Suzanne Woods Fisher's Blog, page 130

I'm doing something VERY fun today! I'm guest hosting for...

I'm doing something VERY fun today!

I'm guest hosting for Moms Together, a Facebook community of about 4,500 moms of all ages. I'll be there all day, leading discussions and having a fun giveaway or two. All good stuff.

We'll be talking about raising children--the hopes and the handwringings. And I'll be fielding questions about how the Amish parent.

Here's a hint: for the Amish, children are loved but not adored. What's the difference?

The Amish have an 85-90% retention rate of young people who join the church as adults (that is a WOW! statistic).  How do they do it?

Another interesting fact: over the last twenty years, family dinners among mainstream Americans are down by a third. (Yikes!) What does that say about our priorities?

Those are just a few of the prompts I'll be tossing out tomorrow to spur discussion.

Please jump in and join the conversation on Moms Together today! You just have to "like" the page, and you're in. Would love your thoughts.

Ladies, only, naturally. Thanks, gentlemen, for understanding.

This is the Lord's Day!

  For the last few days, my thoughts and prayers have been 2,000 miles away, in a hospital room with Anna, my college friend's 26-year-old daughter. Anna has been battling neuroblastoma for the last decade. Anna has been fighting this rare cancer so remarkably--she's continued through college and now a master's degree, all while undergoing treatments.
A week ago, she spiked a fever and was hospitalized. It quickly bloomed into double pneumonia as Anna's condition deteriorated into critical condition. That meant...a ventilator. Very, very, very serious.
On Friday, Anna's dad asked for prayer. And so thousands of people have been praying for this dear young woman and her family. 
Here's the latest from her dad (posted Sunday noon)... 
Today is a good day.
With so, so many praying so, so fervently, Anna has made a rather dramatic turn-around. Her pulmonologist has her on course to try to remove the ventilator tube tomorrow. We'll have to see just how well her oxygen levels hold today at the lower level of oxygen input. Having reduced the levels a notch or two, she is more than holding her own. One more reduction later in the day; we're continuing to pray for clear lungs and a strong body. 
Today is a good day.
After one last meeting with her professors yesterday, today Anna officially graduated with her MA in Clinical Psychology. What's graduation without a cap and gown (Anna stuck with the hospital gown) and an official, semi-official, diploma!
9/11: I, for one, am liking the sound of that particular date.
This is the Lord's day!
Please keep praying with me for Anna. I am updating on Facebook. If you'd like to learn more about Anna, here is her website: annabanana.org   Thank you so much!

Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Amish Workshops

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.


Don't miss the show this week as I chat with the folks from Amish Workshops. I love their site - a great place to find genuine Amish made products and goods, read articles about the Amish and get your Amish questions answered by Viola. Don't miss the show and feel free to browse their site while you're listening: www.amishworkshops.com

And click the icon below to sign up for their newsletter!

More about Amish Workshops: A quarter-century sounds like a long time, doesn't it? In 1985 a young man from Southern California met an Amish family in the Midwest. What began more than 25 years ago as a pen-pal relationship with one family has evolved into a business relationship with dozens of hard-working, meticulous wood workers, metal workers, quilters, weavers, and more.

The products found on AmishWorkshops.com are hand-crafted by Old Order Amish. Because we say "Amish made", it is very important to us (and to our Amish suppliers) that our products are truly Amish-made. Although not every single element of these crafted items is Amish-made (for example, nuts and bolts or fabric might be produced in a factory), we strive to ensure that only Amish people create the items we sell. We note exceptions to this rule in product descriptions, but if you have questions about the production or materials in any of our products, please don't hesitate to write to us.

The Amish value hand-crafted products and many create items for sale or for practical home use, but these wonderful treasures are usually found only in the nooks and crannies of Amish country. With this site we bring many of these creations to you by going from workshop to workshop, finding quality hand-crafted Amish goods.

Liver Tea and Just Us

Did you begin the school day by placing your right hand over your heart and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance? If you were among the many kids who thought "indivisible" was "invisible," or "liberty" was "liver tea," you were not alone. We don't have a definition for liver tea, nor do we believe anyone would drink it, but this common misunderstanding of a phrase is called a mondegreen.


A mondegreen is a misinterpretation of  a word or phrase that shares homophony (sounds like) another word or phrase that has been heard.

Not to be confused with a malapropism, which is the unintentional improper use of a single word, mondegreens are often applied to a line in a poem or a lyric from a song – usually with amusing results.

