Be Thou My Vision: An Irish Hymn for St. Patrick's Day

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

"Be Thou My Vision" is one of the UK's most popular hymns, and it's got a following of fans in America, as well.

The text is attributed to Saint Dallán Forgaill, written in the 6th century as "Rop tú mo Baile" in Old Irish. Some scholars date it to the 8th century, however.

"Rop tú mo Baile"/"Be Thou My Vision" is a lorica prayer: essentially, a prayer of protection in which the petitioner invokes God and His power to protect him or her from evil. The practice draws on Ephesians 6: 16-17 when Paul calls Christians to put on the armor of God. 

The symbolism of armor was perhaps quite familiar to Celtic Christians. These were days of clan warfare (in fact, in the hymn, God is referred to as High King, or Chieftan), but also, the awareness that Christians needed protection for dark spiritual forces was common. Pehraps the most famous lorica prayer is that of St. Patrick, which is also sung as a hymn ("I bind unto myself today the Strong Name of the Trinity...").

https://goo.gl/images/Zhsi9d

"Rop tú mo Baile" was translated into modern English in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne in Ériu, the journal of the School of Irish Learning. In 1912, the text was versified by Eleanor Hull, president of the Irish Literary Society, and we still sing her lyrics today.

The tune we sing to is "Slane"--named for the Irish town in which it was collected. The tune itself was first published as the music to accompany a folk song called "With My Love on the Road."

Slane Hill ruins, County Meath. https://goo.gl/images/a8r7BR

Is "Be Thou My Vision" one you sing in church?

High King of Heaven, my victory won,

May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

***

Susanne Dietze is the award-winning author of over a dozen romances. You can learn more about her on her website, www.susannedietze.com.

Old Friends in New Books

Do you like reading a new book and discovering an old friend in the pages?

I sure do. I think many people enjoy it, and that's one reason why series are popular. We grow emotional attachments to characters and love following along with them on new adventures.

Nancy Drew. Harry Potter. Percy Jackson. Star Wars. Marvel heroes. The list goes on and on.

Nancy, George, Bess and Ned! Love you guys!

I haven't yet been blessed to write a contracted series, but that doesn't mean I haven't been able to offer sneak peeks at characters who appeared in a different book of mine.

This month I'm celebrating the release of my newest novella, The Right Pitch from Of Rags and Riches Romance Collection, nine stories set during the Gilded Age.

My heroine, Winnie Myles, lives next door to a little girl named Penny...who grew up and had her own story in The American Heiress Brides Collection. (Yes, I went back in time. I started with Penny's story, and then wrote a story set almost twenty years earlier with The Right Pitch. And no, I didn't know about Winnie when I wrote In for a Penny, so there are no peeks into her future there. But I assure you she and her Mr. Right are very happy!)



It was satisfying to write about Penny's childhood, because even when she's an adult, she struggles with her parents. I was glad for the opportunity to plant a few of those seeds, even though they're quite minor in The Right Pitch.

Bringing back characters is satisfying!

My January 2017 release, A Mother For His Family, contains some old friends, too: Tavin and Gemma from The Reluctant Guardian. (Cover isn't yet available. I'm on tenterhooks!)

I love this cover so much. I can say that, right?

What are they up to now? If you read the book, you might remember Gemma's nephews, Petey and Eddie. What happened to them? Do they still live with Gemma, or did they have to go back to their disinterested parents?

It was fun answering those questions.

It's hard to say goodbye to characters. I always hoped to write a story about Gemma's friend Frances Fennelwick, a so-called "bluestocking" (one reviewer lovingly called her a nerd). Since Love Inspired Historical is folding, I won't have a chance to submit a proposal about Frances, but that doesn't mean I don't think about her and what happens to her...or the very special man who falls head over heels for her.

Maybe one day I'll jot it down and put it out for my newsletter subscribers. I'm not sure about copyright issues. Just thinking out loud.

But in the meantime, I'm hard at work on a story that'll be out in April's First Loves Forever Romance Collection from Barbour. Here's the beautiful cover:

OOOOHHHHH! Coming in April!

