Marilynn Dawson's Blog, page 7

Happy New Year! When Tech, Faith and Movies Collide!

Yes, that's me inserted into the image, courtesy of a TRON FB app a few years ago.

This year, as a family we rang out 2013 and rang in 2014 by following up my church's New Year's Eve service with Tron Legacy! Two scenes in the movie stood out to me this year.  

The first scene is when Qora is telling Sam how she was rescued by his Dad, Kevin Flynn. Qora referred to him as Creator, even though earlier in the movie, Kevin had told his son that while he invented this amazing place called The Grid, he had only written some of the code responsible for the Iso's.

The second scene was when Sam and Qora activate the beacon to head back to the "real world". Clue is trying desparately to get into the stream, close enough that parts of his body threaten to de-res when Kevin activates his power as the head programmer and pulls him not only out of the beacon, but chooses to eliminate the threat that Clue is to The Grid by pulling him into an embrace, not only destroying Clue in the process, but dieing himself in the process.

These two scenes struck me because of their similarities to what God is to us and what He's done for us. As we know from John 1:1-5, Jesus Christ was not only present at Creation, but created everything Himself and for Himself. Unlike Kevin Flynn, He deliberately created mankind with a free will. Nothing about us combined randomly out of already supplied code. Christ saw the mess that mankind had made of the world, and rather than simply outright destroy everything He'd ever made, He embraced mankind which resulted in not only the death of sin, but His own earthly death in the process so that we might be granted forgiveness for our sin and receive eternal life.

Another scene strikes me every time I watch the movie as well. It takes place in a few different instances actually. In the first movie, a program is created to protect The Grid, his name is Tron, after which the movies are named. However, in the second movie, we are introduced to a formidable program named Rinsler, who we later find out is Tron corrupted. This is important to understand. However, the corruption is not 100% complete, as Rinsler's dual discs are only orange on the inner ring, while the outer ring remains white. In addition, when he finds out that Sam is not a program, but instead a user, he halts the fight. Much later in the movie as Sam, Kevin and Qora are flying a commandeered craft to the beacon, Rinsler, supposedly fighting alongside Clue, suddenly gets a clear view of the craft's occupants and can nolonger keep up the fight. This angers Clue and he takes out Rinsler's craft while trying to speed on toward the beacon. We see Rinsler floating downward as his programming changes from orange to white moments before the movie carries on at the beacon.

The script writers have left the door open to a third Tron movie. The Grid is not completely wiped out by the explosion that removes Clue's threat to the system. Tron has gone from being a created program with autonomous properties, to a corrupted autonomous program, to a reformed program of his own choosing, remembering his original mandate and choosing to revert to it when forced to witness potential consequences.

Like Tron/Rinsler, mankind was created for relationship with God, to love and serve Him. Like Tron/Rinsler, we too were corrupted, won over to the dark side by a cunning and masterful liar bent on destroying all that God had made. But just as we see in the final battle before the beacon when Tron/Rinsler remembers and chooses to revert back to his original programming, we too can return to the relationship God longed for us at the beginning. The difference between us and Tron/Rinsler, is that we were unable to make that choice until Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Just like Tron/Rinsler's story, Christ's death on the cross was not the end. The story has been granted continuation and it is now up to us to make the choice that will either result in eternal separation from God, or eternity spent in relationship with God. We too can move from dark to light by choosing to accept Christ's forgiveness for our sins and choosing to live in right relationship with Him for the rest of our lives.

Will we see another Tron movie? I don't know, but I do know the script writers left the door open for that to happen. But one thing I know for certain, is that life for us does carry on after death's door. Our story has not only been left open, but is indeed going to take place. The question is, on which side of eternity will we sit? On the destroyer's side, or God's side.

Songdove Books Newsletter: New Year's Edition

Happy New Year!!!

It is now time for my post-Christmas/New Year's thoughts.

The week between Christmas and New Year's is typically a time of reflection for me. This is the time when, at some point during this week, two things will happen: I'll hit a low point, the body's physical let down after a hyped-up month of activity, and within a day or two, the contemplative reflection will start. While December was a busy month in more ways than just the book front, I don't know how this week will go. I've deliberately been attempting a slower pace this winter due to personal health issues affecting my adrenal/endocryn system and all it's myriad of offshoots throughout the body. So I'm not sure if the usual yearly low will hit this year or not.

