Michelle Ule's Blog, page 79
October 4, 2014
Mary Connealy: 12 Brides of Christmas
This week marks the start of the Twelve Brides of Christmas weekly ebook sale. For the next twelve weeks leading up to Christmas (are you shopping yet?), Barbour Publishing will release one 15,000 word historical romance novella featuring the season of gifts, good cheer and Jesus’ birth.
The best news? Each story costs only 99 cents!
I’ll be highlighting the author of each week’s novella on Mondays through Christmas, in a series of interviews. You’ll get a taste for what the writer is like, what her story contains and how she’ll use elements next summer for Barbour Publishing’s Twelve Brides of Summer ebook collection—giving you something to look forward to!
Mary Connealy and The Advent BrideThe first novella, releasing October 6, is Mary Connealy’s The Advent Bride. The heart warming tale of an orphaned school marm using a puzzle box to spark healing in the hearts of a widowed sheriff and his rascal son, The Advent Bride makes for a satisfying holiday read.
What is a puzzle box? Click to Tweet
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Puzzle box
“I’ve wanted to use a puzzle box because I love the idea of hidden latches and drawers and secret compartments. I thought of Advent, with its set number of days and decided a puzzle box with the right number of drawers would be perfect,” Mary said.
Research sent her to Youtube where she spent hours watching videos on the intriguing and complex boxes. You can see one here.
The award-winning and best-selling author of many novels and novellas, Mary Connealy lives in Nebraska and has been looking for a story to set there for many years. The Advent Bride, located in a wind-swept Nebraska town, provided her with a place close to home.
But not too close. While Mary loves historical stories, she knows too much about what life must have been like from her own experiences.
“I love the modern world. I suppose it’s possible my inner pioneer toughness would be revealed if I was forced to live in the old west, but if it did, it would surprise everyone. I’m a wimp. I love air conditioning. I live pretty close to the soil here in Nebraska, on a ranch. I know how to do a lot of the things necessary to survive. Kill and clean a chicken, milk a cow, gather eggs, grow a garden, can food. I know enough about it to know its stinking hard work!”
Perhaps history intrigues her because her personal roots go deep into the American past. ”
“I had an ancestor come to America in 1638. I’ve got the paperwork to prove I could join the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) I have Irish ancestors who came here because of the potato famine in the mid-1800s. Many pioneers in that group.”
Mary has written full length novels as well as novellas, and enjoys the challenges presented by both. As to her characters? Like many writers, she writes heroines with characteristics she admires.
“My heroines are all how I wish I was, tough, take charge, speaking their minds. I’m pathologically non-confrontational and I tend to apologize for everything….and I’m really sorry about that.”
Mary and her husband have four adult daughters and Christmas if filled with “faith, food and fun.”
As to The Advent Bride, Mary incorporated her spiritual life by using Advent as the theme. “As Christmas drew near my characters were on their own journey, just as Joseph and Mary were on their journey to Bethlehem.”
All twelve authors from The Twelve Brides of Christmas will return for The Twelve Brides of Summer in 2015. Mary’s story, The Midsummer’s Eve Bride releases on August 17, 2015. She’ll be returning to 1897 Montana for a sequel to one of her earlier novellas featuring one of Belle Tanner’s sons from The Husband Tree.
Who is Mary Connealy?
Mary Connealy is the bestselling author of romantic comedy with cowboys. She is a Carol Award winner and a Rita and Christy and IRCC Award Finalist.
A teacher, Mary and her husband live in Nebraska and are the parents of four grown daughters
For further information on Mary, please visit her website at www.maryconnealy.com.
She regularly blogs at Seekerville and Pistols and Petticoats and My Blog.
or see her on social media:
You can buy The Advent Bride here!
For those of you who prefer to read on paper rather than in pixels, The Advent Bride is part of Christmas Wedding Bells, a collection being sold in Walmart stores nation-wide.
Got them all?
The post Mary Connealy: 12 Brides of Christmas appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.
October 2, 2014
Introducing The Twelve Brides of Christmas!
This Christmas Barbour Publishing is trying a new twist on their annual Christmas novellas collections.
Designed as inspirational and full of the joy of the holiday, The Twelve Brides of Christmas Collection features historical romance novels focused on gift-giving. Reminiscent of the favorite carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” this year Barbour will release one story a week in ebook format to give readers a sweet weekly reminder leading up to the holiday.
