Love is a Powerful Emotion: A Devotion

God is love, 

and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, 

and God in him.

I John 4:16b

I'm always looking for ways to show my love to my family and friends.

It not only gives them happiness and joy (I hope),

but it also gives me satisfaction and peace

to know I've again shown I love them.

So...

recently I saw this picture:

and decided immediately to do this for my youngest grandson's

class for Valentine's Day.

I wanted to make sure it would be okay with him (Jonathan).

I sent him the picture and asked if he'd like me to make these for his class.

He faced timed with me and emphatically declared,

YES! 

I said, but what if some didn't like applesauce?

No, he assured me, everyone in his class liked applesauce.

Now, whether he really knows or not,

his enthusiasm gave me the answer.

This week I'm gathering the materials for this simple project 

and plan on delivering the Valentine Applesauce cuties

to him when its time.

How I love that boy!

But even more so, 

how God loves me.

A fumbling, mistake-making,

sometimes selfish, sometimes hesitant

sometimes asking forgiveness

person I am,

and...

God loves me.

And that's

 enough.

***

About Carole:

Besides being an active participant in many writing groups, Carole is an award-winning author and enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense, tough topics, romance, and whimsy into her books and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons? 

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Carole-Brown/e/B00EZV4RFY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427898838&sr=8-1

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carole-brown

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/browncarole212

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sunnywrtr/boards/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5237997-carole-brown

Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carole-brown-79b6951a?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Stitches in Time:  http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com

Love is in the Air with Special Guest Tanya Eavenson

Today I'm pleased to introduce Tanya Eavenson!

Tanya is a bestselling and an award-winning inspirational romance author. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. Tanya is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Word Weavers International. Her favorite pastime is grabbing a cup of coffee, eating chocolate, and reading a good book. You can find her at her website

http://www.tanyaeavenson.com/ on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google, or on Amazon.

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Love is in the Air

Tanya Eavenson

Can you feel it? Whether it’s a romantic kind of love or the parental kind, love is in the air! Even in my fictional world from my new release To Gain a Valentine.

Last week, I released my second novella in the Gaining Love series entitled To Gain a Valentine. I had so much fun writing this story because I could relate to the hero, Patrick Reynolds, who works wonders with sick children as a pediatrician, yet when it comes to pets, he’s clueless.

That is so me! Several years ago we moved from the pastorium to the home we bought seven minutes away. Carrying all our possessions, including our cat, Woody, (he was named after Woody from Toy Story) I placed him in the garage. Little did I realize, I left the back door open.

Can you imagine my horror when I was the one who allowed my daughter’s cat, her best friend, to escape and wander around lost in a neighborhood during a rain storm? Yes, a storm! It was raining cats and dogs, pun intended. I could hardly see three feet in front of my face. I felt just awful! The way my eight-year-old cried, those tears, the words “he’s going to die out there!” just about killed me on the spot.

So me, who uses an umbrella at the first sign of rain or mist in the air, I charge out into the pelting rain in hopes of finding a cat and mending broken hearts—hers and mine. “Soaked through” wouldn’t even begin to describe my clothes, which clung to me seconds after stepping outside. Already exhausted from the move, I dragged myself through the process of combing the neighborhood.

But there, at last, was Woody, waiting under a stranger’s patio, sheltered from the storm. I still remember whispering a prayer of thanksgiving as I trespassed on this person’s yard with all intent to steal my own cat. But as I neared, he ran. And I chased.

Two blocks, yard after yard, calling his name. “Woody!”

Then, I lost him. What was I going to do now? How was I going to tell my daughter that not once but twice in one day I had lost her most beloved cat?

Heading back toward the house, I hung my sopping head and said another prayer that Woody would return, and soon.

Sloshing up the front steps, I heard my husband’s voice from the garage. It was better to tell him first, so I went to him. There, sitting in a folding chair next to our dresser, sat my daughter with a wide smile on her face, holding Woody against her chest.

Happy tears filled my eyes, but in the next breath I realized seeing him in her arms, dry, I’d been running down the streets of our new neighborhood like a crazy person, chasing after another person’s cat! Needless to say, in life, you have to learn how to laugh at yourself. This was indeed one of those moments that will forever be etched in my daughter's mind and heart, as well as my own. She saw, in action, how much I loved her.

Yes, I see a lot of myself in Patrick from To Gain a Valentine, his attempts to care for animals when he has no idea what in the world he’s doing. Granted, I had one cat in my care, and he had one dog, three fish, two— Well, you’ll have to read the story, but it was also his desire to forget what was safe and love others with action and abandonment. And like my ending, Patrick’s actions will forever last in Amabelle’s heart and mind. For them, it was the day when love took flight.

Tanya is offering a giveaway of her book, To Gain a Valentine this week! Leave a comment, here and on any post before  Monday to get your name in the drawing!

Check out To Gain a Valentine on Amazon

Weekly Windup: Valentine's Giveaway!

Weekly Windup

Welcome to the Weekly Windup!

We have a winner from Saturday to announce!

Winner of Jen Turano's Playing the Part is...Justina Wilson!

Congratulations!  If you are a winner, please contact us to claim your prize.

Coming up this week:

Monday: I Love You, a devotion by Carole Brown
Tuesday: A New Wardrobe for Sam with Amber Schamel
Wednesday: Easy Does It Homemade Candy by Shirley Raye Redmond
Thursday: Book Review by Jennifer Fromke
Friday: Valentines Fun with Guest Tanya Eavenson
Saturday: An Interview with Heather Blanton

This Week's Giveaway:

To Gain A Valentine (ebook)  by Tanya Eavenson

Pediatrician Patrick Reynolds works wonders with sick children, yet when it comes to pets, he’s clueless. But caring for his sister’s menagerie while she’s on vacation is the perfect answer to working through a broken engagement. Hoping to escape the memories, he returns to his hometown, the last place he'd expect to find love.

Life as a single mom is never easy, but pet shop owner Amabelle Durand has found contentment. When an old friend returns to care for his sister’s pets, he enlists her assistance to keep the animals alive. But when Amabelle's young daughter falls ill, she finds herself attracted to more than the handsome pediatrician’s medical skills.

As Valentine's Day approaches, will Patrick and Amabelle miss out on the love they've always desired? Or will their love take flight under the stars on this very special night? 

Comment on any post now through February 12th to get your name in the drawing! Winner will be announced in the Weekly Windup on February 13th.

Announcements:

Amber Schamel's Dawn of Liberty is in the running for the CSPA Book of the Year award! We hope you'll drop by and cast your vote! 

http://www.christianpublishers.net/17votes/

The Greatest Love Stories + Giveaway

Happy belated Valentine's day to you all! To celebrate the occasion, and todays release of Dancing up a Storm, the analogy with my short story, When I'm Gone, I'm giving away an ebook to someone. Just leave a comment!


“When I'm Gone” by Angela K. Couch 
First Place Romance 
Summer 1942. Just before the competition that could launch their careers as professional ballroom dancers, Elaine Mathews’s partner, James Larson, gets drafted into the army. Now, with her dreams and the man she loves hanging in the balance, Elaine must acknowledge what she’s most afraid to lose. 


As a historical romance writer, it doesn't take Valentine's Day to get me thinking about love. As a Christian, I think about it even more, for the greatest love story of all is the one of our Savior's love for us. Completely platonic, but oh, so powerful! Today I have been "musing" about aspects of Christ's love for us - aspects that are present in all the best love stories. Even the romantic ones.


Humility: While the world often sees humbleness as a weakness, in reality it is strength. To admit you're wrong. To apologize. Pride and Prejudice would have ended quite differently, and not near as happily if both Elizabeth's and Darcy's pride hadn't softened and given way to a little of this.

Long suffering: I was going to step away from Jane Austen, but as soon as I wrote those two words I thought Persuasion...and then of Elinor in Sense and Sensibility. Poor Elinor did the right and kind thing no matter how deeply it cut her, and thankfully in the end she got her happy-ever-after.

Courage: "For love casteth out fear". I recently finished reading Rebellious Heart by Jody Hedlund, based on the love story of John and Abigail Adams. In the end they both have the courage to sacrifice everything for the one they love, and to do the right thing. Which brings us to...

Personal sacrifice: I don't think a story can be considered a love story without an aspect of sacrifice. (maybe a lust story, but not love.) Whether one is sacrificing their pride, their job, their dream, or their life for the person they love, it must be present. When they gather their courage, and suffer what they must, then I will believe that they actually care...actually love. Maybe not as fully as Christ loved us...but that only leaves room for growth.

So happy belated Valentine's day. I hope that whether you are reading a romance, or living your own, you will find real love, even charity - the pure love of Christ.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4 KJV)

Valentines Day Interview with Darlene Franklin

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to author Darlene Franklin! One Stitches reader won her Valentines book just last week! 

 Darlene's greatest claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. She lives in Oklahoma, near her son and his family, and continues her interests in playing the piano and singing, books, good fellowship, and reality TV in addition to writing. She is an active member of Oklahoma City Christian Fiction Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Christian Authors Network. She has written over thirty books and has written more than 250 devotionals. Her historical fiction ranges from the Revolutionary War to World War II, from Texas to Vermont. You can find Darlene online elsewhere at https://www.facebook.com/Poet.Darlene.Franklin.
 