The heroine of my story, First Things First? Georgia Bridge, who first appeared in my novella For a Song from The Cowboy's Bride Collection as a precocious four-year-old.

Still available!

If you want to know what happened to her, Bridge Ranch, her pa Jackson and the woman she wanted to be her new ma, Lily Kimball, be sure to check out First Loves Forever in the spring!

***

Do you like seeing old friends in new books?

***

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today she's the author of over a dozen inspirational romances. Visit her and find her books at www.susannedietze.com

What was Fun about Super Bowl 2016?

The Super Bowl was last Sunday. I hear the horsey team won. Obviously, I'm not big into sports. But I do enjoy checking it out for the entertainment value. So let's talk about what was (and wasn't) entertaining.

1) Lady Gaga sings The National Anthem

When you hear the name "Gaga" your first thought may be of outrageous costumes and meat dresses. Truth is, she's quite a talented singer, as she proved with her stirring rendition of The National Anthem.



2) The Half-Time Show

I had mixed feelings. Coldplay was good. I loved Bruno Mars. Beyonce underwhelmed me. Not because of any controversy about what she wore or how she danced, but just because every Beyonce performance feels the same now (to me, anyway).

3) The Commercials

As usual, Budweiser provided my favorite. But this year, it doesn't have Clydesdales or an adorable puppy? This year, I was captivated by the amazing Dame Helen Mirren.



Mountain Dew's "puppymonkeybaby" was creepy, disturbing, and not something I choose to inflict on you with an embedded video. You're welcome.

There were two other commercials that a lot of people seemed to love, but I found mildly disturbing. One is the "Super Bowl Babies." Children singing about the night their parents got jiggy with it... uh, gee, I'll pass. Also, the Doritos sonogram commercial. Anytime a baby starts fights its way out of the uterus to grab junk food, I think we've gone a bit to far. Again... that's just me.

But I will leave you with a commercial that made me want to search Google maps to discover the enchanted town of Ryanville.



How about you? Aside from the game itself (hope you liked the horsey team!) what did you enjoy most about the Super Bowl?


*********


JENNIFER ALLEE was born in Hollywood, California, and spent her first ten years living above a mortuary one block away from the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. Now she lives in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, which just goes to prove she’s been blessed with a unique life. When she’s not busy spinning tales, she enjoys playing games with friends, attending live theater and movies, and singing at the top of her lungs to whatever happens to be playing on the car radio. Although she’s thrilled to be living out her lifelong dream of being a novelist, she considers raising her son to be her greatest creative accomplishment. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Christian Authors Network. Her novels include The Pastor’s Wife, The Mother Road, A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, Last Family Standing, and Vinnie's Diner from Abingdon Press; Diamond in the Rough, Vanishing Act, and Curtain Call from Whitaker House and co-written with Lisa Karon Richardson; the novella Comfort and Joy in the Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Memories from Barbour; and A Worthy Suitor from Harlequin's Heartsong Presents.

Hey, Brown Betty!

I love my Brown Betty teapot! Brown Betties are known the world over as excellent for tea-brewing, thanks to their rounded shape (which allows tea leaves to swirl, creating a more even infusion) and their make-up of red clay (which retains heat well). They've been a staple in English homes since Victorian times, and as an icon to British people, they haven't changed since.

Brown Betties are a great price, too! This one is $23.99 on ebay.

Alas, mine isn't an authentic Brown Betty. While it's serviceable, cute, and a pretty shade of maroonish-red--rather than the typical brown--it's a knockoff...I had no idea until recently, when I learned the history of the Brown Betty.

My faux "Brown Betty" looks a bit like this one on Amazon. Not real, but it still makes a nice cuppa.

England's Midlands have been called "the Potteries" since the Middle Ages, since the resources used to make pottery occur in abundance here. Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, and Spode are some famous Staffordshire companies.

Tea drinking became popular in England before 1800, to the point where poorer folks purchased used tea leaves and/or tea leaves mixed with other, less savory, ingredients (including animal dung). While the upper-class served tea in bone china, regular people used clay tea pots.

Most of the time, these pots were intended to be used for a while before they inevitably broke, and then they could be easily replaced. But what became known as a Brown Betty teapot proved to be durable and superior for brewing, and many became heirlooms.

