Inspy Romance

Inspy Romance—Fall in Love With a Good Book

Giveaway with Virginia Vaughan-And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

by

Virginia Vaughan

I invited my Mississippi friend and author, Virginia Vaughan, to Inspy Romance today! She has a great message and a giveaway for us! Welcome, Virginia!

 Many thanks to Janet for having me on the blog today. I wrote this blog post way back in 2011, less than year before I received my first publishing contract based on interactions I had at the ACFW conference referenced below. I wanted to repost it here today because the idea still speaks to me. Recently, I made the decision to become a full-time writer and looked to God to provide opportunities. Not long after my first day of being “self-employed” God showed up and sent an email my way offering the opportunity to contribute to a romantic suspense boxed collection with six other great romantic suspense authors.  

Pursued

Amazon

As I prayed about whether or not to jump into full-time writing, I kept hearing God reminding me that we don’t grow where we’re comfortable and that if I don’t follow him straight to the end, I’ll never know the full victory He has in store for me. I hope this post speaks to you as much as it has to me.

 And The Walls Came Crumbling Down

I recently reached the six year mark at my current job. It’s significant because this is the place God provided for me when he pulled me away from a lucrative position with the state in order to focus on my writing. Now I work at a job where I make less money, have a degree I don’t use, and from a worldly perspective have made little notable progress in my writing endeavor. I confess it’s hard to see God at work sometimes when I look at those facts.

How appropriate then that God has led me this week to the book of Joshua and the story about the fall of Jericho. In it, God commanded Joshua to march once around the city with armed men for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times, then blow the trumpets and give a loud shout. If they followed these instructions, God promised the walls of Jericho would collapse. But what if Joshua hadn’t continued to the seventh day? What if he’d given up after the sixth day? Or the sixth circle around the city? If he hadn’t followed God to the very end, he would not have seen the victory.

So as I was preparing this morning to leave for my annual writing conference, some things occurred to me. It’s no coincidence God led me to this passage this week. I hadn’t been studying Joshua—I’ve been focusing my studies lately on women of the bible—but this six thing has gotten my attention because I do feel as if I’ve been circling for the past six years, waiting and searching for a crack in the defense of the publishing world, a way to break through the wall that at times seems so large and impenetrable. But I know God’s plan for me. He wants me on the other side of that wall. So armed with scripture and prayer, I’ve been quietly marching towards that goal. Now I’m into my seventh year. Is it time to blow the trumpets and shout to the Lord? Is this the year I’ll finally see the walls crumble?

I hope so.

“When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when these people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged in, and they took the city.” Joshua 6:20

Blessings,

Virginia

“I do feel as if I’ve been circling for the past six years, waiting and searching for a crack in the defense of the publishing world, a way to break through the wall that at times seems so large and impenetrable.”

Virginia Vaughan was born and raised in Mississippi and has never strayed far beyond those borders. Blessed to come from a large, Southern family, her fondest memories include listening to stories recounted by family and friends around the large dinner table. She was a lover of books even from a young age and soon started writing them herself. Book 5 of her current series, Rangers Under Fire, Mission Undercover, releases in August 2017 and Book 6, Mission: Memory Recall in January 2018. Also look for her story, Homecoming Homicide, in the Pursued romantic suspense boxed collection.

www.virginiavaughanonline.com

twitter.com/@gin_vaughan

www.facebook.com/ginvaughanbooks

Amazon

Virginia is kindly offering a paperback copy (U.S. only) of Mission Undercover to one reader who comments by August 13, 2017!

Janet W Ferguson (66 Posts)

Janet W. Ferguson is a Christy Award finalist and the FHL Readers Choice Award winning author of realistic inspirational fiction. An avid reader, she loved books so much she found a job as a librarian so she could be around them all day. Then she turned that love of story into writing faith-filled novels with characters who feel like best friends. You’ll laugh and cry as the quirky heroes and heroines chase their happily ever after. ​Janet and her husband live in Mississippi where they say y’all a lot, and she forces him to visit the beach as often as possible. They have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space. Connect with her at http://www.janetfergusonauthor.com/


Welcome to the community at Inspy Romance! The authors are delighted to see you. Jump in with comments, and let’s get to know each other!

