It’s here at last!
Releasing today are the ebook versions of Guarded, a companion story to the Encounters series. I say companion because it does not follow chronologically and runs parallel to the existing stories. But like the others in the series, it tackles a tough subject head-on, namely sexuality.

It’s available for Kindle and all the other e-readers, like Nook, Kobo, Apple books and so many more. The paperback is on its way.

From the back cover:

Identity comes from understanding your place and how you fit in. Son, brother, that kind of thing. Sometimes, though, we take on an identity based on what we do.

My older brother died a war hero. I was the quiet one. The college boy. I thought if I got good grades and kept from getting drafted I was home free.

I was wrong.

But Jesus didn’t save me to make my life easier or to give me what I wanted. He didn’t even save me to help me feel good about myself. He saved me because He loved me. I never understood the depth and wonder of that love until I saw my own incurable brokenness.

Seeing that brokenness was only the beginning. Restoration comes but not without testing. I knew the tests weren’t over. Far from it.

I hope you pick up a copy of Guarded.

The post Guarded: New Fiction Release appeared first on Paula Wiseman.

I have some news! A brand-new Bible study Journey to Easter released this week just in time for Easter. (Yes Easter! We passed Groundhog Day. Now we just have Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, first day of spring and we’re there.)

If you remember the Journey to Easter series from a couple of years ago, this study greatly expands on those posts with insights into the passages and thought-provoking questions that challenge you to think deeply about your faith and your walk.

Over seven sessions, you’ll stop at a different place with Jesus, beginning in the Upper Room on the night of His betrayal and ending in the locked room after His resurrection. Each stop has its own distinct role to play in the unfolding redemption story. While you’re there, you’ll have a moment to observe, to reflect, to consider, and ultimately to worship the Savior who loved us and gave Himself for us.
 
I think my favorite stops were The Garden and The Locked Room. Want to sample it? Download the first chapter, The Upper Room.

Journey to Easter is available as a paperback from Amazon and as an e-book at BN, Apple, Kobo and other favorite retailers.

Thanks for reading! (PS. Thanks for your patience and understanding if you already knew about the release.)

The post Journey to Easter Is Available appeared first on Paula Wiseman.

Technically, I suppose this is not a Writing Friday update, at least not on the surface. But writers are also readers. Voracious ones. I don’t get to read enough. But between writing, working, homeschool, and church, I managed to squeeze in about three dozen books in 2017. Granted, some of them are FOR writing or homeschool. Directly or indirectly, they deeply influence what I write both here and in fiction. I thought I’d share a few with you. (And I love book lists.)

Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God

Sabbath is one of my favorite areas of study and if you’ve been around very long you may have picked up on that. Mark Buchanan is one of my favorite writers. I have his book, The Holy Wild in the queue for 2018.

Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms

I started this one on retreat in 2016 but didn’t finish it until this year. It’s a short book, but best digested in small bites. Invitation to Solitude and Silence is up this coming year.

Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel from the Cross

I read a lot of counseling books. In fact, they take up at least three shelves in my office. When my son got his reading list for his Introduction to Psychology class, I had half of them already. (I made him promise to let me read the other two when he finished.) Inevitably, the things I learn find their way into the mouths of characters like Phil and Donna Shannon or Neil Craig. This book reinforces the fact that there is no healing apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

I “finished” this one right after retreat this year. I’m still reviewing and pondering. Because we understand at our core that our salvation comes by grace, we shy away from anything that challenges us to work or to discipline ourselves. But we know from all kinds of experience that we don’t improve at anything without practice and effort. Our spiritual growth is no different.

What did YOU read that impacted you this year?

The post Favorite Books of 2017: Updated links appeared first on Paula Wiseman.

Thanks for your patience. Download your copy, and if you left a review when you’ve finished reading it… well, that would definitely put you at the top of my Nice list.

I’m pretty sure I have the best readers ever. Thanks for sticking with me!

Oh, if you haven’t already, check out the trailer.

The post UNDONE for Kindle is Here! appeared first on Paula Wiseman.

Jan

Saturday, September 11

I left him sitting in the car, and went inside. Maddie and Malcolm met me in the kitchen. “Nana’s called twice,” she said. “I told her you had taken Dad to see Dr. A, but she wants you to call her.”

