Fabulous Friday Feature-Amber Schamel

Today we welcome author:

Amber Schamel

One commenter will win a copy of
Amber's book: 

The Healer's Touch
Book 1
Days of Messiah Series

including International readers!

Mary here. One of my favorite genres to read is Biblical fiction. In my own experiences I have seen the immense amount of research behind these stories. The authors make these stories pop and touch our hearts! I asked Amber to share how God has led her on her writing journey You're gonna love reading her God story. Here is what she said:

The Life Changing Breakthrough

Good morning readers! I am so honored and excited to be with ya'll today.

Mary asked me to stop by and share a little bit about how God has led me through my writing journey. To be honest, I'm a little bit nervous about sharing this, because it's very personal, and honestly, I have only shared what I'm about to say with my closest friends.  But I'm going to share it with ya'll in hope that it will help or encourage someone.

When I first started writing, I had no idea what it really meant to be an author. There have been a lot of things that I didn't expect, some of them good, and some of them not so good. But one of the greatest surprises has been how much God has used writing to help me grow.

Of course, as an author you grow in character as you learn discipline and responsibility to meet deadlines. You learn how to interact with other people, even when everything isn't exactly the way you want it. You learn to trust God for the outcome of things beyond your control and lean on Him for the strength and ability to do what He has called you to do. But what amazed me most is how much I learn about other people, and even about myself.

As an author, my job is to create characters that are as real to the reader as the people living in their house. To do this, I've done a lot of study on people and how to develop my characters. Through this study, I've learned a lot about the people around me and why they are the way they are. I've learned that people operate based upon their different gifts or personalities. And I've also learned that each person has baggage from their past, and God's story in their life is how they overcome it.

Several months ago, I was going through an online class about characters, and how to develop their past and struggles. In this class, the instructor explained that each person has a defining moment in their past that created a negative emotion. Due to the trauma caused by that moment, they began to believe a lie about themselves, which developed into a fear. That fear then drives them for the rest of their lives. It determines how they react to situations, how the interact with others, and whether or not they trust the people around them.

During this class, I came to realize that I believed a lie. Sometime during my childhood, I had come to believe that I was not good enough, and that created a fear of failure. That fear of failure either caused me to fight against it and try to be 'good enough', or just give up and quit.

DING! Lightbulb moment, folks. "Hi Amber, this is yourself. Self, this is Amber. Nice to meet you." Ever had a moment like that?

I now understood why I did so many of the things I did, and why I reacted so strongly to certain situations.

Once I had identified the lie, God set to work combating it. He told me, "You're not enough by yourself, you're not worthy by yourself, but in ME you are worthy. I chose you and love you for whom you are. You don't have to be 'good enough' for Me, because I make you worthy."

God began to show me verses in the Bible like 2 Corinthians 3:5

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.

And 2 Corinthians 12:9:

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I never expected that through this work of writing God would give me one of the greatest breakthroughs of my life. But He did. Isn't He just awesome that way?

Have you ever had a breakthrough like this?

Have you fallen victim to the "Not Good Enough" lie?

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Amber and her sister with Mark Twain
in Steamboat Springs, CO

Multi-published author Amber Schamel writes riveting stories that bring HIStory to life. She has a passion for history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest". A homeschool graduate from a family of 12 children, Amber found her calling early in life. First published at age 21, she has continued to hone her craft and is now the author of over half a dozen books. Between ministry, family and working in their family-owned businesses,  Amber is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Historical Novel Society.

Amber loves to connect with readers.
You can learn more about Amber by going to:

Website
Blog
 Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Goodreads

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The Messiah's Sign-Volume Two

Dreams…they shouldn’t bother him, but when Tyrus’ worst nightmare is vindicated, he has no choice but to face reality. His wife has been unfaithful, and God has punished her with the most feared disease in the land: leprosy. Banishing her to the leper colony, Tyrus struggles to raise and protect their son. But when Malon begins following the teacher from Nazareth, what remains of their business and reputation is at stake. Can Tyrus save his son from the beguiling lies of a false Messiah before he loses the only thing he has left?

The Healer's Touch Volume One

Aaliyah's last chance at winning her husband's love is destroyed when she is banished from her home as an 'unclean' sinner.  Her husband has branded her as an adulteress and threatens to kill her if she comes near the town. Struggling to survive amidst the fear, grief and bitterness of living in a leper colony, she would give anything just to see her son again. Is God really punishing her with this disease? When rumors of a Healer from Nazareth reach the colony, Aaliyah wonders if this man could really heal her, or if He would despise her like the rest of her people. It is now that Aaliyah must make the most difficult decision of her life: risk her life to appear in public, or die a leper.

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Enter the contest to win a copy of 

Amber's book:

The Healer's Touch:

leave a comment (and email address)

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if you aren't already

US winner will receive paperback/International eBook

The winner will be announced on my Facebook page

Thank you, Amber, for joining us this weekend!

We love chatting with you and are looking forward to reading your comments and questions. Or at least your hi, hello, or hey.

Thanks for stopping by!

Don't forget to comment!