Inkwell Inspirations

REPLICATION by Jill Williamson

2012-01-28T03:56:00.000-05:00

by Jennifer AlLee

I love reading young adult fiction. Most of the time, the YA books I enjoy the most appeal not only to the target audience, but to adults as well. Are any other 40-somethings out there looking forward to the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games? I rest my case. So today, I'm very excited to share Replication, the first book in a new young adult series by Jill Williamson.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Someone is covering up multiple secrets… Martyr—otherwise known as Jason 3:3—is one of hundreds of clones kept in a remote facility called Jason Farms. Told that he has been created to save humanity, Martyr has just one wish before he is scheduled to “expire” in less than a month. To see the sky.

Abby Goyer may have just moved to Alaska, but she has a feeling something strange is going on at the farm where her father works. But even this smart, confident girl could never have imagined what lies beneath a simple barn. Or what would happen when a mysterious boy shows up at her door, asking about the stars.

As the reality of the Jason Experiment comes to light, Martyr is caught between two futures—the one for which he was produced and the one Abby believes God created him to have. Time is running out, and Martyr must decide if a life with Abby is worth leaving everything he’s ever known.

JEN'S THOUGHTS
I love this book! Even though we know from the start that Jason Farms is populated by clones, you have to ask the question: Clones of who? How this question is answered is one of the great surprises that pop up along the way.

Williamson tackles controversial issues such as cloning and when life begins in a thoughtful, unique way. By contrast to the "normal" teenagers in the book, Martyr at first seems awkward and out of place. But you realize that he's just like them... trying to figure out who he is and his purpose in the world.

The character of Abby is a Christian from the get-go, and her faith is treated as a natural part of who she is. So it's only natural that she would share her faith and her world view with Martyr, who has no knowledge of God. Some may find this overtly Christian, but I thought it worked quite well.
This is a great book for pre-teens and older. Parents, you'll want to read this one, too. It could lead to some very interesting conversations with your kids!

Q for U: Have you given any thoughts to the ethics of human cloning? Where do you stand?

JENNIFER ALLEE believes the most important thing a woman can do is find her identity in God – a theme that carries throughout her novels. A professional writer for over twenty years, she's done extensive freelance work for Concordia Publishing House, including skits, Bible activity pages, and over 100 contributions to their popular My Devotions series. Her first novel, The Love of His Brother, was released by Five Star Publishers in November 2007. Her latest novel, The Pastor’s Wife, was released by Abingdon Press in February 2010. Her next two novels are The Mother Road (April 2012) and A Wild Goose Chase Christmas (November 2012), both from Abingdon Press. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Christian Authors Network, and the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.

Visit Jennifer's website at http://jenniferalleesite.blogspot.com/

Infected by Grief

2012-01-27T03:30:00.000-05:00

God is familiar with grief and grieving. Probably more so than we could ever imagine.
Jesus knew what it was to grieve the loss of a loved one.
Every one of the apostles had to face the deaths of friends and family members.

Whether it's the passing into eternity of an elderly family member, a miscarriage or stillbirth, the loss of a friend or coworker to illness, the death of an acquaintance — even a stranger — to an accident, or something as seemingly trivial as the death of a pet, all of us come face to face with the spirit of grief in the course of life.

Grief is neither to be feared, nor revered.
It is never to be worshiped.

Grieving — mourning loss — is a natural, normal part of the process of life. What's not natural or normal is when the spirit of grief is permitted to infiltrate our spirits, souls, and bodies like some kind of toxic mold, and then color our reactions and responses to life from that point onward.

So how do we respond properly, healthily, to tragedy, sadness, and loss without becoming infected by the spirit of grief?

Perhaps our clearest instructions are found in Isaiah 61, just past the words our Lord recited in Luke 4 to announce his arrival and assignment.

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."
Isa 61:1-3 NKJV

Knowing first that Jesus was familiar with grief and loss, it's easier to look at Isaiah's prophetic words and accept them.

In Christ, we have the oil of joy to soothe mourning, and the garment of praise to free us from the spirit of heaviness. The comfort of the Lord belongs to everyone who calls upon His name.

There is, even as the author of Ecclesiastes wrote, "a time to mourn." What we must be aware of is the temptation to allow mourning, grief and heaviness to have more sway in our lives, thinking and emotions, than joy, praise, beauty, and righteousness.

Are you consumed by death? By loss? By grief and mourning? Perhaps it's time to consider Jesus' response to death: He raised Lazarus, cast the mourners out of the house of the dead girl, and, perhaps most applicable to us, went off by Himself to spend time with His Father in prayer after learning of the death of his cousin, John the Baptist.

The common denominator? Jesus never stayed in an attitude of mourning and grief for long.

He did not allow death to define life.
Yes, it's far easier said than done, but that's just one of the reasons He sent the Holy Spirit to us: to help us exchange that spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise. If you've been tormented, twisted, or tortured by grief and mourning, whether over a life lost, or over your own youth, or lost dreams, or whatever, may today be the day you begin to exchange the spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise.

About the Author: Niki writes fiction, blog posts, articles in the local newspaper, grocery lists, and Facebook status updates. She can be found at her own blog, In Truer Ink, in addition to posting here. She was a 2009 finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love "Touched by Love" contest.

Race to the Finish

2012-01-26T01:00:00.001-05:00

by C.J. Chase

I’ve been sprinting the past week or so. No, not running. For some reason, I’ve never enjoyed running. These are writing sprints.

Okay, don’t tell my editor, but there are days I don’t enjoy writing either. Some days it’s drudgery trying to create people and conversations from nothing but my imagination.

You see, creating a book isn’t a 100-yard dash. It’s a marathon—and often a lonely marathon at that. Sure, it’s easy to start strong, with energy and enthusiasm. But what about after 100 pages? 250 pages? 400 pages?

Just like the runner runs a 26-mile marathon one step at a time, the novelist types the entire story one word at a time over the course of hundreds or even thousands of hours. Oh, how easy it is to skip an hour here. Who will know? And then another hour there—until finally, a half-finished manuscript languishes on my computer. Which is why I find writing sprints so helpful.

Writing sprints work this way: several writers meet in an Internet chat room. The moderator sets a timer, and everyone writes for the specified time. When time is up, we all report our progress. We chat and brainstorm for a few minutes--then we set the timer and off we go again.

I often accomplish more on my sprint days than those days when I write alone. Why? Those other writers provide me with encouragement and accountability.

Hebrews 11 is often called the “faith chapter.” The writer presents us with example after example of Biblical figures who remained faithful through hardship: Noah retaining his righteousness in a sea of wickedness, Moses’ parents refusing to follow Pharaoh’s edict and kill their child, Rahab daring death to hide the spies sent from God.

These examples of old “did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” (Hebrews 11: 13 NIV) And yet, they remained faithful to God.

And then we come to Chapter 12:

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Hebrews 12:1-3 MSG)

The Christian life is a race—a marathon, not a sprint. It requires day after day after day of trusting God even when we feel surrounded by depravity (like Noah) or discouraged by unfulfilled dreams (like Sarah). There will be times when (like Abraham) we don’t know where God is leading us. There will be times when we feel caught between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army. And there will be times when we face seemly impregnable walls like Jericho’s.

The race is long--but we aren’t running it alone. Imagine! That long list of faith heroes is to provide us with encouragement, inspiration, and accountability. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus, who endured persecution and for our sakes, and then we "will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:3 NIV).

One step at a time, one day at a time. And then we can say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

Have you felt weary or discouraged in the Christian race? Who are some of your favorite faith heroes who inspire you to keep running? (I'll be sharing some of mine in the comments, so you'll have to check there!)

After leaving the corporate world to stay home with her children, C.J. Chase quickly learned she did not possess the housekeeping gene. She decided writing might provide the perfect excuse for letting the dust bunnies accumulate under the furniture. Her procrastination, er, hard work paid off in 2010 when she won the Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Manuscript and sold the novel to Love Inspired Historicals. Redeeming the Rogue was an August, 2011 release. You can visit C.J.'s cyber-home (where the floors are always clean) at cjchasebooks.com

Suzanne Hartmann: Peril Giveaway

2012-01-25T02:00:00.002-05:00

Cardinal Fan, Born And Bred

by Suzanne Hartmann

After a short drive to downtown St. Louis, Dad and I walked to Busch Stadium from a nearby parking garage. Dad stopped to buy a scorecard, then we surrendered our tickets and walked back and forth up, up, and up the walkways to our seats. As the game started, Dad pointed to the bright banner between tiers of seats that gave the score and taught me how to read the batter’s progress and what inning it was. He meticulously recorded each player’s actions on the scorecard and showed me how to write each type of play.

At age twelve, I was more interested in simply watching the players, but I soaked up the information throughout the game. We sang Take Me Out to the Ball Park with the words “Root, root, root for the Cardinals” inserted instead of “for the home team,” and pounded our feet and clapped our hands to the music to spur on my team.

We repeated this scene over and over throughout my Jr. and Sr. high school years as we used the two sets of free “Straight A Tickets” I received each year for keeping an A average in school. Not only did I enjoy the games, but it made for great Daddy/Daughter time.

So it’s no wonder I was a die-hard Cardinals fan by the time I graduated from high school, in spite of the fact that the Cardinals kept the Cubs company in the doghouse throughout the 1970’s. My faith in the Cardinals was rewarded my sophomore year in college with a World Series win in 1982, followed by two more appearances in the Series in 1985 and 1987. I even attended one of the National League Playoff games.

So how did such a big Cardinals fan end up writing a novel with a twist of NASCAR? Why didn’t I add a twist of baseball with a focus on the Cardinals? Maybe I received a “drive-fast gene” from my fraternal grandfather, who drove an ambulance for a living for a while.

Although my husband watched the races occasionally, I generally used the time to take my Sunday afternoon nap. Maybe my ancestry through my grandfather made me susceptible to becoming a NASCAR fan, but it was a descendant—my daughter—who sparked my interest in stock car racing when she announced that she had chosen a favorite driver. Since I knew next to nothing about NASCAR, I had no idea if this driver was someone we should encourage her to root for. So I decided I’d better educate myself.

After a few months of watching the races and pestering my husband with questions. I realized that stock car racing was more interesting than I thought. I couldn't resist using a few racetracks as settings for the stories which eventually became Peril: Fast Track Thriller #1. And that naturally led to the addition of a NASCAR champion as a main character.

I haven’t turned away from my beloved Cardinals, especially not this year, when they won their eleventh World Series (gotta love the Comeback Cardinals). I’m still a die-hard fan, and I at least mentioned the team in my novel, but it’s the twist of NASCAR that makes Peril unique.

What is your favourite sport to play or watch?

Leave a comment with a valid email address by Friday midnight, Jan 27 for a chance to win Suzanne's giveaway of a copy of Peril: Fast Track Thriller #1.

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PERIL: A Fast Track Thriller

Lady Anne, a top operative of the OJL, the American government’s most clandestine intelligence organization, is paid to be paranoid, and she’s good at her job. So good, in fact, that she singlehandedly stops an assassination attempt at the White House. When newspapers splash her photo over the front page for saving King Ahmad—a Muslim recently converted to the Christian faith—not only is her cover in jeopardy, but the secrets of her enhanced strength and the entire agency. Then she’s given another assignment—to escort King Ahmad to a NASCAR track….

Stuart Jackson, age 33 and at the peak of his career as the reigning Cup Champion of NASCAR, has everything anyone could want—fame, fortune, success. But after he’s nearly blown up by a bomb at the White House, his achievements lose their allure. Nor can he forget the mysterious Lady Anne.

Give Suzanne Hartmann the ‘Checkered Flag’ for Peril. It’s like being on the race track, packed with fast-paced excitement and intrigue. A great read for any racing fan.” Rev. Greg Doussard, Director of Midwest Raceway Ministries, Pastor of The Sanctuary Church

“Plenty of action and unexpected twists.” Foreword by Jimmy Makar, GM of Joe Gibbs Racing

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Suzanne Hartmann is a homeschool mom and lives in the St. Louis area with her husband and three children. When not homeschooling or writing, she enjoys scrapbooking, reading, and Bible study. PERIL: Fast Track Thriller Bk. #1 is her debut novel. On the editorial side, Suzanne is a contributing editor with Port Yonder Press and operates the Write This Way Critique Service. She has also written an e-book on the craft of writing, entitled Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level.
For more articles about PERIL and its sequels, visit my website:
http://fasttrackthrillers.blogspot.com/

Never Give Up!

2012-01-24T00:15:00.003-05:00

On this day in history, January 24, 1965, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the British leader with the looks and the tenacity of a bulldog, passed away at age ninety. From his early days as a soldier through his career in Parliament and as Prime Minister, his policy was to never surrender.

I had always heard that, in his famous speech to Harrow School, Churchill stood before the students and said, "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give in. Never give in. Never give in. Never give in," and then sat down. The actual speech he made was much longer, though it did contain very similar words, and its theme was mostly on persevering in tough times. The British certainly had them during World War II.

I'm inspired by these words:

. . . appearances are often very deceptive, and as Kipling well says, we must "...meet with Triumph and Disaster. And treat those two impostors just the same."

You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainly many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination.

We writers are creatures of imagination. For us, especially when our imaginations make things out far worse than they are, when we feel we will never sell another book or interest another agent or win another contest or write another worthy word, we must hold on and do those things God has called us to.

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Well said, Mr. Churchill!

You can read and hear the entire speech HERE.

Lady Nancy Astor: Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea.
Churchill: Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it.

Is there something you're working on now that you're tempted to quit on?

How do you know the difference between giving up and being called to something different?

DeAnna Julie Dodson has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. She is the author of In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, a trilogy of medieval romances, and Letters in the Attic, a contemporary mystery. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with four spoiled cats.

Is God Involved?

2012-01-23T03:30:00.000-05:00

OK, so this isn't breaking news on any national level, or even a state or local level, but I'm having a hard time thinking about much else right now and I have a blog post to write!

On the way to church Sunday morning my three sons (19, 17 and 14) and their 15-year-old friend were in a roll-over accident. On a slushy road, Son #2 started to slide (going too fast) and over-corrected. They slid off the road, rolled through an enormous sagebrush and a fence, and came to rest upside-down.

Praise the Lord, all four walked away without a scratch. We (myself, husband, daughter and family friend) were just a few miles ahead of them and were at the scene within a few minutes. I've spent most of the afternoon alternating between having the shakes from nerves, praising God for His mercy and His angelic protection, and thanking Jesus that my oversized babies are safe.

As the wreck has been the primary topic of conversation since our return home (reviewing and rehearsing and rewinding the events seems to be a sort of therapy), several things keep resurfacing in conversations...

1. Husband and Son #1 felt "mildly uncomfortable" about Son #2 driving today, considering the road conditions. However, we had to take two cars today. Daughter felt uneasy about going, too, but couldn't put her finger on a reason. (I always feel uneasy about my children driving, so if we based everything on my feelings we would ALL be agoraphobic and no one would ever leave the house again.)

2. As we left this morning, I hollered at them all, "Buckle up and pray!" Pretty standard momma warning at my house, but it seemed especially important today. All four were wearing their seat belts at the time of the accident, thank You, Lord, for momma warnings.

3. For almost two decades, I've prayed a prayer every time I leave home that goes something like this: "In the name of Jesus, I plead the blood of Jesus over this vehicle, top to bottom, bumper to bumper, side to side, and all the working parts. I thank you, Lord, for getting us safely to and from all our destinations without accident, incident, or mishap, and that we'll not bump into anything and nothing will bump into us." I credit that prayer, that expression of faith, for years of safe travel and long-lived vehicles. Today, as I began to recite that prayer, the Holy Spirit nudged me from the inside ... "don't just pray by rote, pray from your heart, from your faith." OK, I thought, searching my spirit for those 'rhema words' — those living words of faith, inspired by the Spirit of God. The prayer that emerged had to do with God "keeping all our comings in and goings out," guarding and keeping us and delivering us from destruction.

4. Just prior to the accident, Son #1 felt "something was wrong" and began to pray. (If you SAW Son #1, you would never think he would be one to be paying attention to the Holy Ghost, which just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover.) He wanted to tell his brother to slow down, but "didn't want to be a nag." Most of us, as wives, have been in that position. While 8-1/2 months pregnant with Son #3, hubby got pulled over for speeding seconds after I wanted to tell him to slow down, but didn't want to be a wifey nag—$89 later I determined nagging was cheaper than getting a ticket and have been a cheerful nag ever since.

All in all, it was an alarming, nerve-wracking, difficult day. But still, the only thing that keeps rising up in my heart is heartfelt gratitude to God for His mercies that are new every morning.

Meanwhile, we have learned (or been reminded of) yet another lesson... God really does warn, and advise, and prepare, and He is, above all else, TRUE to His promises. We may not always respond accordingly to His warnings, advice, or preparation, but He keeps working on our behalf even when we "miss it," tangibly doing all He can for us. Having seen the accident myself, I'm convinced there were angels at work today on behalf of those four boys.

If there's anything we need to remember in light of current events, whether personal or national or economic or global, it's this ...

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:35-38

Thanks for letting me vent.

About the Author: Niki writes fiction, blog posts, articles in the local newspaper, grocery lists, and Facebook status updates. She can be found at her own blog, In Truer Ink, in addition to posting here. She was a 2009 finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love "Touched by Love" contest.

