| FaithWriters - March 2019
News & Information for the Write Brained Christian"
Growing Christian Writers and Spreading the Gospel in over 230 Countries Online
Devotional & Newest Member E-books Included |
| | Don't you 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. |
| | Important Change in the Writing Challenge Effective with April 4th Entries "I could write a fantasy piece with a lion and a witch and no mention of God, and yet be firmly Christian" C.S. Lewis
About a year ago, we made a change to the Challenge submission rules after some had expressed concerns about the direction of the entries. The concern was that the entries were gradually drifting further away from FaithWriters' mission to improve Christian writers and put out good Christian writing. We agreed and made the change that has been in effect for the last year. This made some happy, and some not so happy.
Recently, we have talked to several members who approached us with knowledge of the change. We discovered that it was not necessarily the submission guidelines that they viewed as an issue. Their concern was that the guideline that entries come from a Christian worldview was not always being upheld, especially for winning entries. All agreed, from both sides of this matter, that they want to put forth writing that honors God.
Therefore, after many discussions with members, we have decided to adjust the guidelines to more of a middle position based on these talks, while asking the judges to pay closer attention to this matter. We have asked the judges to keep in mind our desire to promote Christian authors and Christian writing. We believe it is important that especially those entries selected as winners in the Challenge should not only offer great writing, but also be from a Christian worldview. Our goal in doing this is to continue to produce great articles from a Christian worldview while encouraging more members to enter again. FaithWriters is obviously a Christian writers' website, and we trust that our members as a whole desire to honor God with their writing. In my opinion, members are writing for God and not FaithWriters.
The new submission guidelines are somewhere in the middle of where they were from the beginning of the Challenge and where they have been this last year. These new guidelines will commence in the second quarter of this year, starting April 4, 2019. We appreciate your support.
The guidelines will state:
Entries may be in any style or genre, and they do not need to be overtly Christian in message. However, they must, at minimum, come from a Christian worldview/outlook. The entry may be directed to readers in general, the Christian reader, or may be evangelistic in nature. Entries can also be simply clean, fun and humorous from a Christian point of view, Christian Soup for the Soul style, provided they fit the topic. In the case of fiction, the Christian worldview/outlook may be subtle or allegorical, but it should still offer a fairly clear Christian viewpoint. While it is not required, adding a scripture verse is always encouraged to clarify a message. Entries that are clearly outside of a Christian worldview will remain on the list, but will be not eligible for judging. Entries with offensive language or content, that are overly violent or sensual, and/or are deemed inappropriate for the Challenge and Christian readers, will be removed, even if these elements are used in the portrayal of a non-Christian character.
Go HERE for some guidance on a Christian worldview.
Thank you to all of those members who helped in this matter.
We are the body of Christ, not perfect in the flesh, but always loving each other and working together.
Blessings, Michael |
| | 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. |
| | | | The Challenge Will Improve Your Writing Dramatically! Great Example of a Subtle Allegorical Christian Message
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Trees (12/05/05)
A Deciduous Dilemma
By Kenn Allan
12/10/05
In a meadow, on a hill,
From seeds the breeze had sown,
There grew a broad and stately tree;
Its species quite unknown.
Winter, summer, fall, and spring,
It reached for distant skies,
And drove its mighty roots down deep,
To maximize its size.
One spring day (or was it fall?),
The tree began to ponder,
"Should I remain upon this hill,
"Or pull up roots and wander?"
"For all the good I might have done,
"And deeds I might do still,
"Might never happen if I stay,
"Alone upon this hill."
Just then, a passing raven heard
The tree's forlorn lament,
With feathers flying everywhere,
He swooped in wild descent.
For ravens prey upon the dead,
And feast on broken dreams,
They seldom pass upon the chance,
To hatch their wily schemes.
He'd never known a tree to walk,
The best he could recall,
So it would be an awesome sight,
To watch the timber fall.
“Poor tree,” he squawked in raucous tones,
Perched high upon a branch,
“Methinks perhaps it’s best ye go;
“Don’t miss this splendid chance!”
“To travel ‘round from shore to sky,
“Would surely be a thrill,
“So rip thy roots out of the earth,
“And leave this blasted hill!”
The tree considered with delight,
How different life would be,
To grow upon a mountaintop,
Or gaze upon the sea.
Finish this wonderful winning poem HERE.
Ken still is one of the most beloved and best writers on FaithWriters. He is now in heaven writing directly for Jesus. |
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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
But God – Ken Barnes
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning? But you are holy. (Psalms 22:1, 3a NKJV)
There are times when all believers may feel like God has gone on vacation. We should not be too surprised when we experience this feeling, as David and even Jesus on the Cross felt abandoned. The key to dealing with these times is to say, as David did, but God is good.
It is not really easy to feel abandoned. God knows your pain. Jesus expressed his sorrow on the Cross and David often conveyed his grief without condemnation from God. Yet, in David’s dialogue with God, most often there was a point where David said, but God is good. In our sufferings, we must always have that “but God moment.”
At some point in our conversation with God, it is necessary to interject in good times and in bad, the sovereignty God. God may not cause all things that happen to us, but he at least allows them. A very therapeutic thing for us is to realize that in all our trials and struggles, God is still in control, and for all who love him are for our ultimate good.
“The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings” (Psalms 145:17 RSV). God is good all the time. If we never come to the “but God” stage of our trials, we will devolve into the “why God” juncture and start to doubt the character of God. Are you at the “but God” or “why God” response to your circumstances? One leads to victory, the other to unbelief and defeat.
Ken was a missionary in several countries for YWAM for many years. Contact him and read more of his articles HERE.
