Overcoming Depression

By Kimberly Rose Johnson

Mountain Brook Ink, 2015

I’ve been a stay at home mom for almost twenty years now. I worked from home as a piano teacher for eighteen of those years and decided it would be best to stop teaching a couple of years ago. That was a great decision at the time because I was super busy with my new writing career. There weren’t enough hours in a day for all the work I had to do and I loved having extra time. But then everything changed. My oldest went off to college out of state, I caught up on my deadlines and my youngest began his senior year of high school. Suddenly I was alone for most of my day, I had very little work pressing, and I felt completely worthless. I lacked purpose and direction. 

Not long after school started last school year I experience my first serious bout with depression. I have never been that low, and pray I never get there again. Thankfully, it only lasted a few days, but it was a time I will remember forever. I still struggle with feeling down from time to time, but thankfully not the kind of depression I experienced last fall. 

My degree in Behavioral Science, did not prepare me for the dark place depression takes a person. What did help was my relationship with the Lord. Honestly, I don’t want to talk about those days last year. I don’t care to relive them in my mind, but I thought it was important to understand, I know what a deep dark depression feels like. Thankfully that was an isolated incident.

Recently I had a not so serious incident, and I would like to tell you what I did to get through it. I learned from my one experience last fall that I can’t allow myself to get stuck in my head. The moment I feel myself getting depressed I must take action. For me it’s a matter of getting my thought life under control and thinking positive. How do I do that? I ask the Lord for help. 

I prayed for JOY. As soon as I said amen, a song from my childhood about joy came into my mind. God knows that I am greatly affected by music and he gave me the one thing that would instantly snap me out of where I was. I sang that song in my mind until I fell asleep. The following morning my husband and I went to church and guess what? The first song we sang in worship was about joy. ☺ I was overwhelmed with His love for me. He knew my need and my prayer even before I did.

I am still smiling over His love and care. I certainly don’t have the answers for everyone who suffers from serious depression or feeling down, but for me praying and focusing my thoughts on the Lord pull me out. 

There are hotlines to call if you need help and I’m not saying don’t use those, I’m only saying for me in my instances this is what worked for me. So please if you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to professionals.

Kimberly Rose Johnson

Kimberly Rose Johnson holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two teenage sons, and their yellow lab. She writes sweet Christian romance and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She enjoys taking long walks with her husband and dog, reading, dark chocolate and time with friends.

Kimberly’s latest release is Island Dreams. Piper Hunt arrives on Wildflower Island to develop family property into an upscale resort knowing this may be her last chance to prove her worth to her father. With grandiose ideas, she soon finds herself at odds with adjoining property owner, Chase Grayson. As she begins to appreciate the simplicity of the island, she struggles to maintain balance between her father's wishes, preserving the natural beauty of the island, and her attraction for Chase. 

Chase Grayson values the peace and quiet of Wildflower Island. That serenity is threatened when Piper Hunt discloses her plans to develop an upscale resort that not only butts up to his property, but will turn the island into a busy tourist destination. In fighting her plans, he also finds himself fighting his attraction to her. If he doesn't stop her plans for the resort, his life will be altered forever. If he succeeds, it means he will never see her again. Can he live with either choice? 

Buy link for Island Dreams:
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Island-Dreams-Wildflower-Romance-Book-ebook/dp/B00XYYRP66

Find Kimberly here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyRoseJohnson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimberlyrosejoh
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/krose1990
Kimberly’s website: http://kimberlyrjohnson.com

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Devotional: I'll Not Forget You

There’s an old song by Bryan Duncan that speaks of the long years of waiting by Abraham and Sarah. Through all that has come this time of year—school wrapping up, graduations, wedding—there’s still a place of waiting inside me for something I’ve dreamed of since I was fifteen.

I catch myself wondering often, does anything I do make any difference? In this season of busyness, where it feels that so much is still undone, am I accomplishing something of worth, or just running myself in circles?

Others I know are in seasons of rest, or waiting. Some feel that God has just put them on the shelf for no apparent reason. Which begs another question: For all that I’ve done, all I’ve worked for ... does God Himself notice?

The answer is, emphatically, yes.

