forgiveness

Walking Healed

/ Tori Kayson / 5 Comments

Dora here. I’m thrilled and honored to welcome my sweet friend, Shelley Wilburn, to Fiction Faith & Foodies today. She’s an encourager to the nth degree, always ready with a kind word and powerful message of hope. Which makes me even more excited to share that Shelley just released a companion workbook to her book, Walking Healed, A Journey of Forgiveness, Grace, and Hope. Who doesn’t yearn to unshackle the chains of anxiety and depression and walk in glorious freedom? Thought so. 🙂

Welcome, Shelley! Love that beautiful smile! ❤

shelley wilburn

Shelley Wilburn

Being an Indie Author has its ups and downs. One of the downs is impatiently waiting on a physical proof copy of your latest book. This is so you can actually see that it is going to look like you wanted it to, before you approve it for release to the general public. It’s this waiting game that I recently played. However, I’m also glad it’s over.

I recently released for publication the Walking Healed Companion Study; Finding Healing, Forgiveness, Grace, Hope, and Your Purpose. Wow, that’s a long title! But there’s so much inside this little workbook that a short title just wouldn’t suffice.

The Walking Healed Companion Study is written to be paired with my first book, Walking Healed, A Journey of Forgiveness, Grace, and Hope. It is a five-week Bible study that will help the reader dig deep into not only God’s Word, but within themselves to find and put into practice healing, forgiveness, grace, and hope. The final week of the study focuses on finding your purpose and utilizes the previous weeks’ lessons and how God works all of them together to show you the path to finding your purpose.

God has a great big plan for your life. In Walking Healed and the companion study, readers will discover bits and pieces of His wonderful plan. They will discover that no matter what you’ve been through or are going through, God loves you dearly and wants to heal you and walk you through your journey to finding all the above mentioned things.

In the first book, Walking Healed, I culminated several blog posts into my journey of healing. It’s a process. Although God healed me of over forty hears of depression, anxiety, intimidation and self-esteem issues, He walked with me every day to show me His plan and has allowed me to write in such a way as to help others who are going through the same issues. No matter if it’s depression, anxiety, addiction, abuse, or whatever the issue, I know I was commissioned by God to write these books. My story could very well be your story, or help you in discovering yours.

Readers will gain a new outlook and hopefully realize that this is a life journey. Being healed is one thing. Walking it out every day is recovery, just like an alcoholic or drug addict. We don’t get healed one day and never have another issue. We learn to walk every day choosing to stay healed. We choose to move forward and not backward. In the Walking Healed books, readers are  encouraged to do just that. It’s like an extended road map from someone who has walked that journey and left pebbles for others to follow.

My hope is that anyone who reads the Walking Healed books will finish strong and discover the Light to lead them on their journey because, life is a journey. It’s an adventure that we are meant to live victoriously. Walking Healed… one day at a time.

Walking Healed

Walking Healed Companion Study

Walking Healed is a journey. Life is a journey. None of us have done it before. We choose to walk in healing, forgiveness, grace, hope, and our purpose daily. Therefore, we’re all just muddling through life trying to figure out how to get through it with as few bumps and bruises as possible.

Nevertheless, everyone has an issue or several issues to deal with on a daily basis. Whether you struggle with depression, addiction, oppression, anxiety, illness or disease, or abuse, none is bigger or less important than another. What does matter is that you have a God who loves you dearly and never meant for you to carry this alone.

Shelley Wilburn knows and understands a life lived in the “black hole” of depression and intimidation.  She suffered it for over forty years.  She also knows what it’s like when God heals you from it all, taking you on a wonderful journey of walking healed.

In the Walking Healed companion study, Shelley uses God’s Word (the Bible) and her book Walking Healed and walks you through five weeks of healing, forgiveness, grace, hope, and finding your purpose.  Each section will bring you closer in your relationship with God while also utilizing healing, forgiveness, grace, hope, and purpose in your own walk.  Don’t bother to buckle up for this adventure.  You’ll want to be free to move around and find each of these five treasures for your personal walking healed journey.

Bring a friend.  The more the merrier.

What People Are Saying About Walking Healed

“Such a great read! I didn’t want it to be over. It was encouraging and heart felt. A guide to forgiveness and God’s unconditional love!” –Amazon Customer 

“This book is a “Must Read” for anyone who has been hurt by someone or who at some time has hurt another (which is all of us). The author takes you on a life altering journey of forgiveness and healing. Anyone who wants to grow closer to The Lord and the people they love should read this book. I promise you that you too will have your “Aha!” moment.” –Jeffrey S. 

“Great read. Dedicated to helping women break free and live the life God intended. Shelley is going to be the next Joyce Meyer.” –Beth F.

“This book was a Blessing! It was well written and I could tell it was God lead and straight from the heart! Loved It!!!” –Harper 

“Shelley Wilburn’s enthusiasm is contagious! An inspiring read I hope to read again and again. The encouragement in this book is priceless.” –Karla A.

About the Author

shelley wilburn

Shelley Wilburn

Shelley Wilburn was born and raised in West Frankfort, Illinois. She began writing when she was twelve years old. She has written several articles and devotions for various newspapers, women’s magazines, and newsletters. In addition to writing, Shelley is also an avid reader, book reviewer, blogger, and speaker. Using her love of writing, motorcycle riding, and wearing mismatched socks, Shelley has developed a unique ministry of encouraging others using biblical truths and stories from her own personal life. Shelley is married to her high school sweetheart D.A. and together they have celebrated over thirty years of marriage. They have three grown, married children and three grandsons.

