Judge Not

Judge Not

Welcome back to another inspirational moment from historical Christian romance novels.

 

Matthew 7:1-5- “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment, you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

 

I love reading the words Jesus spoke. They are filled with wisdom and push us to take a hard look at the state of our own heart. His words cautioning us to not pass judgement on others are easier said than done for us.

 

I can imagine I am not the only one who struggles with making assumptions and quickly passing judgement. Even with the simplest thing like, “I can’t believe she wore that outfit to a church event.” Oh yeah, I’ve been guilty of that thought many times in my life.

 

In this week’s book club discussion of Kathleen Ball’s novella, The Settlers: Juan, we meet Sonia. She is a young woman who is battered and bruised by the judgement of others. One mistake in her young life left her abandoned and barely surviving.

 

While reading this story, I was saddened by the lack of grace and abundance of judgement and condemnation that towns people had for Sonia. It brought me right back to Matthew 7:1-5. God reminded me again how only He has the right to judge and condemn, because only He is holy and blameless.

 

It is easy to become trapped in the same mindset of the Pharisees; looking down on others who have sinned without seeing our own. Honestly, Jesus’s words paint a rather ridiculous picture of how we must look sometimes. I mean just picture us with giant planks sticking out as we try to wipe a speck of dust from our friend’s eye. Who by the way is standing there thinking ‘Seriously, can they not see the big blaring sin with red blinking lights right in front of their nose?’

 

Okay, now that we’ve all had a laugh at ourselves, let’s get to the tough stuff. It’s time we lay our judgements down and treat others the way God treats us, with grace, love, and mercy.

 

I’ll leave you with this final thought, the closer we draw to God, the more we reflect Him, the easier it is to lay down our judgment of others.

Innocent and Sweet Love

In this episode Tiffanie, Jamie and Melissa discuss the first book in Kathleen Ball’s novella series, The Settlers, titled Greg. We do want to make all our listeners aware the not all of Kathleen’s books are historical Christian romance. She does write secular romance as well, so be sure to check their genre before you start reading. This series however is part of her historical Christian romance genre.

 

Greg comes from such an amazing and unique family. He along with all his siblings are orphans that Mr. and Mrs. Settler have adopted. It makes for quite an interesting mix, especially as they continue to not only adopt more, but have children of their own. Goodness, gracious it’s a lot of mouths to feed!

 

Greg attempts to strike out on his own by trying his hand at mining gold. He ends up being shot at on day one and is rescued by his lady love, Mercy. You’ll fall in love with Mercy. She’s smart, tough, and such an innocent.

 

With this being a novella, it makes for a short story however Kathleen keeps you hooked from beginning to end. The danger and suspense around the gold mine mounts and you wonder if Greg and Mercy will make it out alive. Even then the threat to their lives follows them.

 

LiteraryScape gives The Settlers: Greg novella 2.75 lassos out of 3. We are sure you will be hooked by this sweet, fast paced love story.

 

Adventure Level = A Mocha

Mystery Level = An Espresso

Romance Level = An Espresso

 

(Rating Scale: Espresso= A Little, Mocha = A Medium Amount, Latte = A Lot)

An Inspirational Interview

Welcome back to another inspirational moment from historical Christian romance novels.

 

Today’s inspirational moment is a little different. This past week I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with author Julie Lessman about her newest book A Dare and A Prayer. If you ever get a chance to meet Julie you will soon discover she is an amazing woman of God filled with her own inspirational stories, which she packs into her novels. I’m sure you’ll walk away inspired by her interview.

 

Before we jump into the interview, I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that both Julie and I will be donating to two great anti-human trafficking groups with every copy of A Dare and a Prayer that is sold. Julie will be donating a portion of her book sales proceeds to Project Eden. I will be donating a dollar for every copy of A Dare and Prayer sold in October to Destiny Rescue. So be sure to get your copy before midnight tomorrow October 31, 2023.

 

Now let’s dig into this inspirational interview with award-winning author Julie Lessman!

 

What was your hope or desire for your readers as you worked on A Dare and a Prayer?

 

Wow, without question, it was the theme of trafficking, child trafficking. I didn't really expect to go there. I mean, this is a romance. And the hero is kind of a funny character. So, I mean, it's kind of a lighthearted book. I was actually God that told me I had to do it. I was not even contemplating doing a serious subject like that.

 

But I was in the middle of writing a scene. I mean, I was a good part of the way through the book. And all of a sudden, you know, in the scene where this little girl is supposed to run, you know, she's run through the streets, and she just runs into Henry’s legs. I was only going to put that in there to show how he picks her up and what a tender heart he has.

 

But when I was writing it, it's like, all of a sudden, my mind's eye, I saw this evil looking guy chasing this little girl. And I felt like God said, this is your theme. It's going to be child trafficking. And I'm going, this is World War II. I mean, I know it's prevalent today, okay? But I didn't think it was back then. And the other thing was it's a Japanese internment camp. And in my head, I thought Japanese were always very family oriented, very noble.

 

And so, I kind of bucked and thought, gee, a romance with a child trafficking theme, that doesn't sound like it's going to fly. But he would not let me go. I had to do it. And then while I was writing the book, I saw Sound of Freedom. I don't know if you've seen that movie or not.

 

It's Jim Caviezel and it was actually finished like five or six years ago. But Disney owned rights to it and would not release it and they did that on purpose. They didn't want to release it and Hollywood pretty much closed the door in these people's faces. So, they went into crowdfunding and they got it out on their own.

 

And wow, I think it's made well over 200 million by now. And it's just a powerful movie. And that really impacted me because, you know, I mean, Melissa, we hear about child trafficking for a couple of years now we've heard about it, you know, but you hear so much that you almost become numb to it. You don't think about it. And that movie brought it front and center again.

 

And that was like a confirmation to me that what I was doing was right. After I saw that movie, I went, yes, this is what He wants me to do. So back to your question, I wanted to jolt people and make them aware that this is just a heinous tragedy that's going on and it's really prevalent. And it was prevalent in World War II. It's been going on for centuries, okay, but it's really coming to the foreground now.

 

I think I did shine some light on it because I had a number of people say to me, you know I didn't really focus on this until this book. They said it was difficult to read but they thought I did a decent job. So, I mean, you know, that's kind of what I was hoping to accomplish. I think I did to a degree.

 

How have your readers received Henry's story?

 

I think mostly well, you know. I have a 4.7 rating on Amazon with 62 reviews and a 4.7 on Goodreads, which is hard to do. Usually, the Goodreads number is much lower because people, they feel like they can be more honest on Goodreads however I got 4.7 on both of them. So, I'm really, really thrilled about that.

 

You know, I was worried in the beginning because a lot of my diehard bloggers that review my books, a couple of them that have never given me a four star in my life, I mean they've read every one of my books and given me a five star, gave me four stars and I started seeing that and I thought, hmm, I wonder what that's all about. So anyway, but I think that seems to have changed now, it looks like the five stars are really rolling in a lot more so, I'm grateful.

 

So, I also am really curious because I love all of your books on the O'Connor family. Will there be more for the O'Connor family? Or do you feel like this is going to be it?

 

Oh no, no. Well, when I went into the Cousins O'Connor, my whole concept was, now there are 28 cousins. So obviously I'm not going to do them all, but the ones that we know. Like we knew Henry and Hope, okay, I mean, we were exposed to them, you know. Then of course, Collin and Faith’s, three girls. Then even Lizzie and Brady's first three, okay, I'm kind of thinking, I mean, I know that I will do Collin and Faith.I love Luke and, but they've got eight kids.

 

So, I'll probably do the first three of each of them. And I'm trying to do it in chronological order. Because like, for instance, Henry and Hope, you got to see in these books, you got to see Winnie and Julia, which are the two younger sisters and I just don't, I'm not crazy about Winnie. And I have to be.

 

I'm an emotional writer, Melissa. I have to be passionate about what I'm writing. And if I just kind of feel a little hum about it, I don't want to go there. So, I'm not sure. Maybe I'll do Julia and Winnie next, or maybe I'll just move to Faith and Colin. There's lots of O'Conners down the road here coming. And especially with the Christmas novellas.

 

I have two more to do. I have to do Stephen and Annie and I have to do Gabe and Alex. Then, what I'm going to do is in the next couple of years, I'm going to get them in there and then I'm going to do one final Marcie and Patrick Christmas novella. I'm going to put them all together in an anthology. It'll be the O'Connor Christmas anthology and you'll have a Christmas story for each of the couples and it'll end with Marcy and Patrick.

 

Can you give us a little insight then, you kind of already did actually a little bit, on what your next book might be for your readers.

 

Well, actually, this is going to surprise you, I think. I have never been at a point in my 15 years of writing where I didn't know what I was going to write next. I have always known, because my books are such that I can springboard. I get to love somebody in a book, and then I want to do a book on them. And that's kind of what it's been all along. But I'm stymied.

 

I told my husband, I actually kind of went into a little mini depression, not depression, but I mean a malaise because I go gosh, Keith, I, for the first time in my life in 15 years, I don't know what to write next, because I have to have passion.

 

My Silver Lining Ranch series, has a final book in it that I just am dragging my feet on. I've already got the story. It's The last sister and she's kind of a tomboy. And you read all those, so you know the twins. I was going to bring both of them back for Dash, the brother, and then the young tomboy sister, and just do one story with them. But I'm just not motivated. So, I don't know about that.

 

And the other thing I was thinking of is I kind of... a long time ago, I came up with this idea about doing a story in Charleston, South Carolina, right after the Civil War. It's going to be this woman who is, she's very classy, kind of a lot like, have you read my Heart of San Francisco series? Okay, Caitlin. She was just a very kind, loving, mature, beautiful person. Older, you know. I'm thinking of doing that with a woman who is the head mistress of the top school for girls on the East Coast. Because back right after the Civil War, there was a lot of that in Cha

Interview with Author Jodi Basye

Welcome, everyone. I am so excited to have Jodi Basye here with us. We just completed some episodes on her Cross Family Saga, and it's just an honor to have her on our show. We love to hear the behind the scenes of the books that we read. So, I would love to know what your inspiration was for the Cross Family Saga.

 

Well, it all started with Redeeming the Prodigal. And that was actually my debut novel. I had that story on my heart for years. I mean, like 20 years, probably total. Just, I had this image of this character. I had Jo in my mind and her at that, kind of where you see her at her lowest point, where she'd been cast out from the brothel and from where she was in the street. And I just had this, I don't know, story laid on my heart of the picture of redemption. And I wasn't sure where the story was going to go and I actually didn't have it initially planned out as a series, as a family saga.

So, it doesn't always read as much like you're going somewhere, because I hadn't really planned it that way. But later I realized I wanted to go further with sharing multiple redemption stories. But with Redeeming the Prodigal, my inspiration kind of became, I realized that so many, in Christian fiction, you know, your readership really is Christians.

 

So that salvation message is good, and it can be a good reminder. But that's not always what we need to hear. I had a time in my life where I really needed the message that even though I had grown up in church, even though I had been saved since I was a child that I had screwed up royally and I felt like well, almost like I don't get that redemption. Not that I lost my salvation, but the like I lost my usefulness to God.

 

I had to learn that I'm still continually being redeemed. All hope wasn't lost. And so that's where her story inspiration kind of played in. And then from there, I was like, I'm going to show different avenues of what you could be redeemed from pictures of redemption.

 

Who is your favorite leading lady in this series?

 

Oh, goodness. Oh, that's so hard for me. Especially now that I've wrapped up the last book that you guys even haven't seen yet. I think in some ways it's Jo, just that stubborn tenacity. And I like that about her. I like the, she's a little different.

 

Elaine completely surprised me. I did not expect her to become who she was. I really viewed her like Jo did when I started writing. And it was once she came alive on the page, I realized, a whole different character there that I didn't know we would be dealing with. And so, she kind of stole my heart a little bit in seeing a different side of her as the book came through.

 

And then Essie is my latest in redeeming the shackled and I really liked Essie. She is a very unique character. And so I don't know, I would have a really hard time picking, I really would.

 

 

Who would be your favorite hero of the series?

 

I like them all in their own way, of course, but probably Gideon. I like, the rough mountain man, doesn't always say the right thing, you know, kind of grumbly, but just has a big heart. I guess he would probably still be my favorite.

 

Okay, so speaking of your newest one, can you give us a little insight into Redeeming the Shackled because that one comes out October 30th, right?

 

Yeah, it'll be out by October 30th. I'm really, really excited about it. I don't want to give too much away about it, but you've got Jimmy, who you asked about, if he was going to show up, because we meet Gideon's brother Jimmy in Redeeming the Outlaw, just briefly. You don't get to see a lot of him, but he's our hero in Redeeming the Shackled, and Essie.

 

I don't know if you remember her in Redeeming the Outlaw, when Mary goes to visit Charlie, there's the girl who kind of showed her around and has been sitting with Charlie, and that's who Essie is, and she's our leading lady. And it's just a... It's a wild ride, and it was a wild ride to write, for sure.

 

It's a kind of a dual struggle with the redemption for both characters. And there's a major element of spiritual warfare in this one, and struggle with addiction, and there's just a lot going on that's going to be very different, but I really felt like it was things that aren't always talked about as much in Christian fiction.

 

It goes back to that grit that you had mentioned. What I wanted to show with this series was grit and grace. These are the real things, and that Christians sometimes have a tendency to not want to dig into, not want to see, and, but it's there, and we need to deal with it.

 

I allowed the grit in this series and some of the darker moments, because I feel like it's like an artist or a sculptor. There's an art terminology that I cannot remember that they use where you want the darkest darks so that it will, highlight the lights. And I wanted to go ahead and show the darkest point in these people's lives to highlight God's grace and allow God's grace to shine.

 

And so...this one's a double whammy with the two characters and what they're going through. But I really, really feel like it's a satisfactory end to the series and it kind of brings together a lot of, there was some things a little unfinished in some of the previous books that you actually get to see it all complete and come to a big ending.

 

Hear more by listening or watching our podcast.

Spiritual Warfare

Welcome back to another inspirational moment from historical Christian romance novels.

 

Hebrews 1:14 – Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who inherit salvation?

 

Have you ever wondered about the spirit world? Or how our prayers impact spiritual battles? We live in the physical world, yet out true home, our eternal home is in the spiritual world. I know this starts to sound a bit crazy but hang with me today. I want to shed some light on spiritual warfare and the power of our prayers.

 

I also just want to note that much of what I am sharing today comes from Pastor Jim Brown’s sermon, with some of my own thoughts mixed in. You can watch his sermon at the link provided in the blog post, which I highly recommend.

 

Let’s start by digging into Daniel 10. I am going to start with verse 4.

 

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was the man dressed in linen with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

(Daniel 10: 4-6)

 

These verses describe the angel Daniel encountered. What an incredible picture of the mighty warrior angels of God’s army. The same angels that he sends to not only minister to you and I, but to fight our spiritual battles. For we know Satan wants to keep us from living up to our redemptive potential and he does this by attacking us with demons in the spiritual world. Check out how God’s angel ministers to Daniel.

 

I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

A Hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

(Daniel 10:7-11)

 

Note the sentence: For I have now been sent you. Remember Daniel had spent three weeks praying and fasting prior to this. That is going to be a key detail for later. Let’s keep reading.

 

Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.

(Daniel 10:12-14)

 

Let’s pause and start connecting some dots. God sent this angel to Daniel to answer his prayers, because Daniel’s prayers were heard by God. However, this angel had been detained in battle with the prince of the Persian kingdom. This passage in scripture is so neat because it is giving us a glimpse into the spiritual battles that are taking place all around us. This angel had been battling one of Satan’s demons for twenty-ones days before the angel Michael came and assisted him. We cannot forget that Satan was once a part of God’s angel army and when he fell, he took a third of the angels with him.

 

During this angel’s detainment, Daniel continued to pray. However, don’t you think at some point he felt like God wasn’t listening to his prayers? We’ve all been there. We’ve been praying about a specific issue and yet nothing has changed. It’s as if God isn’t listening. Have you ever considered that there is a great spiritual battle taking place, delaying God’s answer to your prayer because Satan wants you to believe that God isn’t listening, that God doesn’t care about you.

 

Our enemy is crafty and desperate. He will use all the forces at his disposal to keep us from God. Yet have no fear for we are not alone in this battle. God’s angels are fighting for us. Not only that Satan’s desperation comes from the fact he knows he cannot defeat our mighty God, but he wants to take as many of us down with him as he can. This is why it is so important to put on our armor of God every day.

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this, in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

(Ephesians 6:10-18)

 

Pastor Jim put it this way. When you do not put on the armor of God, it’s like walking into battle naked because our enemy is always coming after us. So every morning put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit. Because you don’t want to walk onto the battlefield naked.

 

Now, let’s finish out Daniel 10 and as I read this last part, pay attention to the many ways God used this angel to not only answer Daniel’s prayer to minister to him and renew his strength.

 

While he was saying to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless. How can, I your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”

Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.”

When he spoke to me I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”

(Daniel 10:15-19)

 

I have a feeling we can all relate to Daniel in that moment. He was overwhelmed, distraught, weak and felt helpless. We’ve all been there, and we’ve all experienced that glorious moment when God not only answers our prayers but sends His angels to minister to us, but to bring us peace and to renew our strength to continue to fight the good fight.

 

I love these words of wisdom from Pastor Jim. God loves it when we ask for help. When we pray, He release His angels to do the work. There is no Christian who hasn’t had their name spoken by Jesus to God in Heaven. We must be praying people and battle in the spirit world with Him. Our prayers are weapons of warfare that provide ammunition for angels who battle for us.

 

I will leave you with this final thought: The God that met Daniel after he prayed can meet you too.