Elaine W. Miller: Offering Hope In The Happily Ever After

Everyone's Story welcomes another Elaine, author and speaker Elaine W. Miller. Elaine first caught my attention with the title of her non-fiction book WE ALL MARRIED IDIOTS. My own husband and I have been married a long, long, very long time and having been through valleys and peaks and then some, I thought the subject of making a marriage work would be an uplifting read, especially tossed in with a hefty dose of faith and humor. Check out Elaine's book trailer, her special Giveaway offer, and see if you agree with what she has to share. Both of us Elaines are looking forward to hearing from you.

Book Giveaway:
Elaine is offering to one randomly chosen commenter her or his choice of one copy of WE ALL MARRIED IDIOTS or SPLASHES OF SERENITY: BATHTIME REFLECTIONS FOR DRAINED MOMS or SPLASHES OF SERENITY: BATHTIME REFLECTIONS FOR DRAINED WIVES. The winner will be announced here on Friday, June 6th, between 5-6 PM EST. To be eligible, please leave your contact information within your comment. Thanks!

Elaine's book trailer for WE ALL MARRIED IDIOTS:

Our Words Can Impact the World by Elaine W. Miller

From one Elaine to another, thank you, Elaine Stock, for encouraging writers through "Everyone's Story."

My writing story began in a file cabinet. There I stored personal journals about life and faith. With no plans to be an author, my only hope was that after I died, my family will discover the journals and my grandchildren will learn a little bit about grandma and God.

One Sunday I went to church. Well, I actually go to church every Sunday. My husband is a Pastor. That life-changing Sunday Dan preached on the Parable of the Talents. In that parable God becomes angry with the lazy servant who buries his talent. I listened to my husband and my heart heard God ask, What good are those journals buried in your file cabinet if no one reads them? I knew I was to write a book.

Having no idea how to write a book, I attended Montrose Christian Writer's Conference. At my first writing class I learned "Write what you are passionate about." A little embarrassed, I confess I'm passionate about my bath. Well, God and my family are right up there with baths on my passion-o-meter. So, I wrote about baths, God, and my family.

My first book, Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms, published several years later after attending more conferences, being rejected, getting published in magazines, joining a critique group, writing and rewriting and all the work a published writer must do. A sequel, Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives, released a year later.

I remember writing Drained Wives with my eyes shut, praying no one would read it. This book divulges marriage troubles few knew (including my mother-in-law and the elders of our church). Effective writers must be honest and transparent, or who will find us credible?  

After reading Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives my mother-in-law still loved me, and the elders kept Dan as their Pastor. Phew!

My readers, though, asked for more.

A friend wrote: "You have a great marriage story. Write a deeper book. Tell us what God says about marriage."

You see, I packed my husband's bags three times our first year of marriage. Now married 43 years, I shudder thinking of life without my wonderful man. We were almost a marriage casualty, but God restored love in our hearts that remains today.

God can take a dead marriage and make it alive again. I know. He did it to mine.

We All Married Idiots: Three Things You Will Never Change About Your Marriage and Ten Things You Can digs deep into our lives and God's plan for marriage.

Why that title? With the high divorce rate, I know there are a lot of people thinking they married idiots. Dan and I had an argument many years ago when I thought (but did not say), I must have been an idiot to marry that idiot. Laughing at my own idiocy, I realized that makes me an idiot too. Later I learned the word idiot is derived from the Greek word common man. We are all common man and common woman. There is only one uncommon man — Jesus Christ. When we look to our spouses to fulfill needs that only Jesus can fulfill, then we have marriage problems.

High divorce rates are universal. Last February I spoke in Russia (the country with the highest divorce rate) and Bosnia. What a thrill to realize We All Married Idiots being translated into Russian, Bosnian, and Spanish. Certainly, I never dreamed God would use the journals in my corner office file cabinet to reach the world for Christ.

My life writing verse is Psalm 102:18 "Write this down for the next generation so people not yet born will praise the Lord.”  

Elaine's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Have we really all married idiots? Author Elaine W. Miller on Everyone’s Story. (Tweet This)

Author/speaker @ElaineWMiller: How God used her private journals to reach the world. (Tweet This)

#BookGiveaway of WE ALL MARRIED IDIOTS—a Christian perspective! (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:

Elaine W. Miller is a popular international author and speaker known for sharing biblical insights with warmth, enthusiasm, and humor. A member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, she has been encouraging audiences for over 25 years. Elaine and her husband, an ordained minister, have been married 43 years. Together they have led many marriage retreats and counseled numerous hurting couples. Residing in upstate New York, Elaine and Dan enjoy a beautiful and sometimes idiotic life together. Three married children and 10 grandchildren complete their joy.

Places to connect with Elaine:

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