging a couple volunteers up with me, I told the kids to pretend they were at a concert. My volunteers and I used our hairbrush microphones, and we rocked out to Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me."

They thought I was a little crazy, but I always have a point.  :)

God's crazy, undying, you belong with Him, love. The song is about a girl who is just hopelessly in love with the boy next door. His girlfriend is terrible and doesn't love him. She knows that she's perfect for him. God looks at us, and He's thinking the same exact thing. He loves us so much. He knows that we belong with Him. He's waiting for us, always trying to woo us, always trying to tell us just how amazingly special we are. Sometimes, we are just too attached to that voice that tears us down and breaks our hearts. But why? The voice doesn't love us.

The little voice in my head tells me I'm not hero material. I'm not worth it. That I'm just ordinary. But God tells me the exact opposite. That I'm special. That I'm loved. That I am hero material. God's voice is what gives me the strength and courage to be the spitfire heroine for Him.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

Whether it's just a few people, or whether it's an entire nation, I know that I make a difference. God says I make a difference.

I'm the star of my own dystopian story.

V. Joy Palmer

Review of A Love Like Ours

Lyndie James and Jake Porter were the best of friends when they were children. Lyndie was an imaginative girl with a deep love for animals - especially horses. She was always rescuing wounded animals. Jake was a sullen boy who saw himself as Lyndie's sidekick and her protector. They loved each other even then, not in a romantic way, but in a best friends for life way. Unfortunately, Lyndie's family moved from Texas to California while they were still children, tearing the two friends apart for twenty years.

I love the last two lines of the prologue, because if any two lines sum up the spirit of the book, it's those. "Lyndie would return one day. And when she did, Jake would be the wounded one in need of rescue."

When they finally meet again, Lyndie is the same stubborn, free spirit she's always been, but Jake is a new man. Tall, Dark, and Brooding. A tragic accident during his time as a Marine left Jake withdraw from life with PTSD and a hefty case of survivor's guilt. Lyndie - always the one to spot the wounded - goes to Jake for a job exercising his Thoroughbreds, and leaves with a mission to help Jake heal.

Lyndie unlocks the mystery of why Jake's Thoroughbred, Silver Leaf, won't run. With it comes the opportunity to serve as Silver Leaf's jockey in his upcoming races. A dream come true for Lyndie, but something that scares Jake to the very core of his soul. Due to his past in the Marines and the love he has always had for Lyndie, he can't stand the idea of putting her in harm's way.

The story really picked up once Silver Leaf ran his first race, and Jake stopped pushing Lyndie away all the time. Lyndie's love had a healing effect on Jake, but Jake tried to put all his faith in Lyndie instead of God for a time. In a classically stupid move typical to men, Jake breaks Lyndie's heart in order to keep her out of physical harm on the track and safe from the likes of his wounded soul.

My favorite scene in this novel was when Jake's two older brothers and younger sister came to check on him/talk some sense into him/confront him. I thought it was hysterical! Jake learned the hard way that God's love is the only one that can truly heal all wounds, but once he let God in, it was grand.

This novel had a serious tone to it due to Jake's struggle with his PTSD. It really helps you understand how someone with PTSD functions with the pain and day to day guilt. It is my understanding that Becky Wade put in a lot of research on this topic, and I don't believe it to be lacking. Her portrayal was exceptional.

Also, if you are a horse lover, stop wasting time and buy the book! You will love it. Seriously. I really enjoyed Lyndie's race scenes with Silver Leaf. I felt like I was the one racing from the safety of my couch!

The theme for this novel was "finding hope," which I agree with, but I'd also tack on two others. "Healing" and "sacrificial love." This is a novel filled with healing, and watching Jake heal was like watching a green leaf pop out of barren and burnt land. Also, Lyndie's sacrificial love for Jake was breathtaking. She gave up her dream of being a professional jockey for him, and that moved me in a very special way. More couples need to understand this sacrificial love for their spouse. It's not about what you can get, or getting even. It's about the love you have for that person, and how you've chosen that person. It's the kind of sacrificial love God has for us.

