Tribute to Carlton Mathews - Our Blog Angel Teresa Mathews' Beloved Husband

Teresa and Carlton Mathews

This week we are honoring our beautiful friend and 'Overcoming With God' blog contributor Teresa Mathews, by sharing a tribute to her beloved husband, Carlton Mathews, who sadly passed away recently on May 7, 2015.

Carlton is now rejoicing in the presence of his Heavenly Father and is free of all pain and earthly sorrows. We rejoice in that but are grieving at the enormous loss to our sweet friend, Teresa, who holds a very large place in our hearts, and we know, in all of yours, too. Please remember in prayer, Teresa and their two sons Daniel and Joshua, and family and friends, throughout the coming days and weeks to come. He was and always will be her love and her heart. Teresa, we love you more than words can say, and pray for your peace and strength, along with God's love and guidance as He holds your hands and wraps His arms about you.

L to R - Joshua, Carlton, Daniel

Fifty-three year old Carlton Mathews was an extremely devoted and loving husband to Teresa and an amazing dad to their two handsome boys. Teresa and Carlton were happily married for 28 wonderful years. He worked as a salesman at a plumbing supply company and was an anointed praise and worship leader at Abundant Life Assembly in W. Columbia, South Carolina. Carlton loved and obeyed the Lord with all his heart and we know he was welcomed with great rejoicing into Heaven with the resounding words of God saying "Well done, thou good and faithful servant... Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Carlton has touched many, many lives in his one lifetime, not the least was his beloved family who will miss him more than words can express.

Teresa and Carlton at church

Psalm 34:18 - The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

1 Corinthians 2:9 - But as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.."

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We invite you to leave a comment below for Teresa, and to express your love and sympathy that she may be encouraged and blessed by the outpouring of love and support from everyone.
*We won't be replying to these comments as they are just for Teresa to read. However we know she will be very touched and grateful for your kind words. God bless!

Carla Olson Gade -- Overcoming Grief

In my novella "Proving Up” in The Homestead Brides Collection, my hero and heroine each have experiences with grief. Elsa has lost her husband and her loss propels her into action. Although she is lonely, she will not forsake his dream and lose the homestead that they have worked so hard to keep. She also has a younger brother and brother-in-law she is responsible for and wishes to see educated.

Nils’ grief is a different sort. It is an unrelenting longing for an absent wife who abandoned life on the prairie, leaving him with unresolved heartache. His solution is to continue to cultivate his claim in the hopes that someday he will be rewarded with her love and companionship. When he is confronted with the permanence of his unrealized hope, grief ensues again.

Elsa and Nils’s circumstances are vastly different from one another, but as they develop a relationship an empathetic bond is formed. It is God’s providence that they become friends, especially in such a time and place where people were so isolated. Homesteads were miles from one another and communities were just beginning to develop. But isn’t that how grief is, isolating?

At least that is how I have felt over the past several years. Just a year ago on Valentine’s Day, I buried my father and only three years before that my step-father died from the same disease. During my life I have also experienced the grief of lost relationships, a type of grieving for the living. That too is a severe loss, not comparable to death, but a death of a relationship nonetheless.

At first my grief felt very isolating. Like I was on my own remote homestead miles away from anyone who understood what I was feeling or going through. That feeling of isolation added to my grief.

The isolation was like the broken blade of a prairie windmill. A windmill that once produced energy, suddenly halted.

Last year I attended a grief support group at my church called GriefShare. One thing that I learned that really helped me was the acknowledgement that each loss is unique because our relationship to that person is unique. How true that is. My own personal grief was different than others because of the unique dynamics of my own relationship with my lost loved one. But although my grieving is unique, it needn’t isolate me, unless I let it.

Along with grief comes change. But adapting to that change and accepting that things are now different makes the loss more real, and therefore, we are sometimes resistant to it. We refuse to repair the broken blade through acceptance because it is too painful. Yet in reality, the winds of acceptance allow us to heal. Grief takes its own time, but we needn’t bear it alone. When we allow others to share in our experience of loss, we discover life again.

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Have you experienced a season of grief? Did you find yourself pulling away from others or reaching out?

