WHY WE REMEMBER JOSEPH

By Ada Brownell

Excerpt from Chapter 2

Imagine the Future You

 “Hey, Joseph!” said the baker, his two chins bobbing in sync with his laughter. “I heard you had a tumble with Potiphar’s wife. Way to go! Who would have thought it?”

“Since Potiphar committed all he has into your care, I guess that was all that was left!” the lanky butler added. His cold, accusing eyes mocked.

Anger and embarrassment shot through Joseph. His chains tinkled as he shifted position where he sat on the hard stone floor. “You are wrong. I did not do that great wickedness and sin against Potiphar, myself, or God.”

“You worried about God when you could have had her?” the baker said, chuckling, his round face showing he didn’t believe Joseph.

“I decided long ago to follow God’s will for my life, and I haven’t changed my mind,” Joseph answered firmly as he tried to stand.

“You are a fool,” the baker shot back at Joseph as he and the butler walked away, heads together and laughing.

Joseph stared after the pair, the chains on his wrists and ankles causing his whole body to ache. He wondered why the two men accused him. After all, they offended the king of Egypt and were sentenced to prison, too. Joseph had no idea what they had done.

One day weeks later, Joseph noticed the butler and the baker didn’t pick up their bowls of food when it was time to eat. By now, Joseph’s chains were gone because once again Joseph found favor with his captors. But he was still a prisoner. He picked up the bowls and then slowly walked to where he’d heard the baker and butler talking around the corner.

“Here’s breakfast,” Joseph said. “You should eat.”

“It’s nothing but swill,” spat the baker, holding his head in his hands.

As Joseph held out the bowl, a loud groan rushed from the butler’s throat. His fingers ran nervously through his dirty curly hair.

“What’s wrong?” asked Joseph.

“We’ve had some terrible nightmares,” the baker answered, adding his cry of anguish. “They seem so real we need to have someone tell us what they mean, but there is no interpreter.”

The butler stopped his guttural groans and took two deep breaths. “I’m sure the dreams have a meaning. Do you know anyone…? Hey, Joseph! You talk with God, don’t you? Sure you do!” He got up from the floor and patted Joseph on the back.

Quickly the baker tried to stand. His humpty-dumpty body rocked back and forth three times before Joseph reached and pulled him to his feet.

Panting, the baker put his arm around Joseph and let out a blast of putrid breath. “Yes, Joe, old buddy. We’ve been stuck together in this prison a long time. You are such a wonderful fellow to keep on speaking terms with God! You’ve been a good cell-block mate. Haven’t even seen you in any of the fights. Now the captain of the guards has you serving us, and you do it well. Would you like to hear my dream?”

 “And mine?” added the butler.

All the noise brought a crowd of other prisoners. They stood, watching expectantly.

The butler and the baker stared at each other, then Joseph.

The butler stepped forward and whispered in Joseph’s ear for a long time. Then the baker stood at Joseph’s other ear, whispering and nervously shaking one leg.

Afterward, Joseph turned away and lifted his hands toward heaven. His lips moved, but no sound came out of his mouth.

Finally, Joseph turned to look at the butler. “Within three days, Pharaoh shall give you back your job. Please remember me and ask that I be released from this prison.”

“Thank you! Oh, thank you!” A deep laugh rumbled from the butler. He shook hands with Joseph and some of those watching. ‘I will be sure to give them your message.”

Then Joseph looked solemnly at the baker. “In three days, Pharaoh will hang you.”

The baker stood speechless, his mouth dropped open and his eyes filled with terror. Then obscenities flowed from his fat, drooling lips. When those were spent, his deep, wrenching sobs echoed in every prison cell.

Three days later, the butler was back at work and the baker was dead.

And Joseph’s release didn’t come. The butler didn’t tell Pharaoh about Joseph’s request.

***

Three men. The butler and the baker had names, of course, but they were not included in the biblical account. But even if we knew their names, they probably wouldn’t be worth mentioning or remembering.

But we won’t forget Joseph. Today’s youth would have called Joseph “hot” in his youth. I despise the term myself, but you know by the way Potiphar’s wife flung herself at the young man his handsome face could put girls’ hearts in a flutter.

Some biblical scholars believe Joseph lived about four thousand years before Christ.[1] That’s a long time ago for his name to come up now. Even though Joseph has no last name, his name will never be forgotten. Joseph is on the minds and lips of many people even today because of who he was and what he did.

