Staci Stallings - Talking to Mountains

Talking to Mountains

By: Staci Stallings

I have a new favorite preacher. He comes on on Sunday morning when I'm getting ready for church. I can get more out of listening to him for three minutes than I get out of most in 30. I'm constantly going, "Man, that's good. I've got to write that down!"

One of the latest revelations from one of his sermons was this: In the verse, "If you had the faith of a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Be thou removed and be cast into the sea,' and it would obey you..." God says we can talk to mountains and command them to move. I've heard this verse many times before, but when Dr. Simpson said, "Understand, in this situation, somebody is talking to somebody," I stopped like slamming on the brakes. "You see, either you are talking TO the mountain, or the mountain will be talking to YOU, but somebody will be doing some talking!"

I'd never thought about it quite like that before, but think for a minute about the attributes of a "mountain." It's BIG for one. Also, we don't normally think of mountains as being on wheels--i.e. they are tough if not impossible to move. Finally, mountains are just "there." They don't seem capable of listening or even caring what we think. They simply stare down at us, proving our smallness to all the world.

Dr. Simpson went on to this effect: You have your own mountains, and you hear them talking. Maybe it's in the middle of the night when you can't sleep. They are talking--telling you that you can't handle this, you are not strong enough to cope with this, that THIS is something you can't ever fix or find a solution for. That mountain continually taunts you to believe in your smallness. In short it says, "This is too big for you."

It's a mountain all right.

I don't know what your mountain is. It might be a financial mountain of debt. It might be a mountain of health problems or social problems. Your family might be your mountain or your lack of faith. Your mountain might be going back to school or deciding to stay home and raise your kids. It might be a friend or former friend. It might be someone who's hurt you terribly. It might even be a dream you thought you had to have but is now slipping from your grasp.

Or maybe it's another kind of mountain--drugs or alcohol, a habit you simply cannot break, a love you can't let go of even though you know it's killing you. Maybe your mountain is your spouse or your children. Maybe it's yourself.

Whatever your mountain is, I'm quite sure you know its voice well. "You can't..." "What's wrong with you..." "Why does this work out for everyone else but never for me..." "Why me...?" "This isn't fair..." "It's just not right..." "If only..."

You've heard your mountain's voice. There's almost no doubt about that. The question is: Has that mountain heard YOUR voice, or even better GOD'S voice?

In order to talk to your mountain, you need some words from The Word--yes, that means The Bible, but it also means The Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. In other words, you need to start hearing the words of Jesus, spoken into your life on a continual basis, so you will learn what to TELL that mountain.

"Mountain, you do not control me because although compared with me, you may be big, compared with my GOD, you are nothing but a grain of dust. Understand me. I am now giving you to my God (that's the having the faith of a mustard seed part--not trying to deal with this on your own, but learning to give those mountains in your life over to God and His wisdom). I am putting you in God's hands. I am trusting in God's love for me more than in the illusion of your power over me. God, please break the illusion of power that this mountain tries to exert in my life. Set me free..."

Talk to that mountain. Talk TO that mountain.

And it will be cast into the sea.

Copyright Staci Stallings, 2008


Staci Stallings, the author of this article, is a Contemporary Christian author and the founder of Grace & Faith Author Connection. Staci has a special surprise for you today and tomorrow only...

FREE ON KINDLE...

Feb. 1 & 2, 2012, Staci's novel

Coming Undone

If you've ever searched for love, been afraid to love, or lost someone you love, you will love Coming Undone."

The story of two people trying to live life by the world's rules who find that loving someone only happens when you learn to love without asking what you're going to get in return. Available as a free download from Amazon today and tomorrow only!

Coming Undone

Her blog is at: http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com

Why/How I started writing

I loved to read from childhood and I was always considered a book worm. Right around my teenage years, I realised I could write stories that were pretty darn exciting. They made good entertainment and got me good grades in English. That’s when I realised I could actually write. But back then, I wrote mostly poetry (which right now, I absolutely hate writing!). One of my goals was to become a published writer by age 18…it took ten years more than that for it to happen.

