DEVOTION: The Upside Down Tree - Shirley Corder

The mighty Baobab tree found in the savanna (tropical grassland) areas of Africa is a fascinating sight. Its fire-resistant bark is like cork, and is used to make cloth and rope. The fruit, known as "monkey bread", is rich in Vitamin C, and the leaves and roots are used for medicinal purposes.

The tree stores up to 120,000 litres (32,000 US gallons) of water, which the Kalahari Bushmen tap using hollow pieces of grass, similar to our drinking straws. The huge trunk provides shelter, food and water for animals and humans. Mature trees are often hollow, and are even sometimes used as bars or barns. For these reasons, it is often called The Tree of Life.

According to radio-carbon dating, some Baobab trees are calculated to be 2,000 years old. The Baobab features as the Tree of Life in the famous "Lion King" by Disney.

For most of the year, the Baobab has no leaves. Its head and arms appeared to be buried in the sand. The spreading branches resemble fibrous roots as they reach out to the sky. It looks as if it's upside down and there are numerous legends that explain how this happened. One is that the gods got angry with it, and threw it down to earth, where it landed upside down. Another claims that it complained so much that it was stuffed into the ground upside down, so it couldn't complain any more. Take a look at the picture and you'll see why its other nickname is The Upside-Down Tree.

Early Christians were referred to as those "who turned the world upside down" because they made such an impact on people. I wonder if that could be said of us today. It's amazing to think we're at the end of yet another year. 365 days ago, you probably had many plans and dreams for last year. I know I did. Did you, like me, hope to make a difference in someone's life during the year? Did you fulfil any of your resolutions?

Over forty years ago, someone turned my life upside down when they introduced me to Jesus Christ. Through the years, I have been privileged to lead others to Christ. Yet I am still surrounded by people who need a touch from Him.

As we enter a new year, there's almost nothing we can be certain of, outside of God's love. Yet we can make plans and nurture hopes. My prayer for this year is that, no matter what life brings my way, I will make a difference. I don't want to be like the Baobab and stick my head in the sand; but I would like to act like a Tree of Life. 

Will you join me? As we move into another new year, may each of us who are Christian writers make a fresh commitment to make a difference. Together, let's turn this 'ol world upside down—or would that be right way up? 

PRAYER:  Lord, forgive me for the times I appear to be just like everyone else. Please help me to live in such a way that my life makes a difference to those around me. Help me to show them how to turn their lives right way up. Amen.

"These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also" (Acts 17:6 RV)

SHIRLEY CORDER has been an RN, a pastor’s wife and a mother, but she never expected to be a published writer. A close encounter with aggressive cancer in 1997 turned her life upside down yet again, and she has been writing ever since. Hundreds of Shirley’s inspirational and life-enrichment articles have been published around the world. You can contact Shirley through her website or follow her on Twitter.

(Footnote: Strength Renewed, Meditations for Your Journey through Breast Cancer, published in 2012 by Revell/Baker, is available at any of the online bookstores in print or e-format.)

Preaching the Gospel on the "Big Screen"?

Assuming I've done this correctly, when you read this post I should be in La Jolla (beautiful beach suburb of San Diego) enjoying the San Diego Christian Film Festival. I'm quite excited about this event, not so much because I'm such an avid movie goer but because I'm realistic enough to know that we can expand our horizons and reach many non-readers through this medium. Therefore, I'm learning all I can about it.

Having said that, I'm not naive enough to think it's an easy field to enter. I've had several in the Hollywood crowd poke around my novels with various levels of interest, but no contracts yet. And the more I get to know these Hollywood types (Christians or otherwise), the more I realize that the bottom line in snagging one of those coveted contracts is funding. I've had actors and directors and producers and screenwriters rave about my books and say what wonderful movies they'd make (and I readily agree!), but they all come back to the same point: where to get financial backing.

Frustrating, isn't it? And yet, don't we believe that God truly does own "the cattle on a thousand hills"? I say I believe it; perhaps my faith is being put to the test once again. Perhaps also I'm being forced to face my motives for wanting one of my novels to unfold on the "big screen." How altruistic am I...really? I wonder if I'll come away from the film festival with some clearer thoughts on how to answer that question.

At the same time, as one who believes we Christians are all called to "go into all the world and preach the gospel," I can't help but think this would be a very effective way to do it. If any of you read this when it first posts and I'm still at the festival, will you pray for me that I receive clear direction on how or if I am to proceed on this front? It could be that the answer is just to wait...or to go in an entirely different direction altogether.

Whatever the answer, I know God wants us to "preach the gospel" to any and all who will listen...whether through our words, our actions, our deeds, or our writing. It's wonderful to be connected to such a diverse group of believers who share that divine calling. I am honored to serve in the Kingdom with each and every one of you!

The Frivolity of Fiction? - Kara Isaac

Over the last few weeks my reading has held some pretty weighty topics - the war in Afghanistan, human trafficking, persecution in China and cancer. Every single book was brilliant in its own way. All made me look at the world differently and all left me confronted with a very real question. Is my writing too frivolous to be worthy?

The truth is that I don't write about wars, or terminal illness, or oppressive regimes, or slavery. Should I ever be published, I have no expectation that my book is going to change someone's life, let alone contribute to educating the reader as to various injustices in the world. My greatest wish is that someone gets to kick back for a few hours, enjoy the story and decides that it was $15.99 well spent.

I just write about ordinary people. They aren't freedom fighters, or missionaries, or dying. They have jobs and a roof over their heads and their worries are things like; Am I going to get fired? Is my heart going to get broken again? How did I get here?

Even the most avid of readers only buys a few books a year in the grand scheme of all that is out there. Do I really want to even try and compete with people who are writing books about things that matter?

And here I am conflicted. You see I like those books too. In a world that is hurting and broken sometimes, in my selfishness, I just want to curl up on the couch and read about a girl and a guy, and in the grand scheme of things their lives aren't hard, or complicated and if they'd just darn well tell each other how they really feel the story would be over by page 50, but they take the hard road and so it takes 300.

Because that is me. While there are people doing amazing things and changing the world, I have a job, and a mortgage, and I love my husband, and we sponsor children with World Vision, and we do groceries on Saturday mornings, and we buy fair trade when we can, and we spend more on takeaways in a night than some people earn in a week and then we recycle the containers.

And quite frankly I would be embarrassed if any of my writing ever found its way into the hands of someone in a war-torn, poverty stricken nation because the things that my characters spend 25 pages angsting over would be a luxury for them to even have to worry about.

Thoughts?

Peril on the Sea

This intriguing II World War novel is set in the Pacific arena and begins soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It's a time of high anxiety as the Japanese, German and Italian Axis threaten the peace of the world.

A student of Naval history, J D VerHoeven's debut novel gives a highly detailed portrayal of the vicious Japanese attack on the Northern Australian town of Darwin, an important port used by the Allies. His vivid description of the terrible carnage and loss of life in the air-sea battles makes you believe he personally experienced it.

Peril on the Sea is an emotionally charged, high-octane setting for a love story between a newly married couple almost immediately separated in this time of war. Communication being almost impossible, it becomes a true test of their Christian values as many temptations arise with neither knowing where the other is, or even whether they remain alive.

This book strikes a chord with me, because as a very young child, I well remember the scary blackouts, the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney Harbor, and the loneliness my mother experienced when my RAAF dad was away for the duration. He was mainly stationed at Port Moresby in Papua new Guinea. Now history has revealed how close we folk from Down Under came to being overrun by the Japanese. With all mail censored, the Australian gov/t at the time was able to withhold this knowledge from its citizens, probably fearing panic...who really knows?

This novel published by Liberty Press, is the first of  this war time series and can be purchased from Amazon. Jonathan will send a copy of Peril on the Sea to the winner of those commenting on this review. Can any of you readers recall memories of your childhood during the war? The bad times, or the good, when people hung in there together? Or is this merely a distant time of world war you've only seen on TV, and something only your grandparents remember?

Reviewed by Rita Stella Galieh  www.ritastellagalieh.com
Fire in the Rock  pub. Arkhouse Press

Review: King Raven Trilogy

Interested in the legends of Robin Hood? How about England and Wales in the 1100s? If you mix these ideas together, you get the King Raven Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead.

One may believe nothing can be said about Robin Hood that is new and different--three long books worth, no less! The idea gripped Lawhead as he wondered what era would best support the legends as we know them, then searched through history to find a time period and political structure for that purpose.

He uncovered the England and Wales of the eleventh century under the reign of William the Red. Truly this was a volatile period in the history of the British Isles, and I can understand Lawhead's reasoning for tossing aside Sherwood Forest in favor of the march lands of Elfael in Wales. In Lawhead's words:

New rulers of the realm (the Normans) meant strange new laws in the land. One of the most hated was known as Forest Law--a set of highly questionable legal codes designed solely for the benefit of the crown-wearer and his cronies, and not at all confined to "forests" as we understand the word (areas of dense woodland), but could encompass large tracts of grassland, marsh, and moorland. Entire villages were razed and burned to the ground, sometimes because the settlement occupied land that the king, or members of his court, had identified as prime real estate for hunting. Other times destruction was inflicted as punishment for an infraction--such as rebellion or treason--by the local lord....

All of a sudden it was a serious crime to trespass on royal land, and the hapless victim caught within the royal forest precinct faced losing a hand or an eye at best, or if worse came to worst, death by hanging.

Does that begin to sound like the backdrop for the Robin Hood story that we know? Backdrop, yes. But the story takes some serious turns from the Walt Disney version my kids practically memorized in the 80s. For one thing, there are no talking foxes. (Who knew?) Instead, these novels are darker, more desperate tales that will appeal to a more mature audience. Lawhead is a master storyteller, and that is obvious from the first paragraph of any of his novels.

For me, this change in venue and style works well. It releases the legend from the somewhat romantic straitjackets it’s been bound in, while Lawhead has kept enough of the skeleton to make the story quite recognizable.



The series starts with Hood, the story of how Bran (not known as Robin Hood) became an exile. It delves a lot into the history of the day with a fast paced story woven through it. The second book, Scarlet, continues the tale, but from the point of view of Will Scarlet as he relates his life story to Ordo the scribe from a jail cell. The longer Will keeps talking, the longer he stays alive, so it's to his advantage to tell a good story! Lawhead finishes off the trilogy with Tuck. This novel carries the merry band (only they're a bit less than merry most of the time) to London and back, as they fight the system of the day.

This series is truly a winner for those who love Welsh history.

Stephen Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. In addition to his twenty-four novels, he has written nine children's books. Many of his titles been published in foreign languages. He has won numerous industry awards, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska. Lawhead makes his home in Oxford, England.

Valerie Comer writes contemporary romance set in British Columbia, Canada, as well as fantasy set in uncharted dimensions. Her day job is split between flooring sales and writing. She lives on a small farm with her husband, an energetic dog, two psycho kittens, several hives of bees, and a herd of Herefords. Visit her website and blog to find out more about the various writing projects she has in progress.

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Valerie Comer: Review - King Raven Trilogy

Tuesday

Rita Galieh

Wednesday

Kara Isaac

Thursday

Kathi Macias: Preaching the Gospel on the "Big Screen"

Friday Devotion

Shirley Corder: The Upside Down Tree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upcoming Book Releases

Lisa Harris' thriller, Blood Covenant, Book Two in the Mission Hope series set in Africa, will be a February 2011 release from Zondervan.

Lisa Harris' historical, An Ocean Away, set in Africa and New York in the early 1920's, will be a March 2011 release from Summerside Press.

Catherine West's debut novel, Yesterday's Tomorrow, set in Vietnam, will be a March 2011 release from Oak Tara Publishers.

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Saudi Arabia, People of the Book, Book Four in the Extreme Devotion series, will be an April 2011 release from New Hope Publishers. Forced to choose between family and faith, her choice may also become life and death.

Mary Hawkins' contemporary set in Australia, Justice at Baragula, Book Three in the Baragula series, will be an May 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen's book, Helena's Legacy, will be a June 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Christine Lindsay's historical set in India circa 1919, Shadowed in Silk, will be a Summer 2011 release from Whitefire Publishing.

Kathi Macias has a Freedom series involving human trafficking coming soon from New Hope Publishers. Deliver Me from Evil (October 2011); Special Delivery (January 2012); The Deliverer (April 2012).

To find more International Christian Fiction books, please visit our Recent Releases page, Backlist Titles page and our International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: Blessed Christmas Greetings

Tomorrow is Christmas. By now all, or at least most, of you have your Christmas presents wrapped and ready to put under the tree.

What have you done about greetings? How do people know the gift is from you?

Because I make my own cards, I print small greetings with appropriate pictures, depending on who the recipient is. So my little granddaughter, Samantha, may get a picture of the angel at the top of the Christmas tree. My grandson, Timmy, a few years older, may get a Christmas tree laden with gifts. I have to admit, however, the actual greeting lacks both the personal touch and creativity.

"Have a Happy Christmas Timmy, Love Granny and Grandpa."

"Merry Christmas Sammy, We love you, Granny and Grandpa."

When our children were growing up at home, one of our sons always caused a chuckle. He either couldn't be bothered with labels, or he forgot them. I'm not sure which. But we could always be sure the gifts under the trees without labels were from him. If we picked one up without a label he would call out, "That's for Dad," or "That's Debbie's."

The other day, I read of a man who was the coordinator for an organisation that sends gifts from incarcerated fathers to their children. He described the sort of greetings these fathers, who had all the time in the world to think, wrote to their children.*

"You are precious, perfect and deeply loved. Merry Christmas."

"Always and forever I think of you and love you. Happy Christmas."

Are we in too much of a hurry when we scribble those last-minute cards or stickers to attach to our hastily-wrapped presents? Or is it that we think, probably correctly, that the recipients will be in so much of a rush when they rip open the gifts, they'll barely glance at the message. So why waste the time?

Over 2,000 years ago, God sent us a gift. It was one He had planned ever since Adam and Eve ate their illicit snack and were expelled from the Garden of Eden. He sent His one and only Son to carry that special message to you and to me. "God so loved the world" - that's you: Mary, Lisa, Ruth . . . put in your own name - "that He gave His only Son, that whoever" (i.e. Mary, Lisa, Harry . . . ) " believes in Him will have eternal life."

The Gift? Salvation.

The Message? God so loved . . . .

The Messenger? Jesus Christ.

All planned from the beginning. All sent with such love. All given with so much thought and care for our well-being.

Maybe we should revisit the Christmas greetings we use tomorrow. It's easy to shout, "Happy Christmas!" But is there something more we should be saying?

My prayer for each of you is that tomorrow will be a reminder of the very first Christmas gift. And may the message you receive and pass on be one that speaks of God's incredible love for each one of us.

(*Charles P. Axe--The Secret Place--December 15 2010)      

Shirley M. Corder writes from the coast of South Africa. She will be thinking of all you readers this Christmas time, and praying that the Truth of Christmas will bring joy to your hearts. Visit her website for writers,  or Rise and Soar, her site to encourage and inspire those in the cancer valley.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Joyful - and yet sad Christmases too.

And so tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Are all the presents wrapped, the shopping done, the food ready and the house prepared for any visitors?
Well, I am afraid that as I write this on the 22nd, I have to say, “not all, not all and not all at our house.” Our dear daughter has arrived from Melbourne to be with us and she has been helping to put up the rest of the decorations. And cooking still has to be attended to as well as greeting emails to those we can’t send greetings through the snail mail this year.
I have been enjoying posts on this blog about Christmas celebrations in different countries and cultures. And perhaps it isn’t just the differences in a country but the differences in traditions of each family. Family traditions, family heritage plays a large part in the way we celebrate.

Christmas celebrations here in Australia vary according to cultural backgrounds. Now being as multi-cultural as we are, many do not keep to the British traditions as my parents and their parents before them did.

Experiencing two Christmases in England highlighted how similar our traditions are. My husband still says the one thing he enjoyed the most in England was the year we joined carol singers from a church. We walked around their village in the way we had in the past only read about. We sang, we were invited into homes for refreshments. And it was cold - and dark. Here in Tasmania it is still light at least until 9pm and the lights are not appreciated as much here in our summer evenings as in England.

Our first Christmas in Northampton, England was certainly different but enjoyed very much despite our rather weird looking little tree. The next year we were thrilled to host our son, daughter-in-law and a friend from Australia and were certainly better organised! However, although it would have been fun to experience a "white Christmas" we did expereince a "white New Year." I'm sure many are hoping the snow this year will be gone by Christmas!

