Sharing the Hope of Christmas Through Music


by Lydia Walker Athey

When you think of the upcoming Christmas season, do you feel hopeful or hopeless?

Christmas is a time where many of us are seeking peace, joy, and hope. The season often
brings up many emotions, whether that’s a lifetime of good memories spent with family, or struggles because of the loss of a loved one.

In the bustle and busy-ness of the season, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the hype and miss the subtle moments to make a difference.

Each Christmas season is an opportunity to use the celebration as a time to give, serve, and
remind each other of what’s truly important. You never know what someone may be walking through, as you pass them in the store or sit behind them in traffic. There are hurting people all around us who need the Hope that is only found in Christ.

There’s a special warmth in singing Christmas carols that has the ability to go into places that
normally may not be open to the gospel, and share the hope that is so desperately needed.
The traditional carols are full of powerful messages, proclaiming that Christ came to save the
world, and that He is the reason for the season.

You may recognize the melodies and know some of the words, but when you take a deeper look, there is so much truth found in the lyrics. Some all time favorite carols include “Silent
Night”, “O Holy Night”, “Away in A Manger”, and “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. They are all very blatant in sharing the story of Jesus, even more so than modern praise and worship
music.

In a season where many feel hopeless, discouraged, and cold, we have the opportunity to share the hope of Christmas through music that speaks to their soul. Wouldn’t it be amazing to
help lead others to a new life in Christ during the season when we celebrate His coming?

I want to encourage you to look for opportunities to share that hope in every day situations, as
you go about your daily routine. Pray that the Lord would bring people into your path, that you
can minister to and share that message of hope.

Let this season be a time of giving the greatest gift!

Bio: “Lydia Walker is a singer/songwriter and worship leader. She’s a wife and young mom, passionate about raising up the next generation to know and love Jesus. She’s recently released an album of “Lullabies” and also has an “Acoustic Christmas Carols” album, available on her website and on iTunes. Her goal is to inspire people with a message of hope.”

Website: www.rusticsongbird.com

Check out Lydia’s Christmas Album Here!

 

 

Now Available for PRE-ORDER!

“Christmas on a Mission” is now available for Pre-Order on Ebook!

Each book release feels magical, and this one is no exception. In fact, it feels a bit more magical–perhaps because the story line centers around the Christmas season.

This little gem, has it all! Food, family, humor, Christmas-crafts, service projects, the cutest little Pug on the planet, and some serious heart-tugging romance!

Pre-Order your copy today, and nab one for a friend too!

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER!

 

ABOUT “CHRISTMAS ON A MISSION”

Fitting Christmas in a shoe box has been her mission…until now.

Audria Rylatt is the school system’s liaison for homeless students. She strives to make Christmas bright for hundreds, while the season brings only heartache after her fiancé was killed in combat nearly two years ago. So when her family decides to play matchmaker, she is less than thrilled. To make matters worse, they’ve invited a soldier friend of her deceased fiancé to the family cabin for the holiday.

But she’s surprised to find this soldier, Quinton Nolan, standing at the door of heart. Faced with painful memories, the despair Christmas brings her, and the fear to love again, Audria is in desperate need of a Christmas miracle. Or at least some of the hope Christmas seems to offer so many. Can she embrace a new mission? If so, Christmas may stand to deliver a lifetime of magical memories.

“Christmas on a Mission” is a delightful story of hope, life, love, and second chances, filled with all the joy and cheer Christmas brings.

A New Novella Releases in November! “Christmas on a Mission”!

COMING SOON!!
I’m so excited about my upcoming Christmas Novella “Christmas on a Mission”!
It speaks to my teacher heart, my crafty-side, my love for yummy sweets, decorating, and my desire to live intentionally knowing we have a mission in life.

 

Fitting Christmas in a shoe box has been her mission…until now.

Audria Rylatt is the school system’s liaison for homeless students. She strives to make Christmas bright for hundreds, while the season brings only heartache after her fiancé was killed in combat nearly two years ago. So when her family decides to play matchmaker, she is less than thrilled. To make matters worse, they’ve invited a soldier friend of her deceased fiancé to the family cabin for the holiday.

But she’s surprised to find this soldier, Quinton Nolan, standing at the door of heart. Faced with painful memories, the despair Christmas brings her, and the fear to love again, Audria is in desperate need of a Christmas miracle. Or at least some of the hope Christmas seems to offer so many. Can she embrace a new mission? If so, Christmas may stand to deliver a lifetime of magical memories.

