Why I am a Christian while Americans lose faith in God

By Ada Brownell

During Pope Francis’s visit to the United States, the media reminded us of the U.S. faith

crisis, showing almost empty and closed Catholic churches around the country

.

A recent survey by Pew Research Center reported the percentage of Christians in America is declining. But the poll also found despite secularism in schools, government, and diminishing freedom of religion, 70 percent of Americans say they are Christians.

Why? Probably for reasons I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ.

Foremost, Jesus loves me and I love Him. God declares his love throughout the Bible.

 In a time of grieving I complained to the Lord, “Heaven is so silent!”

An answer flowed through my being. “I demonstrated my love for you on the cross and that message still resonates around the world.”

My sins were forgiven when I accepted Jesus as Savior, but redemption goes beyond freedom from slavery to sin. It changed who I am.

My family, born-again one by one shortly after I, the eighth child, arrived, demonstrated when you have the Lord, you have everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

What happiness when I understood because of Jesus, I could live forever! That truth became more precious when our Carolyn died.  We’ll see her again.

Being a Christian gives me a desire to be part of something greater than myself. I tell others about Jesus; often help and love people in need; and give to credible charities.

 America would be a sad place without its Judeo-Christian influence. Religious people and organizations established most U.S. hospitals. Where I live, the Catholic Sisters of Mercy opened  Mercy Hospital in 1891. Cox Hospital started in 1906 when Ellen Burge donated a duplex to be used as a Methodist Hospital.

Many colleges and universities including Harvard and Yale were started by Christians as well as some early public schools.

Pastors and lay people visit those in jail, minister to the sick, comfort the dying and grieving, teach from the Bible how to live, have a good marriage, be a good parent, and how to get to Heaven. Being a Christian has a lot to do with my marriage of 62 years and children that serve the Lord.

The power of prayer greatly affects me, too.

  “Jesus!” I cried when our car with almost slick tires wandered head-on toward a semi-truck on an icy mountain pass. Our vehicle moved into the correct lane as if a hand shoved it over.

 We’ve had so many answers to prayer I can’t name them all. Gwen was thought to have multiple sclerosis. Tests showed Gary had only 40 percent kidney function. Jaron Craig had symptoms of leukemia. Later tests showed our children did not have suspected diseases. Jeanette, Jaron and grandchildren had serious episodes with asthma. Yet all are O.K.

Prayer isn’t always answered the way I hope. We lost Carolyn, but experienced God’s peace and comfort.

My confidence for the future is tied to my faith. Problems never outweigh God’s mercy and grace.

Ada Brownell is a retired newspaper reporter and free lance writer. 

Have you ever had an epiphany?

* Stage design by Gary Brownell

This photo wasn't taken on Epiphany, but it is an actual church service where the Lord's power was present as they worship. The color and light come from stage design, but the illumination signifies God's presence, which you may not see, but feel..

                                           

By Ada Brownell

The twelfth night of Christmas for some ends in the Feast of Epiphany. In the United States it is known as Three Kings Day and falls on Jan. 6, 2015.

EPIPHANY IS A BEAUTIFUL WORD that even sounds like its meaning: Revelation, Shining Forth, Manifestation.

Striking appearance, an experience of sudden and awesome realization

I WROTE ABOUT EPIPHANY OBSERVANCES in other churches as a newspaper reporter, but I’ve never attended an epiphany service. Yet, as with every Christian, I experience epiphany often. I’ll be reading the Bible and suddenly a scripture will pop out, as when we lost our daughter to cancer: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9)

THERE WAS THE DAY WHEN I WAS HAVING A PITY PARTY and telling the Lord He even said in this world we would have tribulation. Then I recalled the rest of what Jesus said in John 15:33, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

THEN AS I WORRIED ABOUT MY NEW BOOK, Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, coming on Amazon then I worried about how well it would do. We had other mountains in our lives that needed conquering and I was studying the faith chapter in Hebrews 11. One day I backed up into the last words of the previous chapter: “Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

MATTHEW 4:16 IS A FLASH OF INSIGHT SHINING FORTH all year, but especially this season. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Matthew 4:16).

GOD WARNED THE FIRST COUPLE if they ate the forbidden fruit, they would die. There in God’s garden, they became mortals. Their flesh would be subject to illness and dying, and it would affect every person born thereafter. YET, GOD IN HIS LOVE told them a Redeemer would come. Jesus is the Redeemer promised in Genesis 3:15 right after Adam and Eve sinned, and people walking in darkness have seen a great light.

Knowing the Redeemer has come and you can accept Him is EPIPHANY.

ADA NICHOLSON BROWNELL,BA mass communications, Colorado State University at Pueblo (formerly University of Southern Colorado), retired after 17 years as a newspaper reporter (the last seven years on the medical beat), mostly at The Pueblo Chieftain in Pueblo, CO. Certificate of Ministry, 1992, Berean College, Springfield, MO. 