Yearly reflections typically consist of looking over how the past year went, with it's highs and lows, it's successes and failures, and looking forward to the New Year. As I look into the New Year, sometimes I can see what's coming down the pipe, other times the horizon is hidden by a fog preventing me from seeing more than a couple weeks into the future. Last year around this time, I saw as far as my two teenagers graduating High School. This year, so far as I can tell, I can't see much past the book launch in February. In January, my oldest teenager will have his 20th birthday. That's a bit of a shocker to be honest. . .

The book launch is going to see me crawl out of three comfort zones/outlooks on life. The first is my incredible dislike for public speaking. That night I'll be doing book readings at three different intervals AND participating in the door prizes and Grand Prize! The second is my general inattentiveness to anything happening in the fashion world. Suddenly I have a fashion consultant on board who will be working with me to ensure that models on the runway display clothing styles appropriate to the message of my book! The third is going out of my way to visit craft fairs this Fall in order to set up a bazaar for the book launch! Me, who normally has no real interest in anything crafty, talking to crafters, admiring their work, and inviting them to sell their wares at my event! I suppose you could say I've been crawling out of that "comfort zone" for the past two months already.

Writing books can do some pretty strange things to authors, I tell you! I don't know what's ahead for sustainable income. Anyone reading this newsletter is invited to pray over that front. I don't know what the coming year entails with my health. My source of my natural health regimen may not be able to continue providing it much longer, another item for your prayer list. I also don't know what's happening this year for my grown children as they begin to find their way in the world.

The one thing I do know about the coming year, whether I can see what's coming down the pipe or not, is that my God goes before me. He's already there and knows what will happen on my way to every destination I will come to. All He asks is that I trust Him and rest in that trust. This is a lesson that I go through periodically. I confess to my reader that I am going through it again. Each time the lesson is slightly different, with a different focus. Some trust lessons have been financial, others have been relational, and this year, it appears to be a bit of both coupled with my health. Inspite of the concerns I face, the coming year gives me a sense of anticipation. I'm not sure what I'm anticipating, but there's something out there in 2014 that has me looking forward. . . to whatever it is. . . So as long as I keep my eyes on the face of my Unseen Lover, Jesus Christ, and remind myself to rest as I trust Him for my needs, 2014 will be a good year.

What is God showing you as you look out over the vista of a new year?

Here at Songdove Books, life has been a bit on the busy side this December. We've given away three early Christmas gifts in the Google Play Winter Giveaway, with a belated Christmas gift coming up on Sunday, the 29th. Then we have four more drawings before the launch of my next book, "Dressed for Eternity" which debuts February 8th! If you haven't gotten your Google acct email address into the Rafflecopter form yet, you can do it at this link here: We have 12 entries heading into Sunday's draw for this week.

Progress on the book, "Dressed for Eternity" has gone very well. It is very close to being publish-ready. Boxing Day was spent preparing it for ebook status. This book will launch in paperback, PDF, epub, and mobi formats! Pricing is still being worked out. More should be known on that front by the time January's newsletter comes out.

If you live in the Okanagan area, this book will be released on February 8th with a Book Launch Bazaar and Fashion Show! Vendors will feature various items and concepts discussed in the book. Models will strut the runway featuring modest clothing styles in casual, formal, and wedding/bridal categories. There will be book readings, and door prizes. There will even be a mystery Grand Prize! You won't want to miss it. There is some discussion already about doing something similar online for those who don't live in the Okanagan. A couple of the existing vendors are interested, so we'll see how it goes.

I wanted to thank everyone who joined me this past year for the online daily sessions from "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey". It was amazing as the year progressed, how I'd be going through something, and God would have just the session I needed show up that very day! God's timing for things seriously continues to amaze me. Did this happen for any of you this past year? I'd love to hear your stories.

The series is currently on sale at 10% off over at Createspace.com. Here are each volume's links, and the coupon code: 2MU73RQR.

Createspace.com:
https://www.createspace.com/3672131 Volume One
https://www.createspace.com/3933868 Volume Two
https://www.createspace.com/3958072 Volume Three
https://www.createspace.com/3958097 Volume Four
https://www.createspace.com/3958124 Volume Five
https://www.createspace.com/3960362 Volume Six
https://www.createspace.com/3964570 Leader's Guide

This sale ends January 26th, to coincide with the end of the Google Play Winter Giveaway.

