I’m taking a holiday break today to spend time with family I haven’t seen in years! What are you doing today?
Month: May 2011
Frivolous Friday: Something Borrowed
Something Borrowed is a movie based on the book by Emily Giffin.
Anything with John Krasinski in it, and I’m there. I’m a huge fan of The Office and he doesn’t even need to talk to be funny.
I’m also a huge fan of romantic comedies (books and movies) and love triangles. Especially love triangles. I love the push-pull all through the story!
This story/movie is about: (taken from Emily Giffin’s website)
“Something Borrowed tells the story of Rachel, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan. Rachel has always been the consummate good girl—until her thirtieth birthday, when her best friend, Darcy, throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy’s fiancé.
Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren’t always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness…”
*I don’t necessarily agree with everything in this book/movie–just sayin
I went to the movie with my hubby for part of our anniversary. Sixteen years! I love that he likes chick flicks. Before we could dig into popcorn he said, “If you like this movie, great, but please don’t say what you always say.”
I grinned because when we’re watching movies or TV and say, “That’s good writing.”
It was good writing and I’d like to say I refrained from saying so, but hubster was irritated with the hero of the movie. Why? Because his sick mother was keeping him from making the right decision. In a nicer way, what hubster thought, was the hero was a pansy for not taking what he wanted.
I saw him as torn between who he wanted and why he felt he had to stay where he was. Because it was good writing.
Keep them apart as long as you possibly can. Make the reader beg for them to be together.
My husband isn’t a romance reader. He doesn’t care about the angst we love to feel during a good read. He just wanted the hero to say, “I really don’t care about anything else but you. Period.” Then take what he wanted. Such a man thing isn’t it?
So naturally when he made a few references to how girly the hero was acting, I had to say, “I understand, but…that’s good writing.”
I haven’t read the book, so I’m not sure how the minor character’s story ended. In the movie, I was slightly disappointed. I think I may have to get the book. Books are always better anyway. Right?
Do you enjoy reading books or watching movies with love triangles? Why or why not?
Have a great holiday weekend! I won’t be here Monday, but catch you on Wednesday!
In the Word Wednesday: Get Your Strut On, because it’s all about pace Part 2
“There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk: A lion, which is mighty among the beasts and does not turn away from any; A greyhound…” Proverbs 30: 29-31
Last week we began looking at four unique things that Agur found majestic and stately. First the lion, which you can read about here. The lion represented:
Knowing who you are in Christ
Today we’ll pick up with the greyhound. We are NOT talking about the bus. And guess what? We’re not talking about the dog either! This is what I love about the Word of God!
You will always find nuggets of hidden treasure if you’ll search it out!
Now we can take an example from the Greyhound. They’re agile dogs that move at fast and powerful paces. Once you give them a target, they’ll lock in, focus on only that and take off full force. We ought to be that way as well. Focus in on God and pursue Him without abandon. Yes, Greyhounds are to respected.
In this passage, Agur’s wisdom is off the chart.
The word “greyhound” in Hebrew is “mothen.” It means “loins” or “hips” and it could mean an extinct animal–the exact meaning is unknown.
Can I just say, I was hesitant to google images of loins. I stared at the screen for a good long time before I did it. I never found what I was looking for. Did find some things I wasn’t.
What’s so majestic about loins? And how do they walk stately? This makes no sense…or does it?
Loins in the Bible generally represents the seat of strength. Accompanied with “loins” is the phrase, “gird up” meaning to be ready.
Exodus 12:11; 1Kings 18:46; 2Kings 4:29 Job 38:3
You’ll find when they were instructed to get ready it was by “girding up their loins”…prepare! The journey would take enduring strength. Even in Job, it took strength to stand before God to hear correction.
Why is enduring strength needed? For service.
Many times, they were to gird up their loins and then required to follow God and do something He commanded. Don’t you know it takes strength to serve! We are commanded today to serve in the body of Christ. There is something you can do. Something God has asked you to do. It will take preparation. 1 Corinthians 12
Proverbs 31:17. You know this woman. The one we dislike to read about because we feel so inadequate (us women anyway). She girds her loins with strength and strengthens her arms. She is ready for a full day of service to God and to her family.
Service is hard. It may require you to give something up. Matthew 19:21
You may have to go where you do not want to go. John 21:18
You may have to wash your betrayer’s feet. John 13:2-5
And it may cost you your life. 1 John 3:16
Enduring service and the strength and preparation required cannot be done on your own.
