Cathy Bryant's Blog: CatBryant.com ~ Journey Blog, page 6

How To Actually Be Enslaved and Free

Enslaved and free?

Aren’t the two concepts mutually exclusive?

Not really.

In fact, in God’s contrary-to-the-world kingdom, the two are not only compatible, but also necessary for those who would follow Christ.

As I continue to squeak in time to work on the next Miller’s Creek novel STILL I WILL FOLLOW and its companion devotional WHERE FREEDOM DWELLS, this fact keeps appearing again and again as I spend time in God’s Word.

As Christ followers, we are completely enslaved to One, and that One has made us completely free.

Let’s look at some Biblical examples of some who were both enslaved and free.

Enslaved and #Free? Devotional post by @Cathy_Bryant here:
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Enslaved and Free: Joseph

Joseph was the beloved son of Jacob, who had twelve sons in total. As his father’s favorite and the recipient of a coat of many colors, Joseph quickly became a target for his jealous brothers.

They were so envious of him that they sold him into slavery and told their father he’d been killed by a wild animal.

Joseph’s problems were far from over. Though God was with him, his master’s wife falsely accused him, and this landed him in prison for thirteen long years.

Yes, Joseph was both a slave and a prisoner, but God set him free and used these painful years in Joseph’s life to prepare him for saving many people during a devastating regional famine.

Though Joseph was physically enslaved, spiritually he was enslaved to only One–the only One who mattered.

That one choice made all the difference in Joseph’s life.

Enslaved and Free: Daniel

Daniel was also enslaved, but to the ruler of the known world at that time, King Nebuchadnezzar.

In spite of the edict for Nebuchadnezzar’s trainees to be fed from the king’s table, Daniel acquired permission to eat only vegetables and water. We might consider that a pretty stringent diet by our American standards, but God used it (and Daniel’s heart for Him) to raise Daniel and his friends to the top of the class.

Daniel also proved the importance of his enslavement to God through the ordeal of the lion’s den. He continued to pray to God despite an edict that required him to pray only to the new king, Darius. Through his relationship with God, Daniel escaped snack status for the hungry lions and proved once more that being God’s servant made him truly free.

Enslaved and Free: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

Three of Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were also slaves. They too remained true to God, a fact that landed them in a fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. The preincarnate Christ endured the ordeal with them and delivered them. Not a hair on their heads was singed and their clothing never even reeked of smoke.

They were set free by the One to whom they were enslaved.

Enslaved and Free: Paul

The story of Paul’s miraculous conversion is certainly one for the record books. Zealous for God, he set about to destroy the sect of Jesus followers known as The Way.

While the early Christians saw Paul as a murderous enemy, God saw someone He could use.

After his conversion, Paul enslaved himself fully to Jesus and set about to make Him known. As is always the case for those who live wholeheartedly for Christ in enemy-occupied territory, Paul quickly found himself in trouble.

One such instance landed him and his fellow-believer, Silas, in jail. Though suffering from a severe beating, Paul and Silas used their captivity and their freedom to pray and sing praises to God while the jailer and other prisoners (a true captive audience!) listened.

Once more the One to whom they were enslaved set them free, and in the process the jailer and his whole family became believers.

Enslaved and Free: Jesus

As is always the case, Jesus is our best example. The Heir to Heaven, Jesus submitted Himself to the will of His Father, came to earth as fully human as you and I, and became the greatest example of servanthood who ever walked the planet. In His own words, He put it this way:

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

Enslaved and Free: The Lesson For Us

This probably goes without saying, but if even our Savior lowered Himself to the position of being a servant, shouldn’t we be willing to do the same?

Only in God’s marvelous kingdom can we be both enslaved and free. And by being enslaved to the Lord, we serve Him by following Christ’s mission to serve others.

That’s why I’ve decided that the tagline for STILL I WILL FOLLOW will be:

“Enslaved to One, servant to all…”

Coming Soon: STILL I WILL FOLLOW #MillersCreek 7 “Enslaved to One, servant to all…”
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Need to Escape Strongholds? How to Actually Live Free

Each of us deal with strongholds at some point–those prisons which seem impossible to escape.

This post is taken from the soon-to-be-released LifeSword Devotional – WHERE FREEDOM DWELLS: A 31-Day Devotional Journey to Our Christ-Given Freedom (written to correspond with the spiritual theme of the seventh Miller’s Creek novel, STILL I WILL FOLLOW.) The post gives the solution for breaking free to escape those spiritual strongholds in our lives.

Imprisoned in a spiritual stronghold? Our supernatural weapons have divine power!
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STRONGHOLDS – Part of the Enemy’s Plan

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:3-5

One part of being human is that at least once in our lives–and probably much more often–we will find ourselves imprisoned in some sort of stronghold.

In the above passage, the original word used for stronghold can also be interpreted as a fortress. Life has a way of trapping us with its shiny baubles, then locks us behind bars in these strongholds. To make matters worse, the fortresses that keep us imprisoned often make us feel that escape is impossible, and that the jailer who locked us up has also thrown away the key.

The Supernatural Weapons Which Destroy Strongholds

Don’t give in to the enemy’s discouragement! Our God offers us supernatural weapons which “have divine power to demolish strongholds.” What are these weapons?

Prayer, as our means of communicating with our Commander-in-Chief, is one such weapon. And God’s Word, one way in which God’s Spirit communicates with us, is another. Used together, these two God-given supernatural weapons can demolish the strongholds which keep us behind bars. So pray God’s Word over that fortress you can’t seem to escape!

Specific Strongholds to Demolish

Strongholds can take many shapes, sizes, and forms. They can be strongholds of addiction, bad attitudes, unloving hearts, unkind words, money, other material possessions, and so on and so forth.

The opening scripture passage also mentions some strongholds we can demolish:

Arguments – To me, this word reminds me of those who argue about God’s existence; His grace, mercy, and love; His plan to redeem mankind from a fallen world; His role as Creator and Sustainer of the universe; and even His sovereignty. Those who follow worldly philosophies will challenge our faith at every opportunity. How I pray that we know God’s Word well enough to demolish their arguments.
Every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God – Did you catch that word “pretension?” Other forms of the word are pretense and pretend. A sad fact about the world we live in is that people like to come up with their own ideas of reality. Satan is a liar, and he deals in lies (pretension) which woo people away from God’s Truth toward his pretense. Remember his lie to Eve? “Did God really say…?” He then went on to tell her that the banned fruit would make her and Adam like God. God had told them the fruit would be bring death. They chose the lie over the Truth. Our enemy still sets himself up against the knowledge of God to this very day.
Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ – This point is so important that I could write an entire book about it. What we think about–in other words, what we allow to take root in our minds–can determine our lives. Satan is an expert at using the human mind as his battlefield. He’s won scores of battles there. We MUST take every thought that enters our minds–no matter how beguiling and appealing–and make it obey Jesus. How? Those same supernatural weapons. Study God’s Word. If that thought in your mind is contrary to the Bible, it is NOT of God. Pray about it as well. Ask God’s Spirit to shed His light on the thought. God’s light is powerful enough to expose the flaws in each and every thought.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the supernatural weapons with divine power You grant us as Your children. Through prayer and Your Word, we have no excuse for going astray. Lord, help us to destroy the enemy’s strongholds–not just in our individual lives, but also in the lives of friends, family, our church families, and even our country and world. Without Your divine intervention, we are totally without hope. Give us a hunger to know Your Word well, so we can effectively demolish arguments and Satan’s pretension which set themselves up against knowledge of You. Thank You that You are close to each one of us, and that You give us the ability to take every thought captive in obedience to the One who died for us that we might enjoy true freedom. It is in His name we pray. Amen.

Food For Thought: Prayerfully consider any strongholds in your life at the moment. Find scriptures to pray over that stronghold. Repeat this process for your friends, family members, church family, and our nation.

(Excerpt from WHERE FREEDOM DWELLS, the soon-to-be-released companion devotional to the Miller’s Creek novel, STILL I WILL FOLLOW.)

How To Actually Live Free From Guilt

Guilt.

It’s one of those sneaky emotions the enemy uses against us to imprison us with his lies.

 

In STILL I WILL FOLLOW, Bella struggles with guilt over her past. It doesn’t help that everyone around her constantly reminds her of her wild child days. With that constant reminder will she ever be able to emotionally move past the guilt she wears like a noose around her neck?

 

I have a feeling that at least at some point in our lives, we’ve all struggled with guilt. Some of us may actually deal with it on a regular basis.

But here’s the thing.

We can absolutely live free from guilt in our lives. This post will explore how God’s Word can help us do just that.

GUILT – No One Is Sinless

The Bible is very clear on this point. Every human being on the face of the planet sins. Adam and Eve started a chain reaction in the garden of Eden that continues to this day.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. -Romans 3:23

That makes us all guilty before God.