Author Carla Olson Gade

“Proving Up” by Carla Olson Gade from The Homestead Brides Collection (Barbour)

Swedeberg, Nebraska, 1886
A young Swedish widow applies her scientific theories to growing trees on the barren Great Plains intruding on a handsome homesteader’s hard work and experience. Will their dreams come to ruin or will love prove their success?

The Homestead Brides Collection can be ordered here: http://tinyurl.com/provingup

Native New Englander Carla Olson Gade writes adventures of the heart with historical roots from her home amid the rustic landscapes of Maine. With seven books in print, she is always imaging more stories and enjoys bringing her tales to life with historically authentic settings and characters. An avid reader, amateur genealogist, photographer, and house plan hobbyist, Carla’s great love (next to her family) is historical research. Though you might find her tromping around an abandoned homestead, an old fort, or interviewing a docent at a historical museum, it’s easier to connect with her online at carlaolsongade.com.

https://www.facebook.com/CarlaOlsonGade
http://carlaolsongade.com


GIVEAWAY:  I’m giving away one copy of The Homestead Brides Collection autographed by all nine contributing authors. To enter please leave a comment.

Three Reasons to Listen to The Lesson (audiobook) by Suzanne Woods Fisher

The Lesson by Suzanne Woods Fisher

The Lesson
Stoney Ridge Seasons #3
By Suzanne Woods Fisher

Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

The audiobook CD by Brilliance Audio only recently released (August 6) for this novel which was published by Revell in January 2013.  I pre-ordered mine. Unfortunately I got mixed up and listened to The Letters before I listened to The Lesson.  I'd advise you to listen to The Lesson first.

Reasons to listen to this audiobook:
1) Characterization and a favorite character finally gets her "man."
I have loved Mary Kate or M.K. Lapp ever since I first "met" her when she was a child in Suzanne's stories. So it is great reading a story where she is now grown up and thrown into the situation of being a teacher. And I LOVED her elderly mentor--what a wonderful character.  I wish Suzanne would give us a few more stories with her in it.

2) Bibliotherapy elements are deep and powerful. (And even affected me!) Have you read a Christian book where a big part of the story line is about the effects of Meth-amphetamine usage? I sure haven't.

Chris Yoder is a wonderful hero--he's a young man carrying the weight of the world.  Chris and Jenny, his younger sister, have a mother in prison who is a meth addict. Mom is really a piece of work and Suzanne portrays her so well I almost wonder if she, like myself, has one of these sad people in her family.  I listened to the audiotape and I had to turn it off during the part where Jenny has been suckered into a situation with her mother where I knew what was going to happen but Jenny did not.  Turned it off.  Thought what a hard core user like this who is so messed up would do. And that night I discovered my own family member was arrested on drug charges and is faces his own possible prison time.  So I got my own bit of bibliotherapy through this audiobook, which was interesting.  I thought--this person (Suzanne) knows what the family is going through. They really get it.  And that is one of the points of bibliotherapy--reading something that speaks to your own issue. And I am very glad Suzanne didn't try to sugar coat or pull a miracle out of her bonnet. I think if she had done that she'd have disappointed a lot of people who know it truly does take a miracle to pull someone out of this addiction. Great job of showing how co-dependency affects the family, too.

Interesting how one of the characters who is so powerful isn't even alive--"Old Deborah" who is still impacting the lives of Chris, Jenny, and others, by the way she gave to others in trouble. Great example of how a humble and simple life can be so meaningful!

3) The audiobook has a lovely narrator and what a great thing to do while you are washing dishes, folding clothes, and doing other "quiet" cleaning. You can read while doing housekeeping!

But back to the overall book--again we have the lovely Suzanne voice, characterization, and taut storyline. Although we start out with a suspected murder we end up discovering another crime that occurred years earlier.  

Giveaway: Gently used CD (not MP3 - can be played on a regular CD player.)  Here's what you have to do to be entered.  Check out the Deeper Shopping website and put "DS" on your comment to count twice.  If you are a Follower of our blog put OWG. We are TWO away from out 300th Follower.  That person will receive a special prize and if that person is you, email me at overcomingwithGod@aol.com!   Leave your email addy if we don't know you well.

