STARTING OVER

STARTING OVER
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 by DONNA SCHLACHTER

Categories: devotional / GUEST AUTHORS / TUESDAY'S TREASURE

PLEASE WELCOME

DONNA SCHLACHTER

TUESDAY’S TREASURE

Starting over. Second Chances. U-turns. Rewind and redo.

All of these phrases are familiar to us. How many—besides me—wish we could have a do-over, particularly when we’ve made a less-than-stellar choice?

For those of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have that opportunity every day. Lamentations 3:22-23 remind us: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (ESV)

But do we really take advantage—in the nicest way, of course—of the fact that every day is like a Dory Day – whatever happened in the past is forgotten? Everything is brand new.

We can see folks who live their now lives in that way—old folks with senility or dementia or Alzheimer’s; survivors of stroke; brain cancer patients; and those who’ve suffered traumatic brain injuries. For many, their younger lives are crystal clear, but yesterday and last week are as if they never happened.

When we are “in Christ”, God looks at us through a Jesus-tinted lens and sees nothing but His perfect Son. That doesn’t give us the license to continue sinning, but it does give us a second chance.

I’ve been seriously writing for over twenty years now, and I set out to write God-honoring stories of second chances from a second, third, fourth—and more—chances God. Why would I do that? Because that is what I’ve experienced since returning to Christ in my mid-30s. Without that grace and those mercies, I’d have been dead or in prison.

Is God doing something in your life? Yes. The answer is always yes.

Our problem is we don’t always see Him at work. I have a sign on a wall in my home that I remind myself of often: When you can’t see His Hand, trust His heart.

God is always at work in you, through you, for you. His goal is that you become more like His Son, that you glorify Him, and that, one day, you will join Him in heaven.

In a recent release, A Fresh Start for Elizabeth, my heroine learns that God is always working on our behalf, even if we don’t see Him. And my hero finds out that despite his scientific training, he has a lot to learn about how fearfully and wonderfully we are made. You can learn more here: https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Start-Elizabeth-Beginnings-Colorado/dp/1958897051 and you can check out the rest of the Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGM7Q2GM

Knowing we serve a forgiving and merciful God gives us peace when we fall short, and fills us with peace and hope for the future.

About A Fresh Start for Elizabeth

Elizabeth Maddock, a widow and a chef, wants a new start. She answers an ad for a chef who wants to serve hundreds daily and finds herself working at a TB sanitarium in Boulder, Colorado, passing her infant son off as her brother. She comes to love the patients and wants them freed from their plight, yet the town depends on the sanitorium to remain alive and to grow.

Evan Hamden, a childless widower, searches for a cure for TB. While drawn to Miss Maddock, he resists falling in love, because he has a lifetime of work ahead of him and doesn’t want any distractions such as marriage or family. But when his patients start dying, he doesn’t know who to trust. Certainly not this invisible God Miss Maddock relies on.

Can Evan and Elizabeth discover whether his treatment plan is faulty, or is somebody behind the deaths? Can they trust each other—and God—to reveal the truth?

About Donna Schlachter

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky-clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers’ groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She is taking all the information she’s learned along the way about the writing and publishing process and is coaching committed career writers. Learn more at https://www.donnaschlachter.com/the-purpose-full-writer-coaching-programs Check out her coaching group on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/604220861766651

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