A Job Well Done...

You just never know, do you, how something's going to turn out? Even when you've done your best and given it everything you've got, it's hard to see the payout.

Taking care of your loved ones, being there for your friends, being responsible to your job and other committments. It's easy to never quite be sure you've done enough. To never quite feel good enough. And you've got to let all that pass you by and keep the faith, so you can keep doing what you need to be doing day in and day out, for yourself and the ones you love. You've got to have faith that staying on the path you've chosen will get you and those you care about where you need to be in the long-run, even when you can't see beyond one more day of working hard and not being sure you're making a difference.

Then, every once in a while, you're given a glimpse of the job well done you just might be doing as you stumble through your day. That happens for me, when a new story or idea hits the right cord with my editor, or when I hear from a reader who tells me how much my latest book has touched her.

Both happend late last week. My editor LOVES Legally Yours (though the title's changing to I don't know what). They've given me the go ahead for the Atlanta's Heros series, too, and hopefully I'll sell the two new proposals to them soon (including Remember Me, which you've read pieces of). Then over the weekend I heard from a reader with personal experience with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which both the internal and external plots of The Perfect Daughter are wrapped around--hearing that my story touched her and has given her hope means more than I can say. Its one of the core reasons why I write.

So, it's a good day, in the midst of worrying if the current book is going to sell well, or the April one, or if I can get the next book written, and how my growing career is going to change my world as I try to give my family what they need, too.

There's still a lot of unknowns, but what I know today is that I'm moving in the right direction. My work is building the future I long to be a part of. My faith is not unfounded.

I hope you find the encouragement and affirmation you need this week to keep doing the jobs in your life, and to know that you're doing well. No matter how crazy things get, if you're doing your best and you're focused on the prize, you're hard work will not go unrewarded.

Have faith. And if you ever need to borrow a little more, look me up. I'm always willing to share some of mine with a friend who needs a little help believing. I want all of you to be there when your next moment comes--when you get that pat on the back that tells you, "Job well done..."

Never stop fighting, my friends!!!