Christmas Musings of Ethan’s Grandmama Tatum

The first Christmas with a grandchild. WOW, it blows my mind to think that there will be a new family member in our home at Christmas. We went out and bought toys! It has been so many years since that has happened. I find I think about Christmas differently and try to see it through the new eyes of my grandson.

True, he is very young, 3.5 months at Christmas. He will probably not remember this Christmas, but his grandmamma will store up treasures, memories, in her heart. It also brings up a myriad of thoughts on safety. Will he be able to crawl around to put fingers where they don’t belong? Not this Christmas; for sure next Christmas. Can I buy him a truck or car? Well, not ones with moving wheels anyway. I expect him to look in wonder at the lights on the Christmas tree. He already likes to look at lights after all. He might reach out and grab one! Add LED lights to the list. As the son of a harpist and a French Hornist, he is already intrigued by music. I remember Christmas carols that spoke about the baby in the manger and crying out for a child on at least two Christmases. Now this new child represents the image of God as man. Oh, the wonder of it all. To add to the wonder, next Christmas we’ll have two grandsons!

Ethan’s Great-Gran and Great-Grandma can’t wait to see him and touch him. As we say in the South, “Can’t wait to get my hands on that boy!” Touching him makes him real. Allowing Jesus in our lives, allowing Him to touch us, makes Him oh-so-real. As we anticipate the child in our home for Christmas, let us also anticipate not just the child in the manger, but the arrival of the Son of Man, Son of God, in our hearts, in our traditions, and especially as Savior.

Jesus is the reason for the season. Keep Jesus close to your heart this Christmas.

“For to us a son is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)

 

CrossReads Book Blast: Carlene Havel's "Here Today Gone Tomorrow"

Here Today Gone Tomorrow

By Carlene Havel

About the Book

Disappointed, dumped, divorced. Everything Casey Slaughter counted on is gone. While contemporaries start their families, Casey works two jobs to haul herself out of debt. Friends and family recommend a new husband to solve all her problems, but Casey resists their well-intentioned advice. Although she longs for a soul mate, the last thing her flattened self-esteem needs is more rejection—and comparisons to her beautiful, talented older sister do nothing to enhance Casey’s confidence. Unable to have children, she feels she has nothing to offer in marriage. Will bitterness and insecurity destroy her, or can renewed faith in God provide some measure of comfort for this wounded heart? Can Casey ever find love again, or will a string of disasters keep her forever on the run?

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  Carlene Havel has lived in numerous US states, the Philippines, and Turkey. Like most writers, Carlene has always loved to read, and her taste is eclectic. Her other hobbies include sewing, knitting, crochet and embroidery. She especially enjoys Bible study, normally devoting one day each week delving into the scriptures with a small focus group. The Havels make their home in San Antonio, Texas, in the midst of a big, extended family.

Follow Carlene Havel

 

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Crossreads Blast! Unembraceable

TITLE:  CrossReads Book Blast: UnEmbraceable by Precarious Yates



Title: UnEmbraceable
By: Precarious Yates

About the Book

From the author of "Revelation Special Ops" comes a terrifying, hauntingly real and daringly hopeful tale of betrayal and love.
Leonard, a computer programmer, has a unique gift: by words alone he can calm violent situations. Which is helpful with all these kids running around the streets behaving like zombies. He has his own set of sorrows to face, but he's prepared for anything. Anything except Tamar, and the thunderous inkling that she will be his wife. This doesn't make any sense to Leonard. She stole his wallet. And his heart.

Painful circumstances ripped family and stability from Tamar's grasp, but with gutsy tenacity she faces life head on. Meeting the gorgeous and single Leonard changes everything. But surely a guy like him would never fall for a girl of the streets like her.