I also enjoyed the secondary storyline with Lyndie's downstairs neighbor, Amber Richardson. She is a young, single mom who longs for someone to love her, but struggles with waiting for God's timing. This leads to an agreement between the two friends that they will each go on three dates within three months. I found this to be quite funny, and was happy with how her story ended - with Will McGrath!

I also want to praise the cover design. This cover was absolutely ADORABLE! The woman used to portray Lyndie was perfect. She really portrayed Lyndie's essence from the book.

A Love Like Ours is the third book in the Porter Family Series, and while readers of Becky Wade are sure to enjoy seeing previous characters pop up in this novel, it is not necessary to read the previous two books to understand the story. Each book functions well on its own.

Thanks to Bethany House for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

V. Joy Palmer

Less Distraction in a Distracted World

Hello everyone! I hope you have been good. :)

I've been...what's the word for being in the middle of a seven things and feeling lost?

Distracted.

 

Oh yes. There's so much going on these days! I mean, spring has sprung and summer is approaching! My younger sister recently got engaged. Changes with work. Changes with family. Changes with life! I can't even log onto the internet without opening up Facebook, Amazon, and at least two of my e-mail accounts.

I'm going to be totally honest with you guys. Reading my Bible lately has been hard. My mind has been all over the place. Poor God and my Bible time have been getting pushed back, pushed back again, and sometimes forgotten in the wake of a crazy day.

I just hate that. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only Christian who has this problem, but I know that's not true. When life is this crazy, it's hard to focus on the message God's trying to get into my multi-divided brain.

But I have good news! I have the key to being less distracted in a distracted world. Yes. Really. The Key. Captial T. Captial K. And I'm going to tell you what it is.

First, I want to share a Bible story with you guys. This story is about King Joash and Elisha, and whenever I read this now, all I can see are distractions. Not my thousand plus distractions. The distractions distracting King Josah.

But you'll see what I mean.

"Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, 'My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!'

 

And Elisha said to him, 'Take a bow and arrows.' So he took a bow and arrows.

 

Then he said to the king of Israel, 'Draw the bow,' and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, 'Open the window eastward,' and he opened it. Then Elisha said, 'Shoot,' and he shot. And he said, 'The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.'

 

And he said, 'Take the arrows,' and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, 'Strike the ground with them.' And he struck three times and stopped.

 

Then the man of God was angry with him and said, 'You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.'

2 Kings 13:14-19  (ESV)

Recently at youth group, I had the opportunity to share this story about Joash and Elisha. Before you guys think that I'm a crazy youth leader, I learned every trick I know from my youth pastor/aunt. ;) Something that I am quite proud and honored to say.

So, I ask for four volunteers, and a bunch of hands fly up. I call four girls to the front who I know will work nicely for this particular torture activity. I tell one girl to walk around the room, and not to stop until I say. Another girl was told to jump up and down continuously in the middle in the aisle in between the chairs. Right in the middle of where the remaining kids are sitting. I instructed another girl to stand in one corner and hit the floor over and over again with some rubber arrows I have leftover from the Palmer Nerf Christmas War of 2014. The last girl was sent to the opposite corner and had to say, "La! La! La! La," over and over again. This girl is perfectly loud, by the way.

Hehehe. The kids may act like I'm crazy, but they're the ones who volunteer. :)

I told the rest of the kids that their job was to listen to me read this story about King Joash and Elisha. Afterwards, I asked the group what they heard. Of course they heard nothing (That was kind of the point.). One young lady said she heard something about arrows. Most of the group heard absolutely nothing. When I questioned them why, one kid simply said, "Well, we were all distracted."

She didn't realize the truth nugget she had just unearthed.

Just like King Joash, we are all distracted. So, so, so distracted. It's crazy just how distracted we are. Joash was clearly very upset about Elisha passing away. His heart and his mind were focused on that, rather then on the last message from God that Elisha was trying to deliver. Then you have Elisha - the one who's dying - who is solely focused on trying to deliver this awesome message to Joash before he dies. Elisha is trying, but Joash wasn't getting it. I mean, you can't really blame the guy. Death is hard, but Joash couldn't see past that long enough to get the message from God. He went along with the shooting the arrow out the window, and he did hit the ground with the arrows three times, but his heart was not in it. He was distracted.

