Month: October 2016

Scripture Designs 09

Published on by Amanda Tero4 Comments
“It is written…it is written…it is written…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10)
We are reminded that Jesus used Scripture to combat satan’s temptations, but does this knowledge affect our daily life? How can we use Scripture in the face of temptation of we are not actively reading, memorizing, and studying God’s Word? The weapon is there for us to use — but have we picked it up and trained with it?

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” Matthew 6:7-8
It is easy to think, “the more I pray, the more God hears.” And though there is the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, in which her incessant begging was answered (Luke 18:1-8), we also get a glimpse of how, at the beginning of Daniel’s supplication, God sent Gabriel with the answer (Daniel 9:22-23). If our hearts are clean before God (Psalm 66:18-19), He hears when we first call on Him — and He knows the perfect answer to our need. But do we trust that He hears us?


Parents, in their wisdom, do not give their child everything he asks — and often, children see that as parents withholding good from them. So our Father withholds things from us — because, in His wisdom, He knows what is best for us. “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11) It’s just that we do not always know what is good for us.

Daniel and Cassie | Engagement Pictures

Published on by Amanda Tero11 Comments

Well this is a post WAY overdue. My brother, Daniel, got married in August. Beforehand, however, I got to do their engagement photos. Because of situations such as using his camera (Daniel has way better equipment than I), him having the pictures, needing to sort through them, them being on a honeymoon, etc…. I am just now getting the pictures here and ready to share them!

First of all, they’re one of the cutest couples I know. 😉 I may or may not be a bit biased. 😉

Second, doing their engagement session was a fun challenge because, during engagement, they didn’t touch. So there was no “huggy” pictures, yet we didn’t want the pictures to look stiff like, “I’m going to marry this person, but I’ll just keep my distance.” 😉

These are their top picks. 🙂

"Journey of Choice" | WIP

Published on by Amanda Tero6 Comments

Now that Befriending the Beast is out there, my focus has turned to my WIP, Journey of Choice. I have shared snippets of it off-and-on, here and there… I’m really bad at keeping track what I’ve shared here on this blog, and what I’ve shared here or here or here. So bear with me. 😉

So, I’m going to pretend you know nothing about Journey of Choice. Let’s get a few things straight.

1) Journey of Choice is part of the Orphan Journeys collection. But let me explain this collection.

     a) There are stand-alone novellas (like Journey to Love).

     b) There are spin-off short stories, when I can’t leave a character alone (like “Letter of Love“).

     c) There is going to be a connected novel series, Lord willing (the two I know of now are Journey of Choice and its sequel, Journey of Purpose).

     d) Journey of Choice is NOT connected to Journey to Love in any way except that Marie and Nat both traveled on the orphan train.

2) Journey of Choice takes place in 1861-1865. That’s right, you history buffs: Choice spans the Civil War! 🙂 I am having a B-L-A-S-T digging into the history of this war. I’m now officially a CW fan for life!

3) This is my first time to really write from a guy’s perspective (I tried a little with “Debt of Mercy” and “Peace, Be Still” but short stories aren’t near the caliber as novels). It has been challenging and super, duper fun! I mean, I get to let my character do things that wouldn’t be seemly for a young lady to do — especially in that era. Oh, there’s so much versatility!! 🙂

4) I have no clue what my “goal” is for word-count or chapter length. It definitely won’t be a novella, though. For example, Journey to Love is around 25,000 words in completed form. The first third of Journey of Choice reaches 24,000 words. There is SO much more territory to cover! So, with your prayers and God’s help, I will finally unearth a full-length novel. 😉

Okay! Enough about me and my project. What about you? Are you a writer? If so, what are you working on? If you’re not a writer, what other projects do you have that you’re working on (is it music? crafts? baking?)? I’d love to hear about it!

