Cathy Bryant's Blog: CatBryant.com ~ Journey Blog, page 25

Would You Do Me A Favor?

Ack! I need your help!

The newly-released MILLER’S CREEK FORGIVENESS COLLECTION is up for a special promotion the last week of January 2015. When these sorts of promotions run, there are a bevy of websites that will help promote the event for free IF…

And that little big two-letter word is the sticking point.

Some of the websites only accept books that have a certain number of reviews. Individually, the two books in the collection (A BRIDGE UNBROKEN and THE FRAGRANCE OF CRUSHED VIOLETS) have plenty of reviews. But the collection has just one since it was recently released.

Would You Do Me A Favor?

If you’ve read both books and can honestly recommend them, would you mind hurrying over to Amazon to leave a quick review? Here’s the link if you feel so inclined: http://amzn.to/1CZOvNZ I would appreciate it soooooooo much!

Many Blessings to You and Yours,

How to Unlock Life’s Purpose

Please don’t get me wrong.

This isn’t one of those posts that presumes to give you all the answers of how you should live your life. Quite frankly, that’s not my job.

But hopefully the post will make you pause long enough to at least give consideration to why you exist.

My goal is to share a process that has helped me in sifting through the layers of my hectic life to create a document that serves as a constant reminder of why I’m here.

Life’s Purpose – First Things First

As a believer in Jesus Christ as the Son of the Almighty God who created and loves us, I must first assert that apart from Him, finding your purpose on this planet will be very difficult. Why? Because as our Creator, God gifts us with talents, abilities, and personalities that make us uniquely who we are. And He did so for a reason. He has a plan for your life, and the puzzle pieces of life only make sense when we give Him His rightful place.

(If you’d like to learn more about knowing the Creator of the Universe intimately, please check out the Life Questions section of the sidebar. You are also welcome to contact me via the contact tab above.)

The Benefit of Creating a Life Mission Statement

Beyond question, the Bible is a compass for all of us. It serves as a life manual and road map, as well as a sword for battling the enemy of our souls.

But have you ever stopped to consider why God made you the way He did? Why He placed you where you are? What His specific purpose is for you and your life?

Some things, such as prayer, Bible study, and winning the lost are generic to all of us. But as mentioned above, God makes us all so uniquely different, He surely has varied purposes for each of His children.

By prayerfully creating your own personal mission statement document, you are first of all recognizing God as the One who gives your life purpose, but you are also providing clarity for future decision-making and goal-setting.

Life’s Purpose – Your S.H.A.P.E.

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the thought-provoking book The Purpose-Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For?, talks about our S.H.A.P.E. as the spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences as indicators of our individual life purposes before and for God.

It is our spiritual responsibility to give serious thought to these things so we might be better stewards of these lives we’ve been given.

Life’s Purpose – Your Roles

Most of us wear multiple hats on any given day. Just as an example, I’m a child of God; the wife of a minister; a mother, daughter, Nana, sister, and friend; a teacher/writer (and all the career hats that come with that job description); homemaker; and mini-farmer. (Odd combination, I know… More proof that our Creator not only likes variety, but has a sense of humor!)

While some of your life roles might be like mine, you will have some that are very different. Take a minute to jot down your life roles, but stick to the primary ones. Honestly, if we add too many hats to our collection we won’t be effective wearing any of them. Just the few I mentioned above gobbles up my time.

Have them written down? Good. Now try listing them in order of importance, remembering the scriptural admonition to love God with all our being and to love others as we love ourselves (Luke 10:27).

Are you starting to see your life with a little more clarity?

God works through you in those roles He’s given. This is how you determine your life’s purpose.

SPECIAL NOTE: Some of our roles carry more responsibility at different seasons in our lives. When my children were small, my role as mother carried much more responsibility than it does now. You may be a mom with a young family whose God-given abilities in another area must take a less prominent position for now. That’s okay! Cherish your role as mother in full realization that these precious times are fleeting!

Life’s Purpose – A Mission Statement

I would highly encourage you–now that you’ve penned your roles in life–to take as long as necessary to pray over these roles and write down what you would consider to be a mission statement for your life.

I’m sharing my mission statement below as an example. I’ve had it for several years, but I pray over it and tweak it each year at the Spirit’s leading. While it has changed a little throughout the years, it’s so true to who I believe God made me to be, that for the most part, it has remained very much the same.

