Simply Salsa

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“No amount of fear can increase our bank accounts, and no amount of losses can decrease God’s provision”—quote from Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta.
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LETTING THEM LEAD BY JILL BRISCOE

“Give us the tools, and we’ll finish the job”. Said Winston Churchill. He was referring to the weapons that England would need to win the war against Germany.

What was true for England is true for the church. The Father sent the Spirit to give us the gifts so we’ll finish the job. Spiritual gifts are the tools the church will use to win the war against evil. Spiritual gifts are very important. The church’s job is the evangelization of the world, and it is the exercise in futility to try and serve God’s cause without exercising spiritual gifts.

The giver of the gifts is God himself. He has demonstrated his generosity by the way he gave the world the greatest gifts of all – his only Son (John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”) He not only gave his only Son, but he also gave his Holy Spirit. He delights in giving good gifts to his children – all his children. Even small children can delight in the spiritual abilities God gives them to serve him. When they help Jesus, they experience a lot of joy and fulfilment, just like we do!

Not only did God give us himself, but he gave us other gifts as well. He gave the church gifts in the shape of leaders. These particulars people are called apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his responsibility incudes training our children to lead as well.

According to 1 Corinthians 14:3 “ But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.” A prophet’s job is “helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them.”

Today, we call that Spirit-empowered preaching. Bothe men and women received and exercised these gifts, as indicated by Philip’s four daughters in Acts 21:9 “He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.” Evangelists, on the other hand, preached to unbelievers, gathered the converts together, and established churches. They would be similar to today’s evangelists and pioneer missionaries. Perhaps, like Philip, we have children who love Jesus and want to use their gifts to serve him. Philip’s girls understood that the Holy Spirit had given them gifts with which to serve Jesus. As we give our children chances to serve him, even at a young age, they will blossom in every dimension of their lives.

Blessings,

Sana Edoja

CONFIDENCE BUILDING inspired by Jill Briscoe and myself

How do we help our children to feel good about themselves! One way is to give them good information. Children who struggle with low self-worth feel unable to love themselves, or they feel they are not loved nearly enough by others. They wrestle with believing that God loves them. They often believe the world in general is against them. In fact, they are often their own worst enemies, accusing themselves of all sorts of inadequacies in the face of the challenges of life. They need biblical information in order to give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to convince them of their worth in God’s sight.

Paul gives some exciting promises: “If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ... Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own?” (Romans 8:31, 33). The Holy Spirit can take those promises – passed on by parents, teachers, preachers, or youth leaders – and convince your children that god loves them. This is the key to building your children that God loves them. This is the key to building your children’s self-worth. They need to know that however much they are down on themselves. God is up on them. They need to know that they are beloved of God. We should be sure our children are told that Jesus “died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honour next to God, pleading for us” (Romans 8:34). And God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – will work in their lives to help them believe it.

Give your children the promises of God’s word. It is your job to give it, and the Holy Spirit’s job to use it to build your children’s self-confidence. Helping our children appropriate God’s truth into their lives is the best confidence builder I know. We must make sure that our children know the wonderful fact that our great God is “for us.” And “if God is for us, who can ever, be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

I struggled with self-esteem for years as a child until my adulthood. Having being raised in an environment where I got spoken negative comments at school and at home, each time I failed. Fortunately, when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, He revealed to me that He loved me and He had created perfectly. He told me that I was beautiful and intelligent. Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” I could succeed in life by believing I could do everything through Christ that strengthens me. Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Blessings,

Sana Edoja

SAVED FROM WHAT ? (INSPIRED BY JILL BRISCOE AND MYSELF)

What does it mean to be saved ? And saved from what? We need to be saved from our sins. The sin problem began back in the Garden of Eden.

When the word began, everything was perfect. God planted an incredibly beautiful environment for his perfect man and woman to enjoy. Genesis 2:8 “Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of”. God, Adam, and Eve walked and talked together in perfect harmony and exquisite delight. One of the perfect things about God’s garden was the endowment to human beings of a free, willing spirit that says, “I’m free to live as I please,” but rather, a free, willing spirit that says, “I’m free to live as God pleases.” Pleasing God was the key to living a perfect life in a perfect environment. To please God, Adam and Eve only had to obey him, thereby proving their love and submission and acknowledging his supremacy in their lives. But despite God’s perfect blessings, Satan tempted Eve to disobey the only rule the Lord God had given (Genesis 2:16-17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good.”

Genesis 3: 1-6 “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it).

Eve listened to Satan, broke the rule, and persuaded Adam to do the same. The perfect God could no longer have fellowship with these rebellious, disobedient people.

Sin spoiled the relationship between God and humankind. The Bible teaches that Adam’s sin affected the entire human race – that’s you, me, and everybody else (Romans 5:12 “, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, ...”).

Every child born since Adam is born with a sinful bias, and it doesn’t take long to put that sinful bias into action! Because of our sin and rebellion against God, we are under his punishment. But Christ changed all that. Romans 5:15 – 17 says, this… man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many… All who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Because Jesus is the perfect Son of God, he has taken the penalty for that sinful bias upon himself. He took our punishment so that we would be able to have a relationship with God. Salvation bridges the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God? Christ died so that those dead in sin can be made alive. Would you accept the salvation God wants to give you? If so, you can do that with a simple prayer:

Lord, I’m coming, I’m coming to say I’m sorry that you had to die to pay the punishment for sins you didn’t commit – mine! Thank you, Lord Jesus. Lord, I’m coming. I’m coming to say I’m done with trying to “buy” influence with you. I’ve run out of currency – I’m bankrupt. “Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to your cross I cling. “Jesus, I’ve come – here I am – forgive me, come into my heart, enter my life, and give me eternal life. Thank you Lord Jesus! Amen.

My version is:

If you don’t believe in God, I challenge you to ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Get prepared for an answer and a change in your life that you will never regret. When I accepted Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I felt so cleaned from my sins as I had found a Friend and Father in God.

Since that encounter, I can’t stop feeling for those that are lost and depressed, they need to know that there is a God that is waiting to love and help them. I was in tears this morning when I read the newspaper about the terrible things that are happening since the earthquake in Japan. I wish I could comfort those people, I wish I could tell them the good news of the Gospel of salvation of Jesus Christ.

God has given me a heart that feels for those who suffer in their lives. Each Thursday, we pray at church for those that need to know Christ, for those that are persecuted. It is a good feeling to do the will of God, to share our burdens with other Christians; we get encouraged also by other believers. Sometimes, it will be good to give up everything and just pray, worship and be listening the good word of God. It is a good time to forget our problems and focus on the plan of God of salvation for humanity. It is similar as being in Heaven

POSITIVE PEERS BY JILL BRISCOE AND MYSELF

Peers have so much power with our children. Young people who hang around together exert enormous influence on each other. It’s difficult not to go along with the group’s decisions. Peers so often take precedence over parents.

I asked a teenager in my Sunday class one day, “What have you been doing with yourself?”

“Oh, just hanging around”, was the reply.

“With whom?” I asked.

“Jamie and Karen and some other guys,” was the response.

“That’s not a good idea,” I said, knowing these particular young people were ungodly and always getting into trouble.

“But they like me, and they make me feel good,” objected my young friend.

“Only for a season-a little time,” I answered? “And they may get you into trouble.”

Romans 1:32 came to mind: “They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.” My young friend needed to realize that he could well find himself encouraged to join his friends in sin. I also remembered Psalm 1:1 – and, knowing my teenager knew his friends well enough to understand, I shared it with him: “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners.”

“But why not? he replied stubbornly. “I don’t do the things they do. I usually know what’s right or wrong.”

“One reason you should hang around with more positive peers is the advice you’ll get when an occasion arises where you don’t know what to do,” I answered. “What sort of advice do you think you’ll get from ungodly folk? They’ll probably provoke you into stepping over the line along with them. It’s better to make godly people your closest friends and hang around them! That’s the road to real, lasting happiness.”

Whether we’re teaching the faith to our own children or to other people’s children, we must make every effort to create opportunities for positive peers to hang around together. This way they will avoid many pitfalls and be encouraged in their faith.

On a personal note, my son recently got beaten up repeatedly by one of his friends on his legs at school. He told his aunt and uncle but wouldn’t tell me because he didn’t want to see his friend punished by his teacher. He was afraid of losing his friend. If we love somebody, we have to correct them by telling them that they are doing something wrong and eventually consequences have to be applied for discipline.

I and my family told my son to report the incident about the bullying to his teacher on numerous occasions. He refused to do so and I learnt recently that this same friend was now beating him on his belly for fun. As a protective mother, I made a wise decision to report the bullying incident to the teacher. The teacher will apply discipline and explain to this little boy that his behaviour is not acceptable. Let’s take action against bullying by taking a positive action. Let’s report it before it goes any further. Lots of kids die as a result of bullying. Let’s also bring awareness to our children and teach them that it is not acceptable, there are a lot of videos on the internet that bring awareness about bullying at school. Children need to be respected and they deserve to know that their worth will never be taken away when somebody treat them badly. God still considers them worthy and has a plan for their lives. It is important to talk about bullying with our children and to take action with the school as a deterrent and prevention.

SPIRITUAL MOTHERHOOD BY JILL BRISCOE

I was teaching in a tough part of Liverpool and had just taken my life in my hands – it was my turn to do playground duty! As I watched those little rascals being themselves. I thought of the churches in the area, mine included. I thought of the churches in the area, mine included. They offered nothing that was remotely on those children’s wavelength. The situation seemed hopeless. Dead churches don’t reach lively kids.

Then I read about the God of life and fruitlessness, who caused a baby to be born to two old people. Couldn’t he also cause life to spring out of deadness for these children of the twentieth century? God had shown me demonstration of his person and power, but could I dare to believe he would do for me what he did for Sarah? Would he give me spiritual children in the barren womb of my own situation?

I timidly told him I believed that what he had promised he was able to perform. Then I went ahead in trust and started a club for the kids.

Confused and frightened, old before their time, these children did not understand the truth about the God who would satisfy them. But they came, they listened, and they believed. Though the off-spring of my efforts were not nearly as numerous as Abraham’s, life sprang out of darkness, and God was delighted! The kids and I were delighted, too. They had found the God in whom they could trust.

Those of us who know the Lord need to reach out beyond our own families and realize that some people have never been prayed for by name even once. They need to be reached for Christ and his Kingdom. Single people can become spiritual mothers, too! Look around you. Do the children in your neighbourhood look as though they wouldn’t be interested in Jesus? Don’t you believe it. God still brings life into the most impossible situations. Step out in faith – the children are waiting for you.

DOES GOD HEAR THE PRAYERS OF UNBELIEVERS? (Inspired by Jill Briscoe, Rick Warren and myself)

DOES GOD HEAR the prayers of people who aren’t Christians? Yes! Every one of us who came to faith in Christ was an unbeliever once, and God heard our prayer of repentance.

Captain Cornelius is a good example of a good man who was in the habit of praying. He was devout, he feared God, and he gave generously to charity (Acts 10:2 - A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway). His entire household followed suit.

The answer to the question, Does God listen to unbelievers? Is found in his life: “Your prayers have been heard” (Acts 10:31 - And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God). Cornelius was an uncircumcised Roman soldier, yet God sent a vision of an angel coming to him (Acts 10:3 - He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius) and made sure he heard about salvation – God gave him an opportunity to hear about and receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Does God hear the prayers of westerners and easterners? Does he hear the prayers of black and white, man and woman, rich and poor, good and bad? Yes! When Peter went to Cornelius and his family, he told them, “I see very clearly that God doesn’t show partiality. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34-35 - 34Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him). Then he explained the Good News to them and said, “There is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all…. Everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name” (Acts 10:36,43 - 36The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all; 43To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins).

If people like Cornelius pray the best way they know how and live as well as they can. God will send a “Peter” to show them the way of salvation. When Peter comes, he will find Cornelius and his family ready to listen and commit their lives to Christ.

Are you like Cornelius? A good person? Do you pray regularly, do what is right, and give to charity? God has noticed and appreciates your efforts. He wants to make sure you know that even a good person needs Jesus. Read this story again and then pray to receive Christ as your Saviour.

Perhaps you are like Peter. Do you know a Cornelius to whom you need to tell the Gospel? He or she is, in all probability, waiting to hear from you, just like Cornelius and his family were waiting to hear from Peter. Why not plan a journey, write a letter, or make a phone call soon? There are many good people waiting for the Good News of Christ.


Just wanted to add on a personal note: Last Sunday, I went to the park with my son for him to play while I was reading a book called: “The purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. A man sat next to me and started talking to me about the world economy and his marital life. He wanted to know more about me but I shut down and wouldn’t want to disclose any more information. Then, I left to go home and thought I could have taken this opportunity to tell Him about what Jesus was doing in my life. I missed an opportunity because of my selfishness.

In the past, I got a lot of opportunity to practise evangelism extensively. However, I fell backwards when I was overwhelmed by the difficulties of my life. I lost the most important focus of my life and I stopped evangelism for a long while. A few months ago, I was able to share about Jesus Christ to a Moslem and an atheist until the early hours of morning. I think God likes bringing people into our life to disturb us so we can share the good news of Christ.


In his book, Rick warren talks about his dad which was a minister for over fifty years, serving mostly in small, rural churches. He was a simple preacher, but he was a man with a mission. In 1999, his father died of cancer. As he dreamed, he’d talk out loud about what he was dreaming. Sitting by his bedside, his son learned a lot about his dad by just listening to his dreams. He relived one church building project after another.

One night near the end, while his wife, his niece and his son were by his side, Rick Warren’ father suddenly became very active and tried to get out of bed. Of course, he was too weak, and Rick ‘wife insisted he lay back down.

But he persisted in trying to get out of bed, so Rick ‘wife asked, “Jimmy, what are you trying to do?” He replied, “Got to save one more for Jesus! Got to save one more for Jesus!” He began to repeat that phrase over and over.

During the next hour, his father said the phrase probably a hundred times, “Got to save one more for Jesus!” As Rick sat by his bed with tears flowing down his cheeks, he bowed his head to thank God for his dad’s faith. At that moment his dad reached out and placed his frail hand on his head and said, as if commissioning his son, “Save one more for Jesus! Save one more for Jesus!”

Rick Warren intend for that to be the theme of the rest of his life. He invites us to consider it as a focus for our life, too, because nothing will make a greater difference for eternity. If we want to be used by God, we must care about what God cares about; what he cares about most is the redemption of the people he made. He wants his lost children found! Nothing matters more to God; the Cross proves that, Rick Warren prayer for us consists to be always on the lookout to reach “one more for Jesus” so that when we stand before God one day, we can say, “Mission accomplished”.

This does not mean you should quit your job to become a full-time evangelist. God wants you to share the Good News where you are. Your mission gives your life meaning, William James said, “The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.” The truth is, only the kingdom of God is going to last. Everything else will eventually vanish. That is why we must live purpose-driven lives – lives committed to worship, fellowship, spiritual growth, ministry, and fulfilling our mission on earth. The results of these activities will last – forever!

You may have been unaware that God holds you responsible for the unbelievers who live around you. The Bible says, “You must warn them so they may live. If you don’t speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin, but I will hold you responsible for their death.” You are the only Christian some people will ever know, and your mission is to share Jesus with them.

One problem long-term Christians have is that they forget how hopeless it felt to be without Christ. We must remember that no matter how contented or successful people appear to be, without Christ they are hopelessly lost and headed for eternal separation from God. The Bible says, “Jesus is the only One who can save people.” Everybody needs Jesus.

If you fail to fulfil your God –given mission on earth, you will have wasted the life God gave you. Paul said, “My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.” There are people on this planet whom only you will be able to reach, because of where you live and what God has made you to be. If just one person will be in heaven because of you, your life will have made a difference for eternity. Start looking around at your personal mission field and pray, “God, who have you put in my life for me to tell about Jesus?”

Your Life Message has four parts to it:

- Your testimony: the story of how you began a relationship with Jesus.
- Your life lessons: the most important lessons God has taught you.
- Your godly passions: the issues God shaped you to care about most.
- The Good News: the message of salvation.

Hope you have enjoyed this blog.

You can found our more about my beliefs and faith in Christ on my BlogTalkRadioShow by clicking on this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/donald-james-parker/2011/03/06/wielding-the-sword-of-the-spirit-with-guest-author-sana-edoja

Knowing God by Sana Edoja

Blessings you richly in Christ Jesus,

Sana Edoja

WHEN DARKNESS TRIES TO HIDE FROM STACY PADULA

Today marks the release of Stacy Padula’s latest novel, When Darkness Tries to Hide.

As a special promotion, today’s buyers will get free gifts & a chance to win Boston Red Sox tickets, gift certificates, & other prizes for each copy of When Darkness Tries to Hide that they purchase.



For details on the book, launch, and promotions please visit:
http://montgomerylake.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/mlh2-launch-info.pdf
An Interview with Stacy Padula:
Author of When Darkness Tries to Hide and The Right Person





Q: How did you become interested in writing?
A: I wrote my first book when I was in Kindergarten; it was a short story about a puppy. Then my writing just continued…I wrote books all through elementary school and continued beyond. I finished my first draft of When Darkness Tries to Hide when I was 15 years old. I had read a lot of different books while growing up that had been about high school. When I entered high school I was completely shocked by what was going on around me! It was nothing like Sweet Valley High or the Babysitters Club. There was an abundance of backbiting, backstabbing, substance abuse, and kids just being mean to each other. I felt that there needed to be a realistic book series out there for kids to read so that they could be prepared for the social battles of high school. So, I wrote The Right Person, which is the first book in the Montgomery Lake High series. I fell in love with my characters, and the subject matters, so I decided to write a sequel (which is now When Darkness Tries to Hide). I have recently finished the 5th book in the series, and I plan to keep writing as long as I am able to!

Q: What should people know about When Darkness Tries to Hide?
A: The book picks up two months after where The Right Person left off. There is a terrible storm that brings destruction to the town and into the lives of some of the characters. One of the characters, Andy, gets injured and another character, Jason, feels responsible. (Although no one knows at first exactly why Jason feels that way.) The story follows many characters reactions to the accident, and how everyone comes together to help Andy. Jason is the central focus of the story, and the transformation he goes through as a result of feeling responsible for what happened to Andy. The main point of the story is the battle between light and darkness, and how people often do not realize they are living a dark life because everyone around them is living the same way, until a ray of light shines in and breaks through the darkness.

Q: Have any experiences from your own life affected the storyline of the book?
A: I have not written about anything that has happened to me exactly, but everything in the books is based on things I have witnessed teenagers go through, or emotional/social/physical/spiritual battles that I have fought in my life. The books are filled with lessons I have learned from my own experiences, but I have woven those lessons into the completely fictitious world of Montgomery Lake High. It is my hope that teens and pre-teens can learn from these lessons and not go through as much pain as I had to in order to learn them!

Q: What is it like waiting for each book to be published?
A: It is exciting!! My next book, which will be published apart from the series as a novel, is called Montgomery's Masquerade: The Battle for Innocence. It is a prequel to the series that takes place when the main characters were in 7th grade. I just got it back from my editor, who is actually from Pearson Publishing, and I am excited to review her edits and send it along to my publisher, Strategic Book Group. They had read the rough copy earlier this month and accepted it. The whole process has many steps, and a lot of approvals that need to be signed off on. It is excited to see the internal layout of the book. I get to work with my publisher's book designers to bring the book up to the vision that I have for it. This, along with approving the front and back cover designs, is a very exciting part of the process. I always get butterflies in my stomach when I open up the first printed copy of each book. The process can take anywhere from six months to a year, depending on many different circumstances. I enjoy being a part of the process. It is always a learning experience, and I find that very rewarding!

Q: Do you have a "life verse" that you have claimed? If so what is it and why is that verse so meaningful to you?
A: Psalm 84:11 has significant meaning to me. It states that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly. This verse is a reminder to me that anything that I pray for and do not receive is not really good for me, and that I only desire it because I have limited understanding of what is best for me. God knows what is best, and as long as I am walking with Him, He will not withhold anything good from me. So whenever God closes a door in my life, I recall Psalm 84:11 and find great comfort and peace within its promise.

