I, like millions of others, have become caught up in the world of Facebook.
I told myself I wouldn't - but after much pressure from my kids and ex-classmates, I caved. And...I am glad I did. The ministry opportunities are endless! There is such a relaxed atmosphere about Facebook and the way it seems to allow/encourage users to be more open and willing to sharing their heart, that I could spend all day just encouraging total strangers!
Of course, you do see a lot of selfless advertising, and that, too, doesn't seem to bother me too much. If I'm not interested, I simply don't click on the prompt.
But, there is one prompt that I hope, if you see posted on fb, you won't skim over. Yes, I too am unashamedly blowing my own horn. And I have to ask ...is it bragging or promoting yourself, if you are using the gift that God gave you to "promote" Him and how Jesus has changed your life? I truly think not. But this promotion thing is something that Chritstian writers, especially, struggle with a lot. Most of us are very uncomfortable with it, and quite frankly, we don't like the way it takes up our time and keeps us away from doing our actual writing. However, if we want to get the "Word" out, then we have to promote the "words" God gave us. Ohhhh, a vicious cycle, but one we must travel, nonetheless.
So, if you have a few minutes to spare, and would like to learn more about me, please go to the below site that was posted on fb today. (Don't delay, there is a free book giveaway if you sign up at the end of the interview.)
Facebook Author Interview Today: www.sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com Enjoy!
Facebook Blessings to You,
Connie
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Hope Springs Eternal
With spring (finally) in the air, I couldn't help but see the analogy of the physical end of hibernation for some of God's creatures, and the spiritual ending of a personal dark, cavelike experience in my own life.
My husband and I have been going through a challenging time in our lives that is new to us. We are traveling a path (thankfully together) of obedience to God which involves a new ministry at a new church. We don't like to think of it as abandoning our "family", but rather enlarging our family.
When we really stop to think about it, as born again Christians we will all be together, every denomination, and forever. For reasons that only God knows, He sometimes pulls us away from a body of believers for a season, to grow us and to serve Him in different ways. It is not necessarily our choice to go, and we don't always know where we are going. But like Abraham, we step out in faith and in obedience.
I can imagine that Abraham, too, was afraid. I can imagine that some of his godly friends that he left behind were maybe even disappointed in him. They didn't get it. Some of them probably thought, "Could this really be God? To take you and your family away from us and put you on a path to...somewhere?"
And I can imagine, too, that while he traveled to the unknown, he also endured a cavelike experience. A time of darkness - a time of not fully understanding. As head of the household, he probably felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
And maybe he was even hurt by the reaction of some of the faithful that he left behind; especially those who were not encouraging him to be obedient. There were gossips back then, too, and I can imagine some of them saying, "There has to be another reason why Abraham left us."
Iimagine the joy, though, that Abraham and Sarah experienced when they finally arrived at their destination. They had been obedient. They had fought the good fight of traveling a hard road to an unknown territory. They had seen God's hand all along the way.
We can't let others stop us from moving on. We can't wait for their understanding. God will take care of that in time. Our part is to pray and obey.
Oh, hope does spring eternal! And our eternal hope that we have in Jesus trumps the enemy's attacks every time.
May you have eternal hope in Him, too.
Connie
My husband and I have been going through a challenging time in our lives that is new to us. We are traveling a path (thankfully together) of obedience to God which involves a new ministry at a new church. We don't like to think of it as abandoning our "family", but rather enlarging our family.
When we really stop to think about it, as born again Christians we will all be together, every denomination, and forever. For reasons that only God knows, He sometimes pulls us away from a body of believers for a season, to grow us and to serve Him in different ways. It is not necessarily our choice to go, and we don't always know where we are going. But like Abraham, we step out in faith and in obedience.
I can imagine that Abraham, too, was afraid. I can imagine that some of his godly friends that he left behind were maybe even disappointed in him. They didn't get it. Some of them probably thought, "Could this really be God? To take you and your family away from us and put you on a path to...somewhere?"
And I can imagine, too, that while he traveled to the unknown, he also endured a cavelike experience. A time of darkness - a time of not fully understanding. As head of the household, he probably felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
And maybe he was even hurt by the reaction of some of the faithful that he left behind; especially those who were not encouraging him to be obedient. There were gossips back then, too, and I can imagine some of them saying, "There has to be another reason why Abraham left us."