(NOTE: Mine is worded as a prayer, but please don’t feel like you must use the same format. It’s perfectly to fine to encapsulate yours into just one sentence if you’d prefer.)

Dear Lord, help me to ~

~ enthusiastically seize this day and its opportunities, for tomorrow may be too late.

~ gratefully accept and celebrate this day and all it brings as a gift and adventure from Your hand, and to intentionally live it with obedience, discipline, courage, integrity, and balance.

~ live in the here and now with contentment, peace, and joy, because the past is behind, You are here, and the future is in Your hands.

~ treasure my family and friends with the knowledge that they bring so much joy to my life and that You’ve put them in my life for a reason.

~ be salt and light to all who cross my path, by passing on to them the gift of grace You’ve lavished on me.

~ make my home a haven for all who pass this way.

~ keep my mind, body, and spirit strong, so I can better serve You.

~ faithfully use and humbly teach others the treasures, abilities, and gifts You’ve entrusted to me.

~ make a positive impact before this pilgrimage leads me home.

~ live simply, but profoundly.

~ practice Your presence continually.

~ guard my heart.

~ listen for, hear, and obey only Your voice.

~ most importantly, know You and make You known. 

Closing Thoughts

I highly encourage you to not only write or type out your mission statement, but to also put it in a place where you can refer to it regularly. Hopefully this post has been helpful to you in nailing down your life’s purpose. I also hope you see the benefit of a mission statement for your life. My mission statement gives clarity as I seek to set goals for a new week, month, quarter, or year, and keeps me from swerving to far off track. I pray that your mission statement will do the same for you.

For His glory and purpose,

A Free Sneak Peek at My Editing Process

It’s been said that books aren’t written, but re-written.

I wish I’d known this when I wrote my first book, Texas Roads. I naively assumed that I would write the book, and that would be the end. But as I read through the lousy (and yes, I truly mean lousy) rough draft of the story I literally wanted to cry. My work was far from over.

I went back to school in learning the craft of writing, this time snatching up books on editing and revision. (See below for a list of my favorite books on this topic.) Through this study I learned and created my system of turning a rough draft into a marketable story. So I hope you enjoy this free sneak peek at my editing process.

Sneak Peek at My OCD

I know I’m a bit OCD about the revision portion of writing a book (which probably explains why its ‘teeth-pulling-without-anesthesia’ difficult), but I also believe it makes the difference between a so-so story and a great story. Though I dread–and complain and whine–throughout the process, I’m always glad afterwards, because the story has come alive on the pages.

Color-Coding Dialogue, Thought, Action, Description and Emotion

I look for this kind of balance in the manuscript.

One thing I’ve learned to do in edits and re-writes is use the high-lighter in Microsoft Word to mark what I’m checking on that particular round of edits.

That way I can tell with a glance if I have a good balance, or if I need to make changes. I particularly watch out for large chunks of description, internal thought, action, and dialogue. I picked up this part of my process from a course I took with Margie Lawson.

Why? Because readers skim too much description, action, and thought, and too much dialogue is like watching a tennis match with nothing to interrupt the volleys. Readers need action, internal thought, body language, and vocal cues to give meaning and context to the conversation.

I also only need and want a little emotion. Too much and the novel reads like a melodramatic silent movie. (Think Dudley Do-Right…)

The rough draft of THE WAY OF GRACE prior to color-coded edits.

At one time, I printed out the manuscript and completed this part of the process using regular high-lighters, as evidenced by the picture of the rough draft of The Way of Grace to the right. But eventually the cost of paper and ink led me to my current system.

Color-Coding Sensory Detail

I also use color-coding to make sure I’ve included all the senses–sight, sound, taste, smell, touch/feeling, and intuition–in each chapter. My motivation for this sensory detail is that it really helps ground the reader in the scene, as they can see, hear, smell, taste, feel, and intuit all the point-of-view character is experiencing in the story.

