Author Archives: Christian Devotions Editor

Writers ADVANCE! Bootcamp 2014
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Writer's Advance Bootcamp

       Writer’s Advance          Boot Camp

BOOT CAMP REGISTRATIONS OPEN August 31, 2013

Visit our Boot Camp website at

Writers Advance! Boot Camp

February 21-13, 2014

READY YOURSELF

Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people… Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they’re not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul… 2 Timothy 2:15 (The Message)

The Dates: February 21-23(Friday evening, Saturday & Sunday morning)
Report To: The Cove, The Billy Graham Training Center, Asheville, NC

REMEMBER…Boot Camp fees are  ALL INCLUSIVE  – Room, Food, Materials Packet and Conference Fee

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Boot Camp Dual Training Tracks
This year we introduce two tracks of study for trainees. The Infantry Level for the new writer, will offer more basic writing skills and needs. This path will guide trainees into a disciplined writing schedule and set them on the path to producing quality work that, with practice can become publishable pieces. The Officer Level, for the more advanced or published writer, sharpens writer skills in the basics but carries them one step higher, introducing trainees to a deeper understanding of genres, presentation, social media and promotion.
This intense weekend of study will break trainees out of their worldly idea of writing and train them up to ADVANCE their work to a new level. God asks us to give of our best in all we do. Boot camp trainees walk away from this weekend ready to take their writing seriously and give of their best.
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Appointments with an Editor, Agent or Author to discuss your personal work and goals will be available.

Optional and at an Additional Cost:

Paid Critiques – You may pay for a professional critique of your work
$10 – 3 devotionals (up to 600 words each)
$30 – The First 15 pages of your manuscript
$25 – Your Basic Proposal
$15 – First 5 Pages (in-depth line for line critique)

Writers Advance is for all writers, new or seasoned, so invite your friends. Jump start your writing year with a friend. Soldiers travel with a buddy and writers should too. So buddy up and bring a friend for a year of buddy system accountability.

Writers ADVANCE! Boot Camp marches on regardless of the weather so tie your bootstraps tight and be ready. If you attended our past Boot Camps you know we fill you up and send you out armed and ready for battle.

Boot Camp is for anyone who desires to follow their passion of writing..from the new writer to the advanced writer. Soldiers have buddies so invite your friends and share the buddy system way of accountability. We’ve got your back and so will your buddy.

For additional orders or information, contact cindy@christiandevotions.us

2013 Faculty

Best Selling Author – Mike Dellosso

Author and Speaker – Vonda Skelton

Ann Tatlock – Christy Award Winning Author   Yvonne Lehman – Best Selling Author              

Agents:

Jonathan Clements – Wheelhouse Literary Agency       Diana Flegal – Hartline Literary Agency

Additional Faculty

Eddie Jones    -   Edie Melson  -     Andrea Merrell  -    Terri Kelly  -    Cindy Sproles

He Said, She Said
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Consecrated to Christ

Consecrated to Christ

Consecrated to Christ – He Said

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6

Listen to Consecrated to Christ  - He Said

Over two thousand years ago, a father chose the greatest scholar of his age to tutor his young son in liberal arts. The gifted instructor taught the boy in architecture, music, literature, politics, and natural sciences. A few years later, the boy, barely in his twenties, set out to conquer the world. He did. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires known to man, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and remains one of history’s most successful commanders. He died at the age of thrty-two, considered by many, a drunk and a womanizer.

Three centuries after the death of Alexander the Great, another father sent His Son out to conquer the world. He taught His boy to lead through serving, win through losing himself for others, and victory through loving his enemies. He, too, died near the age of thirty-two. Two thousand years later His army marches on.

Our role as parents is to observe our children with the eyes of objectivity, study their uniqueness, and guide them in the ways they will go when left in the center of God’s will. The Hebrew word “hanakh” means “to dedicate” or “to consecrate.” Once Christ dedicated His life to following the will of his Father, He could do nothing other than become our Lord and Savior.