Motives matter, of course. “...which you have shown toward His name.” Can we say we do what we do because it’s good and right? Or because we just really want people to tell us how wonderful we are?

Not that there’s anything wrong with the desire to know we’ve done a good job. Even the famed virtuous woman knew that what she produced with her hands was of good quality. (Proverbs 31:18) And there’s nothing to be gained by false modesty.

But once we’ve examined our hearts, prayed for God to purify us, and gone beyond all that until we’re just bone weary...that’s when we often wonder, has God just forgotten me? Are dreams just something we have to learn to give up, because they get swallowed up in real life?

Those are the moments in which the chorus of the song haunts me most.

I’ll not forget you ...

God sees. He remembers. He does not forget the things He planted in us, the things we long to see to come to fruition. Most of all, even though His word is clear that we can do nothing to earn His favor, He doesn’t overlook what we do for His sake.

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. (Hebrews 6:10, NKJV)

 (first appeared 5/19/13)

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Author Interview ~ Mary Ellis

Mary Ellis

 Mary Ellis has written twelve award-winning novels set in the Amish community and several historical romances set during the Civil War. Her latest, Midnight on the Mississippi, first of a new mystery series, Secrets of the South, is set in New Orleans. Before "retiring" to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. Mary enjoys traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog and cat. She can be found on the web at: www.maryellis.net or on Facebook.

TBB: Hello, Mary! Welcome to The Borrowed Book. How long were you writing before your first publication?

ME: I started writing around fifteen years ago, finishing two historical romances set during the American Civil War. At a writing conference I was able to land an agent who had faith in my work. She suggested polishing the first manuscript which I did to the best of my abilities. She, however, was unable to find “a home” for my books. Although I received positive feedback from several publishing houses, I was also told “there was no market” for Civil War romances. My agent suggested a genre change and I took her advice. After publishing a dozen romances set in the Amish culture, my publishing house decided to publish my historical romances, although the current books bear little resemblance to my freshman efforts. I learned much about writing over the years, and both books were completely rewritten. However, I’m proud to say nuggets of my original inspiration remain today in all their glory.

TBB: Are you a morning person? A night owl? How do you arrange your schedule to allow the most efficient, productive time for writing? 

ME: I am definitely a morning person, but the creative muse only visits after several cups of coffee. I start out with emails, social media, and promotional endeavors, and then open my work-in-progress and give-it-a-go, as my British friends would say. Evenings are for relaxation and family. As far as nighttime? I’m usually in bed by nine-thirty, so a “night owl” I am not.

TBB: Do you ever read your dialog aloud to see how it sounds? Have you ever performed an action you want one of your characters to carry out in order to help you visualize or describe it? Have you ever embarrassed yourself doing this? 

ME: I usually read my dialog aloud for a realistic feel. Often when I walk my dog, I talk to myself and work out plot twists and conversations between two key characters. I find this helps me once I return to my computer. My neighbors initially thought me quite mad, however, I’ve lived on this dead-end road for so long, everyone has more or less gotten use to me. My husband and I are still invited to our quota of neighborhood get-togethers.

TBB: If you felt the Holy Spirit urging you to quit writing, would you do it? 

ME: Absolutely, I would. The Holy Spirit, which dwells in my heart, is never wrong. Every time I heed the Holy Spirit I thrive. And each time I attempt to “go it alone” I flounder. So if the Holy Spirit was urging me to quit, I would do so.  So far that hasn’t happened, but our Lord knows His children and what is best in each “season” of their life.

TBB: Do you prefer writing the initial draft, or do you enjoy the revision process more? Do you revise as you write, or do you first produce a big mess that you later have to fix? If your first draft is rough, do you usually have to cut out a lot of dead wood, or add flesh to the bare bones?   

Harvest House, 2015

ME: Oh, my…what an easy question! I absolutely hate revising. So I must edit as I go along. Yes,

it’s slower that way, but I can’t stand having a mess on my hands when I get done with my story. That’s not to say the book doesn’t need a thorough “going over” before I send it to my editor, but I do fix a lot of errors as I go along. I have left all the “editing” until the end, and I almost pulled out every hair on my head trying to untangle the ball of yarn. Everyone writes differently, but after twenty or so books, this works best for me.

