Women of Faith Writing Contest Winner Releases

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Phoenix writer wins Women of Faith Writing Contest – Now Available on Amazon

Phoenix, AZ – Christian writer Giselle Aguiar’s first novel, Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century, won second prize in the 2011 Women of Faith Writing Contest sponsored by Westbow Publishers (a division of Thomas Nelson).

Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century is an historical romantic adventure set in Puteoli, Italy, in AD 69, a few years after the Apostle Paul arrived there on his last trip to Rome. (Acts 28:11-14)

Claudia, 20-year-old daughter of the Roman magistrate, is invited by her cousin, Paolo, to a clandestine meeting of a Christian church. There she meets and falls in love with Anthony, the son of a local merchant, and a leader in the church.

Unbeknownst to Claudia, her father, Marcus, has betrothed her to his middle-aged assistant, Darius. Meanwhile, her aunt Aurelia returns from 30 years of service as a Vestal Virgin hoping to marry her childhood sweetheart, Darius. At Aurelia’s welcome-home party, Marcus announces the betrothal, shocking everyone including Claudia.

Betrothed to a man she doesn’t love, in love with a man her family would disapprove of, told that the gods she grew up believing in are false, Claudia learns to seek and follow God’s Will while coping with her tyrannical father’s plan for her future.

The fact-based, historical setting details the lives of Roman nobility, their pagan beliefs, their homes, culture, mythology, a Roman wedding, the baths, government, and the eruption of Vesuvius and its aftermath. It provides a look into the early Christian church – where the people met, what they did, how they converted pagans and how the early church developed. There is also a fictionalized account of the Apostle Paul’s visit.

Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century is the first in The Christian Centuries series. Each story takes place in successive centuries, focusing on pivotal points in Christian history. “I am a seeker, on a journey, seeking a more intimate relationship with God.” Aguiar states. “As I seek, I find stories – stories that need to be told – messages of love from God directed through my words to be shared with the world.”

Deo Volente! won a full self-publishing package from Westbow Publishers and may be purchased in paperback and hardcover formats from Ms. Aguiar’s website: www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1 and now available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other outlets and also as an ebook for Kindle and Nook and other ereaders. Subscribe to the author’s email list to be informed of availability, special events and book signings. Discounts for churches and bookstores are available from WestBow Press. Visit the novel website for details. 

With the extensive research Ms. Aguiar did for the novel, she has become an expert in the Roman Empire and early Christian Church History. She is preparing several presentations for various types of groups. Visit her website for details and booking information.

One dollar from the sale of each book benefits Streetlight Phoenix to help combat child rape for profit.

Ms. Aguiar is available for media interviews, and her final galleys are available for review in pdf format. Please contact Ms. Aguiar at icreate@yahoo.com.

Paperback: ISBN: 9781449718282

Hardcover:  ISBN: 9781449718305

ebook: ISBN: 9781447118299

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Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th?

Mary and Baby Jesus

It’s not in the bible. Who started this tradition anyway?

It wasn’t until the 4th century when Constantine converted the whole Roman Empire to Christianity that Dec. 25th became the day when Jesus’ birthday was celebrated. The Romans still wanted to keep their party-hardy pagan holiday of Saturnalia (celebrating Saturn the god of agriculture and harvest) and the winter solstice (celebrating the sun god) so, the Christian Church decided to use that date to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Jesus was probably not born in the winter. The shepherds tend their flocks in the fields between April and October.

However, it is rumored that the wise men (astrologers from the East) saw the star and arrived in Bethlehem when Jesus was a few months old to a year old and that conjunction of planets and a star that led their way happened on Dec. 25 in the 2nd or 3rd Centuries.

But it seems that today’s society is tending to go back to the pagan origins. They still want to party-hardy and they forget that we’re supposed to celebrate the birth of God’s greatest gift to us – Jesus our Savior.

There are Christians who won’t celebrate Christmas because of its pagan origins and it’s not in the bible. But why not?
There’s nothing wrong with giving gifts as long as they are given in the spirit of love.

There shouldn’t be anxiety to get everyone the right gift or to give someone who gave you something and you didn’t have anything for them.

Personally, I think Jesus’ birthday should be celebrated in August. He may have been born then and August has no major holidays!

