Meet Rose Chandler Johnson

I'm pleased to introduce you to Rose Chandler Johnson, the author of a sweet little devotional.

Here is a bit about the book:

In the South, nothing is more refreshing than a glass of sweet iced

tea. Nothing, that is, except experiencing God in those small, everyday

moments. God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea is a deeply personal collection

of spiritual treasures designed to help readers experience new mercies

each morning. Seasoned with insight and grace, this tender devotional

points to the divine presence of God in everyday moments. Whether

purchased as a personal resource or given as a heartfelt gift, God, Me,

and Sweet Iced Tea will help readers develop a daily habit of turning to

God in those quiet moments of reflection.

If your like me, you may wonder who writes a devotional and why they write them. I'm curious that way. Well I don't know about other authors, but here is what Rose says:

Why did you write a devotional?

When I decided to make Jesus the Lord of my life, in 1977, I starting reading a devotional every morning. It was just what I needed to help me focus and structure my time. I’ve incorporated devotional reading in my quiet times with God for decades. I think most people could benefit from that format. the fact that I wrote a devotional comes back to my desire to be relevant and encouraging.

Who do you want to reach with your book? Which audience?

God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea is uniquely appropriate for working mothers, but it’s also for anyone who wants to put their Christianity into practice in their everyday moments and go deeper into God’s word. Reviewers have stated it’s for anyone seeking God’s peace and a closer relationship with Him. I’m happy that men and couples are enjoying it as well. As Tiffany Colter said, this devotional is simple enough for the newest believer, yet deep enough to make a life-long Christian feel challenged to go higher. There are 52 devotions followed by questions for journaling and reflection, suggested scriptures for further reading, a prayer, a sweet tea moment (thought for the day), and a prayer focus. Those extra helps allow the reader to use this as a personal or group study.

I invite you to take advantage of the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon to see the table of contents and read several of the devotions.

Look Inside

So who is Rose Chandler Johnson?

Rose Chandler Johnson’s devotional journal, God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea: Experiencing God in the Midst of Everyday Moments was released in July 2013. Her devotions, poems, and articles have appeared in numerous Christian publications. She enjoys writing for her popular blog, Write Moments with God, and engaging with her readers. Rose is from Burke County, Georgia and has lived in Martinez, GA for the last twenty-eight years. She has been a French and English teacher for the last twenty years. Rose enjoys baking, gardening, and spending time with her six children and their families.

If you'd like to connect with Rose, here is her contact information:

Blog

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God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea is available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, and through your local independent book stores.

Thanks for sharing with us Rose!

 

Abraham - Total Surrender to God

I was reading about Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac because God asked him to. I know, I know, there are at least a million and one sermons on this event, but it's so nice when God opens your heart to hear what He has to show you.

He has been teaching me about surrendering to Him. Mostly my fears which show me just how little I trust God. So When I read Abraham's encounter with God in Genesis 22 my brain processed it differently.

I had to ask myself, metaphorically speaking, if I was willing to hike the mountain with each of my children. Isaac was right by Abraham's side the entire journey. Then take the time to build an alter and strap them to it. Could I take the knife and trust my Father enough to surrender my kids completely into His care?




Since I think in pictures, it helps me to visualize a literal alter and placing my children on it in
complete surrender to God's will, for their lives, and for mine as their mother.

Here is another thing that I relate to Abraham in. While he has faith in the big things, i.e. "He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead." Hebrews 11:19a
He had some trouble trusting in the "What if's" of life. In Genesis 12 and again in 20 Abraham is afraid of a "what if.' Both times they were entering a foreign land and Abraham asked Sarah to tell people that she was his sister. He thought, what if they kill me because you are so beautiful and I'm your husband? When his life isn't even really in danger, but he see's that as a possibility, he takes things into his own hands.

Oh yes, Abraham and I have a lot in common.


Here is one other side note: I teared up as I read Gen. 22:7-8 They are still on their way to the place of sacrifice when Issac notices something strange about the things they have with them. He sees the wood, and the fire but where is the lamb he asks his father. Here is Abraham's response, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' Wow! God says the same thing to each of us. He has provided the perfect lamb as the offering for my sins. It's as if God says, 'I got this."

I'm so thankful He does. What a wonderful gift salvation is! I'm reminded of a worship song that I love, and we sang in church this morning.

Take a listen.

Jesus died for you and for me and He is so worthy of our worship. I think He has all of the 'What ifs" covered!

Old Coat, New Coat.

A few years ago, I bought a long winter coat from the thrift store. Now I will admit it was pretty ugly, but it kept my bum and thighs warm. In fact, it kept me so warm that I looked on the tag to find out what it was made of. I never would have guessed it, but it was made of Camel hair. So I put a long scarf on it and called it good. It still looked as ugly as sin, but I was warm so I kept my head down and wore it.

This year I decided enough was enough with the ugliness, so I went online to find a solution and I found quite a few.

Here is what I did . . .
I replaced the buttons and put fake fur around the cuffs, pocket opening and collar.

Now when I start a project I jump in with both feet and look later. So, I never remember to get a before photo for things like a blog. (sigh)

So here is the best I could do, it's after the buttons are replaced. But here is a pic. of the old buttons so that you can get an idea just how bad this coat looked.

BEFORE

 AFTER

 Now instead of feeling like a dork, I feel like a million bucks!

