Strength, Joy, and Hope in Tough Times

Send to Kindle

by Lisa Prysock

I don’t know about you, but I’ve really struggled this year to remain positive.  2017 was a tough year for so many among us with hurricanes, fires, and so many tragic circumstances and challenges.  It seemed like every time we turned around, something else was happening to break our hearts. 

I think it’s really important to continue to look to Christ during this hour.  It’s time to dig deeper and continue to prepare for His return.  Each year brings us closer to that blessed day.  He is our blessed hope and redeemer, our strength, and our joy. 

It’s perfectly okay to need a little extra time to pull away to seek Him, to pray, to read the Word, to reflect, to cultivate our hopes and dreams for 2018, to ask for wisdom for the year ahead… 

I’m reminding myself of many of the basics we know about our firm foundation in Christ and His Word.   

1) God is our Heavenly Father who loves us. 

2) We can and must trust in Him even during the hard times, even when things don’t always make sense to us. 

3)  He will never leave us nor forsake us (Joshua 1:9) 

Two verses which encourage me most at this time are the following… and the first my grandmother wrote in the Bible she gave me in my youth at age 13.  How is it praying grandmothers know the very verses we will need most in our life?–: 

Proverbs 3:5-6 

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. 

Jeremiah 17:7-8 

7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD.  (The King James version says whose hope is the Lord) 8 For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.… 

May these verses bring you comfort and strength as you trust in Him in 2018. 

Lisa

Author Biography–: 

Lisa M. PrysockLisa M. Prysock lives in the countryside of beautiful, rolling Kentucky just outside of the greater Louisville area near horse farms and four board fences with her husband of 19 years.  She homeschooled the two youngest of their five children and is excited about her youngest entering the journey of college life.   

She and her husband live in an average Colonial style home they are continually updating– with a funny looking Heinz 57 dog; an adorably dainty lady cat; two teenagers; a vegetable garden; numerous flower beds; and a tree house undergoing a remodel.  When not in teaching or writing mode, she is teaching herself to play the piano and violin.  Regarding this she laughs:  “It’s a pretty painful process, but I’m truly enjoying it!”   

Lisa loves all things old-fashioned and has adopted a slogan of “The Old-Fashioned Everything Girl.”  A few of her interests and passions include doll houses, long dresses and hats, gardening, reading the Classics, butterflies, swimming, walking, working out, cooking, sewing, crochet, cross stitching, arts and crafts, scrapbooking, decorating, and drawing.  She remembers writing her first book in kindergarten with help from the teacher and a stapler to hold the pages together.  She won a literary award for a short story in eighth grade and has been writing ever since.   Some of her favorite authors include Jane Austen, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Lucy Maude Montgomery. 

Recently, her husband remodeled a room in their home with a picture window overlooking a valley containing a creek and wooded area, transforming the space into a serene writing office/sewing room.  “It’s a great source of peace and inspiration for me… and pure joy not to be writing from the busy kitchen amidst the household chaos on a laptop.  Growing teenagers eating every five minutes makes for a constant stream of happenings!”   

Be sure to check out her new release Geneva, a fiction Christian Historical Romance series with a theme on the fruits of the Spirit!  These days, Lisa is also writing her first Contemporary Western Christian Romance novels as a contributing author to the ‘Whispers in Wyoming’ series with Danni Roan, Kari Trumbo, Lynn Winchester, and Rachel Skatvold. She recently released Book 3 in the series, Dreams of Sweetwater River. 

Lisa is an Amazon bestselling and award winning author of To Find a Duchess, an Inspirational Regency Romance; ‘The Victorian Christian Heritage Series’ which includes Hannah’s Garden:  a Turn of the Century Love Story and Abigail’s Melody; and ‘The Lydia Collection,’ which includes The Redemption of Lady Georgiana (a Ruth love story of modern day Regency proportions), Protecting Miss Jenna (an Antebellum Era Christian Romance Adventure), and Persecution & Providence (a ‘Jane Austen-ish’ mail order bride story from the Pioneer Era).  She is also the author of a devotional/Bible Study, Arise Princess Warrior and recently released The Shoemakeran Old-Fashioned Regency Christmas Romance.  Lisa writes clean and wholesome literature while sharing her faith in Jesus Christ in a creative way.  She is a member of ACFW and Louisville Christian Writers.  You can find out more about Lisa at:   www.LisaPrysock.com 

A portion of the proceeds of her books goes to support missionaries.  You can find out more about Lisa at her author website and sign up to enjoy a free newsletter; find out when her next book is coming out and where to enter book giveaways; find out about author events; receive coupons for totally free and discounted books; and enjoy more reader resources at www.LisaPrysock.com (including free vintage recipes, inspirational blog entries, and writing resources).  She really enjoys hearing from readers and loves to read their reviews at sites where her books are available for purchase such as Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Smashwords, Kobo.com, Apple iBooks, Walmart.com, or your favorite retailer where you purchased this book.

Links: 

https://www.facebook.com/LisaMPrysock 

https://twitter.com/LPrysock  

www.LisaPrysock.com    

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J6MBC64  

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisa-m-prysock 

Share Button

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *