My Plan Versus God’s Direction by Jennifer Hallmark

Happy Tuesday, friends. I'm thrilled to welcome Jennifer Hallmark to Fiction Faith & Foodies today. Jennifer is one of those dear friends who always has an encouraging word and lights up the Internet with her smile. Pour another cup of coffee and prepare to be blessed. :)

Photo Credit: Pixabay

I’m a planner. Give me lists, charts, and organization and I leap for joy. Spontaneous is not in my vocabulary. I like to make my plan and see it through. Think Hannibal Smith on “The A Team” when he says, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

However, God’s Word doesn’t line up with my way of thinking.

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9 NKJV).

I plan. God directs. Sometimes my plan lines up with His direction but sometimes they don’t. At this point, I must make a choice.

My plans or His direction. Often, I want to march when He wants to dance.

Freestyle.

In a crowd of people.

With me.

Not really my comfort zone but so rewarding when I let go of my plan to follow His lead. Early in my marriage, I was faced with a dilemma that I share in the book compilation, Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with Infertility and Miscarriage. I needed healing from a large cyst and a troubled pregnancy. I wanted both. I received a healing from the cyst. Then I miscarried.

Why?

I don’t know. I had a choice to make. Be angry at God for not following my plan or take his extended hand, be healed, and dance again. I chose to dance. Will you?

There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand (Proverbs 19:21 NKJV).

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3 NLT).

Have you had an experience when your plans and God’s didn’t line up? What did you choose? What was the outcome?

Jennifer Hallmark is a writer by nature, artist at heart, and daughter of God by His grace. She’s published over 200 articles and interviews on the internet, short stories in several magazines, and been part of four book compilations: A Dozen Apologies, Sweet Freedom A La Mode, Unlikely Merger, and Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with Infertility and Miscarriage. She is currently shopping her contemporary southern fiction novel, When Wedding and Weather Collide.

http://www.jenniferhallmark.com
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https://www.pinterest.com/jenlhallmark989/

Purchase Link

Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with Infertility and Miscarriage

Our society understands how terrible the loss of a child is when that child is out of the womb, but what about when a child dies before birth? Or what about the emptiness that comes when a very-much-wanted child is never even conceived?

These quiet, private losses are hard for those who have not experienced them to understand. And these losses leave those who have suffered them feeling alone in their grief.

Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with Infertility and Miscarriage is a resource both for those who have suffered through these experiences and for their friends and relatives, who want to understand what their loved ones are going through.

This collection contains true stories that are:

• sensitive, and yet honest 
• angry and raw, but not despairing 
• unique, and yet relatable 

The contributors to this book are male and female, old and young, some who eventually had children and some who never did, and yet despite their differences, they share a common grief and a common faith.

No experience of miscarriage, infant loss, or infertility is like any other, yet by reading these painful and hope-filled stories, you’ll be comforted by knowing there are others who understand the journey you’re on, the loss you’ve suffered, and you will find that even though your loss is uniquely yours, you are not alone.

Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer ~ Sharing My Review

About the book~
On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can scarcely believe it when he’s forced off the train by a retired outlaw and presented to the man’s daughter as the minister she requested for her birthday. Worried this unfortunate detour will ruin his chances of finally serving a congregation of his own, Crockett is determined to escape. But when he finally gets away, he’s haunted by the memory of the young woman he left behind—a woman whose dreams now hinge on him.

For months, Joanna Robbins prayed for a preacher. A man to breathe life back into the abandoned church at the heart of her community. A man to assist her in fulfilling a promise to her dying mother. A man to help her discover answers to the questions that have been on her heart for so long. But just when it seems God has answered her prayers, it turns out the parson is there against his will and has dreams of his own calling him elsewhere. Is there any way she can convince Crockett to stay in her little backwoods community? And does the attraction between them have any chance of blossoming when Joanna’s outlaw father is dead-set against his daughter courting a preacher?

Sharing My Humble Opinion~
I first met the Archer clan when I read Short Straw Bride. (See my review here.) I loved Short Straw Bride and the author's unique writing style, so I could hardly wait to get my hands on another one of her books.

Stealing the Preacher picks up with Crock on his way to interview for a preaching position. Certain that God's will is for him to begin his career ministering to that particular congregation, he's surprised when a band of outlaws drag him off the train. Not as surprised, or as horrified as Joanna Robbins is when...oops, I don't want to give away any spoilers. With so many delightful goodies in this book, it's hard to share a review without giving them away.  

Oh, how I identify with Crock in that sometimes I think I know His will. He's given me the go-ahead with my plans, wrapped them up all neat and nice and tied with a perfect bow, and then surprises me with a different outcome altogether. This is that kind of story. Does God's will for Crock entail preaching to the large congregation or ministering to one hurting soul? I enjoyed how this story played out from the first page to the last.  

What an emotionally-charged, fully-developed romance with just the right blend of fun and playful, yet packing a strong and powerful message without "sermonizing." You never know quite what to expect. On one page I found myself chuckling, and the next, reaching for the tissues. It had everything I hope for when I pick up a book. Karen Witemeyer definitely made the top of my "must read" list with Stealing the Preacher. 

Stealing the Preacher releases on 6/1 with Bethany House Publishers, but you can preorder it here.

Disclaimer: Sending a huge thanks to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an advance review copy. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

What about you? 

Have your God-inspired plans ever gone astray?

Did His plan unravel differently than you anticipated?

Care to share your story?