Giveaway: In Their Sandals by Rand Hummel

Guess what?  It's time for another present!

This time, I bought a little something just for my lovely readers.  Actually, this one's more for moms with middle-school-age writers (or said writers, if there are any that age at our party).  It's a great book titled Creative Writing That Puts You In Their Sandals by Rand Hummel and Jeff Diedrich.

This writing how-to, while not marketed to any specific age group, seems to me like it's meant more for middle-school writers.  Younger kids may well enjoy it, too, but I think it will be a little too easy for the majority of teen writers.  This book takes seven Bible stories and breaks them into seven lessons.  Each lesson is broken into five days, so you can easily complete one lesson per week - making it a seven-week 'course.'  After some writing tips and a word on things like voice and description, the authors jump into writing.

The focus of the book is not only learning to write stories, but learning to truly imagine ourselves inside Bible stories - to smell the salt of the ocean after Jonah was swallowed by the fish, or feel the complex emotions Joseph experienced throughout his life, or hear the grumbling of everyone's stomachs just before Jesus fed the 5,000.  These three Bible stories, as well as demon-possessed pigs, an indignant Jesus throwing moneychangers out of the temple, Christmas night from the innkeeper's perspective, and Noah's ark are all revisioned through fiction.

And guess what?  This copy's autographed!

I met Rand Hummel at my church's Parent/Teen Conference this November.  He spoke to the parents and teens combined, then did the parent session while a speaker from West Coast Baptist College did the teen session.  The next morning, Mr. Hummel preached the Sunday morning sermon before heading off.  On conference day, after all the sessions were over, I got to meet Mr. Hummel personally.  I told him about this blog and the book I'd bought for you lovely readers, and he signed it and we took a picture:

My very first "famous author meeting!"  Now I feel official...

Who wants this great book?

Giveaway Rules:
- US only, please
- All ages welcome!
- Non-followers welcome!
- Ends January 5

To Enter:
Please leave a comment to enter. If your email address is not listed on your Blogger profile, or you don't have a Blogger profile, please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.

Time {guest post}

Today Marcia visits us with a beautiful little piece about time and the New Year, approaching in only two days.




{via weheartit}

Can you believe it is almost 2012? The words 2012 seem so strange, how the year 2011 has flown by.

I remember New Year's Eve last year, I was in a cabin, in the loft, reminiscing. Wondering what the year would hold...little did I know what joys, and sorrows the days would bring.

The memories are still shining brightly in my mind, all the laughter, the tears, the smiles, the worry, and the fun.

"God gave us memories, so that we might have roses in December" -J.M. Barrie

But time passes so quickly... we are here, but a whispering moment. How much do we really do in our short lives? I mean, how much of our life is actually worth something?

{via weheartit}

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." -Carl Sandburg

So, I challenge you, this year...set Resolutions. Not, the normal ones, but strive to know God more, ask God to show you what you are missing, notice the lost, lonely, and hurt, and remember you are His beloved, and He loves you lavishly.


LIVE every moment, LAUGH every day, LOVE beyond words,

{via weheartit}

and FOLLOW Jesus wherever He takes you.


A huge thank you to Emily for letting me guest post!!! :)



{via Marcia}

Hello! I'm Marcia... a follower of Jesus, dreamer, lover of vintage things, photographer, coffee and tea lover, and Anne of Green Gables lover, type of girl....  I blog over at Enchanted Musings about random musings, Jesus, photography, my favorite things, and my wonderful {crazy} life.

Story Time

Since we don't have any special guests or fun activities for today, I thought I'd share a little story I wrote a few years back.  In fact, I wrote this for school a year or so after we moved to Okinawa, Japan.  It was a "book report" for a book about how to write short stories.  Originally titled "Snow," it was a fictionalized account of what I imagined to be our first trip back to New York.  Since then, I've edited and renamed the story, but the central idea is still the same.  Enjoy!

Three Years Later

I climbed into the rental car, snapped my buckle, and stared out the window at the snow. We never had snow in Taiwan - not where my family had lived, anyway.

My family was driving to Sunday morning services at Fellowship Baptist Church for the first time in three years. We had found a church in Taiwan, but every church was different. Take, for example, the size. Fellowship had more members than Charity Baptist Church. Fellowship also had a larger building, with multiple classrooms, a library, and a kitchen. Small churches like Charity were nice, but large was just... what I was used to.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I hopped out of the car and skipped up to the church doors. My mom and dad greeted everyone and started filling in the news. I looked for Renee, my best friend from before the move. I couldn't find her, but I found Pastor in the library.

"Hello, Hannah!" he boomed.

"Hi! We're back for two weeks."

"When did you fly in?"

"Friday night. Have you seen Renee?"

"No, but Amber's in the nursery."

"Thanks!" I left to find Amber Shummings, Pastor's daughter.

"Hi, Amber!"

"Hey, Hannah! I didn't know you were back! How long have you been here?"

I glanced at my watch. "At church, five minutes." I giggled. "In Illinois, since Friday."

"Well, how about a hug?"

"Of course!" I rushed up and hugged her.

"Thanks! Now you'd better get to class."

"I will, after I find Renee. Is she in class?"

"Probably," she said, then mumbled something.

"Okay. Which classroom is Ms. Delaney in? I can't remember."

"Oh, sweetie, a new member teaches the preteens and Captain's Choir. She's in room seven."

"Oh... um... okay. Thanks! See you later." I smiled.

"Bye!"

My pace slowed as I walked down the hall. I'll miss Ms. Delaney. The new lady will probably be a nice teacher - and a good singer, too, for Captain's Choir. I sighed and opened door seven.

"Hello! Are you new here?" I shook my head and heard whispers flying. The teacher had kind eyes and a nice smile. This might not be so bad. "All right. I've never seen you here before. What's your name?"

"Hannah," I replied. The preteen class was bigger than I thought. Where's Renee? Then I heard giggling and remembered Amber's mumbling. Turning towards the noise, I saw Renee whispering to another girl.

"I'm Ms. Skye. You can sit... next to Renee? She's in the peace sweater." Yes! I squeezed through rows of chairs and sat beside Renee and Whisper Girl.

"What are you doing in Illinois?" she hissed.

"Nice to see you, too," I replied. Whisper Girl coughed forcefully, and Renee sat up.

"Sorry." Is she talking to me or Whisper Girl? "Jade, this is Hannah. Hannah, Jade."

"Hi." I smiled. Jade didn't smile back.

"Hi," she said. "Now, Renee..."

I quit listening to their whispers and tried to pay attention, but I only heard half of the lesson. I couldn't remember Renee being disruptive in the past.

After Sunday school, I waited to talk to Renee, but she walked past me. Oh, well. It's winter vacation, and Mom said she could stay at the hotel tonight. I smiled and skipped down the hall to service.

When it was time to leave, I realized I'd forgotten to talk to someone. I threw on my coat and looked through the sea of people. She wasn't anywhere in sight, but I spotted Amber right away.

"Have you seen Mrs. Semyr?" I asked.

"You mean Renee didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Well, Hannah, she - Mrs. Semyr - she... passed away."

"B-but... that's not...." Possible. But I knew it was. Amber rubbed my back as I cried into her coat.

"Shh... Hannah, she was ninety-one..."

"Yeah," I sniffed, "I know." I took a deep breath. "Bye, Amber."

"Bye."

After evening services, I realized I hadn't asked Renee about the sleepover. First, I asked her mom, and she said yes. I found Renee and Jade with a group of teens.

"Hey, Renee, could I ask you something?"

"Yeah, whatever." She said something to Jade and strode over. "What?"

"You want to sleep over at the hotel with me tonight?"

"Um, no! I already have plans. Sunday night, winter break? Who doesn't? Other than you, obviously." She gave me a strange look and continued. "In fact, you're all so little girlish. The dress - haven't you heard of jeans? And the braid. Ew. I bet you don't even pass notes. You're so different! Not someone I hang out with!" She spun around and joined her group.

I wanted to cry - to run - to scream, but I couldn't make a scene. After following my parents to the car, I sulked for the ride back to the hotel.

As I lay in bed that night, I thought about the past years' changes. The preteen class had a new teacher. Mrs. Semyr had passed. Renee... well, Renee had done a one-eighty. She had different friends, wore different clothes, and behaved in a different way. She was a complete stranger to me; that was a little scary. After a while, though, I realized I hadn't been fair. Of course things would change. After all, three years is a long time! Even I had changed. I was no longer eight but now eleven; my hair had grown out; I was in junior high. Taiwan was my home, with new friends and a new language. With a start I realized I had learned a valuable life lesson by losing Renee's friendship.

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." -Winston Churchill

THE END



End of 2011

So, I've been thinking how fun it would be to do an end-of-year sum-up post.  Also, as a blogger I feel some inexplicable need to write such a post, whether fun or serious.  And since lately we've been somewhat more serious than usual on this blog - contemplating Christmas and all it entails, especially the spiritual and Biblical side of it - I decided to go with fun.

Since I have always loved lists, and I haven't done one on here in waaayyyy too long, I'm summing up 2011 (blog-wise, anyway) with two lists.  (I actually stole these ideas from this list of list ideas :P )

Silly Keywords Searched To Find My Blog

Zafon: I had no idea this was a word, and I'm thinking it's probably a brand (and why would MY blog show up as a result?!) so I'm gonna Google it and see what I get.... Um.  A lot of results for some author named Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  Still don't know how they ended up at my blog with that kind of search.

Disney Magic Peter Pan: Apparently I get the most search-engine visitors because of an unfinished, too-detailed, rather boring series of posts on our family's amazing Disney vacation.  It's rather ironic, when you think about it.

Okay, so that list was a bit of a bummer.  Most of the other search terms were books I've reviewed or other Disney rides.  Moving on to the really fun part.