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Precarious Yates

Precarious Yates lives in Texas with husband, daughter, sheep, dogs, chickens, rabbit, lizard and by the time you read this some other exotic creature her husband or daughter has brought home. She had studied the plight of and worked toward the abolition of modern slavery for over a decade before sitting down to write Revelation Special Ops. She was further inspired by the work of her sister-in-law, who helped to found Love146, an organization that works to raise awareness about human trafficking and builds safe homes in vulnerable regions. Yates spent several years overseas as a missionary in Ireland, and also did missions work in India and the Philippines. Her passion for literature has become her means of further educating young adults of the realities of modern slavery, while producing hope through the power of Christ Jesus in us.


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Rose Chandler Johnson - God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea

Meet Rose Chandler Johnson, author of God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea, published July 11, 2013.

 Her devotions, poems, and articles have appeared in numerous Christian publications. She enjoys writing for her popular blog, Write Moments with God, and engaging with her readers.  Rose is from a small Georgia town, and has lived in Martinez, GA for the last twenty-eight years.  She has been a French and English teacher for the last twenty years.  Rose enjoys baking, gardening, and spending time with her six children and their families.

I recently asked her to give me some insight into her new devotional book

Is there a story behind your book God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea?

 I was reading some of my old journals recently and I came across an entry from 1979.  It was a prayer in which I told the Lord I wanted to write a book that was relevant and encouraging and that would “point others to the heart of God”. I believe that the Lord gave me that desire and that God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea is a realization of that desire, even though I wasn’t  thinking of that consciously when I wrote it.

How did you decide to write your devotional?
When I decided to make Jesus the Lord of my life, in 1977, I starting reading a devotional every morning.  It was just what I needed to help me focus and structure my time. I’ve incorporated devotional reading in my quiet times with God for decades. I think most people could benefit from that format.  So, I think that comes back to my desire to be relevant and encouraging.

 

Sweet Tea invokes the idea of the South in the summer. Does that play a part in your devotional?

I love sweet iced tea. I feel like I can’t do without it.  I literary drink a pitcher a day.  In the South, nothing is more refreshing than a glass of sweet iced tea, except experiencing God in those small, everyday moments.  So, when my publisher asked for a title that had some of my Southern personality, I said God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea.  The “sweet iced tea” says it’s personal, relevant, and refreshing.

What is your favorite verse? What makes it special to you?

I’ve always loved the 17^th Chapter of John.  It’s Jesus’ prayer to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion.  It’s so special because He prays for those of us who believe in Him.  The very cry of His heart is recorded there for us.  John 17: 21 is my favorite verse.

What other books have you written? Do you have anything else in the works?

God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea is my first book.  I’ve written poems, articles, and other devotions which have appeared in print, but this is my first book.

Share the links to your book and to your social media.

God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea:  Experiencing God in the Midst of Everyday Moments. A devotional journey. Published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas [ISBN 978-1-938499-86-9]

Available from Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/God-Sweet-Iced-Tea-Experiencing/dp/1938499867/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371496155&sr=8-1&keywords=Rose+Chandler+Johnson

Available in print from Barnes & Noble.com

Blog: Write Moments with God.  http://www.writemomentswithgod.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rechanjo

Pinterest:   http://pinterest.com/rosecjohnson/boards/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rose.c.johnson

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/18188725-rose-chandler-johnson

Becoming Grandma!

(Posted on Geezer Guys and Gals on July 24, 2013, but wanted to share it here too.)

In one month, I will become a GRANDMA! We are so excited to see this baby's arrival.

I have two sons and four nephews. My husband is one of three sons. His father, one of 2 sons. The Tatums have only had sons since the Civil War (my husband's cousin Susan was a rare exception). However, in the current generation one of my nephews has three GIRLS. AMAZING! So when my youngest and his wife announced their pregnancy, we all wondered if the girls would continue.

When each of my sons was born, my mother-in-law would say, "What else?" I loved my sons, don't get me wrong, but I so wanted a girl to sew for. I did sew for my sons, but it's not quite as thrilling. Part of me also wanted to prove that having a girl in this family was possible. So when my first great niece was born, I was thrilled. When the second great niece was born, I knitted them each a purple sweater. When the third was born, I was simply delighted with such a beautiful family of girls.