Twelve writers were chosen and next week Mary Connealy will lead off the season with her The Advent Bride. I’ll be featuring each author and her story on Mondays all the way to Christmas! Join me as we learn about the writers and a little bit about what went into the writing of each story!
To learn more about the project see The Twelve Brides webpage here.
I’ve enjoyed working with eleven experienced writers as we’ve crafted tales involving special gifts which make a difference in a dozen couples’ romances. The gifts vary across the stories and are not necessarily what true loves gave each other in the famous carol that begins, “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . ”
Ranging from the Chicago area of 1880 to Mississippi, Nebraska and points west, The 12 Brides of Christmas novellas are cozy and an easy read during the holiday season. They’re about 60 page long and perfect for the busy holiday season–you’ve got just enough time to have a cup of tea or cocoa, sit down and enjoy a romantic history story that features Christmas.
And at 99 cents, who can beat the price?
(You could conceivably order a cup of coffee at Starbucks, buy the ebook and finish in one comfortable sitting!)
These stories make an excellent addition to book clubs hunting a fun read to discuss over their Christmas party!
I’ll be v
isiting a local book club myself to talk about my novella The Yuletide Bride!
(Contact me if you’re interested in having me Skype into your party!)
You can buy a copy of The Yuletide Bride here.
In addition, the stories have been collected into four-in-one novella collections available only at Walmart this fall.
If you prefer to read on paper rather than in pixels, you can pick up The Heartland Christmas Brides featuring the 12 Brides of Christmas stories The Nutcracker Bride by Margaret Brownley; The Fruitcake Bride by Vickie McDonough; The Gift-Wrapped Bride by Maureen Lang and The Gingerbread Bride by Amy Lillard starting in late September.
For Christmas novellas in a snow climate, you can find my story and three others in the White Christmas Brides Collection at Walmart in mid-October. This four-in-one book includes Diana Brandmeyer’s The Festive Bride; Susan Page Davis’ The Christmas Tree Bride, Pam Hillman’s The Evergreen Bride and my pun and rhyming The Yuletide Bride.
Put on Bing’s record, pour a cup of something warm and settle in for hours of romance and snow!
Christmas Wedding Bells will round off the four-in-one Twelve Brides Collection in early November featuring Amanda Cabot’s The Christmas Star Bride; The Advent Bride by Mary Connealy, Miralee Ferrell’s The Nativity Bride and Davalynn Spencer’s The Snowbound Bride. All available at Walmart, and nowhere else.
Join us over the next dozen weeks as we head toward Christmas, and savor sweet stories to prepare you hearts for the holidays!
You can find a list of all 12 books in this Christmas novella series here.
Twelve heartwarming stories for Christmas. Only 99 cents each! Click to Tweet
12 Brides of Christmas to make your holiday happy! Click to Tweet
The perfect eBook Christmas gift 2014. Click to Tweet
12 weeks of Christmas stories; only 99 cents each! Click to Tweet
Read all 12!
The post Introducing The Twelve Brides of Christmas! appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.
September 30, 2014
Books and the All-Inclusive Resort
So my friend Jay and I went to an all-inclusive resort recently for a week in Cancun, Mexico.All-inclusive vacations are steps back in time–someone makes your bed in the morning and turns down the covers at night (with chocolate!). Someone you never see picks up the towels and straightens the room; you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want. People continually ask if they can bring you a drink.
You can wear your bathing suit all day long and jump in and out of the water at will.
I’d never done a real vacation at such a place, but we were both tired and in need of relaxation, so we went.
Wow. It actually happened. I was relaxed.
Except when I was reading on the beach.
I plan my vacation reading with care and always worry more about what I’m going to read while traveling than what clothes I’m taking.
Books, even with the Kindle app on my Ipad, were the major issue.
I took four.
Jay only brought one, along with reading for work. She spent the entire week on the chaise lounge beside me savoring, Lori Benton’s Burning Sky.
(Great choice. I loved that book, too! But I’d already read it.)
My first choice: Jo Baker’s Longbourn.
Many friends had read and loved it and I anticipated a great read.
It’s a wonderful story with astonishing vocabulary and a fun idea: Pride and Prejudice told from the point of view of the servants!
I nestled down, thrilled to be there.
