People Just Like Me
By Leeann Betts
My tagline is “stories that
brighten your day” because I like to read and write stories that don’t just
answer a burning question, or educate, or even pass the time. I like to read
and write stories that brighten my day, give me hope, and strengthen me to keep
on going when everything within me is screaming to simply give up.
Because underneath, I think
most people are just like me. I have a husband, children, grands, siblings,
various other friends and family who expect time and energy from me. I have a
job, chores I’m responsible for, and not enough down time. Sometimes I question
my faith, wonder if I really hear from God, worry that I don’t spend enough
time in prayer or Bible study, struggle with balancing my calendar.
And that’s who I write
about—people just like me. In my recent Christmas-themed release, In Search of Christmas Past, my heroine
and hero both want something—but they don’t want the same thing. Add into the
mix the fact that my heroine is angry with God for not answering her prayers,
but my hero has a real, alive, and growing relationship with God, and you can
see where some conflict might crop up.
If we’re honest, as
believers, we’ve all been where my characters are—uncertain, pining for
something more, wishing for things to be the way they used to be. We all go
through change, and face it, we don’t really like it.
But the good news is that
with God in our camp, as our focus and the center of all the choices we make,
we can get through this. I recently spoke with a new widow in our church, and I
said how much she blessed me by being in church the first Sunday after her
husband’s funeral and in the choir the previous Sunday. She said, “How could I
do anything else? God is my life. Brian (name changed) was my husband, but God
is my life.”
Her words encouraged me and
strengthened me. It can be difficult to find joy in the midst of what seems
like the darkest moment we’ll ever face. And some moments are longer than
that—they are seasons. My friend’s life is forever changed with the passing of
her husband, but she has learned a valuable lesson—God is bigger than the
moments, bigger than the seasons.
And so I’ll keep on writing
about people just like me—and you. And I’ll keep learning—and sharing—whatever God
has for me to learn and apply.
Won’t you submit your life to
His plan and come on this journey with me?
About Leeann:
Leeann Betts writes
contemporary suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens
Website: www.LeeannBetts.com Receive a free ebook
just for signing up for our quarterly newsletter.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/1pQSOqV
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1qmqvB6
Books: Amazon http://amzn.to/2dHfgCE and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2z5ecP8
About In Search of Christmas Past:
Grace Bellows, a senior in
college, receives a Christmas card one month after her grandmother’s death,
where her beloved Grammie challenges her to an old-fashioned scavenger hunt.
Raised by her grandmother after her parents’ death in a car accident when she
was eight, Grace has lived a jetsetter lifestyle with her wealthy grandmother.
Now all she wants is to settle down and have a normal life.
Luke Fisher manages his
family’s Christmas tree farm out of a sense of loyalty to his deceased mother
because she gave up her dreams of being an attorney. He doesn’t want to live
with any regrets, and longs to escape the confines of loyalty to live a life of
adventure in the real world.
Can Grace and Luke solve the
clues and uncover the truth about their real feelings, or will the tension and
their differences in goals and faith drive them apart?
No comments:
Post a Comment