Bubbles and Rock - a devotion for you, if you are finding life tough

When things get tough, do you ever eyeball yourself firmly in the mirror and give yourself a pep talk? I know I do. I try to make sure nobody is watching, but even that doesn't always work out.

I’ve come to realize though, that my motivational eyeballings – even the very best ones, are a little bit like wrapping myself in a bubble. For a while I can float along, feeling cushioned from the bite of an anorexic bank account, safely tucked away from bickering kids and in firm denial of my hungry petrol tank.

There’s just one problem with a self-motivated-pep-talk-bubble. It just takes one sharp object, one tiny prick and it pops. I can tell you from experience that when you’re floating in a bubble that bursts, there’s only one way to go and it ain’t up. You feel the teeth of your bank account when you can’t buy the bottle your kid needs for school to make your Mom’s day pressy, when you have to say no to your teenager’s social life because you can’t afford the petrol for the extra trip.

It doesn’t take a sledgehammer to pop a bubble.

Yet somehow, when God speaks, there are no bubbles involved. His Words come with a standard issue of solid rock under your feet and the guts to face life unflinching. No matter what. One word from Him, and I’m on solid ground, light years away from the quicksand of doubt.

From now on when I eyeball myself in the mirror, I'll be saying one thing and one thing only... 

Listen to Jesus, girl. He's got you!

Dianne J. Wilson writes novels from her hometown in East London, South Africa, where she lives with her husband and three daughters.

Finding Mia is available from Amazon, Pelican / Harbourlight, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Shackles is available as a free ebook from Amazon& Smashwords.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and her sporadic blog Doodles.

TWENTY FIFTEEN

So here we stand at the end of another year. I’m sure a lot of us say the same thing around this time of the year: “Next year can’t be as busy/as bad as this year.” And guess what? We get to the end of the next year and it’s been busier, or it’s been worse than the previous one (or both). I’m certain that 2016 will be no different for most.

My husband and I started this year off in Finland. I remember standing on the edge of a frozen lake at my daughter-in-law’s childhood home and pondering what 2015 would hold in store. At that time, many of my friends were choosing a word for the year, something they felt God had in store for them. The word I felt God give me at that icy spot was “Breakthrough.” And in many ways, this year has been a breakthrough year. But it’s been more than that, and I’m so glad God didn’t give me the words that truly encapsulated this year—Tough; Loss; Heartache; Hospitals; Goodbyes. If I’d known what the year would hold, I probably would have found myself a pair of ice-skates and skated off into the Finnish sunset the day God chose to give me the word “Breakthrough” instead.

My mom fell ill with heart failure mid-2014. We didn’t think she’d make the end of that year. It was so hard to see her grow more frail with each passing month this year. To lose her in July (five months ago today) was heartbreaking, but it was also a relief. She was out of her suffering and in glory with her Savior. But to lose my dad 33 days later on August 19th was devastating and unexpected.

Then came saying goodbye to both my brothers shortly after my father’s funeral—one more permanently than the other. My youngest brother, two years older than me, immigrated to the land of our ancestors—Scotland. My oldest brother left for Iraq to work on a rotation basis. He’s just landed back home in South Africa after being away for over two months and will be here for a few weeks before heading back to the Middle East. I look forward to seeing him again.

Early September, my eighty-year-old mother-in-law took a bad fall due to being ill and was admitted to hospital for one long month. We were concerned about her condition. I could not plan another funeral. But God knew that.

This Tuesday I bade farewell to my boss who has gone on early retirement. After nine years as his PA, I will certainly miss him.

I’m tired of goodbyes…

But 2015 wasn’t a year of only doom and gloom (although if one looks at what has happened in the world this past year, it was once again a year fraught with terrible global tragedies).

