A Priceless Gift ♦ Shelly Roark

The Gift Every Child Needs . . .

By Shelly Roark

Are you a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, neighbor or member of a church family? If so, you can impact a child’s future with a single, priceless gift.

Oh, it won’t cost you a dime. But the benefits cannot be measured.

The gift? Sharing with them the power of prayer.

That’s why I wrote my debut children’s picture book, The Bubble Who Would Not POP! In it, one determined little bubble embarks on an adventure to take a child’s prayer to heaven. He faces surprising challenges along the way but discovers some simple truths about prayer that every child should know.

·       God hears our prayers and knows our needs before we even utter them. (“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” Isaiah 65:24 NIV).

·       He loves us and wants what is best for us. Always. (“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1 NIV)

Here are some simple ways you can offer the children in your simple but important lessons on the power of prayer:

Pray with your child. Let them hear you pray in faith and then show them how to talk with God. We all love bedtime prayers, but you can teach your precious little one that you can talk with God anytime and anywhere by praying other times and places together—on a walk, on the ride to school, after naptime.

Share Bible stories about prayer. Some of my favorites include:

Hannah Prays for a Child, 1 Samuel 1

Elijah Prays for Fire, 1 Kings 18

Jesus Prays for Lazarus, John 11

Paul and Silas Prayed from Jail, Acts 16

Start a prayer journal together. Give your child a notebook or spiral and decorate it together. Write out a prayer list of needs or people that they want to pray for daily. They can even draw their prayers if they aren’t old enough to write. Include favorite Scripture verses about prayer or stories. Be sure to make a note of answered prayers and give thanks!

Make prayer fun! Take a cue from my book and blow prayers into bubbles, watching them rise to heaven. Write out prayers on slips of paper and attach them to helium balloons. Clap and celebrate as the prayers go up and up!

Surround your child with prayer. Use dry-erase markers to write out prayers or Scriptures on windows or mirrors. Pen a small prayer of blessing on a scrap of paper or napkin and include it in their lunch. Most importantly, pray for your child daily!

Whatever you do to reinforce and share prayer with the little one in your life is an investment in their spirit and future. In fact, I believe a legacy of prayer is one of the greatest gifts you can offer a child.

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Here’s a little about Shelly’s debut picture book:

• Book Title – The Bubble Who Would Not POP!
• Author – Shelly Roark
• Illustrator – Simone Krüger
• Publisher – Little Lamb Books
• Release Date – September 12, 2017
• Genre – Children’s Christian Fiction

Book Synopsis -- Billy Bubble is ready to burst! The excitement of finally being out of his bottle on a beautiful, sunny day is everything he’s hoped for. But someone else has bigger plans for Billy. The green-eyed girl with the bubble wand has a special message that needs to get to heaven pronto. Billy’s secret mission through the dangers of the sky – pointy branches, bird beaks, oh my! – will bring him before God, where he’ll learn an important lesson about God’s love and compassion. Join Billy Bubble on his journey of faith, and discover the power of prayer for yourself using the helpful prayer journal in the back of this book! Our Heavenly Father knows every hair on our heads, every bubble in the sky, and every prayer we offer with a sincere heart.

How can I get this book? You can pre-order The Bubble Who Would Not POP! on Amazon today…right now…this instant.

Free giveaway! Find out how you can win prizes, including a grand prize valued at over $150, in the BIG BUBBLETASTIC CONTEST at http://littlelambbooks.com/2017/05/big-bubbletastic-news/ 

Website – shellyroarkauthor.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Shelly-Roark-Author-263783447351979/?ref=bookmarks

I Cry Out to the Lord

A devotional by Susan Karsten

"You are a shield around me, O Lord, my Glorious One, who lifts up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud and He answers me from His holy hill."    (an excerpt from Psalm 3, ESV)

Don’t be alarmed at me crying out…just in prayer! “Just” — that’s an understatement. As one of God’s children, I have access to my Heavenly Father at all times.

While jogging this morning, thoughts whirling, I started calling God’s name. My mind settled and little things started coming into notice. Little things – is not our God a God of the little and the big?

The inside of my right knee stopped twinging. My meager 1-2 mile run could continue apace.

I saw a charming sight. A small boy, in his shade-dappled yard, throwing a ball to himself, and whacking it. Practicing his hitting. He looked surprised when I gave him a little round of applause as I chugged past.

My bandanna, the one I had folded into a makeshift headband to keep my hair out of my face, slipped down over my left ear. Phffft! A large bug hit the bandanna, right over my ear. Just think of the horror if the bandanna hadn’t fallen over my ear. A large bug would have gone into my ear – a direct hit. Praise God for slipping bandannas. Is anything left to chance? I wonder at that.

