A Soldier's Family by Cheryl Wyatt

The thing that's hard about promo-ing my friends' books is that it tends to sound like, "great writer, great friend, go buy the book." But truth is, all of those things are true. Cheryl's a great writer with a great voice. You know how you'll read a book by an author, think, "wow, this is fabulous, I want the rest of this author's books," and discover it's a New York Times bestseller with a huge backlist? Well, that'll be Cheryl in a few years.

Cheryl's got a love for military heroes, and I love her glimpse into the world of pararescue jumpers. I had no idea what a PJ was until I met Cheryl and read her stories. They are true heroes, and not just in Cheryl's books. If you like a good romance with a military hero, then definitely check out her Wings of Refuge series. If you missed her first book, it's still on sale on the eHarlequin.com website. You don't want to miss a single story.



About the book:

On A Crash Course With Love

She was the woman of pararescue jumper Manny Péna's dreams. But he'd stuck his foot in his mouth the last time he met Celia Munez. Now, grounded after a parachuting accident, he was desperate to make amends with the beautiful widow. But Celia wasn't having it. The last thing she needed was another man with a dangerous job—even if he had given his life to God. Yet Manny's growing commitment to her and her troubled son began to convince her that perhaps she should take her own leap of faith.


About the Author:

Cheryl Wyatt's closest friends would never dream the mayhem she plots during announcements at church. An RN-turned-SAHM, joyful chaos rules her home, and she delights in the stealth moments God gives her to write. She's convinced that having been born on a Naval base on Valentine's Day destined her to write military romance. She stays active in her church and in her laundry room. Both of her debut novels (Books 1 and 2 in her Wings of Refuge Series from Steeple Hill) have received Romantic Times Top Picks.
Visit Cheryl Wyatt on the Web : www.CherylWyatt.com
Or her blog www.Scrollsquirrel.blogspot.com

Thursday Thirteen #36: Vacation Edition

Thirteen Things about Vacation!! Last week, I posted a happy blog about Spring. And then March, the snowiest month in Colorado, arrived. I can no longer see my backyard. I am depressed. So I thought what better way to forget the depressing weather that awaits than to blog about going on Vacation!!! Starting with planned vacations and ending with hoped-for vacations... 1. Silent Retreat. In just one more week, I'll be up in the mountains, enjoying a retreat with our church. Sadly, it won't involve sun, warm weather, massages, or anything remotely tropical, but it'll be a nice break. 2. Writer's Retreat. Our local ACFW chapter is planning a retreat for the end of April. Very much hoping to attend. That one's in the mountains, too. 3. May writer's conferences. Actually, I'm undecided on this. I want to go, but not sure I have the $$. There's a couple I'm looking at, so we'll see. 4. South Dakota. One of my dear friends lives up there and I'm thinking about going up for a long weekend with the family in July. 5. Illinois. Another trip I'd like to take to visit some friends- we've talked about this summer, but haven't set a date. 6. RWA San Francisco. End of July, first of August. That one's already reserved and mostly paid for. Just need the plane tickets. 7. ACFW Minneapolis. End of September. 8. Florida. Going to see my dad in January. 9. CRUISE!! January. It's a writer's conference. I'm teaching. Huh... most of this is work-related, isn't it? Not a lot of vacationing going on. But that's what's on my calendar already. So here's what I'd like to put on my calendar. 10. Pennsylvania. I really want (and need!) to visit my grandma. It'd also be a good chance to catch up with other family I haven't seen in a long time. 11. Someplace warm and sunny. Like NOW. At least I'll be doing that next January when it's super cold and yucky here. 12. Mexico. I've been there once, to build a church in a dusty town far away from anything resembling a beach. Some friends are there now, doing mission work in Puerta Vallarta, and I think I'd like to check it out. 13. Israel. Totally not happening this year, or probably any time real soon, but wanted to get it on my list, since I keep running into folks who are going in the near future. I miss that place. I lived there for a summer and loved it. Missed a lot of things I'm learning about now and need to go back and reconnect. So where are you escaping to this year? Or where would you like to escape to? ** Special thanks this week goes out to Hootin' Anni for her lovely header.

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Guest blogger: Camy Tang

Today, we've got a special guest blogger, my good friend, Camy Tang. And really, there's no better way to introduce her and her latest book, Only Uni, than her post about our friendship. I love Camy's books and their wonderful glimpses into ties that bond friends together. As a friend, she's got the formula figured out, and it definitely comes through in her writing.

***




I’m really excited to be guest blogging for Danica today. She was one of the first people to welcome me to the world of writing.

I’m totally serious (for once). When I first started writing again, I ended up on the Steeple Hill discussion boards because Steeple Hill was the first publisher I thought of when I thought of Christian romances. I’ve enjoyed Love Inspired romances for years and years.

The discussion boards were fabulously new to me. Suddenly there were all these Christian romance readers, writers, and even better, published authors chatting away. I lurked for a few days, then registered and introduced myself.

Danica is the board hostess and immediately made me feel welcome. So did everyone else, but Danica was the one who explained things to me (techno-ignorant as I was) and told me about discussion board etiquette.

I can’t begin to count the number of friends I made and the immense amount of information about writing that I learned. I would not be published today if not for those boards and those ladies and Danica.

I got to know her better when I went to Denver for ICRS a couple years ago. We had a BLAST hanging out with other friends late one night, singing bad karaoke in an almost unbelievably seedy bar and eating bland Mexican food.

(Yes, women can bond even over bland Mexican food.)

What was more, she actually seemed to LIKE me after spending several hours in my company. Imagine that! And her husband didn’t run screaming in the other direction when she introduced us (he obviously thought I was some OTHER Camy who was infinitely nicer and more sane than that loud, weird Camy who was on Danica’s online boards).

We have gotten closer in the past year (proven by her letting me run amok on her blog, here), and I hope we will always be good friends. She knows my bad habits and likes me anyway. And isn’t that the best sort of friend?


***

Danica again...

Yes friends, that is the best sort of friend. And I'm so thankful that I've got a friend like Camy, especially given that I was a total airhead friend today.
Insert embarrassed grin here... Got busy with work and stuff (had to work all day, you know!), and was just toodling along, checking email and realized... I'm a bad friend!! Camy was scheduled to blog today, and I forgot. Technically, it's still March 1st, but I'd hoped to get it up sooner. Maybe that's why we're such good friends. That whole, loving each other anyway. Love her, love her books, so do take the time to pick them up. You won't regret it.

Also, she's got a great contest going on right now, so stop by her website and check it out!

Thursday Thirteen #35: Excited about SPRING

Thirteen Things about SPRING Okay, I know, it's only February, headed into March. But it's been nearly 60 here for the past few days and I can't help but Think SPRING!! 1. Since we're in a new house, I get to re-plan my landscaping. Start fresh. Anything goes. Ugh. I'm sorta nervous about this. I have a black thumb and have no idea what's going to work. But still... it'll be a grand adventure. 2. We'll get to finally dig a sprinkler system. Really, when I say "we", I mean "he" as in That Man. 3. We'll get to finally pull out those ugly evergreen hedges. Why, oh why, does every house have to have those nasty spider home things? Again, when I say "we", I mean "he". 4. We'll get to start another garden. This time, I really do mean "we". The kiddos love growing tomatoes and snacking on them all summer. Once "he" gets it plotted out, tilled, and whatever else one does to a garden, I'll start planting. 5. We'll finally be able to see the back yard to pick up the dog poop. Here, I say "we", mean that I'll try to make the kiddos and hubby do it, but end up doing it myself because I'm the only one who cares about dog poop in the yard. 6. We'll get to take walks. Or at least think about it. We moved away from the nature preserve, so now I'll have to walk through the neighborhood. Not so much fun, but good exercise. 7. We'll get to walk to DQ and Starbucks again. Both within walking distance of the new house. 8. I'll get to make the kids stay outside more. YAY!! No more running and screaming in the house. 9. I'll get to sit on my nice new patio set I bought specifically for sitting on the front porch, sipping iced tea, and waving at the neighbors. 10. I'll get to say "YES!" next time the kids want to go to the zoo. 11. I finally won't have to live in sweaters. 12. We can get the rest of our stuff out of storage and finish moving in. Yes, I mean "we" as in "he" except that I'll be pointing and bossing him around. 13. Tax season is almost over and I can have a life again.

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Shocking post time

I know, two posts in less than a few hours. I'm sick, I tell you, sick. Really. I am.

Anyway, I was having a minor pity party for myself because I'm being denied valuable Panera time. Yesterday, I missed because I could not move, I was so sick. Tonight, I missed a writing thing I wanted to go to, but decided I'd keep more friends if I didn't share my germs. Tomorrow, I have to help out at kiddo's school, so I can't go to Panera (although... do you think my germs are lingering, so it would be doing them a disservice to go).

So here I was moping about not being able to write, and I had a realization.
"Self," says me, "why can't you write now?"
"Now?"
"Yeah, now."
I pondered this for a moment and realized that there was no logical reason why I can't write and feel sick at the same time, so I opened up the computer and started working on the revisions for the second book.

And you know what I realized?

It's GOOD.

