Faith Matters to Carol Round

Do you or someone you know need a daily dose of encouragement?

Do you or someone you know need a daily dose of encouragement? If so, Claremore’s own Carol Round is back with her fourth book, “Faith Matters,” another collection of her popular faith-based columns, and a fifth book is due out later this year.

Round, who retired from a 30-year career teaching, has been writing her column “A Matter of Faith” since 2005, when it first appeared in The Claremore Progress. Now in syndication, “A Matter of Faith” currently runs in 12 Oklahoma newspapers and “Capper’s Magazine” (which has enabled Round to ­cultivate a national audience).

“A Matter of Faith” takes an honest, often humorous look at our day-to-day struggles with fear, uncertainty, relationships and self-esteem, as well as the surprises and joys of life. “My columns are about a relationship with God, not religion,” says Round. “I use everyday experiences and try to reveal God at work. If we just take the time to slow down and look for Him, we’ll see that He’s at work everywhere.”

This line of work isn’t exactly what Round had in mind. “I’m as surprised as anyone about the paths my life has taken. I never thought I’d be writing faith-based columns,” says Round. “I’m very humbled that God is using me this way. Having an impact on someone else is what writing is all about for me.”

Round’s brand new book, “Faith Matters,” was released in September by AWOC Books. “In 2006, I was at a writer’s conference in Texas, and an editor planted the seed for me to compile my weekly columns into a book. The latest book is a compilation of the columns that have received the most reader feedback and ones I feel will best touch people who pick up the book. Our world is constantly changing. No one lives forever, but how we live is what will count in the end. No one will lie on his deathbed and wish he’d spent one more day at the office. And when we look at what’s happened with our ­economy because of greed, I think it is even more critical to understand what is really important in life. Through my book and the insight I have received through my relationship with God, I hope others can relate to the need to have a simpler life based on God’s economy, and not man’s.”

Round’s features, essays, poetry and photos have appeared in a number of state and national magazines, and in several anthologies. She has a new book in the works: “Journaling with Jesus,” which should be out later this year. “This is a book on prayer journaling, and it features not only my experiences but the experiences of many other women.”

Round is also a survivor of breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2002, she came through the cancer with faith, she says, and chalks it up as one more way God is using her. “I write to inspire and encourage others, to offer the same hope and encouragement that I’ve found through my relationship with the Lord,” says Round. “Our only certainty in life is God. And I pray that through reading my columns, readers can find encouragement and inspiration.”

Round’s books are available at www.awoc.com, www.amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble. She will also be conducting book signings in Claremore at A Place of Grace on October 10, The Pink House on October 14 and Cappuccino Corner on October 23. For more information on Ms. Round and her work or to order her books, visit www.carolaround.com.

For more information, contact

Carol Round

(918) 540-4282

www.carolaround.com