Sylvia Wright, an American author, coined the term after a phrase she recalls mishearing as a young girl. According to Wright, the first stanza from the 17th century ballad "The Boony Earl O'Moray" goes a little something like this:

"Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,Oh, where have ye been?They have slain the Earl O'MorayAnd Lady Mondegreen."
The correct phrasing of the fourth line is actually, "And laid him on the green." As Wright points out, many times mondegreens can seem to be of superior quality to the actual words.

James Gleick, an American author and journalist, believes the mondegreen is a distinctly modern event. "Without improved communication and standardization of language which accompanies it, there would have been no way for this shared experience to have been recognized and discussed."

Some popular mondegreens include:
"'Scuse me while I kiss this guy "('Scuse me while I kiss the sky from "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix)
"Alex the seal" (Our lips are sealed from "Our Lips Are Sealed" by the Go-Go's)
"Hold me closer Tony Danza" (Hold me closer tiny dancer from "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John)
An example of a reverse mondegreen is Iron Butterfly's 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" which was originally titled "In the Garden of Eden."

Now it's your turn – share some of your favorite mondegreens. What did you believe were the words to the Pledge of Allegiance or the Star-Spangled Banner?

Source: Dictionary.com

Amish Values Kindle ... is it YOU?

The Amish Values Giveaway is over, the reviews during the blog tour were an over-the-top blessing, and the winner of the KINDLE has been announced! (Go here to see if it is YOU!)

But, if you missed the fun last month - don't fret! You can join the merriment during the fabulous "Christmas in September" promotion that my publisher and I have teamed up to create for A Lancaster County Christmas . I'll be announcing all the details on Tuesday, September 6th.

Author Spotlight: Rosslyn Elliott (and a Kindle Giveaway!)

Welcome to Author Spotlight! Each week will feature a different author. We'll get the scoop behind their writing life and dish a little. The authors will also be giving away a copy of their latest book. FUN.

This week Rosslyn Elliott is in the Spotlight! To win a copy of Rosslyn's debut book, Fairer Than Morning, leave a comment on this post!

Share a little bit about yourself. Married with kids? Empty nester? Do you work full-time and write when you can squeeze it in?
I'm married and we have a daughter in third grade whom I homeschool. This year, she is starting a two-day-a-week school for homeschoolers. This schedule will give me more work to do on my teaching days, but will also free some time on my 'off' days for writing. We're all animal lovers, so we have two dogs and my daughter and I spend a lot of time with horses. Eventually, I am going to give in to her longing for a kitten…but don't tell her that yet!

And share something about your writing. What's your genre(s), your areas of interest…
My first series of novels is based on the true story of a minister's family who lived in Ohio in the nineteenth century. They have a place in history because of heir work on the Underground Railroad as well as a famous song composed by one family member. I'm honored to tell their story of love and courage. My genre is historical romance with suspense. I love to engage the reader in real problems that happened to believers in history just as they continue to happen to us today. My novels show how our faith sometimes calls us to be countercultural, and to stand up for what's right even when it's not popular or easy. I like to depict characters who are good people—sometimes even heroic people—but who also have real flaws and are in need of grace, as we all are.

How did you get started writing? Did you have a dream of being a published author?
I've always loved to write, from a very young age. I was afraid to pursue it professionally, however. My perfectionism and fear of failure stood in my way, and I had to mature before I could take the risk. Getting my doctorate gave me some time to grow up, and teaching high school students and college students for a few years also helped. Teaching showed me what mattered in life and writing, and I observed firsthand how perfectionism crippled some of the brightest students. I learned that no one ever achieves anything by sitting around thinking about it. You have to be willing to try and fail.

After you started writing seriously--how long was it before you were published?
I started my first novel in 2006 after I finished my doctoral work. A major interstate move and my motherly responsibilities threw a wrench in the gears for about a year, so I did not finish that novel until May of 2008. I signed with my agent Rachelle Gardner in July of 2008. It was almost exactly three years from the time I finished my first novel until my debut novel (not the same novel!) was published in May 2011.

Aside from a cup of good, strong coffee, what helps you get all of your "brain cylinders" firing so you can write well? Do you have any favorite places and routines when you write? How many hours a day do you spend writing?
As a historical author, I love to immerse the reader in a really vivid setting to take her away from the present and into a completely different world. So research is what primes my pump as a writer. The other day, I found a drawing online that made me want to jump around and wave my arms like a fool. It was an interior design of a parlor from 1857—the year of my work-in-progress—from a house on the very street where my characters live in Philadelphia. That kind of discovery lights my fire for several days.

