Former Prisoner Uses Experience to Help Others Survive the Justice System

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Surviving the Justice ExperienceBook Pinpoints Five Spiritual Lifelines for Families of Offenders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The numbers are staggering– 90 million family members and friends of incarcerated or released felons are currently in the US according to estimates from author and clinical psychologist Kevin J. McCarthy. “I think I’ve scratched the surface of a horrible, horrible reality,” says McCarthy. “In reality, family members of offenders serve their prison sentence in the community.” With hopes of helping a growing group of underserved people, McCarthy reveals his experience with the American justice system in his new book Surviving the Justice Experience: An Essential Christian Resource for Families of Offenders (Ambassador International; May 2013; $16.99, paperback). McCarthy openly shares how his decisions landed him in prison and five spiritual lifelines for weathering any storm.

In his book McCarthy, who spent four years behind bars in California, highlights five spiritual lifelines that are key for getting through a prison sentence: mercy, grace, forgiveness, faith and hope. McCarthy holds nothing back as he shares his personal pain and difficulties with readers. Surviving the Justice System is a practical tool for family and friends of those who have spent time in prison, providing practical tips on how to help cope with social stigma.

McCarthy launched the Dismas Project, a non-profit focused on addressing the needs of children, spouses, and family members of offenders as well as the prisoners themselves. He says there are currently very few Christian resources available to these individuals.

McCarthy works tirelessly on prison outreach, corresponding monthly with 137 death row inmates in Louisiana and Mississippi. “I tell them that I’m just like they are. The only difference between us is our address at this time,” says McCarthy. “I might be a free man walking around but in my heart I remember what the experience is like.” McCarthy says there are many ministries for regular inmates, but few targeting the worst of the worst. “If Jesus could find me and touch my heart, he could do that for the hardest heart on death row.”

About the Author: Dr. Kevin J McCarthy is a retired clinical psychologist with 25 years of experience working with wounded families. His personal life experiences have served as a basis for developing a spiritual outreach to offenders and their families. Those experiences include recovery from an extended history of alcohol and drug abuse which led to a period of incarceration. Dr. McCarthy approaches his work from the level of his personal experiences and his clinical training ensuring a unique approach to the possibilities of a personal transformation. His current efforts have included authorship of three books on the dynamics of a redeeming life.

To learn more about the author and his new book Surviving the Justice System, visit http://dismasproject.com. For interview requests, please contact publicist Alison Storm at [email protected]

Book Takes Readers on Intimate Spiritual Journey

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An Intimate CollisionCertified Life Coach, Counselor Guides Readers Towards a Closer Relationship with God

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: With many years of experience both personal and professional, Craig Lounsbrough knows what it is like to deal with life’s most horrific events, as well as its most marvelous moments.  Whatever the nature and magnitude of the experience, God seeks to dramatically collide with our lives in these events in ways that are nothing short of transformational.  In his latest book An Intimate Collision: Encounters with Life and Jesus, (Ambassador International; May 2013; $15.99, paperback) Ordained Minister, Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Professional Life Coach Craig Lounsbrough helps readers find the majestic life God has intended for each of his children by uncovering and incorporating those most intimate collisions.

“It appears evident that God’s intentions for us are far more expansive and profoundly more majestic than what we’ve embraced and subsequently live out in our lives.  Something inestimably more is ours if we are relentless enough to discover it, persistent enough to find ways to seize it, and then tenacious enough to firmly weave it into the very fabric our lives until it becomes our lives,” says Craig.  The “intimate collisions” outlined in the pages of this book are for those who wish to let go of mediocrity and grow unimaginably closer to God.

Craig brings a number of profound events in scripture to life, and then intertwines them with personal and clinical experiences that plant those events firmly into the realities of living in the 21st century.  At the end of every chapter, Craig provides thought provoking questions for readers to meditate on in order to grow closer to God as a result of their own intimate collisions with Him.

About the Author: Craig Lounsbrough’s background includes over twenty-three years experience as a counselor in a variety of treatment settings such as psychiatric hospitals, outpatient clinics, churches and various ministries. Craig spent two years broadcasting in Christian radio.  He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado, an Ordained Minister, as well as a Certified Professional Life Coach. Craig’s other books include Flecks of Gold on a Path of Stone: Simple Truths for Profound Living, Flecks of Gold on a Path of Stone: Simple Truths for Life’s Complex Journey, and An Autumn’s Journey: Deep Growth in the Grief and Loss of Life’s Seasons.

