Monday, November 28, 2016

Book Feature - Joy Comes to Bethlehem

In Keeping with Cyber - Monday, I'd like to feature one of my books, Joy Comes to Bethlehem.

Book description:  
Meet Gil, the donkey whose name, in Hebrew, means "Joy" and her foal named Elpis (pronounced el-peese’), which means "Hope," in Greek. 


Joy Comes to Bethlehem takes the reader along on the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem with Joseph, Mary and Gil. (Haven’t you sometimes wondered what that trip might have been like?) Experience the sad goodbye of Gil & Elpis as well as danger and drama along the way. See the faithfulness of God and the amazing birth of His Son, Jesus. 

Again read the wonderful story of the birth of The Savior. Enjoy the setting and the perspective of these adorable and faithful beasts of burden. Join with these characters in the joy and hope that is found in God the Father and Jesus the Son. Though this is a children's book, the story and the extraordinary art will be enjoyed by young and old alike.

Cost: $16.99 + .90 sales tax in Virginia
Shipping: $3.00 to anywhere in continental U.S.


To view a slide show of some of the beautiful illustrations, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/connie.wohlford?fref=photo


















My books about little Jesus, tell of the three things the Bible tell us that happen to Jesus as an infant. Though they comprise a trilogy, each is a stand alone book. Each book has a parallel donkey story.

The two animal books below tell about a rhinokaroarus, named Gerald. This unique character, beloved of my grandchildren from many bedtime stories, is now stealing the hearts of many other children as well. [Rhinokaroarus is an animal word my father made up many years ago.] 

Joy Comes to Bethlehem is $16.99 and each of the other four books is $10.50, plus tax (in Virginia). Shipping is $3.00 for 1 - 12 books, to anywhere in the continental U.S. 
 
Here are all five of my children's books:

Please email or Facebook message me for more details or to place an order. I'll be happy to sign and personalize books  for you.
Email - author@conniewohlford.com 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ConnieWohlfordAuthor/


©Connie Wohlford 2016

Friday, November 18, 2016

The Election is Over. Okay—So Now What?



The Election is Over. Okay—So Now What?

As if you’ve not heard enough about last week’s election, I want to say a couple things.

Initially, I was not a fan of Donald Trump. But when he became the Republican nominee I prayed about it and felt I needed to vote for him, though not necessarily enthusiastically. 

Then the more I saw and learned about Hillary Clinton, the more enthusiastic I became for DT. Each of their comments on abortion during the last debate clenched it for me and I became genuinely and enthusiastically pro Trump.

So now, he has won. I was shocked! The country was shocked! The world was shocked!

It’s as though the hand of God reached down and cast a vote. That would certainly be the majority in any election.

And if God did have a hand in the Trump victory, we need to ask why.
Think about it—this political outsider billionaire from NYC won enough votes to beat out Hillary Clinton in spite of the huge, powerful, wealthy political machine called the Democratic Party, which had been grooming, prepping and propping up their candidate for years. Also he won in spite the massive forces of the mainstream media’s unethical backing HC; in spite of the professors and brainy elites on college campuses and progressive think tanks besmirching DT as well as anyone who dared to be for him; and, let’s not forget those brilliant people in Hollywood! 

I know that many Christians found it hard to vote for a man who we perceive to be as worldly as DT. But to me the choice came down to worldly vs. evil. I think when Christian people and other moral folks began to see that, they decided to come around and go vote on November 8th.

We the people rose up and made our voices heard. I thank God for that.

Not only did Donald Trump win the presidency, with God’s help, we the people put into office conservative congressmen, senators, and governors, as well as lower level officials, all across our land.

Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America <> Photo by Connie

This 2016 election on every level has been unprecedented for the conservative cause. There’s got to be a reason.

It appears that DT is God’s choice of a US president in the current era of human history. Why?

