Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Just a Kiss (A Summer Harbor Novel) by Denise Hunter

 


Just a Kiss 

(A Summer Harbor Novel)

September 6, 2016

Monday, November 11, 2024

Welcome to the Julia's Joy Celebration Tour! #giveaway

 




About the Book

Book: Julia’s Joy

Author: Susan G Mathis

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: October 29, 2024

She came to claim her inheritance, but the mysterious lighthouse keeper makes her question all her plans.

When Julia Collins reluctantly sets foot on Sister Island, compelled by her grandmother’s will, she is intent on claiming her inheritance and moving on. But when she experiences the peaceful, faith-filled island life and connects with the handsome lightkeeper, William, Julia finds herself confronting her open wounds from her parents’ deaths.

William Dodge, lightkeeper of Sister Island, harbors a heart hardened by a past betrayal. Between that and his chronic pleurisy, he wants nothing to do with love. But when Julia arrives on the island bursting with vitality and unconventional notions, William’s world is turned upside down. As she chips away at the walls William has built for himself, he finds his reluctance waning.

But just as love begins to blossom between them, Julia is faced with a tempting proposal from a prominent Brockville family. Will she succumb to societal expectations or choose the richness of her island life and the love of the steadfast lightkeeper?

 Marilyn's thoughts:  Julia’s Joy is a lovely inspirational journey of her life through the rough and calm times, just like the St. Lawrence river surrounding Sister Island.

The Dodge family faith and loving ways gave Julia questions about their faith as her parents views were different. The dimensional dialogues, scenes, and emotions brought this story to life in every way from the dangers a lighthouse keeper could find on the river to the peaceful and beauty of God’s creation surrounding them. Mathis penned a gentle message of faith filled with peace, hope and joy that only God could provide to one’s life.

 

“Faith served as a guiding light, illuminating the path toward understanding, compassion and shared values.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit and Wild Heart Books. I have expressed my own thoughts.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than thirty times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has thirteen in her fiction line including, The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy, Christmas Charity, Katelyn’s Choice, Devyn’s Dilemma, Sara’s Surprise, Reagan’s Reward, Colleen’s Confession, Peyton’s Promise, Rachel’s ReunionMary’s Moment, A Summer at Thousand Island House, and Libby’s Lighthouse. Julia’s Joy is the second in a three-book lighthouse series coming out in 2024. Her book awards include three Illumination Book Awards, four American Fiction Awards, three Indie Excellence Book Awards, five Literary Titan Book Awards, a Golden Scroll Award, and a Selah Award.

Before Susan jumped into the fiction world, she served as the Founding Editor of Thriving Family magazine and the former Editor/Editorial Director of twelve Focus on the Family publications. Her first two published books were nonfiction. Countdown for Couples: Preparing for the Adventure of Marriage with an Indonesian and Spanish version, and The ReMarriage Adventure: Preparing for a Life of Love and Happiness, have helped thousands of couples prepare for marriage. Susan is also the author of two picture books, Lexie’s Adventure in Kenya and Princess Madison’s Rainbow Adventure. Moreover, she is published in various book compilations including five Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Ready to Wed, Supporting Families Through Meaningful Ministry, The Christian Leadership Experience, and Spiritual Mentoring of Teens. Susan has also written several hundred published magazine and newsletter articles.

Susan is president of American Christian Fiction Writers-CS (ACFW), former vice president of Christian Authors Network (CAN), a member of Christian Independent Publishing Association (CIPA), and a regular writer’s contest judge. For over twenty years, Susan has been a speaker at writers’ conferences, teachers’ conventions, writing groups, and other organizational gatherings. Susan makes her home in Colorado Springs and enjoys traveling around the world but returns each summer to the islands she loves.

More from Susan

Why Sister Island in the Thousand Islands in the Gilded Age?

What inspired you to write Julia’s Joy?

I have cruised past Sister Island Lighthouse a dozen times or more, and it’s a beautiful lighthouse. But it’s smack dab in the middle of nowhere in an isolated section the St. Lawrence River. Though it’s along the main shipping channel, I’ve always wondered how someone could live on such an island. So, I started imagining what it would be like for a young woman to be stuck there in the prime of her youth, and Julia’s story was born!

Why do you write about the Thousand Islands?

I grew up just twenty minutes from the Thousand Islands—the setting for all my stories—in upstate New York. Actually, half of the 1,864 islands are in NY and the other half in Ontario, Canada. So, I spent every summer and more exploring the beautiful region. I’ve stayed on several of the islands and camped and rented cottages there. So, after I wrote my debut novel about the largest island, Wolfe Island, I was hooked. There are so many fascinating stories to tell.