 

 

I really love Christmas. I really love the gifts of family traditions, a mere symbol of the family love I've been privileged to experience every year as long as I can remember. However, when I saw that my contribution to our blog was to be the 23rd of December I knew I had to share something of the darkest, most unhappy Christmas I have ever experienced.

It was that date in December my dear father died after several weeks in hospital. I was in my mid-teens with an older brother and a younger sister and brother. Dad's funeral was on Christmas Eve. This means that every Christmas is associated with losing our dear father for whom Christmas meant so much. Because we had all been many miles away from home to be near Dad in hospital, there had been no chance to buy gifts, do anything at all towards celebrating Christmas.

But that was the year I remember the wonderful gift of having understanding, loving friends who insisted we go out to their little farm and share their Christmas. May it be that I too would grasp any opportunity to try and ease the pain of others who suffere as we did that sad year. It is certainly a reminder every year that for far too many folk around us, Christmas may indeed be not a "Happy Christmas."

Despite saying all of this, I also have to add that as the years have unfolded and I look back over not only those few days but events in our family since, not once has God failed us. Not once have we missed out on being surrounded not only by love for each other as we celebrate the birth of His dear Son, but filled to over-flowing by the joy, the peace, the comfort that only a loving Heavenly Father can give his children - at Christmas and every day through the year.,

I trust you each do enjoy a VERY Happy Christmas this year free of sadness.

Mary Hawkins  http://www.mary-hawkins.com/

NELSON and EDDY --- by Christine Lindsay

Today I tried to share a joke with the cash-out girl at the grocery store. A picture on the front cover of a magazine caught my eye, and I chuckled at the names Celine Dion had chosen for her baby boys. She called them Nelson and Eddy.

I started to laugh. Not at the babies—they’re beautiful.

“Look at that, Nelson and Eddy,” I said to the clerk. “You know, he acted the part of the Canadian Mounted Policeman way back . . .”

She gave me a blank look. This woman was in her late 30’s, and she had no idea who the Nelson Eddy had been.

Now I realize that this week I’m turning 53, but I’m not that old. However, it was a little disconcerting, because this is the third time this week that TV and movie figures from my youth have brought me the same response when I mentioned them to passersby.

It created a culture shock as wide as if we came from different sides of the globe.

A similar thing happened at the dentist. I was looking up at the TV on the ceiling while the hygienist worked on my teeth, and she asked what I was watching. I told her it was an old black and white movie from the 60’s starring Sidney Poitier.

“Sydney who?”she said.

“Sidney Poitier,” I stammered, “You don’t know that wonderful Bahamian American actor of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” fame with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn?”

“Nope.”

Then my husband and I were watching a TV show, and 2 of my favourites from the 70’s were in starring guest roles. I got a little sad when I saw an old heart-throb, Paul Michael Glaser, who used to be Starsky of Starsky and Hutch fame. He’s still handsome, but he was looking a little portly. Not the svelte young thing he was when he had a part in the movie Fiddler on the Roof.

Then I saw Henry Winkler of Fonzie fame. He too was looking gray and a little thicker in the middle.

I had to admit it. I was getting old.

There’s a lot to complain about as we get old. But as a writer, there’s a reward.

When I’m writing, often a question will pop up in my mind---didn’t I use to know something about such and such. And I’ll do some research on it. Having a wealth of too much trivial information can come in handy in this instance. In fact many---or even most---writers don’t get published until they’re in their middle years. It’s that wealth of just plain living that helps smooth out those plots and characters.

And as for Nelson Eddy, one of his biggest roles was as that RCMP officer in a very popular movie from the 30’s called Rose Marie. That movie showcased Jimmy Stewart in one of his very first roles.

Celine Dion, being a Canadian would know all about the great Nelson Eddy. By the way, Celine, cute names for the boys.

Now if someone out there says, Jimmy Stewart who? Well I’ll . . . I’ll . . . well I don’t know what I’ll do.

WISHING A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL THE WORLD AND TO ALL GENERATIONS.

If you'd like to read more from Christine Lindsay, drop by my blog www.christinelindsay.com I'm excited about 2011 as my novel SHADOWED IN SILK makes its debut.

