You Can Win Your Choice of Elaine's Books Free!

There is no such thing as free. Oh yes, there is! Author Heather Blanton and her website www.Ladiesindefiance.com  is offering you your choice of any one of my three books. Free! Go to the rafflecopter on Heather's site and you could be the winner! Hurry! The winner will be chosen on May 22, 2016.

Congratulations to Linda Herold who chose We All Married Idiots as her prize. Enjoy, Linda. May your marriage be blessed. I know it will!

Here's the website:

https://ladiesindefiance.com/2016/05/08/a-mothers-day-bookgiveaway-from-elaine-w-miller-ladiesindefiance/

Thanks Heather and thanks readers for giving me this opportunity to give back to you.

So, which one of my books will you choose? If you already have my books, remember they make beautiful presents for all the girlfriends in your life.

Splashes of Serenity: 

Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms

Splashes of Serenity:

Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives

We All Married Idiots

Three Things You Will Never Change About Your Marriage

and Ten Things You Can

All my books  bring splashes of serenity Enjoy! I  look forward to announcing the winner and sending your book of choice.

Have a splashes of serenity kind of day!

Elaine's Mother Day Message at Southside Alliance Church

Jesus Christ changed my life and my parenting. Listen in as I give my testimony and a Mother's Day message at Southside Alliance Church.

My intro begins at 1.01 on the video. Enjoy!

May your day be filled with Splashes of Serenity!

When Love Knocks at Your Door

I love my front door!  The hardware previous owners attached to the door of the District Superintendent's Parsonage where I live and love warms my heart!

Precious people have walked through that door. Ravi Zacharias, Presidents of our denomination, International workers from most every continent,  and many grandchildren have knocked that knocker or rang the doorbell.

Do you see the hearts? Do you feel the love? I pray whoever walks through my doors or yours know a love that greets them like a splash of serenity. Our homes should be safe havens of rest from the restlessness of this world. Our houses and our hearts should be a place where Jesus resides and His Love is felt by every passing stranger.

When your family walks through your door, do they feel the love? Or do they enter with dread knowing  altercations await inside. Decide to make your home a house of love today. Have a family meeting and make that decision together as a family. You all want it. Do it.

Jesus said "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20

May Jesus enter your home and your heart today. May your guests and family feel His love!

Switzerland Serenity

You aren't seeing things. Look again. This church is above the clouds. Riding in a large, enclosed gondola to the top of a Swiss Alp near Luzerne, Switzerland, we lost our breath at the beauty of it all--the mountains and the church. I have no idea who attends here or how they get there, but God spoke to my heart just at the sight of it.

God reminded me that He loves the whole world. He will build His Church and neither the gates of Hell nor the icey slopes of Switzerland will prevail against it. We will never escape God and He will never forget us. He's there in the bombed-out buildings of Bosnia and He's there in the snow-covered splendor of Switzerland. He loves us and we are in His Hands. Wherever you are, may you know His sweet serenity today.

What does this photo say to you? I'd love to hear.

Sending Splashes of Serenity from snowy and serene Switzerland,

Elaine

Take a Rest from Life to Enjoy the Best of Life

It's those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer and two weeks away was just what I needed to be lazy, and clear my mind of the hazy and the crazy.

A friend (Deanna Towns) told me it was important that we care for the temple (our spiritual, mental, and physical bodies) with as much care as God gave to the care of His Temple. She exhorted me to exercise often, eat healthy, sleep deeply, laugh a lot, and use my senses to enjoy God's creation. Feel the breeze across my face and my toes sunk in soft grass, smell the candles and flowers, and taste the food.

I sometimes feel guilty if I stop to play. There is always more to do for the Kingdom. But Deanna assured me that God does not need me to accomplish His purposes. He can do it all without me.

God blessed my two weeks away. I returned home exhausted with joy and determined to take continuous care of my temple knowing God will care for His.

Enjoying many splashes of serenity in Speculator, NY:



Vacation isn't complete without grandboys and frogs.

Could there be a better way to start and end a day?

My silly little  butterflies.

Fish are jumpin'

Sam, Sam the fly-tying man!

Winner of the cute suit contest!

Breakfast in a toy store with my girls. What a treat! Jamaica me crazy!!!

Taking a rest from life to enjoy the best of life.

Hope you do the same this summer!



Hold On To Your Hat! Don't Let Your Marriage Go!!!

"Hold on to your hat!" a writer said to me last week. Here come the radio interviews. I'm excited for all opportunities to share my thoughts and life as a wife, mother, grandmother, author, and a woman who loves God.