Even when Elijah girded his loins, the power of the Spirit came upon him to enable him to serve with power and strength.
“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Like a lion, know who you are in Christ
Gear up, prepare yourself through the Word and time with God for enduring service
Next Wednesday, we’ll look at the male goat.
Question: What’s playing on your iPod, MP3, or CD player right now? (I know, it has nothing to do with the subject. So what!? I wanna know!)
Must Read Monday: Reader’s Choice & a GIVEAWAY!!!!!
Each Monday I post a book review, or I invite a guest to stop by for you to meet.
Today, I want to know what you like to read.
Right now, I’m reading Judge & Jury by James Patterson. Yes, I read ABA fiction, also called “secular” fiction by some Christians. I read anything, really. There’s differing opinions on this subject.
Some people would say there’s so much great inspirational fiction, why would you want to read anything out of the CBA market? We need to support Christian writers. I agree with this. We do need to support Christian writers and there is ton of great inspirational fiction.
But, there are Christians who do not write for the CBA market. So are we supporting CBA or Christian writers? I think we can do both!
I don’t know what James Patterson’s religious beliefs are, but his books do have some foul language and occasionally, depending on what book it is, he drops the “f” bomb. I completely understand why some Christians would not want to read his stuff. You have to go with what your convictions are. Maybe I’m just a rotten Christian with no convictions.
Although, there are some inspirational novels that do occasionally use some four-letter words. I personally have never read any that drop the “f” bomb. Maybe you have.
How do you feel about that?
I think as a writer I can learn as much from Patterson or Kellerman (Faye and Jonathan) as I can Steven James, whose books cross both markets, (I read this somewhere so if it’s not accurate, please don’t yell at me) and he happens to be one of my favorite authors. Man, he’s good!
Now, I don’t read Erotica, fyi, I do have my limits. So maybe I’m not a rotten Christian after all and have some convictions. 🙂 My point is, I’m reading Patterson right now. My next book will be a Lynette Eason novel (inspirational). I’ve never read her before, and I look forward to jumping into one of her stories on my kindle.
I did a review on Sally John’s novel, Desert gift a couple weeks ago. It comes out in June. You can read the review HERE. I’m also giving a copy of this book away today! If you would like to enter for the chance to win, please make a note of that in the comments section. If you don’t say you want to win it, you won’t be entered into the drawring. (I spelled that like I wanted to!)
Question: Do you read inspirational fiction only or do you cross over and read books in other markets? Why or why not? I’d love to hear your input! Also, how do you feel about swear words in inspirational fiction?
Frivolous Friday: If it’s on the side of the road, it’s fair game!
I have a hobby. I love to refurbish furniture and paint and distress pieces to make them look old. I haven’t always been into this. It rubbed off from my bff’s “Jane” and Leelee.
Leelee loves french country and Jane, well, she just likes old stuff.
I’ve done several pieces. I’ve rag painted my bathroom, my mom’s bathroom and fireplace, bathroom cabinets, an armoire, a dresser, a magazine rack, and my most prized posession is my buffet.
Here’s how it all happened…
It was a Thursday. Thursdays are my days to spend with Jane. I remember the clouds were dark–rain was coming in, but it didn’t matter. We had no plans to go out, just hanging at my house watching Vampire Diaries, drinking coffee, and yapping.
The doorbell rang and I could hear her hollering, “Open up! Hurry!”
My dog barked until I wanted to kick her, but she’s quicker than me so I didn’t bother. I opened the door and Jane grinned from ear to ear. “What? I know that look.”
“I found a buffet down the street,” she drawled in her southern country accent. “You must have it because I don’t have room for it!”
I looked around my living room and open kitchen. “Where’m I gonna put a buffet and how much work needs done to it?”
She tugged my arm. “Come on before it pours.”
 |
| My buffet BEFORE |
We hopped in her Expedition and sure enough there it was in all its um…glory?
It was missing a door. I looked at it and frowned. It was old, heavy–original wood casters and dove-tailing. Hmmm…
I stared at it, trying to figure out if I wanted it or not.
“I don’t know.”
Thunder rumbled, lightning peeled and rain started to come down. We jumped out of the vehicle and kicked some funky insulation out of the way to get to it.
My son was with us and he hollered, “Why are you stealing somebody’s old table? You’re gonna get taken to jail.” I ignored him while Jane and I tried to pick this massive buffet up off the ground.
