Jaime Wright Sundsmo Interviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

JAIME WRIGHT is the administrator of Coffee Cups & Camisoles and a member of the Christian Fiction Historical Society blog. She writes historical romance with a suspenseful slant and is a member of ACFW.

JAIME, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? (transparency appreciated!)

Bringing out the big guns in the first question, huh? Well, there are a lot of trials I could draw from, but most recently it was the year 2012. Typically, the birth of a newborn is a good thing, but in April after my son was born, I was hit very hard with postpartum depression. I was a high risk case for it because my first three pregnancies ended up being miscarriages and my daughter was in the NICU for the first bit of her life. My son’s birth was 100% normal. The doctor said I’d probably be traumatized by normality and have a huge mood swing down from expecting and preparing for trauma. He was right. By the end of my son’s first week of life I was concocting ways to have my sister-in-law adopt him or even leave him on the hospital doorstep. I had no emotional bond to him whatsoever—he was an interruption, a betrayal of my affection to my daughter, and an exhausting addition to our lives. After my sister-in-law interpreted my emotion, my husband hurried me off to the doctor to get assistance and get me back on my feet. During this time, my husband was going through a bout of his chronic insomnia and average 8 hours of sleep a week. I was bit by a deer tick and contracted Lyme’s disease. My daughter went through major separation anxiety with the entrance of her brother and became prone to tantrums and long hours of tears.

It was a difficult year but a phenomenal one as well. The grace of God is exceptional and receiving nothing but support and understanding from a network of friends and family only bolstered the sense of humility in being able to receive help and love and assistance.

My Lyme’s disease is now cured. My son is a mommy’s boy and I can hardly be without him he’s so dear to my heart. My daughter loves on her brother and refuses to let anyone “be mean to him” and my husband has upped his weekly amount of sleep to ten hours (so we could still use prayer there!)

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

Sheesh. I have a lot but the most poignant one lately has been Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God”. I have a habit of talking my way out of problems, controlling, planning and KNOWING what I need to do. This verse has been a slap upside the head to shut up, sit back, and let God be GOD!

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your blogs and why?

I’d love for readers to connect with a healthy sense of community—the sort of fellowship that blesses and bolsters us on a daily basis. It’s been such a great place for me to find some rest and peace in the midst of a hectic life—I hope I can offer the same in return.

As you researched your manuscripts, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?

Tons. Usually my research is very historically inclined, but along with it I put myself in the shoes of those who lived in that time and a million potential Spiritual themes arise. Those are always challenging for me because so often, I’m going through similar experiences.

In this latest work, do you have any topics that will be useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

Not so much medically, but Spiritually I’d say yes. My latest manuscript addresses the issue of extreme legalism and lack of grace that comes with a hard past. In an effort to protect from the bad choices we made or experienced, we create laws and rules while eliminating the grace of God. Hopefully, my readers (when I have them!) will be able to engage in growing in their Spiritual well-being through my books. While I write for entertainment, I also pray that each novel has a lesson and theme that can be applied to our Spiritual walk.

Thank you JAIME for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

Find Jaime at: 
http://coffeecupsandcamisoles.blogspot.com
facebook.com/JaimeWrightBooks
twitter.com/jaime_wright

http://christianfictionhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/
http://pinterest.com/jaimewright01/

GIVEAWAY: It is Karen Witemeyer week and we’ll be giving away the winner’s choice of any of Karen’s books, choice of format.

Guest Post: Overcoming Lyme's Disease with God's Help

Finding Magnificence in the Simple Things

by Larry Jones

You can learn a lot from a tick.  Three years ago I was diagnosed with Lyme disease; a bacterial infection passed along by deer ticks.  I failed to detect the bulls-eye rash from the bite, but I knew something was wrong when it became a struggle to climb stairs and get in and out of my car. 

After my diagnosis I searched the Internet for more information and learned some victims of Lyme suffer serious long-term neurological and even psychological damage.  I read about a preacher who was arrested by the police for drunk driving and fired by his church, only to discover later he was suffering from Lyme, not intoxication. 