I held off on writing because somebody told me “you can write after you retire; right now you need a real job to make real money.” I listened, but I’m not sure that I regret listening. I did pitch a few ideas to a few publishing companies and of course, got rejection letters from all. I gave up because I figured that living on an island as small as mine, I’d never really get a chance to prove my worth.

Fast forward to ten years later, my love for reading got the better of me and I bought myself a kindle. In the early days of owning that kindle, I lost many nights of sleep. I followed every kindle related twitter account I could find, and I read, read and read some more.

One day, twitter proved its worth to me. I came across a tweet that said I could get my own work published on kindle. Until then, I didn’t even know that KDP existed. I did my research and found that I could self-publish my stuff without putting out any money up front. (Even though I have a real job, I don’t necessarily have the real money part just yet).

So, I set to work. I put together a short story in about a week, spent another week editing and tweaking and re-edit and voila! I had my test book. To me, it really was just that, a test book. But my friends went crazy over it and started asking for a sequel so my two-part short story, “Rise from the Ashes” was born.

I decided it was time to get serious and put together my first novel. I threw away many synopses before I settled on one, and when I did, I was scared to death that it was crap. But, I persevered, and finished it. “Nightmare at Emerald High” was born.

I’m not sure how everything will turn out, but I’m super proud of myself for producing two books. I’m in the middle of my third and I can’t wait to get it out there. I pursued a dream and I won’t stop writing, or self-publishing.  I would love to quit my day job and write all the stories I have in my head, but we’ll see how that goes. 

The Dreaded Review

Last night i got it, the review every writer dreads. The one that completely trashes your books and digs a pit so great in your heart you fear it will never be filled.
I've published two books in the last two months, a novella and a novel, both YA and I've gotten pretty decent reviews in the last six months.

Last night, I checked Amazon's author central and saw the one that sunk my heart. I will quote it here because I am brave. (Or I think I am)

So here goes:
"They saw writers should read a lot. Perhaps some good thick novels with on-line access to Websters would be useful to this young want-to-be author."

That's it, no details about what sucked about the book, Nada. At first, I was mortified. I wanted a hole to open up in the ground and suck me in. Tears welled up in my eyes and my heart broke.

Then, it hit me. Did they even read the book? They didn't even mention anything about the plot! This wasn't a review, it was an insult...plain and simple.

I got angry. I wanted to kick someone with my pen (or my fingers)  and my mouse hovered over the comment button with anticipation. Luckily, I had the good sense to back down.

Every writer will receive bad reviews, warranted or not. Chances are that somebody somewhere out there will hate your book, no matter how many other hundreds of people like it.

I say, pick the meat, use it to improve your writing in the future, then throw the bones.

For those reviews with no substance, that's exactly what they are, Reviews with no substance and your potential readers will see through them. Don't lose hope, don't crack and don't respond.

Just eat the meat and throw the bones. 

Praise God in Advance!

Our praise is one of the most powerful weapons that we as Christians have. There are many things that we can accomplish through our praise that we could never accomplish one our own. But what is praise really? Praise is the act of expressing approval or admiration. It is also the offering of grateful homage in words or songs as an act of worship. When we praise God we are telling him that we admire Him, we admire his intervention in our lives and we admire his creations.

When we praise, we confuse the enemy

In 2 Chronicles 20 we see that the Israelites were being threatened by the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Meunites. All these armies came together to fight against them. They formed a very large army and Jehoshaphat did not think that he would be able to beat them. Before he did anything, Jehoshaphat inquired of God what his next move should be. In verse 15-17 God sent his word to Jehoshaphat comforting him. The Lord said to Him “Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

When I read that verse, I was comforted in my Spirit. The Lord was saying to Jehoshaphat that he need not fight, the battle was not his, but God’s.

Jehoshaphat heeded the word of the Lord and assembled his people, but he did something very pivotal, he placed the singers in front first. Not the warriors, but the singers, the praisers, those who would usher in the presence of God. Jehoshaphat knew that God resides in the praises of his people so he set up a praise. By the time they neared the enemy, their camp was in disarray. The allied army began to fight among themselves. God used the praises of his people to confuse the enemy and they were defeated without even having to fight.