Who could forget the sound of Joseph’s weeping in the desert cistern as he heard his brothers planning to kill him and then deciding to sell him as a slave? His years in prison suffering because he wouldn’t tumble into bed with Potiphar’s wife, who then ripped her dress and accused him of rape? Or after Joseph’s promotion to governor, his heart-wrenching sobs when he recognized his brothers bowing before him in Pharaoh’s Egyptian palace asking for food?

Or can any Bible student forget how Joseph forgave those brothers and fell on their necks, weeping and kissing them?

And what Joseph said? “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”[2]
            Our tongues still speak Joseph’s name with respect because of who he was and what he did.

Joseph’s name remained on a small pyramid in Egypt, according to Bible historians and archaeologists, until Moses led the Israelites in their exodus. When Joseph knew he was dying, he prophesied God would take them from Egypt back to their own land, and when they went asked them to take his bones with them. The Bible says the Israelites took the bones back to Israel, and Joseph was reburied in Shechem. That’s where the Jews of modern times found a tomb they identified as Joseph’s in 1921. His name appeared on the tomb in the heart of Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria. But then on February 23, 2003, the carved stone over the grave was destroyed and the tomb vandalized and filled with burning garbage. In February 2008, vandals set burning tires inside the tomb. Yet, until September 2008, Jews journeyed to the tomb to pray, although Muslims have attempted to make it a holy site to Islam.[3]

Despite the damage to his tomb, Joseph’s name is remembered—not because it is so unusual, but because it belonged to an unusual man.

---

[1] You can read about Joseph and his family in Genesis 30–50. Even the creation account didn’t use this much space!

[2] Genesis 5:19–21 NKJ

[3] David M. Rohl and Dr. Thomas S. McCall, Th.D., “Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest,” Levitt Letter, June 1999.

YOUR NAME IS MORE THAN YOUR IDENTITY

By Ada Brownell

Excerpt from Imagine the Future You, Chapter 2

Available as paperback, e-book, and audio

https://www.amazon.com/author/adabrownell

Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening on the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice. 
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $1.99 after you buy the Kindle book.

Hear a sample of the audio book  http://ow.ly/y9zaF

REVIEW:      "My oldest daughter once told me that our churches didn't prepare kids for college. After having given her heart to Christ at a young age and then attending church through high school,  she took a course in Western Civilization at college that almost threw her. No one had questioned her about her faith until then. No one had placed alternative roads to life before her. Ada Brownell's latest release, Imagine the Future You does just that--prepares young people for their future."

What about your name? Your name has already appeared in many places. It first appeared on your birth certificate and the wristband you wore in the hospital after you were born. The newspaper might have run your name with the births. It certainly was on the birth announcements your parents mailed to friends and relatives.

Your doctor has a whole file that begins with your name. The school has files with you as the star. If and when you get a job, there will be files on you.

The government has archives on you, beginning with your Social Security number. The driver’s license bureau will keep records under your name. Your name will appear on loans, titles, and deeds.

Your name will be in the news in many cities if you make the honor roll or you receive awards or do notable things. Your name will be listed with marriage licenses and your engagement and wedding announcements may be in the newspaper—but hopefully it won’t be in the divorce column. If you are in a serious accident or arrested after age eighteen, your name would be in the news.

If you become a screen star, a politician, an inventor, a hero, extremely wealthy, a philanthropist, a model, a successful businessman, a writer, or just someone who voices an opinion in the right place, people will see your name. Your name could become a household word.

Mostly, however, our names are spoken more than written, as Joseph’s was. Sometimes your name just runs around in people’s heads.

For sure, unless the Lord Jesus Christ returns first or you are lost at sea or buried in an unknown tomb, someday your name will appear on a tombstone or an urn containing your ashes.

For the most part, your name reflects who you are and what you do. Today is the day to prepare for the future and decide who you will be and what you will do.

That brings us to an important book where you’d want your name to appear.

IMAGINE ULTIMATE ACHIEVEMENT

Your success at achieving the ultimate life begins with your name in the Book of Life, the “Who’s Who” of who is going to live forever in heaven.

How do you get in?

Different from some other Who’s Who books, you aren’t required to pay a fee or buy that edition. An entry is free of cost to you—but a huge amount already has been paid in blood for your name to be included. That’s called redemption because we were born into sin and the penalty for sin is death. But we have to accept it.

Jesus told his disciples to rejoice that their names were written in heaven.[1] The last book of the Bible, Revelation, has multiple references to the “Book of Life.”[2]

Revelation chapter 20 describes the vision the Apostle John saw of the Great White Throne Judgment: “I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to things written in the books.”

 In chapter 21, we’re given a description of heaven that “has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, there will be no night, nothing evil will be allowed to enter, and the only humans who will be there are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s (Jesus) Book of Life.”

It all begins when we make a decision to believe, and when we repent of our sins and accept the redemption, the abundant life, Jesus promised.

That’s when your name becomes special.

---

[1] Luke 10:20

[2] Rev. 3:5; Rev. 20:12; Rev. 21:27

TOMORROW: WHY JOSEPH'S NAME IS REMEMBER AFTER CENTURIES

How emotions are unpredictable, but we don't have to ride their roller coaster

Like the Dew or Frost

By Jodie Wolfe

"May their land be blessed by the Lord
    with the precious gift of dew from the heavens
    and water from beneath the earth."

Deuteronomy 33:13 (NLT)

Feelings are like frost or dew. Fleeting. Dependent on circumstances or situations. Not reliable or

predictable. Always changing.

In order to have frost cover the lawn, it has to be cold outside. There must be enough moisture content in the air as well to produce the frozen wonderland. If it's too warm it will create dew instead. Not enough moisture in the atmosphere and neither will occur.

Emotions too are unpredictable. We can be soaring on the mountain tops when all is going well and dive to the depths of the valley when something unexpected happens like a disappointment or rejection. A hurt. A sudden death or unanticipated job loss. But it doesn't have to be something major to make our emotions or feelings roil. Sometimes it's something minor that sets us off.

I'm thankful we don't have to live in the roller coasters of our feelings and emotions. In fact, I believe Satan desires to keep us in the unsettledness of our reactions. As Christians we can choose a different path.

·         We choose love.

·         We choose joy.

·         We choose peace.

·         We choose patience.

·         We choose kindness.

·         We choose goodness.

·         We choose faithfulness.

·         We choose gentleness.

·         We choose self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The list could go on and on of the attributes. The important key is our choices. Our decisions. Our obedience.

Will you choose this day and everyday to make decisions based on the promises we have in God's Word instead of your own fleeting emotions? (Philippians 4:8) I love that even when I fail and make a wrong response I don't have to camp there. God forgives me and makes all things new. Let's choose to be more like Him.

Jodie got bitten by the writing bug as a young girl after reading and watching Little House on the Prairie. She loves writing stories about feisty heroines and strong, godly heroes. The power of story to influence lives and change hearts is what motivates her to weave tales that tell of the Savior’s faithfulness and forgiveness. Jodie is a columnist for Home School Enrichment magazine and had a devotion featured on Christian Devotions. She achieved semi-finalist status in the 2013 ACFW Genesis Contest and 3rd place in the 2015 Novel Beginnings at St. David's Christian Writer's Conference. Jodie is represented by Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary Agency. You can learn more about her here: Jodie's Website.

A computer chip for the brain to control seizures?

BY ADA BROWNELL

A few days the news reported a computer chip has been developed that is expected to control or prevent Alzheimer's Disease.

 Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in November 2012 surgically implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of a patient in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, one of the first such operations in the United States--and now it appears the brain computer chip works. The device, which provides deep brain stimulation and has been used in thousands of people with Parkinson’s disease, is seen as a possible means of boosting memory and reversing cognitive decline.

This interested me since in my novel, Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult, a missing computer design for a chip to control grand mal seizures is an integral part of the story.  Here's the section from the book, published in 2012 and enjoyed by youth as well as adults. I hadn't even heard of the Alzheimer's chip. The idea came to me in interviewing physicians about epilepsy and seizures during my seven years on the medical beat for The Pueblo Chieftain.

First the book summary:

Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult

By A.B. Brownell

Enter an area where people are missing and radicals want to obliterate Christianity from the earth. Joe Baker’s parents are missing and  he finds himself with someone after him. Joe joins a gang committed to preventing and solving crimes with harmless things such as noise, water, and a pet skunk instead of blades and bullets Praying for his parents’ return, in his dreams Joe slips into the skin of Bible characters. He ends up in a mental hospital. Will he escape or be harmed? Will he find his parents? Does God answer prayer?

 No fantasy. No wizard, but suspense. Christian payload. Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult

Reviewer: “A.B. Brownell weaves a tale of intrigue and faith which captures the reader from the opening page.”

 http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06

Excerpt from Chapter Four:

“Darin,” Kermesis said. “It’s time you came to your senses.

Your wife suffers being here. She used to be a beautiful woman. Look at her. And look at you. You were a handsome man! We hate to do this to you. You are one of the most talented men I know. Putting medical knowledge into a software design to control epilepsy was a stroke of genius. You can make a difference in America. We have a plan to bring hope to our country. Where is the program?”

Darin turned toward his former boss, the trowel still in his hand. “I created the design to work within the brain because my little brother used to have grand mal seizures. He’d scream and then fall unconscious on the floor, and the violent muscle contractions began. Sometimes he’d lose bladder and bowel control. He’d wake up with a severe headache, ashamed, embarrassed, and weak.”

Darin took a deep breath. “In epilepsy, grand mal seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. The proposed chip will be designed to keep cranial activity in the normal range—similar to how a heart pacemaker works to correct abnormal heart beats.”

“That’s exactly why I want it!”

“Medications prevent seizures in some people,” Darin continued, folding his arms across his bony chest. “Geodesic brain mapping now shows which parts of the brain cause seizures. In some cases, neurosurgeons remove parts of the brain to interrupt nerve pathways through which seizure impulses spread.”

Kermesis tried to interrupt, but Darin put up his hand and kept talking.

“Vagus nerve stimulators about the size of a silver dollar are one of the new treatments. Surgeons implant them in the upper chest, yet even that rarely eliminates all seizures and works for only about half the patients.[1] I’m hoping my device will be developed and will work for folks other treatments don’t help.”

 Kermesis grinned.  “Look around. Did you notice that we’ve gathered a bunch of religious nuts who are significant opinion leaders?”

Darin wiped his long hair off his brow as perspiration dripped into his beard. “My brother died when he had three grand mal seizures in one morning. I’ve lived for the day when I could prevent others from going through that agony. My design might not control seizures, but it’s worth a try. I thought you would help me get clinical trials and market it. So you want me to give it to you so you can sell it?”

Kermesis stepped closer. “Listen to me carefully if you don’t want us to get Joe and Penny. I want you to change the program so it will cause seizures instead of stopping them.”

“What?”

“Change it so it will cause a person to have a seizure if he says the name Jesus or God or words like ‘sin,’ ‘repent,’ ‘pray’—things like that. No one will ever know we are intercepting brain waves in these religious leaders,’ but it will destroy their ability to persuade or probably even to think. If you program it right, they’ll never remember being here.”

“That would be the most despicable use of modern technology ever created—if it would work,” Darin said. “I won’t have anything to do with it.” He returned to working on the wall.

Kermesis grabbed Darin by the shoulder and looked him in the eye. “I respect you and your work, but I’ll do anything to get that software design. You saw how upset Rose was when I mentioned the children. I would hate to see how she’ll react when I bring you a finger or toe every week from Joe and Penny. Or when I bring them here to join our youth class.”

“Youth class?”

“Yes. Part of the revolution is beginning right here, and teenagers will have a vital part in it. We are training moldable young people to be arsonists and suicide bombers.”

Darin couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re part of some Middle East terrorist group?”

“No! We will bomb Christians everywhere, and everyone will think it’s al-Qaeda or some other group of Middle East Jihadists. It’s perfect.”

“Kermesis, you’re scaring me. You’re not using this as a threat?”

“Look around you. Do you think we took these people off the streets to build a wall?”

“Don’t you hang out with a psychiatrist? Have you talked to him? If you’re serious about this terrorist plot, I worry about your sanity.”

Kermesis went into a fit of laughter. “Yes, I’ve talked to him. He heartily approves.”

How could he stand there and lie with such sincerity? “My gut says I’ll never give that design to you because of what you want to do with it.” Darin wiped mortar off his trowel, a sick feeling of despair flowing over him. “But I don’t want you to touch our kids.”

Kermesis chuckled and walked away.

---

[1] MedicineNet.com.

USE THIS LINK TO BUY THE BOOK OR READ FIRST CHAPTER 

Premature baby care & inter-racial marriage are subjects of new novel by June Foster

Book Blurb

Neonatal specialist Dr. Michael Clark is passionate about saving the lives of premature babies. But the pediatrics department at El Camino General can't provide the care many of his preemies require. Now he wants to build a specialty hospital where he can better care for his young patients.

Tammy Crawford is an accomplished geriatrics RN who wants nothing to do with her sister Joella's religious beliefs. She's independent and doesn't need anyone, including God in pursuing a new job as a nurse practitioner.

When she falls in love with the intriguing Michael Clark, she must reconsider her resolve to devote herself completely to her career and not be distracted by a romantic relationship. Now the obstacles are insurmountable. She's in love with a man from another culture and a different race.

Michael acknowledges his growing affection for the beautiful nurse yet can't ignore his brother's deep racial prejudices.

Can two people who are as different as night and day find a life together?


Ada Brownell's Interview with June Foster about the book

Ada, such good questions. Thanks for asking.

1. Have you ever worked as a preemie nurse, or did you have to do research?

I taught in the public schools for 34 years and don't know much about nursing at all. There are two wonderful ladies at my church who are both pediatric RN's. They were so gracious to help me understand what happens in a NICU. I really wanted to visit a hospital and might get that opportunity one day. God has always blessed me with consultants and willing people who provide the information I need on each book. My husband's nephew is in pharmaceutical school and has advised me on several occasions.

2. How did you bring reality to the interracial aspect of your book?

One of my critique partners is African American and she was a big help, allowing me to understand Michael's family and racial conflict from black person's point of view. I had opportunity to speak with a young black professor at the University of Alabama about how he'd feel about marrying a white woman. Both my critique partner and the young man said that race was not so much the issue as other factors such as socio-economic status and spiritual beliefs. My message in What God Knew is that we are not divided by the color of our skin as much as our values and worldview. Another interesting factor was that the riots in Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MA were happening as I wrote the book—which gave me a wealth of ideas for the novel.

3. Does your book go into the reason Tammy is so against belief in God, and how she came to overcome her unbelief?

Yes. Tammy is a free spirit and rebels when someone tries to tell her what to do. From her perspective, she's had "religion" pushed on her all her life. Both Joella, her older sister, and her parents were Christians. (As a side note, Joella is the heroine in For All Eternity, book one in the Almond Tree series.) Not until Tammy fully understands that she is a sinner and is hungry for the Lord, can she accept that pride has always stood between her and God.

4. Do the two fall in love in the nursery?

Not quite, but Tammy is first attracted to the handsome neonatal doctor when she sees him from a distance caring for one of his little patients. She notes how his large hands gently turn a preemie on his side to look into his ears with an otoscope, and how he carefully moves his stethoscope around on the baby's chest. His professionalism and compassionate concern for each infant speak to her.

5. Does the reader experience some of the heartache that comes with caring for these little ones, whose lives are in jeopardy?

Oh, yes. Several times, Dr. Clark loses a baby and must forcibly maintain a professional persona instead of giving into his sorrow that a baby died. I checked with my pediatric RN's, and they both confirmed that indeed, this is one of the hardest parts of working in the field of medicine—to feel the frustration and sense of failure when he or she can do no more and one of their patients die. Since Michael Clark is a Christian, he has the assurance that the baby will be with the Lord.

6. What do you hope readers take away from the book?

Two things. Abortion is an atrocity and is murder. Racial tension is not solved by government programs but by trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

June Foster Bio:

An award-winning author, June Foster is also a retired teacher with a BA in Education and a MA in counseling. In 2013, June's book Give Us This Day was a finalist in EPIC's eBook awards and in 2014 a finalist in the National Readers Choice Awards for best first book. Ryan's Father won The Clash of the Titles book of the month for January 2014 and was one of three finalists in the published contemporary fiction category of the 2014 Oregon Christian Writers Cascade Writing Contest and Awards. Deliver Us was a finalist in COTT's 2014 Laurel Awards. June has written four novels for Desert Breeze Publishing. The Bellewood Series, Give Us This Day, As We Forgive, and Deliver Us, and Hometown Fourth of July. Ryan's Father is available from WhiteFire Publishing. Red and the Wolf, a modern day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Books One, Two, and Three in the Almond Tree Series, For All Eternity, Echoes From the Past, and What God Knew are all available from Amazon.com as well as Misty Hollow. June enjoys writing stories about characters who overcome the circumstances in their lives by the power of God and His Word. June uses her training in counseling and her Christian beliefs in creating characters who find freedom to live godly lives. Find June online at http://junefoster.com, @vjifoster for Twitter, and http://facebook.com/AuthorJuneFoster.

Buy Link for Book:

http://tinyurl.com/pdd6prs   

Could you invent cereal flakes like Will Kellogg did?

SUCCESS IS ALWAYS WRAPPED IN WORK 

* An excerpt from Imagine the Future You

Paperback, e-book, audio book Available Here

Read first chapter free.

By Ada Brownell

When you listen to a famous person, think about how the celebrity achieved fame. Never forget success is always wrapped in what people do every day.

For instance, consider the Jonas Brothers. Nicholas Jonas started memorizing lines and acting at age seven. He wrote “Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)” with his father. His brothers joined him in music and performance. Before they toured and sold millions of albums as teenagers and young adults, they spent hours and hours developing their talents. Then they studied, practiced, and rehearsed some more.

They had goals in mind, believed God was with them, and developed their talents through trial and error, lessons, practice, study, work, practice, and more practice. They are examples of Christians who achieved fame and fortune.

In contrast to the Jonas Brothers, we have famous singers who have filthy mouths and live unholy lives. I’ve never been into the music of these people, but one day channel surfing I ran across Madonna and decided to listen a moment to see what on earth made her famous.

She’s a great singer.

Likewise there’s a huge reason Michael Jackson became a superstar. He came into this world talented, but he literally lived to sing and dance—and he practiced even the night before he died.

TALENT IS LIKE A DIAMOND; IT ISN’T BEAUTIFUL UNTIL IT’S POLISHED

Since God deserves our best, it is a great catastrophe when talented youth committed to the Lord don’t bother to develop their gifts and use them to win souls and bless people! We have terrific singers on worship teams, groups that travel and present concerts in churches and auditoriums, soloists, and also recording artists who bless, challenge, and encourage. Could that be you?

IMAGINE YOUR SPECIAL TALENT

Music isn’t the only gift God can use greatly. The Lord uses special people to preach the Gospel. But those who work behind the scenes, such as sound engineers, are just as important. People gifted at math and numbers are needed to work in churches as they grow, build, and work to win souls. God can use math experts in missions to help organizations, charities, and other ministries to balance their budgets.

Even the president of the United States needs people who can project ideas on how to eliminate the debt, cover important expenditures, and slash unnecessary spending. States, counties, and cities need people like that, and if they find someone with good ideas and God-given ability to help politicians live within their means, it definitely will be a ministry to the taxpayer.

Businesses, individuals, and families need auditors, office workers, financial planners, and those with expertise in risk management. People need hairstylists, and help caring for their skin and nails.

Health care organizations use people with compassion willing to learn the latest successful treatments, cures, and surgeries. We need someone to develop more effective medications and devices. But we also have a place for people willing to minister to everyday needs of people.

We look for righteous workers in politics, defense, energy development, building, auto repair, law enforcement, television and newspapers, and film production. Our nation needs firemen, godly fashion designers, sales personnel, steel and other industrial workers, secretaries, web and software designers, bankers, attorneys, real estate brokers, inspectors and appraisers, counselors, teachers and principals, painters, poets, photographers, large equipment operators, welders, farmers, and insurance agents.

We need regular people to invent things that meet needs and enhance life, comfort, and health. The list is unending of the things God can do with your talents.

IMAGINE YOUR CAREER--CORN FLAKES?

Thousands of careers from which to choose revolve around your life. Watch people. Look at everything around you. Your spoon. Your cereal bowl. The cereal. The milk.

Will Kellogg, the younger brother of Dr. John Kellogg, in the nineteenth century left a pot of boiled wheat to stand, and the wheat softened. The brothers didn’t want to waste food, so they rolled the wheat and let it dry, hoping they could make it edible.

 Kellogg belonged to a Seventh-day Adventist group that operated a sanitarium and helped people through good nutrition to recover from diseases.

When the rolled wheat dried, each grain became a large, tasty flake. The brothers kept experimenting with other grains and discovered corn flakes.

Someone figured out how to make Os from grain and to pop corn and puff wheat. Other people forged spoons from a mineral in a rock. The bowl you ate out of this morning came from products someone worked to make. Someone with willing hands milked the cow, probably with a machine somebody invented, so you could have milk on your cereal.

A person made the bicycle you ride and the car you drive or hope to drive, and another person advertised it and sold it.

When you stand at a window, look at the pane. Someone made it and cut the glass that size. Another person probably put it in the frame, and a different one installed it in the house.

IMAGINE WHO DID THIS

Look at everything, including your dinner and the clean clothes in your closet and drawers.

As we mature, we need to know so much! It’s a matter of survival to know how to cook, help with housework, and do laundry, no matter what your career. If you want a successful marriage, you need to be a willing worker, and now is the time to practice picking up after yourself and helping around the house.

You might even need to know how to grow your own food.

As you imagine yourself in the future, ask God to help and direct your life. Then you decide what talents to develop and get to work. God often calls people to careers and ministries that are totally unexpected but still require commitment and training.

For more, get the book at https://www.amazon.com/author/adabrownell

WRITING A SEQUEL. HOW PEACH BLOSSOM RANCHER RISES FROM THE COMPUTER

By Ada Brownell

Weird how characters sometimes almost take over a story and write it themselves.

I’m working on the sequel to The Lady Fugitive, and when I wrote the first book I felt as if I were the reader instead of the writer. Things kept happening and I hated to stop working because I wanted to see what happened next.

I’m having a similar experience with the sequel. The working title is "The Peachville Rancher.". Several of these characters appeared in the first book, too. Jennifer Louise Parks’ brother, John Lincoln Parks is the Peachville rancher. He’s trying to rebuild his parents’ peach and horse ranch in Peachville, Colo., after a wicked uncle nearly ruined it.

But John’s also looking for a wife, and the elegant and beautiful Valerie MacDougal who served as Jenny’s maid of honor nearly a year ago, appears to fill the bill. But since her first husband’s death, she’s spending her mourning with her parents and little son in Boston.

Yet, Valerie visits Peachville, and when she leaves, she promises to write. John gives her a goodbye kiss at the train station she’s sure to remember. But trouble and distractions appear out of nowhere.

A gorgeous redhead, Roberta Bellea Peabody, appeared in John’s  barn loft in the process of birthing a baby. Then the mother of the wealthy young man who raped the young woman shows up and wants the foundling—her grandson. The baby’s father also tries to get the newborn because he fears his mother might cut off his gambling money.

When the pasture fence is broken down and John’s new stallion escapes along with about a dozen other horses, the babe’s father, Wellington Davenport, is the first suspect on John’s list.

Further complicating John’s life is Edwina Jorgenson. Jenny believes Edwina has been in love with John since they were in grade school together. But Ed is running her father’s ranch since a rough ride on a wild bronco put him in a wheelchair. Edwina, even in 1909, not only wears pants most of the time, she seldom styles her hair except for the one long braid, and wears a gun on her hip. Add her temper and a nosey personality. Not a picture of what John envisions as wife potential. He knows her well, enjoys her company, but surprises her once in awhile doing things for her, such as washing dishes when she’s had a bad day.

That’s what helped John decide Edwina’s house would be the perfect place for Roberta Bellea Peabody. Bellea could earn some money, help take care of Edwina’s pa, and do the cooking and cleaning while caring for the little tot in the cradle.

Also in the book is Stu, the 12-year-old son of Jenny and William. He’s spending the summer while his adoptive parents go to Iowa with intentions of taking over a farm there. Shortly after he arrived on John’s ranch, the orphan Jenny and William found on the streets of Yucca Blossom caused a runaway with the team harnessed to a wagon. John attempted to show Stu how to drive a team of horses, but then had to take over the reins.

 Not long afterward, John finds the dead body in the barn.

.

Here’s an excerpt:

The horses already galloped too fast for Stu to control them. A dust cloud made it a little difficult to see the road. A bump hit one of the wheels.

“Wow! You got that jack rabbit!” Giggles filled the air.

“Whoa! Whoa!” John pulled the reins to his chest.

“It felt like the wagon took that curve with two wheels!” More giggles.

“Whoa! Whoa!”

