Monday, March 30, 2009

Sticks and Stones by Ace Collins





Sticks and Stones is an easy, uplifting read with concrete ideas for changing words, actions and life. He begins with small steps and walks the reader forward into bigger challenges with each chapter.

The real life stories he tells give a poingant meaning to each challenge. Ace puts the "now" into the Golden Rule.


Yes, I would recommend this book to get and give, but first read it yourself. "Live that sermon before you tell it," Ace writes.

Ace Collins is the author of the "Stories Behind" books, which include bestsellers: Stories behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, and Lassie: A Dog's Life.

Change your words and change a life,

karen

Ace Collins’s Website: http://acecollins.com

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Weight No More

You'll never guess where I'm reading in my Bible devotions right now. Leviticus. Yes, the book about the diet, and sacrificial laws. I understand the importance of the book, but I must admit at times I get rather bored.

I truly believe the Lord has a sense of humor, and I'll tell you why. My weight is out of control. Let me list the verses that jumped out at me the last few days. Now, no laughing out loud, I can hear you.

"And the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, and offering by fire for a soothing aroma: all fat is the LORD'S." Lev. 3:16

"And he shall remove all its fat from it and offer it up in smoke on the altar." Lev 4:19

"And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it, and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out." Lev. 6:12-13

See where I'm going with this? The Lord knows these extra pounds are not healthy, and He knows all the excuses I make. So He gave me this challenge, "offer it up in smoke on the altar." I have dieted many times and gain it back, so He added this, "the fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar, it is not to go out." To me that means a daily offering up of my will and burn up the fat. That means never going back to old habits. When I think of laying it on the altar before the Lord instead of on my plate, the visual image is much stronger.

To all who read this, hold me to this commitment. Now this is where you come in, where should I start? I want to change gradually, not do a complete drastic change, that I won't stick to. I desire to be pleasing to the Lord, and if it's my fat He wants, I will deliver.


Let me hear from you and ask me often.

Laying it on the altar,


karen

No that's not me, but it's close. :)

Monday, March 16, 2009

Pollen-Nation



It's that time of year. Yep, lovely new green leaves sprout on the three oak trees in my backyard. SNEEZE! And yellow strands of their lovely pollen rain everywhere. No, I mean everywhere. See the picture? My husband had to climb up on the roof and sweep the pollen mounds off. My green van is now permantly yellow. My white Golden, is now a Yellow Golden everytime he goes outside. Then there's always the strands on his tail, our shoes or even in our hair that hang on for dear life and sneak inside. SNEEZE! (Click on the pictures to enlarge.)



This is the worst year I've seen. Pollen has invaded my life-it's no longer free. I have swept the floor more in the past two weeks than in a normal two months. The enemy is without and within. SNEEZE! Literally.



How can something so annoying and messy turn the oaks into a calm, green, lush oasis? As a writer, I have made many messes-just ask my friends. But sometimes a beautiful thing happens. Many of my bad habits want to hang on for dear life and make a mess. I must constantly pick them out of my writing to restore order and flow.

God takes our mess, both inside and out and delivers us from "pollen-nation." We all have strands we cling to and try to bring them along, even hidden, but as a child of God, the Father picks them out one by one. He sets us free, cleans us up so we can flower and grow into "A tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-" Psalms 1:3

So, I guess, I have to thank God for the SNEEZE pollen, for it reminds me of me.


Sniff, Sneeze, Cough,

karen

Monday, March 9, 2009

Daisy Chain by Mary Demuth

Hey, check out the Daisy Chain book below. My group blog is giving it away the end of this week. Just click on this blog site: http://www.kindredheartwriters.com/ and leave a comment with your email address and a winner will be randomly picked this weekend.

It's a great book, addicting even, in a good way.

Happy Commenting,

karen

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Good Times at Florida Christian Writers Conference




Well, the Florida Chrisitian Writer Conference was wonderful. I took the fiction mentoring class led by author, Ken Kulken. His method of kind-critiquing made a deep impression on me. He made all of us feel worthy of review and all received his suggestions with a "spoonful of sugar" although tough guy would probably not like it said that way. Ken even said he liked my story plot! Whoo hoo. It was an informative and good class.

Some quotes that affected me from classes or speakers:

  • "It's your committment, not your success." Cec Murphey
  • "Hook-Before you write a word determine the core of your message in one sentence, maybe two." Steven Lawson, Editor-Regal Books
  • "I seek the story in everything." T Davis Bunn
  • "Imagination-the courage to let go of the real in favor of the best." Dr. Calvin Miller



  • "Sorta-psychic-relaying information that the viewpoint character couldn't possibly have seen, heard or known, unless of course they're psychic, a time traveler, or having "out-of-body" experiences." (Point of View problems) Tim Shoemaker
  • "God has given you a combination of experiences, emotions, spiritual insight and relational sensitivity unlike any other person on the planet." Matt Anderson, DaySpring Cards
And the best one,
  • "Work that up and send it to me." Steven Lawson on my book proposal.


Meeting with my writing buddies from different states blessed my soul and heart. They are encouragers and prodders for my timid heart. I thank God for them-the Kindred Heart Writers.




I loved meeting new friends and renewing old ones. Thanks Billie.

Check out the Daisey Chain book. It's good, addicting even.


Signing out with my head still spinning so full of information.

Blessings,

karen