Formula for Danger by Camy Tang

Please welcome my friend, the lovely and gracious author, Camy Tang.

HER LIFE WAS ON THE LINE...

Someone wants dermatologist Rachel Grant's latest research, and they'll do -- anything -- to get it.

Including trashing the plants needed for her breakthrough scar-reducing cream-- and trying to run Rachel down.

Desperate for help,she turns to Edward Villa, the only man she trusts. But the greenhouse owner knows too much about Rachel's research, and now he's a target too.

Break-ins, muggings, murder..the would-be thief is getting desperate -- and getting closer. Edward vows to protect Rachel at all costs. Yet with time ticking away, Edward knows they have to uncover the madman shadowing Rachel before their chance for a future is destroyed.

Visit Camy's web site here. And read her blog here. You can buy Camy's book on all major book sites and book stores.

Excerpt of chapter one:

Dr. Rachel Grant had walked only a few feet out the back door of her family's Sonoma day spa, Joy Luck Life, when the patter of running footsteps behind her made her turn.

She had only a glimpse of a dark hoodie and a tall, lanky figure before a shove sent her sprawling onto the sidewalk. Thwack! Her left cheekbone collided with the cement, sending pain lancing through her head.

Snow clouded her vision and she struggled to open her eyes. Her heart pounded in her throat, making it hard for her to breathe. Frantic, she opened her mouth wide but no sound came out.

She glanced up. The backsides of dirty sneakers filled her field of view as they trotted away from her. Then a hand scooped up the bag strap of her sister Naomi's laptop computer, which had flown from Rachel's grip to land on the edge of the pool of light from the parking lot streetlamp. The sneakers hustled away.

Breathe! Rachel forced her wooden lungs to fill and tried to scream, but only a harsh croak came out. Where were the security guards? They should have seen the attack thanks to the outside video cameras. How long would it take for them to run out here?

Even worse, Naomi would be devastated to lose that laptop, which she'd bought barely five hours ago.

She heard the creak of the spa's back door, then more footsteps. "Rachel! Rach, are you okay?" Naomi fell to her knees beside her, hands on Rachel's shoulders. "I was talking to Martin, and we saw it all on the security camera." Martin, one of the security guards, raced past them, pursuing the stranger and the laptop.

In the distance, a woman's voice screeched, "What are you doing? Don't leave me!" It sounded as if it had come from the front of the spa.

Who was that? What was going on?

Rachel pushed herself up, her cheekbone throbbing as she rose. She squeezed her eyes shut to the wave of pain and paused on her knees, her head bowed.

Naomi put her arm around her. "Where are you hurt?"

"Just my cheek."

Naomi pulled Rachel's hair away from her face to look at her. Rachel had a hard time opening her eyes again as the pain splashed across her forehead, trickling back inside her skull. "How bad is it?"

"You'll have a black eye, that's for sure. We need to get you to the hospital."

"No, I'll have Monica look at it first. If the family nurse says so, then I'll go to the hospital." Just the thought of all the people in a crowded emergency room made Rachel cringe. She only wanted a quiet place to lie down and recover. "I'm sorry about your laptop."

"Forget the laptop, I'm worried about you."

"I only took a fall, nothing worse. But that laptop was new—"

"I can buy a new one. Besides, I'm almost glad it was new because it didn't have anything on it, so the spa didn't lose any sensitive information. That would have been worse." Especially since Naomi still managed the spa while their father recovered from his stroke. Naomi had bought the computer to help her with the spa's accounting.

"We should call the police and report it stolen."

"We should call Dad and Aunt Becca first." Naomi dug her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Call Aunt Becca. Aren't she and Detective Carter out to dinner tonight?" The two of them were dating again after an argument that had kept them apart for a few months. It was almost 10:00 p.m., but they might still be together at a movie.

As Naomi talked to Aunt Becca—who indeed was with Detective Horatio Carter—Rachel managed to sit up, although the evening sky spun around her. She clutched her hands together, trying to stop their shaking. She'd been attacked in the spa parking lot!

Clicking heels made Rachel look up. Gloria Reynolds, one of Naomi's massage clients, tripped toward them. "Dr. Grant, are you all right? Did that man hurt you?"

"Ms. Reynolds, you're still here?" Not the most tactful thing to say, but her headache was making it hard for her to be polite.

"Ms. Reynolds was my last client for tonight," Naomi told Rachel as she ended her call with Aunt Becca.

Gloria flipped her highlighted hair with a manicured hand. "The security guard was walking me to my car when he saw that person running away. Miss Grant," Gloria said to Naomi, "you really should talk to that guard. He ran after the person and left me by myself. Even when I called to him. And it was obvious the other guard was after the man, too, so there was no need for him to give chase."

