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FaithWriters - April 2018
News & Information for the Write Brained Christian" Seek and Save the Lost Through Writing!
HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!
Devotional & Newest Member E-books Included
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Devotionals submitted from members publish on thousands of websites worldwide!
Great Multitude Daily Bible Devotional Receive it by email or place it on your website HERE
Receiving God’s Blessings by Susan Barnes
"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God." John 13:3
Jesus' coming to earth was for a specific purpose. When Jesus hung on the cross, he said, "It is finished," because he had achieved that purpose. He completed everything necessary to provide us with salvation. If we try to add anything to our salvation, we are saying Jesus' death wasn't enough.
If someone knocks on our door and surprises us with a gift, we don't consider that we have contributed to the visit by opening the door or accepting the gift. Something similar happens when God knocks on the spiritual door of our heart and offers us the gift of salvation. We open the door and accept the gift; we haven’t contributed. It may make us feel a little inadequate, incompetent, or incapable, but the truth is, there’s nothing for us to do. Jesus has done it all.
Furthermore, he has done everything necessary to sustain us. We cannot maintain a godly life by our own effort, so he fills us with his Spirit and works in us. Paul writes, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
This Easter, as we reflect on Jesus’ death and resurrection, let’s not leave him standing on the doorstep of our hearts. Let’s not thank him for his gift but leave it unopened. Instead let’s open our hearts to his presence, accept his gift of salvation, and respond with gratitude for all he has done for us.
Susan, an Australian pastor's wife, regularly writes devotional thoughts on Bible passages, book reviews and inspirational articles. Contact
Help us spread the good news of Jesus around the world. The FaithWriters devotional is on thousands of websites HERE , plus thousands go out by email and Twitter daily. They are also published about 90 days after FaithWriters on IDisciple HERE . Members are encouraged to submit an edited devotional for publication HERE. Submissions are a maximum of 300 words, helping you learn to write to topic and word count. You never know how your writing may inspire a brother or sister in Christ or impact a lost soul.
Watch this short video that will show you a few of the unique websites the devotional is currently on. Sites like the Church of Scotland and the Los Angeles police wives association. |
| | | Happy Resurrection Day to You!
Free tools to defend your faith and help your family and friends this Easter.
Here are three articles and a link to a free ebook that you might be able to utilize with unbelieving family members and friends this Easter. Give them a copy of the articles or grab their smartphone and download a free copy of the book on it from Amazon or Smashwords. Take the time to read Gravity while they do too. When they are done reading, talk to them about it. Ask them what they think and why they do not believe. Love them and help them by helping them remove obstacles to their belief.
Is Jesus God? - Defend the deity of Jesus with objective evidence. Great in-depth article to have for those who claim Jesus was just a good man. Share it this easter.
Atheism Requires Faith in Miracles - Maybe someone you know claims to be an atheist. Atheists detest miracles and faith, but their position requires both. More faith than a Christian needs based on the objective evidence.
Free Ebook - Gravity Free ebook to download to your doubting family member or friends phone. Read it yourself, ask them to read it and then talk to them about it. Removes doubts from believers too. Used by the Navigators on college campuses, multiple copies in over 1300 prisons, over 200 online reviews averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars. Has led many to Christ and helped numerous doubting believers and it is free. |
| | THERE'S A CHANGE COMING TO THE WRITING CHALLENGE
In recent months, some of our members have expressed concern that the Writing Challenge may be losing the strength of its faith-based roots. The Challenge has always encouraged wholesome, clean writing from a Christian worldview, with the understanding that there is room for both Christian writers and writers who are Christian. We still believe that; however, we have listened, prayed, and agreed that it’s time to make a change.
For most of our members, the change to the Challenge will have little to no impact. However, for others, the change may be significant.
