Can You See Me Now? Interview with Author Cheri Strange

October 12, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Shadowy figure in the background and the words, "Can You See Me Now?"IF YOU EVER feel invisible, ignored, and overlooked as though you blend in with the wallpaper when you’re with a group of people, the loneliness you feel can be overwhelming. Author Cheri Strange knows this feeling herself and wants to help you rediscover your true value. Her new book, Can You See Me, Now? Good news for the lonely, left out, and less than may provide a path to new hope and renewal for anyone in this situation. As a national speaker and visionary of She Yearns Ministries and her popular YouVersion Bible reading plans, Cheri has already successfully helped many women redefine their worth.

Linda: Why did you write this book?

Cheri: The initial reason for writing this book lies with my own history. This is my story: a place of pain and how God delivered me through it while my circumstances did not change. It wasn’t long before I noticed the same familiar pain points showing up in the lives of my daughters. I have six daughters originating from three different continents and cultures. My thought was to privately offer them encouragement and biblical guidance when facing these issues.

It wasn’t long before I recognized the issues were more widespread. No longer was it just me, and my daughters, but half the population. Experts estimate we are the loneliest society on record in the last fifty years. A large majority have felt left out or always feel that way. What these realities illuminate is that most women have come to know the sting of not being missed and would like it to be different. This 75-day journey equips a woman familiar with loneliness and being passed over to understand her value and enables her to experience the personal change necessary for becoming seen even if or when her circumstances remain the same. 

Linda: Who is your book written for?

Cheri: Can You See Me, Now? is for any woman who has ever been left out of the group, felt alone, or insignificant, and it offers a biblical path forward. It’s a 75-day journey toward genuine transformation with a guide and a personal plan to help you experience it.

Linda: Since this subject is so personal, I imagine it required a certain amount of vulnerability. What was the most difficult part of writing Can You See Me Now?

Cheri: The greatest challenge I faced in crafting Can You See Me, Now? was writing the beginning. It comes from such a private place of pain, getting it out in words ushered in all sorts of emotions, but this personal element wasn’t always there. In fact, the first time I submitted the manuscript, I did not utilize my own experiences. The criticism I received was the absence of a personal touch, or soul, which was intentional. Who wants to tell their inner struggles to strangers? Not me.

Rather than write the revealing, I filed it in a drawer. But when the world shut down in 2020, I had time to reconsider and pray. Yes. The message was incomplete without my journey infused. Oh, it’s not what we would consider traumatic. It’s just my ordinary experiences. And that, I realized, was the missing centerpiece. As I wrote, the emotions turned from regurgitating the pain, the failures, and the missteps to thanksgiving for the transformation in my own life that can be the reader’s as well. The path toward becoming seen is not limited to where we originate or even where we are today, but is cultivated through the Word of God, one day at a time.

Linda: I know that must be a blessing to your readers. Why did you choose to format Can You See Me Now into daily readings?

Cheri: Can You See Me, Now? leans toward being more devotional in style and pacing, divided into 75-daily readings that should take only a few minutes to read. That structure and design is on purpose. I have been writing for YouVersion, the Bible app, for several years. My readership largely develops from what is available on the app, and I have found this style and genre to be my sweet spot. I enjoy providing thematic Bible reading plans, utilizing Scripture to investigate a common theme. These are written in doable chunks for busy women with an invitation to make it personal, each day. This style of writing allows me to help make the teachings of the Bible and the whole of Christianity accessible to this generation. For me, there is no higher calling.

Linda: What would you say to the woman who is experiencing the life you describe to encourage her when she feels unseen and Picture of author Cheri Strangealone?

Cheri: This book is my best effort to answer this question without all the mistakes and missteps I took across so many years. The one thing I did right was call out to the God I wasn’t even sure loved me as an individual. I would suggest that God’s desire for your life is not to blend into the wallpaper or feel worthless. Start learning how God sees you and what He desires for your life. Let Him transform you one day at a time and even if your circumstances do not change, you can. And that makes all the difference.

Linda: What do you hope the reader will take away from your book, Can You See Me Now?

Cheri: It is my hope that the reader gets the sense that she is not alone in her loneliness. But comradery in our places of pain is not enough to draw us out of it or make us different. This journey means to illuminate how God sees her, how He can heal her, re-calibrate her, if needed, and draw her toward becoming who He created her to be. My desire is that she learns not to stop seeking, to ask God to fill her emptiness, to be willing to fail forward, and to make room in her life for becoming visible. If she internalizes these gleanings, she can work her plan for leaving the shadows and the lingering loneliness to become seen for all the right reasons in all the right ways.

Linda: What a hopeful message. But, Cheri, you haven’t always been a writer. What motivated you to do what you are doing? 

Cheri: If my life were left up to me and my desires, I would be somewhere on a back row content in obscurity, teaching history at high school. But that was not God’s plan. I feel like the prophet Amos who, when questioned about why he was doing what he was doing said, “I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go…’” (Amos 7:14-15) More than anything, my motivation for speaking, teaching, and writing is derived from the path marked out for me by the Lord. I did not choose it, nor did I desire it. I had another career, altogether. But this responsibility is obedience for me.

Linda: I assume that as a wife of thirty years you’ve had your challenges. What have you learned that you would want to share with a newly married couple?

Cheri: Chad and I entered marriage knowing full well it could end badly if we did not work on it. And the statistics are worse for those pursuing graduate school, which both of us completed. We intentionally set up safeguards, like restricting contact with old flames no matter how small the flicker had been. There would be no lunches or dinners with the opposite sex who is not family, and no going to bed without working out the problem or difficulty between us. We also sought out advice for finances and parenting. Still, the best thing we did for our marriage was establish our own daily walking with the Lord. Although we have hurt each other deeply, not behaving the way we should, this practice, alone, has allowed us to find common ground when our opinions differed, to seek forgiveness when we hurt the other, and love with the other in mind.

Linda: You’ve had some unique challenges as well. Please tell us some of the challenges you’ve experienced by adopting internationally three times?

Cheri: Nothing prepared us for the years spent building our family through international adoption, or beyond. In six years, we added six children. Five did not speak English, and one is special needs. All experienced trauma early in life with the scars to prove it. It’s not for the faint of heart or the bleeding heart who wants to save the world. It’s kingdom work, against heavenly forces and cannot be overcome short of long stents on your knees. What has enabled our family to grow together rather than become fractured is not our brilliant parenting or that we somehow lucked out with an awesome set of kids. We are a collection of sinners, just like any other family. God alone knows how to love those entrusted to us, and it has been our priority to learn from Him how and what to do, to seek counsel as needed, and to leave our egos at the proverbial curb.

