My least favorite spring flower (that starts blooming in August) is Australian wattle. It’s a pretty yellow flower that’s native to Australia. But, wattle is not fun to be around for those of us who suffer from pollen allergies. At this time of year I need antihistamines to overcome my struggle with hayfever symptoms. Do you have a favorite (or least favorite) spring flower?
Unfortunately this past week has brought more serious challenges than hayfever. My father is currently in ICU (critical care) preparing for heart bypass surgery next week. I’d appreciate your thoughts and prayers for my family.
Ginger launched our Back-2-School Bash on August 9. It’s a month long giveaway running until September 9. For more information on our giveaway rules and eligibility, please check out our Giveaways Page.
Our Back-2-School Giveaway includes 4 print book bundles, 7 ebook bundles plus a fabulous Grand Prize and an International print book bundle (delivered via The Book Depository).
The Grand Prize and print book bundles are for READERS IN THE USA. ie. readers with a USA mailing address.
If you live outside the USA, you may be eligible to enter our International print book bundle giveaway. Please register for the international giveaway here.
If you live in the USA, or have an USA mailing address, please do not register for the giveaways.
Winners this Week
If you’re a winner, you should have received an email from the author in charge of the giveaway. If not, please email us at: prizes at inspyromance dot com.
Merrillee Whren’s winner was Paula Marie!
Heather Gray’s winner was Leila (Lucy) Reynolds!
Alexa Verde’s winner was Ausjenny!
Melanie Snitker’s winner was Renate!
Jan Thompson’s winner was Dianna!
Congratulations!
Don’t forget… every comment you make qualifies you to win one of the monthly Amazon card giveaways!
Specials this Week
Finally Accepted by Toni Shiloh is $1.99 through to August 20!
Reader Gathering
Did you know Inspy Romance hosts a Christian Romance Reader Gathering group on Facebook? Join us… but don’t forget to answer the questions for admittance!
Have you seen our Back List Book Club in Christian Romance Reader Gathering? During August we’re featuring books from Laurie Larsen and Janet W. Ferguson.
Last Week on Inspy Romance
On Monday, Merrillee Whren talked about National Resurrect Romance Week.
On Tuesday, Laurie Larsen discussed Setting as Character.
On Wednesday, Jan Thompson shared her research on How long does to take to write a book? (And #giveaway)
On Thursday, Shannon Taylor Vannatter talked about When the book Won’t Write + #giveaway
On Friday, Jaycee Weaver discussed Food in Romantic Fiction.
On Saturday, Hallee Bridgeman shared a devotional on being Prepared By God.
Next Week on Inspy Romance
Monday: Elizabeth Maddrey
Tuesday: Toni Shiloh
Wednesday: Deb Kastner
Thursday: Mary Manners
Friday: Autumn Macarthur
Saturday: Valerie Comer
New Releases
August 2019
Her Forgotten Cowboy (Cowboy Country) by Deb Kastner
Call You Home (Savannah Sweethearts 10) by Jan Thompson
Moments: Savannah Sweethearts Books 9-10 & Bonus Novel (Savannah Sweethearts Boxed Set 4) by Jan Thompson
Choose Me (Chapel Cove Romances 4) by Marion Ueckermann
September 2019
Dancing at Daybreak (Urban Farm Fresh Romance 7) by Valerie Comer
A Heart Rearranged (Peacock Hill Romance 5) by Elizabeth Maddrey
An Extra Spark (The Spark Brothers 5) by Liwen Y. Ho
Wait for Me (Vacation Sweethearts 3) by Jan Thompson
A complete list of Inspy Romance books by our authors is always available on our BOOKS tab. Find our audiobooks, our permanently free e-books, and our thank-you gifts for newsletter subscribers there as well!
A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, Narelle Atkins was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia and international locations.
Praying your father will be ok.
So cool getting an email saying I am a winner. Thank you
Hi Narelle! My thoughts and prayers for your family as your father prepares for heart bypass surgery next week. Praying for the heart doctor’s steady hand and clear mind. I understand your family’s anxiety. My father had his first bypass surgery December 1977 – 42 years ago when the procedure was new. My dad was 59. His second bypass surgery was May 1989 at age 71. Over the next 20 years he had 7 stents and several angioplasty and was on heart meds. With God’s help and his heart doctor’s vigilance my dad lived to be 96. Heart procedures have come a long way in the last 40 years. So my hearts and prayers, during those 40 years I spent many a night in a hospital waiting room and by my dad’s bedside.
