The Kingdom of God Author Interview and GIVEAWAY!

About the Book

Book: The Kingdom of God: Our life with Jesus the King

Author: John Avery

Genre: Christian Devotional, non-fiction

Release date: March 1, 2023

What is the kingdom of God? Many people only vaguely understand (or misunderstand) it. Is it a future heavenly existence where the nicest dreams come true and nightmares are miraculously purged? After all, it is sometimes called the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps we dismiss it as an irrelevant ideal. Pastors typically prioritize topics like salvation, grace, eternal life, faith, and prayer. Yet, the kingdom was central to the messages of John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, and other New Testament writers. Their words and behavior show that the kingdom theme is the framework uniting those topics and the entire mission of Jesus and His followers.

God’s kingdom centers on the King. It’s a life journey shared with other kingdom subjects.

This collection of 38 short pieces (2-3 pages each) explores vital questions like:

• How well do we understand Jesus’ view of the kingdom of God?
• What did Jesus mean when He spoke of being in (or outside of) the kingdom?
• Does the kingdom make any difference to our lives right now? Should it?
• Will the kingdom grow automatically, or do we have a part to play?

These pieces can be read quickly; they’re relaxed too—but think carefully and deeply.

Click HERE to get your copy!

About the Author

John Avery is the author of The Name Quest: Explore the Names of God to Grow in Faith and Get to Know Him Better (Morgan James Publishing, 2015). The Name Quest won the 2016 Oregon Christian Writers’ Cascade Award for nonfiction. A compilation of short pieces, The Questions of Jesus, was published in 2022.

John is a trained teacher with over thirty years’ experience as a Bible teaching pastor, small group leader, missionary, and disciple maker. He has lived in England, Israel, Africa, and the Caribbean, ministering with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), international student ministry, and local churches. He and his wife, Janet, now make their home in Oregon. John likes to hike, snowshoe, and cross-country ski. John writes short, thought-provoking Bible devotionals at www.BibleMaturity.com many of which will be compiled into books like this one. He maintains a comprehensive resource for all the names of God at www.NamesForGod.net.

More from John

This book is a collection of short devotional pieces. They’re relaxed, but they challenge the reader to think carefully too. What is the kingdom of God? What does it mean for our lives?

Many people only vaguely understand (or misunderstand) the kingdom of God. Is it a future heavenly existence where the nicest dreams come true and nightmares are miraculously purged? After all, it is sometimes called the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps we dismiss it as an irrelevant ideal. Pastors typically prioritize topics like salvation, grace, eternal life, faith, and prayer. Yet, the kingdom was a priority for Jesus.

God’s kingdom centers on the King. It’s a life journey shared with other kingdom subjects.

The pieces explore vital questions like:

• How well do we understand Jesus’ view of the kingdom of God?
• What did Jesus mean when He spoke of being in (or outside of) the kingdom?
• Does the kingdom make any difference to our lives right now? Should it?
• Will the kingdom grow automatically, or do we have a part to play?

Author Interview

When/how did you decide to become a writer?

In a way, it just happened. I preached a series about the names of God. As I researched it, I realized that the existing books selected just a few names and dealt with them in a fairly academic way. Very few teachers seemed to answer the questions about why God revealed so many names and how knowing Him by those names helps us. The big theme through the names in the Bible is that He reveals Himself so that we can have relationship with Him and our faith increases as we know Him. So, I gradually developed my material and it became a book, and I became a writer.

Which author has most influenced your own writing?

Probably CS Lewis.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Almost every piece in my devotional works begins in my own times with Him and reading the Bible. I might check what I sense against commentaries or reference works sometimes, but the main message comes from those times with Him. Because they are short, they require little plotting. My first book, The Name Quest: explore the names of God to grow in faith and get to know Him better, required a lot of careful plotting and considerable rearranging after that. But it is 300 pages and covers a lot more ground.

Do you have a favorite or special place to write?

I write in my office/library. It is quiet and I can focus. Often, I develop ideas as I walk or work.

What are your hobbies?

