This Way or That...

You are at the crossroad of indecision. There are many avenues to choose. One way. The other way. Or as the scarecrow says in The Wizard of Oz, "Of course some people go both ways!"

So which way do you go?

I am one who looks for signs. Here is a sign I saw while on my hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2007 (I am soon celebrating the two year anniversary of our life changing hike). There were storm clouds rolling across the sky and a sixteen mile hike to safety loomed before my son and I. We had never hiked such a distance. Could we do it? Should we do it? I felt the weight of indecision. It can come like a boulder resting heavy upon your shoulders. The burden of indecision.

But there is an avenue out of indecision. Signs and wonders that can come through inquiry. I inquired of God what to do. I came upon this overlook on the trail and saw this image of the sun casting a ray of light in the exact direction of the town we were hoping to get to. Sign number one. But then we were offered another sign, by a veteran hiker of the trail - Warren Doyle, whom we stumbled upon at a turn. I told him my predicament and uneasiness in hiking 16 miles over unknown ground. And he assured me we could easily do the 16 miles to the next gap and pick up a shuttle to town.

So we received not one but two signs. Both visual and verbal. And we hastened to the gap and our ride, arriving in time to the motel before the skies opened and temperatures fell into the single digits. A safe and warm haven, indeed.

Perhaps you are in a time of indecision in your life or with your writing. Never fear, help is on the way. It could be in the form of a visual sign. A word of encouragement from the Bible or from a friend. Or that still, small voice in our spirit that begs us to trust. In whatever sign you see, let it be your guiding light. And follow.

Witness to a House Fire

This is a true story that just happened....

It's February 14th, 2009.

Valentine's Day.

I had just completed a run around the neighborhood, and I'm still recuperating from the exertion. I'm getting ready for a bite to eat.

Suddenly I hear the scream of a siren. I glance out the window to see a fire engine whizzing past my house and up the hill. I can see a billow of smoke funneling down from above. And then I spot the smoke rising from some house on top of the hill. A neighbor's house is on fire, and one I had just run past not a half hour ago!

I pull on my shoes and dash up the hill to see the left side of the double wide trailer engulfed and smoke coming through the roof. I stand there as engines from three companies arrive. Before me, firefighters are shrugging on their gear- the pants, boots, coat, the oxygen tank, the facial masks. It's like something out of a movie. I'd never been this close to such action.

After two hours the scene quiets down. Everyone leaves. And all that is left is a burned house. I can't help but grieve in my heart for the family. I'm thankful they weren't home but sad for them all the same. They were the ones who had tons of decorations for Halloween and Christmas. They had a pool in the back and playground equipment for the son. They had lots of things.

The next day I venture back with my husband to the house and the family. Blackened, burned furniture fills the carport in front of their gutted home. A blue plastic tarp like a shroud covers the burned area. They invite us in to see the damage. I had never stepped inside a home ravaged by fire. It reeks of smoke and melted plastic. The entire house has suffered damage of some sort. They show me where they think the fire started - probably electrical - and the grandfather is highly upset. The grandmother is dazed. The son is trying to take it all in stride. But the living room and kitchen are gone. The ceiling and walls are either burned away, black, or bare. There are holes in the bedrooms where the firefighters had checked for fire creeping inside the wall and ceiling. The young guy shows me his son's room - his toys are mostly okay, but holes are in the ceiling and his bedspread is covered in black ash. The guy then shows his room and a huge computer set up with a 32 wide flat screen TV. He thinks it's okay, but I can clearly see the ash on it and likely water damage. He' s hopeful. I'm not so sure.

I arrive back to my own home, humbled by what I have seen. I take stock as I look about at my possessions. Like that home, I could step out one day and return to a home gutted by fire. What are my possessions then? Will it matter what I have gathered here on earth? After what I have seen, I can truly consider the meaning of the scripture (Matthew 6: 19-21) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, were thieves break in and steal - but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

It's easy to get into possessions. We are a possession-driven society. But after what I saw this weekend, I must strive to for those eternal treasures. The ones that will never burn up in a fire. The treasures God is keeping safe for me and that I can enjoy when I get to heaven. Giving. Healing. Praying. Believing. Having faith. The fruits of the Spirit. The "things" that really matter in life.

Love is in the Air in Bethlehem, New Hampshire and Moab, Utah!

Ah, the week of love. Valentine's week. And a week also when I want to share about some of my upcoming romance titles I'm writing - one historical and one contemporary, east and west.

The first is Love Finds You in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. This book was recently contracted by Summerside Press, a brand new publisher out on the market. Their vision is to bring to life real towns with interesting names. I picked the town of Bethlehem as I love the setting - a quaint town nestled near the awesome splendor of the White Mountains. But I had no idea what kind of fascinating history Bethlehem has until I looked further. It was, for instance, the place in the late 1800s where people from the cities came to relax and enjoy the fresh air and mountain scenery.

The town boasted numerous hotels and guest houses to accommodate the influx of holiday travelers (such as the famous hotel pictured above called The Maplewood). The town also held a "Coaching Parade" every August to showcase elaborately decorated coaches for curious onlookers. Little did I know that the romantic tale I wished to weave in a far off New England town also had plenty of interesting history to bring to life. Look for updates to this book in the coming months, with its scheduled release slated for October, 2009.

The second book I'm working on is the first in a series of contemporary romances for Heartsong Presents, set in the scenic state of Utah. I'm writing a version of the prodigal son where the son of a successful Virginia peanut farmer decides life is not what its cracked up to be. He leaves farm and family to head for Utah. There he joins a rafting company in Moab in the hopes of finding adventure, love, and a purpose in life. But what he learns is lessons in humility and what real life is all about on his own personal island. Look for Cast Away coming in late 2009 or early 2010.

To learn more about these and other books, sign up for my newsletter via my web site where I share about my upcoming releases and giveaways as well!

Computer Glitching...Save Your Work Beforehand!

It's a common thing to have a computer glitch. But not when I am trying to ready a huge manuscript for an editor who had just sent me a nice contract for it. That is the time I need everything working properly, the spell checking of the manuscript and the revisions to go smoothly. Not the time for my Word program to crash, and suddenly I cannot spell check fifty pages of the document! Talk about frustration.

But at this point, even though I need to solve the glitch, I'm glad that I've sought to protect my valuable work beforehand. I employ several different back-up methods in case something happens, such as a glitch where you cannot access your writing or other work. Of course, saving your work periodically as you write is something one must do (yes, who can picture the electricity cutting off and you have just revised ten pages of unsaved work that now must be redone? Agh!). If you have a feature that automatically saves your work, use it. Make several copies of your work in folders. Save also your work to a thumb drive that you can take with you so you have a copy of your files on your person. And you can give the drive to family and friends so they have files of your work. And just last summer I signed up for Carbonite - an off access program that back ups all your files and will restore them with just a click. Today I decided to reload work I had done on my manuscript last week, and presto, my manuscript was at my fingertips in a few minutes. If you do sign up for Carbonite, please mention my name - Lauralee Bliss - in the referral area - as I can get a few extra months on my subscription that way too (and you'll get a free month also).

All these methods were invaluable on a day like today when my computer was glitching. But I know I have many safeguards in place for precisely those "just in case" times that can suddenly come upon you when you least expect it.