In the Old Testament, men’s sins were atoned for through the sacrifice of animals. The legal contract between men and God was replaced by the New Testament, yet another legal contract.

The difference?

Christ became the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, once for all.

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. -Hebrews 10:11

GUILT – God Forgives

When we confess our sinfulness and agree with God about our sin, He “forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9

If you’re like me, you may feel that God’s forgiveness seems almost too good to be true. It’s hard for us to fathom that sort of forgiveness because the human version of forgiveness is so very different.

Human forgiveness is usually an “if” sort of deal. I’ll forgive “if” they apologize, “if” they show remorse, “if” they change their behavior, etc.

In sharp contrast, God’s forgiveness is an “in spite of” sort of deal. He loves and forgives us in spite of what we’ve done. And then, miracle of all miracles, He doesn’t stop there.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. -Psalm 101:12

And I love the fact that God chooses not to remember our sins. “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” -Isaiah 43:25

Free From Guilt

Because of all Jesus has done for us, we can live free from guilt.

Of course, the enemy wants to keep us in a place of guilt. He wants us to carry that heavy burden. As the accuser, he will make sure we’re constantly reminded of failures and shortcomings.

The cure is to run to the waiting arms of our heavenly Savior. His Spirit is the Comforter. He reassures us that we are indeed God’s children. His Word reminds us: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -John 8:31-32

Our forgiveness is a guaranteed done deal, not based on a feeling, but based on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

Heavenly Father, how grateful we are that we can indeed live free from guilt. You created our consciences so that we realize our sinfulness and wrongdoing. Lord, when we sin, may we be quick to run to You in repentance, in full realization that You are our only hope. Thank You that Jesus carried our sins. Because of His work on the cross, we are fully forgiven. Also keep us mindful that the enemy will be quick to lay a load of guilt on us at every opportunity. Help us to overcome Him through Your Spirit and Your Word. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Christian Fiction Friday and MORE for Friday, May 13, 2016

Here are this weeks NEW RELEASES in Christian Fiction Friday and MORE, including some titles on sale and some that are #free! Perhaps you will find some of your ‘summer beach reading’ (or wherever your happy place is)! HAPPY READING!!!

Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter our amazing April-May 2016 Christian fiction giveaway!

DISCLOSURE: We haven’t read all these new books, so please use your own judgement when purchasing them. As a reminder, some of these new releases are on pre-order with release dates within the next couple of weeks. :)

#amreading Christian Fiction Friday and MORE for May 13, 2016. Look for the #Giveaway
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New Releases Christian Fiction Friday
Western Collection

MEGA Box SET 22 Mail Order Bride Romances, sweet, clean & inspirational just $3.99 for 22 complete romances or FREE on KINDLE UNLIMITED

Join bestselling authors Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer for the ride of your life. Get these 22 complete romances as Love and Hope Ride West.

Over 348,000 words, get this Mega book bundle while the price is low.

Meet the brides:

Judy, spurned at the altar because she was too fat. This beautiful Mail Order Bride has become a recluse. When the local doctor finds twin babies on his doorstep is it God’s hand bringing them together?

Anna who is tired of the horrible comments and pitying glances. So she has a limp, does that mean she can’t find love?

Jolene who is hiding a terrible secret. When the past comes back to haunt her will she be pulled back into a nightmare or can love overcome all?

Christy – widowed and pregnant can she find a father for her unborn child or will her plans see them both in danger?

Elizabeth was burned by the fire that killed her parents, now she has been rejected by her husband to be.

Lollie is the surprise bride, married to Garner before he realized… can this match made by his mother ever last?

Meet these and lots more brides in this sweet, clean and inspirational box set by bestselling Authors Indiana Wake and Belle Fiffer.

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Mystery/Suspense

She’s turning up the heat on Carin County’s cold cases . . .



Evie Blackwell loves her life as an Illinois State Police detective . . . mostly. She’s very skilled at investigations and has steadily moved up through the ranks. She would like to find Mr. Right, but she has a hard time imagining how marriage could work, considering the demands of her job.

Gabriel Thane grew up in Carin County and is now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he’s sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have. . . .

When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it’s to help launch a new task force focused on unsolved crimes across the state. She will work with the sheriff’s department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she studies old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths surprising connections. One way or another, she knows Gabriel Thane and his family will be key to the answers she seeks.

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Historical Romance

Hearts are Divided … Loyalties Will Be Tested

The Fates of Two Families Hang in the Balance

Twenty years past, in 1757, a young Redcoat, Reginald Aubrey stole a newborn boy—the lighter-skinned of Oneida twins— during the devastating fall of Fort William Henry and raised him as his own.

No one connected to Reginald escaped unscathed from this crime. Not his adopted daughter Anna. Not Stone Thrower, the Native American father determined to get his son back. Not Two Hawks, William’s twin brother separated since birth, living in the shadow of his absence and hoping to build a future with Anna. Nor Lydia, who longs for Reginald to be free from his self-imposed emotional prison and embrace God’s forgiveness— and her love.

Now William, whose identity has been shattered after discovering the truth of his birth, hides in the ranks of an increasingly aggressive British army. The Redcoats prepare to attack frontier New York and the Continentals, aided by Oneida warriors including Two Hawks, rally to defend it. As the Revolutionary War penetrates the Mohawk Valley, two families separated by culture, united by love and faith, must find a way to reclaim the son marching toward them in the ranks of their enemies.

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Mystery/Suspense

Eight BRAND NEW, never before released “hidden identity” contemporary romantic suspense novellas from today’s best selling Christian authors in one anthology!

THE LONG VIEW by Connie Almony: J.T. MacGregor is ex-FBI and training with terrorists. When his former boss makes an unusual request, J.T. wonders about his motives and how he can use them to his advantage. Destiny Long is no stranger to her father’s covert world of catching terrorists, but who is he after now? When J.T., the man behind the one kiss she will never forget joins a fitness club owned by a suspected member of ISIS and he’s found praying head-first into a tasseled rug, she wonders what side of the war on terror is J.T. MacGregor really on.

TAKEN by Sally Bradley: Cam Winters has never talked about his past, about life before he became a Christian. Jordan Foster knows that Cam’s a strong, caring man–a man she can see herself with. But he refuses to ask her out for fear of what her brother, one of his closest friends, might say. So Jordan takes things into her own hands. When Cam admits to sharing her feelings, the two fall quickly in love–just as that past that Cam won’t ever talk about returns for Cam and those he loves. A group which now includes Jordan.

ON THE ROPES by Hallee Bridgeman: Doctor Ruth Burnette is placed in witness protection after witnessing a Russian mafia execution. Just a week before the trial, Victor Kovalev finds her. Memories of planning her wedding with Victor are wiped clean by the vision of his father executing three men. Does he want to help her survive to her testimony, or is he trying to stop it all together?

OUT OF CIRCULATION by Heather Day Gilbert: When Russian mobsters threaten small-town librarian Katie McClure, she is forced to accept an offer of protection from Manhattan bodyguard Ace Calhoun. As they race the clock to find a long-hidden bank stash, Katie discovers too late that Ace might be the wrong man to trust with her life…and her heart.

DANGEROUS ALTERNATIVE by Kelli Hughett: Summer in Southern California doesn’t get any hotter than this. When Levi Boulter agrees to work for the FBI behind the scenes in Hollywood, he never plans on becoming an operative working to thwart a plan to assassinate the President’s wife—or on keeping a deadly secret from Mahari, the love of his life. When Mahari is kidnapped, Levi makes the gamble of his life in order to save her. Will Levi’s secret divide them forever, or will they come together in time to stop an assassination?

IDENTITY THEFT by Alana Terry: After losing her fiancé in a devastating accident, Lacy meets Kurtis, an Alaska state trooper, and his delightful four-year-old daughter who would love nothing more than to make Lacy her new mom. Things could be perfect, except Lacy can’t shake the nagging suspicion that her fiancé isn’t dead like the police reports claim. All she wants is closure, but as she seeks out real answers, she discovers how deadly the truth can actually be.

OBSESSION by Rachel Trautmiller: A surge in crime has left two homeless women dead and Detective Amanda Nettles’ Alzheimer’s-riddled mother as the prime suspect. As his wife embarks on a dangerous game of hide-and-seek with a remorseless serial killer, FBI Agent Baker Jackson Robinson knows he can’t sit idly while the city of Charlotte destroys Amanda’s career a second time. Is her near decade-long obsession with protecting her hometown bigger than the needs of her family? Or are they one and the same?

