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Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World

Ten Books, Many with Autographs, Given Away Free!

Today, instead of sharing an excerpt from my book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, I wanted to let you know that I am going to do my fun book give away promotion again. It was very popular that last time I did it. So I am going to throw it at you again. I am going to have a longer deadline this time. The last one I did over a weekend and got good responses. This promotion is going until Monday night the 8th of February. Because I am doing this I am going to give away many more books.

I am giving away ten (10) books to the first 10 people that sign-up for my free online newsletter. Here is how it will work:

  1. The first one to subscribe will have first dibs of the books that will be given away. That means the sooner you subscribe, the more chances you have of getting the book you want for free.
  2. This may be a long process to give out all the books, because some people don’t answer the emails very fast. If you subscribe to try to get a book, please respond to my email letting you know you are a winner, ASAP. That way you will not be holding up the next person down the line from being able to choose a book. If I have to wait too long, I will let the rest of the people choose before you.
  3. All ten books will be wonderful books. Some of them will have the author’s autograph in them.
  4. Here is the list of the books:

 

  • Three Cups of Tea-By David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson.

This book has been a national # 1 New York Times Bestseller list for months. It is autographed by David Relin.

The Shack-By William Paul Young. This book has been in the top five on the New York Times bestseller list for a couple of years. It has sold over 7 million copies. It is autographed by Young.

The Missionary-By William Carmichael and David Lambert. This is a story of a missionary that gets way over his head, and suddenly becomes an international fugitive. Lots of suspense and thrills. I have two books of this. One autographed by Carmichael, and the other autographed by Lambert. You get to choose.

Eyes of Elisha-By Brandilyn Collins. Brandilyn is one of the most beloved Christian Fiction authors in the business. This book is autographed by Brandilyn. Here is a promotional phrase from the book. “The murder was ugly. The killer was sure no one saw him. Someone did.” Gives me goose bumps, and wants me to be all over that book!!

That is all the autographed books I have for now, but the following are books by top authors that sold millions themselves.

I have a three pack of mini books written by some of the top authors. Why God?-By Charles Swindoll; America Looks Up-By Max Lucado, and When Tragedy Strikes-by Charles Stanley, will all go to one subscriber in one bundle. All of these books are very timely for what is happening in our world today.

Where is God When It Hurts?-By Philip Yancey. This is one of my personal favorites. This book is a national best seller. It speaks about the physical pain many of us endure, and how we can be blessed through it. It was special for me when I went through six major surgeries.

The Power of a Praying Parent-By Stormie Omartian. Stormie has several best selling books on the theme of prayer. We as parents need to know what we can do to help when our children are going through trials, no matter what their age is. This is a must book if you have children.

The Revelation-By Beverly Lewis. Arguably the top Christian Fiction writer on the planet. One of you will have this new book for you to read, just by being one of the top ten to subscribe.

90 Minutes in Heaven-By Don Piper, and written by Cecil Murphy. There are more than a million copies of this in print. It rose to the top over night. Don Piper was trapped in his car after an accident and he was pronounced dead. Then a friend happened to be driving by, and stayed by Don and prayed for an hour and a half…. I will let you read to find out what happened.

Summer-By Karen Kingsbury. Again one of the top Christian Fiction writers in the business. You can have this book if you are one of the top ten in subscribing to my free online newsletter and it is still available.

There you have it. Ten of the most loved books in the business, and you can have one of them if you subscribe to me online newsletter. The newsletter is free, and it will have excerpts from my book coming out in late August or early September called: Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. The newsletter will also have a page just for writers. It will have rough drafts from my new book, Becoming Famous before you are Famous. It is about how to build your platform and do your branding long before you even think of approaching a publisher. There are two other pages that will have sports from my home state of Oregon, and ideas on how to cope in this troubled world.

The next time I post I will have an actual excerpt from the book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. So go over to the Facebook networks icon and click on follow. You will then be able to come back and read the excerpts as they come out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Keep on the Path you are on, and God will see you Through

Perseverance and Persistence are my Middle Names

In March of 2001 I was lost and confused. I didn’t know my purpose or my goals. I was depressed, and was covered with self doubt.  I was on the edge of destruction. I sat in my Ford Explorer at a local high school parking lot, and was ready to leave this wretched world.

I finally yelled out to God, “I can’t take this anymore!” There was a sudden change in the air inside the Explorer. I felt a calmness that I hadn’t felt for weeks. It was as if God was saying, “It is about time you came back to me. Now let me carry you the rest of the way.”

