Win a copy of The Captain's Lady by Louise M. Gouge!!!

This week, I'm introduing my good friend and fantabulous author, Louise M. Gouge. She's graciously offered to give away a free copy of her latest release, The Captain's Lady, to one lucky person. Here's a bit more about Louise and about her book. (including my review!)

Torn between love and duty, American Patriot James Templeton must deny his heart to help win his country's freedom.

Captain James Templeton's orders from General Washington are clear. His target: Lord Bennington, a member of George III's Privy Council. The assignment: find Bennington's war plans. The risks: the future of the East Florida Colony, Jamie's life...and his heart. In spite of the dangers of their hopeless situation, he's fallen in love with Lady Marianne Moberly, Lord Bennington's daughter.

Desperate to protect his country, Jamie carries out his orders with a heavy heart. But Marianne's persistence is a challenge he never expected. With love and faith, they must navigate troubled waters to win their future together.


My Review:
Ms. Gouge's books just keep getting better and better. I absolutely adored this latest story of forbidden love. How can a lowly American ship captain ever hope to obtain the hand of a British Earl's daughter, especially when their two countries are at war? Set during the start of the American Revolution, this book has it all. Espionage, intrigue, romance, and adventure both on land and on sea. Complete with a happy ending that will leave you with a satisfied sigh. Louise Gouge's writing is like a fine wine: elegant, rich, flavorful and warming all over.

About Louise Gouge
Award-winning Florida author Louise M. Gouge writes historical fiction, calling her stories “threads of grace woven through time.” In addition to numerous other awards, Louise is the recipient of the prestigious Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award for her 2005 novel, Hannah Rose. With her great love of history and research, Louise loves to visit museums and travel to her stories’ settings to ensure accuracy. Her favorite Bible verse is “He shall choose our inheritance for us” (Psalm 47:4), a testimony to her belief that God has chosen a path for each believer. To seek that path and to trust His wisdom is to find the greatest happiness in life.

Louise has been married to David Gouge for 45 years. They have four grown children and six grandchildren. She earned her BA in English/Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and her Master of Liberal Studies degree at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Louise is also an adjunct professor of English and Humanities at Valencia Community College in Kissimmee, Florida.

If you'd like an opportunity to win this book, please leave a comment with your email address! I'll draw a name in 2 weeks on March 12th!

Wordless Wednesday (Well Almost)

Me and Rita Gerlach in the Barnes and Noble at Baltimore Harbour.

If you haven't read Rita's book, Surrender the Wind, you're missing out!

Sitting on a cannon in front of the USS Constitution!

Ft.McHenry reenactment.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

The Scroll of Remembrance

The Bible speaks of many books here on earth and in Heaven.

The Book of the Covenant  (Exodus 24:7)
The Book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers 21:14)
The Book of the Law (Deuteronomy 28:61)
The Book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13)
The Book of the Acts of Solomon  (1 Kings 11:41)
The Book of the Chronicles of the King's of Israel (1 Kings 14:19)
The Book of the Chronicles of the King's of Judah (1 Kings 14:29)
The Book of Moses (Nehemiah 13:1)
The Book of the Living or the Book of Life (Psalm 69:28)

But here in Malachi 3:16, we read about a Book or Scroll of Remembrance
Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name

Did you realize that every time you speak about the Lord with a Christian friend, the Lord listens! Not only that, but your name is written down in this Scroll of Remembrance.  This scripture really started me thinking. Is my name only listed or is what I said recorded? Does my name get listed everytime I speak about the Lord? What is the purpose of the book?  Will God read from it on judgement day?

We are told in Scripture that our words hold great power. In fact, James declares that the tongue holds the power of life and death. We are also cautioned against complaining and gossip and slander. We so often hear the negative consequences of using our words poorly, but here, we see such a fabulous positive consequence of choosing the right words.
I think it's so cool that when we talk about the Lord with our friends or classmates or co-workers or family, there's an angel standing nearby taking notes!
I hope that thought blesses you in some way today and throughout the week!

Winner of Bride Bargain and an announcement!

The winner of last week's drawing for The Bride Bargain by Kelly Eileen Hake is Carole!
Thank you everyone for entering.

Also, a few weeks ago, I was informed that my Charles Towne Belles series will be reprinted as an omnibus and released this coming fall.  You may ask what an omnibus is (as I did).  It will be all 3 books printed in one large volume.  Check out the cover below.

Pretty cool, huh?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday-Jack the Nutcracker

A Christmas Gift from my hubby.

The Best Valentine's day messsage!

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs
Zephaniah 3:17

I came across this Scripture during my readings last week and it stopped me. Tears filled my eyes and a lump formed in my throat.  These inspired words give such an incredible picture of just how much our God loves us. 
Let's face it, this world can be a pretty rotten place, and we can get really beat up, put down, disillusioned and disappointed with things and with people. With the high unemployment rate, the cost of living, taxes, broken families, broken relationships, terror threats, crime, death, lost friends and family, sickness, rejection, and constantly striving for the success, wealth, and beauty the world insists we have in order to achieve happiness, life can leave us feeling like we just fought and lost a huge battle. I don't know about you, but it's easy for me to wonder if there's anyone I can trust. If there's anyone who truly cares. And especially whether I'm valuable at all or am I just another number on a form, another face in the crowd. Easily replaceable.

