Seek the Third Solution

Please welcome guest author, Sherri Stewart, to my blog today as she shares about seeking the third solution and her new release, Deer Eyes!

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:5, NIV 

Being a believer of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean life will be smooth and easy. Sometimes we face huge dilemmas at work and at home where there doesn’t seem to be a good solution. As an immigration attorney, I dealt with cases like the one with the twenty-four-year-old widow who was being deported to the Philippines because her American husband had died in a car accident while her application for a green card was being processed. But God often gives His children a third option, as He gave me with regard to my widowed client. God brought a happy ending to this case that seemed unsolvable. Often the characters in my books face practical problems with no apparent solution, but they pray and usually find their third option in the Bible.

Ask high school principal, Judd Trudeau, who deals with people problems at work every single day. But what he also has learned is God often gives a third solution when there seems to be no answer. In Deer Eyes, Judd’s most immediate problem is more personal. Newcomer to Bar Harbor, Selah Brighton, is as skittish as a deer in the headlights when he encounters her in Acadia National Park. Once she learns to trust him, together they seek God’s third solution to thwart the plans of the enemy who’s followed her to town. https://amzn.to/3oGaI0s

Author Bio & Links

There’s a lot of me in the book, Deer Eyes. Authors are advised to write what they know, and that’s what I do in all my books. In Deer Eyes, Judd deals with the same conflicts at school as I did as a principal of a Christian school. Selah’s disclosure about her father came straight from my own life as a fourteen-year-old. I’ve written twenty historical fiction/romance and romantic suspense novels. My hobby is traveling to the settings of my books. Next month, I’ll visit Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you have any suggestions about what I should see, let me know.

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gZ-mv9

https://www.amazon.com/author/sherristewart/ 

https://twitter.com/machere

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/758893.Sherri_Stewart

www.stewartwriting.com

https://www.instagram.com/stewart_sherri/

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sherri-stewart

www.hhhistory.com

Title photo by Nathan and Kiran Edwards

Unmet Expectations

Have you made a purchase that didn’t meet your expectations? This happened to me last week with makeup I ordered online. I wanted a product that would hide the sun freckles on my face. That’s what my dermatologist called them. I call them age spots. But even with my new makeup, the spots remained. What a disappointment. And that wasn’t the only time last week I encountered unmet expectations.

In my work in progress, my hero and heroine once shared a fondness for blue forget-me-nots, but at the time of my story, these same flowers represent brokenness. Because I mention forget-me-nots a few times in the book, I wanted to experience them too. I purchased and planted seeds, but I didn’t get what I expected. I wanted the flowers in the photograph above, but I got these instead:

Those tiny little flowers are lovely, but the blooms don’t have the white or yellow star in the center as I supposed. And I thought forget-me-not flowers were a little larger than the blossoms on my plant. Mine look like weeds with tiny 1/4-inch blooms.

My disappointment was due to my lack of knowledge before my purchase. Upon further research, I realized these weren’t the forget-me-nots I envisioned. The package stated Cynoglossum when I wanted Myosotis, which has the center stars I desired and blossoms of 3/8 inch. And 1/8 inch makes a vast difference with a tiny flower. This problem was easier to fix than my sun freckles: buy and plant the correct seeds!

These unmet expectations I experienced last week are small in comparison with situations we often deal with in life. Circumstances that cause heartache, such as a job that doesn’t go as well as we anticipated, a relationship that ends, a major diagnosis, or losing a loved one. But if we are a child of God, we can meet each situation with hope. Hope that God is with us and will carry us through whatever we face. In our trials, we grow in patience and courage. 

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because
God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5, NIV 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him, so that you may overflow
with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13, NIV 

Trust the Lord with those unmet expectations and rely upon Him and His great love for you. Ask for His help when you face difficulties in life. His hope is yours.

Notice I didn’t use my face for picture examples! If you have a product to recommend that works for me, I’ll be happy to post before and after photos in my newsletter!

Banner photo by Claude Laprise - Unsplash

Monuments to God

Have you ever thought of trees as monuments to God?

Six weeks ago, Candyce Carden asked the following question in her blog post. “What do you value about trees?” In the Company of Trees

I responded, “On Friday, I valued the trees that formed a canopy over our heads as my husband and I waited for a light rain to pass so we could continue our hike. I’ve always loved trees and find them beautiful even when they have no leaves. Their trunks and branches often form unique designs that cause me to pause and take notice.”