Linda: What project are you looking forward to in the future?

Cheri: I am working on another non-fiction piece that offers a message of hope for the woman who is drinking from a spiritual well, yet remains thirsty for more—of what, she doesn’t know. It answers the question, what if all these needs, these desires, and the debilitating deficits were God-given so that we might find our satisfaction, and fulfillment in Him? Filled with captivating stories, biblical insights, thirst-quenching recipes and other practical resources, the reader will discover how her deepest needs can be fulfilled in Christ.

Linda: Where can people find out more about your book, Can You See Me Now as well as your ministry?

Cheri: You can find my book  Can You See Me, Now? from Bold Vision Books on Amazon, as well as my Bible study, Life Principles for Living Out the Greatest Commandment, from AMG. You can find more about me and my ministry on my website www.sheyearns.com, on the YouVersion app, or Instagram.

 

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Filed Under: BOOKS, Depression, Feeling unworthy, How to win, Interviews, Lonliness, Searching for purpose, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

My Story, Your Story, A New Story

September 6, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Blank pages of a book - ready to write a story

Photo by Engin Akyurt

EACH OF US is living a story. When we’re in the middle of it, we don’t know exactly how it will turn out. Sometimes the story takes us into a dark time. Other times we walk in the light. It’s like walking across a puzzle that’s only partially complete. As we tiptoe through the pieces, stepping from one piece to another in our life, things look fragmented.

But our heavenly Father sees it all. The entire puzzle lies before Him clearly. And He knows how to fit the dark pieces together with the light ones to make a beautiful picture.

Whether our story is in a dark time or a light time, when we trust Him with all the pieces, He can use them to create something beautiful and exquisite.

The endings of our story (when we do it our way) and God’s story (when we do it His way) might be quite different from one another. Sometimes our zealousness can lead us in ways our Lord would not want us to go. But when we surrender the dark pieces of our life into the hands of our Savior, He will lead us into the story ending He desires for us. The story we think we’re living becomes a new story when we put it into the hands of Jesus. The picture becomes more beautiful and stunning.

My new book, Pieces of Dark, Pieces of Light capitalizes on this theme. It’s a suspense thriller. It’s indeed exciting and takes you on a compelling journey in time. But it also takes you on a deeper experience into the enigma of how all the dark pieces in our lives can work together with all the other circumstances to produce an even greater, more brilliant picture of light. When God is at work in our lives, the darkness will one day fade away and a path of light will be clear to us and show us the way.

Isaiah 50:10 says, “Who walks in darkness and has no light. Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.”

When we walk in darkness, which way should we turn? Whose story should we trust? Who can see the end from the beginning?

I hope you’ll dive with me into the world of fiction where you can experience God’s perfect, paradoxical plan of darkness and light in a thrilling setting of international suspense, family secrets, hidden dangers, and personal discovery.

Pieces of Dark, Pieces of Light

Forgotten Dangers. Family Secrets. An Unknown Fate.    Book cover forthe story, Pieces of Dark, Pieces of Light

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Choices in Our Challenges – Interview with Author Lori Vober

July 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment

The word Choices above the horizon with sun risingLIFE HAS A WAY of throwing surprises in our path, and some of them aren’t what we’d hoped for. Life can be challenging.  How we face those challenges, however, can make all the difference in what our futures will look like. In Lori Vober’s new book, CHOICES: When You Are Faced with a Challenge, What Choice Will You Make? Lori writes about making choices in difficult circumstances based on her own experience, beginning at the age of twenty-nine when she suffered an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke, which eventually resulted in her having epilepsy.

Linda: What prompted you to share your story by writing CHOICES: When You Are Faced with a Challenge, What Choice Will You Make?

Lori: While leading my ladies through Bible Study on ZOOM during the fall 2020 and winter 2021, I heard that small voice that reminded me I was saved from a devastating stroke for a reason and had a story to share. I clearly felt God prompt me to start writing.

And I knew he was right. I am a walking miracle, and God wanted me to share my story and my journey of faith and perseverance to encourage others. I believe God has a plan for each of us, but leaves it up to us and our own free will whether we will have faith in Him and follow Him.

That is why I titled the book “CHOICES: When You Are Faced with a Challenge, What Choice Will You Make?  Life is about our choices! Even with my difficulties, I was able to become an adoptive Mom of a sibling group of three. My husband Dainis and I have been happily married for twenty-four years and reside in Goodyear, Arizona.

Linda: What are some of the challenges you have experienced?

Lori: Infertility, stroke, epilepsy from the stroke, job loss and a cross country move six months after my stroke, recovery, adoption, parenting, homeschooling, and a cancer diagnosis just as my book was launching

Linda: Why did you title your book Choices?

Lori: Life rarely turns out exactly as you pictured it, and we all face challenges along the way. When we face these challenges, we have a choice how we react to our circumstances. While God always has a plan, He leaves it up to us to decide whether we follow His plan or not. Life is about choices.

Linda: What main message do you want your readers to grasp from reading your book?

Lori: I believe God has a unique plan for each of us, but it is up to us whether we choose to follow Him and what our attitude is in our different circumstances. I have chosen to persevere with a positive attitude and hope the way I have handled my challenges can be a hope and an encouragement to others.

Linda: Do you have a favorite Bible verse you tend to lean on to help you in this?

Lori: Yes, Jeremiah 29:11-13 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Linda: After going through the medical challenges of the stroke and epilepsy, what made you and your husband decide to pursue an international adoption?

Lori: We had always supported kids through Compassion International and had been trying to start our own family when the stroke happened. We still had the heart to be parents but were concerned with my epilepsy and disability. Because of our love for international children from Compassion, we chose international adoption.

Linda: How old were your kids when you adopted them?

Lori: They were six, eight, and ten years old. One boy and two girls

Linda: How long have you been married and how has your husband reacted to your medical challenges? Was this difficult for him?

Lori: Dainis and I celebrated 24 years of marriage on March 28th. We were just shy of our fifth wedding anniversary when I had my massive stroke.

