A Spoonful of Empathy

Devotional Musings

Lately I’ve had a few challenges in my life. I’ve tried to be brave and patient, and I work on focusing on things I’m grateful for.

But today I mentioned my struggles in an email to a friend. When she emailed back she said, “I can’t imagine how frustrating that must be!” Her empathy literally reached out of the email and hugged me.

As much as I have tried not to be a big sympathy-seeker, I confess I was about a quart low and needed a good infusion of compassion. Her words were exactly what I needed.

Lord, help me offer precious spoonfuls of empathy to my hurting friends today, as this precious friend gave to me. Help me stop myself before offering advice, explanations, or empty comparisons, (“at least your problem isn’t as bad as XYZ. Could be worse.”) Let me simply wrap my friends in love and say, “I can’t imagine how painful that must be. I’m sorry it’s so hard. I care.” Thank you for my friend’s example today, and how much it warmed me. Amen!

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

Opportunity for Three Free Books

Contests, Stepping Into Sunlight, The Restorer, The Restorer's Journey, The Restorer's Son

I was very honored when Janna Ryan named The Restorer’s Son and The Restorer’s Journey as her Most Entertaining books of 2008. She is currently offering a contest to win a copy of The Restorer’s Son. You can read all about it here.

My most recent novel is Stepping Into Sunlight. You can enter a drawing to win a free copy at the Penny’s Project blog here. That contest ends February 1st, so stop by to leave a comment before time runs out.

And beginning on Friday, January 30, Cara Putman will post a contest at her blog for The Restorer (the first in the Sword of Lyric series) – so be sure to stop by and leave a comment there, as well.

Curious about any of the books? Just visit my website to read about my

Stand alone women’s fiction titles
and
The Becky Miller mom-lit series
and
The Restorer and other Sword of Lyric series books

I hope you have fun with each of these opportunities! Happy reading!
Blessings,
Sharon Hinck

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

Free Book

Stepping Into Sunlight

Happy 2009!

I’m welcoming in the New Year by giving away a copy of Stepping Into Sunlight . . .

with a twist.

It’s a copy for YOU to give away to someone you want to bless!

To enter, visit my Penny’s Project blog and read the post “Many Penny’s”

Then leave a comment after that post about a small act of kindness AND an accurate email where I can reach you if you win.

Easy, yes?

Oh, and I’m getting ready to mail out my free quarterly ezine. If you aren’t already a subscriber, you can sign up in the right-hand column of my website for devotional thoughts, insider info, etc.

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

The Lutheran Witness

More fun press. Oh, how I hope it helps people find out about my books!
The January, 2009 issue of The Lutheran Witness includes a blurb about me as part of an article on the various faces of Lutherans today. You can read the article here.

I love my reader mail, and got permission to share this one, because it was so inspiring to me:

Bernadette wrote:
Just wanted to say that I am currently reading (and enjoying) Stepping Into
Sunlight. I just had to stop and let you know that I just read one of the most
potent sentences of this year: “So your theory is that unless you can cure
cancer, you shouldn’t bother holding the hand of the woman battling it?” What a wake up call to the Chrisian community. Those words are a powerful clarion call that I believe will combat our resistence to doing things at a grass roots level. Thanks so much! I will be sharing your words with everyone in my circle who uses the inability to do “great” things as an excuse to do nothing.

Thanks so much, Bernadette! We can all be encouraged by the way God uses our small, imperfect efforts to pour out His grace in big ways.

Blessings!
Sharon

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

Article in St. Paul Pioneer Press

Stepping Into Sunlight, The Writing Life

Newspaper reviews are rare and precious gifts for a novelist, so I was delighted when a friend told me that the St. Paul Pioneer Press had featured an article about Stepping Into Sunlight, as well as Julie Klassen’s book The Apothecary’s Daughter.

I appreciated the integrity of the reviewer who admitted that in the past she avoided fiction from Christian publishers because of her assumptions of what it would be. And of course, I was delighted that our stories rang true for her.

I continue to marvel at God’s kindness. This was a wonderful treat on a cold winter morning.

I’ve had some challenges in my life in recent months, and it has been a season that has made me especially grateful of tender gifts from God that come like sips of water in a desert.

Stepping Into Sunlight has gone into its third printing and received some truly affirming reviews. But even better, I’ve been so moved by the letters I’ve received – from a reader with PTSD, a young wife whose husband is on his first deployment, a woman battling anxiety who was never able to put words to the experience before and read scenes to her husband.

It reminds me again that God can work His grace through us, even when we feel the most “useless.” 🙂

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

Blessings in 2009

Devotional Musings

A dear friend who is already in heaven gave me a special birthday plaque the summer before she died. It says, “When we believe in God’s plan for our lives, every age is the perfect age to be.”

Seems like a good thought for a new calendar year, as well. God loves me. That means the coming year will hold something precious – even if it’s woven among the painful challenges of life.

I’m grateful for the gift of a fresh New Year – and another new day, new hour.