The Romance of Redemption

2012-01-22T03:00:00.000-05:00

by Barbara Early

It’s no secretthat the romance novel has done very well. It sits on shelves in bookstoreseverywhere, and even Wal-Mart and grocery stores, and makes it into the cartsof young women, mothers, grandmothers, and a few great-grandmothers. I’m told even a few men indulge.

A few yearsback, I wanted to add a romantic subplot to a mystery, so I took a romance-writingworkshop with a popular inspirational romance author. And I learned a niftythree-point outline. I’m sure the romance writers who read this blog couldprobably repeat each point in their sleep. But for those who might be new--as Iwas--the basic outline of a romance novel is:

A. Boy meets girl.

B. Boy loses girl.

C. Boy gets girl back.

I’m sure there’sa few variations on that theme, but if it’s a romance, boy and girl end uptogether in a happily-ever-after ending. (I hope I haven’t spoiled the endingof the romance you’re reading.)

Now, I’ve heardpeople describe the Bible as a love letter. But what if we looked at the Biblefrom the perspective of a romance? Would the outline hold?

Boy meets Girl (orrather God meets Man)

Often in aromance novel, the hero and the heroine meet in the first chapter. There isoften a spark of attraction. Sometimes there’s more than that. A fun activity. Maybetoken gifts--flowers or a stuffed animal. Time for the hero and heroine tolearn about each other and form a bond other than that she’s beautiful, and he’shandsome (aren’t they always), and she likes his aftershave.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed intohis nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward inEden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God togrow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; Genesis 2:7-9a

God made man, placedhim in a lovely garden of His own creation. (No flowers or stuffed animals.Rather a lavish garden and real animals brought to Adam for naming.) God gaveAdam everything he needed, including companionship. From the next chapter, wegather God regularly walked through the garden in the cool of the day to meetwith Adam and Eve. Idyllic start to a romance.

Boy loses girl(Or God loses Man)

Somewhere in thenovel, once the reader is fully engaged in the story, a wrench is thrown, and somethinghappens to pull the hero and heroine apart.

And they heardthe voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adamand his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the treesof the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heardthy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Genesis 3:8-10

Once sin enteredthe picture, nothing would ever be the same between God and Man again. A guiltyman hides from a holy God. A holy God cannot allow a sinful man in his presence,so man is cast out of the garden.

There is a placein a romance called a black moment, wherethe situation has become so dire, there seems to be no chance of the hero andthe heroine ever getting together. All hope is lost. Generally this occurs justbefore the climax.

In the romanceof redemption, consider this moment:

And when the sixth hour was come, there was darknessover the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loudvoice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? AndJesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. Mark 15:33-34,37

At the pointwhere Man was lost from God and enslaved in sin, God sent his Son. And that Sonwas betrayed, deserted, falsely arrested, beaten, mocked, publicallyhumiliated, and finally crucified. The One who claimed to be the Way the Truthand the Life has his life snuffed out. Was there ever a blacker black moment?

Boy gets girlback (Or God gets Man back)

Right after thedeath of Jesus, something happens immediately. (Did I mention that the blackmoment was right before the climax?)

The groundshakes and the veil in the temple (representative of the separation between theholiness of God and the sinfulness of man) was torn in two. Not from the bottomto the top. But from the top to the bottom.

The hero andheroine can be together, because the hero has paid the ransom--the redemptionprice--for his bride. Only he’s bought her back with his own blood.

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed withcorruptible things, assilver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; Butwith the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and withoutspot: 1 Peter 1:18-19

But will it be atragedy, like Romeo and Juliet? No, because in three-days time, the tomb isempty. The hero is alive!

Often now, there’sa trend in romances to include an epilogue, showing the new couple--at somepoint in the future, with…I don’t know…orangeblossoms or a picket fence and a set of triplets. Does the Bible share thatfuture event?

And I heard as it were the voice of agreat multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mightythunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us beglad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come,and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should bearrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousnessof saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriagesupper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. Revelation19:6-9

How’sthat for happily ever after?

Barbara Early grew up buried in the snowy suburbs of Buffalo, NY, where she developed a love for all things sedentary: reading, writing, classic movies, and Scrabble. She holds a degree in Electrical Engineering, but her penchant for the creative caused her to run away screaming from the pocket-protector set. Barbara cooks up cozy mysteries with a healthy dose of comedy and sometimes a splash of romance. Her holiday novella, Gold, Frankincense, and Murder was released in e-book format from White Rose Publishing in December 2011. You can learn more about her writing on her personal blog: http://barbearly.blogspot.com/ or see what's for dinner on her recipe blog: http://bflogal.blogspot.com/.

Live Reflectively; Live Abundantly

2012-01-21T03:01:00.025-05:00

recommended by Suzie Johnson

Those looking for a new Bible study may want to consider one or both of the two latest books in The Fresh Life Series.

Published by David C Cook, this is a series of Bible studies marketed as being “created for women who crave a profound experience of God’s Word without an overwhelming time commitment.” Appropriate for women at all levels of spiritual maturity, these books are intended to inspire women to deepen their relationship with God.

Each chapter is divided into five lessons that can be done in twenty minutes per day without skimping on food for thought. Each day is nicely divided into five sections that are presented in an easy to follow manner that flows from one section to the next. These studies can be individual, or group studies. A leader’s guide is provided.

Each Day You Will:

Lift up – each day begins with a prayer

Look at – Scripture reading followed by questions relating to the passage

Learn about – the margins on each page are filled with interesting facts

Live out – applying the day’s lesson to one’s own life

Listen to – each day ends with a quote appropriate to the day’s lesson

Live Reflectively: Lessons from the Watershed Moments of Moses by Lenya Hertzig explores the life of Moses and the many ways his life reflects Jesus. My favorite chapter in this book is titled A Rogue Wave, and talks about one of my favorite images: the pillar of cloud that went before the Israelites on their journey. (I wrote a post on this very subject last year. If you’d like to read it, you may click here.)

Live Abundantly: A Study in the Book of Ephesians by Lenya Hertzig and Penny Rose is a study of Ephesians and leads readers on a journey to discover God’s gifts of spiritual treasures. The authors start out reminding us we are God's daughters, His heavenly saints. What better way to infuse an abundance of joy into our hearts and minds before starting a study?

Bible studies are the most valuable when they encourage readers to dig deep and take a closer look at their lives in relation to their walk with God. With their enjoyable teaching style, the authors succeed in prompting readers to reflect on how life’s events have shaped and influenced them and how they can use those lessons to continue growing on their spiritual journey.

There are several other books in this series, and each one looks as good as the one before. I'm planning to try Live Beautifully: A Study in the Books of Ruth and Esther, and Live Deeply: A Study in the Parables of Jesus.

You can find out more about the Fresh Life Series at either the Fresh Life website: http://freshlifeseries.com/

or at the publisher's website:

http://www.davidccook.com/catalog/resources/samples/105959.pdf

Suzie Johnson has won several awards for her inspirational novels (writing as Susan Diane Johnson), including the Maggie, Lone Star, Heart of the West, and Beacon awards, and has been a finalist in the Touched by Love, Finally A Bride, Linda Howard Award for Excellence, and Virginia's Fool For Love contests. She is a member of ACFW, RWA, and is a cancer registrar at her local hospital. The mother of a wonderful young man who makes her proud every day, she lives with her husband and naughty little cat on an island in the Pacific Northwest. And although the beaches are rocky instead of sandy, lined with Madronas and Evergreens instead of Palm trees, and the surf is much too cold for wading, it is still the perfect spot for writing romantic fiction. You can visit her blog, Suzie's Writing Place at http://suzieswritingplace.blogspot.com/.

Getting Healthy – Weight Management

2012-01-20T03:05:00.003-05:00

by Dina Sleiman

The scale has never really been my friend. Although a skinny kid, by college I managed to yo-yo diet my way out of juniors sizes. Then in my early twenties, I figured out how to stay reasonably slim and healthy. Which worked fine, even through three pregnancies, until I hit middle age. That’s when something went terribly awry. I would try to use the methods that had kept me thin for years, only to find myself starving, grumpy, and defeated.

From 2008 until 2011, I struggled. Finally I realized the medications I’d been put on for middle-aged health problems like reflux and high cholesterol were the culprits. Long story short, the meds kept my from absorbing the nutrients I needed while simultaneously making me gain weight. When I started noticing some early diabetes symptoms, that was the last straw. With the help of my chiropractor, I came up with a plan to get off the meds and build up my health again.

Now I’m in a new place. And in this place I’m able to lose weight again. It seems the best solution to all my health problems (based largely on the fact that I gain my weight around my belly) is to get thin and stay thin. In fact, short of taking a cocktail of medicines and medicines for my medicines, this is probably the only way for me to live a long and healthy life. So I’ve been revisiting some of those old methods that kept me slim for years, and I thought I’d share them with you today.

Focus on Health: The point is to be healthy—not skinny. As a follower of Christ, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Take care of it because it’s the right thing to do. Take care of it so that you’re in good shape to fulfill God’s plan for your life.

Do the Math: While some fad diets can have merits, in the end it all comes down to simple mathematics. In order to lose weight you must burn more calories than you eat.

Find Something You Love: If you think of exercise as drudgery, you won’t stick with it for long. Find something you enjoy. A group class with friends for the socialite. A team sport for the athlete. A quiet walk for the nature lover. A solitary swim for the recluse. For me it’s walks, bike rides, and dance aerobics in the privacy of my bedroom.

Take it Slow: Weight management needs to be a lifestyle. Make slow, steady changes over a long period of time. Start with positive health changes rather than calorie reducing ones. Try adding one per week.

1) Drink more water

2) Add more vegetables to your diet

3) Add more whole grains to your diet

4) Add a healthy activity you enjoy

5) Stop eating after 7pm

6) Remove trans fats from your diet

7) Switch to low fat meats and dairy products

8) Minimize processed sugar in your diet

9) Minimize processed flour in your diet

10) Find a healthy calorie count for you and stick with it

In fact, if you try adding steps one through nine over several months, the good news is you might not even need step ten. So remember, focus on health. Take care of yourself. Healthy is beautiful.

Do you have any weight management tips that work for you? Are you already using some of these healthy tips? If you could choose just one healthy lifestyle change to make this year, which one would it be?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dina Sleiman writes lyrical stories that dance with light. Most of the time you will find this Virginia Beach resident reading, biking, dancing, or hanging out with her husband and three children, preferably at the oceanfront. Since finishing her Professional Writing MA in 1994, she has enjoyed many opportunities to teach literature, writing, and the arts. She was the Overall Winner in the 2009 Touched by Love contest for unpublished authors. Her first novel, Dance of the Dandelion with Whitefire Publishing has just released. She has recently become an acquisitions editor for WhiteFire as well. Join her as she discovers the unforced rhythms of grace. For more info visit her at http://dinasleiman.com/

Good Kid Syndrome

2012-01-19T03:00:00.007-05:00

By Lisa Karon Richardson

Most Christians are familiar with Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son. That rotten, greedy kid who got in his Dad’s face, and essentially said he wished the old man was dead. He wanted his inheritance now!

The father responds to his demand by giving him what he wants. He liquidates half his assets and forks them over to the rude little twerp. Of course, it isn’t too long before the kid has completely blown the opportunity. More importantly, he learns something from the lesson and comes home with a completely different attitude.

When he arrives, his father is thrilled to see him and starts throwing together a party. Enter the elder brother. Lets call him EB.

EB is upset. EB thinks that they should be rubbing the younger brother’s face in his mistakes. The kid certainly wouldn’t have received full restoration.

“But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’”

Luke 15:29-30

Is it just me, or did EB just make the same exact mistake that he wanted to see the prodigal punished for?

He felt entitled to his father’s blessings, and accused the father of withholding them unfairly. His justification for his behavior is that he has been the good kid all these years.

When it finally dawned on me that Prodigal and EB suffered from the same attitude problem, I got an ick feeling in my stomach. I realized that I’ve succumbed to the same affliction as EB.

I’m going to call it Good Kid Syndrome. Sufferers of this handicap are under the delusion that God owes us something.

We think that playing by the rules somehow entitles us to make demands on God. Demands that we would condemn someone else for making.

One of the problems with this mindset is that we all think of ourselves as Good Kids. No one is evil for the sake of being evil. Somewhere in our heart we’ve convinced ourselves that we have a right to take whatever action we are taking. I guarantee that the Prodigal had justification in his own mind for his initial treatment of his father. He didn’t consider himself the “bad brother.” Not until he discovered humility.

Not surprisingly, the same antidote that worked for the Prodigal is what we require when we fall prey to Good Kid Syndrome.

Here’s a prophylactic dose:

1. Prior good behavior does not excuse current bad behavior.

2. God doesn’t owe me anything.

3. If he is withholding a blessing, maybe it’s because he knows I’m not mature enough to handle it yet.

4. Any blessing he pours out on someone else isn’t going to affect my inheritance.

How about you, do you identify more with the Prodigal or EB? Have you ever contracted Good Kid Syndrome? Did you have siblings that could get away with anything?

Influenced by books like The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, Lisa Karon Richardson’s early books were heavy on boarding schools and creepy houses. Now that she’s (mostly) all grown-up she still loves a healthy dash of adventure and excitement in any story she creates, even her real-life story. She’s been a missionary to the Seychelles and Gabon and now that she and her husband are back in America, they are tackling a brand new adventure, starting a daughter-work church in a new city. Her first novella, Impressed by Love, part of the Colonial Courtships collection, is coming in October, 2012.

Changing It Up - Creating Fresh Historical Fiction

2012-01-18T03:01:00.039-05:00

by Suzie Johnson

Keeping fiction fresh is a challenge for every writer. No writer wants to construct a plot that’s been done repeatedly with characters who could be snatched off the pages of any other book. Since there are only so many goals, conflicts and motivations to go around, the challenge increases.

One way to change things up and intrigue the reader is to give the heroine an unusual interest or occupation. This especially works in historical fiction because what might constitute an ordinary occupation today might have been unusual or even considered unseemly a hundred or more years ago. The interest or chosen profession of a historical heroine can provide conflict and scandal that it most likely wouldn’t provide for contemporary characters.

Scientists, midwives, doctors, writers, sheriffs, political leaders, and suffragists, are just a few of the roles that provide challenges no matter the time period. But a female doctor in the 1800s, a woman running for congress before women could even vote? In an era where women were wives, mothers and teachers, these roles were not the norm, and a savvy writer is able to use these challenges to keep his or her readers turning the pages.

In The Girl in the Gatehouse, by Julie Klassen, Mariah Aubrey secretly writes novels. This is definitely not unusual today, but for women of Regency England, it was quite scandalous. One need only look to Jane Austen or Beatrix Potter to see the stigma and disapproval that accompanied a woman’s desire to write. Also by Julie Klassen, Lady of Milkweed Manor featured what is undoubtedly the most unique women’s role I’ve ever read. In Regency England, Charlotte Lamb finds herself in the unusual position of a wet nurse in a foundling hospital. This subject matter is so unusual and worked so well, it was nominated for a Christy Award.

The heroine of Chasing Katie by Robin Lee Hatcher runs for congress before women could even vote. Ms. Hatcher has also tackled a similar subject with A Vote of Confidence where her heroine runs for mayor.

In Crescent City Courtship, Elizabeth White introduces readers to Abigail Neal, a heroine who wants to attend medical school in 1879. The challenges Abigail faces provide conflict a-plenty.

In her novel, Lady in the Mist, Laurie Alice Eakes gives readers the story of Tabitha Eckles, a heroine who is a midwife during the colonial era. This may not seem like such an unusual occupation for a woman, but as an unmarried woman who has never borne a child, Tabitha must earn the trust of her patients. And during the early days of young America, it is Tabitha’s very occupation that propels the intrigue in this page-turner.

Switchboard operator Georgie Gail leads the way in a new occupation that will help lead the way in revolutionizing communication, in Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist. This is not the first unusual occupation for Deeanne Gist’s heroines. Essie Spreckelmeyer runs a bicycling club in Deep in the Heart of Trouble and her passion for teaching others to ride keeps trouble stirring on each page.

Do you find yourself drawn into a book by the activities of the main characters? What kind of role would you like to see represented by women in historical fiction?

Royal Sleighs

2012-01-17T03:55:00.004-05:00

by Anita Mae Draper

This is Part 3 of my series on sleighs:

Part 1 is about 19th century adult and Santa sleighs.
Part 2 is about 19th centurychildren's sleighs.

For Part 3, I wanted to showcase some of the more expensive sleighs in history. Because I'm a Canadian, let's start with Queen Victoria who lived from 1819-1901, ruling the British Commonwealth for much of that time.

This is a pencil drawing showing a sleigh built by Hooper & Co for Queen Victoria c1850-1870 under the personal supervision of the Albert, Prince Consort.

This painting is in the Royal Collection and shows Queen Victoria and the children being driven by Prince Albert just as envisioned in the above drawing.

The actual red and gold sleigh, which is lined with red velvet, is shown here at a seasonal exhibit at Windsor Castle:

An extract from Queen Victoria’s journal of February 12th, 1855 records a winter outing in the sleigh with Princess Clementine of Orleans:
"Another sharp frost and a fine day – Albert drove Clem and me out in the sledge…with the exception of 2 or 3 little places, we went beautifully and as smoothly as though we were on ice. The sun bright & the sky so blue. We were out for an hour!"

It doesn't look that big above with the huge castle tree, but look at it here in perspective:

I think those 'crown' ornaments are cute for a castle tree.