Really good. Send off to crit group and prepare to submit good. Bang down people's doors and make them read it good.

Once I hit the "send" button on my email, I realized something else. I'm free. For the first time in forever, I no longer have horrible edits and revisions hanging over my head. I get to write something BRAND NEW.

And it's gonna be good!

I almost wish I didn't have to go to bed right now, it's so good.

Linked In or Out?

Since my last post, a lovely little tummy bug decided to grace my life with its presence. I'm finally feeling well enough to lift my head from the pillow, so I thought I'd get caught up. We won't discuss how many emails were in my inbox. One of the emails was from a survey thing I joined years ago. Mostly, I'm so busy that I delete the surveys. However, I decided to answer this latest one, and it was on... all things internet.

As I examined the latest offering in ways to keep up online, I had to wonder about whether or not I'm linked in and whether or not it's a good thing. There's all these ways to connect with folks online, ways to talk local politics, ways to find out what's happening. I admit, I don't use any of it. Truth be told, I know more about the presidential race (which is next to nothing, except that I'm disgusted by all of the candidates) than I know about who my city council reps are. Actually, I don't think I have any, because I'm living in unincorporated territory. But still. I know little about life around me. I had to wonder, am I linked in? Am I so wrapped up in my own little world that I have lost my sense of community?

Probably.

Most of my closest friends are hundreds, even thousands of miles away. I wave to my neighbors. I'll occasionally say hi to the folks at church. And *gasp* I'll even attend a gathering I'm invited to now and then.

I don't watch the news. I don't read the papers. I know about as much about current events as the guy at the water cooler at work. Frankly, I don't really want to know more. Which is sad, because I used to be the nerd desperate to get cable so I could have CNN. Now, I figure, if it's important enough, someone will let me know.

So will one of these new and better ways to get me linked in to my community change my attitude? Will it change my behavior?

Probably not.

Sure, I think I should probably be a little more involved in the world around me. But I'm not sure more technology is going to do that. The truth is, I don't believe any of that makes a difference. Getting a news feed on the latest pregnant starlet does nothing for my quality of life. Ditto for hearing the latest slam on the presidential candidate of the day.

So what will make a difference? Things like going around the big bush separating "us" from "them" and ringing the neighbor's doorbell to say "hi" might. Attending my kiddo's PTA meeting to find out why, exactly, do they have our kids pimping out "stuff" to raise money for the school every other month and then committing to change whatever that is might.

But being more linked in? That, I'm not so sure about.

Hey Look, it's a....

Darn, couldn't think of anything clever to take your attention away from the fact that I am getting worse at the regular blogging thing.

It's been a rough week. I keep saying that, and yet, I can't come up with any answers as to why. I just feel pounded on all sides by all things. I'm tired. I did, however, take a totally rad (tee hee, I said rad... where's carmel to tee hee at my carmelisms?) picture of the terrorist. Unfortunately, said child absconded with the camera and now all I have is the blog version of a shaggy dog joke. Guess you had to have been there. :)

Other than that, my life is boring. I have no words of wisdom for anyone (except maybe don't leave camera where children can find it). I have no sad but true stories of things that have happened to me lately. No funny stories. Nothing remotely, slightly, or majorly embarrassing. I am becoming, I fear, ordinary.

In three weeks, I'll be going on a silent retreat. Maybe somewhere in the silence of the mountains, I can find my sanity. Or not. Maybe I wasn't sane before and am now. Ugh. Isn't that just the most depressing thing I've ever said?

So tonight, as I prepare to lay my weary head on the pillow, I beg of you... share something good. Please!

Those pesky kids!

The past week was crazy. Kiddos off school, work, life, blah blah blah.

Because the kiddos were off school, I watched an inordinate amount of Scooby Doo. Almost every episode ends with the criminal exclaiming, "and I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for those pesky kids." Or some version thereof.

I can relate to the criminals... I kept saying that over and over while the kiddos were off school. I'd start working on a project, and wham! "Mom, she bit me!" "Mom, she said I was ugly." "Mom, she won't help me clean." "Mom, I need some milk." "Mom, I'm hungry."

Needless to say, I've gotten little done over the past few days.

Recently, on the ACFW loop, people were discussing the idea of being a SAHM and trying to get writing done. A lot of folks talked about what they do to facilitate writing and kids.

I've shared a lot with you all about my Panera time, Starbucks visits, and my beloved Denny's. That's how I get my writing done. With the kiddos off school, I didn't get my two Panera days and I'm hurting for it. I didn't get the writing done I needed, and it's been driving me crazy. Those pesky kids!

I finally resorted to bribery. If they let me have my writing time, I'd bake cookies with them. It sort of worked. We baked cookies, but I didn't get as much writing done as I would have liked. But that's okay.

The reality of being a writing mom who also works the tax season is that I don't always get to write as much as I'd like. However, I'm learning to balance the realities of parenting with the realities of being me. It's important to set boundaries with my kids to let them know writing is important to me. I want them to know that dreams are important and require hard work. Just because I'm "mom" doesn't mean I don't have dreams. More importantly, as I model the behavior of what it takes to achieve dreams. How else will my kids learn that the things they want to do with their lives aren't going to just land in their laps? But I also want them to know that they are important to me. I've always got time for a cuddle, and some of my best stuff is written with a kiddo on my lap.

So what about you? How do you balance the demands of parenting and working towards your goals?

Thursday Thirteen #34: Valentine's Chocolate Edition

Thirteen Things about Valentine's Day Chocolate It's a VDay Standard... but do you know what's good? 1. Tim Tams. Technically only available in Australia (but really, how romantic would THAT be to have a guy go all the way there to get you chocolate), however, my good friend found them for sale at Cost Plus World Market under the name Arnott's biscuits. 2. Dagoba Organic Chocolate. YUM!! Not only is it good for the earth, but good for you, too! The lavender is my favorite. 3. Chocolate dipped fruit. Doubly good for you. 4. Godiva. Need I say more? 5. Chocolate Fondue. 6. Chocolate body paint. For the adventurous. Personally, I'd go with real melted chocolate, because the stuff you buy for the body tastes a little like plastic. 7. Hot chocolate. Made the real way, on the stove, with milk. None of that powder stuff, tyvm. Topped with whipped cream. 8. M&Ms... while not pure chocolate, I have a weakness for the peanut ones. 9. Chocolate covered pretzels. I love the chocolate/sweet/salty combo. 10. Ghirardelli. Again, I don't really need to say much more, except I'll be in San Fransisco in July, and you can bet that'll be one of my stops. 11. Chocolate covered espresso beans. There's a great place in SD that makes 'em. 12. Chocolate dipped biscotti. Goes great with tea. 13. Really, any good quality dark chocolate will do.

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The Little Things

We've all heard the phrase "it's the little things that count." Today seemed to be one of those days that really pointed out the value in that statement.

On my way to Words for the Journey, a writing group I belong to, I called That Man to see where he was working. Usually, I go out to lunch with the folks afterward so we can chat, but I had to go into work to call the IRS on behalf of one of my clients, and today was the only day I could fit it in. I figured if That Man was working anywhere on my way to work, I'd stop and have lunch with him. As luck would have it, timing was perfect for us to meet on my way to work and his way to another jobsite. The cool thing was hearing the happiness in his voice when I proposed the idea. You wouldn't think having lunch with your spouse was a big deal, and yet, it meant the world to him.

I've been thinking about it off and on all day, not so much the fact that I'm a wonderful wife for taking time out of my busy day to have lunch with my husband. But the fact that oftentimes, we can make such a difference in a person's life with little things, and yet we put it off because we think it's too small to matter. We're waiting for the opportunity to do a big thing.

There's a lot of things I'm procrastinating on right now. People I want to see, talk to, write to, whatever... and I keep thinking, well, I don't have time to do it properly. So I'll just wait until I do. I didn't have time to have a proper lunch with That Man, just a quick bite, kiss kiss, and away we went. But he was so thankful that I'd taken even that small amount of time, rather than us each going our separate ways through a convenient drive through, finding a moment to be together.

I think about those moments with my kids. How often we're too busy to do this or that, and we think we're saving up time to do the big thing that'll impact them forever. And you know, I don't think those moments really matter to them. I certainly don't remember those big things from my parents. I'm sure they did them. I'm sure they spent countless hours planning and more money than they probably could have afforded. But what I remember is sitting on the back porch with my dad, drinking coffee and chatting about life. Playing cards in the kitchen with my grandma. Tasting the sauce to make sure it was "just right." Mundane things. Moments they chose to invest in my life to show that I mattered to them.

What are the moments passing you by? Is there a little thing you could do in someone else's life right now? Maybe it seems small to you, but maybe it means the world to them. It's something I'll definitely be focusing more on in the future.

A day off

My first in three weeks. I am so happy. I slept in, cleaned house, and that's about it.

I've been thinking a lot about the idea of Sabbath, maybe because I haven't had the choice of one in a long time, and I've realized that there's a good reason for it. I am, by nature, an introvert. Now, those of you who know me in cyber-space or see me at the occasional writer's group meetings or conferences might argue that fact. There's a girl in my small group who insists I can't possibly be an introvert. Trust me. I am.

