WOMEN USING THEIR FAITH TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

Welcome to Garfield OK, and the little community Sharon Srock created and then meet the women of Valley View, a church congregation with ordinary ladies using their faith to do extraordinary things.

Take for instance the story in Sharon's book, Callie, released on Oct. 23, 2012.

Three dire circumstances. Three desperate prayers. One miracle to save them all. Meet these interesting characters.

Here is a sample from the book's beginning.

Callie Stillman dabbed raindrops from her face with a linen napkin as Benton dodged a server with a loaded tray and took his place across from her. She smiled into her husband’s blue eyes and reached across to wipe water from his beard. “We’ll both have pneumonia if we don’t dry off soon.”
Benton took the napkin and finished the job. “I’ve been told the food is very good. A few sniffles should be worth it.”
Callie’s gaze roamed the room. “It’s…” Recognition slammed into her chest, forcing the air from her lungs. The man crossing the room behind her husband nodded and continued to his table. Was that the bailiff? Do you swear to tell the truth… She gulped for breath and fought the familiar darkness that crowded the edges of her vision.
Callie ran a finger around her collar, tugging the neck of the blouse away from skin suddenly dewed with a fine film of sweat. Too hot. She took a sip of water, dismayed at the tremor in her hand as she lifted the glass to her lips. Not here, not tonight. Callie closed her eyes and practiced the breathing techniques she’d learned over the last six months. In through her nose, hold for a few seconds, and out through her mouth. Concentrate only on the current step in the process, the next breath. The tightness in her chest began to fade away. Thank you, Jesus. She raised her water again and held the cold glass to her flushed cheek.

The book's back cover: Callie Stillman is drawn to the evasive girl who’s befriended her granddaughter, but the last time Callie tried to help a child, her efforts backfired. Memories of the tiny coffin still haunt her.
Samantha and Iris Evans should be worried about homework, not whether they can pool enough cash to survive another week of caring for an infant while evading the authorities.
Steve Evans wants a second chance at fatherhood, but his children are missing. And no one seems to want to help the former addict who deserted his family.
For Steve to regain the relationship he abandoned, for his girls to receive the care they deserve, Callie must surrender her fear and rely on God to work the miracle they all need.

Now to introduce you to Sharon:
Sharon Srock lives with her husband, Larry, and two dogs in Rural Oklahoma. She is a mother, grandmother, and Sunday School teacher. Sharon has one and three-quarters jobs and writes in her spare time. Her favorite hobby is traveling with her grandchildren. She is a member of the ACFW and currently serves as treasurer for her local chapter. Sharon’s writing credits include numerous poems and short stories published in science fiction fanzines.

Here's the link to buy the book and to Sharon's interesting blog. Look there for book reviews, author interviews, recipes, life lessons, and whatever is on her heart to share. http://womenofvalleyview.blogspot.com/ You also can purchase the book directly from Amazon and other websites.

THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD

Henry Drummond took a New Testament from his hip picket at an 1881 party among country friends in England. As Drummond began to speak on the greatest thing in the world, Evangelist Dwight L. Moody decided he’d never heard anything so beautiful.
Moody decided he wouldn’t rest until Drummond’s book, The Greatest Thing in the World, was read before students in all his schools.
“The one great need in our Christian life is love, more love to God and to each other,” Moody wrote as his introduction to Drummond’s little book, now a classic. “Would that we could all move into that Love chapter and live there.”
Today, more than ever, our children, our spouses, our extended family, students we teach, our neighbors, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, need to know they are loved. They also need to learn how to love others, God and themselves. Love not only is the greatest thing in the world, love is a God-designed weapon that intercepts Satan’s missiles and blasts through devastating circumstances so we can tunnel through to a victorious life.
Of all the books I’ve read outside of the Bible, Henry Drummond’s book has had the most impact on me.
Here’s what Drummond says about anger, perhaps the biggest obstacle to demonstrating love.
“No form of vice, not worldliness, not greed of gold, not drunkenness itself does more to unchristianize society than evil temper. For embittering life, for breaking up communities, for destroying the most sacred relationships, for devastating homes, for withering up men and women, for taking the bloom of childhood, in short, for sheer gratuitous misery-producing power, this influence stands alone.”
The book, first published in 1880, is still available on the internet. My copy is a reprint by Revell Publishing and I’ve had it since 1960.
Many lives have been impacted by Drummond’s writing, including mine.
©Ada Brownell 2012

FREE! TELL YOUR FRIENDS. SWALLOWED BY LIFE: MYSTERIES OF DEATH, RESURRECTION AND THE ETERNAL WILL BE FREE OCT 19-21 ON AMAZON http://amzn.to/Jnc1rW

Based on the scripture: “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:3–5 NLT).

