Into the Fire

https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Flames-Michelle-Massaro-ebook/dp/B01CBV4KGU?ie=UTF8&keywords=Grace%20in%20the%20Fire%20by%20Michelle%20Massaro&qid=1464493554&ref_=sr_1_fkmr0_1&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmr0#customerReviews

Grace in the Flames by Michelle Massaro is the novel of this author's heart, perfected over a period of several years before its publication. The story reflects the three main characters in tragic, trying, and troubling situations and tracks their reactions to each of the trials in their lives.

John Douglas faces unmitigated and sudden tragedy in his life and spirals downward, blaming God and refusing to turn to Him for any kind of comfort.

April Johanson has never had it easy, not even once. Striving to find something stable in her life after running from trouble, she doesn't see any help in her world and never considers God.

Jenni Dupont carries a burden for the deaf and ministers to children with hearing deficits. She signs and sings with the worship team at her church. Her youthful experiences left literal scars, but a friend showed her how Jesus could help. She's been walking with Him ever since. Her mom does not embrace the Lord and pressures Jenni to find a guy and settle down.

Grace in the Flames intersects three lives creating turmoil for each of them. Recovering, regrouping, rejuvenating, and responding to the relationships and circumstances God orchestrates produce an outcome none of them could have anticipated. There is some melodrama, some over-the-top emotional reactions, but each character rises above their unique and difficult challenges in due time. To fill in the blanks of the trauma the three characters face would reveal too much of the story.

Michelle Massaro's novel presents three different perspectives for facing dilemmas that require forgiveness, acceptance, and sacrifice. She captures the difficulty of accomplishing the full measure of what God asks us to do when we least expect drastic changes in our lives. Grace in the Flames is a story of three individuals who somehow manage to set aside their plans for their lives to accommodate what God has designed just for them.

Father, please continue to bless Michelle's life and career, helping her to write the stories you have just for her to tell. Encourage her and keep her and her family safe from all harm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

     He [Jesus] went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

     Looking at his disciples, he said:

          "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

           Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

           Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

           Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

     "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets."

Luke 6:17-23 (NIV)                                                                                   

To answer my own question on Brenda Anderson's promotional post for Sweet Release, let me quote the question that generated zero responses there: "Why do you read romance novels that don’t adhere to the “squeaky clean” mantra of most Christian romance?" No one responded.

First, let me explain why I used that question to generate conversation. Brenda Anderson and I agree on many if not most opinions of Christian Fiction and specifically the restrictions on romance novels posed by some of the big names in Christian publishing. The focus of those restrictions has been the subject of much discussion in the past on various writing blogs by published and unpublished writers and collections of professionals in publishing.

Readers supposedly determine the selection of what manuscripts should be given the opportunity to be published. However, many readers simply disappear because of the content of fictional romance. Now it works both ways. Readers who demand the "squeaky clean" variety of romance consume most of the offerings of these publishers. (And this not to imply those romances don't address serious issues because most of them do.) This bunch who insists on "chaste" romance novels turns out to be quite intolerant of whatever doesn't meet their very restrictive requirements. Because of their rather loud voices, some publishers opt to please them first and foremost, apparently deciding they constitute the majority of their readership. This bears itself out statistically because those who prefer more realistic characters and circumstances included in these romances along with a direct approach to the sexual issues they potentially face have long ago left those publishers.

Years ago, author Becky Wade left the general market to write faith-based novels. Bethany House contracted her and their first excellent release was titled My Stubborn Heart. Becky went on to write a good series but each one decidedly "tamer" than My Stubborn Heart which used four common words that incited a near riot of complaints and threats to the publisher from the "clean and chaste" crowd of readers. The words used weren't cuss words, but, reading the focus of the one-star reviews, one would have thought she used the f-bomb multiple times.

So, my question attempted to determine if anyone read "alternative" romance novels - such as faith-based authors now using the independent choices of e-books and self-publishing to write stories with a more authentic approach to romance while including a spiritual overtone. My choice of questions and my new release generated zero comments. I may have expressed my question incorrectly. Or perhaps no one in fact reads any romances of the non-squeaky-clean variety although I find that doubtful. Anyway, all of you here are familiar with my reasons for not reading most CBA/Christian Fiction romance novels.

Father, thank you for giving me stories to write. Stories that attempt to tell of your love above all. Please help me to write what you've given me to tell. To dig in and do it. Thank you for the words. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

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  My dear friend Brenda Anderson has graciously featured me on her blog to help promote Sweet Release. I'm thankful to her for her support both prayerfully and promotionally. One person will win a free e-copy of Sweet Release by answering a question for me over there. Thank you, Bren!

http://brendaandersonbooks.com/2016/05/24/getting-to-know-nicole-petrino-salter-giveaway/

Father, please continue to bless Bren with your love, kindness, mercy, and grace. May she receive all that you have for her. Keep her safe from all harm and please watch over her family. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

This is the before kitchen in the home we bought just three months ago on the 25th of February. Are you ready for the after? Here we go!

