**While the giveaway is now closed, I hope you will enjoy Lonnie’s letter below!** 

 

The Hope Chronicles is a blog hop and journal between 5 historical romance authors. Our desire is to bring you lasting hope through these letters, grounded in the hope of our Lord that does not disappoint, and written from the fictional viewpoints of each book’s heroine. We’re so glad to have you join the event. Each day this week, a new Hope Chronicles post will go live, complete with a journal entry and a new giveaway for that blog post.

To read more about the project and enter to win the one-of-a-kind, hand-inscribed Hope Chronicles journal, which bounced from state to state until all five of us had spent some time with it, click here.

To find your way to the other four blog posts and enter each of the five Hope Chronicles prize bundle giveaways, read on! We have a list for you at the bottom of this post.

 

 

 The Hope Chronicles: Lonnie Sawyer

 

Fancy Gap, Virginia

November 6, 1900

 

Dear Aunt Sarah,

 

Gideon O’Riley. What do I see when I look into those green eyes of his? I see sadness. I see disappointment. I see a yearning for something greater when he looks past me as if I’m not standing there. Do I have the strength to remain in the hope that something greater will come to be?

My mind tells me no. My heart tells me I must. Me, this thorn in his side. This bride he didn’t want. I owe him nothing. Nothing at all. Yet I owe my Lord everything I have.

I miss you, dear Aunt. So much that my pillow is damp in the wee hours of the morning. How I yearn for your guidance.

Is this my calling? To love Gideon O’Riley? A man who doesn’t love me back? Sometimes I question the Lord’s voice. I question this life. Surely there’s been a great mix up in the heavens above. Surely God didn’t mean for me to wear this man’s ring on my finger. Have his name whispered beside mine.

I look out the window of the Bennetts’ fine house and am reminded once again of the day they found us. The day they rescued us from a path of sorrow…of brokenness. And I’m reminded once again that the Lord has His eye on the sparrow. He had His eye on me that wretched day. With His mighty hand He plucked me out of danger and placed me in a safe nest. These lace curtains billow; the pages beneath my wrist flutter, and I feel the breath of heaven. The kiss of peace.

I’m reminded that the Lord works in mysterious ways. That hope and heartache can entwine. I’m reminded that nothing is impossible with God. I will place my hope in Him. In Him I will place my rest. Each time I do this, I feel my heart soften further toward my husband with the sad, green eyes. This man with the smile—though rare it be—that tugs at the strings of my heart, tightening it within my chest. This man who’s never known what real love is. 

Perhaps God can use me. Perhaps I could play a small roll in leading this man toward peace. Toward strength. Towards love. I will not lean on my own understanding for the ways of my heart and mind grow weary. Yet the Lord is stronger than I and He has called me by name. In Him I will put my trust.

Think of me when you watch the sun set from your porch and I will do the same.

Lonnie

 

 

 

In BE STILL MY SOUL, Lonnie turned to Isaiah 43 in her time of need:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.

Do you have a special verse you turn to when you need encouragement during a difficult time?

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to share or leave any comment below to be entered to win Lonnie’s prize bundle!

One winner will be randomly chosen from the comments on this page. Entries will be closed on November 12, 2012, at 12:00 noon (Pacific time). To place extra entries please share links on Facebook and/or Tweet with the hashtag #hopechronicles…then comment again to tell us about it. (Open to U.S. participants, void where prohibited. Must be 18 years or older to participate.)

 

 

 Lonnie’s Prize Bundle:

 Lonnie’s Prize Bundle includes an embroidered tea towel, a robin ornament, a bag of pumpkin pie tea, a bar of lilac soap, a hand-painted box and bookmark (by yours truly) ;), a tea tin, a little garden book and a signed copy of BE STILL MY SOUL. 

 

We invite you to join us each weekday this week as we hop through cyberspace and history, gleaning hope from each heroine’s journey.

(The links will not be in effect until the given day, so please check back!)

Monday, November 5th: Regina Jennings  

(Heroine: Rosa Garner, Sixty Acres and a Bride)

Tuesday, November 6th: Joanne Bischof  

(Heroine: Lonnie Sawyer, Be Still My Soul)

Wednesday, November 7th: Amanda Dykes 

(Heroine: Georgianna Wentworth, Upon the Waters)

Thursday, November 8th: Karen Barnett 

(Heroine: Abby Fischer, Shaken)

Friday, November 9th: Sarah Sundin 

(Heroine: Mellie Blake, With Every Letter)