“Christmas on a Mission” is a delightful novel of hope, life, love, and second chances, filled with all the joy and cheer Christmas brings.

 

Inspirational Contemporary Romance Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How awesome is this?

The Grand Prize Winner receives 35+ ebooks, including my debut novel, “The Wounded Warrior’s Wife”, and an eReader!

What an incredible giveaway!

Be sure to enter here: https://booksweeps.com/book-giveaway/inspirational-contemporary-romance-june-2018/

Have a WONDERFUL Summer & Happy Reading!

A Worm in Time: How a Worm Helped in the Spread of Christianity

A Worm in Time: How a Worm Led to one of the Greatest Factors in the Spread of Christianity

As a middle school world history teacher, I stand over textbooks and timelines observing the causes and effects of historical events. They weave together telling the story of time, and I can’t help but marvel at God. With each twist and turn, the ups, the downs, God moves, and bends history to His will.

I’ve been able to make many observations. For example, God often uses the ill-equipped to serve His purpose. Not only the ill-equipped, but God isn’t opposed to using the secular, the ungodly, small, least likely, and even seemingly insignificant events to bring about His plans and purpose.  It’s brilliant.

Around 3,000 B.C. the Chinese began cultivating silk from a worm. The raw material provided by the worm created a luxurious fabric and a high demand from buyers.  Two thousand years later trade opened between China and the Mediterranean region sparking a greater demand for silk. The demand led to the creation of what we now know as The Silk Road or Silk Route.

Today, the World Wide Web connects us, but for over a thousand years the Silk road acted like a World Wide Web of interconnecting roadways. More than silk was traded. Merchants stretching from East Asia, the Middle East, parts of Africa, and Europe exchanged gold, spices, salt, slaves, ideas, religion, and technology. A case can be that the Silk Road affected culture more than trade. In fact, trade along the Silk Road became arguably the leading cause for the spread of Christianity around the world.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, trade declined. The roads fell into ruin, and became dangerous for merchants and their caravan of goods. However, Christianity would not be stopped. God had other plans. Eventually, the Mongols, fierce nomadic warriors from Asia, begin providing protection along the roadways and trade and travel flourish once more.

A great empire falls, and God uses violent, unmerciful, warriors like the Mongols to protect the road in which His message of Grace, Love, and Mercy is shared. Slavery, an evil crime against humanity, was a lucrative business along the routes, yet these slaves will perhaps, for the first time hear God’s message of Freedom. Robberies, and murders were common occurrences along the roadway, yet God’s mission and message could not be deterred.

Notice how God worked through the trials, dark places, thorny paths, and sinful nature of humanity that manifested along the roadways. He does that today, working in our lives, in the dark place to bring truth and good for those that love Him. It’s the thorny, darkest, vilest places that need the light of the Gospel the most. What better place for the Gospel to shine than against the backdrop of the Silk Road?

God’s Word prevails, just like He says it will. There’s no stopping it.

Eventually, the effects of trade on the Silk Road will lead to Christianity spreading to Northern Europe and then over to England.  Overtime England will become a Protestant nation, through non-religious reasons– check out the story of King Henry VIII. It’s not a “Christian” story, yet, God will allow Protestant Christian beliefs to grow, and ultimately those beliefs sail their way to the Americas where they become the foundation of our great nation.

Let this sink in: God used a worm to create a product, that started the largest, longest lasting, trading system, which allowed for the world-wide spread of Christianity. Mind bogglingly brilliant.

He’s relentless, reckless, and stops at nothing to further His plan of salvation to be heard by every ear possible. Why? Because. He. Loves. Us. Every last person on this planet, past, present, and future. He’s a God who has chased us through history, in and out of time, simply to be with us.

If history repeats itself, as it often does, then God is still moving in the midst of our frustrations, doubt, fear, and uncertainty. He will use the secular, the immoral, ill-equipped, time itself, and even a worm to further His kingdom purpose.

And here’s the best part, He wins!

 

About the Author:

Hannah Conway is a military wife, mother of two, middle school teacher, and speaker. Her novels are a deployment experience of their own, threaded with faith, and filled with twists and turns sure to thrill, and encourage. Hannah is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, and My book Therapy. She and her family live near Nashville, Tennessee.

Check out her latest release, Up in Smoke ! Love it? Leave a Review on Amazon and let the world know!