Hands Around the Globe

I am writing this on my phone at a Pasifika wharfside festival. A Samoan dance crew is doing their thing on stage, with much beating of wooden drums. A huge cruise ship is moored just metres beyond them; tantalising smells emanate from a row of food stalls behind me. The sky is only partly cloudy, so I'm hopeful the lunar eclipse will be visible in a few more hours when it gets dark.

Ferries sway in the harbour and a soft warm breeze is blowing. It was an easy choice to go sleeveless tonight, though the umbrella's always packed in case the unpredictable local weather turns wet.

That's the backdrop. And I'm hopeful in many other ways today too. Earlier, I began the day by chatting online with a writing colleague. In his part of the world it was early evening. He asked a question that jolted me out of my everyday reverie: when are you going to do such-and-such? Now I can't tell you just what he said because that would ruin the surprise; in any case, it was something I wouldn't have thought of myself. Something I had seen others do and sighed a little enviously at. So the question gave a much-needed prod and I began to think. Yeah, why don't I plan to do that?

One friend went offline and later another came on. It was after midnight where he lives and afternoon in New Zealand. I told him of the idea that had been provoked, and instantly he leapt on it. How exactly? What are the specifics? I came up with a few, and he said do it now. Start that thing rolling. So I did. I'm very excited where it might go, but it's so new there's nothing to tell yet.

Other times it's happened in a similar manner. Wonderful ideas are born in global conversations that I then picked up with whatever time zone happened to be around. Whether by video chat or text or a plain old phone call, we join hands around the globe in a wave of inspiration that grows with each turn of the planet.

And help is never far away. When the Americans go to sleep, the Europeans are just getting up, and when I get up, the Americans are generally raring to go. So at any time at all, I can count on having a colleague at hand to help out with a brainstorm in time of need.

As I finish this up, the lunar eclipse can be seen in the northeast sky. I ping another note off to my friends around the world. Today, I've seen new things. Hope, and dreams, and the shadowed moon.

A Bermuda Christmas

Seasons Greetings from Bermuda!
I don't know about you, but I'm always fascinated to learn about other cultures and traditions from around the world, especially at Christmas. The season is without a doubt, my favorite.
To be honest, I've always been a little envious of the perfect 'White Christmas' you hear about, portrayed on Christmas cards, television shows and in songs. We don't have snow in Bermuda, so there's never a White Christmas for us. In fact, some years it can be downright tropical. Our average temperatures this time of year will run in the low 60's to low 70's.
Occasionally the barometer dips below 60 and we pull out the parkas, turn up the heat and start gathering firewood. But we usually have beautiful sunny days to go along with those temperatures, and many of our visitors can be found drinking champagne on the beach on Christmas morning.
I know. Tough, isn't it?
I enjoy cooler weather at Christmas. There's just something to be said for lighting a fire and watching the flames dance while we decorate the tree and play carols. I have also experienced that White Christmas I talked about, and have to admit, it is pretty magical, but I'm not a big fan of snow and cold.

If you ever get the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in Bermuda, I think you'll find we're not so terribly different from the rest of the world. Here's just a sampling of what to expect.

We import our Christmas trees from Canada. Best to get them early unless you want a Charlie Brown tree. You'll see lights being strung in the trees around town and along Front Street in the city of Hamilton around the first week of December. Shops will have had their decorations up earlier, in keeping with the US who seem to think anytime after Halloween is fair game to start in with Christmas! People like to decorate and put lights up on their houses, just like they do in North America. I'm not sure if this happens in the UK as I've never spent Christmas there.

We even have our own Santa Claus Parade. Last time I was at one, years and years ago, Santa rode in on a firetruck. I believe one year he arrived by ferry, another by horse and carriage. We also have a Boat Parade, where boat owners can decorate their craft with lights and all sorts of interesting displays, and when it gets dark, Hamilton Harbour is just beautiful with all those boats on it.

We Bermudians love a party. You'll find your social calendar chock-a-block come the first of the month, and it doesn't end until New Year's day. We're big on Open Houses as well. It's not unusual to find yourself in the position of having to drop in at three or four homes in one day!
With at least one church per square mile on this tiny 24 square mile island, you'll find many a nativity play to attend, and Christmas Eve services galore. One of my favorites is at the old Presbyterian church I grew up in - they have an early family service and the kids always do something - the buzz inside the building on that night is too cute - nothing beats the excitement and anticipation on a child's face on Christmas Eve.

We enjoy the feasting that happens over the holiday season as well. A traditional Christmas Day dinner will feature a turkey and a ham, with plenty of hot English mustard, cranberry sauce and a myriad of side dishes. We take our cue from Britain, since we are still a British colony, and will serve you a piping-hot English plum pudding, with brandy butter or custard, for dessert. Many people also have a Christmas cake to go along with this! In other words, expect to eat a lot, and be at the table a long time! We will also have Christmas crackers at the table, and yes, you do have to wear the silly hat!


One thing you won't find on the table in Britain is Cassava Pie. This is a Bermudian dish, and it's actually not really a pie at all. It consists of cassava, a root that is actually poisonous, but it's treated and prepared into a flour-type substance, one pound of butter, twelve eggs, two cups of sugar, some lemon extract, salt to taste and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg if you like - this makes your top and bottom layer - the middle is filled with finely chopped cooked chicken or pork. I like to use chicken. It's a funny sort of dish, you will either love it or hate it. I make it every year and try not to think about the calories I'm consuming as I devour it! I tried to find a picture of it, but can't.

After all the feasting and entertaining, we usually doze of for a much needed nap.
A Bermuda Christmas may sound like a whirlwind of activity and fun, and it is, but at some point during all the hustle and bustle, I like to take time to creep away, sit on my porch and watch the waves, or go for a nice long walk, and reflect on what all this really means.
We're celebrating the greatest gift we've ever been given.
Jesus.
Yes, the manger scenes are cute, the presents are nice and the food is delicious, but take all that away and...what? Do we still have reason to celebrate.
You bet.
However you celebrate the birth of our Savior where you live, I hope you too will take a moment or two to reflect on what it's all about.
He came for us. He died for us.
Let's live for Him!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Catherine West: A Bermuda Christmas

Tuesday

Grace Bridges

Wednesday

Christine Lindsay

Thursday

Mary Hawkins

Friday Devotion

Shirley M. Corder: Blessed Christmas Greetings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upcoming Book Releases

Lisa Harris' thriller, Blood Covenant, Book Two in the Mission Hope series set in Africa, will be a February 2011 release from Zondervan.

Lisa Harris' historical, An Ocean Away, set in Africa and New York in the early 1920's, will be a March 2011 release from Summerside Press.

Catherine West's debut novel, Yesterday's Tomorrow, set in Vietnam, will be a March 2011 release from Oak Tara Publishers.

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Saudi Arabia, People of the Book, Book Four in the Extreme Devotion series, will be an April 2011 release from New Hope Publishers. Forced to choose between family and faith, her choice may also become life and death.

Mary Hawkins' contemporary set in Australia, Justice at Baragula, Book Three in the Baragula series, will be an May 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen's book, Helena's Legacy, will be a June 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Christine Lindsay's historical set in India circa 1919, Shadowed in Silk, will be a Summer 2011 release from Whitefire Publishing.

Kathi Macias has a Freedom series involving human trafficking coming soon from New Hope Publishers. Deliver Me from Evil (October 2011); Special Delivery (January 2012); The Deliverer (April 2012).

To find more International Christian Fiction books, please visit our Recent Releases page, Backlist Titles page and our International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: Calling Others to Follow - Kathi Macias

The two disciples heard him [John the Baptist] speak, and they followed Jesus  (John 1:37).

I belong to several writers/speakers loops/groups, and I learn from all of them. I also take advantage of seminars, webinars, conferences, and other books/resources that promise to help me in my chosen profession/ministry of writing and speaking. But ultimately, what is it I’m trying to gain from all these pursuits?
          
As a writer, I’d like to think that my investments of time and money will eventually impact my book sales. As a speaker, it would be nice to discover that the return on my investments includes being invited to more speaking venues. But how is any of that different from writing or speaking about secular topics? Why stick to writing and speaking from a biblical standpoint?

The answer is summed up in the above verse: When John the Baptist spoke, his listeners chose to follow Jesus.

Isn’t that what we all want, if indeed we ourselves are followers of Christ? Not everyone is called to write or speak fulltime, but whether you’re a truck driver, a cook, a bank teller, or a public official, if you are also a follower of the Savior, you are called to speak and live in such a way that others are challenged to follow Jesus. Sadly, not all will make that choice, but may it never be said that someone witnessed our life and never realized that we follow the risen Lord.

Christmas is a busy time, and it’s easy to get caught up in all the fun and busy events and activities surrounding this special season. How sad it would be if, during the very time we claim to celebrate our Savior’s birth, our lives reflect anything but a committed following of Jesus Christ!

My prayer for you all this Christmas is that everything you say and do will so mirror your love for Jesus that those around you will find themselves called to a closer walk with Him, for there is no other path to the Father….

Kathi Macias is an “occasional radio host” and an award-winning author of more than thirty books, including her popular international Extreme Devotion fiction series from New Hope Publishers.  

Christmas around the world

A summertime Christmas in Brazil

LeAnne recently wrote a post about international Christmases and how people celebrate the holiday around the world, which is something that has always intrigued me. A couple weeks ago, I was helping our kids decorate our Christmas tree and realized that we’ve celebrated the past four Christmases (including this year) in four different countries: Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, and this year, the US. This will also be the first Christmas we've spent in the States in seven years, and our first Christmas during winter in a long time.

Now that we are back in the US for a few months, one of the things that has struck me is the hectic pace, particularly during this holiday season. And while I'm definitely looking forward all the activities like time with family, drives through brightly decorated neighborhoods, and all the wonderful holiday foods, I also don't want to forget the real reason for the season. We have a God who "so loved the world that He gave His one and only son."

And that is what this season is really about, no matter where we are in the world today.

What about you? What are you looking forward to this holiday season?

Merry Christmas!

Lisa Harris


Christmas in Brazil


Christmas in the U.S. with family.

Debut Novel - AFRICAN HEARTS

by Laura O'Connell

I'm delighted to be guest blogger today because my debut novel will be released in April 2011. Even Before Publishing is an Australian Christian publisher headed up by Rochelle Manners, a dynamic woman with a passion for Australian Christian fiction. This is an opportunity for Australian authors who sometimes feel they are isolated from the overseas publishing world.

African Hearts has been a work inspired by God and written with His grace. I struggled with God when He presented me with the idea. It’s too controversial, and it’s set in Africa where I’ve never lived, but God persisted and I felt compelled to write the story. The last couple of years have been a journey of understanding about who I am as a writer, where I fit in the market, and what God has in store for my future as an author.

My journey started twenty years ago when I felt God calling me to write, so I plodded along in the writing process for honing the craft, until He felt I was ready to tackle the idea for African Hearts.

Research, if I was going to write about Africa, I had to do research. To my astonishment I found the research a bit of fun. I watched You Tube videos, viewed Ugandan sites on the internet, and I read the Ugandan newspaper, and books from the library. My best piece of research though was interviewing a local African missionary. She shared much about her time in Africa, so much so I was transported into a world that intrigued, saddened, excited, and educated me about a life that was very different to my own.

During the writing process, I drew close to God in a way I’d never thought possible. His spirit was deep within me giving me the words and nudging me back to the story when I was straying off target. I was grateful for His presence throughout the writing process because I learned what it means to lean on God, and also that He is faithful and never leaves us. It is I who leaves him trying to write and do life in my own strength.

African Hearts is a novel that will challenge you about your current position in life and whether you’re living it the way God wants you to be living right now. African Hearts is about Australian, Gina Messina, who goes to Africa to find her dying brother, but her brother’s doctor has some unexpected news that challenges her to make change in her life.

A few days ago, my husband and I made change in our lives, and started our new adventure travelling around Australia in a caravan to write and encourage others to be the people God created them to be. You can follow us and be part of our journey at my website www.laura-oconnell.com

I wish all readers a joyful festive season.

Laura usually lives with her husband, Frank on the Gold Coast. She has one son, Dan who started his own life’s adventure a few days ago, too. Laura is passionate about encouraging people in their life’s journey.

To learn more about Laura and her debut novel, African Hearts, please visit her website.