Meet my fellow John 3:16 Marketing Network author, Theresa Franklin. Here are some items to entice you to consider her book Triumph Through Trial.
AmazonReview by Janet Eckles (of John 3:16 Marketing network):
Reminds
us of God's power to restore relationships, January 21, 2012
This review is from: Triumph Through Trial
"A Story of Renewal" (Kindle Edition)
So often the beauty of life surfaces among the
thorns of pain. Triumph Through Trials walks the reader through the stages we
face in relationships, chapters of life, and common episodes--so often, taken
for granted and unappreciated. Until the day adversity rocks our senses and
we're forced to take a second look, wake up to the value and often, for the
first time, see life through the eyes of love. Triumph Through Trials reminds
us of God's power to restore relationships and rekindle dreams.--Janet Perez Eckles
Read the following excerpt:
Triumph Through Trial
By Theresa Franklin
Excerpt II
Michael sat in the car staring out at the city lights. The park was dark, but the downtown Christmas
lights could be seen even from here.
They seemed to be prettier when one sat in the dark. He thought about the argument that he and
Cynthia had just had. It was more like
Cynthia argued and he stated his opinion when he could, which was seldom. Michael wondered if he had stayed in the
marriage because he was strong or because he was too weak to leave. When the kids had been younger, he had felt
it his duty to maintain a home with two parents. Now he was beginning to wonder if he had done
his children a disservice by allowing them to grow up with contention. He knew that every home had problems, but was
it good for kids to live in that type of environment on a daily basis?
Michael
was so consumed by his thoughts that he failed to notice that he was not alone
in the park.
The
street gang had been sitting on the picnic tables in the park discussing what
to do that night. It hadn’t been an
especially good day for any of them. As
a whole, they were too poor to receive material possessions from family, too
proud to accept hand outs from the shelter, and too self centered to be a
blessing to anyone else.
“I’m
bored.”
“What
do you want to do?”
“I
don’t know. But I’m tired of just
hanging out here.”
“Do
you see what I see?” One of them asked
the others.
“Whew
wee. A rich guy all alone in the park on
Christmas night.”
“Yeah,
maybe he would like to share a little of that wealth with us.”
“Isn’t
that what Christmas is for? Giving to
others?”
“I
heard once that it is more blessed to give than receive.”
“Well,
let’s go give this guy a blessing and allow him to give to us.” The entire gang laughed.
“Let’s
have some fun while he is receiving his blessing.” Another laugh and still Michael heard
nothing.
By the
time Michael was jarred out of his deep thoughts; his car was surrounded with
some of the most menacing characters he had ever seen. One guy opened the door as another one pulled
him out of the car.
“I
don’t want any trouble, guys. What do
you want?”
“Did
you hear that? He don’t want no
trouble.” The one that opened the door
said.
“You
being smart with us, old man?”
“No, I
just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
Michael tried to keep his cool.
He knew showing fear would only spur them on.
“Whew. I’m scared.
How about you guys?”
“Oh,
please don’t hurt me, Mr. old man.”
Another mocked.
“You
rich, old man?”
“No,
I’m not rich. Do you want money? Take it.
Take my wallet.”
“Oh we
are going to take more than your wallet.”
“Yeah,
that’s a really nice car you have.”
“Fine,
take the car too.” Michael said.
“Take
my wallet. Take my car. Please let me go.” The door opener mocked.
“You
think that’s all we want, old man?” The
one that pulled him out of the car asked.
“What
else do you want?”
“We’re
bored. We want to have some fun.”
Immediately, Michael knew the meaning of real fear. He had barely had time to process it when the
first blow came to his left rib cage.
Almost at the same time, he felt a blow to his right temple. Then someone kicked him in the back of his
right knee and he fell to the ground.
Things went from bad to worse.
The blows and kicks started coming from all sides. He couldn’t even react to one before another
came. He could tell that he had at least
one cracked rib and could feel the blood running down his face from his right
temple. He could see the faces standing
over him, but the blows were coming so fast they seemed to be disconnected from
the bodies. He could feel his lips
swelling. He rolled over on his stomach
to protect himself. Then he felt several
kicks to his kidneys. The pain was so
severe that Michael thought he was going to pass out. Rolling again, he took more punches to the
groin. Several punches were thrown to
his eyes. Michael’s eyes swelled shut
and he could no longer see anyone. More
punches and kicks were thrown to his body.
The last thing he felt before losing conscientiousness was a kick to the
back of his head.
The
gang members saw the lights of the police car as it rounded the curve. One member alerted the others and all
scattered in different directions like ants whose bed had been stirred with a
stick.
Officer Adams saw the gang scatter and started to give chase,
but then he saw Michael lying on the ground…
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