While Christmas may be over, with New Year's Eve just around the corner, another major celebration is rising on the horizon for parents and youth pastors everywhere! I'm referring to High School Graduation! If you are a parent of a graduating teenager, or know a parent of a graduating teenager, or perhaps you know youth pastors of Senior Highs, send them over to Createspace (https://www.createspace.com/4249405 ) this month to use the above coupon code to buy their grad gifts early! Every parent wants to be sure their graduating teenager enters life on the best footing possible. This book contains practical tidbits of advice from a Mother to her teenager, along with verses from Scripture. In addition, there are sample calendars for things like chores, daily devotions, etc. The section on food has a sample grocery list, and the financial section contains a sample budget sheet. It normally sells for a whopping $10 as it is, which I'm told is a steal for a book of this size. But the coupon will make it even more affordable.

Quite a bit of news again this time!
But then, that's what newsletters are for, aren't they? To share all the latest news? Hope you enjoyed this edition of Songdove Book's Newsletter. I pray that 2014 will be a year of blessing, of the Lord's favour on your life, and that you will be able to look back on it saying, "That was the BEST year ever!"

To get this newsletter in your inbox each month, sign up here:

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/sign-up-for-songdove-books-newsletter/

PS: For some reason FB isn't letting me choose the position of my images this time round.  Hence why they are all full size.

Pre-Christmas Musings. . .

Well, here we are and it's almost Christmas. . . just a few more days till we get to celebrate Jesus' birthday for another year.  Churches have been putting on Christmas pageants.  Soup kitchens have been dolling out the festive meals to those less fortunate.  Salvation Army in my city is behind in it's donations this year, as is the local food bank.  The economy seems to be putting the pinch on people's wallets more than ever.  

But two faces stare at us from Church nativity displays and store windows.  One has his history in three legendary men who gave to those in need no matter their station in life.  The other has His history from the dawn of time.  One was initially made popular by Coca Cola.  The other did not become famous until His followers became heavily persecuted under the Roman Empire.  One developed the god-like quality of being able to know the names of all kids everywhere, and whether they were good or bad.  The other, although fully God, set aside His glory to take on the form of humanity, deeply and painfully aware of the shortcomings of mankind.  One only gives gifts to those children who have been good all year.  Children who were observed as being bad, get only a lump of coal.  The other, while knowing that mankind can never be good on it's own, offered His gift freely to all, without demand for the recipient to make themselves good first.  One breaks into people's homes, usually via the chimney, in order to deposit gifts or lumps of coal.  The other waits to be invited into the hearts of mankind.

Can you guess who these two faces are?  One speaker some time back, observed that one of these faces who began modern life as a storybook character, is now taught to children as being more alive than the other face whose story of His birth has become so quaint and sweet as to no longer have living relevance in today's world.  I've never forgotten this observation.  It is true that the living God has been relegated by many to the storybooks, while the modern story of Santa has taken on living, mythical proportions.

I am left to ask the question, who is truly God at this special season of the year?  The answer will be found in who received the most attention.  Who was spoken about most?  Who was engaged with most?  Who is said to put the gifts under the tree, and to whom are gifts and offerings given in return?

There are two gods facing us this Christmas.  One is the epitome of "salvation by works", the mantra of the "I want" crowd, and king of commercialism.  The other God is the King of the Universe, the Giver of Eternal Life to all who will ask, regardless of how good or bad they might be. This God teaches generousity and putting others first.

Which deity are you worshiping this Christmas?

I'm sure if the three legends behind Santa could be made aware of what their legacy has become, they'd roll over in their graves with shame and embarrassment.  All three were very giving men who felt that all men deserved the best.  Yes one of them did own a herd of small reindeer up in Finland.  But they didn't fly.  These men would bundle up loads of blankets, clothing and food, then go out to the untouchables of their areas, whether children, homeless, sickly, etc. and distribute these things.  It's a shame what their memory has been turned into.

It would be my personal desire, that the god of Christmas would be supplanted by the God of the Universe!  There are images of Santa bowing to pay homage to the Baby Jesus, but sadly, this has not stopped his insistence on children earning the right to receive gifts.  Nor has this concept stopped him from breaking into people's homes.  The God who will accept you as you are, no matter what you've done, waits for you at the manger.  He isn't a baby anymore, He is a grown man, having paid the ultimate price to give you the greatest gift you could ever receive this Christmas.  Have you received this gift?  Step one is to admit that even small things such as white lies are known as sin, and that sin keeps you separated from God because God cannot look on sin.  Step two is to believe that Jesus Christ is God and understand that He paid the death penalty for your sin.  Step three is to repent of your sin, which means to turn from it and turn toward God.  Step four is to accept Christ's gift of forgiveness and salvation.  Step five is to tell someone else about what you've done and connect with a church that can help you grow in your newfound identity as a child of God.  A great book to read about who Jesus is, is the book of John.  If you have a New Testament, a full-size Bible, or just an Internet connection, you can flip to the book of John, or look it up online on youversion.com/biblegateway.com, etc.  

