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A Natural Extrapolation
Rose Noland Author Interview
The Master’s Garden describes the relationship between God and his children with a beautiful metaphor of a gardener and the host of plants to which he tends. What was the inspiration for this metaphor?
Jesus used the metaphor that He was the Vine, God the Father is the Gardener, and that we are the branches. I have over 40 years’ experience in dealing with plants, both professionally and personally so I understand how plants work more than the average person. It was a natural extrapolation for me to expand it to all plants. It came to me one day while hiking in the woods. It was really fun to write!
What were some themes you felt were important to focus on in this book?
God loves all of us and wants us all be to belong to Him and come under His care through His Son, Jesus.
God, the Master Gardener, wants to have a growing, dynamic relationship with each one of us. I tried to portray this with the intimate and personal discussions that New Dawn has with the Gardener.
Living as a Christian the way God wants seems impossible. That’s because we think we are to live in our own strength. Jesus teaches us the only way to live rightly is through His power and strength not our own. We cannot do it, but He can.
True significance and enjoyment, the Abundant Life, are achieved by living God’s way through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Violet’s character was delightful and well developed. What were some ideas that guided her character development?
Violet represents, in many ways, most of us who struggle with inadequacy and a longing to be loved and valued as an individual. New Dawn, the main character in the allegory, is me. While the allegory doesn’t exactly follow my life’s journey, it is a close representation of it. It is my story of how God has transformed this self-condemning, insignificant and pathetic person into one who now has joy, peace, confidence, and significance—true riches! All to the credit and honor of my magnificent Creator!
Do you have more stories planed that take place in Plantasia?
Absolutely! I am working on the sequel already, as well as several Bible studies and devotionals to go along with this first book.
Author Links: Twitter | GoodReads | Facebook | Website
In the gospel of John, Jesus tells us that He is the Vine and His Father is the Gardener. He explains that His followers are the branches and need to remain in the Vine and bear much fruit. Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant by that or how remaining in the Vine might look in your daily life? Then enter into the fantasy world of Plantasia™ where plants come alive! This is a witty tale told by a grandmother to help her struggling granddaughter find true significance under God’s care. The Master Gardener created this beautiful world where plants can think, see, hear, and speak. He longs for all to come under His loving care and be grafted onto His beloved Vine. Through this connection, plants are able to flourish and reach their full potential. See what happens when a spindly rose, who yearns to be more than she is, meets the Master Gardener. Listen in on the conversations she has with the Gardener, Mighty Oak, Ginni (the Obedient Plant), and Mr. Bugleweed. Learn with her as she discovers the secrets of how to abide in the Vine and experience true riches. If you enjoyed the allegory Hinds’ Feet on High Places, you will love this allegory of abiding in Christ, the Vine!
The Agile Brand: Creating Authentic Relationships Between Companies and Consumers
![The Agile Brand: Creating Authentic Relationships Between Companies and Consumers by [Kihlström, Greg]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51NOBHl33zL._SY346_.jpg)
This book is for anyone who aspires to establish a distinct presence with long-term product consumers. The Agile Brand: Brand Creating Authentic Relationships Between Companies and Consumers gives you a deeper understanding of the consumer, sales, and marketing sector. Divided into three parts, the author starts the book by highlighting the basics of brands. Simple questions like what branding is, why we do branding and what makes a brand successful are lucidly answered to the satisfaction of any new comer to the field.
One of the many things I learned from this book includes the need to have your audience understand how your brand is pronounced. People tend to obliviously mispronounce some names. The author made a table with some brands like IKEA, Adidas Hermes, and Porsche. He noted how a majority mispronounce the names and listed the correct pronunciation. He emphasized that having consumers mispronounce your brand may have them misunderstand the attributes of your company.
Your brand is more than your logo, Greg Kihlstrom says. He goes on to advise those who are new to branding. The author mentions the use of social media and digital advertisement tools and how important it is for the brand to build a solid bond with the target audience. On making a brand successful, the writer lists three easy methods to determine the success of a brand. Substance, focus, and relevance are the basic methods of evaluating how good or bad a brand is.
The book is filled with nuggets of wisdom. If you want to build a brand that will leave an impact and paint a permanent picture in the consumer’s mind, then you need this book. The Agile Brand provides great learning material for marketing students, with notes written by the author coming in handy at some point in their career.
While reading through this book I felt as if I was in a classroom with a competent teacher you are begging to glean wisdom from. The book is truly educational. Brand-pushers will definitely find the text in this publication useful and will apply the lessons learned in their daily businesses. What I really enjoyed about this book was that it was concise. Many books of in this field will happily fill you with fluff details, but Greg Kihlstrom keeps his focus and gets to the point.
One thing that stood out from this book is the author’s need to mention real companies when expounding. Companies like Dominos, Starbucks, and Lowes Foods are given as examples when talking about changing the messaging while still maintaining success rates. Greg Kihlstrom clearly explains why the said brands changed their slogans at some point, and how it worked for them. Here the author enables the reader to understand that there is no loss in changing slogans, as long as your packaging as a brand is up to standard.
Be sure to grab a copy of this book, as there is so much you will learn. The book is especially recommended to newbies in the branding and marketing industry, as it will help you grasp the basic concepts of advertisement in the modern world.
Pages: 186 | ASIN: B07CV4M8WH
LITERARY TITAN 