Peering Through Life's Window

A Warm Welcome to Jennifer Slattery A Personal Story by Jennifer Sometimes my heart and mouth get ahead of my brain. And sometimes what I thought was a great thing, a God-thing, leaves me scratching my head. And hitting my knees. Fast. As I was writing my novel, When Dawn Breaks , I thought of one situation in particular, one where I encountered a mother similar, in many ways, to the one my heroine, Jacqueline Dunn encountered. It was the spring of 2002. I was a new mom with a passion to change the world. Young and overwhelmed with the whole parenting thing, I joined a women’s Bible study.  We met to discuss Scripture, parenting ideas and problems, and what God’s Word had to say on those matters. We shared out fears and our tears, along with steady doses of hugs and chocolate. One morning, a new woman joined our group. She seemed so quiet, so meek, so… vulnerable. Broken. You see, her husband had left her and their three young boys, all under the age of six. Worse,...

And the winner is... Hats, Horns... Congratulations, Lisa Lickel!

          A Warm Welcome to Paula Mosher Wallace   Paula will give away a print book and a t-shirt. To enter to win leave a comment and an e-mail address below. (U.S. residents only)                 About Bloom in the Dark Have you ever experienced a hurt that didn't qualify for a sympathy card? Did embarrassment or shame keep you from getting help or support? Do you have a loved one who's been abused? Many women face trauma and abuse. In these pages, you will read 30 stories, poems, and letters that tell these testimonies. Without sugarcoating her situation, each woman shares her pain, how she made it through, and how God met her. Our journeys to healing are different. Your story may not be reflected in the pages of this book, but you will see that you are not alone. We can all reach out to the same God who helped each of these women. Christ will meet you, carry you, hold ...

Some say that Christ wasn’t born on December 25th. They claim that Christians took the date from a Roman holiday honoring the sun or a sun god. The Britannica Encyclopedia says Christians took the date to rival pagan feasts taking 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. Even though it lasts only an instant in time, many cultures have held festivals marking it as midwinter. According to some, Christmas simply grew to be one of the most popular events. Nonetheless, every year by the time we’ve celebrated Thanksgiving, festive decorations acknowledging the birth of Christ appear in overwhelming numbers across the American landscape. A majority of homes have wreaths on their doors, candles in their windows, lights in the yards. And jolly old Santa Claus sits in the middle of the mall to greet youngsters. And this country’s biggest celebration continues until after December ...

Hats, horns... Congratulations to Mary Preston!

A Warm Welcome to Nancy Mehl   Nancy will give away a print copy of her new book, Rising Darkness . To enter to win leave a comment and an e-mail address below Hi Nancy, first, tell us a little about yourself. I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. Two years ago, my husband and I moved to Missouri to be near our son, daughter-in-law, and our precious grandson. I’ve worked in a lot of areas, including Christian radio and banking. But most of my working life was spent doing social work. I loved it! I’ve been married 43 years this month, and I have a 36 year-old son, Danny. He’s been married for 4 years and has a 2 year-old son named Aidan. Aidan is such a blessing. We just can’t get enough of him! Since my husband Norman and I have no more children at home, we spend a lot of time parenting our puggle, Watson. Watson is part pug, part beagle. It seems he got the most rambunctious qualities of each breed. LOL! When I’m not writing, or watching Doctor Who , I spend...

The winner is... Congratulations! Linda Weaver Clarke.