Jane was wearing a mini-denim skirt. Fabulous. We hoisted half of it in the back and she climbed in to pull while I pushed. A big burly guy two houses down stood outside under his garage awning and…watched. Hey thanks for the help, ya jerk.
We finally got the buffet in, the man had a nice show thanks to Jane’s skirt and the comedic event that transpired, and we loaded it in my garage. All of us, but my son, soaked.
I got excited about it as Jane shared the possibilities.
My husband came home. “What is that load of junk in the garage I just cleaned out.”
“It’s an antique buffet, and I’m going to refinish it.”
“It ain’t worth a quarter.” (He now wants to sell it on Craig’s list) I ignored him too.
I’m painting my walls Calico–eventually, so I chose a nice warm gold paint. I stripped that bad-boy down, primed, and painted then used my putty knife to scrape my fresh paint off giving it a shabby-chic look.
 |
| Buffet AFTER Go ahead, oooh and aaah! |
It’s wonderful! My favorite piece.
Jane’s hubby made an identical door, she stained it and came over to put it on along with the knobs I’d bought and painted.
When it was over, we ordered a pizza and sat back on the couch, staring at it. When I did my bathroom cabinets, we sat in there drinking our coffee–staring. We like to stare.
I’ll never forget what Jane said to me. “I’m so glad you finally saw the big picture. I knew this was valuable and would be beautiful. We’re a lot like this buffet–missing doors, broken down, tossed out even as worthless junk. But God sees the masterpiece. The beauty and the value.”
I may have a hard time seeing the big picture, but I’m thankful God does not!
What’s your hobby/hobbies?
In the Word Wednesday: Get Your Strut On, because it’s all about pace Part 1
“There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk: A lion which is mighty among the beasts and does not turn away from any;…” Proverbs 30:29-30
I love the Proverbs, a great place to glean wisdom. Proverbs 30 might be my favorite–written by Agur which we know very little about other than he was the son of Jaketh (whom we know nothing about) and he was a non-Hebrew who came to faith.
He’s quite insightful. I’ve written about what he finds amazing and unfathomable (except for one that didn’t get posted…oops, I’ll have to do that one!) Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 if you want to read them.
Today we’re looking at the first part of this verse in Chapter 30. A lion. First of all we have to ask ourselves this question, “Who cares how a lion walks? Big deal. Why’s it even in the Bible to begin with?
2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture, not some, but all is profitable for instruction. So there must be something here we can apply to our lives. Right?
Good answer! Y’all are briliant and I love you!
Let’s look at the word majestic and stately NKJV. In the KJV it says “There are three [things] which go well, yea, four are comely in going:” The word “well” in Hebrew is “yatab” and it means “be good, pleasing, to make a thing beautiful” and “comely” in Hebrew is “towb” to “be good, be pleasing, be joyful, be beneficial, be pleasant, be favourable, be happy, be right”
So something about this lion and the way it moves is pleasing and right, beneficial, beautiful.
First the lion is Mighty Among the Beasts
Lions know who they are. You will never see them running from an Antelope or hiding in the bushes because they are afraid.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Lions are built uniquely. They are built to be powerful and strong. They have a distinct feature that sets them apart from other animals–the mane–a source of protection from the enemy’s bites. Enemies willing to take them on, which aren’t many.
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:14
We are special to the Lord, set apart, given the Holy Spirit as a guide, a teacher, a comforter, and a seal of our redemption. We have something unique that others do not have, but we’re to freely give it.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” 1 Peter 2:9
Lions Do Not Turn Away From Any
It doesn’t matter what size of animal comes after them or tries to steal from them. Lions don’t back down, because they know who they are. They know what they are meant to do.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” DT 31:6
“In God I have put my trust;I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Psalm 56:11
The greatest lion of all time?
“…Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed…” Revelation 5:5
Know who you are and who you belong to. Walk as a child who belongs to the King, do not fear the enemy. Next Wednesday we’ll look at the next verse, the greyhound.
Question for you: If you could steal anyone’s identity for ONE day and not get in trouble whose would you steal and why? It can be anyone, a celebrity, teacher, someone from the past…be creative!
Can’t wait to see the comments and join in!
Must Read Monday: Deliver Us From Evil
I hope you all had a great weekend. My son is back to full speed ahead and I’m feeling better too. Thanks for all your prayers!
I want to say congratulations to Jessica Nelson! She’s a Genesis finalist. If you don’t follow her blog already, pop over and congratulate her and follow!
