I Am a Friend of God

I am a friend of God.
I am a friend of God.
I am a friend of God.
He calls me friend!

Being in a hospital approximately forty miles from home limits the number of visitors you receive. During the three days I spent in a Tulsa hospital at the beginning of this month, I had plenty of time to just think and talk to God. He and I had lots of together time, and I came out feeling I knew Him a little better than I did when I went in. Which is wonderful, but it also made me remember something important that we humans so easily forget: Knowing God better is something we can do every day of our lives—not just in times of trouble and stress.

How? Well, the same way you get to know anyone better! Spend time with Him. Talk to Him. Tell Him what’s in your heart. Let Him know how wonderful you think He is, and how much you enjoy His company. You can tell your heavenly Father anything…about everything. And when you’ve done that, pause awhile and listen for His voice, as well. Good conversations are not one-sided, are they? If we don’t give God His chance to have some input, then we’ve spoken to Him—not with Him. Speaking to God might make us feel better, but so might unloading on a disinterested psychiatrist! Speaking with God develops and builds a relationship.

It makes Him a friend.

What a concept...to be God’s friend! We can, you know. He was a friend of Moses—and proudly said so. Exodus 33:17 – You have found favor with me, and you are my friend. In case you don’t remember what prompted that powerful statement from the lips of the Almighty, let me remind you. Moses asked to know Him. He wanted to converse with his Maker face to face, friend to friend. And guess what? The request thrilled the Creator of the Universe right down to his oh-so-holy toenails!

I challenge each of you this month is to consciously examine the knowledge that you can be a friend of God. He loves spending time with you, and even though He already knows your heart, it makes Him happy when you tell Him what’s in it—and listen while He shares His heart with you.

Family Time

My brother and sister-in-law, Johnny and JoAnn, just graced my husband and me with a visit. They live in California, and were on their way to see their son and his family in Arkansas. I’m so glad I just happen to be located conveniently on the way!

For about three weeks prior to their visit, I’d been battling a severe attack of fibromyalgia, aggravated by a mild flu. Together, the symptoms left me weak as a kitten and achy to the extreme. I felt like I’d been run over by a truck.

I was, in fact, a little worried about the upcoming visit. Would I be able to stay out of bed long enough to be a hostess? Could I manage to visit and “entertain” well enough to make them feel as welcome as they really were? Would I be back to square one if I didn’t rest enough while they were here?

In hindsight, I wonder why I was concerned. Visits from loved ones always make things better. I think I needed to see them. Nothing beats love as a healer, and of course no one loves you like family.

Our time together was absolutely perfect. We didn’t do a lot—just visited and ate too much, as always. But just having them near for those two days was like a balm to my soul. We cried a little and laughed a lot, and apparently laughter really is the best medicine. I actually feel better physically too after being with them.

So why am I blogging about this visit?

My brother and I realized that we’ve actually seen each other more often since I moved to Oklahoma than we did when we lived four blocks apart in California. It’s so sad, but that’s how it happens a lot of times. We take for granted having our loved ones near, and put off the occasional visits until “tomorrow” or “next week,” and somehow those visits become fewer and further between.

Take time to visit someone you love this week. Make time to do it. You’ll feel better, and so will your loved one.

I promise you.

I Have Cover Art!

I have cover art for my novel, Yesterday's Promise, which will be released soon in electronic format through The Wild Rose Press. I do not yet have a release date, but when I do, you'll find out about it here on The Melody Within. Pretty, huh?

(Originally published in 2006 under the title Almost Like a Song.)

Love's Rescue

I usually post reviews on - surprise, surprise! - my Reviews & Interviews blog, My Book Bag. However, due to computer difficulties I won't go into right now, I don't currently have access to that site.

What I do have is a review for an absolutely wonderful book by my friend Tammy Barley, and I want to get it posted so my readers can rush right out and find this rare fictional treat! If you like inspirational romance ... if you enjoy westerns ... if you love historical fiction, then Love's Rescue is the book you need to look for next. I promise you, you're gonna love it!

Here's my review:


Love's Rescue

by Tammy Barley


It’s 1863. To escape the ravages of war, Jessica Hale’s family leaves their beloved home in Kentucky for a new life in the Nevada Territory.

Jessica’s brother, Ambrose, is determined to help defend their southern homestead. Against his father’s wishes, the young man joins ranks with the Kentucky militia and returns to the south. When Ambrose goes missing in the midst of the War Between the States, Jessica’s attempts to find him set off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

In the wake of a close encounter with political fanatics, Jessica loses everything that matters and then finds herself spirited away to a remote ranch in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. There, Jessica’s every effort to escape is thwarted by handsome rancher Jake Bennett and his loyal cattlemen.

Jake knows what it’s like to lose everything. He’s determined to protect Jessica through her time of loss. There are those who would harm the young woman for nothing more than being a Southerner, and Jake and his men have no intention of allowing that to happen. Still, how can he help Jessica’s wounded heart to heal when she so deeply resents him for what she perceives as his failure to save her family? He can’t make her see the truth, but he can protect her, and he can pray while her eyes are opened and her broken heart mends.