Naomi smiled politely and responded with amazing courtesy when Rachel knew she must be rolling her eyes inside.

A flash of car headlights made Rachel wince as a vehicle headed down the spa driveway.

Then alarm jolted through her. The spa was closed, and the security guards, running after the thief toward the drive way, would have stopped the car from entering. Were the guards okay?

The car maneuvered into the staff parking lot, then stopped right next to them. A door opened and slammed shut. "Rachel!"

Edward Villa's voice made her heart leap into her throat, then settle back down in her chest, racing. Edward was here. Suddenly everything seemed okay.

No, she had to stop reacting this way to him. He didn't think of her as anything other than a client.

"Are you all right?"

She smelled him—pine, a hint of the orchids he worked with at his greenhouses and earthy musk—before her eyes registered that he was crouched in front of her, edging out Ms. Reynolds.

"The guards told me what happened when I drove in."

She had been able to keep it together when talking to Naomi, but somehow, his concern for her undermined her control over her emotions, and she steeled her jaw against a sudden onslaught of wild sobbing. Casting herself into his arms would only solidify his cool opinion of her, which he had made abundantly clear a couple months ago.

"Rachel." He reached out for her.

She held up a hand to stop him.

He grasped her hand, engulfing her fingers. His callused fingers rubbed her knuckles. His touch made her head spin.

"I'm fine," she whispered, breathless. She pulled her hand away.

The security guards walked up to them. "I'm sorry, Miss Grant, he got away. He ran up the driveway, and there was a car waiting for him at the end of it. They took off."

"Dr. Grant, are you okay?" the other guard asked, peering at Rachel.

She felt like a bug on display. "I'm fine." She heaved herself to her feet, but it made the blood pound painfully in her head. She swayed.

Edward's arm wrapped around her, making the earth stand still again. It felt good to be held by him. It felt…

Too good. She pulled away from him.

Edward paused a moment, then he bent down and collected her purse, which had dropped and scattered its contents when she fell. As he handed it to her, his eyes were calm, but somehow she could sense a fire burning behind them. As if other emotions ran deeper.

She didn't understand. While they had been working together for the past year on Rachel's new product for the spa, they had gotten closer, and she had felt free to be herself with him. But then, in the past couple months, he had withdrawn from her, become distant and polite.

Maybe he had seen who she really was…and he hadn't liked what he saw.

The thought was like a punch to her gut, every time she thought it. Which had been often in the past two months.

No, maybe he had never been interested in her, and he'd suddenly become aware that he was leading her on. Regardless, recently he had been clear in showing that he had no interest in her beyond a good business relationship.

She was just imagining the emotion in his eyes was deeper than natural concern. "Thank you." She took her purse from him, avoiding touching his hand again.

The silence was thicker than cold cream.

"Rachel—" he began.

"Here you go, Miss Rachel." Martin, a security guard who had been with them for years, handed her an ice pack he must have gotten from inside the spa. "That'll keep the swelling down from that shiner."

His light words made her smile, made the situation not seem so horribly violating. "Thanks, Martin." She pressed the cold pack to her eye, and found that it enabled her to avoid looking at Edward.

"Ms. Reynolds," Naomi said, "let me escort you back inside. We can wait for the police in one of the lounge rooms."

Rachel stayed outside and watched them reenter the spa. She tried not to remember what had happened, but it came to her in flashes. She shivered. She'd been bullied in grade school because she'd been a geek and a bit odd, but no one had ever assaulted her. Even bickering with her sisters Naomi and Monica had never gone beyond a little hair-pulling.

But tonight, someone had deliberately hurt her. It made her feel weak and vulnerable. Not in control.

And she didn't like it.

She especially didn't like that it had happened here, at the spa.

She suddenly realized that Edward had no reason to visit her here. They usually talked on the phone about the basil plants he was growing for production of her new spa product and met at his greenhouses. Why was he at the spa this late at night? "Edward, what are you doing here?"

His eyes were deep obsidian pools as they studied her, then he surprised her by looking away.

"Edward?"

He sighed. "I called your home and your sister Monica said you were still here."

"Did you try calling my cell phone? Did I not hear it ringing?" She fumbled in her purse and grasped the rubbery edge of her rugged waterproof cell phone—a necessity since she'd ruined two phones by using them while working in the lab with chemicals.

"No, I didn't call."

Avoidance wasn't Edward's style—neither was this vague evasiveness. "Then what…?"

He didn't answer immediately, and his face was grave. "I came to the spa to tell you something you're not going to like."

Her heart beat hard, once. But really, how could her day get any worse? "Lay it on me. I'm ready."

"Earlier tonight, someone broke into greenhouse four."

