Ada Brownell's Blog, page 14

IS THERE EVIDENCE FOR THE MIRACULOUS?

A TRAIL OF WITNESSES
By Ada Nicholson Brownell
If you go to church or hang around a courtroom, you’ll hear testimonies. In court, a crime often has been committed and eyewitnesses are valuable in determining exactly what happened. Christian testimony is similar but they’re about how intervened. Testimonies about God are throughout the Old Testament, and here’s some from the New.
From Luke: “Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you” (Luke 1:2-3 NLT).
Peter:
2 Peter 1:16 NKJ “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."
John:
1 John 1: 3 “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
I’ve heard amazing Christian testimonies through my life. As a writer some of these caught my attention and I wrote about them. But I was a kid when one of my friends was diagnosed with leukemia and my brother in law told me she wasn’t expected to live. Fear shivered down my bones at the diagnosis.
But then only a few weeks later I heard the good news. Velda Jean was in the bedroom praying with her grandfather when they came out and her mother instantly believed new blood now flowed through her daughter. Tests confirmed Velda no longer had leukemia. She came to our church years later and gave her testimony when I was the youth president.
Testimonies like this is why I wrote the new book, What Prayer Can Do. Fifty-five of my articles and interview published in The Pentecostal Evangel over the years are reprinted in the book.
What Prayer Can Do” has five sections of testimonies that testify of of God intervention.
Part One: Prayer Results in Miracles
Part Two: Prayer Brings People to God
Part Three: Prayer Helps with Victorious Living
Part Four: Prayer Changes Marriages; Families
Part Five: Prayer Makes an Eternal Difference


A few samples of chapter titles: “The Meanest Man in Town,” “The Woman Who Hated God,” “Crazy Charlie,” “God Instantly Restored My Father’s Sight,” “God Sent Carl A Miracle.”
“The Meanest Man in Town” became a fiery evangelist. He was the father of our pastor in Lakewood, Colo., Hubert Surratt. “The Woman Who Hated God” found salvation after knowing my friend, Joy Wood, in Grand Junction. I went to church with Lorraine Golightly in Arvada, Colo. Her father was instantly healed of blindness. When he was in high school, Carl Johnson was a student in my high school Sunday school class at First Assembly in Pueblo, Colo. Carl recovered from a serious head injury after a motorcycle accident. Doctors believed he would never work again but Carl was back within weeks. After he gave his life to the Lord, the man formerly dubbed “Crazy Charlie” played the bass for a singing group I was a part of, The Damascus Singers, part of Abundant Life Christian Center in Arvada.
The idea to write about what prayer can do came to me when I was asked to speak about prayer at a youth meeting. When I started studying it dawned on me all those young people already knew how to pray. So I began asking folks in the church about the greatest answer to prayer they ever had. I heard amazing true stories from people I knew well. I presented those to the youth and then made an article out of the testimonies, and that article is in the book under the title, “What Prayer Can Do.”
I discovered people everywhere have amazing testimonies about what God has done in answer to prayer.

DOES TRUTH MATTER?

Standing For Truth

By Tamera Lynn Kraft
One thing I loved about researching my new historical novel, Red Sky Over America, was learning more about abolitionists before the Civil War. These brave men and women stood for truth when it went against the culture of their time. America was an abolitionist who attended college in Ohio. She choose to stand for truth by traveling to Kentucky to confront her father about slavery.

Ohio had the largest Underground Railroad of any state in the Union. It is believed that every county in Ohio had a route. Many slaves would escape over the Ohio River and through Ohio on their way to Canada. This was a dangerous undertaking because, even though Ohio was a free state, the Fugitive Slave Law made it so anyone helping escaped slaves could be fined and jailed.
The strong stand these abolitionists took then remind us today to stand for truth no matter what the politically correct culture says. The Word of God is the only standard for truth.
We are not the first generation to buck our culture, nor are the abolitionists of the early 1800s. In the early days of the church, Peter and John were brought before the religious leaders of their time and were told to stop preaching the Gospel. This was their response.
"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men.'"
May we have the courage of Christians who have gone before us and always speak God's truth.
Red Sky Over America
Ladies of Oberlin, Book 1
By Tamera Lynn Kraft
In 1857, America, the daughter of a slave owner, is an abolitionist and a student at Oberlin College, a school known for its radical ideas. America goes home to Kentucky during school break to confront her father about freeing his slaves.
America's classmate, William, goes to Kentucky to preach abolition to churches that condone slavery. America and William find themselves in the center of the approaching storm sweeping the nation and may not make it home to Ohio or live through the struggle.
"You can purchase Red Sky Over America at these online sites:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079GQQ9KY/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B079GQQ9KY&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-sky-over-america-tamera-lynn-kraft/1127910586;jsessionid=E0109718A797B90BAA4E67707F16623E.prodny_store01-atgap04?ean=2940155392231&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004
Bio: 
Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures. She loves to write historical fiction set in the United States because there are so many stories in American history. Tamera has been a children’s pastor for over 20 years. She is the leader of a ministry called Revival Fire for Kids where she mentors other children’s leaders, teaches workshops, and is a children’s ministry consultant and children’s evangelist and has written children’s church curriculum. She is a recipient of the 2007 National Children’s Leaders Association Shepherd’s Cup for lifetime achievement in children’s ministry. You can contact Tamera online at these sites. Website: http://tameralynnkraft.net Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cdybpb Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7334438.Tamera_Lynn_Kraft Word Sharpeners Blog: http://tameralynnkraft.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/tameralynnkraft Twitter: http://twitter.com/tamerakraft  

DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED

By Ada Nicholson Brownell
“Hey everybody! O’Dell just caught sight of a mountain lion not too far away. We need to get back!”
A big group of our extended family hiked on Glade Park, where my sister, Clara, had a second home. The Colorado National Monument towered in the cavernous valley floor nearby. My brother Joe and I had wandered off on our own, recalling our childhood of hunting and finding arrowheads not far away from the farm where we grew up.
The glade on top of the mountain where we hiked now is surrounded by forest, sagebrush, and farm land. It’s beautiful in itself, but the deep rusty red monuments and other amazing formations below always sparked greater awe from me. The view of the Grand Valley of Colorado, home to Grand Junction, Fruita, Clifton, Palisade and smaller communities, could be seen from where we stood. Across the valley the barren book cliff mountains  reached for the clouds to the north and the blue-green flat-topped Grand Mesa huddled another direction. The red rocky mountains ringed around behind us and almost touched the book cliffs in the west.
But now our stimulating hike would be called to a halt by a mountain lion?
“The house is that way,” Joe said.
All my life I’d depended on my older siblings to know my directions, but I am grown up now and I felt Joe was wrong. In my mind it was off to the right, and I scoured the vegetation behind us with my eyes, I was in a hurry and wanted to be sure we could get back to safety.
I knew, though, my directions had been mixed up since we moved away from the Grand Valley. One place we lived the sun came up in the north, according to my senses, even though I knew it came up in the east.
I used to not admit I had such a problem with directions, but my husband couldn’t miss it and my children got a big laugh when we’d go to the mall and I’d want to return to the car out the wrong door. If I did that when I was alone, I’d wonder what happened to my vehicle.
As a reporter I had to go everywhere in our town to write news and features and I got lost several times in the Belmont subdivision because all the streets curve around a hill and make no sense at all. Once I even got lost in a large hotel. I took a wrong turn and couldn’t find my way back to a convention hall until I finally came upon someone who could guide me.
“I think we should going that way,” I occasionally tell my husband when we travel, make a stop and come back to the highway. Most of the time if I were driving we’d start out the opposite direction from where we should be going.
One day my sister who had a business where she had to get bids from the owner told me every time she went into a maze of offices she had to be led out.
“It’s a birth defect!” I cried.
I discovered later some of my other siblings had trouble with directions now and then, while my husband was usually right on.
That day trying to avoid the lion, for once I was correct in my guess where Clara’s mountain home sat. After a little while going that way I saw it in the distance, waved to Joe, and we happily dashed for it.
I’ve discovered if I want to end up in the right place, I need to keep the correct address in mind. I often  need a map, and I need to watch where I’m going and where I’ve been.
I think often of the Israelites who often forsook the way God want them to go and they lived according to what was right in their own minds and became lost spiritually. In addition they wandered in the desert 40 years.
Being directionally challenged makes me want to know where I’m going spiritually, and not depend on what I think is right.  I need to study the Bible instead of guessing about the way to heaven. The Bible has become my map. But the map isn’t enough. I need to follow the directions there. Keeping the goal in mind, I also connect with the Guide, the Holy Spirit, .”I’m lost!” a woman screamed at the top of her lungs one time in church when I was a child. I’ve never forgotten that. But I also remember after she connected with Jesus she was filled with joy and laughter. The lost was found!
Praise the Lord Jesus found me and I now know the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Even if Satan pursues me like a roaring lion, I’m safe. Now I know where I’m going.

John 6:33 will lead

A TRAIN RIDE TO HEARTBREAK by Donna Schlachter

The Story Behind the Story . . .  A Train Ride to Heartbreak By Donna Schlachter





The idea for this story came from a love of a movie and a friend with a great story to share.


The movie was “The Fugitive”, both the original series pilot and the more recent remake. I loved the idea of a train ride leading to a second chance.


My friend had recently taken a train ride from Denver to San Francisco, and she shared several delightful stories. I wondered if a train ride might be like a cruise in that it would provide an insulated environment where the travelers might do something they’d never done before. If so, this was perfect fodder for a romance, much like the old TV show, “The Love Boat”.


And then I saw “Murder on the Orient Express”, and as a lover of anything Agatha Christie, decided to incorporate a few of the details in my story.


The result? A chance meeting, two characters with integrity, and a way for God to reach both of them.






1895, Train to California
John Stewart needs a wife. Mary Johannson needs a home. On her way west, Mary falls in love with another. Now both must choose between commitment and true love.


October 1895
Mary Johannsonhas scars on her body that can’t compare with the scars on her heart. She is alone in the world, with no family, no prospects, and no home.


John Stewart is at his wit’s end. His wife of three years died in childbirth, leaving him with a toddler and an infant, both girls. Theirs was the love of fairy tales, and while he has no illusions about finding another like her, his children need a mother.


Though separated by thousands of miles, they commit to a mail-order marriage. But on their journey to Heartbreak, they meet another and realize the life they’d planned would be a lie. Can they find their way back from the precipice and into the love of God and each other, or are they destined to keep their word and deny their heart?


Buy link: http://amzn.to/2Cur1I4


Excerpt:


Groverton, Pennsylvania
September 1895


Chapter 1


Mary Johannson plunged reddened hands into the dishwater and scrubbed at a crusty spot on the chipped china plate.


In the yard, the vicar, shoulders slumped from the cares of his congregation, held a small child in his arms while two toddlers clutched his pants leg. And Matron Dominus, the imposing head of the Meadowvale Orphan’s Home, towered over the small group huddled before her.


Mary checked the plate. Satisfied it would pass muster, she dipped it into the rinse bucket and set the piece into the dish rack to air dry. Next she set a burnt oatmeal pot into the water to soak while she dried her hands on her apron and surveyed the scene outside.


The vicar nodded and turned to walk the gravel path he’d traversed just minutes before, the wee ones in tow as he hoisted the child to his other hip for the mile-long trip back. No doubt he was waiting for space to open in the orphanage.


Her space.


Mary would turn eighteen in two months. And despite her desire to escape the confines of the orphanage, she wasn’t excited about making her own way in the world. The last girl who aged out—as the other orphans called the act of turning eighteen—now worked at the saloon.


And everybody knew what kind of girls worked there.


Mary swiped at the scarred worktable set in the middle of the kitchen floor, her washrag sweeping crumbs into her hand. She still needed to finish the dishes and report to Matron


Dominus for her next order for the day.


By the time she returned to the sink, the vicar and his charges were out of sight.


But Matron Dominus stood outside the tiny window staring in at her.


Checking up on her, no doubt. Making certain she wasn’t lollygagging. An activity all of the residents indulged in. According to Matron.


Mary hurried through the rest of the washing up. She swept the floor, put a pot of beans on to soak for supper, and shooed the cat out from under the stove. After checking the dampers to make certain the range wouldn’t needlessly heat the kitchen—another of Matron’s accusations—she hung her apron on a nail beside the back door.


Stepping out into the fresh air, Mary drew a deep breath and leaned against the clapboard siding.


Perhaps she could work at the seamstress shop. She was a fair hand with a needle and thread. Or maybe the general store.


“Mary Johannson.”


The screech like a rooster with its tail caught in a gate startled her, and she straightened. But in her haste, she overbalanced and stepped forward to catch herself, hooking her toe in the hem of her dress, which she’d just let down last week to a more respectable length.


The sound of rending cloth filled her ears as the ground slammed toward her. She got her hands out in front of her just in time to prevent mashing her nose into the soil. The toes of Matron Dominus’s boots filled her vision.


Mary pushed herself to her feet, wincing at an ache in her lower back not there a moment before. Tears blurred her vision when she checked her dress—she had a three-inch rip just above the hem.


“Are you lollygagging about? Sunbathing? Do you think you’re on the Riviera?”


Despite her imposing height and girth, the matron’s voice—particularly when she was irked—resembled the irksome peacock Mary had once seen in the zoo in Philadelphia. Why God would create such a beautiful bird with such a nasty voice was beyond her.


