Sunshine Rodgers's Blog

I've been recognized in public... but probably not for the reasons you would think.

One young lady says to me, "I know who you are. You ate at First Watch. I was your server."

One young associate waves at me. "Hello Sunshine Rodgers!" as I walk into Culver's.

One waitress recognizes me. "I remember you. You ate at McAlister's all the time."

I am happy to know that I am *that girl* who eats at these great restaurants!

But, more seriously… more importantly, I want to be known as the girl who loves Jesus Christ. I want to make my name associated with light and love and empowerment and inspiration. I want people to know my faith and my beliefs. I want people to recognize the power of God from my life. I want people to stop and look up as I point to Heaven.

What do you want to be known for?

This is my last weekly blog post for a while. My husband and I are taking a 21-day hiatus with the Lord. During that time, we will intercede for people and seek His will for our lives. Let me know if you have any prayer requests and we’d love to pray for you!

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Sunshine Rodgers

I was watching a baking show on TV. The bakers had six hours to make a showstopper! It could be a giant three-tiered cake or a bread masterpiece or a chocolate crazy explosion.

Whatever this dessert was, after all those hours of investing and stressing and creating, it takes just minutes to eat what took them so long to make.

I thought about how it takes me.... about nine months to a year to write and publish a book... and a reader can devour the text in mere hours.

Whatever you are doing with your time, your energy, your strength, your focus… you are going to have to love it! Whatever you are focusing on and creating - it's going to have to be worth it to you. You have to put your heart and soul into your project. It doesn't matter how long it takes or how much it requires to complete, know that it brings a smile to the one who gets to enjoy your personal showstopper.

If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you.

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Sunshine Rodgers

"Just look up. There is something better for you."

I said this to a cardinal eating in the dirt when there was a fresh bowl of fresh seeds mere feet from her.

How many times have we done this? Settled for less when we could be enjoying the best? Let's embrace God's goodness. Let's receive His pleasant blessings. Strip away the old. He is bringing us into a newness. Look up and see the feast God has prepared!

Psalm 34:8: Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!


Psalm 135:3: Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!


Deuteronomy 8:7: For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills…


If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you.

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Sunshine Rodgers

I stare at the ice cream pouring over, the candy decorations and the layers of chocolate. And I think to myself, "That's not a dessert. That's an Instagram post!"

And such novelties like the chocolate explosion dessert is just that... something gone viral. Here today, gone tomorrow. Boasting about yet another boyfriend. Bragging about a new job every single year... well, you can post about these experiences, but it's short-lived. The newness fades. And just as quickly as it is attained - it's now on to something else.

What I am looking for is not something new to post… or a trend to follow... but something real to live. I experience this when I applaud a couple who's been married for 50 years. I feel encouraged when someone retires from a career after lifelong loyalty to the same profession. The motto of my Church, Faith Assembly, is: Find Something Real. I would say the beauty of Christian fellowship and the faith of a Savior falls into the category of something that is lasting and genuine.

I don't want just another novelty, another fad, another thing trending. I relate to Jane Hayes in this scene from the movie: Austenland.
Mr. Henry Nobley: What do you want?
Jane Hayes: I want something real.


If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you.

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Sunshine Rodgers

I used to run Track and Field in Middle and High School.

In school, I was a sprinter. I ran the 4 × 400-meter relay. I can take life like this sometimes, thinking I need to quickly get to the finish line. Let's try my absolute hardest and faint at the end. I recall when I first started writing in my younger years and I had something to prove... and once that metaphorical gun went off in my mind, I was working hard and publishing oftentimes 2-3 books a year. I wanted to run my race with vigor and passion.

In school, the coach also allowed me to run a cross-country event. We basically started the race on one side of the woods and didn't finish until we exited on the other side. I loved the change of scenery and the change of pace. I didn't have to use up all my energy; quite the opposite, I needed to reserve my energy for the duration of the journey. Now, as a more mature writer, I have this mindset. I am enjoying the experience more. I am going slower but still progressing. I can relax a little, just do my best, and leave the results up to God.