From April 5, (the start of the next quarter) the rule regarding Christian content will change to the following:
Entries may be in any style or genre; however, they MUST communicate some form of Christian message or spiritual truth. This message may be directed to the Christian reader or may be evangelistic in nature. Either is acceptable. In the case of fiction, the message may be subtle or allegorical. In that case, a scripture should be included at the end of the entry in order to highlight the intended message for the reader. If an entry has no apparent Christian message or spiritual truth, it will remain in the list, but will be ineligible for judging.
Please note: Language deemed inappropriate for Christian readers will be removed, even if used in the portrayal of a non-Christian character.
After over 15 years of the Writing Challenge at FaithWriters, we believe it is time to be more intentional in communicating Christian messages and spiritual truth to our Challenge readers. It can never be a bad thing to glorify God in our writing. However, in saying that, we still want to see creativity at work in the non-fiction, fiction, and poetry submitted to the Challenge.
Jesus was a master storyteller. He was creative in the way he communicated spiritual truths to his listeners. As faith writers, our aim is to do the same thing through our fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. This is the challenge going forward—incorporate a Christian message or spiritual truth into every Challenge entry, while still thinking in creative and fresh ways.
For those who currently submit articles, poems, and fiction without an obvious Christian message or spiritual truth, don’t despair. Our Christian faith embraces every aspect of life. As Jesus showed, spiritual truths can be communicated through everyday things. So you can continue to submit entries that may not have an obvious Christian message, PROVIDED you include a scripture at the end that points the reader to the spiritual truth in your story. We believe this addition will cause the reader to think beyond the entertainment value of your story and be intentionally directed to the real heart of the message. In saying that, please ensure that the scripture is relevant to the message of the entry.
We hope that you will join with us as we become more intentional in glorifying God and His truth through the Writing Challenge. In every entry, in some way, large or small, let’s unite our creativity to exalt Him and draw every heart to Jesus.
Full submission guidelines HERE.
Challenge main page HERE.
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| | | Congratulations Quarterly Challenge Winners |
| | The Challenge Will Improve Your Writing! Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Easter (05/30/05)
An Eastern Easter - Resurrection Festival!
By Suzanne R
Never in my 28 years had I experienced Easter like my first ‘Resurrection Festival’. That was because I’d never truly experienced winter.
Winter in northern China literally took my breath away. One step outside the heated building and I thought I’d never breathe again, the pain of inhaling bitterly cold air was so sharp. How my nose and ears didn’t fall off nor the soles of my feet suffer permanent damage is still a mystery. It was impossible to avoid regular ventures outside, and when I did, there was certainly no sign of life. There were only round bundles of khaki green padding that scurried from point A to point B, emitting sounds of chesty coughs and clearing throats. The pores of my skin, my hair, nose, ears and eyes were filled with the fine black coal dust that belched out in the smoke of thousands of furnaces which provided heat for buildings, large and small, around the city. Imagine what that coal dust does to one’s respiratory system. The streets were covered with frozen globules of various ‘once-liquid-substances’. It sounds disgusting … and it was. A little more aesthetically pleasing were the icicles which hung from frozen mops propped outside shopfronts. The atmosphere was surreal.
After a day or two, I was ready for spring.
Ready or not, warmth, sunlight and life remained but a fleeting memory.
What seemed like an eternity later, the ice melted and tiny shoots appeared on the branches of apparently dead trees. My breath came more easily. Soon those tiny shoots became delicate buds of pink, red, white and yellow. The little round bundles of padding scurrying along the streets slowed down and layers began to disappear. People emerged from beneath the scarves, muffs, masks, hats, padded jackets and boots. The dead gardens surrounding the twin pagodas became a place of breathtaking beauty, the ancient peonies in bloom for the 350th time. On the outskirts of town, the fields came alive with a green fuzz, promising a harvest later in the year. The furnaces were shut down on April 1st, and within days, the sunlight again penetrated the atmosphere, transforming the dismal grey city into a place of warmth, vivacity and happiness.
