Do We See God as These Children Do?

This God is Like Blessing…

Occurred because a fifth grade teacher in a Christian school asked her class to look at TV commercials and see if they could use them to communicate ideas about God. Here are some of the results.

God is like… 
Bayer Asprin
He works miracles. 

God is like…
A Ford 
He's got a better idea. 

God is like…
Coke
He's the real thing. 

God is like…
Hallmark Cards
He cares enough to send His very best. 

God is like…
Tide 
He gets the stains out others leave behind.

God is like… 
General Electric 
He brings good things to life. 

God is like…
Alka-Seltzer 
Try Him, you'll like Him. 

God is like…
Scotch Tape 
You can't see Him, but you know He's there. 

God is like…
Delta 
He's ready when you are. 

God is like…
Allstate 
You're in good hands with Him.

God is like... 
VO-5 Hair Spray… 
He holds through all kinds of weather. 

God is like…
Dial Soap 
Aren't you  glad you have Him?  Don't you wish everybody did?

God is like…
The  U.S. Post Office 
Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor ice will keep Him from

His appointed destination.

God is like…
Chevrolet. . . .the heart beat of America

God is like…
Maxwell House 
Good to the very last drop.

God is like… 
B o u n t y
He is the quicker picker upper. He can handle the tough jobs.

And He won't fall apart on you.

When I read this, I thought of Mathew 19:14 where Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these," and I thought of Mathew 18:3 where he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Then I prayed for you and me, so we would see Messiah as clearly as these students had. 

Where, oh Where did Paula Go?

If you've been wondering where I've been for the last seven days, you're not alone! In fact you're so not alone that this blog is about me being sort of MIA.

Though I must say, I wasn't as missing in action as some of those we voted into office, but then again, who am I to judge what others do? I'll tell you who...I like you pay taxes and from our taxed income those who seem to be permanently out to lunch are dinning on us.

As the author of sweet Christian fiction with a Messianic twist and a hint of history, the founder of LAMB Ministries which helps women recover from trauma and abuse through the effective use of Scripture and prayer, and one who released my first Christian self-help e-book, I am saddened to find that even the most stalwart voices have been silenced or joined the 'Let's fix America First' mind set.

So this post is being penned to set the record straight. What record you? might ask, so I'll share that looking back historically we find that there was a Spanish Century, a British Century, and if we don't move forward the 20th Century will be dubbed the American Century.

Now don't get me wrong, I think have a century referred to as The American Century is nice if we've chosen to forgo our responsibilities. However, to do so means we will be stripped of honor and the next generation of Americans will reap the whirlwind of havoc and denial that our actions have condemned them too.

In previous generations countries could opt out without endangering the countries they were bound to by mutual treaties. Not so now. Now, as never before, we need to opt in because the only way to sustain the world we live in is to fight. Today, as we stand at the crossroads of an ever increasing reality that doesn't align itself with the principals upon which America was birthed, the idea of 'Do No Harm' sounds ludicrous, or worse because today we have to marshal our resolve or the 'America the Beautiful' that we love will disappear as surely as Brigadoon did. But unlike that mythical tale when America does reappear it won't be the country we know. 

So to answer the question, "Where did Paula go?" I've been finishing the edit of a book I never planned to publish, but having seen that the time is now, I am earnestly at work sounding the Liberty Bell. 

I hope you will join me.

In Author Land - There's More Than One Way to Skin a Cat!

Having self-published my most recent fiction, Beginning Anew: The Naomi Chronicles, Book One on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle, and on Smashwords so readers who don't have a Nook or Kindle but want to read the e-book on another device, online or on their tablet, I was surprised when Amazon agreed to a Count Down Deal and dismayed when they changed their mind because the e-book was for sale elsewhere. 

Since I had told friends and tweeted that Beginning Anew would be .99 cents during a promo I'd scheduled instead of its usual $4.99, I needed to make good on my promise. Now that using the Amazon link was out and having this as well as my other 2014 released e-books on Smashwords, I began researching the options they offered. Much to my delight, I discovered that they would let me reduce any books price when I wanted and for as long as I like. And those online booksellers who acquired my book through Smashwords' Premium Catalogue would also reduce the price of my book. 

However, it was an unusual book promo piece about this discounted book tweeted by a friend of mine that lead me to visit Amazon where I discovered that Beginning Anew is now $0.99 cents there as well!

You can download this e-book at: http://amzn.to/1oUQ8Ey Smashwords & affiliates: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/401017 Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1v6ZaQK

To find out if this is a book you’d enjoy, check out this trailer

About Paula Rose Michelson

On Choosing

Joshua 25:14, "...then chose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amortizes, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

The process of choosing, which many call beginning, can be difficult, challenging, and affirming. Beginning is a foundational step in becoming an individual that occurs within a loving family as children become teens and their parents encourage them to begin their exploration of appropriate choices, see which ones they will select, and try to assist them along the way. 

Although all grow from childhood to adulthood, for some this process does not occur. Whether that is due to the environment, generationally taught fear, or the individual’s own fear is not important. What is important is that God holds each of us accountable for our choices.

In 2007 God called me to write the two books which compromise the Casa de Naomi: House of Blessing Saga. Last year, He sent me many blessings in the form of Indie Authors. With their help in February, Book One of The Naomi Chronicles, titled "Beginning Anew" was released in time for Valentines gifting.

Throughout this process, I had to choose, as all believers are asked to do. I chose to follow Gods lead, though I didn't know what that meant, and in doing this, I experienced His blessings.

If you haven't done this yet, I hope within this post, you've read something to encourage you to say what Joshua did, so that you too can receive God's blessings. For God clearly stated in Isaiah 55:8, "...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. So to get what you do not merit, stop wondering what if, and trust in Him who is the Alpha and Omega of everything!

May Gods Shalom, His Peace, which transcends all understanding, be yours. 

Have You Ever Wondered What if .99 cents Could...?

Way back in my previous existence...before I claimed Messiah's atonement, I was already a writer. Like most who do more than dabble, long before God called me to write from Him, I'd filled up a lot of spiral notebooks with my musings. 

Having discovered early on that I usually sound better on paper than I do in person, I found myself writing my feelings. This was eons before I discovered that fiction would give me a canvas where feelings could not only be explored, but where the characters feelings helped the reader understand the depth of their sorrow as well and the height of their joy.

Now that three Naomi fictions have been released, I must admit that when I read these gripping tales, I find myself mesmerized by the stories woven layer upon loving layer, and intertwined with more feelings than even I could have imaged! I would love to take credit for being that good a writer, but the truth is, and I image when some of you read this, you'll think I'm daft, but nevertheless, the truth is that Naomi told me her story. I can take credit for becoming a sort of scribe for her while fulfilling the call God placed upon my heart when I began to write this six book saga in 2007. 

To the question at hand…Have you ever wonder what if? As I have? If you have, you'll understand why after two Casa de Naomi: The House of Blessing Books, which I had to rely upon my publisher to market, I became an Indie Author and with the help of some dear Christian Indie Author friends, published Beginning Anew: The Naomi Chronicles, Book One myself! Thinking of all I had to do, and how much I had to trust God to see me through, a big wow must follow that last sentence, so "WOW!"

But there's another what if? I have to share with you. What if after all those blessings, and lots of five star reviews, the book wasn't well you know...selling? Yes, everything belongs to God, and He called me to and blessed this work. Yet I kept asking myself, if I hadn't done something? But what more could I do?

Aware that many who haven't read a new authors work will buy it if it's discounted, the first book in The Naomi Chronicles, is .99 cents until June 17th on Smashwords and is available in all e-book  formats! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/401017

If you’re wondering what the book's about please listen to the trailer.

About Paula Rose Michelson

Everything “is” Everything!

In my second year of studying to become a Chemical Dependency – Lifestyle Disorder Councilor, I took classes with the psychiatrist who directed that program at a hospital that had one of the best residential programs of recovery in the country, and felt blessed. However, that feeling fled when he entered the classroom, which was part of the hospitals educational facility, picked up a piece of chalk, drew a huge circle on the board, turned to face us and exclaimed, “Everything is EVERYTHING!” Thinking this was an absurd statement, I dismissed it, but daily found I could not for each class began this way!

Looking back on my years of study, my internships: one recovery based done in a dually diagnosed chemical dependency unit in a psychiatric hospital, the other preventative done while interning for MADD whose mission was to stop drunk driving and support the families who'd lost loved ones, I quickly learned how true the doctors inclusive statement was, and realized that the circle I though silly was profound!  For Everything “is” Indeed Everything!

We are the sum total of all we have lived, felt and experienced. And though recovery is good, I know that the process of restoration through the salvation Jesus offers us is ‘best’. Best because He knows what is in man (you and me), what we’ve not done that we should have, and what we did that we shouldn’t have, and He loves us anyway.

The world with all its recover and other support systems cannot restore or forgive us. And those who work with others that need to stay sober, or work though issues too painful to admit or deal with without help, know that recovery works when those that recover keep coming back, so they won’t end up where they were.

The old adage, “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got,” is applicable here, so let's see what it means when applied to those who’ve been abused. Thinking this through and using the lens of ‘been there done that’, I know that those abused can become abusive, and those who don’t may soon discover that without being abused they don’t feel anything. Put these two, who at one time were both victims together, and the history of their “Everything is Everything” may cause them to inadvertently recreate the very thing they are trying to recover from.

