Falling in Love with Jesus: Living at the Crossroads of Love and Grace

Welcome Darlene Franklin to the blog today! :) She's a Christian fiction author who pens her stories from her residence in a nursing home. I think you will like her! She's been through a lot in life but has not let her trials steal her joy. Darlene is an example of how God makes broken into beautiful.

She's super nice too because she offered to give away an e-book copy of this book:

It's just in time for the holiday season! 

Wondering how you can WIN this book? Simply leave a message for Darlene in the comment section toward the end of this blog post! Send a note of encouragement and ask Darlene any question you'd like to know about her book or her life as a writer. 

The winner of Jacob's Christmas Dream will be selected through an old-fashioned random drawing and announced in the comment section of this blog post on Thursday, Oct. 22. Please remember to include your e-mail address in your comment so if you're the winner, we can contact you and Darlene can send your prize! :)

Meanwhile, enjoy Darlene's story about how she first fell in love with Jesus! :)

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Living at the Crossroads of Love and Grace
A Falling in Love with Jesus story written by Darlene Franklin

My mother’s salvation when I was seven turned my life around. Church became a regular part of my life, and I felt loved and accepted. Over time I realized I had a sin problem and I needed to be saved, so I asked Jesus into my life.

So. Simple. Did I feel loved? Not especially. I was abused by men in my life and partly as a result, I felt I had to be perfect at everything. My Christian life became a list of do’s and don’ts. Belonging to a church that taught you could lose your salvation didn’t help.

Nonetheless, my faith thrived. I gulped down the Bible, memorizing chunks, digging through spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians, and used colors and poems to explain Revelation, outlining Romans. I was well-versed in the Bible.

I first studied Romans for the “Romans Road,” the go-to place in the Bible to explain the plan of salvation. (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:13). But other things hit me in the gut, and drew me to a life-long love affair with the Lord.

Romans 6 opened my eyes to an important fact. I had spent my life trying for: I knew God wanted me to be dead to sin. But He also wanted me to be “alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:11). *Of course I studied the King James. Any other translation was considered suspect in my world.

My focus changed from the “can’ts” to the “cans.” God wanted me to live life to the full.

Then I found the verses that remain my very favorite verses in the Bible, my life verses:

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~(Romans 8:38-39, NIV)

God loved me that much! Nothing I would ever face could tear me from His side.

The truth God revealed to me as a teenage gave me a steel core that wouldn’t allow me to give up in impossible situations. He allowed me to write Christian romances to share His love. He loved me during my divorce. He loved me through my son’s difficult teenage years. He carried me through the aftermath of my daughter’s suicide.

Now in my sixties, I cling to the truth of the child’s song:

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

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Author bio: Best-selling author Darlene Franklin’s greatest claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. She lives in Oklahoma, near her son and his family, and continues her interests in playing the piano and singing, books, good fellowship, and reality TV in addition to writing.

She is an active member of Oklahoma City Christian Fiction Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Christian Authors Network. She has written over fifty books and more than 250 devotionals. Her historical fiction ranges from the Revolutionary War to World War II, from Texas to Vermont. 

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Connect with Darlene:
Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Darlene-Franklin/e/B001K8993A/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/darlene.franklin.3.