“On August 11, 2005, a hot summer day, there was born a beautiful baby girl.
Her parents and four older sisters loved her, and she brought much joy to their world. She had big blue eyes, this girl her parents called Sadie, And they soon learned she was a very special little lady.” That baby girl called Sadie is my little sister. We soon found out that she had epilepsy. What followed was a long journey of doctors' visits, tests, trying different diets and therapies, attempting to gain seizure control, and through it all, God's amazing, never-ending, unchanging grace. Now Sadie is thirteen years old, seizure-free, and loving life. And her story is now in a book!
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Hi friends! In a previous post (read it here), I told about my new writing project: A Torch in the Empire Series, a series of historical fiction books set in the first century Roman Empire. I am now very excited to share with you that the first book, The Fire and the Trial, is almost finished! Like my other books, I am independently publishing it through Kindle Direct Publishing. (By the way, I highly recommend Kindle Direct Publishing for writers like me who have something they want to publish right away and want to be in charge of the whole process themselves). I have ordered the proof copy, and Lord willing, it’ll be published and available for you to buy in May.
My family is going to the Teach Them Diligently convention in Denver, Colorado, May 23-25, and my goal is to have the book published then. My parents are doing a speaking session at the convention, telling about their 27 years and counting homeschooling journey and the truths they’ve learned along the way. I will be joining them to share how homeschooling has blessed me and given me the freedom to pursue my passions and publish books, and some of the lessons I’ve learned through it. This will be the first time any of us have spoken at a conference, so we're very excited about that! I have had tables selling books at two conferences, though, and we have gone to many, many conferences over the years as consumers. Homeschool conventions are really such fun, and my family and I are always so encouraged after going to one! If you’ve never been to a homeschool convention/conference, you really must go to one! You can learn more about Teach Them Diligently here. Back to the book: like my last book, The Invisible Guide, this book is illustrated by my friend Grace Obenhaus, with additional illustrations by my mama and siblings, and yours truly. Here’s a little peek at the illustrations for you: We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is "good," because it is good, if "bad" because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country. - C. S. Lewis Hi friends! With Thanksgiving being almost upon us, I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on being thankful. I was thinking of Betsie and Corrie ten Boom giving thanks in a horrible Nazi concentration camp during World War 2. Here's the story:
The ten Boom sisters had just arrived at a new camp and realized the overcrowded barracks were also swarming with fleas. Corrie wondered how they could live in such a place, but her older sister Betsie said God had already given them the answer. She told Corrie to read the passage from the Bible they'd read that morning. Corrie went to First Thessalonians chapter five. When she came to verses sixteen through eighteen, "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus--", Betsie exclaimed, "That's it, Corrie! That's His answer! 'Give thanks in all circumstances!' We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!" "Such as?" Corrie asked. "Such as being assigned here together," Betsie said, and Corrie agreed. They went on to thank God that they had been able to keep their Bible, that there were so many people there who would be able to hear God's Word, and then Betsie gave thanks for the fleas. The fleas! Corrie thought. "Betsie," she said, "there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea." "'Give thanks in all circumstances,'" Betsie quoted, "It doesn't say 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us." So they gave thanks for the fleas. But Corrie felt sure that this time Betsie was wrong. Time passed, the days filled with hard work and cruel guards, but every evening the women in their barracks would gather round to hear the Word. They were grateful they were able to read the Bible, but they wondered why the guards didn't stop them. Then, one day, Betsie learned why. It was because of the fleas! The guards refused to enter that barracks because they knew it was infested with fleas. God had a purpose, even for those horrible fleas. Wow! If they could give thanks in such terrible conditions, I thank we ought to be able to be thankful, too. The Apostle Paul, who wrote those verses in First Thessalonians, was beaten, flogged, stoned, imprisoned, and finally died a martyr's death. Yet he was still able to give thanks. Sometimes, our eyes are so fixed on the difficulties, the hard things, in our lives, that we can't see anything to be grateful for. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus, and then look at all the good things He's given us, we can give thanks. My life is so full of good things: loving family, good friends, a warm house, delicious food, leaves arrayed in their fall colors... and I'm sure you have much you can give thanks for, too. And even if it seems there is absolutely nothing else to be thankful for, we've been given the best gift ever: Jesus Christ who died and rose again to save us from our sins and give us eternal life with Him. Nothing will ever take that away, and we can always give thanks for that. And, like C. S. Lewis said in the quote at the beginning of this post, we can give thanks in hard times because it draws us closer to the Lord and helps us look forward to Heaven. Well, friends, have a happy Thanksgiving and always remember, "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it," (1 Th. 5:24). All for Him, Savannah Jane P. S. I did the artwork at the top of this post with charcoal and then added watercolor paint to the leaves. Hi friends! I don't know about you, but I love books with illustrations! To me, the illustrations are almost as important as the writing. So today, I'd like to give you a peek at the illustrations in my new book The Invisible Guide.
Here's some art I did recently. I drew it first with an H pencil, then went over it with a 6B pencil, and finally added watercolor paint.
"Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come," Song of Solomon 2:11-12 "And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called The Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.'"
John 19:17-19 “Remember He is the Artist and you are only the picture. You can’t see it. So quietly submit to be painted.”—C. S. Lewis
God is the Artist. We are His painting. He’s making something beautiful out of our lives. We can’t see it. We may not understand what He’s doing, why He lets things happen. But “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). In the trials, in the pain, in the good times and the bad, He’s working it for our good and His glory. So trust the great Artist. He knows what He’s doing. And now, a tutorial of how I did this painting: Hi everyone! I'm so excited to announce my next book, a work in progress, The Invisible Guide. The idea for this story has been in my mind for a few years and now I have begun to write it down. It's a fantasy taking place in an imaginary world of dwarves and castles and dragons. But it's a story of good triumphing over evil, truth over lies, hope over despair, and that even in the darkest of circumstances, the Creator has a purpose and is working it for the good of His children. It'll likely be a year or so before it is published, but I wanted to share the synopsis of the story here: The kingdom of Elarda suffers under a tyrant’s rule. The few who hold to the words of the Forbidden Book and belief in the Creator often pay for it with their lives. The true heir to the throne is lost… or so it is believed. But a group of Rangers still search, believing that, somewhere, the true heir lives. Brielle Fletcher has always wondered about the scar on her face and the color of her eyes but it’s not until she is fourteen that she learns the truth. Then, when tragedy strikes, she must embark on a perilous journey across a desert with her younger siblings. What they do not know is that their trek across the desert will awaken an evil that has long been asleep. Arden Durham is a young man caring for his widowed mother and blind sister. Annie Mercer is a simple farm girl, the daughter of a Ranger and the oldest of six children. Baird Ainsley is a Ranger seeking to stay true to the Creator. But all three will have a much bigger part to play than they ever could have imagined in a purpose much greater than themselves. Above is a drawing of my main character, Brielle, by my friend, Grace. Grace and my family will be contributing illustrations to the book along with some by yours truly.
Well, remember, "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." 1 Th. 5:24 All for Him, Savannah |
Hi! I'm Savannah Jane...I'm the author of several books for children and young adults with a passion to encourage young people to live for Jesus. The third born in an amazing family of seven children, I was homeschooled all the way through. This is where I share encouragement for Christian girls, updates about my books, writing tips, book and movie reviews, and assorted other tidbits. Archives
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Quote"When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds."
-Corrie ten Boom I'm on GoodReadsFollow my family's writing, illustrating, and publishing business/ministry.Follow my blog on Bloglovin' |