Peering Through Life's Window

  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.” God sent Jesus to save sinners, because he loves us.  In the Bible the Pharisees asked Jesus, “…which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He told them “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 36 – 39). Christmas brings the message of a Savior who loves us so much He suffered for our sins to the point of death.  Then a miracle occurred. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, but He didn't leave us alone.  Matthew 28:20: "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  His spirit and His love live with us today. Where does the love come from, and how can we get it? Sometimes we attempt to buy, demand or create love, b...

  A Warm Welcome to Carol Wilson James Hi Carol, I can't wait to hear about your new book and the sandwiches. Thanks for sharing with us. To receive a FREE short story sign up for Carol's  newsletter The Traveling Grilled Cheese  Because my dad was a career military officer, the longest we ever lived in one place was three years. And when the Air Force said “Move,” we moved. Sixty years ago, there weren’t fast food restaurants or grocery stores open twenty-four hours a day. So my mom had to figure out how to feed the family when nothing was open and she had no stove. Thus, she made "Ironed Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.” (To this day, my brother chooses these over a standard grilled cheese.) Ingredients Bread, cheese, butter, aluminum foil, and your iron.  Heat your iron. Rub one side of a piece of foil with butter. Fold it in half, buttered sides together.  Make a cheese sandwich.   Insert your sandwich between the buttered sides of the foil (like a taco)...

A Warm Welcome to June Foster  and  Kelly Cordova What fun to have a Mother / daugther team on Peering Through Life's Window I'm excited to hear about  The Other Side of the Fairy House June shares one of the stories behind the story - Jason Last spring, my daughter Kelly and I went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to do research for our new book, The Other Side of the Fairy House . Besides absorbing the vibes of the Great Smoky Mountains, we explored the real-life location where our story takes place—the former Voorheis property and estate. But in our story, you’ll find Mr. Voorheis’ name is Robert Vanderheim. Louis Voorheis was a wealthy Yale graduate from Cincinnati in the early 1900s. He wanted a private location where he and his wife could escape the modern world. Thus, he built a rustic style mansion on a 38-acre site. We patterned our story around his life. The site also featured a stone spring house about which many told stories of fairies and fireflies that paid visits ...

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...

  A Warm Welcome to Linda Weaver Clarke Hi Linda, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Christmas season and for telling us about your beautiful new Christmas book. See below for the Amazon link to read the first twenty-two pages. The Christmas Season - a Time to Rejoice! Christmas is a wonderful time of year. A feeling of love and joy are in the air as we give gifts to family members and neighbors.  The Christmas season is a time to have compassion for others and to give from our hearts. If we find out that a family is in need, our hearts go out to them. We don’t want their children to be disappointed on Christmas Day so we’ll take gifts to them to put under their tree. That day will always stay etched in your mind, and your children will never forget the grateful faces of the family.  Some people give gifts in secret, by knocking at the door and hiding behind a bush. When we did this, my children saw the surprised neighbor calling his children to the door to see what ...

  A Warm Welcome to Carol Wilson James  Carol will give away a digital copy of Choosing Christmas. To enter to win leave your email address and a comment and join the Rafflecopter Contest below.  Also sign up for Carol’s quarterly newsletter  and receive a free short story.  Gail, thanks so much for letting me visit your blog and share about some of my favorite things.  It’s my pleasure to have you. Carol’s Favorite Bible Verse A Bible verse that has come to mean so much to me over the years is Hebrews 6:10. I taught kindergarten in a private Christian school for many years. One time when I had a particularly challenging class, and I wondered if I was making any inroads into their hearts, the principal left a note in my mailbox. I don’t remember exactly what she said. But I do remember the Bible verse she quoted, and over the years, when discouragement threatened, the words have ministered to me again and again. “God is not unjust; he will not forget your w...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!   Photo Courtesy of Google Remembering Why We Celebrate Christmas “You can’t put a square peg in a round hole.”  The old cliché seems odd for a Christmas blog, but just as we can’t put a square peg in a round hole, God can’t allow evil in His presence. About God, Psalm 5:4 says, “You’re not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell.” The Bible tells us in Psalm 100: 5, “For the Lord is good…” Every good thing on this earth comes from God, and He is the origin of all love.  According to the Bible, after He formed the world, He created humans to fellowship with Him, but He gave us free will rather than force us to choose Him. It’s easy to see why when we remember we may compel others to do things they don’t want to, but it doesn’t change what’s in their hearts. God wanted us to love Him with all our hearts and souls. Unfortunately, the first humans made a different choice and let evil into the perfect paradise God had given us. Thus...