Easter in China isn’t named after some pagan god for fertility. Christians celebrate the ‘Resurrection Festival’. Chocolate rabbits and eggs are rare. Most of the country doesn’t even recognize the festival. The atmosphere is joyous everywhere one turns, though, because winter is finally over.
On my first ‘Resurrection Festival’, I stood in my ‘mid-weight’ layers of clothing, shoulder to shoulder in the crowded church with perhaps 2000 other believers. We gazed at the huge banner above the pulpit with the bold characters ‘Yesu fuhuole’ (‘Jesus is risen’), while listening to a powerful gospel message. The sun streamed in through the freshly washed windows. The branches of the trees outside were covered with delicate green leaves. My heart soared, as much due to the sunlight as that powerful gospel message, if the truth be known.
Finish reading this entry and make a comment HERE.
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| | | You Are Just One Comment Away From Being a Great Blessing
We all know how blessed we feel when other writers take the time to comment on our articles. Keeping this in mind, we are asking all members to commit to being a blessing by commenting on at least one Challenge entry per week? It just takes a few minutes, and there are some great entries to read every week.
Be a blessing today by clicking the links below and leaving at least one comment.
Reading the work of others and critiquing them on a regular basis, helps us grow as writers too. Both parties benefit.
Thank you to all our members who do leave comments on a regular basis. |
| | The Challenge WILL Improve Your Writing!
NEVER MISS THAT PERFECT CHALLENGE TOPIC AGAIN. GO HERE and sign up in the right hand column for a weekly topic email. |
| | Support Fellow Christian Authors - Free Reads for Reviews
Read Great Christian Books for Free in Exchange for a Review
Many already have multiple five-star reviews on Amazon.
These are all free to read for you while others pay full price on Amazon. Plus you receive the bonus of helping a fellow believer and FaithWriters member. It takes reviews to sell books these days, and other members appreciate your help.
This Months Free Read for Review Feature - Looks Very Interesting and Already has Great Reviews
Life Lessons from the Hive
M.J. Miller
Who knew you could make a connection between bees and the Kingdom of God? M. J. Miller demonstrates to the reader that God does reveal Himself in nature. Clever illustrations and humor add richness and fun to this inspirational and insightful read.
Find this book HERE. Learn how the program works HERE.We have some great books for you to read for free! There are over 40 books you can read for free in exchange for a review. Many others have multiple five-star reviews too. One book is running just below five stars with over 180 reviews online, and it is listed in the top ten books of its two categories on Amazon. Another with over 30 reviews is running close to five stars and was honored as the book of the year by a major theological website. Another has over 20 reviews and is running almost five stars. Read one of these or one that has just joined the program and desperately needs reviews. Go HERE to find other great books to read for FREE for a REVIEW. Hurry and choose one while they are still free to read! The authors can take their books out of this program at any moment. Have you written a book and need reviews? Learn about submitting your book to this program HERE. |
| | Recent Release!
Mixed Blessings - As Time Goes By
Includes Winning Challenge Entries from 50 FaithWriters
As Time Goes By, we learn to value the gift of each new today. Inside Mixed Blessings—As Time Goes By, you’ll find one-hundred-and-one perfectly bite-sized stories from FaithWriters members
There is something for every reader in a Mixed Blessings book, and this volume is no exception. Mixed Blessings—As Time Goes By is filled to the brim with fun, encouragement, food for thought, and inspiration. You may find yourself chuckling one moment and shedding a tear the next. In fact, it is the perfect mix of blessings for your daily reading enjoyment.
Take time out of all the busyness of life to enjoy this variety-packed pick-me-up, but be warned. Reading a Mixed Blessings book is like eating peanuts. You just can’t stop at one.
See the complete list of FaithWriters who are featured in this edition HERE. Order your copy HERE.
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| | CONGRATULATIONS ELEVENTH ANNUAL
PAGE TURNER WINNER!