Today, That Man wanted to go to some home improvement place to buy shelving stuff to build some shelves for the playroom. I'm envisioning this really cool Pottery Barn Kids thing I saw with a little seat. I did not want to go. I wanted to stay inside my beautiful, almost clean house and not have to deal with another living human being. So there I am, looking at shelving things that look nothing like the Pottery Barn picture because they're all in pieces, and I just wanted to sit on the floor, put my hands over my ears and cry like a baby. I conned my kiddos into being mostly quiet by playing "the quiet game" and staying silent until I said they could talk again to win a prize. We finally went home, and I sent them off to buy drinks for tonight, and I just sat there, on the couch, enjoying being completely alone.

I wonder what it would be like, to have a day, just like God did, where you could sit and do absolutely nothing. Not have to go chasing off to home improvement whatnots, pick up girl scout cookies (did that today too), make sure the bills get paid, scrub the toilets, figure out when we're going to buy valentines and make the silly little valentine box for school, and oh, yeah, since my Lent thing has been narrowed down to spending time in Scripture, get right on that one. The truth is, even if I had a real day off, I don't think I'd know what to do with myself. I've filled my life with so much busy-ness that as much as I crave calm, I go a little nuts when faced with the prospect. I have too much to do in too little time.

Today, my wonderful Man surprised me. As part of our church's Lenten experience, we're doing a silent retreat. Forty hours of not speaking. Of not having to worry about the laundry, what's for dinner, whether or not the kiddo wiped her butt, where the best price on lumber is, and how I'm going to get it all together to make sure every little thing is done just right. I asked him earlier in the week if I could go, and he did his usual "maybe" thing. Tonight, he said yes. I'm part excited, part freaked out. But mostly, craving that time for just me and God.

I don't know what your schedule looks like. For a lot of you, it's either as crazy as or even more crazy than mine. I hope you'll find a way to step back, take a deep breath, and give yourself a break. We all need one.

Lenten thoughts

Yesterday, I posted a TT on Lent. Mostly because it was timely, but also because it's on my mind a lot. Our church is doing something called Project Forty in celebration of the Lenten season. I admit, I worked the night they launched it. In case you've been on the moon the past few weeks, this is the peak of tax season for me. I haven't had a day off in almost three weeks, and I've been pulling 40+ hour weeks. And that's just at the tax job. Some part time job, eh? Ah well, it's only a few weeks a year.

Anyway... I'm digressing. I do that a lot. Particularly when sleep deprived.

I've been in this frame of mind for a while now, beginning with the New Year. Everyone makes resolutions that statistics show end up being broken within a matter of weeks. I decided I didn't want to make any resolutions, but I did want to grow. I just didn't know what that meant for me.

Then, I saw a program on TV about the end of the world. Not that I believe in all these theories or anything, but I found myself asking, "what if?" What if the world did end when all these prophecies say it will? 12/21/12 (the latest doomsday) isn't all that far away. If the world ended on that day, am I okay with how I've lived my life? Can I face that end with confidence?

Now, I'm not talking about salvation here. I'm talking about my own integrity as a human being and follower of Christ. Have I lived my life in such a way that I can stand in front of God knowing that I made the most of the life I was given? Do I have regrets? Are they things I can do differently now?

So there I was, at Lent, and I started researching Lent to have something clever to post on TT other than how exhausted I am. What struck me the most was reading about Ash Wednesday, and how the ashes represent the sin and fallen condition of man. In Biblical times, people covered themselves in ashes when they fell into a deep state of sorrow for their transgressions. I did not attend a service or have ashes placed on my forehead. And yet, I feel the deep sorrow of knowing my sins. And hungrily desiring to be better.

Like with New Year's, I'm not focusing my Lenten season on some grand "giving up" or "adding a discipline." If that's your thing, that's great. But to me, there's something empty about having a little list to check off. I'm hungering for deep, spiritual fulfillment. I don't want to spend forty days doing something just to do it. I want to come through this season changed for the better. More importantly, I don't want it to end with the celebration of Our Savior's resurrection. I want to continually grow in who I am in Christ. I want to live my life mindful of the fact that not one of us knows the day or hour, and that when my hour comes, I want to be able to stand in front of the Lord unashamed.

Thursday Thirteen #33: Lent

Thirteen Things about Lent Since today (yesterday now) is the start of the Lenten season, I thought I'd share some things about Lent. 1. For most Christians, it the a season of 40 days of fasting and prayer before Easter. 2. In most western Christian traditions, Sundays don't count towards the 40 days because they celebrate the resurrection of Christ. 3. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a day of reflection on what we need to do to change and grow as Christians. 4. Ash Wednesday got its name from the tradition of placing ashes on people's foreheads as a sign of mourning for sin. 5. Forty is an important symbolic number in the Bible: it often symbolizes discipline and preparation. 6. Many people will either give up something in observance of Lent or take on a new spiritual discipline. 7. Three important elements of celebrating Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, showing justice to God, ourselves, and others. 8. Roman Catholics see Lent as an important part of their tradition, while most Protestants see it as a choice. 9. Sundays are feast days, so there is no fasting on Sundays. 10. Palm Sunday is the last Sunday before Easter, celebrating Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the beginning of Holy Week. 11. The Thursday before Easter is known as Maundy Thursday, which is when Jesus and his disciples celebrated the last supper. 12. Some Christians will celebrate with a Seder meal, honoring the Passover, which is what Jesus and his disciples were celebrating with the last supper. 13. Good Friday is the next day, commemorating the crucifixion and burial of Jesus.

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Thursday Thirteen #32: All about The Dog

Thirteen Things about The Dog Most bloggers seem to have a fascination with family members of the feline variety. In our house, The Dog reigns supreme. 1. He is a purebred miniature schnauzer, though most people think he's a mutt or a *gasp* a Scottie. 2. He plays well with the kiddos. Note photo of him playing dress-up. 3. He is very protective of the kiddos. He'll go after anyone who chases or wrestles with them. 4. Much to my chagrin, he has really bad gas. 5. The bloodthirsty creature has killed three squirrels. 6. He chases the rest on a daily basis. 7. He sleeps on my feet. 8. He snores, but it's kinda cute. 9. His favorite food is chocolate. He can sniff it out from just about anywhere and will go to great lengths to get it. Thus far, it hasn't made him sick. (And we never intentionally give it to him) 10. He hates water and getting wet. 11. He's also addicted to carbs. He'll go after bread and crackers the way he goes after chocolate. 12. The bark collar only works so-so, but it's better than nothing, so he always has to wear it. 13. He is the supreme ruler of our household. It's all about his comfort and his needs.

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Thoughts on wealth and poverty

I'm having a hard time with wealth right now. More specifically, my wealth. It occurred to me this evening that I couldn't even pay my mortgage on what most of my clients make in a year. They support an entire family, and yet I wouldn't be able to live. I wonder how they survive. The crazy thing is that they drive nicer cars than I do, wear nicer clothes than I do, have all these cool tech toys that I can't afford.

I gripe because I'm so poor. Because there's a lot that I don't have money for. My pennies scream because I pinch them so hard, trying to make them last the month. But I make three times what my average client makes. Am I just spoiled? I honestly feel guilty for the money I have. Even though it seems like we struggle financially. I'm almost ashamed.

I should probably give a small disclaimer to say that by US Government standards, I am not wealthy. Probably on the very low end of upper middle class, if that high. We're not talking about amounts that would impress anyone if I told them what we made. But still, at this time of year, with the clients I see, it seems like a gross amount.

As I have to listen to creeps who want to take advantage of the system and commit fraud, I get angry. Or when I sit down with a client I strongly suspect is manipulating the system but is technically correct in how they're doing it, I feel like screaming. Because I have so many clients who are decent, hardworking people who aren't lying about their income, marital status, living situation, etc, and they really are living on 1/3 of what I can barely live on.

I know life's not supposed to be fair, but I'm really angry at how unfair it is right now. How, over the past few years, God has doubled our income and I'm still whining about how broke we are. How one of my clients, living off of 1/4 of what I can't live on, is supporting her invalid daughter and grandchild, and is about to lose her house because of an unscrupulous lender and has no idea where she'll go or if she'll be able to help her family members. And then, I look at these other people, supposedly living off of 1/3 of what I live off of, wearing jewelry I'll never be able to afford, driving luxury SUVs, wearing designer clothes, and they're mad because their refund, aka their earned income credit, is less this year because they made more money.

I don't really have anything other than that... just this feeling of discomfort in my gut that says things are not right. I don't feel right about how much money we make. And I don't feel right about how it doesn't seem to be enough. I don't feel right about the fact that there are people in my community grateful for a $1000 refund so they can finally buy a car. I don't feel right about the fact that there are people in my community who have learned to lie and manipulate the system so they can live on easy street.

I also don't feel right about this supposed economic stimulus package. Because as I look into the eyes of the desperate taxpayers who ask me about it every day, I realize that it's just a temporary band-aid. It might ease the strain on people's finances for a month or two, but the reality is that next year, these same people are going to be just as desperate, just as far deep in the hole as they were this time last year. Sure, some of them will have iPods they didn't have before, some might be wearing some new clothes, and others might even have a few other cool new toys. But will it make them any better off?