Also, congratulations to Sheri Salatin for her win in the Purple Shadows contest! Hurray!
Now, on with the show this is it…
“You want me to escort a heart?”
Deliver Us From Evil is a novel by Robin Caroll. She writes southern stories of mystery and suspense. This book is about a U.S. Marshall whose assignment is to transport a heart to the hospital for a government witness in a human trafficking ring with locations in Tennessee.
When the helicopter goes down in the smoky mountains, it’s up to Brannon Callahan–a ranger– to fly in and rescue him and the heart. But the traffickers want that witness dead and anyone who gets in their way.
Each chapter has something happen to make matters worse, but isn’t that what suspense is supposed to be? They get out of one mess and before you blink, another one surfaces. It’s a romantic suspense, and as you can guess sparks fly between U.S. Marshall Roarke Holland and the lovely, but independent and strong, Brannon Callahan.
What did I especially like about the characters?
Her characters were well thought out. Each one had their own set of quirks. Roarke taps the butt of his gun for comfort and is scared of small spaces because of a past incident.
Brannon Callahan and her co-pilot Lincoln–both Christians– quote scripture and then the other one has to give the chapter and verse. It’s a little something they do when a situation seems bad to remind them of Who is in control and it brings them comfort. I thought it was neat and a great way to bring God in without being preachy.
Congressman McGovern has rules and throughout his Point of View (POV) he uses them. “And rule one–always appear to be in charge.” He states it then does it.
The deep storyline
One POV came from a young girl named Mai who had been sold by her family into the trafficking ring. When I read the first scene introducing her, my stomach crawled because of what was happening to her. But I’m glad that Robin wrote it fairly graphic and that the publishing house, Thorndike Press, allowed it. Sometimes, we need to squirm in our seats. Not everything in this world is cookie-cutter picture-perfect. I like those books on a occasion, but I also like when an author gets to write it the way it really is.
My heart burned for these girls and that drove me to whisper a prayer as I read her scenes. Yes, it had a happy ending, but for most girls trafficked, it doesn’t end well at all.
Spiritual theme
Bad things happen, but God is in control. Always.
I had the twist figured out, but with suspense it’s about the edge of your seat, “now what” kind of read and not a who is doing it, but I generally like a little more mystery even in suspense novels.
Will I read more of Robin Caroll? You betcha.
 |
| Robin Caroll |
Here’s a teaser:
“A beautiful yet tough woman working in a beautiful yet tough setting, Brannon Callahan is a search and rescue helicopter pilot for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Strong faith and a decorated history of service have kept her one step ahead of on-the-job dangers, but there’s no precedent for what’s about to happen. After a blizzard takes down a small plane carrying U.S. Marshal Roark Holland (already haunted by a recent tragedy), Brannon must save him in more ways than one and safeguard the donor heart he’s transporting to a government witness on the edge of death. Otherwise the largest child trafficking ring in history-with shocking links from Thailand to Tennessee-will slip further away into darkness along the Appalachian Trail.”
What about you? Do you like suspense–hanging on the edge wondering if the heroes will escape or save the day, or do you more mystery–figuring out what is going on and who is doing it?
Frivolous Friday: Why I’m ticked off today
Today blogger disappeared and my super cool blog for today was wiped out. Maybe because it’s Friday the 13th or maybe because it was my best blog yet. I don’t know if you can win a Pulitzer for a blog, but if you could…well…
So instead I’ll tell you about a time I almost disappeared…like blogger today.
My mom dropped me off at the grocery store entrance to go in and pay a bill. As if it’s my responsibility to pay bills.
I got out of the car, went inside and stood in a line longer than the drive-thru at McDonalds. That’s long, people. A boy I dated and dumped–cheater–worked there and the entire time he had his buddy page him just so I was sure to hear his name over and over. Before I left he had his lame friend ask me if I’d give him a second chance. Whatever! To say the least, I was steaming at my mom. By the time I paid the bill at customer service, I was so flustered and hacked off I wasn’t sure if I was coming or going. I stormed out the doors, but they didn’t open fast enough and I smacked into them. I pretended it was funny. I was humiliated.
Then I swung open the back door and plopped into the backseat. “If you want a bill paid, go do it yourself next time.”
The man in the driver’s seat turned back and smiled. “I think you have the wrong car, sweetie.”
I looked around. I saw my mom in the car ahead of me with her arm out the window flagging me down.