2017 PAGE TURNER CHAMPION - HIGHEST RATED ENTRY OVERALL
The Reluctant Camper by Joe Moreland
2017 PAGE TURNER RUNNER UP - FICTION
Scattered by Nola Passmore
2017 PAGE TURNER RUNNER UP - NONFICTION
The Perfect Religion - Where Have You Been Hiding? by Phillip Cimei
1. A fabulous cash prize of $400 (US);
2. The offer of traditional publication of their winning manuscript by Breath of Fresh Air Press (which includes editing of the manuscript, if published by Breath of Fresh Air Press);
3. Free publicity and marketing of their book on all FaithWriters' sites for twelve months following publication; and
Two Page Turner runners up will be chosen (one from each of the two categories-fiction and nonfiction). Each runner up will receive:
1. Two one-hour, live online, mentoring sessions with Deb Porter.
NEW PAGE TURNER IS OPEN HERE. |
| | | Learn by Reading the Best of the Best Winning Entries |
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One Article Per Month Challenge Witness For Jesus Online
Share the Gospel Online - Visitors From Over 230 Countries
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. Mark 13:22
While the internet has a lot of great information about Christianity, it's also a breeding ground for completely false information about Christianity. There is a whole host of sites run by atheists who are doing their very best to mislead seekers and destroy Christianity, just search Jesus never existed and see what you find.
Will you make a personal commitment to publish at least one article per month in our regular articles or free reprints sharing the truth of the gospel? It does not need to be a lengthy article, just what God leads you to post. Be creative with your keywords when you post and list things like suicide, divorce, and bankruptcy to draw those who might be considering these.
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect... 1 Peter 3:15
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| | NEW SITE FEATURE - You should do this today!Download a copy of your articles in mass, with one click
Do You Always Keep a Copy of Your Articles? We STRONGLY recommend you do.
We back up the site regularly but cannot give you a 100% guarantee of there safety. Things happen online as you know. Hackers are a big issue and some out there would like to take a Christian site down. If you log into the site and look in the middle left column of the My Account page under Update and Manage Your Profile/Account, you will see the following link.
Click Here to Download a Copy of Your Articles in Mass
When you click on it, a copy of all your articles will be downloaded to your computer in a zip file. It will be fairly quick depending on your internet speed and number of articles. Save them to your computer or a thumb drive.
Make sure to do this today to protect your writing. Log in HERE. |
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Support FaithWriters Spread of the Gospel
Fishers of Men in Over 230 Countries Together We Spread the Gospel on The Net
There is only one unforgivable sin, the sin of unbelief. Those who believe will trust God and are led to the safety of Jesus. Those who do not believe will be like those who did not enter the Ark and were lost. The enemy is alive and rampant online with a word of unbelief. A message of hate for Christianity and Jesus. A message that is leading countless children to embrace unbelief. (Free book HERE you can review with your kids on the objective evidence for Christianity.)The number of atheist sites and organizations posting online is increasing rapidly. If you go no further in this message, at least go HERE and see for yourself the growing number of purveyors of unbelief online. Here is a short video we would like you to watch also. Not all of us can go around the world as missionaries in person, but we can reach the world online. We can even reach many places missionaries cannot go in person. The world needs sites like FaithWriters, prepared Christian authors and as many Christian articles and books that point to Jesus as possible. The web especially needs your Bible studies, apologetic articles, calls to salvation, nonfiction and fiction articles and books leading people to Jesus. Together we attract lost people from all over the world who need Jesus along with believers who need their minds renewed and encouraged. God has given us a great opportunity to reach many people who may have never heard of Jesus. The image above marks the location of our visitors. Numerous people from around the world have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior directly through FaithWriters. We contact every person who leaves an email address and provide them with more information. Sometimes we correspond with them several times. We even offer to place them in contact with another believer (FaithWriters member) in their country. Consider how much time people --- especially kids --- spend on the internet these days. Watch this two-minute video from Kimberly on how she found God on the internet
A few unedited emails from people who have accepted Jesus on the site.
