Jacqueline’s Story from When Dawn Breaks by Jennifer Slattery

Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her teenage daughter and coffee dates with her handsome railroader husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud. 

Her debut novel, Beyond I Do, is currently on sale at Amazon for under $4 (print and kindle version)! You can get that here: http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-I-Do-Jennifer-Slattery-ebook/dp/B00MMRRCZU/

Jacqueline’s Story

heroine of When Dawn Breaks

by Jennifer Slattery

They say God turns all things to good. I sure hope that’s true, because I could use some good right now. Not that God hasn’t been good to me. He has. Oh, my, He has. It’s just… I’m not really sure where to go from here.

Hello, my name is Jacqueline Dunn, and I’m the heroine in When Dawn Breaks, a contemporary romance by Jennifer Slattery. Ginger asked me to share my heart with you…

It’s not exciting, but perhaps my journey is thought-provoking. If anything, I’m a testimony of what can happen if you build your life on things of little value, leaving God so far out of the equation, you don’t give Him a second thought.

For 50 years, that’s what I did. Always focused on that next big sale—I’m a realtor in the sought-after beach town community of Crystal Shores. And I was doing pretty well, too. Financially, anyway. Relationally? That’s another story, one revealed in When Dawn Breaks, actually.

Anyway, here I was, going about my life, centering every thought and ounce of energy on building my career—my nest egg. The market was great! Rebounding from the housing crash in 2009, folks came to our stable community by the droves, looking for retirement and vacation houses, others for a quiet place to start a family.

Being stupid and greedy, I jumped on the bandwagon and plunked a chunk of my savings into a beautiful three-bedroom, 2,500 square foot beachfront property. It was amazing! Bay windows, cathedral ceilings; every bedroom had direct access to an elaborate balcony from each room.

Yes, it was expensive. A decade prior, I never would’ve put that much money into a house, but as I said, our community seemed stable. The recession never hit us like it did other places. We hadn’t had a major storm in over three decades. And I guess I got lulled into a sense of invincibility.

But then the hurricane hit, wiping out not only my home but every one of my property listings. The community I’d grown to love? Devastated and covered in muddy, flood waters. It’s been over a month, and the town is still a mess. Honestly, I’m not sure if they’ll ever be able to rebuild it. It won’t be the same, that much I do know.

Nor will I. I came to Christ a year before the storm hit, and I’d begun to feel a niggling of… I suppose you could call it discontent. Like there was something more, something hugely better, waiting for me.

I still feel that, actually. Yeah, I know, I’ve been displaced by a hurricane, lost almost everything I own. Of course I feel discontent, right?

But this feeling goes deeper. It’s like God’s calling me to something, but I have no idea what that something is. And to be honest, the thought terrifies me. I mean, I’ve already lost everything. What else is there to surrender?

Okay, so I know the answer to that question. My best friend sent me a text this morning with this passage:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2 NIV)

A living sacrifice. I gotta admit, I don’t really like the sound of that. But I suppose I need to focus on and remember the truth in the last sentence—God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.

God’s will is good. Perfect. I know that. So why do I feel so frightened?

More about When Dawn Breaks:

As the hurricane forces Jacqueline to evacuate, her need for purpose and restitution propel her north to her estranged and embittered daughter and into the arms of a handsome new friend. However, he’s dealing with a potential conspiracy at work, one that could cost him everything, and Jacqueline isn’t sure if he will be the one she can lean on during the difficult days ahead. Then there are the three orphans to consider, especially Gavin. Must she relinquish her chance at having love again in order to be restored?

Read a free, 36-page excerpt here: http://issuu.com/newhopedigital/docs/slattery_sampler/1

You can buy a copy here:

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/When-Dawn-Breaks-A-Novel/dp/1596694238/

On Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-dawn-breaks-a-novel-jennifer-slattery/1120694122?ean=9781596694231

On CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/when-dawn-breaks-a-novel/jennifer-slattery/9781596694231/pd/694231

Thanks for stopping by Jennifer.

Blessings,

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