Shannon here: Julie Arduini shares her inspiration for her latest Contemporary Romance, Anchored Hearts. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a print copy (U.S. only). Deadline: April 29th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Julie:
The Padded Wedding and Anchored Hearts by Julie Arduini
I grew up in an alcoholic environment. Although our family was blessed to find decades of sobriety and reconciliation, the scars left from those years were based on lack of trust. I had been let down, and as I became a young adult, I constantly thought of ways I could jump ahead and prevent that from happening.
My wedding is an example. My husband is a man who not only doesn’t want to lie, he literally can’t. The one time he didn’t share his whole schedule with me so he could golf made him so full of guilt he played a lousy game and quit early to confess. He’d faced hurts before meeting me, but once he asked Jesus to be his Savior, Tom never looked back. He trusted, and deserved to be trusted.
But I wasn’t on the same page.
The Arduini family consists of five boys and one girl. The boys are golfers. It’s tradition to golf before a family wedding, and ours was no exception. You’d think I would be excited to see the men gather and enjoy time together. No, I was too worried about the schedule. Tom showed me over and over the tee times versus the wedding agenda. There was time to golf. Plenty of time. But I simply couldn’t believe it. My wounded heart from childhood had me convinced I’d be let down once again.
So, I padded the wedding.
Without telling anyone, I scheduled wedding related events so I had ninety minutes cushioned to be sure those men returned from golf with plenty of time. Not because Tom said so, but because I made it so. I was quite proud of myself. To me, it was wisdom. The reality? I didn’t trust.
Not only did they return in the time frame Tom promised, but everyone was ready long before we were required to be in line ready to go. The room we used in the church had an upstairs window and there was so much extra time we not only took all the pictures (that was my plan and I stand by it, I’m always hungry waiting for wedding parties and their pictures after the ceremony,) but I watched all the guests arrive as I sat near the window.
I was bored waiting for my own wedding!
That was over twenty-six years ago and when I think about what God has done in those years, I think about that day. Not just the perfection of our wedding day, but my lack of trust. It was a process, but I surrendered my childhood hurts and truly found freedom. I would never pad a day like I did back then.
My experiences make for great fiction, and my heroine in Anchored Hearts, oldest sextuplet Jordyn Hart, is used to taking care of everyone and everything. Circumstances forced her when she was a child, but in time it became her anchor. She had to be in control in order to feel needed.
Anchored Hearts is about surrendering control and in order to experience that, there must be a trust in God that He is who He says He is and He will do what He promised to do. That foundation isn’t there for Jordyn, so life goes off the rails for her. Spencer Collins, her co-anchor, tries to guide her through his new faith journey but again, Jordyn has trust issues. The closer Spencer gets, the more Jordyn bristles.
In order to write Anchored Hearts, I had to experience that surrender as well. Although my wedding story certainly was experience, God took me through a recent healing. When I was writing the story, my mom fell ill and required caregiving. I left home for two months to care for her. It was traumatic in that mom was the healthiest person any of us knew and was in need of care. My family was 300 miles away and struggled in my absence. I felt so helpless. But again, as a process, I slowly realized I was trying to control things I never could. The more I let go, the more God healed me. Even my writing changed, and Anchored Hearts is proof.
If you have trust issues or have been called a “control freak,” friend, I know. I’ve been there, and it’s not a fun or healthy way to live. My prayer is you go to God and tell Him everything. Ask Him to help. And step out of the way.
Question for Readers: Do you have trust issues or feel a need to be in control?
Share in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you. I will choose one comment through Wheel of Names to win a copy of Anchored Hearts, USA winner only.
About Julie: Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and —maybe one day—the chocolate. She’s the author of the new contemporary romance series SURRENDERING HEARTS (Anchored Hearts, Repairing Hearts, +four more.) Her other romance series is SURRENDERING TIME (Entrusted, Entangled, Engaged.) She also co-wrote a YA series with her daughter, SURRENDERING STINKIN’ THINKIN’ (You’re Beautiful, You’re Amazing, You’re Brilliant.) Her stand-alone romances include MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN and RESTORING CHRISTMAS. Julie maintains a blog at juliearduini.com and participates in the team blog Christians Read. She resides in Ohio with her husband and daughter. Learn more & connect:
Julie’s Website Julie’s Linktree Julie’s Blog
Christians Read Group Blog Julie’s Facebook
About the book – Anchored Hearts:
Can two go-getters surrender their need to control and find a happily-ever-after?
Jordyn Bell Hart succeeds in everything she does. Her promotion to morning show co-anchor blossoms her career in the same way her mother’s work had. Jordyn keeps tabs on her family and enjoys helping them grow. When life around her starts to change, can she surrender her desire to control?
Spencer Collins knows how to balance a busy life. He has his work as a reporter, his time caregiving for his grieving father, and looking out for his little brother. When he learns he’s the new co-anchor of a morning show with Jordyn Hart, can he handle working with a celebrity who brings a lot of challenges to life on and off the set?
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Interested in Julie’s other titles?
Get your copy/copies now!
Anchored Hearts – Free Kindle Unlimited Anchored Hearts – Print Julie’s Books
Come back April 25th for Lynne Tagawa!
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That’s great! Thank you for reading!
I think we’ve all experienced lack of trust at some time but I don’t consider myself a control freak. Perhaps I would have accomplished more if I was 😋
This story sounds so good!
Connie,
What a great perspective! Thanks for stopping by!
No, I don’t have either one. It sounds like a really interesting book.
Good for you, Diana! Thanks so much for leaving a comment.
Shannon, thank you so much for letting me share Anchored Hearts today. Many blessings to you!
Trusting is something I have had to work on with the help of God thanks to many betrayals I faced for many years. It took many years to heal and overcome.
Nice to have you here, Julie. I’ve enjoyed reading the comments. I don’t really have control issues, but I tend to be a smoother. I want everyone to get along and hate conflict. So if things get rocky, I try to smooth things over. As far as trust, I tend to be a bit too trusting. I like to think everyone I meet is a good person, but that’s not always the case.
What I love about writing a series with sextuplets is the opportunity to explore all the personalities and reactions to a tragedy. Although Jordyn might struggle to let go and let God, Kelly is Book 5 and she definitely is the smoother and trusting one. Too trusting. I can’t wait to get into her story. Thanks again for having me here!
I have a winner! Diana Hardt won the drawing. I appreciate Julie for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.