"Greenhouse four? My greenhouse?" Technically, it was his greenhouse, but the only things in it were her Malaysian basil plants. "Were you there? Are you okay?"

He paused, and his searching gaze made her stomach flip. But she lifted her head and tightened her muscles to keep her molten insides in place.

"I'm fine. I wasn't there when it happened."

"Oh. Good." She tried to slow her racing heart. "Did you call the police?"

"Yes. I left my brother, Alex, to meet with them while I came to talk to you. On the way, I called Horatio Carter, who said he was also headed here with your aunt, so that was fortunate. I'm hoping he'll come back to the greenhouse with me tonight."

"How did you find out about the break-in?"

"I left my cell phone in greenhouse six, so I went to get it. I noticed movement in the yard, and when I went to check the greenhouses, I found yours unlocked."

Her headache became a jackhammer against her skull. "Was everything okay?"

The lines deepened around his mouth. "No. Someone trashed it—all your plants."

She gasped.

"Don't panic too much. Alex is moving the plants to greenhouse seven right now, and I can salvage most of it."

"Most of it?" She needed Edward to cultivate a certain number of plants so she could make the extract for her scar-reduction cream, scheduled to launch in only five months. She couldn't be late. The spa depended on her new product launch. "Will you be able to grow more? I need…" She faltered at the shadow that crossed his eyes.

He replied evenly, "Your research will be fine, Rachel."

His distant tone confused her. What had she said? She switched tactics. "You left your cell phone in a greenhouse? You never do that. If you hadn't forgotten it…"

A half smile twitched at his mouth. "God was watching over your plants, I think."

The familiar way he said it made something squirm inside her. Edward had always had such a different relationship with God than she did, and it seemed to widen the gap between them. "Why didn't the alarm go off? I thought the greenhouses all had security alarms in place."

"They do—to monitor temperature and humidity, and also to alert when a window or door is opened. But the system in greenhouse four didn't go off. I checked it, and it looks like the thief tampered with it."

"Aren't those security alarms top-of-the-line? High-tech?"

He nodded. "Whoever did this was a professional, not your average thief."

The mild California fall breeze was suddenly frosty against her skin. "How about the other greenhouses?"

"I checked them all. Only yours was broken into."

"Only mine?" This was a blow she didn't know if she could bear, not on top of everything that had happened tonight. She bit her lip.

It almost looked as if he didn't know what to do with his hands, finally resting them on his slim hips. "I don't understand it. Some of the plants in my other greenhouses are extremely rare and valuable, but whoever came by didn't even touch them."

She'd seen those plants—exotic orchids and rare rain-forest species, mostly commissioned by wealthy clients because of Edward's reputation for cultivating delicate tropical plants. "None of them were taken?"

If the burglar could have dismantled the security alarm for one greenhouse, surely he could have dismantled the security alarms for the others. Or maybe he hadn't had time to because Edward had discovered the thief's activities. But why bother with destroying her plants when he could have more quickly gotten into the other greenhouses and stolen the rarer species?

Edward's eyes pinned her with concern and gravity. "The thief entered only greenhouse four, Rach—the thief was only after your plants."

Edward hated chaos, and it surrounded him in greenhouse four—broken pots, torn leaves and potting soil dusting everything. He stood in the midst of the destruction and sighed.

It wasn't actually that bad. He'd discovered the open door before the temperature had dropped too much, and now Rachel's plants were all in greenhouse seven. He was also planning on paying for an evening guard to walk the greenhouses—at least until the person responsible for this was caught.

Detective Carter glanced up from where he surveyed some toppled tables. "It would have been better for me if you'd left the scene as is, Edward."

"Sorry, Detective, but Malaysian basil is extremely sensitive to temperature and humidity. The plants could have died within the hour."

Detective Carter shrugged and went back to taking notes.

"Thanks for convincing Rachel not to come out here tonight, Horatio," Edward said.

The detective shook his head, his thinning red-gold hair glinting dully in the fluorescent light. "She didn't need to see this. She's had a bad night already. How many plants survived?"

"Almost all of them, actually."

Home Sweet Home

The past eleven days have been the most crazy, busy, fun days I've had in awhile. Sadly, all without my hubby.

On the 11th I attended the Ohio State v. Miami Hurricanes game. I hadn't been in the Horseshoe in

over 23 years and was simply overwhelmed at the grandness of the stadium.

Twenty-five years ago this December I graduated from Ohio State. When the college of Arts and

Sciences invited "me" back for an alumni

reunion, I couldn't resist.

None

of my friends were going, but I thought it would wonderful to be back on campus, go to a game.