Until I started reading about doing laundry, having to figure out food and running up and down the stairs.
I felt guilty.
Even as I ordered another fruity drink (alas, no umbrellas at this all-inclusive resort).
When I couldn’t handle the guilt any more, I switched to more “uplifting” fare: preparing for the Bible study I teach on Tuesday mornings.
This fall I’m teaching on James.
The book of James; you know, faith and WORKS!
I thought I was pretty clever. I printed up the entire book onto seven pages and folded it into the book, so I could use my pencil to make notes without hauling a Bible to the beach.
Worked just fine.
The handsome waiter in shorts and a Hawai’ian shirt beamed when he brought me a virgin strawberry dacquiri. “I’m a Christian,too. Happy studying.”
“Muchas gracias.”
I said that a lot.
In that languid, gorgeous weather, I typically did two week’s study at a time and then switched back to my book.
I loved Longbourn, but I was happy to move along to something that reminded me less of my usual existence–cooking, cleaning, laundry, child-soothing, husband tending.
How about Kisses from Katie? My friend Cheryl insisted I’d love it.
I did.
The inspiring story of Katie J. Davis’ decision in her teens to move to Uganda, it described the way God worked in her life and changed her view of service and America. She adopted fourteen daughters when she, herself, was only nineteen years-old.
Could I have another drink, after I get out of the pool?
Truly an astonishing story that went hand-in-hand with my study of James (I’ve been reading excerpts out loud to my ladies), it encouraged me, gave me a lot to think about and made me feel, well, guilty.
“Muchas gracias, senor. The towel is wonderfully soft.”
I read it in a day and a half.
I finished up the week–two straight days beside the water, feeling the silky humid air only occasionally stirred by a breeze, while watching boats sail by with what I was sure would be a perfect ending, Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown.
There I was on a Caribbean beach wtih a pirate ship sailing on the horizon (tourist fare. It’s name? Captain Hook). What better way to finish the week?
I learned in the first pages.
It’s told from the point of view of the kidnapped cook!
What’s for dinner?
Who cares? The resort is all inclusive!
What do you read when you’re on vacation?
Does God ever trick you?
Tweetables
An all-inclusive vacation and reading work. Click to Tweet
Reading about servants while being served? What’s wrong with this picture? Click to Tweet
Inspiring–and guilt inducing– beach reads. Click to Tweet
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September 25, 2014
Who was Oswald Chambers?
Who was Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)and why should anyone be interested in him?
For most people now alive, he’s known as the author of the famous devotional My Utmost for His Highest, first published in 1927 and never out of print since.
His name is also on some thirty other books dealing with spiritual matters.
A noted British evangelist and Bible teacher, “OC” was born in Aberdeen, Scotland of devout parents. He was notably talented in music and art–he played the organ and trained at the Royal College of Art and studied art at the University of Edinburgh.
He thought he’d have a career in the arts: he loved literature in addition to music and painting. But one night while his family lived in London, he accompanied his father Clarence to hear Rev. Charles Spurgeon preach at the great Metropolitan Tabernacle.
On the way home, OC remarked to his father that he would have given himself to the Lord at the service if an opportunity had been given.
Charles Spurgeon
His wise father told him, “You can do it now, my boy.”
OC responded and gave himself to God that 1890 night.
Training and Preaching
While in art school in Edinburgh, OC found himself drawn to the things of God more than the art world. He enrolled at Dunoon Bible College, not far from Glasgow. There, he was tutored, taught and challenged by Ref. Duncan McGregor. Eventually, OC himself began teaching classes.
OC became interested in evangelism and met a Japanese preacher named Juji Nakada with whom he traveled to teach a summer at God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, Ohio–affiliated with the Holiness Movement.
Afterwards, he decided he’d like to see how international evangelism worked and continued on with Nakada to Japan, where he became friends with Charles Cowman, co-founder of the Oriental Missions Society. (Cowman was the author of the noted devotional Streams in the Desert).
(Isn’t it interesting the people who knew each other?)
Oswald and Biddy; photo courtesy Wheaton College Special Collections library
Upon his return from traveling around the world, OC began working with the Protestant Prayer League and spoke all over England.
During a 1908 sailing to America for another round of teaching and preaching, OC became well acquainted with Gertrude Hobbs, whom he quickly nicknamed “B.D.” for “beloved disciple.” Her nickname segued into Biddy, which is what she was known by for the rest of her life. The two wed in 1910.
