My birthday is today and my hubby purchased me a Kindle! It’s certainly taken me long enough to get an e-reader! Until today, I’ve always used the Kindle for PC, and I used the PC Kindle to download freebies and I’ve purchased a couple of items on the PC Kindle. It’s nice to now have a REAL KINDLE, though! To test out my new Kindle I purchased a book. My first Kindle purchase?
Have you read this novel, if so, did you like it?
I’ve started reading the secular novel entitled The Help. From what I understand, this novel has been extremely popular for lots of people. The book is about a group of African-American maids in the sixties and their relationships with their white employers. The author is Caucasian. What’s interesting is that this novel has a cover with three birds on it – you don’t even get a glimpse as to what the novel’s about from glancing at the cover.
However, they have done a new cover that depicts what the story is about. I think it’s interesting that this book is not shelved in the African-American section of the bookstore. I guess that makes sense since the author is Caucasian. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you’ve seen my views about shelving African American books separately from the other books. Also, wanted to add that this book is being made into a movie that’s about to be released pretty soon.
I’ll be sure to post a full review once I’m done. So again, my question is, have you read this novel, if so, did you like it?
It was officially announced yesterday that as of the end of 2011, the Heartsong Presents book club will no longer be in existance. The book club is being cancelled and I was so stunned to hear this. HP has been around since 1992 – that’s almost twenty years of books and they’ve released over 1,000 titles! A lot of big-name Christian fiction authors got their start by writing for Heartsong Presents.
Well, with the world of publishing making drastic changes lately, I can’t say that I’m surprised. I did notice that when I received reader mail about my Heartsongs, the correspondence was always from an elderly person. I’m led to believe that the Heartsong demographic was older people and perhaps many of the members joined in the beginning and as time went on, it was hard to get more people to join the book club in recent years? It’s hard to say.
I was a member of this book club for several years. I’m still wrapping my mind around this stunning news! 🙁
Any comments about this? Why do you think this happened?
Timothy wrote to me with the following questions:
When did you know that you are/were a writer?
I guess I knew that I wanted to be a writer when I was about 27 or 28. I’ve always been an avid reader and one day, during my lunch break, I’d forgotten to bring a book with me to read. So, I took out my pen and paper and started writing a book. I’ve been writing ever since.
What made you choose Christian Fiction?
When I first started writing, back in 1994, I wasn’t aware of the Christian fiction genre. Actually, the genre wasn’t very prominent back then. I still consider Christian fiction and Christian romance novels to be a fairly “new” genre, meaning, I haven’t really started seeing them until the past fifteen years. When I was growing up, Christian fiction did not exist and I read a lot of secular fiction.
Regarding your question – when I first started writing, I sent my writings to an editor whom I’d paid to edit my work. One of the comments she made was: Is this a Christian romance? I was not familiar with that term at the time. To help with my writing career, I joined Romance Writers of America and I joined the RWA chapter entitled Faith, Hope, And Love (RWA’s Christian Inspirational Chapter). Being a part of Faith, Hope, and Love opened the door for me regarding Christian fiction. I became familiar with the genre and I started reading those novels. I’d been mentioning God, faith and church in my books before I even knew about the Christian market. So, by my “discovering” this genre, it just made me aware that this is the type of fiction that I needed to be writing.
Here’s what’s on the brunch “menu” for today:
Scrambled eggs
Bagels and cream cheese
Toast
Bacon
Cinnamon rolls
Coffee
Non-alcoholic champagne punch
Let’s imagine we’ve just finished eating the tasty food listed above before we discuss the following scriptures.
Can you imagine what it would be like if your loved ones were raised from the dead? I wanted to talk about how some of the early Christians raised people from the dead through the power of Jesus. When you read these scriptures, what goes through your mind?
Acts 9:40-42
40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.
Eutychus Raised From the Dead at Troas – Acts 20:9-12
9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
Both Paul and Peter were able to raise someone from the dead through hte power of Jesus! I know we talk about Jesus healing people and raising people from the dead but, I don’t notice much discussion about Paul and Peter doing this. The two above-mentioned scriptures remind me of the scripture in Luke where Jesus raised a girl from the dead.
Luke 8:49-56
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
It’s important to note that Jesus ordered them not to tell anybody about what had happened. I wonder why? I’m wondering if such miraculous resurrections may occur today, somewhere in the world, and people are keeping silent about it?
It’s almost as if, back then – in the book of Acts, the early saints were closer to Jesus, and could perform miracles that were similiar to what Jesus did while he was on the earth? Yes, I do believe people can be raised from the dead today, but, I feel that such happenings are extremely rare if/when they do occur. As I’ve stated on this blog before, I feel that the early Christians had a closer connection to Jesus than we have today. I think their faith was so strong…so strong that it’s almost hard for us to imagine or understand such a deep faith.
So, when you read these scriptures, what goes through your mind? When I read those scriptures, I’m just awed and amazed by the healing power of Jesus – the most profound power of all!
Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
This is a repeat of an old blog post!
Do you remember your very first love letter?
The first time I received a love letter was when I was in the sixth grade and I was eleven years old. I sat at my assigned desk during math class. When I was about to leave, I looked down and saw a piece of notebook paper under my seat. I picked it up and was shocked to see the words from a secret admirer…my secret admirer! I don’t remember what the note said, BUT, I do remember that this person had taken a piece of masking tape and attached a nickel to the note as a gift for me!
