Thanksgiving Is STILL Alive ~ Joy Avery Melville

This year our Thanksgiving ~ though different ~ Is STILL alive!

I write Fiction, but never in my wildest story-building has God given me a story that would depict what 2020 has been to so very many individuals!

When God call me to write Contemporary Christian Women's Fiction, I knew it meant I'd be writing stories of fictional journeys leading to joy... and my prayer is, that all that you've gone through, journeying through this maze of 2020, God has still given you the hope of joy.

November 14, 2019, my Christian Contemporary Women's Fiction, Meant For Her released ~ The first chapter takes place on Thanksgiving Day and the heroine's brother, Cam, expresses, in a prayer, all that he is thankful for after having been searching for his sister for weeks after her kidnapping. At the time, Candi wasn't seeing all she had to be thankful for... in fact, she was contemplating all she'd gone through. Kidnapping, beatings, rapes... no, she saw the world as a trauma victim. 

Candi realized she never would have survived had a man and his daughter not been out deer hunting, yet her PTSD kept her behind unyielding prison bars in her heart and mind. She didn't have to keep her heart walled off... but it took the help of many to get her past it - GOD WAS HER ULTIMATE RESCUER!

How about you? When was the last time you sat and made a list of every single thing you have to be thankful for? What gives you a hope for the joy to come?   

Have you looked into a concordance of the Bible and looked at how many times the word THANKS is listed?

One of my all-time favorite challenges from Scripture is where Paul spoke to Thessalonians and told them, in spite of all they faced, he encouraged them to...
"Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 & 18 (NASB)

I realize this is the year of COVID 19 ~  is stretching us with each shut-down, lock-in, and mask-wearing scenario... unlike one could have possibly imagined. I'm one of those 'too-susceptible-to-be-around-people' individuals. It's been a trying year for me and for my husband, but God has sustained us... provided for us in ways we never thought possible, in spite of all the messiness. 

Meant For Her was a fictional story of one woman's journey to joy ~  like our own personal journeys, joy often comes after we've been through some form of sorrow, or hardship, or even a tragedy.

"Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5 (KJV)

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My Story Title:   MEANT FOR HER

My Story Genre:  Christian Contemporary Women's Fiction with Romance

My Story Released:   November 14, 2019

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The Author of This Story:    Joy Avery Melville

As an award winning author, Joy Avery Melville's heart’s desire is to be the author God has called her to be by sharing Him with readers in such a way they long to have a deeply committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord.

Fully intending to write Historical Romance—had in fact— she had no plans to deviate from that. God had something else in mind for that ‘call’ He’d made on her life back in 1967. A mere eighth grader at the time, she had no clue about the topics she’d be drawn to write about.

Surrendering to the genre God placed on her heart has given Joy new insight into the hearts and lives of those who too often hurt in silence.

The settings of Joy’s books are near where she lives in Schoolcraft, Michigan with her husband of nearly 47years and their 2-year-old Yorkie, Is-A-Bella Bindi, (Is-a-beautiful little girl) who thinks she’s a much larger breed with tomboy tendencies.

Joy loves to hear from readers and will respond!

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Get Connected:

• Email: joyjournaling@gmail.com
• Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/joy-avery-melville
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/joyjournalinggmailcom
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/joyaverymelville
• MeWe:        https://mewe.com/i/joyaverymelville
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/joy.averymelville
• Blog https://www.journeystojoy.net
• Website https://www.joyaverymelville.com
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Journeystojoy

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Meant-Her-Intended-Avery-Melville/dp/1691723665/ref

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Schedule Coming Soon -

Still waiting to hear back from one or more of the authors who have said they are willing to be interviewed and/or have asked to be interviewed for a feature here. Ann Shorey is going to be here on my blog on Tues. 6AM, April 05, 2011 and it's promising to be a wonderful time with this experienced and talented author. Be sure to stop back for a posting of the schedule - waiting to hear from several authors as to the exact dates I can plug their interview. Blessings on all who are celebrating Lent and have chosen to sacrifice something in honor and servitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Until next time - Joyfully and gratefully yours, JOY

I Have the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down In My Heart - Which JOY?

Remember that old song from Sunday School or Youth Group - way back in the days of the old camp-meeting-type choruses? Of all the songs I can remember from those days, the one most requested when given opportunity to ask for favorites was the song; I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart - to stay. I'm pretty sure it wasn't so much due to the real message of the song as much as the fun we'd have singing it. You see there were verses added that the lyric writer of old probably hadn't thought of. Verses like; I know the devil doesn't like it but he can sit on a tack, sit on a tack, sit on a tack, I know the. . . Right. You get the idea.

No one ever explained what that meant exactly to have joy down in our hearts, but we took it for granted because we had been in church most of our lives and that song, like so many others, was handed down from teacher to teacher - class to class and I guess we were to just expected KNOW and UNDERSTAND why we had 'joy' in our hearts.

