**CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR KINDLE CONTEST WINNER, LAURA BOGGESS! READ MORE ABOUT LAURA AND HER ENTRY ON MARY’S WEBSITE. THANKS TO ALL THE PARTICIPANTS. YOU CAN STILL FIND THE LIST OF POSTS (SORRY, NOT THE EMAIL SUBMISSIONS) BELOW.**
This week, we are pleased to host Mary DeMuth and the release of her memoir, Thin Places.
Kindle Contest Details:
In Mary DeMuth’s memoir, Thin Places, she walks us through her journey from hurt to healing as she developed a deep, joyful relationship with Jesus. Thin places are those times where the division between this world and the eternal fades; they are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where we might just catch a glimpse of eternity. Now, we invite you to tell your story of a thin place in your own life . . . and we’re giving you the opportunity to win a Kindle reader for doing so!
Here’s how to participate:
1) In exactly 259 words – the retail value of a Kindle reader – tell us about a time you experienced a “thin place” in your life. These would be aha moments, beautiful realizations when the Son of God bursts through the hazy fog of our monotony and shines on us afresh, times when God has reminded or reassured you that he is real and present.
2) Post your essay on your blog or website. Once you’ve posted to your blog, add a direct link to your post (not just your website) in the Mr. Linky widget found at the end of this post. If you post to a Facebook account or do not have a place to post, then submit your essay in the body of an email to info at blogtourspot dot com. Your entry must be received (either by Mr. Linky or email) by midnight CST, Friday, February 12th to be eligible for the contest.
3) Personally invite at least two people you know to join the contest. You can do that by email, in person, or by adding an invitation to your blog posting. This will be done on the honor system (we don’t need to know names), but please help us by spreading the word. Please link directly to this post. Entries in your own linking system/comments will not be included.
Thin Places by Mary DeMuth.
Every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted and of the millions of sexual abuse and rape victims, 15 percent are under the age of 12, according to a 2007 study by the U.S. Department of Justice. Critically acclaimed author Mary DeMuth is among the millions of adults who are victims of childhood rape and are living with the emotional scars of the haunting abuse.
DeMuth bravely shares her painful story in her new memoir, Thin Places (February 2010). Repeatedly raped by two neighborhood boys at a young age, DeMuth details her traumatic and disturbing childhood in the memoir. Raised in a broken home, she lost her biological father when she was ten and was stripped of her innocence growing up in an unstable environment where drugs were commonplace.
But Thin Places is about hope and healing more than it is about the traumatic events of DeMuth’s childhood. According to DeMuth, thin places are “snatches of time, moments really, when we sense God intersecting our world in tangible, unmistakable ways.” When she encountered the true love of Jesus at a Young Life camp in high school, DeMuth’s life trajectory changed. God reassembled the pieces of her emotionally fragile self, which initiated true healing and peace.
“Folks may wonder why I’ve spent all this time looking back,” says DeMuth, “dredging up what God sees of my story, what my eyes see. Jesus says truth sets people free. This is my way of doing that—of telling the stark truth on the page so others can be set free.”
DeMuth’s desire is to see readers set free from their family secrets. In light of that, she’s started a blog for readers to anonymously share their family secrets. Since the blog launched in February 2009, over 200 survivors have emailed their family secrets for DeMuth to anonymously post, and the blog was featured on Christianity Today’s blog, Her.meneutics. For more information, visit: http://blog.myfamilysecrets.org.
“Thin Places offers a poignant look at the development of a well-known Christian writer,” says Christian Retailing, and author Tosca Lee calls Thin Places, “brave, moving and poignant.”
Writing is a cathartic experience for DeMuth, and remnants from her past influence her books. They are infused into her nonfiction parenting advice as well as her fictional characters and plots. Her literary fiction features gritty story lines and touches on the dark subject of abuse. Her first novel, Watching the Tree Limbs, featured a 9-year-old girl who was raped by a neighborhood bully, and the Defiance Texas Trilogy examines the emotional pain that results from the disappearance of a young girl in Texas. DeMuth talks about these writing projects in Thin Places. “Writing [Watching the Tree Limbs] is a thin place where I see
God’s desire to heal me,” says DeMuth, “and I understand that He loves me no matter what emotions I express.”
About the Author:
Mary DeMuth
Author and speaker Mary DeMuth helps people turn their trials to triumph. Her books include Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God; Building the Christian Family You Never Had; Watching the Tree Limbs; Wishing on Dandelions; Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture and the first two books in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy: Daisy Chain and A Slow Burn.
National media regularly seek Mary’s candid ability to connect with their listeners. Her radio appearances include FamilyLife Today, Moody Midday Connection, Point of View and U.S.A. Radio Network and is frequently featured on Chuck Colson’s BreakPoint. She has published articles in In Touch, HomeLife, Writer’s Digest and The Writer.
Mary lives with her husband Patrick and their three children in Texas.
Learn more about Mary at http://marydemuth.com.