Now, I take an annual Thousand Islands Book Tour to the islands where I meet with fans, friends, and family. I’ve stayed in Singer Castle, Casa Blanca, and other places that are the settings of my book. I’ve talked with the owners of the islands, local historians, and researched in the Thousand Islands archives.

All my novels are based on a specific place in the Thousand Islands and are the true stories of the owners of that island. So, my plot is generally true. Then I overlay the storyline of the fictional servants to create the story. This makes my stories a bit more challenging, but I love a good challenge.

Why do you write about the Gilded Age?

The American Gilded Age was a time of rapid technical advances, industrialization, and thousands of new inventions from about 1870-1910. Mark Twain coined the term in his 1873 novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today that satirized the era of social problems that were masked by a layer of thin, gold gilding. It’s a fascinating time in history, especially in the Thousand Islands.

All of my books are set during the Thousand Islands Gilded Age, when the wealthy came and scooped up the islands and built lavish summer homes, mansions, and castles. It was an era of economic growth. Since wages were higher than Europe, massive immigration drew about twenty million to the U.S. shores.

Unfortunately, it was also a time of unequal distribution of wealth where the rich got richer and the poor working class suffered. Many young women worked as servants until they married, and that’s what my stories are about—those nameless, faithful women who cooked and cleaned and served tables for the rich and famous. These “downstairs” women had fascinating stories to tell, and I plan to tell many of them.

During the Gilded Age, America led the world in innovation. A half-million patents were issued for new inventions including hundreds by Thomas Edison, Westinghouse, and others. Thanks to inventions such as delivery of electric power, the world became lighter, safer, more convenient and comfortable, and all around better.

So, this is why I write Thousand Islands Gilded Age stories. To share the rich heritage this era gave us and better understand what it was like.

Blog Stops

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 4

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 5

Texas Book-aholic, November 6

lakesidelivingsite, November 7

Pens Pages & Pulses, November 8

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 10

Lighthouse Academy Blog, November 11 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Allyson Jamison, November 11

Devoted To Hope, November 12

For Him and My Family, November 13

Holly’s Book Corner, November 14

Mary Hake, November 14

Bizwings Book Blog, November 15

Pause for Tales, November 16

Lights in a Dark World, November 17

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Susan is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5486/


Sunday, November 10, 2024

Waiting On God: A #devotional by Sharon Musgrove

 

Waiting On God
A devotional by Sharon Musgrove

 

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand at the mountain before the Lord. The Lord is passing by.’  A very strong wind tore through the mountains and broke apart the stones before the Lord. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. After the fire, there was a sound. Thin. Quiet. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his coat. He went out and stood at the cave’s entrance. A voice came to him and said, ‘Why are you here, Elijah?’” –1 Kings 19:11-13 (CEB)


How do we respond when God does not show up when we expect Him to? 

Do we question Him asking Is He real? Does He care?


Maybe we question ourselves thinking, Did I misunderstand? Am I a fool for waiting on Him? Questions like these can be detrimental to our faith, tearing us down from the inside. But rather than wondering what went wrong between us and God, these are times that build us up in relationship with Him.

Elijah’s experience, written in 1 Kings 19:11-13, of waiting on God has helped me stay steadfast in faith and quiet the internal relationship interrogation. Elijah was told that God was coming and to wait for Him. Elijah waited through all sorts of calamities that any of us would hope to find God in. Yet God did not present as expected. 

This passage reveals that though we go through difficult times, God will show up in His time, not ours. And when He shows up, we will be filled with awe. I had this experience years ago when our family took a week’s vacation to Hawaii. Upon landing, I had this sense that God wanted to say something to me. So, I began each morning reading my Bible and opening my ears to what He wanted to disclose. 

Day one of listening for God to speak went by and yet I heard nothing. Day two...nothing. Days three, four, and five...still no word from God. I began to question both God and me. Looking heavenward I prayed: Hello, up there? God, did You say to listen or am I just making it up? 

By day six I was weary of the waiting. I felt like I had wasted a vacation waiting on God’s arrival. But in that moment, I felt an urgency to take my journal down to the seashore. Yet it was raining outside, so I prayed: Father, I have trusted You all week. I am confused and disappointed that I am not hearing what You have to say to me. Yet as Elijah, I will take my journal to the ocean as soon as the weather clears.