Which race are you running?

If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you.

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Sunshine Rodgers

I want to share today's devotional written by Billy Graham. If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you!

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"Those who still reject me are like the restless sea... There is no peace, says my God, for them!"
—Isaiah 57:20,21 (TLB)

"Faith has legs . . . I heard about a man some years ago who was rolling a wheelbarrow back and forth on a tightrope across Niagara River. Thousands of people were shouting him on. He put a 200-pound sack of dirt in the wheelbarrow and rolled it over, and then he rolled it back. He turned to the crowd and asked, “How many of you believe that I can roll a man across?” Everybody shouted! One man in the front row was very excited in his professed belief. The man pointed to this excited professor and said, “You’re next!” You couldn’t see that man for dust! He didn’t actually believe it. He thought he believed it—but he was not willing to get in the wheelbarrow. Just so with Christ. Many people say they believe in Him, they say they follow Him. But they never have stepped into the wheelbarrow. They actually never have committed and surrendered themselves wholly, 100 percent to Christ."

Prayer for the day:
Loving Lord Jesus, it was only when I surrendered everything to You that I knew the ultimate joy and peace that had always escaped me.

-From Day by Day with Billy Graham

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Sunshine Rodgers

I am here with Author Jessica Scachetti, an independently published author of gritty Christian Romance. Jessica reminds aspiring authors to “don’t give up. Not if you can help it. Keep preserving because your talent needs to shine.” Welcome, Jessica!

Me: What inspired you to be an Author?


Jessica: I’ve loved to write stories since I was a kid. From the age of 10 forward, I’d penned a Children’s book, a couple of Suspense novels, and an Autobiography that I may or may not decide to polish and publish someday. It wasn’t until after the lockdown in 2020 that I got inspired to publish. I’d been dabbling with the story of Wonder of Light, and after reading it to a friend, she encouraged me to publish. Following some thorough research and pricing out what it would cost to publish, I talked it over with my husband and decided to pull the trigger on publishing my debut novel. From that point, I penned and published 3 more books over the next 12 months, but then life happened, and writing got placed on the back burner for a while. Now that things are beginning to smooth out, I’ve been motivated to polish and relaunch a few of my original novels along with releasing hardcovers and audiobooks for all of them.

Me: Tell me about your writing.

Jessica: My edgier Fictional Romance stories do contain sinful characters who make or have made poor choices, use profanity, and inflict violence. There are fairly mild depictions of abuse, assault (non-sexual), threats, revenge plotting, illness, gun violence, knife violence, and death. Despite each book's use of flawed characters, violence, and profanity, each gritty representation showcases the immorality of those sinful actions and displays an overall message of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Me: What is next for you? Any new books?

Jessica: My latest launch will actually be the hardcover release of my debut novel, Wonder of Light. The hardcover is set to go live on June 3rd. Along with the new cover, I’ve revised the whole story with expanded scenes and cleaner edits for all formats. I also just launched the audiobook this month. I’m currently revising and editing the second novel in the series, From Dark to Light. I’ll be revealing the hardback covers to both books #2 and #3 in the trilogy to my subscribers first on June 10th and on social media within a few days from then. I also intend to complete my Mafia-inspired Christian Romance series with the next two installments, hopefully sometime this year. Then, next on the horizon, I’ve got some ideas for a Rockstar Christian Romance that I’m hoping to put into action.

Me: What do you hope your readers will gain from reading your books?

Jessica: First and foremost, I would like readers to gain and/or rebuild a relationship with Christ through reading my books. I also want them to be reminded that no one is irredeemable. Christ’s mercy and salvation are open to all humankind.



To connect with Author Jessica Scachetti:

Instagram

Facebook

Website

Subscribe to her Newsletter



To purchase her books:

Amazon

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Jessica Scachetti

We left a bowl of seeds out for the cardinals and watched the birds discover the free treat with such delight! I told the cardinals, "It's for you. Eat up. It's all for you!"

There is a passage in my book, God the Father, Jesus the Big Brother, Holy Spirit the Best Friend where Beth Hall shares her testimony.

