by Roseanna White | Jul 7, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
“You crown the year with Your goodness
And Your paths drip with abundance.”
~ Psalm 65:11
Yesterday, when I sat down for some much-needed reading and praying, I read Psalm 65, and this verse really struck me. In church last weekend we were talking about how this has been a horrendous year for natural disasters. So many tornadoes . . . flooding . . . wildfires . . . earthquakes . . . tsunamis . . . . Disaster after disaster after disaster that have left very little of the country (and world) untouched.
About two weeks ago I mentioned how much rain we’ve gotten this year, and a friend in the Southwest said how they hadn’t gotten a drop of it in nine months. While things here have been washing out, things there have been drying out.
Yesterday when I read this verse, it resonated within me because I’ve been having a great couple of weeks, professionally speaking. I have an editor super-interested in the book I wanted to write next anyway, I signed with a new agent after phone calls with three of them . . . it’s been great. Exhilarating. I would usually quote the verse about my cup running over, but I like this even better–I’ve been following His path, and it’s dripping with abundance.
But the contrast is still there. Not so long ago, I felt like I was going nowhere. I knew I was doing what the Lord wanted me to do, so there was peace in that, but it was a resigned peace. An “I guess Your will for me doesn’t include this dream of mine” kind of peace. I was dried up. Burned out.
Much like a few friends of mine are now, while I’m going through this period of much.
In a way, it seems weird. Unfair. Right? But it’s about seasons–we all have them. We go through them ourselves, and so does everyone else, and rarely do our seasons line up perfectly with everyone else’s. Still, I had to wonder, yesterday, why this fabulous season of mine corresponds so exactly to such dry periods in the lives of two of the people closest to me.
Then I took a deep breath and remembered that when I went through my dry spell last year, they were there for me. Encouraging, praying. Giving of themselves. Giving of themselves because they could. Because they had the abundance then.
Isn’t that really awesome of God? Yes, we could choose to focus on the wrong thing and be jealous of our friends when all’s going well for them, or to be resentful. But while we can’t send the Southwest our rain, we can pour out the healing waters of the Lord’s love upon others when we’re overflowing with it. We can nourish their souls. And then we can trust that when we’re the ones in the arid places, they’ll do the same for us.
I always used to define “abundance” as having a lot of what you want or need. But my new definition is “having enough to share.”
***
On an unrelated note, I’m trying out a new commenting server thingy. What with all the issues with comments that Blogger’s been having, and the option with this one to reply to an individual’s comment rather than the whole thing if you want, it seemed worth trying. Though it doesn’t recognize your Blogger account, which is the drawback (though you can leave one as “guest”). So opinions on it welcome!
by Roseanna White | Jun 30, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I’m finally giving in. After years of refusing to label myself (and not really needing to), I’ ve found myself wanting a tagline. Primarily because I need to upgrade my website and want something to put under my name, LOL.
But I could use some help. Who’s up for brainstorming?? =)
Here are some things I’ve considered including, themes to all my books, etc.
History/historicals
The problem with this is that I hope to publish some of my contemporaries somewhere along the way, too.
Shine
Since I received the word “Shine” for the year from the Lord, I’ve really been loving all the ways this can be used, and it’s definitely a big goal with my writing–to Shine for Him with my words
Hope
When I asked my best friend/crit partner Stephanie Morrill what common thread ran through all my books, she said it was the hope. So you know . . . common thread . . . good for a tag line, LOL.
Optimism
Not that this is the catchiest word or anything, but it’s probably my most defining characteristic. Which goes in with the hope. =)
Faith
All my books are faith-based, Christian fiction. I want all my stories to glorify the Lord
Love
Though not all meet the definition of “romance,” all my novels are love stories
Depth
This is a word that springs up often when people are talking about my stories–they’re usually very involved and dig deep into matters and hearts
Intelligence
Even when I’m writing silliness, it tends to be smart silliness. Those are my agent’s words, not mine, LOL. So please don’t think me pretentious. And I don’t really know I’d want it in a tagline. Just trying to give you a rounded understanding of me and my work. 😉
Emotion
I like to get really involved in the emotional aspect of a story.
