End of the World Party!

Welcome to our

End of the World Party

By Gina Welborn

You’re here!!! Finally!!! Come on in!!!!

Pardon my yelling but the pounding stereo system is blaring Kei$sha’s “We’re Gonna Die Young,” which is totally heathen music yet fitting for our End of the World Party. And yes the party has started. Dina arrived first so she could ensure our smoke machine was working properly. Or so she said.

Let’s make the most of the night ‘cause we’re gonna die young!

She convinced our baristas to join her on the dance floor until our sister Inkies arrive. Nice outfit! DeAnna’s over there in her jeans, tennis shoes and comfy shirt. Jen is wearing her extraordinarily comfortable pajama pants and huge Disneyland sweatshirt. Susanne chose her favorite black silk halter and white pants, while Barb impresses us all with her sparkly black and white top and black pencil skirt. I’m sure she’ll ditch the heels in another hour or so. Despite the warmth of the room, Niki is the crazy lady in leggings, boots, and a big cozy sweater. You must look at Deb’s new earrings. She bought them for the party. They’re a bit bold for jeans and a sweatshirt, but that’s Deb—vivacious.

Like my little black dress? I know it’s a bit daring, but I figured since Dina was going with something purple and sassy, I’d go as daring as I can. Plus, these are my Lucky shoes. They make me almost as tall as Dina.

Feel free to sit anywhere, or join the dancers. Oooh, the song is ending and the next one is—

I got a pocket, got a pocket full of sunshine, I got a love and I know that is all mine, oh oh oh oh . . .

Rather cheerful song amid looming catastrophe, eh? Take me away. Go on and join the Inkies out dancing with half our serving staff. Here comes, Jim with our drinks….

“Ladies, here is your orders of iced tea, chocolate shake, cherry Coca-Cola, Root Beer float,foofy mocktail, bottles of merlot, barefoot red moscato, and roscato wines, and someone’s foofy mocktail and a ‘Sweet Jane’ tea. I brought extras for you to share.”

Yum. Thank you, Jim. Er, for the drinks.

“Nathan, Orlando, Colin and Hugh will be arriving shortly with your food.”

Pardon me while I watch Jim walk away. He has a tendency to stumble, so I ought to keep an eye out for him. So far so good. Oh, look, the Inkies are inviting him to join them on the dance floor. They’re so sweet and sociable. Don’t want anyone to feel unwelcome. Ahh, new song. Perfect timing.

Woah-oh-oh-oh, it's always a good time, woah-oh-oh-oh, it's always a good time…

I love singing loudly with Owl City and Carly Rae! And it leads me into my Thought for the Day.

Today is a good day to die.

Or so Lieutenant Worf would oft say on Star Trek: The Next Generation. While I like Worf, I’m more of a Dr. House-kinda person with an “Everybody dies” theology. Well, that and “everybody lies.” Blame my cynicism. Hugh’s not serving us food (that’s a different Hugh), but I invited him to our party anyway. Can’t have too many handsome men in the room.

When my younger sister said they were having an End of the World Party at her work (fittingly at a hospital), I thought, “oooh, the Inkies ought to have one too. After all, today is a good day to die.”

Umm, no. Let’s face it—who really wants to die? How many Christians do you know have a “To live is Christ, to die is gain” mentality? More on that later, here come the guys with our food.

“I have . . . rare prime rib, sweet potato with lots of butter, crusty rolls, and red velvet cake. Steak and lobster from Outback. Did you know they have the BEST drawn butter?”

Yes, Colin, so DeAnna says. Mmmm...

“Ladies, let me share shrimp scampi, loaded baked potato, more potatoes baked with cream and gruyere, a salad with a lot of fattening blue cheese dressing, chocolate lava cake. And filet Mignon, cheesecake, and more chocolate.”

Most certainly share, Hugh. And did you bring me the fork I requested? Since I'm just going to sample what my Inky sisters ordered.

"Yes, ma'am. Here's your fork."

“Let us not forget pizza and chocolate, and all the donuts, cakes, pies, and pastries you ladies could possibly want."

No, Nathan, let us not. And, Orlando, what are you bestowing?


  “A few books for my favorite ladies. Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand. Margery Allingham's Albert Campion series. The new Laura Franz book. The Lovely Bones, which Dina promised her daughter she would read. I am sorry to say I could not procure an unreleased copy ofthe latest in Diana Gabaldon Outlander series. Perhaps if we all read this edifying book Susanne requested, then the imminent destruction of the world would not occur.”