I can relate to Joash. If I was in his situation, I probably would have done the same thing. I told you I learned all my crazy tricks from my youth pastor aunt. Back when I was in youth group, and she told to do something crazy, I was never the kid who did it without ceasing. I didn't raise my hand like the kids I teach do. I would try my best to avoid eye contact, but not so much that it was obvious because avoiding eye contact was a sure way to get picked! When it came to group craziness, I was the one who stood awkwardly to the side, doing just enough. If I had been Joash, I probably would have done the same thing. One, two, maybe three strikes before I would have felt completely ridiculous. I would have said, "Can I stop now?" Yup, three would have been the max before my pride screamed uncle. I was a geek and a nerd in school, but I was vain enough to care that I looked ridiculous.

I was distracted. I was focused on how I might look. On how the people around me might perceive my actions. On the people who were doing this wholeheartedly, and the people who completely refused. But just like Joash, I was too distracted to pay attention to the message God was trying to get to me. Joash was focused on the physical. Elisha. Death. The ridiculous thing he had to do. He was not focused on God. There are a lot of distractions in our world. We can be distracted about how silly we look jumping and dancing when we worship. We can be distracted by hard situations in our lives. We can be distracted by trying to put food on the table. We can even be distracted by good things. Boyfriends/girlfriends. Husbands/wives. Kids. Movies. Books. TV. Music. Those are not bad things, but sometimes they take more precedent over God. I know I can plead guilty to reading my Bible while watching TV on more then one occasion. Now, whenever I read this section of Scripture, all I see are the distractions from God. The natural, everyday distractions that the enemy took and used to lure Joash's mind away from the message at hand.

If Joash had been more focused on God's message, then maybe he would have kept striking the ground. Think about it, if he had been into it, he would have hit the ground seven, eight, nine times easy. Without even thinking about it. Elisha said if only Joash had kept striking the ground, then they would have rid themselves of Syria forever, but instead they would only kind of flick the Syrians. His focus was set on earthly things.

God's words may come to us at inconvenient times   it certainly did for Joash   but we need to be so set on God, that we are able to hear Him speak at any time. Look past everything, and look forward to God.

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Colossians 3:2

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:31-34

"For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." Romans 8:5

"Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you." Proverbs 4:25

My friends, that crazy message God's given you, that insane desire He's placed in your heart, the impossible task He's given you has a purpose. If we will keep our minds set on Him, then when His word comes to us, it won't seem inconvenient or too difficult. Look forward and straight to God so that the other stuff flies by you. Keep your mind set on Him! That's when the awesome God stuff starts to happen. That's when lives are changed, people are saved, and victory is won!

And that, my friends, is how you are less distracted in a distracted world.

I hope you all have an awesome end of May. I will see you again on June 1st!

V. Joy Palmer

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Hehe. I'm a big Home Improvement fan. I thought this clip might be funny convey just how much we appreciate our dear old mums. :)

Seriously, though. Birth moms, mother-in-laws, aunts, and stepmoms - you guys are a big deal! In this season of my life, I am especially thankful for all the moms God has given me.

 

 

I've been thinking a lot of a very special mother... You might be familiar with her.

 

Her name is Mary.

 



 

His little head was all fuzzy.

 

Mary watched the cooing baby beside her. Her husband, Joseph, was fast asleep. She should be sleeping, but her eyes were glued to the wide-eyed baby.



 

She couldn't believe Jesus was already six months old. Soon his fuzzy little head would be covered with a full head of hair. She reached out to caress his head, trying to shake away the painful thought.

 

The rise and fall of many in Israel...

 

Such a big job for one so small. He had such serious eyes for a baby...

 

The Son of God.

 

The air whooshed out of Mary's lungs. Tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to block out the coming words...

 

A sword will pierce through your own soul also...

 

She wiped the tears away quickly. This was silly. She knew he was destined for big, Godly things. He wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the Lord's intervention.

 

But when she looked at his precious little form, she couldn't imagine him being anything other then her little baby.