If you find any measure of comfort and peace in Christ, know this: Sometime, somewhere, long before you became aware there was a God, an individual dedicated your life to God through prayer.

May we do the same each day for our children.

Teach Your Children

Listen to Prodigal? Me – She Said

Prodigal? ME? – She Said

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

“We’re all prodigals, aren’t we?”

The Sunday morning message blared from the television. I dropped a tissue into the trash. My head throbbed and my body ached from the flu and I wasn’t sure I could listen to this hell-fire and damnation preacher scream at me. Chills crawled up my arms as the country pastor slammed his hand on the pulpit. “It’s true. We are all prodigals.”

I covered my head with the pillow, wishing I could will the remote into my hand. I’m not a prodigal. Not by any means. I pray every day and try to be the person God wants me to be; honest, truthful, loving. No. I’m not a prodigal.

There might have been a time I wandered but never very far. Maybe I questioned, but not very hard. Things were…well…status quo. My love for Christ never faltered…it just wasn’t pressing.

I sat straight up in the bed.

“Oh my gosh. I was a prodigal.”

Sometimes our view of God becomes so skewed by the world we wander away, searching for anything that might fill the void in our lives; never seeing the loving God who waits.

I was raised in the church and though my love for Christ never died, I succumbed to the world for a time…searching. At thirty-six I sat teaching a young adult Sunday school class. “How active are you in Christ’s life?” I asked. Then it hit me. Not very, but He was certainly active in mine. I was a prodigal. That was the turning point in my Christian life. I grasped hold of what I’d been taught and crawled home.

Solomon understood we eventually return to what we are taught. It never really leaves us, we just shove it away for a time. His words were not only a warning but an encouragement to parents. Teach them and they will not turn from it. We have sons who, like me for a time, search to fill the void. They’ve been raised beneath the wing of Christ. They’re fine young men and though their love for Christ has not died…they wander. We pray daily they will remember and not turn from the love of Christ but become active in Him again.

Raise them up in the ways of Christ. A time will come when they wander and seek. Eventually what they’ve been taught will resurface. God will work in their prodigal hearts and they will become active in Him. My job? To pray without ceasing.

Read Cindy’s devotions

HE SAID, SHE SAID RADIO IS MOVING TO MONDAY NIGHT…Join us as we delve deeper into the meaning of God’s word and apply it to our own lives.

Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and cofounders of ChristianDevotions.us. They cowrite the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host Blog Talk Radio’s Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! along with Scott McCausey. And now you can catch them on He Said, She Said Radio. at their new time, MONDAY’S at 6 p.m. (Call in number, 646-929-0706 ).

Do you sense something vital missing from you relationship with your spouse, children, and God?

Try He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion. This compilation of 54 devotions includes scripture verses, space for journaling, individual prayers and words of wisdom from two of today’s funniest and insightful Christian authors. This heart-warming collection of stories will inspire you to reach for the true source of joy: a life lived for and through God. These deeply personal devotions offer biblical insights and spiritual truths from the perspective of one man and one woman.

He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion
by Cindy Sproles & Eddie Jones

That's Why They Call It Making Love: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion

Print version $9.95
Kindle eBook $2.99
NOOK eBook $2.99

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Consecrated to Christ – He Said
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Consecrated to Christ

Consecrated to Christ

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6

Listen to Consecrated to Christ  - He Said

Over two thousand years ago, a father chose the greatest scholar of his age to tutor his young son in liberal arts. The gifted instructor taught the boy in architecture, music, literature, politics, and natural sciences. A few years later, the boy, barely in his twenties, set out to conquer the world. He did. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires known to man, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and remains one of history’s most successful commanders. He died at the age of thrty-two, considered by many, a drunk and a womanizer.

Three centuries after the death of Alexander the Great, another father sent His Son out to conquer the world. He taught His boy to lead through serving, win through losing himself for others, and victory through loving his enemies. He, too, died near the age of thirty-two. Two thousand years later His army marches on.