SCENT OF DANGER by Alexa Verde: To find her missing sister, small-town cop Maya Hutchinson risks her life by posing as her glamorous twin. Under escalating attacks, Maya accepts protection from dashing senator’s son Connor McNamara. Cop turned PI, Connor McNamara has his own secret mission and is forced to choose between family loyalty and love. When the scent of danger draws near, will Connor and Maya survive long enough to forgive and accept each other?

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New Releases & Deals in Christian Non-Fiction
New Testament Bible Study

 

Oswald Chambers, author of ‘My Utmost for His Highest’, has written a concise study/commentary on Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. Though the work was written over a century ago the insights Chambers distills from the text would the modern Christian as they continue on their sojourn through this world to heaven.

 

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Devotional

Fear is a cage. It closes us in and keeps us from living in freedom.

Some people get so overcome by fear that they cannot even leave their house. Phobias have become almost fashionable. We label our fears and hug them tightly to us as if they are things we need. We coddle them and keep them happy so they don’t destroy us, and the last thing we want to do is provoke them. That powerlessness is what keeps us from accomplishing great things in our lives, whether personally or for God’s kingdom.

In Freedom from Fear, we explore the keys to our freedom through faith and obedience to God’s word. With this book, you’ll learn to put your trust in God’s character and turn to him when you feel out of control.

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Devotional

 

Five Minutes with Jesus provides bursts of inspiration for every reader’s relationship with Jesus. Brief but profound, these daily readings from Sheila Walsh will help busy people draw close to Him and walk with Him throughout the day. It will become clear that, even in the midst of a busy lifestyle, every minute we spend in the powerful presence of Jesus makes a difference in our lives!

 

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Christian Living

Jesus was our model and teacher in prayer.

By His life and His lips our Lord’s constant fellowship with the Father pointed to the necessity of ours. But Jesus didn’t pray merely as an example to us. For thirty-three years, He lived as a man, tempted in all points like as are we. He prayed because He had to pray. He prayed because He must.

In this 50th anniversary edition of The Power of Positive Praying, Dr. Bisagno expands this classic work with eight new chapters on prayer.

If the Son of God prioritized prayer, how more must we? And His prayers were answered as will be ours, if like Him we pray in His Will, in His Word and in Faith. For that’s the power of positive praying.

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Devotional

A daily devotional book for gardeners and non-gardeners alike.

Much of God’s Word references gardens. From the garden of Eden to the garden of Gethsemane–from the garden of the tomb to the garden described in Revelation–gardens are surely important to God. But even more important to our Creator is the work He does in the gardens of individual lives. Surely the human heart and soul is where He does His best work, as He turns chaos and barrenness into beauty and fruitfulness.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus often referenced seeds, soil, sowing, and other agricultural topics, all of which carry rich meaning in the context of human lives. So there is much for us to learn from gardening as revealed in God’s Word. These life lessons can make all the difference–not only in how we live our lives–but also in our productivity and fruitfulness as believers. Our Master Gardener will take our humble and submitted lives and turn them into a bountiful harvest for His Kingdom.

Join us on this 31-day devotional journey as we use the basics of gardening to better understand God’s masterful work in our lives.

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$3.99 and Less ~ Fiction
Contemporary
Movie Tie-In

Juggling motherhood and her job as a real-estate agent, Elizabeth Jordan wishes her husband could help more around the house.

But Tony’s rising career as a pharmaceutical salesman demands more and more of his time. With a nice home in the suburbs and a lovely young daughter, they appear to have it all—yet they can’t seem to spend time together without fighting.

Hoping for a new listing, Elizabeth visits the home of Clara Williams, an elderly widow, and is both amused and uncomfortable when Clara starts asking pointed questions about her marriage and faith. But it’s Clara’s secret prayer room, with its walls covered in requests and answers, that has Elizabeth most intrigued . . . even if she’s not ready to take Clara’s suggestion that she create a prayer room of her own. As tensions at home escalate, though, Elizabeth begins to realize that her family is worth fighting for, and she can’t win this battle on her own. Stepping out in blind faith, putting her prayers for her family and their future in God’s hands, might be her only chance at regaining the life she was meant for.

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Contemporary

Bailey Flanigan is growing closer to her dream to be an actress and dancer in New York while Cody coaches a small high school football team … on and off the field. But neither feels complete without the chance to share their dreams with one other. Can distance truly make the heart grow fonder? Or will Cody learn to turn to others to share in his happiness? And when tragedy strikes? Who will be there to provide comfort in the face of loss?

As Cody’s past catches up with him, he must learn to reach out for help or risk withdrawing permanently inside himself. Both Bailey and Cody find themselves learning significant life lessons in this poignant love story, featuring members from Karen Kingsbury’s popular Baxter family.

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Contemporary

They vowed, as children, to be silent…

When her father orchestrates a surprise trip to the summer house of her childhood, Bailee Cooper is unprepared for what follows. What is intended to be a happy reunion for Bailee and her sisters quickly becomes shrouded by memories from the past.

Together again, the three sisters sift through their recollections of fifteen years ago…of an ill mother, and of their father making a desperate choice. One sister believes their silence must end and the truth be revealed. But they soon come to wonder if they can trust their memories.

Mark Delahunt arrives in the wake of this emotional turmoil. Determined to win Bailee’s affection, Mark becomes a strong fortress for her in this time of confusion, and what was once a tentative promise begins to take root and grow. Caught between the past and an uncertain future, can Bailee let God guide her to healing…or will she risk losing the chance to embrace love?

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Lydia’s job at the library is her world—until a mysterious patron catches her eye . . . and perhaps her heart.

Just months after the closure of the Chicago World’s Fair, librarian Lydia Bancroft finds herself fascinated by a mysterious dark-haired and dark-eyed patron. He has never given her his name; he actually never speaks to a single person. All she knows about him is that he loves books as much as she does.

Only when he rescues her in the lobby of the Hartman Hotel does she discover that his name is Sebastian Marks. She also discovers that he lives at the top of the prestigious hotel and that most everyone in Chicago is intrigued by him.

Lydia and Sebastian form a fragile friendship, but when she discovers that Mr. Marks isn’t merely a very wealthy gentleman, but also the proprietor of an infamous saloon and gambling club, she is shocked.

Lydia insists on visiting the club one fateful night and suddenly is a suspect to a murder. She must determine who she can trust, who is innocent, and if Sebastian Marks—the man so many people fear—is actually everything her heart believes him to be.

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Mystery/Suspense

Finding the perfect place for a honeymoon, away from any potential danger or mystery, is challenging.

But Gabby’s longtime love and newly minted husband, Riley Thomas, has done it. He has found a location with a nonexistent crime rate, a mostly retired population, and plenty of opportunities for relaxation in the warm sun.

Within minutes of the newlyweds’ arrival, a convoy of vehicles descends on a nearby house, and their honeymoon oasis is destroyed like a sandcastle in a storm. Despite Gabby’s and Riley’s determination to keep to themselves, trouble comes knocking at their door—literally—when a neighbor is abducted from the beach directly outside their rental.

Will Gabby and Riley be swept away with each other during their honeymoon . . . or will a tide of danger and mayhem pull them under?

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Historical

Against the backdrop of the 1893 World’s Fair, a young woman finds employment with an illustrious Chicago family—a family who may guard the secret of her sister’s disappearance.

Sloane House is among the most gilded mansions of Gilded Age Chicago. Rosalind Perry, the new housemaid, pours the morning coffee before the hard gaze of her mistress. “It’s simple, Rosalind,” she says. “I am Veronica Sloane, heiress to one of the country’s greatest fortunes. You are simply one in a long line of unsuitable maids.”

Back on the farm in Wisconsin, Rosalind’s plan had seemed logical: Move to Chicago. Get hired on at Sloane House. Discover what transpired while her sister worked as a maid there—and follow the clues to why she disappeared. Now, as a live-in housemaid to the Sloanes, Rosalind realizes her plan had been woefully simple-minded. She was ignorant of the hard, hidden life of a servant in a big, prominent house; of the divide between the Sloane family and the people who served them; and most of all, she had never imagined so many people could live in such proximity and keep such dark secrets.

Yet, while Sloane House is daunting, the streets of Chicago are downright dangerous. The World’s Fair has brought a new kind of crime to the city . . . and a lonely young woman is always at risk. But when Rosalind accepts the friendship of Reid Armstrong, the handsome young heir to a Chicago silver fortune, she becomes an accidental rival to Veronica Sloane.

As Rosalind continues to disguise her kinship to the missing maid—and struggles to appease her jealous mistress—she probes the dark secrets of Sloane House and comes ever closer to uncovering her sister’s mysterious fate. A fate that everyone in the house seems to know . . . but which no one dares to name.