Other Passes

I make multiple passes through the manuscript (sometimes using the Control F or ‘Find’ function) to check the following:

Over-used Words/Pet Phrases – Do you know how easy it is to overuse words like ‘turned’ and ‘walked’ and ‘laughed?’ I attempt in this part of the process to ramp up my verbiage with stronger words like ‘pivoted’ and ‘tiptoed’ and ‘guffawed.’ I also watch out for cliches, and try to re-write them in a way that’s fresh for the reader.
Over-use of Adverbs and Adjectives – While these add color and spice, they can also weaken the description if over-used. I think of it as adding garlic to a meal–not enough and it’s bland; too much and it’s inedible. I think it was Mark Twain who said: “If you find an adjective, kill it!”
Story Flow – Already in my editing/re-writing process for the next Miller’s Creek book, Crossroads , I found a break in the story flow. This necessitated the writing of a new chapter, but now the story doesn’t have a huge jump that leaves out important story details.
Goal, Motivation, and Conflict – These three things are must-have’s in a story scene. The goal is just what it sounds like: the main character’s goal for what he/she wants to accomplish during that scene. The motivation is why he/she wants what they want. And the conflict is what thing or things stand between them and the completion of their goal. Without these three crucial components there is no story. (Writer friends, if you haven’t read Debra Dixon’s excellent book on goal, motivation, and conflict, check it out HERE .)
Setting – One of the things I really have to watch is making sure that the reader gets grounded in the location of the scene without dumping large chunks of description. Earlier eras of literature did this–think Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters–but today’s reader wants faster-paced writing. Setting includes both the where and when of a particular chapter in the story.
A Variety of Body Language Cues (lips, eyes, mouth, facial expressions, jaw, neck/shoulders, chest, abdomen, legs, arms, hands, feet, fingers, toes) – Did you know that it’s impossible for us NOT to communicate? And a large percentage of our communication is non-verbal. The rapidity of eye blinks can indicate attraction. A slight twitch of the eyebrow indicates deception. If you want a fascinating course of study, bone up on body language!
A Variety of Dialogue Cues – The manner in which we speak is also a huge indicator of what we really mean. It’s possible to say one thing, but our pitch, volume, rate of speech, quality, tone, or inflection can make the person listening interpret it differently than we intended. Most fiction writing today leaves out tags like ‘he said,’ but the reader often needs a cue to interpret the scene.
Point-of-view Character – We’ve probably all read books that jumped around from character to character. This makes for difficult reading. I do my best to make sure that each scene has only one point-of-view character. But I also try to include an equal number of scenes between the hero and the heroine. Why? I think it makes the story more interesting. It lets the reader know what each one is thinking, and allows the reader to connect to both characters.
Over-use of Pronouns and/or Proper Nouns – It’s all too easy when writing the rough draft to ‘he’ and ‘she’ all over the place, so as I make edits, I try to cut as many pronouns as possible without affecting the meaning. The same can be said of using proper names. They can be used too much or too little.
Hooks and Endings – One thing that keeps a reader turning pages is hooks that pull them into the scene and endings that make them want to go on to the next chapter. It’s been said that story openings sell the story, but story endings sell the next book. So it behooves authors to pay extra-careful attention to the story openings and endings.
Character Voice – During my pre-writing process, I fill out lengthy character charts for each major character, and even subject the characters to a battery of personality tests. My reason for this is to get under the skin of that character so I know them inside and out. But during the edits phase, I’m especially careful of character voice. A guy doesn’t talk like a girl. For that matter, two girls don’t necessarily have the same vocal characterization. I want to make sure that each character has their own voice and that it’s consistent throughout the story.
MRUs – Another thing I check is motivation-reaction units or MRUs. These were first introduced by Dwight V. Swain in his book, Techniques of the Selling Writer . In a nutshell, it means getting things in the right order. For example, visceral emotion (neck hairs standing on end, pulse racing, head swimming, etc.) is usually the first reaction to a stimulus, followed by internal thought, action, then dialogue. If these aren’t in order, the reader will notice that something feels off, even if they can’t exactly put their finger on it.
Redundancy – It’s easy to overstate something in story. Perhaps it’s a character who rehashes the same thought every other page. Or maybe a character does something which I then explain in dialogue or internal thought. It’s much better to resist the urge to explain and trust the reader to get it the first time.

As stands to reason, with each pass through the story there are fewer changes made. And with each book, I’m able to combine some of the above for fewer passes, though not necessarily less time. I try to finish up the entire process with a complete read-through from beginning to end, and I read the book out loud.

At this point, if not before, I send the story to editors and beta readers to get extra eyes on the book. Why? Mainly because by this time, I’m far too close to the manuscript to be completely objective.

The human brain works in such a way that I continue to read the story the way I first concocted it in my head. So something which might make sense to me will leave the reader scratching his or her head. These kind folks also help locate misspellings, word usage, and punctuation errors I may have missed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this sneak peek into my editing process. As you can tell, it’s very detailed and takes weeks.