I won't bore you with the details of how I actually got a great ticket to the game and how I arranged to get to Columbus, but I had a blast. The line in Carmen Ohio, our alumni song, is so true, "How firm thy friendship, O-HI-O."

After the game, I met up with my Columbus cousins and aunt. There is something about "blood" and being with people, no matter how many years in betw

een visits, who come from the same family line. A Hayes family reunion is in the works! (Here we are doing the "Dave Hayes" face. LOL!)

I spent Sunday in southern Ohio visiting my lovely, dear Aunt Betty and the town where my father grew up. As I'm about to start a book where the heroine has no connection with her family history, visiting a town where my grandmother was raise as well as my father and his brothers, brought to focus how much our heritage can impact our life, give us a sense of belonging.

Monday I headed back to Indianapolis and my in-laws. Spent all of Monday and Tuesday going over the final draft of Softly and Tenderly. My in-laws were such good company, letting me work, but feeding me occasionally.

Wednesday, I headed to the downtown Hyatt for the ACFW conference. Good buddy and writing partner Susan May Warren came into town and we had an evening to catch up before being swamped with conference business.

The conference was excellent, the best part being able to see my writing friends and colleagues, my editor(s) and publisher, my agent in one place. The ACFW Worship Band did a fantastic job this year and I'm so grateful to them and their faithfulness.

We usually get a few hours to practice the song list and "gel" as a team and then it's go-time. But the unity we have by the Spirit of God keeps us together and gives us a sound.

I was blessed by the testimonies people shared with me about worship over the years at the conference. I'm so humbled to be used by God in such a way.

The first annual Carol Awards, named in honor of Carol Johnson, a Bethany House editor who saw the value in fiction and acquired a prairie romance by then unknown Janette Oke. Love Comes Softly changed the face of Christian fiction.

(Janette Oke with Carol Johnson.)

When I met Janette, I was in tears. Because of her heart for story, because of Carol's vision when the Christian fiction landscape was bleak, I get to live my dream! And all the writers of ACFW. It was almost overwhelming.

Carol is so gracious and humble, it was an honor to see her honored.

The Sweet By and By was up for the Carol Award, but we didn't win. And yes, it was an honor to be nominated.

I loved seeing my friends and connecting with new ones. So many little details I could write about but it was just a fabulous weekend.

Monday I went back to my in-laws and crashed. :) Had a fun phone call that might result in fun news down the line. Stay tuned.

Tuesday I flew home. I was very grateful to see my hubby and our little dog, too!

Today, I'm catching up with email and Facebook, writing blogs, kind of taking a day to recoup. I can fee the tired in my bones.

By the way, Sara's new song, A Little Bit Stronger is out! Down load it for a listen! It's a great song.

More later! Peace, peace, peace.

I'm going to a Buckeye Football game

Lots going on this weekend. Not necessarily in my life, but around the world and in your neighborhood.

I'm finishing up Love Lifted Me with Sara Evans. I'll be glued to my desk chair for the next few days but I'm excited to "have written!"

Today at 11CST I'll be on Kitchen Chat with Maragret McSweeney. Check my Twitter box for the link.

It's opening college football weekend! Just a big fat "Yay!" to this great fall season tradition.

Next week I'm off to Ohio State for the 25th reunion for the class of '85. I was just going to go to the cook out and tailgate party but last night I bought a ticket to the game! I'm on A Deck for those of you in the know and we're playing Miami Hurricanes and I CANNOT WAIT! It's going to be a great game, great weekend and I'll be raising my song to the alma mater.

I'm going by myself. Hubby can't go due to work and other schedule conflicts so I'm bummed about that but I'm going to have a great time. I'll blog about going to the game by myself.

After the game, I'm driving south to my father's home town to visit my aunt and cousin. Then back to my in-laws in Indy to prep for the ACFW conference.

Lots going on the weekend of the 17th - 19th. I'm leading worship, teaching a continue education class with Susan May Warren and tackling my own workshop on metaphors.

But "I'M GOING TO A BUCKEYE FOOTBALL GAME" may just be the highlight of my year.

Well, I've had a few other fun highlights this past week of which I cannot speak but when and if I can, I'll let you all know.

In other good news, I signed a new contract with Thomas Nelson for a book called The Wedding Dress about a hundred year old gown that impacts the lives of four women. "One dress, four woman, and amazing God journey." I'm very excited about this book.

Peace out. Back to writing.

