1.
I’m afraid of water and can’t swim. No one has
been able to teach me.
2.
I once modeled at trade show events. Good money,
but not the job for me.
3.
In early days of marriage, I sold windows at
Sears.
4.
My wedding ceremony was held in a hospital.
5.
When my young hubby came home from university to
say he’d changed his major, and it would take an extra year to graduate. I
yelled at him and God.
Gay N. Lewis
has a background in video production
and interior design. Her
credits include Psalms
from the Mountains, and The Canadian
Rockies.
As a pastor’s wife and Adult Bible Study Leader,
she
has written numerous church programs and newsletters.
She is a
mother of three daughters and four grandchildren and l
ives in
Fulshear, TX., a small town west of Houston.
Find Gay on the web at
www.GayNLewis.com
or by visiting her on Blogger at
http:gaynlewis.blogspot.com
or on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/GayNLewis
and also on Twitter @GayNLewis2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SARAH AND A DAD FOR MANDY
The Superiors left Sarah, “Heaven’s Little Love Angel,” on Earth to complete the third consecutive and interrelated mission. With simple instructions to find a mate for Galena Maddox and a dad for six-year-old Mandy, Sarah should have no problem, right? Well, except that
dyslexic Sarah—known for bungles and goof-ups—creates more mayhem than she ever imagined possible. Pesky human disguises cause her trouble—again. In mortal form, she either injures people or embarrasses herself. Now the earthlings think she’s a fugitive from a mental hospital.
With Galena’s shady past, will Matt Austin, a minister, even consider her as a wife? And will Matt’s hoity-toity church accept Galena if Sarah successfully brings them together? Angels shouldn’t worry, but the task is daunting.
A wedding featuring the love interests from Sarah and the Internet Dating Service just might provide the magical atmosphere necessarily to bring Galena and Matt together.
EXCERPT
Copyright 2014 Gay N Lewis
Could anything be more wonderful?
Should she pinch herself?
The Lieutenant had allowed her, Sarah,
the goof-up angel from The Heavenlies, to stay in Houston, Texas
for another mission. The important superior hadn’t commanded her
return for the third time in a row. Amazing. And this directive
promised fun—if she could keep her wings out of trouble this
time.
She’d received the assignment to bring
Galena Maddox and her daughter, Mandy, together with Matthew
Austin. Now that would be a challenge. Mandy, that adorable
child, had sensed an angelic presence before, and actually
spotted Sarah once. The innocent eyes of children could often
perceive the supernatural. How could she work around the little
girl without revealing herself? On the other hand, no one ever
believed young humans when they spoke of angels, so it might not
matter.
Six-year-old Mandy had never known a
father, and the sweet child certainly deserved one. Galena
provided excellent mothering skills, but being a single mom with
no financial or physical help would pose a challenge for any
earthling.
Wonder how all those nice people in
such a position managed? Many moms or dads found themselves in
Galena’s identical circumstance. How Sarah admired them! So much
work and determination went into their efforts. God saw their
trials and cared about them. That might be the reason she had
the task of helping Galena.
Well, it was up to her to change the
wretched conditions for one deserving mother, Galena.
Sigh. Galena had given birth to Mandy as an unwed
mother—which could become a problem in Sarah’s mission. Oh sure,
no one seemed to care much about that fact these days—well, God
did, of course. Hmmm. Why didn’t earthlings consider God’s
thoughts on physical, intimate matters before engaging in
unseemly behavior? He didn’t approve of such actions without
benefit of marriage, even if the humans thought them
permissible. Oh, well, that was between Him and them, and not
her problem.
Her assignment was to romantically link
this man and woman who had inadvertently met. But then, was
anything accidental in God’s celestial plan? Nope. Nothing
escaped His notice, so when little Mandy grew ill and needed
hospitalization, God conveniently sent Matt, a minister, into
the hospital waiting room to meet Galena.
How glorious was that? These two people
met by Divine Intervention, and they had no clue the Great One
had anything to do with it.
What should Sarah, also known as
Heaven’s Little Love Angel, do first on this mission? The couple
knew each other, but unless she did something, they might not
cross paths again soon enough and would miss God’s present,
ready-to-give blessing.
Should she wait for Galena to make an
appearance at the soup kitchen? That’s where she’d first seen
Galena, and she knew how to find that place. If she did that,
she could follow her latest charge home, but the wait would
delay the job. Galena wouldn’t go to the site that fed people
until tomorrow night. The Lieutenant hadn’t said time was of the
essence, but it would be in Galena’s best interest to hurry up
and fall in love with Matt.
How did people locate each other down
here? If they needed an address or phone number, what did they
do? Oh, yeah, that’s right…they often visited Mr. Google on the
Internet. Nope, that option wasn’t one Sarah wanted to try
again—ever! Maybe after refresher classes in The Heavenlies,
she’d attempt it, but not now. Just the thought gave her a
headache. She might take additional education when she reunited
with the other angels. Poopty doopty! Entering a session with
newbies might prove embarrassing, but then again, she still fit
into the ‘inexperienced’ category. She’d successfully completed
five missions, but not without major blunders.
How would it be to sit in a seminar and
have the instructor use her as an example of what not to do on
assignment? Not a pleasant thought. Maybe she should avoid those
humiliating assemblies altogether. Oh sure, the teachers used
positive words, and no one ever made fun of her, but still.