There is no single Brown Betty teapot; it's not a brand. Rather, a Brown Betty is a type of teapot, but they all bear certain things in common.

• The teapots must be crafted in Staffordshire, England, from the red clay discovered there around 1695.
• They are round in shape, although very early teapots from Staffordshire red clay looked more like coffee pots.
• The teapots are glazed with manganese, or Rockingham glaze. They are a soft lavender color until the second firing, when they turn their famous shade of brown (a little like Hershey's chocolate syrup).

A few companies still make Brown Betties, Adderley Ceramics Ltd. and Cauldon Ceramic Ltd. are just a few.

Is your teapot a Brown Betty? Whether it's Adderley, Cauldon, or from another manufacturer, it's easy to tell. Flip it over. On the bottom, there should be an unglazed ring of tell-tale red clay, and it should say "Made in England".

One more word on caring for your Brown Betty: don't put it in the microwave or on a hot stove. And to clean, just rinse well. That's one benefit of the classic brown glaze: it won't show tea stains!

***

Susanne Dietze will have a nice cuppa today and hopes you'll join her. Her Faux Betty is brewing a blend of tea called "Paris" which is Earl Grey infused with vanilla. Susanne is the author of four contracted novellas. You can visit her on her website at www.susannedietze.com.

Culture Shock

by Jennifer AlLee

I recently was one of several hosts to a visitor from Austria. Nina Horvath is the 2015 TAFF (Trans Atlantic Fan Fund) delegate. For those who don't know (like me, two years ago) TAFF was set up to fund the visit of someone involved in sci-fi fandom from one side of the Atlantic to the other. It alternates, so this was the year for someone from the other side of the pond to come to North America.

The Cupcake ATM -
I know they don't have those
in Austria!

As you would expect, there's a difference between living here and living there. What surprised me was how some of the most mundane things (to me) were amazing to Nina. Spray oil, for one. We were talking in the kitchen, and she noticed the collection of oils by the stove. Then she pointed, eyes wide, and said, "Is that oil in a can?" Apparently, they don't spray their oil in Austria.

Taking her to her first Vegas buffet was also fun. I quickly learned that she went straight to the seafood. She called it "luxury" because it's outrageously expensive in landlocked Austria. She also learned that while a food may look like something familiar (a rice filled sweet pepper) it can actually be something quite different (a roasted, and very hot, whole jalapeno pepper). We had a good laugh about that after the coughing and water slurping was over.

One of the things we love to do for for friends is barbecue, and now that we have a simple mister system on our patio, the summer heat is bearable. But Nina took one look at it and said, in a very good-natured way, "What a waste of water." I suppose she's right. In our defense, we have desert landscaping, so really, we use less water with the mister than we would if we were soaking plants.

It was fun taking Nina around and showing her some of the over-the-top bits of Vegas. Her expression upon walking into her first casino was priceless. But I discovered that one thing is universal, no matter where you live: cats. If a person loves cats in one country, they take that with them. One of her favorite things was a magic show which featured - you guessed it - big cats. She left us on Tuesday, and the first picture posted of her next stop in Canada was with the host's cat. I guess home is where the kitty is.



JENNIFER ALLEE was born in Hollywood, California, and spent her first ten years living above a mortuary one block away from the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. Now she lives in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, which just goes to prove she’s been blessed with a unique life. When she’s not busy spinning tales, she enjoys playing games with friends, attending live theater and movies, and singing at the top of her lungs to whatever happens to be playing on the car radio. Although she’s thrilled to be living out her lifelong dream of being a novelist, she considers raising her son to be her greatest creative accomplishment. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Christian Authors Network. Her novels include The Pastor’s Wife, The Mother Road, A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, Last Family Standing, and Vinnie's Diner from Abingdon Press; Diamond in the Rough, Vanishing Act, and Curtain Call from Whitaker House and co-written with Lisa Karon Richardson; the novella Comfort and Joy in the Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Memories from Barbour; and A Worthy Suitor from Harlequin's Heartsong Presents.

