Digging in God's Garden
Welcome to God's Garden, where you'll dig for treasures that nourish the soul. You'll find articles that inspire, comfort, and motivate, along with some poetry and even a few gardening tips. Enjoy!
Monday, November 25, 2013
Winner of the Catie's Secret Giveaway Announced!
Congratulations, Ellen Bratzel! You are the winner of the Catie's Secret Giveaway! To claim your prize, please email your mailing address to info@litfusegroup.com
Catie's Secret - A Perfect Fit for a New Reader
·
This book is a perfect fit for a new reader. Catie’s Secret by Laura Nonemaker is full of colorful illustrations, and
characters who quickly win your heart. Children will learn to both embrace and
celebrate diversity in God’s creation. Showing kindness to others is the moral
of the story, in addition to a small token lesson on forgiveness. There are
also helpful story challenge questions at the end of the book to initiate
conversation about these lessons with children.
Written by Sweatpants & High Heels on
November 15, 2013 Purchase a copy at Amazon or Tate Publishers (in ebook or paperback formats).
Friday, November 22, 2013
Splashes of Joy Reviews Catie's Secret
·
T This is a really cute little book. The story talks about
differences in the way people look, and that the beauty of a person comes from
inside them, not what they appear to be on the outside. Using the caterpillar
and butterfly is awesome to help kids understand this valuable lesson. The
characters are adorable and kids will love them. The colors are vivid and
bright, and the book cover is so very adorable that it will sure capture the
attention of any child. This is a book you will want for your child’s library,
so run out and pick up a copy today!
Written by splashesofjoy on November 18,
2013 ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE! http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/caties-secret-by-laura-nonemaker
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Catie's Secret and an Exciting Prize Giveaway
Join the official launch of Catie's Secret, the second book in my God's Secret Garden Adventures. Join my blog tour and enter to win an exciting Kids Giveaway Package, including a Kindle Fire.
Enter to win at http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/caties-secret-by-laura-nonemaker
Enter to win at http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/caties-secret-by-laura-nonemaker
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Comfort for Loss
“This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be
glad in it.” I begin each morning with this biblical affirmation from Psalm 118,
along with some other proven favorites, and then move into my devotion time. Before
Paul went to heaven, these words would slide off my tongue with confidence.
Lately, they sometimes want to stick in my throat like a too-large chunk of
bread that just won’t go down.
The emotions resulting from loss of any kind, but especially
of a loved one, are unpredictable and deceiving. When we think they are
receding into the background of our consciousness, they creep up on us and suddenly
plunge a dagger into our stomach, leaving us reeling. They sap our strength and
assault our thoughts as we desperately search for perspective and order in a
life that is forever changed.
This morning, as I read from one of my devotionals, I was
reminded that “it is through our trials and afflictions that God gives us fresh
revelations of Himself.”1 But the pain of the loss is unwelcome and my mind and body
want to run for cover. Yet Paul says in Philippians 3:10 that he so wanted to
know Jesus and the power of His resurrection, that he was willing participate
in His sufferings and be conformed to His death. I need this resurrection
power, now more than ever, in order to walk through this period of my
life.
So I speak the words that open the door of my day, words that hold a promise of hope and peace. Jesus assures us in Hebrews 4:16 that we can come boldly to
the throne of grace and obtain mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. As we experience our brand of suffering and yet are willing to give Him our sacrifice of praise, He scoops us up, holds us close, and soothes our pain.
1 Nathaniel William Taylor in Streams
in the Desert
©2013 Laura Allen Nonemaker All
Rights Reserved
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Moving Forward
As I woke this morning, thoughts flooded my mind with the
force of a tsunami. My brain seemed to be going through an exercise in free
association with phrases and sentences coming at me from everywhere. I wondered
if some kind of dam had broken inside me and this was my mind’s way of releasing the grief. Was
it part of the healing process? I had prayed that the grief cycle would not
take five years with Paul as it did with the loss of my first husband, Bob, thirteen years ago. Could the Lord be
answering my prayer and speeding things up? I hope so.
Yesterday, I was pretty stern with myself when the denial
came rushing in again. Accept it, Laura.
He’s not coming back. And even if he
could, why would he? He has seen the face of Jesus and experienced heaven.
Would I? Of course not! And so I resolved once again to take one day at a time and move in the right direction - forward.
My sweet little cat, Callie Marie, is finally beginning to
return to normal. How it pained me the first night after I returned home following
the service in Louisville when I watched
her searching for him. She walked from one side of the bed to the other, trying
to find him. She sniffed between the
mattress and headboard. She made the journey repeatedly across the area rug on
his side of the bed, trying to detect his
scent. My heart wanted to break for both of us.
On the last few mornings, Callie has returned to being
excited about her Fancy Feast ® and once more she is putting her tail in the
air when she walks, demonstrating that she is adjusting and feels better. Callie
is processing her loss – and so must I - particularly with the official release of my newest children's book, Catie’s Secret, on November 5.
I am convinced I must do what is necessary for the
successful launch of my book, in spite
of this sad and unwelcome event in my life. Paul was my most enthusiastic
cheerleader and often would tell me how proud he was to be “married to an
author". I know he would encourage me to move on with my books and I can almost hear him cheering me on from the halls of heaven.
So I will move forward with God's help and continue to pray that this time I
will pass through grief faster than before. After all, there are children waiting
for more God’s Secret Garden Adventures.
©2013 Laura Allen
Nonemaker All rights reserved
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Watercolor Memories
Yesterday, Joey, our lawn
guy, dug a hole and planted the gardenia bush the family sent to honor
Paul’s memory. There are some blooms on it already and, combined with the jasmine
growing nearby, it distributes a heavenly scent along one end of the lanai.
Later on, I puttered in the
garden, attempting with all my mind and all my senses to pull memories of Paul
close to me. Somehow, although I knew there was beauty and color all around me,
everything seemed pale and incomplete without Paul to share it. It reminded me
of an unfinished watercolor painting that the artist has set on a shelf and
never returned to finish. One has to strain to visualize how the finished
painting would have looked.
Paul used to love to watch me
deadheading, pruning, and weeding among the flowers and shrubs. “You belong in
a garden,” he would say. I would agree. I began gardening, after a fashion, when I was
two years old. That is when my daddy marked off a small plot just for me in the
flower garden that bordered our front lawn. Daddy used to love to tell the story
of how I would discover snails on the undersides of the leaves and quickly pop
them in my mouth before he could stop me. Fortunately, I eventually learned not
to eat the snails and developed a love of gardening that has endured to this day.
I imagine one day I
will see my garden in full color again, as it was when Paul was around to
share the experience. For now, I reach out and pull the memories close, sensing his presence with me.
©2013 Laura Allen
Nonemaker All Rights Reserved
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)