Sweet Surrender : eBook Giveaway & Guest Post By Author Cynthia Roemer

Hello Dear Readers! I’m honored to have my friend and fellow author, Cynthia Roemer as a guest blogger today! She’s also been so gracious to host a GIVEAWAY for her debut novel “Under This Same Sky”! Keep reading and then enter below! AND if you have a moment, hop on over to her site today where I’m offering a giveaway for my latest novel “Up in Smoke” CLICK HERE. It’s a swip-swap giveaway!


Surrendering our lives to God never comes easily. If you’re like me, you can give a situation to the Lord only to take it back again and again in a tug-of-war for control. I suppose that’s why I wrote about the theme of total surrender in my debut novel, Under This Same Sky.

My heroine, Becky Hollister, doesn’t willingly choose to surrender her will to God; instead, adverse circumstances compel her to choose between entrusting her life to Him or turning her back on her faith. It’s touch and go for a while. After enduring great suffering and loss, Becky questions how a loving God can allow such hurtful events to happen.

Under This Same Sky takes readers on a journey alongside Becky as she works through her resentment toward God and seeks to determine what His will for her might be. But just as in real life, it takes the wisdom of God’s word and the love of friends (and in Becky’s case, a godly man) to pull her through.

Becky’s story is a tale of friendship and love, but even more so, it’s a quest for wholeness and deeper understanding of a God who longs to hold the deepest desires of her heart. Fully surrendering to the Lord is something I believe we all struggle to achieve. I hope you’ll be encouraged by Becky’s story and the message of surrender it conveys.

 

  1. Why do you write?

Since my college days, I’ve had the dream of writing novels. I can only explain it as something God placed within me to do. I long to touch the hearts of readers by letting them experience growth and healing in the lives of my characters.

  1. What do you love best about your novel?

It would have to be its message—that of surrendering to God, despite our circumstances. There are so many hurting people who don’t understand why God allows bad things to happen. While my novel doesn’t attempt to answer that question, it does seek to demonstrate that God is able to work through our hardships to draw us closer to Him.

  1. What encouraging word would you like to give to others?

I’d like to encourage others to live their dream for God. Whatever He has placed on your heart to do, work toward it, allowing room for His timing. When we seek God’s blessing in what we do, He will be faithful to walk beside us. He gives us each our own special set of skills and traits. It’s up to us to discover how He can best put them to use.

 

Under This Same Sky Book Blurb:

~ She thought she’d lost everything ~ Instead she found what she needed most. ~

Illinois ~ 1854

Becky Hollister wants nothing more than to live out her days on the prairie, building a life for herself alongside her future husband. But when a tornado rips through her parents’ farm, killing her mother and sister, she must leave the only home she’s ever known and the man she’s begun to love to accompany her injured father to St. Louis.

Catapulted into a world of unknowns, Becky finds solace in corresponding with Matthew Brody, the handsome pastor back home. But when word comes that he is all but engaged to someone else, she must call upon her faith to decipher her future.

 

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Cynthia Roemer is an award-winning inspirational writer with a heart for scattering seeds of hope into the lives of readers. Raised in the cornfields of rural Illinois, Cynthia enjoys spinning tales set in the backdrop of the 1800s prairie. She writes from her family farm in central Illinois where she resides with her husband and their two college-aged sons. Under This Same Sky is her debut novel.

 

 

 

 

Contact Links:

Website:  http://cynthiaroemer.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCynthiaRoemer/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com@cynthiaroemer 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35002701-under-this-same-sky?from_search=true

 

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Under-This-Same-Cynthia-Roemer-ebook/dp/B06XZNPSRR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492640140&sr=8-1&keywords=under+this+same+sky

 

 

 

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Christmas: It’s All About the Message


Welcome Dear Readers! Today we welcome our Special Guest Blogger Ann Knopp! Welcome, Ann!! Thank you for sharing with us today.

Christmas is all about the Message

All throughout the Bible God spoke and things happened.  He created the world with just His words, and it came into being.  He spoke to Noah and told him to build a gigantic boat in the middle of a desert region, and he did it.  And God was faithful to save.  He told Abraham to go to a land he’d never been.  Abraham went. No questions asked. Just went.  God promised him a future filled with generations of people, and God is continuing to fulfill that promise. Now Moses did do a little complaining, or making excuses, why it was not the best idea for him to lead God’s people out of Egypt, but in the end, he went as well.  

