Category: Kindle Authors

“CPR for Your Faith from Beyond Death’s Door – 35th Anniversary Special Free Book Promotion…a Calm in the Storms of 2020

Published on by Flossie Stewart, AuthorLeave a comment

I don’t think anyone would disagree with me that 2020 has been a rough year. Have you lost a loved one this year to Covid (or anything else for that matter)? Is your family struggling with the financial setbacks and utter chaos that the “storms” of this year have left in their wake? Have you or someone you love been through some other traumatic event? Have you thought about giving up? Well, please wait before you do, and read this…

I can relate to you, believe me. Which brings me to why I haven’t been on much for the past few months. I can honestly say in more ways than one, that this has just about been the worst year of my life, and it’s not over yet. In truth, there are not many people who can say this pandemic has not affected them or someone they love. Many more will eventually be affected by it. So, back to why I haven’t been on here posting much…

On July 17th 2020, I tested positive for Covid 19. My dear, precious husband, Keith, received a false negative and was sent home. Not a week later, he was in the hospital. The strange thing is, the way this virus seems to work. As some on the medical team that cared for Keith told me, they are still learning about the way it works and how to treat it. Just when we thought he was getting better, he took a turn for the worst. He had been texting me, saying they were going to try and get him up in the chair, and that he was going to try to eat. A couple of days later, he was intubated. After only a week, he maxed out on the ventilator, and was placed on an artificial lung (ECMO machine – Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation). Keep in mind, that all this time, I was unable to even be with him.

Finally, he tested, then retested negative, and they were able to move him out of the Covid unit, into the Surgical ICU, but only one could visit (one designated visitor per family). But even though the virus was gone, the damage was done. On the evening of Saturday, August 29th, after they had exhausted every effort to save him, we gathered around him to say our goodbyes, and I held the hand of the love of my life as he slipped away. And no, I will not ever “get over it”. But I will also not let the enemy use it to destroy me.

Me with my late husband, Stacy Keith Stewart, from our engagement pictures, I think a couple of months before our wedding, Dec. 23, 2014

You don’t have to let the storms you’ve been through destroy you either. Just about all of us have lost someone to this pandemic, or even other circumstances. For those who have lost a spouse, as I have, here is a song by someone else who recently lost her husband. I found it comforting. This is a tribute Libbi Stuffle, of The Perrys, sang as a tribute to him. I was blessed to get to meet her a couple of years ago when Keith and I, and our pastor and his wife, were in Gatlinburg, TN at the Convention Center for the Church of God Sr. Talent Nationals…

We can all agree this has been a terrible year, or…

We can choose that we are not going to let the enemy use these tribulations and tragedies to destroy us, and we can trust in the God Who has promised us He will never leave us nor forsake us to help us salvage the memories, and the ways He can use it to strengthen us and work through us to help others. It’s really our choice. Each of us must decide whether we are going to let the devil use it all to harden us and make us bitter, or whether we are going to surrender it to the One Who loves us more than we can ever understand, and trust Him to use it all to make us stronger in a way that will bring Him glory. Jesus said in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”.

Today marks the 35th anniversary of a very traumatic event in my life, one that not only almost took my life, but it nearly destroyed me. In my book, “CPR for Your Faith from Beyond Death’s Door”, you can read my story of my Near Death Experience in a horrific car accident on November 16, 1985, what I have learned in the years since on my journey to recovery with my Savior, Jesus Christ, and how He turned it around into the powerful testimony it is now. So, if you have been through a traumatic event, or lost a loved one/s to this pandemic, or other tragedies, and felt like giving up, I honestly feel that what He has given me to share with you in this book is the “CPR” your weakened faith needs. In the book, I will also get into a little about what the Bible calls “the falling away”, that would happen in the last days. My friends, many are giving up on their faith and turning their backs on God, at a time when as I said toward the end of the book, “giving up is simply not an option. You don’t have to end up being one of them.