And just so you know, the book still isn’t ready for publication at this point. Next comes the formatting, which involves two different processes, one for print and one for eBooks.

And you thought the job of a writer was easy…

My Favorite Editing and Revision Books

Here’s a list of my favorite books on this sub-topic in the craft of writing. (NOTE: These are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you purchase a product via these links, I earn a small cents-on-the-dollar commission. Thank you for your support!)

Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman

WRITING UPDATE: As of the writing of this post, I’m almost halfway through the first round of edits to Crossroads. I hope to finish up the process by the end of January.

A New Year’s Goal We Should All Make A Priority (Free Download)

One of my priority goals for 2015 is in regard to my personal Bible reading and prayer life. And honestly, I hope all of us draw closer to God in prayer this year. I can’t think of anything better. One of the ways I challenged myself in the arena of prayer for 2014 was in praying for the nations via OperationWorld.org. You can read how this changed me HERE.

Reason #1 for Making My Prayer Life a Priority

My adult-onset ADD has really motivated me to make some changes in the way I approach prayer. I am so easily distracted nowadays, and more often than not, in the middle of my prayers, I’ll find my mind wandering down endless rabbit holes.

On the big screen TV of my imagination, I see myself coming boldly into the throne room of God Almighty, the Creator of the universe and my heavenly Father, eager to spend time with Him. But then in the midst of our conversation, my brain goes on a field trip. How rude and shameful of me, and how it must sadden Him. I’m grateful He knows I’m made of dust, but I really want to do better.

Reason #2 for Making My Prayer Life a Priority

Another way I want to improve my prayer life is in taking the time to listen to Him. Rather than rush into the King’s presence with a list reminiscent of a Santa or magic genie list, I want to bask in His Presence, to tune my ears and heart to what He wants me to know. I want to hone my hearing about the areas of my life in which He’s less than impressed, so I can repent, confess, and move forward in my relationship with Him.

Reason #3 for Making My Prayer Life a Priority

I also want to do a better job in my communication with the Lord by moving the focus from me to Him in adoration and thanksgiving for who He is and all He’s done, doing, and will do.

So this year, I’m doing something a little different.

What I’m Doing to Make Prayer a Priority

I’m keeping a prayer journal in which I list an attribute of God for which I’m offering Him my adoration, confess and repent of sins, thank Him for those things for which I’m grateful (more often than not, really simple things like running water, indoor plumbing, and coffee), and then offer up supplications for my needs and the needs of my friends and family. Added to this, I’ve included a special section on what I sense God saying to me for that moment in time, as well as space to list the country and corresponding prayer needs for that day in praying for the nations.

I’ve only been doing this a few days now, but already I sense a difference–a closeness, a sweet fellowship, a precious communion with the One who loves me first and best.

Free Download: Printable Prayer Journal Sheet

If you’d like to give this prayer journal approach a try, you are more than welcome to download this sheet I created for my prayer and Bible study time. For my Bible reading time, I’m writing down the Scripture reference, and answering these questions:

Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
How?
What do I sense God’s Spirit saying to me about this passage?

(NOTE: I don’t always have an answer for these questions, but I answer the ones I can. I’ve also included space to write down a verse from the passage for further meditation/study or memorization.)

I have it in two formats: PDF and a MS Word .doc file. Both links are below.

Prayer and Bible Reading Journal (Word .doc file)

Prayer and Bible Reading Journal (PDF file)

Praying that all of us make our Bible reading and prayer lives a priority in 2015!

The Only Way to Make Life’s Puzzle Pieces Fit Together

(I’ve created this video in case you’d rather watch than read. But you might also want to check out the puzzle and graphics below.)

Life’s Puzzle Pieces

Ever try to make two puzzle pieces fit together that don’t belong? Yeah, me too. And life can be a lot like that, can’t it?

One of the most difficult things for me in planning and setting goals for a new year is how to make all of life’s puzzle pieces fit together. Like many of you, I wear several hats, and I usually have more to do than what I could ever possibly have time for.

Last year, I found myself getting lost in the mix with little to no time for my spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The end result was that the rest of my life also seemed disjointed.

Ever feel this way?