Oz the Great and Powerful and it's Picture of Adoption

I have a daughter adopted internationally form South Korea. In the past year, I've been on a journey of learning. It's hard to comprehend what an adopted child has suffered emotionally. It's especially hard, when said child fights you at every turn. To me, being adopted is no big deal. I love my child very much and don't see being adopted as a hard or bad thing. I know that God chose a specific little girl to be ours and be part of or family. But, I've been learning that the adopted child can have a very different perspective.
While in the struggles of raising our daughter it's so easy to forget that even though she was six months old when she came home, she has a past. That past is longer than six months, it is in fact fifteen months. So many factors during pregnancy effect the development of children, that the time in the womb can't be disregarded as unimportant.

So here is the picture that God showed me...
The second time that I watched Oz The Great and Powerful, I was stuck by the little china doll. I mean it's not like we know anything about her when the wizard walks into her demolished village and finds her hiding behind a table with two broken legs. Yet, I found that my heart was broken for her and all that she had suffered. She has survived a very traumatic event. And I felt compassion for her.

My eyes were opened. My daughter has suffered from a traumatic experience that is just as heart wrenching as that little china doll. Can you feel the pain and fear that she must have experienced?

 

What about those broken legs? An adopted child has already lost a mother and father, and they had no control over the situation. It's like having their legs broken off. Along comes the wizard. He glues her legs back on. An adoptive family is like those glued on legs. The child is whole, cherished, loved, provided for, and protected. But, I'm beginning to see the cracks that are left behind on their legs. Will they ever be truly whole? I know of only one way to permanently fix a broken person, and that is God. Only God. My heart breaks for the hurt that my child feels every minute of every day, deep down inside and I plead with God to heal her broken legs that she may be whole in Him.


How do you parent a broken person? Don't ask me! I'm floundering. My hope is in the LORD and His wisdom in each and every situation. My wisdom failed me years ago. I have one thing left to do, surrender to God and parent in His strength and leave the result up to him. For too long I've been so afraid of what my daughters future might be. If a person acts irresponsibly as a child and you feel like you can't teach them correctly, than the only reasonable conclusion is that they will be an irresponsible adult, right? Wrong! Because there is a God who lives and moves in our lives and most of all changes hearts. I'm not saying that we stop training our children to be responsible adults, but at the end of the day the result isn't up to us.

As a side note on the little china doll in the movie, it didn't escape me that the first thing she does after being saved by the wizard is manipulate him. She cries until he says she can go with him into the dark Forest. Make of it what you will, I'm just say'in.

Blog Tour - Warning signs by Katy Lee. BOGO Sale!

A Buy One Get One Sale of Katy Lee’s Books!

 

In Katy Lee’s latest romantic-suspense story, WARNING SIGNS, her heroine, Miriam Hunter, is deaf. Owen, her hero, has some misconceptions of people with hearing impairments, but can Miriam change his way of thinking before she goes to jail? Or worse, killed?  WARNING SIGNS is the first story in Katy’s inspirational series that takes place on a fishing island in Maine.  Stop by the Island of Stepping Stones, where the lobster traps are always full and romance awaits even the hardest of hearts. 

 

RT Book Reviews gave WARNING SIGNS 4 ½ Stars, making it a keeper.   "Miriam is a strong character who is not held back by what others may perceive as a weakness. Acceptance is a key theme as Lee dispels some misconceptions regarding people with hearing impairments." ~RT Magazine

 

Back Cover Blurb:

 

When a drug-smuggling ring rocks a small coastal town, the DEA sends Agent Owen Matthews to shut it down. A single father with a deaf son, Owen senses that the town's number one suspect—the high school's new principal—doesn't fit the profile. Miriam Hunter hoped to shrug off the stigma of her hearing impairment when she returned to Stepping Stones, Maine. But her recurring nightmares dredge up old memories that could prove her innocence—and uncover the truth behind a decades-old murder. Yet Owen's help may not be enough when someone decides to keep Miriam silenced—permanently.

 

 

To read an excerpt, please visit Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Warning-Signs-Love-Inspired-Suspense/dp/product-description/0373445598/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

 

BIO: 

As an Inspirational Romantic Suspense author, Katy Lee writes higher-purpose stories in high-speed worlds. Through her writing, ministries, and teaching, she dedicates her life to sharing tales of love, from the “greatest love story ever told” to those sweet romantic stories of falling in love. Katy and her husband are born New Englanders and love to travel with their three adventuresome homeschooled children.  You can connect with Katy anytime at her website, www.KatyLeeBooks.com. There you will find links to Facebook and Twitter.  Please look her up!

 

 

To purchase the WARNING SIGNS Kindle version, you can go to:  http://tinyurl.com/o446oqw

 

B.O.G.O. Sale: If you purchase WARNING SIGNS between 12/1/13 -12/16/13 from any retailer, contact Katy at her website at www.KatyLeeBooks.com for directions to claim your FREE ecopy of REAL VIRTUE. If you would like to see the details on REAL VIRTUE, go here: http://tinyurl.com/cxeo8ot But remember to contact Katy directly at her website to claim your ecopy!

 

Bonus Giveaway: For a chance to win a $200 Amazon gift card, between December 1 and December 16, 2013, enter the John 3:16 Marketing Network Rafflecopter drawing at: http://bit.ly/Christian_Books You get a free entry just for stopping by!

 

Big News for The Presence of Shadows!

Yes! The Presence of Shadows has been sent to the editor for the last time. I hope. ; )

The  Presence of Shadows will be released early in 2014

The good news just keeps coming. Are you ready for the cover reveal?

Here it is!

The cover was designed by Karyn Richardson.

I can't believe that it's all coming together!