Women of Faith and Fiction ~ Jennifer Hallmark

Hello! This morning I have the pleasure of introducing you to my friend, Jennifer Hallmark. Jennifer and I met when she invited me aboard the Inspired Prompts blog! She is a kind and thoughtful person, a wife, mother, grandmother, and an avid football fan. But I will hush and let her do the talking. Good morning, Jennifer! Please tell us a little more about yourself.

Jennifer Hallmark 2

I’m an introverted writer who loves God, my family and friends, church, books, and everything Southern. I could spend the day curled up with a cup of hot tea, some dark chocolate, and a great novel or non-fiction read. Over the years, I’ve discovered I know less than I thought I did, need more help than I ever imagined, and am loved in greater depth than I deserve. 😊

Ooh, sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day. I like everything Southern too! This month’s theme is faithfulness. Please share your thoughts with our readers.

Well, faithfulness to me is that quality of stick-to-it-ness. Someone who is faithful to me is there during the good and not so good times and loves me unconditionally. Although I have friends and family members who are faithful, no one is always there for me like God. My relationship with a loving Father is what keeps me going when I don’t feel like moving forward. His faithfulness is beyond what I can fathom, but I still try.

I agree, Jennifer. No one is there for us like the Lord. Next question. Life is a continual journey of learning, applying, and transforming. Have you ever experienced a season when you found it difficult to be a faithful friend? How did you overcome?

I don’t know if season is the word I’d use. With me, it’s more like cycles. At times, I get discouraged and this introverted melancholy turns totally inward. All I can see is how hard life is and that I need to make a plan or something to make life better. During these times, I tend to forget my friends and even family.

I can go days without calling or seeing another soul, and though I want to be, I’m not too good in the faithful department. Sometimes a family member or friend will call me out and tell me to snap out of it and that helps. Often, I’ll hear a word or read a scripture or listen to a song that points out what’s happening, and I repent and start again.

I’m really glad that God is faithful even when I’m not.

I can relate. I’m so glad He is a faithful God. Now tell us in what genre do you write and how does your faith influence your writing?

At the moment, I’m writing Southern fiction and am finishing edits on the first novel in a series. I also have written a fantasy novel combining the medieval times with a lot of allegory. And yes, they are two totally different genres but ones I enjoy greatly.

My faith in God wraps itself around everything I do and say. I don’t have a “normal” part of life and a “religious” part. It’s all totally entwined in my heart. I don’t think about faith when I’m writing. I just sit at the keyboard and tell God I’m ready and we write together. I’ll get excited when I write a good sentence and point it out to God and I feel like He smiles and high-fives me. (Even though He inspires it all) Does that make sense?

It totally makes sense to me! I believe it’s the only way to write. 🙂 Thank you so much for visiting and sharing your heart with us, Jennifer. I can’t wait to read your story!

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He’s Been Faithful

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:23

In every season, there is a lesson to be learned. One of the hardest lessons is realizing we are not in control. Nothing makes that more glaringly obvious than death and disease. When these storms come, the ground beneath us will never be the same. We are forever altered. And yet—

Through all of it, there is one truth that remains. God does not change. He is faithful.

It is at His feet we find rest from our troubles, a balm for the pain, and strength for the next mile.

What season are you facing at this time? What lesson are you learning?