LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: “Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life,” by Jen Chillingsworth

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Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life by Jen Chillingsworth shows the reader how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. With cover-to-cover captivating artwork, innovative ideas and suggestions leap off the pages of Live Green.

Topics on sustainability include sprucing up the home with anti-pollutant plants, spicing up the dinner table with wholesome foods, buying natural products for hair and skin,  and creating Christmas decorations from organic materials.

In addition to ideas to encourage a greener lifestyle, the author lists sources of inspiration for those who want to dig deeper.

My favorite chapter, “Eat Green,” challenged me the most. As a two-year breast cancer survivor, the quest to eat healthier stretched me to try healthier foods and forego sweets, deli meats, and soft drinks. I would encourage the reader, if this seems daunting, to incorporate changes slowly. Even for the most determined, it takes time to make significant lifestyle adaptations.  

The underlying theme in Live Green begins with awareness. I recommend starting simple. For example, I began with growing herbs beside our front door and planting lettuce and onions in a winter garden. More strategies in Live Green include how to compost and buy product in bulk.

Modest changes like bagging groceries in hemp or cloth bags instead of plastic ones help the environment. For Christmas, I gifted reusable straws to my daughters. After years of hounding me to recycle, they are impressed with how far I’ve come. Small adaptations help sea creatures not only to survive but thrive.

LiveGreen: Fifty-Two steps for a More Sustainable Life is one giant leap toward helping all of us to live greener. Future generations will thank us, and our oceans, air, forests, birds, honeybees, and animals will reap the benefits of our more sustainable life choices. 

My herb garden                               

To purchase Live Green from Amazon,
click here.                         

BOOK EXCERPT FROM SEVENTH DIMENSION - THE CITY: A Young Adult Fantasy, Book 4

“…and the hated Jews that remain aren’t worth our time. We will move west and south into Israel. Our generals will share reports from the field. We begin with a report from our angel of death.”

The fallen angel raised his wings and shouted. “Oh, my dear angels and demons, good news I bring to you. My human has been very cooperative and listened to my suggestions. He is convinced he can win and defeat the enemy.

“Our agenda to stir up strife in Europe has achieved better-than-expected results. The immigration crisis is increasing conflicts among nations. 

Divisions will lead to decreasing tolerance, enabling us to inflict pain and suffering on more and more of God’s stupid sheep.”

The underlings applauded.

“However, reports from behind enemy lines show the prayers of Christians are stopping our advances in the United States and Israel. We must silence the enemy. When saints pray, we lose ground. If you don’t want to burn in the lake of fire, we must defeat those prayer warriors now.”

Discordant voices united in a dirge of hate-filled propaganda.

We will crush the king of kings and lord of lords,

With cruel hate, conniving deceit, and slashing swords.

The king on high can never win,

Against our occult power of sin.

Persecution, suffering, death, and war.

We will bruise our enemy more and more.

Lucifer, our bright morning star,

The object of our worship near and far.

Praise to our ruler who will once again rise

To defeat the man in white, our enemy, our prize.

Once the dissonance subsided, another fallen angel stepped up to the podium.

Without notice, something happened. Doubt crept into my thoughts. Suppose Lucifer won? Suppose my small, insignificant prayers weren’t enough? How much difference could I make against the powers of Sheol?

My eyes read the words in the scriptures, but I couldn’t concentrate. My confidence in God faltered. Hopelessness started to affect my thinking. Depression threatened to usurp my trust. Just as my confidence in God wilted, Daniel leaned over and whispered. “Remember, Satan is a trickster. God keeps him on a tight rope, so don’t despair.”

Daniel must have been reading my mind.

Lucifer announced, “The committee on eugenics has an exciting report to share with you.” A hologram danced across the cave ceiling and disappeared into the river.

Large locusts swarmed in the darkness of the cave. Their luminescence glowed in a brilliant display of power. They appeared like horses, ready for battle.

