Author Archives: Elizabeth Noyes

About Elizabeth Noyes

A professional writer and editor for a privately held corporation by day, my passion is set free after working hours when I sit at my keyboard and allow inspiration to carry me away. I write Romantic Suspense about intriguing characters in gritty real-life situations, who sometimes learn the hard way and sometimes don't learn a thing. (Isn't that like real life?) I also write inspirational vignettes based on my own life experiences to encourage and support others in their spiritual walks.

FINDING PEACE

 

Is there a “peace that passes all understanding?“

I don’t know if I’m normal … or even what normal is. I just know that every morning, from the moment I wake, my head buzzes with thousands of thoughts, ideas, regrets, wishes, hopes, plans, uh-ohs, reworked conversations, edits of everything I read, lists, and prayers. Lots of prayers. You see, I’m a writer. And writers write. All the time. Especially in our mind.

Some days I find this buzz overwhelming. Some days I need an escape, to shut down, and reboot. I need a refuge. My journey has taken years, decades even, but I’ve found that by seeking my refuge first thing upon awakening, that my days go much smoother.

Like many others, I start my mornings with quiet time. Some people fill their quiet time with prayers and Bible study, communing with Jesus, ordering their day and balance. I do all of the above … and then some. But the journey hasn’t been smooth.

PeaceAt first I visualized an idyllic mountain meadow. Picture if you can a narrow path through dark woods. Just when you think you’re lost forever, a light ahead beckons. The trail opens onto a clearing where golden sunlight spills down. You lift your face and feel the warmth as you make your way to the center of the glen. Green grass and knee-high wildflowers abound. You drop to the ground and watch a caravan of puffy clouds sail across the sky. A gentle breeze stirs an earthy mix of verdant soil, sweet blossoms, and clean, rarified air. You’ve found it. Tranquility. Peace. Contentment … and an itch. Something digs into your back. You scratch. Brush away dirt. And remember the overflowing laundry hamper. The dermatology appointment you still need to make. The meal you promised to a sick friend. Your mind is off to the races.

I tried for a long time to make the remote glen idea work but finally gave up. Thinking a more familiar place might work better, I traveled in my mind to the beach—a remote, Caribbean island. Barefoot under the blazing sun, but the sugar-white sand doesn’t burn. (Imagination always trumps reality!) Turquoise water that sparkles with cool promises. Peace - 2Frothy waves lapping at the shore. A sea breeze stirs the air, redolent with the scents of coconut, lush vegetation and the briny smell that only comes from the ocean. A small slice of heaven. And then a crab crawls by. Clumps of dead seaweed wash up on the beach. An alert lifeguard stands from his ten-foot-tall white watchtower to peer out at the expanse. He raises binoculars to his eyes. Blue paste coats his nose. He wears a whistle around his neck. Alert. Diligent. Protective. Because there are riptides. Undertows. Dangerous sea creatures. And predators hiding in the deep. No calm here.

I tried another place. Somewhere remote. Somewhere pure and free from Peace - 3the world. A winter wonderland decked out in a blanket of pristine snow. Cold no germ could survive. But I could—in a warm parka with a hood trimmed in fur. Gloved and booted, I revel in the beauty of an untouched paradise. Until I fell through the snow. Buried. With no sense of direction. And no one to save me.

I’ve stored a whole library of such reveries, all lessons learned over the years until I finally found the real refuge. The only refuge. You see, our world is beautiful—just look around you. But sin afflicted all of mankind, all of the earth, including the animals and vegetation. Just as Esau forfeited his birthright, so too did Adam trade away our heritage in a moment of rebellion. Satan now holds dominion over an earth God bequeathed to man. There is no refuge for us here. Especially not in our minds.

I looked in all the wrong places for the peace that passes understanding only to realize at long last that it doesn’t exist here on earth. Now, I go to Jesus—to His throne room in heaven where His glory spreads a Peace - 4warmth and light so much greater than anything the sun can produce. Where multitudes crowd around Him singing praises. I creep into my niche at the rear of the throng, grateful to just be allowed in. It’s where I feel Him. And then He seeks me out in my little corner, takes my hand, and raises me up. I’m filled with His indescribable and unexplainable peace. Restored. Refreshed. Strengthened. For a little while, all is calm and perfect. When I leave His perfect presence, all I have to do to get through the rest of the day is remember my time with Him, remember His words, and call upon His name.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you  …” ~John 14:27

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY. COME AGAIN SOME OTHER DAY

Why do we always complain about the weather?

