Linda Brooks Davis -- Overcoming Family Difficulties

Author Linda Brooks Davis

Linda Brooks Davis, welcome to Overcoming With God. I truly enjoyed meeting you at the ACFW in Nashville in 2016! What a sweet lady you are! Would you tell us about the one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

The greatest trial of my 71 years is one our family is experiencing now. Minor children are involved, and the terrible case is still in the courts, so I’m not free to share details.However, I can “sew around the edges” a bit by sharing some ways in which the Lord has dealt with me. 

Once upon a time I believed I lived in a country blessed by the inalienable right of freedom of religion. I thought rearing children according to parents’ Christian principles wasn’t simply duty but a U.S. Constitution-guaranteed right. Naively, I believed Christian rearing was sacrosanct within the walls of a Christian home. Tragically, this isn’t necessarily so. Furthermore, I’ve learned godlessness has so invaded our institutions of government--even in a “conservative” state--that the agency and its arms tasked to protect children can become a Christian family’s worst nightmare.

I’ve learned the world’s ungodliness has so invaded this agency and the courts that right is labeled wrong and wrong is labeled right. I’ve learned testimonies of those who curse the name of Jesus are accepted as truth. And the testimonies of Christian parents--the father, a godly pastor/counselor--is not only suspect but declared a lie and the home’s teaching about the difference between “law and grace” labeled “abuse.”

   

And God has taught me some things about myself. I come from a long line of hard-charging women who wait for no one to act for them, double down when the way grows tough, and fight every ol’ demon in Hell for their children, as my mother said.

Recently, the Lord has shown me pride lurking in the shadows of self-sufficiency; bitterness and anger--better yet, rage--boiling in the teapot of my heart; and idolatry as I’ve gazed upon certain loved ones and grasped their hands before His.

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?

I’m reminded in Zechariah 2:13 (AMP) that the Lord is roused in my behalf, so I’d best settle down: “Be still before the LORD, all mankind; for He is roused from His holy habitation [in response to His persecuted people].”

What helped you get through or helped you cope with this difficulty?

As the Lord would have it, the theme verse for The Calling of Ella McFarland, 2 Corinthians 12:9, has become my life’s theme through this ordeal “… ‘My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough--always available--regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.’ Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.” (Amplified Version)

Pride and self-sufficiency have no place in the weakness in which Christ’s power is manifest; anger and bitterness exclude trust in God; and only open, empty hands can be filled with His.

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?

 

My novel, TheCalling of Ella McFarland, and novella collection, A Rock Creek ChristmasCollection (A Christmas to Remember and A Christmas Measure of Love), will be available in audible form in the next few months.

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

I’ve just completed my second full-length novel. The working title, Where Healing Waters Flow, provides a clue to its theme. It picks up with Lily, one of the secondary characters in The Calling of Ella McFarland. The year is 1914, and this young woman who was horribly abused as a child finds a type of healing she hasn’t expected.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 3:3 (KJV): “But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” It’s the perfect theme verse for Lily’s story.

The Calling of Ella McFarland blurb:

1905 brings hope of Oklahoma statehood and the woman’s suffrage debate is raging, forcing Ella McFarland to make decisions about her faith, family, and aspirations. When she comes to the rescue of a young, abused sharecropper’s daughter, her calling takes shape in ways she never imagined. Education is Ella’s passion, but a new love is budding in her heart, and new purpose calls. Can she find God’s will amid the tumultuous storm that surrounds her?

CFP: I've been wanting to read this story for a long time, it sounds so good! And it's a multiple award-winning novel! Congrats, Linda!

Question you’d like to ask readers:

I would love to hear readers answer the questions I’ve been asked above. Sharing one another’s struggles and triumphs lightens loads while it strengthens for the road ahead.

Giveaway: The Calling of Ella McFarland Answer Linda's question, above, for a chance to win a copy.