The weather cleared the day we were departing. Remembering my promise to God, I gathered my book and pen and walked over to a rocky inlet near our accommodations then sat in silence.

In that cove there was a sea turtle eating greens growing on the volcanic crag. Waves rolled in and out, tossing that creature wildly to and fro. To my eyes it seemed a dangerous place for an animal to be, the Pacific’s strength working against her. 

In that moment, God visited me. He spoke to my heart about His design on my life, using the unique sea turtle design, the hard shell, sharp beak, and the flipper-like feet, as metaphors for His equipping me to live in rough “surf”. Immediately I was filled with awe and humbled to the core for the personal word spoken over me. The doubts I’d had throughout the week dissipated and my faith grew in our relationship.

Are you struggling in your relationship with God because of hard times? Have your expectations of Him gone unmet? Friend, God is not absent nor unaware of your problems. He will arrive to meet you in your moment at the perfect time, one that grows your faith in Him. 

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for sharing Elijah’s story to help us know You. We ask to be built up in relationship with You that we might be faithful people and an encouragement to others. May we always look on You with awe. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.


Author Bio:

 


Sharon has been writing and teaching biblically based curriculum, Bible studies, and devotionals since 2007.    

 

She has had the unique position of writing curriculum and teaching for two private, Christ-based, residential recovery programs. Both programs primarily served women in the homeless community.

 

Sharon has traveled multiple times to Kenya, serving on medical teams and teaching in the rural Maasai communities. She’s been privileged to speak in Leadership camps intended on encouraging and empowering the impoverished, underprivileged, and often abused young women.

 

Within these ministries, Sharon has witnessed the transformative power of loving words spoken to the broken-hearted. Sharing God’s love and witnessing its transformative power has become her passion.

 

Sharon and her husband, divide their time between Oregon and Hawaii. They have two grown children. 

 

Currently, Sharon is encouraging others via her inspirational blog, but prefers sharing face to face. Additionally, she is working towards a degree in Ministry. 

 

~*~

Connect with Sharon:

Website: Sharonmusgrove.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sharon-Musgrove-Untethered-102208978041060

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonmusgrove_untethered/

 

 



 

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Troubles at Timber Ski Lodge by Max Elliot Anderson

 


Troubles at Timber Ski Lodge

Friday, November 8, 2024

An Interview with Chelsea Kingston Erickson, Editor of Longing for Christmas

 

An Interview with
Chelsea Kingston Erickson,
Editor of Longing for Christmas
An Interview with Chelsea Kingston Erickson,
Editor of Longing for Christmas
 
Do you remember what it felt like to be a little kid at Christmastime? There’s nothing quite like the anticipation of Christmas morning. But the holiday can lose its wonder as we wake up to the many hard things going on in our lives and in the world. We’ve certainly experienced this at some point as adults but think back to the first you felt that loss—the first time Christmas didn’t seem as special. You were probably a teenager. 
 
Longing for Christmas: 25 Promises Fulfilled in Jesus​ is an Advent devotional from Rooted Ministry that helps teenagers recapture the joy and wonder of Christmas by unwrapping God’s promises throughout Scripture. This twenty-five-day devotional looks at promises God made and fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. As readers explore the way God has kept his promises, they will be encouraged that ALL of the longing we feel—for a better world and for things to be made right—will be fully met in Jesus.
 
Q: Growing up, what did you anticipate most about Christmas? At what age did Christmas start to lose its wonder for you? Was there any particular reason why?
 
We were all about Christmas at my house growing up, and my parents and grandparents always made it feel so special—both the spiritual celebration and the more secular elements of the holiday.

I remember the year (in middle school) when my childhood innocence started to melt away a bit. I felt very melancholy as my parents and little sister took out the Christmas decorations over Thanksgiving weekend. Instead of joining in with them, I quietly went up to my room and started packing away my American Girl Dolls—artifacts of the many happy Christmases of my childhood. Christmas felt different to me that year as I grappled with growing up. I knew I should be joyful thinking about Jesus’ coming, but I couldn’t get there in my mind and heart.
 
I think what I needed in that moment was a deeper appreciation of the Incarnation and the promise of Jesus’ return. I didn’t grow up in a liturgical church, so we didn’t do much with Advent. In hindsight, I think I would have appreciated reading the daily Advent Scriptures or a devotional like this one and anticipating Christmas in a more grown-up way.
 
