Your First Fruits ~ Ginger Solomon

I wrote a different post, but when I ran out of things to say about 200 words in, I knew it wasn’t what I was supposed to write.

So instead, I’m going to share what I learned from my last novella, On Angels’ Wings—part of the boxed set, The Heart of Christmas—which released this week.

I almost always learn something from my stories, though I don’t always grasp it right away.

Toward the end of this story, God rebuked me through my heroine, Jenna. She’s basically throwing a temper tantrum because my hero doesn’t put her first in his life. (Hey, we’ve all been there. Don’t judge her too harshly.)

And here’s what God showed her (and me) ...  

“Am I first place in your life?
Jenna groaned, knowing that many times God got pushed to the side because she knew He'd understand. Not as much as You should be.
And now you know how I feel when you ignore me. I wait for you. I send reminders of My presence. And still you push me to the side to do other things. Things you deem more important.”

Can we say, “Ouch?”

I write best first thing in the morning. I know this. So, when I’m in writing mode, I postpone my quiet time to write. Which in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. The problem is that I don’t actually do a quiet time if I write first. That is not good.

I’m a habitual person. I like routine. Do this, and then do that, and then move on to the next thing. And so on. When I put writing first, it became a habit. I pushed God to the side, because “I” knew He’d understand. Afterall, He’d put the gift of writing in my life.

But that’s not giving God my best. It’s not giving Him my first fruits. It’s giving Him the leftovers if I bother to give Him any time at all. And that makes me sad.

I love God. I write for God.

I have a sticky 3x5 card on the wall behind my monitor. It says, “Write for God alone.” Which to me means that even if I never sold even one book, I’m a success because I’ve done what God called me to do. I’ve written the story He asked me to write. I’ve learned something—either about Him or about me. And in the end, that’s worth more than any money I can make. (Not that I say no to the checks when they come in. LOL)

What has God taught you lately, either in your quiet time, through your calling, or through someone else?

About On Angel's Wings:

Bakery owner, Jenna Wing prepares to spend Thanksgiving alone—her first without her family. When her former neighbor, Thomas Hayes, invites her to dinner, she finds that she can’t say no. 

Their previous friendship turns to something more, but Thomas’s family issues threaten their new-found relationship.

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K1FL87D/

Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer—in that order (mostly). She writes or reads inspirational romance of any genre, and if she’s busy homeschooling, doing laundry, or fixing dinner, books are on her mind. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local writing group, and blogs regularly for InspyRomance.com and at gingersolomon.com.

 Author Links:

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Inspy Romance Blog

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Friday Morning Devotional ♦ Sherri Wilson Johnson

Come and Believe

 A devotional by Sherri Wilson Johnson

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:35 KJV

My stomach still feels full from Thanksgiving. How about yours? Although I was good about watching my sugar and gluten this year, I still ate more food than I should have. Truthfully, some of my “watching” involved watching the sugar and gluten (in the form of cobbler and macaroni and cheese) go directly into my mouth.

In my family, there’s never a doubt if there will be enough food on the table on Thanksgiving or Christmas. There’s always plenty. For that, I am extremely thankful. I know there are countless people in this world who go hungry every day.

There have been times throughout my almost thirty years of marriage that I wasn’t sure if I would have enough food to feed my hungry family of four due to unemployment or just simply too many bills to pay. During those times, I was thankful that we only had four mouths (plus a dog) to feed.

There have also been times in my life I felt starved for spiritual food and dehydrated from the lack of drinking in God’s Word. Even though I’ve attended church most Sundays since I was a toddler, with only brief periods of “churchlessness” in between, I’ve not always felt as full as I know I could be.

How is that even possible when Jesus says He is the bread of life, and we’ll never hunger or thirst?

I used to think that meant coming to church on Sunday, putting on your spiritual bib, fork and knife in hand, and waiting for the preacher to feed me. I thought it was up to him to give me something good enough to chew on all week. Sure, I’d read the little verse and fifty-word devotional they handed out in Sunday School, but still, I wanted more and wasn’t sure why I wasn’t getting it if Jesus said we could have it.

John 6:35 states it plainly: COME and BELIEVE.

