UNQUENCHABLE: GROW a WILDFIRE FAITH that WILL ENDURE ANYTHING

  Carol Kent makes my list of people who changed my life. We met at her Speak Up Conference where I sat under her teaching and learned to communicate the Word of God and tell my story in a way that people will be drawn to Jesus Christ. Carol laughed and cried with me as I stood on a platform speaking for her evaluation. At the end of the week she signed me as part of her Speak Up Speaker Service. http://www.speakupspeakerservices.com/)  My speaking abilities went to a new level as Carol taught me to speak up with confidence. Since then, numbers of  people have heard my story and responded to God's call to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God used Carol Kent to change my life and the life of every person who responds as I communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people around the world. Just this month three prayed to accept Christ in Russia upon hearing how God worked in my marriage and my life.

What a joy to have Carol Kent endorse my book We All Married Idiots. She wrote: "Elaine W. Miller is a gifted communicator on and off the platform. Her book, We All Married Idiots, will have you rolling on the floor laughing while finding yourself personally challenged to develop biblical principles for a Christ-centered marriage. Each chapter provides fodder for discussion, self-examination, and personal growth. Buy one for yourself and additional copies to give away!"

Carol is the real deal. She knows suffering and sorrow and desires to love Jesus and glorify God through all her joys and pain. I love this lady and I admire her strength that brings her to her knees in daily surrender to God's will for her life and the lives of those she loves.

What a treat for me to review her new book, UNQUENCHABLE. 

Please take a look at her book trailer above and my review below.

"Where are you God?  Carol Kent's UNQUENCHABLE: GROW a WILDFIRE FAITH that WILL ENDURE ANYTHING answers that difficult question.  Join Carol and Jesus Christ on a powerful, personal, revealing  journey into the heart of her struggles with God and her son's life without parole sentence, into the heart of a woman whose husband and four children were killed in Rawanda, and into the hearts of others who struggle to find light when their world turns dark as Carol examines "What makes faith unquenchable? " UNQUENCHABLE is a must-read that gives strength and hope to those whose faith waivers under the weight of painful circumstances."

Are you hurting? Receive that splash of serenity from God and reignite the flame of God's fire in your soul by reading UNQUENCHABLE.

Carol Kent and Jeanette Windle are Winners on my Writing/Speaking Journey

Write and speak were never on my life's to-do list. But God had other plans. I thank Him for people He places on my path as I journey.

On my way, I learned of an organization called AWSA which stands for the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association.  What a delight these women are in my life as we encourage each other to be the best writer and speaker for the glory of God. If you want to grow in your writing and speaking skills, I recommend this organization of the 300 top Christian women communicators who both publish books and speak around the country. See www.AWSA.com

AWSA's annual conference was held last weekend with the Golden Scroll Banquet awards being a highlight.

My face burst in smiles when I read the names of the Golden Scroll Award winners. Two of them   had a major impact on my writing/speaking life. I'm thrilled they were recognized for their hearts for writing, speaking, encouraging, and equipping others to write and speak for the glory of God.

 

Carol Kent received the AWSA Member of the Year Golden Scroll Award. Carol isn't content enjoying her own success as a writer/speaker, she has a passion to train others to communicate Christ to the masses. I attended her Speak Up conference (www.Speakupspeakerservices.com) where she taught, trained, mentored, and critiqued me. Four days with Carol and her staff were the most spiritually profitable days of my life. Thank you, Carol and Gene, for your love and encouragement to me over the years. Thank you for believing in and endorsing We All Married Idiots. Twenty-five people in the last five months have accepted Christ through my speaking ministry. I don't know if that would be so without Carol Kent in my life.

Jeanette Windle's book Congo Dawn won the Gold Scroll Award for Novel of the Year. Congratulations, my friend.

I met Jeanette at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference. She was the first  writer/editor to look at my new manuscript We All Married Idiots. One of the scariest moments in a writer's life is handing your work to a professional for their critique. I sat and watched Jeanette as she read Idiots. Smiles. Laughter. And then she spoke, "This is great! This will be published!" Those beautiful words played in my head as rejection after rejection came from publishers (rejections are the story of a writer's life, you know). Thank you, Jeanette, for your encouragement to me to keep submitting my manuscript until it reached the right publisher at the right time.

There are lots of people who splash serenity in life. Carol and Jeanette are two of mine. They truly are Golden Scroll Award winners!

 I'd love to know who encouraged you on your writing/speaking journey?


 

Carol Kent's Speak Up Seminars--the Most Valuable Week of My Life

CAROL JUST INFORMED ME THEY HAVE A FEW PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIPS LEFT. IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK YOUR BEST FOR THE LORD, CONTACT, www.CarolKent.org today!


If you ever have a microphone staring at your face, you'll stare back with confidence after attending Carol Kent's Speak Up Seminars.

After the publication of my first book, Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms, my speaking invitations increased. Wanting to be the best speaker I could be, I flew to Oregon and attended Carol Kent's Speak Up Seminars. The original and the advanced seminars are held the same week--go to both! It's worth it.