I hope you’ll look for Midnight on the Mississippi at your favorite bookstore or online retailers.

Available at CBD:

At Amazon:

And at Barnes &Noble:

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Overcoming Adversity

By Mary Ellis

When I consider what challenge I have personally overcome or are in the process of overcoming only one answer comes to mind…time management. Trying to juggle too many balls in the air robs me of my peace of mind, produces many sleepless nights, and sends me to my knees in prayer often. God never lets me down. However, when I try to “go it alone,” even for a single day, I struggle. Jesus is my rock on a daily basis and without Him I would have given up on publishing as a career long ago.

Harvest House Publishers, 2015

In my blissful, pre-published days, I erroneously believed that once an author received the coveted “call” and turned in a completed manuscript, she could relax and put her feet up. Nothing could be further from the truth. Being published means honoring contracts in a timely fashion, along with a multitude of details. No longer was I squeezing time to “write a book” into my daily routine of tending home, family and day job. Even though I have “retired” from my day job to write full-time, my life hasn’t gotten any easier. With each new release, the juggling act increases from three balls in the air, to four, five or even six. For readers and writers in the pre-published period of their careers, I’ll explain how five projects can demand your attention simultaneously:

First, there’s the book you’re currently writing and editing, according to your publisher’s expectations for word count, theme, and depth of characters.

 Secondly, the book you recently submitted is by no means done. A plethora of add-ons must be finished before the book heads to the printer, such as developmental edits, line edits, back cover copy, book cover and trailer suggestions, and blurbs or excerpts for catalogs and sales brochures.

Thirdly, if this was a series, chances are a book was recently released and requires promotion. Your title will either sink or swim during the first several, crucial months. An author must get the word out to readers through blog or radio interviews, website and newsletter giveaways, and book signings, along with social media. Otherwise, with so many fine books releasing each year, how will potential readers find yours?

Fourthly, an author needs to research the next book she intends to write, and that often involves travel or at least long hours spent in the library. Not everything on the internet can be trusted for accuracy, so I turn to non-fictions books, travel guides, and in person, hands-on research. Luckily, I have a husband who loves to travel and is willing to pick up and go on short notice.

And finally, what happens when your current beloved series draws to a close? If you don’t wish to be out of a job, you must devise an irresistible proposal that your publisher simply cannot turn down. Publishing houses consider projects well in advance, so authors need to think far down the line too. Considering all this stress, hard work and long hours, you might conclude that I’m complaining. Nothing would be farther from the truth. I love being an author, and pray each night for God to make me a better juggler and time manager. And when I worry and fret? Jesus, my rock, is always ready to pick me up and carry my load.

Mary Ellis

Mary Ellis has written twelve award-winning novels set in the Amish community and several historical romances set during the Civil War. Her latest, Midnight on the Mississippi, first of a new mystery series, Secrets of the South, is set in New Orleans. Before "retiring" to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. Mary enjoys traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog and cat. She can be found on the web at: www.maryellis.net or https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mary-Ellis/126995058236

 I hope you’ll look for Midnight on the Mississippi at your favorite bookstore or online retailers:

Available at CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/1-midnight-on-the-mississippi/mary-ellis/9780736961691/pd/961690?event=Fiction

At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Mississippi-Secrets-South-Mysteries/dp/0736961690/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436816683&sr=1-1&keywords=midnight+on+the+mississippi

And at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/midnight-on-the-mississippi-mary-ellis/1120894147?ean=9780736961691

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Devotional: Nothing But Brokenness

(first appeared May 5, 2013)

 

I will admit, at the end of this week, I am completely at the end ... of many things.

It feels right now like there’s nothing left, to give others, even to give God.

What do we do in those moments?

With this heart open wide

From the depths from the heights

I will bring a sacrifice

With these hands lifted high

Hear my song hear my cry

I will bring a sacrifice

I will bring a sacrifice
I lay me down

I’m not my own

I belong to you alone

Lay me down

Lay me down

(Read more: CHRIS TOMLIN - LAY ME DOWN LYRICS )

As the song from the Passion conference says, we are the sacrifice ... we lay ourselves down.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart ...”

I learned something years ago about that word “contrite.” It often gets translated humble, but it comes from a Hebrew word that gives the sense of something crushed and ground to powder.

