Philip In Samaria – Acts 8:5-8

Wow, so scary and amazing. Can you imagine Jesus giving you enough power to drive out evil spirits from the demon-possessed? Can you imagine being paralyzed and then healed? I wish I could’ve seen this happening. I’m sure sights of the healing and the exorcism of demons was something that one would always rmember. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you read this scripture?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city.

Chasing Sunsets By Eva Marie Everson

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Chasing Sunsets by Eva Marie Everson

This book was light and refreshing. Kimberly is recently divorced from her husband. Amid child-custody disputes, she finds herself alone for part of the summer. Kimberly’s father sends her to Cedar Key to find a new housekeeper to clean their summer home. This is the first time Kim has been to Cedar Key since the untimely death of her mother.

During her short visit, she become familiar with some of the locals:
1. Patsy – her elderly next door neighbor and Christian confidante
2. Kim meets a local photographer. Kim has given up photography years ago, and her visit to Cedar Key makes her long for her old hobby of shooting beautiful pictures.
3. Stephen – Kim’s high-school romance ended abruptly when Stephen got married to another woman, breaking things off with Kim. Now he’s back in the picture, divorced and the father of a college-aged daughter.
4. Rosa – Kim’s childhood best friend now treats Kim like a stranger. Kimberly has no idea why Rosa is giving her the cold shoulder – they were as close as two peas in a pod while growing up and now Rosa is a successful real estate agent. Kim wonders about Rosa’s frosty attitude.

Can Kim find it in her heart to forgive Stephen for the past? Also, can she open up her heart and learn to fall in love again?

I noticed the author always described what everybody was wearing using brand names and stuff. I’m not much into clothing and didn’t care much for reading about the brand names and color-schemes of sneakers and shirts and dresses. However, this didn’t take away from the story, and I can imagine that lots of other women would enjoy the detailed descriptions of everybody’s clothing.

Overall, I enjoyed this story as it shows how we can heal our past relationships and learn to lean on God for understanding. Kimberly learns that she can’t always control the actions of others, but needs to seek God’s will to make important decisions in her life.

Many thanks to Baker/Revell for providing a free review copy of this novel.

~Cecelia Dowdy~
From the Back Cover
Sometimes you get a second chance at your first love

Kimberly Tucker’s life hasn’t turned out the way she thought it would. While her ex is living it up, she struggles to understand what went wrong. When her two sons end up spending five weeks of summer vacation with their father, Kim plans a respite at the family vacation home on tiny Cedar Key. As she revisits the long-forgotten past, she discovers that treasures in life are often buried, and sometimes you do get a second chance at love.

Let yourself get swept away to an island retreat of warm tropical breezes, sandy beaches, and the most glorious sunsets you can imagine.

Question From A Writer…

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I received the following questions from Tiara:
I have not actually written a book, but I have a wonderful idea in mind for a book. I love the Lord and Christian Fiction is definitely the way I would like to go. What must I do to get published. An associate of mine, recently sent her book to several different publishing companies. My only problem with that is, how do I know that a publishing company won’t steal my book and publish it as their own.

This question is somewhat open-ended. I’m not sure what types of companies where your friends are sending their work? I can only speak from my own experience. If you want to publish traditionally (meaning, submit your work to the large NY-type publishers) you’ll more than likely need a literary agent. Most traditional publishers won’t look at your work without having an agent. As far as length and content, you should be able to research the various Christian publishers online – go to their websites and look at their submission guidelines. This way, you’ll know about how long to make your stories via wordcount that’s given in the guidelines.

If you’re self-publishing (meaning you’re PAYING to have your work published) then I can’t advise about that because I’ve never done that before.

Your best bet would be to join ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). It’s a wonderful group with a wonderful writers’ loop. You can ask questions of other writers and you’ll be around like-minded individuals (both published and unpublished). ACFW is only good if you’re going the traditional route in publishing. Also, if going the traditional route, you’d need to decide whom would be the best publisher for your work. Who do you like to read? Which publisher out there, now, publishes the type of fiction that you’re writing? That’ll help you determine where your book will fit.