What a week! Carol Kent and her staff taught, critiqued, loved, and prayed me through. I was thrilled to make Carol laugh and cry in each of my three-minute presentations. Of course, that's not too difficult. Carol has a tender and a fun heart.

An added bonus was Carol asking if she could include me as a speaker in her Speak Up Speaker Services. Carol refuses numerous speaking requests each week because of her packed schedule. I thank God that Carol saw the need to train speakers to communicate Christ's message with clarity and power and that she felt my story worthy of Speak Up Speaker Services.

Speak Up will change you. You won't be a speaker--you'll be a communicator. You won't fear an audience--you'll embrace your audience. You won't tell people about Christ--you'll lead people to Christ.

Speak Up is changing lives. I encourage anyone who speaks or who is called by God to speak to attend a Speak Up Seminar. The next one is June 22-25, 2011 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please see www.CarolKent.org and hit the Speak Up Seminars tab. Scholarships are available.

I promise. Your confidence in your speaking abilities will change from feeling like someone just dumped a bucket of water over your head to a Splash of Serenity, of course.

Blessings to all who desire to speak God's Word with excellence and for His glory! Go for it!

Elaine

Carol Kent's, "Between a Rock and a Grace Place" Blog Tour

It is my joy to host a blog tour for my friend, Carol Kent. Her book, Between a Rock and a Grace Place releases today. You won't want to miss this amazing story of God taking Carol and her family from a rock and a hard place to A Rock and a Grace Place.



Question: Tell us about the Christmas gift you received. How did it help you to find grace in the middle of a seemingly hopeless situation?

Carol: Two weeks before Christmas our doorbell rang at 9:15 p.m. It was dark outside and by the time my husband, Gene, joined me at the front door, we were surprised to find no one there. It was already dark, but my eyes fell on a large, exquisitely wrapped gift. The card on top said, “Mom.” Initially, it felt like a bad joke.

Nine years earlier our son, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy had been arrested for murdering his wife’s first husband and he was in prison serving a life-without-the-possibility-of-parole sentence. However, I am a “Mom” and the package was left on my doorstep, so I opened it. The note appeared to be in my son’s unique handwriting. The note expressed his deep love for me and his gratefulness for what I had done to help him since his arrest. He said a “friend” had helped him deliver the surprise.

Opening the box, I discovered a gorgeous russet-colored silk jacket—and it fit me perfectly. That night I discovered something new about God and something I had forgotten about myself. He loves to interject divine surprises into our lives. His timing is always perfect, but it had been a while since I had been surprised by joy, wonder, and grace in the middle of one of the tight spots of life.

Question: What are “grace places,” and how can hurting people in need find them?

Carol: All of us experience tight spots when life turns out differently from our dream. When we face the overwhelming obstacles of life, we can experience the last thing we ever expect—the sweet spot of grace. Grace places have a variety of forms, but some include:

•Receiving love when we don’t deserve it
•Finding safety in the middle of a fearful and uncertain experience
•Being comforted by friends and family (people who are extensions of God’s love)
•Experiencing the embrace of God when we have run out of strength and courage “Grace means the free, unmerited, unexpected love of God, and all the benefits, delights, and comforts which flow from it.” (R.P.C. Hanson)

Question: How important are contentment and gratitude in finding grace and peace?

Carol: My son, Jason, is teaching me that I need to choose contentment and thanksgiving in all things. As an inmate in a maximum-security prison, all of his personal items must fit in one small one-foot-high and one-and a half-feet-deep and two-and-a half feet long steel lockbox. He has learned to live comfortably with very little, which brings him a surprising sense of peace.

When I was visiting him one weekend I asked how he holds on to hope in the middle of a life-without-the-possibility-of-parole sentence. He said, “Mom, I have a gratitude list. Whenever the clouds of depression try to discouragement, I get out a piece of paper and write down everything I have to be thankful for. I’m thankful I have two parents who will be my advocates for as long as they live. The average number of years a lifer gets visits is five years and then no one comes anymore. I’m also thankful I can be a missionary on a compound that houses up to 1,700 men.”

I’m learning from Jason that I find contentment when I choose to be thankful and when I invest my time in helping other people.

Question: What are some unexpected gestures of kindness you’ve received in the past, and how did they help you through difficult times?

Carol: A couple of years ago Jason’s appendix ruptured and he was rushed from the prison to a civilian hospital. Gene and I were not allowed to know where he was and I prayed for someone to care for him as a mother would. He had two armed guards in his room at all times. Nurse Betty was assigned to Jason’s care. She treated him with respect and extraordinary care—and I knew she was a direct answer to my prayers.

A group of people who called themselves our “Stretcher Bearers” received an e-mailed monthly update on how to help with our needs. We were blessed with meals, cards, and financial gifts, often just before we needed extra funds for the next legal payment. These amazing people waited with us for two and a half years through seven postponements of the trial.

Question: How has your definition of adventure changed over the years, and why is it important to retain adventure in your life, despite your situation?

Carol: True adventure is seeing the potential of living for things that matter in the middle of your current circumstances. We had the adventure of launching a nonprofit organization that helps to empower our son to facilitate classes by having books and DVD teaching series sent to the prison. We also have the adventure of reaching out to other people who are in crisis, which brings purpose and deep meaning to our lives.

