A “spotlight” is defined as “intense scrutiny or public attention.” “A lamp projecting a narrow, intense beam of light directly onto a place or person.” Or in my case, possibly a great author. Come back regularly to check out my latest Spotlight!
Today it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Pearl Nshiam-Kumi. Pearl is a “new to me” author, and it was enjoyable getting to know her through this interview.
How much time a day do you spend in researching your topic?
I don’t have a set amount of research time. I research as I go along, because I write about topics I already know something about. My basic resource is the Bible, and since I read it often, I make note of things I come across that might be helpful later.
What is your favorite time of day to write, and why?
I write whenever I’m able to, but I do better if I get to it first thing in the morning.
Do your books reflect your spiritual journey?
Yes, yes! I love sharing the salvation message; it is the start of life. Jesus in His prayer for his disciples (see John 17), prayed: “This is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth” (John 17:3 NLT). Of course in conjunction with salvation is Christian living. When one comes to faith in Jesus, one is born into the Church, the family of God, and needs to grow in faith, and live for God, and share the gospel with others. That’s mostly what I write about.
Why did you write this book?
I wrote this book, FROM THE GARDEN INTO ETERNITY, YOUR CHOICE, because I felt the need for readers to understand how it all started, and how it’s all going to end. Some have very little to no idea they will have to stand before God someday. Others erroneously believe that a loving God will not send people to hell, and honestly, that scares me for them. They need to know why God won’t just let them into heaven. Each person has to make the choice, and then ask God for salvation through Jesus; that is the only way. God has no grand or great grandchildren; God is not going to call by families, churches, or any kind of group. It’s going to be on a one-on-one basis. The bottom line is, man sinned against God, the sin caused a separation between God and man, Jesus died to pay for the penalty, and thereby restoring the relationship with God. Everybody needs to understand that, so they can make an informed decision.
What is your favorite cookie?
I love oatmeal/raisin cookies; a girlfriend, Mimi used to make them for me. I try not to eat them too often though, since we all know what those could do to your hips.
Pearl, thank you so much for sharing with us today. It was truly a joy! Now, while my readers learn about your book, I’m going to go make some oatmeal raisin cookies. Ha ha ha.
About the Book
Book: From the Garden into Eternity
Author: Pearl Nsiah-
Genre: Religious-Christian Evangelism
Release Date: June 25, 2018
From the Garden into Eternity tells of mankind’s fall from God’s grace beginning in the Garden of Eden, all the way through to one’s individual choice: Will eternity be spent in Heaven with God or Hell with Satan?
As a result of sin, mankind suffered a loss of close fellowship with God – but do not fret! The relationship can be restored in this life right into the next! God does not, however, force anyone into a relationship with Him. We are free to choose Him or the alternative: Satan.
This book, fully-supported by Bible verses, helps you determine where you are in this journey called “life”. Rest assured that God loves you and longs to give you eternal life in Heaven with Him, but you must first repent and place your faith in Jesus Christ. If you have never taken that step, please don’t wait any longer. The alternative eternity – which will be by default – will be dreadful.
Call on Jesus today!
Start the relationship that guarantees your eternity in Heaven with God!
Click here to get your copy.
About the Author
has lived in the USA for forty years and has three adult children, one son-in-law and four beautiful grandchildren. Pearl has authored two books in the past two years and loves to express her understanding of the Bible through writing articles and poems. Her goal is two-fold: To reach people with the truth of God’s word in inviting them to experience faith in Jesus Christ, and also to encourage Christians to mature in walking faithfully with their God through obedience to Him. In addition to writing, Pearl is also a Volunteer Counselor at a local Crisis Pregnancy Clinic.More from Pearl
I wrote this book: FROM THE GARDEN INTO ETERNITY, because I felt the need to explain step-by-step how we, people created in the image of God lost our relationship with Him, and how that relationship could be restored. Along with the explanation, I also felt the need to stress the urgency of the restoration of that relationship. Why the urgency? It is urgent, because time is running out for all of us, and if one’s relationship isn’t restored in this life, eternity will be awful. Since no one knows how much time they have left in this life, we each need to respond to God’s love now, so we can have the assurance of a blissful eternity in heaven. Each person has to make a personal decision about their eternity.
Blog Stops
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 25
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 26
Vicky Sluiter, November 27 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, November 28
Just the Write Escape, November 29
My Devotional Thoughts, November 30 (Author Interview)
janicesbookreviews, December 1
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess , December 2
Wishful Endings, December 3 (Author Interview)
A Reader’s Brain, December 4
Inklings and notions, December 5
All 4 and About Books, December 6 (Author Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, December 7
Christian Bookshelf Reviews, December 8 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Pearl is giving away the grand prize of an eBook copy of her most recent book, The Proof of Paternity!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/ed96/from-the-garden-into-eternity-celebration-tour-giveaway
Have you met Jungu Olobia yet? I’m excited to introduce her to you through this interview I recently did with her.
How much time a day do you spend in researching your topic?
I don’t rush through researching a topic. It may take a few hours, all day or several days. I keep praying and thinking about a topic until I feel a peace about it. As I begin writing, I may change the topic if need be.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
I would say our international travels as a family to many countries around the world have been literary pilgrimages, because I mention them several times in my book. I have learned so much about different cultures and the lovely people of the world.
Traveling to countries like Israel, Turkey, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and many more, changed my life for the better. I value, even more, the freedoms we enjoy in the United States and I’m eternally thankful for the great love of God through His Son, Jesus.
Do your books reflect your spiritual journey?
Yes indeed. I write about my life before Christ and after. I write about my non-Christian upbringing and the way I’m bringing up my children in Christ.
Does writing your book bring healing to you, personally?
Remembering and researching family history took a lot of prayer because some of the material was very disturbing, painful and difficult to write about. Nevertheless, I was able to bring the shock and the trauma to God in prayer, plus, I understand better why, for example, I struggled with insecurity issues for so long. It has also been a great opportunity to pray for my unsaved family members in an even more focused and intent way, and, at the same time extend love, grace and mercy to them. In addition, I’m a better, more mature Christian for writing this book.
Why did you write this book?
I wrote this book to help parents and guardians, in a very practical and biblical way, successfully train and develop godly character in their children, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Jungu, thank you so much for sharing with my readers. I really appreciated getting to know you better, and I hope they did too.
Readers, please check Jungu’s new book!
About the Book
Author: Jungu Olobia
Genre: RELIGION / Christian Living / Personal Growth
Release Date: March 4, 2019
Good manners and etiquette begin in the home, or wherever a child is taught or mentored. From an early age, children learn how to behave, and as they grow, how to interact in their relationships at school, church, and in their communities. Though etiquette varies between cultures, practicing good manners is a kindness that extends across cultures, because the way we treat one another matters.
We want to raise and train our children in safe, healthy environments, but the daily encounters of a fallen world make it challenging. Much has been written on good etiquette, but this practical, captivating book points readers to Jesus Christ as the Lord and the Holy Spirit as the Teacher of good manners, clearly illustrating that the Bible is the Life Manual for good behavior that comes from God’s heart.
From biblical examples to personal examples, reflection verses and practical steps, and prayers and Scriptures to pray over children, Considering Others: Good Manners to Glorify God will help parents, teachers, and mentors shape and develop godly character and good manners in children so they may lead healthy, successful adult lives in their sphere of influence around the world. And there’s plenty of takeaways for adults too!
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Jungu Olobia is a wife and mother, with two degrees in business and informational 
technology. A Sunday school teacher for over sixteen years, she teaches children ages three to twelve. She enjoys volunteering in her children’s school and in her community. She and her pediatrician husband live with their two sons in Keller, Texas.
More from Jungu
As parents and guardians, we want to raise and train our children in safe, healthy environments, but the daily encounters of a fallen world make it very challenging. Much has been written on good etiquette, but how many books point to Jesus Christ as the Lord and the Holy Spirit as the Teacher of good manners? After almost two decades serving and teaching as a Sunday school teacher, about a decade working in an IT position at a College, and with much encouragement from my beloved pastors and family, I wrote Considering Others: Good Manners to Glorify God. Thank you so much for joining me today! It has been such a privilege and honor to be with you. We all love and care for our children very much, so thank you for allowing me to talk about my book, Considering Others: Good Manners to Glorify God. Writing my first book has been a walk of faith that has been both painful and joyous as I found out a lot more about my family history and how much I needed to pray! Thank God, however, for His love and gift of His son, our Lord Jesus.
Here is a question for us: What legacy do we want to leave our children? Proverbs 13:22 tells us that good people leave an inheritance to their descendants. That scripture speaks to more than a financial or natural inheritance. It also speaks to passing on virtues that build character.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 14
Mary Hake, November 15
Vicky Sluiter, November 16 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 17
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, November 18
Creating Relationship, November 19
Artistic Nobody, November 20 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 21
Texas Book-aholic, November 22
By The Book, November 23 (Author Interview)
janicesbookreviews, November 24
A Reader’s Brain, November 25
All 4 and About Books, November 26 (Author Interview)
Inklings and notions, November 27
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Jungu is giving away a copy of Considering Others to two winners!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/edec/considering-others-celebration-tour-giveaway
I recently interviewed author Eric Odell-Hein about being an author and his newest book. Welcome to that interview!