The Joys of Snail Mail

by Jennifer AlLee

It used to be that one of my favorite times of the day was when I'd check the mail. By check the mail, I don't mean sit at my PC and look at email. I mean walking out of the house, to the mailbox, and peering inside, hoping to find something addressed to me personally. Back in the days before every home had a computer, the mailbox was something of a mysterious portal. You never knew when you might get a correspondence from a friend, or a card, or even better, a package!

Checking the mail is not nearly as exciting now. Yet I still get a twinge of anticipation right before I pull the door open... what might be in there? Usually, it's junk mail and/or bills. But on rare occasions, I'll find a card, picked out by a friend just for me, and written by their own hand. That's pretty special.

I don't think I'm alone when it comes to these nostalgic feelings. A lot of us still enjoy physical mail, ripping open envelopes, and pulling out what's inside. Not that I don't appreciate eCards. Heck, I send those, too. And email. But there's nothing like the surprise and excitement of holding a paper card in your hand. So I've decided I need to send more cards. Birthdays and holidays are good times to do this, but what's even more fun is to send happy, encouraging notes to people for no reason other than the fact that you care about them.

Want to join me? Let's make it a challenge. Pick at least one friend and send him/her a card by the end of weekend (Sunday, July 11). Tell us how you did, and if what kind of response you got. Let's spread some joy around!



JENNIFER ALLEE was born in Hollywood, California, and spent her first ten years living above a mortuary one block away from the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. Now she lives in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, which just goes to prove she’s been blessed with a unique life. When she’s not busy spinning tales, she enjoys playing games with friends, attending live theater and movies, and singing at the top of her lungs to whatever happens to be playing on the car radio. Although she’s thrilled to be living out her lifelong dream of being a novelist, she considers raising her son to be her greatest creative accomplishment. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Christian Authors Network. Her novels include The Pastor’s Wife, The Mother Road, A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, Last Family Standing, and Vinnie's Diner from Abingdon Press; Diamond in the Rough, Vanishing Act, and Curtain Call from Whitaker House and co-written with Lisa Karon Richardson; the novella Comfort and Joy in the Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Memories from Barbour; and A Worthy Suitor from Harlequin's Heartsong Presents.

Mental Health Provided by Pinterest!

by Jennifer AlLee

At the end of last year, my mother got sick. Not "it's just a head cold" kind of sick, but seriously, "in need of 24 hour a day care" kind of sick. It started in October, and on December 28th, she went home to be with Jesus. Now, I know that's exactly where Mom went, and I know that she is having the time of her life. Me, on the other hand... well, it's been hard. Today, for example, I spent many hours dealing with financial issues directly related to her passing. Not fun.

BUT! That's not the point of this post. Believe it or not, by the time you get to the bottom of the screen, you will at least be smiling, and most likely, you'll be laughing out loud. Why? Because I'm going to share with you some of the random, goofy things I've found on Pinterest that have lifted my spirits after slipping into the dumps.

In case you can't read the little sign, it says, "Bill Posters is an innocent man!" This is like what happens in my head every time I hear someone shout, "Fire at will!" I think, "NO! What did Will ever do to you?"

It's an ear of CORN riding a UNICYLE... It's a UNICORN!  LOL 

Pop culture reference. Who gets it?

Finally, you can't go wrong with a wisecracking Minion!

Happy Wednesday to you :)

JENNIFER ALLEE was born in Hollywood, California, and spent her first ten years living above a mortuary one block away from the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. Now she lives in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, which just goes to prove she’s been blessed with a unique life. When she’s not busy spinning tales, she enjoys playing games with friends, attending live theater and movies, and singing at the top of her lungs to whatever happens to be playing on the car radio. Although she’s thrilled to be living out her lifelong dream of being a novelist, she considers raising her son to be her greatest creative accomplishment. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Christian Authors Network. Her novels include The Pastor’s Wife, The Mother Road, A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, Last Family Standing, and Vinnie's Diner from Abingdon Press; Diamond in the Rough, Vanishing Act, and Curtain Call from Whitaker House and co-written with Lisa Karon Richardson; the novella Comfort and Joy in the Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Memories from Barbour; and A Worthy Suitor from Harlequin's Heartsong Presents.

