Peering Through Life's Window

  A Warm Welcome to Carol James Carol will give away a digital copy of  Crocuses for Christmas to a U.S. resident. A Favorite dish for a Texas Christmas My most recent Christmas novella, Crocuses for Christmas , is set in a small fictional Texas town called “Crescent Bluff,” as are all my novels.  I’m sure you and your readers are familiar with Texas pride…as in everything’s bigger in Texas. Well, I’m here to tell you that somethings are, and somethings aren’t.  But, we do like our beef! While most people enjoy ham or turkey for Christmas. My family’s favorite is beef brisket. My step-mom gave me this recipe about forty years ago. At the request of my family, I’ve been making it every Christmas (and other holidays) for years. It’s easy to make and yummy to eat. I have yet to find a person that didn’t like it. (Of course, I haven’t tried it on vegetarians.) Bessie’s Oven Brisket 4 lb. beef brisket (If you have a big crowd you can get a larger brisket and sim...

  Tracy will give away a digital OR PDF (non-U.S. resident) copy of Overflowing Hearts. To enter to win leave a comment and an email address below. Hi Tracy, first, tell us a little about yourself. I’ve been writing for twenty years, which is not quite half my life. I never expected to become an author, as I was naturally a math girl in school. However, God often has different plans than we imagine. And greater than we can dream. When I got the bug to write, I started with a love for stories and a desire to share the lessons God taught me, scribbling words in between nursing babies, homeschooling, and volunteering at my church. Now, it’s quite amazing to say that I have over twenty books published and 6 more scheduled in the next 8 months. Were you an avid reader as a child? If so, what did you read? As a very young child, I wasn’t an avid reader. I say I began reading by default because everyone else in my house would spend quiet winter afternoons (when there wasn’t a football ga...

  Curl up with a cup of coffee or tea and a good book. Enter below to win twenty good books supplied by the Love to Read a Good Book contest.  One winner will win all twenty books by twenty different authors.  The prize value is $104.60. Enter between now and February 28th. Click here:   https://kingsumo.com/g/1x9rzp1/love-to-read-a-good-book-giveaway

  What fun! Something to keep us company. On those cold winter nights cozy up with a good book. Escape with Christian romance, mystery or suspense. Book value is $65.88. The contest ends on February 3rd. To enter click below. https://kingsumo.com/g/1v98z7m/cozy-up-to-a-good-book-giveaway

  A Warm Welcome to Karen Malley Karen will give away an eBook of Recipes and Redemption .  To enter to win leave a comment and email address below and join the Rafflecopter Contest. She also offers a free prequel to the Chester County Couples series. If you’d like to learn about some of the characters when they were younger, check out Lilacs and Love Letters ! See below for details. Also below - check out her free short story offer. 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! A Bible verse which plays prominently in my latest book is 2 Corinthians 5:17.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! I like this verse because it reminds us that no matter what we were or what we did before we met Jesus, we have a fresh start once we turn our lives over to Him. It’s so freeing to be a new creation...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY        It all started in the Third Century when Roman Emperor Claudius demanded young men not marry because it distracted them from their duties as Roman soldiers. A priest, Saint Valentine, secretly married soldiers to their young brides. Then the Emperor demanded Christians deny their religion and worship pagan gods, but Saint Valentine refused, was arrested and condemned to die. While he waited for his execution, his jailer asked him to pray for his blind daughter. After she  miraculously regained her sight, the jailer and many others were converted to Christianity and were baptized. Before Saint Valentine was executed on February 14, 269 AD, he wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter and signed it “from your Valentine.” * Mercifully, priests and ministers don’t have to pay such a price today for marrying those in love, or praying for those in need, nor do we have to pay for loving or showing kindness to someone. Today’s a good day to spre...

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...

  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...

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...

 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 ...

A Warm Welcome to Donna Schlachter  Donna will give away an eBook of Merry Little Mysteries. Leave a comment and email address below and enter the Rafflecopter contest for a chance to win. Receive a free eBook for a newsletter sign up. See below. Romance, History and Mystery  If you enjoy a little romance, a little history, and a little mystery, you’re going to love “A Mistletoe Mystery” in the Merry Little Mysteries anthology. A half dozen authors have banded together to bring you a collection of contemporary and historical mysteries, all clean and sweet, that are sure to tickle your funny bone all the way down to your toes in your stockings. About A Mistletoe Mystery in Merry Little Mysteries A Mistletoe Mystery, is set in Boulder Colorado in 1883, and it opens with Holly and Ivy Christmas discovering that somebody has seeded their champion spruce trees with dwarf mistletoe, a parasitic plant every bit as destructive as the ordinary kind , but not as pretty. They follow t...

  A Warm Welcome to Mildred Colvin Mildred has added chapters to her popular book, Mama's Bible . Use the Smashwords coupon code, UR45L, good until October 14th, to receive a free e-Book and be sure to share the code with friends and family.  Hi Mildred, tell us about the time Jesus intervened in you and your husband's life. The Day God Sent a Road I needed to get to the doctor. We were young and had no fear of icy roads. After several years of hoping for a child, the doctor confirmed I was expecting. My husband and I moved through the next few weeks in a sort of daze, not sure if we could believe our dreams were finally coming true. Then problems developed, and we feared I was losing the baby. The doctor was a specialist in a larger city about seventy-five miles away, but when I called with my concerns, he asked me to come to his office. Determined to do whatever it took to save our child, we started out although snow and ice covered the ground and dotted the roads. Clo...

  A Warm Welcome to Clare Revell Clare shares her favorite Bible Verse and a favorite recipe. She will give away an e-Book PDF copy of  The House that Jack Built . See the Rafflcopter contest below to enter to win. Bible Verse Nourish the Soul 1 Peter: 5:7 - Cast all your cares upon Him for He careth for you.   A Yummy Recipe from Great Britain A great way to use leftover meat from the Sunday Roast, or when you fancy something different.   Savoury Crumble Ingredients   1lb diced meat - either cooked fresh or cut up leftovers 2oz butter 5oz flour 2oz grated cheese 1pint white sauce  Place meat into a large oven proof dish and top with the white sauce (see below). Rub butter into flour and add cheese and pinch of salt. Sprinkle crumble over meat/sauce. Bake in oven gas 6/200C/400F for 35 mins until top is golden brown. Serve with boiled spuds, veg and more white sauce. White sauce: Mix a pint of milk and 2tablespoon cornflour  About The House That J...

  A Warm Welcome to Barbara Britton Barbara will give away an e-Book or print copy (U.S. residents only) of Defending David.  Enter the Rafflecopter contest below to for a chance to win the book. Barbara shares a personal post about the meaning of Easter. Seeing The World through The “Jesus Lens” By Barbara M. Britton If you had told me in grade school that I would be a multi-published author of Biblical Fiction and that I would stand before bleachers full of students telling Bible stories and sharing the love of Jesus, I would have squinted at you and asked, “Who’s Jesus and what’s a Bible?” I grew up in a loving family, but at Christmas it was all about the presents, and at Easter it was all about the chocolate. But, I had questions that a new doll or a cream egg couldn’t fill.  Death frightened me like it does many children. Dying didn’t make sense to me. I loved my family, and they were unique and fun and caring, so the purpose of their being was to poof die. That was...