But if what Matron said was true, He’d created Mary, too, only to have her burned by the flames that killed the rest of her family. Angry red scars ran from her forearms to halfway up her neck, and a collar of white tissue, the result of an inept doctor sewing her back together again, ringed her neck and inched toward her ears.


No, if God really loved her, He wouldn’t have allowed that to happen.


About Donna:
Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick, her first-line editor and biggest fan. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. She is a hybrid author who has published a number of books under her pen name and under her own name. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters In Crime; facilitates a local critique group, and teaches writing classes and courses. Donna is also a ghostwriter and editor of fiction and non-fiction, and judges in a number of writing contests. She loves history and research, and travels extensively for both. Donna is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.




www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com
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Why doctors began prescribing more opiods

By Ada Brownell
Who knew wild daring skid-row types wouldn’t be the only ones dying from drug overdoses? Now even professionals, ordinary people and senior citizens are joining the crowd.
The United States is experiencing an epidemic of drug overdose deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control, since 2000 the rate of deaths from drug overdoses has increased 137%, including a 200% increase in the rate of overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers and heroin. The NY Times reported 64,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016. CDC says at least 20,000 died from fentanyl, which is synthetic opiods.
I’ve seen what heroin can do. In hopes of helping others, a young woman’s mother called the newspaper where I worked as a reporter and wanted me to write about what happens too often in our nation when an addict dies.
“She was having seizures when we brought her here,” her mother said.
A photographer and I watched the young woman die. She never regained consciousness. She shouldn’t have died so young.
Heroin is called the “recreational” drug. First-time users seek the “high.” They also abuse the drug for the fake well-being they experience. Experts say heroin use often can be traced to a chaotic home, an undiagnosed mental disorder, biological conditions such as lack of neurotransmitter endorphins in the brain, or if there is an addicted family member.
Others ripe for heroin addiction are ravaged by fear, emptiness, guilt, loneliness, relationship problems, or hurts because of abuse or a broken home. The person seeks peace but can’t find it.The rise in opiod and other drug use began to escalate with the decline of Christianity in America.Born-again Christians experience what Peter called "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8), and Jesus called it "rivers of living water" (John 7:38). Before he ascended, Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you" (John 14:27). They also experience amazing peace. Jesus told his disciples before He went into heaven, "Peace I leave with you" (John 14:27).The drug addict thinks getting high is the only way to have fun or have peace. Liquor is imbibed for some of the same reasons. During my years in the newsroom where I worked as a journalist one reporter was shocked I’d never had a alcoholic drink."How did you have any fun?" he asked."I've had lots of fun in my life," I told him, "and the wonderful thing is I knew I had it!" 
Opiods sometimes are abused for much the same reasons, but thousands become addicted because they need pain relief.
I took synthetic morphine after I had knee replacements. My husband  took a similar pain substance. Yet, we were in a hurry to get off the drugs. We stopped them after a few weeks.
Doctors told me not to worry about addiction unless I had something else going on in my life besides pain. He was talking about emotional pain.
I’ve had back problems and recently my doctor was shocked to discover what I use: Horse linament, Absorbine. I buy it at a Farm  & Ranch supply and I use it frequently.
Increased use of narcotics began when doctors discovered pain control assists with the healing process so they began to be more liberal with prescribing narcotics.
 The old notion that pain is somehow "good" for you has been put to rest for good, say health officials. They are increasingly recognizing that control of pain leads to more rapid recovery for hospitalized patients, and can even cut costs.
While pain can function as the body's alarm that something is wrong, it can also be counterproductive, says Dr. Lynn Webster, who directs the Lifetree Clinical Research and Pain Clinic in Salt Lake City.
"Most of us just want to lie there, because if we move after an operation or major trauma, it hurts.
But when patients just lie there, Dr. Webster says they're putting themselves at risk. "Patients who have good post-op pain control are able to breathe better," says Webster. Deep breaths can prevent the development of pneumonia, which can lead to sepsis and, in severe cases, require that patients be put on a ventilator. If patients can get up and walk fairly quickly after a procedure, then they also decrease their risk of blood clots in the legs which, in some cases, can be fatal.
We know Controlling Pain Helps Healing
Controlling acute pain in the hospital setting can also decrease a patient's risk of developing chronic pain later on. When people begin to feel pain, Webster says the body begins to set up an inflammatory process in the central nervous system that's "hard to quiet down." For some people, that inflammation begins to feed on itself and, once discharged from the hospital, patients may go on to experience pain for months, even years afterward.