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Contemporary Romance
Mystery

Not all scars are visible…

A frightened runaway wants her painful past to disappear. 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. But he isn’t the only ghost from the past. Someone else is out to get her and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will Chance and Dakota lay aside old wounds and grudges to restore the old farmhouse and bridge, or will evil forces sabotage their attempts to forgive?

And don’t miss the companion Bible study for A Bridge Unbroken:

THE FRAGRANCE OF CRUSHED VIOLETS (a Bible study on forgiveness)

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#FREE E-Books
Historical

Gwen, Beth, and Lacy Gallatin fashion a life for themselves in the Montana wilds, operating a roadhouse that is located at the crossroads of two major stage lines. When their father is accidentally killed, the oldest sister, Gwen, reasons that she’s cursed. After all, death seems to haunt her: her mother, now her father…and she was married for a mere ten days before her husband died from a bout of measles.

As Gwen and her sisters struggle to maintain the inn on their own, an unexpected visitor adds to the mayhem. Hank Bishop claims to be searching for something in the possession of Gwen’s late husband. But mayhem of another sort builds in Gwen’s heart as she finds a growing attraction to this man. Can she dare to hope that love might again be hers?

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Historical

Lady Eliza Sumner is on a mission.

After losing her family, her fiance, and her faith, the disappearance of her fortune is the last straw. Now, masquerading as Miss Eliza Sumner, governess-at-large, she’s determined to find the man who ran off with her fortune, reclaim the money, and head straight back to London.

Much to Mr. Hamilton Beckett’s chagrin, all the eyes of New York society–all the female ones, at least–are on him. Unfortunately for all the matchmaking mothers and eligible daughters, he has no plans to marry again, especially with his hands full keeping his business afloat and raising his two children alone.

When Eliza’s hapless attempts to regain her fortune put her right in Hamilton’s path, sparks instantly begin to fly. The discovery of a common nemesis causes them to join forces, but with all their plans falling by the wayside and their enemies getting the better of them, it will take a riot of complications for Hamilton and Eliza to realize that God just might have had a better plan in mind all along.

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Contemporary Mystery

Second Chance Love is Book #1 of 2 Christian Romance books and offers a FREE Preview of the Grand Bay Story.

The story begins with Tracy Moore’s dilemma of how to survive her sister’s wedding while maintaining her distance from her ex-fiancé Paul Myers. To complicate matters further, she has been chosen as the maid of honor and Paul is the best man. Toss the two reluctant ex’s together on a private jetliner, a small tropical island, and see how a tragic accident puts their past love for each other to the test.

This story highlights Tracy’s journey to resolve her fears of commitment, her ability to share her deepest feelings with her ex-fiancé, her life and death accident, and her ability to trust God with her deepest fears of failure.

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Mystery/Suspense

Sometimes Prince Charming has a dark side.

Small-town girl Katie Morris knew that attending an all-girls college near Yale University, she might meet the sons and daughters of the nation’s leaders. But she never imagined one such son would strive to capture her heart with his promises of a happily-ever-after. However, a dark nature lurks inside her prince, which clashes with his charm. Will Katie be able to hang on to her fairy tale when the man she loves turns into the man she fears?

Since the moment of William Wilkerson’s birth, he had been groomed to take his father’s place in ruling the nation behind the scenes, deciding what laws get passed and who governs. But ruling requires the ability to control, manipulate, and the more William becomes the man his father desires of him, the more he finds himself turning into what he vowed never to be: a man who is a threat to the young woman he loves.

When a deal with terrorists orchestrated by his father is revealed, his family’s power is threatened, forcing William to make a choice: Sacrifice the young woman he can’t live without, or let everything his father has built, collapse.

What shall he choose?

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Contemporary Western

Revised version and formerly titled Her Mule Hollow Cowboy.

From #1 Bestselling, award winning author Debra Clopton:

Five ranch-hands inherit a Texas ranch from their boss. These cowboys and cowgirl vow to honor their beloved boss by making the New Horizon Ranch the success he envisioned when he chose to leave his legacy in their care. Along the way they each find the love of a lifetime. You’ll fall in love with these fun emotional love stories.

Cowgirl Maddie Rose has never belonged anywhere but she’s just inherited part of New Horizon Ranch—along with her partners, four handsome, extremely capable cowboys. She’s out to prove herself worthy of the honor of the inheritance. Loving her new life in the small Texas town of Mule Hollow, she’s determined that, for the first time in her life, she’s going to finally belong somewhere…

Professional Bull Rider Cliff Masterson has been chasing his dreams for years—or has he been running from his past? He’s searching for more in life and ready to dig in his spurs and put down roots deep in the heart of Texas. Rescuing a beautiful cowgirl from being trampled by a bull has him dreaming of romance, home and hearth. But Maddie’s had enough people in her life leave and she’s not willing to risk her heart on him—Sparks fly as he’s determined to prove to the feisty cowgirl that the only thing he’s chasing now is wedding bells with her…

Can the Matchmakin’ Posse of Mule Hollow help this couple find their happily ever after?

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Women’s Fiction
Mystery/Suspense

Life has taught Miska Tomlinson that there are no honorable men.

Her womanizing brothers, her absentee father, and Mark, the married baseball player who claims to love her—all have proven undependable. But Miska has life under control. She runs her editing business from her luxury condo, stays fit with daily jogs along Chicago’s lakefront, and in her free time blogs anonymously about life as a kept woman.

Enter new neighbor Dillan Foster. Between his unexpected friendship and her father’s sudden reappearance, Miska loses control of her orderly life. Her relationship with Mark deteriorates, and Miska can’t help comparing him to Dillan. His religious views are so foreign, yet the way he treats her is something she’s longed for. But Dillan discovers exactly who she is and what she has done. Too late she finds herself longing for a man who is determined to never look her way again.

When her blog receives unexpected national press, Miska realizes that her anonymity was an illusion. Caught in a scandal about to break across the nation, Miska wonders if the God Dillan talks about would bother with a woman like her—a woman who’s gone too far and done too much.

PURCHASE: | Kindle |

Contemporary

Can a cowboy turned mayor help a wealthy city girl in her quest to find home?

Dani Davis just wants a place to call home. With lovable-but-quirky town folks, quaint country charm, and loads of business potential, Miller’s Creek, Texas seems like the perfect place to start over…except for the cowboy who gives her a ride into town. She secretly finances renovations to the downtown area until malicious rumors and a devastating discovery propel her down a road she never expected to travel.

Steve Miller is determined to rescue his dying hometown. When vandals jeopardize the renovation, he can’t help but suspect Dani, whose strange behavior has become fodder for local gossips. Can Steve and Dani call a truce for a higher cause, and in the process help Dani recognize the true meaning of home?

2009 American Christian Fiction Writers’ Genesis finalist

PURCHASE: | Kindle |

GIVEAWAY

This giveaway from Christian author Cathy Bryant concludes on May 31, 2016. Winners will be drawn randomly through rafflecopter.com and notified via email. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. Enter via the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What Do You Really Trust? (Why it Absolutely Matters.)

We become like what we trust. -Psalm 115:8

Trust can be pretty elusive, can’t it?

After all, just because we say we trust someone doesn’t mean that we actually do.

Trust must be proved, and it’s proved through our actions.

What Do You Trust? (And Why It Matters!)

What or who we really trust absolutely matters. In fact, it’s critical.

Why? Read the following verse to find out.

Their idols are silver and gold,

The work of man’s hands.

They have mouths, but they cannot speak;

They have eyes, but they cannot see;

They have ears, but they cannot hear;

They have noses, but they cannot smell;

They have hands, but they cannot feel;

They have feet, but they cannot walk;

They cannot make a sound with their throat.

Those who make them will become like them,

Everyone who trusts in them. -Psalm 115:4-8 (emphasis mine)

Idols, by definition, are false gods. They come in many shapes and sizes. Anything in our lives, whether person, job, money, even a ministry, can become an idol. Without warning, we can become enslaved to these idols, even though Christ came to set us free. And the passage above also reveals another dangerous truth.

We become like what we trust.

In STILL I WILL FOLLOW, the seventh Miller’s Creek novel due out this spring, this topic is explored, especially as it relates to freedom.

The hero of the story,Clay Barnes, though a professing Christian and deacon, finds his identity in his job as ranch manager on the Miller’s ranch, a job passed down to him by his daddy and grandaddy. But God makes it pretty clear in His Word that He will tolerate no other gods. Time and time again, in the Bible, God proves His status as the One and Only True and Living God, especially when compared to lifeless and impotent idols. How will that play out in Clay’s life?

Bella, the female lead in the story, is quick to give in to trusting the opinions of others about herself. Because she is trusting in this rather than God, she quickly becomes like what she trusts. In other words, she believes a lie, and it becomes a part of who she is.

