| FaithWriters - November 2020
Our Year of Clear Vision EYES ON JESUS AND OFF CIRCUMSTANCES
News & Information for the Write Brained Christian
Growing Christian Writers and Spreading the Gospel in over 230 Countries |
| | 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
Worship God in Spirit and Truth - Michael Edwards
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24 NASThe highest form of worship you can offer Me, your Heavenly Father, is to believe My promises and to live like they are more real than what you see. True worship of Me only happens in the Spirit where your eternal Truth resides. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:18 NIVThe reality of your eternity cannot be seen with eyes of flesh. My absolute promises of good for your future can only be believed in My words by faith. I implore you to walk by faith in My promises and not by sight in this fallen world. for we walk by faith, not by sight—2 Cor 5:7 NASMy promises apply to all who trust My Son's finished work. He is the Truth, and by His sacrifice, you have been fully forgiven and made righteous before Me. You have been justified, sanctified, made holy, and made into a new creation. You are no longer of this world. You are a citizen of heaven. My Holy Spirit has sealed your future, and your promised inheritance awaits your arrival. I see your Spirit this very moment, complete and seated in Jesus' perfection at My right hand. My Son is the Way the Truth and the Life, and He dwells in you and you in Him. As you further believe My promises, His Spirit takes control of your life, lifting you above all circumstances, into My peace in every storm. Take your eyes off your circumstances and keep them fixed on My Son, and peace will guard your heart. Do not fear or worry. I am for you, not against you. No harm will come upon you. I will never leave you or forsake you. No judgment or weapon formed against you can prosper because your righteousness is of Me. As a worshipper of Mine, you must worship Me in Spirit and Truth. I call you this day to leave all doubt behind and trust what I have said, walking by faith regardless of what you see. Stop doubting beloved and believe. We will be together soon. Scripture reference HERE.
Contact MichaelHelp us spread the good news of Jesus around the world. The FaithWriters devotional is on thousands of websites, plus thousands go out by email and Twitter daily. They are also published about 90 days after FaithWriters on I-Disciple 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.
The devotional appears on many unique websites around the world. Sites like the Kenmure Church of Scotland, Los Angeles Police Wives Association, Shields of Christ, Slavic Youth Fellowship, Go the Distance Radio Ministry, New Life Assembly, Holy Communion Lutheran Church, Metropolitan Baptist Church, ETBS South Africa, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Group Seven Technology , Nassau Tabernacle of Praise , Police Wives of America and Christian Hope Church U.K. |
| | Congratulations - Quarterly Writing Challenge WINNERS!
July - September 2020
Beginner/Intermediate - Grete by Marilyn Meiners (Smile Challenge Topic)
Advanced - The Awakening by Nancy Sullivan (Color Challenge Topic) |
| | First Place Quarterly Challenge Winner Advanced Level July - September 2020
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: COLOR (07/30/20)
TITLE: THE AWAKENING | Previous Challenge Entry
By Nancy Sullivan
Summer moved in, unpacked its most merciless scenario, and settled in for the hottest and driest season ever recorded in our state’s history. By mid-July, any grass surviving among dying weeds crunched beneath every step.
Grasshoppers feasted on the grill cloth covering of our outdoor portable radio much like a hungry farmer would attack an ear of corn on the cob. My then four-year-old daughter tip-toed inside the above-ground swimming pool, her chin barely above the water, catching and placing thirsty grasshoppers on her head like a crown. They seemed to enjoy their free rides.
I’ll spare you the horror of the scorpions parading across the ceilings and underfoot in our newly constructed home.
The lack of rain and the relentless heat that summer meant the leaves on the trees could only curl into crisp, brown refuse and fall helplessly to the ground. Their autumn splendor had been stolen from them, leaving paper-thin grave sites waiting for the ground to claim them for its own.
Winter followed with its own form of neutrality. dreary skies faded into night and reappeared much as the day before. If the sun appeared at all for a brief time during the day, the gray and brown tones below could offer no reflection of its light.
