Book Review: Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ by Ava Pennington

, by

Title: Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and grow a Fruitful Life in Christ Genre: Nonfiction: Christian Living Description of Flourish: If the fruit of the Spirit is promised to every Christian, then why do so many believers wish they were filled with more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Where is the disconnect? Why is there a disconnect? What are we missing? These questions inspired me to explore the fruit of the Spirit more deeply. What I learned became the basis for Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ. Nurturing the…

Read More

Fascinating Friday Feature – Did You Know?

, by

by Linore Rose Burkard When I studied English Literature at the City University of New York, the professors never included writings by famous British authors that paid homage to Christmas or Christ. Authors like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. (Even Wordsworth, you ask? Yes, though not overtly.1)  When researching my book, Regency House Christmas: A Remarkably Regency Yuletide,2 I was pleasantly surprised to find material from these writers of my favorite historical era that revealed a faith my college professors avoided.   I included brief snippets from Coleridge’s “A Christmas Carol,” Wordsworth’s “The River…

Read More

Fascinating Friday Feature – Learn, Persist and Have Faith

, by

by Dave Pratt Over the past few weeks, the first book in my Christian Suspense series, The Home Team, received numerous positive book reviews. That experience has left me both pleased and humbled and caused me to reflect on how someone like me, with several well-reviewed novels in print, who started the journey as a newly commissioned second lieutenant in the Army, braced by a senior officer in a hallway who growled, “Pratt, you can’t speak and you can’t write. Fix it, or you’ll fail.” More than a little shook by the experience, I signed up for the first correspondence…

Read More

Book Review: The Home Team by Dave Pratt

, by

The Home Team: Book 1 by Dave Pratt Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense Description of The Home Team: Book 1 Sam Anthem has always been a team player, leading his Home Team on secret missions around the world and chasing down bad guys for the U.S. government. But Sam has never had a place to call home or someone to go home to. Consuelo Zamora has been serving as a missionary nurse, but her work has led her to be forced to work with some South American drug lords in order to provide medicine for the common people. After being…

Read More

Fascinating Friday Feature – One Fruit of the Spirit

, by

by Ava Pennington Did you know there is only one fruit of the Spirit? Have you ever wondered why you didn’t have more of the nine fruits of the Spirit the apostle Paul listed in Galatians 5:22-23? That list includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But what if I told you there is only one fruit of the Spirit? That’s right, just one, not nine! God describes several of His attributes as fruit that He develops in us. They are not separate fruits (plural). Rather, each one is a display or facet of the fruit…

Read More

Book Review: Children’s Advent Stories for Bedtime by Julie & David Lavender

, by

Children’s Advent Stories for Bedtime by Julie & David Lavender Genre: Children’s literature Description of Children’s Advent Stories for Bedtime: “Christmas is more than just presents under the tree, candy canes, and mistletoe. It’s a special time to discover and celebrate what Christmas really means – the promise of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Children’s Advent Stories for Bedtime delivers a joyful collection of 25 stories that help you connect with what this season is truly about while counting down the days until Jesus’ birthday. Cozy up to God’s messages of joy, peace, and love with the following: true biblical retellings, thoughtful…

Read More

Book Review: Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ by Ava Pennington

, by

Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ Genre: Nonfiction: Christian Living If the fruit of the Spirit is promised to every Christian, then why do so many believers wish they were filled with more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Where is the disconnect? Why is there a disconnect? What are we missing? These questions inspired me to explore the fruit of the Spirit more deeply. What I learned became the basis for Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ. Nurturing the fruit of the Spirit…

Read More

Fascinating Friday Feature – The Beautiful Mess of My Writing Life

, by

by Jodi Hendricks When I first dreamed of becoming an author, I pictured long mornings with a steaming cup of coffee, quiet hours of uninterrupted study, and afternoons spent at my desk letting words flow free onto a page. In my imagination, the life of a writer looked peaceful, contemplative, and wonderfully distraction free—a rhythm where inspirationand productivity danced hand in hand. The reality couldn’t be further from that picture. I am a mother of four. I homeschool each of them, which means my days are filled with math lessons, science experiments, and history discussions often conducted while folding laundry…

Read More

Fascinating Friday Feature

, by

by Jill Chapman  Writing has been an adventure for me in a multitude of ways. From the stories I wrote as a middle-school preteen to the weird stuff I drafted as a teenager, from newsletters, lesson plans, and Sunday school lessons to novels, my writing has been straight from my heart. When I began to write my middle-grade novel at age fifty-nine, I knew I wanted a mystery story with adventure that kids would love to read. The first drafts were not great. Several drafts later, I had the story ready. So, when I pitched it and sent the manuscript…

Read More

Fascinating Friday Feature – The Big ‘Yes’ Continues

, by

by Linda Wood Rondeau I am forever fascinated by how God continues to affirm our calling, even within the worst discouragement and doubt. “Lord, I can’t do this anymore. It hurts too much,” I cried. “I wasn’t meant to be a writer.” I looked up at the wall of award certificates for unpublished work and thought I heard the room laughing at me. How many times have I wanted to quit? Every time I view my royalty checks or realize the non-existence thereof. My first career had been in human services, but I wanted to reach people outside the government…

Read More