A prayer for 2015

Happy National Fluffernutter Day!

by Jennifer AlLee

Yes, today is National Fluffernutter Day. I've always loved that word, because it sounds so silly. But when I looked into the day, I found it has a bit of history to it.

During World War I, Emma and Amory Curtis of Melrose, Massachusetts, invented something called Snowflake Marshmallow Crème. They published a recipe for a peanut butter and marshmallow crème sandwich, which became the earliest known example of a Fluffernutter, although it wasn’t called that at the time.

In 1917, Archibald Query of Somerville, Massachusetts, invented Marshmallow Cream. (Apparently, marshmallows were big in Massachusetts.) He later sold the recipe to Durkee-Mower, Inc., who renamed the sweet spread Marshmallow Fluff. The term Fluffernutter was created in 1960 by an ad agency in an attempt to market the peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich.

The Fluffernutter is so revered in Massachusetts that a bill was initially approved in April of this year that would make it the state sandwich.

You may be wondering, how does one make a Fluffernutter? I'm glad you asked. You need three things: White bread, creamy peanut butter, and a jar of Marshmallow Fluff. Slather peanut butter on one slice of bread, Marshamllow Fluff on the other slice, then slap them together.

So today, think about the Fluffernutter, a humble, salty/sweet sandwich whose only goal is to delight the taste buds and bring a smile to the lips. Sandwiches like this make the world a better place.




JENNIFER ALLEE was born in Hollywood, California, and spent her first ten years living above a mortuary one block away from the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. Now she lives in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, which just goes to prove she’s been blessed with a unique life. When she’s not busy spinning tales, she enjoys playing games with friends, attending live theater and movies, and singing at the top of her lungs to whatever happens to be playing on the car radio. Although she’s thrilled to be living out her lifelong dream of being a novelist, she considers raising her son to be her greatest creative accomplishment. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Christian Authors Network, and the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. Her novels include The Pastor’s Wife, The Mother Road, A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, Last Family Standing, and the upcoming Vinnie's Diner (4/15) from Abingdon Press; Diamond in the Rough, Vanishing Act, and Curtain Call from Whitaker House and co-written with Lisa Karon Richardson; and the novella Comfort and Joy in the Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Memories from Barbour.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

A year ago (almost this week) hubby and I saw WICKED on Broadway. We bought the cast recording and listened to it over and over again during the drive from New York to Oklahoma. On the first listen, our kids were "huh?" By the time we reached home, they were begging to see the musical. They did. In OKC a couple months later. In June we took them to see it again in Tulsa. We are WICKED fanatics.

I keep waiting for someone to ask, "But did you read the book?" Umm, no, but my oldest daughter has. "Have you read the original, the one that stated it all?" Umm, well, I read the first four chapters when I was writing my next Heartsong release, THE MARSHAL'S PURSUIT.

Last month I put other things aside and finally read L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (written in 1900). Don't think you know the story. Read it.

  

AN INVITATION TO LEAVE THE KNOWN

As she travels to Oz, Dorothy meets three others who are also desperate to find the "one thing" they think they need so very badly. 

"Did you speak?" asked the girl, in wonder.

"Certainly," answered the Scarecrow. "How do you do?"

"I'm pretty well, thank you," replied Dorothy politely. "How do you do?"

"I'm not feeling well," said the Scarecrow, with a smile, "for it is very tedious being perched up here night and day to scare away crows."

"Can't you get down?" asked Dorothy.

"No, for this pole is stuck up my back. If you will please take away the pole I shall be greatly obliged to you."

Dorothy reached up both arms and lifted the figure off the pole, for, being stuffed with straw, it was quite light.

After Dorothy attended to the Scarecrow's external bondage, she invited him on her journey to the person who had the answer to his internal need. She did the same with the Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. Each had the choice to accept Dorothy's offer of a the possibility of a better life, or to reject it. 

THE JOURNEY IS NOT EASY.

A friend once said to me: "I think I'm just feeling out of sorts, out of control. Things are not peaceful in my heart or my soul right now. I think God wants to work something in me, and I need to allow Him to, but it has been difficult. When the Bible calls it refiner's FIRE, it isn't whistling dixie."