Welcome Darlene! We're so glad you could visit us on this Valentine's Day! Do you have anything special planned for tonight?

My son often comes to visit on Saturdays with my grandchildren—but I hope he’s out with his wife! I expect to enjoy Hallmark’s latest romance, the highlight of my Saturday nights.

Why do you write Christian Romance?

Let’s ask God that question! I’m a divorced single mom, with my children grown. Seriously, Christian romance reflects on the greatest love of all time, God’s love for us. I recently wrote a devotional on a verse that The Message translates as, “At the resurrection we’re beyond marriage. As with the angels, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God.” (Matthew 22:30) Human love is only a dim reflection of that love.

How does your faith and spirituality work in with your writing?

When I begin a book, I look for one or more verses to reflect the theme of the book. Sometimes the story moves in a different direction, but not always. Some of my characters have a strong faith; some are far from the faith they once professed; some have never known the Lord. I don’t work to make my books Christian, but my faith flows through as a natural expression of my life.

Also, many of my books deal with serious life issues. Although My Candy Valentine is fairly light-hearted, the heroine’s father was cheated out of one business and is on the verge of losing another. In the book I’m writing, the heroine is an unwed mother, left pregnant when her fiancé joined the army during World War I.

Where did the inspiration for your latest book come from?

From candy conversation hearts. When I wrote An Apple for Christmas, I used apple sayings for chapter titles, and I liked the idea of using conversation hearts in the same way in this story. I also searched for towns with likely names for Valentine’s Day. Loveland, OK, was founded in 1908 and was a thriving town in 1916. I’m not sure how I decided my heroine should be a candy maker, except that chocolates and Valentine’s Day go hand and hand.

http://www.amazon.com/Readers-Journey-through-Matthew-ebook/dp/B00T8OJ0F0/

The first NECCO conversation candies were made in the 1860s, but the ones we know today started early in the twentieth century. They continue to add new sayings throughout the years, to keep them contemporary. Yesterday I gave each member of my family a candy heart: I.M. Me to my son (to remind him to send me emails), “Luv U” to my granddaughter, “U R Sweet” to my grandson, and “Cutie” to my daughter-in-law.

What are you working on next? 

I just finished my first devotional, A Reader’s Journey through Matthew, which is now available at http://www.amazon.com/Readers-Journey-through-Matthew-ebook/dp/B00T8OJ0F0/.

Now I’m working on the third book in the Holidays of the Heart series, Love’s Glory, a Flag Day romance set in Old Glory, Texas, in 1919.

Very interesting. Looks like you have some great stuff going on. Thank you so much for being with us! 

All-Time Favorite Romantic Quotes Quiz

February is the time when thoughts turn to love, and we see it in all its varieties in every store, commercial, and television program. As a romance writer, it should come as no surprise that my DVR is set to record all new movies on the Hallmark channel, and it takes a lot for me to become all “romanced out.”

I confess to having worn out a hardback copy of Gone with the Wind, and paperback copies of both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, arguably three of the greatest love stories ever penned. I have read Romeo and Juliet more than few times.

So, being a self-confessed bookworm, I thought I would offer you some lines from favorite romances of the past.

Here’s a little quiz! The answers are at the bottom, but don’t cheat! See how many you can get right and then leave a comment letting me know. You can also tell me your favorite romantic quote!

1.  “You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.”

2. “To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.”

3. “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

4. “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…”

5. “Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love.”

6. “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.”

7. “There was no pausing on the brink; no looking down, or looking back; I was gone, headlong, before I had sense to say a word to her.”

8. “I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are my sympathy–my better self–my good angel…”

9. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give thee, the more I have to give, for both are infinite.”

10. “I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.”

1. Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

2. Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

3. Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice

4. Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

5. William Shakespeare, Hamlet

6. A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

7. Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

8. Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

9. William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet

10. Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

I hope you’ll leave a comment telling me your favorites. Also, don’t forget to click on the Prizes Galore tab for a chance to win a copy of my contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, beginning on Monday, February 9th.

About the author:

Norma Gail’s contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, released in 2014. She is a Bible study leader, and writes devotionals for ChristianDevotions.us, StitchesthruTime blog, and “The Secret Place.” She belongs to American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. She is married and has two adult children.

www.normagail.org

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail

https://plus.google.com/b/102717101441594679714/+Normagail/about/p/pub

http://pinterest.com/normagailth/boards/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459.Norma_Gail

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/norma-gail-thurston-holtman/42/71a/3b2

https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail

Book links:

 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170/ or 

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-my-dreams-norma-gail/1119606864 ?ean=9781941103173

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http://store.lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/