Believe it or not, I never did find out who wrote me that letter! I recall being kind of upset that he’d only left me a nickel…it was the seventies and there wasn’t much that you could purchase at the store for five cents! I recall wishing he’d left me a dollar instead!
After that, I don’t really recall writing love letters very much, but, I remember my female friends in high school and college writing letters and secret notes to guys that they had a crush on. The only time I remember exchanging love letters was with my husband and it was via email. We met through an online dating service and while we dated we sent several emails to each other. As a matter of fact, we still exchange emails! 🙂
So do you remember writing or receiving your first love letter? Who was it from? To whom did you address your first love letter?
Leave your response in the comments!
The Deal, The Dance, And The Devil by Victoria Christopher Murray
First Timothy 6:10 – For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
This scripture is what ran through my mind as I was reading this novel. Adam and Evia Langston are a happily married couple with three kids. Adam was laid off from his well-paying corporate job several months ago and now the family is struggling to survive. Their savings have been depleted and they’re in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.
Evia works for Shay-Shante (the owner of a mega-hair-care company). Shay Shante makes Evia a deal that’s extremely hard to take seriously. Shay offers Evia five million dollars in exchange for one weekend alone with Adam (Evia’s husband). Evia is floored by this offer and she initially says no.
As the story progresses, you learn about other financial obligations that the Langstons are responsible for, like the monthly stipend that’s paid to Evia’s ghetto family and the funds they have to pay for Adam’s mother who’s now in an upscale nursing home.
I was drawn to this story because it shows how much we can come to depend upon money instead of God. Evia and Adam are a Christian couple but their faith is extremely tested when they’re faced with financial hardship.
You also get a glimpse of how Evia and Adam met and how strong their love was. I don’t want to give spoilers but, money can change relationships. Although having some extra cash to pay your bills is nice, being indebted to somebody can bring a whole set of new problems into your life.
You should read this novel if you want to see a realistic example of how money can mess with a strong, Christian marriage.
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? Do you think you could give up your spouse to another person for one weekend for five million dollars?
~Cecelia Dowdy~
Unexpected Love by Andrea Boeshaar
This is a sweet, heartwarming story about Renna, a nurse who happens to be an old-maid. Renna works hard at the hospital and she’s come to accept that she’ll always remain single – no man could possibly want her since she has an unattractive purple birthmark on her cheek.
Renna’s life changes when a man enters her hospital ward as a new patient. They call this new man Mr. Blackeyes since they have no idea about his identity. The dark-eyed man has been recently blinded as the result of a boating accident. Because of his amnesia and blindness, he finds that he has to rely on Renna for support.
However, as Mr. Blackeyes slowly regains snippets of his memory, an unusual string of events unfurls, creating a suspenseful thread in this story. These events are related to Captain Blackeyes boating accident and Mr. Benchley, a business associate who his smitten with Renna. Renna can’t stand that her parents are practically forcing her to date Mr. Benchley. The man gives her a bad feeling, and she senses that he would not make a good husband, something about him just does not seem quite right…
Renna and Captain Blackeyes share a deep mutual attraction, but both have obstacles to overcome before they can love one another.
I was drawn to this story because the hero was blind. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you’ll know that I want to see more novels with blind characters.
I’d recommend this heartwarming read if you like sweet inspirational romance novels.
Congratulations to:
Deb Piccurelli – Glendora, NJ
Deb is the winner of this book giveaway. Deb, I’ll be snail mailing your box of 20+ books soon.
All, I’ll be posting another book giveaway sometime in the future. If you want to be sure not to miss out, then you should subscribe to my blog…that way you’ll be sure not to miss any blog posts!
Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos
I’m ready to discuss another scripture on today’s Sunday Brunch. Like last week, we can pretend like we just finished eating the following menu before “discussing” the a scripture by leaving comments.
Today’s menu:
Orange Juice
Coffee
Blueberry Waffles with Syrup
Bacon
Hamburger Sliders with Fries
Today’s question:
What happened to Philip at the end of the eighth chapter in the book of Acts?
Wait a second. Do you like Christian fiction? Read my Amazon bestselling novels! Tell your friends! My books will make you laugh, cry, and praise God! Now, back to Philip…
I wanted to talk about the ending of the scripture involving the Ethiopian eunuch. After Philip has a life-changing conversation with the eunuch, Philip baptizes him. After the baptism, the following occurs:
Acts 8:39-40
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
What I’m wondering is, did the Lord’s Holy Spirit enable Philip to disappear and then re-appear in Azotus? I know some translations use the term “carried” Philip away instead of “took Philip away.” Either way you look at it, it appears to me that Philip literally disappeared from the scene of the eunuch and then reappeared in Azotus. I’m thinking Azotus was where the Lord felt was the greatest need for Philip to preach the gospel. So, that’s why He had to carry Philip away from the eunuch so suddenly – Philip had lots of preaching work to do.
Do you think that Philip literally disappeared and then re-appeared? If so, why?
Leave your responses in the comments! I’m anxious to hear what everybody has to say! I realize people will interpret this scripture in different ways and I think we can get a discussion going! I hope you “enjoyed” the meal! 🙂
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