First Friday: December 2015

Well, December has certainly arrived here in New England!!! :-) We don't turn the heat on upstairs in our house until *we absolutely have to* -- so I am sitting here writing to you all well-wrapped against the cold, a bit like Jo March:

{click for source info}

The advantage that I have over Miss March, warmth-wise, is that I have a pug, whose purpose is To Keep Others Warm. ;-)

Now, in this wonderful month of the Child-Child's birth, let me share a bit of what I'm up to with you, friends. It is, after all, the First Friday of December. :-)

In December, I'm looking forward to...

• The fresh, cold scent of new-cut pine
• The taste of warm sugar cookies, pulled just-now from the oven
• The feeling of frozen feet gradually gaining warmth from an old pair of Irish stepdancing socks
• The sight of the first *real* snow -- We can hope for a white Christmas, no?
• The sound of my family's exaggerated "ooh"s and "ahh"s at the Christmas tree's first lighting

And right now, I'm currently...

• Reading (fiction) - Francine Rivers' A Voice in the Wind - So far, I am loving it!
• Reading (nonfiction) - John Piper's When the Darkness Will Not Lift - Good thus far. Will be beginning Eric Ludy's Wrestling Prayer soon, which comes highly recommended from both my mama and my husband.
• Reading (in Scripture) - 1st Peter - I'm trying a new kind of Bible journaling/study pattern and perhaps will share how I like it in the weeks ahead. :-)
• Writing - Book Three in A Time of Grace! Please pray for perseverance for me. :-) (You can check to see my progress in the little word-count meter on the side-bar here.)
• Thankful to the Lord for - the wonderful way in which "the pug book" has been received; the joy of having kindred spirits in my sisters and Mama; and the way in which the Lord from on high descended to earth, bringing - *being* the Great Gift to each of us. 
• And pinning this: 

  

  {click to repin or for source info}

What are you anticipating, reading, or doing this month of Advent, friends? :-)

Grace and peace,
Alicia

Hurray! It's a Christmas ~ Softcover ~ Sale! :-)

You asked for it, friends! :-)

A CHRISTMAS SOFTCOVER SALE on the A Time of Grace books, perfect for gift-giving!

From November 27 through December 19, both softcovers of The Fragrance of Geraniums AND All Our Empty Places will be on sale for less than $10 each OR for less than $20 for both!

This offer is available only through Amazon:

http://amzn.com/1503022056

http://amzn.com/1517207517

(If you’d like autographs for your copies, please feel free to contact me!)

Grace and peace,

Alicia

When Thanksgiving Becomes Thanksliving

It's the month of thankfulness in the United States. Driving today, I saw signs on everything from churches to businesses proclaiming, "Give thanks!"

And I should. I have so much.

I think of Christians in China, severely beaten for owning a non-state-regulated copy of the Scriptures, and my heart sinks to know how paltry is my own gratefulness for having not one but several copies of God's saving Word and for not being beaten for possessing them.

I think of Christians in North Korea, torn from their families for life - for *life* - and brutally worked to death in labor camps. And I remember how quickly my "thank You for my family" turns into frustration when serving them in some way interrupts my plans.

I think of street preachers in the UK and in Canada, fined beyond their means for proclaiming the full, naturally-offensive message of the Gospel -- because we must know how lost we are before we can be found. And my mind recollects how often I've secretly desired to store up treasures on earth.

And I wonder...

On Thursday, November 26th, 2015, I'll sing songs of praise to God, thanking Him from Whom all blessings flow. I'll pray and ask for God's blessing on our beautiful meal, my dear family. I'll spend time basking in the delightfulness of the Father God's mercies and grace, poured out in so many tangible and intangible ways.

And this is right and good.

But my thanksgiving *must* overflow daily in thanks-living - in the deliberate giving back of myself in thanksgiving to God, as a living sacrifice on His altar.

And if it doesn't overflow?

Then I have to ask: Is it real? Is it true thankfulness - or is it just a happy feeling that I have nice stuff and nice people around me who make me feel good?

May God change our hearts more and more to beat like His - that He would take my thankfulness and yours, that He would convert it in us to living utterly for Him, day-by-day, living out our thanks to Him.

