I Choose to Live Life to the Fullest

In case you don't already know, Satan is a liar and a deceiver. His job is to steal, kill, and destroy.

I knew that the closer I came to the release of my new novel, Joy Comes in the Mourning, the angrier he would become. December will mark one year since my last hospitalization. Just to let you know the significance of that statement, I stopped counting my hospital stays somewhere around thirty.

For some reason, about two weeks ago I began recalling a visit I received while in the hospital last December. The visit wasn't from a friend or family member, but rather the hospital chaplain. I can't remember our entire conversation, but one thing that she said to me really stuck out. "Maintain your healing." That's the only thing I can really remember her saying to me. Well, to my dismay, about a week or so ago I became symptomatic with joint pain and swelling to the point that I had to call on my oldest daughter to help me with dressing because I couldn't raise my arms to dress myself.

The difference with this week's experience and going through a rough patch with lupus the first time is that I know without a shadow of a doubt that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Satan's job may be to steal, kill, and destroy, but because of Jesus I can and will live life to the fullest.

I WILL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE TO DECLARE THE WORKS OF THE LORD.

Swaptree - trade books, CDs, DVDs, and video games for free

Check this out!
Swaptree - trade books, CDs, DVDs, and video games for free

Joy Comes in the Mourning – Available for Pre-Order Today!

Great news! The release date of my debut novel, Joy Comes in the Mourning has been moved up! The book will be available through your local bookstores and online book sellers December 1, 2009. However, you can pre-order your copy from my website or directly from my publisher.

Joy Comes in the Mourning - Book Trailer

Just finished the trailer for Joy Comes. Take a look and tell me what do you think?

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just Like My Father

“Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:4-8)

Though I was raised by a very caring man who spoiled me rotten, my heart’s desire has always been to reunite with my birth father. Well, approximately 30 years and many tears later I received an e-mail from him.

The separation of my father and I is a long story and was of no fault of his own. Even though my father had no alternative, he felt terribly guilty for not “being there.” Well, I had to let him know that he has been here. Right here in my heart. And I knew that at the appointed time, we would be together again.

Since the day we reconnected, we have resumed our roles as if we’ve never been apart. More shocking to me than learning that my father had been looking for me just as long and hard as I’d looked for him was talking to him and spending time with him and realizing that we are just alike. Just alike! It’s funny, but my husband says that he understands me a lot better now. See, he knows my family very well and was always saying that I was so very different from them. Now, he laughs, shakes his head and says, “You are just like your father.”

I simply smile, because isn’t that what we really want? To be just like our Father. How loving and caring is the heavenly father to grant us our heart’s desire?

If you are a believer and your request is within God’s will and the bounds of Scripture, TRUST and BELIEVE that if you pray for the desires of your hearts, God will do it. Even after decades!

Meet Tawnia L. Ramirez, author of Something More Than This

Tawnia L. Ramirez is Christian Storyteller's Best New Christian Author for 2009. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Tawnia has had a lifetime passion for reading, writing, and all things creative.

As a child, her favorite pastime was talking. It was only natural that her gift for gab resulted in her becoming an author. After giving her first oral book report in middle school, she developed a desire to tell stories - her stories. Believing that reading a book should be an unforgettable encounter, Tawnia has the innate ability to reach people on a personal level by transforming her readers so that her characters' experiences become their own.

In her debut novel, Tawnia skillfully takes her readers on Janaye's tumultuous journey to find Something More Than This.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Janaye Perkins has reached that sweet spot in life. She has a good job, purchased her first home, and is dating a man that she believes will be the perfect husband and father for her young son. With the undying support of her mother and knowing that her girls always have her back, what more could she ask for? That is until the worst day of her life causes her to question everything, as her life, love, job, and friendships are tested. Can the worst day of her life propel her into the best time of her life?

For more information about Tawnia, visit her at: http://www.tawniaramirez.com/.

Joy Comes in the Mourning: A "Novel" Approach to Raising Awareness of Lupus

List Price: $23.99
Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC (Dec. 2009)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-61566-111-4




I had a two-fold mission in mind when I began writing my debut novel, Joy Comes in the Mourning:

1. To raise awareness of a real and serious chronic autoimmune disease, and
2. To encourage readers that God has purpose behind, presence during, and preservation after EVERY storm that comes their way.

Dealing with the death of a loved one is never easy, no matter how old you are. But when you are a child, and the surviving parent chooses to express their grief by "checking out" and becoming emotionally unavailable, life is made that much harder.
Joy Comes in the Mourning focuses on Tonya Monroe, a young woman who lost her mother at the hands of a drunk driver when she was only 14 years-old. Tonya's tragedy was compounded by the revelation that a close family friend, Carolyn Wright, was responsible.
Tonya's father expressed his grief by drinking and becoming emotionally detached from her. Subsequently, she grew up believing that she didn't need anyone. It's not until Tonya is diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Eerythematosus that she realizes life is beyond her control.
Carolyn has problems of her own. She is faced with drama, drama, and more drama. She walks in from work one afternoon to find a female church member, who has been after her husband for years, "helping out" in the kitchen. She and Tonya have a knock-down drag-out at work. And she becomes the subject of scandal at church when her Friday night intercessory prayer meeting goes off course.
When Tonya's health rapidly begins to deteriorate, she feels that Carolyn is the only one she can turn to. But where does she find solace when, on the morning of her kidney biopsy, Carolyn feels the need to come clean about what really happened the night her mother was killed?
Well, you have to buy the book to find that out. However, know this: God's Word is true! ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.
I don't care what seems to be going wrong in your life. It's just right for you. Accept what God allows because He knows what HE's doing. If you TRUST and BELIEVE that the outcome will be in your best interest because it's to serve a purpose, God can turn your mourning into Joy...in spite of your circumstance!
On His Time, In His Name, For His Glory
You're more than welcome to read an excerpt of my debut novel. Click here to learn more about lupus.