Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Sunday Brunch – Judges 11:29-38

Leave a reply

Have you ever read a scripture that made you angry?

Well, reading the Old Testament makes me angry – sometimes. It’s so difficult, trying to make sense of scriptures, well….that make no sense! Read Judges 11:29-38:

29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”

36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.

From this comes the Israelite tradition 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Jephthah was obviously not very smart. He asked the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

But making a deal with the Lord, such as this, he must have known that SOMEONE would be coming out to greet him when he returned home. Can you imagine, making such an offer to God? Could he not have offered to slaughter his entire herd of sheep or goats….something or someone other than a human being who would come out to greet him?

It’s not as if a chicken or a cow was going to come out of the house to greet him, right? Did Jephthah think that the Lord would not accept an alternate sacrifice?

Jephthah’s daughter…she stated: 36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

She wants to weep because she will never marry??

I’d be weeping because I don’t want to be dead! Imagine if someone was going to put a gun to your head and pull the trigger…as a sacrifice to God. Yeah, I realize guns did not exist back then, but, I’m just using this as an example – so that we can try to relate to the situation.

If you knew you were going to die….I’d be weeping because my life would be cut short. I don’t want to be dead! I’d be mourning the loss of my own life, mourning all that I’d be leaving behind.

After two months… 39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.

So, he killed his daughter? Sacrificed his only child? Is Jephthah’s daughter in Heaven with Jesus? After all, she told her father to obey the Lord: 36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.

Jesus had not yet come to earth, but, his coming was foretold in the Old Testament. Since He’d not yet come, do those, such as Jephthah’s daughter, have the gift of eternal life in Heaven with our Creator?

I also thought about Abraham and Isaac. Why did God stop Abraham from sacrificing his son, but, he did not grant the same to Jephthah?

So, do you have any scriptures that make you angry, sad, or just make you wonder? Maybe wonder that some questions won’t be answered until we get to heaven?

Happy Mother’s Day!

Leave a reply

Mothers, enjoy your special day!

Proverbs 31:25-28

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:

The Duchess of Chocolate

2 Replies
50404325
The Duchess of Chocolate
The Duchess of Chocolate

Do you like chocolate?

Loved this book!

It’s a delicious historical novel that you don’t want to miss! I loved the descriptions of chocolate and reading about the heroine’s (Amity’s) profession. Amity works as a chocolatier in her family’s confection shop.

When a duke (Henry) approaches her about making a special, one-of-a-kind treat for his future bride, Amity agrees to do the task! Such a project will prove beneficial for her family’s business.


But, while Henry tastes Amity’s creations, he finds he likes Amity – even more than he likes her irresistible chocolate creations.
But a duke cannot have a suitable relationship with a common chocolatier, can he?

So, do you like chocolate? What’s your favorite chocolate treat?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Leave a reply
https://ceceliadowdy.com/sugar-and-spicelp/

Would you like a nice, emotional, sweet romance to enjoy this Valentine’s Day?

For Valentine’s Day, I’ve reduced the price for my romance novel, Sugar and Spice, to $1.99!

I would like to share how I happened to write this amazing love story. When my son was young, between the ages of 3-7, he suffered from stuttering. His stutter was quite strong, and we had to go to speech therapy for years. We ended up seeing three different therapists for long blocks of time.

When my son was having sessions with his last therapist, I was speaking with her. I asked her if she’d ever had any male adult patients who stuttered. She told me that she had one. She said that this man had stuttered his entire life. The only reason he was seeking help was because he had a high-level corporate job and they required that he get help for his stutter. I believe she said he had to speak to many people, and his stutter caused issues.

Of course she didn’t tell me the identity of this person. She may not have been at liberty to share the details outlined above.

After our conversation, I thought about it. I thought, how terrible for this poor man! What if he wanted to go out on a date and stuttered so badly that he couldn’t even ask a woman out?

That thought stayed planted in the background of my mind for years. Sometimes, I might get a kernel of an idea and it’s rooted into my head for a long time. I might not even realize I’m actually thinking of a story until years later.

My one conversation with my son’s speech therapist grew into Sugar and Spice. In Sugar and Spice, Mason is a stutterer. He’s also an identical twin. Here are more details about this amazing love story:

Sheila Parks is stunned when Mason Smith, the identical twin brother of her ex-boyfriend Reese, moves to Blue Spring and opens a bakery. Reese’s cruel breakup still bothers her and seeing somebody who looks just like him is a painful reminder of her predicament. Unemployed, Sheila needs financial help and it appears that Mason can assist her with her problem. Can she learn to trust a man who looks just like her ex?

Mason is stunned when Sheila storms into his bakery, mistakenly thinking that he’s Reese. Mason is used to comforting his womanizing brother’s ex-girlfriends. A stutterer, Mason has always had a hard time socializing with others. However, he finds himself smitten with beautiful Sheila. Can he control his stutter so that he can ask Sheila to be his date to his grandmother’s Christmas birthday party?

Both Sheila and Mason deal with past pains as they work together during the Christmas season.

Sugar and Spice is a sweet, emotional Christmas romance that you will always remember! Download now! This is a nice Valentine’s Day treat for you and all of your friends!

Romance with Elderly Characters

15 Replies

Do you enjoy romances with elderly main characters?

My romance novel, Caramel Kisses, features a hero and a heroine who are over 65. I’ve noticed that readers seem to like seeing senior citizens falling in love in Caramel Kisses. I wondered if I should write more stories with elderly characters.

How do you feel about this? Do you think romance novels should only feature young and middle-aged heroes and heroines? Do you enjoy romances that feature senior-citizens? Leave a comment!

Someone Like You by Karen Kingsbury

1 Reply
52271365
Someone Like You

How would you react if you found out, as an adult, that you were adopted?

Maddie is stunned when she discovers, right after the announcement of her engagement, that she was adopted. It wasn’t your regular/average adoption. What made her situation unique was that she was initially a frozen embryo. Both her, and her sister’s embryos, were adopted. Therefore, their adoptive mothers actually carried them in their wombs.

She’s also stunned to discover that she has a sister (London) whom she’s never known – a now deceased sister.

Dawson is hurt and stunned when his best friend and love of his life, London, is killed. He searches for London’s biological sister, wanting some connection to someone who is related to London.

This book really resonated with me because Maddie is angry because she was lied to for her entire life. It hurts when parents lie to their children – not little white lies, but, life-altering lies that can hurt you later in life.

I really enjoyed this novel. It brought a lot of feelings to the surface. You can understand why Maddie is angry at her parents, and you can comprehend why she clings to Dawson, wanting to know more about her biological sister.

Maddie’s situation also causes problems with her fiancé. Although he is sympathetic, he truly doesn’t understand what Maddie is going through.

That’s so tough. Sometimes, when we share our feelings with others, and react a certain way, people may try to support us, listen to us, help us. But, there’s just something comforting, nice, warm…to have someone there who TRULY understands our plight. I realize that’s not always possible, but, it’s nice when it happens.

Maddie’s relationship with Dawson began with their similar situations – both being connected to London. Dawson gives Maddie insight about London. Maddie craves information about her sister as she tries to understand and untangle the knots that have been woven into her life.

So, if you were adopted, how would you react if your parents waited to reveal the truth to you when you were an adult? What would you do? How would you react?