Satan is liar. He does a pretty good job of convincing us to believe his lies on a regular basis. But the second we believe his lies, we’ve picked up an idol.

The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?” -Isaiah 44:20

Thankfully, the story doesn’t have to end there, either in fictional Miller’s Creek or in our lives.

If we fully place our trust in God, He transforms us into the image of Christ. The scales fall from our eyes and we are able to see that idol to which we’ve become enslaved for what it really is.

A lie.

Lord God, we stand convicted of often placing our trust in things which have no capacity to save us or change us. Help us fully place our trust in You and You alone, so we can become more and more like You and recognize the lies we hold in our hands. In the name of Jesus–who came to set us free–we pray. Amen.

How To Enjoy More Freedom Even With Suffering

Freedom.

It’s a word that has pounded through my brain all year and also the spiritual theme of the upcoming Miller’s Creek novel, STILL I WILL FOLLOW.

The main character in the story, Bella, is struggling to understand why she’s suffering for following God back to Miller’s Creek, the one place to which she never intended to return. Though it’s been years since her wild child days in high school, the townspeople, including work colleagues, the mayor of Miller’s Creek, and even her father, seem bent on calling up the past and condemning her for it in the present.

To make matters worse, she senses that same word “freedom” as the reason God led her back to Miller’s Creek in the first place. But how can she experience freedom when everyone is intent on keeping her chained to the past?

Freedom is usually a word we associate with democracy and prosperity, but in all truth, the freedom God gives us can be experienced and enjoyed even in the midst of suffering.

How?

Well, let’s use this post to explore that very thing.

How To Enjoy More Freedom, Even In Suffering. Find out how here:
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HOW TO ENJOY FREEDOM

While freedom is very closely associated with democracy, for believers in Jesus there is a higher freedom. Through what Jesus did on the cross, we have freedom from sin and death.

Sin is our biggest problem as human beings. It’s a deadly disease with which we’re all infected. The only cure is believing and accepting what Jesus did for us. In the greatest exchange of all time, He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. Mind-boggling, isn’t it?

Death is our biggest fear as human beings. Why? Because it’s final, the end, no more. Humans also have absolutely no control over death. It’s timing is unknown to us. And it’s the greatest unknown for many, which induces even more fear. But once again, through God resurrecting Jesus from the grave, we can have victory over even our greatest fear.

So exactly how does all this bring us freedom?

Without Jesus, His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the grave, we are enslaved to our sin and to death with absolutely no hope of freedom.

Here are some verses which underscore our freedom through Christ:

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. -John 8:36

But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. -Galatians 3:22

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. -Galatians 5:1

In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. -Ephesian 3:12

“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through Him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.” -Acts 13:38-39

Now here’s the clincher: Because of our freedom in and through Christ, we are also freed from worry and anxiety. The cares of this life should truly have no hold over us, because our hope and life is completely bound up in Him as our Savior and Redeemer.

FREEDOM – EVEN WITH MORE SUFFERING

I have a feeling that I’ve already lost some of you on this section of the post.

Suffering very much feels like chains that bind us, doesn’t it? It’s not something we easily escape, no matter what form that suffering takes. It could be suffering due to illness, unemployment, homelessness, financial woes, persecution, or a whole host of other reasons.

Like Job, sometimes our suffering seems to come all at once, as if one thing wasn’t enough to plow us under.

Like Joseph, suffering can even come in the form of betrayal by the hands of those we love.

But I’m here to tell you this: Even in the most intense times of human suffering, those who claim Christ as their Lord and Savior can experience and enjoy freedom.

Paul puts it this way:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ,you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. -1 Peter 4:12-14

Jesus promised that His followers would experience trouble, tribulation, and suffering because of Him. So when we experience that suffering, we can rejoice. We are blessed. The persecution or difficult times are proof that we belong to Him.

And because He has conquered sin and death, we can experience the freedom of knowing that there is an end in sight even while suffering.

The apostle Paul knew this. To the church in Rome, he expressed it this way:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. -Romans 8:18

The story of Joseph reveals that suffering can indeed be the work of God in our lives to accomplish His purposes. Remember what Joseph told his brothers?

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. -Genesis 50:20

Joseph had come to experience firsthand the freedom we can have in suffering. Through the story of Joseph, God proved that He never wastes one hurt we endure.

Our God doesn’t change. Though we might not understand our suffering, He can use it to bring about good and fulfill His perfect plan.

And with that truth comes freedom.

Heavenly Father, We are so blessed. Help us to recognize that truth even in the midst of suffering so horrible we can barely lift our heads. Many use suffering in our world as an excuse to not believe. May Your people see it as just the opposite. Proof that You are, that You are Truth, that You will keep Your promise to resurrect us, either from the grave or from this life when You return to take us home. Thank You that even in the midst of suffering, we can experience and enjoy the freedom You came to bring. In the name of our Victor, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Christian Fiction Friday and MORE for Friday, April 29, 2016

Here are this weeks NEW RELEASES in Christian Fiction Friday and MORE. We have a little different format this week that includes books on sale and that are #FREE. Hope you can find something here that will make your day! HAPPY READING!!!

Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter our amazing April-May 2016 Christian fiction giveaway!

DISCLOSURE: We haven’t read all these new books, so please use your own judgement when purchasing them. As a reminder, some of these new releases are on pre-order with release dates within the next couple of weeks. :)

#amreading Christian Fiction Friday and MORE for April 29, 2016. Look for the #Giveaway
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New Releases Christian Fiction Friday
Mystery/Suspense

She’s turning up the heat on Carin County’s cold cases . . .



Evie Blackwell loves her life as an Illinois State Police detective . . . mostly. She’s very skilled at investigations and has steadily moved up through the ranks. She would like to find Mr. Right, but she has a hard time imagining how marriage could work, considering the demands of her job.

Gabriel Thane grew up in Carin County and is now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he’s sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have. . . .

When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it’s to help launch a new task force focused on unsolved crimes across the state. She will work with the sheriff’s department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she studies old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths surprising connections. One way or another, she knows Gabriel Thane and his family will be key to the answers she seeks.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Historical Mystery Suspense

The Charleston earthquake has left destruction like nothing Doctor Andrew Warwick has ever seen. On a desperate mission to find the lady who owns his heart, he frantically searches through the rubble, where he finds her injured and lifeless. After she regains consciousness, the doctor’s hopes are quickly dashed as he realizes she doesn’t remember him. Things only get worse when he discovers she believes she’s still engaged to the abusive scoundrel, Lloyd Pratt. Now Drew is on a race with the wedding clock to either help her remember or win her heart again before she marries the wrong man.

Waking in a makeshift hospital, Olivia Macqueen finds herself recovering from a head injury. With amnesia stealing a year of her memories, she has trouble discerning between lies and truth. When her memories start returning in bits and pieces, she must keep up the charade of amnesia until she can find out the truth behind the embezzlement of her family’s business while evading the danger lurking around her.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Contemporary Romance Women’s Fiction

Do you believe in angels?

Willow Carter certainly did not, until Hope showed up and refused to leave. This insistent angel opens Willow’s eyes to a world filled with incredible people in many forms—a purple-headed artist with a heart lined in pure gold, an autistic young man who sees the world through different eyes, a homeless woman trying to survive. As if they weren’t enough, JP Thorton enters Willow’s life and turns it upside down and around and round. The surfboard-riding photographer needs to understand how to claim hope, too.

Willow and JP go on a journey for something we all need and it leads them to a discovery of hope. Such a powerful thing hope can be, and an endless journey of wonder when truly discovered. Hope can change everything. You only need a spark of it to lead to a blazing wonder.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

New Releases & Deals in Christian Non-Fiction
Prayer
Evangelism

Before there was ever a Jesus movement, there was a Jesus Fast.

Both a war manual and global summons to revival, The Jesus Fast is your guide to the most explosive weapon in the Christian arsenal: humility, expressed in fasting, combined with prayer. Using Jesus as the role model, Lou Engle and Dean Briggs reveal how extended fasting and the 40-day fast precede breakthrough and a true outpouring of the Spirit.

It’s time for the next Jesus movement.



We stand at the brink of massive spiritual upheaval. Will God’s people merely endure history, or shape it? As we seek His face together, the Church can significantly realign earth with heaven. We can turn the tide of evil in our lands, awaken the nations to the glory of Christ and forge hope out of despair.

This is the call. How will you answer?

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Devotional

A daily devotional book for gardeners and non-gardeners alike.

Much of God’s Word references gardens. From the garden of Eden to the garden of Gethsemane–from the garden of the tomb to the garden described in Revelation–gardens are surely important to God.

But even more important to our Creator is the work He does in the gardens of individual lives. Surely the human heart and soul is where He does His best work, as He turns chaos and barrenness into beauty and fruitfulness.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus often referenced seeds, soil, sowing, and other agricultural topics, all of which carry rich meaning in the context of human lives.