FREE KINDLE EBOOK! Click here to download my book, 11-17-2020 through 11-21-2020!

None of us are promised tomorrow. Don’t let the one time you decide to give up on God be the day you end up paying the price for eternity. God didn’t bring sin, sickness, and death into the world. Our sin did that. But He did send His Son, Jesus into the world to bear all our sin on that cross so we could have a way to escape the high cost of our sin: eternal damnation and torment, and separation from God forever. Jesus paid it all. Don’t believe me? Let my 12-Year-Old self explain…Click here to read more about that 😉 , and how to surrender all to Christ and be saved. I could go on all day and get into more scripture to help you out, but I think the book does a pretty good job of that.

We can’t do anything about these terrible storms of trauma and the trials of tribulation, sickness, and death we are all facing now, but we can choose to not let the enemy use it to destroy us. We can choose to be thankful for the memories we had with our loved ones, and trust our Heavenly Father to guide us as we cherish these priceless “gems” in the treasure box of our hearts, and show us how He can use it to help others. We can choose to help each other, reach out to one another and comfort others, as He comforts us (see 2 Corinthians 1:4). We can choose to surrender it all to Him, so He can take what the enemy wanted to use to destroy us and turn it all around into a powerful, ground-breaking testimony that will bring others to Him. Now THAT’S how we can all give the storms of 2020 a swift kick in the pants!

So, let me help. Consider this my little humble contribution, a “calm in the storms”. This week only, from Tuesday, November 17, 2020, through Saturday, November 21, 2020, you can download the eBook version of my book, “CPR for Your Faith from Beyond Death’s Door” (“Resuscitating the Christian Heart…Yes, Your Ship is Coming In!”) from Amazon (Kindle) for FREE!

Click here to visit my Amazon page for the book and download your FREE copy!

Get your copy, FREE this week only! (eBook version only)

Each of us has some way we can help if we stop seeing ourselves as “victims” of whatever has happened to us, and start seeing ourselves through His eyes instead. It’s time for us to come together and unite as the Body of Christ and get out of the “victim mentality” that the enemy is using to destroy so many. It’s time for us to come together and take the rest of 2020 by “storm”, a storm that is much bigger and more powerful than anything we will ever face in this world. It’s time for us to work together and escort the storms of 2020 out with the power of God’s promises that He knew we would need during this time, that are right there in His Word for us. It’s time for us to trust Him to help us “mount up with wings as eagles” (Isaiah 40:31) and soar above the storms of this life and see the bigger picture of the plan He has for each of us (see Jeremiah 29:11). Surrender to defeat, or soar to new heights? It’s a choice each of us must make on our own.

Are you a victim, or a victor in Christ? I choose victory. After all, through God’s grace, I have survived an accident that took the lives of 2 people, breast cancer, and Covid, and the loss of my husband of almost 6 years. I’ve also seen God’s grace carry my family through the difficult years after the loss of my brother, Charles, at only 9 years old, when I was 12, and our younger brother just had started school. I’m still here, and I’m not giving up. And you aren’t either. After all, as the old song by Ray Stevens says, “United, we stand, divided, we fall.” We’re all in this together, and if we work together and help each other, we’ll make it, by God’s grace. Without Him, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, we are nothing. Believe me, I tried for too many years to struggle through it all on my own, without His help. It won’t work. He said in John 15:5 (NKJV), “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” I have found this to be true, the hard way. It is so much easier letting Him carry the load, but He will not force us to surrender it all to Him. The right choice is the truth that will set us free, the calm in our storms, by the Master of the Seas, the One Who is still calming storms, if we only believe in Him. Now, here is another powerful encouraging song by Natalie Grant, who is also currently recovering from Covid. I had the blessing of singing in her back up choir a few years ago. There is nothing like the power of praising Him right in the middle of our storms, then watching Him calm our seas, and brighten our horizons, as only He can…

What will you salvage from the “Storms of 2020”? We may not know what the future holds, but as our Church of God General Overseer, Bishop Tim Hill, says in his book, “The Speed of Favor”, we can rest in calm assurance in knowing that our awesome and almighty God is already there. After all, remember, after the storm comes the rainbow. 🙂 I’m still here, 35 years later, after the enemy tried to take me out, and has several times since, because God still has work for me to do. You are still here because He still has a purpose for you, but we’ll get more into that in the book!