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, set new standards for how pain should be treated. It recommended that health providers routinely ask patients about the intensity of their pain — and then do something about it.
In fact, measuring pain has been coined the "fifth" vital sign, along with blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and respiration.
I learned about the amazing benefits that come from stopping pain 20 years ago from an anesthesiologist. His team at Parkview Episcopal Hospital in Pueblo, CO saw amazing results when anesthesiologists became involved in pain control, and not just putting people to sleep.
In most hospitals nationwide today, there is a 1 to 10 scale for patients to rate their pain. Hospitals are paying attention to pain management today, says Dr. Linda Hertzberg, an anesthesiologist at St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, Calif., and president of the California Society of Anesthesiologists.
Improvements In Treatment
It's nearly impossible to experience absolutely no pain after surgery or a procedure, says Hertzberg. And doctors do want patients to be conscious. Hertzberg says that when patients define their level of pain, it helps doctors target their treatment.
Methods for treating pain have advanced dramatically, starting with the discovery in the mid-1980s that medication could be delivered directly into the spinal cord and prevent the brain from receiving information about pain, or even the surgery or procedure being performed — the medication literally stops the pain signals in their path.
Herzberg mentioned peripheral nerve blocks. He said you can numb up someone's arm or shoulder, or numb up their leg for a period of up to 24 hours. 
I've met a  few people who have implanted pain control pumps.
But pain control still relies largely on pills and now too many people are hooked on opioids. I read where one man became addicted because his ObamaCare health plan cut services in his area and he could no longer afford needed surgery and had to get by on pain pills.
Why do so many die? Often overdose is accidental, but some people want more of their drug, and too much can kill.
What happens in the body with an overdose of heroin or another opioid?
Why do they die? Dr. Karen Drexler, associate professor at Emory University psychiatry department, in a CNN report said, “Overdose can cause blood pressure to dip, resulting in heart failure.”
But also the drug affects the way the heart pumps blood and many addicts forget to breathe because the respiratory system shuts down.I've seen people become addicted to pain killers. It seems the ones most apt to addiction are those who have emotional pain, as well as physical pain.On the surface, opioid pain relievers don’t seem near as harmful as heroin. Heroin is a powerful semi-synthetic opiate derived from morphine and is most often used as a recreational drug. Heroin delivers an intense “rush” and is more powerful than most opioid analgesics because it crosses the blood-brain barrier more rapidly.
A physician told me years ago that every drug we take into our bodies has a side effect—even aspirin. We have to decide if the reason we need the drug outweighs the side effects. Then take the drug according to the doctor’s instructions, paying strict attention to the amount and frequency.
Thank God for modern medicine and the knowledge he gave humankind so we discovered pain relief. But God does give us the knowledge that such drugs need to be controlled and to resist addiction.
If you need a miracle, read Ada Brownell's new book, What Prayer Can Do. There are true stories of deliverance from drugs and alcohol.
WHAT PRAYER CAN DO A Collection of true stories by Ada Brownell Published by The Pentecostal EvangelBy Ada BrownellEnnis L. Surratt clutched the cool metal handle of his .45 pistol. Through the weeds he could see three men coming. He knew they would come near where he crouched because they would be coming after the barrel of whiskey that had disappeared from his still the night before.When the men were only a few feet from the barrel, Ennis stepped out in front of the man who seemed to lead the way.“You’re not taking this barrel,” Ennis growled, keeping his right hand next to the gun. “You stole it last night, and we’re going to settle it right here.”He drew his gun and aimed it at the thief. “Shoot!” the thief yelled as he whirled with his double-barreled shotgun. An explosive charge sounded from the shotgun and Ennis fell to the ground. Pain surged through his neck and chest, and hot blood trickled from the wounds, but Ennis raised up on one knee and fired the pistol.With a cry of anguish, the thief dropped the shotgun and fell into the weeds.Ennis fell back again, and both men cursed and writhed with pain until they were taken to town for treatment. Ennis was filled with buckshot but not hurt seriously. The other fellow, however, was in serious condition.Events like this were why the bootlegger became known as “the meanest man in town” and that caught the attention of two lady evangelist holding a tent revival in that town. The women decided if the meanest man in two would be changed by the power of God, there would be revival.How God reached down and Ennis upside the head. He changed so much he became a fiery gospel preacher that won not only many others to God, but his own children, who became ministers of the gospel as well. One of his sons pastored the author’s church several years.Read the story of Ennis Surratt and many others in What Prayer Can Do, on sale now at http://ow.ly/9CEI30h4IdL

Why Would God Answer My Prayers?

PRAYERS REWARDED
By Ada Nicholson Brownell


What makes you feel God will answer your prayer? Who do you think you are?
These thoughts came recently as I prayed specifically for something I urgently needed. Immediately I was humbled. I knew I wasn’t worthy of the wonderful things God already had given me, let alone more. A great heaviness covered me.
Only a few days later I noticed the latter part of a familiar Scripture verse. Formerly I’d always paid most attention to the first part: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is …” But now the rest of the verse caught my attention: “…and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Those words came alive to me that day. I realized when we pray, believing God for the answer, we are pleasing Him—not imposing on Him! To please God we must believe that He will reward all who diligently seek Him, and we do that when we pray in faith.
Because I am from a family that believes in prayer, I saw the rewards of diligent prayer early in life. We saw one relative after another surrender his life to God in answer to prayer.
We also saw physical healings. Years ago my mother had a growth come on her eye, and it rapidly increased in size. Two of my aunts, Marge Weekley and Dorothy Howard, fasted and prayed 3 days. At the end of the week the growth fell off.
My mom’s brother, Willie Shepherd, became blind after his one good eye hemorrhaged following cataract surgery. He went to one of the best eye doctors in Colorado and was told nothing could be done for him.
“You might try prayer,” his hometown doctor finally told Willie’s wife.
When we went to see Uncle Willie, he chatted with us awhile and in the course of the conversation he wanted to show us something someone had given him. He felt around on the table in front of him, then in exasperation cried, “I can’t see!”
We sent word to the family to pray. The progress seemed slow, but one day Uncle Willie called me on the phone. The doctor had just taken the bandages off and Willie was crying.
“I can see my coffee cup,” he choked out.
Only a few months later his vision was completely restored, and he got his driver’s license back.
Prayer has brought me through many crises. My sister Erma Sparks found her daughter Pam had numerous lumps under her arms. Doctors said the lumps could indicate any one of several diseases, most of them fatal.
But God answer prayer, and no serious trouble developed.
My sister, Joan, had a large mole removed from her body which was identified as being a malignancy of the worst kind. Surgeons expected the cancer to spread and take her life.
When it was diagnosed, Joan had three daughters, one kindergarten age. “How can die and leave my girls?” she cried.
She had radical surgery, and her legs and other parts of her body constantly ached. She was consumed by fear, until one day she reached out to God and believed He was healing her. The cancer never returned, and she lived fifty-some years after that.
The prayer of faith still raises the sick, as we’re told in James 5:15. Not everyone is healed, but anyone who asks those who pray about the answers to prayer they’ve received will hear plenty of amazing testimonies, as I have heard from so many.
My children and grandchildren all have testimonies of miraculous answers to prayer.
God still is the rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)



What prayer can do
By Ada Nicholson Brownell
Released Dec. 17, 2017
E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK AVAILABLE.Pray. God answers.

 True testimonies of events where God intervened.
Ennis Surratt, known as the “meanest man in town,” changed in a moment. John Feliciano, blinded in an industrial accident, sees instantly. Marjorie Eager’s family escapes death when God stops a forest fire. A mother prays on her deathbed for her sons to meet her in heaven, and years later God grabs Gary Hilgers out of sin and turns him around. More amazing chapters originally published in The Pentecostal Evangel, enough for every week of the year, with three bonuses. By here:
http://ow.ly/9CEI30h4IdL

IS IT TRUE THAT GOD ANSWERS PRAYER?

By Ada Brownell

Following is an article on truth that I wrote a while back, but it's important now because my new book's greatest asset is the true stories that appear in WHAT PRAYER CAN DO.

Here's the short summary: 


What prayer can do By Ada Nicholson Brownell Released Dec. 17, 2017 E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK AVAILABLE. Pray. God answers.
True testimonies of events where God intervened. Ennis Surratt, known as the “meanest man in town,” changed in a moment. John Feliciano, blinded in an industrial accident, sees instantly. Marjorie Eager’s family escapes death when God stops a forest fire. A mother prays on her deathbed for her sons to meet her in heaven, and years later God grabs Gary Hilgers out of sin and turns him around. More amazing chapters originally published in The Pentecostal Evangel, enough for every week of the year, with three bonuses.   https://www.amazon.com/dp/1973555646

HOW IMPORTANT IS TRUTH?
                                                          By Ada Brownell
Christian writers wary of preachiness often avoid a gospel message in their writing. Many, however, don’t know what “preachy” is. When I first noticed editors’ guidelines advising against it, I feared they didn’t even want to publish anything with a scripture in it.
Then a secular writer, Frank Luntz, author of Words that Work, explained how to avoid being preachy: “Tell the truth,” he said, “but don’t do it in a condescending manner.”How important is truth? Should we “spin” it so it will be accepted? “Spin,” used so often these days by politicians and others is actually “twisting the truth” or avoiding it.
 Sometimes telling the truth is difficult, in our writing and in life. We need to be dedicated to truth, even in the family.
I can’t imagine how Mary felt when she had to tell Joseph she was pregnant with the Messiah. She excitedly told her aunt Elizabeth, and rejoiced so much her words became the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). But Joseph considered breaking their engagement privately. Nice the angel also visited Joseph with the news of the Messiah, so he believed his virgin and quickly married her (Matthew 1:18-25).
The Apostle Paul usually offset hard truths by wonderful revelation: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
John, the disciple, who spoke continuously about love and penned John 3:16, didn’t hesitate to write hard truths: “If we say we have fellowship with him (Jesus), and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1John 1:6). But he adds, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Jesus certainly didn’t stumble at the truth, either. For example, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41). But went on to add the contrast of hope, “And these shall go away to everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Matthew 25:46).
It might sound preachy, but it’s really not condescending. Truth is a light that can save a sinner from falling into the dark chasm of sin and eternal death.  Truth is water to the soul wandering in a dry desert of wickedness and unbelief.
The belt of truth is part of the armor God provides if we ask.
What is truth? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
The scriptures were “God breathed” and are the only effective pattern for living. The Word also is an example for our witness. So for me, I’ll write the truth and hope I don’t do it in a condescending manner.
©Ada Brownell October 2013





Hyperion, New York, 2007

A Prickly Affair By Donna Schlachler

By Donna Schlachter
A Prickly Affaircame about as the result of a long-standing friendship, a step-mother who I dearly loved, and a desert oasis I longed to write about. Mary Davis, a good friend, contacted me because I’d worked with her on a previous romance collection, wanting to know if I was interested in another, and I said yes. My step-mom and my dad loved Cave Creek, Arizona, and got married in a little chapel in town there, and I wanted to set a book there because I love the town, too. Being a writer with a pen name, I thought it might be neat to have my main character write under a pseudonym, too.
As with most of my books, my main character, Lily Duncan, is slightly autobiographical. She is strong and independent—or so she thinks—but she also recognizes something is missing in her life. I think readers will connect with the deep longing in her heart.
As for my hero, Peter Golding is named after a chemistry professor I had in college. To be honest, I was a little afraid of him—he seemed so unapproachable. But as the semester went on, I found out he had an incredible sense of humor along with a good dose of an inflated opinion of his own self-worth. My Peter comes west to “rescue” Miss Daisy Duncan from this western backwater of Arizona Territory and whisk her off to the City. Boy, does he have a thing or two to learn!
Writing a romance is challenging for me for two reasons: as a suspense writer, I tend to have three or four subplots going on at the same time, but novellas just don’t have the word count to support that. At the same time, I want to intrigue my readers to keep them guessing, so at least a small subplot is imperative.
The other thing is I must be certain that the hero doesn’t simply come in and save the heroine. Writing a strong female character helps with that, but I don’t want my male character to look weak, either. He has to have certain abilities that will help him save the day at least once.
Getting to the romance can also be a challenge. There must be a reason why these two get together. It’s why we read romance, right? One reviewer said she couldn’t understand why my characters ended up falling in love. We must keep in mind that people in the 1880’s wed for different reasons. Their courtship—if there even was one—looked different than today. For Lily and Peter, they wrote about love and published love stories, but had never been in love. Yet they were drawn to this other person who was completely unlike them and whose life goals were completely different. I think this is a picture of what God does in our own lives. If we were whole, we wouldn’t need Him, and we wouldn’t need a spouse. Yet the combination of our differences makes us whole as a couple, and when we use our passions, experiences, and talents for Him, we are complete in Him.


Next on my plate is the release of The Mail Order Brides Romance Collection in February, also from Barbour Publishing. Then I start planning for teaching at a conference in February and teaching an ACFW online course in May. Already it’s an exciting and busy year ahead!


About Donna:
Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick, her first-line editor and biggest fan. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. She is a hybrid author who has published a number of books under her pen name and under her own Donna is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management. name. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters In Crime, and Writers on the Rock—Denver; she facilitates a local critique group, and teaches writing classes and courses. She will be teaching at the Writers on the Rock one-day conference in February 2018. Donna is also a ghostwriter and editor of fiction and non-fiction, and judges in a number of writing contests. She loves history and research, and travels extensively for both.



