Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #14

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you have just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through the 25 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 3 grand prizes!

• The hunt BEGINS with Stop #1 at Lisa Bergren's site.
• Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
• There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt--you have all weekend (until Sunday, 10/22 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books.
• Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the clue on each author's scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at Stop #25. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

Lynne and I are so excited to be able to host our long-time friend Elizabeth Goddard. The three of us have been friends for years--since we were each starting out as writers. Here is a brief summary of Elizabeth's newest book Wilderness Reunion. 

MOVING TARGETS

After stumbling on a drug operation, Alice Wilde races through the woods as bullets whiz past, using her skills as a wilderness guide to elude her pursuers. But she doesn't stay safe for long once one of the armed men recognizes her...and starts stalking her. When the sheriff asks her to guide his men and photojournalist Griffin Slater--her ex-boyfriend--to the crime scene, though, she can't refuse. Alice knows Griffin's just there for a story, but after the two of them are separated from the rest of the group, he's the only person who can save her. And with someone willing to do anything to hunt them down, Alice must put aside their past if she wants to survive.

SETTING AS CHARACTER, by Elizabeth Goddard

Wilderness Reunion is the fourth and last book in my Wilderness, Inc. series set along the wild and scenic portion of the Rogue River in southwest Oregon. The epilogue tied up all the characters in the series and was great fun to write. I lived on the Rogue River for five years and spent time hiking trails and admiring the gorgeous scenery.

For me, it's all about the setting, which is almost always a character in my stories. When a location inspires me, I set my story there. Characters and plot come later.

In Wilderness Reunion, wilderness guide Alice Wilde is hiking public lands when she stumbles across an illegal marijuana crop guarded by armed men. She flees for her life. Though some might not believe this is a likely scenario, as I began researching and digging deeper, I was stunned to read just how dangerous public lands can be for forest visitors. Innocent hikers have been killed for coming across such a garden. Stakes are high when we're talking about significant money. What makes it worse is the destruction to the forest and wildlife. 

Knowing this danger exists in the forest shouldn't prevent you from hiking and enjoying God's creation, but always make sure you know what signs to look for. If you come across a marijuana grow the Forest Service advises: Be Quiet and Leave the Area Immediately!

Alice Wilde tried, but danger followed...

ELIZABETH GODDARD is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than thirty romance novels and counting, including the romantic mystery, The Camera Never Lies--a 2011 Carol Award winner. Four of her six Mountain Cove books have been contest finalists. Buried, Backfire and Deception are finalists in the Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, and Submerged is a Carol Award finalist. A 7th generation Texan, Elizabeth graduated from North Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and worked in high-level software sales for several years before retiring to home school her children and fulfill her dreams of writing full-time.

Here's the Stop #14 Skinny:

You can order Elizabeth's books online or at your local bookstore! 

Amazon
B&N
CBD
Harlequin

Clue to Write Down: eager
Link to Stop #15, the Next Stop on the Loop: Elizabeth Goddard's own site!

BUT WAIT! Before you go, Lynne and I are offering a fun prize from Africa! Coffee from Ethiopia and two soapstone candlesticks. (US addresses only) All you have to do is sign up to get both of our newsletters (top left of the page, yellow box) or note in a comment below that you are already a subscriber. Winner will be drawn at the close of the Scavenger Hunt.

Happy Hunting!!

Lisa and Lynne

(Fun prize from Africa is for US Addresses only. Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.)

Where are you, God?

It seems as if tragedy after tragedy continues to rock our world. This morning as I was watching the news about Las Vegas, I couldn’t help but be reminded about the night our family was held by gunpoint in our home last year and beat up. It brought up the question that I know people are asking today. Why? Why could God let something like this happen? Because every time tragedy, loss, and evil surfaces, so do the questions.

Sometimes when we ask--Where are you, God?--we ask it as if we are surprised about the evil we see. We wonder what’s wrong with our world when we watch constant news coverage of tragedies without any answers. We ask it because we want to know why God didn’t show up and stop what happened.

The truth is that sometimes God does intervene and dramatically steps in.

But sometimes he doesn’t.

As I began searching for myself after the attack, I was reminded that we live in a fallen world, and that God gives us the freedom to make choices. And what I begun to realize is that while most people wouldn’t like it if God forced us to follow him, we still want help when things go wrong. And here’s what really struck me. With freedom comes choice, but it also means we often have to suffer the consequences of bad choices—both ours and other peoples. God doesn’t give us free will, then stand over us and fix everything that goes wrong.

Maybe that sounds like a cliché, but for me, it struck a cord.

Because here’s the other thing I was reminded of. When God doesn’t intervene, it doesn’t mean he isn’t there. I think it means just the opposite. Because he decided not to just sweep down and fix our problems every time something goes wrong. Instead he chose to redeem us eternally by sending his Son.

Immanuel. God with us.

Tragedies like right now in Las Vegas and recently the hurricanes demonstrate the reality of a fallen world, and it’s pretty clear that none of us are immune from suffering. But God’s plan has always been a plan of redemption. While God is capable of fixing our problems, but He chose instead to rescue and redeem humankind permanently.

There are no easy, pat answers. Nothing that will fix what happened. But what He does promise is to walk with us through the bad times. As crazy as it seems, somehow, when bad things happen, we start to see God’s grace. We start to dig deeper. Often it takes trauma to get someone searching for God. And hard times give us compassion toward others, deeper love, and more courage.

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NLT)