God Centered Lives Jigsaw Puzzle

Because of this, I began asking myself some pretty tough questions. How could I better manage this life God gave me? How could I serve Him with my complete being without feeling like I was on a hamster wheel–constantly moving, but making very little or no forward progress?

A Life Centered on Self

During December 2014, I realized I had to make some changes in the new year. Simply put, I needed to find a way to be a better steward of life. I looked into several different programs that dealt with time and task management, because my life seemed so out of control and on a collision course with major burnout.

But the more I looked into these programs–all of which offered helpful advice in different ways–I realized one fundamental problem. Often our attempts at planning and setting goals are focused on us. Honestly, it’s an easy thing to do. When things aren’t going well  we naturally turn inward in an attempt to make sense of the nonsense.

But notice what happens when I put myself as the focus of my planning and goal-setting. First off, by the simple principle of substitution, God is pushed to the fringes of my life. Even my relationship to Him becomes more about me than Him.

Because of that one puzzle piece being out of proper alignment, the other pieces of my life get out of whack as well. In fact, some of those pieces go MIA. I can’t make proper decisions or decide where I need to focus my efforts because in this scenario my life focus is in the wrong place.

A Life Centered on God

As I prayed through the process of setting goals, I asked the Lord to help me know where and how to focus my time. I was immediately reminded of how the young nation of Israel, in their trek through the wilderness, were told by God to set up camp in a specific layout with the Tabernacle–which represented God’s Presence with them–at the very center of their lives.

This nudge by God’s Spirit helped me realize that I can’t even hope to have the various puzzle pieces of my life fit together any other way than a God-centered life.

God is our Creator. He is the one in charge–not just of my dust speck of a life–but of everything. Not only that, He sent His only Son to redeem us from sin and death. Our lives are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

When I put God in His rightful place in my life, look what happens. Everything lines up in its proper position. Because my focus is on Him instead of self, the pieces of my life all fit together.

The Connection Between Life’s Puzzle Pieces and Peace

The Hebrew word for ‘peace’ is ‘shalom,’ which at its very root definition means ‘complete’ and ‘whole.’ The antithesis of peace is conflict, chaos, and confusion. When we put self at the center, the result is conflict, chaos, and confusion. But when our lives are God-centered, the result is peace, wholeness, completeness, and an integration of who we are.

Isn’t that something we all want? I know I do.

But there’s only one way for that to truly happen, and it’s NOT found in the system of putting self at the center. These verses confirm all that we’ve discussed here today.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” ~Mark 12:30 (NASB)

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. -Matthew 6:33 (NASB)

In other words, we all need to allow God His rightful place at the center. Our lives aren’t about us, but Him. Only then will life’s puzzle pieces fall into place.

Wishing you all a blessed year of God-centered living.

Shalom,

I Must Be Crazy – Giveaway of New eBook Just For You

Happy New Year, y’all! I’m kicking off 2015 with a new Miller’s Creek collection eBook that is a bargain for you since you can now get two books for the price of 1. Call me crazy, but I have a giveaway going on this month for the new collection. So it’s a win-win for all of us. I have a new eBook out, and you get the chance to nab it for free with the giveaway.

Check out the new Miller’s Creek Forgiveness Collection eBook #ChristianFiction and #BibleStudy
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New eBook ~ Miller’s Creek Forgiveness Collection

With the MILLER’S CREEK COLLECTION I launched in the fall doing so well (currently #3 on Amazon in its category), I decided to combine the latest Miller’s Creek novel A BRIDGE UNBROKEN with its companion Bible study THE FRAGRANCE OF CRUSHED VIOLETS.

The new collection is called MILLER’S CREEK FORGIVENESS COLLECTION since both books deal with the topic of forgiveness. The current price is $4.99, which is a great bargain, considering that ABU is $4.99 and TFOCV is $2.99. You save three bucks, which is the same as getting the Bible study for free!

Here are the book blurbs for each book in the new collection:

A Bridge Unbroken (See the book’s new landing page where you can read the first chapter, watch the book trailer, and read customer reviews.)

Not all scars are visible…

Frightened and on the run, Dakota Kelly just wants to erase the painful past. But her plan to start afresh is derailed when she co-inherits her late grandfather’s farm with her high school sweetheart–the one responsible for the scars on her heart. Unfortunately, he’s not the only ghost from the past. Someone else is on her trail and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will Chance and Dakota lay aside old wounds and a harbored secret to restore the old farmhouse and bridge, or will evil forces sabotage their attempts to forgive?