God was faithful to deliver all them (Noah, Abraham, & Moses).  On and on throughout history, God would speak, and God’s people would obey.  They didn’t have the Bible because essentially they were living the Bible one moment at a time so we could have a manual to follow today.
 
Then one day, God did an amazing thing.  He told His Son, Jesus, to go to the world.  He went (knowing what He was going to have to do once He got here).  Jesus was God’s ultimate plan to be the Savior to a dark and dying world.  When Jesus began His ministry, He found 12 men that were going about their daily routine and He said, “Come, follow Me.”  We find him ‘going.’ He went into the world, just like God asked, and so did the disciples. They dropped everything and followed.  
Click to Tweet Quote
Click to Tweet Quote

Then Jesus’ ultimate purpose for coming was revealed.  Jesus was in the garden, and He was praying, and asked God to take the “cup” or burden of death on the cross from Him.  God didn’t, but Jesus went faithfully.  God essentially said “Go,” and Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice by dying on the cross for our sins.  Because of Him going, we have a direct path to God, and we can come to Him whenever we want.

God’s faithfulness, and our fully trusting in God, go hand in hand.  Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”   
He didn’t say, go if you want to, or whenever you’re ready, meander on your way.  He said “Go!”   

We have a purpose.   Our job is to spread the gospel that has faithfully been lived out by men and women throughout the years to everyone we meet.  

Christmas is the best time of year to share this message because Jesus ISthe message of Christmas.  It says so right in the name.  Tell people the true meaning of Christmas, and live out your purpose during this season, and every day of the year.  God will be glorified through you!
About Ann:

My name is Ann Knopp.  I am a pastor’s wife and mother of two teenage boys who love to play basketball and run.  I truly have a desire to minister to women wherever God allows and the places to minister have been increasing over the last year.  God called me to write but not only to write but to share with whoever will listen.  I pray that the devotional that I have written will encourage you to share His message with whoever you meet throughout not only the Christmas season but throughout the year.  God bless!

Connect with Ann:

Email: ukknopp@comcast.net
Facebook: Ann Luck Knopp
 

3 Steps to Finding the Grace to Chase a Dream by Cara Putman

http://www.amazon.com/Stars-Night-Cara-C-Putman-ebook/dp/B00EV56C4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440123709&sr=8-1&keywords=stars+in+the+nightHello Dear Readers! Today we welcome Award Winning Author Cara Putman! Cara has some great advice to share with us today & will be giving away a copy of her novel, Stars in the Night. Enter to win below!


Without further ado, let’s give Cara a warm welcome!



 

~    ~    ~
ONCE there was a 14-year-old who quickly realized her favorite authors simply could not write books fast enough. Because she was young, she decided she could write books, too. Her mother smiled and allowed her to write as part of her English. Slowly two novels grew on an old computer, paragraph by paragraph, page by page. She loved creating ideas, research, writing. The process delighted her soul, and she wondered if she’d found what she was created to do.
        Then life got busy. College, a career. A husband and a family. Writing was pressed to the perimeter of her life by the busyness of a full life.
                Most days it was enough.
                But some days, the whisper to write became a roaring ache to try. When this occurred, this girl grown into a woman would take the dream to God, hold it in open hands, and ask Him if this was His dream for her. If not, show her so she could kill the dream and focus on His will for her life.
                In due time, He announced it was time to follow her dream. Nine years later she’s awaiting the publication of her 18th and 19th books later this year.
                You may have already guessed: I am that girl. I know what it’s like to have a dream burning inside me and wonder if anything would ever come of it. I want to encourage you. If this is you. If you’re convinced your dreams have disappeared under a pile of laundry, dirty diapers, and grocery lists, that there are ways to live with grace until the appointed time for the dream to burst to life.
                Here’s what I learned on the journey:
1)      Hold the dream loosely. Pry your tight grip from the dream and offer it to God. Ask Him for wisdom to know if this is the time or the dream. Seek Him first. A dream without Him at the center is simply not as fulfilling.
 
2)      Prepare when you can as you can. For me that meant continuing to read voraciously. Through that I had a core understanding of what made a story and characters work. I might not have known all the lingo, but I intuitively gained an education. It also meant I read how-to write novel books. Each time the itch would resurface, you’d find me in the stacks looking for another book, so I could get structural understanding.
3)      Be prepared to run when God gives you the go-ahead. The years since God told me it was time to test the dream have been a whirlwind of work. It has required immense discipline and stick-to-it-iveness. I’ve had to let go of things to make room for the dream. Are you willing to do the same?