The truth is, I think wealth and poverty is less about dollar signs and numbers than it is about a state of mind. About our hearts. About our values.

This year, as I prioritize my spending, my budget, and what it means to have what I recognize as numerical wealth, I'm going to be thinking a lot more on using what I have for things of more lasting value.

Manic Monday

Sadly, I don't wish it were Sunday, because I'm working. Last week began my two week straight without a day off time of work. But I actually think it's more like three. Ugh. Oh well. It's only temporary. :)

So since I have nothing really profound to say and I'm thinking I might try to take a nap before I have to head to work, you should check out this marriage series they're doing at our church. Last week, Dr. Craig Blomberg came and gave a really great talk on marriage that I think is equally good for married folk and singles. Click on Part 3 and have a listen. You can also get it for free on iTunes.

Just when you think you've finally got the juggling down...

You realize you forgot about your daughter having Brownies.

In case you've had a life outside Danicaland, I'll just remind you that it's tax time, and I've been busy-crazy. I'm finally getting my groove on and figuring it out. Today, I got kiddo off to school, got second kiddo off to school, paid her tuition for next month, buzzed by the bank for hubby, had an amazing Panera writing session (seriously, where's my endorsement $$), picked kiddo up from school, went grocery shopping so the family could eat while I'm working (and sadly, broke not only my budget, by my resolve to eat mostly organic. I will NOT read the ingredient labels this month), made chiro appointments for us for this afternoon, put away the groceries, cleaned the kitchen, paid the bills, called our financial advisor about moving some accounts, cleared up a mixup with the insurance company, dealt with all my email, checked the boards, caught up on blogs, and thought, wow, I'm doing so good. Look at all I've done. I'm finally on top of everything. I was just about to break out the Tim Tams to reward myself and I had an awful realization.

My older daughter has Brownies. This afternoon. During our chiro appointments. Oops.

Thursday Thirteen #31: Things I almost did a TT on

Thirteen Things about Things I almost did a TT on I'll be honest here... I've been thinking about this since last night and could not come up with a decent topic. So here's my possibles. 1. Funny things my kids say. I like to ask my three year old, "whose baby are you," because I think it's really cute the way she says, "oars." But that's about the only cute thing she does. 2. Heath Ledger. I read something somewhere that said the average celebrity lives 20 years less than the average person. Sad. 3. All the stuff I have to do. I started listing and got depressed. Haven't done any of it yet. 4. Books in my TBR pile. I've got more than thirteen. 5. Things I might cook for dinner. But I haven't gone grocery shopping, so we're having leftover chicken enchiladas. 6. What I've done since I last blogged. Eh. I don't remember. 7. Fruits I like. Wow. That was random. I got a spam email about pomegranates, and I think it inspired me. How exactly does one eat a pomegranate anyway? 8. Tea. I like tea. Not sure how to make that a TT. 9. Kids cartoons. Some are good, some really stink. 10. Horrible things my kids say. "Come smell my butt," is at the top of the list, but I can't bear for people to know how horrible my kids are. 11. Computer games I'm addicted to. But that would mean admitting to my problem. Scrabulous, anyone? 12. Things I did while Squirly was here. We'd tell you, but then we'd have to kill you. 13. Signs the world is coming to an end. I watched a show on the History Channel about it. Must be true. *shaking head*

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Real friends

I've got a good friend visiting for the weekend. I'm so happy. Very happy. Giddy, as I mentioned the other day. One of the things that's hit me over the past few days is the value of real friendship.

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I always seem to chase after the friendships that frankly, shouldn't be worth my time. I'm hurting right now over a friend who has been mistreating me for a while. I've been beating my head against a wall trying to deal with it and not understanding why I can't get past this. This week, though, as this person continues to do weird things, God has been showing me so many beautiful, valuable friendships.

So here are a few of the things I've seen in my real friends this week:

1. The friend who talked to me for hours about Saul and David. (I'll be posting that on my Enemy Prayer Blog soon) Regardless of how people treat us, even if they're trying to kill us, we have to behave in a Godly manner towards them.
2. They're so happy to see you/hear from you, they squeal and act all giddy.
3. They take the time to reassure you that your new glasses look really good on you.
4. They say things like, "go home early so you can spend time with your friends. I'll finish up the work for you," and mean it with no ulterior motive.
5. When you're sitting in a coffee shop, enjoying a nice tea and chatting about stuff, and the fire alarm goes off, they make you leave because even though the manager says it happens all the time, they want to make sure you're safe. After all, lots of people die in fires thinking it's a false alarm.
6. They're willing to tell the truth about things, even if it means exposing ugliness in you, or dare I say it, ugliness in themselves.
7. They do things like save you the jar of jellybeans because they think it'll brighten your day.
8. They watch your kids when you're in a bind, treating it like you've done them a favor, even when your kiddo throws up on them.
9. No matter how busy they are, no matter how important what they're doing is, they take the time to make you feel welcome, give you a hug, and let you know that you matter.
10. They reach out in kindness and friendship when you need it the most, understanding that it's not always about them, even if maybe they might be feeling a little needy too.

I had friends who did all of these things for me this week. In small ways, they blessed me. And really, even the smallest of these small things was a huge thing. I've got some really good friends.

I love what John 15:13 says, "greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." We all say we'd die for our friends. But the truth is, we refuse to die every day for many of those we say we care about. We refuse to die to selfishness. We refuse to die to greed. To pride. To self-righteousness. To our needs. To our own wants.

God truly blessed me today in showing me the friends who've willingly died for me this week. They've laid down their lives, stepped into mine, and given me so many precious things. For that, I am truly thankful.

Thursday Thirteen #30: Thirteen things that happened thirty years ago

Thirteen Things about being in your thirties Since this is #30 for me, it marks a bit of a milestone, and I thought I'd celebrate by celebrating things that happened thirty years ago. 1. Jimmy Carter was President. Walter (who?) Mondale was Vice President. 2. Median household income was $17,000 (YIKES!) 3. A stamp was 15 cents. (Is it my imagination or has inflation on stamps risen more than our income?) 4. A gallon of gas cost 63 cents (again... anyone care to do the math on the inflation of income versus gas) 5. The Camp David Peace Treaty marked peace between Egypt and Israel. (Peace? Really?) 6. Jim Jones and his followers at Jonestown committed suicide. 7. World population 4.4 billion. 8. First test tube baby is born. 9. The first computer bulletin board system is created. 10. The average house cost $54,800 (don't I wish!) 11. Sweden is the first nation to ban aerosol sprays due to the damage they cause to the ozone layer. 12. China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, Shakespeare, and Dickens. 13. My little brother was born.

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The Infamous Danica

So I'm in round five hundred million six hundred eighty seven thousand and change of teaching tax related stuff to folks and new hire training. I'm starting to forget which class learned what and I'm having nightmares about not teaching someone something valuable because I thought I taught it to someone else. Anyway, I did another section tonight, and as my students left and the office guy closed up, he said, "So you're the infamous Danica."

Uh, yeah.

What exactly does that mean?

I asked him. And he said, "Well, everyone always talks about you." Uh, now I'm a little scared. He continued, "And when they do, they get this giddy little happy tone as they talk about you."

Now I'm really scared.

Infamous and I make people giddy.

Speaking of giddy, I'm exceedingly so, mixed with a quarter helping of exhaustion. First off, you should know that one of my wonderful, dear, beloved friends is coming to see me this weekend. Okay, her primary purpose isn't me. Her hubby bought a new truck from a place in our area and he wants to go skiing, so she's coming with him. We're getting a cabin for the weekend, the men will be skiing, the women will be indoors, BICHOK, drinking hot chocolate, giggling, and writing up a storm.

And for no particular reason, other than I had a small God nudge, I ended up calling another really good friend I don't talk to all that often, and she got all squealy and giddy when she realized it was me.

I should also mention my other friend and I got squealy and giddy as we planned our non-ski weekend. I was talking to That Man tonight about it, and he's like, "uh, honey, as soon as you two started squealing, I left the room, I have no idea what you two have planned." Party pooper. S'okay. We'll have fun anyway. Stinky boys in the snow, and lovely ladies in the warm cabin by the fire with hot chocolate.

So maybe my post should be about being all giddy and squealy. Because really, that's how I'm feeling, despite the fact I was up way too late last night having girl talk, giggling, squealing, and all that crazy stuff.

I am super tired. But super happy too. My friends get giddy over hearing my voice. In fact, my coworkers get giddy over hearing my name. AND, I'm infamous. Huh. Except I always thought I'd end up infamous for my homicidal tendencies, not for making folks giddy with happiness. Must work on that.

It's great to be me!

This lovely little MeMe comes from my dear friend, Jan. She makes a great point about how she uses her "great to be me" positive attitude to combat some of the negative stuff that happens. Which is a good reminder for me, because I tend to focus on the negative.