King Ludwig of Bavaria (1845-1886) spent most of his life building castles. His Schloss Neuschwanstein Castle is famous the world over as the inspiration for the Disney's iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle. Although Ludwig never married and had no children, he loved beautiful, romantic things.

The above is a child's sleigh preserved in one of his many castles.

In the Kremlin in Moscow, we find the oldest of the royal Russian carriages. This one is from the 18th century and was one of many to carry the royal court from city to city. For example, when Catherine the Great (1729-1796) made her trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow for her coronation, she did it in 13 days in a sleigh similar to this.

According to the book, Russian Imperial Style, by Laura Cerwinske, Catherine’s sleigh was a "palace on runners! It contained a salon, library and bedroom all warmed by porcelain stoves. It had six windows and was wide enough for 8 people to pass abreast! Behind her sleigh was a procession of 19,000 horses and 14 large sleighs and 184 smaller ones carrying the royal court."

St. Petersburg is the home of The Hermitage, the legacy of Catherine the Great's love of art. One of the pieces she collected for her gallery is this carved sleigh. It's a gilded treasure of St. George slaying the dragon.

Here's another of Catherine the Great's sleighs which is said to have extraordinary embroidery:

Finally, back in March 2009, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit visited the Sami region of Finnmark. They bundled up in traditional costume to deal with the -13F/-25C temperatures.

One thing I learned from researching these sleighs and sledges was the inordinate amount of treasures to see. Castles and museums with carriages, sleighs all gilded and sitting there. It boggles my mind.

Have you ever visited a foreign museum? Which one and why? Which one would you like to visit if you had a chance?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and 2 of their 4 kids. She writes stories set on the prairies of Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Anita Mae has semi-finaled in the Historical Romance category of the ACFW's 2011 Genesis contest and finaled in the Inspirational category of the 2011 Daphne du Maurier, the 2011 Fool for Love, the 2011 Duel on the Delta and 2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence contests. You can find her at http://www.anitamaedraper.com/

Piecing Together a New Fiction Line

2012-01-16T03:00:00.001-05:00

by Jennifer AlLee

As you may have noticed, the world of books is in the midst of a shake up. Some publishers are folding, some are being bought and folded into bigger houses. And the new frontier of e-books has everyone scratching their heads. In the current climate, it's rare for a publisher to decide to expand. But that's exactly what Abingdon Press (my publisher - GRIN) is doing.

This is from the official press release...

Beginning October 2012, Christian publisher Abingdon Press will launch a new series, Quilts of Love, as part of their growing fiction line. Based on the idea that behind every heirloom quilt is a story of how it came to be, the Quilts of Love series will focus on the romance and adventures of the women who quilted a part of their family history.

Senior Acquisitions Editor Ramona Richards believes there is a strong connection between storytelling and quilts. “More than a creative art, quilts have been passed from one generation to another as precious heirlooms. They tell our family history, and they have bought communities together.” As a reflection of Abingdon’s diverse fiction line, the Quilts of Love series will feature contemporary and historical romances as well as women’s fiction and the occasional light mystery.

Abingdon Press will release one book per month through March 2014 beginning with Carolyn Zane’s Storm’s Signal (October 2012). Richards says, “Each book in the series tells the story of one quilt, one family, and one unforgettable love.”

You've probably guessed that I have the honor of being one of the authors involved in this line. My book will be the second release (November 2012) and is also the Christmas title: A Wild Goose Chase Christmas. Whether or not you're a quilter, I believe you'll enjoy this fun, romantic story. Here's a little taste...

Izzy Fontaine’s life takes an unexpected turn when a senior citizen arrives at her front door with an heirloom quilt from her deceased grandmother. Grandma Isabella wanted Izzy to have the Wild Goose Chase quilt because she believed it would lead her grandaughter to a great treasure. The news sends Izzy’s family into a tizzy as they question its monetary value and whether anyone but Izzy is entitled to it. Complicating matters, local museum director Max Logan claims Isabella promised him the quilt. Max seems sincere, and his smile is nearly enough to charm the quilt (and anything else he wants) out of her, but Izzy has to be certain. What is it about this quilt that makes everyone want it? Is she on a wild goose chase of her own, or a journey that will her to the treasure Gran intended?

The Quilts of Love line has something for everybody... contemporary stories, historicals, deep emotional plot lines, and light-hearted romps. I hope you'll enjoy it. And thanks for giving me a few minutes of your day to share the news.

Visit Jennifer's website at http://jenniferalleesite.blogspot.com/

From the Inside Out

2012-01-15T01:00:00.019-05:00

by C.J. Chase

I’m giving my kitchen a makeover this month. Notice I said a makeover, not a remodeling. Much as I’d love to throw out the cabinets, counters, flooring, and everything else so I could start fresh, I don’t have that kind of money. Maybe someday… but in the meantime, we’re just freshening up what we have.

Let me give you a bit of backstory. Our first house was a Victorian-with-potential that we bought in a burst of youthful insanity. When we re-did the vintage 1930’s kitchen (just one of many countless projects, and not even the biggest), we pretty much started from scratch—as in, pull-down-the-walls-and-run-new-electrical-wires from scratch.

We didn’t keep much because, quite frankly, there wasn’t much worth keeping. Okay, to be honest, I think the only thing we kept was the original heart pine floor that we uncovered and refinished. We put in cabinets (there were no cabinets in the original, just open shelves) and covered them with a ceramic tile countertop that we later replaced with Corian when the bank account permitted. The picture below is the same corner after we finished. Notice the difference? Needless to say, after all that work, I wasn’t exactly happy about having to sell my baby, er, home when we moved to a another area some years back.

My very first day in the new house, I killed the countertop. Who knew Yankee candles got so hot on the bottom they could melt a laminate counter? That just wasn’t a problem for ceramic tile. Nor did I appreciate the laminate’s plain white color that showed every grape juice and Kool-Aid spill. Sometimes an application of bleach removed the stain. Sometimes not.

So, as you might imagine, I was thrilled when I learned there are now paints you can get to turn your laminate counters into “granite” for a fraction of the cost of replacing them. I diligently read every online review to see which products have the best results. Then I went shopping and set to work. We even repaired the candle burn.

Here's a picture of the island with the primer coat half applied:

And here's the finished version:

Looks pretty cool, huh?

But here’s the thing: no amount of paint can change the fact that my counter is still laminate, not granite. I didn’t change the composition. While it looks great on the outside, I still can’t put a hot pan—or even a Yankee candle—on the surface or I will damage it as surely as I did the first time. The “granite” is only a paint veneer.

In Matthew 23:25-28, Jesus warned about the dangers of focusing on the outward appearance and not on the inside:

^25-26"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.
^27-28"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You're like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin you're total frauds.(MSG)

Ouch. Did you notice Jesus directed these comments to the religious leaders of his day, not the prostitutes, tax collectors, and other undesirable?

This year, I hope I spend more time improving the inside of me and less worrying about how the outside looks to others. And that's a New Year's Resolution we should all be making--every year!

Do you have any makeovers planned for this year? Better yet, please share tips for spiritual makeovers that help you keep the inside of your cup clean.

The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson

2012-01-14T02:56:00.000-05:00

by Gina Welborn

When Dina insists "Trust me, Gina, you're going to love this book," I generally think she's nuts (shhh, she is). She's all into literary stuff. You know, those kind of books where the author writers a story for the purpose of trying to make the reader think.

Well, I don't want to think when I read a book.

I'm shallow.

I like being superficial.

So this past spring while I was sharing dinner with Dina, her hubby, and maybe a kid or two, Dina did another one of her "insistings." Not only was she convinced I'd like her book picks for me, she made a point to give me copies (let's be honest, she shoved them in my hands with a "you will read these").

Click here!

~Books Dina Insisted Gina Read Because Dina Knows Gina Better than Gina Will Admit~

Sailing Between the Stars by Steven James

The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson

Didn't take me long to start reading Sailing. Fabulous book. I really ought to review it. Although I raved about it a bit on Facebook and gave the book to my oldest son to read it.

Mary-Margaret, though, had rested in a basket beside my bed, patiently waiting for me to read her. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

See, the problem I had wasn't that the book isn't a romance. It's a different kind of love story. It's women's fiction with romantic elements. First person Point of View. A narrative. Yet nothing really like a Nicholas Sparks novel designed for the sole purpose of sappy sentimentality.

My problem was why would I want to read about a nun? Well, not a nun. A religious sister. I'd explain the difference, but, really, it doesn't matter. Suffice to say, I went to a car show with hubby. We had to be there early so I figured I ought to bring a book to read. Alas, my TBR pile of paper books consisted of one book: The Passion of Mary-Margaret.

I began reading while waiting for the car show to begin. Lol and behold, the show was cancelled due to rain so I came home and read with intention of making myself sleepy so I could take a nap.

Only I couldn't stop reading.

What Lisa did so well was craft a story that sounds like a real person had written in a journal. Lemme, pause and share a minor criticism. The heroine was born around 1940ish and covers the 70+ years of her life. Past and present are intertwined. The novel has numerous chapters yet they aren't numbered. Kinda cool. Bad thing was at times when the narration moved to the past, I wasn't sure the year. Much occured when the heroine was in her late twenties, which would be late 1960s/early1970s. Only those past "scenes" didn't have much of a historical feel, other than the mentions of racial prejudices. Maybe, for me, that issue could have been solved if dates were given at the beginning of each journal entry.

Some Christian romance readers are going to accuse me of herasy for saying this, but I think The Passion of Mary-Margaret does a much better job of conveying submission to Christ and selfless love in realistic characters than Francine Rivers's Redeeming Love, which I think is over-rated. Oh, it's a good book, just shouldn't be acclaimed as the perfect Christian romance. Whereas . . .

The Passion of Mary-Margaret centers around a woman who yearns to (and strives to) be a living vessel for Jesus to love others. And love demonstrated isn't merely that of a woman for a man.

Seems like Believers are quick to say they'd do whatever Jesus asked them to do. "Here am I, Lord, send me!" Really? How much are you willing to sacrifice for doing what Jesus asks you to do? Even against man's wisdom? Even against the wisdom of religious leaders? Would you be a Good Samaritan if doing so would cost you . . .

Your job?
Your reputation?
Your friends?
Your home?
Your retirement?
Your hopes and dreams?

Mary-Margaret's sole passion was to love Jesus, to devote her live solely to serving and worshipping Him. Then Jesus did the wild and crazy and against-man's-wisdom thing and told her to marry a man with syphilis. A prostitute. A drug user. Someone who has absolutely no interest in God or faith or salvation.

Why did she do it? Because the love of God lived in her heart and she couldn't not express it.

"Compassion is identification with Jesus in His love for lost people, perfectly willing to do what He did, if necessary. To die for lost men." ~A.W. Tozer

God Bless Us, Every One!

2012-01-13T00:15:00.002-05:00

I try to read (or at least watch a good version of) Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol every Christmas.

I need to.

I need to be reminded that I'm not alone in this world, that going about my business just making sure my own wants and needs are met isn't the sum total of my life, that my willingness to give and care and love aren't dependent on what I receive in return. I need to remember that mercy, kindness and charity must start with me and that love is the only thing I can leave behind me. I need to remember to not forge my own "ponderous chain" of selfishness and insensitivity and hardheartedness.

As I watched this year though, I turned my attention from Scrooge and Bob Cratchit and the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future and thought more about Fred.

Fred is Scrooge's nephew, the old man's opposite in every way. He's loving and open and generous. He goes out of his way, each and every Christmas it seems, to ask his uncle to come to his house for Christmas dinner. Every year, for who knows how many years, Scrooge sends him packing with a snarl and a sneer and a bah humbug.

And, yet, every year Fred comes back.

Every. Year.

And, at least in the year the story unfolds, Scrooge even goes as far as to claim he'd prefer to see his nephew in hell before coming to dinner with him. Of course, Dickens puts the matter quite delicately:

Scrooge said that he would see him–– yes, indeed he did. He went the whole length of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first.

Clearly, nothing even remotely avuncular is intended.

Even so, Fred remains undaunted. "I want nothing from you," he tells his uncle. "I ask nothing of you; why cannot we be friends?"

Of course, Scrooge, being Scrooge as yet unreformed, sends him away, bidding him repeatedly and in more and more frustrated tones, "Good afternoon!"

Fred, knowing the response he got to his offer was never the point of his making it in the first place, leaves the room "without an angry word."

Later on, accompanied by the Spirt of Christmas Present, Scrooge sees the festivities going on at Fred's house and finds himself the topic of conversation. Fred, surrounded by laughing friends and his loving, "perfectly satisfactory" young wife, wisely observes of his uncle,"However, his offenses carry their own punishment, and I have nothing to say against him. Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself always!"

Fred pities his uncle, but he doesn't let the old man get in the way of his own enjoyment of the Christmas season. His joy isn't dependent on the results he gets, only in knowing he has done his part in offering love and mercy and acceptance to the old man.

It is a very Christlike attitude to take, and a healthy example to follow.

Jesus, as we all know, is often cursed and rejected and condemned by those He invites to come sup with Him. Still, his offer remains open to all who will accept it. We might snap and snarl and sneer at His offer. We might step back and narrow our eyes, wondering what He really wants from us. We might even call Him a humbug for even wanting to make the offer. But He makes it all the same. Over and over again.

And when we finally come?

Again, Fred and old Scrooge give us a lovely picture:

"It is I. Your Uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Will you let me in, Fred?"

Let him in! It's a mercy he didn't shake his arm off. He was at home in five minutes. Nothing could be heartier. . . . Wonderful party, wonderful games, wonderful unanimity, won-der-ful happiness!

Fred never reproached his uncle. Fred never told him he'd had his chance already and turned it down and now it was too late. He didn't give him a grudging entry into the fellowship. No, he welcomed Scrooge with open arms and a still-open heart. He made Scrooge a real part of the family.

It's what Jesus offers all of us and what we ought to offer each other as we honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year.

Is there someone you've been trying to reach with God's love over a long period of time?

What's your favorite version of A Christmas Carol/Scrooge?

DeAnna Julie Dodson has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. She is the author of In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, a trilogy of medieval romances, and Letters in the Attic, a contemporary mystery. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with four spoiled cats.

Trust

2012-01-12T03:35:00.009-05:00

some thoughts on Faith by Debra E. Marvin

Trust is my 'one word' for 2012. ONE-WORDING is a new trend, and it's good for you. Something like eating Greek Yogurt. We don't need to pick a 'one-word' any more than we need to eat Greek yogurt, but, hey if it works for you, do it.

Last year my 'one word' was Submit. It was a dual-purpose word. Submit to God and stop trying to be the boss, and Submit a completed manuscript for consideration by agents and editors. I think I did both. ( I DID submit the manuscript... I'll let you know what happens, the other...well it's not complete but it's in progress.)

For those who aren't sure how submitting a life and giving up control (TRUST) can be enjoyable, I say, it is. Sometimes. Hey, if it was easy to believe in things that you can't see and turn over control, become a better person, etc, etc, the news on tv would be about butter sculptures and puppies finding their way home all the time. Humans are rather complicated. We are all 'pieces of work'.

Submitting and Trusting is hard enough when life is easy. But life's a series of valleys and mountains, and some of us complain even when we are on the 'plains'! No wonder we squirm when things get tough.

Some of you know that I have lived alone for awhile and, risking your opinion of me, I'll once again admit... I love it. If a person who loves to be alone is a weirdo, then, whatever. It's not like I was in a mountain lean-to for twenty years and only talked to myself.

But that word submit came into play and God brought the opportunity to have a house-mate. I knew it was the right thing to do, and I knew it was from God. When my selfish nature rises up in panic, I pretty much know it's from God. (imagine smiley face graphic here) It has been a blessing and I've enjoyed it. I shock even myself. I'm not Shrek after all!

2012 approached and it looked ugly. I've once again lost my job. My taxes have tripled. Peanut butter has skyrocketed. And my writing 'hit the skids'. I'd submitted and I feared my answer was...all your work, years of effort, was for nothing.

But I learned that if I am a writer and if a manuscript falls in the woods and no one hears it, I am still a writer. Nothing we do in the pursuit of our dreams is a waste.
This all came about around the time I decided my new 'one word' was TRUST. Coincidence?

Recently my room-mate and I have welcomed in a third person. Basically it's me (strange old writer chick in pajamas) and two fresh faced young woman who at 19 and 20 have a whole life ahead of them and at times are crazy with not knowing what's ahead, what will work out and what to do.

Darn. I have to remind them that it doesn't change if you add three years or thirty. I had those crazy days. They were called 'all those years between 19 and now.'

R. and S. Still young enough to ice skate, have fun,
and not worry about breaking a hip...

Here's two amazing quotes from Corrie Ten Boom and if you don't know her story, you need to know it.

"Every experience God give us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see."

"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer."

I cling to those two quotes today, this week, this year as I remind myself to trust that God is in control and He has plans for me that surpass anything I can imagine. When I trust the impossible to God, He is pleased. It's what He likes best!
Those plans might not look like much to us but they are big for Him. Our actions, (my writing, this blog) may or may not touch and effect anyone today but when we are willing to trust God for our futures, we can be assured that He will use us in ways we may never see.

photo of Corrie Ten Boom from photosforsouls.com, Trust graphic from laowaiblog

Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. Debra likes to write, weed and wander and is blessed to have the best family and friends in the world. She has decided she needs to live closer to her grandchildren. She’s thankful each day that God is in control, that He chooses to bless us despite ourselves and that He has a sense of humor. Her work has finaled in the TARA, Great Expectations, Heart of the Rockies, Maggie, Rattler and most recently, the Daphne DuMaurier. Not too bad considering she’s trying a mashup of gospel and . . . gothic.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, Plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Cara C. Putman & Giveaway

2012-01-11T02:11:00.001-05:00

A Birthday Party for Two

by Cara C. Putman

For Christmas I went home to Nebraska. My family spent a week with my parents, siblings, spouses, nieces and nephews. When you put us all together there are 26 soon to be 27. It makes for a chaotic, but fun time as the adults play games and chat while the kids run around and play.