[Present Day: Georgia. November 2015]   Rain. Gray skies. Cold. Wet yards. Oil-slicked roads. Household pets refuse to go outside. People stay in. Retail sales fall. Church attendance falls. Charitable giving falls.

[Rewind: Georgia. October 2007]   No rain. No clouds in sight. So hot. Rivers and reservoirs drop to record lows. Lakes close. Lawns die. Water rationing/conservation measures are implemented. Retail sales fall. Church attendance falls. Charitable giving falls.

In both of these real scenarios, life goes on in this country. Americans continue to work, to eat, to live. Are there hardships? Undoubtedly, but that’s nothing new. There are always hardships in life. I’m sure some have it worse than others, but we survive and go on. And eventually we find something else to complain about.

I’m reminded of a Bible story when God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. There, their lives were a misery, each day filled with hard labor and physical abuse. They belonged to slave masters who viewed them as assets, work animals, and who held a slave’s very life in their hands. The Israelites cried out in misery for 430 years as each generation sank deeper into despair.

And GOD answered their prayers. He raised up a leader to free them from oppression and guide them into a new life without bondage. He gave them value again, love, and hope. Imagine if you were there, one of the Israelites and a firsthand Water to bloodwitness to all the miracles as Moses tried to convince Pharaoh to “Let my people go.”

Water turned to blood. Swarms of frogs and locusts. Fish dying. Biting insects. Boils and diseases. Livestock dying. Fiery hail storms. Darkness blinding the sun. Any of these events alone wouldn’t astound, but to occur one right after another? And then to see the firstborn Egyptian children die as predicted? Only those, while you and your people remained safe?

Locusts - CopyI try to imagine what my reaction would have been. Astonished at first. Amazed. Wary as the devastation increased. Apprehensive. Shocked. Fearful. Terrified even. And hopeful. Yeah, I want to be on Moses’s side.

But the wonders didn’t stop after Pharaoh freed the Israelites. Now they had to follow by faith. We don’t know the actual numbers of the Jewish exodus, but it’s estimated to be at least three million people who departed from Egypt on foot, herding animals, pulling wagons, and carrying what they could.

Talk about blind faith! To follow a man who’d been born a Jew but raised as an Egyptian, who murdered one of the slave drivers forty years before, who subsequently ran away and hid in the desert. That took faith to leave your home and every familiar thing you know to follow a stranger through the desert. And then to see – to actually SEE a raging Red Sea parting - Copyriver part for them  – and close behind them. To watch the water flood over the Egyptian army giving chase and then watch the soldiers drown. Yeah, Jehovah’s got this. It’s not difficult to have faith when you experience miracles up close and personal. I can almost see Moses smirk. “My GOD is bigger than all your little gods combined.”

Three days later, after all the hoopla calmed down, the Israelites forgot about the miracles.

“The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Exodus 16 (NIV)

“I’m tired of walking.”  “I’m hungry.”  “We’re lost.”  “Where are we going?” “We’re gonna starve. It would be better if we’d stayed in Egypt. At least there we wouldn’t die hungry.”

So GOD provided manna from heaven to sustain them.

“There’s no water.”

So GOD provided a rock and told Moses to strike it, and water poured forth.

“But we want meat.”

So GOD provided quail.

“We’re tired of quail.”

Really guys? God freed you from slavery, provided everything you needed, performed miracle after miracle  … but it wasn’t enough.

Instead of rejoicing in their newfound freedom, instead of being thankful for the wondrous things Jehovah had done on their behalf, instead of looking forward with hope and excitement to what this same God might have in store for them – they complained.

Now here we are in America, almost four thousand years later, still complaining. Other nations starve while we have the largest garbage concession in the Starving childrenworld. People in third-world countries labor in the fields from daylight to dark just to survive while Americans pay to go exercise in a gym. They fall sick because they don’t have enough to eat while most of our illnesses stem from overeating . Villages exist with no clean water, yet we spent more money than they’ll see in a lifetime for Starbucks coffee. They hoard candles to see by while we spend fortunes on the latest electronic gizmos.

And we complain about the rain.

Ponder these Christian truths:

God created you.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14

God has a plan for you.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 19:11

Stop complaining.
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” Phillipians 2:14

Believers have the promise of eternity with God.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Make it a point to rejoice.
“For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name.” Psalm 33:21

Give thanks..
“For everything created by GOD is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” 1 Timothy 4:4

I leave you with one of the Apostle Paul’s blessings. “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 1:3

E-books make great gifts!

