SFFS 17/09/2011

So, I thought that I'd tantalise you with a glimpse of the Helpie this week.  Sadly, tho, you'll need to wait till nearly the end of October for any more, as we head overseas next Saturday for three weeks. Enjoy.

A tentacle was pointing at the seat on the opposite side of the table. ‘Yes, that seat’s taken. This is a private booth. Now get out.’

‘Oh, well, that’s a pity,’ commented head left.

‘I’ll just take this one instead,’ chirped head right, and to her aggravation, the Helpie sat down next to her.

She scooted around the booth to get away from its tentacles.

‘Oooh, this is a feisty one, Con,’ said left.

‘Yeah, Ner. They don’t come any better.’

SFFS Week 15

Good morning, and welcome to my SFFS tidbit for this week! I decided to give you something different to read this week. I haven't shared much from this story, but this is the start of one of my favourite scenes of anything I've ever written.

The working title of this WIP is The Contract, and it will be a novella (maybe) set in the Tahl Jighn Universe. More on that another time. Layni is mourning the death of her parents, and has taken refuge from an unwanted resident in her cabin. However, peace is a little hard to find .... 

She sipped at her Zentang; the tart, icy-cold liquid snaked its delicious way down into her gut. AH, now this was a remedy for sore minds and wounded hearts. She closed her eyes and leant her head back against the back of the seat. This booth had been the only curtained, private one available and she’d leapt at it, not even pausing to order at the counter. A waiter had had to attend her.

‘Is this seat taken?’

Layni sat up erect, eyes flashing in annoyance at the intrusion. She looked straight into the twin faces of a Helpie.

SFFS Week 14

Greetings! Welcome to this week's snippet. It continues on from where I left off last week in The Cabin on the Lake WIP.

The relaxation heaviness that pervaded her body was a clear indicator of the depth of her slumbers, for the first time in what? months? years? She had almost become accustomed to the caffeine-induced vibrancy that had been propping her into the upright postures required of everyday life. Not that she was addicted to it; she had never craved it. But it had been necessary, in the absence of any other solutions to her insomnia, to her continued functioning in the dearth of stress-free time off.

Please do go to the SFFS blog to view the snippets that have been submitted by other writers. You can even have a look around and join in!

SFFS Week 13

I'm really excited this week. I have a new idea to introduce to you, one that I'm playing with at the moment. It will eventually be a story, but for now only a few sentences have been written. I would love to hear what you all think about it. For now, I'm calling it The Cabin on the Lake.

The pungent smell of the pines drifted up her nostrils, arousing her from sleep. Through the haze of not-quite-awake-yet, and puzzled by the unfamiliar scent, she prised her heavy eyelids open a slit to get her bearings. An ocean of too-bright white linen assaulted her just-roused senses, at odds with the golden background of bare pine slats that rose as a wall beyond. Her eyelids drifted closed again, weighed down by safer thoughts than what lay beyond.

Slowly snapshots of the night before wended their way through the miasma of her half-asleep consciousness to surface jubilant, demanding her attention. An after-work dash up the Interstate as night drew in; a sprint through a convenience store to gather supplies; a bumpy, muscle-abusing ride down a dark forest track, damp branches smacking into her windscreen and scraping their sodden trail down the length of her car; and finally that heady reek of wet pines as she unloaded her life-for-the-next-three-months into the log cabin that was her haven.

She inhaled deeply, savouring the aroma as it filled her lungs. No longer wet, but spicey, sun-kissed by the new dawn. If this wasn't pure luxury, then she didn't know what could ever be.

Please do go here to give my fellow writers support in their writing.

Problems Have a Purpose

Taken from an email I received from Max Lucado.

Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.
Psalm 50:15 NLT

God will use whatever he wants to display his glory. Heavens and stars. History and nations. People and problems. My dying dad in West Texas.

The last three years of his life were scarred by ALS. The disease took him from a healthy mechanic to a bedbound paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles, but he never lost his faith. Visitors noticed. Not so much in what he said but more in what he didn’t say. Never outwardly angry or bitter, Jack Lucado suffered stately.

His faith led one man to seek a like faith. After the funeral this man sought me out and told me. Because of my dad’s example, he became a Jesus follower.

Did God orchestrate my father’s illness for that very reason? Knowing the value he places on one soul, I wouldn’t be surprised. And imagining the splendor of heaven, I know my father’s not complaining.

A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the reward.
Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God. . . .

Your pain has a purpose. Your problems, struggles, heartaches, and hassles cooperate toward one end—the glory of God.
—from It’s Not About Me

Heavenly Father, when problems and pain come my way, help me to remember that nothing comes into my life without your approval. Rather than complain and cry about the challenges I face, help me consider them as opportunities to bring glory to you. Give me the strength and patience to bear my burdens in a way that will honor you. I will lift my eyes off the trials and keep them fixed firmly on you, amen.

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us.
Daniel 3:17

Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Joshua 21:45

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalm 34:19

From Live Loved: Experiencing God’s Presence in Every Day Life
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2011) Max Lucado