10 Pictures That Didn’t Make Your Blog

I'm one of those people who takes advantage of her digital camera a little too much - ending up with five photos of the same nativity scene (from the right, from the left, from above, with flash, without...) or ten photos of the same flower.  Here I actually get to put the extras to some use!

Pebbles's first bath

random cars in a restaurant parking lot (taken because the green bug in the middle is my 'dream car' - right make, model, color, and complete with flower-shaped-lights)

Jell-o from a boy I was babysitting, taken in a mad 'red stuff' photo shoot

Pebbles in my boot.  Taken for the obvious cuteness factor.

the cupcake crew from Cupcakes for Life 2011

my brothers Nick and Jon, my boyfriend's sister Esther, me, and my boyfriend in the waiting room at a tour of the Frito-Lay factory

my brother's desk chair. if you look closely, you can see I was trying to take a photo of our new kitten, Pebbles

a Kashi cereal sample I received in the mail... taken with flash.

Tangled party goodie bags

random pencil (taken because I love that quote)

a palm leaf folded into a rose by a street vendor in Savannah

I dare you to post your 10 (or 11, in this case) worst photos on your blog!  Don't forget to leave me the link if you do. ;)

real

Giveaway: Love You More by Jennifer Grant

More presents!  Man, y'all are some lucky readers.  What is this, our third gift?  And there's still more to come!

Today we have Love You More by Jennifer Grant.  (You can check out my review here.)  The back cover describes the book as "A stirring memoir on parenthood and the invisible threads that bind us to those we are meant to love.  The obstacles, suprises, and moments of grace that Jennifer Grant experienced, working through the adoption process to bring home her daughter from Guatemala, forever changed her life."

Personally, I think this is a good book for every parent, but especially for moms and/or any parents who have previously adopted, are currently in the process, or want to/plan to/are thinking about adoption.  This isn't just a memoir; it is also a parenting book and adoption help.  But it's not just a parenting how-to, either; it's the real life story of a real mom.

Just a side note: some of you may want to know, this is a Christian book from a Christian publisher.

Now who wants to win it?
Giveaway Rules:
- US only, please
- All ages welcome! (But parents or parents-to-be are recommended.)
- Non-followers welcome!
- Winner announced on January 1

To Enter:
Please leave a comment to enter. If your email address is not listed on your Blogger profile, or you don't have a Blogger profile, please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.

Merry Christmas!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful Jesus's birthday, and are making lots of wonderful new memories.  Perhaps you're enjoying hot chocolate while watching snow, or you're chilling after ripping into those presents, or you're heading for a chilly beach - where ever you are, I wish you a Merry Christmas. :)

No, that's not my cat.  It's from weheartit.

How did your Christmas go?  Care to share a holiday tradition or memory ~ something special to you or your family?

The Night Of Christmas {guest post}

Today my good friend Anna has come to share some thoughts about Christmas with us.

It's Christmas Eve. I have a question to propose to you.

What do YOU think about at this time of year?

It's December, and everyone is thinking about one thing: Christmas. But what about Christmas are you thinking about?

The gifts?

The decorations?
The music?
Spending time with family and friends?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with those things. There isn't. But I've been thinking recently. There are a couple of songs that come to my mind, and really make me think. Both are Christmas songs, and I'd like to share them with you.

The first one is called “I Wonder as I Wander,” by John Jacob Niles. Perhaps you've heard it.

“I wonder as I wander out under the sky,

How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.

For poor on'ry people like you and like I...

I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall,

With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.

But high from God's heaven a star's light did fall,

And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,

A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,

Or all of God's angels in heav'n for to sing,

He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King.”

The second one is by Steve and Annie Chapman. It's called “The Stable.” I don't know the exact words to it, but the chorus goes like this...

Still there's a message in the place where Christ was born,

Spoken in the kindest way.

Our hearts are like that stable.

They're dark, and cold, and unclean.

And though they are unworthy,

They are chosen for the presence of the king.

I'm not sure if that is the exact phrasing, but it is as close I as I can get. Especially since I am unable to locate the lyrics online. But the song really makes you think.

The stable that Jesus was born in was a cave. Made of rocks. Not at all what we imagine, or what we see in all the nativity scenes. It was dark. Cold. Dirty. Just like the song says.

Our hearts, before Jesus lives in them, are that way. And yet, He chooses to make His home there. And make them clean. Worthy of Him. He came to earth so that we, however unworthy, could receive God's greatest gift ever: eternal life.

What a thing to think about.

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11 ~ The angel's words to the shepherds.

“And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” Mark 9:35 ~ Just a thought to think about...

Anna is a high school homeschoolee and a good friend of mine.  We met through my P.O. Box Club, and she participated and supported me from day one through the day we ended the club.  I want to thank her for being an amazing friend despite having yet to meet in person, and for being a wonderful listening ear.  So thank you, Anna.  Y'all can visit her blog here.