But then the Lord shows me a scripture like this and my heart soars. You are so important to God that the Creator of the entire universe stops to delight in you! He rejoices over you with songs! You are as precious to Him as if you were His only child. He longs to lavish His love upon you over and over again, until finally, all your fears vanish like the a mist before the sun.

I don't know about you, but this verse is the best Valentine's day message I've ever received. May you receive it too until it settles deep within your heart and heals every wound this world has inflicted upon you.

Check out my post on Romance is not for Sissies today at...

http://www.prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/

And have a wonderful Valentine's Day tomorrow, everyone. Even if you are unattached at the moment, remember God loves you more than you know!

Book giveaway-The Bride Bargain

When dropped from the wagon train for not pulling their load, Clara Fields is desperate to provide for her newly-widowed aunt. Josiah Reed, owner of the Buttonwood Feed and Dry goods Store, makes Clara what seems a heaven-sent bargain: he'll sign over his two-story house if she can marry his son off to a local girl in the next month
Dr. Saul Reed agrees to watch his father's store while Josiah is away, thinking the slow pace of the prairie will be a welcome respite before Saul establishes his medical practice in Baltimore. But when he finds pretty Clara Fields installed in his father's house, the gleam in her green eyes promises anything but peace and quiet.
With his bachelorhood at stake, and her ability to provide for herself and her aunt hanging in the balance, Saul and Clara face off in an unlikely battle...
Will God soften two stubborn hearts and strike a new bride bargain?

For those of you who don't know Kelley, she's a wonderful author and a wonderful friend. I spent some time with Kelly at various booksignings here in California. And she's in her early twenties, too. Very young to be a published author.
Anyway, leave a comment to be entered to win this book. (remember to leave your email too!)  I'll draw a winner next Friday.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Be on the alert tomorrow!

I like to keep my eyes on things happening in the Middle East. After all, that is where all of the Bible took place and also where all future prophecies will be fulfilled. So when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a warning last Sunday saying that the nation will deliver a harsh blow to "global arrogance" on February 11. I took notice. Is he just blowing off smoke and trying to scare us? or is he serious?  I tend to think he's serious. Why? Because he is a religious zealot who believes that he must create world chaos in order to usher in the Mahdi, the Islamic messiah. People may call him crazy, but I think he's perfectly sane. I also believe all the jihadist are sane, intelligent people.

When you toss eternal destination into any equation, it ups the stakes considerably. Just as we Christians believe that Faith in Jesus will lead us to Heaven, these muslims truly believe that in order to guarantee their arrival in heaven, they must kill infidels. Not only that, but I recently learned that they also believe that if they kill Christians and Jews, not only they will go to Heaven, but they can bring 70 of their friends and family. Now, just stop for a minute and think about that. Think of all of your family members and friends who aren't Christians. If you're like me, you've been praying for them for years. Imagine, if by one action of yours, you could guarantee not only your salvation but theirs?  Honestly, if I believed that, I would probably do exactly what they are doing. Their faith, although serious misguided, is commendable.
Having said that, no amount of "talking over tea" is going to convince them to lay down their arms. I wish our government understood this and acted accordingly.  But they don't. So, just in case this warning is true, please be careful tomorrow.

You eat but are not satisfied

You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!  Haggai 1:6

I think one of the biggest problems in this world is dissatisfaction. Or you could also call it unfullfillment.  That reminds me of the song that was popular when I was a kid by the Rolling Stones "You can't get no satisfacation." (Yes, I know, that ages me!) Yet, if it was possible to achieve satisfaction in this life, then surely those people with fame, fortune, power, and beauty would be satisfied. Those that have accumulated all the things we are told will make us happy and satisfied should be at the pinnacle of satisfaction, right? Yet what do we see? Divorce, Infidelity, Drug overdose, Alcoholism, Violence. . .etc..  (The recent story of Tiger Woods comes to mind)  What we find is that the very people who should be the most satisfied are even more unsatisfied then the rest of us because when you reach the top, there is nothing else to grab for, nothing else to hope for that will bring fulfillment.  That's why when I came across this verse in Haggai last week, it really spoke to me. These are the people who have everything, yet they find themselves completely unsatisfied.

Does that describe you? If you're a follower of Jesus and you find yourself feeling this way from time to time, might I suggest, you've drifted away, if only ever so slightly, from the Source of all satisfaction?


God tells us in His Word what brings true satisfaction and fulfillment. In this Scripture in Haggai, He goes on to say that the people were living in disobedience. He had asked them to build a temple and they were procrastinating. Consequently, no matter what they did, no matter how much stuff they accumulated, they were unhappy.  I see their disobedience as a result of two things.