 

Based on Luke 1:32, 2:19, 2:33-35

 

 

 

Mary stored all these things up in her heart, and while we don't think about it, she had to war with herself, too, over Jesus' destiny. It had to be so hard for her to let go of Jesus! To give Him back to God, knowing the pain that awaited Him. She was given this perfect, little baby, and the day was coming when she had to let Him do what He came here to do. How long had she faught with her heart before that wedding day in Cana when she told the servants to do whatever Jesus said, because she knew Who He really was. Not her baby boy, but the Savior of the world. Then how hard it must have been for her to see Him dying on the cross - for us!

 

Moms...wow!

 

Because you do all that for us.

 

 You give us to God, and trust His plan for us, even when it's rough. You support us when you just want to shelter us. You give us life, love, and encouragement. You're are first friend and our permanent cheerleader. Thank you for loving us, and for giving all of us the courage to follow God's plan for our lives.

 

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates." Proverbs 31:25-30

 

Is it any wonder that the Proverbs 31 Woman was a mom? Today, we rise up and call you blessed! Thank you for all you do! We love you! God bless you greatly and in every area of your lives!! Amen.

 

 

 

 

 See you guys on May 20th!

 

With some big news! ;)

V. Joy Palmer

Green Grass

Hello guys! I can't believe the rains of April are over and we've welcomed the flowers of May.

Everywhere but here, that is. Here it's still raining.

Cold and rainy.

We'll get a few gloriously warm days, and then I wake up the next day in the frigid cold, look out the window, and cry my eyes out.

Because a new layer of snow is covering the ground.

Oh, happy days.

I've been thinking about when the first snow falls during the year. It always falls on green grass. Then the second snow falls, then the third and fourth and so on. Finally, the spring comes, and when it all finally melts away, you find some frozen but green grass underneath.

I just found myself thinking, "Good for you, grass!" Seriously. I'm not crazy. It weathered the storm. It stayed green despite tons of snow being dumped on it. Now...eventually...anywhere but here it would seem...it can enter the spring season, letting the old die out and new life replenish it.

My next thought is going to sound a little crazy.

We. Should be. Like the grass.

I don't mean in the "Here today, gone tomorrow," kind of sense. I mean in the way that grass stays green despite the winter.

It freezes.

"Winter" seasons always come for Christians. Those seasons where we are tested and tried. Where we feel like we are failing. Where we feel like we are drowning. Where we feel like anything but the strong Christian we were during the happy days of summer, or the mildly uncomfortable days of autumn. Now it's negative thirty, and our faith is failing just like our heat.

When instead, our faith should "freeze" like the grass. We should remain "green." Despite the twelve feet of snow in a land where penguins wear Parkas, our faith should remain intact. Despite the little things that come when we thought we had finally made it through the worst, our faith should be green. We should still be going strong, waiting for the thaw.

Check out these verses in James.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

You're blessed if you remain steadfast. Not only that, but if you remain steadfast, your faith is made perfect. Complete. Lacking in nothing.

Oh, my faith is lacking in so much! I don't want to give into gloom anymore... I want to stand the test, and win that big shiny crown!
 

I want to share some thoughts with you that I shared on an old blog post on Snack Time Devotions. It was originally for my Esther/Every Stand We Make Series, but the point - minus the grass - is the same, so I simply have to share it with you guys, too!

Haman was dead.

He had been hung on the gallows designed for her cousin Mordecai. King Ahasuerus had given her the house of Haman. In return she had told him all about her family and how Mordecai was her cousin. He had summoned Mordecai immediately. Then her husband shocked her by taking off his signet ring, which a guard had pried from Haman's dead hands, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther then gave Mordecai the house of Haman. It only seemed right. Haman was Mordecai's adversary whom God had delivered into his hands.

Now she was on the ground, bowed before King Ahasuerus, pleading for him to revoke the evil plan Haman had devised against her people.

She peaked up to see the royal scepter extended towards her. Standing up, she issued her plea one more time. "If it please your Majesty, if I have found favor in your sight, and if it seems right to the king, and if I am pleasing in your eyes, please let a decree go forth issuing that Haman's letters to destroy the Jewish people have been revoked." She met the eyes of her beloved. "How can I bear to see my people destroyed?"

This was it. They had come so far. All they needed was for King Ahasuerus to give the order, and this whole ordeal would be behind them.

A real smile graced her lips for the first time in days.

