Looking Out the Window: Nike Chillemi Talks about Finding Protection and Peace in Dangerous Times

Protection in Dangerous Times

Psalm 91: 1-2

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust !"

The 1940s, the time-period BURNING HEARTS is set in, were dangerous times. World War II had ended and the Cold War and a great global arms race was beginning. Today we're living in dangerous times, an era of global terrorism.

We all have a desire to protect those we love. We face this every time we, or someone we love, goes off to work in the morning. Our streets today are not as safe as they once were. It's a reality for us when our children go off to school, or our teens get into a car with their friends.

Yet, we have an all-powerful and loving God, who's desire for us is the best, not the worst. He is our refuge and our fortress. In Him we shall trust.

But this doesn't make God into a Santa Claus up in the sky to whom we shoot off a wish list of prayers, not the least of which are prayers for protection. We are to abide with Him. That means we are to live in His love for us, to walk with Him and have a glorious type of peace in our lives. This is our fortress.

Out of this, we model our love for our family and other relationships and the walk through life we have with them. Can something bad happen to us and to our loved ones? Yes, it can. Sorry. But even in the midst of bad stuff, we have His love, His grace, and we can have a peace that passes all understanding.

There is a terrific way to pray the 91st Psalm for protection and it can be applied to nearly any portion of the Bible by personalizing it to ourselves, loved ones and friends…We who live and walk in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. We will say to the LORD, You are our refuge and our fortress. You are our God in whom we trust. Amen.

                                                                                   

 READ ABOUT NIKE'S NEW BOOK, BURNING HEARTS (arson/murder, action, and romance in equal measure)

Can a sheltered young seamstress, disillusioned by the horrors of WWII, escape an arsonist/murderer who has killed her employer and mentor, while trying to decide if she can trust the dashing war hero who’s ridden into town on his Harley—who some say is the murderer?

Erica Brogna’s parents doted on her and taught her to think for herself. Many boys she grew up with have fallen in the war, shaking her childhood faith. In rides a handsome stranger, at the hour of her most desperate need. A woman who is her best friend and mentor is trapped in a burning house. After making an unsuccessful rescue attempt, Erica stands by as this man rushes into the inferno and carries her friend’s lifeless body out.

Lorne Kincade can’t out run his past on his Harley Davidson WLA, the civilian model of the motorcycle he rode in the war. He’s tried. He’s been a vagabond biker in the year since the war ended. His Uncle Ivar bequeathed him a ramshackle cottage in Sanctuary Point, on the Great South Bay of Long Island, NY and now he’d like to hope for a future again, repair the miniscule place, and settle down. The only problem is, a young woman with hair the color of mink is starting to get under his skin and that’s the last thing he needs.

BIO

Nike Chillemi has been called a crime fictionista due to her passion for crime fiction. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers (Ning). She was an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category and a judge in the 2011 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories. She is the founding board member of the Grace Awards, a reader's choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She writes monthly book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. BURNING HEARTS is the first book in the crime wave that is sweeping the south shore of Long Island in The Sanctuary Point series, published by Desert Breeze.