Please listen and enjoy:

Patricia Durgin's 68 minute interview with me on the Tip Tracy Radio Show. We talk about writing and marriage and We All Married Idiots. This interview is packed with some great marriage advice. You can listen at http://tiptracy.com/elaine-w-miller/

Balancing Marriage and Parenting is the topic on The Parents Plate where Brenda Nixon interviewed me today. Brenda wrote afterwards, "Wow! Elaine W. Miller was fun, funny, filled with fabulous fixes for frail marriages and parenting." You can listen at http://www.toginet.com/shows/theparentsplate On the top right corner is a listing of the shows. Mine is on 6/19/12.

Sandra Ardoin featured We All Married Idiots: Three Things You Will Never Change About Your Marriage and Ten Things You Can on her Trailer Tuesday blog. Check it out at http://sandraardoin.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/trailer-tuesday-we-all-married-idiots/

Thank you Patricia, Brenda, and Sandra for promoting my journey to strengthen marriages and families. Thank you to my prayer partners who keep my hat on my head during the ride. Love you all.

Thank you readers and listeners. May God use my words to encourage you to hold on to your hat and not let go of your marriage.

Splashes of Serenity!

From File Drawer to Book Store—My Writing Journey Continues

So, how did my first book go from a file drawer to a bookstore?

In earlier blogposts I share how God called me to write Cleanse My Heart: Bathtime Meditations for Moms. Rejected by four publishers, I placed that manuscript back into my file drawer. Content that I had obeyed God, I laid it to rest. But, God is in the resurrection business and He had other plans.

My friend Kelly Molinet visited one day. Kelly and I cried, prayed, and shared life together when her son, Liam, was born with Cystic Fibrosis. I wrote this dear victorious mother's story in Cleanse My Heart.

"Would you like to read what I wrote about Liam?" I asked her. She did. She liked it. A published author herself, she asked, "Why haven't you sent this to my publisher?"

So, I did. I sent Cleanse My Heart to Green Key Books. Within a few months, a contract arrived in my mailbox.

When a contract is signed, the author gives the publisher rights to your words. Which means, they can do with them whatever they please. Cleanse My Heart could have become a comic book.

Green Key didn't give me a comic book, but a beautiful hard cover gift book. Other authors tell me a first-time unknown author would never get a hard-cover book. That never happens. Well, with God all things are possible. And God was in this book from its conception.

But wait! What happened to Cleanse My Heart? The publisher also has the right to rename your book. Green Key renamed mine Sink or Swim (S.O.S.): Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms. I'm glad they asked my opinion and that I stated, "I think Sink or Swim sounds too severe. Can we change it?" Pete and Krissi Castor at Green Key Books were willing, but wanted to keep the S.O.S.

I put my thinking cap and prayer hat on and within seconds, God whispered, Splashes of Serenity. I've been splashes of serenity ever since. I love it. A breath of fresh air! A ray of sunshine! A splash of serenity!

What joy to have my first reflection be "No Room in the Tub for Me!" A story written in my bathtub the night before my baby left for college. How appropriate for this drained mom.

Within months Splashes of Serenity (S.O.S.): Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms  sold thousands and a second printing was ordered. It is now in a third printing. Mothers around the world have been blessed and encouraged by this book. If you'd like an autographed copy, you can order it at my bookstore (see tab above) or contact me at SplashesofSerenity@yahoo.com.

So, what did you learn from this post?

Well, that God's plan for your book won't be thwarted even when you put it where no man can find it.

A publisher can make a comic book from your words if he wants to, but a publisher desires to give you the best-selling product they can afford.

A publisher has the final say on the title, but most publishers will listen to your heart and consider your thoughts.

One day your wildest dreams could come true and people will line up at your Barnes & Noble book signing. Who knew? Not me. Only God had this plan. My job was to obey. I'm so glad I did.

Hoping this was a splash of serenity and an encouragement to you,

Elaine

New Book! New Website!

Thirty-one years ago Dan and I had a home custom built for us. I laughed when the builder said, "New house. New baby!" His prophecy proved true. We had a new house and a new baby in the same year!

In 2012 it's "New book! New Website!"

I have a new book. Five copies arrived yesterday! Today they go to 5 beta readers. I never knew what a beta reader was until this book. They are the ones who stop you in the middle of the church service and say, "I 'm reading your book and I saw a typo! GASP!!!" Thanking God today for the loving nit pickers who are reading my book so I can enjoy the church service.

After final corrections are made, We All Married Idiots: Three Things You'll Never Change About Your Marriage and Ten Things You Can is sent to those who I hope will endorse it. Then an endorsement page and perhaps some endorsements on the back cover will be added. THEN—HALLELUJAH—my new book will be available to you!

Thank you to all who have encouraged me. I love you all.