I am a hiker. I love to be out in the mountains or desert. Summer hiking, winter cross-country skiing. The further into wilderness, the better.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Write, write, write. Don’t try to perfect it until later. Join a critique group of people who can give honest and helpful feedback and encouragement.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 10

Blossoms and Blessings, March 11 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 12

Splashes of Joy, March 13 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, March 14

Guild Master, March 15 (Author Interview)

Vibrant Wings by Valerie, March 15

deb’s Book Review, March 16

A Reader’s Brain, March 17 (Author Interview)

Cover Lover Book Review, March 18

For the Love of Literature, March 19 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 20

Spoken from the Heart, March 21 (Author Interview)

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 21

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, March 22

Artistic Nobody, March 23

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, John is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/24b78/the-kingdom-of-god-celebration-tour-giveaway

In Spotlight and Shadow Review and GIVEAWAY!

About the Book

Book: In Spotlight and Shadow

Author: Rachel Scott McDaniel

Genre: Christian Fiction / Historical Fiction / Mystery / Romance

Release date: February 1, 2023

A Gem of a Mystery Takes Center Stage

​Walk through Doors to the Past via a new series of historical stories of romance and adventure.

Elise Malvern has a habit of letting people down. Her former boyfriend who hoped she’d be his bride. Her grandfather who hoped she’d take over the family’s auction company. But mostly she’s disappointed herself. What’s the point of pursuing her passion as a violinist, if she is too scared to audition for a seat in the Pittsburgh Symphony? Her internship at the elegant Heinz Hall places her in the wings of the stage, but never on it. By accident, she discovers an old stage prop. Her instincts tell her there’s more to the paste necklace than meets the eye. Whether a good idea or not, she accepts help from a childhood friend, who happens to be country music megastar—Peirson Brooks. Peirson and Elise share a history; one she doesn’t care to repeat. The more involved they become in the mystery, the more things get tangled, including her heart.

A century earlier…
Sophie Walters longs for center stage, her name on the marquee, and all that jazz, but climbing her way into an acting career is more difficult than she imagined. Having spoiled all her chances in Hollywood, she returns to Pittsburgh, accepting an insignificant role in a popular production. She watches her dreams pass by from behind the curtain at the illustrious Loew’s Penn Theatre. She finally gets the coveted spotlight, but not for her talent. No, her surge to fame is all one terrible mistake. Somehow, she’s suspected to be a notorious jewel thief known around Pittsburgh as The Mirage. The man she pleads for help is none other than the man she jilted at the altar five years before, Sterling Monroe.

Click HERE to get your copy!

About the Author

Rachel Scott McDaniel is an award-winning author of historical romance. Winner of the ACFW Genesis Award and the RWA Touched By Love award, Rachel infuses faith and heart into each story. Rachel can be found online at www.RachelScottMcDaniel.com and on all social media platforms. Her work is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency. Rachel resides in Ohio with her husband and two children.

More from Rachel

History of The Loew’s Penn/Heinz Hall Theater

The Loew’s Penn theater in Pittsburgh opened its doors on September 6, 1927. Thousands of Pittsburghians crammed the streets hoping to enter. Those who were fortunate to claim a seat gasped at the grandeur of what that has been billed the ‘Temple of Cinema.’ The new hotspot in the Steel City was regarded as the most magnificent theater between New York and Chicago.

The Loew’s Penn was five stories high and could seat over 3,000 guests. The grand lobby had a 50-foot-high vaulted Venetian ceiling, gilded Corinthian columns, and two spectacular chandeliers. The crystal for the chandeliers was imported from Vienna. From silk drapes to artwork by Renaissance masters to Italian marble staircases the theater seemed more like a museum than a cinema palace. As for the entertainment, the night began with a live stage show followed by a silent film feature.

Attendance averaged around 60,000 theatergoers a week. And with an admission charge of $.50, the theater made around $30,000 a week. Which was a substantial fortune during the 1920s. The theater hosted live stage shows and they also brought in national acts including Paul Whiteman and the Rhythm Boys featuring Bing Crosby. Also Buster Keaton and Eddie Cantor graced the stage.

