Book Review: Keeping Hope Alive: Devotions for Strength in the Storm

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A timely book for our circumstances! Storms of life will strike. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when” and how fierce the winds will blow. We need strength—God’s strength—to survive those storms. With personal stories and insightful perspectives, Grace Fox brings you ninety daily devotions of hope. Each day’s devotion includes a key Bible verse, a time to pause and read, and then an action step or a question to ponder. There’s also a short prayer for the moment and an encouraging quote from others who have walked through times of crisis. Check out this review: No writer brings…

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How a Cat Changes its…um…Fur

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Today’s edition of Fascinating Fridays comes from CAN member Robin Currie. Thank you for bringing us your animals’ eyewitness account of the Nativity story today, Robin! I published Eyewitness Animals, Christmas Story, (Standard Publishing, now out of print) in the summer of 1997 about the Nativity story though the eyes of seven different animals who may have been there. They did not talk to humans but observed them and made internal comments. The animals all had names that described them. The usual ones were Clomper, Donkey, Wooly Lamb, and Sandy Camel. Then I added Twitter Sparrow observing angel activity in Galilee,…

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A Chat with Author Edie Melson

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Greetings from Marti Pieper in rainy, wintry Seneca, South Carolina! As I type this, I’m waving east to my friend Edie Melson, also a resident of this beautiful state. I’m thrilled to introduce an accomplished writer such as Edie to you today, so let’s get started. Welcome to the CAN blog, Edie. Would you please tell us a bit about Soul Care When You’re Grieving? Grief is difficult. We all experience it—and we experience it differently. There is no right or wrong way to face loss, yet many of us feel we could be coping better. Going through loss narrows…

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Book Review: Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos

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Life can change in a nanosecond. Crisis strikes, and we wonder whether we’ll survive the next hour, never mind the day. Our soul years for the storm to subside, for calm amid the chaos. With personal stories and insightful perspectives, Grace Fox brings you ninety daily devotions of hope. Each day’s devotion includes a key Bible verse, a time to pause and read, and then an action step or a question to ponder. There’s also a short prayer for the moment and an encouraging quote from others who have walked through times of crisis. * * * Check out this…

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Getting Skunked

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            Getting skunked means to be overwhelmingly defeated in a competition, such as “We got skunked, 72-10 in the basketball game.”              And then there’s the literal meaning.             I had been prayerwalking for many years in my small town in the Sierra Valley that cold morning I headed out my front door and down Main Street—bundled up in gloves, coat, and hat that pre-dawn morning. I had forgotten my flashlight but wasn’t concerned when two doors down I heard rustling in the bushes to my right.             Just birds.             But soon I learned the rustling was not birds, but a skunk defending itself from an…

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A Chat with Author Carla Hoch

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin! Today I have the joy of interviewing Carla Hoch, who turned her martial arts skills and her writing skills into a blog and a book that are amazing resources for other writers! Plus, she’s just an all-around interesting person–enjoy! Welcome, Carla! Please tell us about your book, Fight Write. In Fight Write writers will learn practical tips, terminology, and the science behind crafting realistic scenes of fighting, action and violence. From before the altercation to after the decomposition, Fight Write has you covered, What an incredible idea for a book! What inspired you to write it?…

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Start Your Morning Write

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Today’s timely message of encouragement comes Linda Goldfarb–CAN member, author, speaker, coach and dear friend to many who shares from the heart on her morning practice of daily writing. Thank you, Linda! I’ve written short term pieces daily for more than a decade. I began for my eyes only, as I’m a speaker who writes, you see. Until I chose to heed the Spirit to share my writings and now it seems I’ve started a fire of sorts. Not too hot for pre-believers, yet challenging, I hope, for those who have ears to hear. Here’s a taste. I pray its…

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A Chat with Author Janet Morris Grimes

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the joy of interviewing one of our newest members of CAN, debut novelist Janet Morris Grimes! Welcome, Janet! Please tell us about your book, Solomon’s Porch. I first read of Solomon’s Porch in the book of Acts. It’s a place where Jesus walked and Peter healed a lame man. I envisioned a modern-day place of hope and healing, at a time when our wounds are invisible and run so deep we pretend not to notice them. And a town called Ginger Ridge was born.    Beautiful concept! What inspired you to write…

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A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION

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I’m the kind of writer who tends to be totally absorbed in what I’m working on as if on a cloud of inattentiveness to anything else.  This can prove dangerous at times or outright funny. This was especially true when I lived alone in a small housing project while in Jacksonville, Florida. Since no harm was actually done, I laughed at the absurdity. I had just settled in to tackle long overdue writing projects when the phone rang. My neighbor had called to give me a heads up. “Got some bad news to tell you.” I didn’t want to hear…

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