I reached home looking forward to one of my favorite household tasks, hanging laundry on a line. Wow! I have a dryer and a clothesline – I am blessed.

Info on my new release: A Match for Melissa

Susan Karsten here, happy to announce that my first novel, “A Match for Melissa”, has been published by Pelican Book Group! It was released to the public on July 7, and is available on Amazon, and Barnes & Noble’s website.

 Here’s an excerpt from a recent review:

“The author did her homework. “A Match for Melissa” is chock full of details on life in rural England and upper class London. The characters are delightful. Unless they are bad. (The bad ones are really wonderfully bad.) Melissa is an intelligent woman with an independent bent to her nature who still functions inside the strict rules of protocol for her class. Her father, also independent, but with greater latitude and freedom than a woman, is in charge not only of the family fortune but also the choice of Melissa’s future husband. Much of the tension comes from wondering when Melissa will be able to be matched with the man she really loves."

So, please give my book a look! Thanks, Susan Karsten

Connect with Susan on her website, and Facebook.

Bratwurst and Bridges

Bratwurst & Bridges: A Look at What Goes Into a Story and why it was written

by Susan M. Baganz

I wrote Bratwurst & Bridges two years ago. Before it released I read it again and was surprised at how much of myself was in this book. The story resonates more with me now than ever before.

I’ve been in ministry in paid and unpaid positions for years and it seemed too coincidental that as my book released I would find ministry and life to become overwhelmingly challenging. I’ve shed Dan and Skye’s tears in real life over the burdens I’ve had to carry over choices I’ve made. Even good choices have consequences and not all of them are always pleasant. So was it prophetic or is it a spiritual battle that ensued as this book was about to come out to be read by others? I don’t really need to know the answer to that. I only need to cling to Jesus and to the family I have in the body of Christ, the church.

That’s why this is the Orchard Hill Romance series. Orchard Hill is a fictional church loosely based on the churches I’ve been a part of that have been so instrumental in my spiritual and emotional growth. Every book in the series: Pesto & Potholes, Salsa & Speed Bumps, Feta & Freeways, Root Beer & Roadblocks and now Bratwurst & Bridges, take place with the church

being a touchstone for growth and support through the trials and joys of life. Each story stands on its own but characters from previous novels do appear in later ones.

For many people, the church is not a safe place and I read articles all the time about the reasons people don’t want to go to church or excuses for why the church isn’t all it should be. But the church is more than a worship style or charismatic pastor. The church is the people who attend, who seek to follow and honor God and grow in their faith—not just in spiritual knowledge either, but emotionally. If we grow in one and not the other, we are not going to have the impact on the world that God desires. Not that he can’t use us in our brokenness. All my stories prove that is false. Sometimes God uses us most in our broken places. He never wants us to stay stuck there though but shine a light for others who come along behind us, limping and bleeding from the slings and arrows life on a sinful world throws our way.

My hope and prayer is that those who read these books, no matter where they are in their walk of faith, or even if they don’t believe in God, would see the broken beauty of the church and the power of God at work in and through her members. I pray they would be encouraged, comforted and challenged to persevere in their own journey of growth in becoming more like Christ and find a healthy church to be a part of.

I think Paul summarizes the idea of our collective and individual growth in maturity in Colossians 1:9b-12: “…we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” [

NASB]

My hope and prayer is that my books will have an eternal impact on those who read them—spiritually and emotionally as they grow more to be who God created them to be. It’s what I pray for my children as well. My heart is in all my books, and I hope you find some of your own there too.

            ~Susan M. Baganz

About Susan

Susan M. Baganz chases after three Hobbits and is a native of Wisconsin. She is an Editor with Pelican Book Group’s imprint: Prism Book Group, specializing in bringing great romance novels and novellas to publication. Susan writes adventurous historical and contemporary romances with a biblical world-view.

Susan speaks, teaches and encourages others to follow God in being all He has created them to be. With her seminary degree in counseling psychology, a background in the field of mental health, and years serving in church ministry, she understands the complexities and pain of life as well as its craziness. She serves behind-the-scenes in various capacities at her church. Her favorite pastimes are lazy ones—snuggling with her dog while reading a good book, or sitting with a friend chatting over a cup of spiced chai latte.

Click on the book cover image above to view or purchase Susan's book.

Find Susan on Social Media:

• www.susanbaganz.com
• www.twitter.com@susanbaganz
•  www.facebook.com/susanmbaganz
• www.pinterest.com/silygoos
• www.youtube.com/susanmbaganz  

Surviving Guilt

Surviving Guilt

By Barbara M. Britton

I had heard about survivor’s guilt. Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars have discussed the guilt of being unscathed while their fellow soldiers died. Even on one of my favorite TV shows, Blue Bloods, the main character Danny Reagan has talked about his guilt coming home from war when his friends didn’t. I have never been to war. I’ve never fought a battle against a flesh and blood enemy, but I have battled the scary “C” word—Cancer. Where is the guilt in surviving cancer? It’s there when people you love succumb to this invasive illness.

Some of my favorite verses in Scripture are Philippians 4:6-7.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I took Paul’s advice and prayed often during my cancer surgeries and treatments. I truly felt stronger and at peace from all the prayers being said for me. And I am thankful that I am still enjoying life a year and a half after completing my surgeries and radiation treatment for breast cancer.

But I never thought I would feel guilty about surviving cancer until my sister-in-law lost her battle with ovarian cancer. She was diagnosed after I finished my radiation therapy and she died as I neared a year of life lived cancer free. We were almost the same age, so why wasn’t she healed? She was a strong Christian, so why did God take her home and leave me here? I struggled with these feelings and wondered if others thought about them too.

I remember being in a Bible study with a woman who had lost her son due to a car accident. She told us, “I never questioned God.” Wow! Not even once? She trusted God. The all-knowing, all-powerful, loving Creator. God doesn’t make mistakes. I believed all these things about God and now I had a chance to live them. Instead of questioning God, I told Him how I felt about my sister-in-law’s passing. I wasn’t questioning His awesomeness, but I was being honest about my pain.  I prayed, “Lord, I don’t understand, but I trust you.”

Instead of being angry about my sister-in-law’s passing, I lifted my family members up in prayer and helped them deal with their emotions as best I could. And instead of feeling guilty, I’m learning to be thankful for the time God has given me post-cancer.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, we are told, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:” Yes, even a time to be born and a time to die. We don’t have the time sheet. God is the keeper of this mystery. It is up to us to make the most of our lives and tell the people in our lives that we love them—every day. We also need to tell people about Jesus. Wouldn’t it be great if we started a revival in this land?

We serve a loving, powerful God. He wants what is best for us. Sometimes we won’t understand His actions. In those times, we need to share our feelings with God and those around us, but we don’t ever want to question God’s essence. Lingering questions will be answered in Glory.

So, today,

• Thank God your eyes opened and your feet hit the bedroom floor
• Pray for someone who is hurting
• Tell your friends and family that you love them
• Praise the Lord! In every situation
• Praise Him for eternal life--cancer can’t take that away  
• And for you ladies, don’t forget to schedule a yearly 3D mammogram. God gives us good medical detection too.
• May the Lord bless you and keep you.

About Barb:

Barbara M. Britton lives in Wisconsin and writes Christian Fiction for teens and adults. She has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. 

Barb brings little known Bible characters to light in her Tribes of Israel series. You can find out about Barb’s books on her website, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

A Bit About Barb's Latest Book: “Building Benjamin.”

Love Grows Where God Grafts the Tender Shoot.

Naomi desires to dance well enough to catch the eye of a wealthy landowner. Her father needs a substantial bride price due to the deaths of her brothers at the hands of the tribe of Benjamin. But when Benjamites raid the Ephraimite feast and capture young girls, Naomi is bound and carried from her home by Eliab, a troubled shepherd who needs a wife.

As Naomi awaits rescue, she finds Eliab has a strong faith in God and a just reason for abducting her. A reason that affects all the tribes of Israel. The future of the tribe of Benjamin hangs in the balance, but if Naomi follows her heart and stays with Eliab to rebuild his lineage, she must forfeit her family and become a traitor to her tribe.

You can purchase “Building Benjamin” on Amazon or B&N

Glory Be to The Father . . .

I love this painting, don’t you? It hung in my mother’s dining room for many, many years and is a precious memory. The painting went to my sister when Mom passed away. Then, about three years ago, I found a print online–don’t remember where, now–and I bought it for my breakfast nook, where it now hangs. It says so much!

Remember, in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 6, the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray? Of course His response is known the world over.

Matthew 6:9-13, King James Version (KJV)

⁹ “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

♥ ♥ ♥

When reading my morning devotions, I often like to compare verses in different translations, so earlier today, I checked The Message for this verse.

Matthew 6:9-13, The Message (MSG)

^7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.”