Grace and peace,
Alicia

First Friday: November 2015

What a month of activity October was! :-) From helping my dear sister and her family move halfway across the country to finishing up the launch of All Our Empty Places, October fairly bulged with hustle-and-bustle. But here I am, in one piece :-) -- and looking forward to what this new month holds.

What am I looking forward to in November? 

What am I doing now?

THE SENSES
Scents: The new sharpness in the air as the last leaves drift from the trees / the smell of roasting turkey and pumpkin pie / the dusty odor of the earth as we finish tucking our gardens and yard to bed for the winter.
Sounds: The late fall rains against the window panes / the melodies of hymns our family sings at Thanksgiving / the happy laugh of the robin when he lands in our bare crab-apple tree
Sights: The joyful, well-loved faces around our holiday table / filled boxes for Operation Christmas Child (click to find out more) / the clear skies of a late autumn night

IN LIFE
Bible: I'm reading the Book of Judges - written so long ago, yet with messages so pertinent to my life today.
Books: I'm still reading Gold by Moonlight (taking my time to mine it well) and am also reading Living Water by Brother Yun, a Chinese house-church pastor and survivor of intense persecution. His book is truly excellent - Every Christian should read it. Expect to hear more about this one soon. :-)
Writing: I finished up the main work for "the pug book" -- Some of you may remember that I ran into severe formatting issues last year with it and never finished it. Well, I decided to try again :-) and am happy to say that this little fun read-aloud about a pug who *thought* that he was useless should be ready for release within a few weeks, Lord willin' and the crick don't rise. :-)
I'm also working with intensity on A Time of Grace Book 3. If I come to your mind, would you keep my writing on this one in your prayers? Thank you! <3

What are you looking forward to, friends? :-)

Grace and peace through Him who died for us,
Alicia

RELEASE TOUR: Day 5 - Last Day to Enter the Cozy Autumn Reading Giveaway!

Happy Friday! :-) I hope that you've been enjoying this Release Tour week for All Our Empty Places as much as I have. If you haven't yet entered the Cozy Autumn Reading Giveaway - or if you'd like to collect the once-a-day entries for today - you may do that by clicking HERE or by going to any one of the excellent blogs who are kindly hosting Book Two of the A Time of Grace trilogy today (all are clickable links). Some of these are spotlight the book, while others will have interviews and reviews of it. 

With A Joyful Noise
The Overactive Imagination
Iola’s Christian Reads
A Writer’s Heart

You might wish to stop back here tomorrow to find out who has won our Giveaway! I know I'm looking forward to sending off this lovely box of goodies to the winner. :-)

And before I head off, I want to let you know that Amazon has finally :-) caught up and All Our Empty Places is available for purchase there in both softcover and Kindle - Thanks for being patient, dear readers! Clicking HERE will bring you to the Amazon page for the softcover.

Release Day: All Our Empty Places ~ A Time of Grace, Book 2

Rejoicing in the Lord! :-)

It's Release Day for All Our Empty Places, Book Two in A Time of Grace!

You can now find All Our Empty Places on Amazon in both softcover and Kindle.

Kindle: http://amzn.com/B014JVJYCK

Amazon is still playing catch-up with displaying the softcover (though they should have it up very shortly), but if you would really like to order the softcover today, it's available here: https://www.createspace.com/5720476

Book One, The Fragrance of Geraniums, now has an updated cover as well, reflecting that it's now part of a trilogy. :-)

Find both the softcover and Kindle HERE.

And we're continuing the Release Tour Week with stops at (all clickable links):

Ready to be Offered - who also has reviewed the novel

Rachel Rossano’s Words

Letters from Annie Douglass Lima

I'd love to have you click on over and read their reviews and/or spotlights on the novel! :-)
You'll also be able to enter the Cozy Autumn Reading Giveaway on each of those sites, as well as by clicking HERE. This giveaway was so much fun to create, and I hope that you enjoy it!

Grace and peace to you,
Alicia

Hurray! It's Release Week for ALL OUR EMPTY PLACES {& We're Having a Cozy Autumn Reading Giveaway}!

I am so delightedly-delighted :-) to announce that, by God's grace, it's RELEASE WEEK for All Our Empty Places, Book Two in the A Time of Grace trilogy. May the Lord Jesus see fit to make His Name more beloved and honored through this novel.