I went home and sat at my desk. I couldn’t understand why God saved my life. I opened the desk drawer, and in it was a book I was working on called, “Close Encounters of the Cash Flow Kind.”  I was working on it because I had a cash flow funding company that I had let fail.

At first I was ready to throw it into the round file, but I decided to open it and what I saw amazed me. Each chapter I had in the book could easily be converted over to a Christian self help book. Some of the chapter titles were. “Need Directions?” “It is my Way or the Highway.”  “You can do all Things.”

You can see that each of those had a meaning for reaching out to the lost. I started writing the next day, which was April Fools Day. Good day to start don’t you think?

Over the next few years I wrote, rewrote and wrote again until I thought it was a presentable book. Then I went to several critique groups, and found out it wasn’t even close. So I went back to the table and revised several more times.

Then it happened! On January 15, 2010, I signed a publisher’s contract. I look back on that day in the Ford Explorer as a time I had to go through. God was always with me and He knew what my purpose was even though I didn’t.

The book is called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” The sub title may be changed by the publisher.

It reaches out to those who suffer with anxiety, fear, self doubt, depression, addictions, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

The publication date will be near the end of August or the first part of September.

For those of you that are discouraged and think that God hasn’t been there in your writing or in your life in general. He is there!! I know that sometimes He allows the storms to come. He won’t take them away, but He will help calm the storm. He will never let you face anything you can’t handle yourself.

Now for the words perseverance and persistence: I could have folded up that day in that school parking lot, and I wouldn’t be writing this. I could have given up many times during the 10 year waiting period that God allowed me to have.

I now know that God’s timing is perfect. I will see that in how things go when the book actually hits the streets. Never give up! Never! God has a plan for each of us, and it is up to each of us to seek what that is. Ask God to reveal what He wants you to d in life. Then act on it, and don’t worry how long it takes to accomplish that goal.

God bless…

Doug

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When you Give Away Something, you get Much More in Return

 Before you read tonight’s post I want to share some exciting news. I signed a contract this last week with Winepress Publishers. The book: Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, will be coming out at the end of August or the first part of September. What follows is an actual excerpt from that book.

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It Is Better to Give than Receive

 

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you,

so you must love one another.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34-35

 

Imagine what a heavy schedule of appointments President Abraham Lincoln had to keep day after day. Yet when an elderly woman with no official business in mind asked to see him, he graciously consented.

As she entered Lincoln’s office, he rose to greet her and asked how he might be of service. She replied that she had not come to ask a favor. She had heard that the president liked a certain kind of cookie, so she had baked some for him and brought them to his office.

With tears in his eyes, Lincoln responded, “You are the very first person who has ever come into my office asking not, expecting not, but rather bringing me a gift. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

My personal dictionary calls this elderly lady a silent hero—someone who does many things for others and never expect anything in return. My Aunt Dollie was the same kind of person. Her goal in life was to make sure her family was well cared for. And she wanted to be sure she had something to leave her children when she passed on. She did just that. She gave a lot of love to her children and many others, and when she passed on she left her family financially secure. But, more importantly, she left them with memories of a woman who stood out as a person who led by example, relied on tough love to mold her family and became a silent hero to many that knew her.

This type of person is high on the Lord’s priority list of how His followers should act. This type of unselfish love is the cornerstone of what the Bible teaches about love.

My brother Dave is a silent hero to me. I didn’t know for over 50 years that he had done something for me that changed my life because he wasn’t out to impress anyone with his love for his family.

When my brother was a senior in high school he told our mother he wasn’t going to go to college because our family couldn’t afford two people going to college at once. He said he would support me and help me make it through so that one of the members of the family could get a degree. Well, it took a long time because of the military and three children, but I got that degree and went into teaching.

I didn’t know about his sacrifice until over 40 years later when my mother told me. That, my friends, is a true silent hero! My brother gave up his chance for a college degree so I could get mine. I will never be able to thank him enough for what he did, but he knows now that my love for him has grown deeper than seems possible between two brothers. I also have become a silent hero in his back pocket to make sure that he knows how much I appreciate what he did for me.

John 13:34-35 says that we should love one another as He loves us. We can always think of what the Lord would do to help them and use that as a model for the help we give. Remember His unconditional love, and how He would do anything He could to comfort them and help them through any crisis or stressful situation. That is what silent heroes do.

 

The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:11-12

 

“Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out”

—Frank A. Clark

 

Further adventures

Look around you and list those you feel are your silent heroes. You don’t need to share your findings with them. Just know that they are there, and be happy knowing that they will always be there for you.

 

Something to ponder

Isn’t it funny how he who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses?

* Excerpt from : Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.