Our role as parents is to observe our children with the eyes of objectivity, study their uniqueness, and guide them in the ways they will go when left in the center of God’s will. The Hebrew word “hanakh” means “to dedicate” or “to consecrate.” Once Christ dedicated His life to following the will of his Father, He could do nothing other than become our Lord and Savior.

If you find any measure of comfort and peace in Christ, know this: Sometime, somewhere, long before you became aware there was a God, an individual dedicated your life to God through prayer.

May we do the same each day for our children.

Transparent Holiness – He Said
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Transparent Holiness

Transparent Holiness

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.- Proverbs 10:9

Listen to Transparent Holiness – He Said

A cigar smoker purchased several hundred expensive stogies and had them insured against fire. After he’d smoked them all, he filed a claim, pointing out that the cigars had gone up in flames. The company refused to pay and the man sued. A judge ruled that because the insurance company had agreed to insure the cigars against fire, it was legally responsible. The company paid the claim. Then, when the man accepted the money, the company had him arrested for arson.

The writer of Proverbs says the crooked will be found out. I know every little deceit I plan is discovered. When I was in middle school I stole some candy. Didn’t get out of the store before the cashier told me to empty my pockets. He gave me a choice: Call the police or call my parents. I broke down crying and he phoned Dad.

Ours is a transparent society. More than any time in history our sins are exposed before others. You might think getting caught would be a deterrent. Instead, we have grown numb to our outlandish acts of disobedience and lewdness. Like the man with the cigars, we seek to boldly bend the rules to our advantage.

But God calls us to a higher standard. One of holiness and honor.

Each morning I pray that God will allow me to see my wife with the eyes of Christ. To love her and others with the heart of God. I ask that He make me a man of encouragement, not criticism; one who speaks good news and hope, not bitterness. Left to my own desires I am a wretched man. With Christ I am a wrecked man under repair.

This year, this week, this day – resolve to walk in integrity. And pray that others will do the same.

My Mama Nell – He Said
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Mama Nell's Family Tree

Mama Nell's Family Tree

Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise. Ephesians 6:2 (NIV)

Listen to My Mama Nell – He Said

I’ve waited all my life to tell Mom what I thought of her and now I can without fear of retribution – assuming of course she can’t curse me from the grave. Others have accused me of lacking a verbal filter, but I blame my bluntness on Mom. One thing about my mother . . . you always knew what she was thinking. Whether you wanted to know or not.

But my aim today isn’t to highlight Mom’s faults (and there were many – from her constant carping about how our church had grown too large (apparently100 members is the perfect size), to her criticisms of the pastors and their apparent lack of attention to the elderly and shut-ins). I count these as faults only in the sense that Mom often voiced her opinions in a gruff manner, sometimes leading individuals to do the exact opposite.

No, my goal today is to honor Mom and cash in on that promise in Ephesians 6:2. I want to live a long, long while here on earth because I know when I get to heaven Mom will ask me to pick up sticks, or weed the garden, or some other horrendous childhood chore. Here’s a story that highlights three of Mom’s more prominent qualities: to have community, to contribute, and to be in charge.

A year or so ago Mom was on her way to the hairdresser when another driver ran a stop sign and smashed into her Buick. Mom got out, inspected the damage, and exchanged insurance info. Then while the two women waited for the police to arrive, Mom popped the trunk and motioned the other driver to the rear of her LeSabre.

“My son’s a writer,” Mom announced, “and I’ve got some of his books. Do you want a copy?” I wasn’t there but, knowing Mom, the inflection in her voice and order of words was probably more like: “You do want a copy? Right?” I’m almost certain of this because the woman bought one copy of The Curse of Captain LaFoote (a YA / Tween novel) and a church recipe book. I bet the woman doesn’t even cook.

But that was Mom. Always hawking my books (contributing to the needs of others), talking about her friends in the J O Y group (Just Older Youths was her community), and making other people’s business her business (charging in uninvited).

This week I lost my biggest fan and best salesperson, but God gained a worthy assistant. I can’t imagine how He thinks He’ll remain in charge now.