Sooo... Fifteen reasons why it's GREAT to be me. (And no, that was NOT sarcasm)

1. It's great to be me because dinner's already in the oven.
2. It's great to be me because I've got two beautiful little girls.
3. It's great to be me because I have a supportive husband.
4. It's great to be me because I'm getting on track.
5. It's great to be me because I have a lovely home.
6. It's great to be me because I have The Dog.
7. It's great to be me because I have good friends.
8. It's great to be me because we're all reasonably healthy.
9. It's great to be me because I went to Panera today.
10. It's great to be me because my house is mostly clean.
11. It's great to be me because I have a job (and income!)
12. It's great to be me because I live in SUNNY Colorado.
13. It's great to be me because I live in the USA!
14. It's great to be me because my daughter just asked me to read her a book.
15. It's great to be me because I am a child of God.

So why's it great to be you? Share your blessings, and because I'm getting back on track, it's FREE BOOK MONDAY!! Tell me why it's great to be you, and you'll be entered to win a copy of Missionary Daddy by Linda Goodnight.

Wasted Days and Wasted Writes...

(everyone's singing, right?)

Today is a wasted day. I originally set up today as a daycare day so I could go to critique group. Fifty bucks later, my critique group has disbanded due to our fearless leader getting a job. Leaving me with a whole day and no kid. I know, some of you are saying, "and that's a problem, because?" Because I PAID fifty bucks for daycare. So then, it turns out someone scheduled an appointment at work for me during my off time. I thought, well, I'll just go in to work early today and work the whole day. Um, no. Because last night, when I went to work, these clients came in and had their taxes done by someone else. Which means there is absolutely NO REASON for me to go in to work early today.

So, having paid an extra fifty bucks for absolutely no reason except I thought I might have something going on today and the daycare requires you pay them a month in advance, I thought long and hard about what I'd do with my day.

And because I'm working at being a "professional" writer and achieving my writing goals this year, I stuck to my normal MWF Panera mornings. Yes, yes I did. So I went to Panera and worked a little bit longer than usual.

Which leads to my Wasted Writes. I wrote 30 pages. Ten are complete garbage, and I think five, maybe ten, will never see the light of day. So I have ten USEFUL pages. I'm trying to rewrite chapter one, because I was told that readers weren't engaged until about page 15. That'd be a problem. Today, I wrote ten pages and realized they were boring, too. I wrote another ten. Eh, so-so. Then finally, I got the golden ten I think might actually work. At least until someone else reads them and deems them only slightly less boring than what I originally had.

So why am I telling you about my Wasted Day and and Wasted Write? Other than the fact that I really am bitter about spending so much money on nothing. The thing is, even though I am griping about it being wasted, it wasn't really wasted. I have a tendency, and I think a lot of US society has the same tendency, to value things based on productivity. Why should I be mad at *gasp* having a day all to myself without having a specific plan? Maybe I do only have ten pages, but I also know a lot of writers who'd kill to have ten good pages with only a morning of writing. As far as the twenty I'll probably throw away (I think I deleted five or ten already), I don't think any page you write about your story is truly wasted. In those deleted scenes, you learn a lot about your characters, their motivations, and how they're feeling.

So even if you're like me, feeling like you've wasted a day, wasted precious pages on a MS you're desperate to get out, take a deeper look, because there's something valuable you gained from it, even if it takes a little hunting.

Thursday Thirteen #29: Routines I've missed over the holiday

Thirteen Things about Routines I've missed over the holiday 1. My Panera writing mornings while small one is in school. 2. Words for the Journey. 3. Lunch at the Lighthouse. 4. Greeting my B when she gets home from school. 5. Giving my girlies hugs goodbye for school. 6. Enforced bedtime. 7. ALONE time. 8. Taking my vitamins and supplements. 9. Feeling like there's order in my life. 10. The kids like each other again now that they aren't spending 24/7 together. 11. Time with my church family. 12. Naptime. 13. Did I mention the kiddos are in bed asleep when I get home?

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I am so blessed

What a weird thing to say after my last post. But you know, not only did I have some great friends with wonderful insight weigh in, but I also spent some time with some other friends today who also gave me some insight.

We were talking about some other topics that are huge hot buttons for me, and of course, I went off on my rant, and elaborated a little. Because here's another thing I don't understand. This world is so wicked. Why isn't God getting mad enough to do something about it? To be honest, I'm a little peeved at God for not raining down His anger at how awful we've become.

And then my friend brought up a really good point. She said, "well, what makes you think He's not? There's a lot of punishment-type stuff happening in the world, things resulting from our sin, and just as in other times of great sin, the righteous are being punished along with the wicked." Huh. I hadn't thought of that. Well, I sorta had. But of course, my little vindictive self had to say, "Yeah, but why isn't God out there making it known it's God? Why isn't He making it obvious that it's Him and that He's mad?"

Her answer blew me away. "Because it takes away free will."

If we're forced to believe in God by Him coming down out of the Heavens and spanking our little bottoms for being such brats, how exactly are we given a choice to believe in Him.

Wow.

But of course, I couldn't let it stop there. Or maybe God couldn't. So He and I talked about it for a long time this afternoon. I guess I'm not so into grace as I'd like to think, because I have to admit, I'm sorta hoping for a Sodom and Gomorrah sort of thing where God steps in and cleanses us of some of the wickedness. But then I had a sobering thought. All it would have taken in Sodom and Gomorrah to be saved was ten righteous people. Just ten. In two pretty big cities. And they couldn't be found. As much as I'd like to think we've got some righteous people here, are we really? More to the point, am I really? If I lived in one of those cities, and God chose to rain down judgment, would I have been counted among the righteous?

Don't misunderstand me here... I'm not questioning my salvation. The blood of Christ has forgiven my sins. But here I am, furious at all the injustice around me. Furious that evil is so rampant and so prosperous. Furious that really good people are hurting, being hurt, and being taken advantage of by the wicked. And I want the bad guys to be punished. Desperately.

And I wonder, am I really so different from them? Blood is tasting really good on my lips right now. Am I any better than those I would wish to be condemned?

I'm thinking I pretty well deserve the spanking I've been praying all the bad guys should get. And I'm thinking that I'm awfully grateful that God has chosen to overlook my arrogance and love me anyway. I know what's in my heart. It's not real pretty. And I am so thankful that God loves me anyway. I am so blessed. So undeserving of grace, and yet I have absolutely no clue what it means.

Forgive me.

Third attempt at a blog

Can we say uninspired?

Actually that's not true. What is true is that I have a lot of things on my mind and in my heart, and I've been doing a pretty lousy job at expressing myself coherently. So here it is.

I'm trying to dig myself out of the pit. I've done a lot of really good positive things to improve my day, my life, my mood, my house, my family. I managed to drag myself out of bed, even though I wanted to lay there forever. I did some good things for myself that I needed to do. I'm proud of myself. I wanted to share those things, except they sound kind of silly when I get specific, so there it is.

The other thing on my mind is the idea of justice. Good guys, bad guys, and why it seems like the bad guys win more often than the good guys. I'm getting tired of watching the meanest people I know triumph over the nicest people I know. The people who do everything with so little integrity always getting ahead while the honest ones are stepped on. I hate watching people with integrity give up and cut some corners because it's the only way they can survive. I want to know where God is. I'm not meaning to be blasphemous here, but really... where is He? We all know that He is going to triumph in the end. This is one story that's been spoiled to death: God wins. And yet, there's so much mystery because we don't know how or when.

How long? How long?

The Psalmists wrote about this centuries upon centuries ago. And here we are, still singing the same song. Where is my Deliverer? Where is my help? My Strength? I'm trying to wait patiently for the Lord, but really, I just want to cry and scream and beg and rant and throw the biggest temper tantrum to get Him to notice me.

Here I am. I'm still waiting. We're still waiting. Deliver us. Avenge the wrongs done to us. Give us triumph over our enemies.

Is there anything new under the sun? No, there is not. Not one of my words is anything You've never heard before. Am I just babbling like the pagans? Speaking only to hear my own voice echo against the walls in my own mind?

Hello...

Are you still out there?

Be still and know that I am God. When you seek me with all your heart, there you will find me.

Is my faith not strong enough? If only it were as big as the grain of a mustard seed. Is it not even that big? Give me more faith. Give me more strength to seek deeper.

No particular reason

In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest ends up running all the way across the country. People asked him why he was doing it, and he kept telling them, "For no particular reason." And then, for no particular reason at all, he turned around and ran across the other way.

I keep thinking about that in terms of my life. I might as well just fess up right here and now and tell you all that I'm depressed. For no particular reason. Probably hormonal, given the fact that I have disgusting zits all over my body, in places no grown woman should get them, and really, in no places anyone should have to have them. But there they are. And it could be that I watched this happy/sad/happy movie that usually would be in my hate pile given that it did not end with a satisfying romantic conclusion except she did get rid of the dirt bag hubby. Oops, I just ruined the movie. Good thing I didn't tell you what it was. And it could be that I'm overwhelmed with life. The usual too much to do, no time to do it in, no confidence to back any of it up, but because it's what I do best, I'm faking it real well. And maybe it's that I came to some intense realizations about my life, and I really don't know what to do with it.

But mostly, it's for no particular reason.