Like blogger, I temporarily disappeared. Like my pride, the draft I wrote for today is gone forever.
Have a great weekend!
In the Word Wednesday: Dancing with the Star
Today, I am feeling achy. My head hurts, and my son has been sick since Sunday running high fever. So…1. Pray for us and 2. This is short and sweet this morning.
Sometimes when I’m my intimate moments with the Lord, I see a picture, a vision, whatever you’d like to call it. Maybe it’s because I’m a writer so a visual or a scene is how I understand. I don’t know.
I was sitting in my chair having my time with the Lord, before church on Mother’s Day, praying about my manuscript and some revisions that needed to be made.
I remembered a scene, a vision, a moment with the Lord, from a long time ago. We were dancing in a ballroom. I knew it was him, though I couldn’t make out any real features on his face. The dance started slow and then as the music picked up, our steps became more complicated. He flowed smoothly, but I kept tripping and looking down at his feet to follow.
He lifted my chin and said, “Don’t look at my feet. Look into my eyes.”
I was confused, but I obeyed. My steps moved along with his, complimenting each other. The dance picked up tempo and the steps became increasingly harder, but as I looked into his eyes I moved freely. Only when I took my eyes off him and to his feet, did I trip.
I opened my Bible this Mother’s Day morning after remembering this dancing scene, and it fell to Psalm 32:8. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My eye.”
Today, I read my small devotion from The Word for you Today. It’s titled: “We get up again and keep going: Growing stronger through change“
“When the music changes, it’s time to learn some new dance steps, otherwise you’ll finish up sitting on the sidelines…learn to flow with them. ‘We are perplexed…but we don’t give up and quit…We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 TLB
Dancing isn’t always easy. It’s work. It takes practice. And it takes pain.
But God loves us. He wants us to dance–with him. He wants to guide us with his eye into a beautiful glorious masterpiece. Only you can dance what he’s written for you!
Do you like to dance? What kind of dancing do you enjoy? Yes, Zumba counts!
Must Read Monday: Desert gift by Sally John
“I want a divorce.”
Those words rang in Jillian Galloway’s ears all the way to the airport and to California where she was supposed to speak to hundreds of adoring fans. But how do you promote your new book about commnunicating in marriage and keeping your man when yours just asked for a divorce out of the blue?
Desert gift, release date in June, is written by Sally John. It’s the story of Jillian Galloway. A woman who’s built a career–a ministry–on the perfect marriage, using her husband and all they go through as lab experiments.
One day, he has enough of it. It takes her going back to where she grew up, to the desert in California, to learn some hard lessons about marriage and herself.
Spiritual theme
There is no formula for marriage. A + B does not always = C. God is the heartbeart of marriage, that’s the only solid and He wants us to love him and feel His heartbeat first.
What did I like?
Sally did a great job of showing what went wrong in their marriage. Jill does everything by the book and plans everything, but hasn’t really been in the marriage. Jack Galloway, her doctor husband, is a wonderful guy, but he’s sick of being a guinea pig. He wants to be a husband.
My favorite characters were Jill’s sister, Vivian and her husband Marty. Jilllian abhors their marriage. She doesn’t think it fits the formula, but though they’ve had major hits in their marriage, they have a better handle on one than the “expert.” One of my favorite parts is when Marty tells Jillian, “Sometimes we even curse…okay sometimes I curse.” But it gets deeper and Jillian asks Marty, “How does Viv keep you from leaving her?
Marty answers, “She doesn’t. It’s my choice.”
My rating
I give it 4 stars.
 |
| Sally John |
I want to thank Tyndale for the complimentary copy. I will read more of Sally John in the future.
Here’s a teaser:
“When you’re at the top . . . you’ve got a long way to fall. A nationally known marriage expert, Jillian Galloway is at the pinnacle of success. Her syndicated talk radio show is a hit and her first book is about to release. But just as she’s leaving for her West Coast publicity tour, Jill’s faithful husband of twenty-four years drops a bombshell: he wants a divorce.
As her world crashes down around her, Jill flees to her parents’ home in the California desert, wondering if everything she’s built her career on—and everything she’s built her life around—is a sham. She thought she’d done everything right. So how did her marriage slowly slip away? And will she ever get it back?
From best-selling author Sally John comes an insightful and inspiring story about the unexpected detours our lives can take, the lies we sometimes tell ourselves, and the hope that God is always at work, even in the desert.”
What are you reading right now, and tell me what you did for Mother’s Day if anything?
