Are you experiencing victory or defeat?

Mar14

How long has it been since you experienced a breakthrough? Since you knew the Lord’s faithfulness? Since you laughed until tears ran down your face?

It’s been a long time for me. Even when I published my first novel, Forsaken, I didn’t realize the power of that victory. Though I knew I was following the Lord, it seemed as if I’d compromised my goals. My vision for this writing life was to find a traditional publisher and write my way to best-seller-dom.

So, why was I self-publishing anything?

Today, I clicked the ‘publish’ button again. My second novel, Ransomed, will be available within hours to download on Kindle. Shortly after that, it will be available to purchase in paperback for those without an e-reader. Unlike the last time, I am not overlooking this victory.

God brings each person to a place of recognizing His power, His glory, and His faithfulness. What that place looks like is different for everyone. For me, it looks like a back booth in Panera Bread, the same booth I’ve occupied for countless days as I research, write, rewrite, edit, doubt, pray, and write some more.

Today, clicking ‘publish’ is an outstanding victory. It means I stayed true to my goals of publishing, of getting these stories and characters before people who need to read of truth and hope. More importantly, clicking ‘publish’ today shows God’s never-ending faithfulness and power. Without His encouragement, I would have given up, and this extremely important topic would have been trapped in my heart forever.

So, confess the truth with me, and experience the change it brings in your life!

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. (1 Chronicles 29:11)

Doing what makes sense, or doing what works?

Dec5

What makes sense does not always work.

As I write this, the world news is on the television. My husband likes to watch it L.O.U.D.L.Y. Talk of fiscal cliffs, rising costs, job cuts, famine, wars, and all forms of destruction reign the headlines. Competing with that chaos is the high-pitched screaming of one or both of my littles, the dog barking for dinner, and my husband commenting – L.O.U.D.L.Y. – about everything the newscaster says.

My ears hurt.

Besides all that, there’s the chaos in my own head. Things that have little to do with what I hear on the news, but relate to the culture of our times, plague my heart. I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend lately. Maybe it’s just me and the isolated (and very loud) bubble I live in that makes it difficult to reason, but it seems that people are becoming more satisfied with mediocrity.

Let me get straight to the point on my heart: Books today stink. Not just self-published books, though many of those are plenty awful. In traditional and indie-published books both, story lines and characters are underdeveloped. Conflict is weak and unrealistic. Motivation is superficial. It pains me to read these stories. Yet these books get rave reviews. They sell in the hundreds of thousands. Marketing efforts are proving successful for these authors.

I’m thankful for the changing landscape of publishing, but there is one thing still going strong for traditional publishers. They have the reach that this stay-at-home mom/indie publisher does not. Growing my “tribe” is brutal, hard work. At times it feels impossible. It always feels like I’m spinning my wheels. Marketing requires me to be loud, to be relentless, to be fearless. It means out-shouting the millions on Facebook, Twitter, and the host of other social media sites. It means making countless connections with bloggers, radio personalities, and established authors.

At the core of my conflict today is the question to go against the popular grain of marketing and instead go with what works for me. To stop spinning my wheels. To stop trying to out-shout anyone except my littles. What works for me is to be a wife and a mom, to write for the Lord, and to possibly self-publish quietly.

To that end, my confession today looks like this:

God determines my success.

I will be still, and know that He is God.

I have the peace that Jesus leaves with me. Peace that surpasses all understanding. Peace that overcomes the world.

I will abide in His love.

When I confess these truths, my heart finds peace. I know the direction He has for me. My spinning and scurrying and struggling stops. I pray confessing the truth does the same for you.

What has you spinning your wheels this holiday season?

4 D’s of a powerless life, and how to avoid them

Dec4

I’ve been fighting discouragement the last several days. Even words of encouragement seem tainted in my weary mind. It seems no matter where I look, there’s a wall to scale and I have no tools. I have no strength. I have no idea how to approach the wall or how to begin climbing. So I stand there and try not to listen to the mean sing-song voice that tells me I’m powerless. It says I should quit now before I waste any more time.

Discouragement is a dangerous place to stand for long because it morphs into doubt.  Doubt causes disruption. When we stop moving, stop trying, stop fighting, the enemy has won the battle. Disruption has become defeat.

Discouragement. Doubt. Disruption. Defeat.