My lowest moment came in a shopping mall when I dropped some money and wasn’t able to bend my knees and pick it up.  As I shuffled toward an exit resentment welled up inside of me when I saw an elderly man reach down to pick up some trash.  I imagined he was showing off on purpose to torment me in my pain.

The good news is I survived.  Months of antibiotics and the passing of time brought me to a complete recovery, although my family claims the jury is still out on psychological impairment. But even though the disease is history, its memory is not.  That dangerous tick that almost cost me my health also changed my life.  How, you may ask?

With one infectious bite, he put me in a place where I was allowed to suffer for my own good.  As my movements grew slower and the scope of my life smaller, I was forced to pay attention to some of God’s magnificently simple blessings.  Since Thanksgiving Day is upon us, it seems timely to highlight a few.  What did that pesky insect teach me? 

He taught me to be thankful for free blessings in life.  As my disease progressed, the pain in my joints forced me to adapt.  To climb in my car I clung to the door and roof while slowly lowering myself into the driver’s seat.  Then I gingerly lifted my legs into the car, one at a time.  I still remember the day my pain subsided enough for me to lift my legs by themselves, and now, when I slide effortlessly into my car seat I sometimes stop to thank God. 

It is easy to overlook the free things in life.  I have noticed small children are much better than adults at keeping these blessings in perspective.  Children pray for the birds, and the sky, and the neighbor’s cat Binky.  Adults pray for houses and cars and promotions at work.  Granted it is best to have a roof over our heads, but is a car or a better job ultimately more vital to our survival than a bird or the sky?  I guess it depends on whether we mind living in a world overrun with rodents and insects, or one without an atmosphere.  As far as Binky, I will let you make that determination.

Life’s free gifts become more important when we lose them.  Perhaps this is why people facing trials are sometimes the most thankful of all.  They have learned to appreciate everything because they have had to let go of so much. 

He taught me to be thankful for the people around me.  I rarely get sick, so my illness put me in a place I wasn’t prepared to handle.  There were times I was worried about the future, and moments when my frustrations overwhelmed me.  In the beginning I wasn’t sure what was wrong, or if it could be cured.  And as I struggled, my wife, children, church family and neighbors sustained me.

Something happens to us when we are forced to depend on others.  It is no longer possible to live with our illusions of self-sufficiency or our delusions of indispensability.  A good dose of humility opens our hearts and causes us to see God’s grace poured out in the lives of His servants.  And the more we acknowledge our need for others, the greater our sense of responsibility to others in need. 

It is easy to take people for granted when we think we don’t need them.  But when we are driven to our knees and find ourselves unable to tie our own shoes, we learn to put our pride aside and embrace the strength of community. 

He gave me a greater appreciation for those who suffer.  Please don’t misunderstand.  In the whole scheme of life, a temporary disease like Lyme disease, when discovered early, is a manageable crisis.  But as I suffered, and stinging pains shot through my joints with every movement, I experienced a taste of what it must be like for those with lifelong debilitating diseases.

I thought of a two women in the church I serve.  One has rheumatoid arthritis, but in spite of her pain she leads our volunteer office receptionist’s ministry and personally serves one day a week.  The other has multiple sclerosis and she regularly participates in community outreach projects.  I thought of my friend who directs our recovery ministry who takes medication for dementia that is slowly stealing away his mind.  These and many others don’t let their suffering keep them from serving the Lord, and in fact, sometimes they use the lessons they have learned in the midst of their pain to minister to others. 

I will never look at people who find a way to serve God in their suffering the same way again.  They have found strength this world can’t offer, and have a testimony that draws others to the throne of grace. 

   

He reminded me how blessed I am to have access to good medical care.  The talented doctor who diagnosed me and cured me saved me from years of misery.  One prescription and a bottle of antibiotics later I was on the road to recovery. 

Not all diseases are so easily cured, but modern medicine has found an answer for some of the deadliest illnesses in the world.  Medical missionaries in impoverished countries watch people die of diseases that could have been cured if treated in time, and their hearts break for them.     

