The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 2

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I read chapter 2 of this book a couple of days ago. Warren basically says that we’re not accidents. God knows about our birth and death even before we are conceived. Of course, there are unplanned pregnancies, but no unplanned people on this earth(or something along those lines.)

I realized that this book was widely read, and was a bestseller for a long time. However, I didn’t realize it was so controversial! I did an internet search for the book to try and get other people’s thoughts and was surprised! I’m still planning on finishing the book and posting my thoughts as I go along.

On the fiction front, I started reading Simply Divine, a young-adult novel by Jacquelin Thomas. So far, I think it’s a great! She did an awesome job of creating Divine, the main character in the novel. I’ll post a full review of this novel once I’ve finished reading it.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

The Purpose-Driven Life

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The Purpose Driven Life
Author: Rick Warren
Hardcover
ISBN: 0310205719
Pub. Date: October 2002
Also available in paperback. There are also Purpose-Driven Life journals available.

Most of you know that I read very little non-fiction (Christian or otherwise). This book has been sitting on my shelf for about two years now. When we joined our church, this book was given to all of the new members. I’ve only read the first of the forty passages. You’re supposed to read a passage a day for forty days. You’re not supposed to read it all at one time. Rick says that you need to digest the information given in each passage. The information relayed in the first passage, I’d heard before(where, I don’t know.) When thinking about our purpose, we shouldn’t think about ourselves, we should focus on what GOD
wants us to do. Why did He place us here on this earth? He also mentioned that self-help type books usually focus on our gaining earthly riches(or something similiar to that), trying to succeed, etc. He said that we shouldn’t focus on that, but just focus on God and His purpose for us.

I’ll probably blog about this every so often. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read a passage a day, as Rick recommends.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

The International Women’s Fiction Festival

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I happened to get a hold of this link through one of my writers’ listservs. This International Women’s Fiction Festival seems like it would be fun. Of course, since it’s in Italy, and I have familial and financial obligations, I’m certainly not planning on attending. It looks like something I would have thought about attending back when I was single and working for the travel agency. I used to get free airfare and I managed to get to Europe a couple of times at a very low cost. Check out the link to see what you think about the conference. Maybe sometime in the future, I might check it out! Who knows?

http://www.womensfictionfestival.com//

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Relationship Musings

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My sister and I were having a conversation about relationships not too long ago. Romantic relationships interest me a lot, and I suppose that’s why I write romance fiction.

I’ve noticed when women say they have a boyfriend, it’s hard to really tell how serious the relationship is. The frequency that they see their “boyfriend” can range from a few times a year to several times a week! At times, when they say they have a boyfriend, the said “boyfriend” does not always reciprocate and claim to have a “girlfriend” when asked. Back in my single days, I dated somebody and we saw each other once or twice a week. I’d just assumed he was my “boyfriend” but we’d never really made a vocal committment to one another. It would be interesting to do a poll of men and women to see if a vocal committment is needed in order to claim to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, or is it just an automatic assumption since the couple sees each other so frequently?

The only terms, as far as relationships go, that seem pretty much mean the same to most people are fiancé, fiancée, husband, and wife.

These are just some interesting thoughts that were running through my brain recently…

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Have A Little Faith

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Have a Little Faith
by Jacquelin Thomas, Sandra Kitt, J. D. Mason, Reshonda Tate Billingsley, ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Paperback
ISBN: 141651676X
Pub. Date: June 2006

This book is different than most of the other titles that I usually review. Even though this is somewhat of a faith-based book, I felt that the message in these stories didn’t usually come into play until around three-quarters of the way through the story. A few of them read just like a secular novel for the first half, which is why some readers, who only read Christian fiction, may be offended by the actions of some of the characters in some of the stories.

The book was well-written and I was eager to finish the entire novel. The only author in this collection that I was familiar with was Jacquelin Thomas. I’ve heard of and read some of Reshonda Tate Billingsley’s novels, however, I consider her stories to be about the church itself, more so than being an inspirational/Christian novel.

In Jacquelin Thomas’s Signs Of Light, judgmental Lorna Hamilton runs her own bakery. She has negative opinions about welfare mothers, and when Brittany Spencer, a welfare mother with an ill son, comes to her for a favor, Lorna wrongly lashes out at Brittany because of her tainted perception. Throughout the course of the story, Lorna learns that not all mothers on welfare are looking for a free handout. She also manages to patch things up with her boyfriend throughout the course of the story.

In ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s Faith Will Overcome, Faith Logan is known as being the town tramp. She’s looking for love, and she finally decides to make a man wait to have sex with her in order to have a romantic relationship. Her plan backfires when Xavier, the man that she thought cared for her, tried to get her to do something against her will. Meanwhile, Darius Williams, a church-going man, teaches Faith that she must learn to love herself first, before she attempts to find love in the arms of a man. During the story, Faith discovers haunting things about her family’s past, things that make her understand the actions of her estranged mother and her grandmother.

In J.D. Mason’s Maybelline, Olivia Phillips is slowly trying to put the pieces back together in her life after having a mastectomy. A failed suicide attempt also weighs heavily on her mind. When she tries to patch things up with Q, the boyfriend she abandoned when she was diagnosed, things don’t work out between them as she’d hoped. In the meantime, Maybelline, her large eccentric neighbor, comes by frequently, bringing freshly-baked pies and words of wisdom. When Maybelline forces Olivia to accept her blessings, and thank God for her life, she learns that faith will help her to overcome all of life’s obstacles. In an interesting twist, Olivia accidentally discovers the unique identity of Maybelline, and she surprisingly finds love again.