The enemy, knowing his time of destruction nears, is relentless. But the enemy is not in control of time, of love, of my spirit, or of my life. God is good to bring bright spots that lessen the power of the enemy. Praise God for the war is already won. I will confess His truth in the battle.

I will fight the good fight. I will finish the race. I will keep the faith.

I will not grow weary of doing good, for in due time I will reap a bountiful harvest.

I will not despise the day of small beginnings because therein builds the foundation.

How do we avoid a powerless life? We recognize where power belongs. You are God’s masterpiece! He created you to be a conqueror, to scale every wall, and to fight every enemy with His authority. When discouragement threatens, don’t stop moving. Don’t stand at the wall and wonder how to get over it. Get busy finding the route He already paved.

What is your confession in battle?

Strength to get through each trying day

Nov29

I’m quickly drawing near the end of my endurance. As a speaker said, I’m living in crisis mode these days, going from one fire to another, never really recovering from the last, and having no resources to deal with the next. I’ve been short-tempered, easily distracted, exhausted, and disillusioned. Until this morning, it hasn’t occurred to me there’s a reason for my crisis mode – and it’s not due to my kids.

This is a hard confession to make, but it’s necessary. I’ve fallen away from my quiet time and dedicated Bible study. While my husband works nights and I try to grow my writing and speaking, I haven’t taken time to really set my schedule before the Lord. I don’t give Him my days and nights and ask what He would have me do first. As a result, my kids demand my attention the minute their eyes open and I rush through the day trying to please everyone.

News flash: it’s not working.

Trying to get through the day – and night – in my own strength is a bad idea. It doesn’t work. I don’t have the strength to tackle each day with its myriad expectations, trials, fires, emotions, and chores. But here’s another news flash: Jesus does have the strength. He wants to give it to me, wants to organize my day, wants to prepare me for whatever comes. All I have to do is wait on Him.

I will wait on the Lord, and He will renew my strength. He will cause me to mount up with wings like an eagle; I will run and not be weary; I will walk and not faint. He is my strength and my song. When I am weak, He is strong. Nothing is too difficult for God.

Waiting on the Lord seems counter-intuitive for strength building, but I’ve tried it the other way. In myself, I have nothing. In Jesus, I can run and not be weary.

How do you get through each trying day?

How to be content during the holidays

Nov26

For the first time ever, I went Black Friday shopping this year. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. She made e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. so delicious, and after the meal we went to Wal-Mart. Yes, yes, I know that’s sacrilegious to some, but think of the savings! Isn’t it sacrilegious to spend more money when you could be saving?

My sister lives in a small town, so shopping at Wal-Mart is actually not painful. And Black Friday (ahem, Thursday) was rather fun. I didn’t have plans to buy anything – which changed immediately, of course – and it added to my enjoyment to see everyone rushing around, filling their carts, talking about deals, standing in lines, even helping other shoppers find deals. Normally, all these things would make me tear my hair out, but it was the festivity of the occasion that I liked, not to mention the time I got to spend with my extended family.

Still, as much as I enjoyed Black Friday shopping for two hours on Thursday, I could see the potential for harm. Not just physical harm as some in larger groups would get trampled or struck, but emotional distress as the mob mentality took over. There was definitely a spirit of excess, which would lead to discontent. Discontent with what we already have, with having what we need, with what we’re reasonably able to achieve.

I struggle sometimes with contentment. How nice it must be to identify with Paul in Philippians 4:11-12 where he says, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” That’s a lesson we could all practice at Christmastime especially.

I will be content with the blessings God has given me. I will look forward to what lies ahead, pressing on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling me. This holiday season, I will live as a citizen of heaven, conducting myself in a manner worthy of the calling Christian. I will bless others, and I will give more than I take.

My pastor said the key to avoiding discontent is to immerse myself in the word of God. I find when I do that, all material desires fade away. I can be content with Jesus, because He is all I want.

How do you battle discontent?

Does every good thing really come from above?

Nov21

It’s no secret in my family that I love chocolate. It’s one of the good, good things in life. I also really love blue skies and sunshine. (Yes, even in the winter. In fact, I need blue skies, warmth, and sunshine in the winter to stay emotionally stable.) Heated car seats. Hot chocolate. A fireplace. A good book. And chocolate.