Millions of people across the globe have no access to modern medicine.  In America we have so many pills we have a name for the cabinet where we store them all.  How can we not be thankful for our circumstances and compelled to help others with theirs?    

He taught me to be thankful for a God who is present in my pain.  Throughout my ministry people with horrific diseases have described a portion of God’s grace that came to them in a time of need.  Let me be clear: Lyme disease, when caught, is nothing compared to the life-altering and sometimes terminal illnesses others face. 

Yet, for a season, I felt debilitating pain.  I was afraid.  And on those mornings when I practically crawled to my office desk and tears ran down my face, I found some of that grace others had experienced.  It didn’t take away my physical pain, but it reminded me in no uncertain terms I had not been abandoned.  It also made me more receptive to God’s leading and the silent prompting of His Spirit within me. 

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, in its various forms and traditions.  And although our celebration is technically a national observance, as believers we view it as a spiritual opportunity to reflect on God’s goodness.  With the Psalmist we say, “It is good to praise the Lord.”  (Psalm 92:1)

It is good to praise God for the big things and the small things.  We thank Him for caring for us in the past, and ask Him to watch over us in the future.  And in this special season we look deeper to find those blessings that are the simplest of all and so easy to take for granted. 

Recently I was thinking about the prayers my grandfather used to offer as we gathered for our Thanksgiving feast.  His thanked God for family, food, His watchful eye, and another year of life.  He didn’t pray for the birds and the sky, or the neighbor’s cat Binky.  But his prayers were childlike and simple.

I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with thanking God for less simple things.  In fact, if He has helped us through some incredibly complex issues in our lives, we should certainly praise Him for it.  It’s just that sometimes, we find our complexities are self-imposed when we worry about the wrong things and neglect what’s most important.    

Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

 (Matthew 6:25-26)

God continues to humble me and strip away what doesn’t matter so I can see what does.  And sometimes He corrects my perspective with the strangest instruction.  Sometimes He even uses ticks.

Bio: Larry Jones is the pastor of Northside Christian Church in Yorktown, Virginia.  He also writes inspirational children's fiction. His essays have been published in various Christian periodicals, including this one, which is from Lookout magazine http://www.lookoutmag.com/articles/articledisplay.asp?id=1055

THANKS, Larry!  And thank you to Brandilyn Collins, our guest this week, and to Marian Baay, who was her hostess and reviewer.  Diana, Teresa, and I are also happy to announce that Marian has joined us as a regular reviewer and team member of OTT-WGH.  Welcome, Marian!!!  

GIVEAWAY:  Check here on Sunday afternoon (after I get through listening to one of Larry's awesome sermon!) and find out who this week's winner is!

 

Marian Baay reviews Brandilyn Collins's Over the Edge

Dutch Translation Copy of Over the Edge

DUTCH Readers - Scroll down for the Dutch version of this review, thank you!

Over the Edge 
by Brandilyn Collins
(B&H Books, 2011)

5 stars *****
Reviewed by Marian Baay

On the Edge... of My Seat!

Janessa is married to a highly respected research physician named Brock McNeil. He’s a Lyme Disease researcher. He doesn’t believe in chronic Lyme  Disease. He believes that patients should be healed after four weeks of antibiotics.

When Janessa is not feeling well for three weeks, she asks Brock if she could be infected with Lyme Disease. He thinks it’s nonsense. They haven’t been in the woods or anywhere else where ticks can be found.

What Janessa and Brock don’t know is that a couple of months earlier a man broke into their house and left three ticks in Janessa’s hair. Janessa will soon learn what the man did when he calls her on her cell phone. He explains what he did and that now she is infected with Lyme Disease and coinfections too.

In a couple of days Janessa must convince Brock to make a statement that chronic Lyme Disease does exist, or else the secret man will infect their 9-year old daughter too.

A race against time! Brock does not believe Janessa. She’s on her own. Her body is hurting terribly. She is immensly tired. She can not think clear. Can not find the right words. But she must convince Brock. Or is there another way to make a public statement?