While the book doesn't officially release until tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29, 2015, we're going to start today, Monday, September 28, kicking off with a special, week-long autumnal giveaway -- and you all know how much I love giveaways! :-)

You'll also want to stop by and visit the other blogs taking part in this release celebration week. Some of them will simply be highlighting the book, others will be offering their honest early-reader reviews, and still others will be interviewing yours truly. :-) Hint: If you stop by at least one each day, you'll be able to pick up more giveaway points by "following" their host! I will be linking to each participating blog each day right here on A Brighter Destiny so that you're able to follow along easily.

Today, I'd love to have you visit Raechel at her review blog, God's Peculiar Treasure Rae: CLICK HERE to go there! (She also has reviewed All Our Empty Places; you can read that by clicking HERE.) At Raechel's blog, you'll find Biblically-sound, reliable reviews of many Christian fiction books, as well as Raechel's own challenging musings.

And now - drum-roll, please - for our GIVEAWAY! :-)

Looking at that picture makes me want to curl up with a good book, a crackling fireplace, a lap-rug (or, in my case, a lap-pug), some yummy snacks, and a mug of pumpkin spice white hot chocolate.

And that's what the winner of this giveaway will receive! :-) Minus the lap-pug and the fireplace, of course.

To sum it up, the winner will receive: A signed softcover of All Our Empty Places, a beautiful floral mug with 2 Corinthians 12:9 inscribed on it, Nonni's Caramel Apple Biscotti, and a canister of Harvest Spice Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate!

Enter below and feel free to share! :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Intended Audience for All Our Empty Places / A Time of Grace Trilogy

Just popping in here to answer a couple of questions that have come my way, pre-release!

Who is the intended audience for All Our Empty Places?

All Our Empty Places (actually, the whole trilogy) is intended to be women's fiction. Now, having 

said that, I know that there are men who do read the A Time of Grace books (and I'm glad for it!). The themes in the books are often universal for Christians, regardless of gender. But, when reading, remember that they are written with women and women's issues in mind.

What age is "old enough" to read the All Our Empty Places?

This question usually comes from mamas who want to know if the trilogy is good for their young daughter to read. My short answer is: This is realistic, Christ-centered fiction intended for women who want to see how the grace of God can transform lives, from the inside-out. The trilogy deals - in a Gospel-driven, redemptive manner - with very real-life issues in 1930s New England. In particular, All Our Empty Places portrays both a serious courting relationship (through the characters of Grace and Paulie) as well as a sometimes-troubled marriage relationship (through the characters of Sarah and Sam). Other issues include: unbelieving family members, poverty, and dealing with memories of past abuse/neglect.

So, I would say that the novel, while intended for adult women, may also be read beneficially by older teens. Any age younger than that is up to your own discretion -- You know your own children; different people are ready for things at different times. :-) 

If you have any other questions or would to hear a little more about the two I addressed above, please feel free to e-mail me at aliciagraceroque (at) gmail (dot) com -- or by using the contact form at the right side of this blog. :-)

Have a wonderful Sunday of worship! I'll "see" you on Monday.

Grace and peace,

Alicia

What I'm Looking Forward to in 2015: Scripture Memorization Goals

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you my reading goals for 2015. I'm slowly but surely making my way through that list, as well as through my Goodreads reading challenge. :-) So far this year, I've read a couple of books for research {sorry, but I can't tell you anymore about that... yet!}, Where Can I Flee? by A.M. Heath, and She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell {Yes, it takes its title from that gorgeous Lord Byron poem.}. I'm currently reading Crooked Lines by Holly Michael and Unplanned by Abby Johnson. {I'm also reading a couple of research books again, but, again, I can't tell you anymore about that yet! :-)}

This week, I thought I'd share with you something that God has convicted my husband and me to make as a "goal" in our lives. So this is not a "Resolution for 2015." It's more of something that we are striving toward making a regular, consistent part of our lives, both this year and also next year... and the year after that... and so on, for as long as God gives us before He calls us to our heavenly Home with Him.

Basically, we're continuing to work on consistently memorizing Scripture, knowing that work in this area will give us a rich harvest in prayer, in spiritual battles, in our day-to-day lives, and so forth. We've been {very imperfectly!} working on this kind of regular memorization for the past year or so... and I'm thankful for it.