This morning, I sat at the kitchen table with my littles and talked about Thanksgiving, each of us taking time to name some of the good things in our life.

  • My husband’s work
  • Our good health
  • Our house, food, and clothing (don’t forget chocolate!)
  • Living in a free country
  • Jesus’ sacrifice and eternal goodness

We managed to get quite a list of things to be thankful for. This is an everyday habit I want to teach my kids, not just something to celebrate one day a year. After all, “A merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). When life kicks them in the teeth, I want them to remember that they serve the almighty God, the One who fights for them, the One who provides for them, the One who protects them. I hope knowing that brings them a sense of thankfulness and security.

The last several years in my family have seemed to point to one thing in particular as my husband struggles to find permanent, full-time work and I try to find my place as a full-time wife and mom. “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). We can be thankful for the material comforts we have, but ultimately those things will burn. The truly good things in this life come from above: Jesus, eternal life in Paradise, and unconditional love. I continue to be thankful for the relationships in my life and for the One who makes it all possible. So, tonight and tomorrow – even on black Friday – I will sing my thanks to Him.

I will enter His gates with Thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter His courts with praise.

I will say this is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice for He has made me glad.

Can you sing thanks for anything in your life this year?

Are you dodging arrows of discouragement?

Nov19

Yowza. It’s been almost three weeks since my last post. Forgive me, fellow confess-ers. I’ve been busy realizing that juggling the myriad duties of life with littles is not for the lazy, faint-hearted, or easily overwhelmed girl.

On Saturday, I gave a self-publishing presentation to a local writers group. It was so much fun, I can’t wait to do it again! What was even more fun, though, was hearing the responses of people who attended. They’ve been telling me how encouraged they are by the information, and one person even told me she’s re-energized to begin writing again. Those were sweet words indeed!

And after the high of giving the presentation, after facing a fear and watching God move, I felt the burn of the enemy’s arrows. I sank into discouragement. How easily I surrendered my victory. Thankfully, God rescued me by His faithful word.

He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. (Psalm 91:4-6)

I can’t help thinking of the future of believers when I read Psalm 91. To me, it speaks of the difficulty to come in the last days – and it reveals His mighty protection and love. Whether we’re in those days now or not, these words continue to be my confession when fighting off the arrows of the evil one.

“He shall cover me with His feathers. Under His wings I shall take refuge. His truth is my shield. It lifts me up and sustains me. I am not afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies in the day, nor of the disease that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste in the middle of it all. A thousand may fall at my side, even ten thousand, but it will not come near me because the Most High is my refuge, my dwelling place, my deliverer.”

Flaming arrows named discouragement found their mark in me, but His truth is my shield.

What are the arrows in your battle? What are you confessing about them?

Author Shannon Winslow on Jane Austen, a second career, and being blessed

Oct30

Are You a Jane Austen Kind of Girl (or Guy)?

Thank you, Shelley, for inviting me to share my story with your readers!

First, I should confess that I was as surprised as anyone that I turned out to be a novelist! I had a practical career, a house and husband to look after, and two sons to raise. I barely had time to read a book, let alone write one.

Then about ten years ago, I discovered Jane Austen and simply fell in love – with her beautiful stories, with the elegant period language she used, and with her witty writing style. I read and reread all her novels. I watched the movies based on them. But I kept coming back to my favorite: Pride and Prejudice – the book itself and the ’95 film adaptation with Colin Firth.

I didn’t want the story to end. The characters – the Bennets, the Darcys, the Bingleys, Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Wickham – all seemed so real to me, and I wanted to spend more time in their world.  I wondered what would come next for them. Would Elizabeth and Darcy really live happily ever after? Did Georgiana have romance waiting for her? What trouble would that wicked Wickham get into next? Would bossy Lady Catherine ever get her comeuppance?

With questions like these rolling around in my mind, I simply sat down at the computer one day and began to type. I had no idea if I could write a novel, but I decided to find out.

I used the clues Jane Austen left in her epilogue chapter as my jumping-off point, and I continued on from there, taking great care to be true to her characters and faithful as possible to her style. The result is The Darcys of Pemberley, published in August 2011. It’s the tale of two romances: the continuation of Darcy and Elizabeth’s story (yes, I do believe in romance after marriage!), and the courtship of Miss Georgiana Darcy. All the other P&P characters get into the act as well. (By the way, writing this sequel didn’t violate any copyright laws because the original book is 200 years old).

