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Yesterday's Carnival Giveaway was a blast! I loved reading all the posts about our beloved furry friends. (And Kimberly, I do remember Bam-Bam).
The winner for Birds in My Mustard Tree and an i-tunes gift card is Amy! Congratulations, Amy!
Now, how about another giveaway! My newest book is now ready for release. Its title is 
Embraced by the Father--Finding Grace in the Names of God. Here's what I would like to know. Do you picture God as your Father? Why or why not?
Some of my friends have alway found great comfort in knowing that God is the Heavenly Father. For myself, I struggled with the concept for years and years. I did not have a great relationship with my biological father. I could pray to the Lord, to Jesus, to God, but when the term "Father" came to my mind I stumbled. That eventually changed, and so I wrote Embraced by the Father.
Let me know your thoughts. I will randomly pick one winner for Embraced by the Father. Whoever the lucky winner is will receive this book "hot off the press." I expect my shipment in from the publisher this week.
15 comments:
I have a wonderful relationship with both of my fathers, earthly and heavenly. I picture God as bigger in magnitude than my father (for only God can be with us all at once), but with the same character toward me - unconditional love and acceptance.
Thanks for this wonderful contest and the previous one. You are a blessing!
Warmly,
Kris
Lvnglyf73@aol.com
I was/am blessed to have a solid relationship w/ my earthly father, who I've always called "dad" (or "daddy" when very young). I'm also blessed to know my heavenly Father and have since I was a little girl. For me, my struggle was calling my Father in heaven "daddy"- the more informal and intimate name (at least for me). Over the past couple of years, I've really come to understand and see God as my daddy, where I can truly crawl in His lap and trust Him more deeply. Perhaps this coincided w/ having my own kids and developing a deeper sense of that kind of love. I've always loved the idea of studying the different names of God so this giveaway really caught my eye!
Thanks for all your generosity!
Hi Susanne,
I did not always have such a good relationship with my earthly dad. He was always angry and I was always looking for his love & acceptance - the love a daughter needs from her dad. I had a bad picture of God, until I really got to know Him and totally experience His love for me. I have been healed & set free. He has written His love on my heart. He is my daddy, the one I run to, lay my head on, and cry my eyes out to. He embraces me totally - He is truly my heavenly Father.
Your new book sounds wonderful - I love the title.
Blessings on your day ~ Jodie
I like to think of my prayer time as crawling up in my daddy's lap and snuggling up to Him and resting in His arms and in His love. A sweet embrace!
I have a hard time calling God, "Father" for two reasons. First, the relationship between my earthly father and I is not that good. He has anger issues and expects perfection from me and when I don't live up to his expectations he belittles me. So when I don't live up to the expectations that I think God has for me I anticipate that He will belittle me as well.
Also it is hard for me to get past the "larger than life" image of God that I built up in my mind as a child. It is hard to fathom that with all the people in the world that He could have such a personal relationship with me.
Thank you for the opportunity to recieve your book.
It took me a long time to really grasp God as a father. For me as Father, He seemed so distant and unapproachable. I have had more success thinking of it as a divine romance. It wasn't until college I could realize why God as the Father seemed detached. It has to do with the detachment and lack of pursuit from my earthly Dad. My Dad was there and semi attentive, but did not pursue me unless it was for conditional circumstances, usually discipline.
Thank goodness I realized that God is a Father who pursues and love unconditionally. He is just waiting for me with open arms regardless of where I am at.
Your book sounds inspiring :)
erin.taylor5888@gmail.com
It took me years to be comfortable praying "Father God." I didn't mind God, but did not want a Father. For me Father meant abuse. And the idea of Father's love - whenever someone had said I love you it meant they wanted something from me and it would hurt. I didn't believe that God would love me in a way that was beneficial, I just wanted to be a wallflower in His kingdom. I used to tell my pastor I wanted God two or three football fields away from me, and me near the exit. As I started learning more and more about Hm, I realized that He really had my best interests at heart and that He was not responsible for the abuse I received. As time has gone on, He has been showing me where he was in the midst of my past. And I am learning more and more that He is trustworthy.
Heather
HM@hvc.rr.com
My earthly father was always at work or busy with other things while I was growing up. I love him dearly, but don't have the best of relationships with him. My heavenly Father, I love too. I know that He is always there for me and I can go to Him no matter what the need (sometimes just to praise Him), or time. I am so thankful for my heavenly Father.
Jesus went from being a King to being my FATHER on April 28th, 2003. Suicide Loss drove me into the arms of the only "daddy" that has room in his arms and his lap for me! Tears dont scare Jesus away. I feel SAFE.
While I always thought I was close to my earthly fathers (both bio and step) as an adult I realized that in very different ways when I was about 14, they both abandoned me. I had true *father* issues that I had never dealt with. While working through those earthly issues takes time and patience, grace and mercy, I have clung to my *Abba* since coming to Christ. I know that He will never leave and will always be there, loving me unconditionally no matter what.
in Him,
Tricia
Sometimes I still struggle with picturing God as my "Father," I guess because I have such a wonderful relationship with my biological father, that the dynamic I associate with the term is different than how I feel about God. My biological father is imperfect, human, but loving and supportive - God is loving, supportive, perfect, and all-powerful. I don't know. It's complex, right? I am progressing in my view as God as "Father" and hopefully I'll fully get there soon.
Yes, I very much identify God as a "Father" figure. So much so, that when the image of Christ as our groom, and we as the bride, that it feels wrong to me (wrong as in icky!). I battle with chronic illness on a daily basis, and one of my favorite images of my Father is climbing up on his lap and being engulfed in His tender loving care, wrapped up in his strong hands, almost like a nest -- a retreat of solace from the real world. :) Blessings to you,
Pam pjoyreed@hotmail.com
I too didn't always have the healthiest relationship with my earthly father, and when I came to know the Lord I found myself in the trap of trying to earn His approval and His love. It wasn't until I met my husband and saw how his father interacted with the family that I learned about grace and acceptance. He was the best role model of a godly earthly father I ever knew. I feel blessed to have know him for the early years of our marriage before he passed away. My concept of my heavenly father has changed drastically over the years. He is now my Abba Daddy whom I can go to with all my stuff no matter what.
Thanks for this post and your contest. PS My relationship with my own dad now is so so so much better!!
I am blessed in that I always knew my dad loved me and was proud of me. But for some reason I had trouble applying that to my heavenly Father. I guess I always saw my own unworthiness...
Thanks for the opportunity to win your book. It sounds interesting!
My relationship with my dad wasn't great, but it's gotten better over the years. That being said, it was strange for me to picture God as my 'Father' but now, as my relationship with my heavenly father grows and my relationship with my earthly father does too, it doesn't seem so strange.
What a great title!
-Amy V.
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