How to Have a Better Life in 2020

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  It’s almost time for a New Year—and a new decade! How will your life be better in 2020 and beyond? What choices will you make to do things differently? Most New Year’s resolutions come and go like snowflakes on hot sand. They don’t seem to last. Instead, why not take time to reflect on and reevaluate your life so you can make better choices next year? Here are some ideas to get started: Reflect. Review the past year. What went right? What do you want to improve? Pray. Take time to get away by yourself to think and pray…

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A Joyful New Year!

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“Do everything without grumbling… ” Phil 2:14 Maybe 2019 was tough year and you find yourself complaining a lot. You want to break the habit, but aren’t sure how. Here are twelve helpful tips to remember when you are tempted to grumble: 1. Turn on worship music 2.Go on a prayer walk 3. Do Bible Art 4.Bible study 5.Post a verse on social media 6. Go out in nature 7.Play with your kids or grandkids 8.Donate time and talent to a good cause 9.Help someone less fortunate 10. Look for a silver lining 11. Count your blessings 12.Praise God for His…

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A Conversation with CAN Prayer Warrior Donn Taylor

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Happy Friday CAN Members! Catherine Finger here with the great privilege of interviewing CAN Member Donn Taylor. Donn is a prayer warrior and serves our CAN members through his tireless prayers and encouragement. His faithful organization of the weekly online CAN prayer group blesses us all. When he’s not praying, Donn can be found inspiring others in person and via his daily Facebook posts. His wisdom, warmth and good humor is revealed in a new way today. Thank you for joining us today, Donn! And thank you for your tireless service of prayer over the members of CAN and encouragement. We…

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The Christmas Yule Log (part one)

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  In Sara’s Surprise, a Bûche de Noël cake became a special Yule Log wedding cake. For Sara, it was the perfect cake for her Christmas wedding. But where did the Yule Log tradition come from? The custom of the Yule Log goes back to before medieval times. It was originally based on the Nordic tradition of Yule, a Winter Solstice festival. Burning the Yule Log was one of the most widespread Christmas traditions in early modern Europe, with the first recording of its appearance dating to 1184. For the Christian feast of Christmas, the Yule Log symbolizes the battle…

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Be Careful What You Say

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But where’s the fun in that? “She’s going to kill him!” my writer friend said, in a loud of enough voice and with convincing enthusiasm to be heard across the lobby while we waited for the elevator in my apartment building. We had just returned from a brisk, evening walk while we  brainstormed her newest Christian suspense. A neighbor entered the area just as my friend finished illuminating her plot and announced the crux of her heroine’s dilemma. The poor man’s eyes bugged. I can only imagine the thoughts going through his mind. “What have I just overheard?” We reassured him we…

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A Chat with Author Catherine Finger

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Greetings from Marti Pieper in beautiful (and much colder than Florida) Seneca, South Carolina! After a recent move, we’re unpacking and getting ready for Christmas all at once. But we have all sorts of interesting tidbits from author Catherine Finger, so let’s get started with her interview right away! Welcome, Catherine! Please tell us about your book, Capsized by Death. Police Chief Jo Oliver is finally about to begin a new life with her daughter and fiancé, but before they can celebrate their dream wedding in Maui, a serial killer with ties to one of Jo’s old cases unleashes a…

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Blind Spot

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  “At that time the deaf will hear word-for-word what’s been written. After a lifetime in the dark, the blind will see” (Isaiah 29:18 The Message). My husband Patrick has a little spot below his jaw line that he invariably misses when he shaves. Sometimes he misses it two or three shaves in a row, and then it isn’t just beard, now it looks like hair. That little patch of hair seems to hide in the shadows, difficult to detect, and then all of a sudden there it is. I began thinking about those little spots in my life that…

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Featuring Dr. Mary Ann Diorio-CAN Volunteer Extraordinaire

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Happy Friday CAN Members! This is Catherine Finger bringing you an interview with today’s featured author: Dr. MaryAnn Diorio.  In addition to to being an award-winning author, speaker, leader, coach, and beloved family matriarch, MaryAnn finds time to graciously leads our CAN reviewers—a great service to our authors. Thank you for joining us today, MaryAnn! Catherine: What are your passions? MaryAnn: Worshipping God, loving my family, sharing the Gospel, writing fiction. painting—especially in oils. Catherine: Where do you volunteer your spare time giving you a more rounded life? MaryAnn: I spend my spare time discipling women and ministering to my…

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A Chat with Author Davalynn Spencer

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Merry Christmas from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the privilege of interviewing the interviewer! Davalynn Spencer serves on my team of author interviewers—but today it’s her turn to be grilled. Davalynn has made a name for herself with her western romances, which have won multiple awards, including the prestigious Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award. Welcome, Davalynn! Please tell us about your latest book. A High-Country Christmas is a two-novella set including my recently released Just in Time for Christmas and last year’s endearing Snow Angel. Each is a sweet tale of mishaps, memories, and emotions that test the…

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The Gift of time

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  The Christmas season is upon us, and with it comes non-stop shopping, gift-giving, and entertaining. Not to mention baking, bow-making, and balancing the checkbook. No wonder it’s hard to find peace in the hustle and bustle of what should be one of our happiest times of the year. Often, in the midst of our hurry, we forget to count our blessings. One of the best ways to do that is to look around us and find someone with a greater need. Most likely we won’t have to look too far. It’s not just the poor, but the poor in…

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