She has sold more than 350 articles and fiction stories to 45 Christian publications and did one story on assignment for US Magazine. Author of Confessions of a Pentecostal (Gospel Publishing House 1978) and Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal (Amazon’s CreateSpace, 2011); Joe the Dreamer the Castle and the Catapult; Imagine the Future You; Facts, Faith and Propaganda; The Lady Fugitive, runner-up for the 2015 .

Additionally, her writing is included in:

21 days of Faith, edited by Shelley Hitz (2013)

The Christmas Miracle Book, edited and published by Cece Murphey and Marley Gibson, 2011.

A Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers (Adams Media 2008)

A Cup of Comfort for Christians (Adams Media 2006);

What I Learned from God While Cooking, (edited by Cristine Bolley; Barbour Publishing, 2006)

50 Tough Questions, (Pentecostal Evangel Books, 2002).

Under His Shadow, compiled by Pat Broomfield Bradley (2015)

http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

     Amazon Ada Brownell author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06

Barnes and noble Ada Brownell author page: http://ow.ly/PUWHO

  

©Ada Brownell 

I HATED THAT BIG CHRISTMAS DOLL

 

Joe and Rita Nicholson family

I'm the little girl on the bottom right.

By Ada Brownell

With eight of us children and I the youngest, many Christmases we had no gifts. But one year, probably while I was 4 or 5, I received a doll almost as tall as I was. She obviously was used because she had little cracks all over her hard "skin," even up into her molded hair. Her clothing, however, clean and new, showed someone made it for her, probably Mama.

 I hated that doll. I wanted a soft baby doll like I saw another girl have, with a bottle that you could fill with water, and when you stuck the nipple into the hole in the doll's mouth, the bottle emptied and the baby doll wet its pants. That big doll I had did nothing but stand up.

 Just a little growing and every time I looked at that doll, shame filled me--a selfish, unthankful kid who hated a gift given in love. I didn't like the doll anymore than I ever did, but I loved my parents more. I saw myself, probably as God saw me, and that did something in me.

Perhaps it was the Christmas poem I was given to deliver at the annual church program.  The poem, titled "If Jesus Should Come at Christmas," touched me and although I can't remember the poem, I never forgot the message it delivered. Would I go to heaven with all that ugliness and greed in my heart? I learned to appreciate what Christmas really means.

Yes, Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus, and giving and receiving is wonderful, but I learned as a child the Christmas story doesn't revolve around Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh, and Christmas trees, but the centerpiece is a lowly manger, an ugly cross smeared with blood, an empty tomb, and the scripture, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

But it's O.K. and wonderful to enjoy the lights, because Jesus is the light of the world. It's also nice to give gifts and receive them, because it brings joy all around. The Christmas music reminds me of that holy night when Jesus arrived as a baby and why there is Joy to the World.

Yet, whether or not there are gifts under a tree, who we share the holiday with, it's possible to have a merry Christmas. Jesus came. He brought the gift of hope to anyone who will receive it, and that not only makes the angels sing, humankind has been singing year 'round since that day.

©Ada Brownell

HOW TO TEACH THE REASON FOR CHRISTMAS IN A SECULAR WORLD

By Ada Brownell

A disabled man who grew up in a Chicago orphanage during the violent prohibition era of the 1920s and '30s gave his testimony at our church in Arvada, Colo. He told how the famous bootlegger and gangster, Al Capone, visited the orphanage every Christmas, bearing gifts.

Historians say despite his unlawful activities, Capone became a somewhat respected public figure because of donations to charities. I'm sure the orphans adored the man. Yet, at least one child discovered someone much greater. The crippled man who spoke to us heard about a Heavenly Father who loved him, and God's gift to this boy was His Son coming to earth—for Jesus brought the gift of eternal life to anyone who would accept it.

The world still needs to hear the wonder of God becoming man so that we might have etermal life.

Death is why God came down. Sin caused death. Adam and Eve believed Satan when he said, "You won't die!" So they disobeyed, ate the forbidden fruit, and soon after had to bury a son. They eventually died, too.

The Father promised a Redeemer in the early pages of the Bible, Genesis 3:15. God said He would restore immortality. Jesus, God's Son, was that Redeemer and He suffered on the cross and made us free from the law of sin and death.

            So, Christmas is about the cross as much as it is about the manger.

How can we share the true message of Christmas with our children and grandchildren?

·         Memorize and talk about John 3:16 

* Talk about Jesus, who always has been and always will be. Include where He was before coming to earth. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things you can see and the things we can’t see—kings, kingdoms, rulers and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together” (Colossians 15:17NLT).

·         Don't talk about Santa as if he compares with the all-knowing, all-powerful God who is everywhere. No one is equal to God.

·       Teach about the wonder of "God with us." The Bible says Jesus will never leave or forsake us.He  promised, “Lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).  God came down, and although he ascended to heaven, God is still with those who believe, and He is as close as a whispered prayer.

