News & Blog

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11, KJV).

Can you believe it’s December? I don’t know about you, but I heard that some early birds have already put up all their Christmas decorations and then some, turning their homes into winter wonderlands. Mine looks like Charlie Brown’s Christmas at this time since everyone is still too busy to do much Christmas decorating. Yet.

What are your favorite Christmas decorations or ornaments?

The other day I was on Pinterest, looking at ways to display Christmas villages. I was amazed at the lengths some people go to construct display structures for their Christmas villages. Before we had a cat, I usually put a sheet of fake snow on an empty coffee table, and voila! The outdoor setting was ready to go for my Christmas village. Now that we have a curious cat, we have to be extra careful what he drags off the table and hauls to his water bowl.

What about nativities? Do you display them every year? Where?

I’ve seen nativities being displayed under a Christmas tree, on the mantel, and just about anywhere. Ours are usually on the mantel, where the crèche is more visible to all.

My most precious Christmas item is not a decoration at all. It’s a crown of thorns I bought at a Christian bookstore many years ago. When we first had it, we displayed it around Easter time to remind us of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross as the complete payment for our sins. We displayed it at Christmas time to remind us of why the Lord had to come to earth, born of a virgin, the perfect, sinless sacrifice for us. Eventually, we left the crown of thorns on the mantel year round because every day is a day of thankfulness for what Jesus has done for us.

Do you have a crown of thorns in your house? I think the Christian bookstores sometimes sell dried thorns made in Israel. This picture here is not what I have (mine is less spiky). But John 3:16 is why we display a crown of thorns at Christmas.

Do you like to read Christmas romances? I do. They’re fun and interesting. I know that a number of InspyRomance authors have published Christmas books, and you might have read them all. I have only written one Christmas novella, WISH YOU JOY (Savannah Sweethearts Book 9). It’s the story of the two new owners of Christmastown USA and the tug-of-war they’re in all year round just to get through Christmas.

Anyway, I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas. Are you traveling to see your family? I will be in town this year. Last year, my son and I visited my widowed mother overseas. Since my husband had to work, he stayed behind and spent time with his own widowed mother. This year, our family is back together again. I look forward to a simple Christmas, and prayerfully one that is sickness-free. How about you?

Thank you so much for reading my blog post. May the Lord bless you with amazing memories this Christmas! Stay warm!

In Christ,
Jan

Where are your favorite fall (autumn) vacation spots? What do you usually do when you’re on vacation this time of the year? Do you like to go to the beach or up to the mountains?

If you like going to the mountains in the fall, what do you usually do there? Do you spend time walking in the woods under a canopy of lovely fall foliage?

One of my favorite mountains to visit is the Great Smoky Mountains. The mountain ranges are both in Tennessee and North Carolina, and you can see quite a long way off. God made those mountains so colorful that on some days you could see multiple layers and hues of blue and purple.

Some years ago, my family and I hiked up Mount LeConte. No big deal to scale more than 6,500 feet into the sky, isn’t it? We thought so. By the time we arrived at the start of the hiking trail, having driven all the way from Georgia, we had just enough time to get to the top of the mountain before the sun set. So off we went.

As a former Girl Scout troop (company) leader of some repute in my small high school, I can tell you that it was one of the hardest vertical hikes of my life. Going up the mountain, I kept wanting to go back down to the car and drive home. It was exhausting, and we were passed numerous times by retirees and elderly joggers (with their exceptionally fit running dogs).

At one point, I was literally clinging to the side of the mountain wall, holding on to dear life while my then young son said, “If Mom fell into the valley there, we may not be able to go get her.” Or something life-changing to that effect.

I kept climbing.

Somewhere up the mountain, my husband (bless his heart!) ended up carrying his backpack, my backpack, and our son’s backpack.

Then we stopped in the middle of the misty mountains, and read the Bible. It was glorious. I don’t recall what passage we read because I was profusely thankful to be alive and that was all. But we read the Bible and we prayed.

I do remember seeing some odd-looking red squirrels before we continued our hike up, and that took my mind off the idea that I could fall to my death any time I slip to the side (because I was wobbly and all).

Finally, by the mercy and grace of God, we reached the very top of the mountain.

In my mind, I was thinking “hotel” but when the check-in person handed us a rusty bucket so we could go get water from a pump in the middle of nowhere, I knew it was trouble for this city girl.

I grew up on a tropical resort island, in a bustling city with hundreds of years of beautiful brick buildings, paved roads, and all the luxuries of modern living. You know, like running water coming out of faucets.

I didn’t know what to do with the rusty bucket and how I was going to brush my teeth with one hand. There was no sink.

Please don’t remind me that I said I was a former Girl Scout troop leader of some repute.

And then they told us, “By the way, watch out for rats. They sometimes get into the cabins.”

Say what?

I thought my hike that day had ended, but no. There was another quarter mile to go to the cliffs of the mountain, to the edge of the world, where a whole bunch of people gathered to watch the mountain sunset over the clouds.