Over the years, the allure of the Loew’s Penn faded, and the theater fell into disrepair, finally shutting its doors in 1968. The Howard Heinz Endowment purchased the building, saving it from demolition. After a 16-month renovation that had cost over $11 million, the doors opened yet again under the new name of Heinz Hall. The plush red carpet is bold and beautiful, but also a subtle nod to … you guessed it … Heinz Ketchup. The grand lobby features the original marble flooring as well as the two 15-foot chandeliers. The main auditorium seats 2,661 guests. Heinz Hall is now the home to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra it also hosts concerts and Broadway touring companies.

My Review

Had this book not been part of Barbour’s Doors to the Past series, I might not have chosen to read it, and that would certainly have been an unfortunate oversight. Topics such as jewel theft, fame, and city life usually do not appeal to me, and, truth be told, romance has never been at the top of my list either. Having read Undercurrent of Secrets and Above the Fold, however, I had no doubt that Rachel Scott McDaniel would write another compelling novel that I would read from cover-to-cover in two sittings, and In Spotlight and Shadow was precisely that!

Bringing together two young women with storied pasts, Sophie Walters from 1927 and Elise Malvern from the present, In Spotlight and Shadow is as much a tale of contrasts as it is parallels. Beyond the title itself, the interplay between light and darkness creates a chiaroscuro effect throughout the narrative, highlighting the two protagonists as each wrestle with the heartache of past love and the pursuit of their burgeoning careers. Elise is a creative marketing intern at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, but she feels her true place is on stage as a violinist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra—if only she had the courage to audition. Sophie, on the other hand, is an actress who didn’t make it in Hollywood and instead performs a minor role at Loew’s Penn Theatre—to become Heinz Hall decades later—until she is suddenly cast into the limelight under suspicion of being a jewel thief who has earned the moniker The Mirage. The shadows of the past overtake the present for both women when Elise’s former best friend and now country music star Pierson Brooks unexpectedly crashes back into her life and the man whom Sophie abandoned at the altar turns out to be the one investigating her case.

Rachel McDaniel employs the theme of courage and perseverance in the midst of adversity as a means of demonstrating a timeless truth: that regardless of circumstances or identity, God loves us and is faithful to use all things for our good and His glory when we put our trust in Him. As Sophie reflects to herself after remarking to a coworker that the world has many weak imitations of love, “But love in its full strength was something we found only in God.” Likewise, amidst struggles and reopened wounds from the past, Elise comes to an undeniable realization: “She needed to trust in God’s faithfulness to bring her through.” Sometimes our plans don’t turn out the way we thought they would or even should have, but when we surrender our lives to the Lord, we find that nothing is wasted, that it is all strung perfectly together into a harmonious symphony uniquely ours.

McDaniel also incorporates interesting lore about Pittsburgh into this dual-timeline story, and as someone who grew up an hour away from the city, the familiar locales add an extra level of enjoyment. Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of this story, though, is the gambling grannies, whose well-intentioned scheming stirs up more trouble than their grandkids bargained for. Indeed, there is a wide-ranging cast who are full of surprises for both their fellow characters and readers alike. Even if this isn’t your preferred genre, I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and give In Spotlight and Shadow a try!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 stars ♥♥♥♥♥

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, February 25

Melissa’s Bookshelf, February 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 26

Just Your Average reviews, February 26

Rebecca Tews, February 26

Where Faith and Books Meet, February 27

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 27

deb’s Book Review, February 28

Simple Harvest Reads, February 28 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 1

Blogging With Carol, March 1

Remembrancy, March 2

Connie’s History Classroom, March 2

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 3

Betti Mace, March 3

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, March 4

Cover Lover Book Review, March 4

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 5 (Author Interview)

Christina’s Corner, March 5

Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, March 5

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 6

For Him and My Family, March 6

Through the Fire Blogs, March 7

Bigreadersite, March 7

lakesidelivingsite, March 8

Tell Tale Book Reviews, March 8

For the Love of Literature, March 8

Blossoms and Blessings, March 9

Holly’s Book Corner, March 9

Labor Not in Vain, March 9

Book Looks by Lisa, March 10

Pause for Tales, March 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Rachel is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/24705/in-spotlight-and-shadow-celebration-tour-giveaway