Interview with Margaret Brownley

Margaret Brownley

Margaret Brownley is a N.Y. Times Bestselling Author and the author of Waiting for Morning (Brides of Last Chance Ranch series) She also published a non-fiction book title Grieving God’s Way; the Lasting Path to Hope and Healing (Thomas Nelson 2012), written after the death of her son following a long illness. She has published 28 books, mostly historical romance.

Margaret, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? T

hank you for letting me share.  As previously stated, my son died and I can’t begin to tell you what a painful, trying time that was for our family.  He was only twenty and just reaching the prime of life.

Six months after his death, I bumped into someone at the supermarket I hadn’t seen in awhile (actually I hadn’t seen anyone since the funeral).  She took one look at me and asked, “Aren’t you over it yet?”

I was stunned.  My first thought was that there was something wrong with me. But then I wondered what kind of person could get over the loss of a loved one so quickly?  More importantly, did I even want to be that person? 

I rushed home and started doing research on grief, starting with the Bible. What followed is hard to explain; for some reason I was driven. I read every grief book I could get my hands on, but that wasn’t all. I also attended grief groups and talked to dozens of people who had experienced a similar loss. My research paid off.   I gradually came to realize that grief was a miraculous healing tool from God designed to protect, heal, help us grow and become more like Him.  (How this healing tool works is explained in my book (www.grievinggodsway.com).

I firmly believe that God heals through our gifts and in my case that was my love of words and writing. I thought I was jotting down notes for my own benefit.  It never occurred to me that I was writing a book until a couple of hundred pages later. It’s a book I never wanted to write—and one I wish readers never had to read.  But we don’t always get to choose the direction of our lives and we just have to trust that God is leading the way.

Waiting for Morning

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’m happy to say that Waiting for Morning along with most of my books are available in large print and have audio capacity.  Grieving God’s Way is also available as an Audio book and CD.

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

In Waiting for Morning, the heroine’s brother is wheelchair-bound.  Molly blames herself for his condition and is determined to put his needs first, even if it means giving up her own happiness.  Blinded by grief and guilt, she fails to realize that her brother is not helpless and is quite capable of doing for himself.  He accuses her of seeing only the wheelchair and not the person.  It’s not until she learns to look at him through God’s eyes that healing begins and they are finally able to face the future with hope and courage.

 

CFP: Thank you Margaret for agreeing to answer these questions.  We at OWG want to express our sorrow that you have lost a precious son. I’ve heard one never gets over the loss of a child—you simply learn to live with the pain.

Dawn Comes Early

GIVEAWAYS: Margaret is generously giving away a copy of “Grieving God’s Way.”  Thank you, Margaret—we have a number of OWG Followers who have suffered a loss. Margaret is also giving away a copy of  “Waiting for Morning.” We are also giving away the choice of any of Margaret’s books this week, choice of format, to one of our commenters. 

Carrie Fancett Pagels Interviews Diane T. Ashley

Diane T. Ashley

Diane T. Ashley and Aaron McCarver are the co-authors of seven books and one novella. Their most recent release is Lily, Book 1 of the Song of the River Series. I met Diane through some online groups, including ACFW and Goodreads.

Diane, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers.  Would you tell us about one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

I have been so blessed by God that I feel almost ungrateful to speak of the things that I’ve struggled to overcome. I suppose the most difficult time in my life was when my father died unexpectedly. My mother was already struggling with a chronic illness, and I was suddenly thrust into the position of being a caregiver. As a single female with no children, I was not equipped to cope with the situation. At times I thought I would not survive. The grief over my father’s death was profound and inescapable, and watching my mother’s health dwindle in spite of the best medical support made me feel helpless. 

I can remember clinging to my Bible, looking inside for answers to overcoming the pain. One night I dreamed I was speaking with God. He told me He could relieve the pain of my grief if I would do one thing. Thrilled beyond belief I asked what that one thing was. His answer was a single word…forget. I knew in that instant that I could bear the pain because forgetting my parents and all of the love we shared was a price too high.