Let us remember who truly deserves our worship and devotion at this time of year.  Let us remember who is eternally real and who shouldn't rise above the pages of the storybook.

Who do you serve?

Songdove Books Newsletter: Holiday Edition

As I sit down to write this particular newsletter, several things come to mind.

A) Thanksgiving, B) Christmas, and C) Consumerism/materialism

I can't help but observe just how much point C has made it's way into points A and B over the years. A growing number of people are starting to realize that Thanksgiving and Christmas are meant for what they represent instead of for lining the pockets of retailers.

Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving in October, but today is the day my American friends, fans and acquaintences celebrate Thanksgiving. It is meant to be a time to reflect on all that God has done over the past year. It is usually a time spent with family where possible, with friends where possible, and for Churches and other groups to extend a warm welcome to those around the table who might not have friends or family nearby at this time of year.

Christmas is meant to be a time focussed on the reason Jesus Christ came to earth. It's meant to celebrate His earthly birthday, and to share the good news of His arrival with those who might not otherwise be open to hearing the Gospel at other times of the year. I am fully aware that historical data says that the Temple flocks were kept on the hills of Bethlehem in the springtime, not the wintertime, and that Christ was born in the time of spring lambing, which would have made His birth somewhere near March, roughly a month before Passover. The implications of this birth time and place are clearly seen when one studies the ceremonies and rituals around the Passover Lamb. My encouragement to remember the reason for Christmas then, is not based on naivity, but on the fact that as an adult, it doesn't really matter when you celebrate your birthday, just that it's remembered the way each culture does things. My own daughter chose to celebrate her bday with friends two days after the fact.

Today's newsletter is full of announcements. There are give-aways, discounts, blog hops and tours, and more. I believe it would be safe to say, as one who knows some of those involved in these announcements, that they are not here to interupt your family time this Thanksgiving. They themselves are preparing dinners and attending get-togethers right along with you and would be bothered if you took time away from your family to engage in these announcements.

The first announcement is that Shelly and CJ Hitz have released another compilation work that I was pleased to be part of for a second time.

21 Stories of Generosity: Real Stories to Inspire a Full Life (A Life of Generosity)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GMO6FEI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GMO6FEI&linkCode=as2&tag=becothebridof-20

21 stories of faith
http://astore.amazon.com/becothebridof-20/detail/B00CIADR82

Secondly, Songdove Books's blog, Songdove Musings, will be taking part in a blog hop this weekend, beginning Friday and ending Monday. This blog hop is a Christmas shopping opportunity to get books for your loved ones at anywhere from 10% to 20% off. You'll want to stop by the blog to get links to the other authors involved. The organizer of the blog hop is having a giveaway as well, so don't forget to enter for your chance to win her mystery basket.

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/

New Christian Books, a website dedicated to promoting indie authors and their works, is having a Black Friday Weekend sale, with everything at 25% off. Yet another opportunity to do your shopping and go a bit easier on your wallet at the same time.

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/songsfromwordlistings.shtml

Songdove Books Google Play Winter Giveaway! begins this coming week, with the first stop on tour featuring Volume One of my series, "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey". Each week will feature a different book and each Sunday there will be a draw for that book. The catch, and yes, this time there is a catch, is that to be eligable for the draw, you MUST have an Google account email address. Lack of a google account email address automatically disqualifies you due to the delivery of the prize being through Google Play. The discount being offered on my books as part of the Christmas blog hop this weekend, will continue through to the end of the Google Play Winter Giveaway. So keep tomorrow's blog post handy for when you are ready to buy any of my books for those on your Christmas gift list.

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/giveaways/

Ok, here's where this month's newsletter gets a bit strange. We started off talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas, but now we are skipping ahead to Valentine's!!! You read that right! Songdove Books is hosting a book launch for my next book, "Dressed for Eternity" in February 2014, a week before Valentine's. February 8th at 6pm will feature vendors offering various items mentioned in this book, and the runway will feature modest examples of clothing discussed in the book as well. There will be door prizes, a grand prize, book readings, vendor booths, samples, a fashion show, etc. It should be a lot of fun! If you want to stay tuned on developments between newsletters, RSVP to this event link here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/398475113617937/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=calendar

Wow. . . that's a lot of news this time round! There's a lot going on! If you are like me and have a lot going on yourself, let me encourage you to take time to slow down and spend time with God this season. While we get busy hauling out Christ's baby pictures for another year, don't forget that He is a grown man eagerly awaiting the day God the Father says it's time for Him to return for His Bride, the Church. How would you celebrate a grown son's birthday in your home in May? Jesus is no longer the baby in a manger. He wants to celebrate with you man to man, or man to woman as the case may be. He is Saviour, Brother, King, Creator, and the Lover of your soul. He's coming for you one day soon. Are you ready?

