Deck the Soul with Boughs of Forgiveness, MaryAnn Diorio, Giveaway

"Deck the Soul with Boughs of Forgiveness"

by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio

CHRISTMAS!  The word evokes many feelings, depending on our experiences. For some, Christmas is a happy time, filled with beautiful memories and joyful expectations. For others, Christmas is a depressing time, a season one wants “to get over with” as quickly as possible because of bad memories associated with this time of year.

Having ministered to people for many years, I have come to the conclusion that depressing memories at Christmas time are most often related to problems of unforgiveness. Hurts from the past become more pronounced during the Christmas season, but the reason those hurts still affect us is that we have not let go of the bitterness associated with them. In short, we have not forgiven the people who have hurt us.

Why do most people have such a difficult time forgiving? I believe the main reason is that they do not understand what forgiveness really means. If you are one of those people, what follows may help you:

LET’S LOOK AT WHAT FORGIVENESS IS NOT:

__Forgiveness is NOT letting someone off the hook.

__Forgiveness is NOT condoning evil.

__Forgiven is NOT being a doormat.

__Forgiveness is NOT having to trust again the person who hurt you.

__Forgiveness is NOT a feeling.

__Forgiveness is NOT an option.

NOW LET’S LOOK AT WHAT FORGIVENESS IS:

__Forgiveness IS taking the person who hurt you off of your hook and placing him on God’s hook, then praying that God will have mercy on him.

__Forgiveness IS acknowledging that evil was done but choosing to bear the consequences of that evil without retaliation.

__Forgiveness IS taking charge of your emotions.

__Forgiveness IS setting boundaries with the person who hurt you, even refusing temporary or permanent interaction with that person, if necessary. An example would be a wife who is being beaten by her husband.

__Forgiveness IS a decision.

__Forgiveness IS obedience to God’s commandment to forgive.

No matter how badly you have been hurt, choose to forgive. It’s the best thing you can do for your own well-being. Unforgiveness chains you emotionally to the person who hurt you. Forgiveness breaks that chain and sets you free.

What better time is there than the Christmas season to forgive those who have hurt us? The very essence of Christmas is the truth that God forgave humanity through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Who are we not to forgive others when God has forgiven us?

So this Christmas, forgive! But don’t just forgive. Ask to be forgiven. As the Word of God tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NKJV). All of us need not only to forgive but also to be forgiven.  And as long as we are on this earth, it is never too late to forgive or to be forgiven.

______________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2012-2019 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA.  All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reproduced without the written permission of Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. You may reach her at maryann@maryanndiorio.com.

Featured Book: A CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING: A Novella published by Pelican Book Group

BLURB:  Seven Christmases have passed since Sonia Pettit last heard from her daughter Jody. Since Jody's departure, Sonia's world has been turned upside down. Her husband has died of a broken heart, and her son, bitter over his sister's destructive actions, has become rebellious. Her greatest desire is to have her family together at Christmas, but after what Jody has put them all through, can Sonia truly forgive her daughter? Jody Pettit O'Dair ran away to experience a life of adventure and excitement, but since her departure, her world has been turned upside down. She's been abandoned by the man she met and married, lost her job, and is unable to care for her two children. With nowhere else to turn, this prodigal daughter begins the long journey home and prays she will be welcomed after walking away so long ago. Will Jody find forgiveness in the arms of her family as easily as she received it from God?

PURCHASE LINK:  https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Homecoming-Holiday-Extravaganza-ebook/dp/B017QL62U2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=A+Christmas+Homecoming+by+MaryAnn+Diorio&qid=1573578019&sr=8-1

BIO: Dr. MaryAnn Diorio is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction for both children and adults. She is the author of the well-received trilogy, THE ITALIAN CHRONICLES. Her latest novel, IN BLACK AND WHITE, deals with the issue of racism. MaryAnn has been married to Dom, a retired ER physician, for 50 years. They are the blessed parents of two wonderful adult daughters, a very smart son-in-law, and six rambunctious grandchildren. In her spare time, MaryAnn loves to read, paint, and make up silly songs with her grandchildren. You may learn more about MaryAnn and her writing at www.maryanndiorio.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Website: www.maryanndiorio.com
Blog (Matters of the Heart): http://eepurl.com/dwLYEn
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio
Blog Talk Radio: http:www.blogtalkradio.com/drmaryanndiorio
BookBub.com: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maryann-diorio
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Giveaway offered:  One copy of A CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING in e-book format.  It is available from the publisher only in e-book format. Leave your name and contact information below to be entered in the drawing. Giveaway ends one week from today, January 1,

2020 at Midnight O'Clock Central time and will be notified via email.

O HOLY NIGHT - David Phelps

One of my all-time favorite

Christmas songs, sung by my all-time favorite

Gospel tenor,

David Phelps.

ENJOY

THREE FRENCH HENS, Linore Rose Burkard

Hello, Whispers in Purple readers. Are you ready to take a break from all your busy preparations for a quick, fun short Christmas read?

Then let me present to you author Linore Rose Burkard.

Book Title : 3 French Hens: A Short Historical Romance 

"Three French Hens is the perfect introduction to this author for new readers and a wonderful addition for existing fans. It has all the elements Linore's readers love: characters that jump off the page, authentic period research, costume drama and, of course, romance. Not to be missed."
Teresa Slack, Author of Streams of Mercy 

Young Mademoiselle Christine D'Ornay and her family have fled from France to England, seeking safety from the Revolution and “Madame La Guillotine." At her first Assembly ball, Christine meets the dashing and elegant Lord Russell. But the lives of French aristocrats are cheap in an age of betrayal, and Jacobites are on the prowl. 

Can Christine and her family trust this new friend, or is Lord Russell the enemy they fear most? 

Dangerous secrets must be guarded, but hope is found when love enters the scene. 

Purchase link:  https://amzn.to/389rRGo  (ebook only)

Come on now, you know you want to finish the song:

♪ ♫ ♪ "On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Three French hens, two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree." ♫ ♪ ♫

  

Linore Rose Burkard is a serious watcher of period films, a Janeite, and hopeless romantic. An award-winning author best known for Inspirational Regency Romance, her books opened the genre for the CBA. Besides historical romance, Linore writes contemporary suspense (The Pulse Effex Series, as L.R. Burkard), contemporary romance (Falling In), and romantic short stories. Linore has a magna cum laude English Lit. degree from CUNY which she earned while taking herself far too seriously. She now resides in Ohio with her husband and family, where she turns her youthful angst into character or humor-driven plots. 

Linore  is Vice President of the Dayton Scribes, and a Regional Director of CAN, Christian Authors Network. Sign up for Linore's newsletter to be automatically entered in monthly book drawings. You'll also receive a free novella by Linore, Coach and Four: Allisandra's Tale, set in the days of King Charles II! 

Enter your email at: http://www.LinoreBurkard.com

Nancy Naigle and her Hallmark Movie

 It's Timeless Thursday! And today, I'm excited to have the USA Today bestseller author Nancy Naigle here! 

You may remember my interview with her here a week or so ago. (http://bit.ly/2pJ30HS)  This time, she's going to tell us all about her novel-made-into-a-movie-made-into-a HALLMARK Christmas movie!

So, let's get started! Talk to us, Nancy!

Hey, y’all. Nancy Naigle from North Carolina here, and what I love most about Timeless Thursday is that it made me pause and make the time to think about my past. Sometimes this life we live is in fast forward and we forget to pause to appreciate all those old memories we have stockpiled away.

I’ve created an online jigsaw puzzle of the movie poster for my book-to-movie HOPE AT CHRISTMAS. Click on the link below to try your hand at the puzzle. Post your time below the completed puzzle! I’ll admit this little 80-piece puzzle took me a lot longer than I expected, but it was a nice relaxing way to start the day.

http://bit.ly/35pmeBH

My Timeless Thursday moment is HOPE AT CHRISTMAS. The novel released in 2017, but a year ago this week the movie based on that novel premiered on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries as part of their Miracles of Christmas holiday programming. It was so exciting to see Scottie Thompson and Ryan Paevey (Yes! From General Hospital, and Mr. Darcy, no less!) bring Sydney, Kevin and the quaint town of Hopewell, NC to life. The Book Bea was as quaint and special as I’d dreamed. If you’re already a reader of my novels then you probably noticed a lot of my books in the background in the store. Bea actually comes right out recommends Christmas Joy to a customer. I had no idea they were going to do that.

I spent a week on set in Vancouver watching them shoot this movie. They even had a director’s chair with my name on it. That was mind-boggling. For me? Really? I was so impressed by the huge team that worked on this movie. They worked long hours through a rainy week, but there was never a short temper or grimace to be seen. It truly felt like living in a Hallmark movie for the week.  

The movie was great, but of course it’s hard to fit a 90,000-word novel into a 20,000-word screenplay for television, so the book and the movie are different. If you loved the Hallmark movie, then I think you’re going to really love the book where more characters are introduced, there’s a whole new character arc for Kevin who is a single dad in the book, and the ending is different. So, enjoy both! Hope at Christmas is available in print, digital and audio formats at all your local eTailers and can still be found in some stores beside my latest release, Christmas Angels.

Catch HOPE AT CHRISTMAS on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries

:

          THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21 5:00 AM

·         MONDAY NOVEMBER 25 3:00 PM

·         TUESDAY DECEMBER 3 11:00 AM

·         FRIDAY DECEMBER 6 7:00 PM

·         THURSDAY DECEMBER 12 9:00 AM

·         MONDAY DECEMBER 23 5:00 AM

Sign up for my newsletter at www.NancyNaigle.com to stay in the loop on new movies, giveaways and book releases. Grab free downloads from BEYOND A BLOG on the website too.

Hugs and Happy Thursday,

Nancy

When Art Mimics Life ~ It Really Is a Wonderful Life

WHEN ART MIMICS LIFE 

by Linda Rondeau

Please welcome author Linda Wood Rondeau as she shares the re-release of a book from her backlist now titled: It Really IS a wonderful life.

Welcome, Linda ...

I started writing after twenty-five years in the human services field. My first book, of course, was largely autobiographical. I soon discovered that I loved the art of storytelling and switched to writing fiction. But I struggled with deciding what kinds of stories I should fashion.

“Write what you know,” they told me.

What did I know?

I was a wife and a mom. I lived in a small town in Northern New York where winters were so cold the snow actually broke when stepped on. I knew about the complexities of human relationships. A victim of divorce, I knew the trauma of a broken home. As an active member of a local theater group, I knew how plays were produced.

And so, I put all this knowledge to work in my book, It Really IS a Wonderful Life, a somewhat autobiographical fiction.

Dorie’s journey to redefine herself after her husband’s death mirrors much of my experience following my divorce. I moved to my parent’s home in order to receive support as I raised three children on my own. The town of Midville mirrors my adopted home of Malone. Like Dorie, I struggled to make friends apart from my parents’ circle of acquaintances.

I joined a theater group in production for an Irish play, Juno and the Paycock, by Sean O’Casey. I managed to get a one-liner part. And like Dorie, I did publicity. That experience would change my life because I met the love of my life. And I also discovered a love of drama. As I became more active in my church and community, like Dorie, I began to see Malone as “my home” and not the place my parents lived.

Most importantly, like Dorie, I began to see my faith as second-hand, wisdom handed down from Christian grandparents, parents, pastors, and Sunday School teachers. I craved a faith that was truly my own.

We write what we know, not so much from head knowledge but from heart knowledge. The experiences that change and shape our lives dwell deep inside our being. This is the well from which writers draw.

About the book:

Midville newcomer and Iraq War widow, Dorie Fitzgerald, despises the frigid Adirondack wasteland that has now become her home. After twenty failed job interviews, she questions the wisdom of moving to be near her parents. Desperate to belong, she joins the local Community Theater, in production for It’s a Wonderful Life.

Jamey Sullivan has put his professional life on hold in order to run the family business and to help his ailing father. He signs on for Midville’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life, although he hopes to receive a Broadway casting call any day now.

When these two meet, they are instantly attracted to one another. However, ambition, demanding children, and a romantic rival threaten to squash their growing love for one another. Each must discover that the best things in life are found where your heart resides.