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

I love Psalm 37 and turn to it whenever I begin to feel hopeless or frightened. The deceiver is always eager to whisper words of doubt into the ears of believers. The promise in the fourth verse is what I cling to during those times: Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Lily: Song of the River

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

I hope our readers will turn to God in all things. Aaron and I like to create characters who are Christians but still cling to one or more areas of their lives, unwilling to let the Holy Spirit have complete control. Our title character, Lily, is exactly that sort of person. She is a strong female with great moral character, but she harbors hatred and a judgmental attitude in her heart. How she deals with those issues is the main point I hope our readers will take away from the book.

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

Forgiving someone—especially a family member—for something they did to you can be very difficult. As you work thorough that process, turn to God. He wants to help each of us.

Diane's and Aaron's books can be found by following any of the hotlinks below and at bookstores:

Barbour Publishing

Christianbooks

Amazon 

Here is a link to a nice video about Lily (click here.)

Giveaway: One of Diane's and Aaron's books will be given away this week. Extra counts given to OWG Followers. Simply put OWG at the end of your comment. 

Interview with Tamera Alexander

Tamera Alexander

Tamera Alexander is the author of A Lasting Impression, and also of Rekindled and The Inheritance, and is currently working on her tenth novel. Her fall 2012 release, To Whisper Her Name, showcases the history of the Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville, the most successful thoroughbred stud farm in American history. 

Tamera, welcome to Overcoming Through Time – With God’s Help.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers.  Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

One of the most difficult struggles in my life is also––through God’s grace––one of my greatest victories. But as we know, every victor bears the scars of struggle. Sometimes those scars are visible, sometimes they’re hidden, but they’re still there. I was sexually molested when I was a young girl. The incidents occurred over a two-year period. The perpetrator was not someone in my family. It was a family “friend.” As I matured, I grew to realize that none of what happened was my “fault.” But at the time, and for years following, I felt as though I’d done something wrong. I felt dirty. And somehow…less.

That feeling took root inside me and manifested itself in the form of deep insecurity and self-doubt. Even stuttering. When I was around the age of 13, someone I respected read a poem I’d written and told me, “You’ll be making an a** of yourself if you ever let anyone read what you’ve written.” Due to lingering childhood issues, I took that statement to heart and put away writing for many, many years.

In my teen years and through college, God filled my life with people who helped me work through my past issues and hurts. He healed me of so much of that pain. And through a turn of events later in life, he drew me back to the love of writing. With writing comes risk. Risk that can feed insecurity and self-doubt. Funny little twist, huh? But God never calls us to do something we could accomplish on our own. He calls us to God-sized tasks so we’ll learn to rely on his strength and not ours. And his strength––like his grace and healing––is immeasurable!

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

I love Jeremiah 29:11-13, a much-quoted promise and one that’s very familiar to us…

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

Sounds great, huh? God has a plan for you and me. Plans for good, not for harm. Plans to give us a future and a hope. God will listen to our prayers. If we look for Him wholeheartedly, we’ll find him. This is all great stuff! But…

Are you familiar with verse 10 of that same chapter, and verse 14? The two verses that [bracket] the promise we love to quote? They’re not as frequently quoted, but they should be. Note verse 10 and 14 in bold below:

“This is what the Lord says, “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you, says the Lord. I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your land.”

Captivity. God is promising captivity.

So yes, while verses 11-13 offer comfort and hope, don’t forget that God first promised his “chosen people” seventy years of struggle and hardship, circumstances they would never have chosen for themselves. Sound familiar?

These verses demonstrate to me that I should never judge God by my circumstances. They also remind me that sometimes, enduring a hurt or a painful circumstance is the best way for me to grow closer to God. And isn’t that the ultimate goal of my earthly journey, and God’s will for me here…to grow closer to him. To become more like Christ.

A Lasting Impression

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? 

Yes, A Lasting Impression is available in audio and large print and ebook, as are all my other novels.

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

As I write, I take steps closer to Christ. And it’s my deepest hope that readers––as they read my stories––will take steps closer to him too.

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

I particularly enjoyed writing A Lasting Impression because Claire Laurent and Adelicia Acklen (the “real” woman who built the Belmont Mansion) were both strong women with internal struggles. Struggles they hid well, and that only a handful of people around them knew about. Struggles (and weaknesses) that God used to make them stronger.