Songdove's Musings is about to enter the Christmas Season with a bang!

Songdove's Musings is about to enter the Christmas Season with a bang!

To begin with, this blog will be part of a blog hop this coming weekend featuring various authors offering their books at a discount to kick-start your Christmas shopping.  This event will take place between November 29th and December 1st.  Stay tuned for more details.

Secondly, I personally invite you to take part in the Songdove Books Google Play Winter Giveaway taking place between December 1st and January 26th. As part of this blog tour, several blogs will feature one of my books every week. The complete schedule is below. Pay attention to my own date in the list, and don't forget to stop by the others as well. If you have a Google account email address, you can enter your name to win one of my books every week. The first drawing is on December 8th.

December 2nd:Tiffany - Voices for Society
http://voice4society.wordpress.com/holiday-blog-tour-first-stop

December 9th: Jansina Grossman - Rivershore Books
http://blog.rivershorebooks.com

December 18th: Lori Ramsey - Author and Novelist
http://laramsey.com/

December 23:Tiffany - Voices for Society
http://voice4society.wordpress.com/holiday-blog-tour-fourth-stop

December 30th: Marilynn Dawson - Songdove's Musings
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/

January 6th: LitanyPrayerhope - Prayer of Hope's Christian Fiction Reviews
http://prayerofhopechristianfictionreviews.blogspot.com/?m=1

January 13th:Tiffany - Voices for Society
http://voice4society.wordpress.com/holiday-blog-tour-seventh-stop

January 20th: Jansina Grossman - Rivershore Books
http://thilly-little-nothings.blogspot.com

In addition, while this tour is going, the following coupon code: 2MU73RQR is good for 10% off all books featured on this tour when ordering from Createspace.com - Good through to the end of the blog tour on January 26th.  See the "where to buy link" in the Welcome tab of this author page for Createspace links to each of the books.

Lastly, my latest book, "Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author" ebook now available from Smashwords! Sign up for the Songdove Books Newsletter to receive a coupon code good for one free copy in the format of your choice.

Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of Songdove Books Newsletter

That's right, Thanksgiving! Here in Canada, we celebrated Thanksgiving on October 14th, and the US will be celebrating Thanksgiving later in November. During this time its important to take time to remember what we're thankful for.

For myself, I'm thankful for

church family whether near or farthe giftings God gives to usfor the ability to use those giftings to reach out to othersfor those in my life encouraging me to share what God gives me to writefor free tools to use in the act of sharingWhat are you thankful for this season?

Update on latest project, "Dressed for Eternity":
"Dressed for Eternity" is currently in the hands of two reviewers who have had it now for almost three weeks at least. The modesty section came together nicely, and the book is in the editing stages now.

Upcoming FREE book drawing:
Starting December 1st, Songdove Books is hosting a Google Play Winter Giveaway featuring all 7 books in the series, "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey" and the grad gift, "Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate". There will be one drawing every Sunday beginning December 8th and ending January 26th ahead of the book launch for "Dressed for Eternity" in February 2014.

If you'd like to try for one of these free books, you'll need a Google account email address and a computer, laptop, or device with the Google Play app installed on it.

RSVP to this link here: https://www.facebook.com/events/170306083169445/ so that you're notified as soon as the giveaway goes live.

Each book will be featured on a blog tour during the giveaway, with the drawing entry form attached to each feature. So pass this newsletter on to your Android friends, and to any friends who have the Google Play app.