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. |
| | Easter Special Offering so You Can Share the Truth of JesusEaster is the perfect time of the year to share the gospel. Order Today!
We offer Gravity in bulk orders of 10 or more for our cost to hand out. God is using Gravity in over 1,300 prisons, on college campuses, on the street and online in several languages to lead people to Jesus. As a member of FaithWriters, I want to offer you an even better deal to obtain some copies to hand out to friends, family, neighbors or your entire church body, right before Easter. Therefore, I am offering FaithWriters members this deal, donate to cover our cost if you can, or whatever you can afford, for the size order you need and I will have them shipped to you. If you cannot cover our cost but will put them to great work, I want you to have some even if you can only cover shipping. Just tell me you are a FaithWriters member on the order form. Go HERE TO VIEW AND ORDER some before Easter. It is the perfect time to hand some out. Easter is a time when many unbelievers are thinking about and often feel a strong calling towards Jesus. But all too often they let their fleshly desires, the worlds excuses and false claims there is no evidence to talk them out of Jesus. Gravity offers compelling objective evidence for the truth of God's existence and identity. This offer for less than cost is for USA orders only due to extreme shipping costs out of country.
"After reading your book, and being that I’m a cop, the evidence was compelling so the choice became easy. Thank you for being a big part of saving my life and seeing the truth about Jesus." Undercover Detective
"I've found old tattered copies of your book with inmates signatures in the back with the dates they made commitments to follow Christ." Prison guard who hands out Gravity to inmates
"Just read your book for the second time and thought I would check out your website. Thank you for writing the book and opening my eyes." Medical Doctor
"This book sparked a new interest in learning the truth about God. This book establishes the fundamentals of believing in God." Medical Doctor
"My whole ministry team is using these and handing them out. We've had at least 4 people we can name who have come to faith in Christ as a direct result of reading the book, overcoming some mental hurdles and then really hearing the gospel from us with fresh ears." The Navigators Ministry OKSU
"I was led to read this book at a time when I thought I was over Jesus, but truth defeats lies every time and never forsakes the believer.” Believer who almost walked away due to doubts
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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. |
| | 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. |
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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 Featured Free Read for Review
From the Heart
Michele Fleming
A collection of short stories to touch the heart and soul.
Learn how to get it for free for a review HERE.
We have some great books for you to read for free!
There are several member books you can read for free in exchange for a review. Many already have multiple five-star reviews. One book is running just below five stars with over 200 reviews online, and it is listed in the top ten books of its two categories on Amazon. Another with over 40 reviews is running close to five stars and was honored as the book of the year by a major theological website. Another has over 30 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. |
| | 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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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.
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.
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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| | 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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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
Biblical studies
The Perfect Religion, A Beacon to the True Kingdom of God: Where have you been hiding
Phillip Cimei
Your Price: $9.99
Is there such a thing as a perfect religion? If so, then why are there over 34,000 branches of the Christian faith?
Fiction
The Young Boy In Me: A Novel Based On The Traditions And Cultures Of Zimbabwe Africa
Agatha Mangwende
Your Price: $4.99
It is the story of a professional young man reminiscing over his childhood as a sickly, unwanted, abused child but fortunately has a grandmother, uncle and aunt who care for him.
from Amazon.com!
Reaching Tomorrow: The Legend of Sally Sager
Gerald Shuler
Your Price: $2.00
A young American girl of the 1850s is given in marriage to a Canadian trapper and she must learn to cope with her new life. She soon learns to do far more than simply cope... she thrives.
Login to Buy!
The Encourager
Ken Kwok
Your Price: $3.99
The Encourager is an orphan by the name of "Him" (meaning humble) given to him by his adopted Chinese parents. God chose him and sends him to comfort people and renew their hope. Him is The Encourager of God. The 11 stories in this book were written from an explicit Christian viewpoint.
from Amazon.com!
Non-Fiction
Insight
Ken Kwok
Your Price: $2.99
This book is a collection of some of my writings that I’d written in the past two and half decades. I call them ‘Insight” because each piece speaks to me spiritually and emotionally as if my soul is teaching me the profound lessons of being human experiencing this world.
from Amazon.com!
It Doesn't Hurt Anymore: Release the Past and Embrace Your Future
Dr. Arvis Murrell
Your Price: $9.99
Do you feel like your past follows you around? Maybe you had a painful childhood or experienced trauma later in life. You clearly see how your past holds you back, but you just can't seem to let go of it. Dr. Arvis Murrell understands your situation as she was once bound by a painful past.
from Amazon.com!
The Prayer
Laurie Staples
Your Price: $0.99
It is 1958 and high schoolers Brett and Janet are madly in love. One afternoon of unbridled passion results in an unwanted pregnancy.
Not wanting Brett to give up his dream of attending college, Janet hides her pregnancy from him.
from Amazon.com!
Poetry
Gleams of Glory: Poems and Prose Poems
Lois Lewis
Your Price: $3.99
The sixty poems in this third collection of verse by poet Lois Lewis is a collage—a celebration of the spirit, of nature, and of life. Topics range from animals, birds, fish, and insects to flowers, trees, weather phenomena, and social issues such as genetic engineering, cryogenics, and World War 2.
from Amazon.com!
Free Reads For Reviews
New Covenant Bible Studies
Michael Edwards
Your Price: $0.00
The purpose of these New Covenant Bible studies is to encourage the believer and remove all doubt from their heart of their Father’s love for them and their complete and total forgiveness in Christ. FREE READ for Review Seeking Reviews for Amazon and Here. Click buy to get a free PDF download.
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