To learn more about the author and his book Intimate Collisions, visit www.craiglpc.com. For interview requests, please contact Alison Storm at [email protected].

Secrets and Romance Surface in Majestic Alaska

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Till The Storm Passes ByFirst Book in Alaskan Waters Trilogy Set in 1950s Alaskan Panhandle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Family, secrets and romance, set against the backdrop of Alaska’s Panhandle – author AnnaLee Conti’s first book of the Alaskan Water Trilogy, Till the Storm Passes By (Ambassador International; April 15, 2013; $14.99, paperback), explores the sense of peace that can come from the healing power of forgiveness.

Conti’s experiences growing up in a missionary family in Alaska during the 1950s and 1960s heavily inform her writing. Till the Storm Passes By offers an intimate picture of life in one of America’s most popular cruise destinations, the Panhandle of Alaska.

The novel begins with Evie Parker, a Rhode Island schoolteacher, who is plagued by a recurring nightmare from her childhood. Who is the woman in her dream? What does it mean? Her quest for answers and a deathbed confession compel her to cross the continent to Juneau, Alaska.  There, she struggles through storms, both natural and emotional, to unravel a past shrouded in mystery.  When she makes a heart-rending discovery, can she relinquish her heartaches to God? Can she ever find true love and joy?

“While showcasing the scenic beauty of Alaska,” says Conti, “I dramatize the destructiveness of family secrets, as well as the redemption and healing that can only come through forgiveness.”

About the Author:  AnnaLee Conti is an author, teacher, and ordained minister. She resides in the Mid-Hudson River Valley with her husband, Bob.  Together, they have pastored churches in New York State for 35 years. AnnaLee has also published numerous short stories, articles, devotionals, church school curriculum, and a nonfiction book, Frontiers of Faith, which recounts the adventures of her grandparents as pioneers to Alaska (1917-1982).

For more information about the author and her book, please visit www.AnnaLeeConti.com.  For interview requests, please contact publicist Alison Storm at [email protected].

The Life and Legacy of George Beverly Shea

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George Beverly SheaAmbassador International is saddened to learn of the passing of George Beverly Shea. Few musicians have reached more people around the globe for Christ than George Beverly Shea. No other gospel musician in history has spread Christ’s love throughout the world for as long. George Beverly Shea is a legend among both his peers and admirers. Today’s thriving popularity of gospel music is a living legacy of Shea’s dedicated, enthusiastic, ground-breaking vision. But more than that, Shea was a warm, loving Christian with the heart of a servant.

Born in Winchester, Ontario on February 1, 1909, Shea began his singing career in the choir of his father’s church. Over the span of a century Shea

Bev and Michael W. Smith

Bev and Michael W. Smith

recorded more than 70 albums, received ten Grammy nominations, entered into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and traveled to dozens of countries with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team.

Ambassador is honored to have published the last authorized biography on Shea back in 2009. In honor of his 100th birthday, Reverend Dr. Paul Davis wrote George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story. We collected hundreds, if not thousands, of birthday greetings for Shea from fans around the world at GeorgeBevShea.com. Davis investigated Shea’s life, associates and recordings  more extensively than ever before, chronicling Shea’s 100 years with detail and depth. Davis, who passed away shortly after the book was published, was an author, journalist, broadcaster, and record producer whose relationship with Shea spanned many years. Davis served as the executive producers on albums for Shea and many other well-known Christian artists.

In honor of Shea and to encourage readers who may be interested in learning more about his life and legacy during this time we have lowered the price of George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story to $4.99 for the Kindle. While we will no longer be able to enjoy his beautiful voice here on earth, we know he is now singing praises in heaven with the Savior he devoted his life to telling the world about.

Ambassador International Honors the Life and Legacy of George Beverly Shea

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George Beverly SheaBilly Graham’s Long Time Associate Passes Away at Age 104

For immediate release April 17, 2013: Ambassador International is saddened to learn of the passing of George Beverly Shea. Few musicians have reached more people around the globe for Christ than George Beverly Shea. No other gospel musician in history has spread Christ’s love throughout the world for as long. George Beverly Shea is a legend among both his peers and admirers. Today’s thriving popularity of gospel music is a living legacy of Shea’s dedicated, enthusiastic, ground-breaking vision. But more than that, Shea was a warm, loving Christian with the heart of a servant.

Born in Winchester, Ontario on February 1, 1909, Shea began his singing career in the choir of his father’s church. Over the span of a century Shea recorded more than 70 albums, received ten Grammy nominations, entered into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and traveled to dozens of countries with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team.