Q: In your experience of working in youth ministry and with Rooted, why do teens need their own Christmas devotional?
 
One of the questions the Rooted team receives regularly from parents, grandparents, and youth ministers is What devotional can I give to my daughter/son/student? We are excited to work with publishers like New Growth Press to provide more answers to this question!
 
Christmas represents an important moment for families, both spiritually and in cultural terms. As church leaders, we often see families we haven’t interacted with much all year suddenly turn up for corporate worship in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Just as we might try to pull these families in close by having them do a reading or participate in a special program, a Christmas devotional can speak into a brief moment when we have teenagers’ attention. We believe this book will be something that’s easy to hand to a teenager, regardless of where they may be spiritually. We pray the reflections will capture their interest and their hearts, leading them to trust in Jesus!
 
Q: Each devotion is based on a different longing. What are some of things that teens are longing for? What is the ultimate thing we are all longing for?
 
Teenagers today are saturated with demands on their time and attention. Many of them feel a deep longing to measure up in some way—whether academically, athletically, artistically, or even relationally. They are looking for identity and belonging, just as adults are. Because this generation lives in the information age, they’re also far more in touch with the troubling realities of our world than many adults were at their age. They worry about school shootings, the plight of refugees, international policy, their own future incomes, and more. At the root of all these concerns is a longing for security and hope, which of course we know God provides in sending his Son to redeem our sin-torn world. The gospel meets our deepest longings by reminding us that we can neither rescue ourselves nor solve the world’s problems in our own strength—but there is One who can, and he invites us to rest in him.
 
Q: Why do teenagers need to study the Old Testament at Christmas of all times?
 
The Old Testament can feel intimidating for newer readers of the Bible to tackle on their own, and even for parents and youth ministers to teach. But without it, we’ll always struggle to understand and apply the New Testament. The Bible makes more sense to adults and to teenagers when we read it as a single story with Jesus at the center. That’s what we hope to do with this devotional—to take some tricky passages of the Old Testament (namely, the messianic prophecies) and to show how God fulfills all he promises in Christ.
 
As much as the Old Testament—and the prophets in particular—can feel intimidating, I have also experienced that it can be deeply attractive to teenagers. It’s earthy and real; it doesn’t mince words about the world’s brokenness on account of human sin. Ironically, Christmastime tends to highlight some of the sad and broken things in all of our lives (grief, loss, difficult family relationships, etc.). So we hope that teenagers will feel especially open to hearing how the lives and struggles of God’s people in ancient Israel overlap with their own struggles against sin today. Just as they waited for a Savior then, we long for him to return to our world today.
Q: How does this devotional help teenagers and adults make sense of the storyline of Scripture?
 
With each passage, we’ve tried to offer some teaching that explains how the passage would have sounded to its original hearers, and then to make the turn toward reading with the lens of knowing Christ. We also offer historical details that help readers to put each passage in its context. For example, who was king at the time of each of the prophets, and what else was happening in Israel-Judah? 
 
We pray these different elements will build toward biblical literacy. We want teenagers to begin to understand the progression from God’s promise of a rescuer in the Garden of Eden all the way through the prophets following Israel’s exile.
 
Q: What are the elements of each day’s reading that connect the Old Testament promises to the teens’ lives and their experiences?
 
Each reading opens with a Scripture verse or two, and then a narrative or illustration that will help teenagers connect to the day’s passage, and even to the author of each entry. The authors are all youth ministers and parents who are skilled at teaching the Bible to teenagers. Our goal is to take readers seriously, but also to write colloquially. We want teenagers to feel they’re chatting with a youth leader over coffee or pizza.
 
In addition to teaching the passage itself, we’ve included an explanation and application of the gospel in each day’s reading. We want there to be no mistake that God has fulfilled his promises in Christ, and that Jesus will return to fully inaugurate God’s kingdom. We close each day with a prayer and three questions for reflection. These would be great for families or small groups to discuss together.
 
Q: The Christmas season is known as a hectic time of year, and teenagers are involved with lots of activities in and out of school. How long will it take them to read each day’s devotional?
 
The entries are designed to take about five minutes to read. And the illustrations are vivid and relatable, which we hope will incentivize teenagers to pick up the book throughout the month of December!
 
Q: Do you have any suggestions for encouraging teens to be intentional about reading the devotional each day?
 