They wore golden crowns on their heads, and mutilated faces accented their deformed, hideous appearance. Women’s hair, long and stringy, covered their backs, and razor-edged teeth like a lion’s protruded from their mouths.

They wore iron breastplates, and the sounds of horses and chariots reverberated in their wings. The battle cry sounded, and the hologram showed them terrorizing the earth. Their presence was so horrifying, the underlings screeched. I leaned on Daniel’s shoulder.

The powerful creature spoke over the clamor. “In their scorpion-like tail, they can inflict pain on humans for five months. They are waiting for the call—when the end of days begins.”

The hologram disappeared, but the sight of such creatures made me panic. I couldn’t get my breath. Daniel reached over reassuringly. Who could survive the coming calamity?

“That is not all we have to show you,” the fallen angel announced. “Behold our horses and cavalry soldiers—two hundred million in all.”

Another hologram appeared, and a different kind of supernatural creature filled the recesses of the cave. Even more horrifying than the locusts, the riders wore fire-red, iris-blue, and sulfur yellow breastplates. From their mouths spewed fire, smoke, and sulfur.

The demon spoke boastfully. “The plagues from their mouths will destroy one-third of mankind, and their tails will inflict serious injury.”

The vile creatures wielded occult superpower beyond anything imaginable. Weakness of heart overwhelmed me. I languished in pain, imagining the suffering of the afflicted. I clung to my Bible and wept.

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As I look at what is happening in the Middle East, I know war is coming, I know God is in control, and I know the Lord's return is near. 

Books four through six in the Seventh Dimension Series deal with end-time events, including the rise of Islam, the occult, and the fulfillment of prophecy. 

Jesus said, in Matthew 24:6: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."

You can read the entire Seventh Dimension Series for free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited or purchase the six-book series for $9.99 by clicking on this link.

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

BOOK MARKETING: “Why Readers Should Read Books by Indie Authors,” by Lorilyn Roberts

Lorilyn in Juneau, Alaska 2018 volunteering at Echo Bible Camp

Did you know that indie authors are genuinely independent? That is, they do not have the backing of large (or small) publishing houses. For these determined writers, money or fame doesn’t motivate them. Their passion is to write. Indie authors who persevere keep writing even if they sell only a few books. Successful indie authors refuse to give up, sometimes overcoming incredible odds to succeed.

Did you know indie authors tend to discount their e-books more than traditional authors? This is in an effort to entice new readers. Often, indie books are available on Amazon for free through Kindle Unlimited. 

Did you know indie authors often write outside the box? By this I mean the plots of their books often cross multiple genres, and they may even invent an entirely new category. They can take risks because they aren’t constrained by the rules of traditional publishers.

Did you know many famous authors debuted as indie authors? For example, Beatrix Potter, who wrote the Peter Rabbit Series; Darcy Chan whose book, The Mill River Recluse, appeared on the USA Today and New York Times Best-Seller lists for twenty-eight straight weeks; and Amanda Hocking, who was an indie author before she clinched a contract with a traditional publisher for over $2 million.

Did you know readers discovered these extraordinary talents even when traditional publishing houses rejected their books, not once or twice, but dozens of times? Why not make a New Year’s resolution? Read more indie-published books in 2020. You might be surprised by the talent you discover.

Available from Amazon by clicking here

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

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: “Remembering Christmas,” edited by by Yvonne Lehman

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Book Review by Contributor Lorilyn Roberts

When I finished reading Remembering Christmas, so many tears filled my eyes it was hard to see. From sweet stories to special moments, funny anecdotes to heart-wrenching tales, soft poetic lyrics to bold eschatology, there is a story for everyone in this book.

I tried to decide which one was my favorite, but couldn’t. They were all beautifully written. Still, one memoir unexpectedly touched my heart.

In “The Return of the King” by Bob Blundell, he shares a trip he took to Israel, where he stood at the edge of the Valley of Armageddon. This incident was particularly memorable to him because when he was in college, he had read Hal Lindsey’s best-selling book, The Late Great Planet Earth.