The only thing filled with more gloom than the abandoned landscape was me. Our remote address meant long days --- day after day. It was like the black and white opening to the movie The Wizard of Oz, and I was slowly turning into the bike-riding wicked witch who stole poor Toto. Just ask my family. This sad sack was ready to pedal to the nearest tropical island.
Winter snow covered the remnants of anything clinging to life. Gray and white, white and gray. Much like the emotional storms that steal our joy and refuse to leave.
Gradually, sprigs of green began to appear...
Finish reading Nancy's winning entry and leave a comment HERE. |
| | Congratulations - 2020 Best of the Best Winners!
After twelve months of Writing Challenge topics and entries, we had our 30+ contenders for the Best of The Best.
The annual Best of the Best awards are announced July 1 each year, the awards going to the three highest rated Editors’ Choice winners for the previous twelve months. First place gets $100, second place $50, and third place $25. Congratulations to our winners!!
1ST PLACE - The Old Mulberry Tree by Marilyn Borga (Crooked Challenge)
2ND PLACE - Fatal Neglect by Rachel Burkum (Busy Challenge)
3RD PLACE - Skies Open by Caryn Jacobs (Surprise Challenge)
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| | Love getting comments and critiques on your articles? We all do.
We are asking all members to commit to being a blessing by commenting on at least one Challenge entry per day? 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.
We also encourage you to comment on regular articles now and then. Think of the encouragement we can be if many of us commented on one article per week or even per day! Just look at the top 200 titles and choose one that draws your attention.
Reading the work of others and critiquing them on a regular basis, helps us grow as writers. Both parties benefit.
Thank you to all our members who do leave comments on a regular basis. You will reap what you have sown.
You Are Just One Comment Away From Being and Receiving a Great Blessing. |
| | We can learn and improve our own writing by reading the winners.
While you are there, sow some good seed by leaving a comment.
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| | | Increase Sales With an Audio Book or Make a Nice Income From HomeRecently, I had an email exchange with Dave Walker, a longtime FaithWriters member. Dave's book, God in the ICU, has done very well. But, Dave was happily surprised to see a significant increase in sales due to the addition of an audio version. You can view Dave's book and listen to a small audio portion HERE. Dave's book was perfect for an audiobook. Dave did his narration, and for some, that might work out great. But there is an easier way and it is not that expensive. You can learn about it HERE. ACX is an Amazon company, on their site you can place your book up for narrator auditions. You then get offers from narrators who read a sample for you, posting it on ACX. You choose the one you like and make a deal. This is all done online. I recently had an audiobook done of Gravity on ACX, by a great narrator and believer named R.F. McCoy. You can hear a sample HERE. If you like R.F. McCoy's voice, make sure to request an audition from him. He was professional, diligent and on schedule. You can find his profile on ACX. It costs nothing to request auditions and you will probably get several. I paid Bob $500.00 and keep any profits myself after Amazon's cut. You can also offer to split profits and pay nothing if a narrator agrees. When your narration is complete and you have paid the bill, your book is automatically loaded for sale on Audible and other outlets. Everything is professional and that's what you want for your audiobook. Another thought for some readers is to apply to be a narrator. ACX will show you how to do this on their site. If you have a good voice, you could make a nice income from home. |
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Don't Skimp on the Editing Hire a FaithWriters Approved Editor Today!
The real Noel Mitaxa is an Aussie storyteller and one of several editors offering editing services. He has syndicated his weekly Good News column in Australian secular newspapers for over twenty years; a syndication that's recently expanded into Australia's armed services and to the USA and the UK.
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| | Do This Today!
Do You Always Keep a Copy of Your Articles? We STRONGLY recommend you do this today and occasionally in the future as you add more articles
We appreciated your patience when FaithWriters was down for over two days a few months ago, due to issues with our service provider. The issue we experienced makes this message of even more importance. We do not want you to lose your articles. Therefore, we have been pushing this for over a year and hope you have already taken advantage of it. You can download a copy of your articles in mass, with one click on the site.
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 on the website.
Click Here to Download a Copy of Your Articles in Mass
When you are logged into the site, click on that link on the website and a copy of 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. While this should download all of your articles, sometimes a couple are missed for some unknown reason. Therefore, double check the downloaded articles by opening each one on your computer. If an important one is missed, you will need to manually copy it to your records from the site. Then going forward, make sure to keep a copy of each new article you post.