Q: Who (or what) is your greatest encourager when you write and why?
A: I have a wonderful support system of family and friends who encourage me in my writing. What encourages me the most, though, is the world of Montgomery Lake High that exists within my mind. It is like God has put this world in my head, and these characters that are so real to me, and I write to express what is within me: a message of faith to reach out to the youth.

Q: Is there anything else that you would like your readers to know about you that would give us even more of a glimpse into your personality and passions?
A: “Passionate” would be the best word to describe me. When I'm into something, I'm into it with my whole heart. I love my life and think God has blessed me with the best friends, best dog, best job, and the best mother in the entire world. Writing is my favorite pastime. I have learned a lot about conquering fear this past year. The ocean moves me. I love North Carolina and feel like a part of my heart is there. I love to learn and figure out how things are connected. I see deeper meaning in everything. I believe love is the answer to life's toughest questions. I have "songs" with the majority of my friends and hope the lyrics always mean something to me. My faith is in Jesus Christ, and I'm in love with Him. I have a strange fetish for football movies. I am an avid skier. I have a lot of hope and believe nothing is impossible with God.

Please visit: http://montgomerylake.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/mlh2-launch-info.pdf for more information on the Montgomery Lake High book series.

USING OUR GIFTS FOR GOD GLORY

Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

I’m not feeling 100% writing today. There you go; there are some days when you don’t feel like doing something. Once you’ve done it, you feel better because you have achieved something for yourself. It is the way I feel today. I didn’t feel getting out of bed because I love dreaming; life is much more colourful when you dream. I’m sure you would agree with me on that. I was late for my driving lesson today because of my lack of motivation. I’m looking for work at the moment and found it hard to keep applying for work each day and still no job? Just need to remember that God says in the bible: "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Even if I still haven’t find a job, I have time to search for work, blog, go to praying meetings every Thursday, reading my bible and other self-help Christians books, take up my driving lessons to the next level. Believe it not, I didn’t have time to do most of those things when I was working full time. However, God used those times at work of quietness to lead me to write up my first book.


The other day, in church, my pastor was saying that we shouldn’t be discouraged but keep going because God knows our struggles and our needs. In his own time, he will answer our prayers and supplies our needs in due times.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Phil 4:19

'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’Isaiah 41:10

"For surely I know the plans I have for you”, says the Lord,“plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope”. –Jeremiah 29:11Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6That would be amazing if I could just stay at home blogging but I have to earn a living so I have to seek work. Ten years ago, somebody prophesised to me that the Lord will make me pen the words of my heart on paper for future generations. Three years later, I was writing my first book “Knowing God”. 2 Peter 3:8 - But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. Sometimes, God takes such a long time to make something comes to pass into our lives. He is the one that can make things happened in our lives, only in his own time. He is never too late or too early, just on time.

Well, there are a lot of things that I could have done in my life. I could still do them if I found the time and the money. Writing songs, singing and scribbling were one of my first passions in life. Would I be still good at it if I put my mind to it?

When I was a teenager, I loved singing. I actually bought a machine with a microphone and, I used to write my own songs and sing them. I loved music so much as people have been created to worship something. I took some singing lessons and was quite passionate about it, but I left France to explore England. That is why I love writing in English. Make sense to me as most of the world speaks English. Struggling to make a living in London, I embraced Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and, I gave up on my dream to be a famous singer.

I used to love writing poems and songs. The more I wrote, the better I became. A few professionals found my lyrics quite good. It takes quite genius luck to make the right connections to earn a living from those talents. So I gave it up. I also remember myself scribbling lots of nonsense drawings while I was doing my degree at University which bored me a lot, but my mind was still creative. However I never took my scribbling further.

Now I’ve written my first book called “Knowing God” and I have another book which will be edited in a few months. Nonetheless, it costs money to do all those things. The amazing thing is that I took a creative course for 2 years, the message that I got from both of my teachers was: “Write as often as often as you can even if it does not make sense, keeping the imagination going. In a few months, go back to your nonsense writing, then, you will be able to make something readable from it”.

That is the idea behind my blogging, God gives me the idea and I write it. I believe also in helping each other through guest blogging. Being a part of the John 3:16 network has helped me to share other people writing by sharing their books on my blog for additional exposure. http://john316mn.blogspot.com/ Sometimes, I found articles from other author’s books or articles that I like to share because knowledge is better than ignorance.

To conclude, we have to keep going in what we know best and, God shall do the rest in his own time. Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”.

I have been reading “The Purpose Driven Life” from Rick Warren which is an excellent book on helping to find the purpose of God for our life in all the areas.

Thank you for taking the time of reading me, it makes me feel better, knowing that I have shared my burdens with somebody.

God bless you all and keep up the good work.

Sana Edoja

MY MOTHER THE MAN-EATER

Tracy Krauss, author of ‘edgy inspirational’ fiction, is launching her book MY MOTHER THE MAN-EATER on Feb. 24 at amazon.com. You can help Tracy achieve ‘best seller’ status by purchasing the book at amazon.com TODAY!

About the book:



Loaded with humor, action, intrigue and romance, My Mother the Man- Eater is the story of a woman whose search for meaning in life finds an unexpected outlet. Joleen Allen is on the hunt for a man. Unfortunately, every time the mother of five meets one, he falls for one of her daughters instead! At forty-four, Joleen has lived a tough life. She became a mother at 16, and her five daughters are now grown. Her ex-husband, Harold, is out of prison and back in the picture, looking for revenge. He’ll stop at nothing – even murder – to ruin Joleen’s reputation as well as her relationship with their daughters. My Mother the Man-Eater makes for some truly tempting and redemptive reading.

About the Author:

Tracy Krauss is a prolific author, playwright, director and artist. Originally from a small prairie town, she now resides in Tumbler Ridge, BC, known for its scenic mountain vistas and many waterfalls. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and currently teaches high school Art, Drama and English. .


BONUS!
Buy MY MOTHER THE MAN-EATER on February 24 and receive loads of FREE e-gifts from these generous supporters:

Sample chapters, short stories, children’s books, and magazines from acclaimed, best selling and debut Christian authors, such as April Gardner, Shawna Williams, Shellie Neumeier, Sana Edoja, Delia Latham, Ray Lincoln, Stacy Padula, Elaine Cooper, Stacy Juba, Lisa Lickel, Joann Durgin … and more!

Plus – free manuscript critiques, manuscript editing, and marketing and promotional tips from journalists, editors, authors and speakers, Lorilyn Roberts, Linda Yezak and Bonnie Way.

And – beautiful downloadable art cards courtesy of artist and author Brenda Hendricks.


All if you buy your copy of MY MOTHER THE MAN-EATER at amazon.com on Feb. 24! These free gifts are valid on Feb. 24 only. All the links will be operational on the ‘Book Launch’ site at www.tracykrauss.com/ Click HERE for more details link: http://mytinyurl.com/d3srfsw1f1


DISCLAIMER: This Best Seller book launch has been coordinated with the help of the ‘John 3:16 Marketing Network’ and many other generous supporters. The free gifts are deliverable electronically over the internet or by email by individual authors and supporters. They are not in any way associated with, nor deliverable by, amazon.com

A SAD FRENCH STORY AND A LESSON FROM GOD

NEWS FROM M&C INTERNET WEBSITE:

Paris - Finding themselves in the dock over a grisly murder case, disgruntled French judges have thrown down the gavel over the past week, paralysing the justice system in an open revolt against President Nicolas Sarkozy.