We have to come to the Lord and partake of His goodness in order to be filled. We must believe and drink of His truth to have our thirst quenched.

The older I get, I understand more why my ancestors put God first in their lives daily, why they made it a habit (in a good way) to read the Word daily, to devote time to prayer, to love God and love their neighbors.

Living the Christian life is most fulfilling when we’re listening to and talking to God and also when we’re spending time with fellow believers loving them and nurturing them—and being nurtured by them.

We can be filled to overflowing to the point that we will never be hungry or thirsty again. Jesus is the solution. He stands with arms open wide to bring us into his family. He’s ready to give us all the satisfaction that earthly food and drink can never give us. He truly is the well that satisfies. I’m thankful for the Lord especially during this time of year. I pray you will be blessed and filled to the fullest.

About Sherri''s Book

Grafted into Deceit

Answers are hard to find when there's no one to trust.

Disappearing business funds and a missing dead body have Marina Acres doubting everyone — including the detective who can't solve his case without her help.

When Marina Acres launches an investigation to find her company's missing money, she becomes a killer's target and uncovers a tangled vine of deception in the process. Detective Steven Pennington, who suspects drugs are at the root of the problem, must keep Marina safe from the killer while keeping himself from falling for yet another victim. Marina refuses to believe that her business partner could be part of a drug trafficking ring, but when evidence points its finger at her, she must join the fight with Steven to weed out the killer.

About Sherri:

Sherri Wilson Johnson is a multi-published Inspirational Romance novelist, speaker, virtual assistant and self-publishing coach. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and is passionate about writing, publishing, and marketing.

She lives in Georgia with her husband and her Chihuahua. She loves spending time with her adult children and friends or curling up with a good book or her current work-in-progress. Sherri enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles in the winter, watching Bob Ross painting videos (although she can't paint), and counts the days every year until she can take another trip to the beach.

Where to find Sherri:

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Grafted into Deceit: http://amzn.to/2iOgDiA

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Thanksgiving Hymn Story ♦ Lucy Adams

 Once again, I'm thrilled to bring you another of Lucy Adams' Hymn Stories especially for today.  Enjoy!

 Come Ye Thankful People Come

by Lucy Adams

What messages were we speaking when we were 16 years old?  Maybe a lot of silly talk and probably not what a young boy, named Henry, wrote in the front of his Bible:

      "I do this day, in the presence of God and my own soul, renew my covenant with God and solemnly determine henceforth to become His, and to do His work as far as in me lies."

Henry Alford was born in London, England on October 7, 1810.  He was nurtured by Christian parents and greatly influenced by a grandfather and a father who were Anglican clergyman.  Their example before him, apparently led to his personal commitment to Jesus Christ.

Upon graduation from Trinity College, Cambridge, he began his lifelong ministry as theologian, poet and musician.

Dr. Alford was eventually appointed as dean of Canterbury Cathedral, known as the "mother-church of England".

His death in 1871 at the age of 61 left a void in the hearts of many people whom God had touched through his ministry.  But the world was left with one of the most memorable hymns of thanksgiving.  It was written to celebrate the times of harvest festival in the English countryside.  It is an invitation to join the festivities in loving response to a faithful God:

        "Come ye, thankful people, come.  Raise the song of harvest home.  All is safely gathered in er'e the winter storms begin."

The following two stanzas summarize the parable that Jesus tells about the wheat and tares in Matthew 13 .  The hymn closes with a prayer of anticipation about "our final harvest home" which is heaven!

After it was first published in 1844, it appeared later in the Anglican church hymnal to be sung to a tune composed by the organist, George Elvey, in the royal chapel of Windsor Castle.  It is the one we still use today.

Henry Alford fulfilled  his commitment to his Lord, as he lived out the promise he made at age 16.  His life was a testimony to that promise and this one song is a tribute to that life.

Praise God that we can also  joyfully  read in Psalm 100: "Make a joyful noise to the Lord" and we are free to "enter His gates with thanksgiving!"

Lucy N. Adams

http://www.52hymns.com/ 

Below is a YouTube video of the choir and congregation of (I assume, according to the caption) St. Georges's Cathedral at Windsor. The lyrics are provided so you can sing along.