Make sure to do this today to protect your writing. Log in HERE. |
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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. |
| | 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, feedback@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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| | | Article Comment Emails Not Getting to Your Gmail?
In the past, some members have had issues receiving notification emails when their Challenge or other articles receive a comment. We just did a test of the system and placed a Gmail test address in my profile. I then posted a comment
on one of my articles. I also did this test on a Challenge article for a member who said she was not getting the emails. In both tests, the email notification of the comment did come through to the Gmail address, but in both cases it went to the junk file in Gmail. So, FaithWriters automatic email system
is working to Gmail but may be going to your junk.
If you have not been receiving notifications of comments on your articles, post a test comment on one of your own articles and then check the junk tab on your Gmail. Be aware, my junk tab in Gmail showed there were no junk emails until I clicked on it and found the comment notification email from FaithWriters in there. If you find any emails from FaithWriters in your junk, move them to your inbox and hopefully next
time they will not go to junk. Make sure to check your junk on a regular basis and click on the other tabs just to check. Each time move them to your inbox. There is also a tab titled "view all email" that should be checked. Sometimes Gmail divides email up into different tabs, so check all the tabs once in awhile just in case. This is something you should check if you have Hotmail or others too. |
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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.
We have some great books for you to read for free!
Second: Choose a book. Here are a few that are available in the program. Search by title HERE to find the book in our store.
Forgetting the things behind
Nikola Dimitrov
Forgetting the things behind and stretching for the ones ahead is a healing book, based on Philippians 3:13. It is a practical revelation that has helped many people to always go forward, no matter what!
Login to Buy!
When God Says Drop It: Chronicles of my Healing
Donna Martelli
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!
A Season of Change - Summer Edition
Stephanie White
Upon entering this devotional you get the unique
experience of looking through two windows of the same house. Out one window you see a poetic and artistic view full of real emotion supported with the Word of God. Out the other is a view that is beautifully impactful with truth from the original tex
Wider Than The Corners of This World
Melanie Kerr
This book of poetry has its roots in a vibrant faith in a living God. Neither remote nor reserved, God is intimate and involved in all aspects of life.
Ridden by the Devil
Laurie Kiel
“Gunfighters are ridden by the devil and his spurs are sharp.” Dreaming of a life free from bloodshed, gunfighter Colt Blevins is blackmailed into masquerading as heir to a large fortune. While disguised, he falls in love with a beautiful blonde whose main goal in life is to see Colt hanged. With da
One Last Wave
Jack Taylor
One Last Wave explores life rediscovered when regret and disappointment shuts off our past. Remembering is a powerful tool in freeing us to move forward. Katie Delancey is an MK resurfacing to discover love and faith and hope one more time. Great scenes of Africa mix with complex life in America.
The Stone Writer
Toni Babcock
The Stone Writer is a collection of short stories in two parts; young readers and teens. Each story weaves a thought provoking Christian theme in a fun or engaging way. It can be found on Amazon at:
Kingdom Horizon
Ashley Nicole
Set in medieval times when Germanic tribes clashed with Rome, a chieftain who becomes a believer and his daughter, Charlana, who becomes a warrior priestess, are set against each other. But nothing is hopeless with a God who can change the human heart.
The Gift of Self Esteem
Jim Thomson
Jesus taught us to love our neighbor just like we love ourselves. Often, "love ourselves" is the hardest part of that command. Counselor James Thomson shows us how to embrace The Gift of Self Esteem graciously given by God so that we can truly love
Get on Board and Stay on Board
PEARL NSIAH-KUMI
Your Price: $3.99
"Get on Board and Stay on Board contains poems, articles, and short Bible studies. It is directed toward unbelievers and believers alike. It is designed to lead the unbeliever to faith in Jesus Christ, and then help him or her in a spiritual journey.
The Last Train at Sunset
PEARL NSIAH-KUMI
A book of poems and short articles; great for devotional. Many of the articles are on salvation to minister to the unbeliever.