Praise also moves the hand of God

In Joshua 6 we see how the Israelites marched around Jericho for seven days upon the counsel of the Lord. On day seven, when they shouted, the wall of the city came tumbling down. Now, it is not the shout of the people that brought down the wall, but, upon hearing the praise, God moved on their behalf.

Praise God in Advance

Sometimes it is necessary to praise God in advance. We may see a problem that seems insurmountable and nothing that we could ever do would get us out, but praise unto God in spite of our circumstances lets him know that we trust him and we trust his judgment. It says “God, I know that you have my best interest at heart and that you will move on my behalf.” It also says “God, even if you don’t do what I want you do for me, I will still praise you.”

Praise solidifies our relationship with God and shows him that we appreciate his goodness. I encourage you to praise God in advance of your victory and watch the hang of God move on your behalf. Watch him confuse your enemies and watch your situation turn around!

PRAISE GOD IN ADVANCE!


Joana James - Author of Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret

Fireside Reads Week

Looking for that great Christian book you can curl up and read by the fire?

We’ve got you covered! And today is your day to load up your Kindle or Nook CHEAP!

100 Christian Books Project

Today I picked up my kindle and on it was an advertisement for the Kindle books for $3.99 or less list. I looked at the ad and thought "Why isn't there a list like that for Christian Fiction?". So, I decided to make one, and just like that the 100 Christian books project was born.

The concept is simple, if you have a Christian book on kindle that costs $4.99 or less, then submit your book to the list and we'll spread the news of each other's work.

The rules are few and suggestions are welcome. For more information, see the 100 Christian books Rules page above. Thanks for your cooperation! 

Quit Driving from the Back Seat

It's easy to love God isn't it. I mean, somebody sent their ONLY son to die in your place. He took away all your sins the moment you confessed them and asked for forgiveness. He spends time in heaven looking out for you, counting the hairs on your head, orchestrating plans to make sure the vehicle that should have hit you today passes by just a split second before you step onto the street. I mean, how could you not love a God like that, right?

Loving him is easy. But can you trust him? If you love to be in control of your own life like me, then you probably have a big problem trusting God, just like I do. It's not that I don't trust him in general, It's exercising that trust and then letting him take control of the vehicle of my life that's the issue. I find myself doing some back seat driving. Telling him where and when to turn, telling him that he's driving too slowly and getting angry when he tells me that I we have to stop some place when all I really wanna do is go further, faster.

I'm sure many of you would agree with me that a relationship will never work without trust. No matter how much love there is floating around in there, if there's no trust, two people can drive each other crazy! (remember Marcus and Angie in "Why Did I Get Married?")

Well, my encouragement to both of us is this: Learn to trust the one you love, he's already saved your life, so obviously he has your best interest at heart. Quit driving from the back seat. Let Him do his thing. He knows where to go and how to get there. Let Him do his thing!

Joana James - Author of Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret

Collage of Reviews

In the last few weeks, I've read a few books that I did not write comprehensive reviews for however, I did tell Good Reads how I felt about them in short snippets. I've decided to post these here as a small collage of reviews, so here they are.

The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan
I chose to read this one simply because it was the number one selling book on Amazon Kindle in 2011. Whilst it was not phenomenal in my opinion, I do think that it is a good book. I was captivated from beginning to end. The author cleverly went back and forth in time and when the two ends met they met beautifully. Several points of view were brought together like and intricate web.This was the author's first book and I'm happy for its success. I expect to see more great work from her in the future.





The Keeper: A short Story Prequel to Forbidden by Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee

This was an excellent prequel. I must say that the marketing worked on me because I bought Forbidden and I'm not reading it. My review of that will be posted next week.







Brother Half Angel by Martin Roth

This book brings to light the many challenges missionaries face on the mission field, especially in places where Christians are constantly persecuted, like China and North Korea.