Pearls in the Sand by Tessa Afshar

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Pearl In The Sand Moody Publishers (September 1, 2010)

by Tessa Afshar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tessa Afshar was born in a nominally Muslim family in Iran and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She survived English boarding school for girls before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her mid-twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDIV from Yale University where she served as co-Chair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the

Divinity School. She has spent the last twelve years in full and part-time Christian work and currently serves as the leader of Women’s and Prayer ministries at a church in Connecticut.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Can a Canaanite harlot who has made her livelihood by looking desirable to men make a fitting wife for one of the leaders of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible’s answer is yes. At the age of fifteen Rahab is forced into prostitution by her beloved father. In her years as a courtesan, she learns to mistrust men and hate herself. Into the emotional turmoil of her world walks Salmone, a respected leader of Judah. Through the tribulations of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true

source of one another’s worth in God and find healing from fear and rejection.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Pearl In The Sand, go HERE

Watch the book video:

Whisper on the Wind by Maureen Lang

Please welcome my friend Maureen Lang. I'm excited about this book! It sounds so good.

Whisper on the Wind

She risked everything to rescue him. But what if he doesn’t want to be saved?

Belgium, 1916 The German Imperial Army may have conquered Belgium on its march through Europe, but the small country refuses to be defeated.

An underground newspaper surfaces to keep patriotism alive and bring hope and real news of the war to the occupied country.

It may be a whisper amongst the shouts of the German army, but it’s a thorn in their side nonetheless—and Edward Kirkland will do anything to keep it in print . . . even risk his life.

Isa Lassone is a Belgium socialite whose family fled Europe at the first rumblings of war.

Now, two years later, she sneaks back across enemy lines, determined to rescue Edward--the man she has loved from afar since she was a child. But will he ever see her as more than the wealthy, silly girl his mother once cared for as a daughter?

When Edward refuses to leave, so does Isa, and soon she is drawn into his dangerous double life. But the Germans are closing in on the paper, and Edward had never planned to put any one else at risk . . . especially the beautiful, smart, yet obstinate young woman who has inconveniently managed to work her way into his life—and into his heart.

"Whisper on the Wind brings to life a time and place too often forgotten in historical fiction. The suspenseful climax kept me on the edge of my seat!"

--Lynn Austin, best-selling author of Though Waters Roar

"A suspense-filled romance, an exciting page-turner, one that will have readers racing to reach the end so they can discover how it will turn out. I highly recommend Whisper on the Wind."

Robin Lee Hatcher, best-selling author of A Vote of Confidence

A note from Maureen

Whisper on the Wind holds a special place in my heart, because I conceived the idea during a time in my life when I wasn't actively writing. I knew "someday" when I could devote myself to writing again, this would be the book I'd write.

And here it is, years later--a book inspired by the true events surrounding a Belgian newspaper, La Libre Belgique. During the German occupation of Belgium in the First World War, the Germans ordered every legitimate Belgian newspaper to submit to censorship--and so sprang up La Libre Belgique, one of the few voices of opposition to the propaganda the Germans circulated.

Their goal was to bring hope to a suppressed nation, and many people lost everything from their freedom to their fortunes, some even their lives to see this paper circulated. With so much material, it was easy to create a romantic tale of adventure and intrigue, so I hope you’ll enjoy the story--knowing the story-behind-the story is full of factual history.

A little about Maureen

Maureen Lang is the author of several novels, including Pieces of Silver (a Christy finalist), The Oak Leaves (Holt Medallion Award of Merit, finalist in ACFW’s Book of the Year and Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contests) and Look to the East (Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest winner and Carol Award finalist).

She is also the recipient of RWA’s Golden Heart and ACFW’s Noble Theme Award (now the Genesis). Maureen lives in the Midwest with her family and their much-loved dog, Susie.

Visit Maureen Here:

Whisper on the Wind is available at any bookstore, from Tyndale House Publishers or online at: Amazon and other retailers.

Give your husband lots of brownie points

Hubby and I were sitting at lunch with the senior pastor and his wife today, talking about marriage and a video on marriage they were watching.

We laughed about how wives give husbands brownie points for doing the things we ask them to do. Or for surprising us with little things or doing an unasked household chore. And they are doled out one at a time. "Thank you for giving the kids a bath, honey. You earned a brownie point."

Husbands don't generally give wives brownie points. Back to the truth that they are simple and uncomplicated. They love all the things we love, they are just less intricate about it.

Dinner? We want a nice sit down meal with the food in bowls in the table. They want something hot and a paper plate that won't collapse when they load it up.

Back to brownie points. When a husband does something undesirable, or forgets an important date or event, he loses those precious brownie points in droves! "Didn't you remember to pick up the clothes from the dry cleaner. Minus a bazillion brownie points."

He's in the hole for eternity now. Why bother with the favorable acts only get one point at a time.

As we laughed about this, trying to understand why wives give points at all, I said, "I don't remember how many brownie points Hubby has, but one time he did something nice for me and I gave him 1500 points on the spot. When he did something "bad" he only lost one."

Pastor was impressed. I said, "Well, Jesus finds all kinds of ways to give us credit where we don't deserve it. I figure I can do no less."

Jesus said if you give someone a cup of cold water you won't lose your reward. How generous is He? As if the Cross alone doesn't tell me.

How can I be stingy with honoring and esteeming others? And honestly, I'd like the same treatment shown to me. Mercy! Generosity. Honor!

What about you? Do you honor? Are you generous with giving brownie points and stingy when taking them away. Or generous with deleting them from your spouses account and stingy when rewarding?

Let's not be like that beloved! Give. Rejoice. Honor. God will make sure you do not lose out. It's not in His nature to be stingy and if we are in His image, it should not be in ours.

Give some brownie points today!

Flip Flops the shoe of the south

The bottom of my closet is covered with shoes. The wall rack is laden with sneakers, sandals and Mary Janes.

Shoes I've forgotten, shoes I never wear, shoes that I wonder why I bought in the first place.

But I hate tossing out shoes. Cause sooner or later, I'll need them. It always happens.

But my commitment to flip-flops is hard core. My other shoes live a lonely existence on my closet floor.

Really, is it about Jesus? Or me?

Years ago I had a dream. I was in my physical house and the Lord hovered over me. I saw my curling iron plugged into the kitchen outlet. The blender was plugged into the bathroom outlet.

The Lord said, "You can't exchange your experience for truth, or you feelings for faith."

Experience and feelings are valid, but they must be viewed through the light of the Word and the faith that comes from Jesus, and the Spirit that dwells within us.

Our struggles and successes should always, always, always point to Jesus and that He has set us free. How He is the way, the truth, the light. The magnificent healer and deliver.

If we're living in the past, we reflect nothing of His divine nature.

Beloved, look up! Look to Jesus. Tell the world how He's set you free. If you can't, are you really free? Is your Christianity based more on your experienced and feelings than the truth of Him?

I struggle daily with this! Despite my desires for success, I must want, I must crave Jesus to shine more from me... than me.

The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall

The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall
Coming Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Headstrong schoolteacher Lena Kauffman finds herself at the center of controversy in her Amish community when a young man in her classroom refuses to submit to her authority.

As her friends and family rally around her, especially longtime friend Grey Graber, things go from bad to worse when Grey’s wife, Elsie, becomes an accidental target in trouble meant for Lena. As the present unravels around them, each must find their own way through their private pain in order to find peace and a brighter future.

The Bridge of Peace is the second novel in the Ada’s House series and it returns to Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, and the beloved characters from The Hope of Refuge—Christy finalist, Inspirational Readers Choice Contest finalist, and a Carol Award finalist.

To read the first chapter of The Bridge of Peace or see a list of places to order it online, go here.

Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

She’s coauthor of an upcoming spring release, Plain Wisdom, which is a nonfiction book of touching and humorous life events written with an Old Order Amish friend.

Nutrisystem for my soul

My weight started creeping up in the past few years. I was okay with a ten extra pounds, frowned at fifteen, gasped when I jumped -- over night, seriously, I'm not kidding -- to twenty.

Then twenty-five... What is going on? I exercise. I watch emotional eating. But some days the struggle of writing drives me to the fridge.

Sandwiches and chips are my favorite meal. Finally, when I hit the "What?! No way!" weight, I decided to do something about it.

I lost weight on Weight Watchers before, but counting points wasn't working for me this time. I'd do fine for breakfast, falter through lunch and by dinner I gave up, unsure of how many points I'd eaten.

This summer I started the P90x workout. It was such a hard routine I thought, "If I'm going to work myself this hard, I'd best change my eating."

So, it's been a summer of changing up routines. I loved the quiet of shutting down blogging and social media. It's still hard to get back into it. While I love the cyber conversations, I discovered I loved treasuring myself. Social media can be a rude friend. We put ourselves out there -- "Guess what I'm doing?" and the world doesn't answer. "What am I, wood?"

So yeah...

Last night hubby and I talked with a friend about our country's current political, social, and spiritual climate. Less you deceive yourself that these are three separate entities, let me encourage you otherwise. They are very much related. There is no such thing as separation of church and state. They influence each other.

As we talked, this phrase came out as part of the conversation: "Get your soul in to subjection."

It pinned me to my chair. While not directed at me, I heard what the Spirit was saying.

"Rachel, you have a fat soul."

I've spent some of summer improving my physical condition. Some of the summer improving my spiritual condition. But if they were to be weighed and balanced, the physical would out weight the spiritual.

My heart sank. I've committed the grievous sins of the Pharisees. Caring more about the outside than the inside.

I saw my soul expand beyond my physical borders. I thought I was submitted and committed to the narrow walk with Jesus. But in that moment, I knew I was way more committed to my own wants, desires, comfort, needs and satisfaction than His will.

My soul was far from true subjection. I tell myself if God wants to take it all away, I'm fine with His choice. I want to live submitted to His Lordship. But last night, I knew I wasn't fine. Especially when it comes to the larger picture of my nation and my very way of life.

Hubby was so stirred, he had to escape to pray for a while.

We, as weak humans, are so navel gazing. So worried about our own souls we lose sight of the Main Thing. This is Jesus's world, and He's coming again to rule and reign. He is king! The Father's plan for Jesus will be accomplished and He'll do whatever He needs so the world comes to the knowledge of the truth.

If it comes down to Rachel Hauck living in peace and safety verses the reality of the Kingdom coming on earth like it is in heaven, the latter wins.

It's not that I think God chooses bad for me. No, not at all. He loves me! But He chooses to position me so that NOTHING has first affection and first place in my heart but the return and glorification of His son.

Jesus's return to take His rightful place is preeminent in the Father's heart. Jesus's obedience supersedes any thing I've every done. His return is the plan of heaven since the foundations of the earth.

Take that soul.

Remember when Jesus told His disciples He was going to be killed. Peter said, "No Lord, may it never be." Jesus rebuked him. Call him Satan. Why? Because Peter's mind was on his own heart, not the will of the Father.

Jesus death and resurrection defeated death and hell. One evil night for a glorious reward.

I am Peter in some ways. "No Lord." But my rebuke is the same as Peter's. "Your mind is not on the will of the Father."

And He's be right.

What can I do? What's the Nutrisystem for my fat soul? David wrote, "I humbled my soul with fasting." Paul admonished us to forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead.

Time to fix my heart's gaze on Him. "Not to us, O Lord, but to YOUR name give glory."

Not to us... not to us.

Why Do We Fast?

Excellent words and insight from Hubby on fasting! I'm exhorted.

I am fasting today, and it’s helpful to know others have joined me in this commitment. I don’t like fasting; it isn’t easy, and I’m not always successful in my attempts, so I really appreciate your willingness to make such a sacrifice.

That being said, "Why are we doing this? What does it accomplish?" We can fast just because the bible says to, and accept by faith there are some intangible spiritual benefits, but that doesn’t motivate me much. The bible does give us some clues that I hope will encourage you.

As we look at a few verses, keep in mind the bible links fasting with prayer. It is assumed that both are working together in these passages.

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Mat 9:14-15)

Jesus equates fasting with mourning, and specifically mourning His absence.

Fasting expresses our longing for Jesus just rule in the earth, our lamentation over sin and darkness that oppresses His creation.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

When we pray with fasting, we’re partnering with Jesus, the great intercessor, who continually makes intercession for us. (Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25) We enter into mourning over the things that concern Him, and receive the comfort of intimacy with Him.

Contrast this attitude with the one we see in the world, both before God judged the earth with a flood, and again before His second coming to judge the earth again.

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Mat 24:37-39)

In the last days the world will be satisfying their physical desires, unaware of what’s coming, but the church will be fasting and praying “come Lord Jesus,” longing for Christ’s righteous reign.

Fasting is a cry for justice.

In John chapter four, where Jesus meets the woman at the well, He tells His disciples His “food” is to do God’s will and finish the work. He was choosing to focus on the eternal over the merely earthly.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17) When we fast, we’re voluntarily choosing the surpassing pleasures of the Kingdom.

Fasting is a cry for the manifestation of the Kingdom.

Above all, returning to the first passage we read:

Fasting is a cry for the presence of Jesus, longing for the one we love!

The ACFW Carol Award Finalist

Here's a list of the ACFW Carol Award Finalist. Congrats to all the editors and authors.

This is the first year for the Carol Award, named for pioneering Bethany House fiction editor, Carol Johnson. Johnson saw the possibility for Christian based stories when she read a charming manuscript written by Janette Oke. That was in the early '80s.

The Carol Award takes over for the former Book of the Year Award -- affectionately called the BOTY.

The awards will be given in September 2010 at the ACFW Conference in Indianapolis.

Weight of Shadows by Alison Strobel

Please welcome my friend and author fantabulous, Alison Strobel!

Her new book is The Weight of Shadows. As always, Alison does a great job of dealing with difficult topics.

After a difficult childhood, Kim has built a successful life for herself

... but she'd leave it all if it meant being rid of the guilt she harbors over a tragic mistake she made years ago.

When she meets Rick, she finds everything she needs---including a way to pay for her sins every time he hits her. Kim and Rick's new neighbor, Joshua, knows more than Kim realizes about Rick, but Joshua has battles of his own to fight.

Soon to intersect Kim's and Rick's lives is Debbie, who has saved countless women from abuse through the shelter she runs, but Debbie might be as desperate for love as the women she serves.

Meanwhile, as Rick's wrath extends to their baby, Kim must decide if her penance is more important than protecting that innocent life---and if she should dare leave Rick when he has the power to bring her hidden crime to light.

Here's a bit about Alison in her own words.

I started writing as soon as I got the hang of spelling and what made up a sentence. I can remember slaving over word choice in first grade! (RH: Me, too!) I distinctly remember knowing there was a word out there that meant what I wanted to write, but my vocabulary was too small for me to figure it out. Writer angst started early. (RH: Me, too!)

I was forever writing stories as a kid. I'd start a novel every summer (except for the year the neighborhood kids all got together to do a newspaper--which lasted all of four issues) and write in the tree in the front yard, or on the porch, or in the backyard, typically using my dad's old portable manual typewriter. (Yes, I lugged a typewriter--and paper!--up a tree.) I never finished them, because this was before I thought to outline first. Although I did write an entire novel in seventh grade. It was about what you'd expect from a twelve-year-old--nauseating amounts of melodrama interspersed with my attempts at being deep. I don't know what ever happened to it, but I can only pray it is long, long gone. :)

Besides singing in choir, creative writing was my "thing" up until college. All the research papers in college drained me of any desire to write, however, and it wasn't until a couple years after graduation that I attempted another story. This time I decided to try making an outline, and the result was Worlds Collide, which would eventually become my first published novel.

The basic plot of The Weight of Shadows floated around my head for a few years before I ever tried to write it. The idea began to form after a friend told me about a high school senior she knew who had been involved in a fatal car vs. bicycle wreck.

She was driving, and an off-duty police office was biking. I don't remember the details now, only that she was eventually found to be not at fault. But in the days leading up to that decision she was in limbo, wondering if she'd be charged with his death. But the most amazing part of the story is that, when she met the officer's widow, the woman pulled the girl into a hug and told her the family held no grudge and that they absolved her of any guilt she might be feeling.

When I heard that, my first thought was of the enormous relief that young woman must have felt. But then I started to wonder what would have happened if she'd had a reason to hold on to her guilt--say, because she knew that she really was responsible for the wreck.

How would that affect her self-image, her faith (she was a Christian), her future? That was the kernel from which the book eventually grew, after germinating in my imagination for about six years.

RH: Wow, so The Weight of Shadows deals with this! What an amazing book. Don't we all wonder about those close-calls we've encountered. Thanks for stopping by, Alison!

Y'all, get The Weight of Shadows.

A Matter of Character by Robin Lee Hatcher

Welcome my friend, Robin Lee Hatcher, award-winning author.

Who says a woman can’t keep a secret?

It's 1918, and Daphne McKinley, heiress to a small fortune, has found contentment in the town of Bethlehem Springs. But Daphne has a secret.

A series of dime novels loosely based on local lore and featuring a nefarious villain known as Rawhide Rick has enjoyed modest popularity among readers. Nobody in Bethlehem Springs knows the man behind the stories … except Daphne.

When newspaperman Joshua Crawford comes to town searching for the man who sullied the good name of his grandfather, Daphne finds herself at a crossroads, reassessing the power of her words, re-thinking how best to honor her gifts, and reconsidering what she wants out of life.

View the book trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84yGMuj21Uo

About the Author:

The author of over 60 books, best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love.

She makes her home in Idaho where she enjoys spending time with her family and her high-maintenance Papillon, Poppet. She invites you to drop by her web site and her Facebook Page to learn more about her and her books.

Web site:

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Steadfast Soldier by Cheryl Wyatt

Please welcome my friend and fellow author extraordinaire, Cheryl Wyatt!

Book Blurb:

Rescuing people is his job…

But the one person pararescue jumper Chance Garrison can't seem to help is his own ailing father, who refuses his much-needed physical rehabilitation. That is, until Chance hires unconventional occupational therapist Chloe Callet. To his surprise, Chloe and her sweet black Lab, Midnight, work wonders. And not only on the elder Garrison. Chance just may have met the woman who can get through his own toughened exterior. Can he persuade the lovely Chloe to take a chance—on him?

Excerpt available here.

Author Bio:

Born Valentines Day on a naval base, Cheryl Wyatt writes military romance. Her Steeple Hill debuts earned RT Top Picks plus #1 and #4 on eHarlequin's Top 10 Most-Blogged-About-Books, lists including NYT Bestsellers. Her books have won a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for the Best Series Love Inspired in 2009 and garnered a Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence final. Visit Cheryl's web site at: www.CherylWyatt.com.