Forgive and Forget by Katie Clark - Guest Post

Today, we welcome Katie Clark to A Bed of Roses...Thorns Included.

Katie Clark has been telling stories since she was seven years old. When she grew up and realized people liked hearing the stories, well, she was hooked. She spends her days telling tales to her two wee daughters, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world. Katie’s published works include her upcoming YA novel, Vanquished, the first book in the Enslaved series, as well as numerous children’s books. You can learn more at her website, www.katieclarkwrites.com. 

FORGIVE AND FORGET

By Katie Clark

It’s so easy to hold a grudge—especially when someone has truly, deeply wounded you. That feeling of hurt can last for days, months, years, and it can be especially hard around the holidays.

That is, unless you accept the all-encompassing forgiveness offered through Christ. Easier said than done? I don’t think so.

So, how does one do this? How does one forgive and forget? Life is a struggle, and the process may be different for everyone, but here are a few tips that may help along the way.

•          Realize it is okay to forgive. I held a grudge against someone for a long time. I held the grudge because I thought that if I forgave and forgot, it meant I condoned what the person had done. On the day I realized that my forgiveness didn’t mean I agreed with that person’s choice, I felt like I had been set free!
•          Realize it’s healthy for you to forgive. Focusing on the anger is a sure way to neglect your other duties. Forgiveness allows you to go on with what God has intended for your life. Leave God to work on the other person’s heart.
•          Realize that prayer is your greatest weapon not your last resort. Pray for the person who has wronged you. Love the person who has wronged you. There is no surer way for your own joy to be restored.

And always remember that your Heavenly Father is full of mercy and love, as well as forgiveness toward you. He loved you so much he sent his son to be born in a lowly manger. May we all live to emulate Him!

And here's a peek at Katie's upcoming release Vanquished.

When Hana’s mom is diagnosed with the mutation, she is denied the medication that might save her life.  Fischer, a medic at the hospital, implies there are people who can help—except Hana’s not sure she can trust him; Fischer is involved in a religious group, and religion has been outlawed for the last hundred years.  Hana embarks on a dangerous journey, seeking the answers Fischer insists are available. When the truth is uncovered does Hana stick to what she knows?  Or does she join the rebellion, taking a stand against an untrustworthy society?

Thanks for joining us Katie, and helping with the kick-off of the end-2013-with-a-bang-and-enter-2014-with-a-gift give-away. You'll have to come back when Vanquished is released. :)

To find out more about the give-away, click here.

Blessings,

A Bed of Roses...Thorns Included

I'm not sure I've ever written just WHY I came upon the name A Bed of Roses...Thorns Included. If you've read this blog for long, you know I love roses of almost any type. In the four houses we've owned, I've always planted roses. Every single one. Two of those we were only in for two years each. Life just seems better when I can look out a window, somewhere and see a bloom and smell a fragrance.

My banner is of a set of rose bushes in my back yard. They are getting ready to be transplanted to make way for a deck, but I'm definitely NOT getting rid of them. All of these pictures are of roses in my yard.

Anyway one day I happened upon the saying above. "Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses." Alphonse Kerr I've seen it attributed to others, but because I first saw it with Mr. Kerr's name, I've left it.

I knew when I started writing that I would write romance. It was a given for me. I'm sure other writers of other genres felt the same way about what they write.

Roses have long been the universal flower of love. And yet, love does not come without hurt.

So I found a title:  A Bed of Roses (all the good stuff) ... Thorns Included (and the bad stuff) all thrown together in life, and in books.

It's about being real, showing my imperfections, sharing my joys, and my sorrows. It's about life. And maybe, just maybe I can help someone else along the way.

Blessings,

Something New to End the Year - Giveaways and More

I'd like to send 2013 out with a bang, and bring in 2014 with giveaways. :)

Here's how it's going to work... for the next few weeks, I will be having other authors guest posting and/or spotlighting their books.

Every time you, my readers, comment on, share on FB, or tweet (post in the comments that you shared or tweeted) your name will be put in a drawing to win your choice of two books from some I have selected from my collection:

Sagebrush Knights by Erica Vetsch
Flight of the Earls by Michael K. Reynolds
The Prairie Romance Collection by various authors
The Art of Romance by Kaye Dacus
Smitten by various authors
Like Moonlight at Low Tide by Nicole Quigley
Highland Crossings by various authors
Colonial Courtships by various authors
The Matchmakers of Butternut Creek by Jane Myers Perrine
House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson
Reluctant Courtship by Laurie Alice Eakes
Idaho Brides by Erica Vetsch
In the Shadow of Evil by Robin Carroll
I Called Him Dancer by G. Edward Snipes
The Case of the Mystified M.D. by A. K. Arenz
The Guardian Duke by Jamie Carie.

Since there will be several winners (yep, I want to GIVE back to you since you provided me so much encouragement this year), the first name drawn with have first choice, and so on until all of the books are gone.

My guest posts will begin soon, so keep an eye out for your chance to win. Each comment/share gets you another opportunity to win. So be generous to these authors and get their words out there.

Winners will be announced January 1. I will not be contacting you, so please check back to see if you've won.

As always, blessings on you and yours, but even more so during this CHRISTMAS season,