So, go and download my eBook while it’s FREE this week, and be encouraged. Then, go and start telling your own story. Know someone who could be uplifted by this information? Please share using the buttons below! May God bless you, and thanks for stopping by!

“Cookie Cutter” Authors or Writers for the King: Breaking the Mold as Christian Writers #ChristianWriters #ChristianAuthors

Published on by Flossie Stewart, AuthorLeave a comment

Am I a “Cookie Cutter” Author?

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Image by Fathromi Ramdlon from Pixabay

“Cookie Cutter Authors?” You ask. What on earth do you mean by that? Well, let me try to explain. I will admit first off, that my first two books didn’t quite measure up to NYTBS list material. As a matter of fact, there probably aren’t many of us authors whose first books will make that highly coveted list. That doesn’t mean we give up of course. We simply learn from those experiences and become better writers. If yours haven’t done well either, don’t feel bad. Hey, we cut our “writers’ teeth” on those first books, and if we had never written them in the first place, we might never have come to be writers. We have to crawl before we can walk, right? That said, even though we may come from small beginnings, I have now been in this business long enough to know a few things. So, grab some coffee, sit down, and let’s talk about this.

Genre Expectations: Are Readers getting bored?

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Image by Pexels from Pixabay

I have well learned, at least at this point, that there are certain expectations for each genre that readers expect to see. (By the way, for any of you fellow authors still struggling to pin down a genre for your book, or just needing a brush up on the whole genre thing, check this handy Book Genre Finder site out.) Put a book in a wrong genre that’s not the right fit for it, and it will likely result in negative reviews. Thus, my coining the term “Cookie Cutter Authors”, if someone hasn’t already beat me to it. Hey, we can do that, we’re writers. 😉 Too often, this has caused increased pressure on us as authors to put out what our readers want to read. But more and more lately, I am seeing articles and posts with comments from readers saying they have begun to tire of what seems like the same story repeated in numerous books within a given genre, and the same, typical, even stereotyped characters, only the names, places, and scenes have changed. While many readers may continue to expect books they read to fit into those expectations, there are also a good number of them out there who have become bored with the same old scenarios repeated in books by authors trying to fit the old cookie cutter molds. It’s time for us to break the molds of pleasing the world, and write to please Him.

So, What’s Your Point?

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Image by Elien Smid from Pixabay

So, what’s my point, you ask? My point is this: There are too many Christian authors these days who have failed to “stand out” as Christ called us to do, for fear of “offending” their readers, and losing sales. They fall for the deception of writing what readers expect, to the point of settling for compromising, even sacrificing what our Lord expects of us as the writers He has called us to be. They have chosen to “blend in” rather than stand out for Him. I am at the point, I can no longer settle for just being one of these cookie cutter authors, just spitting out generic stories that “fit” into what the world wants to read. As a Christian author, I must answer the call to stand out and make a difference, to write that one unique story that’s not a “cookie cutter” copy of 800 others, but one that might just inspire its readers to change their lives for the better. We as Christian authors will not do that by “blending in”. There will never be a time that the money, riches, and fame this world has to offer will be worth more to me than what my precious Savior has called me to write.

A Choice to Make: Pleasing the World or Reaching Readers for Christ

So, for most of us who are Christian writers, it looks like we’ve come to a “fork in the road”. Every one of us has a choice to make. I know that for those of us who choose to represent the King, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, in our writing, it will likely mean that we may never see our books rise to popularity by the world’s standards. But then, I am no longer writing to please the world, but my Lord. If even one of my books somehow touches someone’s heart and inspires them to change their life for the better, maybe even accept Him as Lord and Savior, then it will all have been well worth it.