Could she help it if she was dyslexic? Directions would forever
be a problem. She was also known as Sarah the Goofball. When on
Planet Earth, thinking things through simply wasn’t her strong
suit. She came up with ideas, acted on them, and then suffered
the consequences. Advance planning might be one way to improve
her behavior.
“Okay, Sarah, before you get down in
the dumps as the humans say, and start feeling sorry for
yourself, get a grip. Let’s review facts. Galena Maddox works as
a cashier in a large discount chain store, and her money runs
out at the end of the month. She attends night college classes
and takes her daughter with her. Her new friend, Brittany,
tutors her in Algebra. Galena once led a misspent life and
doesn’t know who Mandy’s father is, but now she’s a Christian
and lives a different lifestyle. Mandy recently had surgery.
“Super. That sums up what you know
about Galena, now what do you know about Matthew Austin?” Sarah
scrunched her nose and held fingers up, one at a time. “First
off, he’s single. Number two, he’s nice looking. Number three,
he prefers to be called Matt. Number four, he pastor’s a
church.” She turned her hand over and gazed at the thumb waiting
to show itself. “Well, apparently I know only four things about
Matt. Okay. Only one thing left to do. Call for help.”
She glanced up, spoke her request, and
waited. Would Gabriella appear? She chewed her lip and looked
about. No one materialized. Sigh. How weird. Did she not ask
appropriately? Try again. Maybe the Lieutenant had been busy.
“Mother Goodness, would you send someone down with a file on my
two charges? I’d be grateful for your help.”
With her head turned toward the
heavens, she saw two huge, bare feet sticking out beneath a
white garment floating down to her. “Can’t be Gabriella. She has
tiny appendages. Celeste makes two of me, but I don’t remember
her tootsies being that enormous. I doubt those giant things
belong to Mother Goodness. She covers her toes with white
slippers.”
“Hi, Sarah.”
Christian! It had been a long while
since she’d seen his colossal, shoeless extremities.
“Hi, Christian, I’m happy to see you.
What have you been doing lately?”
“I’ve been in North America, up in the
state of Idaho. Ever been there?”
“No. I’ve stayed in Texas. I’d enjoy
visiting other parts of this country, but I’d probably be twice
as lost there as I am here.”
“It is beautiful country our Creator
designed just north of here. My assignment was to bring together
a man and woman who had been sweethearts in high school. If
they’d become husband and wife when they first considered wedded
bliss, they would be celebrating fifty years together. Instead
they married other people, but they never forgot their first
love. After their spouses died, they looked each other up on
social media.”
“Never heard of social media.”
“It’s a cyberspace tool. I helped them
find each other on Facebook.”
“What in the world could that gizmo be?
Is it some kind of doohickey where people stand at a computer
and make silly faces at the screen?”
Christian laughed. “Not exactly. It’s a
public forum where individuals post attractive personal, profile
pictures and those images spin around the world on the
Internet.”
“Oh, my stars! I hope the Superiors
never ask me to tangle with that thingy. No telling what kind of
mess I’d make. I had enough trouble getting Karen and Jeremy
together on an Internet Dating Service. Can you imagine what I’d
do if I had a bunch of photos staring back at me?” Sarah
squeezed one eye shut. “On the other hand, if their semblances
had been on that service they used, I might not have had as much
confusion.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to use computers.”
“But you did, and you are now more
familiar with mankind’s toys. It was good for you. Facebook is
an excellent place to learn new things about people. You should
set up a page. Call yourself Sarah Wingspand and invite friends
to like you.”
“My friends reside in The Heavenlies. I
don’t have any down here.”
“Oh, you don’t need to know people.
Just publish an image and request the public to friend you.”
“Huh? People who don’t know each other
get in touch with other strangers and become buddies?”
“Yes. Often that is the case. They may
never meet in this life, only in the one to come, but they visit
over the Internet.”
“That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever
heard of. Whoever came up with that idea must be making tons of
money.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DON'T MISS THESE OTHER SARAH TITLES BY GAY N. LEWIS
Thanks Jacqui!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
DeleteI can't picture you yelling at anyone, Gay.
LOL! I don't any more, but back in those days, we lived in cramped quarters with two small babies. I thought I'd go crazy. I wanted to move to a place where I had room to breathe. A year seemed forever back then. Isn't it amazing how perspective changes things? A year goes by too fast these days.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, that makes sense. Knew there'd be a reasonable explanation, lol.
DeleteHmmm. I'd love to know more about the wedding ceremony in a hospital! The Sarah series is great!
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, so would I, Carlene :)
DeleteMaybe Sarah could arrange for the next couple she's match making to get married in a hospital. Great post, Jacqui. Great book series, Gay!!
ReplyDeleteI like your idea, Victoria.
DeleteThanks Carlene and Vicki. I've been thinking of Sarah making sure a couple weds in a hospital. Maybe in the next Sarah book. Thanks for the suggestions!
ReplyDeleteFascinating life events! With your beauty, I'm not surprised you were a model.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid of water, also, despite my daughter being a certified lifeguard and scuba diver. Interesting blog, Gay. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA destination wedding-- in a hospital! I love it. Reading tidbits about fellow Prism writers is always interesting.
ReplyDelete