Romantic Reads: The Promise Keeper

Welcome Sherri Stewart to the blog! 

She's here to talk about the inspiration for her book, The Promise Keeper. 

Enjoy this glimpse behind the scenes of her story!

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The Story Behind The Story of The Promise Keeper by Sherri Stewart:

Does God have one special person for you? That was what Jonathan believed in The Promise Keeper. He believed that God was interested in the details of our lives, just the same as a really good father is in his children’s lives.

Luke 12:7 says, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” This seems to point to the fact that God is intimately acquainted with our lives. However, Meadow, the object of Jonathan’s love, isn’t so sure. While she believes that God knows us, she’s not quite sure that He involves Himself in the minutiae of our lives. That is the question of the book.

At the start it seems as if God has brought Jonathan and Meadow together. They are two American strangers that hold the same ticket to a seat at a concert in London. Coincidence or Providence? They spend time with each other, and Jonathan is amazed at how many other coincidences occur. Yet when Meadow spends her last few days on a field trip to see the castles before she returns to the states, Jonathan receives some other providential signs that he should go after her. But where? To which castles?

This brings up another issue about God’s concern with the details of our lives. If He has one special person for each of us, how hard are we supposed to work to find that person? Jonathan seems to be working way too hard, and things don’t go as planned. So should he give up or keep trying to find her?

I’m not a chick flick fan, but I do enjoy a few: Julia Roberts in My Best Friend’s Wedding, Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality, Megan Ryan in You’ve Got Mail, and Kate Beckinsale in Serendipity. People who don’t have God in their lives have no trouble believing in coincidences, karma, destiny, and serendipity, but I believe if we ask God to lead, He will.

I know a man who prayed about finding a wife, and he believed God would direct his path, so he took his cues from his daily readings in the Bible. When he read that Isaac’s wife would come from the south riding on a camel, he took that to be his promise from God. Years passed and he forgot about it, until he found himself on a blind date with a gal who showed him pictures of her trip to Egypt, and you guessed it. They’ve been married for forty years.

If you liked the movie An Affair to Remember or Serendipity, you may like The Promise Keeper.

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Author Bio:

Sherri Stewart loves a good suspense novel, especially one that challenges her faith. 

She proves that it’s never too late to achieve a dream. Her careers as teacher, principal, flight attendant and immigration lawyer have provided fodder for her books.

She's a member of Word Weavers International, ACFW, and the California Bar.

A recent widow, she lives in the Orlando area with her dog, Lily. 

When she's not writing or teaching, you'll find her walking the Disney parks for exercise and thinking through plot lines or planning her next trip to settings for her book.

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Blurb for The Promise Keeper:

Meadow meets Jonathan by chance when they end up with the same seat ticket to a concert in London. Chance or something more? Thus begins a whirlwind fairytale in London and in Wales.

But all good things must end when Meadow returns to Atlanta and Jonathan heads back to law school in New York. They promise to keep in touch. Jonathan believes that providence has brought them together. Meadow’s not so sure, but they promise to meet at Christmas on the rooftop of Cardiff Castle in Wales in two years if they’re not already spoken for.

Will Jonathan keep his promise? If you enjoyed Serendipity and Sleepless in Seattle, The Promise Keeper is the book for you.

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Buy The Promise Keeper on Amazon

Devotionals for the Heart: When Jesus Christ is in the fire with you

There is Another in the Fire
A devotional by Julia Wilson

“Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” –Daniel 3:25 (NIV)

I absolutely love this Bible story in the book of Daniel as it shows the faithfulness of God to His people at all times.

My devotional today is focusing on the experience of three Hebrew men named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I want to zero in on the time when they refused to bow down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Because of their disobedience, the king ordered them to be thrown into a fiery furnace.

Despite this impending doom, these three friends were confident that God would rescue them. According to Daniel 3:17-18 (NIV), these are the words that they declared to the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

This made the king so furious that he demanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of his strongest soldiers to tie Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego together and throw them into the blazing furnace. The Bible goes on to say that the flames from the furnace killed the soldiers as they threw the three Hebrew men into the furnace

Reading on to Daniel 3:24-25, the Bible says that King Nebuchadnezzar “leaped to his feet in amazement his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” The kings advisers said, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” Then the king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

The fourth person walking around in the fire is believed to be Jesus Christ. This just blows me away. Not only does God rescue the three but He sends His Son to walk alongside them. Wow.

When we face difficult times, God walks right alongside us. We are never alone. God has already made provision for us as He rescues us from our situations.

August 30, 2020 marked the five-year anniversary of a devastating fire at my church Lifecentral in Halesowen (used to be called Zion Christian Centre). God has been so faithful that I wanted to share my perspective with you.

I awoke on that fateful Sunday to my husband saying, “There’s no church today. There’s been a fire. Leon Evans (our pastor) put it on Facebook. We are to stay away.” As the day progressed, photos appeared on Facebook and the church was on the local news too. The auditorium was gone and the building was severely damaged. The photos were awful and I cried. I cried because my church, the place where I had met God, been baptised and had many encounters with Him was gone. It felt like a very black day.

Our pastor Leon Evans put out on Facebook that there was to be a prayer meeting outside the building on the Monday night. He expected half a dozen people … 200 people turned up. We met in the old job centre next door, that the church had bought several years earlier, after God prompted them but they did not know what they were going to do with it at the time. But God did. God knew there would be a fire and we would need a building. Wow. What a faithful God.

For the next four days, volunteers from church, other churches and the local community, cleaned, painted and transformed a dinghy space into a new worship space. Other churches lent us chairs, sound systems and equipment. We were humbled and blessed.

Friday night saw another prayer meeting in a newly transformed space. Again, several hundred people turned up. There were a lot of grateful tears. We all took our shoes off for we felt the place we were standing on was holy ground. This reminds me of Exodus 3:5 (NIV) where God tells Moses to, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Those few days felt like we moved from Black Sunday to Grateful Friday. Everyone’s faith moved up a level. As my pastor said, “the building burned and people caught fire.”

I felt on that black Sunday that I had lost God that He had somehow burned in the fire. But the truth was that God had walked through the fire and provided and comforted His people. God was not dead. God was alive. My memories of God’s faithfulness are not dead either, they are alive. To quote my pastor again, “buildings don’t change people but what happens inside them does.”

Five years later on from the fire … we have had a name change as a church, the building has been completely renovated, Lifecentral is now one church in four locations: Halesowen, Hagley, Rowley, and Durrës in Albania.

As a church, we have walked through the fire and we came out transformed. God walked with us. He went before us and beside us. He walks with us still.

Due to COVID-19, church meets online on Sunday mornings and the Spirit of God still moves among us. He is changing lives one at a time.

Let’s pray: God, You are amazing. Your love knows no bounds. Your faithfulness just blows me away. You never leave us. You walk through the fires of life with us. Your presence is tangible. I thank you for Your love and your care. In Jesus's Name I pray, Amen.

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Author Bio:

My name is Julia Wilson but I also go by Christian Bookaholic. 

I live with my husband and five cats in a small town in Worcestershire on the banks of the River Severn (England). We have four grown up children and three granddaughters.

I have always loved reading and have always been surrounded by books. I used to work as a teaching assistant for special needs in the local high school. Ill health forced me to stop working in December 2015. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (known as M.E.) and fibromyalgia. I now have plenty of time to read and review books!

Our eldest son set up my Christian Bookaholic blog. I review every book I read. I read over 300 books a year. I read Christian and mass market. I prefer stories set from 1850 onwards. My favourite type of books to read is stories set in WWI and WWII, and Russia under Czar Nicholas II.

I am a historian, having a Combined Humanities degree where I majored in History and minored in English. I also love swimming. I only learned how to swim in 2017 and go swimming four mornings a week for 90 minutes before breakfast, it keeps my joints going.

I am also a crazy cat lady. I absolutely love my cats. I have grown up with cats and cannot imagine life without them. My dream is to own an old fashioned seal point Siamese … but not while we have our young rescue cat as she hates other cats!

I love God and love going to a large lively church called Lifecentral. I cannot imagine life without God. He gives a peace even when life does not. He guides my life. He is my Rock.

Love is in the Air: Author interview with Liz Tolsma

Super excited to introduce today's featured author Liz Tolsma! :) Liz loves writing historical romances. She experienced detours on her way to making her dreams come true but now she's working as an author and she has more than two books in her repertoire!

Now here's the exciting part for you--Liz will give away one paperback copy of her featured book, Remember the Lilies! You can enter by leaving a comment and your e-mail address toward the end of this post and by filling out the Rafflecopter widget.

I hope you will enjoy getting to know Liz via the author interview below.

Enjoy! :)

*Words by Alexis in bold, words from Liz not in bold

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Alexis: Remember the Lilies is quite the captivating title for a book! Tell us about it.

Liz: Remember the Lilies is set in Manila during WWII. The Japanese interned almost 4,000 Westerners at Santo Tomas University for 37 months. In my book, Rand and Irene are two of the internees who must face starvation, cruel treatment, and espionage in order to survive.

Who or what inspired you to write Remember the Lilies? 

I was inspired by the 4,000 real men and women who survived those terrible days with grace and even humor.

Who is your heroine in this book? Describe her looks, style and personality. 