Like most Americans, rather than hearing about news that matters like, oh I don't know, people still starving in Africa (old news, really, didn't they have some concert benefit or something), I've seen all the breaking news reports about a certain young pop star who is in the middle of a mental breakdown and as a result is losing custody of her kids. She's been on my prayer list for a while now. I started back when I saw how DSD's soccer team idolized her and I worried about having someone like that as a role model for the kiddos. And that was before the breakdown. Now here she is, her life falling apart and people are stampeding to try and cash in on whatever they can, whether it be photos, interviews, or the exclusive story on why she broke down.

And you know what I want to know? What does it matter? She's just a girl, who, like all of us, is trying to make her way in the world. But unlike us, she can't even use a restroom without getting mobbed for the money shot. I don't live under that kind of pressure and there's days when I'd really like to have the luxury of a breakdown. But unlike her, I have things to do like cooking, cleaning, laundry, paying bills, keeping my little terrorists from blowing up the neighborhood, and all that jazz. I know the pressure I put on myself. Fortunately, I'm blessed with a handful of people who choose to love me and believe in all of my dreams. This woman... she's got an army of people following her around, looking for her to fail. Waiting to capture it for the whole world to see. And see they will, selling record numbers of magazines, getting a record number of hits on websites, and giving a few pathetic souls the right to pat themselves on the back. There's a reason I'm not mentioning her by name.

So what's the big deal with this person? Nothing, really. She sold a few albums, made a name for herself, and for whatever reason, it makes us think we have the right to jump into her life, follow her around, and turn her into a three-ring freakshow. Bravo to us. Why do we do it? No particular reason.

Here we are, at the start of a new year, and I just have to wonder, what's it all for? Why are our lives so empty and meaningless? Why am I sitting here, completely depressed when the reality is that I have nothing to be depressed about? Why is the mental breakdown of a person so much more fascinating to us than finding real solutions to helping people in need? Why can we talk about her for hours and never talk about things that are real?

The truth is, I lied when I said there was no particular reason. There's a reason. One important reason. We're focused on everything but the important reason. We supposedly just spent a holiday celebrating that reason, but let's get real here. All most of us really spent was a little more money than what we had. We need God. I need God.

Guest blogger: Cheryl Wyatt

Today, we have a very special guest, one of my dear friends, Cheryl Wyatt, aka Squirl. I am so thrilled and honored to be a part of her blog tour for her very first book, A Soldier's promise. She's been a great friend, but rather than share all the embarrassing stories and pictures I have of her, I'll be nice and let her do the talking...

Leave a comment and I'll draw a name for one very lucky person to win a copy of her book.

THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE I SOLD


*THAT MY CHILDREN WOULD EXCHANGE SIBLING RIVALRY FOR CYBER-RIVALRY
*HUSBANDS DON'T BELIEVE YOU WHEN YOU TELL THEM EVERY NEWLY CONTRACTED WRITER HIRES A MAID
*ICKY, FUZZY GREEN MOLD STILL GROWS ON UNWASHED DISHES THAT DON'T CARE THAT YOU CAN'T COME NEAR THE SINK DUE TO DEADLINES
*NEVER PUT A FLASH DRIVE ON OR NEAR A SPEAKER THAT HOUSES POWERFUL MAGNETS INSIDE
*GELLING OF A STORY FOR THREE YEARS BEOMES A LOST CONFIDENCE-VICE
*SUCH JOY WOULD COME FROM OTHERS' OVERWHELMING EXCITEMENT OVER MY REALIZED DREAM, EVEN IF THEIR OWN DREAMS REMAIN IN WAITING.

I HAD BEEN MORE PROFICIENT IN KNOWING BASIC HTML AND WEBSITE UPKEEP

*WHAT A RUSH THAT PHONE CALL WOULD BE AND WHAT AN OUTRAGEOUSLY EXCITING RIDE IT WOULD SET ME ON
*I WOULD HAVE KNOWN TO COMPLETELY CLEAR MY CALENDAR THE MONTH OR TWO BEFORE MY DEBUT NOVEL'S RELEASE
*SOME PEOPLE WOULD TREAT ME DIFFERENTLY BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN A BAD WAY. THERE'S MORE RESPECT, WHY I'M NOT SURE BECAUSE I'M STILL THE SAME SILLY, GOOFY ME
*HOW EASY GALLEYS WOULD BE BUT HOW SHORT THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU HAVE TO DO THEM AND TURN THEM BACK IN. LOL!

I WOULD STILL HAVE TIMES, LOTS OF TIMES OF SELF-DOUBT

*KIDS+RED SLUSHIE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY+WHITE LAPTOP KEYBOARD=ALWAYS SPELLS DISASTER
*NO ONE BELIEVES AUTHORS HAVE TO BUY THEIR OWN BOOKS BEYOND THEIR FREE AUTHOR COPIES
*EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER MET WHETHER YOU REMEMBER THEM OR NOT WANTS A FREE COPY
*WINDOWS VISTA AND WORD 2007 ISN'T SOMETHING YOU CAN MASTER THE WEEK YOUR BOOK IS DUE

*BE SURE TO MAKE A HARD COPY OR ELECTRONIC COPY OF YOUR MS AS SENT TO YOUR EDITORS BEFORE YOU MAKE A SINGLE CHANGE ACCORDING TO THEIR REVISION NOTES. ONCE YOU MAKE A CHANGE, IT CHANGES THE PAGE AND LINE NUMBERS, WHICH THE EDITORS USE IN THE LATTER HALF OF THEIR LETTER TO DIRECT YOU TO THINGS YOU NEED TO CHANGE, BEEF UP, ADDRESS, FIX OR NIX.
*EVEN BIG, PREVIOUSLY DAUNTING GERMAN SHEPPARD'S SCAMPER AWAY SCARED WHEN YOU STREAK (CLOTHED) DOWN THE STREETS OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SHRIEKING ABOUT YOUR BOOK BEING ON AMAZON
*FEW PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND THE TIME COMMITMENT WRITING TAKES
*ONLY ANOTHER WRITER TRULY UNDERSTANDS YOUR EXCITEMENT OVER FINDING THE PERFECT, ACTIVE VERB OR THE PERFECTLY PLACED METAPHOR, OR THAT YOU FINALLY MASTERED MODIFIERS. AND ONLY ANOTHER WRITER CAN APPRECIATE HOW HARD AND LONG YOU WORKED TO GET TO THE PLACE YOU ARE IN YOUR CRAFT BECAUSE THEY KNOW. THEY'RE GRITTING AND GRUNTING THROUGH IT TOO.
*READER LETTERS ARE THE MOST INSPIRING REWARD
*EVERY ASPIRING AUTHOR COMES OUT OF THE WOODWORK TO ASK YOUR ADVICE AND YOU FEEL NEARLY LIKE A FRAUD ANSWERING THEIR QUESTIONS BECAUSE YOU STILL FEEL SO GREEN MOST OF THE TIME.

I WOULD HAVE KNOWN TO ORDER MORE STARBUCKS CARDS AT CHRISTMAS AND TAKE DOWN NAMES OF EVERYONE INVOLVED IN MY BOOK FROM ART, TO MARKETING, TO PROMOTION, TO EDITORIAL ETC. IT IS SUCH A COLLABORATIVE TEAM EFFORT FROM SO MANY PEOPLE AT THE PUBLISHING HOUSE IN GETTING A BOOK SHELF-READY. AND I THINK WHEN AN AUTHOR MISSES A DEADLINE, I IMAGINE IT'S LIKE THAT OLD I LOVE LUCY EPISODE WHERE HER AND BETTY ARE WORKING IN THE CANDY FACTORY AND THEY GET BEHIND SO THEY HAVE TO START CRAMMING PIECES IN THEIR MOUTHS AND EVEN THEIR TOPS. ANYONE REMEMBER THAT? I PRAY I NEVER MISS A DEADLINE.

*SPELLCHECKER WILL CHANGE "MEMORIES ASSAULTED NOLAN AS HE WALKED ALONG THE BRIDGE" TO "MAMMORIES ASSAULTED NOLAN AS HE WALKED ALONG THE BRIDGE" WHEN YOU'RE NOT LOOKING, AND THANK GOODNESS YOU PROOFED THAT THING ONE MORE TIME BEFORE MAILING IT TO YOUR EDITOR AND PROSPECTIVE AGENTS.
*ONLINE CONNECTIONS, BLOGGING, AND DIGITAL MARKETING WOULD BE SO IMPORTANT IN GETTING THE WORD OUT AS EFFECTIVELY AS FOOT-TO-STORE BOOK SIGNINGS
*LITTLE CHILDREN CAN BE ENCOURAGED THAT GOD HAS A DEFINITE PURPOSE FOR THEM AND A PLAN FOR THEIR LIFE AND THAT SOMETIMES HE GIVES US DREAMS EVEN WHEN WE'RE LITTLE. AND WE MAY FORGET BUT HE DOESN'T.
*DAYS AREN'T ADDED TO THE WEEK NOR HOURS TO THE DAY NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY TO CONVINCE GOD YOUR REQUEST IS VALID

Cross-eyed

YIKES! I can't believe it's been over a week since I've blogged. Did not mean for that one, but hey that's been what my life has been like the past week. I flew home from Chicago, got home late, woke up early the next morning to head to my mom's for Christmas, got back here in time for a snowstorm, jumped back into teaching, and the rest of the life I left behind.