Features:
Unless I'm forgetting something, there were no appearances anywhere online during the month of October. But I am making regular weekly entries on my blog now, over at: http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/

Christmas shopping is right around the corner now. Earlier this year, my books became eligible for free 2-day shipping via Amazon Prime. So if you're looking for a way to do online shopping without having to pay for shipping, feel free to visit any of my Amazon links to give your family and friends the series, the grad gift, or even a collaborative work with 20 other authors called "21 Stories of Faith" by Shelley Hitz.
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Ms.+Marilynn+Dawson
http://www.amazon.com/author/marilynn.dawson.author
http://astore.amazon.com/becothebridof-20 Marilynn's Amazon Store
http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B008SXA2QS Amazon UK
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/becthebriofch-21 Marilynn's Amazon UK Store
http://www.amazon.fr/-/e/B008SXA2QS Amazon FR
http://www.amazon.es/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=MS%20Marilynn%20Dawson&search-alias=english-books Amazon ES
http://www.amazon.de/-/e/B008SXA2QS Amazon DE
http://astore.amazon.de/becthebriof0d-21 Marilynn's Amazon DE store
http://www.amazon.it/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Ms%20Marilynn%20Dawson&search-alias=english-books Amazon IT
http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=MS%20Marilynn%20Dawson&search-alias=books-us Amazon Japan
http://www.amazon.co.jp/-/e/B008SXA2QS Author page Japan

If you won any of the books in the series last Christmas and win the same one again, consider it a Christmas gift for someone special in your life and pass it on.

Speaking of passing it on, why not pass this email on to others who might be interested?
Sincerely,
Marilynn

Missed an issue?  Look here:
http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/home/?u=08e5ae9647&id=61b02435d7

"So do not fear, for I am with you. . . "

Generally, the average posted daily Scripture at 8:30am every day gets around 50 visitors out of the 1042 fans currently on this page. News about my writing challenges can sometimes get up to 100 visitors, although most of those are not fans of this page. However, there are times when the verses I feel led to share with my fans are perhaps more for me than for you. But just in case someone out there needs to see today's thoughts, I'll be posting this here as well as to my author blog today.

Those who have read my series, will remember me saying that when God speaks once, we should be sure to listen. When He speaks twice, we better sit up and take notice! But when He speaks three times, we better be taking what He says to heart and acting on it! The following verses have appeared on my author page Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday's verses are shared first in this list, as leaving them in this order revealed a thought I wish to share at this time. Without getting hung up on translation, reference, or provided links, if any, I invite my reader to read through the following verses without stopping.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9 (NIV) http://bg4.me/1byUU1B

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. ~ Isaiah 41:10-13

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Psalm 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:8

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8&9

The message I received as I read these verses this morning, was that tough times are coming, but I am not to be afraid of those times, nor afraid of those who might bring the tough times, but my trust is to be in God. My Lord and Saviour is my Protector, my Saviour, the source of my strength. I gain that strength by spending time in His presence, by choosing to draw near to God with a pure heart. However, I am to let go of those things that have stained my hands, I am to come before God seeking His cleansing and washing, because I cannot wash myself. God asks me to be single-minded, to be focussed on Him first and foremost even as the waves of life rise around me.

My life has not been easy the last several months in particular, nor has it been easy the entire time I've been a single parent. But these verses are not looking at what has been. They are not looking at the challenges I have come through. They are speaking of the present and of the future. As we look at the world stage, with shaky economics, threatened food sources both by companies and by changing climates; when we look at the touchy nature of various national governments, when we see the spiritual climate growing darker in many regions of the world, it can be tempting to grow fearful, crawl into a hole and not come out. But that isn't what God has called the Bride of Christ to be doing. He is calling to Her, calling to His Church, calling to His Children to crawl out of their holes, put on the whole Armour of God which is putting on Jesus Christ Himself, and calling Her to go out into the world to make a difference, to stand up for what is right and to shine the Light of the Gospel. Christ said this would result in persecution, offense, and even death. If you've ever marvelled at the resolve of the martyrs of old, they took such verses as those shared above, to heart. Their focus was not on their attackers, their captors, or their executioners. Their focus was on the One Who stood waiting for them to come home as He stood to welcome home Stephen in the book of Acts.

But not all of us will die. Not all of us will come against such fatal opposition. Instead, many of us will face a more sinister and less visible form of persecution; that of character assassination, refusal in being hired for jobs, character defamation, smearing of reputations, etc. This is the western style of persecution, and it is particularly effective because we as a Church have given in to "fear of man" and in fact have used the tolerance ruse as a means to justify this fear. It is not politically correct to stand up for what is right and true in a society that is hell-bent on ensuring such a level of relativism that confusion is reigning more and more in the minds of youth and young adults to the point that anarchy is better than going with the establishment. It is into this frey that God calls His Church to raise up the standard of the Scriptures yet again. It is not popular and will raise hackles, but we are not to be afraid of those who can kill the body. Instead we must give answer for our lives to the One who can kill the soul too. When we stand before God, He will want to hear how we used our lives for His glory, how we used our time for His cause, and will we risk the sadness and disappointment on His face by saying we ran and hid as the unwise servant did in Christ's parables? Or will we instead hear those covetted words, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy reward!"