The last thing Mom told me was, “I’m not as young as I used to be, Son. You need to think about your old mom once in a while and come see me.”

I will Mom. I promise.

God Encounters: Innocence Lost – He Said
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Innocence Lost

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. – Matthew 2:16 (NIV)

Listen to God Encounters: Innocence Lost – He Said

At last Mary exhaled. No more angels appearing in the dead of night. No more heavenly hosts singing outside her home. Even the steady parade of shepherds dropping in to check on her boy had ceased. After nearly two years of interruptions, she was finally living a normal life–or what passed for normal with a toddler in the home.

But the serenity would not last. Weeks after the wise guys from the East bid her son farewell, she lay awake, listening to the screams of other mothers. Reaching to her side, she cradled her boy to her chest as thundering hooves raced down the dusty highway. Roman legions, she thought, descending on Bethlehem. She looked up and saw Joseph peeking past the tent flap. She waited for his nod and began gathering their few belongings. With the growing crescendo of cries ringing in her ears, Mary wept for the friends she loved, the mothers who wailed for her son’s innocent playmates.

But were they innocent? Are you?

The birth of Mary’s boy brought joy and hope to a conquered people. Years earlier, God’s people had demanded a king: a leader they could see, hear, and curse. God cautioned them to be content with Him alone: to seek His face and guidance. But they coveted the royalty of neighboring nations so God conceded to their wishes. “They have not rejected you,” He told the prophet Samuel, “but they have rejected me.”

Now, in the town of Bethlehem, God had returned. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords would call nations to account. This is the consequence of an encounter with God: the loss of our innocence. We think we are “good enough,” but we are delusional for the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

Before Christ, our sins were not counted against us; now we have no defense except one, the One who escaped the sword of Herod.

Romans tells us that all have sinned. There is none righteous, no not even one. Not even the baby boys of Bethlehem. This is the reality of an encounter with God.

For whom will you weep today?

God Encounters: Familiarity Lost – He Said
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God Encounters: Familiarity Lost

God Encounters: Familiarity Lost

And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. – Matthew: 2:12

Listen to God Encounters: Familiarity Lost – He Said

A few months ago my friends Joe and Debbie took a trip out west. “Took a trip.” That’s Southerner-speak for “driving.” In the South we’re always “taking and toting” things. In 1861 we took Fort Sumter but gave it back because we couldn’t afford the upkeep. Plus, the Yankees who’d been living there left it a wreck. But I digress. That’s another thing Southerners do. We stray from our main point.

Speaking of straying, a few months ago my friends Joe and Debbie took a trip out west. Driving into Indianapolis they started around the beltway when their GPS units barked: “Drive .6 miles. Then turn right.” Joe looked at Debbie and said, “Guess Leaner is taking us on shortcut.” He pulled off and stopped at the bottom of the ramp.

A few blocks later Joe and Debbie found themselves on an unlit city street in a part of Indianapolis not featured in the Chamber of Commerce welcome packet. At a traffic light bracketed by abandoned vehicles and homes missing doors and windows, Joe’s GPS advised him to: “Continue straight for another 247 miles.” Joe looked down the darkened street, then out his window at the gang of adolescent males walking towards them. While the GPS unit squawked and recalculated, Joe shoved the car into reverse and returned home another way.

Speaking of returning home another way, those wise guys from the east faced a similar dilemma. Having chased a star over wilderness, rivers, and mountains, they left their gifts for baby Jesus and pointed their camels home. But God had other plans.

Over the next few days many of us will announce our plans for the coming year. Lose weight, lose debt…lose interest in both. When God speaks through a vision or friend or His Word, we can follow his voice or follow our familiar ways but we can never return home. God will not allow it. Our tendency is to reflect fondly on the “good old days” and call them paradise, but if you attempt to cling to the past, you will find yourself its slave.

This is the consequence of an encounter with God. Once you have experienced a revelation of His truth. you will never be the same again.