May we all see more of Him in the coming days!

Blessings in 2009!
His,
Sharon

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

Cherry Street Books – Sharon on the Road

Stepping Into Sunlight, The Writing Life

Saturday, December 13, 2008, I’ll be at
Cherry Street Books
503 Broadway
Alexandria, MN
from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

I’ll be doing a “book talk” at 11:00 a.m., sharing about the writing journey and doing Q&A, then visiting and signing books the rest of the time.

Please come on out! It’s a GREAT time to do a little Christmas shopping.

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

A Visit from Eric Reinhold

Visiting Authors

Each week since the Motiv8 tour in early October, I’ve been highlighting one of the Christian authors of fantasy fiction that I toured with.

This week it’s Eric’s turn. Here’s a photo of Eric and I signing our books for the staff at the TBN studios in Seattle, right before the taping of an interview.

Eric is the father of three who took the bedtime stories he told his children and developed them into the imaginative book, Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword.

Eric is the president of a financial planning firm, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and an all-around cool guy. He had non-stop energy, carting in and setting up signs, unpacking boxes of books, loading up the van, and helping in every way. Be sure to visit his website to read about his
first book as well as the soon-to-be-released second book. He has book videos to watch, artwork to enjoy, and plenty to read at his site. And if you are looking for a Christmas gift for the “Tweeners” on your list, be sure to order a copy of Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword!

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

A Visit from Donita K. Paul

Visiting Authors

Last September, I was part of a huge Christian fiction author’s book signing at the Mall of America.

The photo shows my friend Vicki Tiedi (on the left) who hosted the panel discussions in the Bloomingdale Rotunda. On the right of the photo is Donita. She and I did a panel on the genre of fantasy, and took questions from the crowd. It was so fun to share the stage with her, and we knew we’d have a good time together on the Motiv8 Tour, as well.

On the tour, she kindly looked out for me when I was under the weather. It was fun watching throngs of children surround her at our events, bringing her pictures they’d drawn or sculptures of dragons they had made for her.

One day while riding in the car with a pile of stuffed animals for give-aways, her friend Penny said, “Donita, there are dragons blocking my line of vision.” Not a sentence you hear in normal daily conversations. Just one example of the fun and adventure that is part of Donita’s life.

Be sure to visit her website and learn about her books.

Now, in honor of Thanksgiving approaching, Donita shares ten things she’s thankful for:

1.Jesus (of course!)
2.Family and Friends
3.Church
4.Business Associates—the WaterBrook Staff, the Alive Communications staff, especially my editors and my agent
5.American Christian Fiction Writers
6.The Internet social networks—Shoutlife, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkdIn
7.The Internet Read groups—GoodReads and Shelfari (Anytime I think everyone is watching Netflix and playing video games, I visit these reader spots and breathe a sigh of relief)
8.Living in USA
9.Finding my niche, professionally
10.The knowledge God has provided and still encourages me to pursue

Thanks, Donita! And blessings on all your upcoming projects!

His,
Sharon

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

A Little Too Busy

Devotional Musings, The Writing Life

Saturday I did a book signing at the Twin Cities Christian Community Fair. I had a ball meeting people, chatting, talking about books. I helped one fellow with info on where to find armor when he saw my sword on the table next to the Restorer books. And I got to visit with Susie May Warren whom I admire and always learn from. And I met the owners of ShoutLife and have a great chat with all they are doing to build the Christian online community. It was a fun event at the end of a string of events that have been spooling out since . . . well, probably July.

Preparing for the release of Stepping Into Sunlight, I began doing more speaking events, more store visits, more interviews, more teaching . . . so many events I had no time to update the events page of my website or blog about them all.

For someone who is a blend of extrovert/introvert like me, years of writing alone in my office take a toll, and I truly treasure the opportunities to spend time with real people instead of fictional characters. On the other hand, I always underestimate how much energy and time each event takes to prepare for and recover from. And how difficult it is to get back into the fictional world and actually WRITE during these too-busy stretches.

This Thursday I’m doing a workshop at the Minnesota Library conference, but that is the last in my long string of events. (Well, except for a December signing, some radio and blog interviews, and writing retreats that I host at my home . . . but those are spread out with plenty of open days between). I’m determined to be better about keeping margins in my life. I loved the book of that title (Margins) and have a whole library of books on simplicity, balance, rest. Yet somehow I’ve just gone through several months that got a little too busy.

It sneaks up on me. What about you? Are you a little too busy? Besides the problem of exhaustion, when I’m too busy plowing through my “to do” list, it’s harder for me to hear God’s gentle prompts to serve in an unexpected way that wasn’t on my list. I’m not as patient with people who need me. I don’t have time to NOTICE the needs of others, much less meet them.

Lord, teach us to order our days. And thank you for today. If it’s okay with You, I’ll start my tasks–but I’m listening for You to steer me if there are new directions where You want me to go. Amen.

Blessings!
Sharon

Please Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail