TESSA STOCKTON, Novelist
  • Home
  • Books
  • Bio
  • Blogette
     Speculative Fiction
           Biblical Worldview

         Pressing through...        

Underfoot

4/19/2022

2 Comments

 
Picture
Imagine you’re in a long, dark tunnel and the only sound you hear are the arrows of the enemy whizzing past your head. You search for light at the end that you have trouble distinguishing and stumble while groping for some semblance of deliverance—because surely there has got to be a ceasefire to this relentless onslaught. But what if the light isn’t at the end of the tunnel? Instead, you are the light—the only light some will ever see. If Yeshua/Jesus is in you and you are in Yeshua and clothed with the mantle of the Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit, then you are not only protected, but you have the radiance to illuminate the darkness no matter how offensive the corridor appears.
 
I have a lot of snake-handling dreams. And no, I don’t condone real-life snake-handling—unless you enjoy that kind of hobby. My dreams are symbolic, and they almost always represent healing and/or deliverance. The other night I dreamed of a long dark tunnel full of swift-flying arrows; there was also a large menacing rattlesnake seeking to do damage and immobilize. Just before its fangs struck me, I stomped on its head, holding it in place. While it hissed and tried to bite my foot, I grabbed it at the base of its head, lifted its thrashing body and flung it back where it came. I admit, I was panting from the turmoil in wrestling this strong and venomous serpent, but the snake fearfully disappeared (as did the arrows) in a snap like a yelping coyote pup. There are other elements to this dream, including people, and I owe a lot of light-expanding insight to my sister/bff here, but the gist of the message was straight out of Luke 10:19: “I have given you power to tread serpents and scorpions underfoot, and to trample on all the power of the Enemy; and in no case shall anything do you harm.”
 
Did you know that even in the darkest hour and the vilest place, you have the power to shift the atmosphere by your presence if you have the Lord in you? Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. It can calm storms.
 
No matter how life looks, how crazy and chaotic the days are; if despair overwhelms you, just remember that we win. And God’s divine alignments, timetables, and promises WILL COME. But we also have to take care by not getting so shaken up that we give up. Rise up, rise up, rise up! Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice! Nurture, nurture, nurture. Even if you’re battle weary, clap your hands to dispel the clouds of discouragement. Shout or whisper (whichever your style) a favorite verse, sing an uplifting song, and yeah… go ahead and do a “shake-off” dance even if someone’s watching; I mean, at this point, who cares, right? What have you got to lose other than the dregs of the enemy’s jump-scares?


“The seed of faith is planted in the inner man to care for, nurture, and grow where the enemy cannot touch it except to upset the outer man to the degree that we might be shaken and abort it prematurely.”—Heidi Hayes 
​
Don’t let it happen; don’t give up. Trample the devil and his underlings underfoot where they belong. Recapture the sense of what’s ahead… nothing but guarantee, gain, and goodness… and a wide-open horizon of boundless possibilities.

Picture
2 Comments

Abide

4/9/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
We can settle in a place of peace, regardless of what’s going on around us. It might be our nature to desire delineations, even if we dive deep in the Spirit. We might want to see above the surface, or how far to the floor. We might yearn for a glimpse of what’s around or ahead of us. We think we need explanations. Lines and restrictions can give a sense of security… or control. But what if God is asking us to abide in the depths of his fathomless grace? To just linger in his presence, in stillness, even if it’s dark and we can’t see as far as our own hands in front of us? To truly, wholly, trust in him, his mercy--just trust. A hurricane can rip over the surface and destroy everything in its path; impacting everything as we know it; perhaps ridding the familiar or comfortable. But in trusting him, in letting go and allowing him to sweep through our circumstances, our lives, our hearts; we can all the while abide in the depth of his peace, in calm. We can remain in an immovable space, a divine place; one of intimacy and confidence in the God of Glory who speaks to the storms. Instead of the storms threatening to destroy us, we watch them as they shift and scream away at his whisper. All that’s left is what was there all along. Peace, calm, assurance. To trust at a place in the present, where neither height nor depth nor anything can separate us from his love (Romans 8:39). May you abide in his immeasurable peace.

0 Comments

Dark King's Human Bride

1/24/2022

0 Comments

 

Choices make destinies. Destinies can also change.

Picture
FRESH RELEASE!

+Religious Fiction
+Dark Fantasy
+Christian Speculative Fiction

​... oppression, regret, loss ...
... purpose, love, hope ...
MORE INFO
GET BOOK
0 Comments

PREORDER Upcoming Novel

12/31/2021

0 Comments

 
New book alert! Dark King’s Human Bride is available for preordering at select bookstores. Click the button below to reserve your copy of my latest dark fantasy of messianic proportions.

After its official release on January 24, 2022, the novel will be available in digital and/or print formats wherever books are sold.

Picture

Choices make destinies. Destinies can also change.

​

PREORDER

0 Comments

Uncomfortable Words

8/4/2021

0 Comments

 
“Never listen to your critics. They aren’t qualified to usurp the still, small, voice that speaks in the silence between your own thoughts.”—Russ Walden

It takes courage to write truths in fiction; write what hurts. To contextualize emotions, the struggles; tapping into the raw nature and grind of real life and transposing them into an altered universe. The result might not represent a true existence verbatim, but can harbor the angst, dilemmas, struggles, and sicknesses of hope-depleted hearts in order to instill hope in the end. It can be scary sometimes to release a story that holds a little more truth than you’d care to admit. Makes one feel vulnerable. But it’s always the still, small voice, a reminder that what’s written might be intended for one person only. And that one person to get it, feel moved and encouraged by your labor of love, washes over any potential collection of critics, large or small.
​
Writing with boldness, listening with care…
0 Comments

Breathing Words

5/1/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
“Forgive, Release, Bless…” It’s a mantra that’s grabbing my attention wherever I look and listen.

​We can say we forgive someone. But if we then turn around and complain to another about how something was unfair, or someone hurt, stole, cheated or abused us, then we haven’t really forgiven. We’ve developed a grudge. That kind of emotional baggage gets weighty, a burden to carry around and unpleasant for everyone.
 
Writing is sometimes my therapy. I write a lot. Some I publish, some I pen under different pseudonyms, some go unpublished because it was the process that I had to go through to learn and grow, climb out of my cesspool. While creating another’s wilderness in story-form, I often go through my own spiritual wilderness. It can be tough sometimes. But the typed expressions help me breathe again, rejuvenate. I’ve had a lot of underwater dreams lately involving murky water, flooded caves, barriers, and scuba cylinders gone defunct. In one, I shout distinctly (because I can do this, it’s a dream, and I’m not a diver) to someone indistinct, “Breathe, brother, breathe!” Then there are explosions where barriers blow away, water clears, and breathing is miraculously unassisted by flung-away tanks, and I hear, “Live, sister, live.”
 
The tombs of our past regrets and afflictions teach us and model us for brighter futures. But some of us have focused on the tombs far too long (note to self). It’s time to step out of caves with flint-eyed focus on what’s ahead, and the life-giving promises thereof. This hinges around forgiving to where we can truly release the damage of our hearts, let go, and bless the damagers!
 
Even if you’re trapped in the middle of toxic, dysfunctional, or complicated situations, or have suffered inner turmoil for a long period. Maybe over decades you’ve experienced relational distress, cultural oppression, or unending sick-of-it conditions (whatever “it” might be), and you’re weary. Dead inside. Yet your sluggish legs somehow get you from point A to point B in a day, or you’re trying to move underwater wearing too many weights, burdens, baggage.
 
Matthew 18:18 tells us that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. That’s the one thing we can control when we’re stuck. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, Luke 6:45.
 
One of my favorite Hebrew names for God is El Roi. It means, “the God who sees me.” When we are alone, aching, forgotten by everyone else, cast aside by society, suffering in solitude, or feeling invisible, it’s the name we use to say, “but God sees.” He does. And with faith (our believing without seeing) we trust, knowing that God’s promises endure. He cares. The muck we wade through does not endure unless we allow it. So, keep hope alive in the secret chambers of your heart. Make the petitions of your lips daring prayers to El Roi, the God who sees, and Yeshua/Jesus, our guardian. Embrace the Ruach Ha Kodesh/Holy Spirit, our infuser (regulator?) and comforter. Hold fast to the Word, our way-maker, and the protractor for navigating uncharted areas.
 
I’ve spoken to others who sense a current spiritual movement or theme. Feels like a season of cultivation, and of internally letting go, despite circumstances, for walking into a new era. “Forgive, release, bless,” I hear again. Forgive the wrongdoer, cancel out the crippling, and bless. Following that, I hear, “double portion” where Increase marries Wisdom, because a greater harvest is looming.
 
God’s blessings are irrevocable. Even if they fall dormant for a time, they will flourish again and better than imagined. Wherever you are, whoever you are, here’s to new beginnings, fresh seasons, big visions, strong clarity, and abundant joy beginning in the heart and bubbling up out of your mouth. Breathing words that heal and help you walk into the freedom of your greatest dreams fulfilled and hopes restored.
Picture
0 Comments

First-Draft Fray

4/16/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
At last, I finished the first draft of one of my current works-in-progress. And this novel was a struggle. One of the biggest hurdles in my creative writing process, both in length and ethics. Took over a year to complete—a COVID-year, mind you, but still!
 
Normally, when I end a first draft, I want to celebrate. I’ve known colleagues to even crack open a bottle of bubbly at this early stage (with another after publication). The foodie that I am, I prefer grabbing one of my favorite meals: tacos, Thai, or t-t-t-t-t—spaghetti. Except, after I typed the last key yesterday, I was so spent that I nearly slid from my chair to the floor in an exhale, curled up, and sucked my thumb. Today, I feel like this Shaun the Sheep-ish depiction.

​Standing alone in an amber space (sort of like a caution light between go and stop), nursing on a Binky, wide-eyed. Determining if the inner turmoil and opposition to completing this book was because of divine inspiration and the start of something new… or it’s crap. There’s a fine line there, ha!
 
Since I have other active stories, it’s time to rotate and finish another while this one ferments. Have to let the manuscript sit for a while until I can come back to it with fresh eyes.

This is just another friendly FYI post by your Shaun the Sheep-ish stand-in. Still standing, at least…

0 Comments

What the Future Holds

8/7/2020

2 Comments

 
The swell of despair over disease, injustice, hostility, and chaos can be debilitating. The giant mountain of unemployment is heartbreaking; many are out-of-work for an unforeseen time. I’m feeling the angst of the entire struggle (I know I’m not alone), and the political system stinks (sorry). Things are feeling way off, different, wouldn’t you say? But this isn’t new, this troubling season, this has happened before in history. And humankind finds a way. We find a way to survive. We do. We will.

I’d say it’s a time of transition. Yet transitions often are painful, crushing. But transition usually redirects us towards something better. I believe two years from now will look very different from what it does today. Today never lasts, so if today is bad we have tomorrow’s sunrise.
 
The horizon is difficult to distinguish on a cloudy day. We can’t always see beyond, but we know the beyond is there. This is like faith. When we believe without seeing that the sun will crack through and shimmer over the waters once again, and we can feast our eyes on the fresh, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. God holds the future.
 
“Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’”—Isaiah 46:10
2 Comments

Holed Up Offering

4/2/2020

0 Comments

 
To join in the #stayhomeandread campaign, I’m offering Remnant: Count of the Giants, a Christian fantasy thriller, at a discounted price of 99 cents at Amazon/Kindle  and FREE at all other eBook outlets between Friday April 3 to Wednesday April 8. Download a copy and explore this subterranean adventure with a message. The universal link below will lead you to your preferred bookstore. Love you. Stay safe. Peace.
​https://books2read.com/Remnant-TessaStockton
Picture
0 Comments

As the Deer

3/16/2020

2 Comments

 
Kind of feels like we’re in a slip of mass hysteria. We’ll remember it by the Toilet Paper Commemorative 2020. But did you know that over 40,000 people die from car accidents per year in the United States, more than 95 people per day? It might behoove us to practice safer, kinder, focused, and more patient driving practices as opposed to mindlessly ripping the road up as if we’re in a video game and can’t get hurt or hurt others. Yet, today, panic over a certain illness has taken precedence as fear spreads fear among humans. Maybe we’ve watched one too many viral-zombie apocalypse movies—I don’t know, but there can be moments where the observational reaction is suffocating.

So as I was experiencing one of those high-anxiety moments the other day, I stepped outside on my back porch, looked to the skies and earth, and was struck at the normalcy of nature. It breathes, “All’s well here; life goes on greatly and without concern.” Birds frolic in the sky dotted with clouds moved by a breeze, as cheerful songs trill and chirp from those happy little beaks; dogs trot along, their tongues hanging in joyful slobber; rabbits are getting frisky; and the deer still tiptoe to the silver stream lapping refreshing water to quench a moment of thirst. Then they all move on their way to wherever they go and do what they do. These things of nature, they don’t worry about tomorrow. As the Word says—and the Word is life—tomorrow will take care of itself.

​So, sure, maybe we humans take reasonable precautions, just as we should when getting behind the steering wheel with our incredibly well-washed hands. But maybe at this time we should strive more to do as the following scripture tells us. We go about our business taking one day at a time, our souls seeking after the Father, the only true balm, the only real soother, our only pure provider when the world has gone mad. 

