Unhidden Pilgrims has a sharing faith blog. Dr. Karen Petit is the author of 4 novels: Unhidden Pilgrims, Roger Williams in an Elevator, Banking on Dreams, and Mayflower Dreams. - www.unhiddenpilgrims.com

A Forevergreen Christmas

12/25/2018

Every Christmas, I especially love to think about my Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ. Because of His sacrifice, many Christians have been given eternal lives. People might ask me how I know this to be true. My answer is that, for many reasons, I know there's a very loving and helpful Christian God. To be with God for eternity means to be in heaven, which will be wherever God is located.

"A Forevergreen Christmas" is the poem on page 89 of Karen Petit's book of poetry: Holidays Amaze, published in 2018 by WestBow Press. A larger version of this poem is included in the blog for Holidays Amaze (http://www.holidaysamaze.com/holiday-blog).

How Do I Know There's a God?

12/8/2018

I often tell people that I don't just believe in God, I know there's a God. I've often asked myself how do I really know there's a God? Here are some of the many reasons why I know this to be true:

Miracles. My life has included many miracles. Just a few weeks ago, while driving, I screamed because I thought a large speeding SUV was going to hit me. I thought my life was over. I don't remember ever screaming like that before. I had a green light and the SUV had a red light. Thankfully, my car's brakes worked really well--in a miraculous way--they boomed a couple of times. My car then paused, the other driver swerved--or was swerved away from me, and then my car moved forward safely. After driving a block, I pulled over to look at my car. I was worried the booming might have been one of the other cars hitting mine. My car, in addition to myself, was 100% safe.
Many miracles. Too many miracles have happened to too many people to claim that miracles are just some kind of coincidences. Many miracles have happened to me and to the people whom I know. Here's just one of many examples: Years ago, my father had a miracle happen when he was driving down a hill one day. The road had some ice on it. He knew a miracle was happening when his car stopped at the bottom of the hill.
The bible. This book's logical connections among its different chapters could not have been written by different people all by themselves at different times. The writers of the different chapters had to be writing what God wanted them to with some kind of help from God. The bible really is God's word and is evidence of God's presence in our universe. Often when I read the bible, the words are ones that have meaning to me personally and help me to live a more positive life.
Prayers. God always answers my prayers in ways that He thinks are the best. Sometimes these answers are exactly what I have asked for, and sometimes the answers are ones that are even more logical.
Darwin's Theory of Evolution. This theory might explain some of the process that God used to create our world, but logically, how could so much beauty and so many differences just have happened without direction, shaping, and creation by God? How could such things as the sun, moon, earth, water, atmosphere, mountains, valleys, zebras, giraffes, elephants, fish, cats, dogs, plants, . . . have just created themselves and then evolved all by themselves?
Love. To feel any kind of love is to know that reality is not just what can be seen with our eyes and heard with our ears. God gave us love not just through our creation and ability to feel love, but also with His son's life and sacrifice for our sins, so all true Christians can have eternal lives.
Souls. I was with several of my family members when they left our world to be in God's hands. Because of these experiences, I'm certain our souls live in our bodies and then leave our physical bodies.
Many believers. In the past and the present, there have been many believers in God. Logically, why would so many busy people spend some of their time doing such things as attending church, praying, and reading bibles, unless there actually is a God?
More reasons. There are many more reasons why I know God is a reality. Some of these reasons are shown in the content of my books, and some are shown on the blog pages for my books.

Thanksgiving and Other Prayers in Holidays Amaze

11/22/2018

Holidays Amaze has four prayer poems, including "A Prayer Poem on the National Day of Prayer," "A Prayer Poem on Memorial Day," "Many Good Thanks: A Prayer Poem," and "A Prayer Poem at a Wedding." "Many Good Thanks: A Prayer Poem" was initially published on my "Many Good Thanks" blog page for Mayflower Dreams; this poem is still online with other Thanksgiving items at: http://www.mayflowerdreams.com/blog.
Holidays Amaze also has prayers and references to praying in some of its other poems. For example, "A Maze Poem: A Maze of Choices for New Year's Day" has these lines in one of the maze's boxes on page 8:
   "God always answers
   all of our prayers,
   so praying can help
   with our lives' repairs."
In reality, God always has answered my prayers. He answers them in the way that He thinks is appropriate, which is sometimes in the way that I request and at other times in a slightly different way. Whatever happens, though, I am always thankful to have my prayers heard and answered.
   Especially on this Thanksgiving Day,
   I'll enjoy the chance to read and to pray.

An Amazing Holiday Dream

9/2/2018

The blog entries on my five different book websites are often connected to each other, so I'll be posting this blog entry on all five of my book websites to illustrate one example of the many connections that I often see between my books and their content.