If you want to self-publish, then, I’m not sure which organization would work best on that front? If you do want to self-publish, I’d advise by starting out by doing an e-book first, because, from what I can gather from other authors, the e-book route doesn’t require a whole lot of money.

As far as stealing your work, that’s not something you should worry about. Your work is automatically copyrighted when you create it on your computer. If you should decide to self-publish and hire a company to print your books for you, then you’d need to register the copyright with the Library of Congress (I think. Again, this is not something that I normally do on my own.)

Also, you said you had a book idea but have not written it yet? You need to write the book! You should be working on this regularly. The above-mentioned advice is all moot unless you have your book written! So, start writing your book everyday and see how it goes from there. Hope you find my advice helpful!

Sincerely,
~Cecelia Dowdy~

Stephen – Stoned! – From The Blog Archives

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This is a blog post that I did back in 2009. Comment and share your thoughts if you wish…

Acts 6:15 (NIV)
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Isn’t this a powerful scripture? I wonder what his face looked like? I’m assuming there was a white/pale glow to his face? Could you imagine seeing a person today who looked like an angel? What would you do?

Acts 7:51-59 (NIV)
51″You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56″Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Man, what powerful words! Can you imagine being stoned to death, then telling the Lord to forgive those persecuting you? Makes you stop and think of those suffering for the sake of the Lord. Imagine the pain of being stoned to death…brutal…makes me think, you know, as a Christian, I haven’t been through anything remotely related to this. Such suffering and intense physical pain. When you think your life is getting tough, think of how Stephen suffered…think of how Jesus suffered…

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Book Giveaway! :-) Follow The Rules To Enter! :-)

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THIS BOOK GIVEAWAY IS OVER!! WINNER IS LISTED HERE!
I’m hosting another book giveaway! ONE winner will receive the titles listed below. IF YOU WANT TO ENTER THE DRAWING YOU MUST DO TWO THINGS:

#1. You must join my mailing list! You can join my mailing list here:

Join My E-mail List!

THIS BOOK GIVEAWAY IS OVER!! WINNER IS LISTED HERE!

If you’re already on my email list, then you can skip step one.

#2. You must comment on this blog post to enter and LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR BLOG POST – IF YOU DON’T LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR BLOG POST, THEN YOU WON’T BE ENTERED INTO THE CONTEST! I need an email address so that I can contact you if you win!

I’ll be drawing the winner within the next few weeks or so! 🙂 Remember, I have the right to announce your first and last name, city and state on my blog if you win!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Early Christians – More Thoughts

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Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

Do you think the early Christians had deeper faith than the present-day Christians?

I’ve been talking about the early Christians lately. The church was so much different back then – at least different from the churches of which I’ve been a member. The miracles that happened within the early church were truly amazing. I’d like to take this moment and share some scriptures that show clothing filled with God’s spirit. I blogged about this first scripture years ago, but, thought it’d be good to talk about again since this scripture pertains to the early Christians, mainly, the Apostle Paul:

Acts 19:11-12
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

That’s so cool, awesome and totally amazing! Can you imagine, an apron or handkerchief that had touched Paul could be taken to a sick person and the item could cure his/her illness and drive out evil spirits! Man….like, wow!!!

Paul’s miraculous miracles, stored in clothing items that he touched….

Wow!

I was talking to my husband about this last night and he reminded me of the following scripture – when the bleeding woman touched Jesus clothing and was healed:
Luke 8:43-48
43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

I would like to witness something like this happening myself. Yes, I do realize that it’s still possible for this to happen today, people can get healed, but, I wish I could travel in a time machine and go back to the days of Jesus and the Apostle Paul and witness these healings as descibed in the above-mentioned scriptures.

So, do you think the early Christians had deeper faith than the present-day Christians?

