Surrendered Balance Virtual Book Tour
Visiting today is Krista Pettiford author of Surrendered Balance: Daily Living for the Christian Woman, a self-help, inspirational/devotional book/workbook for the Christian woman. Krista is on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book. Today, she shares her experiences with her worst rejection she received, but where she hopes to see herself in ten years.
About Surrendered Balance
Do you live a fast paced and hectic life? Is your relationship with God suffering because of it? Imagine living a life of balance, in the flow of God’s will even while you’re always on the go. It is possible to flourish and have fulfillment in both your spiritual life and natural life without feeling as if you are neglecting either one. It comes by way of surrendered balance.
Hermina Krista Pettiford, in her first book connects with modern the Christian woman, giving fresh ideas and insight for balancing the responsibilities of modern-life while maintain an intimate relationship with God. In her personable style she gives practical solutions and applicable tools for women to make a life of surrendered balance no longer just a dream but a reality!
A modern Christian woman is someone who balances all of her responsibilities – family, career, friendship, ministry to others, and caring for herself all while keeping the Lord at the center of her life. If you are a modern Christian woman this book was written for you.
Proverbs 31:16 (AMP) says, “She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.”
As modern Christian women we balance so much: time with the Lord, family, friends, work, staying fit and healthy, making time for ourselves without feeling too guilty, church and ministry.
God has a plan for each one of us that will bring about a proper balance between our spiritual and natural life. It is through the path of surrender and making time for Him that we find this plan. As we allow God to order our lives, not taking on more than we can handle or are called by Him to do, but rather, like wise women considering all of our choices in the presence of God before we proceed, our lives are bound to come into a state of surrendered balance and make room for all the needed things.
However, because of modern-day busyness, living a surrendered life and creating a constant balance is not always easy, even for those who have lived the Christian life for many years. The disciplines and principles in this book may not be new to you, but I believe the strategies and ideas will give you a fresh way of looking at how to balance your daily living as a modern Christian woman.
This book has two parts. The first part lists and discusses seven disciplines of a balanced life for the modern Christian woman. The second part is designed to help you implement these disciplines into your life without boxing you into just another system that will never work because it doesn’t fit your life. This book was written to help you keep track of your time, so that you will have time for all the needed things without getting overwhelmed.
The strategies and ideas I will share are those that God gave me when I was in a stressful time of life with more work and responsibilities than time and energy in a day. They still work for me and they will work for you if you apply them.
Interview
Q: Worst rejection you’ve ever received?
The biggest rejection I ever faced was letting someone from church read my manuscript who I did not know was a technical writer only to find out that she thought it wasn’t worthy of being published and that I should wait. She really tore my writing to shreds, something no one else would do. I took the criticism constructively and hired an editor like she suggested. This was the best thing I could have ever done. My advice to any writer is to never publish any manuscript without a professional edit. Not only did I get a copy edit but my editor also worked with me on structure.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years I see myself serving Christ fulltime in ministry and doing what I love, which is writing for a for Him. I want to write early historical fiction from the Bible era. I’m sure I will continue to write non-fiction but by that time I hope to have settled down enough to have completed at least one novel and of course be on many best-sellers lists.
Q: Who is your favorite author, and why?
One of my favorite authors is Francine Rivers. I love what she does with early historical fiction and the way she makes the Bible era come to life. Her research is very accurate which makes her novels and descriptions flow so smoothly. She weaves together stories of life mixed with God’s love and the mercy and grace of the Gospel of Christ. After becoming a Christian I put down all my novels and only read the Bible or inspirational/ self-help books. I picked up one of her books in a Family Christian store as I was preparing for a vacation and read the whole thing in one night. I am always thoroughly entertained and awakened anew to the grace and love and faithfulness of God after reading one of her novels.
Q: What are a few of your favorite genres and why?
My most favorite genre is early Biblical historical fiction. I think that after reading Francine Rivers I wanted to do something that allowed me to rediscover ancient times and build a story of fiction out of the facts of the Bible. There are so many untold stories of those whose lives were touched when the Gospel first began spreading, in tragedy and as well as triumph.
Another favorite genre is spiritual discipline, if that can be called a genre. Growing in Christ is part of being a Christian. Books pertaining to Christian spiritual discipline assist this. What I don’t like is “wanna be how to books” that give three steps to the perfect life. Those are just unrealistic goals being put out there that most people will never attain because no two peoples lives are the same. But if we write to help people find there own way with by giving the tools and strategies to do so then we’ve helped them.
A last genre that is a favorite of mine is devotional writing. Devotionals, written and read are a form of worship. I love how pure, simple, and precise the words have to be for this style of writing. It’s almost like writing poetry but it’s not abstract instead it is just the opposite; it’s clarity that one looks to brings forth in a devotional. What they have in common is elegance and delicacy.
Q: Do you have a writer’s studio? Describe it for us and what is the view you see from the window?
I don’t have a writer studio. My goal is so someday have one. Right now I write anywhere I can take my laptop and find peace and quiet. That’s usually in my family room late at night when my children are sleep and the house is quiet. I do have desk in my bedroom but I never use it. I’m more comfortable on the couch. When I look outside I see my back yard and whatever flowers are plants catch my eye and some days I see my Chihuahuas. I have two. When I get a writer’s studio I envision it o be something that has lost of windows and a faces my garden. It will have beautiful hues of color on the wall. Something that reminds me of spring, winter and summer all world into one.
Q: How did you feel holding your book in your hands for the first time?
The first time I held my book in my hand I was filled with excitement, joy and a sense of accomplishment. at the fact that I had actually completed what I set out to do. I am a writer and a self-publisher that opened up my own small publishing house. So when the book was finished it was more than just that. It was the fact that I actually made it through the maze of self-publishing and did it successfully despite all the horror stories. When I held my book for the first time it was a book that was professionally done, one that I had written, that I believed in it’s message, and that I had published.
About Hermina Krista Pettiford
Hermina Krista Pettiford is the women’s ministry leader in her local church – New Covenant Tabernacle located San Diego, CA where she lives with her family. She has a B. A. in Biblical Studies from Southern California Seminary. Her belief is that the Spirit of God and the Word of God work together to create dynamic power for living the Christian life, thus, she ministers with a solid Biblical message and with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Her desire is to see women and families strengthened through God’s Word and their relationship with God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She has written out of her own life experiences, and her gift and love of writing to and for the Lord.
You can find Krista Pettiford at her website; www.surrenderedbalance.com
You can Krista’s tour page at Pump Up Your Book.
Purchase the book at Amazon
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