Could it be that one reason is to give the body of Christ a window of opportunity to freely evangelize? Are we going to experience the end time revival we read about in Scripture? The prophet Joel calls it the Latter Rain. The late David Wilkerson, in his article titled, “The Last Revival,” suggests that God has “determined to close out the ages with a mighty exaltation of His name. What a display of power it will be!”* 

Have you noticed that in recent years Christians and Christian ministries have been targeted in what seems like an effort to be hushed while other religions are lauded and treated with a hands-off pass?

For years progressive liberals have tried to chip away at our freedom to pray, worship, gather, and speak biblical truth from our pulpits. They’ve been systematically removing God from the public arena. And they’ve been persecuting Christians by trying to shut down their businesses for not being politically correct enough. 

A good example of this is the bakery owned by a Christian couple in Oregon. After last week’s election, conservative, Todd Starnes, wrote, “An Oregon bureaucrat who waged political jihad against the owners of a Christian bakery was given the heave-ho by voters. Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian was defeated in his bid to be Secretary of State by Republican, Dennis Richardson. It’s the first time a Republican has been elected to a statewide office in Oregon since 2002.”** 

We’ve been handed a gift. Now that we have more people governing our country who tend to be friendly to our Judaeo-Christian values, what are we going to do about it? This is a good time to recall the famous words of JFK: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Then let’s go up a level and say, “Ask not what God Almighty can do for you. Ask what you can do for Him.”

After all, don’t we all really want America to be great again?

We need to start on our knees. I know that sounds cliché but it’s profoundly true. As we pray lets each ask God to show us our individual role. While we’re down there let’s ask and expect Him to show us how to accomplish His agenda. For certain, we can count on Him to do His part.

Award-winning author/blogger, Lori Roelefeld, spelled out excellent post-election advice for those of us who love God and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Please go now and read her post titled, “The Gentle Art of Hard Conversations—and Coffee.” I believe it will help us get our part into perspective.  https://www.facebook.com/lori.roeleveld/posts/1251376858252658?pnref=story
 
One last thought—gloating is not an effective witnessing tool. Let’s humble ourselves before God and seek His face.

Your comments are welcome. Please be kind and full of grace. Inappropriate comments will be deleted.

* www.tscpulpitseries.org  


©Connie Wohlford 2016

Monday, November 7, 2016

Is a donkey or an elephant of more value than the cross?



Is a donkey or an elephant of more value than the cross?

So have we had enough of political jargon yet? Are we fed up with hacks and hatchets in the realm of US politics? I’m thinkin, “YES!”

Well, it’s almost over and tomorrow is the big day. It’s hard to believe that there really are some folks out there who are yet undecided, so they say. They also say that many Americans are so fed up they don’t even plan to cast a ballot.
So at this point, just a few hours before the poles open, I’d like to throw in my two cents worth.

I approach voting from my personal Christian world view. I like to be as informed as I can, weigh the pros and cons of the candidates and questions on the ballot, PRAY a lot, and go vote at the appointed time.

I believe this is the process by which most other Christians enter the ballot booth.

How do I become informed? 

I listen to and read about the candidates. I listen to the opinions of people whom I admire and respect. I check out the party platforms, although I admit I have not read every single word of either one, I have read parts of each. 

I do all this prayerfully throughout the process and then I pray some more.  


I love my country. I love learning about U.S. history. Just last week my husband and I toured Montpelier, the home of James Madison, who is known as the Father of the U.S. Constitution. We took what they call the “Constitution Tour,” which focuses on the forming of our Constitution. All Americans should learn as much as possible about the founding of our nation. It’s all quite an amazing story. 

Montpelier - Home of James & Dolley Madison

So, back to Election 2016—if you are an American citizen, I encourage you to exercise your right to vote on our nation’s leader. Give it your best shot—and do it prayerfully. We don’t have a perfect candidate because Jesus’ name is not on the ballot.

Don’t consider party loyalty either because neither the elephant nor the donkey is more valuable than the cross of Christ.
On November 9, 2016, do be able to say, “I did my part. I voted.”

May God help us! Your comments are welcome below.

If you want to see more photos from our visit to Montpelier, go to my Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/ConnieWohlfordAuthor/


 
©Connie Wohlford 2016