But for all these challenges, there is comfort offered too. When we draw near to God, when we become single-minded toward Him, when we allow Him to be our strength and protection, there is a sense of security, safety, warmth and intimacy that no human relationship can touch! There is a peace that doesn't make sense to those around us, and it comes from that close relationship with the Lover of our soul.

So reach up your hand and let God take it. Let Him envelope you in His protective love, and in that love, lead you out into a world that needs you.

Announcing the Google Play Winter Giveaway! December 1st thru to January 26th 2014

Everyone likes FREE!  Book lovers seem to like FREE more than anybody I've met yet.  Some say this is due to the proliferation of free ebooks being used by businesses and organizations to promote their products and services.  Whatever the reason might be, FREE is a great word and makes books affordable to those who would otherwise be unable to buy them or find them in a library.

The Christmas season in particular is a great time for gift-giving, and gifts of course, are free!  At least, they're supposed to be free.  Songdove Books decided the Christmas season would be a great time to begin a giveaway of all Marilynn's books to date, in celebration of her next book due out in February, "Dressed for Eternity".

The title of this giveaway is:  The Google Play Winter Giveaway!  Marilynn's series, "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey", and her grad gift, "Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate" will each be given away to one lucky draw winner with the final weekly draw occurring on Sunday, January 26th, 2014.  Entries for the draw begin December 1st 2013, with the first weekly draw on Sunday, December 8th, 2013.

Songdove Books has opened event listings on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/170306083169445/?ref=notif&notif_t=plan_edited

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/908138?utm_medium=email&utm_source=event_response

The Book Club Network:  http://www.bookfun.org/xn/detail/5748904:Event:279432?xg_source=activity

and

The Book Marketing Network: http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/events/google-play-winter-giveaway

RSVP'ing to any of these event listings will ensure that you are kept up to date on the blog feature for each week, the book being drawn that week, and where to find the Rafflecopter submission form.

So if you'd really enjoy a free book over the holidays, be sure to either RSVP to one of the event listings above, or like Marilynn's page at this address here:  https://www.facebook.com/Marilynn.Dawson.Author

See you December 1st if not before.

Of Pigs, Dogs, Proverbs and Psalms. . . (hey, that almost rhymes)

Today's devotions were supposed to have been in Proverbs 16, until I came across verse three and got stopped:

Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Interesting thought here. . . Scripture tells us that the battle field is in the mind, that we are to take very thought captive to the things of God. This verse in Proverbs says that if we commit our efforts to the Lord, our thoughts will be established. A quick look at the definitions of the Hebrew words used in this verse for Commit and establish:

Commit:
גּלל
gâlal
gaw-lal'
A primitive root; to roll (literally or figuratively): - commit, remove, roll (away, down, together), run down, seek occasion, trust, wallow.

Establish
כּוּן
kûn
koon
A primitive root; properly to be erect (that is, stand perpendicular);. hence (causatively) to set up, in a great variety of applications, whether literal (establish, fix, prepare, apply), or figurative (appoint, render sure, proper or prosperous): - certain (-ty), confirm, direct, faithfulness, fashion, fasten, firm, be fitted, be fixed, frame, be meet, ordain, order, perfect, (make) preparation, prepare (self), provide, make provision, (be, make) ready, right, set (aright, fast, forth), be stable, (e-) stablish, stand, tarry, X very deed.

Notice how one of the definitions for commit is "trust". A somewhat tongue-in-cheek image comes to mind when I also see the word "wallow". To wallow in the trust I give to God over the efforts I engage in. . . When I look at a pig happily wallowing in the mud to cool themselves down on a hot day. . . or look at a dog wallowing in the water. . . I see a joy there. There is joy as these animals cover themselves in the cooling water or mud. To wallow in the trust I give my Lord would be to thoroughly enjoy myself as I cover myself in that trust that God will take what I've given Him and look after it for me.

The word "establish" has some interesting definitions of it's own in the Hebrew. . . To stand erect or upright, confirm, faithfulness, firm, ordain, make provision, stable. . . wow. . . So if I were to paraphrase this verse to this point, I'd get:

Joyfully cover yourself in the trust you place in God over the efforts you have placed in His hand, and your thoughts will be upright, confirmed and ordained, faithful and firm, and will be provided to you in a stable manner.

This reminds me of another verse:

Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

"Delight thyself" in the Hebrew comes up as this:
ענג
‛ânag
aw-nag'
A primitive root; to be soft or pliable, that is, (figuratively) effeminate or luxurious: - delicate (-ness), (have) delight (self), sport self.