How much time a day do you spend in researching your topic?
Since Finding My Son is a personal memoir, my research involved validating the accuracy of my memories. I constantly peppered my wife, mother, and father with questions about my recollections to ensure I was being accurate. I’ve authored two other books, both of them non-fiction. Systems of Evil is based on my doctoral thesis, so the research that went into that book was immense. Recovering Lost Treasure started out as a master’s thesis, which I then re-wrote to be a popular-level introduction to the ancient religious patterns of thought that saturate the Bible. That also involved a tremendous amount of research. Both of those books took about thirteen years to research and write. I researched most days, but I wrote only occasionally. When I did write, I would spend several uninterrupted hours creating the raw content. Since I already had the research completed and organized, it was easy to create the content.
What is your favorite time of day to write, and why?
I tend to write starting in the evening lasting to the late hours of the night/early morning. I have a full-time job at Microsoft, serve as the president of a seminary, and volunteer as a teaching pastor, so finding time to write without distraction is difficult. When I’m able to find a good chunk of uninterrupted time, it’s usually at night.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
As a child I read fiction. The works of Tolkien, particularly The Silmarillion, really impacted me. As an adult, the non-fiction works of Mircea Eliade had a major impact. His systematic recognition of the patterns in religious history was amazing. As an academic, I don’t always agree with all of his conclusions, but the quality and breadth of his work is amazing. The first three pages of chapter one in The Sacred and the Profane are mind-blowing for their concise accuracy and deep insight. I’m not sure a more meaningful and deep set of sentences have ever been written, excepting the Bible. Currently, I am a devoted reader of Dr. Michael Heiser. If you only read one author (besides me), give him a try.
Why did you write this book?
When I went through the adoption process, I was full of concern, fear, and insecurity. The adoption agency provided a list of books for all prospective adoptive parents to read, and they were all great, but none of them really spoke to where I was at as a man, a husband, and a potential father. In looking back at my personal adoption journey, I wish there had been something that spoke more accurately to my situation. I wrote this book in an attempt to provide a resource to people, particularly men, who are struggling with adoption, either the concept of adopting or the myriad challenges that come up as part of the process. In the end, adopting my son, Ephraim, is the greatest moment of my life. If this book helps just one person in their journey, then mission accomplished.
What was your funniest moment as an author?
It came when I was doing research for my Ph.D. on the theological systems of evil found in the world’s religions, which would become my book, Systems of Evil. At that time, Microsoft had me on constant business trips up to Montreal. On my first trip to Montreal, I was in the middle of studying Islam’s approach to the topic of evil. Since it was my first visit to the city, I only knew how to get from the video-game lab I was working in to the restaurants on Rue Cresent. At lunch I took a book with me so I could research while I was eating. It was The Religion of Islam, by Maulana Muhammad Ali. It was a large, green, hard-back book with bright gold lettering on the cover. It really stood out as something that was obviously Islamic. I ate lunch at the Hard Rock Café, and I was concerned that even though I was a Christian, I might be giving off the impression that I believed in the Islamic faith. It had already happened elsewhere when I was researching Buddhism, and I didn’t want to inadvertently give a false witness as to my faith. So I thought about it for a minute, then I ordered a bacon burger and a beer, hoping that the bacon and booze would show I wasn’t an observant Muslim. I thought I had avoided this (probably made-up-in-my-mind) dilemma. After eating I left the restaurant and took the only route I knew back to the lab along Rue Ste-Catherine. I was immediately engulfed in a large demonstration. A huge, seemingly unending flow of protesters filled the street, and I had to push my way through them to make it back to work. And they weren’t just any random protesters: they were Zionists. It turns out it was the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel, and they were a loud, forceful group with their chants, banners, and signs. I’ve since been told that the Palestinians had some sort of unofficial embassy or office on that street in Montreal, which is why they were demonstrating there. As I tried to push my way through the demonstration, using my obviously Islamic book of the theology as a raised shield, I mused that despite my intention at the restaurant to communicate my adherence to the Christian faith, I might end up getting attacked by Zionist and Jewish supporters of Israel who might think I was in opposition to them. I found the irony humorous: a Christian (a bit of a Zionist myself), getting attacked by the Jewish faithful after being mistaken for an Islamic zealot. All three of the world’s primary theistic faiths coming together in one unfortunate event. Of course everything turned out just fine, and there was no hint of violence in what I observed. Once I made it back to work, I found the situation amusing in retrospect.