“I don’t think the horses hear you!” The giggles turned into deeper laughter, but Stu clung to John like a sand burr.

“I forgot about that mare having a colt in the barn,” John mumbled.

“Huh?”

“Whoa there Nellie!”

A man and a woman in a buggy approached ahead. John urged the team over to the right long enough for the couple to pass on the left. Fear enlarged their eyes.

“Oooohhhh! That was close!” Stu had sobered some.

Stu was going to get another lesson on how to drive a team—soon.

***

In The Lady Fugitive, you’ll see lots more of Stuart’s antics, animals that bring smiles, interesting and fascinating characters, suspense galore, and a romance that has a difficult time blooming. But when it does—wow!

Book summary for The Lady Fugitive

The Lady Fugitive

By Ada Brownell

How does a respected elocutionist become a face on a wanted poster?

Jenny Louise Parks escapes from the coal bin, and her abusive uncle offers a handsome reward for her return. Because he is a judge, he will find her or he won’t inherit her parents’ ranch.

Determination to remain free grips Jenny, especially after she meets William and there’s a hint of romance. But while peddling household goods and showing a Passion of the Christ moving picture, he discovers his father’s brutal murder.

Will Jenny avoid the bounty hunters? Can she forgive the person who turns her in?

2015 Laurel Award runner-up.

#Review The Lady Fugitive. You’ll laugh, bite your nails, wish you had a gun to help  http://ow.ly/QzlIP

DO YOU HEAR GOD TALKING TO YOU?

That still... small... voice!

I have always been a storyteller in one capacity or another, but my writing journey did not begin for God. When I started writing, I didn't even know a market existed for Christian Speculative fiction - so I wrote for the secular market. My books were clean but there was very little of God in them.

I struggled along for over two years - hitting smooth stretches at times, but always coming back to the struggle. And then I started shopping for an agent... and well, you can imagine how that went. 

At the time, I was bothered that no one... absolutely no one... wanted my story. Now, I look back and Thank GOD that was the case. Would my book have been the next big hit? It's possible. But would I be able to live with myself now? Probably not.

Almost a year ago, I was struggling through another story. I was writing for God this time, but I never really felt like that story was what I was supposed to be writing – so it's no surprise every word fought me.

One morning, I was so frustrated, I was ready to throw in the towel and do something else... anything else... when God gave me an answer I never expected. I never heard an audible voice but the message was VERY clear.

I had asked God what He wanted me to write, and a story exploded in my mind; a story I would never have written on my own – a story about an assassin.

Well... once I started, I couldn't stop! The more I wrote, the more I wanted to write. Before I knew it, I had five parts of a story - rough drafts, but still... solid parts of a series, and there was so much information leftover in my mind – about the characters, about their back-stories, about the world in which they live. I have since used that information for marketing - posting character bios on my website, sharing tidbits with my launch team, even writing an extra BONUS scene that I released in the middle of August.

All because I listened to that still... small... voice!

It is amazing how much God can fill us with. . . when we let Him.

“And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” – Habakkuk 2:2 KJV

The above is my life's verse – it's the verse God has given to me, to spur me on when I'm exhausted, to inspire me when I feel empty, to encourage me when I feel hopeless. It's my message, my motto, my hope – that I can do something to help spread the word of God.

Even through a story about an assassin...

Have you listened to that still, small, voice lately? What has God been trying to tell you? Are you following the path He has set out for you? You should...

About the book:

Her mission was simple — get close to the Prince, and kill him. . . 

Kayden entered the palace under a lie, one designed to get her close to the Prince. On the outside, she may look like a princess but beneath the mask, a killer lays in wait — for the perfect moment.

Dvarius was not ready to take the crown, nor was he ready for a wife . . .

But due to his father’s unexpected death and an archaic law — he must find a bride before he is allowed to take his rightful place on the throne.

And the one woman he wants — just might be the one who is there to kill him…

About the Author:

JC Morrows – writer of YA Christian speculative fiction, drinker of coffee and avid reader – is a storyteller in the truest sense of the word.

She finished her first speculative fiction novel purely for the enjoyment of her mother – also known as her biggest fan.

JC has been telling stories in one form or another her entire life and once her mother convinced her to write them down, she couldn’t stop.

She gives God all of the glory for her talent and ability!

The photos are attached.

God Bless!