Bible Training College and the YMCA
Shortly after their marriage OC became principal and Biddy helped found and run the Bible Training College located at 45 North Side, Clapham Common in London. A large beautiful mansion across the street from the largest park land in London, the college could house 25 students in addition to OC and Biddy.
OC felt Christianity was more easily “caught” than taught when followers of Christ could dwell together–which was the point of the BTC. In addition to daily lectures, OC also taught a large number of students in correspondence classes–at one point grading up to 300 lessons a week.
His only child, Kathleen, was born in 1913.
The Bible Training College was designed to prepare individuals for ministry–and many students went on to work in the missions field around the world. It focused on knowing Jesus and studying Scripture. Biddy took shorthand of all her husband’s lectures. Her speed? 250 words a minute–faster than most people can talk.
When war began in 1914, OC and Biddy spent a great deal of time in prayer and ultimately decided to close the Bible Training College in summer 1915 “for the duration” of the war. OC became a chaplain “applying spiritual first aid,” with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Egypt.
Several months after his departure, Biddy and Kathleen were granted permission to join him in Egypt. They served together there until OC’s death from appendicitis complications in November, 1917.
How did he write the books?
In his lifetime, Oswald Chambers only produced one book: Baffled to Fight Better–which concerned itself with the book of Job. Chambers had preached on Job during the last year of his life to hundreds of Commonwealth soldiers stationed in Egypt.
Biddy Chambers devoted the rest of her life to fulfilling the tasks set into motion by her husband. She remained at the YMCA camp in Egypt until the close of the war, wherein she returned to England. Using her years of transcribed notes, she put together the books that bear OC’s name. The words are all his; the organization hers.
The title for My Utmost for His Highest was taken from one of Chambers’s sermons, where he says “Shut out every consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only- My Utmost for His Highest.”
The devotional has been translated into 39 languages and never out of print.
Why is Oswald Chambers important?
OC’s Bible
Were he still alive, he’d tell you he wasn’t important. It was his steadfast love and faithfulness to Jesus Christ that set him apart from others. A cheerful man of generous nature, deep reading and thought, Chambers was dearly loved y his students and the soldiers whom he counseled in the Egyptian desert.
His preaching and teaching at the YMCA rest and relaxation camps at Zeitoun and Ezbekieh Gardens, Cairo, spiritually prepared many soldiers for battle. Unlike other YMCA camps, OC didn’t entertain his troops so much as make the Word of God available to them.
He made a difference in their peace of mind as they faced death in Egypt and France.
Among Oswald Chamber’s signature quotes were the following:
“The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop.”
~My Utmost for His Highest; February 9
“Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ. Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.” ~My Utmost for His Highest; December 31
Why is Oswald Chambers important to me?
Like many, I’ve read My Utmost for His Highest as a devotional for many years. OC challenges my thinking, encourages me to focus on God and His plan, not my own and often leaves me gasping in shock at the errors in my own way of looking at life. I’ve benefited greatly from reading this devotional.
How about you?
Photo courtesy Wheaton College Special Collections
For more information:
David McCasland wrote the definitive biography of Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God. You can find it on Amazon.
Discovery House Publishers maintains www.utmost.org, where My Utmost for His Highest is updated every day. I read it there on my Ipad.
You can view a video about Oswald Chambers’ life here.
You can view more photos on my Pinterest board Oswald and Biddy Chambers, or through Wheaton College’s Special Collections Library.
The official society: Oswald Chambers Publication Association
Tweetables:
Who was Oswald Chambers? Click to Tweet
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What you need to know about Oswald Chambers. Click to Tweet
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September 23, 2014
My Favorite WWI Research Books
I’ve spent the last nearly two years with research books learning about The Great War, World War I, WWI.
With the 100th anniversary last month marking the start of the war, I thought I’d share some of the material which has helped, and continues to help, me understand the War to End all Wars.
(Pick your favorite name).
More than 25,000 books have been written in the last 100 years on a variety of aspects of the war.
How do you choose?
You can see many I consulted on my Pinterest board WWI Research Books.
My favorite World War I Research Books
Nonfiction
For a general overview, I liked G. J. Meyer’s A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914-1918. Told chronologically, as you would expect, its approach was through the major players as their “big moments” arrived. We learned about Archduke Ferdinand, for example, in the chapter about his death. This gave me insight into the characters–many of whom I was surprisingly familiar with from books I’ve read over the years.