I always say now that I moved to Minnesota for my career but God moved me to Minnesota to match me with my Godly mate. I met Dainis at church, a month after his mom had passed away. She had battled hormonal cancer for sixteen years. We did not know at the time what our future would hold but God did. He knew I would need a mate by my side that could handle my medical challenges and Dainis was already equipped from watching his dad take care of his mom while he was growing up. He is loving, patient, compassionate, and has stood by his weddng vows.

Linda: How have you handled the stressful situations and typical parenting challenges, along with the medical challenges and life challenges, and still kept your marriage strong?

Lori: It is not always easy and like any couple, we have our disagreements. However, we respect each other and put our love and commitment for each other above any fight. We also have recognized how different we are and what helps to fulfill our needs. I am a people person and need emotional support. Dainis is an introvert and very black and white. Many things, like the challenges with the kids can’t be fixed. The solution was a girlfriend mentor for me that I could just talk to. It is important to recognize yor differences and work together.

Linda: What have you learned through balancing your own challenges, your kids and their challenges, and your marriage, that you would want to share with a newly married couple?

Lori: Put God first and make church a routine and a priority. Don’t let the kids ever come in between you and always stand united as a team. Always keep date nights and celebrate your anniversary together. One day the kids will leave and you will be full circle again. Make sure you still know that person you married when that time comes because forever is a long time.

Linda: What are your next steps in your writing journey?

Lori: I am finishing my second book now, which is a 31-day devotional based off my story and the stories of other authors displaying perseverance, a positive attitude, determination, etc. I am also a contributing author to several compilations coming out in fall 2022, spring 2023, and winter 2024. My goal is to continue sharing my story and experiences as a speaker also.

Linda: Did you always have a desire to write and publish a book?

Lori: No, my background is in marketing and sales. Writing my story started out as an act of obedience but then turned into a new passion, a time of healing, and a new purpose. This journey has brought me new friends, support, connections and taught me not to put God in a box but to always be ready and available to serve Him in the opportunities He presents to us. My newest favorite Bible verse is now Proverbs 19:21 NIV  21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Linda: In addition to writing and speaking, I understand God has encouraged you to branch out to use your circumstances in other ways to help people as well. Can you share some of that with us?

Lori: I am currently volunteering several days a week at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, where I had my hysterectomy this April after receiving a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. It was discovered after surgery to be a benign cyst, and I am cancer free but have the blessing of supporting and connecting with patients and conducting a creative writing class to share my story, writing prompts, and how my writing has helped me in my journey. I am also speaking at several stroke survivor support groups and participating in functions with the Brain Injury Alliance Group. I believe mentorship and supporting others is important when you have been together on that same journey.

Linda: Where can readers find a copy of CHOICES: When You Are Faced with a Challenge, What Choice Will You Make? And how can they best connect with you?

Lori:  They can find my book at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.christianbook.com, and www.walmart.com. They can also reach out to me for a signed copy through my website at www.lorivober.comThey can me at lorivober@gmail.com.

 

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Filed Under: BOOKS, health issues, Hope, How to win, Interviews, loss, New Directions, Problems Tagged With: , , , , ,

Day-votions with Your Faithful Father – Interview with Author Rebecca Barlow Jordan

June 23, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Dayvotons bookWHEN LIFE GETS HARD and we don’t know where to turn, author Rebecca Barlow Jordan wants to remind us that we have a faithful heavenly Father who wants to meet our needs. In her new book, Day-votions® with Your Faithful Father: 90 Days with the One Who Wants to Meet All Your Needs, Rebecca shows us how to talk with God intimately and honestly about our deepest needs. As a bestselling, award winning author of 13 books, and with the pen of a poet and the heart of a disciple, Rebecca’s passion is helping readers find intimacy with God. In this new book, she wants to show you what it means to be His child.

Linda: What led you to write your book, Day-votions® with Your Faithful Father at this particular time? 

Rebecca: As a young mother, I had a deep hunger to know God more intimately, and a longing to understand His character and His names. So I began noting His names and attributes in the margins of my Bible during my quiet times. As I read through different Bible translations and versions through the years, I discovered hundreds of names and traits.

I’ve been wanting to write a book about God’s faithfulness ever since. I authored 12 other books, including a series for women that I trademarked the name, Day-votions®. But I kept journaling in my Bible and began to notice more of God’s activity. Over and over in Scripture, I would see, “The One Who….” and discovered how truly faithful my heavenly Father was. And how many verses dealt with Him as being not only the “Supplier” of our needs but as being the “Supply” Himself.

I’ve written an encouraging blog for years, trying to help people grow closer to the Lord. Emails started coming in from people, asking me to pray for them. They expressed needs, experienced heartaches, and desperately wanted answers.

When the pandemic began to spread throughout our world, I knew it was time to write this book. Never had I seen so many universal needs. People were discouraged and had endured so many losses. I wanted to encourage others by helping them see God’s unchanging love and faithfulness in every situation, but especially in our most pressing ones. I ultimately decided to write this new book about God’s faithfulness under my “Day-votions® umbrella name.

Linda: How have you experienced God’s faithfulness in your own life? 

Rebecca: That’s a great question, Linda, and that was the basis and underlying reason for writing this book. When has God not been faithful?

Author Rebecca Barlow Jordan

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Looking back over my life, I can truly see God’s footprints of faithfulness everywhere I turned.

When I was younger, I’d see depression, fear, disappointment, or discouragement as roadblocks. I’d experience heartache, financial need, marriage issues, and parenting woes. Much too often, foolishness or confusion tried to upend desired wisdom. I cried out to God for help, but sometimes the process of healing was painful and messy. I despised having “needs.”

But life is messy and painful at times, and we will always have needs. I wanted to know my heavenly Father better, but not that way! Strangely enough, the majority of times I experienced His faithfulness was in the way He met those needs—and not always the way I expected.

He has brought me through times of depression and refilled my life with joy. When my marriage hit the wall, my husband and I wrestled through the pain of restoration and fell in love all over again—because God heard our cries, and we learned how to do the hard work involved. God provided jobs when we had none. He sent us on vacations, prompting others to gift us with special trips. When one of our daughters went missing, God brought her safely home. God’s grace, love, and faithfulness brought us through those and so many other challenging trials.

Linda: So how would you describe your new book, Day-votions® with Your Faithful Father.

