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Connecting You to Your Community
Lodi,
California • Saturday, November 11, 2006
Lodi Living
Hogue hopes devotional will bring readers to God
By
Lauren Nelson
News-Sentinel feature writer
Last
updated: Friday, Nov 10, 2006 - 11:32:45 pm PST
Comments(0)
For fifty-two years Donna Hogue, 63, has been a
God-fearing Christian, but she didn't stop sharing
her good news with a women's knitting circle or
prayer group. Instead, she went from co-hosting
KYCC's Hour of Prayer to creating a daily
devotional, "An Oasis Moment," written by women of
strong-faith whose life lessons translate to all
religions. Women from across the country, and even
including those from Lodi and Stockton, write
stories of their challenges that can be read in
three to five minutes. From childbirth to small
blessings and amazing acts of God, Hogue believes
women everywhere will be able to relate their own
trials to the stories and solutions found in "An
Oasis Moment."
"An Oasis Moment" is available around town at Vine
and Branches Christian Bookstore and Christian Life
Center Bookstore on West Lane. For more information
and to order online, visit
http://www. oasismoment.com and
http://www.shilohbooks.com.
Donna Hogue poses in front of her pool with her book
"An Oasis Moment" Monday morning at her home in East
Lodi. (Brian
Feulner/News-Sentinel)
Q: How does one get
started in writing devotionals?
A:
I got started when I was on the radio and I would
set a theme for the hour and I would tell life
experiences. There were different sources but
sometimes I would talk about my own life. I sent out
200 letters to women, from professionals to
housewives, because I wanted a broad spectrum of
women (to submit to the book).
Q: Didn't
a young girl do some writing for this project?
A:
Yes, the youngest submission was from a child, a
10-year-old. Her story is on Nov. 20, Universal
Children's Day.
Q: What
kind of motivation can a 10-year-old offer?
A:
Her story spoke about a blessing. Her mom and sister
went to Baskin Robbins, and on the way, they had
been listening to a tape about blessings. When she
went inside, the little girl said, "God, bless this
business," as a quick prayer. Two women offered them
a coupon and the she told her mom to accept them.
She said it was the best ice cream ever because it
was blessed by Jesus.
Q: Do you count being
able to publish "Oasis" as your own blessing from
God?
A:
Yes. I started last July, it went to the printer and
it was done in a year. Such a great response. I
thought, "Wow, I haven't gone through all of this,
but it will reach a lot of women." I know that.
Q: Is
there an entry for every day of the year?
A:
Yes, 366 days because of leap year.
Q: What
type of life experiences have you had that are
mentioned in "An Oasis Moment"?
A:
One time, when my father was a minister, one of the
parishioners came in. He was a schizophrenic from
the war who had come to kill my father. I was
playing the piano and I couldn't stop. He got to the
third or fourth pew, and it was he couldn't (go
beyond that.) It was like there was an invisible
shield that only God could move. I was only 14.
These are the stories that show that whatever type
of situations you are in, God can take care of it
all.
Q: Have
many people had a chance to read through "Oasis"
yet? What are they saying?
A:
Oh yeah, one woman wrote that she is so excited
reading it. It's easy because it only takes three to
five minutes to read.
Q: Who is
your main audience?
A:
Probably women because it's all written by women.
Q: Why
only women?
A:
I just knew so many women personally and I didn't
know a lot of men who can write, being a first-time
writer.
Q: With
"Oasis," are you hoping people will find God or to
form a relationship with God?
A:
I hope they will find a personal relationship with
him or realize that with any situation God will be
the answer in their life. There's something in
"Oasis" that people will say, "Wow, this lady has
really found what I'm going through today."
Q: Do you
have a day job?
A:
No, I'm a homemaker.
Q: So what
is the environment you write in? Do you have an
office or did you do it all at your kitchen table?
A:
I have a sewing room/computer room. I like to do
creative things. My husband says, "You're going back
in your hole?"
Q: What
does your cover look like? Did you have a say in it?
A:
It is a really pretty blue and down below looks like
sand. I wanted that look to be like an oasis.
Q: What
are some tips you have for people who might be going
through tough personal struggles, something you've
learned through reading the entries?
A:
The bottom line is that you can trust God for
anything. You can read and you can get a lot of
help, but some situations only god can do.
Q: Is this
book for people of other religions, too?
A:
Yes, it's for everyone. They still have life
experiences similar to some that are told in the
book.
Q: What do
you think it will do for them?
A:
I think it might open their eyes and think, 'Wow,
this might really happen'... They can read this and
(it's not in Bible days,) it's stuff happening in
their lifetime.
Q: What
makes you believe that God will be there for people?
A:
Because I have seen it happen. Even like that little
situation with my dad. I couldn't do anything and it
was God who changed his mind. He realized that he
needed assistance and help. He slept with a gun
under his pillow and we knew he was serious. When
you see something like this you don't forget.
Q: What
else do you want people to know?
A:
Basically that whatever situation they are
experiencing, they can trust God for it. I gave my
heart to the Lord when I was 11, and for 52 years,
he's never failed me.
Q: How
might someone find God?
A:
They would have to find a church, start reading
their Bible and get baptized in the name of Jesus
and be filled with his spirit and become an
overcomer. It will change their life. It did mine.
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