So it turns out that I can write a novel after all! Actually, more than one. My second, For Myself Alone, came out this past April. And I just finished my third, Return to Longbourn, to be published early next year. What started out as a lark – just an experiment to satisfy my own curiosity – has turned into a wonderful second career. And the biggest blessing comes from being able to share my stories with others.

Shannon Winslow, her two sons now grown, devotes much of her time to her diverse interests in music, literature, and the visual arts – writing claiming the lion’s share of her creative energies in recent years.

In addition to three short stories, Ms. Winslow has published two novels to date. The Darcys of Pemberley, a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, was her debut. For Myself Alone, a stand-alone Austenesque story, now follows. She is currently working on the next installment of her Pride and Prejudice series entitled Return to Longbourn.

Shannon lives with her husband in the log home they built in the countryside south of Seattle, where she writes and paints in her studio facing Mt. Rainier.

Learn more at Shannon’s website/blog (www.shannonwinslow.com), and follow her on Twitter (as JaneAustenSays..) and on Facebook.

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Shelley here: I’m so thankful to Shannon for continuing the Elizabeth/Mr. Darcy/Jane/Mr. Bingley/Pemberley and Longbourne/silliest girls ever stories! The Darcy’s of Pemberley is one of my absolute favorite books, so I encourage you to download it, too. And I’m thankful that Shannon shares her encouraging words and blessings here. Do you have comments or questions for her? Leave them all week, and she’ll post responses.

Feeling discouraged? Try this.

Oct29

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord while I’m yet living. (Psalm 27:13)

He causes me to prosper in all I do. (Psalm 1:3)

I’ve been submitting my book to publishers the last several days. As always, I’m a little fearful of the rejection that’s sure to come. Thanks to confessing God’s Word, fear is becoming easier to get past. Discouragement, though. That’s another beast. I’ll be confessing the statements above as I fight discouragement in this round of submissions.

And I’ll be reading some great fiction! Shannon Winslow has a heart after my own – a Pride and Prejudice girl that has filled my longing for all things Mr. Darcy. She’s written a beautiful book that picks up where P&P left off, and she’s agreed to post about it this week. Shannon pushed through discouragement to see her novels in print, and for that alone she has my admiration. Add her subject matter and, well she’s practically perfect. Be sure to check in tomorrow or Wednesday to meet Shannon and hear more about her Jane Austen-esque novel, The Darcys of Pemberley.

What are you confessing in the face of discouragement? I’d love to hear from you!

Is the Christian lifestyle backwards?

Oct10

Christians are backwards people. What seems to be real is just a facade. The things we see which seem so concrete and lasting are temporal, finite. The things we can’t see actually carry the most weight.

The weak are made strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44-45).

He who loves his life will lose it (John 12:25).

If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other to him also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. (Luke 6:29).

We worship a man who died, then rose again, then went to heaven. We can’t see Him. We often can’t hear Him. And serving Him gets us cheated, ridiculed, beaten, and possibly killed. Still, we worship Him. Is that backwards?

Ever since church on Sunday, when we heard about submitting to God and denying our flesh, I can’t stop thinking about how hard it is to submit. My flesh makes sense. When someone steals from me, it makes sense to take him to court and get it back. If someone hits me, my first instinct is to hit back. (Well, okay. My first instinct is to cry and scream, maybe run away. But my second instinct, now that’s the one that says HIT BACK.) If I feel wronged by the government, it seems right to take matters into my own hands and get even.

But God says otherwise. We are to clothe ourselves with love (Colossians 3:14). Vengeance is His, and who better to serve it? It certainly does not profit me to try to outwit someone, to try to increase my power against them, to hold on to bitterness and revenge until I can exact punishment. That is an exhausting lifestyle. I barely have the strength to take care of my two little ones; how much more energy does it take to try to become like God in judgement and wisdom?

Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12

I don’t always like what the Bible says. It doesn’t make sense, but I know it’s the best way for my sake. Jesus came that I might have life, and have it more abundantly. If that’s another backwards lifestyle, to give up my fleshly desires for fullness of life in Christ, then I count myself immeasurably blessed to be allowed that fullness. Will you join me?

Do you consider life in Christ backwards?