Greenville-based publisher Ambassador International is honored to have published the last authorized biography on Shea back in 2009. In honor of Shea’s 100th birthday, Reverend Dr. Paul Davis wrote George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story, re-released in paperback and available exclusively at ChristianBook.com. “We collected hundreds, if not thousands, of birthday greetings for Shea from fans at GeorgeBevShea.com,” says Ambassador COO Tim Lowry. “It was truly remarkable to see the love and admiration that poured in from around the world.” Davis investigated Shea’s life, associates and recordings  more extensively than ever before, chronicling Shea’s 100 years with detail and depth. Davis, who passed away shortly after the book was published, was an author, journalist, broadcaster, and record producer whose relationship with Shea spanned many years. Davis served as the executive producers on albums for Shea and many other well-known Christian artists.

In honor of Shea and to encourage readers who may be interested in learning more about his life and legacy during this time we have lowered the price of George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story to $4.99 for the Kindle. “While we will no longer be able to enjoy his beautiful voice here on earth,” says Lowry, “we know he is now singing praises in heaven with the Savior he devoted his life to telling the world about.” A re-released paperback version of George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story is available exclusively through ChristianBook.com.

Ambassador International was founded in 1980 in Belfast, Northern Ireland and expanded to Greenville, South Carolina in 1995. Ambassador International’s books and materials have been distributed in dozens of countries and are sold worldwide. For more information visit www.ambassador-international.com. You can also follow @AmbassadorIntl on Twitter or check out Facebook.com/AmbassadorIntl.

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National Autism Awareness Month: An Interview with Author D’Ann Renner

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Dancing From the ShadowsIn celebration of National Autism Awareness Month, Ambassador International spotlights author D’Ann Renner and her book Dancing From the Shadows that discusses her firsthand experience with having her child diagnosed with autism. During National Autism Awareness Month, D’Ann’s book is available on Amazon.com or ChristianBook.com for only $3.99 for your eReader. In the United States alone, an estimated 1 out of 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls are diagnosed with autism according to austismspeaks.org. Renner provides inspiration for parents everywhere who experience similar difficulties and pleasures of having a child with autism.

Ambassador: What were the main signs from your child that ultimately lead to the autism diagnosis?

D’Ann Renner: He didn’t play with toys typically- he’d spin the wheels of a toy truck without doing anything else. He would spend hours spinning a mixing bowl or watching a ceiling fan. He didn’t make much eye contact, was speech-delayed, and didn’t seem to feel pain.

Ambassador: How did you find peace with God after the autism diagnosis?

D’Ann Renner: I was angry and depressed at first, because I knew God could heal him, but wasn’t choosing to do so. I wondered how I had so displeased God that He would choose to punish my son. That’s just plain bad theology! Eventually, I came to the place that I could trust that God loved my son more than I did, and had a good plan for his life. Autism is not a punishment. It’s a challenge, but it’s also a gift. We all have challenges that God can turn into gifts if we allow Him.

Ambassador: Do you still struggle with finding peace? How do you deal with those moments?

D’Ann Renner: Yes, especially at transition times- like entering high school, or when other kids are getting their learner’s permits. At those times, I see a Grand Canyon sized gap D'Ann Rennerbetween reality and what my expectations were. I deal with it by reminding myself: God is Sovereign, God is good. Only He knows how beautifully our lives are being woven into the tapestry of eternity.

Ambassador: After immersing yourself into the special needs world for autism, what information do you wish was more widely known?

D’Ann Renner: Children with autism DO want to have social relationships. They DO have senses of humor. One just has to work harder to discover how to interact with them, and it takes time and patience.  And- kids with autism, even if they are non-verbal, understand a lot more of what is being said and what is happening, and they can be badly hurt by it.

Ambassador: What similarities do you share with the main character in Dancing From the Shadows?

D’Ann Renner: I did have a successful career in marketing, although not nearly as brilliant as Tori’s. We did adopt children from Bulgaria, and I’ve experienced many of the incidents she does in the book, although I fictionalized them and merged them with the experiences of others. THERE IS NO SIMILARITY BETWEEN MY HUSBAND BRUCE AND TORI’S HUSBAND PHILLIP!  Bruce is a wonderful, supportive husband, but that’s not true for many parents with special needs children. The character Phillip was based on the ex-spouses (male and female) of many friends and acquaintances.

Ambassador: Do you have any advice for parents who recently received the autism diagnosis?