While we were together, we started talking about earliest memories. Apropos as I considered this post. I often wonder if my earliest memory is really mine. Or if it springs from the host of photos that accompany the event. I’ll let you decide.

Growing up in Georgia, I had a best friend Joanna. She and I shared a lot. Loving families. Parents that brought us up to love and serve God. And birth month. In fact, only one day separate our birthdays, so often we shared parties. The earliest one I remember is when we were two.

We were barely able to sit at the table, in our frilly dresses surrounded by other little girls, party hats, and balloons. We played games, blew out candles, and ate cake. Most important, we started a tradition…sharing our birthdays. Often throughout the years, we would do that. Not every year, but often enough that it always felt right.

Photo is not of that party. Can’t find those. Boo!

But it’s me, my sister Janna, and Joanna. Joanna and I would have been four.

We’ve shared many things. A love of learning. A love of writing. The ability to tell a good story – though Joanna outshines me in that category…if I could only talk her into writing a book! A love of adventure and reading. A strong interest in politics and current affairs. A heart for God and serving others. Maybe, just maybe, it all started with that shared birthday party.

Growing up, did you have a special friend you shared everything with?

I'm giving away a copy of Cherry Hill Blossoms which contains my newest release - a novella, Dying for Love to one person who leaves a comment. Deadline midnight Friday, January 13th.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dying for Love: Attorney Ciara Turner is horrified when she stumbles over a judge’s dead body in Alexandria. Will she be able to retain her composure and control when she joins her nemesis Daniel Evans in investigating the murder? Constantly on the opposite side of domestic cases, they have to work together to find the murderer…just in case the police and marshals run out of luck. As they are thrust back together, Ciara is reminded of how Daniel swept her off her feet as a clerk. Now she has to choose whether to risk her heart to love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a teacher at her church as well as lecturer at Purdue. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara loves bringing history and romance to life.
You can find Cara online at the following sites:
http://www.caraputman.com
http://blog.caraputman.com
http://www.facebook.com/cara.putman

Dressing Mr. Darcy: Regency Fashion, Live and In Person

2012-01-10T03:01:00.000-05:00

by Susanne Dietze

I've got an affection for historical costume, and my love affair with all things relating to the Regency period in England (roughly 1810-1820) includes an appreciation for its signature clothing style -- cravats and waistcoats for the gentlemen, and empire waists, Greco-Roman columns, and light muslins for the ladies.

When the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) offered a temporary exhibit, "Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915," I was blessed to attend with my family in tow. Non-flash photos were allowed, so I took a few pictures, and I wanted to share a few Regency-specific ensembles with you.

The photo below shows gowns from two different eras: the stunner on the left is early-Victorian, and IMHO quite lovely. Nevertheless, I was a bit more interested in the Regency-era ensemble on the right. (My daughter proudly pegged the brown jacket as Regency-appropriate and even called it by name -- a spencer! Some kids pick up sports trivia from their parents...mine absorb Regency clothing names. I'm so sorry, kids.)

Doesn't it look like the Regency-clad mannequin is looking wistfully at the Victorian gal's gorgeous gown? A bit like Cinderella before the Fairy Godmother arrives...Sigh. I've been there, honey.

Around the corner, I discovered some gentleman's court (read: fancy) ensembles that were a bit too early to be categorized as Regency, but they came close. The craftsmanship that went into these pieces amazed me. Alas, my photo of the black one did not turn out. My photo of the second suit, however, came out fairly well. Despite its militaristic look from the red wool coat, it's dashing enough for someone of Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy's vast wealth to have worn (although I always picture him in a bottle green coat. But I digress.)

The red coat and cloth-of-silver waistcoat are both heavily embroidered with silver thread, weighing in at more than six pounds!

And what would Mr. Darcy's lady, Elizabeth Bennet, be wearing, perchance? Well, the ladies' formal gowns on display were all a good twenty or so years younger than the gentleman's ensembles, so we'll have to use our imaginations. But here's a lovely late-Regency gown that Elizabeth Darcy could have worn years after Pride and Prejudice concluded. This stunner from 1818 is deceptively simple. It's fashioned of lace, as you can best see by examining the hem. It was worn one year after Jane Austen's death.

The next two photos show a silk court gown from 1825. It doesn't qualify as Regency because it's too late and it's not English (it's Portuguese), but I thought it was too beautiful not to share. It's embroidered with golden palm fronds and exotic flowers. Indian muslins, turbans, and exotic plants were popular during this period.

Here's a close-up of the train:

Wowee. I wonder how long it took a team of embroiderers to do that. It's gorgeous.

Last but not least, here's a photo of a beaded Regency-era reticule -- a small purse. This was the one item on display which surprised me and set me on a new wave of research. In my own stories, I've always had my heroines carry things in their reticules like handkerchiefs and coins, and perhaps even a letter. Big mistake? I wonder, because this one is barely three inches wide. The reticules displayed at the LACMA grew larger as the decades progressed, but this Regency-era representative seems more like a coin purse (and it's half the size of the tobacco pouch to its left).

The embroidery on this reticule is fine indeed. But is this tiny-sized purse a fair representative of all Regency-era reticules? As with everything on display at the museum, from stockings to gowns, I would have loved to have had some context to go with it (who owned it? Where did they wear it?). Not knowing the answers has given me some work to do.

And it's inspired me to make up my own stories to answer those questions.

Do you enjoy historical fashions? And more pressing, are you an expert on reticules? HELP! :-)

For more information about LACMA, visit www.lacma.org.

A version of this post originally appeared on Tea and a Good Book, www.susannedietze.blogspot.com.

Susanne Dietze has written love stories set in the nineteenth century since she was in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others to the glory of God. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and spending time with family and friends. Her work has finaled in the Genesis Contest, the Gotcha! Contest, and the Touched By Love Contest. You can visit her on her personal blog, Tea and a Good Book, http://www.susannedietze.blogspot.com/.

Kitchen Invasion!

2012-01-09T03:00:00.000-05:00

by Barbara Early

Our long-time readersmay recognize Monday as the day we set aside to talk about current events. It’simportant to stay abreast of the news and newsmakers that influence ourcountry, our families--our very lives.

Today I’d like todiscuss the recent invasion.

During the holidayshopping season, our shores, towns and maybe our homes were invaded by... thekitchen gadget. The kitchen gadget often makes an appearance during that timeof year--popular among glassy-eyed men wandering aimlessly during their annualtrip to the mall. But this year, more than most, kitchen gadgets floodeddepartment stores with new functions that are hard to live without.

(Note to husbands:There are two kinds of women. Women who sell kitchen gadgets on Ebay, and womenwho buy kitchen gadgets on Ebay. When considering a gift, you must know whichkind of woman you are married to. A quick test would be to look for thatkitchen gadget you gave her last year. If you can’t find it, consider thejewelry department.)

Perhaps the mostuniversally sought-after gadget of the season has been the K-cup coffee maker. Iplaced one into my Amazon cart for a couple minutes, in advance of a party Iwas giving. What could be easier than placing a little cup or pod into themaker and waiting for it to brew a cup of perfect coffee--and any variety ofcoffee you chose? And so economical too, compared to the cost of buying coffeeat your favorite high-end coffee shop.

And here’s where Icame screeching to a halt. While this may be a valid money-saver for anyone who has been buying coffee from a high-end coffee shop, at anywhere from 40 to 60 cents a cup (and up), it’shard for me to justify. Especially since I’m the lone coffee drinker in myhouse, and I managed to adjust to a weak cup of instant at about 15 cents percup.

What’s a gadgetlover to do? Well, with all the money I didn’t spend on K-cups, perhaps adifferent kitchen gadget?

I’ll admit tostaring at a movie theater style popcorn maker in my local big-box store forseveral minutes. This brings back teenage memories of going to the local dollartheater, plunking down a dollar of my hard-earned baby-sitting money foradmission, then spending five on popcorn. It would pop in the little metalkettle, and then they’d dump it into the clear glass case. Wow, that would beneat to have at home. I imagined fun movie nights with family and friends.

Only when I readthe reviews, most said the machine pops about the same amount of popcorn you’dget from a microwave bag. So I’d be spending the whole evening popping popcorn.And then, when everyone goes home, someone has to clean it. Sigh. I think I’llhold on to my smaller electric popper. Still…

Another gadget thatcaught my eye was those homemade soda makers. Pretty cool. And they come withflavored syrups so you can make your own sodas (in my neck of the woods, wecall it pop) without lugging heavy bottles home. Only upon readingreviews--which were mainly favorable for the machine itself--I discovered thatall of their flavored syrups contain Splenda. And since artificial sweeteners giveme migraines, not to mention, I’ve pretty well weaned myself off of pop. (Andmy dentist thanks me.) But I could use one to make sparkling water and add asplash of juice. Hmm. Must go to the store and buy sparkling water to see if Ilike it. This one is still on my maybe list.

Anothercool-to-have gadget that made its debut this year was the cake pop maker. Thisis a must-have for anyone with a desperate need to make cake in small roundpieces that can fit on the end of a stick--which is like everybody. (And yes, Ikind of slowed down when walking past these too. Is there a support group?) I can see where these would be a hit with kids, since the pops can be decoratedto resemble anything roundish, including faces. And you can get the electricmakers, or just the pans you can bake in your own oven. Hmm. (See also whoopiepie baker and doughnut hole baker.)

So this season hasbeen a bit of a bust for me as far as kitchen gadgets go--not one under thetree! Unlike previous years which brought my long-sought pierogi mold (and yes,I use it). Or my homemade blizzard maker (a dud). Or my rotisserie (I seemed to have set itsomewhere and forgotten it.) Or the various attachments to my stand mixer(LOVE.)

Some of my kitchengadgets save me time and money, and make my life better. Others just take upspace and demand a periodic cleaning. They seemed like a good idea at the time,but they drain more than they give. If I were wise, I’d pull out every singlegadget and ask, “Is my life better because of you?” (As long as I wasn't committed to a psychiatric facility for talking to my kitchenware.)

More insidious thanthat are habits and activities and attitudes that clutter my life and my relationship withGod. It doesn’t have to be New Year’s Day to resolve to clear away the clutter ofthings which detracts from my spiritual walk.

Right after I’mdone on E-bay.

Questions fordiscussion: What is the most interesting kitchen gadget you have/seen? Anythingtaking up space in your cupboards (or life) that has to go?

Watch Where You're Going

2012-01-08T03:12:00.005-05:00

There’s a good reason to watch your step.

Image via Wikipedia

Ruins of the Ephesus Ampitheater

Ephesus, was the largest of the Roman provincial cities in Asia (what we now know as Turkey), a stunning city with a quarter of a million people. And Christians in Ephesus were doing things right--growing in influence enough to precipitate an attack on Paul during one visit, by those from competing ‘religions’. Unlike other churches receiving Paul’s letters, the church at Ephesus was, at that time, staying true to the gospel doctrine of grace, remaining pure (had not started messing up with old laws or new rules) and clinging diligently to the teachings of Christ.

For us today, the letter to the Ephesians is a beautiful reminder of how the church—the body of Christ—is to grow and be effective. For the church, and for us individually. Consider just this one line:

15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

I think circumspectly implies looking around [ ‘circum’ (around), ‘spect’ (look)] . The original Greek word for circumspect(ly), akribos, means exactly, accurately.

. . . .which makes me also think, look down, too. Be careful, wary, as if you are walking in a dangerous place.

Look around for the enemy’s attacks.

Look down for snares and things that will trip you up.

Sounds like a battlefield, doesn't it?
Here are the same two verses from The Amplified Bible:

15 Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),

16 Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.

Do we need to be careful?

Lord, the days are evil. All we have to do is look around and see the damage done by the prince of lies, who will spend eternity in Hell and doesn't want to go alone. Help us keep our hearts turned to you and our eyes wary, looking around and down to carefully walk the safe path, especially when it twists and turns and drops. Give us wisdom as you guide us. Pace our steps Lord--cautious, steady, but ever moving as the days dwindle down before us. And remind us that running into your arms, does not mean weakness or carelessness with our path, because the distance into your shelter is only a thought away.

The Merchant's Daughter - Review and Giveaway Contest

2012-01-07T03:05:00.010-05:00

by Dina Sleiman

Earlier this week we featured a wonderful article by Melanie Dickerson on Fairy Tale retellings. The subject definitely struck a chord and many of you joined in the conversation. So today, I'm delighted to recommend Melanie's wonderful new Beauty and the Beast tale, The Merchant's Daughter.

An unthinkable danger. An unexpected choice. Annabel, once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is trapped in indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf, a recluse who is rumored to be both terrifying and beastly. Her circumstances are made even worse by the proximity of Lord Ranulf's bailiff---a revolting man who has made unwelcome advances on Annabel in the past. Believing that life in a nunnery is the best way to escape the escalation of the bailiff's vile behavior and to preserve the faith that sustains her, Annabel is surprised to discover a sense of security and joy in her encounters with Lord Ranulf. As Annabel struggles to confront her feelings, she is involved in a situation that could place Ranulf in grave danger. Ranulf's future, and possibly his heart, may rest in her hands, and Annabel must decide whether to follow the plans she has cherished or the calling God has placed on her heart.

Click here for video trailer.

Dina's review:
We've already agreed that we love a good fairy tale retelling. I'm sure we can also agree that the cover is just gorgeous. And it captures the tone of the book so well. Zondervan did a lovely job packaging this novel.

The novel itself does an incredible job of capturing this timeless tale in a more realistic manner. Of course the theme of inner beauty is strong, but it goes further to present a story of redemption and healing. One of my favorite elements was Annabel's strong desire to read the Bible for herself and not just hear the priest's skewed take on it. As a fellow medieval writer, I was thoroughly delighted by this historical depiction, which is so true of that time. Annabel's wish to enter a convent also thrilled me, and showed her sincere devotion to God. But God channeled this love in a different direction. I found the romance in this book gentle and touching, as fit Annabel's strong but quiet spirit. The book powerfully illustrates a true sort of Godly love.

As I read it, I couldn't help but wonder, what makes this young adult fiction. It dealt with some hard realities and many themes adults would relate with. Lord Ranulf is far from a child and has experienced much heartache. I suppose the fairy tale element is popular among young adult readers, making this a smart marketing choice. But I also noticed how Annabel blossoms into young womanhood during the story. I think that might be the reason it's well suited to young adults. I know my daughter loves Melanie's books.

So yes, whether or not you are a young adult, I highly recommend this book to fairy tale fans, romance lovers, Anglophiles, and medieval enthusiasts. It's a great quick read, and you'll enjoy every moment.

Giveaway Contest: INKIES ARE ELIGIBLE! Since I somehow ended up with two copies of this book, I'm going to give one away. But you must follow my rules. You must make up your own backstory for beastly Lord Ranulf. If you were to write this book, what sort of past would you give him that might stir our compassion? Leave your ideas along with your email address in a safe format to win. I'll choose my favorite on Monday.

Stay Healthy

2012-01-06T08:21:00.001-05:00

Passing on a bit of winter wisdom today, directly from the pros in Britain.

Ten ways to avoid colds and flu this winter

by STEPHANIE ZINSER, Daily Mail

Winter is the season for colds and flu. According to Dr William Bird, medical consultant of the Meteorological Office's Health Forecast Unit, December is when infections tend to become prevalent. Here, we look at some ways you can minimise your risk of catching colds and flu.

Keep warm
Granny was right - keeping warm can help you avoid coughs, colds and flu. Dr Bird says: 'After our exceptionally mild autumn, people won't be used to dressing warmly for wintry weather. So if there's a sudden icy snap, we will be more likely to feel the cold and start to shiver.

'Shivering depresses the immune system and this makes us more likely to catch colds. Also, lower levels of sunlight and altered levels of hormones such as melatonin and serotonin negatively affect how the immune system performs.' We lose up to 30per cent of our body heat through our heads - so wear a hat.

Wash your hands
Dr Nicola Goddard, clinical scientist at the Public Health Laboratory Service, says: 'Although most infections are mainly carried in the air and transmitted by the "aerosol" effect when someone sneezes, germs can be transmitted by physical contact and enter the body when infected hands touch vulnerable parts like our eyes, mouths and noses.

'These areas offer easy access to invading germs despite being equipped with defence mechanisms such as mucous and hairs. Washing hands often - and drying them on disposable paper towels (or laundering hand towels regularly) - can significantly reduce the chances of catching a virus, especially the rotavirus, which tends to infect children and causes vomiting and diarrhea.

Watch the weather
Low cloud, dull and misty conditions tend to bring an increase in germs, says Dr Bird. 'Viruses survive longer when the weather is moist. They can hang in the air attached to water droplets more easily, and when it's cloudy and dull there are fewer breezes to blow the germs away.

'This is the time when you're more likely to catch something - although you may not notice you've done so until ten to 12 days later, the incubation period for many colds and coughs.'