When the blows of life don’t just break us, but crush us, grind us down until there’s nothing recognizable of our heart ... then that itself is our sacrifice to the Lord.

Why? Why is our brokenness that which God seeks as our most precious sacrifice?

My theory is ... it’s then that we see most clearly how desperately we need Him. And it’s then that He promises to be near us, to save us, that if we bring Him our broken and crushed selves, He will not despise the sacrifice.

I suppose, then, if God has allowed me to come to this place of brokenness ... it’s because I needed it. Not because He doesn’t love me, or care about the difficulty of the situation, but because whatever He’s doing in me would not be accomplished any other way.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:17, both NKJV)

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Devotional: The Antidote

So, having written about jealousy and envy, I realized it isn’t enough to write about the problem. We must have a solution. A defense, if you will, against the sweet poison that gets pressed to our ears and hearts.

Part of the issue is that it’s so much easier to talk about applying the antidote, than it is to actually do so. Why? Because we have to give up our right to hold onto the hurt, or to the anger. We must, as I wrote previously, forgive people for failing us—in essence, for not being God.

But why—why is it so hard to just lay it down? Even when we know—or say we know—that God is good, that He is all wise, that we trust Him?

I wrestled with this all week but still haven’t come up with a good answer. Oh, yes, I write things and then get tested on them, pretty much immediately. This time seems harder for some reason. Maybe because life has been filled with stresses that fly at me from all directions. You now how it is: you try to hold it together, but at some point one or several darts get past your defenses, and then here comes the meltdown. Your friends, your loved ones, are left standing there looking at you like an idiot—you were so strong last week, what’s wrong with you that you can’t keep it together over this?

And once it’s there, under your skin, it tends to flare at odd moments, like poison ivy—you think you have it beat, or mostly so, then you scratch unthinkingly at a mild itch, and suddenly it’s a full-blown breakout, all over again.

It isn’t that the offenses aren’t real, or valid things to be upset about. The thing is, when we focus on them, it feeds the itch rather than kills it. But when we deliberately choose to look up, to look at the Cross, look at Jesus Himself—it begins to fade.

The stepsisters I wrote about last week, jealousy and envy, will hate that, of course. If the Prince isn’t paying attention to them, they don’t want anyone to be happy, and here’s where they show their ugliness. They’ll stop their charade of sympathy and instead lean into your face, screeching and jeering. You’re such an idiot! This proves it! You’ll never change, God doesn’t care about fixing your situation, you’ll have to put up with this indefinitely, and you deserve the misery you feel.

And you know what? Jesus knows what it feels like to have those things screamed at you. He’s experienced injustice: the people who should have known the time of His coming, didn’t, and even those who followed Him misunderstood His purpose until after the Resurrection. He was beaten, mocked, spit on—and this was God, the One who made us all, who gave us life and then went above and beyond to come be the payment for our rebellion against Him! Who had more right to feel the hurt, to be angry at the slight?

But He knows—and He does care. If He doesn’t change a situation, He has a reason, whether it’s for our growing, or to test our trust in Him, or because His purpose for that other person isn’t yet completed. Regardless, we can know that He’s intending to work a greater good through it.

This doesn’t mean the answer is necessarily always to ignore the voices and tough it out. God is always there beside us, but sometimes He waits for us to actually ask Him to deal with those bullying girls before intervening.

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. (Hebrews 4 & 12, NKJV)

(first appeared 4/28/13)

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What a Friend We Have in Jesus with Author, LoRee Peery

LoRee Peery

This week, we welcome Christian romance author LoRee Peery. LoRee says she writes to feel alive, as a way of contributing, and to pass forward the hope of rescue from sin. She writes of redeeming grace with a sense of place. LoRee clings to I John 5:4 and prays her family sees that faith. She has authored the Frivolities Series and other e-books. Her desire for readers, the same as for her characters, is to discover where they fit in this life journey to best work out the Lord’s life plan. She is who she is by the grace of God: Christian, country girl, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend, and author. Connect with LoRee through these links:

Website: www.loreepeery.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoreePeery
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/o3sn5qk

TBB: Hi, LoRee! Welcome to our blog. We're so excited to have you!

