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| Author Angela Breidenbach |
Angela, welcome to Overcoming With God. We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers.
Thank you for having me :)
Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?
I went through a situation where a person from my past behaved in dangerous, crazy, and threatening ways toward me. That person worked hard to cause quite a few painful experiences and to create fear, isolate, and control me. I’m grateful that God sent others to me to help me get out and guide me to safety and safe resources. God gives us other people to come along side us during difficulty. Don’t keep waiting for some "magic" to change the situation. Though He might choose a miracle response, God’s often very practical and works miracles as much through simplicity as He does through unexplained miracles.
If you’re in a dangerous situation, please consider going to the YWCA or similar place of safety where counselors can help you see the behaviors clearly and recognize the abusive patterns. One tangible tool I think God inspired into creation is the YWCA Power and Control Wheel. https://twitter.com/YWCAUSA/status/657995530782515201
What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?
I’m glad you asked a multiple choice question ;) My life verses came out of a point when I was incredibly low from a difficult marriage and working 100 hours a week to support my children. Romans 8: 26-27 helped me understand that the Holy Spirit knows my prayers even when I can’t find the words. Then I love living in the Psalms around chapters 34-37 when I’m struggling. The Psalms help me know the Author of emotion completely understands how I’m feeling and gives me hope that He’ll help me get through the struggle.
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| The Debutante Queen by Angela Breidenbach |
Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?
I’m excited to share that in addition to A Healing Heart in audio on Audible, this month The Debutante Queen will release on audio in Audible as will the sequel, Eleven Pipers Piping. Then, if schedules work out properly, I’ll have 2 more books releasing this winter in audio versions. But they’re non-fiction in the Grace Under Pressure Radio series. The first is Gems of Wisdom: The Treasure of Experience. The second is in the editing process now and is titled, Grace Under Pressure.
Do your e-books have audio capability?
I believe so. However, there’s a few new ones coming out from publishers like Barbour Publishing. This is my first book, The Lassoed by Marriage Romance Collection. I don’t know yet what that format will be when it releases Jan. 1st.
Do you have any in large print?
A Healing Heart is in large print with Thorndyke Press :) Those that are in Kindle, as you likely know, can be changed by the reader to any size that’s comfortable for reading.
In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?
Though The Debutante Queen is set historically and is a romance, the main theme is doing the right thing even when societal pressures are against you. The story question I asked myself was: What if the right thing to do was illegal? Would I still do the right thing? Then I wrote my answer by putting my character in the situation where she steals an abused child. She compounds it by hiding her after being directly told by her parents to take the child back. I think we see God’s answer in the parable The Good Samaritan. My goal with The Debutante Queen is to help encourage readers to gain confidence and do the right thing regardless of societal pressures. But each heroine I write learns to display "grace under pressure" confidence, courage, and candor. She’s pushed into a situation that helps her rely on God and discover she has more of these characteristics than she realized at the beginning of the book. I hope women reading my books also learn and discover they do too.
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| Grace Under Pressure Radio by Angela Breidenbach |
Question you’d like to ask readers:
On my iTunes show, Grace Under Pressure Radio: Becoming a woman of confidence, courage, and candor I like to discuss issues that help listeners grow in those areas (confidence, courage, and candor). What are questions or topics you need or would like to hear covered along those themes that would help you grow in those areas in your life?
GIVEAWAY: OWG blog is giving away an e-book copy of the Christmas Traditions 8-in-1 collection, which includes Angela's Eleven Pipers Piping. Answer Angela's question, above, for a chance to win!
ANGELA, welcome to OWG and thank you for sharing your testimony with our viewers! I can imagine how frightening and stressful that had to have been for you, and I'm glad the Lord helped you through it by using others. I'm sure many women will benefit from the link and info you shared here today.
ReplyDeleteI just love the cover of The Debutante Queen! It's gorgeous!
I'm honored to be here :) I hope each of us can share gems of wisdom from our personal experiences to help others. I think that's how God brings beauty from our difficulties.
DeleteI am not entering the contest...(I have The Christmas Traditions collection)...just wanted to say hi Angela!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your testimony, I love the Scripture references you mentioned too.
The Debutante Queen cover is lovely.
Blessings, Tina
Hi Tina :) Thanks, so much. I pulled an all-nighter working on that cover so it would convey the book concept. So when people like it, I am so glad I didn't sleep that night. :)
DeleteANGELA, thank you for sharing your testimony. The Debutante Queen cover is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThank you :) I love the dress! I've tried to answer from my phone, but it wouldn't let me so I'm sorry it took so long to respond.
DeleteI can't think of any questions or topics off hand.
