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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