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About A Prickly Affair in the “Bouquet of Brides Romance Collection”:
Lily Duncan—“Cactus Lil” to friend and foe alike—is as prickly as her name implies, and she likes it that way. Arizona in 1885 is a land as harsh as the moon, but Lil, born and raised near Cave Creek, feels at one with the sand, rocks, and giant saguaros. She loves living in the desert, and is happiest on her own on her small cattle ranch near Cave Creek, Arizona. Although she’s never been in love before, she pens romantic short stories for a magazine under her pen name of Daisy Duncan.


Peter Golding has never been west of the Mississippi, but a tender young woman named Daisy who writes of love and relationships intrigues him. Through reading her powerful descriptions of what love should be, Daisy’s stories have captured a part of his heart.


When Peter’s uncle sends him to find Miss Daisy Duncan and bring her back to New York City, Peter decides to take matters a step further and bring her back as his bride—surely then his uncle will be impressed with her. But when he arrives, he quickly realizes that Miss Lily Duncan is no shrinking violet waiting to be rescued. In fact, she has to rescue him several times.


Cactus Lil finds her heart torn between this stranger from the east and her desire for independence. If she surrenders to her feelings, will she be forced to do his bidding? When she finds a telegram from her editor telling Peter to bring her back or lose his job, she believes his attentions to be self-serving. Will Peter choose her or his job? And will she decide to surrender her heart or send him packing—again?

WHAT PRAYER CAN DO

What prayer can do
By Ada Nicholson Brownell
Released Dec. 17, 2017
E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK AVAILABLE.
Pray. God answers.


True testimonies of events where God intervened.
Ennis Surratt, known as the “meanest man in town,” changed in a moment. John Feliciano, blinded in an industrial accident, sees instantly. Marjorie Eager’s family escapes death when God stops a forest fire. A mother prays on her deathbed for her sons to meet her in heaven, and years later God grabs Gary Hilgers out of sin and turns him around. More amazing chapters originally published in The Pentecostal Evangel, enough for every week of the year, with three bonuses.


http://ow.ly/9CEI30h4IdL

Who Is Jesus?

WHAT CHILD IS THIS?
By Ada Nicholson Brownell
Can you imagine the chaos if identification on newborns in large hospitals disappeared?
“Whose baby is this?” nurses would say over and over as an expert checked tiny footprints.
“What Child is this?” often is asked near Christmas. William Chatterton Dix, struck with a near-fatal illness at age 29 asked the question. Confined to his bed for months in 1865, he looked to Jesus, the babe born in Bethlehem so many years before. Was the Christ child different from everyone else born into the world?
Some people put Jesus on the same level as Mother Theresa, Mahatma Ghandi, the Pope, Moses and other famous religious personalities. Some religions teach Jesus was a great prophet, but deny His deity. Author Josh McDowell says in his book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, that Jesus can’t be identified as a great moral teacher because He claimed to be God. “He is either a liar, lunatic or the Lord.”Who was the babe in the manger?
Dix searched for an answer to the question and wrote a song titled “What Child is this?”  set to the music of Greensleeves, a 16th Century English tune.  
Down through the centuries people asked, “Who is Jesus?”
Scripture reveals who the Child is. My Bible has 1,448 pages filled with the story of the Messiah-Redeemer—promised right after Adam and Eve became subject to sickness and death.Satan, taking the body of a serpent, told Eve, “You won’t die.  It’s good.  Try it.”
The couple took the reptile’s advice and the venom of Satan’s lie fills every urn and grave since then. Adam and Eve understood sin’s tragedy when they grieved at the grave of a dead son, killed by his brother.
Although God’s justice required severe consequences for sin, He promised redemption as soon as as the first couple disobeyed. Sin is so terrible God required blood to forgive it. Beautiful animals lay over altars, blood dripping over the stones, until God gave His one and only Son as The Promised Redeemer who showed up on earth in the body of a tiny baby.
Prophets testified about the details of the Messiah’s birth, death and resurrection thousands of years before He came.
Jesus was unlike any baby born. He was God in human flesh, yet we are invited to know Him personally. According to Rev. 3:19-21, Jesus stands outside the door to our lives and knocks. He says, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him. The last chapter of Revelation declares, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
What Child is this? Humankind’s only hope.
***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).

©Ada Brownell 2013













Here’s Life Publishers Inc, San Bernardino, CA 92402, 1979, page 107Genesis 3:15