Monday, December 15, 2014

A Heaping Helping of Spirit

Marianne Evans
Recently my publisher, Pelican Book Group, launched a most encouraging Christmas campaign via Twitter, and I can’t wait to share it with you.  Editor in Chief Nicola Martinez encouraged PBG authors to share uplifting quotes, post them, re-tweet them, and give a boost to those who are struggling during this emotionally charged and very busy season.

While I prayed for discernment, while I scoured the Internet and Bible for hope-filled quotes, I considered what an enormous mission field we face at the moment. Our world, at the surface level, seems so devoid of Christ’s light and hope. I strive to make it part of my job as a Christian writer, as a missionary and disciple, to let modern culture know that God’s love and joy endures, that Christ lives and breathes in the actions of each one of us. All the same, I become overwhelmed. I cry out in a desert and wish for calm, peace, a ramp-up of simple joy. Even though I know the truth of Christ’s providence, I find it easy to become lost in the stress and bustle of the holidays. It’s then that I pull back, focus within, and try hard 
to remember who I belong to, and what exactly it is I’m celebrating…and honoring. Christmas isn’t just about a birth. It’s a promise. A bridge. It’s redemption and the purest love mankind will ever know resting in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes.

 I hope this social media exchange provides meaning and light in the face of darkness. Do you crave a heaping helping of Spirit? Log on to Twitter and check out #NeverGiveUp and #HaveFaith.

If you face challenges that leave you struggling this Christmas season, always remember—in the words of Matthew West—“You are a child of the One True King.”

‘I have set the Lord continually before me;
He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.’
~ Psalm 16:8 ~

 Click to Tweet!

In the rush and bustle of the season, remember: You’re a child of the One True King

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Jackson Merritt's first night in London has concluded with an unexpected bang. Acting on instinct, he steps into the midst of an attempted theft that leads him into the life, and heart of Vanessa Colby.
 
A personal shopper at the world-famous Harrods, Vanessa wants only to savor the start of the Christmas season. She's not looking for love, but after being rescued from harm by Jackson, she finds herself falling fast and hard for the handsome American who heads North American operations for her family's IT firm. 
 
But a woman from Jackson’s past shows up in London as well—and if she can’t win him back, she’s bent on destroying his career, and any future happiness with Vanessa.
 
As truths play out, as emotions are faced and reconciled, Jackson and Vanessa must confront the ideas of reformation, forgiveness, and finding a way to love…even in the darkest circumstances.


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Marianne Evans is a multi-award-winning author of Christian romance and fiction. Her hope is to spread the faith-affirming message of God’s love through the stories He prompts her to create. Devotion, earned the Bookseller’s Best Award as well as the Heart of Excellence Award. She also earned wins for Best Romance of 2012 from the Christian Small Publisher's Association and the Selah award for best Novella of 2013. Happily married and the mother of two, Marianne is a lifelong resident of Michigan who is active in a number of a number of Romance Writers of America chapters, most notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served two terms as President. Connect with her at www.marianneevans.com