I also have a new website. Thank you to Mary Hess http://www.MaryHess.com  for the look of this website. I love it. I asked her for something clean and easy to navigate and simple. She delivered. We're still working out the tweaks. Two more tabs will be added tonight, so come back and visit me.

Thank you to Barb Spurling who designed and updated my previous website for six years—out of the goodness of her heart and with much love. I love you, Barb. Thanks for your expertise and care for me right when I needed it.

Hey, let me know if this website brings a splash of serenity to your day. I hope it sprinkles your life with fun!

The Road to Writing a Book. My Journey--Part 4

So continues my great adventure on the road to writing a book. Enjoy!

Leaving Montrose Christian Writer's Conference in 2002 with the goal to write what I was passionate about--my bath and being a mom--I spent much of the next year in the bathtub.

Really, I did. Pen and paper in hand, I was like this man writing much of my manuscript while soaking in the suds and the serenity of a quiet bathroom. I'm glad I never took a picture--I'd be tempted to post it.

I remember one devotional written the night before my youngest went to college. Like most mothers who are saying good-by to their babies, I ran to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and cried my aching heart away. Consoling myself in the water, I wrote "No Room In The Tub for Me."

The next summer I arrived (quite pruney) at Montrose with a finished book proposal and a manuscript for a book I titled, Cleanse My Heart: Bathtime Meditations for Moms (that title won over Pass the Loofah, Lord!). Meeting with four publishers, I again stopped breathing when all four asked me to send them my complete manuscript.

The editor of Salvation Army War Cry Magazine was there as well. We had a God-ordained (in the secular world that's called "chance") meeting. Showing her, "No Room in the Tub for Me" I asked if she had any advice. Her response thrilled me, "I want it. I'll buy it from you right now." For the first time, I received payment for my writing. Not that I was hungry for money, but the realization that someone paid for what I wrote, gave me confidence that I might be a writer afterall.

I left Montrose hopeful, clicking my writing fingers (er, I mean heels). While waiting to receive word from one of those four publishers, I continued building my resume with speaking engagements and another magazine article:

Woo Hoo!!! became Boo Hoo as over the next months, I received my first four rejections. All right with that, perhaps even relieved, I put my proposal and my manuscript for Cleanse My Heart into my files with the thought that someday when I'm dead, my children and grandchildren will read this. It blesses me to think that I wrote a book for them. That must have been God's plan for my writing.

That was the end of my story, but it wasn't the end of God's plan for my writing. In my next post, you'll read how Cleanse My Heart became Splashes of Serenity, my first book.

Today's publishing tip: Build your resume with magazine articles and speaking engagements. Publishers look at your work differently when they hear you have an audience in place. It's one of the first questions they'll ask you.

Have a beautiful Sabbath of Serenity!

Elaine

Called to Write, But How Do I Become Published?

Good morning friends. This blog post is a continuation from yesterday's post as I continue to share how I became a published author. Enjoy!

God called me to write a book. So, I wrote. Not certain what I was to write--I just wrote. As my writing progressed, it seemed that short stories and devotional writing were what flowed best from my heart to my pen.

If you want to be a writer, you need to write--a lot. It is a craft that improves with practice. A newpaper columnist advised me to write every day. I told him I didn't have time to write every day. He said, "Do you have an hour? Then write for an hour." I took up his challenge.

People prayed for me as I shared with them that God called me to write a book. If you are a Christian writer, please surround yourself with people who will pray for you. Writing is a hard, lonely business. You may lose friends who don't understand that you need to sit at your desk and write instead of join them for coffee. That was sometimes painful. I am thankful for friends who understood and prayed.

So, there I was with a stack of writing and no idea what to do next. I wasn't concerned about publishing it. I felt God would open that door when the time was right. He did just that.

In those days, Dan and I were leading marriage retreats at Montrose Bible Conference in Montrose, PA. Arriving for the conference, I spotted the brochure advertising the Montrose Christian Writer's Conference. Who ever heard of a conference for writers? Well, God did and He led me to this lovely place overflowing with creative minds, publishers, agents, and invaluable teaching.

Having no idea what was ahead, not knowing what to bring, the following summer I returned to Montrose armed with a stack of my devotional writings.

What a beautiful place and a worthwhile conference. I attended what I called the Getting Published 101 daily class where I learned the ins and outs of publishing and how to write a book proposal to send to publishers.

This year Montrose Christian Writers Conference will be July 22-27, 2012. More information can be found at http://www.montrosebible.org/writers.

The number one writing tip I give a writer is to go to a writer's conference. You'll meet people who become treasures of advice and love and encouragement as your journey continues.

In my opinion, if you are serious about your writing career, you need to write, you may need to give up some pleasures so you have time to write, it is good to have people support you in prayer, and going to a writer's conference is essential.