1) This first one was from a person who hacked FaithWriters a few years ago. We feared the entire site might be lost. We prayed for our hackers and posted articles letting them know that their salvation was more important than the website. The shutdown of the site stopped and we received this message through our evangelism page. I am certain is was our hacker.
Type of prayer : first time prayer
Country : Algeria - Please leave a comment. : I JESUS PRAY TODAY MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER I USED TO BE THIEF CRIMINAL IDENTITY SCAM BUT NOW LIFE IS BETTER UNDER JESUS CHRIST MY LORD SAVIOR.
Your work occupation : Other Religious background : Muslim
2) Hi my name is Collin I live in Utah heber I know that we are n the last days and I want to be saved so please I need help I've been going to site to site I'm tired of going home from school a sinner I'm stressed with all my homework I cry more than ever sometimes I need Jesus. (This message was obviously from a young boy)
3) I felt the the holyspirit lead me to you and that God's message of love drew me here.
4) I want Jesus to be the number one in my life.
5) I'm saved from sin and I've rededicated my life to HIM who owns me. I'm now free from lies, exam malpractice etc. Pray for me to believe that indeed "It is finished "
6) I accepted Jesus as Lord and Need A Bible. (We sent Roger a Bible.)
7) I have accepted Jesus and prayer not continue to commit sin any more. Matthew
8) Recently had a deputy police chief from a major city accept Jesus on the site. He is responsible for over 1,500 officers and staff and could be a big influence for Jesus. Please pray for J. Ramar.
For quite some time now, FaithWriters has been experiencing increasing expenses and declining income. The vast majority (99%) of our members are free, even though our membership is only pennies per day. Our main ongoing expenses come from administering the Challenge, other tools that help writers improve and site maintenance. We have increasing regular expenses and heftier one time expenses like converting our large site to a mobile responsive site. We always seem to have some type of technical issue cropping up that needs to be corrected too.
We need your help by upgrading! Go Gold at $5.95 or Platinum at $10.95 per month and help support the spread of the gospel and the growth of Christian writers on FaithWriters. As followers of Jesus, we are making a difference by publishing the truth of Jesus. Men and women from over 230 countries (View Countries Here) are drawn to the FaithWriters by the various articles on the end of our virtual fishing pole. Often our visitors are from closed countries to the message of Christ and they have no other way to learn about Jesus. They are able to learn from our evangelism site and the sister-sites to which we have provided links, including sites with in-depth information in their native language.
You can also upgrade and designate it as a payment to sponsor new writers. We have many people from around the world who do not have the funds to upgrade. In some countries, even if they do have the funds, no payment processor will handle online payments due to online corruption in their country.
Upgrade or sponsor a person HERE. Just click on Gold or Platinum. As a current member you just need to do the PayPal portion. You do not need to do a new profile. When we see your PayPal come through, we will credit your account. If you wish to sponsor a member, email us after you do the PayPal and tell us your payment was for this purpose. We need to keep telling people about Jesus! Will you help us?
We wish you many blessings in Christ and thank you for your support! Michael & Bea Edwards and everyone at FaithWriters
In supporting FaithWriters you gain access to more tools to improve your writing, foster the growth of new Christian writers and spread the gospel in over 230 countries online. All for pennies per day.
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| | Jan's Lessons Are Now Indexed so You Can Easily Find What You Need
We love Jan's courses. "I absolutely must add to these comments my own deep appreciation for the hard work you put in for us week by week. You enable people to grow and find true expression for their faith in the will of God. I've learnt so much already in such a short time, and that's because of your great advice and loving direction. Trace P. |
| | | | | | Another Great Way to Improve The Critique CircleFellow Members Need Your Help.
Providing comments and critiques for fellow members is of great encouragement to them. It is also the perfect way to improve your writing skill.
Tips on Giving Critiques
Critiquing the work of others requires balance. Being too nice will not help your fellow writers develop their work; being too harsh can crush a writer’s ego (particularly new writers, who tend to be shy about sharing their work). How can you achieve the right balance? Here are some tips:
Take care to point out both what works, and what doesn’t. If you’re new to critiquing, a good hint would be to point out one thing you like (a phrase, a description, an idea) for each thing that bothered you.
