Love this song.
"Freedom Is Here" - Esterlyn
Blessings,
Monday, January 30, 2012
Freedom Is Here
Don't you wanna sing it too? "Sing it out, sing it out...Freeeeedommmmmmmm Is Heeeeere!!!!"
Love this song.
"Freedom Is Here" - Esterlyn
Blessings,
Love this song.
"Freedom Is Here" - Esterlyn
Blessings,
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Review of Alienation
But there are some that will stop at nothing less to kill Colt McAlister. Dangerous, seemingly random acts against Colt are rapidly being carried out, but who is responsible behind it all? Meanwhile, Colt and his friends are recruited to become C.H.A.O.S. agent trainees, and Colt makes some shocking discoveries about himself and his friends.
Can he trust anyone anymore? And is he really the one chosen to stop the alien invasion?
I love the fast-paced storyline. This book carries smoothly from the last book, and the characters are as original as ever. The whole idea of C.H.A.O.S. and the alien invasion is pretty unique, and what's even more unique is that it's based on the life of David! I didn't know this until I was told, but I saw some of the similarities when I read. I'm glad that the author keeps the story original while still being able to incorporate some parallels from David's life. I'd have to say my favorite character is Danielle. She's very intelligent and loyal, and her computer know-how is a great addition to the story. The dynamics between Colt, Oz, and Danielle is excellent. They are the ideal team. Oz with his strength and alien-know-how, Danielle with her computer skills, and Colt as the strong, likable leader. Some things that I felt improved from the last book was dialogue with Colt's grandfather and more faith. We get to know Colt's grandfather better, especially in a scene where Colt is given a special medallion that meant much to his grandfather. Also, we see more of their Christian faith in this book. It's not preachy, but it's there and affects their decisions to do right. I liked that.
All in all, I rate this book five out of five stars.
Specifics (from amazon.com):
~Hardcover: 288 pages
~Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 3, 2012)
Note: Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes.
EXTRAS!
About the Author:
Jon S. Lewis is the coauthor of the Grey Griffins trilogy (over 500,000 books in print) and the upcoming Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles. He also writes for the DC COMICS family of publishers. He resides with his family in Arizona.
For more about Jon and the series, visit www.chaosnovels.com.
~*~
The invasion was only the beginning! Jon Lewis is celebrating the next
adventure in his fast-paced C.H.A.O.S. series with an explosive giveaway!
One thrill-seeker will receive:
- iPad2 with Wi-Fi
- Copies of the C.H.A.O.S. novels, Invasion and Alienation
ends at noon on February 7th. Winner will be announced at the Alienation Facebook Party
on 2/7. Jon will be hosting an Author Chat, giving away copies of the books and
gift certificates to iTunes and Amazon.com! Don't miss a second of the intrigue!
Grab your copy of Alienation and join Jon on the evening of February 7th for an
author chat, spy training (How much do you know about alien invaders?) and lots of
giveaways.
via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of
winning. Hope to see you on the 31st!
Blessings,
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Review of Chasing Mona Lisa
Yet she has eluded him still with the help of one determined protector who will not allow her to be kidnapped by the enemy. Yet the Nazis are becoming closer and closer to discovering her location. Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler, Swiss OSS agents, must race against time to get to the Mona Lisa before it falls into German hands.
This book was fast-paced, and it was obvious that the authors had done extensive historical research. The characters are clear, and I felt as if I were watching, not reading, a historical show or movie. The details are that clear. The characters were all determined and dedicated, and the last part of the book is really intriguing to readers to see how everything resolves in the end. It was nice to get a glimpse into WW2.
I picked up this book expecting the best. Tricia Goyer is a great author, the book is historical, it's a race for the Mona Lisa... who wouldn't be intrigued? That said, I'm sad to say that I never really got to like any of the characters. There wasn't a buildup of sympathy or really getting to know the characters. Perhaps it is because this book is the sequel to a book titled The Swiss Courier, but I had to dig around to find that out. Fast-paced is a great thing, but not when it sacrifices the characters. I really had a hard time getting into the book, and it didn't become a "must-finish" until the very end. Also, there are some elements that would not be appropriate for young readers.
All in all, I rate this book three out of five.
Specifics:
~Paperback: 325 pages
~Publisher: Revell (January 1, 2012)
Note: Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes.
Blessings,
Friday, January 13, 2012
Which Jane Austen Character Are You?
Take the Jane Austen Character Quiz here!
I've seen this quiz around, but I never really took it... I just skimmed over the questions.