     ·         Teach about angels. We should never worship angels, but according to Psalm 91, God gives angels charge over us to protect us. They also sometimes deliver messages, as Gabriel did to Mary, when he told her she would be the mother of Jesus.

 ·         Teach about giving and gifts. It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

                    ·         Talk about the stable and how Mary and Joseph were content in the humble place.

 ·         Discuss the inn and the innkeeper. What would we have done if we owned the inn? Would we have given our bed, so the Son of God wouldn’t be born in a stinky stable?  You might not have an inn, but have you opened your heart to Jesus? Jesus told John in his vision, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.” (Rev. 3:20).

 ·         Christmas is all about Jesus. He left heaven to become a helpless baby, God in human flesh, to die for our sins on the cross, and most important, His body came out of the tomb alive. Because He lives, we can have the Greatest Gift ever given – Jesus! Freedom from sin, but also have joy, peace and live forever. That’s why we sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

©Copyright Ada Brownell

POEMS AND SHORT STORIES TO LIVE BY

Messages

By Gail Pallotta

Just in time for Christmas, a collection of inspirational poems and short stories

About Messages

Find inspiration for our hectic times in these straight-forward poems for happy and sad days.
Find history, warmth and a touch of the paranormal in three stories.
Getting the Goat peeks into the early 1900's when mountain life was tough. Does Mama's advice hold true today?
In Stitches in Love Rose's deep love for her grandmother motivates others to share their gifts. Does Rose reap her reward?
Robert Horner is tempted in The Stranger, but does he succumb to the lure?
Print copies coming soon!
Excerpt from the Poems
"...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew: 22: 37 - 39

Refreshed

Sometimes life

uncovers a sharp, ugly snare

snarling, like a grizzly bear.

Reluctantly we confess

we’re in a forest of distress

where, hopes, like leaves

have fallen off the trees.

Winter icicles we see

hanging on a barren tree.

Life seems hard and cold,

and we feel very old.

How our life has past.

"Where did it go?" we ask.

Then like miracles untold,

new joys unfold.

Love brings blossoms of spring.

The forest begins to sing.

Empty branches

bear new leaves.

With promise, our heart dances,

and our soul no longer grieves.

Looking up, toward the sun,

we say, “My, my life’s just begun.”

Excerpt from Stitches in Love

By Gail Pallotta

"Hi. I'm home for the whole month of June. I'm coming to visit you every day."
Grandma Jackie lifted her head ever so slightly toward Rose, but she didn't utter a word, and no signs of life flickered in her eyes.
Rose stood and weakness swept over her like a hurricane coming ashore. She let herself out and locked the door with the key Grandma Jackie had given her seven years ago—the year Rose had turned sixteen. Sobs erupted from the depths of her soul as she slipped into her two-door coupe and drove to 143 Broadway.
Within minutes she walked toward the white-columned two-story home while she bent double holding her stomach. It was a hot, dry day in Springdale, Georgia. No breeze stirred, and the humidity as high as a kite. Air conditioning caressed Rose's face when she opened the front door. Clearing the foyer, she hurried up the oak staircase to her room. Tears flooding her eyes blurred the flowers on the pink and green comforter as she stepped to it and fell face-down on the bed.
Amy, Rose's mama, had called last week about Grandma Jackie's health. Rose could hear her distressed words now.

Gail Pallotta

"Mama hasn't been the same since Dad died. She's been slipping away little by little. The doctors say nothing is wrong other than high blood pressure and cholesterol, but she's just not herself I've hired Miz Mary Clark, a local caretaker, to come during the day to make sure she takes her medicine and to tend to her personal needs."
That's why Rose had come home to see Grandma Jackie. It was worse than she had suspected. There must be something someone could do. She sat up and wiped her cheeks. What if she picked the peaches off the tree and told Grandma Jackie to make a pie? No. The last time Rose talked to Grandma Jackie on the phone she'd told Rose cooking at the homeless shelter wore her out.
Doing things for others pleased Grandma Jackie, but maybe she'd reached a time when she needed others to do something for her. What? She liked to read, but that wouldn't make her want to live. Sweat popped out on Rose's forehead. What did Grandma Jackie love enough to get up and do every day?

Excerpt from Getting the Goat
By Gail Pallotta

What was wrong with this animal? Why did Father think he could handle her? His heart pounded as he stood. He raced after the unruly creature, blood flowing from a cut on his leg. She ran in a circle, Norman behind her panting until she halted and let him clutch the leash hanging by her side.
He led her to the tree, secured her, and brushed off his hands. Anger at the goat for her meanness festered inside him, but ire in the boy who wanted to be a man boiled over because she'd gotten the better of him. He hurried to the house and charged inside.
"Mother, look what the goat did."
His mother's eyes filled with compassion. "Sit down." She guided him to a straight back chair at the wooden kitchen table, grabbed a cloth, cleaned his wound and applied iodine. "I'm sorry. Leave the chore for today and try again tomorrow after school."
Norman gasped. "You want me to go back?"
Eleanor hugged him. "If you don't graze the goat, she won't eat, and we won't have milk. We must all do our part while Father's sharing the Gospel."
Norman knew better than to argue. He gritted his teeth. Why did they have to suffer to hold body and soul together on the side of this...what had his grandmother called it? This desolate mountain so Father could save heathens in the hills?
Eleanor patted his shoulder. "You'll feel better tomorrow."


