Peering Through Life's Window

Merry Christmas!  Luke 2: 11-12, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.” The greatest love the world has ever known started in a humble stable in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.  Later He suffered and died to conquer death for us. Knowing what he endured, it’s difficult to comprehend the depth of unconditional love He has for us. Before He was crucified, he preached a Gospel telling us to love one another.     Today with wars popping up and hate rhetoric we might wonder if we’ve run out of love, if we’ve abandoned it, or if we’ve forgotten where to find it. We can’t manufacture it. We can’t buy or demand it because we can’t dictate what’s in a person’s heart.  It must be given and received. It was given on Christmas in Bethlehem and again on the cross when Jesus died for our sins. We only need to accept it. Once we do, it lives inside us and spills over to ot...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary Romance: Bidding on a Second Chance by Emily Conrad -- His bid for a second chance this Christmas might lead to her most disastrous fall yet. Police officer Graham Lockhart’s life is dangerous enough without accident-prone Piper Wells tripping around in it—at least that’s what she claimed when she declined his marriage proposal two years ago. But he can’t help but wonder if there is more to her refusal. Piper always cared for Graham, but she is incapable of giving him the one thing he wants more than anything—family. All her orphaned self knows about that is how much it hurts to lose. She’s better off focusing on caring for her nephew and running her business. Secondhand furniture doesn’t break hearts. When an injury sidelines Piper leading into the holidays, Graham steps up to help her keep her commitment to a Christmastime auction benefiting a local family. Can they overcome ...

Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to think about all of the good things in our lives and be grateful for them. We might also ask ourselves where these blessings come from.  Quite a few years ago when our daughter was in first grade, the school administration put up images illustrating Thanksgiving drawn by the children for an open house.  That night turkeys, Indians and Pilgrims lined the halls. As my husband and I toured the school, we stopped at our daughter’s offering and told her how good it was— of course.  She peered at me with wide brown eyes. “My friend had to take down her picture and do it over.” “Why?” I asked. “Here it is.” Our daughter pointed to a drawing with a boat and some stick people standing around it. “She wrote something on it the first time?” “Did she write over the picture?” I asked. “No, she wrote here.” She pointed underneath the boat. “She said the Pilgrims gave thanks to God, and that’s not allowed.” I wasn’t certain she said what she inten...

  A Warm Welcome to Linore Burkard Get a special price of $2.99 on Forever Lovely while it's on pre-order! See below. Hi Linore, Tell us about your latest book. Forever Lovely is book two in a time travel romance series (Forever in Time Series) but it can be read as a stand-alone. It takes place three years after the first book, but rather than focus on the same characters, it takes the younger sister of one and gives her a coming-of-age sweet love story of her own. Familiar characters from book one are in it, but the spotlight is on Miss Margaret, the sister of Clarissa Andrews, and so it’s really quite a different sort of fun. And I emphasize the word ‘fun.’ While there are realistic themes of love, loyalty, family, and growth, there’s also comedy. (You can’t take a young lady out of Regency England and bring her to modern-day New York without some good laughs!)     What inspired you to write this particular book? I had originally planned to do a second book and ...

  Hats... Horns... The winner is... Congratulations, Andrea

  A Warm Welcome to Karen Malley Karen will give away an eBook of Moonlight and Mystery .  To enter to win leave a comment and email address below and enter the Rafflecopter contest. She also gives away a free short story each week for a newsletter sign-up. See below for her Website address. Hi Gail, thanks so much for having me on the blog today. It's my pleasure.  I’m happy to share with you a Bible verse and a recipe, and tell you about my newest book! One of my favorite Bible verses is Romans 10:9.  “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” I love this verse because it distills down the message of Christianity to its simplest elements. So often people add to the gospel, but it really all comes down to our belief in Jesus’ saving work on the cross. This verse tends to make its way into my writing. It’s in my latest novel, Moonlight and Mystery, when the heroine, Beth attends a...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary Romance: 12 Days of Mandy Reno by Regina Rudd Merrick -- Law student Amanda Reno is stuck in her tiny hometown in Kentucky for Christmas and work part-time at the Clementville Café. Her parents are stuck in Brazil, leaving Mandy to celebrate Christmas without them. Young Sheriff Clay Lacey takes matters into his own hands, devising a plan to take Mandy’s mind off her crushed expectations. She is no longer his classmate’s tagalong kid sister, but a young woman he is increasingly attracted to. How will Mandy react when she finds out Clay is the one working to make sure she has a memorable Christmas? Will she be pleased? Or will she cringe as she thanks the man who may be falling in love with her? (Contemporary Romance from Scrivenings Press)   A Family for the Orphans by Heidi Main -- Three little hearts have been broken. Now they must find a way to heal them…Tragedy tur...

  Hats... Horns... Congratulations, Sonja!

  A Warm Welcome to Jodie Wolfe Jodie will give away an eBook of Taming Julia , the first book in her Burton Brides Series. (U.S. residents only). To enter to win leave a comment below and join the Rafflecopter contest.   Hi Jodie, first, tell us a little about yourself. My husband and I have been married for almost thirty-six years. We have two sons and six grandchildren. We live in PA, between two mountains.   Were you an avid reader as a child? If so, what did you read? Oh yes! Not only did I read a lot, but my mom also read to me and my brothers. I remember books like Encyclopedia Brown, Trixie Beldon, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew, and lots of Snoopy/Peanuts books. :)   Why do you write? Because it’s something I feel God has called me to do. Tell us about your latest book. Enoch Valentine has given up finding peace for his past mistakes. He throws everything he has into being the new part-time deputy in Burrton Springs, Kansas while mai...

  Hats... Horns... Congratulations Sonja and Andrea!

A Warm Welcome to Regina Andrews Regina gives away an eBook of Christmas in Vermont. To enter to win leave a comment below and enter the Rafflecopter contest. About Christmas in Vermont Faith and trust are sometimes difficult to master, but can a sparkling Christmas in Vermont change all that? Returning home to Holly Berry Village and beginning her career as an Estate gemologist, puts Christal Birchwood completely in her comfort zone. But when she meets the new town physician, Cole Townsend, the barriers she has created around herself quickly begin to shatter and fall. Will she trust her faith enough to carry her into a sparkling, new beginning? And will Cole be able to trust his heart to love again? Christmas in Vermont Summary  After studying for two years in Switzerland, certified gemologist Christal Birchwood arrives back home in Holly Berry Village just in time for Christmas. The world of Estate and vintage jewelry suits her well. It is exact and precise, and there are no unk...

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  The winner is... Hats.. Horns... Congratulations, Susan!

 Love Much As we’ve grown more distanced from each other, many of us still strive to help others. We’re doing it more and more through charities, online giving, and programs in our churches, but we’re all so busy surviving with almost no extra time, we often gloss over the little things, the simple gestures and kindnesses that bind human to human.  When we’re overburdened ourselves with life’s demands growing more difficult each day, we’re often mentally marking things off of our list, so it doesn’t occur to us to smile at each other.  Sometimes we’re having such a hard time keeping up with the day’s demands, listening to another person whose heart is troubled doesn’t occur to us, but it can mean so much.  If we’re pre-occupied, we can overlook that spur of the moment need that jumps out at us from nowhere.  These are little things, but they’re often important to the person who needs a bit of help. One day in a crowded restaurant where people place their orders ...