Praying for your allergies. In the north country as we approach fall, need to take my daily antihistamine for ragweed. Love spring flowers crocuses, daffodils, tulip trees, and forsythia. Hyacinth give me trouble. Best wishes.
I am praying for your dad and your family. I love seeing my daffodils bloom because it tells me the long winter is over. I have quite a few different varieties so they will bloom all through April and May.
I guess ragweed isn’t a flower (?) but it blooms in Aug here in eastern US and gives all of us in the family trouble.
Praying for your father’s surgery and speedy recovery.
I prayed for your father and family.
As to my favorite spring flower, I love the flowering trees, especially dogwoods and crepe myrtles. Even though I have allergies, too, they’re not as bad as they were. I grew up in Idaho and didn’t have flowering trees, but the dry air was worse for my allergies than here in the South. Now I love the colors of spring here.
Hi Narelle, I have just paused to pray for you and your father and family- for the surgeons and nurses and that the Holy Spirit gives you peace and strength.
I too suffer from wattle- I’m fine with pretty much every other flower, but wattle makes my head hurt and my eyes and nose water!
Our first daffodil opened this weekend- it looks so pretty out in our backyard, (and a bit lonely, waiting for all the others to bloom!!) With more snow forecast for tonight and tomorrow, I think it is brave:)
Blessings:)
Praying for your dad.
Praying for your Dad! Also, praying for you with your allergies. Those aren’t fun! I find it ironic that the allergy meds can cause sinus infections. It’s like a horrid cycle. I have to say, I’m so glad I found Inspy Romance. Not just because I’ve won some great stuff, though I have, but because I’ve found a great group of Christian writers. Thank you, ladies, for doing this blog, the giveaways, and for introducing us to some really wonderful books, too!! Mainly, thank you for pointing all of us to Christ through this blog and especially your books!!
Your family is in my prayers.
Praying for your Dad/family and your allergies!
Blessings~~~
Prayers for your father.
By the time spring actually gets here to MN I am excited to see any flower even dandelion weeds. Because even those ugly little weeds are nicer to see than snow. They are always the first thing to bloom here, in mid to late spring. But once the daffodils and tulips start blooming I am over the dandelions lol.
Narelle, praying for the success of your dad’s surgery and recovery. My favorite spring flowers are dogwood blossoms and lilacs, neither of which grow where I live now. We have palo verde trees that bloom bright yellow in the spring here in the desert. They cause lots of allergy problems. The rest of the spring flowers are from the numerous cacti that populate the desert. I think my favorite of those are the ones that grow on the huge saguaros. They are white, mostly round, and waxy looking. They kind of look like a white mini trumpet.
I hope all goes well with your dad. It’s so tough watching parents struggle and suffer! I love the name “wattle” for a flower! Although, it looks like a weed/flower we call “wild mustard” which also seems to trigger allergies.
Prayers for your father’s surgery 🙏. My favorite flower is the gardenia, ah that smell!
Prayers for your Dad, you, family and medical team. The power of prayer helped my daughter during her 3 heart surgeries.
My favorite flower is daffodils and the Redbud trees budding out.
Prayers for your father and the doctors that will operate him. May he have a good recovery and may you also recover from your hayfever.
We have a beautiful tree here in south America that becomes full of flowers at the end of winter, the pink Ipê. It really makes the city more colorful at this time of year.
Praying for your daddy and you.
Prayers for Your Dad and For You My favorite flower is The lilac bushes because of their beautiful smell!
Praying for you and your family and that God will return your dad to health quickly!
Praying for you & your dad. Can I tell you what my least favorite weed is? Not sure if it grows in the Spring, but it does grow in the Autumn. That would be ragweed. I am allergic to it. I used to suffer a lot from it til my doctor prescribed me some medicine, which I stay on.