Matthew 6:25-34
2 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture
    TESSA STOCKTON, AUTHOR, BLOG - Pressing through life, love, a few things that matter, and some that don't. (I'm also a spirit-filled Messianic Jew, so you'll find a lot about that here too.)
    Picture


    ​NEW TITLE OUT​

    Picture
    GET BOOK

    Picture

    SUSPENSION
    A short story
    ​​FREE at Select stores
    ​

    Get SUSPENSION

    Picture

    For Tessa's new
    ​book alerts:

    SUBSCRIBE
    FOLLOW ON AMAZON

    VIEW BLOGGER PROFILE

    Goodreads: Book reviews, recommendations, and discussion

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Acfw Bookclub
    Africa
    Aging
    Allegorical
    Angst Fiction
    An Hour In Heaven
    Animals
    Anna Bolena Opera
    Anna Netrebko
    Annie Lennox
    Answered Prayer
    Argentina
    Author Interview
    Ballet West
    Barber's Adagio For Strings
    Biblical Worldview
    Blogging
    Bluegrass Underground
    Book Giveaway
    Book Tours
    Branding
    Breaking Pointe
    Bruce Judisch
    Choices
    Choreography
    College-age Characters
    Compassion
    Contemporary Romance
    Contests
    Contract
    Conviction
    Creativity
    Culture
    Cumberland Caverns
    Dance
    Dark
    Dark Horse
    Death & Life
    Debate
    Deep Sorrow
    Definitions
    Dirty War
    Disappointment
    Discipleship
    E Books
    E-books
    Empathy
    Enovella
    Equine
    E Readers
    E-readers
    Estratasphere
    Expression
    Fairy Tales
    Faith
    Fantasy
    Fantasy Romance
    Fear
    Fiction
    Films
    First Nations
    Flamenco
    Forgiveness
    For Maria
    Friends
    Georg Mertens
    Giants
    Globus
    Goddess Fish Book Promotions
    Gogol Bordello
    Grace
    Grief
    Guitar
    Gustaw Szelski
    Gypsy Music
    Hanna Senesh
    Hanukkah
    Heart Seeing
    Heart Seeing
    Hesitation
    Hidden Children
    Hiking
    Historical Fiction
    Hoodoo
    Horses
    Hummingbird And The Flower
    Hunger Games
    Hype Vs. Humanity
    Icfw
    Impatience
    Influential Literature
    Influential Music
    Inspirational
    Integrity
    Intercession
    Internet
    Introspection
    Introvert
    Invitation To Dance
    Irrational Love
    Irritations
    Jacque's Whistle Stop Cafe
    Jenolan Caves
    J.R.R. Tolkien
    Katia
    K. Dawn Byrd
    Kindness
    Leo Tolstoy
    Lessons From The Open Road
    Life
    Losses And Gains
    Losses And Gains
    Love
    Lya Luft
    Maasai
    Many Tribes
    Marguerite Duras
    Marketing
    Meekness
    Mermaids
    Mermen
    Midweek Slump
    Mini Vacations
    Miracles
    Missionaries
    Missions
    Motorcycles
    Muse
    Musicals
    National Dance Day
    Native Americans
    Nature
    Nephilim
    New Release
    Night Owl Reviews
    Nostalgia
    Novella
    One Church
    Opera
    Outdoors
    Palace Of Mirrors
    Paranormal
    Peace
    Personality Types
    Perspective
    Pets
    Pirate
    Poetry
    Politics
    Prayer
    Promo
    Publicists
    Publicity
    Publishing
    Pump Up Your Book
    RED
    Regret
    Religion
    Reminiscing
    Remorse
    Rerelease
    Reviews
    Richard Smallwood
    Richard Twiss
    Risk
    Romance
    Romance Genre
    Romantic Mystery
    Sailor Envy
    Sandy Hook Tragedy
    Sanity
    Sea God's Siren
    Secrets
    Shattered Identity
    Smuggled Mutation
    Soul Mate Publishing
    Speculation
    Speculative
    Spirit-filled-living
    Spiritual Affirmation
    Spiritual Warfare
    Steven D. Scheibe
    Storms
    Supernatural
    Suspense/Thriller
    Sytycd
    The Brother's Keep Series
    The Civil Wars
    The Met
    The Paganini Duo
    The Phantom
    The Secret Of The Love Letters
    The South
    The Unforgivable
    The Unspeakable
    Total Praise
    Trails
    Tree Lord's Oracle
    Trials
    Unruly Guides
    Vampire
    Versatile
    Violence In Literature
    Violin
    Wade Robson
    Waiting
    Wandering
    Wbir
    Whiter Shade Of Pale
    Wiconi International
    Wild Mustang
    Wind's Aria
    Wings Epress
    Wip
    Wisdom
    Writers
    Writing
    Wwii

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

"For news to be good it has to invade bad spaces."—Matt Chandler
​
CONTACT

COPYRIGHT © 2022 TESSA STOCKTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Books
  • Bio
  • Blogette