In this missions chronicle, four foreign missionaries to China face physical danger from the towns revered Plum Flower boxers. The age old question "What is a Christian to do when threatened?" is raised. To some it may seem fine to turn the other cheek until your life is threatened. Others argue that we need to be proactive. The missionaries and the church that supports them face this dilema as they fight to stay alive. The Plum Flower Boxers see Christianity as a threat to the Chinese way and wish to stamp them out.

This book was an interesting read, although I was a bit disappointed in the ending. However, it is full of blood pumping action and even a bit of mystery. It is well written and is an accurate account of the spiritual atmosphere of the countries mentioned.





A Class Apart by Stephen Henning Reviewed by me for Readers' Favourite

"A Class Apart" follows the events occurring after a tragic bus crash in which several students are hurt or dead. After waking up in the hospital, two of the students find themselves suddenly gifted with strange powers, enabling them to powerful things. The teens struggle to control their powers whilst fighting against an outside force that seems to have taken over the hospital where they are trying to get better. Things peak when the Chief Officer in charge of keeping the accident victims sage suddenly seems to have become brainwashed and starts working against the very people he is supposed to be protecting.

I found this book very interesting. It is a clever mix of mystery and fantasy and the writer does an excellent job of bringing these qualities out. At first it seems as if there is a fight of good versus evil, but the twists in the book soon make you realise that what we may consider evil is not always evil. Though this book seems to have been written for young adults, any reader can enjoy its fast paced action. The vivid descriptions of the writer literally transport you into the world of the 36-floor hospital and you can easily see yourself enjoying it in front of a movie screen. The end left me begging for the next book in the series, with just the right number of questions left unanswered. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to get ,my hands on the next one in the series.


Outcome, A Novel: There's more than a hurricane coming...

Whilst this could have been a wonderful story, I was lost in a pile of medical jargon that I thought I'd never get out of. I found myself skipping over pages just so I could get to the actual story. I've never used my kindle dictionary this much in one book. Whilst I love expanding my vocabulary, in some instances, not even the dictionary could help me. This went from being an interesting novel to an absolute pain in the butt that I had to struggle to read. I believe the author could have done way better by limiting the medical jargon to the places where it was actually needed.




Crowded by Shaina Cilimberg

This book brings out the reality of peer pressure and the constant struggles that teens face just trying to make it through their teen years. It's an excellent teen novel and the lessons in there are lessons that ever teen needs to learn.

Book Trailer for Nightmare at Emerald High

The hard work on Nightmare at Emerald High continues. Further Edits, book tours and all that stuff keeps me busy, I've barely been able to pen any new words on 'Paranormal' in the last few days. But its all worth it I think.

I've decided to share with you the first cut of Nightmare at Emerald High's snazzy new book trailer! Check it out here!

I must admit that this is all pretty exciting for me. I'm just happy to be able to share my work with you all!
If you still haven't gotten your copy as yet, you can get it here at Amazon

Five years ago today...

Five years ago on January 17, 2007 I was wheeled into an operating room, strapped to a table and cut open. My doctors were afraid that they would have to remove my left kidney completely. Six weeks before that, I learned that I was born with a defect in my kidney that meant it never drained completely.  My doctors didn't find it until I was 23 years old so for 23 years my kidney was racked with infections that threatened to render it useless.

As I reflect on the last 5 years, I am extremely thankful to still be here. Part of that journey felt like an uphill battle but I'm still alive and I'm still kicking! I still have two kidneys even though I am still struggling with constant infections. I can do things that many people can't. I still dance full time, I still sing for hours on end at my church. I still work hard, study hard and play hard. And I owe every minute of my life to my heavenly father. The going was rough sometimes and many times through the years I felt like God would never heal me. But the fact that I'm still here is testament to his goodness.

So as I pass this small milestone I just had to say thank you publicly to my heavenly father for keeping me. Now, five years later, I've published two books and I'm slowly making progress and fulfilling some of the things I've always wanted to.

For that, I will be eternally grateful.

Joana James - Author of Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret

What I'm up to now...

The past few days have been pretty hectic; I'm gearing up for the upcoming blog tour, so I'm writing blog entries, answering interview questions, working on free promos and doing everything except writing.