The Fragrance of Crushed Violets (See the book’s new landing page where you can read the first chapter, watch the book trailer, and read customer reviews.)

A Bible study on forgiveness…

What do we do when someone seems determined to bring us down through an attack that is personal, public, and unfounded? How do we deal with meaningless acts of destruction especially when the offender shows no remorse? In short, how do we move past the emotional pain to a place of forgiveness? This forgiveness Bible study examines relevant scriptures for the purpose of building a Biblical understanding of:

• what forgiveness is and what it isn’t

• God’s role in the process of forgiveness

• what Jesus accomplished at the cross for each of us

• our mandate to forgive as we’ve been forgiven

• what gets in the way of forgiving others

• and how to truly forgive the unforgivable

I Need A Favor

If any of you reading this post have read both A BRIDGE UNBROKEN and THE FRAGRANCE OF CRUSHED VIOLETS (both individually rated at 4.7 stars on Amazon), would you mind leaving your honest review of the new MILLER’S CREEK FORGIVENESS COLLECTION at Amazon? Prospective readers depend heavily on reviews when making their purchases, so your review helps them and me tremendously. Thank you!

New eBook Giveaway

I’m giving away one Kindle copy of MILLER’S CREEK FORGIVENESS COLLECTION. The contest is open internationally and ends January 31, 2015. The prize is transferable so that if any of you have already read both books you can pass the prize along to a friend if your name is drawn as the winner.

#Giveaway of #Kindle copy of the MILLER’S CREEK FORGIVENESS COLLECTION (novel + Bible study)
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The winner is chosen randomly by Rafflecopter.com and will be notified via e-mail. You can enter either here at my website or via the Giveaway tab on my Facebook author page.

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Free Download: 3 Easy-to-Follow Bible Reading Plans to Successfully Launch Your New Year

As I write these words, a soft blanket of pure white snow has coated the world outside our mountain cabin.

This winter wonderland elicits sighs of contentment from us and great excitement in our dog, who frolics through the powdered sugar mounds with carefree abandon.

Bible Reading – Focus On God

All this white can’t help but remind me of the fresh new slate that awaits us with the turning of the year. My type-A personality forces my brain to ponder the possibilities for 2015 and start planning out what I hope to achieve in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

At the top of my list is daily Bible reading–not just so I can mark another thing off my to-do list–but so I can first and foremost focus my attention where it belongs.

On God.

Because without Him we cannot be truly successful in 2015.

Bible Reading – Light For Your Journey

There is an unmistakable connection between God’s Word and Christ (John 1:1-2). There is also an unmistakable connection between Christ and Light (John 1:3-9; John 8:12).

As mentioned in a previous post, light is necessary for life and vision. So if we want to be truly successful in the new year, we simply must turn to God and His Word for light, life, vision, and direction.

Bible Reading – 3 Individualized Plans For You

That’s why I decided to create these three individualized Bible reading plans for you to choose from. (NOTE: The pictures are not the download links; you will need to click the text links to download to your computer. These are all PDF files and printable.)

The first plan takes you from Genesis through Revelation in its written order in one year. I’ve followed this plan on numerous occasions and have received blessings upon blessings because of it.

Click here to download the 2015 Beginning to End Bible Reading Plan

The second plan chronologically follows the Biblical record as the events happened in history. I’ve only followed this plan once or twice, but this is the one I feel the Lord leading me to this year.

Click here to download the 2015 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

The last plan is at your own pace for those of you who feel led to a deeper study of God’s Word, one that can last beyond 2015. I’ve done this in the past using the Layman’s Bible Book Commentaries (Amazon affiliate link). What a tremendous blessing to dig deeper! I actually started off with this plan again for 2014, but missed reading the Bible in its entirety. I ended up switching over to the first plan early in the year. With this plan you simply mark off or color in the chapter numbers as you finish one.

Click here to download the 2015 At Your Own Pace Bible Reading Plan

Bible Reading – Tips and Suggestions

Here are just a few of the things I’ve learned in my own read-through of the Bible for several consecutive years. Hopefully you’ll find them helpful.