Rebecca: Day-votions® with Your Faithful Father: 90 Days with the One Who Wants to Meet All Your Needs (2022) is a devotional based on God’s attributes and activity, with truths drawn from his powerful Word, to help readers renew their hope, joy, peace, and trust in the One who is faithful and unchangeable.

Linda: At the beginning of your book, you ask readers, “What if your needs were God’s personal invitation to experience His faithfulness in a greater way?” That’s a pretty thought-provoking question. Can you tell us why you asked that question and how that relates to your book? 

Rebecca: I wanted to help others see their needs in a different light, but also to understand how deeply God longs to meet those needs for us.

None of us want to call ourselves needy. Most of us consider needs as unwanted enemies.

But not God.

Our Faithful Father knows that we can do nothing apart from His intervention. Yet we often try to meet the deepest needs of our lives on our own.

Whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, we encounter problems and challenges from the moment we are born. Haven’t we all experienced fear? Distress? Disappointment? Pain? Don’t we all need encouragement? Peace? Comfort? Intimacy? Hope?

Our needs line up like fence posts, trying to imprison us. But our Father’s faithfulness knows no boundaries. He sees our needs differently because He created us. He knows how helpless we are without Him and that our needs can actually draw us to Him.

Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) tells us the reason why we can turn to our faithful Father: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Linda: Tell us about the format you used to write your devotions.

Rebecca: Twenty years ago, when I wrote my Daily in Your Presence series, no one had used the particular devotional format of sharing heart-to-heart, two-way prayer conversations with God. I wanted continuity from those books because they also featured God’s names and attributes, and readers responded well to them. So I kept that same format in Day-votions® with Your Faithful Father, only lengthened the prayers and added new features, like more Scriptures (over 450 Bible verses written out), a daily challenge to apply the truths, and a page for journaling thoughts and prayers. My new devotional has 90 three-page devotions, but still has a daily truth to memorize or solidify the chapter.

Linda: What is your desire for your readers? And what do you hope they will learn or take away from your new book? 

Rebecca: My desire for readers of all my books is the same: that they will be encouraged and come to know God more intimately. I pray they will discover God’s heart and embrace their faithful Father as the Heart Mender, the Thirst Quencher, the Joy Filler, and the Grace Giver.

As far as what I hope readers will take away with them? That’s fairly subjective. As a pastor’s daughter, I know God often works in unexpected ways. I remember so many times when a church member would shake my dad’s hand after the service and say: “I really appreciate your words.” And they would complete what they heard in the sermon. But my dad hadn’t said that at all.

In the same way, I believe God speaks to us, including our readers, in unique ways—but never contrary to what is in His Word. These snippets of Amazon book reviews from some readers (both men and women) of Day-votions® with Your Faithful Father were both humbling and unexpected. I think they show the kind of takeaways readers can expect to find. In many ways, they exceeded my hopes for reader “takeaways”:

“The devotionals in the book seem to be customized for me and meet a need in my life every day.”

“I couldn’t have known God would put this book in my life at exactly the right time. Two dear people in my life have been diagnosed with cancer in the same week and I desperately need time with my Father….What I love most? While the reader can read through the book chronologically, one can also focus on the most needed topic on any given day. If I’m in the middle of chaos and don’t know what to do I might want to read Day 39: When You Desperately Need God’s Help, The One Who Is Ready to Help You. When I’m overwhelmed by anxiety, I can turn to Day 69: When You’re Feeling Anxious and Distressed, The One Who is Your Only Rock.”

“No matter how high my stress level goes, each time I press pause and pick up this book, my heart is led to ‘green pastures and quiet streams for rest and refreshment.’”

“From day one I was reassured of God’s faithfulness in all areas of my life.”

“A stunning work that provides a biblical response to the struggles we all have as Christians.”

“In a very relevant and deeply personal exchange between your Faithful Father and yourself, you will experience God in real and loving ways.”

 Linda: Where can readers find out more about you and your books? 

Rebecca: You can find Day-votions® with Your Faithful Father: 90 Days with the One Who Wants to Meet All Your Needs on Amazon, and you can find out more about me and my books when you visit my website. You can also connect with me on Pinterest or Goodreads.

 

 

 

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They Don’t Tell: Child Abuse: A Mother’s Perspective – Author Interview with Lisa Gray

May 30, 2022 by Leave a Comment

A yellow bookcover with the picture of a mother and childWITH WHAT’S BEEN happening in our country this last week, our hearts and minds have been taken captive by thoughts about our children and the horror some of them had to endure at the hands of a heartless and cruel individual. But our hearts also go out to the parents and the pain they’ve experienced as they try to comprehend the incomprehensible awfulness of what happened.

There’s another horror story some children endure and other mothers who are gripped with pain in the discovery. In Lisa Gray’s book, They Don’t Tell: Child Abuse: A Mother’s Perspective, Lisa broaches a subject that is difficult to talk about, but she shares it from the vulnerability of a mother who has experienced the pain but discovered the healing.

Linda: Lisa, I know this is a dark subject, but I believe you’ve told me the book is not about darkness, but about hope. Please tell me what you mean by that.

Lisa: I believe we need to always be reminded that even in the darkest of situations, there’s always hope because we serve the God of Hope!

Linda: So now that we’ve given away the ending – that there is hope—tell me what They Don’t Tell: Child Abuse: A Mother’s Perspective is about.

Lisa: A mother’s heart, a heart that has been broken, shattered, stomped upon, torn apart and left in utter disarray.  The revelation of knowing your child has been violated by those who were “supposed” to care and nurture them is unlike any other pain I’ve ever experienced in my life!

Linda: So please tell us why you decided to write They Don’t Tell: Child Abuse: A Mother’s Perspective

Lisa: I felt the Lord wanted me to share my story, my journey back to health and wholeness for myself and my family. The book is meant for those who like me felt so alone, so isolated AND felt guilt and shame!  I was supposed to provide safety, protection, and security.  That was not my daughter’s experience.

I have to say I listen to Bishop T D Jakes a great deal, and I remember thinking to myself, “Why does he always talk about sexual abuse?”  I know it happens.  My head is not buried in the sand, but does it really happen THAT much?  I mean does it happen enough to warrant him continually talking about it ad nausea?  Well give me a chance now, and boy oh boy have I changed my story!  Today I say. “Bishop preach!”  Linda, today I understand that while I was thinking those very thoughts, I never knew that sexual abuse was happening in my own house, under my own roof, to My own daughter.