Forty-five years earlier, I attended an event at which Hal Lindsey spoke when I was a student at the University of Georgia. What an impact hearing him speak had on my life. Many years earlier, I had also read The Late Great Planet Earth and seen the movie by the same name.

By coincidence, I had listened to a Hal Lindsey YouTube video in my car only a few hours earlier. I was returning home with an old treasured lamp someone had fixed for me for free as a Christmas gift.

“I can tell how much that lamp means to you,” the man said. “Merry Christmas.”

I felt so blessed by the store owner because it took him a while to fix the lamp, and the store rate for repairs was $90 per hour.

Wonderful books tug at your heartstrings. They stir your emotions and cause you to ponder, to remember, to hope, to laugh, to weep. They take you down roads less traveled and quench a longing you might not even know you have.

Remembering Christmas is one of those books. In this season of giving, I’ve enjoyed a quiet moment to read and reflect on the profound meaning of Christmas, not only historically and spiritually, but personally. I will put this poignant book on my bookshelf and look forward to reading it again next Christmas and beyond.

To purchase from Amazon click here

BOOK MARKETING: “Vote for a Christian Book Cover Depicting the End of Days,” by Lorilyn Roberts

UPDATE:  I MADE IT TO THE THIRD ROUND

SEVENTH DIMENSION - THE HOWLING: A YOUNG ADULT FANTASY

To continue in the best book cover contest at All Author, I need to be in the top 24, and I'm at number 28 right now. That means without your help, I won't be able to continue. I have six days to get there. 

The main reason I want to make it to the next round is my book is a Christian book, and anytime we can promote our Lord Jesus Christ to a secular reading audience, we should do everything in our power to be a witness to the unsaved. 

I am asking those who love Christ to help me keep going. Perhaps someone who is not a Christian will see my book cover and be led to purchase it. I lowered the price to 99c on Amazon as long as I'm in the running. That means for every book sold I make 33c on Amazon, so this isn't about money. It's about spreading the love of Jesus Christ to secular readers. 

I truly believe the Lord's return is imminent. The Howling is the final book in the Seventh Dimension Series and is about the end days. Many people will never pick up a Bible, but if they are hooked in the first chapter of a book, they will usually keep reading. 

Getting people to pick up a book by an unknown author requires a book cover that intrigues them. If you think my book cover is "awesome," please vote. It only takes a second. 

You can do "open voting" by signing in with your Facebook account. Someone told me All Authors asks for your birthday, and that's to make sure people only vote ONCE in each round. 

Round three just opened yesterday, and so if you are wondering if you have voted in round three, if you haven't voted in the last twenty-four hours, you haven't. 

Again, thanks for your help. To have a realistic chance of winning, I need about two hundred votes.  

Click to Vote! 

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NEXT MAN UP - ARE YOU READY: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

I’ve often thought one of the neatest things about sports is the parallel you can draw between sports and Christianity. So, to give a wonderful example of what I mean, last Saturday I captioned a college football game, Kennesaw State University versus Wofford.

One thing that made captioning this game unique is that I actually attended Kennesaw State University eons ago when I took a history class. I believe it was an American history class. I’ve always been a history buff even when I didn’t know I was one.

For those who aren’t familiar with Kennesaw State University, it’s located in Kennesaw, Georgia, about twenty miles north of Atlanta. The College has an enrollment of about 30,000 students and the football team, known as the Owls, is a recent entry in the Big South Conference.

Last Saturday the Owls and the Wofford Terriers squared off in the first round of the FCS playoffs. I’ve captioned hundreds of games in every sport imaginable over the past twenty years, but midway through the second quarter, the ordinary game became extraordinary—at least for me.

Tommy Bryant, Kennesaw State’s star quarterback, suffered an injury and had to leave the game. Tommy had played every second of every game for the entire season. Jonathan Murphy, the backup quarterback, had not taken a single snap. For twelve games, he sat on the sidelines and watched.