Seek God’s leadership as to which plan is right for you for this particular year.
Print out your Bible reading plan, and keep it in your Bible. I’ve also learned that if I keep my Bible in plain sight of where I have my time with the Lord, I’m less likely to be distracted by lesser things. Set yourself up for success in your daily Bible reading.
Don’t stress if you get behind. The main thing is that you are spending time with God through His Word. If you get behind, you can simply start on the next day unless you feel God’s Spirit prompting you to catch up.
Pray through His Word in your daily reading. This approach is doubly power-packed because God’s Word is powerful, and prayer is powerful. Simply take the Scriptures you’re reading and turn them back to God in prayer.
Have a set time for meeting with the Lord in your reading of His Word and prayer. Although there is a Biblical basis for making this the first thing you do each day (Exodus 16:21; Psalm 63:1-2; Mark 1:35), the most important thing is that you seek Him throughout your day. Don’t just relegate Him to a few crumbs of your time. If need be, read your daily reading in snippets throughout the day. This is a great way to keep your attention focused on Him.

Father God, as we enter this new year which You have made, I pray that You will keep our hearts and minds focused on You. Give us the strength we need to commit to seeking You daily throughout the year. May any success we experience be the kind of success that comes only from You, and may we be quick to offer You the praise and glory. In the powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Bible Verses and Questions For a ‘Successful’ New Year

As 2014 winds down and 2015 looms ahead, it is a great time to learn from the past year in order to leave it behind and move devoutly into the new year. The Bible gives us several verses that will help us in our quest to better serve the Lord. The Bible verses will hopefully serve as an impetus for each of us to reflect and then move forward.

Bible Verses and Questions: Learn from past failures and successes.

There is much to be learned from the past year through both our failures and successes. Failures/mistakes/sins are negative examples to teach us what NOT to do again in the coming year. Thankfully, we even have the blessing and responsibility of learning from others’ mistakes.

Successes are truly those times where we’ve followed God’s leading and brought about good for our lives, the lives of our families and friends, and for the world. Those are the sorts of things we definitely want to repeat in 2015 with God’s leadership and wisdom. The following verses are here to meditate upon as we look back at the past year:

Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. -Deuteronomy 4:9

Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you. -Deuteronomy 32:7

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. -1 Corinthians 10:11

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 (ESV)

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity. -Proverbs 2:7 (ESV)

Questions to Ask:

What are my greatest regrets, fears, sins, and mistakes from the past year? Are there any the Lord can’t forgive? (The answer to the second question is ‘NO!’)
What do I need to change in order to keep those negative examples from re-occurring in the new year? What help do I need to seek in order to accomplish this?
What are my greatest successes–not just personally, but for the Lord and His Kingdom–from the past year?
What can I do to have an even bigger harvest of righteousness in the year ahead?

Bible Verses and Questions: Learn to move forward.

Once we’ve reflected on the past year–both our mistakes, failures and sins AND our successes–it’s time to leave it behind and move forward. Why? Because God specializes in the new, not the old. If we stay focused on what lies behind, we’ll never be able to grasp hold of what lies ahead. Here are some verses to reflect upon:

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:13-14

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? -Isaiah 43:18-19a (NASB)

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. -2 Corinthians 5:17

Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight! -Isaiah 65:16

Questions to Ask:

Lord, what would You have me to do in the new year? Who would You have me to be?
Lord, how can I best go about achieving those things for You and Your Kingdom in the year ahead?

Bible Verses and Questions: A Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the great privilege of being Your people and serving You. As 2014 winds down, help us all to take the time to reflect upon Your Word and those successes and failures we’ve experienced during the past year. Help us to learn from our mistakes, accept Your gift of forgiveness, and move forward at Your direction. As we look ahead to the coming year, grant us Your wisdom so we might be better servants for You and increase a harvest of righteousness for You and Your Kingdom. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

ANOTHER POST FOR THE NEW YEAR: “Off With the Old, On With the New”

Free For Kindle ~ Pilgrimage of Promise

Anyone out there get a new Kindle, phone, tablet, or computer for Christmas? If so, you have everything you need to take advantage of this awesome deal. My favorite book of all the Miller’s Creek novels, PILGRIMAGE OF PROMISE, is free for Kindle (or Kindle apps) December 26-30.

Free For Kindle – A Word About Kindle Apps

I love the fact that Amazon doesn’t require folks to have a Kindle in order to enjoy the many free and discounted eBooks available. With the free Kindle apps, you can read these free eBooks on your phone, tablet, or computer. Click HERE to check out how to get your own free Kindle reading app.