Avoid huddling and heating
Because people are much closer together physically during winter, this makes it easier for infections to pass between people. Crowded trains and Tubes with little ventilation, department stores bustling with shoppers, and people gathering for parties all make catching a cold more likely.

'Central heating reduces our defences and affects the respiratory system by drying out the protective mucous in our nasal passages,' says Dr Bird. 'The dry, stuffy air of central heating can also lead to sore throats and aggravate chest complaints like asthma.' A humidifier can help.

Herbal help
If your immune system needs pepping up to withstand the winter onslaught of germs, Echinacea should be an integral part of your daily routine.

The Echinacea plant was originally used by native Americans to heal wounds and infections. Nowadays, it is popularly used to boost the immune system in fighting colds and flu, and also as an agent to help heal viral and bacterial infections.

Although Echinacea is used to boost the immune system, it does tend to lose effectiveness with lengthy usage. Ideally, you should take it for no more than six to eight weeks at a time.

The normal dose is 3-4ml of alcoholic extract or 300mg of powdered herb tablets taken three times daily at the first sign of infection. It is not recommended for people with progressive systemic and autoimmune diseases such as tuberculosis, lupus or Aids.

Zinc and garlic
The mineral zinc is essential to help fight colds and provide a boost to a flagging immune system. Good food sources include meat, oysters, eggs, seafood, tofu, black- eyed peas and wheat germ. Zinc and Vitamin C make a great cold-busting duo.

Garlic helps ease chest complaints, and small amounts taken daily may also reduce the frequency of colds and flu.

Drink plenty
Doctors recommend we drink about eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy. Rehydration expert Dr Susan Shirreffs says: 'Water helps the kidneys function properly and flushes out the toxins that accumulate in our bodies.'

If you have a cold, being dehydrated makes your mucus drier and thicker and less able to cope against invading bacteria and viruses. If you've already caught a cold, drinking plenty of fluids will help flush out the infection.

Sleep soundly
Lack of sleep makes us more prone to infection, says Dr Bird. 'But it's not a matter of simply sleeping for longer, as some people - especially those who are positively motivated - can have fewer than seven hours' sleep every night and not suffer at all.

'Moods also affect our ability to fight off infections, and if you feel stressed you are more likely to become ill compared to when you're feeling buoyant, happy and relaxed,' he says.

Keep on moving
Dr Bird says: 'Don't underestimate the importance of regular activity, especially in winter. Apart from keeping our circulation going, regular moderate exercise increases the number of natural killer (NK) cells in our bodies.'

These lymphocytes in the bloodstream and the mucosal layer of the nose and airways travel around our bodies scavenging foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses.

'When you exercise, NK levels go up and stay elevated for about 36 hours afterwards,' says Dr Bird. 'However, if you exercise too much, this will actually lower levels of NK cells.'

Take vitamins and probiotics
Taking a daily multivitamin is especially important in the winter when we may be less likely to be eating enough fresh fruit and vegetables, and are also more at risk from infection.

Probiotics, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, are 'friendly' bacteria in our intestines and increasingly recognised for their importance not only in maintaining a healthy digestive system, but for improving the body's natural defence mechanisms.

Studies have shown that taking probiotic supplements can improve the body's resistance to bacterial and viral infections.

Feel Good Friday

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I hope romantic love has touched your life somewhere. Like the other forms of love - family, brotherly, and most important the one between you and God, sometimes it's not all worthy of movies. Sometimes it feels like it's hidden or gone.

God's love for us never fails. Jesus gave HIS LIFE for us. And we get a picture of that when we consider a sacrificial love for others.
We at the inkwell know 'it's all good' and I hope this little video brings you a smile and a reminder of that glorious promise of possibility. Here's to young love, first love, old love and well, I hope you like kisses!

If nothing else, the song is a lot of fun.

Happy Friday!

So, is your favorite movie in here? a favorite 'happily ever after moment'? Do you have a little more lift in your step right now? (I was doing a bit of chair-dancing myself)

I can't, but He can

2012-01-05T03:30:00.000-05:00

by Niki Turner

Paul's letter to the church at Galatia is probably my all-time favorite book of the Bible (and not just because it's one of the shorter books.)

Galatia, in New Testament times, referred to the north-central region of Asia Minor that included the cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The Gauls, who were followers of the Celtic religious beliefs, were from the area now known as France. They had emigrated and settled in Anconia, the highlands of central Turkey.

Some of Paul's greatest adventures (read: harrowing life events) occurred in the cities that comprised the Galatian region. Perhaps that's why the epistle (fancy Greek word for letter) Paul wrote to the churches in those cities, is so real, hands-on and in-your-face.

The Galatians were a people who valued religious observances and rituals to a fault. To them, keeping the rules was how you avoided the wrath of God and how you earned his accolades. However, the Apostle Paul corrected them...

"You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you?" Paul wrote. (Gal 3:1)

The Galatians had fallen prey to one of the most common failings of Christians everywhere: They had started to depend on good behavior as their "golden ticket" to relationship with God.

In Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," merely earning the golden ticket isn't a guarantee of relationship with Willy Wonka, The story reveals that Willy Wonka is looking for someone who is like-minded, someone with the same ideals and vision, to pass his factory to as an inheritance.

I believe Paul was trying to get a similar message across to the residents of Galatia.

"We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ." Gal 2, Msg.
Paul was concerned that the Galatians had set aside the grace (supernatural power and ability) of God for what they could accomplish through their own willpower, their own strength and knowledge and wisdom. Hmm. That makes me think... how many things do I do everyday, how many of my goals and tasks, are based on ME and what I can do, as opposed to how many find their foundation in God and what He can do?

As Paul put it, "For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?" Gal 3:3 Msg.

You see, that's one of the lessons we learn from Galatians... not just the laundry list of the fruit of the spirit... but the revelation that dependence on our own works, ability, strength, power, faith, holiness, or works to obtain favor with God is futile. Pointless. Without result or effect.

What DOES matter is a bold, naked reliance on God. Not the kind of faith that says, "I did this, and this, and this... and therefore I have earned such-and-so," but the faith that says, "Jesus has cleared the way for me. Glorify yourself through me, Lord."

For myself, applying that lesson to my writing is often painful.

I'm a great starter. Presented with an idea, I fling myself on God's ability with gusto. Eventually, however, the initial excitement wears off and I wilt into old patterns of frantic struggling (think Olympic breaststroke vs.preschool dog paddle). According to Paul, what God starts, He also finishes, and that includes all the things I entrust to Him, including every story I write, all the way to the end...

Your personal Achilles' heel of writing falls somewhere within the spectrum of God's grace and ability, whether it's plotting or characterization or editing or writing a synopsis or marketing. He is well able. As someone has said, where we find ourselves frustrated, we are not operating in the grace God has supplied.

In Paul's letter to the region of Galatia, he pointed out the importance of trusting and depending on God for everything, including the good works He desires to produce in and through us.

As we plunge forward in this new year, with resolutions dogging our heels and goals flapping overhead, let us remember that we aren't our own saviors, we aren't the source of our will power, talent, ability, gifts, creativity, or any other good thing. God has it all, and He has opened it freely to us through Christ Jesus. Whatever you need is available at the asking. Quit trying to do it on your own and turn to Abba God!

About the Author: Niki writes fiction, blog posts, articles in the local newspaper, grocery lists, and Facebook status updates. She can be found at her own blog, In Truer Ink, in addition to posting here. She was a 2009 finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love "Touched by Love" contest.

Fairy Tales with Melanie Dickerson

2012-01-04T03:05:00.009-05:00

by Guest Author Melanie Dickerson

Fairy tale retellings seem to have suddenly become quite a trend in publishing, especially in the YA genre. When I first got the idea to write a story loosely based on Sleeping Beauty, I didn’t even know such a genre existed. Today, when I did a search on Amazon.com for fairy tale retellings, I got 861 results, and it looked like most of those were Young Adult novels.

When I was writing my first two published novels, The Healer’s Apprentice, based on Sleeping Beauty, and The Merchant’s Daughter, a Beauty and the Beast story, there were none that I knew of in Christian fiction. I wasn’t even sure I should say my book was based on Sleeping Beauty. But telling agents and editors that it was a Medieval wasn’t any more popular than saying it was a fairy tale retelling, so I might as well go for broke. It took me three years to find a Christian publisher for my first book, and another year before they agreed to publish the second one. But now? The idea of a fairy tale retelling is not so outlandish.

In two new TV shows, Grimm and Once Upon a Time, someone took the well-known fairy tales and put a new spin on them. And now there are two new live-action movies based on the “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” tale, set to come out next year, with a third Snow White movie coming out soon after, from such movie-making powerhouses as Universal, Relativity, and Disney. And I just heard that Disney is planning a live action (as opposed to animated) movie version of Beauty and the Beast.

Once Upon a Time on ABC

What is it that makes us love these fairy tales, makes them stick with us, and makes us want to keep retelling them? I think there are truths in them that we can relate to. Am I right in saying that we have all run into an occasional person whom we could cast as the wicked stepmother/queen/sorceress? We have all encountered betrayal of some kind, been naïve and let a wolf in grandma clothing deceive us, and fallen in “love” at first sight. As girls, many of us dream of marrying a prince, of castles and happily ever afters.

Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale. I love its themes of inner beauty overcoming the shallowness of external beauty, of character being more important than wealth, and love overcoming evil. And those are some of the themes that surfaced in my version of the story.

In The Merchant’s Daughter, Annabel and Lord le Wyse have had some devastating, painful things happen in their pasts. I believe this story will help readers to discover, along with Annabel and Lord le Wyse, how to overcome their fears, how to forgive and learn to love and laugh and be joyful again. I love the gradual way my two characters learn to trust each other, to trust God, and to fall in love. Isn’t that what the Beauty and the Beast story is all about? Okay, I guess I did add the “learning to trust God” aspect.

I think as long as people write stories, they will be writing versions of the fairy tales. There is nothing new under the sun. No truly original stories. But for every individual writer there is an original way to tell those old stories.

What's your favorite fairy tale? Why do you love it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melanie Dickerson is an award-winning author who earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from The University of Alabama. She has taught in Georgia, Tennessee, Germany and the Eastern European country of Ukraine. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA), she now spends her time writing and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama.

Visit Melanie at: http://melaniedickerson.com
Buy The Merchant's Daughter: click here

And come back for Dina's review of The Merchant's Daughter on Saturday, January 7th. (a sneak preview--it's awesome.)

1812 and 1912

2012-01-03T02:44:00.045-05:00

History is going to have a good year this year. Because we humans like to commemorate.

I admit I live in the past. Stop rolling your eyes. I'm writing new scenes for a new book set in 1837. And...proving I can multi-task, er multi-decade, I'm studying-up and soaking-in all I can about 1812. Forts. Naval Warfare.

The War of 1812.

ReEnactment along the Niagara Frontier... or time travel.hmmmm
I can tell you that little camera was a bit hit with the musket loading gang.

You love 1812. I know you do.

You watch TV, right? Grimm's Fairy Tales, Volume One, published in 1812.

Literary fans: Charles Dickens was born in 1812. By the way, Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility was published the prior year, lest you imagine them brainstorming over curry in some London cafe'.

For warfare and cool uniform fans or fans of Armand Assante: Napolean invaded Russia in 1812.

And in 1812, the new United States decided they'd had enough of the British Navy pressing (kidnapping) over 10,000 American men and boys into service, and so, financed their way back to war with England. Good timing by the way, as the British Empire was quite busy fighting in Europe! Sadly, most of us barely recall the tie-in to The Star-Spangled Banner (yes it was THAT war).

Is 1812 just too long ago for you? I for one am glad we stopped skirmishing with the Canadians, eh, Anita Mae. And the outlet mall nearby would just close up without their patronage.

Jump ahead 100 years. Of course you know what happened in 1912.

DOWNTON ABBEY!

Image via Wikipedia

Highclere Castle

In a way.
But what an era in world history! Electricity and cars and planes, oh my.

30,000 textile workers went on strike in Lowell Massachusetts. The largest EVER strike in U.S. History.

For you warfare and cool uniform fans: The 1st Balkan War. Gasp. You never heard of it did you?
The very annoyed countries of Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, having achieved independence from Turkey, turned together to attack Turkey for continued oppression under the Ottoman empire. Very worrisome for Europe. Austria need only look over her shoulder to see any number of hot heads fuming.

The Russian Revolution was poised to begin and Europe was getting the squeeze. "Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right. Stuck in the middle with you." Mutual defense agreements had everyone tied in knots for two more years until WWI started in 1914.

Oh, and Juliette Low started the Girl Scouts in Savannah, Georgia. I wonder what year the first thin mint was sold? (yes, this fits in the uniform category.)

What's not to love about 1912: The Dixie cup is invented

But it's pretty much all about this:

Image via Wikipedia

Expect to see lots of the Titanic this year including a miniseries in April. Do we need a retelling of that historic night? I guess. Julian Fellowes (creator of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey) knows how to tell a story about class division after all.

So enjoy your new year. Make some history of your own.

Which era do you find more interesting? Or let's just dish about the Crawley family. I've watched Downton Abbey nearly three times and I love Maggie Smith's performance (and that script!) more and more each time.

Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. Debra likes to write, weed and wander and is blessed to have the best family and friends in the world. She has decided she needs to live closer to her grandchildren. She’s thankful each day that God is in control, that He chooses to bless us despite ourselves and that He has a sense of humor. Her work has finaled in the TARA, Great Expectations, Heart of the Rockies, Maggie, Rattler and most recently, the Daphne DuMaurier. Not too bad considering she’s trying a mashup of gospel and . . . gothic.

Make 2012 be Your Year!

2012-01-02T00:19:00.000-05:00

by Gina Welborn

Welcome 2012!

As I was looking for our Current Events header, I came across a new drawing my 8-yr-old daughter created over the Christmas break. Notice the words she wrote . . .

There is ~~uglyness~~ neoness.

What a way to view the world! Well, that got me thinking about New Year's Resolutions. See, I've never been good at making or keeping or achieveing them. Maybe that's because I always came up with overly hard resolutions. So as we were eating family dinner last night, I suggested instead of coming up with resolutions, we ought to make a 2012 bucket list. We could call these . . .

Bucketalutions or Resolucket List

My oldest son then said, "Mom, normal people call them goals."

Oh.

(fill your name here)'s Top Fifteen Goals for 2012

1. What old or new movie do you vow to see this year?
2. Old or new novel to read?
3. Old or new non-fiction?
4. New recipe to cook (or try to cook)?
5. New food to taste?
6. Historic landmark in your state to visit?
7. US city to visit?
8. Video game (or app game) to play/beat?
9. Song to listen to backward (or lyrics to learn)?
10. World record to attempt?
11. Hobby to try?
12. College class to take?
13. Scripture verse to memorize?
14. Person to meet/visit/defriend?
15. Person's salvation to pray for?

2012 is a Leap Year. You, me, we get one extra day to make this year the best ever. Even if you are overwhelmed with answering those 15 Goals, what are you going to do to with that extra day we've been given?

Hopefully the 15 Questions I listed can lead you to the answer.

Welcome to the neoness of 2012!

To God be the Glory in all we say and do and live no matter how many or few days we're given.

~*~

Years—okay, eons—ago, Gina Welborn worked in news radio scripting copy until she realized how depressing human tragedy was, so she took up writing romances and now only thinks “It is time for a dead body?” when she’s at a lull in her newest manuscript. This Oklahoma-raised girl now lives in Richmond, Virginia with her youth-pastor husband, their five Okie-Hokie children, and a Sharpador Retriever who doesn’t retrieve much of anything (but he can sit really well). Her first novella, “Sugarplum Hearts,” part of the HIGHLAND CROSSINGS anthology, will be released by Barbour in February 2012. Her second novella, “All Ye Faithful,” in A CASCADES CHRISTMAS release later in 2012.

LET. IT. GO.

2012-01-01T03:30:00.000-05:00

by Niki Turner

As we celebrate the annual rotation of the Earth around the sun today, may we remember something incredibly important to our continued progress and growth as humans and as Christians:

LET. IT. GO.

Whatever held you back in 2011 (or before), whatever caused you to stumble, whatever rubbed you the wrong way, whatever made you angry or offended, self-conscious or insecure, guilty or filled with dread... today is the perfect day to let it go. Release it into the hands of your heavenly Father to be drowned in the sea of forgetfulness as far as the east is from the west.

"For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west, so far far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:11-12 NKJV

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.
You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Mic 7:18-19 NIV

Then, release yourself from the shackles of your own unforgiveness. Oh sure, you know you need to forgive those who transgress against you, but when was the last time you forgave YOURSELF, on purpose, for all the things YOU do that annoy, aggravate, embarrass and disappoint YOU? Hmm. God forgave you. Who do you think you are to refuse to forgive yourself?

Today, the first day of a new year (and on a Sunday to boot!), take all the junk that has hindered you and held you back and let it go. Your future is not determined by your past.

Happy new year! May it be the best yet!

About the Author: Niki writes fiction, blog posts, articles in the local newspaper, grocery lists, and Facebook status updates. She can be found at her own blog, In Truer Ink, in addition to posting here. She was a 2009 finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love "Touched by Love" contest.

Tangled

2011-12-31T00:15:00.008-05:00

Monday starts the long, long post-holiday period that can be such a letdown after all the fun and excitement we get between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. For that reason, I decided to review a movie made for kids and for us grownups who are, as C. S. Lewis says, “old enough to start reading fairy tales again”: Disney’s 2010 animated feature film, Tangled.