Oh. Well, that is a thought. Thank you, gentlemen. Please enjoy the dancing. Oh, listen. They started a new song, that one by Of Monsters and Men. My middle child loves that song. Dina, turn it up!!!

Don’t listen to a word I say. Hey! The screams all sound the same. Hey!

Actually, do listen for a moment longer.

A couple years ago, a preacher in the New England area was preaching THE WORLD WILL END in March or May of the following year (2011). I really can't remember which. Some of our friends were petrified. They kept asking us if we thought the world would end. Nope. But if it did, wahoo! I'm ready for eternity with the new heaven and a new earth.

But not everyone—even Christians—have a true longing for eternity.

What it comes down to is a fear of death. Why do people fear death? Why do Christians fear death? Should we? Should you? Do you?

Each time there is a World is going to End moment, Followers of Jesus have opportunity to let the peace lives in us shine for others to see.

I don't like being a person of fear.

Lately I've been thinking about how many adventures in life I've missed because I've been too fearful. I hated skiing because I feared hitting a tree and dying. Who was going to take care of my kids? Or falling and breaking my leg. How can I take care of my kids with a broken leg? I can’t go on the mission trip to ____. Who will take care of my kids if something happens to me? See a pattern?

So now that I’ve realized how unadventurous I’ve been, I’ve decided to make a Bucket List of things I’d like to do, especially ones that make me have to tackle fears. Such as bridges. Obviously I’m going to start with the free or cheap adventures.

Adventuresome is the word I feel God telling me is my word for 2013 and beyond.

Baring today’s natural destruction, of course.

Being adventuresome doesn't mean I'm going to do something stupid. Or risk death and dismemberment.

Scripture clearly says God does not give us a spirit of fear, so no matter how big or small, real or unrealistic my fears are, they aren't from God. They aren't what God wants to control me. Doesn't mean I have to touch a spider, but it does me I shouldn't have a freak out moment when I see one.

When I asked my Inky sisters what they’d like to do on their last day alive, they answered:

Go horseback riding in the mountains. Go to Disneyland or Disneyworld. Hug my husband and kids.
Gather family together, watch old home movies, look at picture albums and reminisce. Jet off to a Highland castle. Mountain hiking or a beach day with my family. Something to really enjoy the beautiful earth. Something exhilarating, like riding roller coasters. And lots of dancing. Kiss the man I love until the world ends.

Some of those things we can’t do. Many of them we can.

Whether the world ends today or not, what type of person will people say you are?

A person controlled by her fears.
Adventuresome because she is free indeed.

What type of person do you see yourself as? Are you good with that? If you aren't, then what are you willing to do to change?

As if on cue, a new song is playing.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller…

"Would you care to dance?"


Why yes, Jonny Lee, yes I would. But I think Deb would like to share a dance first. I'll go dance with our faux wallflower barista before he drinks the rest of Susanne's tea.


QUESTION OF THE DAY:: Author Robin Lee Hatcher often shares about asking God to give her a word for the year. Brave. Prayerful. Patient. What word do you feel God has been speaking into your life lately?

Leave a comment for a drawing of DeAnna’s Letters in the Attic, The Key in the Attic, or In Honor Bound.

Should the world not end today, join us tomorrow for our We Survived the End of the World Party. Jennifer is giving away a copy of one of her books. I'll also be sharing a list of Christian fiction books that literally changed readers lives.
~*~

RWA-Faith, Hope & Love Chapter President-elect, GINA WELBORN has currently has changed her Level 4 brown hair to Level 7 blonde. She's still debating if she likes it. For those of you who are far more interested in what Gina writes than in her hair-color dilemma (gray hair causes one to take drastic measures), her first Barbour novella, Sugarplum Hearts, released in February 2012 in HIGHLAND CROSSINGS. Her second novella, All Ye Faithful, in A CASCADES CHRISTMAS is out now, with her third novella releasing fall 2013. Gina resides in a wee little town outside a larger (but not large) town in Oklahoma. Thanks to her pastor-husband's ability to spray a fabulous chemical called Demon, her children don't get to enjoy raising hunter spiders, grasshoppers, and crickets. While they are (mostly) saddened, Gina is delighted. 

Christmas All Year Long

My Best Christmas Gift

By Anne Greene

 

Christians enjoy Christmas all year round. There’s a Christmas wedding planned at the end of A Texas Christmas Mystery. If you can tell me when Derrick fell in love with Amber, Gina will enter your name in a contest to win a free, autographed copy of my Scottish historical, Masquerade Marriage.

Christmas is a special time of year when we shop for gifts to give loved ones and many times gifts to give those not as fortunate as we are. I opened the absolute best gift of my life a few years back when I was twenty-one.

