Threshold Living and a May Giveaway

Author Naomi Musch

Threshold Living
by Naomi Musch

Life is full of thresholds. We cross them constantly, marking them off in the early years as getting a driver's license, graduating, finding a first job, or having a first date. Later they grow in even greater personal significance. Pretty soon we're getting engaged or married, having our first baby -- and if we're writers -- achieving our first publication.

I crossed a new threshold in my life in the past couple of years. All my five children have grown and flown the nest, and as of 2014, all will have become parents, four of them for the first time. I am going from being a grandma of three to a grandma of seven in one exciting summertime burst. While this is thrilling beyond measure (and everything they tell you about being a grandparent is delightfully true) the biggest part of this threshold for me is that of acting guide for my adult children. See, it's also true that you never stop being a parent. Nowadays the things for which my adult children ask input and guidance are usually concerning much bigger issues than help with homework (though sometimes there is still that). They are making life-changing, threshold-crossing decisions of their own. I tremble with concern and hope that any words I give them are words of wisdom and not foolishness.

There are really only a few ways to live in this threshold world of ours, especially as we try to give Godly advice and counsel to the young adults around us. We must live it Prayerfully, Patiently, and Persistently.

It's so easy to get caught up in the busyness, the need to make quick decisions, and so impulsively to "do the next thing" without taking time to pray and then actually wait for God's answers. Yet, how can we make informed decisions in anything without the confidence that prayer brings? How can we expect re-do of life's Big Decisions when we've impatiently plunged ahead toward disaster? How can we achieve successful outcomes if we are not persistent in our tasks, in our requests before our Maker, in not giving up during the hard times?

Just last week Desert Breeze Publishing released my first novel for young and new adults (and

anyone loving a fairytale). It's a retelling of the age-old Beauty and the Beast tale titled TREVELYAN. I wrote this story for my kids more than twenty years ago, when they were all children. Now they're all grown, and I've finally achieved closure with this story. I dedicated the novel to them and to my growing bundle of grandchildren. While the story is meant solely to entertain, it could not have happened without them and without the many thresholds we crossed together as a family. Together, we learned through my writing years to live prayerfully, patiently, and persistently -- though not without stumbling along the way.

I hope those of you reading this post will be encouraged in each threshold of life you pass over, especially those that include your family. 

Be blessed,

~Naomi

**Giveaway**

BOOK DRAWING

To celebrate the release of TREVELYAN ~ A Tale of Beauty & the Beast, I'm giving away a free e-copy. Please leave a comment and your email to be included in the drawing!

Blurb:

Swashbuckling heroes and elven princes journey to rescue Belle from captivity. For the Beast of Trevelyan and Evensong's faeries, time for redemption is running out.

Five men and two elven princes have embarked upon a quest: to save a sister from the wasteland of the Great Winter where she is held in the clutches of a Monster Lord who all believe brought desecration and ruin to the once glorious kingdom of Trevelyan. It is a land where hideous creatures and madness prey upon the careless, a land where faerie magic has taken an evil turn. For fifty years, no man or ally of men has been safe beyond the Cranreuch Plain. Until Belle's choice leads them all to discover the truth. Now rescuing her might come at a cost no one expects -- and from an evil no one but a princely beast and the faeries of Evensong ever anticipated.

Purchase Links:

Desert Breeze Publishing

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Bio

Naomi writes from the pristine north woods of Wisconsin, where she and husband Jeff live as epically as God allows on a ramshackle farm where they spend quality time with their children and grandchildren. Amidst it, she writes novels about imperfect people who are finding hope and faith to overcome their struggles.

In non-fiction venues, Naomi spent five years as a staff writer for the EPA award-winning Midwestern Christian newspaper, Living Stones News, telling true-life stories of changed lives. She has also written dozens of magazine and internet articles for the purpose of encouraging homeschooling families and young writers.

She invites readers to say hello and find out more about her books, passions, and other writing venues at http://www.naomimusch.com or to look her up on Facebook (Naomi Musch - Author) and Twitter (NMusch).

Other books by Naomi Musch
Paint Me Althena - contemporary women's fiction about a runaway wife's search for identity, and discovering faith and rekindled love. 
Empire in Pine: The Green Veil (Book One), The Red Fury (Book Two), The Black Rose (Book Three) a generational family saga of lumberjack adventure and romance in 1800s Wisconsin. Heart Not Taken - a contemporary novella of buried indiscretion, forgiveness, and new love.