Hi Jenny, Thank you, and congrats on winning one of the giveaways. :)
Hi Renate, Thanks for your prayers, and also sharing your father’s encouraging story. My father has had 5 stents, and they’re thankfully all in good shape. I discovered I’m allergic to ragweed a few years back when I visited Texas for a writing conference. The antihistamines were a life saver, lol. Best wishes. :)
Hi Lori, thank you. Daffodils are pretty and we should start seeing some them bloom next month. :)
Hi MJSH, Thank you. To my knowledge I’ve never ‘seen’ ragweed, but I’ve experienced the hay fever from it. I’m so glad it’s not a problem in Australia! :)
Hi Lila, Thank you. I’m not familiar with dogwood, but crepe myrtle is pretty. I’m glad you can enjoy spring in the South with less allergy problems. :)
Hi Wemble, Thank you. This year I’m surviving the wattle better than usual. It’s in bloom everywhere! Yay for the daffodil and yay for more snow! Blessings. :)
Thank you Kimberly. :)
Hi Trudy, Thank you. I agree, the allergy med cycle is so not fun. We’re glad you’ve found us and feel welcome in our community. Yes, there’s no shortage of great books from our authors. :)
Thank you, Valerie. :)
Thank you, Jackie. Blessings. :)
Hi Cassandra, Thank you. I imagine spring and greenery, in general, is very welcomed in your part of the world. Daffodils and tulips are much nicer than dandelions, lol. :)
Hi Merrillee, Thank you. At my childhood home in Sydney, we had a couple of cacti in the garden that produced gorgeous summer flowers at Christmas time. Your desert flowers sound fascinating. :)
Hi Ellie, Thank you. I haven’t heard of wild mustard, but it doesn’t sound fun. Another weed to avoid, lol. :)
Hi Paula, Thank you. Yes, gardenia’s smell divine. :)
Hi Bernice, Thank you and yes, we can never underestimate the power of prayer. Redbud trees and daffodils are pretty. :)
Hi Laura, Thank you. I Googled your pink Ipe tree and found the beautiful photos. We have pretty cherry blossom trees that bud in spring. :)
Thank you, Lucy :)
Hi Sarah, Thank you. Yes, lilac has a lovely scent. :)
Thank you, Pam :)
Hi Michelle, Thank you. If I’m visiting the US, I will buy antihistamine as soon as I land if it’s ragweed allergy season. I’m glad the medicine helps you manage your symptoms. :)
I really appreciate all your prayers for my dad and my family. My father was moved out of Intensive Care this afternoon (a good thing), and they’re now looking at scheduling the surgery during the last week in August. He’ll stay in the hospital, and they’re working on building up his strength before the surgery.
Yeah!! God is sooo good!! Glad your Dad is doing better!! Continuing to pray!!
Praying for your father <3
Congrats to the winners. Prayers for you and your dad. When we moved into our house in late summer, I would leave the bedroom window open a bit. So wonderful with a fresh breeze. I was 7 months pregnant and it quickly became evident that every night my nose would stop up and I had huge allergy problems. Right outside our window was a huge bush with the prettiest yellow flowers. Yup when I went outside to investigate my allergies acted up. It has been 32 years and I dont remember the name of the bush, but I definitely remember what those flowers look like. LOL
Prayers for your family. I usually have spring allergies too, so it’s not my favorite time of the year.
I hope your father in law comes through his surgery with flying colors. Trusting the Lord to work a miracle for him.
As far as flowers go, I’m originally from TX and I love bluebonnets. There’s nothing like seeing a whole hillside of them.
Thank you, Natalya. :)
Hi Lori, Thanks for your prayers. :) Interestingly, many of the flowers that are allergy-inducing are yellow. Not sure if that’s a coincidence? My apologies for the delay in replying to you comment.
Hi Susanne, Thank you! :) Spring allergies are not fun.
Hi Suzannah, Thank you. :) Bluebonnets are pretty!
Narelle, Prayers for your family that healing will take place soon! :)
I have year round allergies from both chemicals from products to also pollens, grasses etc. So I feel your pain. It’s a beautiful flower though! :D
Hi Sabrina, Thanks so much for your prayers ♥️ I’m sorry to hear you also suffer from allergies – they are not fun.