Posts Tagged ‘Christian’

She Speaks: Being the Author God Wants You To Be

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The following is a guest post from Ambassador author Carrie Daws about her recent experience at the She Speaks Conference, held July 24-26 in Concord, North Carolina.

Overwhelmed. Doing my best. Uncertain. Spinning my wheels.

These are the phrases I would have used to describe my author plan. I know God gave me books to write, but getting the thoughts from my head to your hands is not simple. Bookstores are flooded with a plethora of resources to help me, but I can’t read them all and sometimes they contradict. And who am I to write a book anyway? The great writers are doing a fine job without me. Are you as frustrated as I am?

she-speaks-Walking into the She Speaks Conference by Proverbs 31 Ministries this year, I expected to walk away with tools for marketing, ideas to spark creative juices, and lists of things to do. Instead, God infused my thoughts with truth.

What you think disqualifies you, is exactly what God is going to use to change someone else’s life.

Glynnis Whitwer

I’m not Francine Rivers and may never be as popular as she is, but the truth is that God already has Francine and doesn’t want me to be her. He created me to be me, to accomplish His purposes my way. And the shortcomings and inadequacies I see are often the very things that draw others to me, and thereby to Him.

Authors Carrie Daws, Shaunti Feldhahn and Kathy Barnett at the She Speaks Conference.

Authors Carrie Daws, Shaunti Feldhahn and Kathy Barnett at the She Speaks Conference.

God has something amazing for me to do. He is doing amazing things in the process.

Shaunti Feldhahn

Shaunti’s statement is one of those truths that I know but struggle to remember. I understand that God has a great plan that includes me, and I acknowledge that He wants to use me to accomplish incredible things. But the truth is that each step along the way is also amazing. It may not feel like it at the time, but when I stop to reflect back on the journey, I see those little moments that became stepping stones that got me where I stand right now. Every step is amazing.

You already have what it takes to accomplish His plans for you.

Renee Swope

This proclamation by Renee really caught my attention because I struggle every week to understand more about writing and HTML codes and best social media practices. I seem to be a constant flurry of learning what is just outside my grasp of understanding. Yet the truth is that God didn’t give me an assignment and send me on my way. He also gave me everything I would need to accomplish the assignment! Sometimes it’s in the form of books and blog posts and Google searches, and sometimes it’s through real people who make the keystrokes for me. But I am not alone on this journey that often feels very solitary.

Our passion cannot be our words. Our passion must be the Word.

Lysa TerKeurst

I endeavor to find the right words and put sentences in the order that will have the biggest impact. And while that’s important, the truth is that the time I spend with God in His Bible is more important. I must be filled with Him so I can overflow with love and grace and compassion. Otherwise, the words I find will not be the ones that change lives and make His name known.

She Speaks Carrie and Kathy

Ambassador authors of The Warrior’s Bride, Kathy Barnett and Carrie Daws.

This is not a game. We write to free people from bondage.

Christine Caine

Sometimes I put off writing because no one asks for an account of my time. Sometimes I put it off because it’s hard, or boring, or frustrating. Sometimes I just put words on paper and throw them out to the world without really considering what I just wrote. But Christine is right: our writing is not a game. God wants to use me and my writing—all my writing—to affect change. To love people. To free them from the bondages in which our enemy wants to bind them. This is a battle where sometimes, many times, I do not get a second chance.

So while I also learned a couple new tidbits about Pinterest and what Lysa TerKeurst strives to put into every chapter she writes, I walk away from She Speaks with encouragement and motivation from God, whom I’m reminded is my biggest cheerleader. What an amazing thought!

 

Learn more about Carrie Daws at CarrieDaws.com. Her newest book, The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive, will be released in fall 2014.

99¢ Sale: One Day Only!

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For 24 hours we’re offering one of our hot non-fiction titles for just 99¢! Pick up Gerald Watford’s new book Armorbearers for less than a buck for the Kindle during our one-day sale event. After Thursday the price will go up to $2.99 through the weekend and then it will return to regular price.