My family didn’t attend church—not even on Christmas Eve. I grew up with no religious instruction at all, but with an empty heart seeking God. I didn’t know about Vacation Bible School or Sunday School or Bible Camp, or any event that Churches use to reach children and young people. My Dad was an atheist.

But I had a deep yearning in my heart as God’s Holy Spirit drew me to Himself. Still, it took a move from Ohio to San Diego, California, before I met the Savior.

My new husband and I found an apartment in an older residential neighborhood, and as we drove around to see what surrounded us, I experienced an uncanny desire to attend a small, pink stucco building with Scott Memorial Church posted out front. The nondescript place didn’t look like a church, and the building had no drive-up appeal. Yet I was deeply drawn to it. 
 
So, on Sunday morning we walked up the eight steps and through the wooden door. The interior was small and probably held only about three or four hundred people. But most of those already seated in the pews were young, about our age. The pastor, Tim LaHaye, was dark-haired and charismatic. He spoke about the second coming of Christ.

I’d barely heard about the first coming of Christ. Yet, my heart told me this man spoke truth. Perhaps the only absolute truth I’d ever heard. When he gave the altar call to accept Jesus as my very own personal Savior, I sat in that pew and invited Jesus into my life. When I opened my eyes, the world was new. It was as if I was alive for the first time in my life. My heart was no longer empty. I was a new creation in Christ. That day began a journey with Christmas and God’s great gift of His Son as the center of my life. Jesus is a gift to keep unwrapping and finding more and more treasures inside.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:: When did you become a Believer? What is the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

~*~

ANNE GREENE delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. Her second novel, a Scottish historical, Masquerade Marriage, won numerous writing awards. The sequel Marriage By Arrangement will soon release. A Texas Christmas Mystery also won awards. In 2014 her World War II novel, Angel With Steel Wings, about WASPs, women test pilots will release. She makes her home in McKinney, Texas. Tim LaHaye led her to the Lord when she was twenty-one and Chuck Swindoll is her Pastor. In 1990, Anne graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Literary Studies from the University of Texas.

View Anne’s other books, her blog, Addicted to Excellence, extensive travel pictures, and art work at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com. Anne loves to speak to book clubs, libraries, and conferences. Her love of sailing, horseback riding, history, and art, as well as her Citizens Plano Policy Academy training, and military life sometime figure in her books. She’s never too busy to talk with her fans.
Her highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to an awesome new world and touch hearts to seek a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus.

A TEXAS CHRISTMAS MYSTERY
A lady Coastguardsman searches for a killer. An oil rig troubleshooter accused of murder races to clear his name. The murderer strives to silence them both.

As Amber seeks to arrest Derrick, sparks fly.

Amber Meredith needs to solve her first case. But the handsome Cajun suspect makes her heart race and her toes tingle.

Derrick Darbonne worked all his life for his high-paying, adventurous job. When his past threatens his future, will he endanger the woman he loves?

Enjoy a Southern Fried Christmas this year!

by Niki Turner

I am elated to introduce my real-life friend Marian Merritt to all of you here at Inkwell Inspirations to celebrate her debut novella, Southern Fried Christmas.

When I first started writing again after almost 20 years of child-rearing and full-time ministry, I joined ACFW. To my utter amazement, the regional director emailed me and let me know there was another ACFW member in the tiny community where we were living (pop. 2,500, on a good day). I'd never met another writer, and to meet one who was writing in the same genres as myself was incredibly exciting. (I still haven't had the opportunity to meet any of my Inky sisters in real life yet!)

Marian was gracious, kind, and encouraging. She helped me critique my first finished manuscript, and endured my sophomoric efforts to critique the story she was working on at the time. Work and ministry obligations didn't permit us to spend a lot of time together, but to this day I treasure the conversations and emails we've shared. And so, without further ado, may I introduce debut author Marian Merritt.

Marian, please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background...

I’m a wife, mother, and grandmother. I like to say I’m an ordinary woman who serves an extraordinary God because I do. I grew up in a very rural town on the bayou in south Louisiana. That’s where I developed my insatiable appetite for books. We lived at the “end of the world” so reading became my passport to new and exciting worlds and people. 

As a child, books did so much for me and I knew from those early years of sitting on my grandparent’s front porch swing reading that I wanted to become a writer. I would love to provide the same passport to someone else. I work as-needed as a physical therapist, but dedicate most of my time to writing. I currently write from the home I share with my husband and Labradoodle in Northwest Colorado.

