Welcome Jeri Odell!

photo © 2007 glasseyes view more info (via: Wylio) People often ask, "Where do your ideas come from?" Most of my books start with a tiny seed from real life. One of my good friends, Pat, has twin daughters, Audra and Autumn. Audra had her heart broken a few years back at the same time Autumn was getting married. I found myself wondering how Audra might feel. I knew she was happy for her sister, but I wondered what other emotions might be brewing.

Everything beyond those few facts was my imagination. I put myself in her shoes, but her feelings and thoughts may have been very different from my character, Tori's. Audra may not identify with Tori at all, but a few brief facts from her life provided fodder for a new story for me to tell. And as God would have it, Audra has since met and married a great guy. Reminds me of that saying, When God closes a door, He opens a window.

God's 'no' always brings a greater 'yes', but sometimes the 'yes' is down the road months or even years. The trick is hanging tough and truly waiting on Him, trusting Him, hoping in Him. I've run ahead of Him, and then I miss His 'yes' for me. And waiting is never easy. We live in an instant society. Waiting is foreign. But it is in that lingering stage that I seek His face with new determination. It's in the waiting that I know Him better, see Him more clearly and ultimately love Him with renewed tenacity.

If you are facing a tough season, I encourage you to hang tight with God because that is what I'm trying to do day by day and sometimes moment by moment. And for those of use who are waiting on Him for direction, for answers, for wisdom, for a miracle, "The LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 ESV

When God closes a door, He opens a window - when has this ever applied to you?