As you have most likely heard, the Supreme Court has announced the overturn of Roe V Wade. I believe the

2022. Well, you were better than 2021. I barely remember 2021 it was so full of trauma and grief. It truly had

Recently I listened to a live worship experience where the drummer was on one page and the rest of the band was on another. When I explained it to my son, a drummer, I said it was like the one was …

AUTHOR JULIE ARDUINI SHARES HER LOVE OF THE SMALL TOWN SETTING IN HER INSPIRATIONAL CHRISTMAS ROMANCE NOVELLA

Have I mentioned parenting is hard? How about that no one prepared me for the young adult years? I have been

I chuckle when I read the title of this post. Years ago, when I was new in Christian faith, I helped out with youth group. Anytime, and I mean anytime we challenged the kids to memorize a verse or …

About Julie "Encouraging you to surrender the good, the bad, and---maybe one day---the chocolate."

To me, there's nothing better than a summer day when I can get outside and read. I love a good romance,

I've been doing this a few years, post-birthday, sharing where I am, how far I've come, and where I

My new year started off with a pleasant surprise when Paula Mowery nominated me and other bloggers with the

I have a lot of questions for Jesus. This year hasn't gone as planned. It hasn't been a terrible

Unless you've been off grid this week, you've heard about the college scandal involving celebrity

https://youtu.be/qdeWmg10OFc If you have studied the Bible and/or a follower of Christ, rapture is not a new

Hello from the beach in South Carolina! I’m on vacation this week, drinking in as much SC as possible before cold weather hits! Today I’d like to welcome back to the blog author Julie Arduini – and one commenter will win an ebook copy of her featured book, You’re Brilliant! And now, here’s the interview! […]

JULIE'S NOTE: This summer I'm going through some very old posts (this server alone has over 2000 of

Entrusted Now Available for Purchase Adirondack Care Package Drawing in December Thanks for allowing this

Embracing Christmas Traditions with Author Julie Arduini

One glimpse at the sprawling Boardman Valley High School campus and my throat starts to close up. It’s a fortress. So many windows. Multiple parking lots. More than one athletic field. There’s even an attached brick circular amphitheater to house the enormous drama and musical talent the Youngstown suburb is known for. The morning crowd travels to the main entrance. I’m trapped in the middle of the swarm, moving with the wave of peers, my anxiety escalating with each step. Even if I wanted to yell for help, the buzz of first day chit-chat fills the lobby. What am I doing here? Oh, right. My parents moved and this is the closest school district. Where I know no one.

pixabay image In the years I’ve followed Christ in a daily way, I’ve heard about Jesus and the chair. For instance, I know of families that for Christmas set a chair for their dinner. I…

I saw on the news that Forrest Gump is 25 years old. Hard to believe, isn't it? A new classic, the movie

You know the old movies where the sheriff is a good guy and you could count on him to do right for the town?

Earlier this month I traveled back to my hometown and looked at photos, furniture, and paperwork from years

Surrendering Hearts. The series follows the Hart sextuplets, each sibling getting their own story where they discover their own identity.

