Guest Appearance by Sharon Srock

To my lovely readers, please help me welcome fellow author, Sharon Srock to this blog. Sharon has a new novel, called Callie coming out soon and she's here to tell us a little bit about it and about herself.

Sharon Srock lives with her husband, Larry, and two dogs in Rural Oklahoma. She is a mother, grandmother, and Sunday School teacher. Sharon has one and three-quarters jobs and writes in her spare time. Her favorite hobby is traveling with her grandchildren. She is a member of the ACFW and currently serves as treasurer for her local chapter. Sharon’s writing credits include numerous poems and short stories published in science fiction fanzines.

Here's a few interesting tid-bits about Sharon and her book.

How much of yourself do you write into your characters?

I don’t, intentionally, write any of me into my characters. That doesn’t mean you won’t find a little piece of me in all of the women. Callie teaches Sunday school and loves her guacamole, Terri is looking for God’s will in her life and arguing the whole way, Pam is learning lessons in forgiveness. Yep, there I am.

How do you keep your sanity in this crazy fast paced world of ours?

I guess I’m a product of our environment. I like being busy. Even on a vacation I have to consciously tell myself to slow down and enjoy the moment. Sanity…I’m a writer, that option took a hike a few years back.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I’m going to assume you don’t mean raising terrific daughters. Really? This book. Not just for the validation or a sense of “I can really do this”. But because I feel like it represent me, finally finding God’s place for me.

What is your favorite food?

I have two rules when I cook. If it’s sweet add chocolate. If it isn’t sweet add cheese.

Of all the current technological marvels, which is your favorite and why?

My GPS. I don’t navigate. Now I don’t have to.

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

That sometimes we spend too much time beating ourselves up for something God has already forgiven and forgotten. That we do a disservice to ourselves and others when we indulge in those feelings.

And here's a bit more information about the book, Callie: 

Three dire circumstances. Three desperate prayers. One miracle to save them all.

Callie Stillman is drawn to the evasive girl who’s befriended her granddaughter, but the last time Callie tried to help a child, her efforts backfired. Memories of the tiny coffin still haunt her.

Samantha and Iris Evans should be worried about homework, not whether they can pool enough cash to survive another week of caring for an infant while evading the authorities.

Steve Evans wants a second chance at fatherhood, but his children are missing.  And no one seems to want to help the former addict who deserted his family.

For Steve to regain the relationship he abandoned, for his girls to receive the care they deserve, Callie must surrender her fear and rely on God to work the miracle they all need.

A God who will ALWAYS be there!

One of the attributes of God I love the most is the fact that He will ALWAYS be there. There's a feeling of dread you get when you think about someone you love not being there at some point in the future. It's a very hard thing to think about. It's a thought that you just want to blot of of your head and never think again. My heart begins to race when I think I may lose a loved one and almost immediately I begin to wonder what my life will be like without them. It almost makes me want to begin mourning for their loss now.

I like the fact that with God, I'll never have to have that feeling. I'll never have to think about losing Him, because he will always be there. He will never die. His presence brings me great comfort and I will always have it. Oh wow, what a God right? How many others can boast about a God who actually hears them, speaks to them, comforts them and who they know will ALWAYS be there for them.

I don't know about you but my heart is comforted by the fact that such an awesome God will always love me and I'll never, ever lose Him. I just thought I'd share that bit of comfort with you today. Maybe you never thought about it quite like this, but it's worth the thought really cause now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Don't you just love it when God does that to you?

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Praying without Ceasing

What does praying without ceasing mean? Does it mean that you spend every moment of every day for the rest of your life locked in a prayer closet somewhere praying your heart out? Nope. It means that your life must be one of constant prayer. That means consulting God should be a regular part of your life. It should be as automatic as panicking.

When something bad is about to happen to you, like say for example, you're about to get hit by a truck, you don't stop to think about your next action, you don't weigh the pros and cons, you don't take time to determine if the truck will really hit you or not, you simply move out of the way, it's automatic. When you life is threatened, your panic switch flips immediately. Your prayer life should be like that, automatic.

When you wake up in the morning, God should be the first person on your mind, and even if the time you set aside for your devotions is not in the morning, there should still be a desire to say hello to him, much like you desire to say hello to your spouse or the rest of your family.  Prayer should be your first reaction to everything, you should be so tight with God that talking to him becomes as normal as talking to your best friend.

Praying without ceasing does not require a locked closet door, just lifestyle of prayer. Make prayer the first thing you do in any situation. Make prayer a constant part of your life and before long it will be something you do without even thinking about it.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Intimacy

Jesus makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Say that sentence out loud. Feels kind of corny doesn't it. Now think about it, is it true? Does the thought of your saviour stir a tingling in your spirit? Does thinking about the last time you spent quality time with him make your heart sing? Can you even remember the last time you spent quality time with him?

This morning I woke up and started my day the way I usually do, in prayer. In the midst of it, I had that feeling I usually get when I'm talking to someone of the opposite sex that I REALLY like. My insides tingled. Wow. I was thrilled. For me, that meant that my relationship with God was growing. That meant that our intimacy level was getting stronger. That meant that I was truly in love with the one person who would always give that love back. For me, that was something amazing.

So I challenge you today, what's your intimacy level like? Does God make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Do you desire to spend time with Him the way you desire to spend time with your significant other? Do you miss Him? Do you miss His presence? Do you miss His voice? Do you recognise His voice the second you hear it?

Do you?

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Do you need a Do-over?

Ever have one of those moments when you just feel like you need to start over. Sometimes it feels like everything is falling apart, or you've made a mess out of a situation, or maybe even your whole life and you feel like a do over is necessary.

One of the reasons I love God is that with Him do-overs are entirely possible. God is the one person who will forget your past mistakes and never bring them back to haunt you. He will never ever bring those things up again.

A do-over is not a bad thing. Whilst I don't recommend hitting restart every two weeks, I find it commendable that one can look back at their life and see what's wrong with it and make changes. That's what Christianity is all about, constantly making changes to the places in our lives where we fell short at one point or another. Sometimes, it's just necessary to stop for a moment, assess where you're going and change direction.

I've been a Christian for about 15 years and at this point in my life when I look back, I'm not satisfied with certain things. I guess one of the pitfalls of becoming a Christian at an early age is that you tend to start off with the mentality that "I can make changes to my life later, I've still got time." That kind of thinking tends to follow you as you grow older and procrastination becomes a nasty habit. Before you know it, many years have passed and you're standing a few steps behind a point where you were before. One thing I've learned is that in the Christian life, if you're not moving forward, you'll be moving back. There's no such thing as standing in one place with Christianity because the minute you become lukewarm, the enemy moves in to try to reclaim you.

So I've started my do-over, and as I go along, God is showing me things that I either need to change or simply get rid of. He's also showing things that I can do much better. The process is painful but the amazing thing about God is that He has shown me the finish line even though I'm nowhere near it. I know that the end product MUST be great because the creator of heaven and earth is the one working on me. And have you seen earth? Earth is a masterpiece, so can you imagine what I'll look like when he's done? Wow!

So my encouragement to you today is this: Don't be afraid to stop and access your life. Don't be afraid to hit restart if necessary. And most definitely, don't be afraid to let God work on you, He's pretty good at it.

Be Blessed!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo