God can use your story to help others, when we let Him. Debra Torres did, and now her Amish fiction books minister to thousands!
Our Guest: Debra Torres
(www.DebraTorres.com)
Debra Torres is an author of inspirational Amish fiction. She writes romantic suspense for readers who are looking for relatable characters dealing with raw and real-life issues. The Amish book stories in her Willow Brook: Secrets of the Pen series are touching stories of self-discovery, forgiveness, and healing set in a small Amish community in Northwestern Pennsylvania. For eleven years, Debra and her family lived in rural Northwestern Pennsylvania, where she was able to observe the Amish in grocery stores—and the “buggy lanes.” For several of these years, Debra and her family lived on a twenty-nine-acre farm sharing the land with a herd of white-face beef cows, two carrot-loving horses, and a barn full of cats. Here, Debra kept a large “kitchen” garden and learned from locals how to “put up” her produce.
Debra is currently a web content specialist where she writes and strategizes compelling web content for one of the largest Christian universities in the world. She has been a Christian devotional blogger and a newspaper columnist, as well as a freelance copywriter and web writer. Debra holds a BA in Communication and a MA in Journalism. While in graduate school, Debra was editor in chief of two university newspapers. Debra and her writer husband, Michael, live in Virginia, and have five wonderfully gifted children.
Key Thoughts and Scriptures
Psalm 119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
- Sometimes it’s important for people to confess their faith in front of other people.
- One of the things Debra learned after she was saved was that she could grow her faith by reading a chapter of the Bible every day.
- Reading the Bible in different versions can allow it to come alive and speak to you in a different way.
- Since God’s Word is living, it never grows old.
- Being filled with the Holy Spirit led Debra into a deeper walk with Jesus.
- When you read the Word every day, it speaks to you and changes you.
James 1:27 NLT Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
- It’s important to spend time with those you love.
God used the obedience of Debra and her husband to change the life of their son.
- When someone accomplishes something big, it encourages those around them that also have big dreams.
- God sees the future we don’t see and directs us around the snares of the enemy.
- God can use writing fiction as a ministry.
- Take 15-30 minutes a day and actively prepare yourself for the dream that God has given you.
- Foundational Truths to Keep You Grounded:
- Spend time in the Word of God daily
- Hear the Word of God
- Fellowship with other believers
- Find that mentor person in your life
- Everyone has their own story.
- We grow deep in Christ through our pain.
Esther MSG “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive…Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.”
What we do in this moment may be impacting many lives.
Psalm 78:1-4 NLT O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.
- God so often teaches us through the stories and lives of others.
- When we share our stories, it shows others that God is at work in us and through us.
- God has treasures stored up in each of us that He’s eager to draw out for His Glory.
- If you will faithfully pursue His Kingdom first, He will bring about all the good things He has in store for you.
Matthew 6:33 NIV But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Colossians 1:9-12 NIV …We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
Books:
- Willow Brook: Secrets of the Pen series by Debra Torres
- An Amish Christmas at the Apple Blossom Inn by Debra Torres
Her God Story Links:
- A Thief In The Night
- A Distant Thunder – the second movie in the A Thief In The Night series
- Courageous
- Will You Dance?
- Get your free digital Amish recipe book when you sign up for Debra’s author newsletter: Amish and Mennonite: Plain and Simple Recipes
Connect with Debra!
Connect with Us:
Website: HerGodStory.org
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