TAKE THE FOLLOWING QUIZ! Test your knowledge of the eternal and how evidence shows we're more than a body. If you don't know the answers, since the electronic book is free, you can find the answers in the Preface and Chapter One.

Before you begin here's the short summary of the book.

SWALLOWED BY LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal
http://amzn.to/Jnc1rW
FREE Oct.19-21

Do you know evidence shows we’re more than a physical body?” The above book speaks about this mystery and the evidence; the wonder of life with all its electrical systems; the awesome truth about cell death and regeneration; brain death; mysteries surrounding the change from mortal to immortal; where we go when our body dies; resurrection; and a glimpse at what we will do in heaven. Questions and answers make this non-fiction inspirational book a great text for group study. It’s also written for support groups, religion classes, people with chronic or terminal illness, individuals who fear death or are curious about it, the grieving, and those who give them counsel.

Where you can find Swallowed by Life:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/Jnc1rW
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/JnbKVL
Booksamillion.com http://ow.ly/cJmx8
And you can see reviews on GoodReads http://ow.ly/cJmMe

Ada Brownell’s blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com
Twitter: @adellerella
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdaBrownellWritingMinistries

Sample questions from the book and study guide, Swallowed by Life

Swallowed By Life
Discussion Questions

Preface and Chapter One

1. You’ve heard people say they’d rather burn out than rust out. What is the process that occurs to the human body that is similar to rust on iron? When this process occurs in people it is called _________.
2. How many people are estimated to suffer from chronic or terminal diseases at one time in the United States?
3. Name three things you know about the human body that shows we are more than flesh and blood.
4. How many days does it take for the skin to rebuild?
5. In how many years does the skeleton become a totally new one?
6. The mystery of eternal life requires ____________________. Why?
7. Do you know the scripture this book is based upon and the reference for where it is found in the Bible?
8. Does death being swallowed by life make sense to you? Why or why not?
9. Does 2 Corinthians 5:3-5 bring joy or confusion? How? Why?
10. How does the message of this scripture compare to John 3:16? Can you think of other scriptures with a similar message?

©Ada Brownell 2011

WOODEN SHOES AND WAILING MOTHERS

Illustration copyright by Rob Bauwman Photo by Shutterstock

Fourteen-year-old Dagmar trembled. Faces in the windows revealed the danger. Her heart thumped as the bus roared, coming to a squealing stop in a cloud of dust at the center of the small Dutch village.
Dagmar’s friends stood beside her, nearly paralyzed, as a young uniformed man stepped off the vehicle and looked over the crowd.
Mothers, many carrying babies, rushed out the doors of nearby homes. Feeble old men limped after them, faces blanched and twisted with fear. Everyone knew why the soldiers were here. They’d heard from others that while all the able-bodied men fought the war, their enemy pillaged villages, stole food—and took prisoner young women to satisfy the soldier’s lusts.
One glance about and a signal brought men out of the bus like bats pouring from a cavern at sunset. Several headed for Dagmar, but one tall fellow shoved the others aside and grabbed her.
Her scream joined the shrill chorus that rose from the village girls as they were dragged toward the vehicle.
The rest of the village stood frozen in place, silent. Yet, Dagmar knew they prayed to Someone mightier than the enemy.
As the soldier wrestled Dagmar to the bus door, a mighty cry emerged from the village women. As one, they slipped off their wooden shoes and attacked. Dagmar whirled out of her captor’s arms, grabbed her shoes and cracked him solidly on the head.
Dizzily holding their heads, gripping their bellies, soldiers ran for the bus. The driver followed and when all were in, drove away. The village was saved.
I met Dagmar years ago as she told her story, tears streaming down her face.
I’ve thought many times since how America’s children are carried away by the enemy of our souls. I’ve gone to battle into the heavenly realms many times for my children and grandchildren, and praise the Lord, God worked in their hearts and they responded. They serve the Lord.
Yet, perilous times have come. Satan roams about like a roaring lion, as the scripture says, and many children are on their way to hell because of attacks on their minds, bodies and souls. Public schools teach, no matter how much they learn about our amazing creation, life and the universe happened all by itself and God is not there.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote about lost children. “Listen to this! Laments coming out of Ramah, wild and bitter weeping. It’s Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace. Her children are gone, gone—long gone into exile.”
Parents weep for children today. As part of curriculum, they must accept homosexuality as a genetic state instead of sin. Hate for certain people, beliefs (especially Christian), and ideas is encouraged. The morning-after pill is given in some high schools. Planned Parenthood claims it’s not abortion because the egg hasn’t attached to the womb, but in vitro shows life in the egg. Abortion is a required service in the new health care law.
Many of our youth end up with emotional and mental problems, alcoholism, drug addition, and are sometimes suicidal,
CDC’s 2010 report on Sexually Transmitted Diseases identified STDs as one of the most critical health challenges facing our nation, with 19 million new infections each year costing the health care system $17 billion, not to mention the misery caused by herpes, the shame, the cancers caused by human papilloma virus, the infertility caused by Chlamydia, liver failure caused by hepatitis, not to mention AIDS.
There are emotional problems as well. Breakthroughs in the burgeoning field of neuroscience explain the impact having sex has on the developing brains of adolescents and young adults, say gynecologists Joe S. McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush in their book, Hooked (Moody Press). They present scientific data that demonstrates sexual activity releases chemicals in the brain, creating emotional bonds between partners. Breaking these bonds can cause depression and make it harder to bond with someone else in the future. They also say chemicals released in the brain during sex can become addictive.
A large number of women suffer from post-abortion stress syndrome as well.
Is there hope? Yes! But we need to pray, take off our spiritual wooden shoes, storm the gates of heaven, defend our children and give them tools to defend themselves, such as a knowledge of God’s Word, reasons for faith and why we believe, and parents who model the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In another passage Jeremiah wrote there is hope. “Stop your incessant weeping, hold back your tears. Collect wages from your grief work.” GOD’s Decree. “They’ll be coming back home! There’s hope for your children.” GOD’s Decree.” (Jeremiah 31:14-16) The Message.