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

I’ve received numerous letters from readers who have struggled with insecurity and self-doubt due to past hurts, and who found encouragement and hope as they read A Lasting Impression. A Lasting Impression is about authenticity. It’s about being real first with yourself, then with others. And ultimately with God. 

All of my stories grow from either a personal struggle or a question I’m wrestling with in my own life. For instance, as I was writing my book, Within My Heart, I’d just lost my precious mom to gallbladder cancer, so much of my “working through grief of loss” is in that story, as well as many of my last moments with Mom.

Anything else you’d like to share, Tamera?

Thanks so much for the chance to share how God has poured grace and healing into my life. I’ll be sure to visit back often during this week, so if anyone has any questions––or maybe if they want to share their stories in the hope of encouraging others––I’ll be visiting and reading!

Thank you, Tamera, for sharing part of your journey with us. Have a blessed day and keep on writing!

Tamera Alexander is a bestselling novelist whose works have been awarded and nominated for numerous honors, including the Christy Award, the RITA Award, and the Carol Award. After seventeen years in Colorado, Tamera and her husband have returned to their native South and live in Nashville, Tennessee, where they enjoy spending time with their two grown children, and a ten-pound silky terrier named Jack.

LINKS for purchases of all Tamera's books (click here.) 

October 2012 (November 2012 release but book starts shipping October 10th)To Whisper Her Name, a Belle Meade Plantation novel by Zondervan. (OTT: We got our copies from Amazon, yay!!!)

GIVEAWAYS: Tamera is also doing a giveaway for us this week in addition to our giveaways of a book of choice plus one Tamera Alexander paperback that we are giving away ourselves--grand total of THREE giveaways this week. 

QUESTION: Have you lost a parent to cancer? How did you cope?

Interview With Lynnette Bonner by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Lynnette Bonner

Lynnette Bonner is the author of High Desert Haven, book 2, and of Rocky Mountain Oasis, book 1 in The Shepherd’s Heart series.

I met Lynnette through our mutual friend Marian Baay who does guest reviews for us. Marian loved Lynnette’s stories and suggested she contact me for a spot on Overcoming Through Time - With God's Help.

Lynnette, welcome to Overcoming Through Time.  Would you share either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your character’s has had to get past?

One difficult thing in my life early on, was heading off to boarding school at the age of 8. My parents were missionaries and there weren’t a lot of educational options on the field. The first couple of years were pretty tough, but in the long run, I think my relationship with the Lord was strengthened because of it – I had nowhere to turn but to Him. And later I learned to love boarding school. I still have strong bonds with many of my friends from those years.

In my adult years, I could name several things that have been difficult; being a pastor’s wife…, raising children…, persevering until I finally got published…. But through all of those circumstances, I’ve learned that the best place to turn when the going gets tough is to the Lord. Prayer really does make a difference, if only in my perspective.

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

This is a question to ponder, isn’t it? How does one pick just one jewel from a treasure trove full of them? Still, one of my favorite verses comes from Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Disability friendliness:

Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio? 

Currently none of my books are available as recorded audio books, but all of my stories are available for Kindle and are text to speech enabled.

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

I think, as I’m winding down writing my fourth full novel within the next week or so, the one main message I would love for my readers to hear is this: Life is hard. We are all faced with painful circumstances as a result of sin in this world. But with the Lord’s help, we can forge ahead and press on, and even make a difference in this world for the better. A relationship with Jesus is the key to true happiness on this earth.

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

For book 3 in The Shepherd’s Heart series, Fair Valley Refuge, I did quite a bit of research on the orphan trains. Many of the stories tugged at my heart strings. Families too poor to be able to properly care for their children often took them to the orphanage steps and left them there during the night. Others truly were orphans, but were separated from siblings in order to secure them homes. Many never saw each other again. Some went to good homes. Some to homes where people only wanted the free labor.

