Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Sunday Brunch – Prayer

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What has your prayer experience been like with most churches?

Matthew 6:5-8

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Growing up, I’d often been warned against churches that had preachers yelling and screaming from the pulpit, and then praying loudly, still yelling, going on and on. I was told it was not biblical. Then as I got older, I found different churches did it different ways. I felt that the screamers – well, it was just for show for the audience. I doubted they prayed this way while in private.

Prayer is very personal, and folks pray differently and I think a lot of it has to do what they were exposed to while they were growing up.

Do you often pray publicly? If so, how do you do it? Are you a long-winded prayer, or is your prayer finished quickly?

Sunday Brunch – Why Were Humans Vegetarians Before The Flood?

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keywords: Noah, Noah’s Ark, flood, Old Testament, vegetarian, vegetarianism, Bible, ark, animals, Bible story, Bible stories, Sunday School

Why were humans vegetarians before the flood?

Genesis 9:1-3

9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

After Noah and his family exited the ark, the Lord told him that the beasts of the earth would fear him and that they were given into his hands as food. I’m assuming, at this point, the birds and animals would run away when approached by humans and we’d need to start hunting then down to eat as food. I’m also assuming, before the flood, animals would willingly come up to humans much like domesticated pets? What do you think?

My main question is, why did the Lord let us eat meat AFTER the flood? I’m assuming before the flood, everyone ate a vegetarian diet? Was it possible that the earth changed after the flood and it’d be difficult for man to receive all of his nourishment from plants?

Why do you think humans were vegetarians before the flood?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Blue Ridge Sunrise

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Blue Ride Sunrise by Denise Hunter

Have you ever wished for a second chance at love?

When Zoe returns to her hometown for her grandmother’s funeral, she’s floored when she discovers that she’s inherited her grandma’s peach orchard. Being home dredges up so many good and painful memories. Zoe has never gotten over her high school crush on Cruz, her brother’s best friend. Plus, she’s a mommy and has to care for her four-year-old daughter. She’s been on the road since she’s had her kid and she’s in a terrible relationship with her current boyfriend. Plus, she’s estranged from her dad.

Cruz has never forgotten Zoe. When she turns up back in town, all of those old feelings are reawakened. But, can her family accept him as her equal, or, will they always feel that he’s not good enough for her.

But, Zoe has a secret and when Cruz discovers why she’s left…

Although I enjoyed this book, I felt it was more like a sweet romance than Christian fiction. I felt the message was very light, almost non-existent. However, the story was very good and I was pulled in from the beginning. I just wish the flash back wasn’t so many chapters. I was mesmerized by the first few chapters. But, when I went back to Zoe and Cruz’s relationship from years ago…yeah it was good, but, I’d rather the story had started at the beginning of their romance instead of flashing back.

I recommend this book if you love a good, heartwarming story about second chances. The chemistry between Cruz and Zoe is hotter than grease on an iron skillet – and I mean that in a positive way!

So, have you ever wished for a second chance at love? Have you ever broken up with someone and wished you could see them again and try and see if things could work out the second time?

 

Valentine’s Day and a Preorder

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Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? If so, what will you do to celebrate this year?

My husband and I will be attending an old-school concert. I might bake some heart-shaped cookies – depends on how I feel. I certainly don’t need the cookies, but, my sweet tooth aches sometimes and I need to have my dessert!

Do you have any special memories about how you celebrated Valentine’s Day as a child, and as an adult? If so I’d love to hear about them!

So, tell me how you will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. I’d also love to know about your Valentine’s Day memories, too!

I also wanted to mention that The Underground Railroad Brides Collection is now available for preorder! I authored one of the nine novellas in this historical collection. This is my first historical and I honestly believe it’s one of the strongest stories that I’ve ever written. Come and sample these beautiful love stories by some wonderful Christian authors! 

Love Simplified

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Love Simplified by Terri J. Haynes

Do you like to watch reality TV? If so, what’s your favorite reality show?

Author Tempest Day is the expert on the subject of love! She’s had pairing parties, where she’s paired up folks with their future mates. She’s been somewhat successful in her love pairings, however, there’s something unique about Tempest: Although she advises people about romance, she’s never been in love!

When she’s challenged on a talk show, she’s practically forced to so something about her never-fallen-in-love status. Her life takes a drastic change and when she’s now a reality TV star, she finds herself working with handsome and bad-tempered Lance Moretti. Lance is drawn to Tempest and the chemistry sizzles between them like oil hitting a hot skillet!

This book was so exciting! There were so many surprises and twists and turns. You’ll keep turning the pages as you read about these amazing characters. It was also exciting to read about life on a reality show.

So, do you like to watch reality TV? If so, what’s your favorite reality show?

Happy New Year’s Eve!

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So, how has your year been?

It’s New Year’s Eve and I wanted to take some time to reflect with my blog readers my email list. This has been a good year for me writing-wise. I started my own company, Divine Desserts Publishing, and during Christmas 2016, I started doing boxed sets with other authors. I’d never worked with a group of authors before on a published writing project. It was a fun and lucrative experience. I made some new friends and I’ve found that it’s great to work in a group where folks share a plethora of story ideas.

For the first time in my life, I wrote a historical. The historical is a novella scheduled to be published by Barbour Publishing as a part of The Underground Railroad Brides collection in June 2018. I still have to pinch myself – I can’t believe I actually stretched my wings and wrote a historical. It was a fun experience and I found once I got started on the story, I was able to keep right on writing. If I’d not been required to write a novella, I sensed that my story could have been made into a full-length novel.

In my personal life, my husband and I have been busy our twelve year old son. I just find it hard to believe he’s twelve now! Seems like he was just born yesterday. Our son was busy with track season during the spring and summer and he also played soccer.

I’ve also been working on a novel partially based upon my husband’s life. I’m going to be releasing Southern Comfort in 2018. I’ve been excited about this book and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

So, how has your year been? Please tell me about it!