Free For Kindle – PILGRIMAGE OF PROMISE

Christian Contemporary Women’s Fiction

Broken promises, enduring love…

Even as high school sweethearts, Mona Beth Adams believed her Texas cowboy-rancher was the only man for her. But life intervened, stealing away the only man she’d ever love. Then a second chance reunites the couple until a dusty stack of unopened love letters and potentially terminal illness forces them to sift through the painful past. Only as they retrace history will they learn the truth about the broken promise that threatens to come between them. But can their relationship endure the deception and sabotage they unearth, or will the experience compel them to trust more fully in the promises that never fail?

If you enjoy contemporary women’s fiction mixed with historical romance and a powerful and emotional read, Pilgrimage of Promise is one book you do not want to miss.

2013 Grace Award Nominee ~ Reader Nominated

4.9 Stars Out Of 5 On Amazon

“…Karen Kingsbury meets Nicholas Sparks.” ~Amazon Reviewer

NOTE: All the other Miller’s Creek books are currently listed at $3.99, but these prices are set to change in January 2015.


Free For Kindle – Free Chapter

If you’d like access to a free chapter from the book, just click HERE and scroll down to beneath the heading that says ‘SNEAK PEEK CHAPTER.’ Below that you’ll also find a couple of testimonials of those who have read and enjoyed the book, as well as a place to sign up for updates and exclusive offers.

If you decide to download the book, please consider leaving your honest review once you’ve read the book. Reviews not only help out us authors, but also potential readers. Thank you!

Know Light, Know Sight, Know Life

Have you ever stopped to consider what our existence would be like without light?

Light – Necessary For Life

Okay. I’ll admit it. That was a trick question. The truth is that life cannot exist without the presence of light. It is biologically impossible.

Light – Necessary For Sight

And what would be the purpose of having eyes without light with which to see? I’ve been in caverns so dark I couldn’t see my hand less than an inch away from my face. Light is necessary for vision.

Light – Opening Act of Creation

God’s creation of the universe began with these words: “Let there be light.” And there was light (Genesis 1:3). That light was the starting point of all that would come afterwards in God’s creation of this earth.

Light – Opening Act of Re-Creation

The gospel of John describes this same setting, but with a personification of light in the person of Jesus.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. ~John 1:1-5 (NASB)

Jesus was both the Word which God spoke in creation and the Light that resulted. The earth before creation is described as “dark and void.” Can you imagine how glorious that light was after all the darkness?

And I love the last phrase of this passage. In my Bible, a footnote to the word ‘comprehend’ simply says ‘overpower.’

Light – More Powerful Than Darkness

This is a fact about light that has always fascinated me. Even the tiniest of flickers is not extinguished by darkness. In fact, the opposite is true. Light has a power over darkness that can never be overturned. Light dispels darkness. Light rules.

And so, in celebration of the advent of our Savior’s birth, just as light was the opening act of creation, the Light of the world in the person of Jesus was the opening act of re-creation, the process of taking old men encased in shrouds of death and darkness and making them new.

Oh, how glorious that Light that entered the world! After a particularly dark period, Light flowed forth from the heart of God to the souls of men and our very lives! With that light we have sight. Once we stumbled in darkness, but now we have light to see. With that light we also have life, a life we could never experience any other way.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. ~Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

Light – A Choice

While a person’s denial or rejection of light in no way affects its existence or characteristics, each of us–like all people since the beginning of time–have a choice to make regarding this light.

In a day in which the so-called ‘enlightenment’ of Eastern religions seems to appeal to so many, true enlightenment can still only be found in Christ. But the choice is ours, as evidenced by the following verses.

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. -John 1:9-10 (NASB)

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ~John 3:19 (NIV)

Light – Believers as Lanterns

Jesus is indeed the Light of the world (John 8:12). But He has passed on the privilege and responsibility of light-bearing to His followers, those who place their faith in Him.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB)

We are His reflection in the world and to the world.

One day, Jesus will come again and take His light-bearers to a kingdom of light, where there is no more night (Revelation 22:5). Those left behind will lose all chance for having light and, therefore, sight and life.

So…regardless of whether or not we currently follow or don’t follow the Light, we all must answer this question:

What will you do with the Light?

OTHER ADVENT POSTS:

Hope: “Waiting For Christmas”

Joy: “Insurmountable Joy”

Peace: “How to Get Double Peace”

Love: “Relentless Love in Swaddling Clothes”