JOHN 3:16 MARKETING NETWORK GUEST POST: “Lorilyn Introduces New Christian Author Cheryl Rogers”

I (Lorilyn Roberts) would like to introduce a very talented Christian author, Cheryl Rogers; she is not only an author but an artist and musician.

My friend Cheryl likes to write for children because they usually are very open to God. “Children have a special place in my heart. They have so many years ahead of them ... so many years to enjoy getting things right,” she says.

Her latest children's ebook is I Can See Christian Storybook Treasury, a unique book that helps defeat doubts about God that develop as a child grows. It begins with I Can See God's ABCs, a story that should be read to the child as he or she is learning about the world. From there, the short stories become increasingly complex, dealing with questions like how can we find a God we cannot see, why did Jesus come to Earth and why did Jesus have to die.

I Can See Christian Storybook Treasury is meant to be used through the years with each child and grandchild in the family," Cheryl says. "It can be used with younger and older children at the same time."

Another one of her books includes Making Choices: Life is Like Acorns, a Bible study aimed at children 5 to 10 years old.  The story is about a baby squirrel named Peepsy who is learning how to hunt for acorns. His mother teaches him not all acorns are good to eat -- things are not always what they seem to be.

Just Like Jonah Wail Tales, a storybook aimed at preteens and teens, teaches there is a price to pay when you disobey. The modern-day Jonahs make bad choices and land in a whale of trouble, just like the prophet Jonah in the Bible. But when they return to God, He is faithful to change their circumstances.

Her devotions book aimed at new and young believers, Fast Track to Victory, A Christian Guidebook, contains 40 short lessons that enable us to live the victorious Christian life, helping us really love and forgive others, set aside pride, deal with tragedy, and death and lots more.

Cheryl knew she wanted to be a writer as a child. She earned a journalism degree in college and honed her skills as a newspaper reporter, but it took a devastating illness for Cheryl to realize what she was supposed to write about. In 1993, she succumbed to a severe immune disorder, Environmental Illness, to which there is no physical cure. After undergoing extensive treatment to no avail, she surrendered her life to Christ and he miraculously healed her.

"My life was in shambles, but God gave me my life back. I learned he was real and well able to handle my problems," Cheryl says.

A Miami native who lives in Tampa, Florida, with her family, Cheryl currently publishes New Christian Books, a magazine featuring announcements about new kingdom-building books as well as book excerpts, a Bible-based living column, author marketing tips, and other features. She has authored a number of Christian titles as well as a couple of ebooks about self-publishing.

In addition to her Christian books, Cheryl designs Christian posters, mugs, cards, tees, and other products using her nature photographs and Scriptures from the King James Authorized Version. She also has self-produced three Scripture song CDs.

"It never was my idea to write Scripture songs," says Cheryl, "but when the first song was sung into my spirit on the second anniversary of my father's death, well, it got my attention. My father wanted my sister and me to write a song as children, but I couldn't come up with a melody. All I could do was the lyrics. And here I was getting a complete melody. I couldn't ignore it."

She discovered a music studio two blocks from her house and was able to complete the CDs with expert help and the knowledge she gained through childhood piano lessons and college voice classes.

"I realized I had better use the talent I had been developing for His purposes," she says, "and so I began sharing the lessons he taught me through Bible columns. These become the basis of my devotions book, Fast Track to Victory, A Christian Guidebook.

To read more of Lorilyn Roberts’ blogposts, visit LorilynRoberts.com

SINGLE PARENTING WHEN GOD SPEAKS - SIXTEEN NUGGETS OF INSPIRATION: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

Recently a friend shared with me her daughter was in the processing of adopting two children. The little girls had been abused in their family of origin and the legal case was slowly making its way through the court system. As I reread her email, I prayed that God would answer every prayer my friend’s daughter sent up, just as He had answered mine.

Then the thought occurred to me: What would I say to a young mother-to-be whom God has called to “walk in my shoes”? I know each person’s situation is a little different, but similar in that a woman feels God is leading her to single parent an orphan, an abused child, or a child who might never feel loved. What wisdom would I impart after having been at this noble but difficult task for sixteen years?

I pulled out my keyboard and a plethora of thoughts gushed forth. May my words encourage you if you are chosen by God to save an orphan—whether you are married or unmarried, but particularly if you are single. With God, all impossible things are possible. Without Him, we walk alone.