I wondered then how many of those hikers were Christians, who believed that God created all that and more? That God created us, and knows our thoughts intimately? Who understands our hopes, dreams, desires, ideals? Who knows our weaknesses, pains, sufferings?

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

At the end of the day, only God matters. No matter where we are in life or environment, God is still sovereign. God is still God.

Several years later, when I wrote Reach for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 2), I recalled my own mountaintop experience and how God delivered me through my mountain challenges. Of course, writing fiction is not like real life, and might be more intense. In the novel, two people from two different continents, each with difficulties in their own lives, found themselves in the same mountaintop resort where God has put them to find Him and to work through their problems.

If you’d like to read more about the book, feel free to check out the longer description at your favorite retailers. You can find the retailer links for Reach for Me at JanThompson.com/reach.

Well, have you had a difficult journey up a mountain in your life? Whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, how did God deliver you from it or through it? How did the challenge change your life or your perspective of who God is?

Thank you for reading my blog post today.

I pray that you and your family have had or will have a wonderful Thanksgiving season.

In Christ,
Jan Thompson

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, KJV).

Christians, do you know what your calling in life is? Are you in the middle of experiencing your calling? Or are you still waiting for God to show your His purpose and plan for your life?

Is anything stopping you from succeeding in the upward call of Christ for your life? If that’s the case, what are you going to do about it?

In Book 4 of my Savannah Sweethearts series, Dante Dupree is going through the motions of life, pushing forward as the young leader of his family business. He was born into this environment, and he has been chosen from among his generation to carry the company into the next decades.

He’s all set then, right?

Yeah, except for one thing. While he has adjusted well to his life as a paraplegic, he still cannot help but think about what life might be if he could walk.

If he could only walk.

With Nadine.

At first they are just friends, but as they spend more time together, he wants to walk with her.

Only her.

However…

What if God does not allow him to walk again? What if God calls him to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair?

Can Dante still fulfill the calling God has for him? Does Dante know that to be true in his heart?

(At this point, I have to stop myself from giving you any spoiler for this book. I guess you’ll have to read it to find out!)

In Cherish You So, we go with Dante on his journey to overcome his physical disability. Nadine also has her own issues to deal with, carrying the weight of work and her family on her shoulders.

Dante’s Dream…

Dante Dupree has arrived. Living with paraplegia, he now has a state-of-the-art wheelchair to handle his disability, and a private jet to take him across the world to buy up smaller companies for the Hot Dupree global hot sauce empire. And the best news yet for his career: He has been handpicked to be the next CEO of Hot Dupree, Inc., and he’s going to inherit a fifth of the multi-billion-dollar family fortune. He has it all.

At the end of an international business trip, Dante stops in Savannah for merger talks and to visit his pregnant sister. Exuberant and on top of his game, single and free, the center of attention among ladies, and recently voted one of the top ten most eligible young billionaires in the world, self-confident Dante suddenly finds himself in a predicament he cannot solve: he’s in love.

But he can’t get her attention. She is not impressed at all with his accolades.

Nadine’s Norms…

Nadine Saylor is busy, busy, busy. Her job as a virtual assistant to clients traveling through six or seven time zones keeps her on her toes around the clock. The last thing she needs right now is Dante Dupree flinging signals and invitations at her, even though he did look handsome in his Lagerfeld tuxedo at his sister’s wedding eleven months ago.

Nadine keeps telling herself that her calendar is full. There’s no room for romance. Dante can go find someone else to be his Flavor of the Month.

When one of Dante’s professional problems intersects with Nadine’s personal predicament, they find themselves thrown together to sort out these chapters of their lives. Has God put them together in this place for such a time as this?

A story about living and loving with disability, coupled with racial diversity in Christian communities, Cherish You So is a clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance celebrating faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.

Cherish You So are available at these retailers:

• AMAZON: JanThompson.com/cherish-amazon
• GOOGLE PLAY: JanThompson.com/cherish-googleplay
• iBOOKS: JanThompson.com/cherish-ibooks
• KOBO: JanThompson.com/cherish-kobo
• B&N: JanThompson.com/cherish-nook
• Paperback: JanThompson.com/cherish-paperback

What about you? Is there anything that is stopping you from succeeding in the upward call of Christ for your life?

It may not be a physical disability like Dante has, but do you have any emotional or spiritual disability that prevents you from keeping up with God?

If not, praise the Lord that He has guided you and led you thus far. To God be the glory!

If there is a form of disability that prevents you from going forward, I pray that God will be your strength and peace.

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-16, KJV).

To God be the glory!

In Christ,
Jan Thompson

P.S. If you have just read my blog post for the first time on InspyRomance.com, here are the other blog posts up until now that reference the books in my Savannah Sweethearts series:

• Book 1: An Interview with Heidi Wei-Flores
• Book 2: Scars & Circumstances
• Book 3: Layers of Paint