Linda: That’s heartbreaking, Lisa. Tell us how you were able to deal with it?

Lisa: Well let me assure you, it was not easy.  It was a process that took time, prayer, and—if I can be honest—I’ll admit there was some self-pity, Lisa Gray, authorsome self-loathing, and many questions of why and how could this happen.  I’m a good person, I love the Lord, this is not supposed to happen to Christians like us.

Linda, many times I had to fight the enemy in my mind…which is why the Lord tells us in scripture to take every thought captive…not to just sit in it, not to soak in the negativity but to fight.

There were days where I would fight with worship music, there were days when I would fight with scripture, there were days when I would fight with scriptures.  I would put scriptures all around me to remind me that God was faithful.  There were sticky notes on my refrigerator, my bathroom mirror, my car review mirror…because the assault against my mind was unrelenting, but only for a season.

I can say my family and my church family rallied around us also and supported us greatly through that season.

Because God is the same yesterday, today and forever we can stand on his word, and he will and does bring us through!

Linda: Lisa, that is such a powerful reminder of how to persevere through difficult times. Yes, God is faithful! What do you want readers to take away from your message in your book, They Don’t Tell?

Lisa: Linda if there’s anything I’d like for your listeners and my readers to know, I want to remind them that the enemy comes after our faith, and our resolve to judge the Lord faithful…even in the storms of life.  He really wanted me and others to walk away from the Lord and curse the Lord because of the trial and the storm.  I would never do that.  I understood that our LORD is faithful through every trial, every storm. And I understood my children, my family, my church family, even the community was looking to see how I was going to handle this.  Instead of running from God and to alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, food, whatever vice we use as false refuge, when the Bible clearly tells us the Lord is our strong tower, we run to him and are safe!

Run to him, Run to the throne of grace and plead for Mercy, judge the Lord faithful throughout all the circumstances. His mercies are new every morning, for you and your family!

Linda: After this terrible incident of child abuse happened to you and your daughter, where are you now in life? And how is your daughter?

Lisa Gray and DaughterLisa: This is myself and my daughter Nikki now—after the storm, after the hurt, after the trauma, after the healing, and after restoration has taken place in both of our lives.  We are better, stronger, more resilient, and determined that what we went through others can go through as well and survive!​  We walked this out together, and now are compelled to open up our lives and hold our heads high because like any of you who’ve experienced this—we have nothing to be ashamed of!

Linda: Has this experience of dealing with child abuse taught you anything new or transformed your thinking in any way?

Lisa: The Lord has taken me into a new area for me, one I never truly understood, but now I do.  Generational curses.  Although we don’t realize it, we actually have understood them along certain areas of our lives because every time we go into a medical facility they want a breakdown of our medical history.  Well, Linda, hidden in those familiar medical patterns are the generational iniquities that have been repeating throughout our generations.  Now I work with individuals and families to uncover, and uproot those patterns—of cancer, heart disease, brokenness, sexual immorality, etc.  My website is :  Bloodline Curse Breakers.com.  I can also be reached through email at kidsdonttell@gmail.com or by phone at 1 (202) 810-5687.

Linda: Do you have any final thoughts to share:

Lisa: Yes, this was a HORRIBLE situation, but when we give it to God, trust him, lean on and into him through the process, he will turn it around for our good.  His word cannot return to him void, and what the enemy meant for bad, God turns it around for our good.

Now I get the opportunity and the honor to share God’s word and his redemption all around the world.  My daughter is well and flourishing, and my ex-husband is serving a prison term of 15-40 years for the violation.

Linda: Where can people find your book, They Don’t Tell: Child Abuse: A Mother’s Perspective?

Lisa: The best place to find the book is on Amazon or they can reach out to me at the above email. You can also find out more about me and my book on my website at bloodline cursebreaker – Author counsellor speaker

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You Are Beautiful

May 10, 2022 by 1 Comment
Beautiful sunset

Photo by Al Quino

SITTING ON THE DOCK of a lake one late afternoon, I was captivated by the sight of an exquisite sunset.  The colors melting into one another to illuminate the sky stirred the lonely places of my heart. My husband had left several months earlier. Now we were separated, and I had no idea whether we would ever be together again.

Although clouds had enveloped my soul moments before because of my circumstances, I now found myself praising God, thanking Him for this beautiful sunset and the opportunity for me to see it.

“But what if you didn’t see it?  Would the sunset still be as beautiful?” I felt the Spirit of God asking me.

“Yes,” I said, “it would still be just as beautiful.”

“And what if no one saw this sunset, would it still be just as beautiful?” “Yes,” I said, “it would still be just as beautiful.”

“And if I make a person beautiful, but no one loves them, are they still beautiful?”  God’s Spirit inquired.

“Yes” I said, “they would still be beautiful.”

“I made you beautiful…and I love you.  So if your husband does not see your beauty, does that mean you are not beautiful?  If he does not love you, does that mean you are not loved?”

“No,” I whispered.  “I do not need anyone else to love me or think I am beautiful.  You are enough, Lord. If you love me and think I am beautiful, then that is enough.’

“I loved you enough to die for you,” He said.  “I created you to be the unique person that you are.  You are beautiful.  I love you.”

At that I bowed my head in praise and worshipped Him in love.

Excerpted from Broken Heart on Hold, Surviving Separation by Linda W. Rooks

If you need more hope and encouragement, you may find the hope you’re looking for in my book, Broken Heart on Hold, Surviving Separation. When facing the turmoil of a troublesome marriage, sometimes what we need most is a touch from God’s Spirit on our life so we can become stronger and more secure as we face each day.

 

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Reflections on the Names of God, Interview with Author Ava Pennington

March 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Yellow book cover with the words, Reflections on the Names of God?WHO IS GOD? How do we see him, and what is God really like? How do the different qualities of God impact us in our daily lives? According to author Ava Pennington, one of the ways to understand more about God is to learn the names of God and what they mean. In her new book, Reflections on the Names of God, Ava delves into sixty names and attributes of God. Did you know there were that many? Wow! I didn’t. Her devotional book provides new insights and understanding into the person of our God in a very unique way.

Linda: Tell us about your new book, Reflections on the Names of God.