Now that I've got my results, I must read that book again... :)
Blessings,
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Beautiful Love
I have no idea why I like this song so much, but I have since I first heard it about four years ago. Christian band, but it's a love song. I just found the music video today. The video itself is okay, but I just like to shut my eyes, listen, and smile.
Beautiful Love - "The Afters"
Far away, I feel your beating heart
All alone, beneath the crystal stars
Staring into space, what a lonely face
I'll try to find my place with you
[chorus]
What a beautiful smile
Can I stay for awhile?
On this beautiful night
We'll make everything right
My beautiful love, my beautiful love
Larger than the moon, my love for you
Worlds collide as heaven pulls us through
The secret of the world is written in the stars
I'm carrying your heart in mine
[chorus]
What a beautiful smile
Can I stay for awhile?
On this beautiful night
We'll make everything right
My beautiful love
Maybe a greater thing will happen
Maybe all will see
Maybe our love will catch like fire
As it burns through me
[3x]
[chorus]
What a beautiful smile
Can I stay for awhile?
On this beautiful night
We'll make everything right
[2x]
My beautiful love
La la la la love
La la la la love
My beautiful
La la la la love
La la la la love
My beautiful love
Blessings,
P.S. Sorry for the lack of posts! I've been super busy. Happy New Year!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Review of Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks
I mean, how else do you deal with the trouble of cliques, hicks, and ugly sticks?
This book is perfectly imagine-able. Allow me to explain. Ever read a book, and all you "see" are the words? Either the book leaves nothing to the imagination or has too sparse details to allow the reader to picture what is going on. Well, this book doesn't have those problems. It's perfectly set in the time period but understandable enough that young readers can see April Grace's world. In fact, with the exception of a few references to items from the 1980s and absence of new items now, I wouldn't be able to place this book as taking place about thirty years ago!
The characters are all unique and as loveable as in the first book. It carries smoothly, but readers won't have trouble picking this book up without reading the first book. Isabel becomes more understandable and (is it even possible?) nicer in this book, and it was neat to see Isabel and April Grace begin to develop a friendship.
I love how this book deals in its own way with things tween girls nowadays still may have to experience. For example, as the story progresses, April Grace discovers that she will no longer be the baby of the family, and she has to struggle with mixed feelings about the baby and her parents' love for her. However, when her mother becomes very ill due to the pregnancy, April Grace really steps up to act mature and sacrifice of herself to help her mother as much as she can. Also, she has to deal with a new clique at her school lead by Lottie, who used to be her friend but seems to have changed over the summer. Things heat up when Lottie gets jealous over a boy at school liking April Grace, when all April Grace would rather do is take an ugly stick to him. April Grace's humor is still very apparent of this book, and her character carries the storyline beautifully. I believe girls middle school and even older will love and be able to relate to her.
To be honest, though, the book did seem to move slower in some parts. I still was engaged and read to the end, but it seemed like the first book wasn't as slow.
Great themes, perfect for the target age group. All in all, I rate this book four out of five stars.
Specifics (from amazon.com)
~ Paperback: 288 pages
~ Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 6, 2011)
Note: Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book for reviewing purposes.
Blessings,
Sunday, December 25, 2011
12 Pearls of Christmas- Day Twelve
Merry Christmas from all of us at Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoyed these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you missed a few posts, I hope you'll be able go back through and read them on this blog over the next few days. If you'd like to keep up with Pearl Girls and our new book project, Mother of Pearl, coming this spring, just click this link and sign up for our newsletter (lower left sidebar).
Also, just a reminder that today is the last day for the pearl necklace and earrings giveaway! Enter now by filling out this {form}. The winner will on 1/1 at the Pearl Girls blog.
If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
***
Jesus -- The Reason For the SeasonBy: Rachel Hauck
Through the narrow scope of 2000 years, Mary, the mother of Jesus, appears to be one lucky woman. Chosen by God to give birth to His son, the Savior of the world? All right, Mary, way to go.
“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you,” Gabriel said.
How many of us would like a declaration like that? Highly favored. The Lord is with you. But Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
The angel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Mary’s seems confident and resolved when she responds, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”
She’d just been told the Holy Spirit will come upon her, that God’s power will overshadow her, that she’d become with child even though she wasn’t married, and she said, “I’m the Lord’s servant. Let your words be true.”
I find this amazing! A young woman. Ancient Bethlehem. Unwed mother. They stoned women for such things in her day. But Mary believed in God. And submitted to His will. He gave her the Holy Spirit – the same Holy Spirit given to us. If He gave her confidence, He will give us confidence. Even though, like Mary, our situation seems impossible.
Listen to Mary’s song later on in the first chapter of Luke.