How long have you been writing? "They" (whoever "they" are) say the journey from beginning to write seriously to publication averages ten years. What has your journey been like? Steady, or lots of ups and downs and starts and stops?

Seriously writing, 2003. We’d moved to a new town and my daughter was starting junior high school. I decided to forgo getting a job and be home during those difficult junior high years. Not one to handle sitting home doing nothing, I decided to finally pursue my dream. Although I knew I wanted to write, I didn’t have a defined direction. 

I had started going to church again after a long absence and prayed for direction. My father-in-law had given me a box of books that he’d purchased at a thrift store. I read through them in a short time. The last book in the box was A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers—the first book in the Mark of the Lion series. I’d never read Christian fiction before and I didn’t think I’d like historical fiction, but I didn’t have anything else to read so I started reading it. I couldn’t get interested. It was two weeks and three attempts before I finally got into the book. After that, I couldn’t put it down. I finished the book in one night and raced to the bookstore as soon as they opened to buy the next two books of the series. 

It was after reading those books that I knew what God was calling me to do with writing. He used those books at a time in my life when my heart was open to his calling. Again timing. His perfect timing. There have been many starts and stops. 

We have moved many times since 2003 and I have worn many wage earner hats. Mostly, working as a physical therapist and an environmental technician. But regardless of what I did to earn a wage, writing remained the passion of my heart. Actually, getting Southern Fried Christmas published, I believe, was God’s "welcome gift" for coming back to his calling after five years of not writing. It was a long drought.

For someone who is just setting pen to paper with the goal toward publication, what advice would you offer them? What would you have done differently, if anything?

The best advice I can give was the best advice I got.

Write.

Finish the first draft.

And learn the craft.

I wish I had followed the second bit of advice for my first novel. It took me three years to finish the novel because I got so caught up in editing and polishing. As I learned something new I stopped writing to apply it to what I’d previously written. Apply when you finish the whole novel.

I love National Novel Writing Month because it encourages writers to write even if it’s not pretty. You can fix it later. But you can’t fix words that are not on the page.

God also gave me some good advice one morning. “I can’t write through you, unless you write.”

Southern Fried Christmas is not your first completed manuscript. In fact, one of your stories was a Genesis winner. Will you go back to those stories?

Yes, I was blessed to be awarded first place in Women’s Fiction in ACFW's 2006 Genesis contest. Currently, I have three completed women’s fiction manuscripts and have a few stories that are in various stages of completion. My plans are to go back and do heavy revisions on the three completed manuscripts and market them as a series. But I’m also moving forward with other story ideas. My plans are to write a Cajun Christmas story every year. I love that self-publishing is an option for writers and have been praying about that possibility.

A Louisiana swamp (www.pdphoto.org)

Setting plays a big role in your stories, almost like an additional character. How do you "flesh out" your setting to make it come alive for the reader? 

The setting is usually the first thing I envision. I close my eyes and see the scene then actively go through each of the senses. What would I smell? Feel? Hear? Taste? (That’s a big deal in the south!) What emotions are awakened because of those senses? Then I transfer that to my characters. When I can visualize my characters in a setting and capture those senses through them, I know I’ve got what I’m looking for. My desire is for someone who has never been to south Louisiana to feel as though they’ve been there after reading one of my books.

I love that your characters demonstrate their faith in God without being "preachy." In your opinion, should Christian fiction aim more toward evangelizing the lost or edifying believers? Or does it just depend on the story? 

I believe it’s possible to do both. If we’re SHOWING a character working on BEING a Christian or struggling to be a Christian or struggling because they’re not a Christian, then we make them real. Through making our characters real, it’s possible to touch both the hearts of Christians as well as non-believers. It’s in touching our reader’s hearts that we make God-ordained connections. You can’t do that being preachy. I don’t like being preached to and I hope that God would open my eyes if there are places in my stories that do that.

How long did it take you to write Southern Fried Christmas? Were you focusing on a particular publisher/request, or just had to tell this story?

I wrote SFC more than five years ago. A dear critique partner and published author suggested a Christmas compilation proposal for the publisher that she wrote for. I wrote the first three chapters for the proposal and just kept going. I wanted to write a story about South Louisiana that showcased the generous and caring nature of the Cajun culture. 

It’s changed a little from that initial story, but not a whole lot. It was rejected by that publisher and as all things in God’s timing it has re-emerged at this time of my writing career. This short story has shown me much more about how God works than about how publishing works! 

When I first started writing, publication was the destination. But as life unfolded and I allowed God to guide my writing, publication became less of the goal. It became solely about being obedient. As in all areas of our life, obedience is what God wants from us. And that can be difficult when you see writers who haven’t labored as long or what appears to be as hard as you get publishing contracts. Or writers who don’t follow the rules being rewarded. 