  

This book is full of valuable information about Lyme Disease. You get a good idea how Janessa must be feeling. Lyme Disease is the subject of this book, but this wouldn’t be a Brandilyn Collins novel if there wasn’t suspense and mystery. I literally sat on the edge of my seat a good couple of times.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what it’s like to live with Lyme Disease, or to anyone who knows someone with this disease.


Brandilyn Collins books available on Amazon as well as Christian Book Distributors and other bookstores.


IN DUTCH

Op het randje... van mijn stoel!

Janessa is getrouwd met de vooraanstaande arts onderzoeker Brock McNeil. Hij onderzoekt de ziekte van Lyme. Hij gelooft niet in de chronische variant van de ziekte van Lyme. Hij denkt dat patienten binnen vier weken genezen moeten zijn als ze antibiotica innemen.

Wanneer Janessa zich als drie weken niet goed voelt, vraagt ze aan Brock of ze geinfecteerd zou kunnen zijn met de ziekte van Lyme. Hij denkt dat het onzin is. Ze zijn niet in het bos geweest of op andere plaatsen waar teken zijn.

Wat Janessa en Brock niet weten is dat er een paar maanden eerder iemand in hun huis heeft ingebroken. Hij heeft drie teken in Janessa’s haar achtergelaten. Janessa komt er snel genoeg achter wat de man gedaan heeft als hij haar op haar mobiele telefoon belt. Hij legt haar uit wat hij gedaan heeft en vertelt dat ze nu geinfecteerd is met de ziekte van Lyme en dat ze ook nog coinfecties heeft.

Binnen een paar dagen moet Janessa Brock overtuigen om een publieke verklaring af te leggen dat chronische Lyme weldegelijk bestaat. Zo niet, dan zal de geheime man ook hun 9-jarige dochter infecteren.

Een race tegen de klok begint! Brock gelooft Janessa niet. Ze staat helemaal alleen. Haar lichaam doet vreselijk veel pijn. Ze is ontzettend vermoeid. Ze kan niet helder nadenken. Kan niet de juiste woorden vinden. Maar ze moet Brock overtuigen. Of is er een andere manier om een publieke verklaring af te leggen?

Dit boek staat vol met waardevolle informatie over de ziekte van Lyme. Je krijgt een heel goed idee hoe Janessa zich moet voelen. De ziekte van Lyme is dan wel het onderwerp van dit boek, maar dit zou geen Brandilyn Collins boek zijn als er geen spanning en mysterie zou zijn. Ik zat regelmatig letterlijk op het randje van mijn stoel.

Ik beveel dit boek van harte aan voor iedereen die wil weten hoe het is om met de ziekte van Lyme te leven, of voor een ieder die iemand kent met deze ziekte.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of this author’s books, choice of format.

Interview - Brandilyn Collins

Brandilyn Collins is the author of Over the Edge and of 23 other books, including her latest release on March 1, Gone to Ground.  

Brandilyn, welcome to Overcoming Through Time – With God’s Help.  Would you share either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your character’s has had to get past?

In 2002 I became very ill. I literally went from being a healthy, five-miles-a-day runner to falling down on my kitchen floor and not being able to get up. My legs had suddenly gone weak. Eventually in 2003 I learned I had Lyme disease. The disease crippled me and made me unable to perform the normal duties of being a wife and mom. My husband had to cook all the meals and take care of the home on top of his already demanding job. I couldn’t do much for my kids. My daughter, 13 at the time, thought she was losing me. It was a time of great fright and facing the unknown in our family.

During that time I learned how to truly praise God through difficult circumstances. He taught me how to use the psalms for both praise and supplication. I prayed them aloud every day, sometimes praising with tears running down my face. I learned that praising God is an act of will, not emotion. When I eventually lost the ability to read because of Lyme, I listened to the psalms on tape and praised that way.

In May of 2003 God granted me a miraculous healing from Lyme. It’s an amazing story that’s available to read on my website. Today, many people around the world have read about this event.