So there is much for us to learn from gardening as revealed in God’s Word. These life lessons can make all the difference–not only in how we live our lives–but also in our productivity and fruitfulness as believers.

Our Master Gardener will take our humble and submitted lives and turn them into a bountiful harvest for His Kingdom.

Join us on this 31-day devotional journey as we use the basics of gardening to better understand God’s masterful work in our lives.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Christian Living
Theology

Linger on the hill of Calvary.

Rub a finger on the timber and press the nail into your hand.

Taste the tinge of cheap wine and feel the scrape of a thorn on your brow.

Touch the velvet dirt, moist with the blood of God.

Allow the tools of torture to tell their story.

Listen as they tell you what God did to win your heart.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Old Testament
Bible Study
Getting free is only half the story.

Freedom is a central theme in our world. It’s become a rallying cry for people, groups, even entire nations. But freedom without boundaries can be costly. Based on the book of Exodus, this study offers an eye-opening look at the pitfalls of deliverance without discipline, and shares the freedom found through a loving submission to God and His will for us.

Part of Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s best-selling “BE” commentary series, BE Delivered has now been updated with study questions and a new introduction by Ken Baugh. A respected pastor and Bible teacher, Dr. Wiersbe explores the need to balance freedom with responsibility. Filled with real-world examples that resonate today, this study uncovers how you can experience true freedom in [every area of] your life.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

$3.99 and Less ~ Fiction
Contemporary Romance

A soldier battles for a prodigal’s soul…

After a devastating divorce, a bitter single mom and atheist starts her own real estate company in the nostalgic and picturesque town of Miller’s Creek, Texas. Then her young daughter’s disturbing symptoms lead doctors to discover that her leukemia has relapsed. With her new life now turned upside down, Mara Hedwig struggles to keep her business afloat. And her daughter’s worsening condition forces her to rethink her beliefs about Carter Callahan and his God. Will Mara make the return to Christian faith in the face of life’s greatest challenge?

An ex-military operative struggles with the return to civilian life while coping with his rebellious teen-aged daughter. During a house-search, Carter meets Mara, a headstrong Realtor who wants nothing to do with his God. But when Mara’s little girl is diagnosed with leukemia, the clock begins ticking for him to convince Mara to return to a life of faith. Just as he seems to be making headway, circumstances beyond his control throw his efforts into a tailspin. Can Carter learn to rest in the sovereignty of God?

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |
Contemporary Women’s Fiction

God takes broken things and makes them beautiful again. He reclaims our desolate places.

Suzanna Wilton has had a heavy share of heartache in her twenty-seven years. Left wounded by a marriage cut short, she leaves city life to take up residency in a tiny Nebraska town. Her introduction to her neighbor Paul Rustin is a disaster. Assuming he’s as underhanded as the other local cowboys she’s already met, Suzanna greets him with sharp hostility.

Though Paul is offended by Suzanna’s unfriendliness, he can’t stop thinking about her, which unsettles his peaceful life. Intrigued by the woman who lives down the road and propelled by a sense that she carries a painful burden, he frequently drops by to offer help as she adjusts to rural living.

Just as Paul’s kindness begins to melt Suzanna’s frozen heart, a conflict regarding her land escalates in town. Even in the warmth of Paul’s love, resentment keeps a cold grip on her fragile heart.

When romance isn’t enough, will Suzanna ever find peace?

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Contemporary Romance

Charlotte Ritchie was traveling halfway across the world to attend her brother’s wedding. She and a small group of family and friends planned on spending the week prior to the wedding volunteering at a rescue center in Kenya. Her new sister-in-law had grown up there with her missionary parents, and everyone thought it was the perfect way to celebrate the event.

Falling in love might not have been on Charlotte’s to-do list that week, but as we all know, life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan. She would slip briskly into an intimacy from which she’d never recover. Falling in love would be the easy part. It was leaving the man of her dreams behind that would be nearly impossible.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Contemporary Romance

A lonely wedding chapel built as a tribute to lost love just might hold the long-awaited secret to hope and reconciliation.

For sixty years, the wedding chapel has stood silent and empty. Retired football hall-of-famer Jimmy “Coach” Westbrook built the chapel by hand, stone by stone, for his beautiful and beloved Collette Greer, whom he lost so many years ago. The chapel is a sanctuary for his memories, a monument to true love, and a testament to his survival of the deepest pain and loss.

Photographer Taylor Branson left her hometown of Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, to make a new life for herself in New York. She had lots to run away from, not least of all a family history of broken promises and broken dreams. Love catches Taylor off guard when she falls for Jack Forester, a successful advertising executive, and their whirlwind romance leads to an elopement—then to second guesses. Jack, in spite of his very real love for Taylor, is battling his own demons and struggles to show her his true self and the depths of his love for her.

Taking a photography assignment in Heart’s Bend, Taylor is thrown back into a past of family secrets buried deep beneath the sands of time. When Taylor and Coach’s journeys collide, they each rediscover the heartbeat of their own dreams as they learn that the love they long to hold is well worth the wait.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

#FREE E-Books
Contemporary

Can a cowboy turned mayor help a wealthy city girl in her quest to find home?

Dani Davis just wants a place to call home. With lovable-but-quirky town folks, quaint country charm, and loads of business potential, Miller’s Creek, Texas seems like the perfect place to start over…except for the cowboy who gives her a ride into town. She secretly finances renovations to the downtown area until malicious rumors and a devastating discovery propel her down a road she never expected to travel.

Steve Miller is determined to rescue his dying hometown. When vandals jeopardize the renovation, he can’t help but suspect Dani, whose strange behavior has become fodder for local gossips. Can Steve and Dani call a truce for a higher cause, and in the process help Dani recognize the true meaning of home?

2009 American Christian Fiction Writers’ Genesis finalist

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Historical Romance

Lily (Song of the River Book 1)

Cruise down the Mississippi with Natchez belle Lily Anderson.

Needing to provide for herself and her sisters, Lily is desperately trying to make a go of a riverboat venture with co-owner Blake Matthews. But they fail to find anything to agree upon. Blake is enamored of the feisty Lily. Attempts to woo her may be lost to the devious Jean Luc Champney.

Will the siren song of the river evolve into a serenade or a somber lament?

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Mystery/Suspense

While she’s stalking the truth . . . someone is stalking her.



Psychology professor and criminal profiler Taylor Martin prides herself on being able to solve any crime, except the one she wants most desperately to solve–the disappearance of her father twenty years ago. When she finally has a lead on his whereabouts, Taylor returns home to Logan Point, Mississippi, to investigate. But as she works to uncover the truth, someone else will do almost anything to keep her from it.

Nick Sinclair pens mystery novels for a living, but the biggest mystery to him is how he can ever get over the death of his wife–a tragedy he believes he could have prevented. Now that his estranged brother is the only family he has left, Nick sets out to find him. But when he crosses paths with Taylor, all he seems to find is trouble.

Join the chase as Taylor and Nick search the murky shadows of the past for the keys to unlocking the present–and moving into a future they never imagined.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Mystery/Suspense

A sabotaged plane. Two dead deep-water divers. One single clue.

Bailey Craig vowed never to set foot in Yancey, Alaska, again. She has a past, and a reputation–and Yancey’s a town that doesn’t forget. She’s returned only to bury a loved one killed in the plane crash, but then dark evidence emerges and Bailey’s own expertise becomes invaluable for the case.

Cole McKenna can face dangerous rescue dives. He can face the fear a murderer may be threatening his town. But facing the reality of Bailey’s reappearance is a tougher challenge. She broke his heart…but doesn’t seem to be the same girl who left Yancey ten years ago. And he’s not the same guy she left behind.

Racing against the clock and a rising body count, Bailey and Cole must move beyond the hurts of their pasts to work together until the truth of what is hidden in the depths finally surfaces.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

GIVEAWAY

This giveaway from Christian author Cathy Bryant concludes on May 31, 2016. Winners will be drawn randomly through rafflecopter.com and notified via email. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. Enter via the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 Beneficial Results of Genuine Sorrow

Sorrow isn’t one of those things that we humans tend to see as a good thing.

But in all truth, in God’s hands sorrow can be beneficial.

Can you recall a time in your life when you weren’t necessarily sorry for something you did, but you were sorry you got caught?

Most of us probably experienced that type of sorrow many times as children. At least know I did.

That is what the Bible would describe as worldly sorrow.

But godly sorrow over our wrongdoings, the sort of sorrow that grieves us to the core, has multiple benefits.