ReplyDeleteA lovely post thank you.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thank you for reading it, Mary :)
DeleteThank you Angela for sharing about that frightening time in your life and providing hope, help, and inspiration for others. You're right about God being a practical God (even though He is still a miracle God, too) and working through us to help each other. Finding good from evil and beauty from ugliness.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous cover on The Debutante Queen, and it sounds like a powerful story! I think as time goes on, we may be forced to choose God's laws over man's more and more.
Hope you enjoy your time here at OWG Angela. Blessings!
I think you are so right, Noela. It's a hard choice when it happens. I think as authors, we're also going to be faced with this dilemma. I hope if the time comes while I'm still on earth, that I'll have the same courage that others in centuries past have displayed...including using the new printing press to print copies of the Bible in the language of the people. I can only imagine how hard that was to do!
DeleteAngie, Thanks for being on the blog and sharing with our readers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me :)
DeleteI love all the books that are offered. Great giveaway.
ReplyDeleteYay, so glad you entered :)
DeleteHi Angela, you're a new author to me and thanks sharing a little about your past with us. Thanks for a great interview with OWG. The Debutante Queen cover is gorgeous. I'd be sure to check out your iTunes show. Courage, candor and confidence sure goes hand in hand. I've always been drawn to stories, be it real life or fiction of how a person's guilt and un-forgiveness of self can put a damper on the 3 Cs. I think that would be a topic I would be interested in hearing.
ReplyDeleteThe Debutante Queen is a great story! I wish I had Angela's pink computer! Love it! Her new show sounds great!
DeleteLove that suggestion for the show. I'm writing it down and will see how I can work it in. Thank you, "Just Commonly", you're much more than just common :) And you're very appreciated.
DeleteAngela, thank you for your inspiring testimony!! As a victim of spousal abuse and one who worked 2-3 jobs at a time to support her children years ago - I so relate to your experiences. Later, I received education/training and worked in a women's/children's abuse center, as well as a children's home for abused children. They were stressful, but gratifying experiences; I agree with your comments re: God bringing beauty from our difficulties in our sharing wisdom from our personal experiences to help others. I'm thankful God always uses my difficulties to my good, and the good of others - at times, also!!
ReplyDeleteWas wondering when 'The Debutante Queen' will be released, I agree with the other comments - a beautiful cover, the blue is eye-catching. Love the storyline!!
Hi Bonnie, we have a lot in common. I worked 2-3 jobs as a single mom too :) Glad not to have to do that, but if you add up all the hours of a writer, well, maybe it's the same ;) The Debutante Queen is coming out this week!! I'm just receiving the single formatted for Kindle as we speak!! But if you want to read it now, rather than in a day or two, it's available in the Frontier Hearts boxed set http://amzn.to/1RIRPkS or in the historical/contemporary duo, Snowflake Tiara: http://amzn.to/20HHbB4) The reason it's coming out as a single, with that so pretty cover :) is that it's going to Audible. But it has to be a single title on Amazon before it can be uploaded to the audio format. The only thing I can think of for that requirement is the Amazon ownership of Audible. But I'm not positive. However, another benefit is that The Debutante Queen really is the first book in the Montana Beginnings series I'm writing. So Eleven Pipers Piping is the second story. When I'm done with the entire series (heading for at least 5) then all of them will eventually be able to be in one set...the dilemma is having to write the whole series first, lol. The good news is that each story, though related, can stand on its own so you'll feel satisfied as a reader. Each story is set in Helena, MT so the setting stays the same. The third one comes out in February as Taking the Plunge and the fourth comes out late spring, Bitterroot Bride. Thank you so much for asking!
DeleteThank you much for the book info, Angela - I'll check out those collections with 'The Debutante Queen', and be watching for the others in your series to release, also.
DeleteHi Angela,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I checked out the YMCA wheel, which is very interesting. I remember, as a high school teacher--many years ago, discussing possible abuse with one of my female students. It was beyond my comprehension why she would think that she deserved the abuse she had received in the past.
I'm sorry I don't have a question for you, but I will say, it seems that, as Christians we are more and more going to need courage to stand up for what we believe. I'm looking forward to reading The Debutante Queen. Blessings...
Actually, KayM, you gave me a great topic addition for today's Grace Under Pressure Radio segment I'm about to record. People are conditioned to believe they "deserve" abuse. They're actually trained to it and primed to be targets. So even when they escape the abuser, they have a lot of work to do to recognize the lies and training that's kept them in harm's way. We are trained to know and believe it's not the victim's fault. And that's true...but there's a caveat. Many victims don't realize that certain attitudes of acceptance and behaviors can actually prime them for targeting by abusers. Abusers recognize these attitudes and behaviors. They look for people that have them. So it's our responsibility to learn to recognize what we can change that might give off signs that say, "Hey, I'm a target because I don't know what I don't know about how you're manipulating me." We have to get proactive instead of reactive. And that's the show I'm recording today :) It'll release this afternoon. So thank you.
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