Julie Arduini is a inspy romance author who uses Upstate NY settings, surrender issues, and a chocolate mention in her books. A couple years ago her daughter completed middle school with extra challenges. As they processed the experience, Hannah began explaining how she wished she could help encourage other girls before they go through similar things. Hannah processed it by storytelling, and Julie realized there was a worthy story. She encouraged Hannah to continue the story, and Julie would make sure it was published. Hannah plotted a three-book series. The last, You’re Brilliant, releases May 22. What’s You’re Brilliant About? Hannah: It’s realizing that even if you’re weird or you don’t think you/re good enough, you are. Julie: It uses a mentoring ministry to weave a story between girls in high school and a pastor’s wife in a new environment. The girls and the women are all in different ways struggling with believing the lie they’re failures and incompetent. The series is Surrendering Stinkin’ Thinkin’. Do you have a favorite character in You’re Brilliant? Hannah: No. I love them all. Julie: I feel the same as Hannah. I can relate to Cheri. Even as an adult I struggle with insecurity, especially when I try something new. However, I love Bethany. She’s got spunk and a sense of justice. KJ was a new character and she’s important. She appears to have everything going for but she’s in a bad situation. We created her to show anyone can enter an issue like that, and it is not their fault. What do you hope readers take away from You’re Brilliant? Hannah: I hope with all the books that readers would know deep down they have value. Julie: So many things. I want readers to know they are deeply loved and highly valued by our Heavenly Father, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. I hope they find a support system much like Linked, a trusted group of friends and mentors who can pray, laugh, and help them. And I really hope in KJ’s story, if any girl/woman is experiencing abuse, even verbal, that they seek help and leave the relationship without blaming themselves. What’s next for you? Will you keep writing? Hannah: I might. Maybe. Julie: Hannah has what it takes if she wants to keep writing. As for me, I’m back writing clean/contemporary romance with a new series called Surrendering Opinions. It’s about sextuplets who remain in the national spotlight after a tragedy. Each book features a sibling and their quest to find a love as strong as what their parents had. The first is Anchored. Jordyn Bell Collins is the oldest sibling and dotes on everyone and everything with care and control. When she learns her career goals aren’t going anywhere where she thought it would, can she surrender her carefully laid plans for her life----and everyone else’s? Pre-Order You’re Brilliant: https://smile.amazon.com/Youre-Brilliant-Surrendering-Stinkin-Thinkin-ebook/dp/B0874Y5B4C/ Amazing things happen when a group of high school students and women discover they are more than competent. Bethany’s not excited to start high school in a new community where she doesn’t know anyone. She quickly befriends KJ, a popular sophomore, and it looks like the transition will go well until Bethany discovers KJ’s boyfriend is a bully. With a strong sense of justice, Bethany challenges Brent Sullivan, and he’s determined to make her suffer. Cheri takes on an additional job in a school to help pay for Sabrina’s wedding. It’s a different atmosphere than at the church where she feels more comfortable as the pastor’s wife and mentor with the Linked ministry. After several mishaps, Cheri feels like she’s found an assignment where she can make a difference until a teacher belittles her work. Can Bethany and Cheri resist the lies about their competency and hold on to the fact they’re brilliant? The final book in the Surrendering Stinkin’ Thinkin’ series for tweens, teens, and women of all ages by mother and daughter authors Julie Arduini and Hannah Arduini. Pre-Order You’re Brilliant: https://smile.amazon.com/Youre-Brilliant-Surrendering-Stinkin-Thinkin-ebook/dp/B0874Y5B4C/ Releases May 22. Print version coming soon. Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of the contemporary romance series SURRENDERING TIME, (Entrusted, Entangled, Engaged,) as well as the stand-alone novellas, MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN and RESTORING CHRISTMAS. She also shares her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. Her other latest release, YOU’RE BRILLIANT,is for girls ages 10-100, written with her teenaged daughter, Hannah, and is book 3 in their SURRENDERING STINKIN’ THINKIN’ series. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read, as well as monthly with Inspy Romance. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her at http://juliearduini.com, where she invites readers to opt in to her content full of resources and giveaway opportunities. Facebook: http://facebook.com/JulieArduini Twitter: http://twitter.com/JulieArduini Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/JulieArduini Instagram: http://instagram.com/JulieArduini Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/JulieArduini Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/JulieArduini Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Arduini/e/B00PBKDRSQ/ BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/julie-arduini Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/321e32f02e17/juliearduininewsletter

I’m always on the lookout for the simple things around me that God might be using to show me something. Through the years I’ve learned He is my loyal defender thanks to dive bombing car…

When I have a release to promote, the number one request I receive from bloggers is to share what true event, if any, inspired the book. Last month I shared that after a bout of bronchitis/sinus in…

Although I love writing fiction, I also love teaching Bible studies. So far I don’t feel the call to write them, a la Beth Moore or Lysa TerKeurst, I’d rather purchase their materials a…