Tomorrow, I'll share more about what happened at Montrose.

Hoping these writing and publishing tips lead you to splash into the writing pool. Enjoy the swim! It's worth it.

Splashes of Serenity,

Elaine

Indescribable Gifts are Always the Right Size.

It's not the presents under the tree that I remember this Christmas. It's all the rest--the indescribable things that make Christmas so grand!

Thanking God today for the indescribable gifts He gave to me this Christmas:

For our new grandson, Isaac Samuel, born December 27.

For the love in Garrett's heart. When I said to Garrett, "Isn't Isaac sweet." He replied, "No Grandma. He's more than sweet. Hmmmm. there are no words."

For cousin love and Christmas soup.

For Grandpa reading the Christmas story as soon as the sun is up.

For dear daughters and Christmas cookies.

For the miracle of love and birth and family.

For a cow coming to greet the newborn baby.

For a grandson in a grandpa's arms.

For a daughter playing with her mama's hair.

For a surprise visit from our son Sam.

For a hat and afghan made with love by a mama to her baby.

For Grandma love.

For a Winter hike.

For an unexpected New Year's Day dinner with my 90-year-old mother and my sister.

For Isaac's first smile.

Welcome to the world, Isaac Samuel! May you learn early that God has given you an indescribable gift--Jesus Christ. He was born to be your Savior and your Lord. "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15.

What indescribable gift did God give to you this Christmas?

Mine were a splash of serenity to me!

May 2012 be filled with moments that are beyond description!

Elaine

The Best Christmas Gift Ever

Are you already tired of the Christmas hustle and bustle? Are you ready for a Christmas splash of serenity? Bring your girlfriends and relax and laugh and cry and leave the world behind as we open The Best Christmas Gift Ever!

I'd love to celebrate Christmas with you at the following events where I will be speaking in December:

December 6, "A Christmas Sweeter Than Chocolate" at Delta Lake Bible Conference Center, Rome, NY, 6:00 p.m. Cost: $8.50. Please make reservations by calling Dawn Smith at 315-336-3483.

December 10, Christmas Dinner at Clearview C&MA Church, Schodack, NY. Please call the church at 518-758-6529 for information.

December 12, "The Best Christmas Ever" Christian Women's Connection lunch, Holiday Inn, Johnstown, NY, 11:30 a.m. Call Debbie at 518-637-5274 for reservations.

December 13, "The Best Christmas Ever" Saratoga Christian Women's Connection lunch at Longfellow's, Noon, Saratoga Springs, NY. Call Ellie at 518-584-3779 for reservations.

December 14, "The Best Christmas Ever" at The Guilderland Elks Lodge, Guilderland, NY, 11:30 a.m. Call Nancy at 869-0642 for reservations.

What joy for me to see you and your carload of girlfriends!

Merry Christmas hugs,

Elaine

It Was The Best of Times--It was the Worst of Times

My book Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms relates true stories of people dear to my life. In celebration of its 3rd printing, I hope readers enjoy an update on the lives of some written about in my book, Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms.

My baby brother's story and an excerpt from "It was the Worst of Times--It was the Best of Times" follows:

"This was only his second Christmas, and it was to be his last. My baby brother's cancer was diagnosed when he was nine months old. Six months to live was the hope we were given. It was the worst of times....

I hurt. I suffered the pain of losing my...brother....

My life changed at age sixteen. I realized a bad hair day no longer meant the world was ending.... People became more important than possessions.
Looking back now, I realize the blessings of this experience.

What would I be like today if I had been spared this suffering? I suspect shallower, less compassionate,.... God used the worst time of my life...it became the best thing that ever happened to me. My life has been better because of the pain.

And the best is last: God performed a miracle. My brother lives!"

Today, November 15, is my brother's birthday. I'm with him in Colorado celebrating the precious gift God gave to me when He gave me a baby brother and when that brother had cancer. I'm a better person because of the pain.

What a splash of serenity to know whatever happens in life, I can look forward to the lessons learned from suffering.

For more on my brother and "The Gift of Suffering" please see http://www.FancyLittleThings.com today. I'm their guest blogger.

Happy Birthday to Tyler!

Elaine

God Doesn't Play Games!

Loved this photo of my husband playing Hide-and-Go-Seek with our grandchildren. I looked at it and thought:

I can't really play hide and seek with God. He knows exactly where I am and what I am doing. In fact, He promises He'll never leave me.

So, if you are playing games with God and, you think He doesn't know where you are every minute of every day, remember, He is right there beside you. He's holding on to you and He'll never let go.

That brings me comfort and a splash of serenity in these days.
Hope it does to you as well. I'd love to hear from you how God showed up when you thought He was missing.

Blessings,

Elaine