Avoiding the Idolatry of Selfish Ambition

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Up until now, I have mainly worked on fiction, and, until now, like many other authors, I had aspirations of making that “NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR” list. That is, until God began to continually lead me to Philippians, chapter 2, verses 3-4, which says (NKJV): “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” The more that began to sink in, the more I have come to realize, through the intense spiritual awakening that has followed, that it is no longer important for me to make that “list”. I no longer subscribe to the covetous, selfish ambitions of worldly fame and recognition, or even the desire to maybe see my books made into movies. Coveting all those things more than the work God wants to do through my writing, and the people He wants to reach through my work falls under something the word of God explicitly warns us against: idolatry. Am I saying that’s a bad thing (Making the NYTBS List)? No, of course not! And if I ever do make it, wonderful! And if you are an author or know one with at least one book on that list, let me be the first to congratulate you, or even the 59th person to do so. Please understand here, that I am not saying that in itself is a bad thing. Not at all. I am just saying that I will no longer covet this above the difference God has called me to make and the plan and purpose that He has for me with the books He has given me to write (see Colossians 3:2 and 2 Corinthians 4:18).

God has really begun to drive this important truth home to me more than ever before. He recently spoke to me and said, “ANYTHING you put before ME becomes an idol!” He also warned us that idolaters will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and 1 Timothy 6:10-12). For too long, we have put on the “masks” of tolerance, political correctness, etc, and chosen to “blend in” to society, rather than stand out for Christ. I will no longer blend in, but I choose to stand out for Him, and help people see that what He has done for me, He will do for them. I choose to believe He is faithful and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (see Hebrews 11:6), and my work from this point onward will reflect that.

Oh sure, it would be easy to tailor my stories around “what the world wants to see”, and what will guarantee me a spot on that coveted list, but when I think of the price tag that is attached to that deceptive “selfish ambition”, no thank you! What my Lord and Savior did for me on Calvary is deserving of no less than my all for Him, and the complete surrender of those things I once considered important, for His will for me instead, and the lives He wants to touch through me. In Philippians 3:7-8, Paul says, “ But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” His will, and what He wants to do through it all, and my testimony reaching more readers through my work for Him is much more important now than the selfish ambition I held on to in the past. All of that other stuff is no longer important.

Mark 8:36 says, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Indeed, the lure of worldly fame and recognition is the greatest illusion ever perpetrated on humanity by the deceiver we all know as the devil. Even my fiction work is now undergoing a huge “face lift”, as I re-evaluate my projects and seriously seek Him to show me how to write works that line up with the message He wants me to project to my readers. I will still, of course, do all I can to maintain the professional standards expected of any of us as writers, but at the same time, I will not compromise to the world’s standards (see 1 Corinthians 10:21 and Matthew 6:24). I want to be that one that’s different from the others.

God’s Version of Success: Choosing the Hidden Rewards of Writing for Christ

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Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

I know that conflict and tension have to be there in order for readers to appreciate the big, powerful, “Wow-I-didn’t-see-that-one-coming” conclusion when it ends. But we as Christian writers can do this without sacrificing our God-given purpose and perspective. There may even be “pre-Christian” characters in my stories, or characters representing the hurting, lonely, and struggling. My soon coming book, “LOGAN – Chain of Grace”, is a good example of this. I feel that most readers will be able to identify with at least one of the characters, especially once they see how their lives are transformed by what happens in the story. Thus, it is my goal that as a result, readers will see how their own lives can be transformed if they are willing to surrender their all to Christ. (It is mainly for this reason that a couple of my current fiction works in progress have been delayed, but they are coming soon, promise!) But if we continue to settle for being “cookie cutter” authors, just writing the same tired old scenarios others have written, we may never see others’ lives touched like this. It is only in breaking free from the “fit-in-to-what-everyone-else-is-doing” mold that we will ever reach this hidden pinnacle of success in God’s eyes, as He sees it. He has gifted each of us with unique talents and insights, and we will never see these gifts come to fruition as long as we are busy trying to please the world instead of Him. But if we are willing to break free of that limited thinking and rise to His definition of “success”, who knows, we might just pen that best seller anyway. After all, you may never know the lives He wants to touch through you until you hand Him the quill, the pen, or these days, the keyboard/typewriter, and let Him write through you…
So, why don’t we stop being so afraid of losing sales, or missing out on the “big ticket”, or offending someone, and start being more concerned with reaching the world with the special, unique, encouraging, faith-building, life-renewing message that He has chosen you, out of all the other writers in the world, to write. Pray and ask Him to show you the bigger picture of what He has for you, and He will. And throw out the old cookie cutter image of yourself, break the mold, and get out there and get your message into the hands of the readers the Great Author Himself has already chosen for you to reach…