Based on the traditional story of Rapunzel, Tangled is the tale of a young girl who has spent her whole life in a high, doorless tower, seeing only the woman she knows as Mother Gothel. But while Mother Gothel claims she keeps Rapunzel confined for her own protection, the truth is that she does it because it’s Rapunzel’s magic hair that keeps Mother Gothel forever young and beautiful.

Still, Rapunzel dreams of seeing more than just her tower room, and when a handsome thief called Flynn Rider scales the tower to hide from the law and the other thieves he’s double-crossed, Rapunzel decides to make the most of her unexpected opportunity. She convinces a him to escort her from the tower and into the village so she can witness for herself the annual ceremony held in remembrance of the baby princess who had been stolen from the king and queen eighteen years before. Adventure, betrayal, romance, sacrifice and, yes, tears ensue.

I love this movie. Okay, the Alan Menken/Glenn Slater songs are terribly forgettable, and the character of Mother Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy) seems rather grating and overdone at times. Sometimes the visual effects, particularly Rapunzel’s vast amount of hair (especially when wet), are not as convincing to me as I would like. But all those things are unimportant when compared with everything that’s right about this film.

The animators manage to say a great deal with just a facial expressions. In fact, two of the most endearing characters in the movie (the horse, Maximus, and the chameleon, Pascal) do not speak at all, but we have no problem telling exactly what they’re thinking. There’s also plenty of sly humor and lots of really exciting action sequences. And the scenes of the village celebration truly radiate joy.

Best of all, the two lead characters, Rapunzel and Flynn, are a genuine delight both individually and as a couple. Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) manages to be sweet without being saccharine and spunky without being annoyingly militant. Her abrupt swings between joy and guilt once she actually leaves her tower room, knowing Mother Gothel will not approve, are a hoot. And Flynn (voiced by Zachary Levi) is a real charmer, remarkably like his probable inspiration, the irresistible Errol Flynn. Together they find there’s much more to life than what they have previously known or expected.

I found myself smiling all the way through this sweet, sassy fairy tale, so full of life and joy and innocent romance.

Oh, and frying pans.

Who knew, right?

Have you seen Tangled? What recent movies have you enjoyed?

DeAnna Julie Dodson has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. She is the author of In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, a trilogy of medieval romances, and Letters in the Attic, a contemporary mystery. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with four spoiled cats.

Correct change required!

2011-12-30T03:00:00.000-05:00

by Niki Turner

There seems to be a new trend toward an anti-resolution new year: not making any new year's resolutions for fear we will fail, or forget, or otherwise end up with a list of things we intended to do and didn't accomplish and feel guilty.

I, for one, love new year's resolutions. The in-depth examination of the "state-of-the-Niki" (which is the equivalent of the Presidential State of the Union address), followed by new awareness of where improvements need to be made, coupled with a specific day and time to begin the process of change, encourages me like no other holiday.

"But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each shall bear his own load."

Gal 6:4-5

"Test all things; hold fast what is good." 1 Thes 5:21

This resistance to resolutions stems, I think, from a combination of fear and ignorance. We don't know how to change what needs to be changed in our lives, and so we are afraid we will fail and have to admit our weakness and inability. For example, the hindering belief that shopping for shoes will make you feel better might be detrimental to your financial progress, but you don't know how to STOP shopping for shoes when you feel depressed or blue.

Years ago I read a book entitled "Correct Change Required: Becoming Who You Really Want To Be." The book's author suggested separating the different parts of our lives into categories to be analyzed. Each category is different ... your physical health, for example, might be just fine, even though your spiritual life is suffering. Each category has an impact on the other categories, whether we like it or not. By examining each category, we can find the true source of resistance to transformation (those pesky hindering beliefs) and make lasting changes that affect our lives in every area.

Over the years I've tweaked the categories a bit from those in the book, but they generally encompass the following:

1. Financial – Bills to be paid, debt to be dealt with, perhaps a home mortgage refinance, or a big purchase you know you'll need to make this year... like buying a new computer or attending a writing conference!

2. Career – Different than finances because these are the things you need to do to further your God-given calling, which may be completely separate from your 9-5 job. For writers, this could be a word count per day goal or a list of contests you plan to enter.

3. Relationships – Marriage, children, family, friends, coworkers ... if you are an introvert, maintaining these vital relationships may be at the top of your priority list. Extroverts tend to need to "pare down" in this area because too much time is being spent on socializing.

4. Household – This could include everything from getting a grip on keeping your house clean to menu planning to home repairs to planning for your high school senior's graduation and what you will do with his/her room when he/she heads to college. (Rubs hands together with evil glee. Muhahahaha.)

5. Spiritual – What is the quality of your relationship with the Lord at this time? What things has He been whispering in your ear to do ... journaling, setting aside time to pray, a fast, or adding or reducing commitments at your local church could all fall in this category.

6. Personal – I usually separate this one into two subcategories: body and soul. Where am I physically? Do I need to lose 10 pounds? Stop eating so much sugar? Cut back on the coffee consumption? Is my mind being stimulated by anything, from crossword puzzles to reading a book on writing, or is my gray matter at risk of stagnation? What's my emotional state most of the time, and what needs to be done to move me toward the kind of peace and joy and contentment that best represents Christ Jesus and His lordship in my life?

7. R and R, aka Rest and Relaxation – This is my annual failure category. Fun, rest, frolic, relaxation ... I know they are necessary for a healthy balance of life, but in my opinion, fun and relaxation are accidental incidents, not something you plan. Apparently, that is not the best way to think! What will you do this year to refuel and recharge?

I write down the things that come to me as I examine these areas, and they become my "resolutions" for the new year. As someone has said, goals that are written down are 80 percent more likely to be accomplished than goals we keep in our heads. As the year goes by, I'll go back to the list I made and see where I'm "at," usually at Easter/Passover, again at my birthday in July, and sometime in the fall.

This year I plan to turn my generalized list of resolutions into printable "subway art" that will hang somewhere in my house as a reminder.

Do you plan for change? Or do you just let it happen and roll with the punches? If so, how do you maintain your personal commitments to things like writing?

Then He Smiled at Me…

2011-12-29T03:02:00.078-05:00

by Suzie Johnson

A dark, hushed landscape lit only by the stars; majestic visitors from afar bringing gifts; a small boy invited to come along and pay honor to the baby king. He longs to go, longs to join in and be a part of the hushed reverence. But he is merely a poor boy with nothing to give. How can he possibly go?

And yet he is drawn.

When he arrives at the stable, where glorious gifts are presented to the baby king, he humbly offers the only thing he has – his gift of music. He plays his drum. He puts his whole heart and soul into it. He gives it his all.

And the baby smiles at him.

Can you imagine how that little boy felt, aching to offer something of worth? He felt himself unworthy, and yet he gave his best. And he was smiled upon.

When I was a child, The Little Drummer Boy was my favorite Christmas song. I could never get enough of it. I played it on my record player over and over until I’m sure my parents were sick of it. But I never grew tired of hearing it. I still don’t. There are Christmas songs I get tired of now, but never this one.

The final lines of the song…

I played my best for Him...

Followed by a beat of silence, and...

Then He smiled at me...

When I was little, listening repeatedly, those last final lines with that moment of silence in between always brought a tear to my eye.

The thought of doing something so heartfelt that the sweet baby Jesus would smile at me, filled me with wonder and awe.

As an adult, it still brings a tear to my eye – but for an entirely different reason.

Then He smiled at me...

Oh, I’m still filled with wonder and awe at the thought of Jesus smiling at me. But at the same time, I’m reminded that I don't spend nearly as much time thinking of Jesus smiling at me as I did when I was a child.

I played my best for Him...

Do I do my best for Him? Do I spend too much time thinking of what I want to do instead of what He wants me to do? Am I writing for me, or for Him? Do I think of Him with every choice I make? Do I do my very best ever time?

Too often, I let myself get caught up in the trap of everyday chaos and focus more on the things I have to do, rather than contemplating how I'm going to do them. By that, I don't mean, "Oh how am I ever going to get all of this done today?" Instead, I mean the attitude with which I do them. I want to have the same from-the-heart attitude as the little drummer boy. I want to be filled with child-like awe and a desire to do my best for Him. Whatever I’m doing, every time.

Can you picture Jesus smiling down at you because whatever you did, you did it for Him?

For this coming year, my goal will be to work on this attitude. To help motivate me, I'm going to put little notes on my computer at work and home, on my mirror and refrigerator door. I think I should also put one on the television remote control. (That involves another goal for the coming year...)

What will it say?

Then He smiled at me...

Suzie Johnson has won several awards for her inspirational novels (writing as Susan Diane Johnson), including the Maggie, Lone Star, Heart of the West, and Beacon awards, as well as finaling in the Touched by Love, Finally A Bride, Linda Howard Award for Excellence, and Virginia's Fool For Love contests. She is a member of ACFW, RWA, and is a cancer registrar at her local hospital. The mother of a wonderful young man who makes her proud every day, she lives with her husband and naughty little cat on an island in the Pacific Northwest. And although the beaches are rocky instead of sandy, lined with Madronas and Evergreens instead of Palm trees, and the surf is much too cold for wading, it is still the perfect spot for writing romantic fiction.

Star picture courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu/

Nativity picture courtesy of http://www.watton.org/clipart/cliparttextlinks.shtml

Give the Gift of Good Scenes

2011-12-28T03:05:00.002-05:00

by Dina Sleiman

Monday I was reading a book submitted to WhiteFire Publishing. Awesome voice, compelling subject, talented author. But I had to give it a "not yet" because the scenes still need work. I've turned down a number of books for this reason, although I asked this specific author to resubmit due to her skill in other areas. This made me think that perhaps for the New Year/Christmas combo, I should give us all the gift of good scenes. Here is an excerpt from my online writing class, "The Inspiration and the Perspiration."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next, let’s discuss scenes. In our video based society we are used to stories coming to us in scenes. In classic books you will often find characters meandering from one time and place to another with no clear break and the narrator jumping around from one mind to another.

In contemporary fiction, a simple “***” takes us effortlessly from one time and place to another, and requires little or no explanation of how we got there. The reader understands that we are cutting to the vital information that moves the story forward. This allows the author to keep the tension high and the pages turning by eliminating a lot of fluff. In your own mind, you will want to figure out what happened in between and how the transitions occurred, but your reader needs only the briefest explanation and does not care about irrelevant details.

As you edit, make sure that each scene is doing its job in advancing the plot and/or deepening characterization. Something vital should happen in each scene. If not, cut it. If you have a scene where nothing happens but reflection, weave the relevant reflection into a different scene. If you have a scene where nothing is happening but description of an important setting, weave it into a different scene. If you have a dialogue scene that’s interesting but nothing really happens, weave the conversation into a different scene. Every scene should have tension and conflict and end with something to thrust the reader forward into the next scene.

Are you getting the point? Of course, not every single scene requires every element. Certainly stories and examples in your nonfiction will not always need every element. However, check every scene and story for places you could strengthen it by weaving in characterization, action, dialogue, inner dialogue, and description.

First when editing your scenes, decide if they’re pulling their weight, and if they earn staying in the book. Second, look for a nice balance of elements above. Also, look at the progression of your scenes. In a story, it is good to be continually moving in a cause and effect progression. You don’t want to say. “She entered the room and turned on the lights because it was dark.” Say, “She entered the dark room shrouded in nighttime terrors. Her hand scraped across rough stucco, searching the wall for the switch. Light flooded the room, chasing away the shadows…”

In the first version, “because it was dark” stops the flow of action. In the second version, it’s actually hard to find a stopping place. One sentence flows into the next, and there’s a feeling that we must keep going. Notice how I also wove characterization and description into these simple action sentences. I even created a tone.

The fourth thing you want to look for in a scene, is a clear and consistent point of view. In a first person story or limited third person point of view, this will stay consistent throughout the book. However, still check to make sure that what they see and think is true to that character and is not your author’s voice intruding with things that they wouldn’t know or contemplate.

For example, if you’re character is standing behind someone, remember that they can’t see their facial expressions. You can move them to a different vantage point, or they can comment on general body language. Likewise, a character will not comment on their own facial expressions, unless they are aware of the face they are making. You wouldn’t say, “Confusion flashed through my eyes.” You would instead describe how confusion felt in their body, or give of a glimpse into their confusing thoughts. A male POV character will not describe another guy as "cute" or "sweet."

The most popular point of view being used these days is multiple third person point of view. In this POV, each scene should take place from the perspective of a specific character. Since we’re using scenes anyway, think of this as the cameraman for the scene. We can only see what they see and hear what they hear. If we are in “close” third person point of view, we can even hear their thoughts.

So perhaps this is a cameraman whispering commentary to the audience. If you are writing in multiple third person, give thought to who will be most changed or effected by a given scene, and put the scene in their POV. If during a specific time and place you want to switch point of view, that’s fine, but it still constitutes a scene change and requires a “***” break. If you aren’t sure if you are firmly in one head, try rewriting the scene in first person, then change it back when you’re finished.

As each scene opens, drop us firmly into the head, even the body, of the point of view character. Set up the scene by letting us know where and when they are. Twang at least one of our five senses so that we can see, hear, feel, smell, taste, or touch what they are experiencing. Then we will be ready to join the character in the fictional world of the scene.

And one last thought to connect this back to my tension post from a few weeks ago. Be sure to end your scene with a hook to drive the reader forward into the next scene to keep them going. Don't want them putting that book down, you know.

So there are a few tips on writing good scenes. Writers, what tips would you add? Readers, what do you look for in a good scene? What authors use scenes to great effect?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reindeer Tracks

2011-12-27T07:41:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from Debra

Greetings from the frozen north. Just kidding.
I will tell you with all sincerity, we just don't have the same amount of winter snow now that I did as a child.

As the oldest Inky I have picked 'history' day as my 12 Days of Inkies post. So, here I am jammed in a pear box in February 1958. I am about one and a half in this photo, enjoying? a ride through the snowy streets of Rochester NY on this contraption my engineering dad fastened together.

In later years I was often on a saucer sled being pulled around our rural acreage behind his big orange Allis Chalmers tractor and I probably was just as bundled up. More than once I rolled off the sled and dad kept putt putt putting along on the tractor (I can still hear it). If you've ever ran in a snowsuit you
know you can't. Run. In. A. Snowsuit. Espesh in 6-12" of snow.

Now for something quite unusual. Color Photographs.
To prove I was born with the brave gene, you can see that I loved going to see Santa. I was no fool. Never once did I cry because if you look closely you can tell this was the REAL SANTA.

There is some earnest trust in that face.

My Christmas memory story is about dreams. The day-dreams of 'what if' or 'why not'. The curious buzzing in your stomach and brain that keeps you looking forward and up.

At a certain age in my youth I'd picked up some disturbing notion that Santa was not real. If that happened to any of you, you may recall that sad tummy feel when something you've believed in turned out to be make-believe.
Santa. First love. Well, the list can go on, but certainly by now you've all experienced rejection, broken dreams, the pain of loss. Small or large.

Being the odd mix of grownup and child I was, I felt determined to at least pretend for one more year that I believed the old ruse, lest I get fewer presents (as my parents seemed to) or that I disappoint my mother and grandmother who were quite willing to drag this on. But in my heart I felt sad. Christmas eve came and the pounding fear in my chest that I would still be awake when Santa came wasn't there. I got up Christmas morning and the usual storehouse of gifts was under the tree. It really wasn't practical but that's for another post. I opened my gifts with a different enthusiasm and then I set out to keep busy with them during that long Christmas day. Back then, we ALWAYS had a white Christmas (Just like the ones I used to know...) and I ventured out that morning to play with my dog
...and what to my wondering eyes should appear?

the front yard was full of reindeer tracks. Even a long line in the snow like a sled track.

I know. You don't believe me, do you.
Well, if this wasn't proof, I don't know what was. I should have insisted on a photograph. We didn't have a fireplace so there was no reason for Santa to park on the roof.

I learned a few things that day.
Don't listen to rumors.
Don't stop believing in things you can't see or prove.
Don't stop dreaming of what could be.

I was old enough to try to figure out the global length of day, a twenty four hour of period of nighttime around the continents where Santa could possibly manage the task. Which, if you buy in to Reindeer flying, you can buy into some kind of supersonic supernatural speed of flight, though I never did figure Santa could eat all those cookies. UGh. the thought of it makes me sick right now. And I love cookies.

I wrote this post for me. Because every so often in life we get the news that Santa may not be real.
Today I cling to the fact that love is above all real, that God in His infinite wisdom has a plan for my life and all I have to do is look at the little tracks around me to prove that even though I can't see something, doesn't mean the dreams aren't still real and valid.

The Christmas Violin

2011-12-26T01:18:00.005-05:00


by C.J. Chase

I hated the new town.

I was 12 years old, and we had recently relocated, from Indiana to Pennsylvania. Middle school is a difficult time of life for most anyone. Starting middle school as the new kid in town is even more difficult.

The topography was different -- high mountains cut by a narrow valley instead of the wide open corn-and-soybean fields I was used to. The accents were different, reminding me everyday I was in a new place. And the culture? Oh, boy...

The calendar may have said the 1970's, but in DeMotte, Indiana, it was still the 1950's. Or maybe the 1850's. Stores, and even the town's lone restaurant, all closed for Sunday. Schools held no activities on Thursday nights because that was when churches had midweek services. And speaking of the schools, a nativity scene decorated the school office area every December, and the principal took it to each classroom to explain its significance to the Christmas holiday. That was in the public school.

