Author Merrillee Whren and the How-to of Being Strong

My guest today is Love Inspired Author Merrillee Whren, who is as much fun as she looks to be in her photo. Here's Merrilee:

"In my upcoming February book, HOMETOWN PROMISE, the first of my Kellerville series, the heroine Juliane Keller learns to be strong when she finally admits that she has been wrong—wrong about Lukas Frye, the hero in the story, and wrong about the way she has handled family situations.

This past Sunday I heard a sermon that talked about acknowledging our own inadequacies as part of our faith and finding strength in the Lord. Juliane has been putting on a façade of strength for years, but she finds true strength when she sees that the Lord has made her strong enough to face her problems from the past and find love for the future.

I would like to share three scriptures that talk about being strong in the Lord.

Psalm 31:24 “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1:8 “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

What helps you to be strong?"

A good question for us all, Merrillee. Thanks!--Lyn

For more info about Merrillee and her two 2010 books,

Hometown Promise, Feb. 2010
Hometown Proposal, Aug. 2010, drop by
www.merrilleewhren.com

Author T L Higley & True Strength & Fajitas!

My guest today is a new writing acquaintance T L or Tracy Higley. Here's Tracy:

"What makes a woman strong? I’ve certainly tried to be a strong woman over the years, but I’ve learned a few things along the way. Self-sufficiency is not the same thing as strength. Control is not strength, either. One of the biggest challenges of my life has been to learn what true strength is, and to discover its source.

I’m a do-er. You know the type. Maybe you are the type! Always busy getting more done, always in control, never needing help. And enjoying the praise when people say “I don’t know how you do it all!” For many years, I believed that these qualities meant that I had strength. I was wrong.

It’s taken some tough years of failing to keep up with the demands, losing control, and questioning my self-worth to teach me that true strength lies in understanding your identity in Christ, and then being able to extend yourself authentically to the people around you, loving them without needing a response, and accepting their love without pushing it away as though it is unneeded. When we are so concerned about how people perceive us, and that they see us as in control, we send a false “I don’t need anyone” message. We think it is strength, but it is really pride. Because we do need others.

In my upcoming release, Guardian of the Flame: a Seven Wonders Novel, it turns out that there is quite a bit of me in my protagonist, Sophia. She’s been self-sufficient for many years, running the Lighthouse of Alexandria even as Julius Caesar and Cleopatra are warring over the future of her country. When Caesar sends his Roman legion to invade her lighthouse, she takes on the centurion in charge and never backs down. In the face of injustice, she protects the innocent and fights for their lives. But Sophia allows her strength to push people away, believing she can handle everything on her own. When the Roman centurion challenges her independence and calls it fear she realizes that she is not as strong as she believed. It will take a work of God for her to open her heart to others, including the Roman who will not let her go.

Look for Guardian of the Flame in October of this year. To pre-order, click here. If you’d like to get an email reminder when the book releases, or read more about the Seven Wonders Novels, click here to visit my website, and click on Books: I hope to hear from you!"--Tracy

And here is the Mexican-style recipe Tracy sent too. Thanks, Tracy!--Lyn

Chicken Fajitas

3 Tbsp veg or olive oil

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 2 inch strips

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, diced

3 Tbsp lime juice

½ tsp cumin

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and peper

Tortillas

Fixings – shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa

Brown chicken in 2 Tbsp oil, remove. Add 1 Tbsp oil and onion.

Cook 1 minute.

Add red pepper and jalapeno.

Cook 5 min, stirring.

Add garlic and tomato.

Cook and stir 1 minute.

Add lime juice, cumin, cilantro, chicken

Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute

Add salt and pepper, and serve with tortillas and fixings.

Elizabeth Musser & God's promises

Today, I'm introducing an author who is new to me, Elizabeth Musser. I found her story so true for many of us. Here's Elizabeth:

"When I am Weak, I am strong I have never thought of myself as a strong woman. Strong-willed maybe, stubborn, yes, prideful, sure. But strong in the positive sense? Nope, not hypersensitive me. As a creative soul, I had struggled for most of my life with dark thoughts that often spiraled into despair. I often heard voices whispering You are a failure, you never do enough, guilty, guilty, guilty!
I loved Jesus, and I had seen His hand in my life in hundreds of ways since He called me to Himself when I was a child. But the dark thoughts and the voices came back. As a young wife, mother and missionary, I had a wonderful breakthrough in my spiritual life when God began revealing to me the concept of renewing my mind. When struggling with false guilt heaped on by the Accuser, I needed repent of those spiraling thoughts, call on Jesus and then replace the lies with the truth.
How thankful I am for the way the Lord brought more mature saints into my life to help me form what I call ‘a battle plan’. I learned through God’s Word what it meant to ‘take every thought captive’ and to ‘set my mind on things above’.
Practically, that meant I identified the things in my life that most often sent me spiraling into despair: comparison, desire to control, jealousy, worry. I began not only memorizing God’s Word, but meditating on it. I wrote out a list of things my husband could do when he saw me becoming ‘weak’. One of the most helpful was to suggest I go for a walk, to get out into nature with Jesus and let Him lift my eyes to the hills and to Him. God’s Word calmed the voices.
On my own, I will never be strong. I will still succumb to the voices. But I am NOT on my own. I love what Jesus said to Paul, concerning his thorn in the flesh. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” And Paul concludes, “Most gladly therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in me… for when I am weak, then I am strong." (II Corinthians 12:9-10, emphasis mine.) There is not a lot of room for pride when I see God using me in spite of myself. I know it is not because of me but because of His strength in me, and then, God gets the glory. How cool is that?


WORDS UNSPOKEN, Bethany House Publishers, c2009, available now Which voice will she listen to? Lissa Randall’s future was bright with academic promise until the tragic accident that brought her plans to a screeching halt. Eighteen months later, she still can’t get back behind the wheel, hearing subconscious whispers of Never good enough and All your fault. A casual recommendation to Ev McAllistair’s driving school sets in motion a cascade of events . . . until Lissa begins to wonder if maybe, just maybe, life isn’t as random as she’s thought. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Words Unspoken introduces a cast of unforgettable characters who must choose whether to listen to voices that entice them towards greed, depression, and anger or to a still small voice that offers hope.

For more information about Elizabeth and her novels, please visit her website at www.elizabethmusser.com."

Thanks, Elizabeth. I often think of 2 Timothy 1:7--For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."