For me, this year was truly a breakthrough year, too, as God had promised. Let me share why:

• I published three novellas—two indie, one traditional.
• I signed another contract with my publisher for my third Passport to Romance which is now in pre-production for publication 2016. Hopefully I get to do a cover reveal soon.
• I dipped my toe in the indie pond, and loved it so much, I decided to stay and play.
• Both my indie books have been released independently and as part of two great box sets.
• I currently have plans for another two novellas in different box sets with international authors, and one of the stories is the first of a new seven book series.
• And finally, I ticked something off my bucket list…I attended the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Dallas, Texas, USA, where I met so many of my precious cyber friends. What a highlight! Below is a pic of me and two of my critique partners, Heidi and Janet.

And so, after such a busy, exciting, and terribly sad year, it is with great anticipation that I look forward to the week between Christmas and New Year as we head for the mountains… me, hubby, my two sons, their wives and my two grandsons. One week to relax and bathe in the majestic splendor of God’s creation.

What will 2016 bring? One thing it will bring for me is at least another three book releases. It will also bring a trip to Scotland in June with my hubby, sister and two nieces to visit my brother and his wife. Beyond that, I’ve no idea, but I do know the One who knows, and that is all that matters. And whether the new year brings more heartache, or tons of joy, God will be there right beside me. He’ll carry me through the valleys, and He’ll rejoice with me on the mountaintops.

How has your year been? Has it been a long twenty-fifteen, or did 2015 flit by without you noticing how you got to December again? What does 2016 hold in store for you?

MARION UECKERMANN's passion for writing was sparked when she moved to Ireland with her family. Her love of travel has influenced her contemporary inspirational romances set in novel places. She now lives in South Africa in an empty nest with her husband and their crazy black Scottie, Wally.

STORM CHASER

Photo Attribution:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/

Department of Commerce

(Tornado near end of life)

We’re nearing the beginning of the tornado season here in East Tennessee. A few years back, during a rotational storm, every other house took on extreme wind and hail damage, each costing tens of thousands of U.S. dollars to repair. Unfortunately, the house I occupy happened to be one of the “other.” Before it struck, I had anticipated trouble when, in the quiet lull before that particular system, my pets tried to, uncharacteristically, hide inside the piano. That gave me a clue to take cover. The storm passed quickly, but left destruction in its wake. And although nerve racking, there existed a tinge of what I can only describe as thrill.

I questioned that, this sense of thrill, especially within a force so powerful and potentially life threatening. My mind began to wander, and I considered those who work as real storm chasers, tracking systems, racing with equipment in tow to the projected path of potential disaster. I have enjoyed watching documentaries on such curious people, who take great risks, seeking that big break. To capture evidence or footage unique to him/her and their perspective on the disturbance that lands them on the map of meteorological success. Storm chasers strike me not only as adventure seekers, but purpose-driven junkies.

Well, I suppose in a sense I am a storm chaser. Not literally, but forever and a day looking for atmospheric (spiritual) intensity, searching for that single event which could alter the course of my life.

Here is my oft spoken heavenly petition, “Here am I, God, stir up the gales a bit, please. Things have grown too sedentary again, and you know how that affects me.” I then proceed to solicit guidance and direction, and a stirring - His move and the winds of the Holy Spirit - in my life. At the same instance of asking for a squall over stillness, I recite the words: I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this violent storm is past. I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me…Psalm 57:1-2  

Invite a storm and then request protective “backup” in order to get through it. Ha! Let me explain through H.P. Grant, who said it well, “We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.”

My thirst for skill and knowledge to achieve that high wind sail prevails. Though I paint a figurative picture of storm chasing, I suppose in my heart-of-hearts it’s the desire to have the strength of faith to survive, make it through anything, and capture that which I seem to desperately seek: God getting my attention in an irrefutable manner, rather than the other way around. So in the height of a terrible tempest, I have no choice but that He holds me steady as she goes.
 


 A veteran of the performing arts and worldwide missions, Tessa Stockton also contributed as a writer/editor for ministry publications, ghostwriter for political content, and headed a column on the topic of forgiveness. Today, she writes romance and intrigue novels in a variety of genres.
www.TessaStockton.com