ArmorbearersSynopsis: There is a desperate need for effective leadership today: in our nation, in our churches, in our families, and even in ourselves. The Bible uses the term armorbearer to describe leaders who offer help, support and strength to those around them. These types of servant-leaders are needed now more than ever. Using Scripture as the guide, Armorbearers takes readers down a path of self-discovery, pursuing greatness by developing character that is forged on the anvil of self-restraint and tested through the heat of self-discipline. Packed with inspiring stories and powerful lessons, Armorbearers reveals the four revolutionary choices every leader must make, risking their own significance in order to encounter God in life-altering ways. Are you ready to become an armorbearer? BUY NOW!

 

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99¢ Sale: One Day Only!

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For 24 hours we’re offering one of our hot non-fiction titles for just 99¢! Pick up Melanie Wright Zeeb’s new bookBeauty from Ashes: An Eyewitness Account of Haiti’s Tragic Earthquake for less than a buck for the Kindle during our one-day sale event. After Thursday the price will go up to $2.99 through the weekend and then it will return to regular price.

Beauty from AshesSynopsis: The shaking was only the beginning. When a massive earthquake devastated Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince, the staff at God’s Littlest Angels orphanage knew their biggest challenges were still ahead. Their buildings had stood and the 152 children in their care were alive, but the future was uncertain and survival was by no means guaranteed.

In this honest and heart-wrenching account of living through the struggles of the earthquake’s aftermath, Melanie Wright Zeeb shares her own experiences as well as those of other staff members and adoptive families around the world. In Haiti, the staff faced shortages of food, water, medicine, and other supplies, and the fear of not being able to acquire more. The nerve-rattling aftershocks continued, adding to the stress of survival and the emotional and psychological trauma of living through a horrific natural disaster.

Around the world, adoptive families waited anxiously and helplessly from afar, knowing that their children were in the middle of a disaster zone. For most of those families, their heartache transformed into unbelievable joy when their children were evacuated out of Haiti and into their arms.
Beauty from Ashes is a story of suffering, pain, and loss, but also of hope, survival, and healing. BUY NOW!

 

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99¢ Sale: One Day Only!

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For 24 hours we’re offering one of our hot non-fiction titles for just 99¢! Pick up Naomi Fata’s new book Beyond Head Knowledge: Knowing Christ Who Satisfies Our Hearts for less than a buck for the Kindle during our one-day sale event. After Thursday the price will go up to $2.99 through the weekend and then it will return to regular price.

Beyond Head knowledgeSynopsis: Do you desire close fellowship with God but don’t sense His presence? Have you ever questioned the reality of the Christian faith, wondering why you don’t have the joy and peace promised in Scripture? As the daughter of a pastor and saved since age four, Naomi longs to follow God, but He seems distant and far away. Though she practices the disciplines of the Christian faith—Bible reading, prayer, and Scripture memory—these do not satisfy her thirst to know God. Beyond Head Knowledge is the true story of a young woman grasping the promise of Jeremiah 29:13–14, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart,” and the discoveries of her heart she made along the way. To seek. To find. To know God.

 

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Declutter Every Area of Your Life in Just 8 Weeks

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Declutter Now! Study Guide Provides Step-By-Step Action Plan

For immediate release: In just eight weeks you can clear clutter in all areas of life– from closets to careers, finances to feelings. Filled with thought and discussion provoking questions, Scripture and practical application, the Declutter Now! Study Guide: 8 Weeks to Uncovering the Hidden Joy and Freedom in Your Life (Ambassador International; May 2014; $12.99, paperback) encourages readers into action.