The verse in the photo above caught my eye recently. As I work on the seventh Miller’s Creek novel, STILL I WILL FOLLOW, I glimpsed the heroine of the story in this passage. Bella, like most of us, has things from her past she’d rather leave buried. Though she believes in and has experienced God’s forgiveness for her sins, the people around her seem bent on reminding her of past indiscretions at every turn. The only way she (and we!) can ever live victorious lives free from regret is to allow our sorrow to drive us to God.

So in this devotional post let’s delve into the difference between worldly and godly sorrow and the benefits we can glean from genuine sorrow.

Godly Sorrow Vs. Worldly Sorrow

The verse above gives a very apt description of the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow.

Godly sorrow brings:

repentance that leads to salvation and
leaves no regrets

I don’t know about you, but those are exactly the sort of results I want in my life. Turning away from sin and back to God brings salvation. Salvation from sin, self, death, idolatry, slavery, etc.

And who doesn’t want to live a life with no regrets?

So how can we have no regrets when we’re sorry for our sins? Because Jesus, through His death on the cross, completely wiped them away and chooses not to remember them any more. In addition, He uses our sorrow over sin to bring about good and transformation in our lives. How can we have regrets under those circumstances?

But worldy sorrow? It brings death.

How?

First off, in worldly sorrow there is no repentance, no turning back to God. It is very much a “sorry-I-got-caught” kind of sorrow. Without that repentance, there is no good, no transformation, no forgiveness, no reconciliation with God, no anything.

It leaves waves of regret in its wake.

In short, it kills.

7 Benefits of Godly Sorrow

See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. -2 Corinthians 7:11

In this passage from Paul to the church at Corinth, he lays out very succinctly what godly sorrow had produced for them. And when I consider these, I very much see this same pattern in my own life.

The sorrow that leads to repentance produces:

Earnestness – We become serious and committed to doing better as followers of Christ.
Eagerness to Clear Ourselves – While we can’t undo the past, we can confess our sin to the One who is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Indeed, that is the only way to clear ourselves. I personally can’t live with a life of separation from God that sin brings. His call on my life leads to repentance for the restoration of my relationship with Him.
Indignation – Strong displeasure and righteous anger over our failure and giving into our deceptive hearts and the enemy’s lies is the product of godly sorrow. That indignation makes us much less susceptible to fall for the same deception the next time around.
Alarm – It is frightening when we come face to face with our propensity to sin. It’s scary to realize what an easy target we can sometimes be for the enemy of our souls.
Longing – Jesus has done so much for me that any list of benefits would never be complete. So when I mess up, that godly sorrow in me produces a longing to run to Him to make things right.
Concern – As children of our heavenly Father, our aim is to please Him and live for Him. When we fail, it should concern us. I’m so grateful that our Lord doesn’t use our sin against us, but instead uses it to teach us and transform us.
Readiness to See Justice Done – Justice is usually something we want for our enemies. And it’s always easier to blame our problems on someone else rather than accepting our own responsibility in the matter. Godly sorrow produces in us the desire for things to be made right. Truly that is the highest definition of justice: the desire for things to be made right, even when it costs us for the benefit of others.

Godly sorrow has multiple benefits. More here:
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Heavenly Father, how grateful we are to You for taking something as difficult as sorrow to produce long-lasting benefits in our lives. You are truly a good Father to us. Help us to remember the difference between Your version of sorrow and the world’s version. May we always be quick to run to You in repentance, so we can experience Your salvation and live with no regrets. In the name of Jesus–who makes it all possible–we pray. Amen.

Christian Fiction Friday and MORE for Friday, April 22, 2016

Here are this weeks NEW RELEASES in Christian Fiction Friday and MORE. I know it has been a coupe of weeks since the last post, but we have been in the process of RELOCATING and are just now getting caught up. We are still looking for a home, but I will try to make sure and get these posts ready for you and get back on schedule. Thanks for understanding and HAPPY READING!!!

Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter our amazing April-May 2016 Christian fiction giveaway!

DISCLOSURE: We haven’t read all these new books, so please use your own judgement when purchasing them. As a reminder, some of these new releases are on pre-order with release dates within the next couple of weeks. :)

#amreading Christian Fiction Friday and MORE for April 22, 2016. Look for the #Giveaway
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New Christian Fiction Friday Finds
Mystery Suspense

Some wounds heal. Others leave scars.

Four years ago, Charlene Perigard survived a brutal kidnapping. Now at twenty-two, she’s put that trauma behind her for a promising future with handsome firefighter Ben Jorgensen. But when new trauma strikes, a new nightmare begins.

Sinister threats, a midnight attack, and a deathbed promise drive Charlene to the little town of Creekside, where she encounters a man from her past whom she has long struggled to forget: Clay Morrow—ex-convict and brother of her kidnapper. He’s also the man who once helped save her life.

Despite the odds, Charlene and Clay forge a tentative friendship, unaware of a brooding, mounting danger that seeks to destroy them both. Charlene’s wounded heart must choose between her fiancé and the man whose past is more scarred than her own. But in choosing, she may just lose everything.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Historical Western Romance

A mail order bride, her handsome prospective husband and a blonde competitor for his love… Will Cara keep her man?

Cara, a pretty, voluptuous and vivacious young woman from a poor family with thirteen children that lives in County Cork, Ireland, is forced to migrate to America, so that she can send home money to her family. She travels for a month on a steamship to Boston, USA. In the city of Boston, Cara finds work as a maid and sends home money.

She is homesick for Ireland, but has to remain in America, especially when the potato blight affects crops in Ireland. After a while she finds out about mail order bride catalogs, and decides to marry a man in the West. She meets Aidan via the mail order bride catalog. Aidan, originally from Galway in Ireland, is tall and handsome, with blonde hair and blue eyes. So Cara takes the Oregon Trail out West.

The California Gold Rush occurs just around the time that Cara joins Aidan, and they both pan for gold alongside others. At first Cara thinks that she can get married at once, but there are obstacles in the path towards married bliss—one of them being a blonde vixen who has set her sights on Cara’s man…

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a 16,000-word stand-alone story with an HEA, so no cliff-hangers.

PURCHASE: | Kindle |

Mystery/Suspense

Bailey Adams is running for her life . . . again.



When Bailey Adams left Logan Point two years ago she thought she was getting away from her problems. Running into her ex-fiancé Danny Maxwell was not part of the plan–neither was being chased through the city by the local drug cartel, the Calatrava. Now despite her best efforts, Danny is her only chance of escaping the people chasing her and getting back to Logan Point safely. Can Bailey find the strength to face what’s coming? And in the midst of the chaos, can she keep herself from falling in love with her rescuer all over again?

With lean, fast-paced prose that will keep you turning the pages, Patricia Bradley pens a superb story of suspense and second chances.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Contemporary Women’s Fiction

Amid open fields and empty pews, small towns can crush big dreams.

Abandoned by his no-good father and forced to grow up too soon, Noble Burden has set his dreams aside to run the family farm. Meanwhile, James Horton, the pastor of the local church, questions his own calling as he prepares to close the doors for good.

As a severe storm rolls through, threatening their community and very livelihood, both men fear losing what they care about most . . . and reconsider where they truly belong.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Historical Romance

Before Christ called her daughter . . .

Before she stole healing by touching the hem of his garment . . .

Elianna is a young girl crushed by guilt. After her only brother is killed while in her care, Elianna tries to earn forgiveness by working for her father’s textile trade and caring for her family. When another tragedy places Elianna in sole charge of the business, her talent for design brings enormous success, but never the absolution she longs for. As her world unravels, she breaks off her betrothal to the only man she will ever love. Then illness strikes, isolating Elianna from everyone, stripping everything she has left.

No physician can cure her. No end is in sight. Until she hears whispers of a man whose mere touch can heal. After so many years of suffering and disappointment, is it possible that one man could redeem the wounds of body . . . and soul?

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Historical Romance

USA Today Bestselling author Tamara Leigh returns with a tale of betrayal, vengeance, and forbidden longing in Lady Undaunted, her latest historical romance set in medieval England.

BETRAYED

Declared illegitimate and denied his inheritance, Sir Liam Fawke has given six years of his life in service to his younger brother for the promise of being named heir to the Barony of Ashlingford. But when he is summoned to his brother’s deathbed, he learns his treacherous kin has secretly wed and fathered a son. Vowing to claim what is rightfully his, Liam contests his nephew’s succession. And not only finds himself at dangerous odds with the boy’s lovely, spirited mother, but attracted to one who is forbidden him—one whose son is the means by which he could twice lose all.