What does this "Becoming Grandma" mean to me? Both my sons and daughters-in-law have been trying to conceive. Our youngest and his wife miscarried in October before this pregnancy came to be. My oldest son and daughter-in-law are walking the path of infertility. So some of "becoming a grandma" has involved grief for the child lost and for the child so greatly desired. There's also grief for the strain in relationship between my sons as "having a baby" has overshadowed both their lives. As only a bystander in this process of conception, becoming grandma is joy at what is to come and the hope for a child yet unrealized.

When it came time to peek into the womb, we were anxious to know the sex of the child. The sonogram answered our questions: It's a boy! Of course, we would have been thrilled with either a boy or a girl, but I found a strange excitement mixed with calm about having another little boy.

Yes, I have knitted a baby blanket in a color combination called grape jam. That purply color seems all too appropriate for a toddler dragging it behind him.

Many friends extol the joys of grandparenthood with wallets of pictures, with pins & tee shirts proclaiming grandparent status, and with a myriad of stories of the cutest things their grandchildren have done. I happily await that day when this boychild is gathered into my arms. I know I will feel the thankfulness, pride, and joy of his parents, but I also anticipate the warmth of this baby and the inexplicable deja vu of holding my own sons. The memories from the past will flood back to being a mom, dedicating them to God, watching them learn so many things including the stories of Jesus, and helping them navigate education, marriage, and adulthood.

I'll also have the privilege of looking into his face and seeing the future.

Mary E. Hanks Book Blast!

TITLE: Book Blast: Winter's Past by Mary E Hanks 6/11/13 - $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!
Winter's Past (2nd Chance Series) By Mary E Hanks

About the Book:

Ty wants to make things right. Winter can’t forget their past. Winter Cowan is scheduled to speak in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. A city she’s avoided for ten years because of Ty Williams, her ex-husband. But what are the chances of Ty showing up in church? And didn’t she already forgive him? Even though he broke her heart and ruined their short, six-month marriage? She had to forgive him to go on with her life. To preach the gospel. To share God’s love across the nation. Then, like a tidal wave, the word "Forgive" crashes over the worn sands of her past. Winter realizes her heart does still rip a little each time she remembers what Ty did to their marriage. To her. And just as she feared, Ty shows up at the meetings in Coeur d'Alene. Only this man is someone she wouldn’t recognize if she saw him on the street. He’s older, sure, but he’s…different. Radically changed from the guy she once knew, he stands before her in a prayer line, crying—crying!—and humbly asks her forgiveness. This man who broke her heart, betrayed her, is now gut-wrenchingly sincere in his apology, prays for her like a long-lost friend, tenderly reaches into the forgotten places of her heart, and he has a request. One unbelievable request that could change everything...

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  Mary E Hanks Mary E Hanks is an author of 2nd chance stories and a playwright/director for youth theater. When she's not writing novels, she's usually working on a play. She loves encouraging young people to share their talents, and an added bonus is getting to "see" her words brought to life onstage. At present, she's directing her 24th production. Mary served as a pastor’s wife in Alaska and also worked in Christian education for many years. She and Jason have been married for 37 years and have raised four children. They now live in the country near Blanchard, Idaho, a place where deer and wild turkeys play in their front yard. A romantic at heart, Mary believes we all need a 2nd chance sometime.
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For Teachers Who Care for America's Children

When I taught middle school, we did the iconic tornado drills regularly. Always one student asked me, "Mrs. Tatum, why don't you have to 'tuck and duck' against the wall with the rest of us?" My response was always the same, "My job is to give my life for you." All of my students were amazed by my response. They'd say things like, "You're supposed to die?" I'd say, "If necessary, yes."

