Posts by joaniebruce

BOOK GIVE-A-WAY

Posted by joaniebruce on Apr 7, 2014 in General | 2 comments

My new book “A Memory Worth Dying For” is here, and I’m giving away one free copy if you like my author page, and COMMENT AND SHARE the post on facebook with your friends. Make sure to comment because I won’t have your name to put in the pot if you don’t. The deadline is Friday, April 11th for winning this free gift. I’m also having a book signing on Saturday afternoon, April 12th from 2-4 at Belmont Baptist Church in Conyers. If anyone need directions please let me know.

Tithing …. Brocolli?

Posted by joaniebruce on Mar 20, 2014 in General | Comments Off on Tithing …. Brocolli?

Have you ever thought about tithing more than just your monetary income?

When I was young, my family planted a HUGE garden, and our parents taught us to tithe the first fruits. So when the vegetables came in—green beans, corn, tomatoes, turnip greens—the first ten percent was given to someone who had no garden or money to buy food. It was something we enjoyed doing because sharing always brings a smile … not only to the person we shared with, but to our faces as well. That pleasing emotion I felt when sharing my garden’s first fruits was contagious, so I tried to think of other ways to tithe.

We tithe our income, sometimes our time—working in a soup kitchen or food bank, and maybe we share that bunch of oranges we receive as a gift, but what about our talents? God gave them to us after all. Think about this: Of the 1440 minutes you live each and every day, how many of those did you create yourself? Not one! And the talents you might have—the ability to play a musical instrument, a beautiful singing voice, a gift for drawing or painting, etc.—did you bless yourself with those gifts? No way! If God gave us these things, then why shouldn’t we share them with Him by using them to make others happy? I guarantee, if you do, it will bring happiness like no other joy into your life.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10

“ …remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

BEING THANKFUL FOR ALL THINGS

Posted by joaniebruce on Jan 29, 2014 in General | 1 comment

I’m sitting here watching the snow swirling around in the sky outside (yes … we’re finally getting snow here in middle Georgia,) and reading blog posts from my friends about being thankful for the snow. Some friends are enjoying the day off from work so they can spend time in the snow with their kids, and my writer friends get inspiration from the snow and the excitement it fosters.

Small blessings, like an uncommon snow storm, sometimes come unexpectedly, and I enjoy them thoroughly when they are dumped in my lap (or my yard) because they remind me to be thankful for the problems those small blessings bring along with them. I want to be grateful for the little aggravations that accompany the things I enjoy. After all, the Bible teaches us to be thankful in ALL things.

Today, I’m thankful for the outside chores even though the rare snow we enjoy here in Madison makes them more numerous and harder to complete. I’m thankful for the woodchips that fall across my clean floor, because it means I have a warm, cozy fire to keep me warm. And, I’m thankful the snow requires extra hay for the cows because it means the Lord blessed us with an abundance of hay last hay season for a reason.

I’ve found that many unexpected blessings in life often travel with various hardships, but it teaches me to be thankful in all things. What difficulties are YOU thankful for today?

A Teaser of My New Book

Posted by joaniebruce on Jan 9, 2014 in General | 2 comments

Here is a sample of my new book “A MEMORY WORTH DYING FOR.”  Coming soon……..

Bells were ringing in her head, and when she moved the bells turned into trumpets. She tried to rub her forehead with her right hand, but it felt lethargic and heavy. A hard cold metal strained against her wrist.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

What she saw made her gasp.

A steel chain was wrapped several times around her hands and connected to another chain binding her ankles together. She could only move an inch or two. The end of the chains holding her was wrapped around a metal pipe that disappeared down a hole in the middle of the floor. The floor underneath her head was dirt, packed with age and as hard as the chains.

Waves of panic pounded through her temples, and she fought the sick feeling churning in her stomach.

Someone had brought her here and left her to die. She remembered a voice—a low raspy growl she had heard before—in the alley. The same man had made good on his threat to kill her if she returned to Texas. And, no one knew where she was. Sweat popped out on her forehead even as a cold chill paralyzed her body.

Scratching sounds against the wooden walls sounded faint, but distinct. Could it be some kind of animal? Another kind of fear coursed through her veins.

The sounds grew quiet until suddenly, a loud thud banged against one outside wall, then another. Through the crack under the wall beside her, she saw boot-clad feet walking back and forth from the woods to the shed. Should she cry out? Should she beg for her life? Indecision tore her apart. The wrong choice could cost her life.

Each time the feet came back to the shed, there was another dull thump. She saw a small branch poke through the hole at the base of the wall. Someone was piling up branches outside the shed.

While she waited, trying to decide what to do, a strong stench reached her nose—the pungent sharp smell of gasoline.

A flame of fear ripped through her. She looked out under the crack in time to see the whoosh of a fire. Terror made her faint. She strained on the chains.

“Please! Let me out! Please,” she cried. Tears rolled down her cheeks and made silent plops on the hard dirt. She watched in horror as fire raced along the bottom edge of one entire wall and crept along the wall toward the door.

No, not the door! There’s no other way out.

“Lord, please help me.”

Smoke began to filter through the cracks of the old shed, and her nose burned with the strength of the smell. The fire had reached the door and whooshed across it to the other side of the wall.

In panic, she watched as the fire crept toward the last wall of the shed. Smoke was filling the building and reached its tendrils toward her. As much as she could, she covered her mouth with her shoulder and tried to have faith. God would save her if it was His will. If it wasn’t, she prayed He would be merciful.

A single whiff of smoke penetrated her covered lips, and she coughed uncontrollably. The acrid smell stung her eyes and her throat, and her stomach rebelled against the smell of smoke entering her lungs.

“Lord, please help me.”

A 2014 Challenge

Posted by joaniebruce on Jan 1, 2014 in General | 1 comment

Are you one of the determined souls to make resolutions for 2014 and keep them? Whether you are, or whether you’re not, I have a Challenge for you.

2013 has been a good year for lots of people and a sad year for many others. As I look back through the pages of my 2013 calendar, I see a vast number of sorrows that have touched my friends and family: During last year, my sister-in-law battled breast cancer; Her husband endured and survived a heart attack. Another brother-in-law lost his wife unexpectedly and a close relative survived surgery for prostate cancer with an uncertain outcome. Many friends are struggling with chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

So many friends and family members are hurting or facing trials for this coming year. My new year’s resolution is to help where I can. I challenge you to do the same. I feel that if I have a home, a job, food on the table, and a family who love me, I AM BLESSED. During 2014, I want to spend my time thinking of those who need uplifting spiritually, help financially, or just a word of encouragement. I hope and pray you will do the same. That is my challenge to you, and to myself, for this wonderful new year of promise.