By Wednesday, nearly all French courts had suspended non-urgent hearings, causing more cases to pile up in a country already battling a significant backlog.

The situation was set to intensify Thursday, with judges threatening an all-out strike in protest over Sarkozy's incrimination of the judiciary over the murder of an 18-year-old waitress.

The Laetitia Perrais case, to which a horrified French public has been glued for weeks, has shone a light on serious dysfunctions in the justice system.
Two weeks after she went missing from her home in the western village of Pornic, near Nantes, the teenager's dismembered body was discovered in a pond last week.

The main suspect in the case is a convicted sex offender, who claims he accidentally knocked her down and threw her body in a river.

That Tony Meilhon, a 31-year-old delinquent with 13 convictions for a range of crimes, including rape, could have slipped past monitoring systems for repeat offenders, has galled many French, including Sarkozy.

Meilhon was supposed to - but did not - receive post-prison counselling on his release last year. His case, being considered 'non-priority' was thrown on a pile of 887 others by reintegration officials.

Sarkozy, who has a habitude of seizing on grisly murders to accuse the judiciary of being lax, vowed those responsible for letting him slipping out of view would pay.

'Whoever covered or allowed this offence (his release without counselling) will be punished, that's the rule,' he said, accusing both the police and judicial system of 'dysfunctions.'

In the usually tight-lipped world of judges the president's remark unleashed a torrent of frustration.

'Sometimes he reproaches us for putting too many people behind bars, sometimes not enough. And now he's accusing us of being responsible for crimes,' one anti-terrorist judge in Paris complained to Liberation newspaper.
The judges say they are doing the best they can with too few resources.
France has 9.1 judges for every 100,000 people, compared with a European average of 20.6. Their caseload is mounting as the conservative Sarkozy cracks down on crime. Each judge has about 100 cases on his desk at any one time.

At the same time the number of offenders under post-prison surveillance has jumped 39 per cent in five years.

The counsellors who were responsible for Meilhon's case had warned the government before Laetitia's murder they were swamped.

Sarkozy's critics accuse him of riding the emotiveness around isolated horrific crimes to push through an increasingly repressive approach and curry support among right-wing voters.

An opinion poll published last week showed only 24 per cent of French people supporting the president, ahead of elections in 2012.

The government, for its part, accused the judges of overreacting to his remarks and of being out of touch with the victims of crime.
With a showdown looming, Justice Minister Michel Mercier tried on Wednesday to defuse the situation.

'I simply want to remind judges that I understand their difficulties,' he said.


The outcome of the story above disgusted me and saddened me deeply. It got me angry at the injustice of this world.

I wondered why God let those horrible things happened to innocent people; they haven’t done anything worse than any of us to deserve such a terrible death.

Then, I remembered the picture of Jesus Christ on the cross. Then, I thought about my own sins and realised that nobody is perfect. God is the ultimate judge of our transgressions.

Nonetheless, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the biological family which had lost a great daughter, Laetitia, to such a terrible tragedy.

Laetitia was only 18 years old, with such a pretty face. Her life on earth was so short for such crucial times as we are living in now.

Later on, I thought how difficult it is for people to believe in God when He let horrible tragedies occur in our lives.

As the night fell upon my town, I went to bed but I couldn’t sleep straight away. My mind was overreacting to the outcome of this story, so I picked up my daily devotional book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. I read this interesting passage: “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it. God’s purpose is not limited by your past. He turned a murderer names Moses into a leader and a coward named Gideon into a courageous hero, and he can do amazing things with the rest of your life, too. God specialises in giving people a fresh start. The Bible says, “What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record? We shouldn’t forget also the apostle Paul who persecuted to death the followers of Jesus Christ.

God used those mighty men (Paul, Moses, Gideon) to accomplish many mighty things and to bring salvation to quite a lot of people.

There is hope for every sinner in this world, no matter what the size of the sin is. God sacrificed his son on the cross to save us from our sins, to show us that He has forgiven us. We need to pray for our enemies as the Bible says, in order for God to bring them into the Kingdom of God through the salvation of their sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The next morning, God put in my heart to pray for the lost souls of this world to experience his forgiveness. Later on that day, I attended a prayer meeting; I prayed that God would bring salvation to people involved with prostitution, killing, child pornography and those who are rotting in jail.

I prayed for revival and that the church will visit the people in the streets and also the criminals in jail in order for God to bring deliverance and speak his message of salvation to those sinners.

I prayed that God would use his angels to fight the spiritual battle with the forces of darkness so people would come to know the truth about God and be free, as God convicts them of their evil doings, even preventing them of committing another horrible crime. I prayed that those sinners would find healing for their souls, minds, body and heart in the church. I prayed also for deliverance from the oppression of the enemy and that the power of God would supersede the power of Satan in this world.

God needs to save those sinners in order to bring many other sinners to know His love and forgiveness through the experience of their salvation.

The other day, my pastor also talked about a famous evangelist in New York that goes out in the streets to bring the criminals and all sort of people to a big facility to tell them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he risks his life to help those people to change for the better. One day, he was even shot in the cheek but God didn’t allow him to die. What a great testimony. God was on his side.

A while back, I used to work for the Metropolitan Police in London. A retired police officer came to share his testimony during lunchtime. He told us that he was called to stop a robbery a few years back. As he managed to track down the criminal, he was shot in the jaw.

As a result, the police officer needed to have reconstructive surgery to his jaw and had to stay months upon months in hospital to recover from his ordeal. However, being a Christian, this police officer decided to forgive his attacker by visiting him in prison. Then, his enemy became his friend and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

Nonetheless, this offender encountered quite a lot of difficulties in managing with his life again as a consequence of his criminal record.

Quote from Rick Warren book: “Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past. Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you more unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past is past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it, and let it go.” The Bible says” To worry yourself to death with resentment would be foolish, senseless thing to do”.
Sometimes, God uses angels to convict sinners. For example, a Christian lady was walking under a bridge when she saw a man sitting under it. She reached her home and switched on the TV to watch the news. They were searching for a dangerous criminal in her neighbourhood, as they showed his picture on the TV screen, this lady realised that it was the same man that she saw under the bridge. Immediately, she phoned up the police to tell them about the whereabouts of the criminal so they could lock him up in prison.

As a result, this Christian lady went to visit the convicted man in prison and asked him why he hadn’t killed her when she walked under the bridge. He replied that he couldn’t approach her because she was surrendered by two big giants on each side. God had protected this lady from harm and had helped in convicting this sinner of His amazing power.