Iimagine the joy, though, that Abraham and Sarah experienced when they finally arrived at their destination. They had been obedient. They had fought the good fight of traveling a hard road to an unknown territory. They had seen God's hand all along the way.
We can't let others stop us from moving on. We can't wait for their understanding. God will take care of that in time. Our part is to pray and obey.
Oh, hope does spring eternal! And our eternal hope that we have in Jesus trumps the enemy's attacks every time.
May you have eternal hope in Him, too.
Connie
Monday, January 25, 2010
Protect Your Joy
I don't know about you, but there are times when I regret watching the news. While I feel a need to keep up with current events, I also feel a growing need to protect my peace and joy.
I'm not talking about the morning entertainment shows, where all three or four hosts are gabbing at the same time about the latest you-tube video. Rather, the evening news, with the depressing war statistics; almost daily "natural" disasters (what's so natural about a disaster?); and the horrendous crimes that mentally unstable people inflict upon others, especially precious innocent children.
I've even noticed that some of the national news broadcasters attempt to soften the repeated blows by ending their half-hour segment of depression with a feel-good piece. And I have to admit, it does help a little. But oftentimes, an hour after the show has aired, my blood pressure still continues to feel stuck at a number much higher than it was before I viewed the tube.
Something interesting along these lines happened a few weeks ago, while writing under deadline. Time was of such the essence, that I had to forego almost everything outside of my office, including the daily news. (Probably a good thing, since my writings are inspirational.) And, in order to finish the book proposal that I was working on, I had to have my nose in the Bible for five days straight verifying scripture verses and parables that I was referencing. And guess what? Even though I was feeling the stress of a deadline, I had incredible peace (and dare I say, joy) during each one of those 12-hour writing sessions.
And interestingly, when I finally did resume watching the evening news on the sixth day, I realized how little I had missed. The same issues were being discussed with the same pro liberal twist, along with the same negative conservative slant. The same war was being fought, and the same terrorists were up to no good.
I could say that those five days of peace were due to not watching the news and not taking into my mind and spirit the horrible happenings of the world. But we all know that ignoring the negative doesn't necessarily bring about the positive. No, the true inner peace and joy that I experienced those five days, and that I have been experiencing on a daily basis ever since I invited Jesus into my heart 21 years ago, can only happen as a direct result of knowing the Prince of Peace. I am not referring to knowing facts "about" Jesus, but truly knowing Him on a personal level. As in a "best friend" forever level. As in someone who "knows you inside out" (warts and all) and loves you anyway, level. As in a "sticking to you closer than a brother" level. And, as in a "I will always love you and never leave you" level.
While I have been blessed to have had lots of friends some of them came into my life for a short season and some came in for a simple reason. Many have come and gone, and a few have stayed through the decades. But, if I am completely honest, not one of them has been there exclusively for me, filling all of my needs (as I have not been there exclusively for them, either).
Yet, never has the Lord failed to be there for me. Never has he failed to comfort me when I was sad, or pick me up after I had been knocked down. Sure, there have been a few times when I did not sense His presence, but never has He completely forsaken me.
But I have to humbly admit, I work at this relationship. Besides being in the Word regularly to write inspirational works, my husband and I begin almost every day with a Bible study (usually at 4:15 a.m.!). Filling our mind with God's word before facing our day is like putting on a spiritual suit of armor. Only God knows the daggers that are going to be thrown at us each day, so it makes sense to turn to Him for protection.
After seeing the difference it has made in my peace and joy level by saturating my mind with the Word and not taking in the biased and depressing news, I've come up with the perfect antidote, for those times when I do watch the news. Besides watching Wheel of Fortune afterwards :-), I put Philippians 4:6 into action: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. I say a quick prayer over what it was that troubled me.
And another personal favorite scripture verse for these stress-filled times is: He keeps in perfect peace all who trust in Him, all whose thoughts are fixed on Him! (Isaiah 26:3 )
May His peace be with you, too,
Connie
I'm not talking about the morning entertainment shows, where all three or four hosts are gabbing at the same time about the latest you-tube video. Rather, the evening news, with the depressing war statistics; almost daily "natural" disasters (what's so natural about a disaster?); and the horrendous crimes that mentally unstable people inflict upon others, especially precious innocent children.