ENGAGED is my third and final book in the Surrendering Time series. Each book takes an element of time and adds a surrender theme to it, as well as a mention or two about chocolate. ENTRUSTED was about surrendering the present as Jenna and Ben work on letting go of fear, loss, and change. ENTANGLED was about surrendering the past as Carla had to break through re living her regrets. ENGAGED is about surrendering the future. Trish Maxwell has to replace her dreams with God’s plan, something that’s difficult when she has no plan but the dreams she focused on. What I loved about ENGAGED was I was able to create a heroine that was the “bad girl” from ENTRUSTED. In Book 1, Trish was in New York City living the dream. When she returns, she’s still got a chip on her shoulder regarding her hometown. It’s a place she never wanted to be, and she left quickly without saying goodbye. Jenna’s new in town and has the job Trish used to have, and is much better at it. Trish also sees her ex boyfriend, Ben Regan, has his eye on Jenna. It wasn’t hard to make Trish the mean girl. By the time ENGAGED starts, everything has changed for Trish. The job ended as abruptly as it started and she has nothing else to fall back on. She’s forced to move back to Speculator Falls to live with her parents and work at the department store. Even worse, she has to face the many people she angered when she left. She’s been humbled, her confidence is shaken, and she realizes she burned a lot of bridges. What was a neat surprise was of all the new friends for Trish to have in this book, it’s Jenna who advocates and believes in her. Trish wasn’t the only character I changed up a bit. Throughout the series, Kyle Swarthmore was the city mogul with his eyes on Speculator Falls. Although he grew up summers there just as Ben had, Kyle’s perspective is different. His dad wants him to buy up the land and commercialize it. Speculator Falls residents are protective, they’ve seen the results when that’s been done in other places like Lake George, and they want to keep their village the pioneer land it’s been known for. Kyle’s torn, because the longer he stays, the more he feels a connection to the people. His dad’s influence has a far reach, and although we never meet Kyle’s father, his presence follows Kyle. I was proud of how between Trish and Kyle, there was improvement in them as the series progressed. ENGAGED is out now for Kindle, and coming soon for print. If you follow my page on Amazon, you’ll be notified when I have a new release. Is there a character that you recall that experienced a change as a series moved forward? It can be in a book, movie, or TV show. I’d love to hear from you! About Julie: Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to surrender the good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of ENTRUSTED: Surrendering the Present, as well as ENTANGLED: Surrendering the Past. The last book in the series, ENGAGED: Surrendering the Future, is coming in June. She also shares her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read, and also is a blogger for Inspy Romance. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her at http://juliearduini.com, where she invites readers to subscribe to her monthly newsletter full of resources and giveaway opportunities. Facebook: http://facebook.com/JulieArduini Twitter: http://twitter.com/JulieArduini G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JulieArduini/posts Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/JulieArduini Instagram: http://instagram.com/JulieArduini Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/JulieArduini Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/JulieArduini Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Arduini/e/B00PBKDRSQ/ Monthly Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dCFG

I confess, I enjoyed school. I liked learning and for the most part, it came easy for me. If you exclude math and science. Anyway, I had a photographic memory and when I’d do my homework, I w…

This has been a year where I’m pouring everything I can into our children. More than basic life lessons, I’m trying to show them prayer strategies to draw them closer to Christ and beli…

I started a series Monday on why I am a Christ follower. In simple terms I want to share the ways Jesus has

Since the Coronavirus settled over our country and sent us home for remote work and learning, I've been

How are you doing after Thanksgiving? I'm thankful for the day after Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that

I'm sure there are other career fields where people introduce themselves and the other person confesses

This was what I posted on Facebook: "It was a year ago that we nearly lost mom. It all happened so fast.

Ah, vacation. The sun. The sand. The people. The traffic. The long lines. Wait. Why is this appealing? That

Sounds like I'm starting the new year off sassy. Not quite. One thing about me is I'm honest to a

I learned that October 18 is World Menopause Day. As a woman, back in the day I wished more had been said

Years ago I remember writing no matter what I write, no matter how not successful or successful it is,

I've felt the nudge to do this for awhile but the timing always felt off. Honestly, I'm in the

This year my goal is to share surrender stories, encouragement from myself and others that will encourage you

When Jennifer sent word out that she was doing a study on fear I knew I wanted in before I even saw her notes