The chapters are short and pointed, but not overwhelming in detail.
It’s got maps, too, which I always need!
The Great Influenza:The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry was a thick yet fascinating story about the Spanish flu. I’ve written about it here, but it continues to haunt my thinking about the end of the war. President Wilson coming down with the flu (shh! A secret!) and not letting others do his diplomacy may very well have been why reparations against Germany were so stringent after WWI, leading directly to Hitler and WWII.
Have I mentioned I don’t care for Woodrow Wilson?
The Last of the Doughboys: The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War by Richard Rubin; fascinating story of 100+ year old soldiers and their memories. Rubin set out in circa 2002 to find the WWI soldiers still living, anticipating a handful of elderly men. Instead, he found more than 200 whom he interviewed over the course of a few years and the entire United States. His observations were fascinating: “Often these terribly old soldiers, 105, 110, 112 years-old could remember minute details from the battles they fought but couldn’t recall what they had for breakfast that morning.”
Baedekker’s 1914 Egypt. As I’ve written elsewhere, I used this old book I found on line to check local details as I wrote about Cairo. Fascinating to learn the cost of the tram and what times it left Opera Square, particularly for when my heroine needed a ride out to the camps! I learned the name of European doctors, saw intricate maps of the Egyptian Museum, and learned where to go for lunch. Invaluable for a writer, probably not of great interest for a regular reader!
Fiction
The infamous “they” say if you want to learn what happened you study political history. If you want to learn what life was like, you study historical fiction.
I read a lot of historical fiction–and wrote about it here.
One of my favorites was The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes.
This was a parallel story–the investigation of a missing art work in contemporary Britain while at the same time following what happened to that art work in 1916 France. I’d certainly known of the Monuments Men and artwork issues in WWII France, I hadn’t realized the same thing happened in the Great War. Well written and interesting, it gave me insight into what the peasants living in the middle of the battlefields were experiencing at the time.
I read it one rainy Sunday afternoon and was totally content!
The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Kenneally. I actually hated this book. How can you write an enormonous novel about nurses in WWI Egypt and only use about 100 sets of quotations marks? Maybe it’s just the way Australians write, but I was so aggravated by the far-too complicated mechanics of the book, I almost didn’t catch all the details I ultimately needed to know about (and then to research myself). If you can stand weird ways of writing, this book is insightful.
I also got insight from the Charles Todd mysteries, Anne Perry’s five-book series about WWI (third book, Shoulder the Sky, is the best one, particularly for information about trench life), Elizabeth Peters; Amelia Peabody books set during the war in Egypt and the unusual In Falling Snow by Mary Rose MacColl–a fictionalized account of a WWI hospital run entirely by women in France.
Many other fine books could be read, but this is the list that meant the most to me.
Tweetables
If you’ve read any World War I novels, research books, or others, what has stayed with you? Click to Tweet
A dozen fiction and nonfiction books about World War I Click to Tweet
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September 19, 2014
Caring for a Faith Friend on Furlough
Our dear friend in faith Hillary has spent the last eight months with us, home in the United States from Sicily where she’s been working for a faith-based nonprofit that does community development.She returns to minister to that part of the world next week. We’re going to miss her.
While we’ve known Hillary since she was in high school, our association with her has intensified over the years as her heart has centered around, prepared her for and finally placed her in Italy. It’s been interesting to watch this journey toward a life of service for God.
Her interest in people who travel far distances to share the good news of Jesus Christ was whetted from hearing missionaries speak in her church and telling stories of their ministries in foreign lands. She read autobiographies of missionaries and wondered if God would be calling her to serve in a similar way.
Ten years ago, she attended Italian language classes at our local junior college. She parlayed those language skills into a semester-long course in Florence, Italy where she fell in love with the country.
The next summer, she traveled to assist in a church in northern Italy and felt “not so much a musing, but a feeling as if the Lord was speaking to my heart and saying this is where he’s leading me,” she said.
She earned a degree in Bible from Multnomah Bible College. Hillary taught junior high Bible studies, prayed for friends and missionaries, continued working on her Italian language skills, studied the Bible, took Bible Study Fellowship courses, worked at a Christian camp (Mt. Gilead Christian Conference Center) and waited to see what God would do.