Thankful when the Holy Spirit brings a verse to my mind just when I need it.

Thankful to have Scripture rolling around in my head as I go to sleep sometimes.

Thankful to have the accountability of a memorization "partner."

Even thankful when I'm writing a story and God brings Scripture to my mind to include in it.

We don't do very much - only 1-2 verses a week. My husband chooses the verse{s} at the beginning of the week, and then we work on memorizing it separately over the next seven days, asking the Lord to impress it on our hearts, not just our minds. We "test" each other at the end of the week before starting a new verse.

A verse a week doesn't seem like much, does it? It isn't much, but it's 52 more verses in our minds and hearts and souls than we would have had if we'd not committed to this.

Anyway, I just thought that I'd share that it's worth it if you and/or your spouse are thinking about Scripture memorization.

Grace and peace,
Alicia :-)

You might find this post linked up at these blogs, too:
Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, Yes They Are All Ours, Missional Call, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Messy Marriage, My Teacher's Name is Mama, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Count My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup

What I'm Looking Forward to in 2015: Reading Goals

I'm going to go ahead and say it with everyone else: "Where did 2014 go?!"

My husband, Mr. P, and I on Christmas Day 2014 ~ We had a wonderful day celebrating the Lord's birth with our families.

The older I get, the more I realize that time is a gift - a great gift - from the Father of Lights... and I also begin to understand how much more important my final destination - my Heavenly Home - is when compared with "these light and momentary afflictions" during my earthly journey. :-) For that, I'm thankful, and I pray that God would continue to impress His place as the "home of my heart" on my soul.

Have you been prayerfully considering what God would have you do or plan to do, in what areas He would have you grow (not self-improvement, but self-abandonment), what things and events He would have you excited about? :-) I have. While I'm continuing to add to this list of "Looking-forward-to"s and "Goals" for 2015, here's the first selection from my list(s!): Books I'm Looking Forward to Reading - Goal of 45 Books Read (abandoned books don't count!) :-)

Books that I'm Looking Forward to Reading:

• Lessons from a Sheepdog by Phillip Keller - My mom gave this one to me for Christmas. She didn't know that I've been contemplating purchasing it for a while! :-) I love animal stories, especially dog ones and those that relate to the spiritual life. 
• In the Shadow of Thy Wings by A.M. Heath - I'm reading the first one in this "Ancient Words" series (Where Can I Flee?) and am really enjoying it thus far. The second book is planned for a 2015 release, so I'm anticipating that joyfully!
• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers - Some of Chambers' other books have really blessed me tremendously, so I'm including this one as part of my morning devotions this year.
• The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser - Yes, I know; this was on my 2014 summer reading list. I ran out of time and didn't finish it. :-( But that means that I get to read it this year, Lord willing! And I'm so looking forward to it.
• George MacDonald: Scotland's Beloved Storyteller by Michael Phillips - This one has sat on my shelf for far, far too long! I'm excited to learn more about the man who has written some of my favorite novels and who is called the father of children's fantasy writing.
• Unmasking the Antichrist by Ron Rhodes - This came highly recommended from someone whose opinion I trust, and I'm interested in hearing Rhodes' perspective.
• Crooked Lines by Holly Michael - This debut novel has received such high praise... it's about India, the longtime home of one of my missionary heroes Amy Carmichael... and it has a compelling backcover blurb... I'm excited! :-)
• Mercy Springs by Jennifer Osufsen - Another debut novel that has sparked my interest. This Christian dystopian is on my short-list right now.
• A few others that I'm looking forward to: Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman; The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas; God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew; Anna Karenina by Tolstoy; Unplanned by Abby Johnson; The Outcast by Jolina Petersheim; The Chosen by Chaim Potok; For Such a Time by Kate Breslin; God's Will by Meghan M. Gorecki; The Shadow Miner by Katie Beitz; Resistance by Jaye L. Knight; To Comfort a King by Debbie Gilliland; The Fall of Arthur by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Do you have any books that you're looking forward to reading this year? Feel free to share what they are - I might want to add them to my list! :-)

*At the time of this post, this blog contains NO affiliate links. :-) Any links are for informative purposes only.