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me Holy is his name…”
Conceiving a child out of wedlock, by Divine intervention. Not a girl’s every day existence. Yet she had a Yes in her heart to God. She rejoiced. She boldly said, “Generations will remember me!”
How we struggle to trust God with our children. Our finances. Our emotional well-being. We worry. We fret. And wonder why we have no peace.
Christmas is the season where words like joy, peace and love are bantered around like Christmas candy. Let’s not take them as just words, but as truth. Let’s be like Mary and embrace God’s favor on our lives. Boldly declare "He’s done great things for me!”
Out of the grit of our own souls, we can reach His heart, and feel Him reaching for ours. No matter the pain of our past, present or future, God is there for us. He is able. Best of all, He is willing. “My soul glorifies the Lord this Christmas!”
***
Rachel Hauck is an award winning, best selling author who believes God has done great things for her. She lives in Central Florida with her husband and ornery pets. Her next release is Love Lifted Me with multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans, January 2012. Then in April, look for The Wedding Dress. www.rachelhauck.com.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
12 Pearls of Christmas- Day Eleven
Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.
AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.
If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
***
The Panhandler's BreathBy Robin Dance
He slipped in sideways between the closing elevator doors, as if he were late to a meeting; he pressed the "5" without looking. Instead of suit and tie, though, baggy pants and faded navy hung on his tall, slim frame...and his stealth entry stiffened the hairs on the back of my neck.
I had noticed him a few seconds earlier, just after we had parted a sea of clamorous teens. He was smiling, grandfatherly, standing maybe 30 feet away where the electric shuttle picks up.
I had no idea he had been watching us, studying us, predator patiently awaiting his next prey.
The four of us were sealed in a four- by six-foot metal tomb. Tomb--that thought really scampered across my mind. I wondered if he had a knife in his pocket. I wanted to protect my son. Fight or flight pumped adrenaline but there was no where to run.
Extreme and ridiculous, these thoughts - and more - flashed through my mind. The Stranger began speaking.
"Yessir, I see you're a family man with your wife and your son here..." and he nodded in my and my son’s direction.
"...you see I'm homeless and all I've got..." and on queue, he reached into his left pocket and pulled out two old pennies blackened with age. Two cents to his name?! It was all too contrived, too practiced, and I didn't believe a word he was saying.
It was then I smelled it ~ the small space lent itself to that ~ and I doubted my doubt.
His breath.
It wasn't the scent of alcohol. His eyes weren't red, his voice didn't waver; his wizened face matched his graying hair.
His breath was morning's, zoo breath, the pet name I'd given to the scent inhaled when kissing my children awake when they were little.
He needed to brush his teeth. I wondered how long it had been since he brushed his teeth.
The elevator door opened and I handed him my leftover pizza as my son and I brushed past him. My husband handed him a bill and the Stranger thanked and God blessed him.
The elevator door closed behind us. Conflicted, I was relieved.
We got in the car and blurted first reaction--
"I didn't believe a word he said."
"That made me nervous."
"I wonder if he'll really eat the pizza."
In the quiet, we were left to our own thoughts, contemplating the right thing to do. At the end of the day, this is what I decided: It doesn't matter whether or not his story is true; for an old man to resort to begging, he has to be desperate. The money my husband gave him will never be missed. It was a reminder we've been entrusted with much and given much. Materially, yes, but more so spiritually. Loved, chosen, forgiven, redeemed, graced, lavished--every spiritual blessing. E v e r y.
There's a part of me that wishes I would have been brave enough to ask the man his story, made sure he knew he was loved...and bought him a tooth brush.
Later, it occurred to me he could have been an angel. Doesn’t that mean generosity, kindness and hospitality is always the right response? Then it's not about you or the stranger or the circumstance, it's about a simple, God-glorifying response.
Had we entertained an angel unaware? We'll never know.
But it wouldn't be the first time the Breath of Heaven smelled like a zoo.
***
In a decades-old, scandalous affair with her husband, Robin also confesses mad crushes on her three teens. As Southern as sugar-shocked tea, she’s a recovering people pleaser who advocates talking to strangers. A memoirist, Compassion International Blogger, and Maker-upper of words, Robin writes for her own site, PENSIEVE, and also for (in)courage by DaySpring (a subsidiary of Hallmark) and Simple Mom. She loves to get to know readers through their blog comments and on Twitter and Pinterest. www.pensieve.me
Friday, December 23, 2011
12 Pearls of Christmas- Day Ten
Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.
AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.
If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
***
Inside Out Christmasby Debora M. Coty
My veterinarian friend, Dr. Katie, tells the story about the December when a woman brought a very sick black lab into her clinic. The dog was only ten months old, so she was really just a big puppy, but she’d been vomiting incessantly and her worried owner didn’t know what was wrong.