Waiting for a dream is hard. But with God’s grace, the waiting can be a time of preparation and drawing closer to Him.

Cara Shares Some of her Faves!

Favorite Dessert:                           Apple pie
Favorite Restaurant:                     Runza   
Favorite Branch of the Military (I won’t judge you if say anything other than Army, lol J): ARMY – My dad flew Heweys in Vietnam and Desert Storm
Favorite Genre of Music:              Praise and worship
Favorite Subject in School:           history


Author Bio:

Cara C. Putman, the award-winning author of 20 books, graduated high school at 16, college at 20, and completed her law degree at 27. FIRST for Women magazine called Shadowed by Grace “captivating” and a “novel with ‘the works.’” It received the Christian Retailing BEST award for Historical Fiction and the HOLT Award of Distinction. Cara is active at her church and a lecturer on business and employment law to graduate students at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. Putman also practices law and is a second-generation homeschooling mom. Putman recently received her Master’s in Business Administration at Krannert. She serves on the executive board of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization she has served in various roles since 2007. She lives with her husband and four children in Indiana.

Shadowed by Grace:
http://www.amazon.com/Shadowed-Grace-Story-Monuments-Men/dp/1433681781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440123649&sr=8-1&keywords=shadowed+by+graceShadowed by Grace is a dramatic story inspired by the Monuments Men of World War II by acclaimed author Cara C. Putman. Desperate to save her dying mother, Rachel accepts her newspaper’s assignment to travel to Italy to capture images dangerously close to the front lines of WWII. Her real motive – to find the father she never knew — an artist she hopes can offer the comfort and support both she and her mother need to survive. It’s an unlikely situation for love and faith to flourish, but soon Rachel not only finds herself, but also her long-lost earthly father, and ultimately, the man her Heavenly father created to cherish and provide for her

Connect with Cara:

 

Enter Below to Win a Copy of  Stars in the Night: 

Author Spotlight & Novel Giveaway with Molly Jebber!

Welcome Dear Readers! Today we have Author Molly Jebber with us! She’s giving away a print copy of  her novel, A Change of Heart! Enter to win below! Share with your friends and family for more entry points!

Meet Molly!
Molly Jebber is the author of CHANGE OF HEART, an Amish historical romance. Fascinated by the Amish history, culture, Molly perused her passion to write.  Her love or writing led to a book deal with Kensington Publishing as well as three more titles debuting in 2015/2016. Publisher’s Weekly magazine announced and listed this book number three in their best ten romance review list for 2015. Molly loves God, her family and friends. She likes swimming, reading, golf, and spending time with her husband, Ed, daughter, Misty and friends.


Molly, please tell us about your latest novel, writing project etc and any personal inspiration behind it.
Becca Carrington, my heroine, is thrown into a world unknown to her. She encounters danger and difficult people. I wanted to show how her Amish upbringing and faith in God remain throughout her new life when faced with conflict and drama.

Do you have any current projects you’re working on? Care to share?
“Change of Heart” is the first in a three-book keepsake pocket quilt theme series. The second book is finished and will be released in February, 2016. My Christmas story, “An Unexpected Christmas Blessing” is part of an anthology along with Amy Lillard and Kelly Long. The overall title for this book is “The Christmas Sleigh”. Each of us wrote Amish themed stories. This book will be released October 30, 2015. All of these books are available in stores and online wherever books are sold.

For all the folks out there read, could you share with us your favorite scripture and why?
Philippians 4:19 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” KJV – This verse reminds me with God anything is possible, and that He’s always there for me.

Before we give away more info on Change of Heart, is there anything you’d like to say to your readers? I know they’d love a personal note.
Readers, without you, there would be no reason for me to write. The greatest thrill for me is to hear that you are enjoying my stories. That my stories provide a “little getaway” for you and makes you happy.
Thank you for being with us today, Molly, and thank you Dear Readers for stopping by! Remember to enter to win a copy of Change of Heart below.