Excerpt from The Stranger
By Gail Pallotta

Stress shot through every muscle in Robert's body. "That's ridiculous, Mac. No one turns down money."
"I've been perfecting the design of these nails for years. I painted the tops to keep them separate from my regular supply." He picked up a nail and rolled it around in his hand. "I'm going to market these. Then you can have some for exactly what it costs to manufacture them."
Sweat popped out on Robert's forehead. "What's so unusual about them?"
Mac raised his dark, thick eyebrows. "I'll tell you and everyone else after my final test on Monday."
Robert tried to sound pitiful. "I need to put them in an old green table."
Mac laid down the nail and lifted a small box off the shelf. "Paint the tops of these nails." He handed them to Robert. "You can have them. The box is nearly empty."
"I'll give you a thousand dollars for the green-tipped nails."
Mac's mouth gaped. "I should make quite a bit of money if they stand up to my test, but I can't imagine why you'd want to pay so much."
"This is instant cash. Think it over, and I'll call later." Robert trudged through the sawdust on the floor and left, wringing his hands. His anger over Mac's refusal pounded in his temples. If Mac rejected his offer again when he called, he'd up his price to two thousand."
Fresh air whipped around him, cooling his ire, un-jumbling the thoughts popping around in his head like popcorn. "Hmm. Maybe there was something else he could do. Mac told him to take those other nails. He could paint them, but that creepy stranger probably would know the difference. He'd take the green-tipped nails. Yeah. He had a right to make a living.
On Amazon here

Bio:

Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A former regional writer of the year for American Christian Writers Association, she won Clash of the Titles in 2010. Her teen book, Stopped Cold, was a best-seller on All Romance eBooks, finished fourth in the Preditors and Editors readers’ poll, and was a finalist for the 2013 Grace Awards. She’s published short stories in “Splickety” magazine and Sweet Freedom with a Slice of Peach Cobbler. Some of her published articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. Coming soon: Barely above Water from Prism Book Group. Visit Gail’s web site at http://www.gailpallotta.com

Power up Christian writing with original ideas

By Ada Brownell

Before I married I observed a woman whose husband was having an affair and she had no clue. So I decided I would be unpredictable, especially because my husband worked until midnight. Some nights I’d be in bed when came home; other times I stayed up....

This first-person story has a lesson. The experience ended my suspicious fears and became an idea for an humorous article.

I am a Christian writer and ideas often come from time on my knees and then thinking, listening and looking. Like the first light bulb, said to be lightning in a tube, original ideas illuminate hidden truth

GO FOR HUMOR

Humor is immensely popular with readers. You can make a story about something funny your pet did. Like our poodle afraid of a watermelon and kept barking at it. There’s a spiritual lesson there.

 The greatest source for humor is your own life. After all, when you tell on yourself you’re the only person offended by it. We all have embarrassing moments and those of pure stupidity. Editors use a lot of first-person point of view, and humor is made for it.

WRITE OPINION

There’s nothing funny about some things happening these days.  So take the risk and tackle an unpopular opinion by using facts.. Do your research well, and  identify your sources.

My spirit has been outraged at the government giving kids birth control and morning-after pills and abortion without parental consent, giving youth the idea you’re expected to sin. I wrote an op-ed piece with the angle  “the government doesn’t know anything about love.” It was published in a daily newspaper.

 I related how schools, supported by local health departments and the Department of Education, in the 1960s proclaimed they would end teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases with sex education. For my op-ed piece, I quoted the latest Centers for Disease Control statistics that show 40.7 percent of all births now are to unmarried women. CDC estimates on sexually transmitted diseases show 20 million new infections each year, half among youth. There was more to the piece, including a testimony of how knowing God and His Word made a difference in our family. I’ve been married 62 years, and I and none of my seven siblings were pregnant before the wedding or had a child out of wedlock. The headline in The Pueblo Chieftain was “Love is more than many Americans think.”

There probably are Christian magazines that would publish the article. I often prefer to send a piece out among non-believers instead of preaching to the choir.

When you need ideas, Look at a subject from an unusual angle

If you’re a thinker, these ideas can come from questions such as “Why?” or looking at popular thought and reversing it.

Read  the news, letters to the editor, or television talk shows .

My op-ed piece on why The Ten Commandments are censored appeared as a Voice of the Day in The Springfield News Leader. I explain, “Our society is on a feeding frenzy of all things sinful. Hearing the commandments triggers guilt. So they ban the document.”

On July 29, my article “Why I am Christian” appeared in The Pueblo Chieftain. I wrote it as a different look at a poll by Pew Research Center that said the number of Christians in the United States has dropped significantly. But Pew reported seven out of 10 Americans still say they’re Christians, so I wrote a “why” article, and gave my testimony and showed how the world would be drastically affected without Christianity because of charity, hospitals, schools and universities founded, as well as disaster relief.. I put a different twist to it...

I used the Christmas season to grieve the 55 million babies aborted in our nation since Roe vs. Wade. I started with the grieving parents whose infants were killed by Herod trying to get rid of the Baby Jesus. The piece was published in The Chieftain. It brought a different look to Christmas and abortion.

THINK ABOUT GHOST WRITING

Do your work well, and check the facts of the person you’re ghosting for. I found errors in two ghost articles I wrote from sermons of two different ministers, not associated with doctrine, but numbers. One was about pastors who quit the ministry; another about Take that Mountain, and it had the wrong number of mountain peaks over 14,000 feet in Colorado. 

I’ve ghost-written articles for several pastors based on sermons. Many popular ministers use ghost writers, even Joyce Meyer and Chuck Colsen. Most preachers are speakers instead of writers. I’ve ghosted testimonies, such as I wrote for The Pentecostal Evangel about a woman’s father being instantly healed of blindness.

Cece Murphy, a frequent speaker at Christian writers’ conferences, is the ghost writer who wrote the best seller, 90 Minutes in Heaven, that became a movie.

I just ghosted an article about the flooding in Galena, MO, where God stopped water from rising in an answer to prayer during the June 2015 storms. I submitted the article to a book anthology about miracles.

Just a side note, you can find almost any facts you need online. Editors don’t consider Wikipedia a reliable source, and surprise! A lot of other polls aren’t accurate, either. I found a disturbing article that said 57 percent of Republicans would like to make Christianity the National Religion. Who wrote these articles? The leftist Huffington Post, supported by George Soros; the Atheist Channel; New Republic,  a leftist magazine; Progressive Secular Humanist; and on and on.

Truth is, if I know how things work, if these politicians made any comment close to what they’re talking about, I would guess pollsters asked if the Republicans wanted America to be a Christian nation., and they probably said yes. That’s a whole lot different from saying they want to establish Christianity as the U.S. religion. Any real Christian understands you don’t become a Christian through any law, or even parental urging. God gave free will to each of us and accepting Jesus as Savior ourselves is the only way to be a Christian. Be aware of this sort of misrepresentation of facts and keep yourself out of the muck. To know how to properly report on a subject you must first understand it, and unbelievers often don’t understand what it means to follow Christ.

If you want a poll to help you in your research, use Barna, Gallup, or Pew.

ASK A QUESTION AND ANSWER IT

If you’ve had the question in your mind, probably other people do, too.

Years ago I wrote a story for The Pentecostal Evangel, “Are Christian marriages better?” and interviewed a Christian psychologist about the topic. He wisely said if a Christian couple obeys the biblical guidelines for how we should treat one another, they’ll have a good marriage. Then he added if non-christians treat one another with respect, the husband loves his wife as his own body, and they honor and love each other, they’ll have a good marriage. If Christians don’t obey the Word, they’ll have a lousy one.

About three years ago I sold “Are long-term marriages better?” to Mature Living. I found an attorney in Florida who specializes in divorces for people married more than 50 years. He agreed to an interview, and gave me some great quotes. I included a sidebar quiz based on scripture, titled “Are you a good marriage partner?”

TRY HOW-TO ARTICLES

Right now articles and books on “7 ways to do this or that” are extremely popular. Think about your expertise, knowledge or experience that you could share in this manner. I sold an article to the Free Methodist Evangel “7 Ways to Stretch Spiritually” as a New Year’s feature. Although 7 is the most popular number, 21 seems to be next, you can use others.

PROFILES

Interview a famous or outstanding person or someone with a unique testimony.

 You can do a profile from research, such as a biography. I sold a story years ago to Live about Billy Graham’s mother, Morrow Graham. She already was in heaven. I found the information in Graham’s biography

 In conclusion, keep a list of ideas. When the list grows, divide it into topics and possible markets. Keep paper and pen handy, and don’t wait to write your ideas down. When you wait, even if you don’t forget it, you lose the reason why you were so enthusiastic about it in the first place. Usually it’s impossible to regain that enthusiasm. As soon as you can, write your hook and basic thoughts about where you intend to go with the idea, and complete the piece.

Then send an editor a query letter.

 Jesus said “ I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). 

Copyright  Ada Brownell 2015

 

MEET ADA BROWNELL

Ada Brownell blogs and writes with Stick-to-Your-Soul Encouragement. She is the author of six books, about 350 stories and articles in Christian publications, and she spent a large chunk of her life as a reporter, mostly for The Pueblo Chieftain in Colorado. A Bible student since her teens and a youth educator, she also taught Bible and science; courses from Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict; and other faith-building courses. She now lives in Missouri, a beautiful state except for tornadoes and chiggers.

Among her books: The Lady Fugitive, a finalist in the 2015 Clash of the Titles Laurel Award; Imagine the Future You, a youth/parent Bible study;.Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult, a novel for middle grade up; Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, includes evidence we’re more than a body; Facts, Faith and Propaganda, a book that unmasks propaganda as well as reveals amazing truth; and Confessions of a Pentecostal, out of print but released in 2012 for Kindle; Most books are available in paper or for Kindle. Imagine the Future You audiobook is available at www.Audible.com  Free book with new Audible membership.

Amazon Ada Brownell author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/adabrownell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/AdaBrownellWritingMinistries

Twitter: @AdaBrownell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1654534.Ada_Brownell

Blog: http://inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

Barnesandnoble.com http://ow.ly/PUWHO

FEAR THE FUTURE? REMEMBER THE SPARROWS' SONG

                         “Tweet Tweet” of the Sparrow

                                     By Ada Brownell

I’ve had an electric piano for several years and the other day I noticed a setting that said, “Bird.”

I decided to use it.  For years I’d played “His Eye is on the Sparrow” on the spinet piano and tried to tickle the keys occasionally so they’d sound like a bird singing.

So with my keyboard layered on settings of “orchestra,” “electric bass,” and “bird,” my fingers played my arrangement.  “Tweet-tweet” kept interrupting with a joyful sound as the words of the verse and chorus ran through my mind while I played.

A couple of days later at a women’s Bible study, a prayer request was made for children who fear the ever-present dangers of war. I related my story of the “Tweet-Tweet” song.  They laughed with me about my silly musical arrangement.  But as we discussed God’s watchful loving care and made other requests, we were reminded of the message in “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”  One woman in our group was facing a breast cancer biopsy.

Civilla D. Martin wrote the words to “His Eye is on the Sparrow” after traveling in 1905 to Elmira, New York, where she and her husband met Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle. Civilla thought the Doolittles were saints. Despite Mrs. Doolittle being an invalid for nearly twenty years, and her husband  in a wheel chair, the couple radiated with joy. They inspired everyone around them.

One day Civilla’s husband asked them for the source of their upbeat, positive attitudes. Mrs. Doolittle replied, "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

The phrase stuck in Civilla’s mind. She put pen to paper and the song was born with the help of Charles H. Gabriel, who composed the music.

The song asks, “Why should I feel discouraged?” and concludes with “I know He watches me.”

The song was taken from what Jesus said: “Fear not…. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?  And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:28-31).

What Jesus said can help anyone filled with fear – fear of war, fear for health, fear of the future, or any other kind of fear. The Lord not only sees us, but He loves us, hears us and is with us wherever we go. 

©Ada Brownell

Ada’s blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

One of Ada’s six books is Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal.

Both the paperback and the Kindle editions are available at www.amazon.com under the author’s name.

                                   

WHY YOUTH LEAVE THE CHURCH

By Ada Brownell

ANEMIC YOUTH GROUPS

One day I asked my oldest son why he serves the Lord when so many young people fall away.

“I think it’s because we didn’t have a youth pastor,” he said.

I was shocked.  “Why?”

“Because we had to do everything.”

I doubt the same type of service would fly today, but my son had a point.  A youth service should be much more than fun and games (often mimicking the world), and where the youth pastor practices preaching. Spiritually thriving youth groups today use technology and the latest methods, but successful leaders also believe, live, preach and teach the Word -- and put Christian young people to work living their faith.

God is moving mightily in some youth groups. But national statistics show more than two-thirds of Protestant young adults leave church between ages 18 and 22.  For the Assemblies of God, of the 60,000 youth who graduate from high schools each spring, 50 to 70 percent will leave the faith within four years.[1]

Apparently more than half of what youth groups do today isn’t working.

But the news is not all bad. There is hope!  Thirty to fifty percent of youth stay in church and many are dedicated, born-again, spirit-filled young people.

Some churches have Bible quiz teams, youth clubs like Royal Rangers and Missionettes, and some lead pastors do major teaching on Sunday mornings which reaches young adults. Helps in some of the new Bibles such as the Fire Bible make the Word easier to study.

NO INTERACTION WITH ADULT CHURCH

A large number of youth have never attended an adult worship service, let alone a revival meeting. They start in the nursery, go on to children’s services, then to junior and senior high youth. They don’t know, love or respect the lead pastor, have no adult Christian heroes, and feel no connection to the church body.

In previous generations whole youth groups served God until old age. These teens not only attended adult church, but were a vital part. Adults need to embrace and love this generation and integrate them into the church, especially upon high school graduation. If the older adults value their hearing, they can tear off a corner of the same Kleenex used to wipe tears shed praying for this generation, stuff it in their ears and rejoice when they see God touch and use young lives.

