Love at First Thought with Missy Tippens

by | Feb 17, 2011 | Christian authors | 7 comments

Oh it’s another wonderful Seeker today. Missy Tippens, Fiction author with southern sweetness – let me tell ya.

If you’ve not had a chance to read any of her books, just check out her website here.

Missy and I are in cahoots.  She’s an author (I’m an aspiring one). She’s a mom of more than two younguns. She likes her southern livin’. AND she’s a pastor’s wife. (We gotta stick together, Missy 😉

Let’s here what Missy has to say about her Love at First Thought.

I’ve recently decided that my upcoming book is my new favorite (I wonder if the new ones will always be my fav??). 🙂 And one reason is because of where I got the idea for the story! In the back of the book, you’ll see this story in the Dear Reader letter. Here’s what happened…
 
A Family for Faith was inspired while I was flying home from a writers’ conference. Across the aisle, and up one row, a dad sat by himself with a young daughter. He was trying to fix the bow in her hair and was not having any luck at all. I just ached for him and his daughter, wondering if there was a mom in the picture. But I was also touched at how gentle and persistent he was, and that he tried so very hard with that silly bow. Right then and there, I knew I had to write a story about a single dad with a daughter who was hitting an age where she really needed a mother figure.
 
And, thus, my April Love Inspired release was born!
 
Look at the cover for her new book. Doesn’t it look lovely?!? The premise is great. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Inspirational Thought:
Isaiah 36:9-13
8 “Remember this, keep it in mind,
   take it to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
   I am God, and there is no other;
   I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
   from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
   and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
   from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
   what I have planned, that I will do.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
   you who are now far from my righteousness.
13 I am bringing my righteousness near,
   it is not far away;
Just in case you didn’t know – this is GOD.
When I read these verses, I get a sense that God is saying “This is who I am, whether you believe it or not. I am in charge – not you. I am exactly who I said I was so… be prepared, or watch out.”
Have you ever thought about the notion that God doesn’t need us.
The first time I heard that phrase, it ruffled my pride. I thought, “well, I’m important to God. Of course, he needs me.”
But, no, He doesn’t. He’s perfectly content in who He is.
God, the Father – God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit find perfect communion in each other so…
we’re just the bonus!! 🙂
In the verses above, God is making sure we get a good picture of who He is. He is God. Creator, Sustainer, Time Keeper, Cosmic Planner…and so much more. Our existence, eternally, is intricately linked with who He is. He doesn’t need us, but we desperately need Him.
The two beautiful things about it all are these:
1. He WANTS us! He may not NEED us, but he WANTS us – so throughout of the span of eternity He reaches into our hearts and brings us to Himself. Why? Because of LOVE. Wow! We’re the icing on the cake! He already has the most delicious cake in and of himself, but we’re the bonus, the fringe (so to speak, of course).
We make Him glad.
Isaiah 52:5 states
 As a young man marries a young woman,
   so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, 
   so will your God rejoice over you.
 
2. He is NEAR
We don’t have to search far away for God. He is near.
In the beginning of time, he was so close he took walks with Adam and Eve.
The Fall happened and broke that intimacy.
But Jesus came to reconnect us to our Bridegroom. The bridge between us and God. The chasm of sin no longer seperates us from the Father’s love.
Acts 17:26-28
26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’
Find comfort in this: You are loved extravagantly by a Bridegroom who is near.
Blessings,

7 Comments

  1. KC Frantzen

    Missy,
    What a great seed of a story.
    And the cover just says it all.
    I LOVE it!
    Pepper – thanks so much for sharing this and for your thoughts. You have a beautiful spirit. Glad to at least be in the same STATE! 🙂
    Have a wonderful Friday!!!

    Reply
  2. Missy Tippens

    I’m finally here! had a parent meeting at the school, then a HUGE grocery trip (can you believe over $350!! Ouch.) And then my Internet wouldn’t work! Drives me crazy. I had to reboot at their end.

    ANYHOO… I’m here now and out of breath. 🙂

    Pepper, thanks for having me. And for sharing your beautiful message. You really need to write a devotional book (along with your novels, of course!). 🙂

    Reply
  3. Missy Tippens

    KC, thanks so much for reading! I’m glad you like the cover. I think they did a great job on it. It’s a scene right out of the book. 🙂

    Reply
  4. pepperbasham

    Hey Missy,
    So glad you had a chance to stop by.
    I’m leaving a quick note while making dinner, but I’ll be back later.
    I’m SOOOOO glad it’s Friday and tomorrow…MAYBE….I can work on my Genesis entry.
    Thanks for being a guest, and ya know what, I’ve started writing a devotional called Lessons From Preschoolers. Maybe someday something will happen 😉

    Reply
  5. Julia

    Oh, what a beautiful moment that inspired this story. Thanks so much for sharing this, Missy!

    And I’m really blessed by your devotion once again, Pepper!

    Reply
  6. Julie Lessman

    I’ll tell you what, Missy, I have to admit that I agree with you on this one. Even more than your other books, this one really calls to me — I love the cover, the title AND the fact that you have former “bad boy” in it, or at least I think you said you do … Anyway, the combination has me chomping at the bit because I seriously LOVE your books!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

    Reply
  7. Missy Tippens

    Julia, I’m so glad you were touched by the story. I was touched just watching that father!

    Julie, you’ve actually heard me talking about my NEXT book–the one with the former bad boy. 🙂 It won’t be out until Feb. 2012. The new title is A House Full of Hope.

    The hero of this story is a widower dad who’s a cop. The heroine has a bit of a past though! 🙂

    Reply

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