To conclude, I would encourage each believer of Christ (including myself) to pray and speak the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the outcasts and worst sinners of our society, there is no discrimination in God Kingdom. God will be able to save those “newly saved people” for the salvation of his Kingdom.

To go back to my prayers earlier in my church, a lady came to meet me after the church meeting and said to me that my prayers had really helped her and spoken into her life. Halleluiah. Glory to God. The Lord uses his people to speak his purpose for our lives.

Recently, there was also another lady that God used in my church to speak to those who want to commit suicide, she said that God loves us and His life is our life. God stands by us as we experience trials and would always lead us to reach our breakthroughs, we should only put our trust in Him, be patient and not doubt his saving power from our difficulties and trials.

When we go to church, God speaks through the pastor his word to encourage us, the pastor often speaks into difficult situations that we are experiencing in our life at the moment. Sometimes, our kids drive us crazy because they don’t obey and we are tempted to give up on them. However, God remembered me that despite our disobedience and our wicked ways, He never give up on us, He is patient in waiting for us to repent. He doesn’t destroy us because of his unconditional love, so we should be patient with our kids also and not give up on them. Patiently, disciplining them as God correct us, still loving us despite our many sins. I pray that God will bring comfort to the family of the murerdered Laetitia and that Tony Meilhon will come to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

I just wanted to apologize for the length of my article but I had to share everything God has put in my heart. I remembered when I went to live in the United Kingdom; I went through quite a lot of turmoil in my life. I kept in touch with my friends and family by writing lengthy letters. One of my housemates told me that when she received long letters from her friends, she bins them because she thinks that most of it was pure invented lies. In my case, it is not lies, I just like sharing my experience and thoughts of God to encourage others.

AWAKENING - BOOK LAUNCH

A God-fearing man. A God-seeking woman. It’s a combustible combination. Lexa Clarke signs up for a short-term summer mission in San Antonio with TeamWork Missions, hoping to make a difference in the world. TeamWork director Sam Lewis has a job to do and can't afford to be distracted by the petite, feisty blonde. But when she tumbles into his arms from the top of a house they’re rebuilding, Sam suspects his life will never be the same.







Author Bio: JoAnn is a member of ACFW and its Indiana chapter. Awakening is her debut novel. She was a finalist in the long contemporary romance category of the 2010 RWA/FHL Touched by Love contest, and is a regular blog contributor with Hoosier Ink and Reflections in Hindsight. JoAnn is also an active member of the My Book Therapy Voices and has won or placed in several of their quarterly Flash Fiction contests. She loves to share her passion for the redeeming love of Christ through her stories.



Website: www.joanndurgin.com



Book Title: Awakening

10 Digit ISBN: 1926712560

Publisher: Torn Veil Books (Winnipeg, Canada)



Links for where to buy:

"A God-fearing man. A God-seeking woman. It’s a combustible combination. Lexa Clarke signs up for a short-term summer mission in San Antonio with TeamWork Missions, hoping to make a difference in the world. TeamWork director Sam Lewis has a job to do and can't afford to be distracted by the petite, feisty blonde. But when she tumbles into his arms from the top of a house they’re rebuilding, Sam suspects his life will never be the same. Author Bio: JoAnn is a member of ACFW and its Indiana chapter. Awakening is her debut novel. She was a finalist in the long contemporary romance category of the 2010 RWA/FHL Touched by Love contest, and is a regular blog contributor with Hoosier Ink and Reflections in Hindsight. JoAnn is also an active member of the My Book Therapy Voices and has won or placed in several of their quarterly Flash Fiction contests. She loves to share her passion for the redeeming love of Christ through her stories.

Website: www.joanndurgin.com

Book Title: Awakening 10 Digit ISBN: 1926712560 Publisher: Torn Veil Books (Winnipeg, Canada)

Links for where to buy:

http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Christian-Romance-Novel-ebook/dp/B004DI7O5O/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1297075104&sr=1-1



http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Awakening/JoAnn-Durgin/e/2940011143236/?pt=BK&stage=bookproduct&pwb=2



INTERVIEW OF JOANN DURGIN LATEST BOOK:

What's your latest book? (Include publisher and release date)

My debut novel, Awakening, was published by Canadian publisher, Torn Veil Books, in late 2010. This particular story is precious to me because it was written more than a decade ago and is loosely based on my own love story with my husband, Jim. Sam and Lexa are uniquely special to me and become my core characters and mentors in a continuing series as they minister and interact with volunteers in Sam’s TeamWork Missions organization. A lot of the strength of character, unwavering faith and goodness in Sam Lewis is based on my Jim. Some of the feistiness and stubbornness in Lexa Clarke (yes, Lewis and Clarke – they are adventures, after all) is based on yours truly, but I choose to believe I also share my heroine’s resourcefulness and resilience.

Awakening was also the last story I wrote before putting my writing aside for a decade to raise my children. When I unearthed it (literally from beneath the bed and blew off the dust bunnies) in late 2008, I only found half the story. It was like someone else had written it, but as I read it again with fresh eyes, I felt this was the story the Lord wanted me to pursue getting published. Jim and I prayed about it, and I knew He’d give the story back to me if it was, in fact, in His will. Not only did He give it back to me in a dramatic way, but the Lord confirmed it was the one. I hope you’ll read all about my writing journey on my website at www.joanndurgin.com

How did you know you wanted to write fiction and romance in particular?

I’ve been an avid reader my entire life, and ideas for novels simmered in my imagination for years. However, it wasn’t until I was a young, stay-at-home mom in Philly that I tried my hand at penning one. I love creating characters and their stories, and making them so real they jump off the page and into the hearts and minds of readers. I write what I call contemporary romantic adventures. Romance is my first love, but as both a reader and an author, I also need more than romance for a novel to be fully-developed and emotionally satisfying. Throw in humor and some witty banter, dramatic conflict, a moving plotline with adventure and a hint of intrigue, and you’ve got my kind of book. That’s what you get with Awakening! It may be a cliché, but I write what I like to read. Following your passion as a writer does make a better book. One of the most precious things in life is that first blush of love, that rush of adrenaline at a glance, a touch, a kiss… I love the hope and joy to be discovered in an uplifting romance.


How do your faith and spiritual life play into the picture and affect your storytelling?

Faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. God first loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins, and it’s through His boundless love that I write. My stories depict people who often stumble and fall but they find grace, forgiveness, love, redemption and hope when they seek to follow the Lord’s will for their lives. The Lord has been so faithful to me in this writing journey, and I know He’ll continue to open the doors of His choosing in the proper time. He’s truly my Partner. Matthew 5:16 is my personal theme verse, and it’s my prayer that my light will shine through the words in my books, giving light and hope to a hurting world. It’s my high honor and privilege to share the stories the Lord has laid on my heart to share with others.

What do you think makes your style of storytelling unique?