Certified Christian Life Coaches and founders of Action Plan Ministries, Lindon and Sherry Gareis have a proven track record for helping people declutter their hearts, minds, bodies, souls and homes. The Declutter Now! Study Guide offers much the same valuable information they provide clients, using a comprehensive, practical, step-by-step approach focused on decluttering eight key areas:

 

  • Physical Space
  • Relationships
  • Finances
  • Career
  • Mental Health
  • Children
  • Spiritual Life
  • Body & Physical Health

 

Declutter Now Study GuidePerfect for individuals, small groups and Bible studies, the new Declutter Now! Study Guide is the perfect complement to the Declutter Now! book, released in 2012. The study guide also includes a section just for small group leaders. “It’s everything leaders will need to facilitate a group study,” explains Sherry. “We’ve provided useful tools and creative ideas to get conversation flowing and encourage every person that participates.”

About the Authors:Lindon and Sherry Gareis, certified Christian Life Coaches from Glendale, Arizona, are the founders of Action Plan Ministries.  Lindon and Sherry love being outdoors, love being together, and are committed to a lifelong honeymoon.

For interview requests please contact publicist Alison Storm at [email protected].

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99¢ Sale: One Day Only!

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For 24 hours we’re offering one of our hot non-fiction titles for just 99¢! Pick up Holly Mthethwa’s new book Hot Chocolate in June: A True Story of Loss, Love and Restoration for less than a buck for the Kindle during our one-day sale event. After Thursday the price will go up to $2.99 through the weekend and then it will return to regular price.

Hot Chocolate in JuneSynopsis: Under-qualified and overly-ambitious, Holly left her family and friends behind in Nebraska to search for that radical life, that all-for-Jesus-or-nothing-at-all life. Escaping the depression that chased her following her father’s untimely and agonizing death, this young accountant-turned-adventurer trekked to remote mountain villages and through city streets smelling of human excrement: all in search of a Father’s love. Thousands of miles from the only home she’d ever known, Holly discovered a deeper passion for her God while sharing the gospel in India and soothing abandoned babies in South Africa.

God made sure that Holly also encountered Oscar. This handsome South African rugby player seemed to have everything Holly had been praying for in a husband—except for the small detail that he didn’t look like any of the other guys she’d dated before. Oscar, as the son of parents who had lived through racial segregation and apartheid, was not supposed to bring home a woman whose skin matched the color of the people his parents had served. And this small town, Midwestern girl wasn’t supposed to fall in love with a black man, either.
Hot Chocolate in June is the true story of God’s undeniable ability to mend emotional wounds, overcome racial and cultural differences, and write amazing adventure stories. Join Holly on her adventure as she navigates her way through deep grief and loss, only to discover the amazing sweetness of love and restoration.

We’re giving away TWO Hot Chocolate in June prize packs!

1. Buy the Hot Chocolate in June ebook from any retailer, at any price. Forward your receipt to [email protected] by May 28 to enter.

2. Visit Ambassador-International.com/HotChocolateGiveaway to enter.Prize packs include a paperback copy of the book, hot chocolate mix and chocolates from Nebraska-based Bakers Candies, and handmade hot chocolate candles from Good Neighbors Candle Co or Candelit Desserts.

99¢ Sale: One Day Only!

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For 24 hours we’re offering one of our hot non-fiction titles for just 99¢! Pick up Jim Turner’s new book So-Called Christian: Healing the Spiritual Wounds Left By the Church for less than a buck for the Kindle during our one-day sale event. After Thursday the price will go up to $2.99 through the weekend and then it will return to regular price.

So-Called ChristianSynopsis: Have you ever been hurt by a fellow believer? Have you ever felt judged, belittled, or resigned to a second class Christian status by another believer? Do you feel distant from another believer over his insistence that you agree with his standard, or her particular brand of Christianity? These accusations cut deep and often leave us questioning our acceptance before
God.

Or have you ever been on the other side of the equation–as the attacker? Perhaps you had good motives and sincere convictions, but things turned ugly and you found yourself in an argument that really didn’t glorify Christ.