It is this experience with Lyme disease, and with facing the general medical community’s tendency to dismiss the disease and its diagnosis and treatment, that led me to write my novel Over the Edge. The book features the first person story of a woman infected with Lyme. And woven into the story are the background issues of the battle between Lyme sufferers and the medical community. I have received wonderful praise for this book, both from reviewers and from readers who have Lyme or wanted to know more about Lyme. Some who have been sick for years, undiagnosed, realized they should be tested for Lyme after reading Over the Edge. Now they’re finally getting treatment. Imagine receiving a note that says, “Thank you for helping to save my life.” Other people have given the book to family and friends, who now can understand what they’re going through. All in all I see how much the book has helped people. Even those who simply pick it up to read a fast, tense suspense walk away knowing more about Lyme disease. And I was able to weave into the story my own journey in learning how to praise God through it. This is also what my main character, Jannie, learns.

So, yes, Lyme disease was a terrible, formidable opponent. But I wouldn’t want to give up what God taught me through it. Then God gave me a chance to use to the experience, through writing Over the Edge, to help others.

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

My life verse God gave me—Psalm 138:8: “God will accomplish what concerns me.” (NASB) Or as the NIV translates it, “God will accomplish his purpose for me.” If I can believe that—really walk in it—that about covers it. Easier said than done.

Disability friendliness:

Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio? 

Numerous of my books are available in audio format as well as large print. Over the Edge is already out in large print. Because I have so many novels, it’s hard to list every one that’s available here. The best way to see is to click my name on Amazon and see all the variations of my books that come up.

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?

First and foremost, I want my readers to enjoy my novels for the suspense experience. My trademark brand, Seatbelt Suspense®, carries a four-point brand promise: fast-paced, character-driven suspense with myriad twists and an interwoven thread of faith. Although ultimately I hope the reader will latch onto the faith message woven into the story, I don’t sit down to write a “Christian suspense” or to write a story with a certain Christian message. Most of the time I have no idea what the Christian message will be until I’m some distance into writing the story. The faith element must arise naturally from what the protagonist is facing, and her own experiences, background and built-in fears. Readers pick up my novels because they love suspense. So I must deliver that experience to them. If they like the suspenseful story, if they can empathize with my main character, then they’ll finish the book. And within that reading they will see the faith message. (Which they can ultimately accept or reject.) But if I don’t deliver on the suspense, readers will put down the book at page 30 or so. Then what good is my message? It’ll never be read.

The natural faith element in my novels allows me to have both Christian and non Christian readers. With Over the Edge I’ve had a lot of readers who aren’t necessarily Christian, because this novel has been so talked about among Lyme sufferers. People who’ve never read my books are picking up Over the Edge and recommending it to others. They want to read a great suspense about Lyme. From all indications via reviews, I am delivering that. But they also are reading the faith message. And in the back of the book I have a lengthy author’s note, which includes information about my own experience with Lyme and a link to my Lyme page and healing story on my web site. Now many people who may have never found that recounting of my healing are reading it.

God works in all kinds of unexpected ways.

As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?

I did do a lot of research on Lyme for Over the Edge, even though I had a good basis of knowledge to begin with. The stories are so heart-wrenching. Such as people who are crippled today who could be well if they’d just been diagnosed and treated. Instead doctors refused to test for Lyme, or assured them “We don’t have Lyme disease in this state.” Other sufferers are diagnosed but can’t find a doctor who’ll treat them. And many doctors who have treated Lyme long term are sanctioned and scared out of treating through the threat of losing their medical licenses. It’s a really sad situation all around. Bad enough to be so sick, but to have to fight the medical community as well is heart-breaking.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?

In the author’s note at the back of Over the Edge is a fairly lengthy explanation of Lyme disease and its challenges in treatment/diagnosis. I link to the Lyme page on my web site, which has further helpful links in understanding the disease, finding a Lyme doctor, etc.

Thank you, Brandilyn, for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

Brandilyn's books are available through CBD, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other bookstores.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of one of Brandilyn's books, including her latest - Gone To Ground, releasing March 1, 2012!!!