I’d seen this scenario dozens of times before. A team works their tails off to make it to the playoffs only to have their star player go down, and their dreams of winning a championship go down with him.

So, I didn’t expect this game to be any different. Oftentimes, in the first possession, the team panics, fumbles the ball, and the opponent gets possession and runs it down the field for a touchdown.

But not this time. This unknown, backup quarterback came in and took over like he had been playing all season and led Kennesaw State to a 28-21 playoff victory. In the process, Jonathan set several records, including running for 206 yards, the most by a quarterback in conference playoff history.

As I captioned the game, I began to think about that young man, Jonathan Murphy. The Owls played their first game against Point University on August 31. From August 31 to November 30, Jonathan watched from the sidelines. Every week for three months he practiced with his team knowing that the chances of even entering the game were slim but also knowing he had to be ready if called upon at a moment’s notice. If Tommy Bryant became sick or injured, Jonathan Murphy was the next man up.

Week after week he practiced.

I never participated in sports at that level when I was young, but my daughter competed for years in gymnastics. From a distance, I could imagine the time Jonathan spent conditioning and practicing. I know the sacrifice it takes, the perseverance, and the determination to be the best.

I don’t know if I could be that self-sacrificing for my team. I’d want to be in the game. Maybe I might work hard for the first month, but surely toward the end of the season, I’d be depressed. Maybe I’d lose interest. But not Jonathan Murphy. He was ready.

Juneau, Alaska

Inspiration and insight came to me when the game was over. Is the Christian life not like that? We go for periods of time without trials or tribulations. Life is good. And then something happens, and life is not good. Life is hard. Are we ready when those times come?

I like the New Heart English Bible Translation of 2 Timothy 4:2: “Proclaim the word, be urgent in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching.”

It’s not enough to just be ready when God calls us to step up—we need to be spectacularly ready, just like Jonathan Murphy when he came on the field and led his team to victory. 

Is God worth it? Can we sit on the sidelines, tempted to think God doesn’t need us? Perhaps we slack off on our daily Bible reading, or we quit talking to God. Maybe we become a little worldly in our thoughts, or we lose that fire in our belly for the things of God. Are we willing to diligently work hard for Christ even if we don’t get noticed?

Sometimes, when I’m working on a book, I wonder if anyone will ever read my book. I remind myself when the evil one gets in my ear, “I write for an audience of one.”

In my twenty years of captioning, I don’t believe I have ever seen a young man come into a game like that, who had not played all season, and play so brilliantly. If anything, his poise and readiness inspired me to look into my heart and tell God, “I want to be that person for you, to be ready at a moment’s notice if called upon, always proclaiming Your Word in season and out of season, living my life for you, even when life is dull.

Let’s face it, most of life is pretty ordinary, but we never know when God will call us from the sidelines to be His man or woman of the hour. You or I might just be God’s next man up. I pray that I’ll be ready.

You can read more of Lorilyn Roberts’ blogposts at LorilynRoberts.com

BOOK MARKETING: Seventh Dimension - The Howling: A Young Adult Christian Fantasy, “Cover of the Month Contest - AllAuthor.com”

UPDATE:  I MADE IT TO THE SECOND ROUND

If you like the cover of my book, 

Seventh Dimension - The Howling: A Young Adult Christian Fantasy (Seventh Dimension Series Book 6), please vote for it for the Cover of the Month Contest on AllAuthor.com! 

Click to Vote! 

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A PRAYER: Happy Thanksgiving, America

 

Happy Thanksgiving, America. May God give you long life, peace, and extraordinary forgiveness for your shortcomings, too many to name. Grace is an amazing thing when extended from the Scarred Hands of a Loving and Merciful God. pic.twitter.com/059u4ClK9t

— Lorilyn Roberts (@LorilynRoberts) November 28, 2019