Either way, you have been part of one of the most destructive influences in the Church. You may feel maimed, defaced, ashamed, unqualified, and unloved. In short, you’ve been labeled a “so-called” Christian because you didn’t meet up to an artificial standard.

Learn how to remain in the will of God, showing love and grace to your fellow Christian while maintaining your convictions. So-Called Christian explains how the Bible anticipates these situations and instructs us to respond.

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New Book Aims to End “Civil War” Among Christians

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Pastor Urges Christian Unity Among Believers

 

For immediate release: Nearly 4 in 10 non-churchgoing Americans state the reason they do not attend church is due to negative past experiences with churches or church people. According to The Barna Group, the estimate of un-churched people in America is 100,000,000 which means 37,000,000 people claim to have been hurt by professing Christians. In a number that rivals the casualties of World War II, author Jim Turner is offering insight on how Christians can repair the fractured state of the church in his new book So Called Christian: Healing the Spiritual Wounds Left By the Church (Ambassador International; May 2014; $11.99, paperback). 

So-Called ChristianTurner, a former youth director and pastor with more than 25 years of experience, believes that the civil war among Christians has diminished God’s glory. He established Churchone, a non-profit aimed at spreading the word about God’s heart for Christian unity. “We see this as a command of God – not a pretty notion the Apostle Paul thought he’d entertain in a first century world,” explains Turner. “It’s a cry the Church has long lacked the ears to hear.”

So-Called Christian was written for those who have found themselves on either side of the problem: those who have felt judged, belittled or hurt by a fellow believer or those whose good motives and sincere convictions turned ugly. Digging deep into his own personal experiences of dysfunction within church settings, Turner issues a plan for resolution. Turner uses Biblical lessons to explain the best practices for dealing with differences within the Body. He also gives readers practical insight for maintaining personal peace and conviction when confronted with differing opinions and doctrinal disputes. “My ultimate goal is to help create a community of believers that strive to love one another,” says Turner, “regardless of our differing opinions.”

About the Author: Jim Turner is a husband and father of four. Mr. Turner has been in youth or pastoral ministry for over 25 years and has personally experienced the hurt and frustration that disagreement can cause. He has also counseled and mediated on numerous occasions where disagreement threatened to split churches and undo relationships that were years in the building. His experience includes churches from 10 to 1,000 members.

To connect with the author or to request a review copy of So-Called Christian please contact publicist Alison Storm at [email protected].

 

 

99¢ Sale: One Day Only!

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For 24 hours we’re offering one of our hot non-fiction titles for just 99¢! Pick up Lindon and Sherry Gareis’ book Declutter Now: Uncovering the Hidden Joy and Freedom in Your Life for less than a buck for the Kindle during our one-day sale event. After Thursday the price will go up to $2.99 through the weekend and then it will return to regular price. If you need motivation to rid your life of harmful clutter- this is it!

Declutter NowSynopsis: We all have too much STUFF!  Not just tangible things, but also the harmful clutter we allow to take up residence in our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. Every area of your life must be decluttered for you to live with the joy and freedom God desires!

  • We’ll clean out closets, relationships, and finances.
  • We’ll share ideas on decluttering your children’s lives from the get-go, and how to instill tools they’ll need to keep them that way.
  • We’ll navigate through challenges at work and critical career decisions.
  • Are you burdened by emotional ties that bind or physical problems which keep you in bondage?
  • We’ll tackle those too! Does your spiritual life feel empty or stalled?

We desire to help! Declutter what you don’t need to make room for what really matters. Less can truly be more!

  • Do you long for more peace and harmony in your life?
  • Do you desire more quality time with family?
  • Are you seeking relief from financial burdens?
  • Are you ready to release the grip of guilt and obligation?
  • Do you yearn for an increased ability to serve God?

Need more help decluttering your life? Check out the Gareis’ brand new companion study guide!

BUY DECLUTTER NOW for the Kindle!