Christmas on My Heart: The Introduction by Alexis A. Goring

Merry Christmas!

'Tis the season of happiness, joy, and gifts from the heart! 

Speaking of the heart, I'm hosting a NEW holiday series on my blog this December. The series is called "Christmas on My Heart."

Four times a week (Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday), I will feature a new holiday story and its author as part of Christmas on My Heart. This series will start on Saturday, December 1 and end on Sunday, Dec. 23.

Visit my blog to read author interviews, character interviews, devotionals based on a theme from the featured books, personal essays by the authors that show the story behind the story, and book review features that include an excerpt from the author's holiday story.

Best of all, the authors have promised to give gifts! At the end of each Christmas on My Heart blog post, you will have the opportunity to enter their giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of their featured book!

Sound exciting?

Praying that this holiday series will bring happiness to your heart!

God bless you.

Love,

Alexis

14 Days of Sweet Stories: The Introduction

Starting this February from the 1st to the 14th, a new series will be featured and it's inspired by Valentine's Day! :)

The series is called, "14 Days of Sweet Stories", and it's going to encourage your heart.

Every day, a new story and author will visit this blog. They will share insights into their lovely stories of hope, faith, and love through promotional features like interviews, personal essays and book excerpts.

There's something in it for you too because each author agreed to give away one copy of their book featured on my blog. You, my wonderful blogger friends, will have the chance to WIN their book by filling out the book giveaway contest entry form on the Rafflecopter widget which will be present in every blog post for this series.

Sound exciting? I hope so!

I'm looking forward to hosting these seasoned authors on my blog and believe that you will benefit from this celebration of sweet stories.

Until then, take care and God bless your hearts!

Love,

Alexis

A Prelude to Christmas: The Introduction

Dearest Readers of my "God is Love" blog,

The Christmas holiday season is upon us! Though the season technically starts after Thanksgiving Day next week (Nov. 24 here in the United States of America), I have a reason for us to celebrate a bit early! :)

Wondering why?

Here's a clue (see the picture from Pinterest below):

In case you haven't guessed what's in store for you by the picture, here's the BIG news:

I know that many of you love to read books, especially good books that you are given for free. Therefore, I am excited to introduce to you this year's holiday series on my blog, "A Prelude to Christmas"!

Every day from tomorrow (Nov. 21) to Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), I will feature a new author on this blog and they will share insights with you about their own Christmas stories. Whether it be through an author interview, character interview, personal essay, book excerpt and review, or a devotional, these talented writers are ready to tell you all about their Christmas stories.

Now here's the special feature just for you: Each author will give away a copy of their holiday-themed book featured on my blog! The book giveaway contests will be coordinated by Rafflecopter which you will find in widget form on every post in this holiday series on my blog. Think of it as a Christmas gift from the authors to you!

SO are you ready for this fun and exciting adventure?

Visit my blog every day from Monday (Nov. 21) to Saturday (Dec. 24) for your chance to WIN a copy of these lovely Christmas books!

Enjoy this beautiful holiday season and tell everyone you know who likes to read about "A Prelude to Christmas"!

Take care and God bless you!

Love,

Alexis A. Goring
Founder of "God is Love" blog

Words of Faith: Sandy's story about how to trust God in difficult times

A Lesson from a Difficult Time
A Words of Faith story by Sandra Barela

One day, I was talking to a friend of mine and she asked me some difficult questions. At the end of our conversation, she said I should share my thoughts with others. I immediately put up a wall. There were things that I shared with her that I would be more than happy to keep in my closet. I could share with her because she has known me for nearly 29 years and loved me through all the ugly parts of it, but to share with others? No way! Doesn't pride have a way of doing this to us? When Alexis asked me to share, I decided to share my heart and how God has changed it through a difficult time in my life. It is my prayer that these thoughts encourage you; that they lead you to the Cross and the Truth of the Gospel.

Beginning in April of 2011, I started to have some health issues. In the beginning it was an old ailment acting up. However, that changed at the beginning of May, when I had what was to be the first of many "episodes." At first, these episodes were thought to be seizures but now having a pre-diagnosis of atypical migraines with seizure like activity. These episodes come on at any time, day or night. After these episodes, I have a severe headache and lose most of a day to sleep and fatigue. Many days, I don't have the energy to move from the couch. Since the episodes come on so quickly, my driver's license had to be suspended. The episodes also wreak havoc with my mind. I cannot think straight. I will mix up my words for days, even weeks, and sometimes stutter because I cannot form simple words. I knew it would be detrimental to the school I worked for to continue working so I went out on personal leave. I am unable to make definite plans.

So back to the questions my friend asked me: "How are you dealing with it all? Are you getting depressed?" She was concerned because I have struggled with depression and it is very easy to spiral down that road. However, this time was very different for me. This time I know that God is sovereign – nothing happens outside of his sovereignty. All that happens is for my good and His glory (Romans 8:28-30). This caused me to be thankful. 

I am thankful that God in His providence has shown me the truth of the Gospel. I am thankful that God in His providence has put wonderful people in my life that bring me closer to him. I am thankful that this disability has allowed me to minister to others. I am thankful that God in His Providence, gave me a husband who seeks Him with all his heart; who was patient and shared the Gospel with me even when I didn't want to hear. I am thankful for God's mercy and His grace. Each day that I have is a gift from Him. He could have, and rightly so, judged me on the day I first sinned. I am thankful that God has given us His Word  (The Holy Bible) to learn more about Him. Now I have been given the time to read His Word and do so. God. Thankfulness. His Plan. His Providence.

Before this ailment, I was on what I thought was the high of my life. I had been promoted at work, had a great school year and was beginning to start the next one. My kids were all healthy and doing well in school. My husband and I had a great relationship and even got to get a way by ourselves a few times. By the world’s standards, I was successful. However, I was doing nothing that was for God’s kingdom – nothing that would last eternally. I am thankful that God has shown me that I had put my work before all else, allowing it to become an idol. God has used this illness greatly in my life to bring me closer to Him.

If there is something you are struggling with in your own life – something you don’t understand. Can I encourage you to cling to the Gospel? Cling to the knowledge that God has planned your steps and knows what is best for you. May God bless you richly!

~*~
Author bio: 

Sandra Barela, wife and the mom of three teenagers, received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Education at the National University and will soon be awarded her master’s in English with a focus on Creative Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University.

During her program there, she took a publishing class and fell in love with the industry.
That infatuation sparked Celebrate Lit Publicity Group! The avid Christian fiction reader and author enjoys helping other great Christian authors succeed, one book at a time.

She lives with her family in beautiful sunny Southern California.
For more information on Celebrate Lit Publicity Group, visit celebratelit.com.

~*~
Connect with Sandy:

Company sites: www.celebratelit.com, www.celebratelitpublishing.com, 

https://www.facebook.com/CelebrateLit/, https://twitter.com/Celebrate_Lit

Join the Celebrate Lit Community Forum to meet great authors, learn about wonderful books, post reviews, and hear about giveaways: https://www.facebook.com/groups/441946782665904/

Love is in the Air! Introducing a new blog series :)

Dear Wonderful Readers of my "God is Love" blog,

Spring 2015 is here! And what better way to celebrate than to start a new blog series?

Join me as we celebrate the beauty of love every week from March 22 through June 14! :)

If you liked my "True Love Stories" blog series (Feb. 1 through Feb. 28), you're going to love this new series called "Love is in the Air"! :) Instead of sharing real-life true love stories, I am promoting Christian fiction romance books in the following categories: inspirational, chick lit, contemporary, historical and maybe even suspense.

Starting tomorrow, the authors of these books will be featured on my blog through four main ways: author interviews, devotionals, guest posts and book review/excerpts.

Best of all, you as the reader will have the opportunity to win free books! Yes, some of my authors are offering to give away signed copies or e-book versions of their book to the contest winners! All you have to do is to leave a comment and follow the contest rules for your chance to win those free books.

I believe this series will be a lot of fun and very refreshing, especially for the romantic-at-heart. :)

If you know a Christian author who'd love to participate in this new blog series, e-mail me directly at this address, capturingidea@gmail.com. I'm taking requests until May 31.

Meanwhile, sit back, relax and enjoy this new series! 

God bless you! 

Love,

Alexis