You know the funny thing about taking a vacation from life? It's still waiting when you get back, with the added bonus of everything you didn't do all piled up.

Which is why I'm cross-eyed.

I did all the hard copy edits on the book on my trip. Yes, yes I did. I put my flight time and layovers to good use, tyvm. Now, of course, I have to put it into the computer, which is a slightly daunting task because I think I may have edited myself into a corner. Yes, my friends, these are the days when I understand why many of the literary greats ended up alcoholics. And, no, I didn't actually drink. I just understand why one would want to.

Then there are the boards, which are crazy... with the upcoming changeover and a couple of events I have launching at the same time, I've got a million and one things to finish and have ready ASAP. I've spent the past two hours trying to get some html right and figure out why I couldn't get one stinking paragraph to format correctly.

And of course, I have teaching. We did a marathon session today. I love it when the course material says it's slated for an hour more than the class time you're given. Along with all of that, I've got to do all the end of year/beginning of new year paperwork. ICK.

So that, dear people, is what I've been doing. Roaming the country, leaving havoc in my trail, and actually trying to be productive. Just in time for tax season to start. I got a glimpse of my schedule, and frankly, I'm not ready to face it yet, so I don't remember when I'm working. My boss said she's being nice to me and giving me some time off. *insert skeptical look*

And I've really got to get started on my own taxes. That Man and his HR person did not understand my instructions for his withholding and I didn't catch it until too late. Which means we're going to owe. I think. Unless I can pull a few more deductions out of my hat. Speaking of, I need to get new glasses tomorrow. The silver lining of the cloud that's been my health problems this year is I'm going to have a ton of medical expenses to deduct. The new glasses will be total icing.

Or at least that's the hope. I think I'm starting to ramble. I am so tired. Too tired to move. Can I stay here forever? Of course then the stuff will just pile up around me, won't it? Ah... my life... gotta love it.

Friends, Fun, and YAY!!!

Honestly, I don't have anything specific to blog about, but I know folks know I'm on the road, so I wanted to do a general "I'm safe, alive, and happy" post. There's six of us in this suite in the hotel and we are having a ball. Last night, we attended the final show for the Christmas Promise tour with Todd Agnew, Newsong, Matthew West, Nate Sallie, and Britt Nicole. It was wonderful.

Last year, we did a retreat with the Christmas Hope tour with Todd and Newsong, and it was also wonderful. I meant it when I said it's going to be a tradition. So praying already for next year.

The hardest thing about the connections and friendships I have with people all over the world is that we don't get to see each other often enough. Of course, we're already planning the next get-together. I admit, I hope we do something sooner than what we're looking at. I love these girls. They are some of the most amazing women I've met.

And now we've got four others stopped by to say goodbye, so I guess I'll sign off for now.

Reason #98798 why Mommies need vacations

Because after spending over an hour in the car looking for the place that has our pictures, said place can't find them amidst three year old throwing a temper tantrum in the store. In fact, no record of us seems to exist. Funny, they seemed eager enough to charge my credit card, for which there IS a record. Fortunately, the guy was nice and said if I called them with the info, rather than having to make another trip out there, they'll mail them to me for free. Yippee for me.

We pile back into the car, said monster child begs for her chocolate milk.

I should have known better.

I do know better.

But when she promises to be really careful and not spill, I *sigh* trust her.

Surely you know what's coming.

Yep.

Two blocks later, she dumps the entire bottle of chocolate milk all over her and the interior of my car. And thinks it's funny.

Needless to say, I did not get to the store, or run any of my other errands. Unfortunately, the "I can parent better than you police" don't look kindly to dragging around a dripping wet with chocolate milk child in the middle of winter. Been there, done that, got the lecture.

So we drove home, I put the little rat in bed, and I am now wondering how I can get all of my errands run before I head to the airport at 9 a.m. I imagine it'll look something like Mommy ends up at the grocery store in the middle of the night and I stay up all night packing and doing all the other miscellaneous things I have to do. I can sleep on the plane, right?

Which means I'll end up sitting between two linebackers who think they can take up my share of my seat because I'm such a cute little thing and I won't mind.

Oh well. I'm going to be spending the next few days with some of my bestest girlfriends, sans children, and life will be GRAND. *happy sigh*

The Kingdom

Not the one you're thinking of. :)

I just finished watching The Kingdom. A friend of mine works for Blockbuster, so he gets to preview a lot of the movies about to come out. Anyway, we all went over and watched it.

Wow.

I should say that again.

Wow.

I come into it from a different perspective. In college, my primary field of study was the Middle East. I'd actually hoped to go into foreign affairs, work for the State Department, make the world a better place. Yeah. You see where I'm going with this, right? I spent a summer living in Israel and realized that foreign policy in the Middle East has very little to do with what's right and everything to do with power. I couldn't live with that. And frankly, as much as I am a rebel, I'm not into being a one-woman fight against the machine.

I watched this movie with a lot of sadness. I'm going to ruin the ending, so if you're one of those who can't deal with it, I apologize. Each side ended with the notion that "we're going to kill them all." There was this little boy, and that was the thought planted in his head. You want to know where the terrorists come from? Those little boys. And probably, little girls.

The next generation of terrorists are going to be even more ruthless. We think it's bad now, but I believe it will be even worse. The younger generation sits back and watches as their loved ones die horrible deaths. All the blame is placed on the Americans. Or, if you live here, on the Muslims. And so we learn to hate. When we hate, it's easier to kill. They aren't one of us. They are the enemy.

If you want to know the truth about what's going on over there, you need to know that we're all in the wrong. All sides. We aren't the good guys. But we aren't the bad guys, either.

I gave up my Middle East dreams because I didn't know what to do about it. There are some in this country who would think I'm unpatriotic or wrong or worse, a terrorist myself because I feel this way. And the thing is, I'm none of those things. I love my country. But I love other people too. And I think all people have the same inalienable rights. Rights that we deny a lot of others because they believe different things, live a different way, and look a little different from us.

I say this as an American. I say this as a Christian. I say this as a mother.

I used to laugh about the bumper sticker that says, "Who would Jesus bomb?" I keep thinking about it, though. Who WOULD Jesus bomb? He came so that all might be saved. Not everyone except the people we don't like. Abram became Abraham, the father of many nations, so that all the peoples of the world would be blessed. The fulfillment of all the law is love. I'm a bit confused as to how any of our actions are in line with the law. But apparently I follow the wrong law. At least in human terms.

So maybe I did blog about The Kingdom, after all. And not the movie.

If you want to change the situation in the Middle East, if we want to win the war on terror, it's not going to come by going in, guns blazing. I used to work with an organization that's figured that out. Seeking Common Ground- Building Bridges for Peace brings together young women from Israel, Palestine, and the U.S. to learn about one another and break the cycle of hatred. I was privileged enough to work with a number of the girls, get to know them, and fall in love with each and every one of them. It's groups like SCG, working to change the hearts of the next generation, one person at a time, that's going to make a difference.

I encourage all of you to take the time, step into the shoes of your enemy, and truly consider what Jesus would really do. Perhaps, if we started to figure that out, we wouldn't be damning the next generation to hell on earth.

Thursday Thirteen #28: Things I've learned recently about eating healthy

Thirteen Things about eating healthy 1. Healthy food tastes pretty good. 2. Some of it is still gross, though. 3. Soy is one of the worst things you can put into your body (and here I thought it was good for me) 4. If you plan right, it's also not as expensive as I thought. 5. Homemade food doesn’t take as much time as I’d thought (and it’s much better for you!) 6. You’re not supposed to sauté the garlic with the onions (and guess how I learned how to cook) 7. I can get my kiddo to eat anything if I tell her its medicine (and she likes it) 8. How to make Kefir (and what Kefir is) 9. That when you roast a chicken, you’re supposed to do it with the right side up (I still can’t tell which end is which) 10. My house will not burn down if I simmer homemade broth for the full 24 hours recommended by the recipe (and the broth turns out really nice) 11. Homemade Bread is really yummy and not so hard to make. 12. My family is not as fond of eating healthy as I am. 13. I still crave junk! (especially hot dogs!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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An open letter to those in the universe conspiring against me

STOP IT ALREADY!!!!!!!

There. I feel much better.

As some of you know, this is crazy season for me. I wish I could *just* have Christmas to deal with. Frankly, it gets scaled back every year, and I'm fine with that. But it's a busy time for those of us gearing up for tax season, and somehow I ended up teaching two classes. UGH. And then, we are moving our boards to a new platform, which is great, but again, more work! Add in all my regular stuff, and I'm going crazy.

So today, on a day with lots of icky white stuff falling, when I have no place to go except to teach tonight, the only day I have in my schedule to sleep in, WHY WHY WHY won't people leave me alone?