The Early Christians – Further Thoughts…

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Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

Why is the Christian church not as closely-knit, with like-minded individuals, as the believers that are mentioned in the book of Acts?

I was talking to my husband about this last night, and we came up with the following reasons why the church of today is so different than the Early Christian Church:

1. It’s been about two thousand years since Christ came, died on the cross, and the early Christian church was formed. That’s a long time ago and during that time, our faith has been weakened and watered down. As a whole, our faith is simply not as strong as the faith of the Early Christians.

2. We are no longer one body. The Early Christian Church was one body of like-minded individuals. During the passage of time, over two thousand years, we’re no longer one body, but several bodies. We have so many denominations and sects (and some of those denominations and sects will claim that the other sects and denominations are unsaved, causing arguments and fallout) that we’re no longer united and that’s just another factor that weakens the faith of the Christian church.

3. The Early Christians existed right after Jesus’s death. They had direct contact with Jesus’s apostles – they were more closely connected to Jesus and that extremely strong connection was grounds for a stronger church, a stronger faith, and more astounding miracles.

I’d like to top off this blog post with an interesting thought…wouldn’t it be great if the Christian church could revert back to the way it used to be back in the early days? Wouldn’t it be nice if we were one, united, body of believers?

Why do you think the Christian church is no longer as strong as the church in the Book of Acts? Leave a comment.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Early Christian Church – How Strong Is Your Church?

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How strong is your church community? When I think about the faith and the miracles performed in the Early Christian Church, I wonder if there are communities out there that are as close-knit as the fellowship of believers in the book of Acts.
I’ve been a member of a few churches throughout the years. I’m finding that a lot of churches lack the closeness described for the Early Christians. However, one must remember that the Early Christians also communed together, ate meals together, and sold all of their possessions to provide for one another. Having a community like this, coupled with their deep faith, resulted in a strong Christian church.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Acts 2:41-47
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

To Win Her Heart By Karen Witemeyer

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To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer

What will people say? Have you ever hesitated about associating yourself with someone with a questionable past because you were worried about your own reputation? Have you ever worried about what other people would think, instead of helping/befriending someone less fortunate because you didn’t want it to tarnish your good-standing within the community? That’s one question that ran through my mind while reading this book. Leave your responses to these questions in the comments.

Spinster Eden Spencer runs her own library out of her home. She’s wealthy and since she’s been painfully jilted in the past, she doesn’t have any romantic relationships. Instead, she finds solace amoung her book stacks. She also loves reading stories to children every week and she loves flowers.

However, Eden’s non-romantic life changes when tall, strong, and handsome Levi Grant comes to town, hired as the new blacksmith. Levi has some ghosts in his past, he’s just gotten out of prison, and he used to be a prize fighter. It’s a life he’s left behind and he finds himself smitten with Eden and her library. Born with a shaming lisp, Levi takes his time with his speech, choosing to use words that do not have the S sound. Eden mistakenly assumes Levi is dim-witted since he speaks so slowly. Can these two overcome their differences and learn to love one another?

This book dealt with the issue of helping those with unfortunate pasts. In one part, Levi rescues a prostitute’s daughter, Chloe. Levi brings Chloe to Eden since she doesn’t have anyplace to live. Eden hesitates, not wanting to mar her repuation by hiring a prostitute’s daughter to do her housework. Levi convinces her to do the right thing and, as a result, she’s ostracized in the town. The town exhibited very un-Christian behavior in spite of their regular church attendance, which is sadly, very realistic behavior for a lot of Christians.

I enjoyed this novel and felt that the blacksmith/librarian romance added a fresh twist to this romance novel.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Book description:
Eden Spencer has sworn off men, choosing instead to devote her time to the library she runs. But when the town’s new blacksmith captures her interest, she steels herself against the attraction he provokes. As his hesitant manner and hidden depths break her resolve, will she allow a tarnished hero to win her heart?