A few days ago, I had a dream about a holiday event in my home. Because this really was a dream, I am also posting this blog entry on my dream blog for Banking on Dreams (http://www.bankingondreams.com/dream-blog).
Since I have a large family and we were all in my kitchen at the same time, the room was as crowded as a crowded elevator. I even imagined during my dream that my kitchen was a kitchen inside of an elevator in which we were coming up with rules about who would be washing dishes, who would be putting the leftovers in the refrigerator, etc. The dream is therefore connected to the freedom blog for Roger Williams in an Elevator (http://www.rogerwill.com/freedom-blog).
We talked about how thankful we were for our large family with many helpers, so content about this dream is also being posted on my "Many Good Thanks" blog for Mayflower Dreams (http://www.mayflowerdreams.com/blog).
We said a prayer and talked about God, so the content of this dream is also posted on my sharing faith blog for Unhidden Pilgrims (http://www.unhiddenpilgrims.com/sharing-faith-blog).
Because my family and I were helping each other to wash the dishes and to do other tasks after an amazing holiday meal, this blog entry has been posted on the blog page for Holidays Amaze (http://www.holidaysamaze.com/holiday-blog).

Miracles Happen

7/28/2018

Many miracles have happened in my life, as well as in the lives of many other people. When my children were young, I had very little money. Thankfully, I was getting help from many of my friends and relatives, as well as from the welfare and food-stamp systems. One day, I had no money, no food stamps, and not enough food. I prayed. When I walked outside, a twenty-dollar bill flew through the air and landed at my feet. I looked all around, but there were no people nor cars close enough to have lost the money. I was able to immediately pick up the money and take my kids grocery shopping.

Sharing Faith with Different Blogs

5/18/2018

Other blogs on my book websites include content about sharing faith. My "Many Good Thanks" blog (www.mayflowerdreams.com/blog), for example, has a prayer poem and other content about being thankful to God. There are also some Thanksgiving bible verses, and a Thanksgiving poem is connected to the Pilgrims.

The photo in the blog entry on this page is a photo that I took of the Mayflower II, in Plymouth, MA. This photo also appears on page 310 and in the cover design of Unhidden Pilgrims.

Sharing Faith with More Christian Content

1/7/2018

The second edition of Banking on Dreams was published by WestBow Press in October 2017. For this new edition, I added four photos, included connections to the American dream, changed a few items, and added more Christian content. The added Christian elements included multiple bible verses. For example, page 76 of Banking on Dreams, second edition, has this verse: "For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Gal. 5:14 NRSV). After this verse is quoted by Lisa, who is the novel's protagonist, discussion happens about people doing volunteer work in order to love and to help others.

Time to Share Faith

11/23/2017

Mayflower Dreams has a protagonist who is always late. She has problems living in the present; she also enjoys connecting with her ancestors within her dreams and her reality. The clock in the cover design of Mayflower Dreams suggests these and other time symbolic elements of this historic Christian novel.

While Dr. Karen Petit is usually early or on time for everything, she knows what it's like to live a very busy life. She is the author of four novels and usually works fifty-five hours per week as the Writing Center Coordinator and an adjunct faculty member at the Community College of Rhode Island. She also has been doing volunteer work at her church and other places.

Because of Petit's busy schedule, for decades, she has been carefully scheduling in time to worship her God, She wants to make certain that she has the time to attend church every Sunday, pray at least once a day, and read the bible at least once a day. She believes that spending an hour a week in church and a few minutes every day praying and reading the bible have been helping her to live a more positive life. She also feels that the number one priority in her life is to schedule in some time to worship the God who has given her such a wonderful life.

Sharing Faith Blog: The Strength of Faith

11/19/2017

The National Monument to the Forefathers, Plymouth, MA, page 309 and a part of the cover design of UNHIDDEN PILGRIMS

"The Strength of Faith" is one of the chapters in Unhidden Pilgrims. While dreaming, Heidi (the protagonist) talks with the "Faith" statue, which is the name of the figure on the top center section of the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Here is a small part of the Heidi-and-Faith conversation from page 142 of Unhidden Pilgrims:

     Faith raised her Bible upward and opened it while saying, “The Bible tells us a lot about faith. One of my favorite verses says, ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’ (Heb. 11:1 NRSV).”     Heidi thought for a few seconds and then said, “I like that definition of faith.”
     “Are you convinced there’s a God?”
     “Yes, I am. I know there’s a God,” Heidi said.
     “How do you know?”
     “Even though I’ve never seen him, I’ve seen a lot of his miracles.” Heidi thought briefly before adding, “I’ve also seen evidence of his presence in the Bible, in the wonders of our world, and in the many good deeds that some people do.”

Sharing Faith: Unhidden Faith is Shared Faith

11/13/2017

A minor character in Dr. Karen Petit’s third novel becomes a major character in her fourth novel. In Roger Williams in an Elevator, one of the minor characters, Heidi, is in the “Hidden Elevator” chapter. As a part of this scene, Heidi hides her faith and even denies that she has said a prayer. Readers can see some of this action in the first chapter of Unhidden Pilgrims: "Heidi Hiding in a Dream."

In Unhidden Pilgrims, Heidi moves forward and soon becomes unhidden. While she still sometimes has to hide, she also shares her faith. She is now the protagonist. Sharing her faith has helped her to become a major character, rather than a minor one.

Heidi is a new H.I.D.E. agent. Creating the details of Heidi's journey through a shooting situation has been an inspirational process for the author of Unhidden Pilgrims. Positive actions happening during a negative situation show the importance of unhiding and sharing our faith.