Yes, the mountain girl went to the beach yesterday, Christmas Eve, and that is Florida ‘snow’ that you see on the water. A cold front moved through SoFlo* this morning. The high yesterday was eighty degrees with winds, cloudy skies and a chance of ‘snow.’ As I write this, the temperature outside is fifty-five degrees. We expect the low tonight to be forty-two degrees. I’d better cover the plants! BRR! {Guffaw!} This is as close to a White Christmas as we get. Can you see the whitecaps on the Atlantic?

I have been in a writing funk since we returned from the mountains in October. In November, I chalked it up to the National Novel Writing Month challenge. I just barely met the 50,000 word goal. It was a struggle to concentrate on the story developing on the page. I found writing this book much less satisfying than previous challenges. I finished the story in what some writers call a zero draft. The premise and plot are there, but the writing itself is a mess. {wry smile on my face}

My writing in books and this blog have suffered these last few months. Work and a bunch of home projects have kept me busy. This is a good thing, since I struggled to write something more than rambling. In fact, I just took 212 words of rambling out of this post. Aren’t you glad? {chuckle}

I’ve not had writer’s block before. Yes, sometimes writing is hard, but I work through it. And even now when I write it… rambles. I don’t like the ramble and file it in my “not to be published” file. Maybe someday the thoughts might trigger something of value. While this is technically not writer’s block, it is where I get stuck.

This leads me to what has been of value in the last three months; prayer and waiting. I pray for my family, my writing, prayer requests, my readers, my country, those I work with, my states, and my troubles and questions. I work on my goals and tasks while waiting for the Lord’s answers. My talks with the Prince of Peace lately remind me that no matter what, God gives me peace. Even when I am troubled, I am not to be afraid. In John 14:27 Jesus says:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. [NABRE]

I have struggled with the troubled feelings, yet God has placed peace deep in my soul. Fear batters me, and this year I learned, fear attacks from the outside not the inside. This year outside forces took fear and used it as a weapon. They used medical science as a tool of fear for their own political gains. The evil one took fear to such extreme measures, that the only peace I found was in prayer and scripture. I learned God does not bring fear; He brings peace. Fear cannot come from inside us for God’s Holy Spirit dwells within us. 2 Timothy 1:13-14 states:

¹³ Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us. [NABRE]

The peace we seek is rooted in the Holy Spirit who dwells within our souls. We do not fight fear and evil without the Holy Spirit. All of this is because God sent His only Son as the Messiah and we are not alone.

Today I opened Bible gateway to look up John 14:27, and the verse of the day is Isaiah 9:6:

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [NKJV]

Dear Father, Thank you for sending Your Son, the Prince of Peace, to bring us peace in a world filled with fear. As we wait on you and place our trust in You we celebrate Your Love. You are Wonderful beyond what we can imagine! You are our Counselor, our Mighty God, and Everlasting Father. Thank you, Father, for bringing us through these trials. Bless us and our Countries. May Your Holy Spirit bless our souls today with truth, salvation, and peace. In Jesus’ name, amen. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit amen,

May God Bless your day. to my Christian friends and family Merry Christmas, and to my Jewish friends and family, have a blessed Shabbat.

Milly

P.S: All references are from the New King James Version (NKJV) and New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE).

* SoFlo is Florida slang for South Florida 🙂