My first self published book.

I love to write...clearly.  I just finished my first novel entitled A Light in the Darkness.  It's a Christian Suspense Romance novel about coming to Christ in the face of tragic events.  Here's a taste:

"Her throat started to close. She could barely register the information before a sense of dread coursed through her body, one that she long ago bottled away. She pushed the emotion out of her mind and forced herself to breathe...in...out...in...out"

 Lily Stover always protects her younger brother from harm, except for now. After receiving a phone call informing Lily that her brother suffered from a viscous attack, Lily travels to the Byron Ranch, the crime scene, intent on revenge. Brett Byron, owner of Byron Ranch, insists on teaming up with Lily and investigating together. Reluctantly, Lily agrees but can she trust this stranger? Can Brett break down Lily's emotional walls that she's spent years guarding? Will they be able to find the attacker before he or she strikes again?

If you're interested in checking it out, or buying my book, please just click on the "Buy Now" icon to the right!  I hope you enjoy the story!

Prayer for Mid-West

Please join me in praying for all those effected by the tornadoes.

If you are new to prayer, you may not know exactly how to begin.  When I first started prayer, I wasn't sure if I should pray to Jesus or God.  Then I wasn't sure what to ask for since I figured I should ask for significant things.  But what is classified as significant?

As you read this, don't worry too much about the details, not yet, not if you're new to all this.

Just join me, please, in praying for those who have suffered due to the tornadoes.

Lord God, Please provide help, comfort and support - both physical and spiritual - to all those in the mid-west. Amen.

What's so great about Paul?

The apostle Paul is a huge presence in the New Testament.  He also happens to be one of my favorite people in the Bible, besides Jesus of course.  Here's why:

Paul wasn't always an apostle.  He wasn't always a Christian.  In fact, Paul wasn't even named Paul at birth.  Originally, his hebrew names was Saul and he was a zealous opponent of Christianity.  He tried to destroy the church of Jesus.  However, on his way to Damascus he encountered Jesus.  Saul heard a voice saying "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" and a bright light shined down on Saul and his companions.

Saul was blinded by the light for three days.  Jesus told a disciple named Ananis to go to Saul and when the disciple laid his hands on Saul, something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see again.  He converted to Christianity, was renamed Paul, and went all over preaching and spreading the Word.

You can read the story in Acts 22:6-16.

I know it's hard to believe.  I know that the idea that "something scale like" fell from his eyes seemed far fetched.  But this is Jesus we're talking about.  Walking on water, raising the dead....Jesus.  He can do anything.  And for Paul, he literally gave him sight.

The reason I like Paul's conversion story so much is that it gives hope.  It gives hope that no one is out of God's reach.  It gives hope that anyone, no matter how strongly they fight against God, can be softened and come to love Jesus.

I connect with Paul because I once didn't believe.  I once judged.  I once taunted.  Then Jesus softened my heart. 

He can do anything.  

The Book of Romans : Work vs. Faith part 2

I'll probably write a lot about this topic because it's so confusing!  At least, for me.

Yesterday night, I sat down ready to read a bit of Corinthians before going to bed, but I found myself in the book of Romans reading, once again, about the ongoing debate of works versus faith.

Let's go to the source:
Romans 2: 6-8
For he will repay according to one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking, and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury."

Ok, first of all I'm a big fan of context.  Reading the bits of scripture without context is, in my opinion, a dangerous thing.  So let me take a brief moment and set the picture.  Romans was written by Paul, an apostle of God who I'll write about soon, to the Romans.  The 2nd chapter warns against judging others especially when you are carrying the sin on your own shoulders.  God will judge you for judging others.  It also talks a bit about those who hear God's law, but don't follow it and those who have never heard God's word but whose heart's naturally follow the law.  It's pretty interesting stuff.  I highly recommend it.

So back to the work vs. faith.  When I read this chapter, I asked my husband what he thinks.  He was born into the Lutheran church, attended church on a semi-regular basis as a kid, and has always been a Christian (unlike myself).  He said that there are tons of websites that argue both ways and agreed that it's a bit confusing.  We talked for some time about the issue and here is where we ended our talk:

- faith without works simply doesn't work, as I blogged earlier
- if we could "work" our way into heaven, then there would have been no point in Jesus' death.  The whole reason he had to die was so our sins would be forgiven and so we could have a relationship with God
-works are important, and maybe we will have some sort of judgement for them....we can't really know for sure

Again, I don't have all the answers.  I often get confused, but I hold tight to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.  And coming from a Lutheran point of view, I know that nothing I can do is worthy enough to get into heaven.  Doing good has to come from a love of Christ, wanting to show him love, and wanting to spread his love forever.

Oy, my head hurts.  :)

Please let me know what you think!