Have you noticed the designs and differences in the trees our Lord created? Trees are as unique as people. They come in different sizes and shapes. Some bear fruit, others show off their flowers, and many die before they fulfill their purpose.

We found the tree above on our recent trip to Kauai, Hawaii. I believe it’s a Moluccan Albizia. They are one of the fastest growing trees in the world, with a growth of 15 feet per year, reaching heights up to 150 feet. Amazing giants, but many people in Hawaii consider them an invasive species. Another interesting tree we found was the Cook Pine. I’m used to seeing the pine trees in North America with full branches. The pines in Hawaii looked bare to me, but lovely. The smaller tree in the picture below may be a monkeypod, also a part of the Albizia family.

I found the trees along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, fascinating as well—their winding branches and the way they blocked our path. We enjoyed our walks in the woods because there aren’t many trees in the desert.

When we moved back to Tennessee a year ago and searched for a home to buy, I told our agent I wanted trees. But the home we purchased had only one small tree, and we removed it due to decay. Last fall we added a redbud, red maple, dwarf Norway spruce, and a serviceberry to our yard. The spruce didn’t make it through the winter, but the others have done well.

Earlier this week I read Psalm 1, another reminder of trees.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company
of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not
wither—whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV)

The godly delight in God’s Word because of the nourishment He provides there. They bear good fruit and produce more to share again with others. I want to produce more fruit in honor of my Lord.

This is what Isaiah 55:12-13 says about trees in The Message.

So you’ll go out in joy, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade, bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession, exuberant with applause. No more thistles, but giant sequoias, no more thornbushes, but stately pines—Monuments to me, to God,
living and lasting evidence of God.

Why do the trees join the procession? They are monuments to God and evidence of Him. May we also be evidence of God, brimming with fruit, bursting with song, and boisterous with applause!

A Step of Faith

Has God asked you to do the impossible? Have you taken a step of faith and done something you believed you’d never do? Maybe impossible in your strength, but not in His.

The story of Queen Esther is one of my favorite Bible stories. Esther, an introverted woman, took a bold step of faith after she fasted. She stood in the inner court before the king without being summoned. An action that could have been fatal. God gave her the strength she needed to save her people from annihilation.

What emotions do you suppose she faced? Insecurity? Fear?

As she fasted, did she obsess over reasons that might make her an inferior choice to save her people? Did she try to persuade God to select someone more qualified? Would the king remove her from his presence and send her to her death if she carried out her plan? I imagine she approached him with weakened knees and a racing heartbeat.

When God impresses upon us to do something extraordinary, we often find ourselves in a scary place. Insecurity and fear may grip us. But when God calls us to do something, He equips us, too. What does it take for us to answer His call? Faith.

I’d like to share an example from my life of taking a step of faith and hope you’ll do the same in the comments.

In a Sunday evening church service, a video played which reminded the congregation of an upcoming mission trip to Malawi, Africa. I’d seen this video on other occasions, but on that evening, a thought popped into my head that I’d never considered. “I want to go.” My husband sat on my left. I turned to share my idea with him when insecurity and fear struck me. Instead, I kept quiet. I couldn’t go unless he went too.

After service on our drive home, the first words out of our youngest daughter’s mouth were, “I want to go on the mission trip to Malawi.”

A wave of relief washed over me. God called her to go—not me. I chuckled and looked at Kenn. “I almost turned to you during the video and said, ‘I want to go.’”

His response: “Wait until you hear this. During the video, I wondered if the two of you would go without me.”

Did God want me to step out in faith and travel halfway around the world without my husband?

My first mission trip caused me to rely on God more than ever. After weeks of preparation and prayer, we arrived in Malawi and shared the Gospel in remote villages for several days. God stretched me. I prayed and trusted Him to guide and strengthen me. When insecurity attacked, I relied upon Him and His Word. So much so that two years later, I returned to Malawi on a second mission trip. I knew God would join me there and help me speak His Word and share from my heart.

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you
with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) 

It’s your turn. Please share a step of faith you’ve taken, or a favorite verse when you’re struggling with insecurity or fear.

Photos by Stewart Linthicum and Stormy Morgan

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