Teenagers can absolutely read this book on their own, but I’d encourage them to read it “with” a friend, or  their family or small group. Each person could read on his or her own time, and then have a  conversation (at the dinner table) or even a text check-in each day. This kind of group effort provides accountability. Even more than that, we know that teenagers learn best when they engage in active forms of learning, like discussion, journaling, or even teaching others.
 
A youth minister could also choose some entries and have students read one aloud together each time the group meets in December.
 
Q: What are a few of the biggest issues and struggles that teenagers in 2024 face that may or may not be unique to the time we live?
 
While it’s true that spiritually speaking, there is nothing new under the sun, we know that our modern world is rapidly changing, bringing with it a whole host of complex issues for teenagers. Young people today are facing an epidemic of loneliness and record highs of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Generation Z is the first fully digitally native generation, and they have borne the harmful effects of the social media experiment (as will Generation Alpha if we don’t course-correct soon). Teenagers not only live much of their lives online for all to see, but they also witness so many news events from around the world in real time.
 
Recent census data indicates that the number of single-parent homes is also at an all-time high. And teenagers face a lot of income insecurity (as Jean Twenge coined the term in her book iGen) about how they will afford things like college tuition or housing in their adult lives.
 
The gospel gives us incredible hope to share with the young people in our lives and in the world. I believe this generation is hungry for meaningful relationships and for the truth of God’s Word—two things the Church can offer aplenty if we step into the fray with Christlike love.
 
Q: Who are some of the contributors to Longing for Christmas?
 
The contributors are all writers for the Rooted blog, and all are gifted at communicating with teenagers. Cameron Cole, Anna Meade Harris, Kevin Yi, Liz Edrington, and Ashley Kim are just a few of the writers you’ll get to know throughout the book.
 
Q: Please walk us through one of your two submissions to the book.
 
In Day 12 on Isaiah 9:6-7, I write about the sense I had as a teenager that I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. I was very burdened by trying to prove my worth to others. I think today’s teenagers relate to this struggle immensely, for all the reasons discussed above.
 
The prophet Isaiah speaks to God’s people at a time when they were weighed down by their sin and trying to fix themselves. Through Isaiah, God gives the people a twofold message—exile is coming (chapters 7 and 8), but take heart, because so is God’s promised Messiah! For teenagers today, this message reminds us that Jesus is the rescuer we need, “and the government will be on his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6). The weight of the world—all our sin, the sin of others, and the troubles that confront us—rests on Jesus’ shoulders. If we belong to God through Christ, we no longer have to prove or save ourselves because Jesus has done all that is needed on our behalf.
 
Q: Longing for Christmas is not the only new book Rooted Ministry is releasing this fall. Can you tell us a little bit about the other new resource that is available?
 
We are thrilled to be releasing The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School: Asian American Edition (NGP, 2024), edited by Kevin Yi and with a foreword by Cameron Cole. This book follows the format of Rooted’s earlier title The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School—but it is the first of its kind in terms of representing the unique challenges and opportunities for Asian American teenagers to trust in the work of Christ. Twelve adults from various backgrounds share tenderly from their experiences growing up as Asian Americans—and how knowing Jesus then as they do now would have made all the difference.
 
As a former youth minister myself, I wish I’d been able to learn from a book like this when I was caring for teenagers. We pray this resource will richly bless Asian American teenagers and adults—and the youth minister or parent who cares for at least one Asian American teenager.
 
Q: Could you tell us a little more about Rooted’s mission and vision? What are some of the ways parents and youth ministers can access Rooted’s resources? 
 
The work of Rooted to advance gospel-centered youth ministry began in 2010 as a grassroots effort to address the lack of theological content in youth ministry that researchers like Christian Smith had observed. Rooted’s mission is to equip and empower churches and parents to faithfully disciple students toward life-long faith in Jesus Christ. Our vision is to transform youth ministry so that every student receives grace-filled, gospel-centered and Bible-saturated discipleship in the church and at home.
 
We equip the adults who love teenagers—their parents and youth ministers—through our articles, family of podcasts, annual conference, mentorship program, curriculum, family ministry courses, webinars, books, and more. All of these resources are accessible on the Rooted Ministry website. By God’s grace, we want the normative experience of every teenager to be one of hearing the gospel faithfully articulated in their churches and homes. To that end, we are deeply grateful to partner with New Growth Press on resources like this one.

Just a Kiss (A Summer Harbor Novel) by Denise Hunter

  Just a Kiss  (A Summer Harbor Novel) September 6, 2016 by  Denise Hunter   (Author) Riley Callahan has plans to finally reveal his secret ...