...That, you see, is how it works when you write for the King!

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Besides, He makes BIGGER “cookies”… and no two are the same. We are all unique, just as He meant it to be. Now, wouldn’t it be a shame if you let the world miss out on that?   

I Almost Died…Coming Soon – My NDE Testimony & God’s CPR For Your Faith!

Published on by Flossie Stewart, Author6 Comments

(UPDATE: I now have my own imprint, which the book will be published under, so stay tuned, more info coming soon! Subscribe so you don’t miss it!) 

November 16, 1985 was almost the last day of my life…

Blurred hospital corridor concept emergency case

Have you been through a traumatic event? 

I’ve often said, God can take the “lemons” life has handed you and turn it into some of the best “lemonade” you’ve ever “tasted”. But you have to give Him the lemons! Whatever it is the devil intended to use to destroy you, God wants to take it and turn it into your testimony, just as He has done for me! He can and He will!

On Saturday, November 16, 1985, I was in a horrific auto accident that derailed my nursing career and changed my life forever. Only later, through the divine power of the Holy Spirit revealing it to me, along with the help of my psychiatrist, would I come to learn that I had gone through a Near Death Experience, and very possibly passed through death’s door.

Have you felt like giving up? 

Although I was left with a fractured hip, a terrible head injury, a speech problem I still suffer from although it isn’t immediately obvious, and other problems due to the traumatic brain injury (specifically, right temporal and frontal lobe damage, my head actually dented the dashboard, and I was unconscious), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and psychological scars that would last long after the physical ones had healed, through Christ and His healing power in my life, I have triumphed over it all and gone on to write “CPR For Your Faith From Beyond Death’s Door” (tentative title), which should be available soon. (I’ll keep you posted!)

Does your faith need God’s CPR? 

Now, in my book coming soon, I will share my story, along with what I’ve learned on my long road to healing, and the special kind of “CPR” your faith needs. I will also explain why giving up is simply not an option in these last days as we work to build the Kingdom for our Lord Jesus Christ as we await His soon return. In sharing my story, it is my hope that just as He has done for me, your faith will be renewed, and you will be on your way to discovering His plan to take whatever has happened in your life and turn it into a powerful testimony to help others! So don’t give up until you read my book!

We ARE living in the last days! Giving up is NOT an option!

I believe without a doubt, we are living in the last days before our Lord’s soon return. We must work harder than ever before to “bring in the harvest”, and God has a plan for you to be a part of it! He wants to take whatever it is you’ve been through and turn it into a powerful testimony that will help win others to Him while there is still time.

“But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” – Matthew 24:13 (KJV)

I have my own imprint for the book, and it is in the finishing stages, so I will hopefully have a release date sometime in the near future. So, if this is you, run, don’t walk, and hit the “Subscribe to my email” tab and subscribe so when it does come out, you’ll be one of the first to know! If you know someone who has been through a traumatic event and could use some “CPR” for their faith, please feel free to share this to your Facebook, Twitter, etc, using the buttons below.

And thanks for stopping by!