It Really is a Wonderful Life is set in the beautiful Adirondack mountains, a perfect backdrop for a Christmas romance.

Author Bio:

It Really IS a Wonderful Life is inspired by the author’s true experiences in a small town Community Theater. During her twenty years as an actor, producer, and director, the author met and married her best friend in life. The couple now reside in Hagerstown, Maryland, where they are actively involved with their local church ministries and spend time with their children and grandchildren. Most of Rondeau’s works reflect the beauty and friendliness of the northern Adirondack Region, where this book is set. Readers may connect with the author through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads. Follow the author's blog, Snark and Sensibility, on her website www.lindarondeau.com and signup for the author’s newsletters.

Buy links: 

• Paperback: https://amzn.to/2CNd05L   
• Ebook:  https://amzn.to/2rIOKQb 

Also, just released, A Christmas Prayer  A Country Music star, a newspaper journalist, and a 12-year-old autistic child each pray seemingly opposing Christmas prayers. How will God answer?

Social Media Links

• Facebook:
• Instagram
• Twitter’
• Goodreads
• Pinterest

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

~Peg

Lucy Adams ~ His Name is Wonderful ~ Story Behind the Song

Hello, Whispers in Purple friends and readers. I have a special treat for you today, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

I coaxed Lucy Adams, a long-time online friend for, I think, over thirty years Does that sound about right, Lucy? Sadly, we've never met each other.  Here's what Lucy wrote when she sent this to me:

Dear, dear, Peg, what a wonderful request! I have sung the music and words of "His Name Is Wonderful” many times this Christmas, so I thought I’d share this song, and the story behind it.

   

     Also, I love it since it can go into the New Year with us … and we can shout out forever ---- His name IS definitely wonderful all year round!  Isaiah 9:6 is the basis.

     So thankful you asked.

Okay, here's Lucy's research story about this song.

                                   His Name Is Wonderful

     Gifts come to us for various reasons.  The composer of this song said it was a "gift from heaven."  And, I believe that gifts from God are given to bless us, so that we may bless others.  Audrey Mieir, composer of "His Name Is Wonderful", wrote a song that has blessed millions of people.

     However, she said she never intended to write a song on that special day.  She was focused on the children's nativity scene and the sermon of the morning. Mrs. Mieir said it all happened on Christmas day in 1955 as she sat quietly in church. At Bethel Union Church in Duarte, California where her husband's brother, Dr. Luther Mieir was the pastor, everyone was smiling at a joyful and typical scene.

     The children, who were shepherds, were dressed in oversized bathrobes.  The angels' halos were slightly crooked.  Carol singing and scripture reading was meaningful, as always. The familiar prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 went down deep into her soul as she cherished those old words: 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace."

     When the pastor finished reading the familiar scripture, he lifted his hands, closed his eyes and said, "His name is wonderful."  There must have been a holy hush in Mrs. Mier's soul.  She said, "I felt as if I heard the rustle of angel wings and a musical chorus came to my mind."

     Quickly she wrote in the flyleaf of her Bible the words that her brother-in-law had just proclaimed, "His name is wonderful." She wrote it three more times and added, "Jesus my Lord."

     In a few days, she completed the song with a fuller description of who Jesus is.  The last line is a personal response to the One whose name is wonderful.  We want to bow down, love and adore this wonderful Jesus.

     Before Audrey Mieir died in 1996 at the age of 80, some of her last words were:  "His Name Is Wonderful" and will outlive the chubby human hands chosen to write a few black notes on five lines and four spaces. But it will never outlive the Father who glories in His Son's name."

Peg here: As I usually try to do with Lucy's posts, I looked for a video of someone singing this beautiful song, so I've embedded it here. I hope you'll enjoy ... maybe even sing along.

Lucy N. Adams  

  52hymns.com

What Child is This? ~ Ada Brownell

Bethlehem: Image courtesy Pixabay.com

WHAT CHILD IS THIS?

By Ada Nicholson Brownell

Can you imagine the chaos if identification on newborns in large hospitals disappeared?

“Whose baby is this?” nurses would say over and over as an expert checked tiny footprints. 