“Thanks. I’ll call her back.” The dog skittered around Maddie’s feet trying his best to catch my attention.

She glanced at the door. “Where’s Dad?”

“Outside.”

“Is he okay?”

“Dr. A did some quick tests and gave him a prescription. He wants to see him again.”

“But he’s okay?”

“Yes.”

She stretched up to her tiptoes and looked out the window. “Why is he just sitting in the car?”

“He got a call from someone at church and he’s deciding what to do.” I got a treat for the dog and he eagerly took it and strutted out of the kitchen.

She looked at me, then at the floor then her eyes darted to the window and back. “You can say it,” I said. “Part of our problem is that we’ve spent years burying what we think and feel. You can tell me anything, Maddie.”

“It sounds bad.”

“Maybe it won’t be as bad once you say it. Sometimes imagination is worse than reality.”

“I know Dad loves me . . . but sometimes . . .” She glanced at the door, then the window. “Sometimes it feels like the people at the church are more important to him.” She dropped her eyes. “That’s bad to think that, isn’t it?”

It would be hard for her not to come to that conclusion. “Pastors have a really hard job trying to balance their commitments to their churches and their families.” Which was true, and I respected how hard it must be to strike that balance. David expected me to fill in for him at home, but it never clicked that Roger could do the same for him at the church.

Maddie stepped back and crossed her arms, almost hugging herself. “Did you really mean that I could say anything to you?”

“Yes.”

“Why’d you do it?” She blinked and quickly wiped her eyes. “It was so wrong. You knew that . . . and it’s disgusting and . . .”

“And I embarrassed you. I am so sorry.” I held out my arms to hug her, but she quickly shook her head and stood rooted to her spot. I tried again, a little softer this time. “I’m not sure I can explain it yet. I hope Neil can help me.”

“You can try.”

“All right.” I took a deep breath. “You remember when you were little, and you loved to watch Snow White and Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and all those others?” She nodded. “And you wanted to dress up like them? You wanted to be them?”

“Pornography is not about princesses, Mom.” Her voice was flat, dismissive, not unlike her father’s.

“No, it’s not. But . . . I think we desperately want someone who will love us enough to face the dragons for us, who will love us even when they find out the ball gown is just an illusion, and we’re really clothed in rags and dirt.” I looked into her sweet, precious, innocent eyes. “And that’s where it started, Maddie. I didn’t start out on the internet. I started reading stories about women who were cherished . . . and I wanted that more than anything.”

Read the rest of UNDONE Chapter 7

The post UNDONE Chapter 7 appeared first on Paula Wiseman.

Jan

Friday, September 10

I didn’t have time to be hurt or angry because Donna met me as soon as I stepped into the kitchen. “How is he?”

Her concern was understandable. Phil had battled high blood pressure all his life and died of a stroke in his mid-fifties. Phil’s father died even younger. Now David was following the pattern. All of them were pastors.

“It’s high. Clinically high. I told him to make an appointment Monday.”

“He doesn’t need the ER?”

“If he was having any other symptoms, I would say yes, but it’s been inching up over the last four or five years, so we knew this day was coming.” I had to drop my eyes. “Plus he’s under some extra stress right now.”

“He should take some time off.”

He may not have a choice. “I’ll check it again in the morning. If it’s still high, I’ll call Dr. A. I’m sure he’d see him, even on a Saturday.”

Donna reached and squeezed my hand. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I can’t help but worry, you understand.”

“Of course. Thank you for taking the kids to eat. I know they enjoyed it.”

“It was our pleasure.” She kissed Grant and Maddie, and Neil followed her, kissing Maddie’s cheek and shaking Grant’s hand. Then she and Neil each hugged me before they slipped out the back door.

As soon as the door closed, Maddie stood up. “I’m going to bed.”

“Everything okay?”

“No,” she said. “But sleep is the only thing I have control over.”

I smiled at her gentle wisdom. “Dad and I talked. We’ll be okay.”

“What if they make him give up the church?”

“Then we’ll be thankful I have a good job.”

“But he’s not preaching Sunday. What will we do?”

“I’m sure he’ll come up with a plan.”

Continue reading UNDONE Chapter 6

The post UNDONE Chapter 6 appeared first on Paula Wiseman.