Is God calling you to a new way, new path? Has he blocked your escape through a job loss, health issue, or abrupt change in a relationship? Ask for clear vision in the darkness.

Then follow the light.

And yes, Joe and Debbie did return home safely via another route. They’ve yet to go back to Indianapolis.

The Curse of Captain LaFoote, by Eddie Jones
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The Curse of Captain LaFoote

by Eddie Jones

Kindle eBook $2.99 Buy Now Print version $9.95  Buy Now

If you drowned and the sea spit you out, thrusting you back into an age of pirates, buried treasure and beauty beyond belief — would you stay?

RICKY BRADSHAW has never sailed the Caribbean Sea, searched for buried treasure or battled pirates on the deck of a Spanish Galleon. He’s never fallen through the floor of Davy Jones’ locker, befriended a witch doctor or watched an old fisherman morph into a porpoise. All Ricky knows is his lonely life with his widowed mom in a tiny apartment overlooking a marina on the Chesapeake Bay.

But all that changes on a snowy Christmas Eve when Ricky’s apartment building burns down and he falls into the chilly waters while trying to save BARNACLE, a mangy mutt with shrimp breath. Suddenly Ricky finds himself confronted by his neighbor, a young woman in a pink bathrobe who jumped to her death in order to escape the flames. She offers him a choice: go with her to a wonderful afterlife where snowflakes taste like candy or return to the dreary old world he knows. Ricky picks the past and awakes on a raft in the middle of the sea where there is surprising beauty on every island, danger around every corner and great honor and glory ahead of him — if only Ricky can summon the courage to survive the curse of Captain LaFoote.

A novel for young and old alike!


Bahama Breeze, by Eddie Jones
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Print version $14.95  Buy Now Kindle eBook $5.99 Buy Now

ANNA FORTUNE is a government intelligence analyst who longs for tropical sunsets, early morning beach walks, and a man bold enough to steal her heart.

SONNY CAY is a large, lumbering toilet paper salesman with a terminal disease, unpaid medical bills and the haunting memory of a girl he lost years ago.

She knows the location of terrorist cells, corrupt politicians and that no man can be trusted to keep his word, wedding date or promise to love forever.

He knows life is for the taking, love for the making and both end all too soon.

So when Anna is ordered to protect a presidential candidate polling in the single digits on a fund-raising junket in the Bahamas, both get a second chance at true love.

He came because he loved her, because all those years ago, she’d stirred him the way no woman ever had. She was his Mt. Everest, the pinnacle of his small world. His head told him to run; his heart made him stay. Now only the gale force winds of a “Bahama Breeze” can cool the white-hot embers of old flames erupting.

When you have nothing left to lose, dying for the one you love is easy.


When You Come Home, by Nancy Pitts
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When You Come Home

The True Love Story Of A Soldier’s Heroism, His Wife’s Sacrifice and the Resilience of America’s Greatest Generation

by Nancy Pitts

“A poignant story of love, loss and sacrifice.” -Tom Brokaw

The Gathering Storm by Barbara Warren

Kindle eBook $2.99 Print book   $11.95

Based on the World War II experiences of Daphne Kelley Cavin, first featured in Tom Brokawís The Greatest Generation.

The war claimed Daphne Kelleyís young husbandís life, but it couldnít keep Raymond – and his abiding love – from being with her when she needed him most.

First glimpsed in Tom Brokawís landmark bestseller, The Greatest Generation, the true-life love story of Daphne and Raymond Kelley went far deeper than Brokawís feature could reveal. Now When You Come Home provides the complete account of what New York Times book reviewer Michael Lind cited as ìperhaps the most compellingî love story in Brokawís book.

Taking its title from a poem newlywed Daphne sent her soldier husband during World War II, When You Come Home tells of their young love in the heartland at the brink of war, and of the crushing uncertainty and fear as they find themselves a world apart. And when the poem comes back to Daphne – blood-stained by Raymondís mortal wounds – When You Come Home shares the extraordinary event that restores the grieving young widowís faith in the transcendent power of love.