1. Single parenting is the hardest thing you will ever do, but the most wonderful thing you will ever do.

2. I would never recommend a single woman adopt. It's too hard. I would never recommend a single woman not adopt. The blessings are too great. I would let God tell you what He wants you to do. If God calls you to adopt, never back down, give up, despair, or listen to those who tell you differently. If God is in it, there is nothing that will prevent you from being a mother to a child. God has a plan and a purpose. He does things His way, not ours. Trust in God. He will direct you.

3. You will never know what tired is until you have single-parented two kids on your own (or even one).

4. God is your husband, and the perfect husband.

5. You will come to understand how much God loves you by adopting a child who has no future and no hope, for that is how we are without Jesus.

6. You will share the heart of God; His hands, His hope, and His "all" with your children. They will know God through your sacrificial love.

7. You will love more than you ever thought you could; and you will fail miserably. But your children won't mind. In fact, they will love you anyway. Acknowledge your mistakes and move on. God can be glorified in your shortcomings. He loves your children more than you do.

8. God will not abandon you. He will meet every need you have more abundantly than you could ever imagine.

9. The day you sign the adoption papers will be the best day of your life. God has given you a great gift—a chance to share His love with an orphan. That is the essence of our faith.

10. “Mommy” is the most beautiful word in the English language.

11. Enjoy every moment of the journey. Your children will grow up too fast—in the blink of an eye. The years will wiz by, and you will wonder, where did the time go?

12. Make the most of every opportunity to love, teach, laugh, cry, and even be silly. Be a mother to the fullest. Give it your all. Go to bed exhausted. It's the best kind of tiredness you will ever feel.

13. Have a latte every once and a while, and read your Bible whenever you can.

14. Pray hard. God is always with you. Know this is your calling and your life's work. Your children are precious gifts from the Hands of the Creator. They are beautifully designed in His image with a future and a hope because of your love freely given in His name.

15. Love your children unconditionally. Be flexible. Learn to say "I'm sorry." It does wonders to restore the hurting soul.

16. Enjoy the journey and have a blast. There is nothing else like it short of heaven!

MEDIA: TV APPEARANCE ON ATLANTA’S 57 WATC, Friends & Neighbors

I am excited to share with you that next Tuesday, November 16, at 12:00 noon, I will be appearing on Atlanta’s 57 WATC Friends & Neighbors. The episode will re-air on Saturday, November 20, at 8:30 A.M.

If you are not in the Atlanta area, the show will be streamed live on their website at to be given as soon as I have it.

Here is a description of Friends & Neighbors from the WATC TV website:

“Meet Sherry Tatum, Donna Ritchie and Kim Gravel and feel the warmth and love of friends coming together. Viewers will be educated and encouraged every week on Friends & Neighbors.”

I had a delightful time taping the show and could not believe how quickly the minutes flew by. They asked me what I wanted to talk about two minutes before Friends & Neighbors started, and I said, “I think I want to share my testimony.”

It was the first time I shared my testimony in a public setting. Totally unrehearsed, God filled me with His spirit; and Joy made an appearance at the end of the show.

I actually went out and bought a new dress and shoes with high heels. I won't admit how long it had been since I covered my legs in those expensive things that run. What do they call them? Oh, yeah. stockings! Just kidding, but it had been a LONG time since I bought a pair.

I hope you will tune in. I was much more relaxed taping this than I was the Animal Planet’s ”Monsters Inside Me” Shape Shifters episode.

The producer Gregory West was wonderful and the hosts were spirit-filled, women of God. Children of Dreams has given me a welcomed opportunity to share my faith about God’s love.

CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTIAN, HOMESCHOOLING MOM: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

Leaves floating in the pool always signal the end of summer for me and the beginning of autumn. With fall comes my assignment of homeschooling Joy. While some days it’s a pleasure and other days a chore, I recently thought about curriculum in an unusual way. It reminded me of something funny years ago when I homeschooled Manisha.

In the fourth grade, she was given an assignment to set up a study schedule for the week—what subjects and how much time she should devote to each one. I chuckle as I remember her daily homeschooling curriculum: Reading, five minutes; English, five minutes; science, five minutes; history, three minutes; math, thirty seconds; lunch, one hour; and recess, the rest of the day. While that may have seemed like a great curriculum to Manisha at ten, I would hate to imagine where she would be today in her second year of college if I had allowed her to “go her own way.”

Last spring over Memorial Day weekend, Joy and I went to the Florida Homeschooling Convention in Orlando. It was a time of refreshment as I reflected on what we had accomplished over the past year and what I hoped to do for this next year. Upon arriving Joy and I quickly ate and hurried down to the exhibit hall, where I spent hours pouring over the books, curriculum, games, and “ideas” on display. Most of the venders return every year and there are always new ones to check out. This annual tradition encourages me to keep on keeping on for another year until God shows me it’s time to enroll Joy in traditional school. We just take homeschooling one year at a time.