Question: There is a theme of surprise throughout the book. What is one of the greatest surprises you’ve had?

Carol: The powerful story of Tammy Wilson and Matthew Ben Rodriguez is in this book. Tammy contacted me after I spoke at an event she attended because my son is incarcerated in the same prison where Matt, the man who killed her mother thirteen years ago is incarcerated. She had been praying for someone to lead Matt to Christ and asked if Jason would try to meet him. It turned out that Jason and Matt were already friends and this amazing story is one of forgiveness, redemption, and restoration that can only be explained in the supernatural dimension.

Question: Between a Rock and a Grace Place releases 10 years after your son, Jason, was sentenced to life in a maximum security prison and includes excerpts from Jason’s letters. Can you tell us how he’s doing now?

Carol: He has just taken his 8th group of men through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University Course and he will be facilitating a biblical counseling class on marriage and family this fall. He has a prayer group of twelve inmates who fast and pray for the needs of each other and their families. Prison is a depressing, dark, and sad place, but Jason is living for things that will outlast him.

Question: When you received news about Jason’s clemency hearing being denied, how did you respond?

Carol: I wailed like a baby, sobbed, felt angry, hurt, and disappointed in God. Then we saw Jason a day after this devastating news. He was calm and very much at peace. He hugged me as I wept and said, “Mom, this case isn’t about having the best attorney or about having the favor of Florida’s top executive political leaders. If I am ever allowed to walk in freedom in this lifetime, it will be because God miraculously opened a door that was closed.” My son helps me to develop an eternal perspective and that day he comforted me.

Question: What advice do you have for those who are stuck between a rock and a grace place?

Carol: In the middle of your own hurt reach out to someone else who needs help worse than you do. When you involve yourself in meeting the needs of others, you discover an unexpected freedom on the inside. Corrie ten Boom once said, “What did you do today that only a Christian would have done?”

Question: As a result of your journey, you and your husband have founded the nonprofit organization Speak Up for Hope. What are the goals of the organization, and how can people get involved?

Carol: Our vision: To help inmates and their families adjust to their new normal. Our mission: We exist to provide hope to inmates and their families through encouragement and resources. Please go to www.speakupforhope.org for a list of practical ways individuals, churches, and organizations can help with specific projects. Our goal is to live out the truth of Prov. 31:8-9: “Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice. Stand up for the poor and destitute!” Where may we connect with you further or to purchase a copy of Between a Rock and a Grace Place? I would love for you to visit my web site at www.CarolKent.org, browse through the various events and other resources available. You may also join me on my Facebook page, please click here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Between a Rock and a Grace Place by Carol Kent (Zondervan) From bestselling author Carol Kent comes a riveting journey of facing the impassible obstacles of life and discovering the last thing ever expected—the sweet spot of grace.

Carol Kent and her husband, Gene, are now living what some would call a heartbreaking life—their son, Jason, a young man who initially had so much promise, is now living out a life sentence for murder in a maximum security prison. All their appeals have been exhausted at both the state and federal levels—humanly speaking, they have run out of options. But despite their hopeless situation, Carol and her husband live a life full of grace.

Kent reveals how life’s problems become fruitful affliction where we discover the very best divine surprises, including peace, compassion, freedom, and adventure. Through the Kent’s remarkable ongoing journey, Jason’s riveting letters from behind bars, and true “grace place” stories from the lives of others, Between a Rock and a Grace Place. Grace Place reveals that when seemingly insurmountable challenges crash into our lives, we can be transformed as we discover God at work in ways we never imagined.

With vulnerable openness, irrepressible hope, restored joy, and a sense of humor, Carol Kent helps readers to find God’s “grace places” in the middle of their worst moments.

About the Author: Carol Kent is the bestselling author of When I Lay My Isaac Down and A New Kind of Normal. Carol is an expert on public speaking, writing, and on encouraging people to hold on to hope when life’s circumstances turn out differently from their dreams. She lives in Florida with her husband Gene. Carol Kent is a popular international public speaker best known for being dynamic, humorous, encouraging, and biblical. She is a former radio show co-host and has often been a guest on Focus on the Family and a featured speaker at Time Out for Women and Heritage Keepers arena events. She has spoken at The Praise Gathering for Believers and at Vision New England’s Congress. She is also a frequent speaker at Women of Virtue events across the country.

Here's your opportunity to receive a free copy of Between a Rock and a Grace Place. Please check out these Christian Speaker Service giveaways: at: http://www.facebook.com/CSSVBT.CarolKent.BetweenaRockandaGracePlace and http://christianspeakerservices1.wordpress.com/blog/


A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me as a blog tour host by Zondervan in exchange for posting this interview on my blog. Please visit Christian Speaker Services at www.ChristianSpeakerServices.com for more information about blog tour management services.

God gives Splashes of Serenity in the most awful of circumstances. I recommend you read Between a Rock and a Grace Place and let God and Carol guide you from a hard place to a Grace Place.

Elaine