Tags
ABNA, Amazon Breakthrough Novelist Award, Betsy Byrne, Blog, Crooked Lines, Diana Symon, Dreams Come True, Holly Michael, Iona, Jake Byrne, NFL Draft 2012, Nick Byrne, Novel, photography, Scotland, travel, www.writingstraight.com
No Monday Connections this week. No Tuesday Book Review. Wednesday’s sneaking up on me. But I have an excuse and lots of good news to share. (I feel like that happy sheep in the meadow that I photographed on the Island of Iona in Scotland.)
First the excuse for no blogs: The last few days, my husband and I had traveled to the east coast on church business.
Now before I share my flood of good news, since I missed Monday Connections, I’d like to mention Diana Symon’s (Christian Writer, Thinker, Dreamer) blog post today: When Dreams Come True because it connects with this blog post
Here’s what I read on Diana’s blog: May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. Psalms 20:4 When I think about how wildly awesome God is, I love Him more. He wants to give me my heart’s desire. He wants to make my dreams come true…
Diana’s inspirational post continues, and I encourage others to hop over there to read the rest. Visit her blog any time you need inspiration. I love her blog. And I love that God is making dreams come true.
A few months earlier, I’d traveled to the west coast for Jake’s Rose Bowl game and discovered this water stain on the sidewalk in front of the room where we stayed. 
(For more on this story, click here)
I stood before this image and prayed for a long time, asking God to heal sick friends, to bless loved ones who needed blessings, and to bless my husband and our church. I also prayed special intentions for my children’s futures and for my novel. I asked Mother Mary to pray before the Lord, for the same.
Click here for more of the story: NFL Aspirations and Novelist Dreams.
I thank God for hearing and answering those prayers. Incredible blessings are rolling into our lives now. Jake did well at his Pro Day and is hopeful about the upcoming draft. My youngest son, Nick got offered a football scholarship from Arkansas State and Betsy, my daughter, is making her plans to study abroad in England become a reality. (Nick and Betsy below)
And my novel, Crooked Lines, is now an ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novelist Award) quarter-finalist. You can download and read the first three chapters for free here.
Diana Symon’s is right. Read the rest of her post. God is wildly awesome, and I remain humble and grateful for His blessings and that He wants to make all of our dreams come true. I’ll keep you posted! More to come soon!
God is so good! I’m so happy for you and your family. I hope you win the ABNA contest. I can’t wait for the book to be out.
Praise God for His goodness! So glad for all your happy news. 🙂
Amazing and awesome news Holly. I’m so happy for you. I totally feel what you are feeling it hasn’t been visualized in my life quite yet but I can feel it all coming. I stand with you in celebration of all your success. May God continue to bless you and your family in amazing ways. Thanks so much for introducing me to Diana Symon’s blog. I also wanted to let you know that I am moving have been slowly moving my blog over to http://www.inspiredshelves.wordpress.com feel free to stop by if you get a chance.
Holly, I love that you have such a sensitive heart. I’m heading to Amazon to read the sample chapters now!
Thanks Diana and thanks for the inspiration last night! You gave me a good way to share my news!
Break a leg!
Hi Holly,
I am so happy for your success, and hope that your final turns into a win!
Me too!
congratulations Holly!
Thanks Catherine! Pretty excited!!!
Holly,
Knowing you is such a blessing to me! Thank you for keeping in touch, my friend. I am so thankful to God that we connected last year. You are a true talent with so much to offer!
Love you, Sistah!
Nancy Lendborg
Aww! Nancy you are so sweet and I’ll never forget how you prayed with me at the conference and the peace I felt going into that agent pitch! So glad we met and are friends!
Holly, I love that we’ve gotten to “meet” in cyberspace. Your post was a delightful way to begin my day!
Thanks Deanna! So glad to meet you too! It’s a real blessing.
So happy for you and your family!! God is so good. He is going to do such great works through you and your family!!
Thanks Ruth!!
Wow–I love His little reminders that He’s here with me, wherever I am!
What incredible blessings! I love this reminder. Thanks for stopping by my blog today. 🙂
God is so great.
Congratulations on your book and all your family accomplishments… You are busy and blessed!
Congratulations! So glad to hear whenever dreams come true. I’m going to download those chapters as soon as I can get to my Kindle.
Thanks Sheila. Appreciate it!
Downloaded your three chapters and look forward to reading them. Congrats on your success thus far.
Congratulations, Holly!
As a football fan, I’ll be looking for your son next season. 🙂
Thanks Sanda, I’ll keep you posted on the blog on draft day.