Author: Katie Ganshert

I write Christian romance and my debut novel, Wildflowers from Winter, releases in May, 2012 through Waterbrook Press (a division of Random House).

When to Decorate

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

In a culture where malls are putting up Christmas decorations as early as October, the question begs to be asked:

When is it time to decorate?

In my debut novel, Wildflowers from Winter, the hero, Evan Price, has this thought about his brother and sister-in-law:

Unlit Christmas lights wrapped around the gutters. Micah always put the lights up at the beginning of November. They were that couple. The couple that skipped right over Thanksgiving in their eagerness to spread yuletide cheer.

On the other hand, the heroine, Bethany, thinks decorating before Thanksgiving should be illegal.

In our house, it’s a tradition to put the tree up on black Friday while all the rest of the crazy world goes shopping.

So this week, as we get ready to gorge ourselves on turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce (bleck) and pumpkin pie, this is what I would like to know….

Let’s Talk: When do you start putting up the Christmas decorations?

Happy Thanksgiving! Join me next Monday as we kick off the Christmas festivities and learn about a whole slew of holiday giveaways.

Would you like to win an advanced copy of my 2nd book, Wishing on Willows? Then read on…

My fabulous publisher is helping me with a sharing contest. Here’s how it works:

Share these chapters of Wildflowers from Winter online or via email with a friend, then sign up here and you’ll not only receive an exclusive sneak peek of Wishing on Willows, you’ll also be entered to win an advanced copy of the book…to give or to keep.

Contest ends Sunday, December 2nd.

Friday Faves

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Chin-Grabbers for Everyone:

  • Why Santa Claus Gets on My Nerveslby Jill Kemerer

    I’m not anti-Santa. I even think the dude can point to Jesus. But Jill so eloquently explains why this jolly red man makes me want to cringe at times. “Christmas, to me, is about saying ‘thank you, Jesus,’ not, ‘I want….'”

Chin-Grabbers for Writers:

Would you like to win an advanced copy of my 2nd book, Wishing on Willows? Then read on…

My fabulous publisher is helping me with a sharing contest. Here’s how it works:

Share these chapters of Wildflowers from Winter online or via email with a friend, then sign up here and you’ll not only receive an exclusive sneak peek of Wishing on Willows, you’ll also be entered to win an advanced copy of the book…to give or to keep.

If you haven’t already, I’d love to send you a welcome packet! Sign up button is at the top and bottom of this page!

Wanderers, Captives, the Sick and Storm-Tossed

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

At any time in your life, or perhaps even now, could you place yourself in one of these categories?

Perhaps you’ve felt like a wanderer in the desert, miles and miles away from the tiniest glimpse of the promised land.

Or chained in captivity, like a prisoner. Addiction or shame is the iron shackled to your wrists and ankles.

Maybe you’ve battled illness or maybe you feel like a storm-tossed sailor, even though your feet stand on dry ground.

Let’s park our weary souls in Psalm 107 and soak in an ocean of grace.

The wanderer in the wilderness, hungry and thirsty, cries out in trouble…

“Lord, help!”

And he rescued them from their distress.

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (v. 4-9)

Friends, if you’re feeling hungry and thirsty for something deeper and bigger than food and drink, do you know where to go?

Jesus is living water and the bread of life.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ~John 4:13-14

The captive sitting in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in chains of misery, cries out in trouble…

“Lord, help!”

And he saved them from their distress.

He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom. He snapped their chains….He broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron. (v. 10-16)

Friends, if you find yourself in bondage, yearning for freedom from a cycle of self-destruction, do you know where to go?

 Jesus is our escape.

In my distress I prayed to the Lord and the Lord answered me and set me free. ~Psalm 118:5

The one afflicted with illness, knocking on death’s door, cries out in trouble…

“Lord, help!”

And he saved them from their distress.

He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death. (v 18-22)

Friends, if you are sick and afflicted, desperate for new life, do you know where to go?

Jesus is resurrection and life.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” ~John 11:25

The one tossed about in the raging storms of life cries out in trouble…

“Lord, help!”

And he saved them from their distress.

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves as he brought them safely into harbor. (v. 23-32)

Friends, if you are stuck in a storm too big to navigate through, do you know where to go?

Jesus is refuge and strength.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. ~Isaiah 50:15

There is hope in Him.

He’s with you in the desert and He’s with you when you cross the Jordan.

He’s with you in captivity and He’s with you in freedom.

He’s with you in sickness and He’s with you in health.

He’s with you when the seas are raging and He’s with you when they are calm.

He is with you.

And there is hope.

Let’s Talk: Which of these four can you relate to the most?

Join me over at A Road to Here: Encouragement for Adoptive Moms as I talk about the concept of being blessed.