Interacting with Christian adults helps young people establish spiritual goals because they’ll meet people who model true religion.

LACK OF LOVE FOR GOD AND OTHERS

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about what we’re living.

“In the last days perilous times will come,” he wrote.  “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

Yet, there is hope! God promises that His Word will not return void, which means if we’ve planted the Word in young people’s hearts, it should bear fruit. Our Heavenly Father is the same yesterday, today and forever. The promise (of salvation and Holy Ghost infilling) is unto us and to our children and our children’s children and to all who are afar off.

Yes, we have an at-risk generation all around us, but let us not grow weary with the challenge.

BRAINWASHING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Youth in the United States are taught from an early age they are no more than animals.

The secular world attempts to destroy faith in God with propaganda (spinning the truth) and brainwashing. Yet, no one can prove whether  God exists because faith is necessary for salvation. Yet, there is more evidence for faith in God than faith that you just appeared on the earth with seeing eyes, hearing ears, and all the wonderful things in your body and in the universe, that has to be perfect down to the last atom or gene.

When Satan makes a bid for the souls of our youth, creating temptations such as sex, drugs, liquor, and even crime, often the brainwashing wins. They think, what difference does it make? Then when they begin reaping the hurricane of trouble from what they sowed, often their lives are horribly damaged.

God does redeem, however. Scripture tells "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." and "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
I pray for youth every day. They will take the truth to the next generation and tell them why Jesus left Heaven and came to earth, if Jesus tarries His coming. Some youth say the church is not relevant. How can living forever be irrelevant? Jesus humankind's  only hope for eternal life, but He also is concerned that we have abundant, joyful life while we're on earth. He came to seek and save those who are lost and give them joy and life forevermore!

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Ada's latest book: FACTS, FAITH AND PROPAGANDA

             

  Scripture written by Peter: “For we did not follow cunningly  devised fables”2 Peter 1:16   One from St. John: "That which we have heard, and we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our eyes have handled, the Word of life; For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with (God the) Father, and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard, we declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1-3).

Everything about who we are, how we came to be, and why we are here, is settled by faith. This book, written by a journalist who  interviewed people on both sides of the argument, supplies evidence for faith—and reveals forgeries designed to destroy belief in God such as the Piltdown man, missing evolutionary links that DNA proved aren’t links, and a newer theory than Darwin’s, punctuated equilibrium. She also studied extensively on the reliability of scripture and evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus.

FACTS, FAITH AND PROPAGANDA IS AVAILABLE FOR .99 ON AMAZON:

http://ow.ly/Uez4G

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[1] Assembly of God News: Friday, September 22, 2006

[2] II Timothy 3

[3] Isaiah 55:10-12

[4] Acts 2:39

SEX IS RISKY FOR THE UNMARRIED

By Ada Nicholson Brownell

                       

            Moral depravity and the underlying lack of faith in God cause greater risk to the under-40 crowd today than the economic and political earthquakes shaking our nation.

            Somewhere hidden beneath the heartache of virginity lost, beneath dead or diseased bodies of people who died or suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, beneath the millions of babies aborted, beneath children born into poverty because their unwed mother couldn’t provide for them, and beneath the tormented conscience, is one of the most special things God created for humankind—intimacy between a man and woman.

            God didn’t plan for it to be abused. Yet, today’s evils revolve around immorality.   

What happened?

Of course, sin happened.  Sin began in the Garden of Eden and trails every generation.  It seems evil encroaches over the United States today like a deadly gooey fungus threatening to contaminate our whole society.

“This might be the most wicked generation in history,” says Jim Bradford, General Secretary of the Assemblies of God.

            Some say sex education promotes illicit sex. We’ve read studies that blame contraceptives.  Others lay the problem at the feet of the media, parents and even the church.

After years working with youth and as a newspaper reporter covering the problems immorality causes in society and reporting the discouraging statistics, I believe the following helped put our youth in peril.

EARLY DATING

 If you start dating at age 12 and don’t marry until the mid-20s, that’s a long time to practice self control. Can anyone who kisses and hugs the opposite sex for that many years expect to be morally pure?

DELAYING MARRIAGE

Young people – even Christians – have trouble with self control if they wait until after college to wed, especially if they are in love and alone often. Sexually-active unmarried Christian youth sometimes feel God will overlook their sin because they will marry eventually. Scripture doesn’t give any excuse, but warns about the disastrous consequences of such sin.[1]

GLORIFYING ENTICING ACTIONS AND CLOTHING

            Being “sexy” is contrary to the teachings of Jesus. Jesus said if we lust in our hearts, it’s the same as committing adultery. While many women don’t feel lust when they dress in tight or revealing clothing, they cause men to lust after them.

            Let’s teach our young women to be classy instead of sexy!

            TOLERANCE OF SINFUL LIFESTYLES.