I've even noticed that some of the national news broadcasters attempt to soften the repeated blows by ending their half-hour segment of depression with a feel-good piece. And I have to admit, it does help a little. But oftentimes, an hour after the show has aired, my blood pressure still continues to feel stuck at a number much higher than it was before I viewed the tube.
Something interesting along these lines happened a few weeks ago, while writing under deadline. Time was of such the essence, that I had to forego almost everything outside of my office, including the daily news. (Probably a good thing, since my writings are inspirational.) And, in order to finish the book proposal that I was working on, I had to have my nose in the Bible for five days straight verifying scripture verses and parables that I was referencing. And guess what? Even though I was feeling the stress of a deadline, I had incredible peace (and dare I say, joy) during each one of those 12-hour writing sessions.
And interestingly, when I finally did resume watching the evening news on the sixth day, I realized how little I had missed. The same issues were being discussed with the same pro liberal twist, along with the same negative conservative slant. The same war was being fought, and the same terrorists were up to no good.
I could say that those five days of peace were due to not watching the news and not taking into my mind and spirit the horrible happenings of the world. But we all know that ignoring the negative doesn't necessarily bring about the positive. No, the true inner peace and joy that I experienced those five days, and that I have been experiencing on a daily basis ever since I invited Jesus into my heart 21 years ago, can only happen as a direct result of knowing the Prince of Peace. I am not referring to knowing facts "about" Jesus, but truly knowing Him on a personal level. As in a "best friend" forever level. As in someone who "knows you inside out" (warts and all) and loves you anyway, level. As in a "sticking to you closer than a brother" level. And, as in a "I will always love you and never leave you" level.
While I have been blessed to have had lots of friends some of them came into my life for a short season and some came in for a simple reason. Many have come and gone, and a few have stayed through the decades. But, if I am completely honest, not one of them has been there exclusively for me, filling all of my needs (as I have not been there exclusively for them, either).
Yet, never has the Lord failed to be there for me. Never has he failed to comfort me when I was sad, or pick me up after I had been knocked down. Sure, there have been a few times when I did not sense His presence, but never has He completely forsaken me.
But I have to humbly admit, I work at this relationship. Besides being in the Word regularly to write inspirational works, my husband and I begin almost every day with a Bible study (usually at 4:15 a.m.!). Filling our mind with God's word before facing our day is like putting on a spiritual suit of armor. Only God knows the daggers that are going to be thrown at us each day, so it makes sense to turn to Him for protection.
After seeing the difference it has made in my peace and joy level by saturating my mind with the Word and not taking in the biased and depressing news, I've come up with the perfect antidote, for those times when I do watch the news. Besides watching Wheel of Fortune afterwards :-), I put Philippians 4:6 into action: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. I say a quick prayer over what it was that troubled me.
And another personal favorite scripture verse for these stress-filled times is: He keeps in perfect peace all who trust in Him, all whose thoughts are fixed on Him! (Isaiah 26:3 )
May His peace be with you, too,
Connie
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Worrier or Warrior?
Ever have too many things on your plate? I'm sure you have; most of our "To Do" lists seem to never end, they just keep getting longer and longer.
As a member of a fairly large church, which posts a prayer line on its web site, my "Prayer To Do" list is definitely one of those lists that never ends. If you are a prayer warrior, you know what I mean. Quite frankly it is a wonder that we warriors are able to get anything done; the burden to pray for every situation that tugs at our heart is constant. And in today's economy, with so many people in need, we coud remain on our knees 24/7.
Sometimes the weight of it all can bring us to the point where we throw up our hands and say, "Whew! Where do I begin?"
And I have to confess, that at times I have even allowed that overwhelming burden to cause me to spiritually freeze, the weight of it is so heavy. I momentarily forget that the perfect antidote is prayer. We cannot fix the world, but we do know the One who controls it. And we (if we are born again) have direct access to Him anytime and anywhere. Instead of being "worriers", God calls us and enables us to be "warriors".
Whew! Worry burdens are not mine to carry. Never have been and never will be. My part is to simply be faithful to lift that familiar tugging of my heart up to Jesus, and then to resume my peace, knowing the Prince of Peace has it all under control.
Peacefully Yours,
Connie
As a member of a fairly large church, which posts a prayer line on its web site, my "Prayer To Do" list is definitely one of those lists that never ends. If you are a prayer warrior, you know what I mean. Quite frankly it is a wonder that we warriors are able to get anything done; the burden to pray for every situation that tugs at our heart is constant. And in today's economy, with so many people in need, we coud remain on our knees 24/7.