When Rocks Cry Out
K.D. Manes
Will Joey win the King's favor? Buckle your seatbelt and find out in this action, jungle/adventure picture book.
Although this story is geared for younger children, adults will appreciate the allegory of God's grace.
Hippo in the Stable
Mark Trodd
Harriet the hippo is captured by Roman soldiers and taken to Jerusalem. She escapes with the help of a friend, hides in a stable in Bethlehem, and witnesses the arrival of the wise men. When Jesus is taken to Egypt, to get away from King Herod, Harriet follows Him to get home.
The Truth That Sets You Free
Vicky Jeter
Your Price: $9.99
Your Enemy is Strong but God is Stronger! Humanly we tend to focus on our predicaments of life and we never begin to see what God has already worked out from our beginning. Relooking at the lies we are told, how our minds get lost and how Satan follows us even into the church.
Standing Firm
Janet Ruth
Your Price: $3.00
This Bible study on the Armor of God will help you find victory in your life and take hold of God's promises. It's time to stand firm in your battle against the enemy as you learn to defend yourself with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, the Word of God, and prayer. Also in paperback on Amazon.
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. |
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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
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.
9) "Jesus is my Lord and Savior, please save us from witchcraft, sorcery, divination, polygamy, immorality, astral projection, pride, all sin iniquity fathers, false religion, false gods, show me your way, give me purity, holiness, give me Jesus true, save me from work of devil, and evil spirit, kingdom of darkness be destroyed, give me holiness, save us from Satan and his work, premature death, I need to serve Jesus, thank You Jesus, Amen." Anna S.
We wish you many blessings in Christ and thank you for your support! Michael & Bea Edwards and everyone at FaithWriters
Free E-Book to build up your faith and help your friends and family members come to Christ. |
| | 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. |
| | 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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| | 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
Biblical studies
Sacred Journey: Through Advent to Epiphany
Karen Pourbabaee
Your Price: $6.99
Time to change direction and follow the ancient paths, where the good way lies. Within these pages you will embark on a Sacred Journey, discovering little advents along the way. Look beyond the secular signs of Christmas to find hidden, holy treasures.
from Amazon.com!
Devotionals
30 Days Intercessory Prayer Book: For the Hurting Parents
S Mariah
Your Price: $7.10
This prayerbook is especially designed for the hurting parents to pray powerfully for their family.
Are you looking forward to a breakthrough for your sons and daughters? Do you believe that God is able?
Login to Buy!
Available in more formats from:
Amazon.com
Endtimes
Look Around: God's New World Order
Jim Zeigler
Your Price: $4.95
This third book in the "A Look at the Future" series, titled "Look Around: God's New World Order" is about life in the Millennium, the one-thousand-year reign of Christ on Earth, and also our eternal home in Heaven.
Login to Buy!
Available in more formats from:
Amazon.com
Look Out: The World without Christians
Jim Zeigler
Your Price: $4.95
There are four chapters in the Bible where Satan’s influence is not seen. These are Genesis one and two which occur before the fall of man and Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two that describes the glories of the millennial kingdom and heaven after the judgment of Satan. Jesus is the First and the Last, the Beginning and End and thus knows the complete history, past, present, and future until time ends.
Women's Interest
The 'She' Completed in God
S Mariah
Your Price: $11.90
The 'She' used to be very confused with her identity, through God's love, she's recovered, redeemed, renewed and finally leading to her marriage.
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Available in more formats from:
Amazon.com
Separate for a Reason: Re-Examining Separation of Church and State in America
Janet Ruth
Your Price: $3.69
A former federal prosecutor, Janet Ruth adds her perspective to an increasingly volatile debate over the separation of church and state. Combining her extensive law background with her Christian faith, Ruth challenges Christians to consider a third side to the Church/State debate, one which places an emphasis on giving our allegiance to God.
from Amazon.com!
Standing Firm
Janet Ruth
Your Price: $3.00
This Bible study on the Armor of God will help you find victory in your life and take hold of God's promises. It's time to stand firm in your battle against the enemy as you learn to defend yourself with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, the Word of God, and prayer. Also in paperback on Amazon.
Login to Buy!
Available in more formats from:
Amazon.com
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