In watching the Oklahoma tornado coverage, story after story concerns teachers who saved the lives of the children by their quick thinking and self-sacrifice. The Sandy Hook Elementary teachers did the same when the unthinkable occurred. Six teachers died preserving the lives of students.

Teachers practice drills for fire, tornado, shooters, and more. They talk about how best to protect children. While teachers are under fire concerning standardized testing, teachers have also taken on the most difficult job - not only teaching, but loving, protecting, reassuring, feeding, clothing, and looking out for our nation's children.

Teachers are not paid what they are worth to our society, partly due to the fact that teachers don't go into teaching to make money. Yes, they want to make a living doing something worthwhile. But they are all there to care for kids. The ones with no home, ones who are abused, ones who have parents in jail, hospital, or gone, and ones who may have every material comfort but no adult who cares for their emotional well-being. Teachers take the hands of children, some unlovable, hug and comfort children, some lacking good hygiene, and yes even teach them to punctuate sentences and work mathematical problems, even though some face serious learning disabilities.

I grew up in St. Louis County and experienced my share of tornadoes. I never said, "My job is to die for you, if necessary" lightly. Rather, I knew that God had called me and my fellow teachers to stand in the gap for my students, day in and day out, in whatever drama the day may hold. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13 NIV) Teachers emulate the love of Christ everyday with their children.

Author Interview: Richard Blackaby

Welcome to Christian Author Interviews. Enjoy our interview with Richard Blackaby in this episode. Listen in via the video or audio and share your thoughts in the comments. Don't forget to enter the giveaway below and share this interview with your friends!

Listen to the audio here:

About Richard Blackaby

Dr. Richard Blackaby is the president of Blackaby Ministries International where he works with his father Henry and brother Tom. He is an author and a popular international speaker. Richard is married to Lisa and they have three amazing children: Mike, Daniel, and Carrie. Richard has a Ph.D. in history. He loves reading biographies and hockey. He works with leaders in the home, church, and business community, helping them develop their leadership to higher levels. Richard also co-authored the revision of "Experiencing God" and speaks often in churches and to Christian organizations.

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CrossReads Blast for Lynn Dove

Title: Love the Wounded By Lynn Dove

About the Book:

“Love the Wounded” by Lynn Dove is the final and dramatic conclusion to her brilliant Wounded Trilogy series that has followed the lives of teenagers Jake, Leigh, Mike, Dylan and Tim as they come to terms with a series of tragedies and events that have made each of them question why God allows “bad things to happen to good people”. Leigh does not know who to choose…her heart tells her she will always love Jake, but he has changed so much since the death of their friend, Ronnie, and with his mother going through breast cancer, he has totally closed himself off from her emotionally. Now she is dating Dylan and try as she might to accept him for who he is, she can’t stop thinking about Jake! Dylan has never gotten over the loss of his father and little sister, killed by a drunk driver when he was just a young boy. After a horrific accident that has put both Tim and his little brother, Evan in the hospital, everyone knows that not only is he being bullied at school; he cuts himself to cope with it all. But meeting Cassidy has given him the courage to stand up to the bullies and at the same time give her what she so desperately needs…a life-giving bone marrow transplant. Jake’s mother keeps telling him that “God works all things out for good” but with all the things going on in his life and with his friends, he’s just not sure anymore. It is only after Mike is paralyzed in a car accident that Jake was partially responsible for that all the families and friends will be brought back together, not by coincidence, but by God’s design and then Jake will finally believe that God truly does “Love the Wounded”. “A life of working with youth has inspired Lynn Dove, a Cochrane mother to turn her experiences into a book trilogy…(the Wounded Trilogy) series that parallels the struggles of students…(and) covers the angst of some of the real serious issues that teenagers face today, particularly with bullying and gossip. ” -Rocky View Weekly-