A lack of belief - They didn't truly believe that being obedient to God would give them the result they longed for.  If they did, they would have done what He said.  How about you? Do you think being obedient to God will lead to a boring, restrictive life of servitude? Or do you believe like He says in His Word, that He came to give you life more abundantly? John 10:10

A lack of love - They didn't truly love God more than anything or anyone else.  If they did, they would have put Him first and His commands first. They would have valued His temple more than their own homes. How about you? Is God first in your life? Or is He only reserved for Sundays or whenever a tragedy occurs and you need Him? Do you read the Bible with great anticipation like you would a love letter from someone you love more than anything? Or do you read it quickly like a chore to be marked off your list? 

Delight yourself also in the LORD,And He shall give you the desires of your heart  Psalm 37:4
Delight  means a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture.  to give great pleasure, satisfaction, or enjoyment to; please highly.

Do you delight in God? Might I suggest that if you are dissatisfied with your life, perhaps you should. For HE promises He will give you the desires of your heart.!

Now, I'm not perfect and I mess up alot, but I can honestly say, this promise works!!! It has worked in my own life so powerfully, that I can honestly say I love my life and am more satisfied now than I've ever been.  Trust me, it works!

Winner of The Silent Governess and another founding father principle!

Grace Thorson!  Congratulations, Grace! And thank you all for entering. 
Sorry  I didn't post something Wednesday like I usually do but it was my birthday! Another year closer to being with my Lord.

And now our Founding Father's Principle number 3
The most promosing method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.

Here are some quotes from the greatest:
"But neither the wisest constituion nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt."  Samual Admas

"There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents...there is also an artificial aristocracy, founded on wealth and birth, without either vituue or talents." Thomas Jefferson

 "Politics are the divine science, after all. How is it possible that any man should ever think of making it subservient to his own little passions and mean private interests? Ye baseborn sons of fallen Adam, is the end of politics a fortune, a family, a gilded coach, a train of horses and a troop of livery servants, balls at court, spendid dinners and suppers?" John Adams

"In America, salaries, where indispensible, are extremely low, but much of public buisness is done gratis. The honor of serving the public ably and faithfully is deemed sufficient." Ben Franklin

Our founding fathers advocated that public office not be attached to a large salary. These men who served our country in the beginning accepted little money for the privilege, but were more desirous of serving their country than obtaining wealth and power. They knew that when wealth and power became attached to public office, then public office would attract men and women who only wanted wealth and power. Sound familiar?

God can use the worst witness in the world to save an entire city!

Last week I read through the book of Jonah. It's such an incredible and fascinating story! I mean, come on, swallowed by a whale? In the whale's belly for 3 days? Yuk. Can you imagine what was going through Jonah's mind? I bet he was on his knees begging for his life! (Even if he could stay on his knees in that slippery, smelly environment)  But a couple of things struck me about the story that I never thought about before.

Jonah didn't really know God at all. The reason I say that is that after God told him to go to Ninevah and preach, Jonah got on a ship and went in the opposite direction. Verse 5 in Chapter 1 says that Jonah was sound asleep in the hold of the ship during a violent storm! In other words, he thought he'd gotten away with his disobedience. He actually believed God couldn't find him! Like God is really up there pacing heaven's golden streets saying. "Now, where did that Jonah run off to?" Give me a break.

God used Jonah's disobedience to save the sailors on the ship. I never really noticed this before. There's Jonah watching these sailors desperately tossing everything overboard fearing for their lives, knowing full well it's probably his fault, and he says nothing until they approach him and ask him. Then he tells them to throw him overboard. After they did, the scriptures tell us that "The sailors were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered Him a sacrifice and vowed to serve Him."  Amazing. Even in Jonah's disobedience, people got saved.  

Despite a hateful and disobedient attitude, God used Jonah to save 120,000 people in the city of Nineveh!  This really struck me. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. The Bible doesn't tell us why. I've heard that the people of Nineveh were very wicked and tortured people cruely who they disliked. That may have been one of the reasons. Or maybe the people of Nineveh had murdered some of Jonah's family or friends. Whatever the reason, Jonah hated them and didn't want them to repent and be saved. How about you? Is there anyone who has treated you so horribly that you hope they never get saved?  Despite that, after God redirected Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah entered the city and preached. I imagine he didn't exactly preach like Billy Graham! I picture him standing on the street corner mumbling what God told him to say. Let's face it, his heart wasn't in it. He didn't want these people to listen to him!  Yet, the Bible tells us that the entire city repented of their evil ways and got saved! 

God can use anyone, no matter how inept, no matter how sinful, no matter how bad your attitude is, to do GREAT THINGS.

So, the next time you feel like a loser, like you can't accomplish anything for God, like you could never be a good witness, remember Jonah and what God did through him.  Your heart doesn't even have to be in the right place. You just have to be obedient and see what God will do!