The holidays are upon us again. There are shopping lists to make and gifts to buy.

One of the drawbacks of electronic reading devices is that it’s not easy and sometimes not even possible to loan an e-book to a friend. The flip side of that restriction is that e-books are significantly less expensive than hardback and paperback books. You can buy two, three, maybe even four e-books for what you pay for a single physical book — unless the e-book author is James Patterson, George R.R. Martin, or Karen Kingsbury!

Send an e-book as a gift!

How?  First, go to Amazon.com. If you don’t already have an Amazon account, set one up. It’s easy.

Next, search for the book you want to give to a friend and click on the title to reach that book’s shopping page. On the right side of the screen are the payment options. Scroll down and click on the Gift as a Gift icon.

Amazon Gift

This will take you to a new screen where you’ll be prompted to log in if you haven’t already done so, or it will bring up the fields where you provide your recipient’s information.Amazon Gift 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the fun part!

Amazon offers the option of sending the e-book from Amazon directly to the recipient — all you have to provide is their email address and the date you want it delivered — OR you can have them send the book to you to forward on at your convenience. Oh, and there’s also a personalized message box!

Easy-peasy, so keep your favorite authors in mind when you start your Christmas shopping list!

P.S. Remember to leave a review for your favorite books. Authors love reviews!

Authors – Check out this great opportunity to find new readers for free!

Find New Readers For Free #amwriting #amediting

Posted by on September 8, 2015  and copied here on September 23, 2015.

Blog: Rainy of the Dark

Recruiting for First Quarter 2016.

 Every few months, I run a “Winner Takes All” giveaway. Authors donate one ebook copy of their book, and the whole pool of donations is put up as a prize. To enter, readers have to perform tasks that include following the authors who donated to the giveaway.

Interested?

Donate A Copy

I’m gathering ebook contributions for FIRST quarter “winner takes all” giveaway for 2016. Here’s how it works:

1. If you want to include your book, fill out the form below. Note: You can donate more than one ebook but you must fill out the form for each ebook. Please note this will be for Kindle formats only.

2. I will organize the Rafflecopter and create the HTML code. Entries on this will include following you (if you provide your social network profiles on the form).

3. Before the giveaway goes live, I will email you the HTML code to share on your own blog.

4. The giveaway will run for three months. During that time, the giveaway is repeatedly tweeted to my 32,000+ followers, shared with my 3k+ Facebook friends, pinned to my 900+ Pinterest followers, and posted to my 13,000+ followers on Google Plus. It is also advertised on my blog sidebar. My blog receives around 120,000 page views per month. This is on top of all contributing authors sharing the giveaway with their audience as well.

5. At the end, I will close the Rafflecopter and choose a random winner. I will send the winner’s email address to all contributing authors, who are then responsible for delivering their participating ebook(s) to the winner.

Visit Rainy’s blog and Complete this form to enter.

Eldercare: Coming Full Circle

How will you face the demands of aging parents?

Today, my heart is burdened over the storm several dear friends are going through. Their aged parents have reached a crisis point. Decisions are necessary. Painful decisions.

In Old Testament days, a man’s life spanned hundreds of years. But God grew weary of the wickedness introduced through Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Life spans of the Bible patriarchs

Life spans grew shorter. And shorter still. The centuries rolled by and sin’s infection spread. Diseases took root. Wars proliferated. And man’s time on earth dropped to well below the century mark.

120 years

Today, with the marvels of science, we strive to regain our former longevity. At the turn of the twentieth century, a man’s life expectancy in the United States was 46.3 years (from Berkeley University’s Demographics survey). In 1998, the average age man lived to 73.8 years.

Today, In 2015, we have reached a new high of 76.4 years.

Man's lifespan - 70-80 years

Just as every dark cloud has a silver lining, so too does every bright spot have a downside. We’ve extended our quantity of life, but with little consideration for its quality. You see, while we can’t know when our last day will be, we do know that as the years pass, our demise draws closer. For the Christian, this is a welcome event. For others, not so much. Either way, it brings a plethora of health issues as our earthly bodies decline.

Mist

Unfortunately, our society has not prepared us for the problems of advanced age and its inherent problems. Baby Boomers especially are not prepared for the unique difficulties that come with Golden Agers. To put it bluntly, we are simply not equipped—physically, financially, mentally, or emotionally.