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary Romance: An Awestruck Christmas Medley by Emily Conrad -- The members of the rock band Awestruck battle a snowstorm and relationship difficulties in hopes of spending a joyful Christmas with their loved ones in this novella, which continues the story begun in the first novel in the Rhythms of Redemption Romances, To Bring You Back. (Contemporary Romance from Hope Anchor LLC) A Small-Town Christmas Challenge by Susanne Dietze -- Will reviving an old tradition be the start of something new? When she inherits a beautiful historic house, nurse Leah Dean knows selling it could solve all her problems. But there’s just one catch—she and co-owner Pastor Benton Hunt must cohost the Gingerbread Gala in the home first. As Christmas approaches, Leah and Benton grow closer, and parting with the house—and each other—is not as easy as they thought… (Contemporary Romance from Love In...

A Warm Welcome to Morgan Gardner Illustrator for The Littlest Shepherd by Laverne Story Stanley (Shown above with the author) Hi Morgan, it's great to have you visit. Tell us the theme of this book?  It follows a shepherd boy on the night of the birth of Jesus and his journey to seeing the newborn savior. How did you meet the author? I met Laverne Stanley through my mom. My mom said one of her friends needed an illustrator for the children’s book she had been working on. We met up and it just kinda went from there. It was a lot of fun! What was your favorite part of the illustration process? My favorite part was interpreting the author’s ideas of the scene, and then composing it. I also enjoyed drawing the little sheep. What was the most difficult part? Learning how to use the digital program I was using was a little difficult. I had just gotten my first drawing tablet and downloaded my program only a month or so before I met Mrs. Laverne, so I was...

Christ Is Born "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you:  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger. (Luke 2:  11-14) He Grows Up And Preaches A Gospel of Love Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22: 37 - 38) Christ Dies On The Cross To Free Us From Our Sins "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." (Luke 24: 7) He Rises And He Lives Today "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"  (I Corinthians 15: 55)  Merry Christmas! A picture of my hometown, Forest City, North Carolina, from a painting by Daniel Robbins. Angel photo courtesy Google. Christ ...

photo courtesy Google Some say Christ wasn’t born on December 25th. They claim Christians took the date from a Roman holiday honoring the sun or a sun god. While modern historians disagree about this theory many agree that the Romans revered the sun. Some claim Christians took the date to rival the pagan feasts that took place during the Winter Solstice, which honored a new age brought by the sun. Depending on location, the Winter Solstice occurs on or around December 25th. Every year in late October, festive decorations acknowledging the birth of Christ begin to appear in overwhelming numbers across the American landscape. By early December, a majority of homes have wreaths on their doors, candles in their windows, lights in the yards and red bows on their mailboxes. And jolly old Santa Claus sits in the middle of the mall to greet youngsters. Nativity scenes abound on people’s lawns, and this country’s biggest celebration continues until after December 25th, so when is Chri...

A Warm Welcome to Lisa Lickel Lisa will give away an eBook of Love Is...Everything About You . Read about the lighthearted romance below. To enter to win leave a comment and an email address below. Hi Lisa, tell us about your new Christmas book. Meow Mistletoe was an accidental story my editor suggested when we learned that a different holiday story I had begun would end up out of order in the series due to the publication schedule. It’s the first time I ever wrote a book based on the title. I’m glad it was always supposed to be novella size, meaning about a quarter the length of a full-size novel, so the amount of time researching and writing was doable in the timeline I had. The story takes place in one evening and introduces the characters who become the amateur sleuths of the Fancy Cat series . Ivy Preston is a jilted fiancé who, after a lengthy relationship, decides to start over and moves herself and her business, personal tech services, to a new community at the...