©Copyright Ada Brownell 2012

THERE IS A WAY OUT OF AMERICA'S CRISES

THE ONLY WAY OUT IS UP!


In the 1950s, my husband and I lived in a cabin on top of Colorado's Tennessee Pass. Les was agent-telegrapher at the Pando railroad depot, across from Camp Hale, near Leadville.
One afternoon soldiers arrived on the train. A young man carrying his duffle bag gazed around in awe. “Mountains this way. Mountains that way. Mountains over there. Mountains over here. The only way out of this place is up!”
America finds itself trapped in a similar place.
Massive defense problems tower like sheer rock above. The War on Terror grew into three wars, while Iran and North Korea build nuclear weapons and Mexico’s drug war is at our border.
Radical Islamic countries hate us and with opportunity would harm the United States. We watched masses rioting and hoped for democracy, but discovered Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood gained power instead. We’ve heard about the Islamic caliphate, where Muslim nations seek to join politically to control the world.
Debt higher than Mount Elbert blocks our path, too, and apparently we are without climbing gear. A stalemate paralyzes Congress while politicians campaign for re-election, doing little to cut spending, or create jobs and increase revenue. Until a year ago, as one television pundit said, the Republicans were in a jar under the sink because Democrats held the House, the Senate, and the presidency. Before that, Democrats controlled Congress, yet the Senate hasn’t passed a budget in more than 1,259 days.
After the November 2010 election, House Republicans got busy, but their budget bills die on Harry Reid’s desk, while the president promises to veto the little that squeezes through. Democrats pull toward socialism; Repubicans toward smaller government. Neither moves.
At the same time, our society careens near the precipice on the dangerous curves of moral bankruptcy. Similar to the narrow highway over Battle Mountain, a way out of Camp Hale, we’re near the edge and in such a storm it’s difficult to see. Battle Mountain has few guard rails because highway crews need to shove the deep snow over the side.
Guard rails that historically steered our nation morally have been dismantled— The Ten Commandments nudged over the cliff. Children are taught to worship the created rather than the loving Creator. They grow up believing morality doesn’t matter. The Centers for Disease Control reports we kill 234 babies for every 1,000 live births. In 2008, CDC reports 825,564 legal abortions. Now Obama will require all insurance to offer abortion, including the morning-after pill, a way of killing a live fertilized egg by preventing it from attaching to the womb. CDC’s 2010 report on Sexually Transmitted Diseases identified STDs as one of the most critical health challenges facing our nation, with 19 million new infections each year costing the health care system $17 billion.
At the same time, Freedom of religion is being strangled while secularism becomes the national cult. On Dec. 2, 2011, the Family Research Council released this memo obtained from the Navy concerning Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland: “Navy officials have announced that ‘no religious items (including Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit. FRC brought the memo to the attention of Congress and Rep. Steve King. After speaking to Walter Reed, they were assured the Navy was rescinding the policy.
Many of us love money, things and entertainment more than one another. A large number of couples no longer honor their marriage vows and in their search to find joy compromise everything important and thereby drop into the chasm.
We stand in the storm, mountains to conquer, but no longer have strength or tools to scale them. We require alcohol to have a good time or to soothe the conscience and kill the emotional pain. A good portion of our society seeks something stronger, according to the tons of illegal and prescription mind-altering drugs sold.
I believe with the soldier of years ago who said, “The only way out of here is up!”
Most of us are spiritually rooted in our Judeo-Christian heritage and believe in God. The Bible says, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Why not give it a try?