Having gone through this experience with my own mother I can offer a few hard facts I learned along the way:

  1. With age, our bodies begin to fail. This happens sooner for some, later for others. It is a natural process and while you might slow the inevitable down with medical intervention, death will eventually come.
  2. Financial, physical, and emotional burdens are part of increasing age, for both the senior and the caregiver-child. Start early in life planning for your own financial needs that will come in your later years. Dependence on the government is a weak straw. Dependence on your children is a burden.
  3. Just as an automobile wears out over time, so too does the human body. I once had a 15-year old Miata that started spluttering as I drove on the highway. I prayed it along, all the way to the repair shop where they diagnosed a worn out, eroded electrical system. They replaced the rusted wires and it was good as new. Too bad we can’t do the same with the human brain. You see, with advanced years comes faulty wiring. Eyesight fails. Hearing fails. Memory fails. Sometimes, things just get skewed in our brain’s wiring. It happens. Anger doesn’t help. Impatience exacerbates everyone’s anxiety. Patience and understanding are imperative. Revere what you can and forgive what you can’t. Then move forward.
  4. With faulty wiring, you often see mood swings or personality changes. One day you wake up and realize the man or woman accusing you of wrongdoing, who flies into uncalled for rages–they aren’t the same person who raised you. It’s not your fault, but it’s not theirs either. Patience, understanding, forgiveness (for you and them), and more patience.
  5. When their decision-making becomes compromised (and it will), you have to be prepared to take action. Yes, I advocate letting the elderly live an independent life, but only so long as they are mentally and physically capable. But don’t let them become a risk to themselves or to others. Be watchful of their legal, financial, medical, and social well-being.
  6. At some point, your aging loved one may become unable to care for themselves. Will you bring them into your home or place them in a professional nursing facility? This is a tough decision that demands much prayerful thought.
  7. Eldercare comes at a price, be it the cost of professional care or a professional care facility, or the emotional impact if you decide to take on the responsibility yourself. Before you decide, weigh carefully your ability to provide the time and quality of care your aging loved one requires. Weigh also the toll such a commitment will take on you and your family.
  8. Finally, be prepared for the burden of guilt. You will know in your mind that your decisions are meant for your loved one’s good, but your heart will still question your motives. You will weep buckets of tears. Prepare yourself ahead of time by making what decisions you can while emotions aren’t involved.

Life passes on. We grieve when loved ones leave us, but as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11 — He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot know what God has done from the beginning to the end.

For those of us who have hope in Jesus Christ, know that one day …

No more sorrow

 

TV Interview – WATC 57 Atlanta Live

Elizabeth Noyes and Joan Deneve appear on WATC Channel 57 Atlanta Alive!

Elizabeth Noyes & Joan Devere on September 1, 2015

Elizabeth Noyes & Joan Devere on September 1, 2015

What fun! My new friend and fellow author, Joannie Deneve, and I met for the first time on the set of WATC Channel 57’s Atlanta Alive television show on September 1st. We had the privilege of appearing on this television show to talk about our recently released books, Joannie’s Saving Eric, and my Imperfect Wings and Imperfect Trust.

A special thanks to Tracy Ruckman of Write Integrity Press for her amazing ideas and endless energy in finding these great opportunities for us to pitch our books. Another friend and author, Deborah Harper, paved the way for us with Atlanta Alive on Friday, August 28th.

 

Nerves galore left us with muscle twitches, uneasy stomachs, and pounding hearts, but the Lord came through as always. After a slight mix-up with the station’s programming, Joannie wound up in the first segment of the show, and I have TV Interview 2- WATC 57to say, she nailed it! Eloquent, charming, and passionate about her story, she did an awesome job of paving the way for me.

After a musical break, my turn came. The bright lights were both a blessing and problem. I couldn’t see a thing beyond the stage (thankfully), but everyone who knows me understands TV Interview 3- WATC 57how I struggle with light sensitivity. Fortunately, the time flew by so fast, I never really worried about it.

I can’t say enough about our hosts, Pastor David and Kim Smith. They make it look so easy … and it was! With gentle, guiding questions, they led us through the interviews without a hitch. The television crew was friendly, helpful, and very professional. And I would be remiss without mentioned the program director, Tina Lisy, who made it all come together. Such a warm, compassionate, atmosphere.

