Author Allie Pleiter on Grit or Grace?
Being the “dig my heels in and fight” kind of person I am, I resist surrendering my goals over to an interfering world. I’ve been known to joke that persistence is my spiritual gift, even though it’s not on the official list of spiritual gifts (and there’s probably a good reason for that…).
While that may mean I get more done under challenging circumstances, it also means I end too many days with a sour note. I close out too many days with an air of frustration over all that did not get accomplished.
The regrettable truth is that I lack the grace to trust that there is always time to accomplish God’s will. If I pray over my day each morning and entrust Him with my time, why don’t I trust Him with my outcomes? So much would change if I did that. My world would be a place of peace and thanksgiving instead of all that stressing and striving.
Faced with this personality flaw, I did what any good writer would do: I turned it into material. Jeannie Nelworth is a mother striving to “make it all better” for her son. In fact, she’s so busy striving she misses vital clues to places in her life where things have gone wrong….things with dire consequences.
The good news for Jeannie (and for me) is that God meets us in our “gone wrong” places. God sends Jeannie an amazing gift–Fire Marshall Chad Owens discovers his own pain can open the door of healing for Jeannie’s troubled son. Everyone (author included) learns that God’s solutions don’t always require our striving.
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Falling for the Fireman
Widowed mom Jeannie Nelworth knows firsthand what it is: loss, hurt and yes— bitterness. Ever since the fire that changed their lives, Jeannie’s young son has borne that same look, pushing everyone away. So she’s grateful when Chad tries to get
through to the boy with the help of his trusty fire station dog.
But the man who’s all about safety and prevention keeps himself protected—from loving and losing again. Seems as if Jeannie will have to add his kind, guarded heart to her rebuilding efforts.
Allie Pleiter is an avid knitter, coffee junkie, and devoted chocoholic, Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction. The enthusiastic but slightly untidy mother of two, Allie spends her days writing books, buying yarn, and finding new ways to avoid housework. Allie hails from Connecticut, moved to the midwest to attend Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois. The “dare from a friend” to begin writing has produced two parenting books, fourteen novels, and various national speaking engagements on faith, womenʼs issues, and writing. Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com or her knitting blog at www.DestiKNITions.blogspot.com