In Sandra Kitt’s Survival Instincts, Lynn Hayes is mugged by a group of teenagers. She recognizes one of her attackers, and instead of pressing charges, she convinces the police to allow her to help the youngster during his probation. Davis Manning, her rescuer during the mugging, is shocked when Lynn refuses to press charges against her attacker. Davis’s wife was killed years ago in a similiar incident, making him want to bring charges against the teen. When Lynn tells Davis about her faith, he wonders about his own spiritual beliefs as he romantically pursues Lynn.

I loved these stories. Although some are secular in nature, to a certain point, I still thought they were well-written and inspiring. I recommend this book for those who would like to read a faith-inspiring story.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

The Winter Pearl By Molly Noble Bull

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Re-release information:
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Steeple Hill (February 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373786115
ISBN-13: 978-0373786114

Original release information:
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Steeple Hill (November 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373785291
ISBN-13: 978-0373785292

When young Honor McCall’s beloved Aunt Harriet dies, she is left to the unmerciful clutches of her abusive Uncle Lucas. When Honor runs away from home to escape her abusive Uncle Lucas, her life takes some drastic turns. She finds a little bit of solace in a church, where she runs for temporary shelter. While in the house of God, she commits a petty crime since she has no money. The guilt from this crime follows her throughout the story. She escapes from her hometown by purchasing a stagecoach ticket. Jeth Peters, a handsome minister from a local town who presided over her aunt’s funeral, happens to be a passenger on the same stage coach. When the stage coach is robbed, Honor is injured and widowed Jeth Peters brings her to his home: a boarding house run by his mother. While Jeth and his mother nurse Honor back to health, they teach her about faith and God.

Honor falls for the handsome Pastor Jeth Peters, and Jeth is smitten with Honor. However, he cannot actively pursue her until she accepts Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Meanwhile, Uncle Lucas makes a spiritual journey on his own and as the story unwinds, the reader discovers that Uncle Lucas is connected to Jeth Peters in a most unusual way.

This is the first book I’ve ever read by Molly Noble Bull and I loved it! Her writing style was fresh and the words just flowed from the page, making the reader eager to finish the story. There was also a sprinkling of intrigue in the story as Honor and Uncle Lucas make their physical and spiritual journeys. I highly recommend this book as a nice, well-written, and emotional read.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Self-published Books – Continued

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I’ve read some great self-published books, and I’ve also read my share of badly-wriiten ones. On the average, I find that the self-published books are not as well written as the commercially-published books. I feel that if you want your book to be in the hands of more readers, and get His message out there, then you need to try to find a commercial publisher to publish your work. However, if you have a unique subject matter, and you can’t find a commercial publisher to publish you, then you may consider self-publishing. However, I’d recommend getting a GOOD editor to help with the process.

However, if you feel the Lord is leading you to self-publish, then my all means, let the Spirit guide you.

Trying to find a commercial publisher for your work is hard, that’s why it’s important to attend writers conferences, and if you write fiction, you might want to consider joining American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). They have an awesome conference every September, and you can connect with other published writers as well as editors of major Christian publishing houses.

Self-Published Books Part One

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I attended my writers’ meeting last Saturday. I gave a presentation on fiction book proposals. Before the meeting started, we went around the room and introduced ourselves(the same people do not always attend.) There were a few people in attendance who were self-published authors.

One of the attendees has already sold a lot of copies of her self-published book. I suggested, since her book of devotions was so popular, that she go with a traditional publisher. She stated that she felt the spirit telling her to do it this way, and she thanked others for their publication suggestions, however, she couldn’t go against what the Spirit was telling her to do. Can’t say that I blame her, but when she told the pricetag attached to her self-published book, I nearly had a heart attack!

Another woman had her self-published titles with her. She’s a reverend, and has a large speaking platform. This enables her to sell lots of books.

I’ve learned over the years that self-publishing can work for some. I think it works for those who have a unique subject matter for their books. Also, if you have speak regularly and have a large platform, then it may work best since you’ll probably sell lots of books after the speaking engagement.

I’ll be posting part two, the down-side of self-publishing later this week.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Tropical Banana Bread

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I know I said I would blog about self-publishing today, but I’m tired and currently don’t have the energy to do my blog post about self-publishing. I’ll be posting blog entries about the following later this week: self-publishing, my writers meeting yesterday(Saturday), and The Winter Pearl by Molly Noble Bull.

It snowed today, but it only left a dusting on the ground. When it’s cold, as it has been over the last week, I love to bake! Yesterday, we baked a Mrs. Smith’s Apple Pie and it was great! Almost tasted like homemade. Since I forgot to take my daily banana to work last week, we had a bunch of over-ripe bananas left over this weekend. I decided to make a loaf of banana bread. Here’s the recipe that I used:

Tropical Banana Bread

1/2 cup CRISCO all-vegetable shortening or 1/2 CRISCO Stick (I didn’t have any edible Crisco since I rarely use it. I found an old can of it in the back of my cupboard, but the shortening was old and cracked, and was not fit for use so I threw it away. Instead, I used a stick of fresh butter! The bread still turned out yummy!)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup mashed bananas (2 to 3 medium)
1/2 cup dairy sour cream (I didn’t have a half a cup of sour cream. I only had about 1/3 or 1/4 of a cup of sour cream left in my refrigerator. I just used what I had and kept going!)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I didn’t have any nuts so I omitted them.)

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inch loaf pan.
Combine Crisco and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until creamed.
Add eggs, bananas and sour cream. Beat until well blended.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix at low speed of electric mixer until blended. Stir in nuts. Spread in pan.
Bake at 350ºF for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool conpletely before slicing.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com