Carrie Fancett Pagels Interviews Dineen Miller

Dineen Miller

Dineen Miller is the author of the novella A Love Meant To Be, part of the Central Park Rendezvous Collection, and of The Soul Saver and Winning Him Without Words: 10 Keys to Thriving in Your Spiritually Mismatched Marriage.

Dineen, welcome to Overcoming Through Time – With God’s Help.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Carrie, it’s an honor and a pleasure to be here! Thank you so much.

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

Oh goodness, that could describe my whole life. LOL! I can’t imagine doing life without Him. My family and I have experienced some major events in the last few years, but I’ll share one that is miraculous and ongoing. In 2008, my youngest daughter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. During this time of surgeries, recovery and seven weeks of radiation therapy (which would have been chemo too if not for God’s clear intervention) I have never seen God so present and “vocal.” It’s a long story full of clear miracles that even tie into my book The Soul Saver as far as elements in that story (I’d written about the loss of their child due to a brain tumor BEFORE we even knew our daughter was sick) and the completion of the story during the time of her recovery.

There are ongoing issues for her that keep me at God’s feet claiming the promise He clearly spoke to my heart three days before we knew something was wrong. I clearly heard, “She’ll be okay.”

I don’t begin to understand God’s reasons, but I trust His character and His ways. He has proven His faithfulness over and over again. Though we still have ground to recover, my daughter is well and we only have the scar down the back of her head to prove it ever happened (that and a thick medical file). She even marvels that it happened herself.

I could not have walked through this time without God, without His help, and more importantly, without His presence. And all this feeds into who He is molding me into today. So perhaps the short answer to this question is learning to trust God with every area of my life and with those I love.

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I have believed and lived this verse as truth since I was a very young child, before I ever read it in the Bible. I know without a doubt God put this truth in my heart from a very young age and kept it there to strengthen me through some very difficult times. This verse speaks of God’s goodness, His provision, His preparation and His redemption. From this perspective, we can look at everything we go through in life and find God there working to redeem it and bring out the good. Just like He did with Joseph. Now that’s a great example of Romans 8:28.

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print? 

I know that our book Winning Him Without Words is available in large print. As far as audio, I wish I could say yes but that blessing hasn’t come to me as of yet. I understand you can do audio with the Kindle, but I’m not entirely sure how it works to be honest. I’m so hooked on my iPad that I gave my Kindle to my daughter to use. 

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?

God is always there working for our good. And He is bigger than anything we face. As long as we keep our eyes on Him, we don’t lose hope. It’s a truth that was missing from my teenage years and one I wish I’d understood better. I can’t imagine living life outside of this truth. God is my life!

As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?

I think it was when I was researching Hugh Baltimore’s character in The Soul Saver and visited Stanford University to speak to a professor. I wanted to get a better understanding of what Hugh’s profession as a physics professor was like and what drove these highly intelligent professionals to seek publication in the scientific world as part of their pursuit of tenor. This scientist described it as a “publish or perish” mentality. Or reality. This is the world they live in. I knew I had to make that part of the Hugh’s drive to succeed, often at the expense of his family.

How often do we do that same in our lives—pursue that one thing we think we absolutely need or we’ll fail, be miserable, or lose everything. Perish. And there stands Jesus offering us life. This not only touches my heart but humbles me greatly. As a recovering perfectionist, it’s a perspective I hold onto as a reminder that no matter what, God is enough, God is enough, God is enough.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

Not in my novella, but Ronie Kendig does an excellent job showing her war hero’s ongoing recovery from a brain injury and PTSD. All her wonderful military books do.

If I may speak to one of my other books, The Soul Saver deals with the issue of being spiritually mismatched and the struggles inherent in these kinds of marriages. I wrote it to partner with our Winning Him Without Words book to give those of us in mismatched marriages hope and understanding that God desires us to thrive in our spiritually mismatched marriage.

Thank you, Dineen, for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

Thank you again, Carrie! Thank you for letting me share my heart and see yours! Blessings to you!

Bio:

Dineen Miller readily admits that one of the greatest lessons she’s learning about life is that there’s purpose in our trials. It’s all about trusting God and putting our hope in Him. Her favorite stories are of the miracles God has wrought in the lives of her family.

Through this lens she also believes her years as a youth counselor, a Stephen Minister, a women’s ministry leader, and a small group leader fuel her desire to ignite the souls of others through words of truth.

In addition to writing for Spiritually Unequal Marriage, Dineen has won several prestigious awards for her fiction, and her devotional writing has been featured in Our Journey and Christian Women Online Magazine. She’s also a C.L.A.S.S. Communicator and has been featured on the Moody Radio Network, Family Life and Focus on the Family Radio.

Married for 24 years to a guy who keeps her young, she lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two adult daughters, who surprise her daily with their own creativity.

She is the co-author of Winning Him Without Words: 10 Keys to Thriving in Your Spiritually Mismatched Marriage and the author of The Soul Saver.

You can reach Dineen at: 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/dineen.miller

Facebook pages:

https://www.facebook.com/DineenMiller.AuthorSpeaker

https://www.facebook.com/SpirituallyUnequalMarriage

Personal Blog:  http://authordineenmiller.com/journal/

Twitter:  @dineenmiller

GoodReads author page:  http://www.goodreads.com/dineenmiller  

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Dineen’s books, choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners will only receive the book in ebook format not as a paperback.