30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 3

Today, in the wake of a great friend losing her very special mother-in-law, I am thankful for the hope of Heaven.
A place with no pain, no tears, no sorrow.
A place filled with beauty and wonder.
A place where we can know our loved ones are ready to greet us.

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 2

Today I am thankful for Mexican food...authentic, Tex-Mex, Americanized, or Taco Bell-ized!



30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 1

After going AWOL for, um, a while...let's see if I can actually blog every day of November! I have so much to be thankful for, so if I keep it short and sweet, maybe I can swing it.

Today I am thankful for novels. (Surprise!) The ones that make you laugh, the ones that make you think, the ones that take you to another time, country, or world, the ones that make you remember what it's like to fall in love, the ones that teach you about history or a profession, the ones that take you on an edge-of-the-seat adventure, the ones that remind you who God is, the ones that are such perfect company on a rainy evening...or a walk with the dog...or during breakfast...or...  :-)

What about you? What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving season?

Love that book?

Hey, faithful three readers. Wanna do something awesome to support Christian fiction? More specifically, your favorite books from last year? Check out the Inspy Awards! You can nominate a book to be entered into the running. Click here for more info.

Now I need to peruse my bookshelves to see which ones I should nominate. I wonder if there's a limit... :-)

Interview with Catherine West

Check over on the Ponderers' site for an interview with my wonderful critique partner, Cathy West!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

...or watermelon or bananas or...well, anything but chocolate...


Monday I blogged about priorities over on the MBT Ponderers. (As you already know, since my one faithful reader said that posting the link didn't count as blogging.) So I'm working to be healthier in all aspects of my life.

This is hard.

My husband and I started a diet this week. A pretty strict one. Meat once a week. No bread. Limited starches, processed foods, and sugar. Lots of veggies and fruits. No chocolate. Two days into the diet, and let me tell you, those little York Peppermint Patties on the counter at work have never been so tempting!

I also gave up reading fiction for the month. Yes, I did. Me--the one who reads while walking the dog and taking a shower. Instead...I bought a waterproof Bible. (You didn't see that coming, did you? ha)

But I have so many other things to work on: keeping a neater house, exercising regularly, um, blogging. So today I have two questions for you.

1. Have you changed anything lately in your own life to work on your priorities?

2. Do you have any tips for staying healthier, more organized, more productive, etc.?

Priority Check

Hello, loyal followers! (If any of you are still with me. :-) ) I blogged over on The Ponderers' site about priorities. Come on over!

Don't Feed The Alligators

I blogged today over on the Ponderers' site. Read it here.

February Book Report

My list is shorter for February. There are a lot of things I can blame that on, but it doesn't really matter, does it? I gotta keep reminding myself I'm not competing with anyone--just keeping track like I've meant to do for so many years. Anyway, here are the books I read last month.

1. They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti

2. Driftwood Lane by Denise Hunter

3. Magic Street by Orson Scott Card

4. Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones

5. Pearls in the Sand by Tessa Afshar

6. Softly and Tenderly by Rachel Hauck and Sara Evans

7. Started another book but am not finishing it. Thus, I will not name it. :-)

*And now the standard disclaimer: Making the list does not necessarily mean I recommend the book. Email me if you want my person opinion. :-)

I'm really wanting to count audiobooks, too. But since this is to keep track of how much I actually READ a year, I guess I can't. Ah well. Your turn. What books did you read this month? Did you have a favorite?

Coming Soon...

I'm so excited for my friend and amazing critique partner, Cathy West! Her debut novel, Yesterday's Tomorrow, is releasing in just a few weeks, and she's gotten some really great feedback on it. I can't wait to hold a copy of her book in my hands! Though I've read different versions of it quite a few times, there's something special about seeing it with a cover and reading it all the way through solely for pleasure. Cathy, all your hard work is about to pay off!

Check out her book trailer:

Waiting?

Hey, all. I blogged over on the Ponderers site. Check it out here.

January Book Report

I said last year I would keep track of all the books I'd read. Um...okay, so I didn't quite keep up with it. This year I'll do better! So here's my *report* for January.

1. Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson

2. Talking To The Dead by Bonnie Grove

3. Dining With Joy by Rachel Hauck

4. In the President’s Secret Service by Ron Kessler (Non-fiction! Shock!)

5. Home For Christmas by Andrew Greeley

6. The Snowflake by Jamie Carie

7. Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes

8. Ransomed Dreams by Amy Wallace

9. She Walks In Beauty by Siri Mitchell

What about you? What books did you read last month? Which one was your favorite?

*Making the list does not necessarily mean I recommend the book. You may email me if you want my personal opinion. :-)

One Year Alone With God

I've read the devotional My Utmost For His Highest quite a bit. Dabbled in a few others. Admired the covers of even more. :-) But I'm so excited about the devotional book I've chosen to read this year! One Year Alone With God was written by my friend Ava Pennington. This lovely lady is in my local writers' group. She's a talented Bible study teacher, has been published in a million Chicken Soup books, or so it seems, and her debut book was endorsed by best-selling author Kay Arthur. She also has a co-authored children's series coming out this year! This is one busy and hard-working writer.

One Year Alone With God was published by Revell. It's a study on the names of God, but not just a series of definitions. Ava spends three days on each name, showing it means and how that attribute relates to us and our relationship with others. What I read of it in writers' group was thought-provoking, and I'm so looking forward to reading it in full this year.

What's your favorite devotional? What are you reading this year?