Jesus, knowing that this would happen, says in Mathew 11:28, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” and he does, for he gifts us his shalom, a peace that transcends our earthly issues. With that peace firmly rooted in faith and planted inside our heart, we find a new and better reality is available to us. Not the realty of recover, but the reality of restoration. 

You might wonder, since restoration sounds better than recovery, why many chose the latter, so I’ll share my thoughts on this. Since the wolds view of recovery happens in a supportive group process where those who need assistance feel nurtured, heard, and learn to depend upon those who are further along in their process to mentor them, they feel understood. In personal restoration each individual is accountable and commitment to their process. They are supported by a Jesus whom they cannot see, or hear when making this recovery faith, not peer based. Within this process we have to, with Messiahs support, ‘return to the familiar’, meaning we will do what we told ourselves we would not do. But this time we will let Him teach and show us that the 'new life' we have begun when we accepted His atonement is all about trusting Him.

We get to choose: the vicious cycle, which feels more comfortable than talking or praying to a God we cannot see or hear or restoration by making "shuvia", and returning to whom God called us to be and become. 

.

Winning by Default

Recently, I was asked by some writer friends if I'd ever entered a writing contest, so today, I'm sharing what I learned when I did, and all God taught me through that experience.

I had never entered anything like that before and hopped my work would be good enough to raise an eyebrow or two. I even imagined the judges saying to each other as they passed my work along, “Not bad…this shows potential.” And, I must admit that my fantasies soared so high that at times that I envisioned them smiling as they proclaimed, “This is the obvious winner!”

I am certain that all the writers who entered their work were anxious to discover who had won. The day before they were to announce the winner, I discovered that only one entry could win. There was a plethora of disqualified applicants. Each one had submitted their best, but they were not stories.

Disqualification of my work was not an option, so I told myself that I had won. “Hurray,” you might say. “Good job!”

            

However, the idea of winning by default crept in. Now you might wonder why I did this to myself and so did I. Then I remembered the Jewish rabbis attitude towards people, God, and life. These wise men understood how we view the world and they discovered the use of the word adequate covered everything we would experience from cradle to casket. They taught us that when you are born – you are adequate. When you’re a Bar or Bat Mitzvah – your adequate. When you marry – you are adequate. When you graduate college – you are adequate. When you become a Roads Scholar, a doctor, a humanitarian, invent a means of illuminating nuclear waste, solve the problems of the world, and unify the solar system – you are adequate. In Judaism, one can never be more than adequate because according the rabbis we would be elevating ourselves to a position, which belongs to God.  

            

This philosophy is valid until we apply it to God incarnate, Yeshua HaMashiach. In Him, we see the deity of the Godhead and all the humanity of man. Since he called us to be His and walk in a manner worthy of Him, I found myself wondering what He would think of wining or to be more specific, what would he thing about winning by default.

          

I sought Him, turned to Isaiah 55:8, and read, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

            

I pondered these words, thought about the apostle Paul, and realized that he gave up everything. I assumed that he had wanted the rabbis to consider him adequate. Yet when Messiah called, he gave his desires no credence – none at all. And we are asked to do likewise.

            

Now I understand that winning by default or not winning has no value whatsoever unless I am trying to garner applause from men. If that is where my focus is, I will always loose in the end because the things of this world will perish. Only when I strive towards the goal, which is Messiah himself, do I win for then I remember that in Him, I am more than a conqueror! 

Author, Paula Rose Michelson

In 1988, after studying to become a Chemical Dependency – Lifestyle Disorder Councilor, and interning in a dually diagnosed psychiatric unit, Paula Rose Michelson gave her life to Messiah. With the leading of the Ruach HaKodish (Holy Spirit), she founded LAMB Ministries which teaches women how to recover from trauma by using Scripture and prayer to purge out the dross of their lives.

Steaming from her Christian lay-counseling ministry, Paula Rose Michelson released the first of her seven “How Did We Become Angry? Lamb Ministries 7x7: Biblical Recovery for Women Suffering from Trauma & Abuse”, ebooks on Kindle and all other formats at Smashwords, as a mentor, Paula mentors women, speaks on this ministry, her writing and many other topics.  And as a Messianic Jew, the wife of Chosen People Ministries Field Missionary, and Lutheran Pastor, Ron Michelson, and one who writes to full the Great Commission, Paula has seen God change lives when people believe in and call upon Him. A mother of two married daughters, she is a grandmother of seven.

Also known as an author of sweet Christian romance with a Messianic twist and a hint of history, Paula Rose Michelson’s latest book, “Beginning Anew: The Naomi Chronicles, Book One” is a continuation of Naomi’s faith journey which readers began by when they started, Books 1 & 2 of the “Casa de Naomi: The House of Blessing” Saga. 

Authors info & books are at: Smashwords: bit.ly/1jHKkHN, Amazon: http://amzn.to/1d2BOl2