Passion
I know lots of people with this is their tagline, so I might not want to go there, but I’m definitely passionate about the written word, and I like to write about characters passionate about life, love, and the Lord
So . . . any brilliant ideas? I’ve toyed with these:
History, Heart & Soul (which wouldn’t work with contemporaries)
Fiction that Shines with Hope
But I could use some help finding that perfect phrase. So HEEEEELLLLLLPPPPP! Please. 😉
by Roseanna White | Jun 23, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Last Friday was our 10th anniversary, so my hubby and I celebrated with a trip to Niagara Falls. This is the first trip we’ve taken on our own since honeymoon, so it was pretty darn exciting. =) And a truly wonderful, fabulous time.
The kids went camping with my parents and also had a great time, freeing us up for the 6 hour drive. All went well and relatively uneventful on the way up (other than one instance of Google maps directing us down a dead-end road that did not connect to the highway it was aiming us at! LOL), though we discovered that PA/NY 219 has very, very few restaurants on it. We started looking for a nice place to eat breakfast . . . and ended up eating lunch at Burger King two hours later.
Once through Buffalo and across the Niagara River, our first stop was the American side of the falls. Where I discovered why everyone recommends the Canadian side. It’s beautiful still in the U.S., and you get to feel like you’re at the falls, but you never really get a great view of them.
One of my favorite things while still in NY was the series of little tiny falls that led up to the main ones.
After exploring for a while, we crossed over into Canada (happy to report we weren’t detained or strip-searched or anything, LOL) and checked into our hotel. Which gave us this awesome view. Yeah, gorgeous, huh? I don’t think we ever closed the curtains.
That night, being our actual anniversary, we went to an Italian place across the street from our hotel, which ended up having live music that was a lot of fun. We didn’t realize it when we picked it, but we ended up in the front row out on the patio. The band was great and funny, and dedicated a song to us. Then we got a kick out of the members of Latin Heat–who looked the part–coming over and saying, “It’s a nice night, eh?” in the most typically Canadian accent you ever did hear. =) It made me grin, and we couldn’t get over how nice everyone was!
After a walk down to visit the falls, we called it a night, and got to watch a fireworks display from our hotel room. How’s that for celebrating your anniversary??
Saturday we did all the usual tourist things (plus a 3-mile walk uphill after a full day walking already–oops) and crowned it by getting all fancied up and going to the rooftop restaurant at the hotel, which was sooooooo nice.
Sunday we took one last walk down to the falls and then packed it up and came home. Other than the customs guy asking, “What in the world is maple butter?” we had no problems on that border crossing, either, LOL.
All in all, it was a super fun weekend, and we’re planning on taking the kids up that way in a couple years, when Rowyn’s just a little bit bigger. For anyone else planning a trip to Niagara, here’s my insider info: most folks aren’t out up there in the early morning, so if you crave the view in solitude, just be out by 7. And be aware that things open up there about an hour later than they do here. Or at least my “here.”
And there you have it. Our adventure at Niagara. =)
by Roseanna White | Jun 16, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Yesterday started like any other. Namely, with the kids calling, “Mommy! Mooooommmmmyyyyyy! I ready to get uuuuuupppppp!” Followed by getting them each what felt like 10 breakfasts, blogging, torturing myself with exercise . . . you know, the norm.
When I finally got down to writing business, it was to an email from a friend of mine with some awesome news of a contract. (Can’t tell you who because it’s still on the down-low.) She was one of the loudest squealers when I announced my deal with Summerside for Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, so I naturally squealed pretty loudly for her, too. In the course of our frantic back-and-forth emails, she asked me how some of my other proposals were faring.
Which, naturally, reminded me of one I hadn’t sent out that I really felt I should before the weekend. So, while chewing on what needed to change in a scene of Annapolis, I went into this other proposal and made a few changes. Debated a few recommended changes that I just couldn’t come up with a good way to include, and finally tossed my hands in the air and said, “Phooey! I’m sending it.”
And I did. Thinking something along the lines of, “I’ll work more on it later before sending it elsewhere. This editor probably won’t have time to read it for a while anyway, I know she’s busy . . .”
Meanwhile (amid getting the kids 10 lunches each–I swear that’s how it feels sometimes, LOL) I worked on my edits. Made some decent progress, and I feel good about where I am on those right now. So when, an hour later, I got an email asking me to call this editor, I was a little surprised. Okay, a lot surprised. And when I was on the phone with her and heard how much she loved this proposal I’d just sent, I was more than surprised. I was floored. Delighted. Thrilled. Ecstatic.