I do wish you could see the view and the rest of the windows. More pictures will follow. The final addition to this room will be new windows and not these blinds. Also, I'm hoping to have more pictures which will give you a better look at the wall colors and the fireplace area. This particular shot doesn't do that area justice. The two accent walls to the right of the fireplace and around the pantry doors (and also the color of the door you can't see leading to the deck) are painted in Ralph Lauren's Metallic Gilt Bronze. The other walls are Miller Paint's Mantra. The countertops are Corian's Hickory Smoke. The porcelain floor which looks like tile is Venetian Reale's Desert Slate, Indian Dark. The cabinetry is by Aristokraft, Shaker style, color Fawn. Pantry doors are Douglas Fir stained to match/complement cabinets/countertops and trim. (The lighting in some of these pictures doesn't quite capture the wall colors in places.)  

So, your thoughts?

God in heaven, you have been and are so amazingly gracious to us in spite of us. There is no way we can express our gratitude. We fall short at every turn and try, but we are so eternally grateful first for your saving grace and then for all you've given us throughout our lives even before we knew you. No words to effectively express your humbling benevolence. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Are you ready for the latest and greatest Star Trek? Time will tell, right? Here's the trailer, fans.

Lord, only you know the universe. You ascend beyond anything man can see or imagine. You are Creator. Above all. Thank you for that. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

     One of those days Jesus went out to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Luke 6:12-16 (NIV)

The most disappointing of series television is Person of Interest. Not because of the plot or its bleak outlook but because it suddenly felt compelled to use the two female characters in a lesbian liaison and to feature a sex scene to establish it. Now most every show on television is rushing to include gay characters and plot points. Rarely does this enhance the storyline nor does it encourage more viewers. Yet there it is: the politically correct episodes and characters in a corrupted crazy world with the intentions of forcing you to accept that this is how it's gonna be from now on. No thanks.

Father, we love people but we do not love what your Truth declares as sin. We're all sinners and struggle in various ways with it. We desire repentance and forgiveness and the grace and courage to fight on. Thank you for saving us. We're desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

This is the month when most of the regular programming for the big three networks conclude their seasons. In some cases the final episodes of a series will usher "The End" to a long-running favorite. Monday evening gave viewers the concluding episode to the popular but cancelled Castle which lasted for 8 seasons – a considerable time for series TV. The renewed NCIS said goodbye on Tuesday evening to one of its well-liked co-stars Michael Weatherly who played the lovable, obnoxious, tender but tough, movie buff Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. The also renewed spin-off NCIS New Orleans gave a thrilling finale to its season as did the earlier finale of the NCIS-LA version, also renewed.

Castle's series finale was one of the worst, ranking right up there with the conclusion of the old series M.A.S.H., both ruining an otherwise good plot with a ridiculous ending in the last minute or two. It's impossible to imagine how the writers decided these endings could work. Unfitting conclusions to otherwise successful series.

NCIS ended well for the season and was very well done – emotionally charged as it should've been. Tony's character will be thoroughly missed and will definitely change the fabric of the series. Gibbs will no longer have a rebellious sidekick to head-slap. Timothy McGee won't have to contend with the harassment he endured from the "senior" agent. And things just won't be the same without Tony.

Michael Weatherly will rebound immediately in a new series titled Bull.

Father, the only One who matters in this vast existence is you. We're all desperate for you whether we know it or not. Apart from you, we can do nothing. Please help us all to know you more. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Okay. So in relation to writing, I'm tired of learning. I know. I know. Some of your jaws just dropped. And some of you smirk thinking, "Well no wonder she doesn't sell many books." Hey, it's true. But after a point and seven plus novels which aren't in and of themselves good reasons to abandon "learning" about how to write good fiction, I'm tired of the same instructions said in different ways, the rules and their adaptations depending on who's giving them, and the overall "keys" to making a story pop.

While learning the basics is valuable and necessary, again, after a point, it becomes tedious and routine to hear "nothing new under the sun". In the end, although some would vehemently disagree, it's all subjective, a matter of opinion. Sometimes success is marketing induced. Sometimes it results from superb writing – which is also subjective. And sometimes it's because a story takes off because it's unique. For all the successful publishers, there are many folding their tents and moving on. For all the massive amounts of novels produced, according to statistics, many more are deemed unsuccessful than successful.

Call me stubborn – it's a fact – but I'm tired of listening to the clichéd instructions and, in some cases, demands of professionals and those that rather self-righteously proclaim how to write a good story. After awhile, all you're learning is how to separate opinions.

Father, you're the One from whom I need to learn. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.