Ava: Reflections on the Names of God: 180 Devotions to Know God More Fully (Revell Books, 2022) released this month. It’s an abridged, hard cover gift book edition of the original one-year devotional, Daily Reflections on the Names of God.

Every name and attribute of God reveals something about His character and His ways. Reflections on the Names of God is a devotional that explores each of 60 names and attributes of God from 3 individual perspectives: who God is, how this name or attribute changes us, and how it changes our relationships.

Linda: Why did you write Reflections on the Names of God?

Ava: I’ve always been curious about the many names of God in the Bible. Some were familiar, such as Yahweh Jireh, The Lord Will Provide. But others were confusing, such as Yahweh Nissi, The Lord My Banner. And then there were names that sounded frightening, such as when God referred to Himself as a Consuming Fire.

Bottom line—I wanted to learn what God said about Himself and why He chose those particular descriptions. Since I belonged to Him, it’s important to me to understand who I belong to!

Linda: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

Ava: As they read these devotions, I hope readers will benefit in four ways:

  1. The more they learn about who God is and how He works, the more they will see how much He loves them, which will make it easier to trust Him.
  2. The names and attributes of God combine to give us a full picture of who God is, revealing His glory to His children.
  3. The more they learn about who God is, the more they will learn about themselves in relation to Him.
  4. Becoming familiar with God’s names and attributes will help them see the priority He places on their relationships.

Linda: What surprised you most about what you learned?

Ava: The biggest surprise was in finding hope and encouragement in every name and attribute of God, even in the names that originally made me feel uncomfortable. When I cut through the noise of who others said God is and focused instead on who He said He is, I realized that every name written thousands of years ago is precious to me today.

Linda: How has God used the message of your book in your own life? For instance, how does it impact your prayer life? My husband often talks about how the names of God help him have more focus in his prayers. Have you found this to be true?

Ava: Yes, learning the names of God has helped me Relate to God differently. Faith in God is not blind faith. I can confidently rely on who God is by what He revealed about Himself in His Word. And because He is unchanging, the God of the Bible is the same today.

In terms of prayer, learning the names of God encouraged me to Pray differently. I’m not praying to an impersonal force out there in the universe, I am praying to our very personal God. And whatever the subject of my prayer— whether worship, thanksgiving, interceding for others, or asking for myself, there is a name or attribute God has revealed which helps me relate to Him in that area.

Finally, knowing the names of God caused me to Teach and share Christ differently. Everything about who He is and how He works is relevant to us today. Knowing His names and attributes gives me specific words to describe who He is. It also helps me when others speak of who they think God is, because then I have a starting point to say, let’s look at who God says He is!

Linda: What’s your favorite name or attribute of God in this book?Picture of author

Ava: It may sound like I’m avoiding the question, but I don’t have any one favorite. The more I’ve studied the names and attributes of God, the more personal He has become to me. Different names speak to my heart depending on my circumstances.

One thing I can attest to: I have never been in a situation where I haven’t been able to draw on a particular name or attribute of God to touch my spirit with healing, hope, and encouragement.

Linda: What does the topic of this book mean to you in your current season of life?

Ava: After being married for 40 years, I’ve been a widow for the past 4 years. Definitely a time of adjustment as I navigate this new season of life. I so appreciate the different names and attributes of God as they draw me into even deeper intimacy with my Savior. Now, more than ever, they give me strength for this present life and nurture my hope for eternity.

Linda: What is the difference between your new gift book edition of Reflections on the Names of God and the original version? How would potential readers decide which to get?

Ava: Although the original edition is no longer in print, print copies may be obtained from online sources. It’s still available as an e-book if readers prefer that format. And if readers are interested in a one-year devotional, they can explore e book as an option. The new devotional is an abridged edition with 180 devotions. The smaller size and hardcover make it a great gift for yourself or others.

Linda: How can people find out more about you and your books?

Ava: You can find Reflections on the Names of God on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Christianbook.com, and you can find out more about me and my books by visiting my website at https://www.AvaPennington.com .

 

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Righteous Relationship Reset, Interview with Author Sherri Downs

January 19, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Book cover of Righteous Relationship ResetCAN YOU “RESET” your marriage, and in effect, start over? Author Sherri Downs believes you can. In her book, Righteous Relationship Reset, she shares personally how God reset her own marriage by meticulously unwrapping the message God gave her when her marriage was in trouble. I recently did an interview with her on her Marriage Matters podcast, where Sherri seeks to provide listeners with hope and help on their marriage journeys. Sherri has a real heart to see marriages strengthened and uses her multi-media talents to do just that.

Linda: Sherri, tell me why you wrote a book about marriage reset?

Sherri: I identify the word reset in the terms of a fresh start. I’ve often heard “we serve a God of a second chances.” So, after experiencing devastation in my marriage, which, I share in my book Righteous Relationship Reset, I began to petition God to reset my marriage as if the devastation had never happened. As God began to restore and reset my marriage, I began to feel the call to share the message of hope, restoration, and a fresh start.

Linda: Why do you think marriages sometimes need to be reset?

Sherri: Unfortunately, we live in a broken world system and there will always be forces both natural and spiritual that will test our humanity. And the fact of the matter is, sometimes we pass, and sometimes we fail. Marriage is a relationship that is designed to be till death do us part. Humans are not perfect. On the contrary, we are flawed, and in marriage we will make mistakes. Those mistakes will need forgiveness and an ability to start afresh and reset. Now a reset doesn’t wipe away consequences, but it does give you a chance to not allow them to hold you back as you choose humility and forgiveness.

Linda: What do you believe was the intent of God for marriage?

Sherri: God created marriage with the intent that man and woman would live in harmony with one another. The newly created beings were to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. God took the expression of the relationship and created a covenant with Adam and Eve which would mirror the trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The two human beings were pure yet untested.

Linda: What does reconciliation look like in marriage?

Sherri: We are all called to be more like Jesus, and the ministry of Jesus is reconciliation. Forgiveness does not always equal reconciliation. However, reconciliation comes as one follows the leading of Holy Spirit and the display of true repentance. God requires that no one become a doormat to destructive behaviors. True repentance has the attributes of honesty, acknowledgement of offense, remorse over the action, accountability, and actions that display evidence of change.

Linda: In marriage, you’ve said in your book, Righteous Relationship Reset, that unrealistic expectations can rob couples of embracing the beauty of relationship. Can you explain what you mean and how one can change this?