But the piece of research I’ve done that has probably most touched my heart is for a series I haven’t even started yet that will be set on the island of Zanzibar and in East Africa during the late 1800’s. Many people don’t realize that slavery from the east coast of Africa continued long after most of the slavery from the west coast had been abolished. And some of the things those poor people had to endure are enough to bring tears to your eyes. Women who weren’t strong enough to carry both their child and the load of ivory the slavers wanted them to pack to the coast from the interior, had their children killed before their eyes. Young boys, sought after as eunuchs for Indian, Arab, and Chinese royalty, were castrated by the thousands. Only 1 in 10 survived the unsterile procedure. One in ten!

I could go on. But just those glimpses of my research will give you a taste of the heartbreak.

High Desert Haven by Lynnette Bonner

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

In High Desert Haven my heroine Nicki has just lost her husband. It was a forced marriage and she didn’t really love him, but she still grieves his loss. And then has to come to terms with how she is going to forge ahead and overcome the new situation she finds herself in. So a particularly applicable topic would be grief.


Click here to order Lynnette's books from Amazon.

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


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

Interview with Robin Caroll

Robin Caroll is the author of Injustice For All, the first book in the Justice Seekers series, her twelfth novel.

I met Robin through ACFW as she is the Conference Director for the annual conference.

Robin, welcome to Overcoming Through Time – With God’s Help.  Would you share either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your character’s has had to get past? 

In Injustice For All, the heroine must overcome the tragic loss of first her parents, then the godfather who raised her. This is extremely difficult for her as she recognizes the killer of her beloved godfather, and knows that if she tries to bring him to justice, she’ll be killed. Injustice For All is the journey she undergoes to see justice finally prevail.

What is your favorite bible verse and why? Philippians 4:13….because without Christ, I can do nothing, but with Him, I can do all He’s enabled me to do.

Disability friendliness: 
Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio? 
Almost all of my novels are available on audio, Kindle, and some are also large-print editions through subsidiary publishers.

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why? I hope readers enjoy a good, entertaining read, but one filled with hope at the end of the story. It’s my wish that my novels encourage people to think, rely on their faith, and know that God is always with us, even in the hard times.

As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart? For Injustice For All, I sat through several trials in our federal courtroom. I watched people’s lives being put in the hands of others, and truth often not being revealed. The heartbreaking outcome of some of these trials literally broke my heart.

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


GIVEAWAY:  A copy of one of Robin's paperbacks or an ebook to one fortunate reader* this week! (*ebook only for International winners.) Offer void where prohibited by law.

Interview Kelly Marie Long

Kelly Long is the author of the new Amish colonial release Arms of Love. I met Kelly through ACFW (She is a member of the MidAtlantic Zone of which I am Zone Director), Colonial American Christian Writers, and God brought us together!

Kelly, welcome to Overcoming Through Time.  Would you share either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your character’s has had to get past? 

My mother died on Feb. 22, 2011 at 2:30 AM. My fingers were on her pulse. It will always be the most dramatic loss of my life. But, God was and is glorified. Grief is the last gift of love. I miss her so much that only time will lessen the pain or shape the pain into something that I can handle, accept, and believe…But Got still be praised!


CFP: Kelly we at OTT-WGH are sorry for your loss.  Both Diana and I lost our mothers in the last two years. We pray God will bring you peace as you work through your grief.

What is your favorite bible verse and why? 


“I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence my Redeemer cometh.” It is a verse that sees beyond the immediate, the pressure, pain, and loss of the moment. And I know that it is absolutely true!

Disability friendliness:

I do believe that they are all available in alternative formats. My dad is traditionally illiterate…he needs the listening versions!


CFP: I have listened to Kelly's books on audio through audible.com

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

Time is not linear for God. He can redeem and reshape a past that we cannot touch on our own. This is important because so many people think “they’re too bad for the Cross.” But the Cross is the greatest power of all time until Christ returns.

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


I learned how much the Amish truly suffered in Europe…they were literally burned in the streets for their faith. This is why the Amish respond to violence with compassion—because they have suffered so themselves. It is a brave stance.

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


Arms of Love is about breaking the cycle of generational violence and abuse, PTSD, and making difficult choices.

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


Kelly Long's books are available on Amazon, Christian Book Distritbutors , and other book stores.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Kelly Long’s books, choice of format.