Guest Blogger: LoRee Peery, Author of Sage and Sweetgrass

Diagnosed with a chronic, debilitating illness, Lanae Petersen vows to pursue life to its fullest. When she discovers mysterious love letters hidden within an antique desk, she begins a quest to discover who the young lovers were. Little does she realize that in trying to bring closure to their lives, hers will be turned upside-down.

After the death of his wife, cowboy Sage Diamond wants to be left alone on his acreage in peace and anonymity. When Lanae approaches him with letters to a family member, she not only threatens to expose his family secrets, but also stirs something inside him that he neither expects, nor welcomes. Sage fights his attraction, determined not to fall for a woman whose health is so fragile. Can Sage trust God's guiding hand, or will his fear of losing another love crush his chance for a future with Lanae?

Some Things Stay the Same by LoRee Peery

In January I took a couple days off from reading fiction to consult something from my writing bookcase. I have looked at those shelves several times, trying to determine if I should clean out a bit of the 100+ books, now that I’m a published author. Not yet. I selected Marlene Bagnull’s first edition of Write His Answer, based on Habakkuk 2:2. The book is a devotional filled with encouragement for Christian writers.

I first read Write His Answer in 1992. When I opened it, I was curious as to how much I, and my writing motivation, had changed over the span of twenty years. I felt like I had gone back to basics as I read where my heart was as an aspiring writer. Since my basic answers haven’t changed, I know without a doubt that I’m doing what God means for me to do. Christian writers need to be growing by daily submersion in the Word of God, and actively partaking in the life around us, no matter where we are.

Either just before rising, or shortly after I’m on my feet, I start with, “Lord, what do You want me to do today?” (Thanks, Marlene, for that nugget I’ve remembered through the years.) Proverbs 16:3 reminds me I am to commit to the Lord whatever I do, which includes my words and my works. My goal has always been for Him to speak through me. No doubt my sin nature comes through as well, but I believe His word doesn’t return void, so He uses my frailties and strengths to His own purposes.

No way am I claiming to be some kind of paragon of perfection. At the end of the day I often don’t remember what I was convicted to accomplish. And many days, I can’t say what I did get done because the day was full of either being with family or away from the house. But in the long run, I know I’m on the right path, and that remains the same. What gets done is according to God’s time, with or without any conscious effort on my part.

My life and my writing journey have been filled with peaks and valleys since that earlier time. Just as wrinkles don’t form overnight, neither does the wisdom that goes along with that transition from longing to write, to my name appearing on the cover of a book.

I used to think of a novelist as some lofty, maybe even a sort of mystical being, until I became one. I remember feeling kind of like a fake, when my first book was published. In one word: surreal. I viewed that first cover bearing my name as a novel belonging to someone else, a story to get lost in.

What has remained unchanged is my desire to grow spiritually and to write a story that does not embarrass the kingdom of the Lord. I continue to view my words, my stories, as a tool used for His purposes. And to me, being an author is all about Him, not me. It’s my calling, to write upward to Him, through the outward use of the gift He gave.

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

I can’t help but conclude God’s plans for me are still the same as He originally designed when I was known only to Him. Whom He calls, He equips. That will stay the same forever.

LoRee Peery writes Christian romance, where characters learn through spiritual struggles how to come to terms with the Lord’s will. She is a country girl who attempts to see God’s presence every day. That glimpse often comes as a gift from nature. LoRee is most relaxed in the outdoors.

Visit LoRee online at:

www.loreepeery.com

https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery

http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/

PURCHASE SAGE AND SWEETGRASS AT:

www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/sage-and-sweetgrass