Sherri: Unrealistic expectations are a result of an assumption we should receive something from someone which they do not have the capacity Photo of Sherri Downsto give. The only person that can meet all our needs is God, and we are to live with the understanding that He is our ultimate source. This is not to say that we are never to expect things from our spouse. However, proper communication to verbally express those expectations is key. Then after the expectations are verbalized each can come to an understanding whether they can be met by the other spouse. I believe when we accept each person for who they are while providing grace to grow we may experience a beauty of evolving as a couple.

Linda: That is such an important point. But you stress another point as well. When and how does one place proper boundaries around their marriage?

Sherri: I’ve come to understand that boundaries are needed around everything. The world is an expression of that—streets, oceans, forests, continents, and seas all have boundaries. If boundaries did not exist, we would all live in chaos. Our lives need boundaries as well, finances, relationships, children, and our marriage. I regret not coming to the realization of the importance of enforced boundaries in my early years. Maybe someone told me, but the revelation didn’t become real until I experienced the devastation from not enforcing them around everything. We must intentionally start a marriage thinking about the important things which will make a marriage last.

If you’re already married, you may want to stop and have serious conversations to address areas of chaos. Chances are those are the places where there are no enforced boundaries. If apparent chaos is not present, sit and think about areas where boundaries would be beneficial and put them in place together.

Linda: Where does one start to rebuild a marriage?

Sherri: When a marriage has been torn down, the first place to start to rebuild a marriage is repentance, forgiveness, and commitment to the process of rebuilding. When a marriage is destroyed, it’s like a demolition of a building that took time to construct. When that building is destroyed the only way to rebuild it is by placing the bricks back one at a time. Brick by brick the building is restored.

Linda: Do you believe any marriage can be saved?

Sherri: I believe any marriage can be saved if both parties are willing to do marriage God’s way. The only marriage which cannot be saved is the one who’s hearts have turned cold towards God. When we allow Holy Spirit the opportunity to soften our hearts, He can restore anything. No one goes into a marriage saying, I want to be divorced. There was once an intention to be married for a very long time. Humility is key for both spouses along with allowing Holy Spirit to lead the way to restore the marriage better than it was before. I always say, “God specializes in resurrecting dead things, even a broken, devastated marriage.”

Linda: Any final thoughts?

Sherri: God had a specific intent in mind for marriage. Culture has perverted marriage by inserting doctrines that contradict God’s Word, Will, and Ways. Kingdom citizens are encouraged to view marriage with spiritual lenses. “I heard it said that ‘a perfect marriage is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other,’ and I agree. God desires to bring His will into our marriages, but someone must choose to do marriage God’s way.”

Linda: How can people find more about you and your book, Righteous Relationship Reset?

Sherri: To connect with me or purchase my book, Righteous Relationship Reset, visit www.touchdownsenterprise.com or my Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSherriDowns Readers can also email me at info@touchdownsenterprise.com

 

 

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Give Yourself a Break this Christmas–Find a Good Book

December 16, 2021 by Leave a Comment

white coffee cup on a tableWHEN WE’RE GOING through a time of stress, we often neglect doing things we enjoy. With our focus on the problems swirling around us, we cease to enter into routines, habits, and activities that give us a sense of peace and wholeness. Consequently, our problems crowd out those very things that help us have a sense of well being as we inadvertently find ourselves more dependent than ever on the very sources of our distress.

One of the things that is relaxing for some people, is becoming absorbed in a good book. During this Christmas season, you might want to check out some books for yourself or perhaps one to gift as a gift.

As we prepare for Christmas, I’d like to offer you some suggestions to give yourself a little break from the stresses you may be experiencing. If you enjoy reading, this is particularly for you. If not, I hope the following list of books might provide some ideas as a gift for someone else.

We Who Remain

If you like legal dramas or have a lawyer on your gift list, We Who Remain by Darryl Bloodworth, may strike a chord with you and offer an exciting reprieve from whatever else you’re facing. The exciting climax may give you a little inspiration as well. Here’s the plot:

With a disagreeable client and a wife recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, attorney David Jordan attempts to unscramble a complicated legal case that begins to take unexpected twists and turns. Meanwhile, his wife Carol, CEO of a women’s crisis center, struggles through her cancer treatments, attempting to raise enough money to save her life-changing center for battered women and children. Both at home and at work, the stress continues to build until events come to a dramatic and unanticipated climax. The story plays out with themes of redemption, family, sacrifice and love as David and Carol wrestle with the question of why bad things happen to good people.

His Gift

fingers of someone playing a pianoAnyone who has had a dream for the future will be able to identify with the challenges faced by Molly, the main character in His Gift by Joan Benson. If you have an ear for music, or if someone on your gift list is a music lover or aspires to use their musical talent in a meaningful way, this book is for you. For as Joan Benson reminds us, “Dreams Can Come True!”

Brace yourself for a thrilling race through the twists and turns of a young woman determined to see her dream come true. On the cusp of the stock market crash of 1929, seventeen-year-old Molly has aspirations for a career in music after high school. With the passion of an athlete preparing for the Olympics, she trains relentlessly to become the best she can be. As her world collapses in unimaginable ways, she is left to find peace and purpose in the midst of her crisis. The message of His Gift is universal to anyone who has ever dared to dream in spite of uncontrollable circumstances. The reader will discover with Molly, the hope and peace in a life when yielded to the Giver of all gifts.Guy in a cowboy hat smiling at a pretty redheaded woman

Hometown Healing

If you like books with a western twist or know someone on your Christian gift list who does, Hometown Healing by Jennifer Slattery, might draw your attention. And it sounds like there’s a hint of romance as well. I love her tag line for the book, “She’s home again, but not for long…Unless this cowboy recaptures her heart.”

Returning home with a baby in tow, Paige Cordell’s determined her stay is only temporary. But to earn enough money to leave, she needs a job—and her only option is working at her first love’s dinner theater. With attraction once again unfurling between her and Jed Gilbertson, can the man who once broke her heart convince her to stay for good?

The Bunny Side of Easter

Moon shining on a rabbit, an angel, and a duck in the forestLooking for a book for a child on your list? My children’s book, The Bunny Side of Easter, is an exciting adventure about four little animals lost in the forest, who face some scary moments and overcome them because of a little rabbit’s heroism. And, yes . . . this is a story about the Easter bunny, but it’s also about how the rabbit got in the moon. (And there really is a rabbit in the shadows of every full moon. I’ll show you all about it.)