But who’s going to fight traditions that are over 1600 years old? As long as we remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season” there’s no harm in celebrating it on Dec. 25th.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ~ 1 John 4:9-10

Like what you read? Then you’ll love my award-winning Christian novel: Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century a historical novel about the early church check it out: www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=singresoguid-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1449718280&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award Winning Christian Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

The Symbol of the Christian Cross

In the 1951 movie Quo Vadis, in the scene in Lygia’s (played by Deborah Kerr) room, Marcus Vinicius (played by Robert Taylor) comments on the cross hanging on her wall – two rough sticks tied together. The movie takes place around 64 AD during the reign of Nero with the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome before their executions. Problem: the Christian Cross as a symbol of Christianity didn’t appear until the 4th century. Maybe they used artistic license, maybe they didn’t do enough research. Quo Vadis – the book, by Henryk Sienkiewicz was written in the late 1800s when research materials were limited. They didn’t have Wikipedia.

Before Constantine the Great in the 4th century, the Christians used the symbol of the fish. In 312 AD, before a battle, Constantine saw a symbol of a cross in the sky and heard God tell him to go into battle under that symbol. He order his soldiers to put the Greek letters Chi Rho on their shields and they won the battle and he became Emperor.

The symbol of the Cross in the Roman Empire signified crucifixion as a cruel form of execution. Crucifixion was Roman not Jewish. Constantine saw Christianity as a way to unify the empire. Prior to his rule, Christians were persecuted under Diocletian and many church buildings and copies of Holy Scriptures were destroyed.

The Chi Rho eventually evolved into the Cross we know today. The earliest depiction of a Cross in Christian art is in the Apse Mosaic in Santa Pudenziana Church in Rome – circa 390.

The ritual hand motion by Christians – tracing the shape of the Cross on one’s body – actually started with just tracing the cross on one’s forehead only towards the end of the 2nd century. Around the year 200, Tertullian, a Christian lawyer in Carthage wrote, “We Christians wear out our foreheads with the sign of the cross”. It wasn’t until the 4th century that the sign grew to involve the heart and shoulders.

For more on the sign of the Cross, visit Wikipedia.

God Bless,
Giselle
www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

Technorati Tags: Early Christian Church,the Cross,Christianity,symbols,Constantine,Chi Rho,Roman Empire

Did the ancient Romans have conscience?

A few nights ago, I was watching a special on TBN – God of Wonders. It’s a wonderful video about God’s awesome creation. It included testimonies from scientists insisting that the complexities of our earth and its inhabitants can only lead to the conclusion that there is a Creator – an Intelligent Designer. When the program got to man, it said that God created man in His image with Free Will and a conscience — the conscience being the knowledge of good vs. evil. The guilty feeling when you do something wrong that bugs you until you right the wrong.

 That got me to thinking. In researching the ancient Romans and how early Christian evangelists tried to reach them, the main concept they had to work with was that there was only One God. The ancient Romans could not understand “atonement of sins.” This leads me to the conclusion that they didn’t have a conscience. Or they just didn’t listen to it. They were a pleasure and power-seeking society. The government had laws set by the senate or the emperor and they had a justice system, but it was sins like adultery, stealing, murder, greed, slavery etc. that were generally accepted by society.

 So, God create all people with a conscience, but if a person has no concept of atoning for his sins and evil doings, then Satan controls the person’s will and the person pays no attention to “that guilty feeling.”

That brings me to the topic of this past Sunday’s sermon at my church (a recording of the sermon should be available around Wed. of this week) – Why Jesus? To quote part of the sermon: “To say that ‘all religions are paths leading in the same direction’ is nothing more than a lame excuse to do whatever you want…” In ancient Rome, as long as you didn’t anger the gods, you were ok.

 One of the lessons that I use in my novel is from Acts 17: 24-31. It’s when the Apostle Paul meets the Greek scholars in Athens.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance [gods and idols], but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed [Jesus]. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. ~ Acts 17:30-31 [author inserted]

 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:8

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but ave eternal life. ~ John 3:16

 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…”  ~ John 14: 6

Nuff said.
God Bless,
Giselle
E-mail: deovolente.love1@gmail.com
www.giselleaguiar.com

Christians should get back to basics

In researching the early Christian church for this novel, my goal was to feel like I was sitting in the midst of a church meeting. to know what it was like for a Roman girl, raised to believe that there was a god for everything and how she can come to understand that there is only One True God and he sent his only Son to earth to die for us so that we can live forever in paradise with God.