Central Pennsylvania was a world away--a tougher, more secular place where few of my classmates attended church. Awkward and lonely, I spent a good deal of my time playing my piano and listening to my dad's classical music collection.

During that autumn, I developed a love for symphonic music and from there, the violin. My most fervent Christmas wish was for a violin and lessons. To this day, I can still remember stroking the instrument's smooth maple on Christmas morning.

I began lessons in January, and by summer, I had already practiced my way to simple Bach pieces. Minuet 2, for any of you Suzuki students (or parents). Then tragedy struck our family.

In September, at the age of 40, my father died.

Life changed, of course. We couldn't continue all our prior activities. Faced with a choice between violin and piano, I made the practical decision. The piano teacher lived closer to us, and since my school didn't have an orchestra, I had limited opportunities to play violin in a group.

I continued studying piano through high school and college, and met my husband in the college choir. While I never possessed the talent to make a career in music, I put the piano lessons to good use playing for church services over the years. And so, the violin became just one dream exchanged for another.

Then on a cold weekend in 1999, my life took another unexpected turn.

My husband and I had buckled our two boys in the car and driven to the Philly suburbs for a Scottish and Irish music festival. Our oldest, not quite four, fell in love. In the months afterward, he pestered us continuously for fiddle lessons. Finally deciding he just might be serious, we found a nearby Suzuki violin teacher.

Here he is, in 1999, at his first Christmas concert.

As it turned out, Calvin was indeed serious. Now 16, he studies both classical violin and Celtic fiddle and has performed before tens of thousands of people. He has perfect pitch, an ability to improvise harmonies on the fly, and far more natural talent than I ever possessed. He plays by ear. He writes his own compositions. And he makes me proud.

From a merry Christmas morning, to disappointment, and now to delight--my life has come full circle. These days, I get to listen to beautiful violin music, and I don't even have to go through the work of practicing!

Did you ever exchange a dream for another one, only to have it turn out better than you ever anticipate?

After leaving the corporate world to stay home with her children, C.J. Chase quickly learned she did not possess the housekeeping gene. She decided writing might provide the perfect excuse for letting the dust bunnies accumulate under the furniture. Her procrastination, er, hard work paid off in 2010 when she won the Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Manuscript and sold the novel to Love Inspired Historicals. Redeeming the Rogue was an August, 2011 release. You can visit C.J.'s cyber-home (where the floors are always clean) at cjchasebooks.com

Country Church Christmas Videos

2011-12-25T04:09:00.001-05:00

by Anita Mae Draper

It's Christmas Day. Hallelujah! We're celebrating Jesus birthday today and praising God for sending us His Son. And what better way than to lift your voice in song.

We attend a small country church where a couple families take turns leading worship.

This first video is Richard and Lorette Keller and their son, Clayton leading worship with Silent Night at our recent Christmas Service.

My husband, Nelson and our 16 yr old son, Nick took their turn a couple weeks ago and led worship with O Little Town of Bethlehem.

And I wanted to share Nick's first a cappella performance with his rendition of Mary, Did You Know? which he sang at the Christmas Service.

Again, I say, Hallelujah!

From all the Inkies, may you have a blessed Christmas and safe holiday season.

Suzie’s Short and Sweet Top Twelve List

2011-12-24T03:02:00.018-05:00

Suzie’s Short and Sweet Top ~~Ten~~ Twelve List

Many of the books on my list have been reviewed here, either by me or one of the other Inkies. So instead of recapping reviews, I’m simply giving the skinny on my top favorites reads of the year.

There are only a few rules for inclusion on my list, but they’re important rules if a book is to live long and prosper on my keeper shelf.

If a book is contemporary, I have to fall so deeply in love with the characters that I’m totally pulled into their lives. I tend to get bored easily, so this is vital to hold my attention. I have to be invested in the characters in order to keep reading.
If a book is historical, it must be so vivid that it sweeps me into the timeframe. And it must also include that part about loving the characters.
If it’s not women’s fiction, it needs to either bring me to tears or split my sides with laughter.
If I’ve read it this year and it met the above criteria, it can be included even if it was published last year or the year before.

Now that we have that out of the way, here is my list in order of category (please note that all but two of these books are Christian fiction):

Contemporary Settings:

Mr. Monk on the Road by Lee Goldberg: I’ve read every Monk book, and this was in my top three favorites in the comedic mystery series. Monk tricks his agoraphobic brother into going on an RV trip.

The Heart of Memory by Alison Strobel: This Christian fiction novel was a most unusual, gripping and wrenching book about one woman’s experiences after a heart transplant.

Emily’s Hero by Sharon Gillenwater: True to real-life, Christian characters that fulfilled my criteria of pulling me into their lives and making me care about them.

Historical Settings:
Dance of the Dandelion by our own Inkie, Dina Sleiman: a Medieval romantic adventure that lives up to Dina’s promise of a lyrical story that dances with light.

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen: Like each of her other books, this one earned its spot as the book I anticipated most this year, and proved to be worth the wait.

Anything by T.L. Higley! This includes Petra, Pompeii, and The Colossus of Rhodes. What can I say? This is my new favorite author, I can’t choose just one, and Biblical fiction is quickly resurfacing on my must read list.

Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer: This debut novel packed a punch and is only the beginning of a long career for Anne. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Young Adult:

Before I list these, I just have to say, YA is not just for young adults. Anyone who appreciates a captivating story will love these books.

The Healer’s Apprentice and The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson: This is a two-for-one, because once you read one of these historical fairy-tale romances, you’ll absolutely have to read the other.

The River of Time Series by Lisa Bergren: This is a three-for-one, for similar reasons. This time-travel series takes readers to Ancient Italy and one heart-stopping adventure after another.

Both Historical and Contemporary:

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen: (Note: This is not Christian fiction) Set in present-day Boston, this book quickly takes readers into Boston’s past to solve a mystery. Less gritty and grizzly than most of this author’s books, there were times when this book had me almost fooled into thinking I was reading a Julie Klassen historical. The story and characters lingered in my mind long after I finished reading.

There you have it, my top ten favorite reads (be it individual books, series, or author) of the year. But wait! Is it okay if I sneak in two more?

One more contemporary…

Love Finds you in Carmel-by-the-Sea by Sandra Bricker: This was one memorable book, and fulfilled my laughing/crying criteria.

And one more historical…

Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews: This unusual story brought the Biblical character of Job to life for me, and only cemented my new desire to read more Biblical fiction.

There you have it, my top twelve favorite reads of the year.

But wait! Please, may I make it a baker’s dozen with one more historical?

Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist: This book was way too fun to leave off the list, and it gave an insightful glimpse into the life of the Vanderbilts and their staff.

That was far more than I promised you, and I know there are at least three more I could list. In fact, I could probably go one for days. What can I say? This was a great year for reading, with new authors, new genres, and beloved favorites.

Merry Christmas, and I wish you all a blessed New Year with lots of good books to read!

Suzie Johnson has won several awards for her inspirational novels (writing as Susan Diane Johnson), including the Maggie, Lone Star, Heart of the West, and Beacon awards, as well as finaling in the Touched by Love, Finally A Bride, Linda Howard Award for Excellence, and Virginia's Fool For Love contests. She is a member of ACFW, RWA, and is a cancer registrar at her local hospital. The mother of a wonderful young man who makes her proud every day, she lives with her husband and little kitten on an island in the Pacific Northwest. And although the beaches are rocky instead of sandy, lined with Madronas and Evergreens instead of Palm trees, and the surf is much too cold for wading, it is still the perfect spot for writing romantic fiction. You can visit her blog, Suzie's Writing Place at http://suzieswritingplace.blogspot.com/.

Big Christmas Trees from Logging Country

2011-12-23T02:13:00.001-05:00

Add caption

by Anita Mae Draper

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birth, and birthday parties should be shared with family and friends, right? Here at the Inkwell, we've been sharing Christmas memories and now it's my turn. As I gathered the photos for this post, however, I came to a realization I should have figured out long ago... my love of photography comes from my mother. You may laugh at my surprise, but truly I've always thought my mother and I came from different planets.

Although I was born in a hospital in a Northern Ontario gold mining town, we lived at a logging camp out in the bush near Stevens, Ontario. I still have an old flour sack laundry bag with Camp #5 stencilled in black in across the top. I don't remember much about living there except that we lived near a cliff with a lake full of floating logs below the camp. And I remember the Christmases when Mom set out bowls of nuts and candy, and we put glass pine cones and metal icicles on the tree.

Christmas morning, 1960. Anita 3, sister Bonnie, 4. Camp #5.

Christmas morning, 1960. I was three years old, my sister, Bonnie was 4, and our brother was only a couple months old. That was the year Bonnie and I both received Lulu dolls for Christmas. As you'll see, we received other things, too, but the Lulu dolls will go down in history as my favourite doll of all time. The only problem was that my Lulu doll looked exactly like Bonnie's Lulu doll. So a few months later when Bonnie couldn't find hers, she took mine. Of course, I hung on to mine like a bear cub's mother and there we were, each pulling an arm of the soft vinyl rubber-like doll. After a few minutes, the arm Bonnie was holding ripped off! I was in shock! Bonnie wasn't because she dropped the arm and flounced off saying she just remembered where she'd left hers. My poor little Lulu doll. Mom sewed her arm back on, and I loved her, but she was never the same again.

1960 Boxing Day (the day after Christmas). Camp #5

Mom spent a lot of time dolling us up as you can see by my pretty ringlets in this photo taken on Boxing Day. That Christmas was special as Dad was making good money. Along with my Lulu doll, I received a nurse's kit and tea set.

Christmas 1961. Anita 4, Johnny 1, Bonnie, 5. Camp #5.

Johnny joined us for the Christmas of 1964 photo and although Mom snapped this after Christmas, I have no recollection of our presents. I do know that we were still in Camp #5, because Bonnie and I sang Silent Night in Finn in front of the whole community at the Camp Christmas Concert. And yes, I do remember the experience. It's probably what gave me the stage fright that lasted well into adulthood.

Christmas 1963 Geraldton, Ontario

We moved to the gold mining town of my birth when I was five, but we lived on a hill on the edge of town. Trying times of turmoil fell upon Bonnie and I as we were involved in a custody battle and shuffled between our biological parents and forced to live with step-parents who felt threatened by our existence. I don't have photos of those years. Truthfully, they feel like pages from someone else's book and I'd rather not look at them.

Christmas 1967, Johnny 7, Anita 10, Bonnie 11, Thunder Bay, ON

The Christmas of 1967 found us living with our mother in the city of Thunder Bay, at the head of Lake Superior. Here we are on the stairs with the stockings Mom made for each of us when we were small. The little plastic mesh stocking was for our brother, Peter, who was 2 that year but I guess Mom hadn't had time to make him one yet. She crafted ours out of felt and lined it with plastic. That way, the candies wouldn't stick to the felt and it would be an easy clean up if our Christmas oranges got squished and leaked. Our stockings were used for food only and if you look close, you can see a box of Pink Elephant popcorn poking out.

Christmas 1967, Johnny 7, Anita 10, Bonnie 11, Thunder Bay, ON

Those were hard times as our step-father was gone for months at a time while working road construction. I don't remember any of the gifts I received that year although I know those snow shovels were for Bonnie and I so that we could help Mom while Dad was gone. I don't know if it was the lack of money, or the move to the city, but our tree sure looked sparser than it had when we lived in the logging camp.

Christmas 1968, Thunder Bay, ON

Another year passed and 1968 we're all a year older (12, 11, 8 now) and we're still holding the same stockings and yes - it looks like we have more Pink Elephant popcorn. We were allowed to empty our stockings as soon as we awoke, but Mom's always been an early riser and took this photo that Christmas morning. Considering the smile on my face and the position of my box of Pink Elephant popcorn, I may have emptied part of my stocking before she got us to pose.

Christmas 1968, Bonnie 12, Johnny 8, Anita 11,Thunder Bay, ON

Here we are several hours later, holding our gifts and looking presentable. I received several musical instruments over the years as if Mom had hopes of getting me interested, but they weren't the real ones and I spent more time reading and writing than singing and playing. Once again, three-year-old Peter is missing from this photo, but he had a good excuse that year...he was sick in the hospital and didn't come home until several days later.

Christmas 1968, Peter 3,Thunder Bay, ON

Mom and Dad tried to make it up to him with a shiny red pedal car. Do you think it worked?

Christmas 1969, Anita 12, Johnny 9, Bonnie 13, Peter 4,
Thunder Bay, ON

We moved again in 1969 - this time to a farm 7 miles outside of Thunder Bay. And with the tree being so lush, it looks like we may have cut it on our own property. Now 12 yrs old, the gift I'm holding is a plush pajama doll. I don't think they even make pajama dolls anymore, but all day long she sat on my bed, all puffed out with my jammies inside. Then at night, I'd open the zipper, take my jammies out, and spend the night cuddling her. And she safely held my secrets along with my jammies.

Now do you see what I mean about Mom taking pictures? I never knew how many rolls of film she went through until I visited her last summer and took photos of her pictures so I could preserve them digitally. All I can say is thank you, Mom, for allowing me to see my past.

I also have my mom to thank for my stocking. Do you remember the stocking with my name on it from the above photos? Well, I still have it. Not only do I still have mine, but I made a green one for Nelson when we got married, and followed the tradition with the kids.

Homemade Felt Stockings, Anita's c1958-59

We gave Crystal her stocking when she moved out after graduation, and I believe she lost it along the way. Jessie moved out 2 yrs ago, but is leaving hers at home until she has her own home and family. I'd like to note that the plastic in Jessie's stocking is nice and thick - it's from the bag her Huggies diapers came in. Instead of candy, nuts and Japanese oranges though, we use our stockings for gifts and chocolate. Being flat however, limited these stockings to small gifts only.

A couple years ago, when my stocking turned 50, we decided to retire all the homemade ones. Now, they hang on one side of our hall as reminders of Christmases past.

Draper Stockings c2009

While on the other side hang our bigger, modern stockings with all kinds of room for goodies.

Thank you for taking this old Christmas journey with me whether you read the text or only looked at the photos.

Now look at your own photo of a past Christmas. What do you remember about it? The gifts? The location? The people? Do you remember how you felt as you waited for the 'click' of the camera?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thoughts of Christmases Past

2011-12-22T03:00:00.054-05:00

Jennifer AlLee

When I was a kid, I lived in the heart of Hollywood, California. Above a mortuary, no less. So there were no white Christmases in our neighborhood. But there was a lot of Christmas spirit.

Here I am by our Christmas tree. There's no date on the photo, so I'm guessing I was around five, which would make this 1969. Check out the tinsel on the tree. We did that every year. Does anybody still put tinsel on their trees?

Of course, no walk down Christmas memory lane would be complete without a photo from the annual Christmas pageant. Here I prove that I really am a little angel. I think I was in kindergarten in this one, attending Bethany Lutheran church & school, right in the heart of Hollywood. Sadly, the church no longer exists. Come to think of it, the mortuary no longer exists, either. Hmm... is my childhood being systematically erased? Sorry.. I digress.. back to Christmas!

I know exactly what year this picture is from: 1975. We had moved to a house in North Hollywood, but my mom still drove me to school at Bethany. My cousin Jackie (on the right) and I thought it would be fun to pose under the tree. Silly girls. A close look at the tree makes me wonder if we were using the same ornaments from the top picture. I know we were still hanging tinsel. And apparently, we were drawn to wiiiiiide trees.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Today, my family spends less time decorating our own home, and more time enjoying what others have done. Like the yearly display at the Bellagio. Here my son, Billy, is dwarfed by last year's decorations.

No matter what you do, whether you cover your tree in bling, blow out circuit breakers with your personal light display, or go for a more low-key celebration, it will be unique to your family. Savor the memories. Enjoy and be blessed!

Visit Jennifer's website at http://jenniferalleesite.blogspot.com/

Untraditional Traditions

2011-12-21T03:00:00.011-05:00

By Lisa Karon Richardson

I grew up in a preacher’s home. One might think this made for Norman Rockwell type scenes of family dinners and evenings before the fireplace. That one would be wrong. Christmas and Easter are the two busiest seasons for a minister and it seems the holidays were always chock full of activities, from Christmas pagents to candlelight cantatas, to the annual ladies’ breakfast to coordinating caroling for shut-ins. There’s plenty of work to go around. And of course all the planning and practice that goes into making those events a success.

As a kid I was less than enamored by the long hours spent waiting for people to learn their parts.

That isn’t to say that we didn’t have lots of fun and still take time to celebrate Christmas with our family. In order to get time to actually enjoy it our Christmas tree was always up on Thanksgiving day. Sometimes before then. The earliest I remember erecting the good ol’ fake fir is the day after Halloween. And Christmas music was an option year round.

When I was little my parents used to borrow a projector from the local library (apparently they could be checked out.) Then they and my grandparents would watch Oliver! on a white sheet hung up in our living room. Fagan totally creeped me out at 4,5,6. I remember that they had to change out the reels half way through the movie. And I have a really clear memory of the last scene where Bill Sykes has Oliver on the roof. That faded over time, but starting in our teens it became a tradition to watch Christmas Vacation on Christmas day every year. And I do mean every year.