That can be so frustrating sometimes. All I really want to do is stay home and put all the ideas floating around in my head on paper. But this is the real world, so I have to wake up each day, head to work then come home on evenings and do my marketing. So when do I get to write really? I hope someday I can just hire somebody to do all the marketing stuff for me, so that I can devote my time to what I like to do most, which is write.

So my work on Paranormal has halted a bit, not only so I can spend time marketing Nightmare at Emerald High, but also so that I can do some reorganisation of the book itself. I'm still working towards my April deadline though; I need to keep my promise to my readers. In the meantime, grab yourself a copy of Nightmare at Emerald High, it will make my work much easier :)

Also, follow me along on my blog tour, I'll be posting reminders each day of the tour and posting links to the respective sites.

Till then! 

Alyssa's Secret - Free day

Due to the overwhelming success of the free day for 'Alana', I've decided to let Alyssa's Secret have it's day too...so for today only, Alyssa's Secret is also free on Amazon. If you were lucky enough to get the first book in the series for free on Tuesday, then today is lucky day number two, cause you can get part two for free also. So head on down to Amazon and get your free copy quick before the day is over!

Here's the blurb:
Alyssa is 16 year old high school drop out who has been forced into prostitution to finance her mother's drug habit. After her sister Alana's death as a result of her mother's abuse, Alyssa, inspired by her sister's will to be better is determined to change her life. She has only the kindness of strangers to fall back on. Will she allow her past to jeopardize her future with those who lover her?

Alyssa's secret is the 2nd book in the Rise from the ashes series.

Free for One Day Only

Good day all,

My book Alana is available for Free for today only on Amazon! Remember it's for one day only so grab your copy before the end of the day.


What's it about you ask?

Alana is a determined teenager who faces almost insurmountable circumstances. With desperation and perseverance Alana seems poised to take over her world. However, all at once, everything comes crashing down around her in a series of terrible events sure to rock the core of the most steadfast individuals. Will Alana be able to rise above her circumstances? Or, will she succumb to the attempts of a world determined to destroy her? 

Upcoming Virtual Book Tour

Starting Saturday January 14, I'll be taking Nightmare at Emerald High on a virtual book tour. For those who you who have never heard of it, (don't feel bad, neither did I only a few months ago) this means that I'll be making guest appearances on several blogs over the next month. There'll be reviews by independent book bloggers, interviews and guest blogs.




To follow me around for a month, here's the schedule:

January 14 - Meet & Greet at VBT Cafe' Blog
January 15 - Interviewed by Ami Blackwelder 
January 28 - Guest Blogging at Ashley's Bookshelf 
February 2 - Review, Guest Blog & Giveaway at Cece's Garden of Reviews 
February 6 - Guest Blogging with Natalie Nicole Bates 
February 6 - Interviewed at BK Media Entertainment 
February 8 - Reviewed at All Things Books 
February 10 - Guest Blogging at Words I Write Crazy 
February 13 - Interviewed with Louise James 
February 15 - Guest Blogging with Cindy Vine
February 17 -  Guest Blogging with Louise Wise 

Don't worry, I'll be posting here too to remind you of each stop on the given day, so feel free to drop by on the various blogs and leave some encouragement, cause I'll be nervous. :D

A girl's work is never done....

It can be so frustrating to write a book, get it read by three friends, re-read it yourself, edit, edit, edit, put it up for sale, and then the first person that buys it calls  you to say..."Hey girl, I found a few errors in your book...." Then you have to do it all over again.

One of those plagues of self-publishing I guess. But, in the end it's all worth it. I love putting my best work out always, and I won't rest until every piece I publish is error free. Of course, there are always the errors I create myself in the editing process! argh! As soon as this writing thing becomes profitable, I'm gonna have to hire a couple editors. Cause whilst my friends are great at spotting the big stuff, I suspect they get caught up in the story and miss the minor things.

So for those of you who've been hesitating to get Nightmare at Emerald High....don't be scared. The second edition went live this morning and it's error free!

Thanks for all your support. Buy the way, the second edition went and got its self a snazzy new cover! Check it out!