Change of Heart by Molly Jebber

Ohio, 1899.  Soft-spoken midwife Becca Yost lived by her Amish faith’s strict rules—until her fiancé jilted her before their entire community. She’s never been away from home, but the bustling Englischer town of Massillon, Ohio, is a welcome unexpected refuge. Especially when she goes to work for Dr. Matt Carrington, who shares her passion for healing those in need. His outgoing spirit and gentle strength show Becca a surprising new world of choices—and irresistible love. But there is one formidable obstacle: Matt’s wealthy mother is determined her son will marry a society woman.

 With her newfound resolve challenged, Becca decides that she and Matt must not be destined for each other after all. She accepts that she will have to forge a life alone—until a wrenching crisis and life-changing revelations teach her that true faith lies in all things, especially impossible second chances. . .

Connect with Molly:

Email:     mollyjebber@yahoo.com
Twitter:      @mollymjebber
 

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Supreme Court Ruling: Being a Christian Author in a World With an Opposing Message

Being a Christian Author in a world that no longer wants to know Jesus — in a world that no longer wants to hear His message, but desperately needs it.
I’m still soaking in the Supreme Court ruling that recognizes same-sex marriage in all 50 states. I’m saddened, not shocked. For Christians in America, our faith just became more difficult to live out. The implications of the court’s decision are heavy, and the ripple effects will be seen for generations to come.
To redefine an institution that they did not create — the gall, but then, that’s where we, the church and state, differ. With a slam of a gavel, the distinction between church and state has never been made clearer, and I feel as if I have witnessed our nation turn its back on God. Yes, my heart hurts…
I’m hearing love wins from supporters of same-sex marriage, but love already won when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that’s what homosexuality is—a sin, just like any other sin. Yes, I love my gay friends, but I in no means support their actions. Whether born gay or not, the act of homosexuality is a sin. If a person is born with an alcohol gene, or a tendency toward alcoholism, does that excuse their behavior as an alcoholic? No.  In the same way, a person born with same sex tendencies can choose whether or not to act out on their desire.
Maybe the definition of sin is the issue here. Perhaps we can’t agree on what sin is and isn’t. I personally don’t like being told if I’m sinning. It’s offensive to hear. No one wants to be corrected, but God corrects us for our own good. He knows what’s good for us, and only wants the best.
God is very clear on what sin is. It’s outlined in His Word – the Bible—the very Word our nation used to construct its Constitution. We cannot pick and choose what the parts of His Word we will follow, and which we will ignore. This isn’t Burger King, we can’t have it our way. This is God’s world. It’s His way.  
And that’s the problem. Our nation doesn’t want it God’s way, but their way, and God, being ever so loving, will never force Himself on anyone, yet He wants desperately for us to choose Him.
For the first time in my life I’m hearing Christians being called ‘haters’ for taking God’s side on this same-sex marriage issue. Haters. Haters because they are taking a stand for what God, The Great I Am, The Creator of the Universe says? The message of Christ is anything but hate. In fact it’s the exact opposite. It’s overflowing with love, forgiveness, redemption, and restoration. Perhaps this message is offense because accepting it, means admitting fault.
Following Christ begins with admitting you’re a sinner (we all are), turning away from that sin, believing Christ is the son of God, that He rose again, and confessing our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior –meaning the Lord or boss of our life.
Why is it important to invite Jesus to be the boss of our life? Because He says we’re all sinners, born into it actually, and the punishment for sin is death and eternity in hell after we die. We can’t save ourselves, so Jesus came, took our punishment for sin, died, rose again, and anyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Here’s the thing, God is begging us to walk in His way. He says in his Word that there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death, but Jesus came to give life.
So what am I to do after the Supreme Court’s ruling? How do I live out love? How do I be “in the world, but not of it”? As a Christian Author, what am I to do in a world that rejects Christ with their words and actions while I write books exclaiming His message of love and redemption?
So many questions, but I know The One who has the answers, so that’s a plus. I know my words, actions, and intentions need to be saturated in love no matter who I’m interacting with.  I know love is very much an action—a choice, so I’ll choose to be patient, kind, gentle, selfless, and humble. I will choose not to keep a tally of wrongs. I will always choose to hope, persevere, and rejoices in truth—after all, that’s what Love does.  I know that I will not deny or defy God’s Words, and I’m thankful to be surrounded and supported by followers of Christ who will stand with me. And as a Christian Author, well, I find that one a bit easier to answer…I’m going to do what Jesus did so many times, and tell a story that’s filled with love, mercy, forgiveness, and redemption. A story where God is the hero, where truth and love win without ever compromising God’s plan, and His way.

#lovewins #lovealreadywon