My grandson was here a couple weeks ago, on his usual Tuesday with Nana, and we were singing; I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. After singing it through a couple times, I asked him what that meant and he told me, "Because Nana, your name is Joy and I've got you in my heart." Whoosh! Oh yes, we'd taught him the given names of his parents and grandparents for safety and security reasons, so relating me to the joy in the song was within his scope of understanding.

As gratified as I was at his expression of love for me and as swelled as it made this much older heart of mine, I was nudged by the Spirit to use that opportunity as a teaching moment. I quickly asked the Lord to help me explain to that bright little four-year-old that the song doesn't mean this 'Joy' was in his or my heart but the kind of joy that comes from happiness of having Jesus in our heart. He asked some very good questions, and I could tell he was very close to an understanding of salvation.

Now, as intelligent as my grandson is, and he's pretty smart for a four-year-old, (just ask his Bompa) he didn't quite grasp the concept of how the 'joy' gets into our hearts. That's okay because we have the song to sing that will remind him of our conversation. How do I know? Because I've been asking God to remind him of it whenever that song comes to his mind. And it will. You can be sure I will be singing that song with him for some time to come.

Do you have the joy, joy, joy, joy down in your heart? If so, is there someone you know who needs to have that same joy of the Lord explained to them? Don't wait too long to share the song and its meaning with them. We're never too old to sing it or learn it and especially share it.

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart - Where?

Down in my heart to stay!

THE JOY OF HAVING AN ENCOURAGING FRIEND

God has blessed me with an encourager. There is nothing like having someone who's willing to listen with her whole being. Her heart and mind. My friend lives a distance from me but has the ability to make me feel she's just across the room when we're chatting. She has challenged and prompted me to face myself through the eyes of God's love. That is a brand new concept for me. I've never pondered an issue of hurt or discouragement while telling myself how much God loves me and cares about what's happening to me.

I'm wondering if YOU have an encouraging friend. If so, have you told her/him how much you appreciate her/him?

Let's take this one step further:

Are you an encourager? Do you listen with all of your being? I know in this age of technology it's easier to multi-task while someone is spilling their . . . um . . . you know, their okay, their heart out. I wanted to use a crude phrase my adult son would use but I really don't want to bring this post down to that level. ;) Any-who, where was I? Right. When someone has been telling you how much they're hurting are you really sitting at the key board or with the phone and your fingers poised prayerfully asking for guidance to reply or are you also checking other emails or text messages or writing a grocery list? I never gave such a thing a thought until I was watching a TV show with my dear hubby the other night and one of the characters was pretending to listen to his wife on the speaker phone while going back and forth from text messaging on his cell phone and checking and responding to emails on his laptop. I was appalled by the blatant selfishness and supposedly his character personality was to be tenderhearted. HUH?

I'm not sure what your goals are as a friend or if you've given them any thought but this gal is going to concentrate on being the encouraging friend, the listener, the one who is willing to put my life on hold to be there with a listening ear and prayerful answers to questions as well as being supportive in struggles.

"To be a friend, one must show themselves friendly"

I want to be the same kind of encourager to those who consider me a friend, as my wonderful, inspiring, encouraging, inspiring friend over there in London, England is to me.

My prayer is to be a woman of God, exhibiting the attributes of Christ through the leading and prompting of His Holy Spirit filled with the fruit of the Spirit. I can't help but wonder if my good marriage will prosper any more by being this kind of friend to my dear hubby . . . hmmm.

'THANK YOU, DEAR LORD, FOR ALLOWING ME TO KNOW AND EXPERIENCE JUST SUCH A FRIEND!'

Thank you, DEAR FRIEND, for being the example of an encourager God knows I've needed.

JOYFULLY ANNOUNCING APRIL GUEST SCHEDULE!

I am so happy to be able to share some of my joyful experiences with you, my readers/followers. I have an announcement to make concerning April - Each Tuesday is filled with special people discussing special books and things close to their hearts. In the last month or two I've had the joyous experience of interviewing and corresponding via email with some wonderful, Christian authors. Here is that schedule - set in stone (unless the LORD changes it) :-D APRIL 5 - ANN SHOREY - THE DAWN OF A DREAM APRIL 12 - EDDIE SNIPES - I CALLED HIM DANCER APRIL 19 - PENNY ZELLER - BLOG TOUR GUEST POSTING APRIL 26 - TRISH PERRY - TEA FOR TWO SEE WHY I'M EXCITED!!!???? Won't you join me when it's time to welcome each of these honored and published authors? I am equally enthusiastic about the May schedule but I won't give you the exact dates for the authors who've been so generous with their time and answers - yet. Be watching for: Debra Ullrick Karen Witemeyer Anderea Boeshaar (she has a birthday this SAT, people! Mary Coneally ME? with a special tribute to the National Day of Prayer as well as those who have served and sacrificed so very much to keep our country safe and secure under God's blessing and provision. I'll be back with the first of our interviews next Tuesday - April 5th with Ann Shorey.

GET READY - GET SET - GO TO YOUR COMPUTER AND READ JOY' JOYFUL JOURNAL EACH TUESDAY IN APRIL!