“Why don’t you go on home?” Dr. Katie told the owner. “I’ll need to run tests for about four hours. We’ll give you a call when we’re finished.”
Dr. Katie’s assistant took x-rays and hung them on the light panel for Dr. Katie to examine. Hmm. Something looked a little peculiar. Dr. Katie called her assistant over.
“Is it just me, or does that look like a … a camel to you?” she asked incredulously.
“Matter of fact, it does,” replied the astute assistant. “And look, there’s an angel here, a shepherd there, and down there in the colon, it’s Baby Jesus!”
At that moment the phone rang. It was the dog’s distraught owner. “I can’t believe this! I just got home and glanced at the coffee table where I put my manger scene yesterday. There’s nothing there but an empty stable!”
As I thought about this quite literal technique for internalizing the true meaning of Christmas, it occurred to me that sometimes I have the opposite problem. With all the bustling busyness, my inner joy in celebration of my savior’s birth never really makes it to the outside.
Oh, I have plenty of glittery, festive evidences of the holiday in decorations, baking galore, and gifts under my tree. But those things are for show. They’re merely the pretty wrappings, not the gift itself.
Can people really see the core-deep joy that radiates within me when I think of the true gift that Papa God sent the world in his son, Jesus? Is my immeasurable gratitude for eternal life evident as I dash through this hectic season?
I’m afraid all too often, the answer is no.
I’m just too preoccupied to allow my outside to reflect my inside so that nonbelievers recognize that I rejoice because of the hope that is within me. My joy is obscured by the mounds of clutter. Gratefulness is sucked out of my soul by the vacuum called urgency.
“But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy” (Psalm 68:3, NLT).
This verse has become my prayer this Christmas season – that I would make the time to give priority to rejoicing, being glad in God’s presence, and letting my inner joy show for those who may be silently desperate to know the giver of true joy.
Yep, there’s a better way to internalize the gift of Christmas than the black lab technique. We can lodge the Little Lord Jesus in our hearts rather than our colons.
***
Debora M. Coty is a humorist, inspirational speaker, and award-winning author of twelve books, including Too Blessed to be Stressed, and coming in March, More Beauty, Less Beast: Transforming Your Inner Ogre. Debora would love to swap Christmas hugs with you at www.DeboraCoty.com. Thursday, December 22, 2011
12 Pearls of Christmas- Day Nine
Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.
AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.
If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
***
Simple or Sparkle?by Tracey Eyster
It’s a simple ornament made of thin cheap metal and it looks quite out of place on our CHRISTmas tree. But each year I lovingly and safely nestle it amongst its expensive and sparkly peers, without a care as to how unglamorous it appears.
Many of our CHRISTmas ornaments have a story and an uncanny way of welling up emotion in me, but this certain one causes an intense stir.
You see the ornament is engraved with the name of my grandmother, Sara, and was given to me by my mother, who ordered it from Hospice, after Grandmama’s death. Yes, the months leading up to her death carry memories of a frail and failing grandmama, but that ornament carries my thoughts to sweet CHRISTmas memories of the past.
CHRISTmas Eve dinners in her home, laughing, singing, gathering and celebrating a year filled with blessings as we remembered the birth of our Savior. CHRISTmas mornings, she was always there participating with glee, in our raucous CHRISTmas happiness. Her gifts were always bank envelopes gently tucked into the pine needles of our CHRISTmas tree, fresh cut from the property she grew up on.
All memories of my Grandmama make my heart swell. You see she was my Jesus with skin on. She lived her life full of joy, serving others and approached life selflessly with an attitude of, “What can I do for you?”
Just months before she left us, even as the Alzheimer’s was robbing her mind she shared her love of Jesus with a sweet little old lady friend, who came to know the Lord – a divine appointment. The very next day that little old lady silently slipped away to meet in person the One Sara introduced her to just the day before.
At the time I wept, realizing that regardless of our own frailties and failings, God can still use those of us who are willing to do His work and are well practiced at hearing His voice...no matter our lack of sparkle in comparison to others.
A simple life lived for Him, a simple ornament in memory of Sara...a simple truth for you to ponder.
***
Tracey Eyster wife, mom, relationship gatherer and Creator/Editor of FamilyLife’s MomLife Today is a media savvy mom making a difference where moms are, on-line. Through speaking, writing and video interviews Tracey is passionate about encouraging, equipping and advising moms on every facet of momlife. Her first book, Be The Mom will be released August 2012. You can connect with Tracey at www.momlifetoday.com, her personal site www.traceyster.com or www.twitter/momblog.com.Wednesday, December 21, 2011
12 Pearls of Christmas- Day Eight
Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.
AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.
If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
***
Enjoy the Ride!Susan May Warren
We sit poised on the top of a cliff, a near drop off before us, that falls to a rushing river. In the middle, a bridge of snow and ice hints at our destination. My husband guns the snowmobile engine. “Ready?”
Ready? For a face plant into a tree, maybe reconstructive surgery? To feel my stomach ripped from my body as we plummet down the mountain? Let’s do it!
We live on five acres of woods in northern Minnesota that butts up to a national forest. Hence, our backyard is about a hundred thousand acres. Aside from harboring deer, lynx, fox, cougar and bear, it also makes excellent snowmobile terrain. And not long ago, Mrs. Claus gave her Santa a snowmobile for two.
I love snowmobiling. Flying over the snow, catching air over drifts. I love to drive, to be at the helm of the beast as I weave around trees and over hill and dale, my husband sitting behind me. I also love riding behind my husband as he drives, feeling those powerful arms as he’s muscling the snowmobile into the wilds. We follow unknown trails, driven by a Magellan spirit, hoping that we have enough gas to get us back to civilization. I love hanging on, simply trusting him, knowing that wherever he’s taking me, he’s going first.
But there are times, when I see where he’s taking me, and I just have to bury my head in his back. Like straight down a cliff.
However, my heart cheers, despite the terror as we gun it down the hill, over the river, up the opposite side. And, if we hadn’t let ourselves go, we would have never discovered the beauty of a winter river, a hidden jewel buried deep in the forest. Nor the exhilaration of facing the challenge together.
Further on, we find an enchanted forest of towering white pine. Catch a view of Lake Superior, discover an old cabin in the woods.
It occurs to me that snowmobiling is much like my spiritual life. Occasionally, I drive, and it’s me setting our course, weaving through the trees, getting us hopelessly lost. But when God takes the “wheel” and I hang on, trusting Him for the speed and destination, I see the scenery. I trust him to keep me safe. I trust him to bring me home, where there is an eternal supply of hot chocolate.
As Christmas season becomes more hectic, what if I let God drive? Maybe everything doesn’t have to be perfect, and maybe I don’t have to control every tradition, every holiday nuance. What if I just held on for the ride?
I’ll bet I’ll still get there, and I might even enjoy the scenery along the way.
How have you let go, and “enjoyed” the scenery of this hectic, exhilarating Christmas season?
Merry Christmas!
***
Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of thirty novels with Tyndale, Barbour, Steeple Hill and Summerside Press. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Carol Award. A seasoned women’s events speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
12 Pearls of Christmas- Day Seven
Enjoy these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from some of today's most beloved writer's (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.
AND just for fun ... there's also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 - 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.
If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
***
Family Traditions: A Glimpse into Christmas Futureby Tricia Goyer
Have you ever thought about family traditions? As I helped my 1-year-old place ornaments on the Christmas tree this year I imagined her doing the same thing with her children—and maybe even grandchildren—one day. Traditions are beliefs and customs handed down through generations. By sharing meaningful moments with your kids you're sending yourself into the future. How amazing is that?
Sharing family traditions cause us to slow down from the busy, adult world for a while. We ignore the laundry to set out the nativity set with our kids. We set aside time in our schedules to drive around and look at Christmas lights.
Holiday traditions aren't only fun, they also help strength family bonds. Through traditions kids trust in the security of family unit. They think, “This is our family and this is what I do.” Of course, the most important thing to share isn't just what we do ... but why. Why do we put out a nativity? To remind us the real meaning of the season—Jesus coming to earth. What do the Christmas lights represent displayed on homes and on trees? They represent the Light of the World, Jesus.
Using traditions to bond our families and share our faith isn't new. I love these two Scriptures that talk about that very thing.
Exodus 12:25 says, “When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.”
Psalm 78:4 says, “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.”
What are you're traditions? Here are a few of ours:
Baking a Birthday cake for Jesus
Buying a new ornament every year for each child
Acting out the Christmas story (with props!)
Praying together before opening presents
What are your traditions? Write a list and appreciate them in a new way this year. Then ask, “If I could add one new tradition this holiday season, what would it be?” I'd love to hear what you choose! It also makes me smile to think of your children's grandchildren doing the same.
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Tricia Goyer is a CBA best-selling author and the winner of two American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Awards (Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights). She co-wrote 3:16 Teen Edition with Max Lucado and contributed to the Women of Faith Study Bible. Also a noted marriage and parenting writer, she lives with her husband and children in Arkansas. www.triciagoyer.com
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