FORBIDDEN

Three years ago, Lady Joslyn struck a desperate bargain to wed a nobleman and provide him with an heir. Now widowed, she must protect her young son from her husband’s vengeful brother who will stop at nothing—including murder—to take what does not belong to him. But when she seeks an audience with the king to secure her son’s inheritance, she discovers Sir Liam may have the stronger claim and that the truth of him could make lies of all she was led to believe. More unsettling, she is drawn to the man beneath the anger who can never forgive her for the part she played in his brother’s deception—nor forget to whom she first belonged.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Mystery/Suspense 2-in-1
You Don’t Have to Be a Star by Susan May Warren

A Prequel to the Montana Fire Series

Former Green Beret Luke Alexander just wants to forget his past and mind his own business in the woods of east Tennessee. And his park ranger job seems just the solution… until a diva movie star walks into his world looking for someplace to hide. But the Cherokee forest isn’t big enough for the both of them, not if you include the trouble MacKenzie has dragged along behind her. And soon she’s stirring up his own murky past—one out for revenge. Which trouble will find them first? Is it even possible to outrun your past and start over? Luke and MacKenzie are about to find out…
Once Upon a Cowboy by Lacy Williams

Book 1 in the Cowboy Fairytales series

A princess on-the-run finds sanctuary where she least expects it…

After nearly dying in an assassination attempt, Princess Alessandra of Glorvaird escapes to a place no one would ever think to look for her: small town Oklahoma and a ranch staffed by a herd of wooly, uncouth cowboys. One cowboy in particular gets under her skin, until she sees his softer side. She knows this interlude can’t last forever, but that doesn’t stop her from wishing it might…

Former Navy SEAL Gideon Hale might’ve rescued the princess from freezing to death, but the soldier doesn’t trust easily—or at all—especially when his gut tells him Alessandra is keeping secrets. But as Alessandra begins to fit into his life, he discovers another side to the princess—one that he can’t help but like.

When Alessandra’s enemies close in, Gideon must fight to save the woman who has become so much more than a princess…

Once Upon a Cowboy is a contemporary western retelling of the Snow White fairytale and Book 1 in the Cowboy Fairytales series.
PURCHASE: | Kindle |

Mystery/Suspense

THE PLEASANT HEARTS Series unwraps the journeys of four orphaned Christian sisters, all in their thirties, and told they’ll never marry. To them, marriage did appear too distant as each struggled to build a career while single, and communication between the sisters was less than stellar. But when God stepped in, He showed that He could turn their struggles into triumphs-if they let Him. UNCOMMON GROUND , begins this series, focused on Stella, the eldest of the Hearts sisters.

Widowed and now single, Stella Heart juggled between managing her career and struggling to communicate with her teenage daughter, Sharon. Their common ground crumbled beneath their different beliefs about God. While Stella believed in God, her daughter didn’t. Sharon instead held strongly to what they taught her in school–until the day the ground physically gave way–altering both their perspectives about each other, and more than one person’s resistance to God.

Stella’s concerns multiplied in the ensuing chaos after she met Michael, a Christian man with a mysterious past whom danger seemed to follow- and she wondered how many more unseen twists God trusted her to handle. Can she trust Michael beyond what he appears to be hiding from her, or will her own fears cloud her judgement when extreme danger surfaces?

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |

Historical Western Romance

1890s Texas



Marietta Hawkins has been in love with ranch foreman Daniel Barrett since she came home from school three years ago. Unfortunately, her father’s rule about hands not fraternizing with his daughter has kept him out of reach. She believed patience would prove a virtue in winning him over–until now. He is leaving. Starting up his own spread. To have any hope of maneuvering him into a proposal, she has to act fast or lose him forever. Fans of A Worthy Pursuit will enjoy seeing these characters again!

PURCHASE: | Kindle |

Christian Non-Fiction Friday Finds
Christian Living

If you are looking for a prayer book to help you pray for your children, then this is the book for you.

Praying for Our Children is written by a Christian mom who believes in the power of prayer. This mom-turned-author created Praying for Our Children while praying for her own child and felt led to share it with others.

This book contains 15 separate prayers to help all caregivers and parents pray for the children in their life. this includes your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, the children of friends, friends of your child, and any other child in your life. Every child should have a prayer warrior. So join us in Praying for Our Children.

PURCHASE: | Kindle |

Christian Living/Grief

What happens after the worst happens?

Before May 31, 2008, September Vaudrey’s life was beautiful. But on that day, with one phone call from the ER, her whole world—everything she knew and believed—was shaken to the core. Katie, her 19-year-old artist daughter, had been in a car accident and would not survive. How does a family live in the wake of devastating tragedy? When darkness colors every moment, is it possible to find light? Can God still be good, even after goodbye?

With the depth of C. S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed and the poignancy of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, Colors of Goodbye offers a moving glimpse into a mother’s heart. Combining literary narrative and raw reflection, September Vaudrey walks through one of life’s worst losses—the death of a child—and slowly becomes open to watching for the unexpected ways God carries her through it. It’s a story of love and tragedy in tandem; a deeply personal memoir from a life forever changed by one empty place. And at its core, Colors of Goodbye calls to the deepest part of our spirits to know that death is not the end . . . and that life can be beautiful still.

PURCHASE: | Print | Kindle |
GIVEAWAY

This giveaway from Christian author Cathy Bryant concludes on May 31, 2016. Winners will be drawn randomly through rafflecopter.com and notified via email. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. Enter via the Rafflecopter below.

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Could You Use This Amazing #Giveaway? (VALUE: $50)

Because of our recent move I’m a little late in posting the April 2016 giveaway.

Rather than do a small giveaway with the time we have left in April, I’ve decided to combine the April and May prizes so I can offer an amazing giveaway for readers.

The giveaway for April-May 2016 includes a Book Seat book holder plus a print copy of any book I’ve written (winner’s choice).

Amazing Giveaway – The Book Seat

Here’s the scoop on the first part of this amazing giveaway.

Hands free book holder
The Book Seat doubles as a travel pillow; in a car, bus, plane etc.
The Book Seat will mold itself and shape to sit at any angle on any surface that you place it.
The fabric used is the latest high quality 190gsm faux-suede.

Many color choices are available, so I will allow the winner to make the choice based on what’s available and in stock.

Amazing Giveaway – Print Copy of Any Book by Cathy

The second part of this amazing giveaway is a print copy of any of my books (not including collections since they are only available in eBook format). Since the winner will receive their choice, I’m listing the books below with a brief blurb as well as a link to the book’s page where you’ll find more detailed information.

Miller’s Creek Novels :

Texas Roads – One secret kept, another uncovered… A city gal yearns for home in a back-roads Texas town. Can the cowboy-turned-mayor help her find true home? (Contemporary Romance)

A Path Less Traveled – Grief paints a celebration with shades of gray… A grieving widow is determined to provide for her traumatized little boy without outside help, but will that mean leaving the only home she’s ever known? (Contemporary Romance)

The Way of Grace – In pursuit of justice, in need of grace… A justice-seeking perfectionist dreams of the perfect life. But in a cruel twist at the hands of a master manipulator, her dreams turn to ashes. Can she bestow grace on even her enemies? (Contemporary Romantic Suspense)

Pilgrimage of Promise – Can love survive broken promises? A dusty stack of unopened love letters and a terminal illness force a recently-reunited couple are to revisit their painful past. Can they learn to depend on the promises that never fail? (Contemporary/Historical Romance & Women’s Fiction)

A Bridge Unbroken –  Not all scars are visible… A frightened runaway co-inherits her grandfather’s farm with the man responsible for the scars on her heart. Can they set aside old grudges to build a bridge? (Contemporary Romantic Suspense)

Crossroads – A soldier wages war for a prodigal’s soul… A bitter prodigal is forced to consider the reality of God when faced with her little girl’s life-threatening illness. Can the soldier battling for her soul reach her with God’s truth before it’s too late? (Contemporary Romance)

Non-Series Fiction:

Pieces On Earth – A young military wife searches for peace after her husband’s recent deployment. Can she find God’s peace in life’s pieces? (Contemporary Christmas novella)

LifeSword Bible Studies & Devotionals :

The Fragrance of Crushed Violets – A Bible study on the topic of forgiving even the inexcusable.

Believe & Know – A Bible study on defending and sharing our Christian faith.

New Beginnings – A 31-Day devotional about the new beginnings that are ours in Christ.

The Power of Godly Influence – A 29-Day devotional about living the life of impact Jesus calls us to in being salt and light.

Life Lessons From My Garden – A 31-Day devotional journey into our lives as God’s garden. Written for gardeners and non-gardeners alike.

April-May 2016 Giveaway

The April-May 2016 giveaway from Christian author Cathy Bryant will conclude on May 31, 2016. The winner is chosen randomly via rafflecopter.com and will be notified via email. Odds of winning depend on number of entries.

Enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter below.

Check out @Cathy_Bryant’s #giveaway of The Book Seat + a print of copy of any one of her books….
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