The refiner's fire is hot and unpleasant. Forget going home to Kansas if it means enduring poppy fields, wicked witches, winged monkeys, fighting trees, hammer-heads, or giant spiders. Put me back on that pole. Yes, it scratched, but I was used to it. I knew what to expect. Hide my oil can. Doesn't help my complexion anyway. Let me posture in denial of my fears. Being a scardy cat keeps me out of the ER. Because even though I survived this calamity, I know--I KNOW--something bad will happen again.

Get me off this yellow brick road, Lord. I am tired of running this race. I am tired of fighting the good fight.

In Strong Women, Soft Hearts, Paula Rinehart puts it this way: "People often complain of such things during the season of life--like someone drilled a hole through their souls. While everything looks the same on the outside, they feel hollow and restless, bored in ways that make no sense."

"But that isn't right. The King of Beasts shouldn't be a coward," said the Scarecrow.

I know it," returned the Lion, wiping a tear from his eye with the tip of his tail. "It is my great sorrow, and makes my life very unhappy. But whenever there is danger, my heart begins to beat fast."

"Perhaps you have heart disease," said the Tin Woodman.

"It may be," said the Lion.

"If you have," continued the Tin Woodman, "you ought to be glad, for it proves you have a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I cannot have heart disease."

"Perhaps," said the Lion thoughtfully, "if I had no heart I should not be a coward."

"Have you brains?" asked the Scarecrow.

"I suppose so. I've never looked to see," replied the Lion.

"I am going to the Great Oz to ask him to give me some," remarked the Scarecrow, "for my head is stuffed with straw."

"And I am going to ask him to give me a heart," said the Woodman.

"And I am going to ask him to send Toto and me back to Kansas," added Dorothy.

"Do you think Oz could give me courage?" asked the Cowardly Lion.

"Just as easily as he could give me brains," said the Scarecrow.

"Or give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman.

"Or send me back to Kansas," said Dorothy.

"Then, if you don't mind, I'll go with you," said the Lion, "for my life is simply unbearable without a bit of courage."

"You will be very welcome," answered Dorothy, "for you will help to keep away the other wild beasts. It seems to me they must be more cowardly than you are if they allow you to scare them so easily."

"They really are," said the Lion, "but that doesn't make me any braver, and as long as I know myself to be a coward I shall be unhappy."

Some of us need to reclaim our bodies, others need to reclaim their minds, and many more need to reclaim their hearts so that they may really live. In their book Sacred Romance, Brent Curtis and John Eldredge share: 

"In the end, it doesn't matter how well we have performed or what we have accomplished--a life without heart is not worth living. For out of this wellspring of our soul flow all true caring and all meaningful work, all real worship and all sacrifice."

God does not desire any of us to live in any form of bondage.

Jesus said, "The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give [you] a rich and satisfying life."

"Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good....Listen, that you may live." Isaiah 55:2, 3 (NAS)

I love how Rinehart writes, "What God asks of us is both simpler and more profound than adherence to a system of beliefs or following a set of rules. He asks us to walk in an honest pilgrimage where we let Him show us what real strength, and real love, are all about." That's one yellow brick road I want to travel. 

Dorothy stood up and found she was in her stocking-feet. For the Silver Shoes had fallen off in her flight through the air, and were lost forever in the desert.

Aunt Em had just come out of the house to water the cabbages when she looked up and saw Dorothy running toward her.

"My darling child!" she cried, folding the little girl in her arms and covering her face with kisses. "Where in the world did you come from?"

Well, Aunt Em, I was on this awful, amazing, scary hard adventure to find a way back home. Along the way I met some friends who, like me, decided we were tired of the life we had and knew we wanted to really live, so we followed a golden path to Someone who showed us how to reclaim our minds, hearts, bodies, and find our way home. 

I don't know what holds you in bondage, but I want you to know that you are not alone. A trained professional can be reached here or here or here.

Serious Question of the Day: Is there any one area of your life where you feel God is stirring in your heart to move you out of the stands and onto the playing field?

Non-Serious Question of the Day: Which character in The Wizard of Oz do you most relate to.