Comments

  2. Hi Janet and Virginia. Thanks for sharing your faith walk. Praise God for His guidance and providence:)
    Blessings:)

  3. Hi Janet! Welcome Virginia and thank you for your post about your writing journey and leap of faith. Listening and trusting God is not always easy. Best wishes on your new releases. Enjoy this season in your life.

  5. Thank you for sharing your faith journey, Virginia! And for reminding us of Joshua’s faith and persistence and trust. Our jobs, our professions impact us greatly, don’t they? They can be the cause of strife, grief, restlessness, stress. Yet they can also bring us a tangible purpose in this physical world, fulfillment in following His Will.

  6. The devotional I read this morning suggested I read stories of people who have taken steps of faith. This article was the next thing I read. Thanks for sharing your story.

  7. Thank you for sharing your inspiring blog. I love the story of Joshua, and I love the way God made it come alive in your own life. You are a new author to me, and I would love to win a copy of your book. Blessings on your writing ministry.

  8. Thanks for sharing your story Virginia. Going out of our comfort zone is something that takes a lot of courage and faith.

    • Good morning Laura! Yes, that comfort zone… I need a shot of courage and faith every day!
      Blessings

  9. I always tell my children “the answer is in scripture”. To everything! It’s living and active and He speaks to us through it if we have ears for it. Loved this highly applicable reminder today. Thank you

  10. How interesting!! Love that Bible story (just read about it last week in a book by T.Afshar). Thanks for sharing. Am excited to read your book and THANKS for your giveaway. Blessings on your writing~~

    • Jackie, that sounds like a good book, too! Thank you for coming by, and I hope you enjoy Virginia’s novel.
      Blessings

      • Thanks Jackie! That story in Joshua has become a new favorite of mine. If you don’t go all the way with God, you don’t know what blessings you’re missing. Thanks for commenting!

  12. Hi neighbor! I live in Alabama. My sister-in-law and her family live in Amory, MS.
    God does many times lead us to uncomfortable places to help us grow and to further his plan for us.
    I love the Love Inspired Suspense books! Would love to win and read yours.

    • Hi Gail! Always glad to meet a neighbor! Virginia and I are both from Mississippi and know where Amory is!. My mom was from near Jasper, Alabama, so I like Alabama, too. Except when we play them in football!

      • Hi Gail! Yes, we are practically neighbors! And I’m with Janet. I like Alabama except when it comes to football! Then we’re rivals, lol! When I was trying to make the decision to go into full-time writing, I kept hearing God saying, “You don’t grow where you’re comfortable.” Best wishes in the drawing!

  13. You are leading by example in your publishing quest. You are listening to God’s message and have opened your heart to what God wants you to do with your life. Thank you for sharing your journey.

    • Thank you for the encouragement and kind words, Karen! I’m trying to do as God leads. It’s scary sometimes — I know it shouldn’t be — but it’s also an amazing journey. Thanks for stopping by!

  14. thank you for sharing. When you listen to God great things happen.
    jhdwayne(at)peoplepc(dot)com

  15. Thank you so much for posting this today! I’ve been feeling that nudge to go into writing full-time for about 7 years. This summer, I decided to do it – maybe. I’ve been turning it over and over in my mind, and in my prayers, until one night, around 1:30am, I pulled out my tablet, pulled up Bible Gateway, and just started reading in Isaiah where I had ended before. Isaiah is a challenging book, I’ve found, and I’m not exactly flying through it! I landed on Isaiah 43. Wow.

    • I have verses 16-21 of Isaiah 43 marked in my Bible! Such great versus about God’s provisions! I prayed long and hard about this decision and kept hearing God telling me you don’t grow where you’re comfortable. Praying for you in your decision. Thanks for stopping by, Regina!

    • Hi Regina! I love the book of Isaiah. My first series used Isaiah 61. Blessings with your writing!

  16. I loved reading this blog. The book looks really good and I may have to try and look for books by this author.

  18. Thank you for sharing your journey with us , I for one need encouragement , thanks so much

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