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Lynn Dove Lynn Dove calls herself a Christ-follower, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, a teacher and a writer (in that order). She is the author of award winning books: The Wounded Trilogy. Her blog, Journey Thoughts won a Canadian Christian Writing Award - 2011. She has also had essays published in "Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith" and "Chicken Soup for the Soul - Parenthood" (March 2013). Readers may connect with Lynn on Facebook, Twitter and on her blogs: Journey Thoughts and Word Salt or on her website: www.shootthewounded.org Follow Lynn Dove Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Wings of Glass: New Book by Gina Holmes

Gina Holmes is the founder of Novel Rocket and a PR professional. Her bestselling novels Crossing Oceans and Dry as Rain were both Christy finalists and won various literary awards. Her latest novel, Wings of Glass, released February 2013 and has earned a starred review from Library Journal, a Romantic Times Top Pick and a Southern Indie Bookseller's Okra Pick. She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her family in southern Virginia. She works too hard, laughs too loud, and longs to see others heal from their past and discover their God-given purpose. To learn more about her, visit www.ginaholmes.com .

Your 3^rd novel, Wings of Glass, has just released. Tell us a little about it.

I think this is my favorite book so far. Wings of Glass tells the story of Penny Taylor, a young wife who feels trapped and alone in a physically and emotionally abusive marriage. Besides her low self-esteem, she feels her Christian faith doesn’t allow for divorce. It’s not until she meets two women—one a southern socialite and the other a Sudanese cleaning woman—that her eyes are opened to the truth of her situation and she begins her journey to healing and redemption.

What made you take on the tough subject of domestic abuse?

As a little girl, I watched my mother being physically abused by her husband and then later, two of my sisters enter abusive relationship after abusive relationship and I thought that would never be me. . . until the day my boyfriend hit me for the first time and I began to make excuses for him. I know the mindset of someone who gets into and stays in an abusive relationship, because I’ve been there myself. It’s taken me years, and a lot of reading, praying, and talking to get to the heart of what brought me and kept me in toxic relationships and I want to pass on some of what I learned that helped me find boundaries and recovery from a codependent mindset and most of all healing.

What do you hope readers take away from this book?

It’s my hope and prayer that those who are in abusive relationships will begin to see that the problem lies with them as much as with the abuser. That’s something I railed against when friends suggested it. I wasn’t the one with the problem! I was no doormat who enabled abuse or addiction… or was I?

I also hope that those who have never understood the mindset of victims would better comprehend the intricacies of codependency and be better able to minister to these women and men. And of course I’d love it if young women would read this before they ever enter their first romantic relationship to have their eyes open to how abuse almost always progresses and be able to see the red flags early.

Which of the characters in the novel is most like you and why?

Each of the characters has a little of me in them or vice versa. I think years ago I was more like Penny, though tougher in many regards, at least I thought so. I’d like to think now I’m a little more Callie Mae. Because I’ve lived through what I have and have found healing, I can see in others the path that will lead to healing and the one that will lead to destruction. The difficult part once you’ve found healing is remembering that you can’t do it for others. You can offer advice, but you can’t make anyone take it. Each person has to learn in their own time, in their own way.

Who is your favorite character?

I absolutely love Fatimah. She had such a great sense of humor and didn’t care what anyone thought except those who really mattered. She was really quite self-actualized. She was so much fun to write and I actually find myself missing her presence.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part about being a writer?

Favorite: making my own schedule. I love when I’m feeling bad one day knowing that I don’t have to punch a clock. I can just take the day off and then work harder the next. Of course, there’s a lot of other things I love about writing, like allowing others to consider another point of view that may be far different from their own.

Least favorite: There’s a joke that when you work for yourself you at least get to pick which eighteen hours of the day you want. That’s true. Working from home means I’m always at work. I work from about 7:30 am until about eight at night most days. Under deadline, it’s worse. Truly understanding how much the success of a book rides on the shoulders of the author is a blessing and a curse. Because I get that no one is more invested in the success of my books than me, I put in a LOT of time on the publicity/marketing end of things. It’s tiring but an investment that I think pays off in the long run.