Now, this isn’t a contract or anything, but it was an amazing way to get my energy up, lemme just tell you! What writer doesn’t like to hear that someone loves her work? And if that someone’s an editor . . .?? Well. Yeah. Awesome.
More craziness ensued that I won’t get into here and now, but let’s just say that by the end of the day, I looked back and thought, “Wow, really? Can’t say as I expected all that when I woke up this morning!” It was a day of encouragement and promise. A day of Joy and a bittersweet ending/new beginning (the other craziness). A day that really showed me that I’m doing what I need to be doing, and that the Lord is ever guiding me exactly where I need to go.
I’m so overwhelmed by all He’s given me. And so I give it back to Him, and pray He use it for His will, above all.
Hope everyone’s having a great week!
by Roseanna White | Jun 9, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
How many times in life do we get do-overs? Do we get to fix the things we’ve done wrong and make them better? How many times do we have the chance to rebuild, to repair, to refine before anyone sees our first attempt?
I know there are many times I wish we could do this more. Wish we could un-say, un-watch, un-hear something. Times I wish we could tweak a few details of ourselves, of our decisions, of our pasts to make things just a little better, a little more considerate, a little more lovely.
The other day I got my first round of edits on
Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, and as I read through the comments of my awesome editor, I find myself thinking, “Thank you, Lord, for the chance to improve this.” The story certainly has its merits, the writing’s mostly solid . . . but thank heavens I get to incorporate the advice of a team before it hits the shelves. Thank you, God, for letting me alter a few things. Tighten here, shift there, add, delete, reword.
And yet as I add a new dimension to my heroine’s relationship with her family, as I open her eyes a little more to the realities of her world, it makes me realize that in life, it’s not usually so simple. It’s not just a matter of hitting the backspace key a few times. We can never hit Edit / Undo. We can’t make our inconsistencies just go away with a few keystrokes, a few thoughts. Three weeks of work doesn’t make any of us ready for the world to view us (even taking into account the need yet for polish and
Shine).
But you know what? We’ve still got our second chance. We can never undo, we can never erase. We’ll always have to deal with consequences for our words and actions. But we have that blank page waiting. A clean slate. A chance to start anew. We have a Savior who can cover our blemishes with His perfection. Will others still notice the flaws? Oh, they’re good at that–just like I’m sure someone will always find the errors in my books and call me on them.
But just like it’s a huge blessing to have an editor, and the chance to edit, so is it an amazing thought to consider that in life we have a Savior, and the chance to be cleansed of our sin. And just as now that I know what she’s looking for I’ll be sure to incorporate as much as I can of it into each new work, so do we fashion ourselves after what the Lord wants once we’ve accepted His precious grace.
I hope everyone is having a great week!
by Roseanna White | Jun 2, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
You know how it goes. You’re going through your day, probably thinking about the twelve things you’re juggling at that particular moment. In the back of your mind you’ve been turning something over. And over. And over. Not exactly worrying, not exactly fretting (or maybe you are, LOL), but it’s there. Always there.
Like, you know, this proposal I’m going to submit soon.
In the weeks you’ve been turning and churning and considering this thing, whatever it may be, a certain number of options have presented themselves. You’re not sure any will work out, but you’re going to try. Because, well, what else do you?
Then out of the blue, it hits. It. That realization that there is another option, a better option. An option that seems to have come from nowhere in your brain, since you already dismissed it through your awesome logic (ahem).
I had one of those moments yesterday concerning that soon-to-be-submitted proposal, where I realized an option I thought not an option might in fact be the best option. So I sent an email. Got an encouraging response. The kind that left me going, “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that from the get-go?”
Those are the moments that remind me of why it’s awesome to be in communion with our Lord. I seldom get answers while I’m praying, but they come at those odd moments during the day. Those whispers, those sudden realizations. I know there are those out there who don’t attribute them to God, and certainly I have those bolts of inspiration that I don’t consider divine. But when they come with a peace beyond which my own mind tends to fabricate, that’s when I know.
As sure when my husband makes a great suggestion I hadn’t thought of, God has given me a nudge. And obedience never tastes as sweet as in those moments, either, because I know only good will come of it. Maybe not the good I envision, but good nonetheless. =)
So . . . have you had any God moments lately?
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. Having successfully launched two homeschool grads, she now spends her time writing fiction, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years, as well as a fantasy series and contemporary mysteries and romances. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.