Archive for the ‘Ambassador News’ Category

Ambassador Staff Picks: Find Out What We’re Reading!

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Till The Storm Passes ByNeed some inspiration about what to read right now? Here are some suggestions from our staff members:

Deana Browning, Office Manager:  As a lifelong Alaskan and recent transplant to South Carolina I was delighted to read the first book in our Alaskan Waters Series by AnnaLee Conti, Till the Storm Passes By.  A wonderful journey that weaves its way through the majestic beauty of the Alaskan frontier while captivating you with its characters.  Truly a book you don’t want to put down.

Tim Lowry, COO: I’m very excited to read the second edition of Reckless Abandon by David Sitton. In this book David makes a very bold and clear statement that you need to be ready to die for Christ, He is worth it! I think this is something we don’t like to think about here in America while in many other countries christians are risking their lives daily to further the gospel.

Brenda Covert, Editor: Azure Maris —not your typical mermaid tale! How big is your God? This work of fiction will challenge your thinking. It Help! Someone I Love is Depressedhooked me and reeled me in from the first page. Fascinating characters, settings, situations, and conflict abound, with contemporary church issues and an outsider’s view of the typical worship service thrown in for good measure. I can’t wait for the next book!

Anna Riebe, Digital Producer: The book I chose is Help, Someone I love is Depressed.  I found myself reading this book while turning it into an ebook and I am really looking forward to reading it in its entirety. Greg Russ writes in a way that is entertaining and easy to follow and the book is full of useful and helpful information pertaining to depression – a problem that many people struggle with.

Alison Storm, publicist: I highly recommend Paul Davis’ authorized biography, George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story. It was inspiring to read about how Bev Shea went from being a shy insurance salesman to singing on stages around the world with the Billy Graham evangelistic team.

Matt Mulder, Creative Director: Try to read Healing Hearts with dry eyes. Pediatric heart surgeon Hisashi Nikaidoh, MD relates his grief after losing his own son in a tragic accident. Through his work, he met eight amazing mothers who share their individual stories of losing a child.

Farm Animals Encourage Children to be Unique

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Each The SameAuthor Teaches Children that God’s Love Endures Even Though We Are All Different

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: What do cows, sheep, horses, and children all have in common? They all have a purpose and God loves them each the same. This is the message that children’s book author Michelle Worthington teaches in her new book Each the Same (Ambassador International; April 2013; $18.99, hardcover). Taking place in a barnyard with all of the farm animals, Worthington reminds young readers that everyone is different and special.

The cows are in the milking shed, the horses are in the stable, and the sheep are in the field. They all have their jobs to do to help make the farm a happy place to live. Each animal is different but the farmer loves them each the same. In this charming children’s book, Australian author Michelle Worthington teaches children that everyone, even animals, have a different purpose but are all loved equally by God. “Each the Same was written after a discussion with my eldest son on the way home from Church about the way God loves all of us and we are all special in our own way”, says Worthington. “Each of us were created with a purpose to make the world a better place and to serve Him”.

Worthington uses her love of writing and creative mind to teach children valuable lessons in Each the Same. With easy to read words, this little book can help children learn to read and may become a bedtime favorite night and night again.

For more information about the author and her new book please visit michelleworthington.com or facebook.com/michelleworthington.author. For interview requests please contact publicist Alison Storm at [email protected].

Mother’s Day Flash Sale: 3 Books, 1 Low Price!

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flashsale smallNeed a gift mom will love? Stock her up on some great summer reading material! Now through midnight on Sunday, May 5 you can buy mom three great books for just $19.99, shipping included! You’ll receive all three books in Carrie Daws’ Crossing series, including the latest installment Romancing Melody. Mom will love these books, but don’t take our word for it– check out some of the recent reviews on Amazon:

  • “Carrie Daws’ book, Romancing Melody, is fantastic. The word “Wow!” kept coming to my mind while I was reading it.” -Paula McGrew
  • “Romancing Melody the 3rd book in A Crossing Journey series is out of this world. I loved this book and the whole series.” -inspiremichelle
  • “Ms. Daws does it again! From the first page to the last I was hooked.” -Rita Noel

BUY NOW!

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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