What has been the biggest help to you in the journey to publication? Writers' conferences? Writing groups? Your mom as your first draft reader?
I think my critique partners have to get the credit for helping me to publication. If I didn't have the pressure of making my crit group deadlines, I'm not sure I would ever have finished my novels. Plus, they're great people and they give really helpful feedback.

Is the "writer's life" what you thought it would be? 
Every professional writer talks about the pressure of deadlines, but I didn't really know all the things that can happen behind the scenes in the publishing industry that might make it hard to meet deadlines. At the same time, I'm grateful for deadlines as they make me produce whether I like it or not!

What are your biggest distractions?
Housework and financial administrative stuff for our family. I would like to be very neat, in my ideal world, but our house is completely disorganized right now. I can't wait until I meet my upcoming deadline so I can start some trips to Goodwill and clear out some closets. And I should clarify that the reason housework is often a distraction is because I don't have time to do it and the house is messy, not because I'm Martha Stewart.

What was one of the best moments in your career and what was one of the worst?
The best moments are letters from readers and talks with readers. One of the very best of those was from a reader who said a scene in my novel changed her. I don't think there can be a higher compliment, and I know what she means because it changed me too. When a novel shows a character who is able to forgive after some truly terrible events, it makes me reevaluate my own ability to forgive. That may sound funny because I wrote the novel myself, but I was telling someone else's story, not my own. That person's life story encourages me and holds me accountable to this day. The worst was discovering the real meaning of deadline.

What do you least like about being a writer? Most like?
What I least like about being an author: the tendency for my books to become a conversational focal point in too many conversations. I'm a listener as much as a talker, and I like to hear what's going on in the lives of others, if they are willing to share with me. But sometimes the glamour factor of writing overwhelms conversation because people are curious about it. I understand that, but I also want to talk about lots of other things, and to hear about others' lives. What I most like about writing: the chance to minister to people through my writing and offer them a little bit of hope and courage.

What is the role and importance of an agent?
An agent is the guard and champion of her writers. Many things can go wrong in publishing. An agent is there to prevent those problems if she can, but if they are not preventable, she will help you get through them.

What advice would you give to new writers?
The industry is changing so much that I think the best advice is to keep your eyes and ears wide open to opportunity. I'd also recommend the advice of a professional freelance editor. I have a feeling many writers are going to start self-publishing, which is great in some ways, but a writer really needs an objective editor before she sends that book out to the world.

Pretend I'm a customer at a bookstore looking for a good book. Give me a one or two sentence promo to convince me to buy your book.
If you want a story that is going to have you on the edge of your seat, surprise you, make you cry, but then have you cheering at the end, Fairer than Morning is the novel for you.

What's on the book horizon for you?
I just turned in the edited version of my second novel, Sweeter than Birdsong (February 2012). It features more real-life heroes as well as a strong romance between two musicians who are just perfect for one another, but blocked by parental opposition.

Last question, how can readers find you and your books?
Please visit me at www.rosslynelliott.com, where there's a link to a blog as well as to my books and some other fun stuff. If you 'like' my Author page on Facebook, you can keep up with news and insider info on the writing process. https://www.facebook.com/rosslynelliottauthor. I'm always glad to get new Facebook friends, and I get on Twitter once or twice a day, so look me up!

Thank you for sharing your writing life with my bleaders! (blog + readers = bleaders)
Thanks so much for having me, Suzanne. And please let your readers know about my Kindle Giveaway and Fairer Than Morning Facebook Party where I'll be giving away a custom-made period dress!
Enter 9/1-9/20!

Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Becki Reiser and Janet McHenry

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.

This week on Amish Wisdom I'll be interviewing two guests. The first is Becki Reiser, we'll be talking about grief and tips for getting through the tough stuff. Becki Reiser is a survivor! When her seventeen-year-old daughter, Liz was abducted and murdered, in May of 2000, her family stood on the Word of God and offered forgiveness to the person that took her daughter's life. Wow. Then the second half hour we'll hear from Janet Holm McHenry. Janet's book PrayerWalk started a prayer revolution 10 years ago. The 10th anniversary edition has just published and we'll get tips from Janet on how to live a life of prayer and hear what she has learned about prayer in the last ten years. Don't miss this week's show!

For a chance to win a copy of PrayerWalk leave a comment {HERE}. Winner will be notified next week via email.
More about Becki: Becki Reiser is a survivor! When her seventeen-year-old daughter, Liz was abducted and[image error] murdered, in May of 2000, her family stood on the Word of God and offered forgiveness to the person that took her daughter's life. Life as she had known it, being a wife to Jeff and mother to four children was forever altered. From the moment they found out what happened, they asked God to use their story to bring glory to His name. A ministry began and Jeff and Becki have shared their story and message of forgiveness nationwide.