Elizabeth Noyes w/ Atlanta Alive hosts, Pastor David and Kim Smith

Elizabeth Noyes w/ Atlanta Alive hosts, Pastor David and Kim Smith

Once I get my recorded copy, I’ll post a link here.

Has the world reached its Rubicon? That unseen point of no return?

                        “… for their sin has not yet reached its full measure.”     Genesis 15:16

(Prologue from early manuscript, Edge of Eternity, by Elizabeth Noyes)

Each day we hear of atrocities committed against innocents. Journalists present these graphic, horrifying images under the guise of journalism in their search for even more heinous crimes to sensationalize. But the horrors pass. The people become inured, which prompts the newshounds to greater heights. Or depths.

As if man’s capacity for cruelty wasn’t enough, the weather seems to have turned on us as well. Natural Wildfiredisasters wreak havoc across the world. Massive earthquakes. Volcanos. Floods. Hurricanes. Tsunamis. Tornados. Freak storms. Mudslides. Wildfires.

In many places, temperatures soar past century levels. Lake levels plummet. Water supplies dry up. Records highs are recorded only to be surpassed again and again. Droughts give birth to famines that decimate the population. Disease follows. Epidemics rampage. Millions succumb to heat, koalastarvation; illness; and escalating hostilities. In many places, survival has become a raw, basic need.

And in the background, never before seen cosmic events fill the sky.

Tensions between countries are stretched to the breaking point. Strife reigns. Smaller nations withdraw into self-imposed isolation and brace for an unknown future. Armies double and triple in size as the world powers grow uneasy about the military posturing of their foes. The world appears ripe for a global pandemic … or another world war.

Back here in the most favored nation on earth, we go about our abundant lives without a care, but we aren’t immune from the misfortunes of the world. Some of us begin to worry.

Illegal immigrants flood our nation. Terrorists infiltrate our land. Insanity seems to be the order Illegal immigrationof the day as senseless killings become commonplace events. Heinous crimes multiply in our copycat culture. Nothing seems too outrageous or evil. We acclaim monsters while reviling the innocent; applaud narcissism while disparaging true heroes. All the while, the economy falters and the national debt spirals out of control.

Americans have grown soft, complacent, and yes, wicked. We abandoned the Christian foundation established by our forefathers and now, instead of truth and justice, we pursue wealth, fame, and depravity. Respect for life is a luxury only the powerful can afford.

The government grows larger and more inefficient every year, requiring its citizens to feed an insatiable hunger. Its branches pierce deep into personal lives with controls over housing, food, payroll, healthcare, purchasing, taxes, and education. They have supplantedBig Government parental rights over children enrolled in public schools. They prescribe medications to keep the kids controllable, promote sexual promiscuity, require acquiescence to foreign religions, ban all things Christian, and require teaching of a rewritten history that is the antithesis of truth.

Legislative mandates renounce Christianity, labeling much of its doctrine as “hate” speech and punishing anyone who dares express an opposing view.

The American populace has been cowed, coaxed into personal cocoons of isolation for fear of retribution. Exceptions are the rule. Minorities have usurped the power of the people in a classic case of the “tail wagging the dog.”

The United States of America is a country in circular transformation. When oppression and bondage once motivated our ancestors to search for a new home, the taste of freedom gave them the faith and courage to demand freedom. Liberty under a free market always leads to
abundance. Unfortunately, history tells us abundance will inevitably lead to complacency, and complacency to apathy. Apathetic Indifference will succumb to dependency, and we all know what happens when we rely on another for everything. We find ourselves back in bondage.

Lazy or unknowing, the good people of these great United States have embraced the promise of the government to take care of them. We’ve taught a whole generation of our children to look for a handout. The redistribution of money from wealthier citizens – money hard earned What one generation toleratesunder a free market capitalist society – is no longer theirs to spend as they want. Our politicians make blatant, outrageous promises they never intend to keep, but big money carries a lot of weight and special interest groups use their financial clout to elect and keep in office those “career” senators, representatives, and governors they can manipulate.

Track records mean nothing. Promises are everything. The American citizen wants so badly to believe in a higher road again … so they believe. What other choice is there?  And after awhile we stop being disappointed.

Apathy is already here. Dependence is underway. Slavery lurks around the corner. Lessons of the past had not been heeded again. The United States is coming full circle, as all great democracies throughout history have done when they abandon the sovereign God.

And all the while, our enemies sit and wait, slavering like jackals.