Changing Seasons

Finally! After the excitement of Memorial Day weekend, with graduation and all, we are finally starting to settle into a routine that feels like summertime. I've been reading by the pool while the girls play ALL afternoon. LOVE IT! And working a lot, too, but it's different that school year work. Most of my work now consists of cranking out as many words as I can on The Heart's Lullaby, which is coming along well. I wrote a pretty important scene last night that I'm actually happy with, so that's good! I just LOVE the laid back, easygoing feel of summer. It's one of my favorite times of the year.

Amazing how in just a few weeks, we'll all be complaining about how hot it is and more than ready for the changing leaves and slight chill in the air that autumn brings. Then the leves get brown and crusty and we're ready to see that much anticipated first snow. That gets real old real fast and soon we're craving the warmer temperatures of spring . . . until we're tired of the allergies and ready for school to be out again. What exactly is the point I'm trying to make???

Everything changes. Not just the seasons, but our lives. Kids grow up in the blink of an eye. We go from elementary school to high school to college to "the real world". We may move to a different state or just down the street. Some lose their jobs, some get promoted. Babies are born, loved ones pass away. That's the hardest change of all. I don't have to tell you that. And quite obviously from my last post, many are going through that difficult change as I type. I've gone through loss and many of you have, too. Loss that you felt like you just couldn't get through . . . but you did, right? Or you're getting through it one day at a time, maybe one moment at a time, right?

Sometimes change stinks royally! Believe me, I know! As a kid, there were times when I wished that my mom and dad would get back together so I wouldn't have to go from my mom's house to my dad's. It was a weekly change, that's all. Now, let me be quick to add that my mom and my dad made our situation as good as humanly possible, and I have wonderful step parents that have helped raise me to make me exactly who I am today. But, still, EVERY kid wants their parents to get back together. It's as sure as Newton's law. Now that I'm a rational thinking adult (most of the time) I can see how different my life would've been if that change hadn't occurred.

You all know by now that my daddy passed away 9 1/2 years ago . . . when I was 4 months pregnant with Alison. I had A LOT of change go on at that point in my life. Too much for me to handle on my own. Thankfully, my pastor helped me deal with some of it. Some of it I had to deal with on my own. Some of it I'm still dealing with. Like the fact that on a hot summer day like today I can't go for a boat ride with my daddy. We used to love that! Like the fact that I'll never get a call from him on special occasions again in this lifetime. That's some hard stuff to swallow. I didn't want that season to change, but it was just time.

See, sometimes the seasons in our life change NOT when we want them to, NOT when we expect them to, certainly NOT when we're ready for them to, but always in the Lord's perfect time. And as children grow with the change of the physical seasons, we can use these difficult changes to grow, too - in the Lord. I'm growing little by little every day. Are you?

The Lord brought a new friend into my life, literally. It's a story I'll share with you another time, but, in the meantime I'll just tell you she is "Ethan's author", Ms. Sherry and she has agreed to be a guest blogger on here at an undetermined date. She will be able to shed light that I just can't on a little of what Ethan went through and how he and his family changed lives in the process. It's really a tragically beautiful thing to have witnessed and through her I believe you'll be able to have a little taste.

UPDATE ON BOOKS: The Heart's Journey Home is still doing well. It's on it's third printing and it won the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) book club selection for August! I AM THE FEATURED AUTHOR ON http://www.divinedetour.com/ AND KATHY, THE HOST, DID A GREAT JOB ON SOME DIFFERENT AND INTERESTING QUESTIONS. LEAVE A COMMENT ON HER BLOG AND YOU WILL BE ENTERED IN A DRAWING TO WIN A COPY OF THE HEART'S JOURNEY HOME. LEAVE A COMMENT HERE AND THAT WILL BE AN ADDITIONAL ENTRY. SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG AND THAT WILL BE A THIRD ENTRY. SUBSCRIBE TO DIVINE DETOUR AND THAT WILL BE A 4TH ENTRY! THAT'S RIGHT, YOU HAVE 4 CHANCES TO WIN THE HEART'S JOURNEY HOME!

Other updates, The Heart's Lullaby is coming along well, as I said earlier. It still has a ways to go though by my deadline, so please pray for inspiration for me. We did the photo shoot for the cover a few weeks ago. I have the same team working on this cover as on The Heart's Journey Home so I'm excited to see what they come up with! ALSO, DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE "WHAT A DIFFERENCE YOU'VE MADE IN MY LIFE" CONTEST. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS EMAIL ME (jen@jenstephens.net) THE NAME OF A MALE AND/OR FEMALE THAT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE. ON JUNE 21ST, I'LL DRAW THE NAME OF A MALE AND A FEMALE TO PUT A SHORT BIO IN THE FRONT OF THE HEART'S LULLABY AND MAKE THEM A MINOR CHARACTER IN THE BOOK.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Please pray for Howard Holt who has resently been diagnosed with cancer in his lungs, pancreas, adrenal glands, spine and hip. He has a strong faith and a positive attitude, though, which sometimes can mean more than anything the doctors can do! Please pray for strength for Howard as he goes through treatments. Pray for peace for him and his family, for comfort in their moments of weakness. Pray for wisdom for the doctors to do exactly what it takes to get him better.

Please pray for my new friend, Lou Ann Gibson and her family, especially her mother Wilma, as they grieve the passing of her father. Father's Day is quickly approaching and I understand the loss she will feel on that day, and every Father's Day after this one. I can't imagine the grief Wilma has experienced/is experiencing. Please pray at this point for strength for their family, that they will draw ever closer to the Lord and to each other, that they will find comfort in the promise of everlasting life through Jesus Christ.

Also please pray for the family, friends, and students of Bill Kruger, high school teacher, varsity football coach and junior high wrestling coach, who recently committed suicide. This is a change that won't make sense to Bill's loved ones for a very long time. Help them to deal with it the best they can until the time comes that they can say, "I still don't understand it, but I HAVE to move on." Pray that our Father will wrap His loving arms around his loved ones and comfort them, give them strength when they are weak, give them rest when they are weary and they feel like they can't go on a minute longer. Please, remember to pray for them in the days, weeks, and months ahead, when the rest of the world has gone on with life and their world remains unmoving.

Change isn't the only guarantee in this life. Thank heavens we are guaranteed hope in Jesus Christ . . . through EVERY season.