Tammy Barley’s action-packed debut novel is wonderfully rich in historical detail. It’s a tightly woven, riveting tale of love and loss, faith under fire, and wild hearts on the run. As the author unfolds this spellbinding story, a vivid picture of life in the Old West is revealed with stunning clarity and depth. Love’s Rescue provides everything a reader expects from this era: cowboys and Indians, damsels in distress, good guys and bad hombres, gunfights and moonlit nights. The last page leaves the reader longing for more of Jess and Jake. It’s an absolute must-read for the lover of historical romance.

A masterpiece of storytelling intricately woven with spiritual wisdom and insight, and threaded throughout with the good, the bad, and the ugly of love, life, and humanity.

Bravo, Ms. Barley!

Farm Town Futility

Any Facebook Farm Towners out there?

As much as you love the game, you have to agree it's the biggest time waster in the entire world. Little avatars with big heads and tiny bodies, plowing up virtual fields and planting cyber crops; harvesting, plowing and selling produce in an online marketplace. Begging for jobs to earn coins, which make it possible to have bigger farms, more crops, better surroundings.

Sounds like life, doesn't it? As Ecclesiastes so eloquently put is: Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.

We do it in life and it carries over to cyberspace. We expend all our energies to have more, and the more we have, the more we want. The more we want, the less time we spend on the things that really matter: family, friends, sharing laughter and tears, touching hearts and holding hands.

It's a vicious circle, but if we really want to, we can break free of it. And when we do, I think it'll be like waking from a disturbing dream ... all the hurry and chaos and rushing and climbing and striving for more becomes just a distant memory - suddenly exposed as so trivial, of such little consequence in comparison to seeing the joy in a child's eyes, feeling the touch of a loved one's hand, hearing the voice of someone dear. Living. Loving. Being human, being real, being who we are - no longer expending all our efforts on trying to be like somebody else. Not worrying about "keeping up with the Joneses."

Wouldn't it be nice? Want to try it? Come on ... just for a day. Take time to tuck your little ones in, hold them close, look into their eyes - and take your time doing it. Hug your wife or husband, kiss them like you mean it - and take your time doing it. Visit your Mom and Dad, if you still have them. Take time to listen to their memories, the stories you've tuned out for too long. Trust me, someday you'll wish you'd heard them, every one. Pet an animal, even if (like me) you're not really an animal person. Take a walk. Linger over coffee after dinner and actually talk to your companion.

Sunday? Will that work for you? I'm in!

Renewing the Melody

I've missed all of you! I've had my break, and now I'm ready to blog again.

Let's see ... what's new, for starters?

My daughter and her children are visiting from California. They've been here three weeks and we'll have them two more. It's so much fun! I'm already dreading them leaving, and having to say good-bye.

On the writing side of things, I've signed a contract with The Wild Rose Press for Yesterday's Promise. For those of you who might not know, this book printed originally as Almost Like a Song. I reclaimed my rights from that publisher, and let me tell you - finding a new one to do a reprint is not easy! I'm pleased and thankful that TWRP liked the story, and it will now be available in electronic format. Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed not to get it back into an actual printed format, but since it's a second-time around kind of thing, I'm just grateful to have it out there and available again.

I don't have any details as far as release date yet - I only just signed the contract, and it's sitting on the shelf waiting to be mailed on Monday. When I get all the information, and new cover art, I'll post it here so you'll know. If you've read the book already, I hope you'll recommend it to your friends. If you haven't read it, do ... you won't be sorry!

Here's the back cover text:

A whirlwind romance amidst the natural splendor of Yosemite National Park. A spur-of-the-moment wedding. A young bride who awakens the morning after to find her new husband gone with the mountain wind.

Songbird Hannah Johns supports the child born of that ill-fated union by singing in a dinner lounge. Her dream of someday owning the elite establishment and turning it into a venue more suited to her Christian values is shattered when an unexpected transaction places it in the hands of Brock Ellis, the handsome biker who abandoned her in their honeymoon suite.
Ensuing sparks fly high, revealing buried secrets and forgotten pasts. Seeking to find peace with her painful past, Hannah returns to Yosemite, only to have Brock show up hard on her heels. Back where it all began, she finds herself in danger of losing her heart yet again to the man who shattered it the first time around.

I'm still trying to find an agent. Help me pray about that ... I want a good, honest agent, one who likes my work, believes in me, and will help get it into the hands of reputable publishers. In the meantime, I'm working on a couple of other projects.

If you're a writer, I have a new article up on Tracy Culleton's Fiction Writer's Mentor. I hope you'll take time to read it, and that you'll find some helpful little nugget in there. Let me know what you think. :)

Since I've taken this little hiatus from blogging, I hope all my faithful readers find me again. Spread the word when you do.

I'm baaaack!

See "Saying See Ya Later"

I got a little sidetracked, but I'm still phasing this blog out for awhile. See my original post on this subject.

In the meantime, when I decide to post the occasional blog, you'll find it on my website blog.

Blessings, my friends!