Steadfast - Guest Blogger Jennifer Slattery

I'm so excited about my guest, Jennifer Slattery. Welcome. And thank you for teaming up with me today.

I started reading Jennifer's blog and couldn't stop. Do you like transparency? Do you want to be encouraged? Inspired? Then read on. 

Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her teenage daughter and coffee dates with her handsome railroader husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.



The Day I Wanted to Quit:

I felt terrible. Like electrical wires had been attached to my nerve endings and every muscle had been pulled through a taffy machine. I was exhausted, only I hadn’t done anything. Except get out of bed, an action I was quickly regretting. Sitting at my desk, staring at my computer screen, I seriously considered going back to bed. Indefinitely.

Closing my eyes, tears welling behind my lids, I turned to God. “I’m tired, Lord. I’m done.”

I’ve often said, my greatest hindrance in this daily battle of chronic illness I fight is the fact that I don’t need to work. I don’t have to get out of bed, if I don’t want to. My husband has a great job, supports me in every way—whether I’m productive or a lump, and our bills get paid. Even if I camp out on the couch.

But sometimes, there’s more at stake than a paycheck and an electric bill. Sometimes there’s more to live for than feeling well. This was what God showed me that day, and in the week that followed.

It started with a verse; a passage, actually:

“I said to myself, ‘I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.’ But as I stood in silence—not even speaking of good things, the turmoil within me grew worse. The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words: ‘Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will by. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is’” (Psalm 39:1-4 NLT).

Remind me how fleeting, how short, my time on earth is.

Life on earth is short, but eternity will last forever. One day, when I stand before my Savior, I want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. I saw your pain. I saw your fatigue and discouragement, but more than that, I felt you lean hard on Me as you sought to serve Me with everything you had.”

That Sunday, as if cementing the truths and passion God had infused into my heart that early morning, our pastor’s daughter sang a song. You can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFFberbflbU  (You really want to listen to this)

The words that penetrated the deepest: “You said life’s not meant to be wasted.”

I had been asking God for permission to waste the life He’d given me. To let me finish my fleeting days on earth in autopilot. But God created me for so much more!

I learned something that day, something I’ve known for some time but never truly grasped until I’d been there. Until I’d been at the end of myself.

My momentary troubles, no matter how hard or long lasting, are nothing compared to the glory of eternity. More than that, my struggles here on earth can actually impact someone else’s eternity, if I’d but surrender my whole self, weaknesses and all, to Christ. Because when I do, He uses every struggle and every tear to bring about His glorious, grace-filled, miraculous purposes.

And it is when I am weakest that Christ’s strength in me is most revealed.

Christ in me, the hope of glory.

What about you? What struggles are you facing? Are you tempted to check out; to end your days on cruise control? Or are you ready to surrender it all—every trial, frustration and set-back—to you sovereign, loving, eternal Savior?


Thank you, Jennifer. Your words have touched my heart. 

Jennifer is giving away a copy of her book, 

When Dawn Breaks.

As the hurricane forces Jacqueline to evacuate, her need for purpose and restitution motivate her to head north to her estranged and embittered daughter and into the arms of a handsome new friend. Dealing with his own issues, Jacqueline isn’t sure if he will be the one she can lean on during the difficult days ahead. And then there are the three orphans to consider, especially Gavin. Must she relinquish her chance at having love again in order to be restored?

Read a free, 36-page excerpt here: http://issuu.com/newhopedigital/docs/slattery_sampler/1

You can buy a copy here:

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/When-Dawn-Breaks-A-Novel/dp/1596694238/

On Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-dawn-breaks-a-novel-jennifer-slattery/1120694122?ean=9781596694231

On CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/when-dawn-breaks-a-novel/jennifer-slattery/9781596694231/pd/694231


I read the opening of this book.Wow! Jennifer can write! I'm definitely going to get a copy.

Would you like to know how you can win a copy of When Dawn Breaks? All you have to do is leave a comment along with your email address and you will be included in a drawing. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday - January 14th.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie