Everyone gets a freebie today! Scroll down to get a free Thanksgiving short story that is sure to touch the heart.
Then go into the draw to win these two free ebooks! Edges of Truth: The Mary Weaver Story and I Survived! 5 Bible Characters Who Survived Disasters. The first book is a memoir that will inspire you and the second is the companion Bible story that goes with the memoir. With each Book Blast I usually give away a book written by a different author, but this time the books are by me, Deb Brammer. Scroll down for more details.
Have you ever gone through a difficult period of time when it seemed God was watching your life go by with his hands in his pockets? Maybe you did your best, only to experience failure, unfairness or unrelieved suffering. You prayed fervently but God didn’t seem to be listening.
It can be hard to trust God at times like these, but God does see and care for us, even when it doesn’t seem like it. Sometimes God is workingout his plan, but we can’t see any evidence of it yet.
Steve Brennecke can testify to this. When his friend from church, Mary Weaver, was charged with the murder of a baby she provided care for, Steve, a young lawyer, did his best to defend her. He knew Mary was innocent, but at the end of her second trial, the judge declared her guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. How could God allow this sweet mother of two young children to receive such a sentence?
Steve worked with an appeal lawyer, Paul Rosenberg, to find enough evidence enough to warrant a new trial, but God seemed to be observing the process with his hands in his pockets. Steve’s best work had produced his worst nightmare. His failure had sentenced an innocent client to life in prison. God hadn’t prevented the unfair verdict. Steve had resigned himself to the reality that Mary would die of old age in prison.
Then one day, one ruling changed everything. Steve could finally see the fingerprints of God.
I was privileged to write this true story, Edges of Truth: The Mary Weaver Story, with the help of Mary and my friend, Steve Brennecke. With the help of my husband, Art, I also wrote a Bible study book, I Survived! 5 Bible Characters Who Survived Disasters, to go with Mary’s story. Mary, Steve and I launched both books on November 22, 2013. God blessed the book launch when Mary’s supporters filled our beautiful venue in Marshalltown, Iowa. Mary, Steve and I had the opportunity to each tell what amazing things God had done to bring Mary out of prison and then bring these books to print.
In 2013, when the books were launched, Art and I lived in New Zealand where Art pastored a mission church. Twelve years later, we live in Iowa, just a ten-minute drive from the prison in which Mary was incarcerated for two years. We now visit an inmate there that had also been incarcerated when Mary was there for two years. And currently I’m teaching a ladies’ Sunday School class using I Survived! Our home and church are no longer ten thousand miles away from the prison. Now all three are within a ten-minute drive of each other.
As I teach this class week by week, I remember Mary’s simple faith in God and the way he worked in her life. But as I look at the years from 2009-2013, I realize God was preparing me to write the Bible study before I even heard Mary’s story. Two years before I heard Mary’s story, I went through a very difficult time in my own life. That situation helped prepare me to write I Survived! in a way that would really help readers. God also brought a book to my attention that helped me in the writing process. On Being a Servant of God by Warren Wiersbe really helped me know how to respond to personal conflict in a way that honored God. As I wrote chapter 6 in the Bible study book, I could present a good picture of what forgiveness looks like. That helped some of the ladies in my class.
But God’s timing was perfect in other ways as well. As I taught the Bible studies, I realized how many events had to fall into place at just the right time to enable us to write Mary’s story and launch it. From 2011-2013 God worked things in our lives so I could come back to the USA twice, one time to interview Steve and Mary in person and the next time to launch the book. Steve also came to New Zealand twice, one time when I heard Mary’s story, and next time to bring a huge box of court transcripts with him on the plane.
Perfect timing doesn’t always look perfect going forward. Looking back, however, often shows how God is working all things according to his plan. I hope you can see the fingerprints of God in your own life today.
Now for the freebies.
Your free Thanksgiving story, Prison Blues: A Thanksgiving Challenge, is here.
Enter the giveaway for the free ebooks, Edges of Truth: The Mary Weaver Story and I Survived! 5 Bible Characters Who Survived Disasters. To enter, simply leave a comment below telling what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. You have a much higher chance of winning this drawing that most other drawings, so why not take a few moments to share your blessings?
Christmas is coming!
Books make a great gift for the readers in your life. I’ve posted links to buy all 12 of my books below and have even given you tips about the best places to purchase them. If you need a last-minute stocking stuffer, ebooks work great for that as well. All of my books are distinctively Christian and challenge the reader to live for Christ.
Whatever your plans are for Thanksgiving and Christmas, may the Lord open your eyes to his great love and many of the blessings he gives his children.
Deb
Books for Adults
(The New Beginnings Series and the Art Spotlight Mysteries are also very suitable for ages 15 and up.) My adult books are only available on Amazon. They are all available as paperbacks, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited.
Edges of Truth: The Mary Weaver Story: When a baby dies from head injuries, an innocent babysitter is accused and uncertainty forces experts to define the Edges of Truth.
I Survived! 5 Bible Characters Who Survived Disasters: This Bible study gives a personal view of five Bible characters; Jeremiah, Jonah, Joseph, and the Apostle Paul; who survived failure, unfairness or suffering.
New Beginnings Series:
Complete New Beginnings Series (Kindle only)
Short Poppies: New Zealand sounds more like a tourist destination than a mission field, but when Levi is thrust into a short-term ministry there, things aren’t as easy as he expected.
Give It a Go Pastor Greg needs a new wife, but how can he begin to date when he lives in the goldfish bowl of a mission church, ten thousand miles away from his home in America?
Pop In for a Cuppa: At fifty-two, Jennifer has never felt called to missions, but dating veteran missionary Greg Fischer makes her rethink almost every area of her life.
Art Spotlight Series:
Broken Windows: Running away to Boise makes sense until a shadow from the past commits weird crimes to destroy Jordan’s credibility in the art community.
Déjà Who? : Jordan never dreamed an innocent promise could coast him his career, but new accusations pull him into the past, forcing him to ask, “Who am I?” all over again.
I Scream: A child’s simple painting enters the world of contemporary art, challenging Jordan to re-examine his principles and to market art he can’t understand.
JourneyForth Books for kids and teens
My JourneyForth books (BJU Press) books are available from BJU Press, Amazon, and Christian Book Distributors (CBD.) I don’t have price control over these books, but I can tell you where to get the best buys.
Tips on choosing a distributor to buy my JourneyForth books from:
- Only JourneyForth (BJU Press) has the newest cover and illustrations for Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World as a paperback and this is the most attractive version of the four versions they’ve printed. (Not that the old covers weren’t nice, but this one is especially nice.)
- JourneyForth doesn’t sell the Kindle version of these four books, but Amazon and CBD does.
- As I write this, CBD now is offering the lowest price ($5.59) on the Kindle version of these four books.
- As I write this, CBD is also offering the paperback version of Two Sides to Everything for $5.19, saving 42%!
Buy kid/teens books directly from JourneyForth:
Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World (age 8-12) (paperback only): Amy finds herself in a whole new world when she moves to Taiwan with her missionary parents and brothers.
Two Sides to Everything (age 8-12): Going to New Zealand while his mom recovers from a serious accident, Josh experiences another side to all kinds of things he thought he understood.
Moose (teens): Cody finds that living with a miracle can take a lot of patience—especially when that miracle is a new, struggling Christian friend.
Careful Enough? (uses my pen name, Dillon Forbes, as author): Daniel spends his senior year moving to a Chinese city with his parents to help start a secret house church.
Buy kids/teens books from Amazon:
Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World (age 8-12): Amy finds herself in a whole new world when she moves to Taiwan with her missionary parents and brothers.
Two Sides to Everything (age 8-12): Going to New Zealand while his mom recovers from a serious accident, Josh experiences another side to all kinds of things he thought he understood.
Moose (teen): Cody finds that living with a miracle can take a lot of patience—especially when that miracle is a new, struggling Christian friend.
Careful Enough? (uses my pen name, Dillon Forbes, as author): Daniel spends his senior year moving to a Chinese city with his parents to help start a secret house church.
Buy kid/teens books from Christian Book Distributors (CBD):
Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World (age 8-12): Amy finds herself in a whole new world when she moves to Taiwan with her missionary parents and brothers. (Right now CBD seems to only be selling this book with the older cover.)
Two Sides to Everything (age 8-12): Going to New Zealand while his mom recovers from a serious accident, Josh experiences another side to all kinds of things he thought he understood.
Moose (teen): Cody finds that living with a miracle can take a lot of patience—especially when that miracle is a new, struggling Christian friend. (Right now CBD seems to only have the ebook for this one.)
Careful Enough? (uses my pen name, Dillon Forbes, as author name): Daniel spends his senior year moving to a Chinese city with his parents to help start a secret house church.