Other trips to Italy followed, more language study, valiant attempts to find an organization that could use her skills, but everything had a “wait” feel to it, so she continued working her job as a barista.
Her heart stirred even more when she took the Perspectives Course on world missions.
Two years ago, she joined us for dinner, excited about an organization that might have a spot for her. “Have you ever heard of Christian Associates?” she asked us.
“I think our old friend Rob Fairbanks is the president of that organization,” I said.
Her eyes widened, and like others before her, she laughed. “Of course you would know someone who works for them.”
She went through their training, was accepted into the program and eighteen months ago went to Catania, Sicily to work with a small community of Christians seeking to establish Bible studies with local Sicilians.
Mt Etna from Hillary’s apartment
It was close to my heart. Hillary’s working on the southern flanks of Mt. Etna (which has thrown lava in her direction many times now). My mother was born on the north side of Mt. Etna, and who knows how far back the members of my familia have lived in la bella Sicilia?
During the time she was in Italia, we shared emails, occasional Skype calls and me up with her last fall when we were in Europe. My job? To encourage her, listen to her stories, pray for her and connect her back with home.
She’s not my child, but I know her family and many of her friends.
Of which she has many.
Romans 12: 9-13 talks about ways Christians can support one another. It’s a good list of ways we can help those who serve to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ whether overseas or in our home nation:
“9 Love must be sincere. . . 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Hillary returned eight months ago on furlough to work on obtaining a long term visa to continue the task of serving with Christian Associates. She also needed to do some fund raising, but more important to her was the need to find prayer support.
“Prayer is the real work,” Hillary said. “The role the Lord gave me while I was home was to raise up prayer support. I told people what God is doing in Italy and asked them to pray.”
She didn’t worry a great deal about the monetary support she needed. “I put my faith in the Lord. I trust him because he will provide. He’s my provider, I knew he would take care of the finances. It’s not within my human capabilities to move someone’s heart,” she said. “I want them to give out of joy to his service.”
Hillary views both prayer and resources as “partnering” with her in the ministry God has called her to. “I’ve been telling people about what God is doing and asking them to pray.”
In Sicily, Hillary and her colleagues have been encouraging, forming, and developing a community of people who desire to know and follow Jesus.
“We do this by building relationships, one-on-one; and encouraging small group discipleship.” She’s holding the future in open hands to see how God will work once she returns. “I can’t say from this side of the ocean what will happen next or how I will work, because I’d be importing my own ideas of what I think it should look like.”
She’s returning with a heart open to whatever the Lord wants, keenly aware her American upbringing could be misinterpreted by the people she’s trying to serve.
“I’m not trying to make my ministry look like something I think will be right or effective. I want to do what the Lord thinks will be right for the people I’ll be serving.”
During her time in Sicily, Hillary’s concept of ministry altered slightly.
“Ministry for someone serving full time overseas, is two-fold. It’s: two-directional: where they are physically in the country where they’re living, and it’s working alongside the people who are supporting them and making that work possible back home.”
Over and over she stressed the need for prayer as the foundation for her work. She even has encouraged people to pray for Italy whenever they eat pizza, or some other Italian delicacy!
We have been honored and thankful to have her live with us the last eight months. Hillary has provided plenty of conversation about theological topics, questions about how God works and opportunities to pray. You can read about some of her experiences on her blog, faithful still.
Check out these particular posts for insight into Hillary’s soul:
On P-R-A-Y-I-N-G for Half-an-HOUR
How do you support those who work overseas for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Join us in praying for Hillary and Sicily, won’t you?
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September 16, 2014
When a Writer Buys a House
What happens when a writer buys a house?Is it any different from a “normal” person buying a house?
It sort of depends on what you define as normal–and whether or not that writer is married to a normal person.
Or an engineer.
My husband and I have purchased four homes in our years together. In between, we usually lived in Navy housing (thank you, American taxpayers).
Each purchase was fraught with tension–because you had a calm, rational engineer and an imaginative spinner of fiction purchasing a home together.
Here are four points to consider, whichever type of person you are, when a writer buys a house.
1. Each house you examine requires inspection–both rational and emotional.
* Rational: The engineer in our family could look at a house and determine if the roof was in good shape, the gutters working, the state of the foundation and the practicality of the price.