D’Ann Renner: I’m going to go against the norm here, so understand this is just my feeling. It’s more important, in my opinion, to concentrate on expanding the child’s ability to think flexibly and communicate than it is to teach rote skills. I feel we concentrated so much in the early years on getting Luke to speak that I neglected working on his desire to communicate, and expanding his ability to think in a flexible way.  If I had it to do over again, I’d embrace more therapies like Floor Time, Relational Development Intervention, Neurodevelopment and programs like the SonRise protocol, rather than ABA. But that is just my opinion and many wonderful parents disagree with me.

Through the month of April, National Autism Awareness Month, pick up a copy of Dancing From the Shadows for your eReader for only $3.99! Shop now at Amazon.com or ChristianBook.com.

 

5 Tips for Daily Living as a Christian

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Living as a Christian is not a simple decision. It’s a constant daily choice that transitions your heart into something more, something that fulfills God’s purpose for you and all of your heart’s desires. Our busy lives are a constant swarm of technology, media, and information that continually test our religious boundaries. At every turn, we are challenged with the latest test. So where do we get our daily motivation to continue to pursue a God-focused life and let Him live in our hearts? Here is a great starter list to begin a daily routine to keep God in your daily life and simultaneously grow closer with him.

  1. Give Him a Few Minutes Every Day. Whether or not it’s during your drive to work with a quick prayer behind the steering wheel, or sitting down in a quiet place and contemplating God’s goodness in your life, give Him time every day. Reflect on the positive things going on in your life, your gratefulness for good health, children, or simply enjoying your dog wagging his tail. Take a minute to appreciate the smaller and more important parts of life and not the stress that typically steals all of our attention.
  2. Read a Devotional. Regardless if this is for you or within a group, stay busy reading. Find a book that speaks to your heart and gives guidance to any area of your life. Are you struggling with forgiveness? (Forgiveness Is Not An Option: A Journey to Freedom and Healing) Do you crave peace and to let go of anxiety? (How to Have a Quiet Heart) Are you curious who God is? (For His Name’s Sake). Struggling with changing the way you think and thinking more positively? (Change the Way You Think: Winning the Everyday Battles of the Mind) Struggling with being single? (Single & Content: A Journey from Despair to Delight) Are you feeling alone or forgotten? (What If)
  3. Keep a Journal. Write down your feelings, emotional, and journey through whatever your heart is going through. Writing can be a great therapeutic release for emotions that we hold in. Answer questions from the devotional and meditate on your own journey through God’s word.
  4. Memorize Verses. The Bible is full of stories of real people who experienced similar heartache as you. Can’t handle something going on in your life? David or Mordecai. Sickness or difficulty? The numerous stories of those Jesus healed. One of my favorite pins on Pinterest is a list of scriptures that are directly related particular pains. Stressed? (Ephesians 4:27)Worried? (Philippians 4:6) Depressed? (Hosea 6:1)
  5. Keep an Accountability Partner. God doesn’t intend for us to experience pain by ourselves. Whether we need guidance and direction or simply a shoulder to cry on, find a close friend who you can trust during your journey. Share your struggle, helpful scripture, positive ideas that will help both of you. Keep each other accountable for reading scripture, devotionals, or simply spending time with God every day.

 

For more helpful tips for Christian Living, check out our pinterest boards for ideas, tips, and a little bit of humor!

Join Author David Sitton for a Google + Hangout

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Sitton Hangout 2 300x250

Is Jesus simply not worth the risk to many of us? David Sitton’s book Reckless Abandon is a bare-knuckled dare to seize the privilege of working in Christ’s worldwide mission. Sitton will be offering up a challenge in a Google + Hangout Tuesday, April 2 at 7pm Central. You’re invited to attend this lively chat, enter to win a huge prize and take advantage of an exclusive 24-hour eBook sale. The free event is open to the public and hosted by Gospel eBooks and Ambassador International. Please RSVP now!

In Reckless Abandon: A modern-day Gospel pioneer’s exploits among the most difficult to reach peoples, author David Sitton inspires and encourages readers through his own experience working in cannibalistic areas of Papua New Guinea to risk their lives for the gospel. “If we, as gospel ambassadors, are unwilling to suffer even as much as soldiers and firemen, could the reason be that we don’t treasure Christ enough or value the gospel enough to sacrifice significantly for its advancement into unreached regions?” asks Sitton in his new book.

For every Reckless Abandon Kindle download purchased on April 2nd Gospel eBooks will donate $4 to the ministry. Enter below for your chance to win the complete DVD set from Dispatches From the Front and a $100 Amazon gift card. The winner will be drawn during the Google Hangout. So please join us for this interactive and inspirational free chat with author David Sitton.