Thin Places
Release: February 2010
Soft cover, 224 pp., $14.99
Zondervan
ISBN: 031028418X
**THE KINDLE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ THE MANY AMAZING SUBMISSIONS. A WINNER WILL BE DECLARED WITHIN THE WEEK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!**
IMPORTANT KINDLE CONTEST REMINDERS: 1) Your entry must be EXACTLY 259 words. 2) Once you’ve posted to your blog, please add a direct link to your post (not just your website) in the Mr. Linky widget found below. If you post to a Facebook account or do not have a place to post, then submit your essay in the body of an email to info at blogtourspot dot com. 3) Your entry must be received (either by Mr. Linky or email) by midnight CST, Friday, February 12th to be eligible for the contest.
*If you emailed your entry, you will not see it listed below at this time. You would have received a confirmation by email back that your entry was received.*
Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.
Thank you Mary! Writing my thin place led me to thanking God again for what He’s done in my life!
Robbie Iobst´s last blog ..My Thin Place
This memory really took me back to an old, sacred place. Very thin! A good place. . .
Susan Meissner´s last blog ..A thin place in 259 words
I did not know what thin places were until I read Mary’s memoir. Mary’s book helped me to realize that my past contains a myriad of thin places that I had not been aware of until now. God has always been there. I applaud Mary’s courage.
Carma Dutra
Carma Dutra´s last blog ..A Thin Place Discovered
Thank you for allowing me to participate in your contest, I look forward to reading your book!
Sue Williams A.K.A. Suzy Parish´s last blog ..Fallen Sparrow
Ironic that I had just this past week posted a longer version of my entry on my blog. I guess it was meant to be
Thanks so much for this opportunity,
Jennifer Arrington
Jennifer Arrington´s last blog ..Missing my tea cup and other sob stories
What a wonderful thing to reflect on God’s goodness in our lives. I know for me it is easy to overlook or even start to forget His many blessings in the busyness of life. So thank you for the opportunity to share, as well as for giving me a reason to finally set up my own blogspot!
Nichole Rae´s last blog ..A Thin Place
My link is #64.
Thank you so much for this contest. I would love to review this book or just read it. It sounds wonderful.
Amy´s last blog ..Book Review:: The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher
I figured out “Mr. Linky”! : )
Sara Green´s last blog ..How much further was God going to stretch me thin?
What a great challenge. I honestly didn’t think I could do it- but I did
Can’t wait to read the submissions!…
tracey solomon´s last blog ..Battling my Braided Octopi- overcoming fear and failure and becoming a Linchpin.
sorry for the double linky- the first one is incorrect-
tracey solomon´s last blog ..Battling my Braided Octopi- overcoming fear and failure and becoming a Linchpin.
I so appreciate how many of you entered the contest! May the Lord bless you for telling your stories so courageously.
Thank you for this wonderful challenge. It was perfect timing! Cannot wait to read the book.
Leigh
Leigh´s last blog ..Thin Places
This was more difficult to publish than I expected!
The thin place I wrote about was one of the ultimate divine moments in my life. Thank you for another opportunity to praise God for how He works in us, through us, and through the circumstances that surround us.
Karen H. Phillips´s last blog ..Our Thin Place–Hope Deferred
I’ve been enjoying reading everyone’s stories! This was a great idea.
Danica´s last blog ..Even in the Petty Places
Mary, your testimony to God’s redeeming love opens a door through which hope and healing can be found. What a blessing to reflect on a moment Jesus showed up to serenade me. Thank you for the opportunity to share a bit of my love story. ~ May the Lord shine has love upon your heart always ~ ♥
Cherie LaLanne´s last blog ..Thin Places: Serenaded By God
Thanks for the contest, Mary.
Ginny Jaques´s last blog ..A Thin Place
Thank you for the opportunity to enter this contest. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be able to communicate the joy I have found after the struggle that my husband and I endured over our five year battle with secondary infertility. During our journey, I often felt like there was no hope for us.
Now, these verses come to mind:
Romans 5
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope.
It is an honor to serve our Lord, and to have been given the tribulation that brought us so much closer to Him.
Thanks for this contest! It was fun trying to trim it to 259 words.
Thank you to my dear friend Lexie who walked with me through my most thin place. Thank you for sharing life with me and for telling me about the contest
lynn marie cherry´s last blog ..Three Awkward Gifts
Thanks for providing this opportunity to share. God does some amazing things, and this is a fantastic way to let others know the work He is doing in each of us.
It’s encouraging to see so many people who sense God speaking into their lives.
Holly´s last blog ..Coming Home
259 words…brevity is a hard, but worthy challenge.
Thanks for putting it out there.
Melisa
http://liveabetterstory.blogspot.com/2010/02/thin-places.html
I enjoyed writing about my nearness to God. I will be reading Mary’s book as soon as I can find it. Many of my writer friends have enthusiastically endorsed, Thin Places so it will be on my nightstand soon.
Carol L Daubenmire´s last blog ..Thin Places
Mary, God is using Thin Places to do some work on my heart (and apparently others, too!), which is one of the reasons I started reading it. Thank you for being obedient.
Lexie Smith´s last blog ..Dance with My Father (Thin Place contest submission)
I sent an e-mail with my submission. Please let me know that you received it. It is called “Sacrifice of Praise.”
I can’t believe I missed the deadline! What an idiot. Oh, well, that’s the first deadline I’ve ever missed.
Not that I’ve had many to worry about. Still, it was great fun getting this emotional story of mine down to 259 words. And I’ve enjoyed reading the entries.
Thanks for the great contest, Mary.
sally apokedak´s last blog ..Thin Places