I’ve been told I have a fresh, unique voice. I try to infuse my sense of humor and unique way of phrasing and expression into every book. I especially love getting into the male psyche, and I’ve been told (by those of the male persuasion) that I do it quite well. That’s high praise! I don’t necessarily follow the “three kiss rule” or formula pathway to romance. But that doesn’t mean there’s not conflict and roadblocks along the way to lasting love. I personally feel it’s a greater test of faith and bonds a couple more when they work through issues and confront problems together instead of keeping them apart until the very end where they share a kiss, proclaim their love and ride off into the sunset. That’s a very simplistic way of putting it, but I’m sure you get my point. I am a firm believer in happy endings, and tying up loose ends of a story, although sometimes I carry storylines over from one book to another in the series. But each book can certainly stand alone.

I don’t kill major characters. I just can’t do it. Peripheral characters sometimes die (and a few are maimed along the way), but I just can’t kill ‘em. Although I realize life isn’t always rosy and can seem downright hard and unfair at times, I don’t believe killing beloved characters is something romance readers respond to positively. From a personal perspective, I don’t like it. At least at this early point in my writing career, I want readers to weep tears of joy or because I’ve struck an emotional chord deep inside, but I don’t want them to cry because they’re grieving the loss of a beloved character. You can have drama and realism with all the killing. Christians can laugh as easily as they can cry.

What's one of the oddest or most interesting things someone has ever said about you?

When I once told someone about all the places I’ve lived and visited, she made the comment, “Wow, you’ve certainly been around.” Given the connotation of that statement, I wasn’t pleased, until I realized that yes, I have been around, but in the nicest sense of the word. Now, it’s actually one of my catch phrases when describing myself. By way of explanation – I was born in IN, moved to TX after college, met my husband (a student at Dallas Theological Seminary – he’s from RI), moved to CA, married in KY, honeymooned in HI, had our first child, moved to PA, had two more children and then moved to MA, then my (thankfully highly-adaptable) family back to IN in late 2005. While I have a great appreciation for each place we’ve lived, Kentuckiana (where southern Indiana meets Louisville, KY at the Ohio River) is truly “home in my heart.” Jim and I have always followed where the Lord leads, but in our case, He made it abundantly clear in each instance where He wanted us, and we tried to bloom where we were planted. So, in another important sense, “home in your heart” is so much more than simple geography.


How did you find out about your book contract?

On Saturday, May 1, 2010, I indulged in a rarity – sleeping in! It was glorious. When I awoke, I did the usual – brewed coffee, started a load of laundry – the normal stuff of life before settling in front of the computer. As usual, I checked my e-mail. When I saw the e-mail from Torn Veil Books, I stared, and my heart rate increased tenfold. If I’d been fully awake and really paying attention, I would have noticed the paper clip indicating an attachment. Holding my breath, I clicked on the e-mail and read the words that changed my life, “We have decided to publish your book, Awakening. Your contract is attached.” So, long story short, I was in my nightgown, still half asleep and then…I gasped and ran to get my husband and family and tell them the news. It was a banner day. Getting my first contract truly was one of the most important days of my life. It was the culmination of years of reading, writing, editing and studying journalism and English in school…and a dream come true. I am so thankful.



Who/What spurs you to write? Where do your story and character ideas come from?

I write because it’s my passion. It’s what I love, and what I feel called by the Lord to do. Put it this way: I can’t not write, although I put my writing aside for a decade for something more pressing – raising my children. But the ideas were always formulating, simmering beneath the surface. Maybe that’s why I’ve never had writer’s block, and hopefully never will. Most of my story ideas are inspired from newspapers, magazines, television or radio programs, my kids, church sermons or Sunday school lessons, snippets of conversations in the grocery store…you name it. Practically anything is fodder for my fertile imagination.







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REVIEW OF THE BOOK « THE ROAD TO DEER RUN » BY ELAINE COOPER

It was an absolute pleasure to read Elaine Cooper first book. I just fell in love with it. As I started reading it, I found myself very eager to carry on with my reading; the book was so well written that I connected easily with the characters and the places where the story took place. Honestly, I felt like I was watching a very nice historical romance movie in Technicolor.

“The Road to Deer Run” takes place in 1777 during the war between the British and the American. A young atheist British soldier, Daniel Lowe, is seriously injured before running away from his regiment to find refuge in the nearest village called “Deer Run” where he met a young Christian American lady, called Mary Thomsen.

Being enemies of war, they soon learn that they strongly need the support of each other to survive Evil at his fullest. When God is allowed into the picture as the Great Physician, true healing on one’s innermost being takes place. When a person allows the Great Physician to have access to his heart; healing for the mind and emotions follows on applying the healing power of God’s Word. (Quote from God’s Prescription by Ken Sharum).


Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: Or Christ, that person is a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here.

Elaine Cooper’ book shows us that God can turn hatred into friendship and restores the years that the Devil has stolen from our lives a hundredfold. He is forever faithful and full of surprises. The author demonstrates that God let things happen in our lives so we can turn to Him for help, as He saves from our sins. Elaine also shares the longing of God to have a loving relationship with those who doubt his existence and forgiveness.

Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Being Elaine Cooper’ first book, I felt that it was the written work of professional with a lot of experience.

Her book is well researched. Deep emotions, love and passion have been put into Elaine’ historical romance novel where love is deeply rooted to the soul and heart of each character. Elaine has managed to give her readers a book where perfection prevails. The author knows how to get the attention of her audience from the beginning to the end of her story.

To conclude, I would recommend Elaine Cooper’ first novel “The Road To Deer Run” as a great gift for anyone that wants to read a good breathtakingly historical romantic novel. Most importantly, I would suggest it as a good read for those who still doubt the existence of God.

May God use Elaine Cooper ‘book to reveal his forgiveness and character in order to change the stoniest hearts?


You can order Elaine Cooper' novel "The Road To Deer Run" by clicking or copying the link below into your browser:

http://deerrunbooks.com/order_264.html


God bless you,

Sana Edoja

http://sanaedoja.wordpress.com/?p=799&preview=true

DESTINY'S DREAM BY DELIA LATHAM

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Is a little respect too much to ask at a parent’s funeral?
Apparently it is for Destiny May. Clay Gallagher is built like a small mountain and far more vocal than is fitting when he shows up late to her mother’s “going away party.” When it turns out he’s not even at the right funeral, Destiny demands retribution in the form of an escape from the day’s dreary proceedings. Spending time with a handsome stranger who makes her laugh is more therapeutic than fighting with her overbearing family.
Clay finds Destiny beautiful, charming...and intelligent. So why is she stubbornly determined to open a Christian dating service? Clay has little respect for such a frivolous profession, and doesn’t think the small, conservative town of Castle Creek will welcome such a progressive business. But when Destiny is threatened by an anonymous caller who deeply resents her and what she does for a living, Clay makes it his business to keep the saucy redhead out of harm’s way.
Trouble is, spending time in her company weakens his defenses, and Destiny may be the one thing Clay can’t escape...if he even wants to.
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WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DESTINY’S DREAM
In Destiny's Dream, Latham writes a story with a nice blend of humor and romance and a neat little thread of intrigue. You won't want to miss this first installment in the Solomon's Gate Series. Latham knows how to weave a wonderful story and balance it with biblical truths to inspire and challenge the reader. Destiny's Dream belongs on every reader's bookshelf.