Jansina | Author Interview

Published on by Amanda Tero2 Comments
This week, we have author Jansina over for an interview!
In a nutshell, what do you write? 
Christian romance for young adults—with a few more difficult subjects mixed in (abuse, deception, alcoholism, &c.)—and hopefully humorous short stories.
Wow, what a challenge to include those topics–yet I know how needful in our day and age! What spurred on the desire for writing? 
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. That may have more to do with my poor memory than with my passion for words, but I choose to believe it’s the latter. When I was eight, I finished my first story and my mom had it bound into a “real” book (she stapled it together). That sparked my dream of being published.
How neat for that “first book!”
How do you balance writing with living—or is writing your full-time job? 
I try to write or edit something of my own every day, whether it’s a blog post, short story, novel, or a scene just for fun. Having a word count goal or a set amount of time when writing takes the main focus helps give a sense of accomplishment.
That’s a great idea!
Who do you hope to reach with your writing? 
Teens and young adults who can relate to the topics (or at least understand similar feelings) in my books.
If someone asked you for your best writing tip, what would it be? 
Make writing a priority. Life gets busy and so many other things vie for time, but if it’s really a passion of yours, it’s worth half an hour to an hour of each day.
Good point! What are three things that you greatly enjoy doing? 
Dancing (swing and Irish), playing board and card games, and getting coffee with friends.
About Jansina
Jansina has published three novels and two short stories to date. She is also an editor and graphic designer and runs a nontraditional publishing company, Rivershore Books (www.rivershorebooks.com). Her goal is to honor God in her writing and encourage other authors to do the same with their own.
Blog: www.thilly-jansina.com
Other: www.rivershorebooks.com (my nontraditional publishing company)
www.facebook.com/jansina

www.twitter.com/jansina18
Books: 
Forgotten Memories (smile.amazon.com/Forgotten-Memories-Jansina/dp/1463624352)
Shrouded Jewels (smile.amazon.com/Shrouded-Jewels-1-Jansina/dp/1478164638)
As Fairydust Settles (smile.amazon.com/As-Fairydust-Settles-2-Jansina/dp/0615933017)
Sanisfreeda (smile.amazon.com/Sanisfreeda-Jansina-ebook/dp/B006X528BU)
Life is Crumbly (smile.amazon.com/Life-Crumbly-Jansina/dp/0615940463)

Scripture Designs 08

Published on by Amanda Tero2 Comments
This whole Psalm reflects the might and power of God in creation — how much more is He able to mightily work in the hearts and lives of mankind!
“And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.” 2 Kings 23:4
We are living in a time of more spiritual danger than this. They could easily find, carry out, and burn the graven images of their day — but today, we face a false god of our imagination. Instead of creating graven idols, man has created his own, ideal “God” and says that this “God” is Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of all things. But this “God” is not the God of the Bible. Instead, this “God” only loves and never judges, this “God” turns a blind eye to sin, this “God” has no standards for Christian living. Like King Josiah, we need to read the Bible, God’s laws, commandments, and statutes, in order to cast away this false god that the world has created and learn Who our God really is.
In reading through Ruth, I was reminded of that verse. We can easily see the whole picture of Ruth in just a few minutes of reading — the conflict as well as the resolution. I think people get so enamored about this beautiful story of Ruth gaining wonderful blessings that they almost neglect to see the foundation.
Ruth very clearly chose to delight herself in the Lord and follow and trust Him (Ruth 1:16, 2:12). I don’t believe that her goal was to marry a mighty man of wealth (Ruth 2:1), yet we see that, after she delighted in the Lord, she got the desires of her heart (which, in that day, would be a man to protect and care for her).
It is easy to let our focus sway to what we want (whether it’s marriage, a new vehicle, computer, success, you name it), that we begin to seek the end result — sometimes at the expense of our relationship with God. If God at any time must be “saved for later” so that we can reach our goals, then we are keeping ourselves from His beautiful blessings which are exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph 3:20).
Knowing that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), we can then say that “His people” are not just the Jews, or even the people of His day. Jesus claims every sinner as “His people,” which He came to save. What love, that, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8)