Tag Archives: Bible

IT’S ONLY FICTION…BUT COULD IT HAPPEN?

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I’m excited to announce that my MESSENGERS series is being re-released on July 5th by my publisher. I love this series. t’d never written a dystopian (futuristic) novel before so it was a learning experience for me. Here’s a little bit about the series. Read to the end for a surprise!

My new MESSENGERS series is fiction…but could it happen?

Life is perfect in NewAm: no crime; no poverty; no war; no discrimination, but also no God. The government decides where a citizen works, where a citizen lives, and how a citizen thinks, even though the Guardians would deny this.

Life is perfect until the moment you wonder…is there a God?

God will not be defined nor confined by man’s law.

Magdalena Denton is an unlikely messenger. She’s grown up in the godless world of NewAm where even saying the name of Jesus is a crime. But when God has a message, he will always find a MESSENGER.

All three books in the series are releasing at the same time so you don’t have to wait for these exciting stories.

MESSENGER (Book 1) Magdalena Denton is an unlikely messenger. She’s grown up in the godless world of NewAmerica where even saying the name of Jesus is a crime. But when God has a message, he will always find a messenger.

AMAZON LINK

UNCITIZEN (Book 2) Magdalena Denton’s bright future is gone. She’s been deemed an UnCitizen because she refuses to deny God. Her new-found faith is challenged as she struggles to stay alive, but God promises to never forsake his children.

AMAZON LINK

EXILE (Book 3) After a daring escape, Magdalena and friends face life in the Empty Lands—even more hostile than imagined. They discover that when you walk in faith, miracles become a reality.

AMAZON LINK

We’d like to believe that something like this could never happen in America, land of the free, but in my lifetime I’ve seen so many of our freedoms slowly being stripped away. A little here, a little there. Not enough to notice until it’s too late.

Yes, it’s fiction, but could it happen?

So here’s the surprise. I’ve written a short story about the beginnings of New Am. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share a few chapters to get you ready for the Messenger series.

Reading the Bible In A Year

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I just completed my Bible in a year plan so I wanted to share my thoughts about it. It is an accomplishment.–that’s for sure. It’s not the first time I’ve done the Bible in a year plan and each time I’ve sort of had the same reaction.

There’s lots of good to it. It let me see the Bible as a whole. It reminded me of all the Old Testament heroes and the difficulties God helped them overcome. It demonstrated again and again God’s faithfulness. HIs love. HIs goodness. It showed me the beauty of the Psalms and the wisdom of Proverbs.

The plan I used was chronological order. Chronological in the order it happened, not the order it was written. That’s something I hadn’t done before and I definitely found it thought-provoking, especially when I got to the New Testament.

But…there were things I didn’t like about such a rigid Bible reading plan as well. First, it was as I said rigid. It didn’t allow for flexibility if I wanted/needed to read other passages for some reason.

Second of all, we didn’t get to the New Testament until day 274. Day 274! There’s only 365 days in a year so that left 91 days for the entire New Testament. There

 There were four days allotted to the book of Revelation. Only 4 days. I did a Bible study on Revelation a few years ago. I’m not exactly sure how long it took but I’m going to guess about two months.

And it wasn’t just Revelation, it was the same for many of the books. There just wasn’t enough time to go in depth the way I like to. It felt way too rushed for me.

One of the other good things is that it definitely helped me get back into daily Bible reading, something that I’d slacked off in the past few years. And I liked having a plan. It kept me on track so I’m coming up with my own plan for next year.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about reading the Bible in a Year plan. Or tell us about what plan you like to use. Thanks.

FOREVER HIS!

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Sundays seem to be a good day to run a devotion so here’s one to enjoy.  I’m hoping it will be a comfort to those waiting for the prodigal son to return or you are that prodigal son.  It’s never too late to come home to you Heavenly Father. Trust me on that! I know from experience. More of my devotions can be found at  www.PowerUpWithGod.com.

FOREVER HIS!

Romans 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is an awesome GOD moment I experienced many, many years ago, but I remember the details as if it happened yesterday. And that’s saying something because I don’t have a good memory. I was in my car driving up what is called Madison Hill in my 62 Falcon (but it was 1974 on the way to Fredericksburg, Ohio.

God gave me answers that I was searching for and they were the perfect answers for me.

I was nineteen and making choices that weren’t godly. I wasn’t consciously rebelling against God but my actions told a different story. God’s love is so amazing that even though I had turned my back on him, he didn’t do the same to me.

After a year of working in dead-end jobs, I was going to college. but I needed to decide what to major in. I really had no idea. I only knew I wasn’t going to work in a factory or fast food for the rest of my life.   “Teacher” popped into my head from nowhere.  Almost audible, but not quite. What a good idea but what kind of teacher? Elementary? Home Ec? Math? The words, “Deaf teacher” popped into my head. Another great idea! I”d been involved in the deaf ministry through my church since I was about thirteen or fourteen so it made sense to me.

Four years later, I became a Speech Pathologist and several years later received my Master’s Degree as a teacher of the deaf. I was blessed to work most of my career as a Speech Pathologist for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the Cleveland City Schools.

I loved it! Not that there weren’t a few moments of frustration, but it was a job that I was good at and it brought me much joy thanks to the great students I had through the years.

It was only years later that I realized that God had truly spoken to me in HIS  still quiet voice in that car that day going up Madison Hill.  God had guided me to the perfect career for me even though I was in complete rebellion at the time and for many years afterwards.  I’m still blessed every day by that choice that God gave me that day.

AT the time, I wasn’t living in a godly way, but God loved me enough to get me down the right path anyway. God is so wise and so good. He picked the perfect job for me in spite of my rebellion. This was only one of the times that God clearly guided me, protected me, and blessed me during my rebellion. There were many others!

Know that God loves you no matter where you are on your spiritual journey. Just as the prodigal son’s father worried, loved him, and longed to bless his child when he was off in rebellion, so it is with our heavenly father. Whether our rebellion lasts for ten minutes or ten years, God is waiting with open arms to welcome us back because we are forever HIS!

SHARING TIME: Is there a time God guided you in spite of your rebellion?