Jeff and Becki have been married almost 30 years (In November) and have three sons, Micah (27) an ordained worship minister at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA., Jordan, (24) an ER Nurse at St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville, IN., And Christopher, (22) a senior at University of Akron, studying Civil Engineering, and plans to be a Youth pastor as well.

For more information about Becki, visit her blog.

More About Janet: After Janet graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in journalism,she married her high school sweetheart Craig and worked as a newspaper reporter and editor.  They eventually settled down in the Sierra Valley in northern California, where Craig is a rancher and where there is not a single stoplight in the entire county. In their town of 700+ folks, she says they have raised four pretty good children – three done with college – and are now enjoying the grandkids, all of whom are perfect. As a high school English teacher, academic advisor, and teacher mentor, Janet says the only pastime she has time for is friends!  And she looks forward to knowing you better! For more info about Janet and her other books, please visit her website athttp://janetmchenry.com.

More about PrayerWalk:
Many years ago, depressed and overweight, McHenry found a simple plan for her life: she would pray while she walked. Little did she know, it would change her life personally and open her eyes to the needs of her community.

Photo Caption Contest grand prize winner is ...

[image error] Thanks so much to all of you who participated in the  Bill Coleman photo caption contest. To celebrate the release of  Amish Values for Your Family , my latest non-fiction book, (and showcase more of Bill's incredible work) I brought back the caption contest for the month of August. Each Wednesday I posted a new Bill Coleman photo on my blog and you all left a comment with your best caption for that photo.

Each week's winner won a copy of Amish Values for Your Family - please email amy@litfusegroup.com with your mailing address so we can get your book out!

Week 4 winner is: Mocha Linda with her caption, "If I do your chores for a week, will you promise not to tell what happened at school today?"

And the Grand Prize Winner (chosen at random from all who participated in the caption contest) of a signed Bill Coleman original is...


Paulette


And the 5 runner's up winners of a copy of Amish Values for Your Family are:


sosandybeach2@aol.com
Sylvia
Virginia
mjmoore
Billy Jack

Congratulations to all the winners - don't forget to send an email to amy@litfusegroup.com with your mailing address.

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!

Just a reminder that CBD's giveaway for an Amish basket loaded with wonderful gifts and all sorts of good things -- celebrating the release of A Lancaster County Christmas -- is only up for a few more days! 


Hurry, hurry, hurry! The contest ends on September 8th...so pop over and add your name!

Sheer "Awe!"

What memory stands out to you, in your childhood, about the beauty of nature?  When do you first remember that feeling of breath-gasping "awe?" To me, that feeling of awe is worship in its truest, most appropriate form. I think that's how we're going to feel when we get to Heaven, in the presence of God. Filled with awe! 

For me, that feeling hit when my family visited Yosemite for the first time--the valley, the waterfalls, the granite peaks.

I read a lovely entry about another "awe-filled" memory from Linda's Lunacy as I was rambling along on the blog tour for Amish Values. I thought you'd enjoy what Linda had to say, and how she encourages her children to have an appreciation for nature: 
 
One of my favorite chapters is titled 'Northern Lights'. It's the story of a woman whose family was visiting relatives. It was late, and their host wanted to take them outside for a walk. She was reluctant to go, it was late, it was cold, and he wanted to take them out on the frozen lake. She really didn't wanted to walk out on an unfamiliar frozen lake. After being assured it was safe, she walked a good ways out on the lake with everyone else. Then she saw it. The Northern Lights. "The beauty of God's handiwork brought tears to my eyes. I will never forget it."

While most of us are not in locations where we can witness the Northern Lights, there are many, many wondrous sights that God has made in our own areas. We recently laid on the front porch together watching for meteors during a meteor shower. We live in the country and like to ride around and see all the different animals our neighbors have, Llamas, peacocks, donkeys, and something we call "hairy cows." We don't know for sure what kind it is, but it's some kind of cow with a hairy, furry head. The kids, along with their cousin, even made up a song about the hairy cows. Which has to be heard in person to be believed. rolfol That kind of family bonding can't take place when everyone is running in different directions, doing their own thing.

We also like to take walks as a family, looking at all the wild flowers in our area. Taking a walk together is something that all ages can do together. If there are no wildflowers where you live, walk around looking at the neighbors flower gardens and trees. It's also great family fun to just look at the cloud formations together.  Do you see the same things in the clouds that your kids see?

I'd love to hear your first memory of "awe." It's inspiring to hear how other families bring nature into their children's lives. Chime in! Either here or on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by!