But how did he get in the moon? Because he was a HERO! Easter heroes are heroes all year long so share this bunny story with your child this Christmas. This little bunny will warm your child’s heart and yours — no matter what the time of year.

 

Whether or not reading a book is your cup of tea, find something enjoyable to do over this Christmas season. Taking a break from the stresses may bring you a greater sense of stability and peace.

And, of course, when you’re looking for real peace and encouragement, the best book of all is the good book we’re all familiar with–The Bible. Whatever book you choose to find enjoyment from, be sure to add the Bible to your list as well.Open Bible with glasses lying on top

 

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Getting to Know God’s Heart—Interview with Patty Mason

November 8, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Book cover for Gettng to Know God's HeartIN ANY LOVE RELATIONSHIP, getting to know the other person’s heart draws us closer to them and creates a more intimate relationship. The same is true of God. If we know His heart, we will better understand what is important to Him. But how do we get to know God’s heart? In Getting to Know God’s Heart, author Patty Mason has created a beautiful Bible study that presents a seamless picture of God’s love as she weaves her own spiritual pilgrimage into the scriptural story of our heavenly Father’s love for us. Her Bible study invites the reader to personally experience God’s love in a more intimate way. Because of Patty’s warm and transparent style, this encouraging book is a resource I will regularly recommend to those going through troubling times.

Linda: Patty, what prompted you to begin seeking God’s heart?

 Patty: While battling depression, I watched a friend, who had more problems than I could count, go through life with joy. “How did she do it?” I wondered. How could she exhibit joy when she was left to care for her sick mother while her workaholic husband left her to raise four children on her own.

In comparison, my life was grand, yet she had peace and joy. God was her Rock, the one she clung to, and she spoke of Him with passion. God was not my favorite topic of conversation.

I could think of twenty other topics I would rather discuss. So I resisted, even though her enthusiasm for God caught my attention.

Linda: If her enthusiasm caught your attention, why did you hesitate? 

 Patty: Many things can keep us from wanting to know God.  I hesitated because I associated God with church and religion. To me church felt fickle and phony—reserved for the well-mannered, well-respected, and well-dressed. The church was not filled with people who knew how to love well, so I concluded God would treat me the way they did.

It’s sad to me now how we can embrace a false view of God based on how people treat us. God designed earthly relationships to serve as examples and reminders of His love for us, but if we’ve been harmed through human relationship, it can be difficult to receive God’s love.

When we’re going through something very hard, it’s easy to question God’s heart and begin to wonder, “Does God see? Does He even care?”

For thirty-six years, I had no idea how much God loved me and longed to have a relationship with me. I knew facts about God. I believed Jesus died on the cross, but I didn’t understand the depth of His love demonstrated upon that cross.

Linda: What led you to set aside your beliefs and seek God’s heart?

 Patty: Sheer desperation. I wanted the peace and joy my friend had, but until I became desperate, I wasn’t willing to pursue it. I needed healing. All the screaming, crying, and fits of rage were destroying my family and my life. Consuming alcohol to cope numbed the pain but fixed nothing. And when no one I turned to could help me, I was out of options.

I saw that amid her problems, my friend carried a joy and peace that was foreign to me. She seemed to know something I didn’t. So, when life became more than I could handle, I finally cried out to God.

Linda: What happened? How did God respond? 

 Patty: The day I was planning to take my life, God intervened. After years of battling depression, Jesus saved me, and His healing touch caused my heart to swing wide open. Suddenly, I wanted to know God. And this desire to know Him took me on a life-changing journey.

Linda: How did knowing God’s heart change your life?

 Patty: As a believer, I understood “how” God saved us, what I didn’t understand was “why” He saved us. In all those years of growing up in church, going through the motions of religion, I never saw the passion of God’s heart. I didn’t understand what He was after or how the healing balm of His love could set me free from deep wounds and rejection.

Getting to know God’s heart changed me because it changed my perspective of God, myself, and those around me. Seeing His heart for me filled me with a love for Him and others. As it says in 1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.”

Jesus came to set the captives free, and when we know God’s heart for us, that understanding can set us free from sin, wounds, addictions, temptations, and past hurts.

Linda: What led you to write Getting to Know God’s Heart? And what do you hope people will gain from reading it?

Patty: The one thing I want people to know is: The greatest desire of God’s heart is you! He longs for you. What He wants most is you—all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. This is what my friend knew about God. She knew she was passionately loved by the Almighty God of the Universe and that understanding awakened her soul. She knew, no matter what she faced in life, His heart was for her, and it gave her peace.

This is what my friend wanted for me. She wanted to help me recognize the one thing that would change my life—an awareness of God’s love. This is why I wrote the book, and what I want for those who read it to receive. Above all else, no matter who they are or what they are going through, God loves them passionately and cares about them deeply.

Linda: What made you decide to use a Bible study format rather than just a regular chapter book?

Patty: It’s vital we see God’s heart through His word, not through the commentary of the author.

Much of our inner pain comes from not knowing God. And I wanted the reader to have the thrill of discovering His heart for them through the intimacy of His word.

Linda: What would you say to someone who is having trouble receiving God’s heart for them?

 Patty: Perhaps, like me, you have experienced setbacks in your pursuit of God. But don’t allow those obstacles to define God’s character or your relationship with Him. Regardless of what has held you back, be encouraged. God’s unyielding love will not give up on you. He knows you. He sees you, and He will not stop in His relentless pursuit of you.

So, allow me to challenge you to let go of any pain, false beliefs, or expectations, and pursue the heart of God and allow Him to capture you with the wonders of His love.

This is a choice. You can hold onto grudges, bitterness, and hurt. You can keep your current perspective and remain stuck. You can continue to strive and struggle, convinced God is only interested in your performance. Or you can lay all that aside and discover a love so profound it will set you free, fill you with love, and give you identity and purpose.

Linda: Patty, thank you for writing this beautiful, life changing book. Where can people find out more about your book, Getting to Know God’s Heart as well as your ministry and other books?

 Patty: To learn more, they can visit www.LibertyinChristMinistries.com

I would also like to invite them to join me on our FB group Quick & Easy Bible Studies for Women at www.facebook.com/groups/quickandeasybiblestudies

 

 

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