Whenever possible, be specific when pointing out things that you didn’t like (don’t just say “I didn’t like this part” or “I’d cut that,” say “I didn’t like this part because…” or “I’d cut that because…”).
Try to offer suggestions when you think a change is needed. Suggestions, even to the point of an offered rewording, can be very helpful; even if the suggestion isn’t exactly right for the author to use, he or she may get a good idea from it, or at least a better understanding of the point you are trying to make.
Be honest and direct, but in a polite and caring way. Holding back your feelings about a piece because you’re afraid to share your thoughts isn’t going to help anyone. Just be mindful of how you share your opinions!
We Also Need Your Article to Critique!
Members and paid editors provide the critiques in the circle. You can even submit your judged Challenge entries to the circle.
"I have a few, very few, trusted friends who will edit me with a scowl. Most people want you to feel good so they give you compliments about your writing, and these don’t help at all (except emotionally). Really, you need some grouches to edit your work." Philip Yancey in a FaithWriters interview.
This is a real chance to help others and receive some very constructive and private critiques of your writing.
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| | Platinum Member Books
Now Appear in Over 100 Site Ads
Promote your Christian book on FaithWriters, and you will help support our mission to grow Christian writers and spread the gospel in over 230 countries online. You will not find more exposure for your Christian book anywhere at this price.
Watch this short video HERE. |
| | | Easily Increase the Readership of Your Articles
We are asking you to increase your readership, spread the good news and help FaithWriters by using the FaceBook share button when you publish articles. It is very easy to do, just watch this short video.
Tweeting your articles and liking them on FaceBook will help too. |
| | We Always Respond to Emails
If you do not receive a timely response to an email, we did not receive your email, or you did not receive our reply. We are constantly battling overwhelming amounts of spam and sometimes emails we should receive end up in our spam by accident.
You should check your spam and make sure that writer-support@faithwriters.com,
bea@faithwriters.com and michael@faithwriters.com are on your email providers approved list.
If you have tried more than once and did not receive a reply, click on a contact link at the bottom of most FaithWriters pages and send us a message telling us of the issue. We will try and email you from another email provider.
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Be a blessing to someone today by letting others pray for you or by praying for them! |
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Don't Skimp on the Editing Hire a FaithWriters Approved Editor Today!
JOANNE SHER is one of several editors offering editing services.
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| | This Months FaithWriters Great Reads Selection
We have some excellent writers and many topics to choose from at FaithWriters. Bless your fellow members by reading one or more of their books. Just imagine how you would feel if they did the same for you. Many of these books have multiple five-star reviews on Amazon.
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Recently Added Books as Described by the Author
Non-Fiction
When God Says Drop It: Chronicles of my Healing
Donna Martelli
Your Price: $3.99
Strange and seemingly unrelated symptoms continued to plague me. My PCP told me that there was nothing more that she could do. She refused to see me anymore for these same symptoms, although nothing that she had come up with had helped in any way. Her final conclusion was that it must be stress!
from Amazon.com!
Poetry
Words From The Heart Of The Father
Shaudonna Bryant
Your Price: $9.99
We all need encouragement and inspiration as we go through life. Words from the Heart of the Father was written with that in mind. Taken from the experiences of the authors own lives. This book will bring comfort and peace in those times when you are overwhelmed.
from Amazon.com!
Available in more formats from:
Smashwords.com
Free Reads For Reviews
Life Lessons from the Hive
M.J. Miller
Your Price: $3.99
Who knew you could make a connection between bees and the Kingdom of God? M. J. Miller demonstrates to the reader that God does reveal Himself in nature. Clever illustrations and humor add richness and fun to this inspirational and insightful read.
from Amazon.com!
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| | | | Thanks for your Membership and Support!
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