"To be soft or pliable". . . luxurious feelings of pleasure. . . and then another tongue-in-cheek reference shows up, "sport self". . . Now if this isn't proof that God has a sense of humour. . . that included in this definition of delight would be that of not taking one's self too seriously, but to actually have one's self in sport!

Now if we return to our two animals earlier, our little pig and our dog, as we watch them play in the mud and water, we really do have to admit that they aren't too concerned with themselves. They don't care that they might look silly or goofy, in fact, if you egg them on, they might even start showing off for you and acting all the more silly and goofy just to make you laugh. Incidentally, pigs act very much like dogs without the fur. So we have two cheerful animals joyfully wallowing in mud and water, having no concern for their social appearance and having themselves quite in sport for sure!

So if I now return to the human spectrum as it relates to trusting God, then this verse too takes on a bit of a spin often not concidered. . .

Be pliable and soft in God's hands as you take luxurious pleasure in Him, not taking yourself too seriously, and He will plant desires in your heart.

While I don't believe in the prosperity gospel's interpretation of Psalm 37:4, I do believe in the fact that the chief end of man is to know God and enjoy Him thoroughly! Imagine having such a level of trust in God's abilities to look after our every need that we not only rest in that trust, but wallow in it to such a degree that there is joy and the forgetting of one's self to the point of apparent silliness or goofiness to the world around us! King David entered this place when he royally (pun intended) embarrassed his wife Mical by throwing off his clothes and dancing before the ark as it wound it's way through the streets of Jerusalem to it's final resting place. To have such abandon in God's embrace that we don't care what others think is huge!

Wow. . . amazing where one verse can take you. . .

Songdove Books Newsletter - Fall Edition

Wow! If I thought August was busy, September disappeared as fast as it arrived! I'm still trying to figure out where it went. . .

I'm writing today with a doozy of a cold that hit me in the throat Friday night, settled in my sinuses by Sunday, and doesn't know where it wants to settle today. Coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose. . . but I can breathe a little better through painful sinuses that I'm taking tylenol for. So if I say something that doesn't quite make sense. . . blame it on the cold. . .

Update on latest project:
September saw me begin to compile all the research notes that I'd begun to create over at hubpages.com. The list of all hubs created on the new project are listed here: http://marilynndawson.hubpages.com/ as well as two unrelated hubs more suited to my tech job. BUT. . . it's encouraging to say that "Dressed for Eternity" was the title to win the most votes half way through September, and so this new project finally has a name! Compiling and fleshing out the research for the first three sections, then writing the next two, all went quicker than anticipated. But seems to me I was saying that about the last two projects as well.

I am now working on the final section in the book, "modesty". Research for this subject revealed a lot of confused, hurt, misguided, and even rebellious responses at both ends of the modesty spectrum. Occasionally a voice tried to land somewhere in the middle. I will be yet another voice doing my best to hit the pendulum as it swings past the middle, in the hopes that people will see the issue from not merely an outward appearance perspective, but more importantly from a state of mind and heart perspective instead.

Soon I will need reviewers to read over the rough draft looking for two things: spelling/grammar, and content/flow. I will not be writing according to any one denominations' preferred way of understanding any subject matter presented in the book. I don't believe in towing "party lines" so to speak. My aim is to present information in a Scriptural context that anyone anywhere can glean from regardless of their denominational background. Having said that, I am my usual dogmatic self. So if anyone in this newsletter's list wishes to join the early stages of proofing the book, let me know? I'll be approaching a few from previous proofing groups as well.

Features:
Appearances around the Internet in September were few, but encouraging. Voice4society has been a staunch supporter of my work, and they just recently shared links to my books on their website:

http://voice4society.wordpress.com/tag/marilynn-dawson/
Stop by and perhaps leave some encouragement of your own for their efforts in reaching out to youth.

Pamela S. Thibodeaux returned in September as well, to create a beautiful feature for my new book, "Moms' Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate":

Saturday Spotlight with Pamela S. Thibodeaux
http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.ca/2013/09/saturday-spotlight-marilyn-dawson-with.html

Normally I'd have something devotional to think about at the end of my newsletter. Instead, thanks to this cold impeding my thinking patterns, may I direct you to today's blog entry, which is an excerpt from the coming book:

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2013/09/30/excerpt-from-dressed-for-eternity/

Enjoy, and if you wish, pass this email on to others who might be interested.

Sincerely,
Marilynn