Click on the book below to order your copy.



Sharlene MacLaren
Bestselling Author

OUT OF THE SHADOWS - JENNA'S SECRET BY CHRISSY SIGGEE

I just wanted to thank Chrissy Siggee for giving me the opportunity to read her fiction book called "OUT OF THE SHADOWS - JENNA'S SECRET". I was a bit reluctant at reading it at first because I've never really believed in the impact of Christian fiction books could change lives, but, I must admit that Chrissy's book proved me wrong.

I very much enjoyed reading Chrissy book as it is well written and easy to read and it took me only 2 days to get through it.

Chrissy book relates the story of a young girl called Jenna, who is passionate with playing hockey, her dream to make to the finals is shattered following a serious injury during a soccer game. As a result, Jenna found herself struggling with anorexia but she manages to fight her illness with the help and love of doctors, family, and friends. Her faith in God plays a major part in her healing and also, leads her to help another young girl who had been struggling with bulimia for years.

The story moved me to tears as I noticed that power of the love of God brought dramatic healing to those young girls struggling with self-esteem and eating disorders.

To conclude, I would recommend this book to any parents who have kids with eating disorders.

God bless you all.

You can order Chrissy Siggee by clicking on the links or the picture below .



You can contact Chrissy Siggee on her email: chrissy@chrissysiggee.com
http: //chrissysiggee.com/
http: //chrissysiggee.com/shadows/

Sana Edoja

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This is going to change the way you market forever.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO SELL MORE BOOKS ?????????????????????????????

I have recently self-published my first book “KNOWING GOD”; and I have my own blog: the question I have been asking myself is: “How come I haven’t sold a lot of books?” Which made me think from a shopper point of view. What do I look for when I buy a book? , what ticks me off to make this invaluable purchase?

That got me thinking about the impulse I get when I purchase CD’s, DVD’s, books and go to the movies.

Well, let’s forget about the book market for a moment and focus about the other stuff like the music and movie business. A while back, I used to buy my music tapes from the music stores as I paid the full price, being a music lover. Nowadays, I don’t want and do not have the money to be spending 20 euros on an album. I do buy my music on amazon and I get the cheapest CD’s I can find because I can buy so many for a cheap price without forgetting that billing price will go up once the postage is adding to my transaction. Today, I own an MP3 and I don’t really like having a lot of CD’s boxes around, they take too much storage space. So I only buy the MP3 download version of the album I fancy on amazon, I recently saw them on the deezer.com for half the price they are sold on amazon which helps me to reduce the money I spend on CD’s and DVD’s.

Besides, when I go to the amazon page to buy music, I just type the name of the artist I like and see what’s come up; I listen to the album quickly to make sure I would enjoy the music. As a matter of fact, I would rarely visit the next pages of the search for that artist because I’m usually satisfied with the prices displayed on the two first pages of my search. I always go for the cheapest seller.

Talking about movies, I do go to the movies but I tend to go in the morning because it is cheaper, I only go to the cinema to see big budget movies like “AVATAR”, “LORD OF THE RINGS”, “PONYO”, “NARNIA”; however, the small budget movies like Jennifer Anniston movies, I’d rather see them on DVD’s or on streaming even though the quality is not that good. I want to make an intelligent remark which is, that people would rather go to the cinema if it was cheaper. I’m prepared to go to the cinema a lot more if the price of the movie came up to 3 euros for a movie, but, that does only happen when they have the film festivals, and again, they are only showing films that are a bit crap not like the big blockbusters.

About the books ???????

I used to buy my books in a small Christian shop including Borders and WH Smith when I didn’t own a computer. I found those shops quite expensive compare to the internet. Now that I do have internet, I shop on amazon for my books and I do search by subject and author. Those that have big names like Joyce Meyer have credibility but I came across other authors that I never heard before. I use the “search inside the book” and the table contents as I can find out if the book would be something I would enjoy reading. Most of the time, I will also look only at the two first pages of my search because the more knowledgeable books would be displayed in the first pages of the search. I would also usually purchase the cheapest book within the selection I’m interested in. I rarely read the comments to find out if the book has had a great impact but I usually do that when I buy household or beauty products on amazon because sometimes you can end up buying a crap product.

When I used to work in London, I’ll be looking at what people are reading in the underground and if I like the cover, I would go and do a search on the internet to purchase that book. I usually enjoyed that book once I read it. I usually dump them on the tube or charity shop for somebody else to enjoy reading it. I usually recommend the book to my friends.

As a self-publisher, I can understand why my book doesn’t sell. I’m a new author. My book is at the end of the search list where people usually never bother to look at, competing with so many books that have been bought so many times and are sold back at a ridiculous price. The price of my book is quite overpriced compare to those already on the market. I’ve put my book on a kindle format at a ridiculous price and if my book is at the end of the list, it will probably never been looked at.

I got myself thinking, I’m sure my book would be selling in book shops on a nice display if people see my lovely book cover, people usually pick up a book when they see a nice cover and are also interested about what the back cover reveals about the book.

In conclusion, Would I be staying in the book business long enough to see a miracle. Probably yes, probably not, it depends if God gives me the patience to wait for positive results. Amazingly enough, my blog has already been read by more than 850 people. That is a big mass of people. Imagine if that 800 people would have bought my book, I would have written more books by then. Explanation follows:

When you are an inexperienced writer like me, you have to finance your book cover, editing and marketing. All those things cost money. Searching for the right publisher costs money too, I remembered printing so many papers as I sent a synopsis to so many publishing companies. I got a lot of rejection letters; the only positive offer I got was from a publishing company that went bankrupt shortly after. When I got self-published, I spent quite a lot of money, buying my own book to send it to churches, people on the internet and a Christian radio but I got only one feedback in return. That’s life. So many efforts for nothing. Even my friends can be excited about you writing a book, but not one of them purchased my book. I’m not disgusted; I’m just saying “Welcome to the real Word”.

I do live in France and I love writing in English but, for those, who are abroad, if you write books, try to sell a few copies through your church bookstore, I’m sure you’ll have a chance to impact the congregation in a nice way.

As I always say, the hard part is not writing the book because it comes as a second nature. The hardest part is to get people interested in buying your books. Things are different for those that have a lot of money that can be invested in top PR and marketing campaigns. Everything is done for them by top professionals; they even have book signing events.

Sorry if I disappointed quite a few writers in this article but the truth had to be said.

Wishing you the best of luck with your writing. Thank you for reading me.

Sana Edoja

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