CAN WE CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR? Guest Lillian Duncan, and a giveaway news

Where Do I Start?

By Lillian Duncan

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

As a Christian, I’m always looking to improve my behavior with the goal to become more Jesus in my attitudes and my actions. Sometimes it can be almost overwhelming. It can seem like an impossible task, but it’s not.

Still you might be asking yourself the above question, where do I start? As a new Christian Nikki Kent, the main character in my latest novel, GAME ON, has a unique strategy.

She looked at the yellow sticky note attached to her computer monitor. FORGIVENESS was written in huge capital letters. It was her God word of the month. She’d made a commitment to not only study the fruits of the Spirit, but to cultivate them in her everyday life. Her Christian mentor had assured her she could do it. That nothing was too difficult when one put God in control of one’s life. Her fingernails tapped on her desk. Jesus said to forgive our enemies. 

Lucas might not be her enemy, but he was close. 

And though forgiveness isn’t specifically mentioned in Galatians 5:22, being able to forgive others is crucial to our own spiritual walk if we want to mature. If we aren’t able to forgive, then the other listed fruits are going to have difficulty taking root in our life.

Without forgiveness, it’s hard to show love to others.

Without forgiveness, there’s no peace and joy only hurt and anger.

        Without forgiveness, we won’t find the patience (forbearance) we need in our daily life.

Without forgiveness, kindness, goodness, and gentleness will be in short supply.

Without forgiveness, we’ll be too busy being angry to be faithful in our responsibilities.

And finally being able to forgive is the ultimate example of self-control.

So as you can see though forgiveness isn’t a fruit of the spirit, it certainly is the fertilizer that will help with the growth of the fruits of the spirit. And so Nikki struggles with forgiveness as the story moves forward.

First it’s about her forgiving others of the wrongs done to her or so she feels, but eventually it becomes about her forgiving herself for her own mistakes.

Life can be like that as well.

Sometimes we think all our problems are someone else’s faults but the more we mature spiritually we see that our own actions might have been the cause of our problems or at the very least contributed to them.

And that’s when we have to learn how to forgive ourselves as well as others. It’s important to remember God’s already forgiven us so we need to do the same.

My publisher outdid herself with the book trailer for my newest book, GAME ON. Check it out at: https://youtu.be/t6MK2UGB1P0. 

AMAZON LINK

PELICAN BOOKS LINK

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate the release of GAME ON, I’m giving away a virtual basket of goodies at www.lillian-duncan.com including Amazon gift cards. For all the details go to my blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes. Simply leave a comment on the blog post GAME ON at www.lillian-duncan.com and you’ll be entered.

BLURB for GAME ON

Politics is no game when a stalker nears and there’s nowhere to hide.

A run for the senate is just a step on the road to the White House for Congressman Lucas McMann. But his public profile has put him in the middle of a crazed gunman’s twisted game of stalking. If he wants to win the election and reclaim his life, he’ll need the help of the one person who’d rather leave their past behind them.

Private Investigator Nikki Kent knows how to dig up secrets and discover those who exist in the shadows. She should. She’s good at hiding secrets of her own. Can she risk her own discovery for someone so desperate for her help? For the first man who broke her heart?

With new-found faith, she’ll help Lucas search for the answers. But with the truth comes a danger they must face together.

Check out the book trailer video for GAME ON at  https://youtu.be/t6MK2UGB1P0

BIO:

Lillian Duncan…Stories of faith mingled… with murder & mayhem.

Lillian is a multi-published author who lives in Ohio Amish country with her husband. After more than 30 years working as a speech pathologist for children, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense and mystery with a touch of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us. To learn more about Lillian, you may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.