Another holiday tradition is playing a wicked game of Monopoly. For some reason we only ever play this game on Christmas, probably because it takes us that long to recover each year. It is vicious. Beware anyone trying to help you out by trading you a property. Harold Hill has nothing on my dad when it comes to selling stuff. And the high stakes wheeling and dealing can go on for hours.

We always got new pajamas for Christmas and that was the one present we could open on Christmas Eve. When the big morning arrived we were ready for photo opportunities. My parents were smart too, we had to wait to open presents until everyone was awake, but they let us dig into our stockings as soon as we got up. This ensured them a few more minutes of precious sleep.

There were a few years that were pretty tough financially. One year my mom and dad made us stick ponies. (As you can see if you can read her tag, mine was named Suzie Q. And had a green calico face with a yellow mane. And white reins made of yarn.)

Another year, my dad used scrap wood to make my sister and I closets for our Barbies. While mom sewed them up new outfits. Another year we received homemade dolls. Those toys were all just as loved and played with as any of our store bought things.

Looking back I find our Christmases were a blend of traditions and innovation. But they were all ours. I still love celebrating Christmas with my family. And this year I’m determined to win the Monopoly game.

Does your family have any untraditional traditions? Did you ever get any homemade gifts as a kid.

Nativity Set Collection

2011-12-20T02:22:00.002-05:00

by Anita Mae Draper

We interrupt the regularly scheduled 19th Century Sleigh post series to bring you this photo-journal of information on Nativity sets I've collected through the years. This decision wasn't taken lightly but with the assurance that there will still be snow - probably lots more of the white stuff, in January and and the topic will still be current at that time.

This post is actually a spin-off from Inky Susanne Dietze's contribution to the 12 Days of Inkies, Two Babies in the Manger. In the post, Susanne asked about our Nativity sets and after listing all mine, interest was shown in actually seeing them.

I didn't start out collecting Nativity sets although I crafted my first manger scene as a child. While growing up, our house contained the usual commercial images of Christmas and Santa Claus, but not a single Baby Jesus. Neither did my own home in the first few years of our marriage which hits a milestone 35th anniversary today. (Yowza!)

That changed in the mid-80's (collecting the Nativity scenes, not the marriage) when I saw a large Nativity scene go on the local auction block. I wanted it on sight and for whatever reason - probably because it needed a paint job - I won it with my $2.00 bid. Of course hubby thought I was crazy, but that was nothing new. *grin*

20+ yr old Wooden Nativity Scene - 4 Feet High

The above photo was taken about 6 yrs ago after 4 moves and 20 seasons of use - all without repainting it. We'd always meant to paint it, but never got around to it. Now, it's falling apart from all the flooding we've suffered these past few years. I miss it every time I look out my kitchen window and see the place it used to stand.

I liked that outdoor set so much, I bought a small wood and moss manger scene for inside. It contained rubbery vinyl pieces of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, 3 kings, a donkey and a resting cow. The kids always played with this set and I didn't mind because I wanted them to have a 'hands-on' approach to Jesus.

Up here in Canada instead of Black Friday, we have a Boxing Dale Sale on December 26th. It's our favourite day to shop. One year I was browsing a Boxing Day sale and saw this metallic on porcelain set. Yes, it looked tacky, but it appealed to me on some strange level and was only a couple dollars.

4.5" Metallic Paint on Porcelain Nativity Set

Then followed a succession of sets bought at 'after Christmas' sales:

4.5" Matte paint on Porcelain Nativity Set

4" Clear Glass Nativity Set on a Mirror

Left: 4.5" White Porcelain with Gold Trim
Right: One Piece Resin Nativity

Every December I set out the above Nativity sets in my east-facing kitchen window:

The east-facing Kitchen Window at Draper's Acres.

About this time the stable in the kids' Nativity set fell apart and I noticed the only pieces left were Mary, Baby Jesus, 2 kings, and the donkey. At the same time, it seemed the pieces of the little set I'd placed in the bathroom moved every time I saw them, so this became the family play set. Yes, I said the family play set because I was just as wont to set it to my satisfaction as anyone else. It just seemed natural to look it over while washing and drying your hands, then shift a piece or two before your go. However, I must state emphatically that I wasn't the one to break the cow's horn off. Nope. Wasn't me.

Entire family plays with this 2" mini Nativity set in bathroom.

A funny thing happened as we set out the Nativity sets each year...we decided we'd rather display them in our limited space than Santa decorations. And we always bought them on sale.

Balsa wood stable and 3" resin figurines Nativity set.

Large 6" heavy breakable resin? Nativity set.

4" Solid Metal Nativity Set

One piece 8" Musical Nativity Set

Along the way we found some to add to the Christmas tree...

4" Musical Tree Ornament

3" Metal 'cut-out' Nativity scene tree hanger ornament.

And then there was the one Jessie was going to buy for a friend except she accidently dropped it in the store and Baby Jesus' head broke off. *sigh*

4" Porcelain 4 piece Nativity set w/broken Baby Jesus.

Finally is this large irridescent set we bought at a second-hand store. It's our only Nativity scene with camels. Big camels. This year, Nick asked for and received the honour of setting it up. You can't go downstairs without coming eye-to-eye with this wonderful display of Jesus' birth.

6" high Porcelain Nativity set w/irridescent finish and gold trim on kings.

Overkill? Perhaps, although every Nativity set is different. And the way I see it, everywhere we look, we're reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

As you can see, many of these Nativity scenes show the presence of the 3 kings/wisemen. Matthew 2:1 says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem."

Further along, verses 9b-11 say, "...and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh." This is the main scripture concerning the arrival of the eastern kings and it doesn't say how old Jesus was at that time.

Since there is no other season to celebrate this bowing down of kings to our Lord while He walked on this earth, my family doesn't mind having them at Jesus' birth. The same goes for the 'Star of Bethlehem' because if the wisemen weren't present, the star wasn't either since it's only mentioned in scripture when the 3 kings/wisemen appear.

We don't mind compressing time and showcasing these events as if they happened together on one special night long ago. Look at all the extra bystanders in this Nativity set. Not only are there the 3 wisemen, but there's even a drummer. And Joseph has a staff like a shepherd's crook. Carpenters don't carry staffs. I'm not even sure if Joseph is beside Mary in the green or in the blue on the right.

3" breakable resin? Nativity scene.

Does it really matter, or is the symbolism sufficient?

What pieces do you think a Nativity set should contain?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and 2 of their 4 kids. She writes stories set on the prairies of Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Anita Mae has semi-finaled in the Historical Romance category of the ACFW's 2011 Genesis contest and finaled in the Inspirational category of the 2011 Daphne du Maurier, the 2011 Fool for Love, the 2011 Duel on the Delta and 2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence contests. You can find her at http://www.anitamaedraper.com/

'Twas the Week Before Christmas?

2011-12-19T03:05:00.026-05:00

by Dina L. Sleiman

’Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house…no wait. Try that again. It was actually one week before Christmas, and I had dressed up in my fancy burgundy maternity dress with the gold buttons for our church’s annual Christmas dinner. When I arrived, what to my wondering eyes would appear, but the discovery that a friend, Cindy Lowry, had brought her one month old baby here.

Stephanie was perfect.

Studying the her tiny little features, I sighed. “I want my baby in time for Christmas.” But my baby wasn’t due until January 11^th. Although I still felt spry and healthy, a right jolly old elf, I just couldn’t bear it in spite of myself. It would be my first Christmas without family. I couldn’t make the trip to Pittsburgh so close to my due date, and my parents would wait to travel down and see the baby in a few weeks.

Baby Christi, 1994

The thought of Christmas without family was almost more than I could handle. During my entire childhood, Christmas had been spent surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Stockings hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. Christmas cookies and carrots for the reindeer. The traditional “steps” picture in our pajamas as my dad tormented us, taking fifteen minutes to find the batteries for the camera and make his coffee before letting us loose on the family room where the tree sat and presents awaited.

But what about this Christmas? How could a Christmas brunch at the home of my small group leader possibly suffice? Who would squeal and giggle with delight as we opened the gifts, eyes twinkling, dimples merry over even the smallest toys?

“I want my baby in time for Christmas,” I said to the tiny Stephanie Lowry in her newborn size satin Christmas dress, swaddled in a blanket. And I meant every word.

Dani, Dina, and Christi

That night I nestled all snug in my bed while visions of baby girls danced in my head. My daughter was all I wanted for Christmas that year. Being the obliging and sociable sort of child that she is, she cooperated. In the wee hours of the morning, I discovered my water had broken. By five AM, my contractions were steady and a few minutes apart. With my bags packed and ready to go, I woke my husband and told the shocked young man that it was time to leave, and away to the hospital we flew.

Christiana Rose Sleiman was born on December 19^th 1994, three weeks early, a healthy 6 lbs 9 oz, and just in time for Christmas.

Christmas Eve we took her to church. It was all so sudden that it took a few minutes for us to convince everyone that she was ours. Christmas morning, my husband and I played with Christi like a toy. We took dozens of pictures. We opened presents for her while she while she drooled and cooed. Her little mouth drawn up like a bow. And we went to that Christmas brunch where our good friends the Lowry’s were in attendance. Christi and Stephanie spent their first Christmas together, although I think they were more interested in nursing than with each other at that point.

Christi in a stocking :)

My parents and sister showed up the next day with a bound, and the festivities continued all around.

Christi and Stephanie remained the best of friends until the Lowry’s moved away six years later. In fact, Cindy and I planned to have our second children at the same time, and Jonny and Jessica, quite a trouble-making little duo, became inseparable as well.

1994 was my best Christmas ever. Christi is still my favorite present I’ve ever received. And I credit Stephanie Lowry for being so darn cute. So I suppose all that’s left to say is…Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

What was your best Christmas present ever?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What my True Love Said to Me...

2011-12-18T03:30:00.002-05:00

by Niki Turner

Since we designated "the 12 days of Christmas" for our Inky December posts I've been hung up on the first line of the song.

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love said to me..."

What? I ask myself. What did my True Love say?

1. He will never leave me nor forsake me. (Heb 13:5)

2. He loves me with an everlasting love. (Jer 31:3)

3. In Him I am accepted, approved, and adopted. (Eph 1)

4. His love never fails, never comes to an end, never ceases being. (1 Cor 13:8)

Forget the partridges and the five golden rings and the however many maids 'a milking, our True Love (Jesus) has sworn His love to us with a covenant that shall remain from everlasting to everlasting.

If that's not the essence of romance, what is?

He LOVES you.

Believe it.

Mother of four and grandmother of one, Niki Turner is an only child, wife of a former pastor, and writer of fiction, blog posts, Facebook status updates, a tweet here and there, and lots of long grocery lists. She also writes, copyedits, and proofreads for the local newspaper, http://www.theheraldtimes.com./ Her first completed manuscript was a finalist in the 2009 Touched by Love contest. If you like this post, please "follow" me at my personal blog, In Truer Ink.

Breath of Heaven

2011-12-17T07:27:00.000-05:00

Take a moment this busy week to ponder the miraculous birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ

Through a Powdered Sugar Haze

2011-12-16T03:00:00.000-05:00

by Barbara Early

I have a set ofChristmas pictures I’d love to share with you. There’s a baby picture of me in a red velvetdress--a rare color shot. I’m holding a toy up like a weapon, perhaps an earlyindicator of my personality? Other photos are of me and my cousin--aboutthe same age--at Christmastime. Our mothers liked to buy us matching dresses,which I really enjoyed. (I learned much later that my cousin did not!) Still, theyare among my most treasured photographs, which is why I put them somewhere safefor protection. And when my aging brain recalls where that is, perhaps I’llshare them with you!

The fuzzy green robe. I'm thinking this had to be 1969 or 1970.

Christmases wereamong my most treasured memories. Until I was nine, my mother and I lived with my grandparents. Ourtiny ranch house was filled to bulging on normal days, but on many holidays,all my out-of-town aunts and uncles moved back in with their spouses andchildren--filling every bed, couch, and rug. Presents would be stuffed underthe tree and half across the room, while others were secreted in closets. Well,maybe not so secret, since we usually found them.

The tree--alwaysa real one while my grandfather was alive--filled the small living space withthe scent of pine. We children sat on the floor using our tiny, agile fingersto help untangle the wires of the old fashioned lights, and then replace bulbs bytrial and error until the whole string came to life. (Of course, we werecarefully instructed not to touch the sockets or repeat any of the words theadults used in frustration.) Once the lights were on, we hung the ornaments, manyvintage German glass, under careful direction of the adults, who would frequentlyrearrange them later. And then the tinsel. Lots of silvery tinsel.

The tree was theonly decoration I recall from early childhood, except for a ball of ratherplastic mistletoe which always hung in the hall--oddly enough in front of thebathroom door. Perhaps that way, no one could avoid it completely!

Check out my little brother. Ever see The Christmas Story?

At least once aday, all us children were sent out to play, usually in the guise of gettingfresh air. I suspect it was more for the purpose of allowing the adults a briefrespite from the noise and constant childish chatter. So we donned the requiredsnowsuits, boots, scarves, hats, and mittens. I generally found the outerwear stiflingand usually found a way to ditch the hat and scarf--maybe on a convenientsnowman. Sometimes we’d lace on skates and trudge through the snow to a lowarea behind our neighbor’s house, which served as a natural skating rink. We’dhave to shovel it first, but the surface, while not pristine, usually allowed asmall area for skating.

Not long beforeChristmas, the baking would begin. Now, the one nice thing about having so manyfamily members in one house is that baking duties were often divided. Again, we girls would plead to help. We were allowed to roll out dough, cut outcookies, load them onto trays--even ice them (we would say “frosten”)and decorate them with sprinkles. The kitchen grew hazy with clouds of flour andpowdered sugar. And as each family member mentioned a cookie recipe they’d liketo try, the plastic bins on the table grew into towers of various confections.I guess a sweet tooth is a family trait.

There was onecookie recipe, however, that we children were not allowed to help with. Orperhaps we never volunteered. Maybe we were less enthused because the dough--whichwe sneaked in spoonfuls from all the other batches--itself was not sweet. Ormaybe it was that the recipe contained nuts. As children, we were firmlyconvinced that we hated anything with nuts in it. Or perhaps the adults allowedus to believe we didn’t like them, so there would be more for them.

Hmmm. Theyalways used to tell me I didn’t like steak, either.

The awkward years. Christmas in the 1970s.

But eventually,I outgrew my childhood aversion to nuts, and came to love the cookie--not madefrom a recipe in a book, but from a hand-written, grease-stained sheet of paperthat was folded and stored in the old orange Betty Crocker cookbook. The titleat the top, in my grandmother’s precise hand (she had copied it from hermother-in-law’s hand-written copy), said “Kiffal,” although I’ve seen itotherwise spelled “Kiffle,” and it’s a time-consuming, almost artisan,pastry-like cookie that has been in my German-Hungarian family for generations.It’s perhaps the closest we have to an heirloom.

Oddly enough,when my cousin’s family were stationed in Germany and couldn’t travel home forChristmas, these cookies were made earlier than normal, loaded into boxes, andairmailed. I guess any irony about mailing these cookies back to where therecipe hailed from, was quickly forgotten.

Usually, thecookies, with their flaky layers of cream cheese pastry and sweetened walnut filling, werereserved for Christmas, but I persuaded my grandmother to make them as a treatfor my wedding. They were, in fact, the inspiration for the cookies that Sampresented to Donna in Gold, Frankincense, and Murder--“a delicate rolled cookiedusted with powdered sugar.”

Although how Sam’sItalian grandmother came across the recipe, I’ll never know.

Kiffal (Kiffle)

Dough:

1 cup butter,softened

2 cups flour

1 egg

9 ounces creamcheese, softened (awkward amount today, but this recipe goes back to the daywhen cream cheese was sold in 3 ounce packages)

Using anelectric mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese, and egg. Add flour. Do not over-mix. Form dough intoa ball and refrigerate overnight.

Filling: (makes enough for multiple batches)

2 cups finelyground walnuts (Grandma used a meat grinder. I use a grinder attachment to mymixer. I’d imagine a food processor would work too.)

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup butter,melted

2 egg whites

juice of onelemon, about 1/4 cup

2 tsp cinnamon

Mix allingredients. If made ahead, refrigerate. Extra can also be frozen and kept forother purposes. It makes a great filling for nut rolls (instead of cinnamonrolls) or in quick breads and coffee cakes.

On baking day:

Refrigerateddough

filling

2 egg whites,beaten

Powdered sugar

Roll out doughonto a well floured surface, to a thickness of less than an eighth of an inch. (Thedough will incorporate more flour as you roll.) Cut into circles with a roundglass or large cookie cutter. (You want a diameter of around 3 3/4 to 4inches.)

Put a littleless than a teaspoon of the filling on the edge of the cookie. (You’ll betempted to use more, but the cookie will burst while cooking if you do.)Starting at that side, roll (not too tightly!) then curve into a crescent. Use egg whitesto seal, and pinch edges shut. Brush tops with egg whites, then place on anungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in apreheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove carefully from cookie sheetand sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm. (I put my sugar into a wiremesh strainer and shake it over the top.) Allow to cool completely, thensprinkle with sugar again.

This is a time-consuming cookie, and it can take a few tries to get them to look nice. Please feel free to send me your mistakes!

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Fairy Tales with Melanie Dickerson

Visit Melanie at: http://melaniedickerson.comBuy The Merchant's Daughter: click here

And come back for Dina's review of The Merchant's Daughter on Saturday, January 7th. (a sneak preview--it's awesome.)

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