We should love the unwed mother and her child, but we should not put these women in places of leadership in the church until they accept Christ and live an exemplary lifestyle an acceptable time.

            Even if he’s repented of sexual sin, so long as a man doesn’t pay child support for his children, he should be barred from lay ministry as well. Teach that if a young man wants sex, he should take responsibilities that go with what God created, which means self control or marrying the girl with whom he wants to be intimate and sticking with her until death parts them—the most romantic and loving action in life.

            We need to love sinners, but if they claim to be a Christian and continue to practice a sinful lifestyle, we should shun them (See 1 Corinthians 5:9-13).

            TOLERATING PORNOGRAPHY.

            This generation views shows in their own homes that would be against the law in times past. On weekends and evenings it’s almost impossible to view anything without nudity, sex, vulgar language and violence.

The selling of sin is no accident—it is by design.  Norman Lear, creator of TV shows  “All in the Family,” “Maude” and others, in the 1980s intended with his writing to savage television evangelists, including Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority.  Then he had another idea. He founded People for the American Way to use television and other means to counter evangelical Christian beliefs. Lear brought controversial television that glorifies sin to prime time, and other writers and producers who shared his beliefs caught the vision.

            The church as a whole took little notice. In fact, many watched Lear’s subtle and not so subtle messages.  But most of us now participate in the peddling of smut whether we view it or not because anyone who has cable or satellite TV subsidizes pornography.

I am a fervent believer in freedom of the press, but I resent helping to bring filth to the masses—particularly youth.  If people want their minds and their lives filled with sin, let them pay for it.

            I’ve written the Federal Communications Commission, City Council and the cable provider protesting forced subsidizing of smut for consumers who only want stations and networks with 24-hour news, weather and G-rated entertainment. I wrote letters to local pastors trying to get them involved.

            I’ve also contacted television networks about indecent programs.

The internet brings more moral temptations for this generation. Even church people are addicted to internet pornography and participate in illicit relationships online. (Notice I didn't identify them as "Christians." Anyone who is not living as Jesus taught is not a Christian.)

            FAILURE TO PREPARE YOUTH FOR SPIRITUAL BATTLE

            The first mission of the church is to preach the gospel. When we do, we train each generation about the spiritual armor and weapons God provides to help us be victorious. We also need to give them a glimpse of the Enemy. [2]For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil.

            Our utmost goal is that every person experience salvation, the infilling of the Holy Ghost, and that they love God and others. Each of us needs to be exposed to scriptural doctrines such as divine healing, the reality of hell, that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, the Bible is God’s inspired Word, and know details about Christ’s imminent return.

            Many churches underestimate the spiritual desires of young people.

Mormons have no seminaries, yet most Mormon youth spend two years as a missionary—and they are prepared for it. For a newspaper religion story, I visited one of these preparation classes which met early in the day before school. I could hear the excited kids shouting memorized scriptures and portions of the Book of Mormon when I entered the building.

Muslims whisper the Call to Prayer in a baby’s ears soon after birth, and keep teaching the child. And we wonder why they are so dedicated to their religion?

            We, who have the TRUTH, seem to have forgotten how powerful, exciting and wonderful the Word of God is.        

The Word has every answer this generation needs.

FAILURE TO COUNTERACT SECULARIST TEACHING

            Belief in God keeps many a person out of immorality.

I taught my first session on the Bible and Science to a class of about 30 high school students when I was in my mid-20s. The course, written by the late Donald F. Johns, helped solidify my faith as well as the faith of my students. Some accepted Christ.

Over the years I used Josh McDowell’s “Evidences for Your Faith,” and similar teachings for ‘tweens, high school and college classes, and young marrieds. Without fail, I saw conversions, students’ faith blossom, and spiritual growth.

Faith and a genuine encounter with God bring awareness of sin.

FAILURE TO POINT OUT SIN’S CONSEQUENCES

Sin is dangerous! Unless covered with the blood of Jesus, sin sends you to hell but also drastically affects life on earth. Sexually transmitted diseases can ruin a person’s future, his health and maybe even take his life. These diseases cause infertility, cancer, liver problems, even blindness and death. Some STDs are incurable.

 Illicit sex also causes emotional consequences. Physicians Joe S. McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush, authors of the book, “Hooked,”[3] say neuroscience has discovered sexual activity releases a chemical that impacts the brains of developing adolescents and young adults.  These chemicals cause an emotional bond between partners and when this bond is broken, the youth suffers depression and difficulty with bonding in future relationships.

Teen pregnancy is another consequence that affects youth, but also impacts the child and a young person’s parents and grandparents. Abortion has devastating emotional and physical consequences as well, not to mention the death of the unborn child.

We reap what we sow and youth should know Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy.

As a parent are you warning your teens?

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[1] Galatians 5:19,21

[2] Ephesians 6:10-17

[3] Moody Publishers, 2008