You had written four novels before your debut, Crossing Oceans was published. Do you think those books will ever get dusted off and reworked?

Never say never, but I doubt it. I had considered reworking some but having gone back and re-read them, I realized they weren’t published for good reason. They just didn’t work. Now, there is one story I’m resurrecting characters from for a story I should be writing next, but the plotline is completely different. I started out writing suspensel but as my reading tastes changed, so did my writing tastes. I don’t see myself doing suspense again any time soon.

You’re known for your quirky characters, what inspires you to write these types into each book?

Honestly, I’m a pretty quirky person. The older I get, the more I embrace those quirks. I think everyone is quirky really. As a student of human nature, I pick up on those and like to exaggerate them in my fiction. I also like to surround myself with quirky people. My husband is quirky, my kids are quirky and so are my friends. Often in life, especially when we’re young, we hate about ourselves what makes us different, when really those are the things we should be embracing. Different is interesting. Different is beautiful.

If you could write anything and genre, marketing and reader expectations didn’t matter, what would you write?

Speaking of quirky… I read a book a few years back that was so different that it made me want to try something like that. The book was a big-time bestseller, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. What turned me on about that book were the characters. They were quirky to an extreme. In contemporary women’s fiction, I can get away with a certain amount of quirk. but I’m always having to play it down because it’s so over the top. In a fantasy, you can be as over the top as you dare. I’d love to play around with something like that one day and just let my freak flag fly! Will I? Probably not unless I use a penname. I realize readers have certain expectations and I wouldn’t want anyone to feel mislead. We’ll see. There’s lots in life I want to do but since I only get a hundred or so years (if I’m lucky), time won’t allow for every rabbit hole.

What advice would you have for writers hoping to follow in your footsteps?

My advice would be not to follow too closely in anyone’s footsteps. Yes, there is a certain path all writers find themselves on. There are certain things that we must all do like learning to write well, figuring out platform, going to writers conferences to meet the gatekeepers and figure out the way things have to be formatted and submitted and all that sort of thing. But it’s okay to veer off the path too and forge your own. There are those who have self-published who have found great success.

There are those who have written about subjects that they were told no one wanted to read about and found success. It’s smart to figure out what others have done before you to make them successful, but alter the formula to suit your needs and passions. It’s okay to be different, in fact, I think great success and maybe even happiness depends upon it. And by all means, read Novel Rocket.com and leave comments. It helps not only encourage those authors who have taken the time out of their day to teach us, but it also connects you to the writing community. Community is important. 

From the best-selling author of Crossing Oceans comes a heartrending yet uplifting story of friendship and redemption. On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny's happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn't the last, yet the bruises that can't be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.

Book Blast: The Missing Piece (Inspirational Love Story) by Carol McCormick - Plus $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Title: The Missing Piece (Inspirational Love Story) By Carol McCormick

About the Book:

"Fresh dialogue, realistic characters, a powerful message," The Romance Readers Connection How does a man pick up the pieces when his world crashes around him? Misplaced priorities shattered his marriage. Problems almost crushed him. Love motivated him to mend the damage, once he found all the pieces. After only a few months of marriage, Lorraine left Dylan on a wintry night after he'd spent one too many nights out with the guys. Unable to cope with the loss, Dylan escapes the painful feelings by drinking them away. This decision costs him a year-and-a-half of his life after he stops in a little mountain town and ends up in the local jail. When he's released, he returns home in search of a job to get his life--and his wife back. THE MISSING PIECE is not only a love story about a man who loves a woman, but is also a love story about a merciful God who loves mankind, even when he falls. The novel is an emotionally-charged journey of hope and redemption with a touch of spunk, a hint of humor, and a few twists along the way. "Inspiring and encouraging. Anyone who desires a restoration to their spirit should read THE MISSING PIECE," Myshelf.com "A wonderful, heartwarming Christian romance. This is definitely a story that I recommend to all lovers of Christian romance," Escape to Romance