Shelley loves to hear from her readers. You can find Shelley at

Her website:  www.shelleywilburn.org

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/authorshelleywilburn

Twitter:  @Shelley_Wilburn

Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/shelleyawilburn

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/shelleywilburn

E-mail her at shelley@shelleywilburn.org

 

Have you read A BRIDE FOR KEEPS by Melissa Jagears?

/ Tori Kayson
Purchase Link

About the book~
Everett Cline will never humiliate himself by seeking a mail-order bride. Not again. He’s already been jilted by three mail-order brides and figures a wife just isn’t in his future. However, a well-meaning neighbor hasn’t given up on seeing him settled, so she goes behind his back to bring yet another woman to town for him.

Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. A mail-order marriage in faraway Kansas is a last resort, but she’ll do anything to leave her life in Massachusetts and the heartbreak she’s experienced there.

Although Everett doesn’t see how a beautiful, cultured woman like Julia could be happy sharing his simple life, he could really use a helpmate on his homestead. Determined to prove she’s more than just a pretty face, Julia agrees to a marriage in name only. Faced with the harsh realities of life on the prairie and hesitant to explore the tentative feelings growing between them, can Everett and Julia ever let each other in long enough to fall in love?

Sharing my thoughts~
Wow! A Bride for Keeps is one of those books that I wondered if the hero and heroine would actually find their happily ever after!

Poor Everett. Mail order brides never chose him, and he’d given up after four tries. So when his too-helpful neighbor persuaded her friend Julia to travel all the way from Boston to wed, Everett practically ignored her. Not only is he scared of rejection, but she’s so beautiful. She’d never make it through a Kansas winter, and he doesn’t want to give the town more reason for gossip.

Julia Lockwood’s father and ex-fiance were only concerned about her good looks, and used her as a commodity, with no regard for love or her feelings. When she arrived in Kansas, Everett’s features remind her of her ex-fiance, almost frightening her off. But she’d traveled all this way, and her friend wouldn’t lead her astray. Besides, without any other living relatives, she has no other options.

He needs help on the farm. She needs protection and a roof over her head. They strike a deal, and along the way Everett decides he wants this bride for keeps. This book is so much bigger than the romance, although it’s sweet, and at times, frustrating. A Bride for Keeps shows us that no matter the dark shadows of our past that continually rise up and taunt us, with God’s help, we can overcome. God covers us with forgiveness and healing, and breaks the chains of fear so we can move on with our lives. It’s about a loving God who never gives up on us and showers us with grace. A Bride for Keeps is a definite keeper for my kindle shelf!

Disclosure: Sending a big thanks to NetGalley and Bethany House Publishing for providing me with an advance review copy. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

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Against All Odds by Irene Hannon ~ Sharing My Review

/ Tori Kayson / 2 Comments

Against All Odds, Book 1, Heroes of Quantico

About the book ~
For FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Evan Cooper and his partner, dignitary protection duty should have been a piece of cake. Unfortunately, Monica Callahan isn’t making it easy. Estranged from her diplomat father, who is involved in a sensitive hostage situation in the Middle East, she refuses to be intimidated by a related terrorist threat back in the States…until a chilling warning convinces her that the danger is very real—and escalating. As Coop and his partner do their best to keep her safe, David Callahan continues his work—triggering an abduction that puts his daughter’s life at risk. And with every second that ticks by, Coop knows that the odds of saving the only woman who has ever managed to breach the walls around his heart are dropping. Because terrorists aren’t known for their patience—or their mercy.

Sharing my humble opinion~
FBI Hostage Rescue Team Member Evan Cooper is content to work hard and party even harder, and with plenty of available, attractive women, he avoids commitments and emotional entanglements…until he’s assigned to protect Monica Callahan. Monica’s gentle prodding breaks down the barriers he’s erected since his mother’s death and father’s subsequent emotional withdrawal.

Estranged from her father after his abandonment to pursue his diplomatic ambitions, Monica overcame hurt and betrayal, earning a PhD in communications and forging a successful career. If she ever commits to a relationship, she intends it to be with a man who communicates well, someone who doesn’t put his career first. Not Coop. But, she finds herself drawn to the quiet, determined-to-protect-her man.

I like how Monica, a believer, struggles with the issue of forgiveness towards her absentee father. Considering forgiveness a tenet for Christianity, Coop doesn’t understand, and calls her on it. She admits that’s her biggest failing, and in doing so, opens the door for several conversations. I found her honesty refreshing and their discussions on faith realistic.

Monica’s father attempts to reconcile his moral principle of not negotiating with terrorists with his desire to save his daughter. He’s never told his daughter he loves her, yet now she hears his unspoken message. I love how this unfolds during the story.

Wow! With a fast paced, action-packed, nail-biting plot, you might be tempted to sail through this book in a few hours. But I’d recommend against that. This book is flavored with spiritual and moral issues, juicy nuggets I preferred to chew on for a few days. Although it lacks the physical intensity (um, more displays of affection) I generally prefer, Against All Odds more than compensates in emotional and spiritual depth as love and forgiveness transform Monica and Coop. Action, suspense, a tender romance~this book has it all! Definitely a keeper!
 

Do you believe it’s possible for a person to communicate love 
without saying the actual words?

Has a family member hurt you with their choice?
Do you wrestle with forgiveness?

Disclaimer: I purchased this book. No monies were received in exchange for my fair and unbiased review, and all opinions expressed are my own.