Toni V. Lee

The book we've been discussing, Authentic Parenting in a Post-Modern Culture , by Mary DeMuth is available now. You can purchase your autographed copy directly from Mary at the link above. I encourage you pick it up today!

Promoting Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture What does postmodern mean? And why should it matter to parents? Postmodernism is the waiting room between what used to be a modern worldview and what will be. According to several postmodern scholars, we’re in a shift right now, leaving modern ideas behind, but what we are shifting to is not yet fully defined. Postmoderns believe that rationalism and/or more education doesn’t necessarily create a better society. They typically don’t embrace the notion of absolute truth, though they reach for the transcendent. They are skeptical, and often question whether science is something to be embraced or feared. The question for parents is how will we mine the current worldview, even as it shifts? What in it can we embrace as biblical? What is not biblical? What I’ve seen in the church is a fearful adherence to what is familiar. So we cling to modern ideas, even though they may not be biblical and shun postmodern ideas even when they might be...

Sherri L. Lewis did a fantastic job of highlighting a controversial issue—the Christian response to homosexuality—with a liberal dose of humor and realism. My Soul Cries Out makes you examine your beliefs in God’s redemptive and delivering power. Do Christians really believe that God is powerful enough to deliver a person from homosexuality and give them a new life? Do Christians really extend God’s love and acceptance to individuals who leave that lifestyle and become born-again believers? Is homosexuality a worse sin than any other sin—lying, stealing, pre-marital sex, etc? Christians tend to put on their God-hat and put weights on sin. The novel addresses this with one powerful statement: Sin is sin. The hero (Kevin) and heroine (Monica) are well developed, and you empathized with their pain and struggle. One other character stood out for me, Trina. Trina, Monica’s best friend, had faced her own struggles with sin. Her struggle and eventual deliverance made her an empathetic and ac...

What's the best thing about writing? All of life is material. It's all grit for the oyster. What's the worst thing about writing? I still only make a dime an hour. Taking care of your family, aging parents, training guide dog puppies, and writing a novel must create some hectic times. How do you rely on God to get you through all your activities? Yesterday provided a perfect example of how to answer that question. Just as I was zooming dow ntown to deliver my hot-off-the-press novel to a store that had requested copies, the kids left a door open and the dog disappeared to explore the smells of our neighborhood. The next hour was spent dog hunting. I fought an interior battle of frustration: Grrr! I can’t seem to get anything done on my book without needless interruptions! But the Lord reminded me to release that book into His hands, and go find that dog (which we did). Later that afternoon, when I finally did get to the store, I bumped into a friend. She was meeting with ...

A contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today magazine, Suzanne has been published in numerous magazines, including Worldwide Challenge, Parent Life, Marriage Partnership, among others, and has contributed to five non-fiction books. She lives with her husband, four kids and a steady stream of puppies that she raises for Guide Dogs for the Blind in the San Francisco Bay Area. Find Suzanne on-line at http://www.suzannewoodsfisher.com/ . Copper Star is a World War II love story set in 1943, as theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer smuggles a young resistance worker, Louisa, out of Nazi Germany. Louisa waits out the war in a dusty copper mining town in Arizona but can’t leave her resistance skills behind. Soon, she turns the town upside down, uncovering a mystery that leads her back to the Nazis and her war-torn country. Released on June 30, the film rights of Copper Star are under consideration by a major motion picture studio. A contract for the sequel was offered to Fisher before Copper ...

* Describe yourself - what do you want people to know about you. I am a creative soul, and love to create anything that expresses the heart of God. In addition to novels and short stories, I write praise and worship music, and have choreographed dance pieces for church ministries. Next to God, music is my greatest love - especially live music. I enjoy contemporary and neo-Soul music, and LOVE jazz. Especially when I'm writing. Music spurs my creative muse. I love to sing also. I currently work as a physician in a women's prison in Georgia and it has truly been a life changing experience. I look forward to sharing some of the stories from this experience in future novels. * How do you find time to connect with God? I MAKE time to connect with God. I'm no good without Him - insane actually. Me and God are an all day thing - I talk to Him from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep at night. I'm just an addict for His presence. * Tell us about your journey to publicatio...

On June 25, Sherri Lewis will share with us her journey to publication as well her motivation for writing My Soul Cries Out . My Soul Cries Out is a compassionate look at the issues of Christians struggling with homosexuality and the redemptive power of God to bring deliverance. !!! Released July 2007 !!! Monica Harris Day's perfect world begins a downward spiral the day she comes home to find her husband in bed…with another man. After confronting Kevin, her husband of two years, Monica discovers he's had a lifelong struggle with homosexuality that began at the age of ten, when he was molested by a deacon in the church. For years, Kevin has sought deliverance, crying out to God to make him straight. He explains his deceit by saying he truly thought he had been delivered when he married Monica, but was afraid to share his past with her for fear she wouldn't marry him. Kevin begs Monica's forgiveness and wants to save their marriage. He is convinced that God has indeed...