CHOICE BLOGS

ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD
As a Christian writer, I keep amazing company among writers devoted to writing squeaky clean suspenseful and intriguing stories that show people living their faith in Jesus Christ.
One of these wonderful writers nominated me and my blog for the One Lovely Blog Award—Pat Dyer whose blog is “Ramblings of a Crowded Mind” http://www.patsydyer.com.
Pat’s blog is devoted to book reviews, musings and inspiration.
Thanks, Pat, for bringing this recognition to my blog. I am humbled and blessed by your kindness.
According to the rules of this award, I’m supposed to 1) recognize the one who nominated me (see above), 2) tell seven things about myself, and 3) nominate fifteen other bloggers.
Since my writing fingers are being twisted, seven things about me:
1) I’m a redhead, and I guess God put that color on me for the same reason he put a red dot on a black widow spider. After the Lord gave me several hundred talking-tos about that excuse, together we turned some of that blaze into fervor for spreading the gospel.
2) I’m a retired journalist. Reporting came natural to me. I’m the youngest of eight, and I was the family “tattle-tale.”
3) I’ve been writing for Christian publications since age 15. My latest article, published in LIVE, gave a tribute to Brother Brandt, my childhood pastor who taught me doctrine and the basics of the gospel before I was age 11.
4) My husband and I had five children, all who have been or are in some kind of Christian ministry. Our oldest daughter is in heaven, one of the reasons I wrote my latest book, Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal.
5) I’m doing the final edit of my teen novel, Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult. I recently changed the title. The book will be out in a few weeks.
6) I have two other books almost ready to fly out into the world.
7. Being a freckled-faced redhead actually helped me be tenacious in my writing. What redhead with freckles is not rejected, especially as a child? I think that’s what gave me a tough skin (besides the Lord’s help) protecting me from the bruised egos many writers suffer. Everything I write, even yet, won’t be and shouldn’t be published. Egg on my ego is no worse than freckles all over me.

My Fifteen Nominees (I could have nominated many more)
1) Max Lucado www.maxlucado.com/read/max-lucados-blog A collection basin of thoughts, edits and ramblings.
2) Linda Rondeau, editor, http://www.geezerguysandgals.blogspot.com “The view from Our Side,” a devotional and encouragement blog written by senior writers.
3) John Hill, www.outofmyhat.blogspot.com (gospel magic) Thoughts on varied subjects from politics, religion, parenting, magic and life in general.
4) Mark Batterson http://www.evotional.com Faith and prayer challenges.
5) Lauralee Bliss, http://lauraleebliss.homestead.com/lrbweb.html A journey of blissful romance for the heart and soul.
6) Karen Baney www.karenbaney.com Best selling Christian romance and historical fiction author. Interviews and advice on writing, sales and marketing.
7) Nancy Jill Thames, "Queen of Afternoon Tea" Where authors meet for tea.”
http://www.nancyjillthames.wordpress.com
8) Mary Campala Findley http://www.elkjerkyforthesoul.wordpress.com (It’s tough but you need it.)
9) Terri Thorpe www.4everhischild-tathorpe.blogspot.com Laughter-Joy-Hope-Peace-Purpose
10) Chad Young, http://www.findingauthenticchristianity.com/authenticity-the-book/ Quiet Times; Mentoring. Chad is Campus Crusade for Christ’s director for the southeast with a scope of over 2 million college students,
11) Penny Zeller pennyzeller.wordpress.com A day in the life of a wife, mom, and author.
12) Staci Stallings, Spirit Light Books (blog about Christian Living) http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com; Ebook Romance Stories (about her books) http://ebookromancestories.com; Grace & Faith blog http://graceandfaith4u.com/ inspiration for the journey; Grace & Faith marketing blog: http://gnfmarketing.wordpress.com/
13) Sharon Srock, http://www.womenofvalleyview.blogspot.com/ “Ordinary women using faith to do extraordinary things.” Book reviews, author interviews, recipes, life lessons, and news.
14) Kym Mc Nabney Writing from the soul. http://kymmcnabney.blogspot.com A bit of Faith, Family, Love, Writing, Reading…and Life.
15) Nike Chilemi www.nikechillemi.wordpress.com Crime Fictionista. Reviews, interviews