"Even though anyone else could feel some aggravation and an annoyance to live without a car, Beth keeps a good attitude. “I don’t feel like God is withholding good things from me.” Beth described a personal story where a father held on to a good gift until his child’s birthday. Beth has the perspective that God’s got “her future car” and that He’ll give it to her at the appropriate time, similar to the father in the scene.



Beth feels like she is using her time to experience God’s intimacy with her as His Heavenly daughter. “I am having all of my cares taken care of,” she says. She knows that her Heavenly Dad would give her anything she desired, if that’s what would make her happy. During the time of writing this, Beth saw her miracle happen and after three years, she is a happy owner of a new car."



We serve a good God, and He is celebrated for how He rains down free gifts and personalized blessings just for us!

If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you.

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Sunshine Rodgers

"When you feel yourself starting to lose courage, talk to yourself! Tell yourself that you have made it through difficulties in the past and you will make it again. Remind yourself of past victories. Make a list of your blessings and read them out loud anytime you feel yourself starting to sink emotionally."
- Joyce Meyer (Book: The Confident Woman)


This passage made me think about how often we forget God's blessings towards us. We need to remind ourselves how God got us through personal storms in the past and how we can overcome again by His help and grace. We need to rehearse past breakthroughs and how God answered our prayers and how miracles took place on our behalf.


God, I pray that we will remember your faithfulness, your goodness, your uncanny ability to come through at just the right time. I pray God that we will applaud the good works you have shown us. I pray God that we will humble ourselves, highly aware of the breakthroughs and victories from yesterday and that God will certainly be with us today.
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If you need prayer for anything, let me know. I would love to pray for you.

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Sunshine Rodgers

I am here with Christian author, Hannah Gaudette, who has written several fantasy novels, as well as smaller works in other genres, including a contemporary/Biblical fiction novella. Her first novel was published when she was nineteen. "Six books in, I don't ever want to stop," Hannah says. "Writing is a form of worship for me, and I connect deeply with Jesus in the act of creation."

Me: Welcome Hannah! I would like to know... what advice would you give to those who are aspiring authors?

Hannah: It sounds simple, but . . . just write. Start small. Write short stories, enter contests—as many as you possibly can. But just write. You can't improve a craft you aren't actively using.
I especially encourage new authors to hone their skills by writing short stories. You'll see improvement in your craft much more quickly, and the short form will actually help you to write a stronger novel, if that is ultimately your goal.
You are never too late (or too early!) to start writing. Don't let negative thoughts about yourself or your work hold you back.
You will always be improving . . . but you can't improve if you don't start.

Me: Awesome advice! Tell me about your recent book.

Hannah: My most recent release, Divide, is the first book in the One Light Trilogy! Katrina and Andrew, childhood friends who became bitter adversaries after Andrew caused an accident that left Katrina's sister blind, are pulled into a strange world, into a kingdom on the edge of a civil war.
The One Light Trilogy is a Christian portal fantasy series exploring hard questions. These characters bring a lot to the table (dealing with bitterness, unforgiveness, abandonment, betrayal, etc.) and they ask the same questions of God we all ask sooner or later: "Why?" and "What now?"

Me: Who are your literary influences?

Hannah: In my teen years, when I was becoming much more serious about writing and publishing, I was also reading the River of Time Series by Lisa Bergren and Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye Knight. These books/authors had an incredible influence on my writing at that time. For instance, you'll see faint echoes of the River of Time Series in Divide's story, and you'll probably see a similarity between my narrative style and Jaye Knight's.
I am incredibly thankful for these influences, because they helped to propel me to the next level as a writer.

Me: What is next for you? Any new books?

Hannah: My next book will be released on July 25th! The Sound of Silence is a standalone dystopian novel that I am crazy excited for.
After that, Declare, book two in the One Light Trilogy, will be released on September 19th. So, an exciting year of new books!

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To connect with Hannah Gaudette:

Website
Instagram
Facebook
Newsletter


To purchase her book, Divide, in the One Light Trilogy:
Amazon

Hannah Gaudette

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