Thank you for spending time with us, Eric. Adoption is a “big deal” in my family, as many of us have been adopted, or have adopted. Your book will be very encouraging, especially to the guys.
Readers, following is more information about Eric’s new book. I encourage you to get a copy at your nearest bookstore, or through any online retailers.
Eric was perfectly happy being one half of a dual income, no kids family. Having the freedom to travel the world with his wife Christine, while indulging his hobbies and furthering his education and career, was a pretty sweet life.
Christine wanted to be a mom.
Though he was scared he didn’t have what it took to be a good dad, Eric wanted to fulfill his wife’s dream. After years of trying to conceive, however, the couple received a devastating diagnosis: infertility.
For Christine, adoption was the obvious answer. Eric wasn’t so sure.
In Finding My Son: A Father’s Adoption Journey, author Eric Odell-Hein offers an unfiltered view into the heart and mind of a man who has experienced the sometimes messy and often awkward process of becoming a father through adoption. Encouraging men to acknowledge the fears they don’t want to admit while advocating a thoughtful, deliberate transparency as the best approach to even the most unnatural, uncomfortable aspects of the adoption process. Eric shares his misgivings and mistakes with an honesty that does not deny his insecurities.
A valuable resource for any man considering growing his family through adoption—or anyone seeking to understand the process—this engaging memoir is a testament to the beautiful gift of adoption and a touching account of a father’s love.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Eric Odell-Hein (PhD, MDiv, MRS, ThB) is the president of Columbia Evangelical 
Seminary. The teaching pastor at Summit Evangelical Free Church, he is also the author of Recovering Lost Treasure: Finding Christ in Ancient Myth, Symbol, and Ritual and Systems of Evil: A Study in Comparative Theodicy. Eric lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with his wife Christine and their son Ephraim. All three are passionate travelers.
More from Eric
Adoption was a scary prospect for me. My mother and all her siblings are adopted, and the family dynamic for them was challenging. So when my wife decided we should adopt, I initially responded with a flat-out “no.” But my heart changed, and I am strongly convinced that our son, who joined us via adoption back in 2008 when he was just two days old, is the greatest child in the entire world. If you knew where I was emotionally prior to adoption compared with where I am now, you would marvel at the change. My adoption book is for people like me, particularly men, who struggle with the enormity of the choice to adopt and the constant challenges of the process.
On a lighter and more personal side, when people learn about all the various aspects of my life, they often have to stop and process the seemingly incongruous pieces. Some people know me as a guy who has spent more than two decades in software and entertainment, primarily in various aspects of behind-the-scenes video game technology and management. My entire family plays games, and more often than not, when I get back home in the evening, I find my wife and son online with other members of the extended family playing Minecraft. Sometimes we’ll all get in an online session together, each one of us at our own TV on our own Xbox, and take on bad guys together in one game or another.
Other people know my intellectual side, where I have earned several degrees in areas of theology and religion, including a Ph.D., as well as serving as president of Columbia Evangelical Seminary. I previously published two books on academic topics (evil among world religions, religious symbology) and have more in various stages of development, the next one being a focus on the ancient Near Eastern (ANE) cosmogonic/chaos-order symbolism in baptism. As a teaching pastor, I have a reputation for sermons with an intense ANE contextual emphasis that are part sermon and part seminary course. Check out my most recent four-part series on the Odell-Hein Books Facebook page here.
I was born in Germany to an American family, and while my German-language skills have deteriorated, I love German music. I’m very excited that my favorite group, Juli, has a new album coming out later this year. It’s mild stuff compared to most of the rock or industrial music I listen to, but they’re good. Check out the first single from their upcoming album here. I’ll be one of the small handful of Americans who purchase the album on the day it first releases in the US.
When not working or playing games with the family, I read primarily academic ANE books. When we’re in the car, I love to subject the family to my go-to podcast, the Naked Bible Podcast. No, it’s not what it sounds like. If you want to hear a serious scholar tackle the ANE context for the Bible, start with Dr. Michael Heiser’s Exodus series (it begins with episode 255).
Blog Stops
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 5
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 6
Vicky Sluiter, November 7 (Author Interview)
Just the Write Escape, November 8
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, November 9
Simple Harvest Reads, November 10 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, November 11
janicesbookreviews, November 12
Tell Tale Book Reviews, November 13 (Author Interview)
A Reader’s Brain, November 14
Inklings and notions, November 15
By The Book, November 16 (Author Interview)
Book Love (Featuring Gail Hollingsworth), November 17
Through the Fire Blogs, November 18 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Eric is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon certificate and a signed copy of each of his three books!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/f00a/finding-my-son-celebration-tour-giveaway