LP: Thank you for the opportunity to visit The Borrowed Book.

TBB: Tell us a little about your writing. Is it hard for you?

LP: I’ve realized more this year than ever before, how much I need the Lord in my writing. I have to pray when I write. Period. Zoe McCarthy considers God her Co-Author. I love that.

Tuesday I mentioned my struggle with the post, "Take it to Jesus, No Matter what IT is." Though I’d prayed specifically, flow didn’t come until I sang “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Every aspect of the writing process has proven troublesome for me at some stage. I have an idea file consisting of various lengths of interesting tidbits from itsy newspaper notes to several pages of magazine articles. Most of the time, I consult that notebook for beginning sparks.

TBB: Are you a morning person? A night owl? Do you arrange your schedule to allow for the most efficient, productive time for writing?

LP: Morning? Ugh. It doesn’t matter if I get out of bed at 6 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. I don’t wake up until after 10:00. I’ve always been thankful I take notes in church because my mind is a blank. I’m a night owl when it comes to reading. Before I fall to sleep I try to hit where and/or what I’m writing the next day. My best writing time is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. so that’s when I write during the daily-word count stage of my first draft. I set the goal of 1000 words and often go beyond. I try to make appointments later in the afternoon. Tuesdays and Thursday I exercise at noon. Some days the writing doesn’t happen because I go ahead and run errands while I’m in the city. My study is upstairs and I try not to sit for longer than 40-45 minutes. I most often call it a day by 7 p.m.

TBB: When working on a manuscript, what do you do when you get stuck?

LB: Eat chocolate. No, I save that for a self-reward. I do chomp on chewy candies, and for some reason, it works. Even walking out of the room for a drink of water clears the cobwebs. If my head is spinning, or I’m tempted to twiddle my thumbs, I get up from my desk. The act of moving clears my head. I’ll exercise, go outside, or walk the dog. If I’m totally lost in a fog, I’ve been known to watch a movie, read, or even work a crossword.

TBB: Have you ever performed an action you want one of your characters to carry out in order to help you visualize or describe it? Were you ever embarrassed by doing so?

LP: Yes, I have. And I’m so thankful I was alone. In my first story (that will never be submitted for publication), the heroine’s father died in a fluke fall on the basement stairs. Our wooden basement stairs are unfinished, so I contorted my body every-which-way to get the logistics of the fall. Again, in the story where my father’s homicide is fictionalized, I placed myself in odd positions near our pickup parked on our rock driveway. Imagination has to take over, but I’ve stood or sat in various places inside the house, imaging a world I’d created in order to get logistics. The worst I’ve ever been caught at was speaking dialog to myself.

TBB: If you felt the Holy Spirit urging you to quit writing, would you do it?

LP: Oh, my, yes. Life happens. God knows my future, I don’t. He’s granted me the desires of my heart. I’ve thought about what I’d do instead of writing. I don’t know how I’d spend my time other than lie around reading and gaining weight. I love to piece quilt. However, I have arthritis in my hands. Attempting to thread a needle either brings tears or laughter. The only repeated motion that doesn’t hurt my hands is typing. I call that a huge blessing.

TBB: Does your best writing flow? Or are you most satisfied with the work that you’ve labored over, sweating and groaning?

LP: I believe it’s both. The absolute finest writing moment is when the characters take over and my fingers fly. I groan when I search the weasel words, such as "was." I’ve found seven cases of "was" on a page, and that did make me groan. I still struggle in my writing. I try to keep learning. I’ll continue to seek my friend Jesus.

Pelican Book Group, 2015

Where Hearts Meet 
Shattered by the loss of her parents, Deena pours her love into her patients at an assisted living facility. When the son of one her charges starts showing up to spend time with his mother, Deena's wary heart is warmed by his attention to his mother...and to her. Simon is plagued by his ex-wife's disappearance years before. When he meets Deena, who closely resembles the woman, he fears his attraction is based only on Deena's looks. But she exhibits a warmth his ex-wife never had. Dare he risk his once broken heart? As two lonely souls pursue a tentative, budding love, secrets and lies come forward to tear them apart. Can Simon and Deena overcome loss and allow their hearts to mend?

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