No one ever calls. I kinda like it that way. Silence is golden. Today, the phone has not stopped ringing. Is it anyone I'd want to talk to? No. In fact, if you know whoever has the number 818-456-1234, could you please tell them to stop calling? So far, they've called three times today, and that's after I politely told them yesterday to never call here again. In case you're wondering, I screen my calls. If I don't recognize the number on caller ID, and you don't leave a message, I don't answer the phone. Anyway, all day long, from the moment I got up long enough to bundle kiddo up, kiss her goodbye, and send her to school, it's been a zoo here.

Not by my choosing, mind you.

My only peaceful day this week, and it's being disturbed.

Oh well, maybe I'll go bake something and feel better. :)

Thursday Thirteen #27: Things I've done since I last blogged

Yeah, I know. Long time no blog. I'm pretty shocked myself. Life's been... crazy to say the least. But rather than bore you with my petty excuses, here's my list:

Thirteen Things I've done since I last blogged 1. Slept. Let's let that one sink in for just one more blissful moment. 2. Mailed off that pesky manuscript. 3. Cleaned my kitchen. I am no longer worried about the Health Department. 4. Visited 5 medical supply type places and called about a dozen more to find a sling for my 7 year old who fell off the trampoline and sprained her arm. Apparently, my children are the only ones who ever need slings. I am also, according to those medical people, a very bad mom for letting my kiddos have a trampoline. 5. Fell off the nutritional supplement bandwagon. I deeply regret it. 6. Spent a blissful day with my bestest best friend. 7. Attended one out of the four holiday parties scheduled for this week. Three more to go. 8. Rediscovered the joy of Neopets with my children. 9. Made an Advent Wreath. 10. Unpacked 10 boxes. 11. Paid the bills. Wahoo!! Our electricity won't be shut off because I forgot! 12. Re-bonded with hubby, children, and dog. 13. Worked on next major project for the boards.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Finally!!

At 2:35 p.m. this afternoon, I finished the rewrite of the book.

Let's all cheer.

However, I had to go back and revise the partial and synopsis to put in the mail tomorrow. Which I finished at 11:30 p.m. I had to cut 8 pages, make the grandfather less of a jerk, and make my hero less wishy-washy. Pages are cut. I think I succeeded with the grandfather and hero.

So tomorrow, I'm off to Kinkos to print and mail. Then, I can find my life again.

I'm pretty proud of myself. I set a difficult goal and met it. More importantly, I learned that my family can pull around me and work together to make it happen. Hubby very generously kicked me out of the house so I could get some work done. He kept the kiddos fed, the house semi picked up, and accomplished the crazy tasks I absolutely had to have done to stay sane.

As I prepared the very gourmet meal of hot dogs, the first I'd done all week, with the exception of a lasagna I'd frozen a couple months ago, I thought about a speech I saw a famous author give when she received an award for one of her books.

She got up and said that while everyone else thanked their family, she wasn't going to, because her family didn't write the book. Maybe the family didn't write the book. But at least in my house, my family plays an important role in my writing. They eat cereal on the nights I'm too preoccupied to cook without burning the house down. My husband works hard and sometimes extra hours so I have enough money for whatever I need- whether it be paper, ink, or conference expenses. They put up with me asking them weird questions like, "If you were in this situation, how would you react?" And they pitch in to do chores that I don't quite get around to. The seven year old informed me that she loooooooves to do laundry.

So to my family, thank you. I still have a lot of work to do, but without your help, I would not have reached this goal

Santa and Jesus

I realized why I hadn't posted the entries in the Unposted Blog Entry file. ACK! So much for the magic file.

I broke my little girl's heart today. We were talking about Christmas, and she told me about this toy she wanted. I'm sorry, but I think it's inappropriate to spend $300 for a toy horse for a child for Christmas. Frankly, I think people are going waaaay too overboard with Christmas spending. Which is why we're scaling down.

So, we had to have a talk. I finally explained to her that the horse she wanted was too expensive, and there was absolutely no way she'd get it. In a tearful voice, she asked, "But Mom, what about Santa? Can't he bring it?"

Now see, we do Santa in our house. But for us, Santa is a fun tradition, and the focus is Jesus. Santa is not a miracle worker. And my kids certainly aren't getting things from Santa that we'd never buy.

I told her again, "it's too expensive. We can't afford it."

My daughter said, "you have to PAY Santa?"

"Yes."

She spent a good hour crying. But when she finished, we talked about other gifts she might like. And we talked about what's important about Christmas.

On one hand, I feel bad for making her cry. But I also know that if that horse isn't under the tree on Christmas, it'll completely ruin her day. It's best she understands now.

A friend of mine and I talked recently about how God isn't Santa. He doesn't give us the nice gifts on our wish list just because we're good or because we really want them. But I'd like to add something. Santa isn't God. We shouldn't be looking for him to do things for our families that we can't. Our kids shouldn't be looking for him to give miraculous presents mom and dad have already said no to.

I'm not one of those anti-Santa Christians. I think Santa is a nice story and a nice tradition. Just like any one of the other stories I grew up reading. And I think it's okay to play pretend and play Santa. But I also think we need to keep Santa in perspective and make sure his importance isn't at the center of our holiday. He's not a miracle. The miracle is in Jesus, and that's where we need to keep our focus.

So this Christmas season, rather than wondering about what Santa can do, ask yourself how you can be Jesus to someone else. It's a whole lot better than Santa.

Struggling, but getting by

Okay, so promised post from yesterday didn't materialize until today. Sorry about that.

It's been a long, hard day, with pretty much nothing going as planned. And that's been a real bummer, to say the least. And at the risk of sounding like a big, whiny, cry baby, no one's given me a whole lot of sympathy over it.

Anyway, I'm on a major deadline so I'll be hit and miss the rest of the week. I think my posts will be coming from that magic file of stuff I meant to post a long time ago but never got around to posting. It should be interesting. Or not. I don't know.

I'd post more tonight, but it's been such a bad day that I'm afraid to say or do anything else. My computer will probably blow up or something. So send me chocolate, hugs, tea, and I'll catch you here real soon.

Unless my house blows up. I wish I were kidding.

Free Book Monday: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

This is a real-quick-like post, just letting you know what the book is. I'll be back later to fill in details, but I figured some folks were expecting it, so I'd at least share that much. I'll be back later with some kind of post. :)

Updates

Well, if you're a sidebar watcher, you'll see that I've FINALLY!! updated my sidebar and links. If you're not on there and want to be, or are there and don't want to be, let me know and I'll make the change. :)

The winner of last week's Free Book Monday is... Heather! Congratulations!! Email me with your info and I'll get the book out to you.

Hearing God

Happy Sunday! Last Sunday, as part of our small group, we took an assessment of our spiritual gifts. In the past, I've always scored pretty high on discernment. Yet, with this assessment, as I looked at the questions about discernment, I started to wonder. The questions made me realize how little discernment I have. I'm not really good at picking out people's motivations. My judgment tends to be clouded by my experience. My experience is that people aren't as good as they say, or as they'd like to think. But is it the truth? Or is it just my experience?

Lately, I've had a number of folks in my life playing the "God said" card. They'll be saying something about their life and ultimately, that phrase gets thrown out. However, as I watch the things happening in their lives, I hear the words that come out of their mouths, and the attitudes they have, I have to wonder... did God really say?

These people say they have a lot of discernment. It scares me because they are a couple of the meanest people I know. I don't hear a lot of nice things coming out of their mouths. But they think they have God's will all figured out. Is God's will about sarcasm? Is God's will about putting self above others? Is God's will about condemnation? Is God's will self-righteous?

Maybe I have a different version of the Bible. Maybe I don't understand God the way I'm supposed to. The truth is, the more I learn about God, the more I read my Bible, the more I think I don't have discernment at all. I still do and say a lot of bad things. I'd like to say the level of sin in my life continues to go down as I grow spiritually, but the truth is, all that's happened is that I'm more aware of how sinful I am.

Do I hear from God? I'd like to think so. But I'm also painfully aware of the fact that my hearing is distorted by my human experience, my human failings, my human desires, my human hurts, my human fears. It's easy to find a verse or interpret a verse to say what we think we want God to be saying. But is it what God meant by those words? And do they really justify our position?

I don't know. Like I said, as I've aged, discernment hasn't been my strong suit. Instead of answers, I only have more questions. Fortunately, as those of you who read my blog know, that's all part of the journey.

It came to me on page 198

Yep, that's where I am on this rewrite. And I need to kick it into higher gear to get it done in time. However, I had to take a quick break to celebrate this major epiphany.

For those of you new to my writing angst, you should know that I can't summarize to save my life. As a reader of my blog, you've hopefully figured that out by now. I get to my points. Eventually.

I usually start a book with a vague idea of what it's about. Except if you ask, "what's your book about," I will typically stammer for a good ten minutes until something resembling a story idea pops out of my mouth. I can tell you all sorts of things about my books. But to be able to crystallize it in any intelligent form? Nope.

So here I am, typing away, fighting with this latest chapter because it's so stinking hard, and it comes to me: a one sentence crystallization of my book.

My book is about finding who you are in Christ.

You may all now applaud.

Do not ask me to put that in a logline. Yet.