The king started to speak, he deep voice resonating in the grand room. "I have given the house of Haman into your hands, and Haman was hung on the gallows as punishment for his plot against the Jews." His deep eyes held regret. "You may write as you please with regard to the Jews in my name, and seal it with my signet ring, for an edict...an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked."

The words took a moment to sink into her heart. Haman had written his edict in King Ahasuerus' name and sealed it with his signet ring. She choked on a sob. Meaning we cannot revoke the law. We've failed.

Sobbing, she dropped to her knees. Decorum and protocol were thrown to the wind. Pulling her hair and royal robs she moaned, "What was the point?"

A hand touched her shoulder. Mordecai was crouched next to her, "There is still hope my dear Esther. We, our people, can fight back."

"No," She started shaking her head.

"Yes!" He took her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Right now, they are waiting to die. We can tell them to fight. Command it with the king's edict. Don't you see? Yahweh's hand is still with us. Don't despair now."

King Ahasuerus moved to look into her eyes again. "He's correct." He smiled, and Esther felt hope burn within her chest again. He nodded to a nearby servant. "Send for the royal scribes at once. You've an edict to write."

Based on Esther 8:1-9

 

They had taken care of Haman. Instead of being able to brush their hands off, and settle back with a feast for a job well done, they had to figure out this law. What must it have been like for Esther to plea that Haman's law to be revoked, thinking they had won this battle, only for the king to say that any law written in his name cannot be revoked?

You make it through one obstacle, and immediately another awaits. Bigger and worse then the first.

I imagine that's how they might have felt.

It would have been so easy for Esther and Mordecai to throw their hands up declaring, "Well, we tried! Apparently God's hand isn't in this after all."

But His hand was in that situation.

Just like God's hand is in our lives. When we make it through one thing, He is prepared to use that hand to help us through the next obstacle course. We may get twists and turns and bombs dropped that we didn't expect...but He did. He already has the solution. We just need to trust Him. To keep standing for Him. Don't turn back or give up. He has that but-this-way-we-can-overcome plan waiting for us.

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

When we stand before God and His host of witnesses, will we be able to say that we were immovable and steadfast? That we didn't give up? That we fought the fight? That we finished the race? That we kept our faith? Will we be the green grass that stood the test of time?

When the winter comes, it's up to us to decide if we will freeze our faith and stay strong.

God bless you guys! I'll see you on May 10th. :)

V. Joy Palmer

Review on From the Start

From the Start by Melissa Tagg was an enjoyable read. :)

Be forewarned. There are some spoilers ahead.

Kate Walker is a born romantic turned romantic screenplay writer. There's just one problem: her own broken heart has left her closed off, and frankly, a little sick of it all. Desperate to write something real and important, Kate is looking to hit the restart button on her life and her career.

Colton Greene has been recently and permanently sidelined by an injury from the NFL. Due to his own troubled past, Colton is closed off and guarded. Football was his outlet, and now that's gone. Colton is having a hard time trying to figure out what comes next. Sure, he's got a book deal, but that doesn't bring back what he's lost.

A tornado brings Kate and Colton to Maple Valley, Iowa. Reluctantly at first, Colton agrees to stick around and help the town recover from the devastation of the tornado. There he meets Kate in a meet-cute that is guaranteed to have you grinning from ear to ear. Turns out, Colton needs a writer, and Kate needs money to finally fulfill her lifelong dream, and follow in her mother's footsteps. The answer to two un-prayed prayers.

From the Start is filled with enjoyable scenes, romantic tension, and fun characters. There isn't a Gilmore Girls fan in the house that wouldn't find the buy-a-basket-get-a-date scene awesome. There were a number of zippy one-liners that had me laughing and thinking, "Now when can I realistically say that in a conversation?" For my personal taste as a reader, the backstory and character thought process were a little on the heavy side. Tagg does a great job with dialogue, but sometimes it was too broken up with the character's long thoughts. I loved the idea of a writer in a career slump! The ending was happy, and it was great to see Kate's renewed heart for romantic writing, and Colton going after a backup plan that could only be crafted by God.

Bottom line: this is a good read. I'm looking forward to the following books in the Walker Family Series.

I was given a copy of From the Start by Melissa Tagg from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

V. Joy Palmer