Irene Reynolds is a missionary’s niece who grew up in the Filipino jungle. She is beautiful and blonde and a Jean Harlow kind of way, but dresses plainly and doesn’t use much make-up. She doesn’t realize how pretty she is. She’s sweet and humble, though she does have quite a stubborn streak.

Who is your hero? What makes him interesting? What makes him different? What makes him fall in love (I’m guessing with your heroine)? 

Before the war, Rand Sterling was a jet-setting ladies’ man who owned two very successful night clubs in Manila. He’s daring. He falls in love with Irene because she’s so different from the socialites he’s used to associating with. Her quiet faith impresses him.

Why did you choose the Philippines for the setting of your book? 

My son, a U.S. Marine, has always loved the Pacific Theater of WWII. When I needed a 3rd idea for this series, he suggested that one be set there. As soon as he said that, I knew what story to use for the book.

What do you want your readers to treasure most about Remember the Lilies? 

The theme of the book is forgiveness. I want them to know that no matter what has happened in their lives, God offers them forgiveness.

What is the most beautiful part of the writing and publishing process for you? 

I love creating the stories and watching them come alive.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a writer? Why? 

Just finding the time to sit down and write! I have two children still living at home, a husband, and a very busy life. Some days there just aren’t enough hours for all that needs to be accomplished.

Why did you choose writing for a career? Or do you have a day job? Explain. 

It’s what I always wanted to do. My life took many detours along the way, and I do have a part-time job, but I decided that I needed to pursue my dream before I regretted not taking the chance.

Describe your writing space. What makes it unique or special to you? 

 It varies from day to day. Sometimes, I write at a small desk in my bedroom, or on my front porch, or in the family room recliner, or even in the car or at my daughter’s therapy session. Just wherever and whenever I have the chance.

What is your go-to food or drink when on deadline? 

Chocolate!

Are you working on your next book? If yes, what can you tell us about it? 

Yes. This series follows a trio of American women journalists in Europe during WWII. The first book is about a reporter in England during the London Blitz.

What is your favorite feature of springtime? 

The lack of snow ;) And I love to watch my garden come back to life.

Give us a glimpse of your personal life. Are you married with kids? What’s your favorite memory with your family? How do you spend your free time? 

I’m married to my high school sweetheart. We have a grown son and two daughters. All of my children were adopted internationally. The youngest has a variety of special needs. I have so many fond memories with my family, especially of the days each of our children joined our family. We love to be outdoors – camping, gardening, kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing.

If you could live anywhere in the world for at least once year and write about it, where would you go and why? 

I’d love to go back to Vietnam (we were there in 1995). It’s so special to us because we adopted our son there. The people were so kind and welcoming to us, so eager to please us, yet my heart breaks for that land which is so dark spiritually. I’d love to work to spread the gospel there.

Thanks for the interview, Liz! Now please leave a question for my readers to answer so they can enter your book giveaway contest.

Liz's question: If you had to give up one creature comfort for a year, which one would it be?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Author bio:

Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her husband, their son, and their two daughters. Add a dog and a cat to that mix and there's always something going on at their house. 

She's spent time teaching second grade, writing advertising for a real estate company, and working as a church secretary, but she always dreamed of becoming an author. 

When not busy putting words to paper, she enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping with her family.

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Blurb for Remember the Lilies:

How will two very different people find love—and survive the impossible circumstances of war?

In 1941 Rand Sterling was a wealthy, womanizing club owner and an American of note among ex-pats and locals alike. Now two years later, Rand is just another civilian prisoner of war—one whose planned escape from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp could put him and others in grave danger.

Irene Reynolds grew up as a missionary kid in the Philippine jungle. Now she works for the paranoid Japanese authorities, delivering censored messages to the other American prisoners in Santo Tomas.

When Irene’s negligence leads to Rand’s failed escape attempt, Rand is sent to the torture chambers of Fort Santiago—and Irene suffers under the weight of her guilt. Yet when she crosses paths with Rand again after his unexpected return to the camp, something more than mere survival draws the unlikely pair together.

As life in Manila becomes more and more desperate, and another threatening letter finds its way from Irene’s hands to Rand’s, the reluctant couple struggles to find a way to stay alive... and to keep their growing feelings for each other from compromising the safety of everyone around them.

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Buy Liz's book:

Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/1MPVYka

Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/1IRJCYa

Christianbook.com - http://bit.ly/1dMVOhT

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Connect with Liz:

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/liztolsma/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/LizTolsma
Website - www.liztolsma.com

True Love Stories: I Was Blind But Now I See

"Love at First Sight" apparently not only happens in real-life, it lasts for a lifetime! Such is the story of Ginger Marcinkowski who knew she loved her now husband from the moment their eyes locked. 

God works in mysterious ways-- a saying that rings true for most things in life. But who would have thought that God would bring two people--an American soldier and a rebellious teenager hitchhiking across Europe with her best friend--together at the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich, GERMANY?

And who knew that after only two days of dating, a marriage proposal would happen? God works in mysterious ways indeed. 

Read on to find out how in Ginger's true love story...

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I Was Blind But Now I See

Ginger Marcinkowski's true love story

An old man kneeled at the foot of a featherbed crowded with children and quietly prayed. He knew their lives were filled with the pain of an alcoholic and abusive father and a rebellious mother. With his voice just above a whisper he asked God to direct the lives of those children and someday provide them with spouses who had hearts for the Lord. I was one of those children and the old man was my grandfather. 

At the age of 17, my best friend and I, both unsaved and rebellious, boarded a Freddie Laker airplane and departed for Scotland where we spent several months hitchhiking across Europe. More than one time, we found ourselves in dangerous situations, but God’s hand was upon us. Late on August 4, 1971, we sat in a Rome train station trying desperately to panhandle enough money to get to Munich, Germany, where money from home awaited. I tried to sell my graduation watch to passing tourists, but no one spoke English. We sat in the cold terminal, lonely and discouraged. Moments later, a woman who’d been watching our dilemma finally spoke. “Girls,” she said in perfect English. “What do you need?” Excitedly, we explained our situation. Without hesitation, she gave us the needed money and promised to pray for us.

Our next day arrival into Munich gave us reason to celebrate. It was my eighteenth birthday. We cleaned up at our youth hostel and departed for a night on the town at the famous Hofbrahaus. As we cautiously stepped inside the doors of the local meeting place, hoots and hollers of joyous patrons filled the air. The sweet smell of bratwurst and hops permeated every corner of the building.

“Hey!” My head swung around in time to catch the wide smile of a uniformed soldier. “American girls!” Another soldier was standing on the table waving his arms. “Over here.” Too young and foolish to refuse, we made our way to the long wooden table where eleven soldiers stood politely, each eager to find a place beside two girls from their homeland. I squeezed in between two of the young men, when one of them exclaimed that the seat next to me belonged to another soldier who had gone to the rest room. We talked and laughed for a few minutes, sharing news of where we were from and what we were doing in Germany.

Signaling my friend that it was time for a powder room break, we excused ourselves and rushed toward the back of the building. As we rounded the corner, I almost bumped into the backside of a soldier bent over a cigarette machine. I gasped and then giggled, poking my friend in the side. “That’s the man I’m going to marry,” I said. The soldier stood and turned around. Our eyes locked and in that one moment, I knew I loved him. Two days later, under the clearest star-studded sky I’d ever seen, he asked me to marry him. 

It’s been forty-three years now. I reflect continually on how the prayers of my grandfather and the grace of God worked to bring us together. Without the kindness of a stranger in that Rome train station, I might never have met the man I so love. Had it not been my birthday, I might have never gone to that restaurant. Had it been any other day, my husband’s Special Forces team would not have been in Munich.

I didn’t come to know the Lord until my late twenties. My husband’s salvation came years later. For thirty-nine years, we never fully recognized how God’s hand had brought us together. Even as Christians, we failed each other so many times in ways that would tear most marriages apart. Forgiveness was difficult and trust elusive. Through it all, God gave us a reason to hang on. Finally, as we fully submitted ourselves to God, we came to recognize His plan for our marriage.

Looking at my precious husband today, I see the true beauty of God’s hand on our lives. Drifting into retirement, our hearts are again as joyous as when we were newlyweds. God brought us full circle so that we’d recognize the promise we made to each other even before knowing Him as our Savior. He made us realize that His hand was on that special moment we first met. It was He who directed every scene to draw us fully into the blessings He has given us today.

Now, when night arrives, my husband and I sneak into our visiting grandson’s bedroom and kneel at the foot of his bed to pray for the Christian woman he will marry some day. As we rise, he kisses me gently as a reminder that someone prayed for us.

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Author Bio: Ginger Marcinkowski is the author of newly released, The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance, a story of one man’s legacy of faith, told through buttons, and widely acclaimed Run, River Currents. She currently writes a monthly column for Book Fun Magazine which boasts over 400,000 subscribers.

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Buy Ginger's books: 

Click here to purchase Run, River Currents 

Click here to purchase The Button Legacy: Emily's Inheritance 

Connect with Ginger: 

Email: grm55@yahoo.com

Blog: http://gingermarcinkowski.wordpress.com/blog/ 

Facebook Author Page

Website: http:///www.gingermarcinkowski.com

Twitter: @grm55grm