Tuesday 28 June 2011

Professional Review

To those that read MaryLu Tyndall, her new book 'Surrender the Dawn' has been officially reviewed by Romantic Times. The review is great and makes the book seem that much more thrilling. Go check it out at MaryLu's blog...

http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/2011/06/first-professional-review-of-surrender.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

This is a summary of what was stated:

Cassandra Channing will do everything within her power to support her family The only thing she can think of is hiring Luke Heaton as a privateer with the last of her money. She knows if he gets captured or the ship sinks, she is out of options and time. Luke has his own problems: the British are blackmailing him into selling his bounty to them. With war raging around them, Luke and Cassandra will have to work together to survive.

Thursday 16 June 2011

Giveaway!

Hey everyone. Award-winning author MaryLu Tyndall is giving away a free e-book for the first in the Surrender to Destiny series. I own this book, and I have to say that it is really good. It will be available on Kindle from June 1- July 31. This is a good author, so I recommend you try, just in case you win! Click on the picture, or follow the link: http://t.co/UW4mSHP




I failed to mention some important facts!!! This works for your Kindle, but if you don't have a kindle you can download a free computer version if you follow the link. It is simple and easy. Plus Amazon has a lot of free Kindle books that you can put on your computer Kindle and read. 

Sunday 12 June 2011

Cleaning House

I was cleaning the yard with my family today and I realized that even when things don't seem to be that dirty, when you polish it, it looks that much better. I live on a farm and I know that it isn't any excuse, buy our yard is ridiculously messy! We were pressure washing the driveway, and before hand I said to my parents that there was no need to do it because it wasn't that dirty. How wrong I was. We took away more than 6 wheel barrels full of dirt and sludge. SIX. Things usually end up being dirtier than they appear.
My family may be messy with how clean we keep our things, but I believe that there are worse things than a messy outside, and that is the inside. If we hide or keep something from others, we don't realize how dirty it is until we clean it up. Just like a window that is dirty, often times we don't notice how filthy it is until we clean it.

For example, I realized that recently I had been extremely short tempered with everyone around me, and I didn't even realize that I was. No matter what anyone at home did, I was not happy. I felt horrible inside, but I didn't know what was going on, so I just went on doing what I was doing. I went to church on Sunday morning, a bit miffed because I did not feel like going. I felt like it was a chore, too much effort than it was worth. The moment I walked in the church doors I was wishing I wasn't there, when suddenly it hit me. I didn't have to be there. I didn't have to do anything for the church. I did it because I wanted to. Those people inside the church did not deserve my horrible attitude. When worship started, the songs we sung were, "I'm coming back to the heart of worship" and "Jesus Messiah". Boy was I convicted.

I realized that everything I did was supposed to be for Jesus. The words,"He became sin /Who knew no sin
That we might become His Righteousness/He humbled himself and carried the cross," hit me hard. Right then and there I asked God for forgiveness. 

It was in that moment that I realized that the reason why I had been so extremely rude lately was because I wasn't reading my Bible. I was stressed about final exams, keeping good grades, what I was going to do after graduation, and it caused me to falter. Inside I knew that I needed to read my Bible, so I felt guilty about what I wasn't doing. I am happy to say that I started to read my Bible, and the day seems brighter. It is strange how God works in miraculous ways. 

This same thing goes for secrets or things that you have hidden. When you try to hide something it just itches. I was recently at a friends house, and I touched poison ivy by mistake. When I didn't put something on it right away the marks grew and began to be itchy. The more I touched it, the more it hurt. This is the same as something you have hidden in your closet, something that you need to get out. When you don't fix the problem , you lie more, become moodier, and many times fall away from God. 

If you have something that you are hiding, don't hide it because in the dark it festers and grows until you don't even realize the main cause of the pain. 

"I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Trust everything with the Lord God, because he is the only one we can lean on. Don't try to hide something from him, because, well, he sees all!

Wednesday 8 June 2011

On My Way Out

Today I found out that there was an opening in the bible school program that I want to get into and I realized once again God's power. I am signing up late and I wasn't sure on what would happen, and he pulled through. I know that sometimes he doesn't pull through in our prayers, or at least for what we are hoping, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't love us. No matter what happens, He is like our father. When we wanted to do something when we were younger, our parents would try to prevent us from doing it, but often, we would have to learn the hard way.

I remember one story of my younger brother. He was 2 years old when we were living in Saskatchewan. We had an older style toaster oven that we had on a small table in the dining room. One night, after supper, he walked up to the toaster and twisted the knob that was on the front, inadvertently turning on the toaster. Next,  he pulled down the door and stuck his hands inside, exploring, like any good toddler would do. I was washing dishes in the Kitchen when I heard him yell and ran into the other room. He had gotten third degree burns on his palms of his hands because he placed his little hands on the burner. My parents had told him numerous times not to do that but he was a kid, and he didn't know better. 4 months later, after his hands had healed, he did it again, obviously not learning from the first time.

In our lives we are just like this. We feel like we should get what we want, and when God doesn't give us the answer we want we adventure out on our own, exploring. This, too often than not, causes us to get burned and we say, "Why God," when it was our fault in the first place. Other times it is others that sinned which causes our lives to be drastically changed. It isn't God's fault, but those around us. Satan uses these situations to get the better of situations. God isn't our piƱata that we can hit around and eventually get candy from. He is like a parent, giving us some things, but keeping others away, trying to teach us right from wrong.

God doesn't always answer our prayers, sometimes he closes a door that we really wanted to be open. In Jeremiah it says that God has a plan for us, and it isn't to harm us. It is amazing to think that no matter what happens He knows what is going on.

I know in my life there has been many times where I wondered where God was in my life or what he was doing. One of my favorite poems, Footsteps in the Sand, says it all. The one line that says, "When you have only seen one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you," is my hope for the future. No matter what happens that hurts or makes us feel like there is no hope, is when God is there holding our hand.

If you feel like God has hurt you in a way that you can't be healed, you are wrong. God didn't hurt you. Either it was by your own doing, or the doing of others around you. God allows things to happen to teach us a lesson, but he doesn't cause it to happen. This concept has taken me years to understand, and I know have years to comprehend it even more. Life throws curve balls, and I think it is time that we leaned on God for guidance in deciding whether to swing or wait. If you swing too soon or too late, it is strike out, so wait for God and he will help you hit a home run, even if you don't feel him beside you guiding your hands.

Thursday 2 June 2011

Coming Soon

All those that love mystery and romance, suspense and intrigue. I have just the book for you!

Surrender the Dawn

This is a novel by MaryLu Tyndall. She is a Christian Historical Fiction Romance writer. Wow. That is one big mouthful. This novel is situated in Baltimore with Cassandra Channing. She is willing to to anything that she can to provide for her family, even if it means that she must hire the towns rogue as their own privateer. Luke Heaton is a man with a tortured past whom the British are blackmailing into selling supplies to their ships that are just off the coast. These two headstrong, troubled Americans will collide as they are drawn into danger, war, and romance. How long can they preserve their love for each other, and prevent any harm from befalling them when the British begin their assault on Fort McHenry.

MaryLu Tyndall is a Christy Award nominee author that would love for the chance to bring you on a stormy seafaring ride that will leave you clinging to the rail as the storm gathers momentum.

This novel will be released on August 1, 2011 by Barbour Books. You can buy it in the stores near you. She has other books published, and this is the third in the Surrender to Destiny series.  

If I were you, I would be taking a little trip to the nearest book store to buy MaryLu's newest novel.