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Carol McCormick Carol began writing years ago after reading a ten-page story her grandmother wrote about growing up in the early 1900s. It was then that she began to write down her own stories to share with her daughters someday. Later, she began to write as a way to draw herself and other people closer to the Lord. Carol writes for Christians to encourage them in their faith. She also writes for those who are unaware of God's grace, to show them how to connect to Him in order to experience His love and goodness. Her writing is applicable to life with its direct, yet sensitive, and oftentimes humorous messages and lessons. Carol has been a speaker for Christian Women's Connection (Stonecroft Ministries International) for over fifteen years. She is also an international bestselling author who has appeared on regional and Christian television programs and has been a guest on over fifty Christian and secular radio stations.
Follow Carol McCormick Website | Facebook | Twitter

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CrossReads Launch Party

“Encourage each other daily”

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Book Blast: Winter's End by Rebekah Lyn - Enter to Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Title: Winter's End (Seasons of Faith)

By Rebekah Lyn

Book Two of the Seasons of Faith Series

Musician Michelle Burton just had the best night of her life. Her band Tangled Web opened for Wonderland in downtown Orlando and the crowd loved them. Too excited to sleep she makes a fateful decision to go to work early. The best night of her life turns into the worst day of her life.

Nearby, at boutique Hotel Lago, Stephen Longbottom, acting concierge manager, is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the board of directors for Silken Pleasures, a multimillion dollar company based in New York and specializing in high end cosmetics, fragrances and lingerie. Their incessant demands before they even arrive are driving him to distraction. Meanwhile Lizzie Reynolds, his boss is on a romantic ski trip in Vermont leaving him to manage his first solo event.

Hope, forgiveness and love are an integral message throughout the book and like a fine tapestry the threads of God’s master plan for the character’s lives are woven into a fabric of great storytelling, conflict and humor.

Readers who came to know and love the characters of Summer Storms will enjoy catching up with Lizzie, Stephen, Michelle, Jeffrey and Ian.



Kindle | Paperback



Rebekah Lyn
Rebekah is a Christian with a heart for new beginnings. She is a Florida native and a graduate of Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Fl. A love of history, research and journaling led naturally to a passion for writing. She enjoys travel and has traveled extensively across the United States and Canada as well as Europe and the Caribbean. Her reading taste run from the classics to light fiction. When she is not working or writing, she enjoys cooking,baking and sharing recipes on her blog, http://rebekahlynskitchen.wordpress.com

Her current works include, Summer Storms and Winter's End, books one and two in The Seasons of Faith series, and Julianne the first book in The Coastal Chronicle series. She is currently working on the, as yet untitled, second book in the Coastal Chronicles set in coastal Florida during the early years of the space program.

Rebekah currently resides in Florida along with her "attack" cat, Mia. They would enjoy meeting with you on her Facebook page.



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Telling the Stories

The Grammy nominations have been announced. When society celebrates movies, Broadway plays, TV series, and even news programs, society is celebrating the telling of stories. This storytelling has fascinated me this Christmas season. Think about the stories told at Christmas. Not only do we celebrate the Nativity, but we also tell Dickens’s Christmas Carol (in a variety of formats and actors), Clemens’s T’was the Night before Christmas, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Charlie Brown, and more.

The stories make us who we are. They influence our culture, they make our core values, and they change our ideas.

Stories are part of our being from the time we are born. Some doctors would also say that we hear stories while in utero. Regardless, parents read to their children at bedtime and for entertainment. Even the videos and TV children watch are couched in story form. We study the classic stories in school – Romeo and Juliet, A Tale of Two Cities, for example. When we study history, we are studying the story of our ancestors and heroes. We read, we watch, we study stories.

As I attempt to write the stories that God places into my mind, I need to remember that the story is first. It’s the story that teaches, entertains, and changes us. It’s the story that we celebrate and tell and retell.