Somehow this writing bug brings out the childlike behavior in many of us. But God calls each of us to obedience in different ways. He may be calling them to break those rules for a reason. God’s timing for them is different than His timing for you. 

I’m sure when Francine Rivers wrote the Mark of the Lion series she never imagined that God would use those books to call someone to write for Him. But that’s what God used to bring me here. 

As writers it’s important to remember, it’s about writing the stories God calls us as individuals to write. That’s what makes this writing journey and the tormented souls who are destined to travel it, so blessed. It’s not a cookie-cutter, follow the recipe, and your book will be a bestseller world. And I’m grateful God has called me here. At this time. For His reasons.

Wise and encouraging words, as always! Thank you for taking the time to visit with us today, Marian!

Southern Fried Christmas is available as an e-book at Pelican Book Group, at Barnes and Noble for the NOOK e-reader, and at Amazon. A perfect virtual stocking stuffer or long-distance gift!

Love: purer than Colorado snow, deeper than a Louisiana bayou.

The Colorado Rockies have always been home to journalist Kelly Shepherd, but after the death of her father, and facing her first Christmas alone, she accepts an assignment that leads her deep into Louisiana’s Cajun country.

Since his wife’s death, Denny Labouve has focused his attention on his ten-year-old daughter and the family business, but Kelly sparks the dying embers of his heart even as a Christmas cold front moves through his beloved Cajun country.

Will Denny and Kelly be able to trust God to bridge the span between the Colorado Rockies and the Louisiana bayou?

The Tradition of Christmas Cards

by Suzie Johnson

I feel safe saying that most of the Inkies and friends of the Inkies are huge Queen Victoria fans. I'm fairly certain most of you also know Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, are responsible for most of our Christmas traditions. For those of you out there like me - I didn't know it either, but it's true. Trust me.

Both Victoria's husband and mother were German. And so, years before it became popular, the royal family had trees brought inside during Christmas. But it wasn't until an engraving of the royal family with their Christmas tree was publicized in 1848 that the German tradition became a world-wide phenomenon.

Candles, decorations and gifts soon followed the Christmas tree as popular traditions. Benevolence; giving to the poor and helping others also became popularized by Albert and Victoria.

Earlier another German tradition, exchanging Christmas cards, was encouraged by Albert and became slowly popularized after a postal service improvement known as the Penny Post, a less expensive way to send missives. Queen Victoria was the first member of the royal family to send out Christmas cards, with the first being sent in 1842.

The first commercially printed card was designed in 1843 by John Calcott Horsely. Due to the high cost of producing the cards, usually only those in the middle and upper classes could purchase cards and send them out. But the idea of Christmas cards was a popular one, and homemade cards were less expensive and much more fun. Even Albert and Victoria encouraged their children to make Christmas cards.

As a child, I loved Christmas cards. Watching for the mailman, running to the mailbox and pulling down the door were as much a tradition for me as sitting with all the cards, trying to read the handwriting and studying each and every school picture I found tucked inside. I didn't know who most of those children in the pictures were, but they sure sparked my imagination.

My favorite cards were from my grandmother, who always remembered to put two sticks of fruit striped gum in the envelope - one for me and one for my sister.

Sadly, the tradition of printed cards seems to be dwindling due to the popularity of e-cards. E-cards are cute, and fun, and some of them are absolute works of art. But sometimes I'm saddened by the ever fading Christmas cards. Like many women today, finding time for writing notes and addressing the cards is hard, if not impossible, for me.

I miss those handwritten notes on the inside, glittery Victorian scenes on the front, and school pictures that fall onto the table when the cards are opened.

Do you still send out Christmas cards? Do you send e-cards, printed cards, or newsletters?

Suzie Johnson’s debut novel, No Substitute, a contemporary inspirational novel, is out now from White Rose Press of The Pelican Book Group. She is a regular contributor to the Inkwell Inspirations blog, a member of ACFW, RWA, and is the cancer registrar at her local hospital. Suzie and her husband are the parents of a wonderful grown son who makes them proud every day – even though he lives way too far away. Suzie and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest with their naughty little cat on an island that is definitely not tropical. You can visit her at: http://www.susandianejohnson.com

Sources:
BBC Berkshire: Queen Victoria Popularised Our Christmas Traditions by Emily Midgley, 12/15/2010
BBC Too: Make Your Own Victorian Christmas
Queen Victoria, A Biographical Companion by Helen Rappaport, 2003