Sometimes the weight of it all can bring us to the point where we throw up our hands and say, "Whew! Where do I begin?"
And I have to confess, that at times I have even allowed that overwhelming burden to cause me to spiritually freeze, the weight of it is so heavy. I momentarily forget that the perfect antidote is prayer. We cannot fix the world, but we do know the One who controls it. And we (if we are born again) have direct access to Him anytime and anywhere. Instead of being "worriers", God calls us and enables us to be "warriors".
Whew! Worry burdens are not mine to carry. Never have been and never will be. My part is to simply be faithful to lift that familiar tugging of my heart up to Jesus, and then to resume my peace, knowing the Prince of Peace has it all under control.
Peacefully Yours,
Connie
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Back to Normal
Not too long ago I was tired of "normal". Today, I am embracing that word.
Sometimes we get in a rut in life and we want things shaken up a bit, yet neither my huband nor I wanted this. My hubby had to have open heart surgery a few weeks ago and our world was (temporarily) turned upside down. A very serious heart problem was discovered while undergoing pre-op testing to have a torn rotator cuff and torn bicep operated on. He was immediately admitted to the hospital. Strange how, one day he was complaining about shoulder pain, and the next day we were both very grateful for it!
It was and still is a long painful journey for him (including his shoulder, which can't be operated on for a while), but you can be sure that we both have walked away with some new perspectives on, and appreciation of, life.
This morning, as my husband pulled out of the driveway for his first full day back to work, I couldn't help but think just how good it felt to have things finally becoming "normal" again.
And, every 3rd weekend in September in Thornville, Ohio, it is "normal" to attend the awesome Backwoods Arts & Crafts festival, where you can meander through the woods, checking out the 250+ vendors selling their handmade treasures, while enjoying bluegrass music and eating kettle cooked chips and popcorn. Besides the delicious food and unique gift ideas, there are fun activities, too. Once again it looks like God will bless us with gorgeous autumn weather.
Come enjoy the ambience and be sure to check out booth number 183. That's where I'll be with my 10 titles (4 new ones), and my writer friend, Candace Pope. She c0-authored the book, "Wheelchair for Sale" with Marvin Sallee. It is a delightful true story of miraculous healing and Pastor Marvin hopes to be there on Saturday to sign his books with Candace.
Strap your walking shoes on and come out and enjoy the fun. Don't forget to stop by and say hi. (For more info. on the fest, see my "Appearances" tab to the right.)
Praising the Lord for "normal",
Connie
Sometimes we get in a rut in life and we want things shaken up a bit, yet neither my huband nor I wanted this. My hubby had to have open heart surgery a few weeks ago and our world was (temporarily) turned upside down. A very serious heart problem was discovered while undergoing pre-op testing to have a torn rotator cuff and torn bicep operated on. He was immediately admitted to the hospital. Strange how, one day he was complaining about shoulder pain, and the next day we were both very grateful for it!
It was and still is a long painful journey for him (including his shoulder, which can't be operated on for a while), but you can be sure that we both have walked away with some new perspectives on, and appreciation of, life.
This morning, as my husband pulled out of the driveway for his first full day back to work, I couldn't help but think just how good it felt to have things finally becoming "normal" again.
And, every 3rd weekend in September in Thornville, Ohio, it is "normal" to attend the awesome Backwoods Arts & Crafts festival, where you can meander through the woods, checking out the 250+ vendors selling their handmade treasures, while enjoying bluegrass music and eating kettle cooked chips and popcorn. Besides the delicious food and unique gift ideas, there are fun activities, too. Once again it looks like God will bless us with gorgeous autumn weather.
Come enjoy the ambience and be sure to check out booth number 183. That's where I'll be with my 10 titles (4 new ones), and my writer friend, Candace Pope. She c0-authored the book, "Wheelchair for Sale" with Marvin Sallee. It is a delightful true story of miraculous healing and Pastor Marvin hopes to be there on Saturday to sign his books with Candace.
Strap your walking shoes on and come out and enjoy the fun. Don't forget to stop by and say hi. (For more info. on the fest, see my "Appearances" tab to the right.)
Praising the Lord for "normal",
Connie
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