As I got to know what the early church was like, I came to realize that the simplicity of their service: praise God with songs (singing Psalms),  read letters of Paul and later read the Gospels, and then hear a message from the church leader on the meaning of the reading.  Until I started attending a Calvary Chapel when I first moved to Phoenix, I hadn’t experienced the simple praise and worship service like the early church. After I bought my house, I started attending First Christian Church of Phoenix — a non-denominational church. I love the music and the basic praise and worship. No rules and regulations (I grew up Catholic), no ceremony and traditions, just simple praise and worship.

That’s all God wants from us. All the pomp and circumstance are fine, if we don’t lose the basics. Praising God with all abandon — not just singing along and living what we hear in church. Not just on Sunday. You’re not just there to fulfill your weekly obligation — you’re there to praise and worship — to learn how God wants us to live. God gave us Jesus so that we could live and the Bible and church to show us HOW to live.

Even back in the Old Testament days, God had a problem with how the people of Israel were worshiping Him. It’s not much different now.

The Lord says:
       “These people come near to me with their mouth
       and honor me with their lips,
       but their hearts are far from me.
       Their worship of me
       is made up only of rules taught by men.” ~ Isaiah 29:13

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ~ Deuteronomy 6:5

We honor the Lord, not just by going to church each Sunday, but by how we live our lives.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.  Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice;  the earth is full of his unfailing love. ~ Psalm 33: 1-5

God Bless,
Giselle
E-mail: deovolente.love1@gmail.com
www.giselleaguiar.com

Why I chose the setting of my novel

I’m a naturally curious person. I read something and start asking questions. My stories stem from the possible answers to those questions. In the book of Acts, after the Apostle Paul’s shipwreck he arrives in Italy:

After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. (Acts 28:11-14)

He spent a week there with believers. I’ve watched every movie and documentary on the Apostle Paul and not one of them fictionalizes what that week was like. Who were those believers? Did they start a church? Did Paul baptize anyone there?

Puteoli is located on the northern coast of the bay of Naples, south of Rome on the Via Appia. Though Ostia was Romes major port, many shipments came through Puteoli. Pompeii and Vesuvius lay southeast.

I attempt to answer these questions in my novel. It takes place in 69 A.D. Paul supposedly landed there in 65 A.D. and was executed by Nero in 67 A.D. In my novel, I have a flashback and my one of my main characters, Anthony, remembers what it was like meeting Paul and how Paul helped him convert and commissioned him to start the church in Puteoli.

Today, Puteoli is called Pozzuoli and its buildings are uninhabitable because of cracks in the foundations from frequent tremors.   Here’s a map. Note the close proximity to Vesuvius.

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=40.828101&lon=14.542312&zoom=10&q1=Pozzuoli%25252C%252520Italy

God Bless,
Giselle
E-mail: deovolente_love1@gmail.com
www.giselleaguiar.com

My Inspiration

A street in Herculaneum preserved by Vesuvius

What inspired me to write a novel? A few things. I enjoy reading novels that are part of series. One day I found myself looking for a new series to start and couldn’t find one. So God put the thought in my mind: “Why don’t you write one?” I always thought I was a good writer. I took a few writing courses as part of the requisites in college and I’ve written a few articles for newsletters and restaurant reviews, but I never considered my self a professional writer. Then I thought – what should I write about?

I’ve always be fascinated with New Testament times – what would it have been like to live then and be part of the new Christian church? I’m a history buff so I started looking into church history and found the church’s amazing growth from Pentecost to what it is today is very rich.

In 1986 I had the opportunity to tour Italy on a rail pass, I visited Milan, Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples and Genoa. From Naples, I took day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum and was so moved by the ruins and how the ancient Roman lifestyle was frozen in time. Visiting there one stepped back in time to 79 A.D. to minutes before the eruption of Vesuvius. Check out my pix at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/giselleaguiar/.

The title “Love in the First Century” came to mind – a story in each century! I started doing research and the story came together piece by piece as delved further into the Roman Empire and the Early Church. I also researched the whole publishing industry and how to write novels.

So, that’s how the “Christian Church Series” was born.  Heavenly inspiration – Soli Deo Gloria – to God alone be the Glory!

God Bless,
Giselle
E-mail: deovolente_love1@gmail.com
www.giselleaguiar.com