Each year I assess Joy’s strengths and weaknesses and which curriculum (or non-curriculum) would work best for the following year. I have not used with Joy the same materials that I used for Manisha. Each of my daughters is unique, and as a homeschooling mom, it’s been a joy to tailor the curriculum to meet each of their specific needs. I have to admit, I have made mistakes. A couple of times I tried math programs which caused far too many tears. It required the unexpected expense and time of switching to something else. But I have never doubted God’s calling to homeschool, even as a single parent. I have been brought to my knees at times by the sheer burden and feeling of inadequacy. I could not do it without the Lord’s help.

But my heart’s desire to give my daughters the best that I can goes a long way in God’s provision. He makes up for what I lack. As I recall what Manisha wanted for a curriculum many years ago, in my finite wisdom, of course, I knew one minute of math a day would not prepare her for Algebra, and twenty-five minutes of English a week would not be sufficient to write a ten-page term paper on International Relations as a sophomore in college. We can chuckle at the absurdity, laughing because we know ourselves. Are we really any different?

In the broader context of life, reflecting on God’s great plan for each of us, do I know what His perfect curriculum is for me? Do I know what I need in His economy to become the person He created me to be? If God way back at the beginning of time had asked me to design my own curriculum, what would I have asked for? The human side of me would have said, “God, how about a little place on the beach with a pool, lots of books, and a Starbucks latte twice a day. I don’t want to cook, wash clothes, worry about car repairs, computers that crash, or anyone I love getting sick. In fact, give me a life where I never have to worry about anything.”

I know it’s not very “spiritual,” but if the truth be told, I don’t think anyone would ask for heartache. After all, we don’t have the mind of God. Our little thoughts are not like His. We long selfishly for a fulfilling life, to have our needs met, and to be accepted by others. The Bible is full of all the perils that accompany that mindset, beginning with Adam and Eve.

One of the courses in my life curriculum (which I never would have asked for) was working for twenty years as a court reporter. I never liked court reporting—the adversarial nature of it, the long, unpredictable hours, the fact that most of what I wrote was meaningless in God’s great scheme (who cares that someone found a cricket in a can of beans). Plus it was something I never wanted to do but circumstances willed it.

Sometimes life takes away our freedom to choose. Things happen. In those moments of doubting God’s best for us, we should cast our eyes on Jesus, who did the will of His Father and not His own. I “begrudged” those years until very recently, feeling like much of my working life was wasted. How many books could I have written during that time? I can’t say I was filled with discontent, but certainly upon occasion I have questioned, why didn’t God allow me to pursue writing at a much younger age? Why did “this” have to happen? You can fill in the blank with your own “this” and ask your own “why.” I have said to myself more than once, things would have been so much better if I had chosen “this” but couldn’t.

What better choices could there be than what my heavenly Father chose for me? Do I not trust Him completely? Does He not know the best curriculum to mold me into His image? Cannot my sorrows and loss be counted as gain for the kingdom of heaven?

Jesus tells us in John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Jesus gave this command to His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. Little did His followers know what was about to happen. But Jesus knew if His words “abided” within their hearts, it would be sufficient to bring them through the dark days that lay ahead.

God has given us everything we need to equip us for His heavenly kingdom. Our curriculum has been chosen by the King of the universe. He molded each one of us from clay. He breathed life into us. He gifts us with talents and blesses us with hope and so much more than we deserve. He loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for us. No doubt His curriculum is vastly different from and better for my soul than anything I could possibly envision.

When I took my novel course in my Masters studies, I learned that one of the greatest novelists of all time, Charles Dickens, began his career as a court reporter. So I am in great company. Who knows how God will use those years down the road. After all, He is the great designer, craftsman, artist, and author.

God knows exactly what curriculum we all need to complete a doctorate in life and graduate Summa Cum Laude. And for each one of us, God lovingly designs the classes. I think a doctorate would fittingly describe the many difficult courses we must take to become everything He longs for us to be. And it will probably require—at least for me—more than thirty seconds of suffering, two minutes of patience, five minutes of sacrifice, and five minutes of prayer.

If we can cease our striving, our complaining, and slow down, God might just exempt us from a life class we would rather not take. “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” according to I Timothy 6:6; and that Starbucks latte, well, I do enjoy one upon occasion. Now, by God’s grace, I just need a teaspoon of patience and a tablespoon of love to enjoy another successful year of homeschooling.