“What Child is this?” often is asked near Christmas. William Chatterton Dix, struck with a near-fatal illness at age 29 asked the question. Confined to his bed for months in 1865, he looked to Jesus, the babe born in Bethlehem so many years before. Was the Christ child different from everyone else born into the world?

Some people put Jesus on the same level as Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, the Pope, Moses, and other famous religious personalities. Some religions teach Jesus was a great prophet but deny His deity. Author Josh McDowell says in his book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, that Jesus can’t be identified as a great moral teacher because He claimed to be God. “He is either a liar, lunatic or the Lord.”[1]

Who was the babe in the manger?

Dix searched for an answer to the question and wrote a song titled “What Child is this?”  set to the music of Greensleeves, a 16^th Century English tune.

  

Down through the centuries, people asked, “Who is Jesus?”

Scripture reveals who the Child is. My Bible has 1,448 pages filled with the story of the Messiah-Redeemer—promised right after Adam and Eve became subject to sickness and death.[2] God warned the couple if they ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would die.

Satan, taking the body of a serpent, told Eve, “You won’t die.  It’s good.  Try it.”

The couple took the reptile’s advice and the venom of Satan’s lie fills every urn and grave since then. Adam and Eve understood sin’s tragedy when they grieved at the grave of a dead son, killed by his brother.

Although God’s justice required severe consequences for sin, He promised redemption as soon as the first couple disobeyed. Sin is so terrible God required blood to forgive it. Beautiful animals lay over altars, blood dripping over the stones until God gave His one and only Son as The Promised Redeemer who showed up on earth in the body of a tiny baby.

Prophets testified about the details of the Messiah’s birth, death and resurrection thousands of years before He came.

Jesus was unlike any baby born. He was God in human flesh, yet we are invited to know Him personally. According to Rev. 3:19-21, Jesus stands outside the door to our lives and knocks. He says, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him. The last chapter of Revelation declares, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

What Child is this? Humankind’s only hope.

©Ada Brownell 2013

---

[1] Here’s Life Publishers Inc, San Bernardino, CA 92402, 1979, page 107

[2] Genesis 3:15

FINALLY! NEW RELEASE

Love’s Delicate Blossom, an historical suspense

By Ada Brownell

Sequel to The Lady Fugitive and Peach Blossom Rancher

Edmund Pritchett III wants to marry Ritah Irene O’Casey, but she says wait. The beautiful redhead is trying to rescue Tulip, a 14-year-old orphan kidnapped by Henry Hunter to work in his brother, and Ritah doesn’t have much time. She has a train ticket to go to college and hopes to fulfill her dreams.

Ritah wants to become a teacher who can help widows keep their children when tragedy strikes. She also wants to teach mothers how to prevent dangerous diseases and treat health problems, in an era when few have access to a doctor and too many children die. Instead, Ritah ends up fighting for the lives of injured soldiers in a World War I Army health clinic and finds her own life threatened by illness as well as sorrow.

But Ritah finds a teaching job in Penokee, Kansas, and there Joe Nichols, a handsome farmer, edges his way into her heart. But Edmund Pritchett III isn’t giving up, and neither is Henry Hunter, who is still after Tulip and about to open his brothel.

Will Rita be able to continue to fight for women and families, understand enduring love, decide on the man she loves, and defend herself and her students when Henry Hunter bursts into the school shooting a pistol?

COMMENT FROM A READER: “Your book set a tone and world from your grandmother’s time, the historical elements are what readers read the genre for.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1731156065

MEET ADA BROWNELL:

Ada Brownell blogs and writes with Stick-to-Your-Soul Encouragement. She is the author of nine books, more than 350 stories and articles in Christian publications, and she spent a large chunk of her life as a journalist, mostly for The Pueblo Chieftain in Colorado. She and her husband L.C., have five children, one of them in heaven, eight wonderful grandchildren. and three great-grandchildren.

Her book, The Lady Fugitive, the first book in the Peaches and Dreams series was a finalist for the 2015 Laurel Award.

Love’s Delicate Blossom  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1731156065

Ada Brownell Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/adabrownell

Her blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/AdaBrownellWritingMinistries

   

Twitter: @adabrownell