Indeed, on the last house purchase my husband put together a spread sheet analysis of cost per square foot.
It helped us see if the property was a good value or overpriced.
* Emotional: I appreciate his diligence and am thankful for him. I, however, had to deal with other issues.
For me, each new house is an opportunity to imagine my life if I lived in that particular house.
That’s my job, right? Imagine scenarios and try to rescue, er, settle the heroine in them.
One house we looked at years ago in Washington had tiger wallpaper in the living room and no books anywhere in the house. “I can’t live here,” I complained to my husband, pointing out the wallpaper and lack of literary interests.
He was patient. “We can change all that if we buy the house. You have to look past the current furnishings.”
He was right, of course, but after three days of imagining myself in so many different place, we gave up and went bowling.
2. Different people appreciate different aspects of a house.
(You already knew this, didn’t you?)
*Rational: My husband looked for a place his tools could be accessible. A roomy garage was a plus.
He wanted a minimum amount of yard work.
As an engineer, he appreciated a simple roof that didn’t have many, if any, unusual angles.
*Emotional: I once read that far more houses were sold for the view out the window than for what was actually inside.
I wanted a view.
I didn’t require a sweeping-over-the-countryside view, a look-up-at-the-mountains view would be sufficient.
Maybe I’m spoiled, but that was me. I looked out the windows of every house we examined. My husband eventually got the message.
3. Sometimes you need to meet the owners and let each partner exploit their strengths on the sellers’ weaknesses.
Birdseye maple grain
*Rational: One of the owners is always more interested in the physical plant. My husband’s love for birdseye maple paneling won him the admiration of a seller, who bent over backwards to help us buy his house. (I had no idea what he was talking about).
On other occasions, he also appreciated the water and electrical schematics provided by a seller; volunteered to keep a cement mixer; and bestowed mercy when we purchased a house from a recent widow.
* Emotional: I got into a long discussion about gardening with the owner of a fine house with a stunning garden. I correctly identified almost every plant in her yard and discussed pruning techniques.
Sellers want to know their labors of love are going to someone who appreciates what they’ve put into their homes. My research–and life–skills honed as a writer enabled me to imagine what was important to the seller and close the deal.
4.When a writer buys a house with imagination and an eye for detail– her strengths could make the difference.
We were warned by our agent while trying to buy a house in a hot market. “This will be tough. Four others are bidding on the house. You may have to be creative. You may even have to write a letter explaining why you should get the house.”
We looked at each other and grinned.
*Rational: We can afford this house. I’ll just bid up until we get it.
*Emotional: “If it’s a writing contest, we’ll win.”
Agent: “You don’t know that to be true. This house has drawn a lot of attention. They’ll probably be a bidding war.”
While walking through the house, my rational husband paid close attention to the sills and foundation, asked questions about the tile roof and more than once questioned the price–which seemed too low.
I admired the views, inspected the glued jigsaw puzzle “artwork” on the wall, and noticed the daughter’s name plate on her bedroom door–she had the same name as our cat: Kali.
I saw the girl scout cookies in the garage and asked what the mom did.
“She stays home and volunteers at the school,” the agent said.
*Rational: We tied the top bid.
*Emotional: I mentioned being a stay-at-home mom, pointed out my experience with the boy scouts and willingness to help sell girl scout cookies. I described our children and my volunteer experiences at school, our penchant for doing jigsaw puzzles and mentioned our cat Kali.
I wrote about my hopes for our future life in the new town and did not mention the fantastic view.
We got the house.
Tweetables:
A Writer Buys a House, pratfalls and practicalities. Click to Tweet
Advantage of a writer’s imagination in house hunting. Click to Tweet
When a writer and an engineer go house hunting together. Click to Tweet
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Nursing Home Visits: Five Tips
A kindergarten visitor
I visited a friend in a nursing home today and came away remembering other visits to other friends and relatives.
It’s a good work, but often takes a mental “gearing up,” to go to a nursing home. So, I’m remember five things that can help make a nursing home visit better for both the patient and the visitors.
Five Tips to Improve Your Visit to a Nursing Home.
1. Remember why you’re going in the first place.
You’re going to visit someone you care about who needs the help of a nursing home.
You love them and want to see them, want to touch base and to hopefully brighten their day.
You may be visiting to check up on their care, but the main focus of the visit is your loved one.
They haven’t changed just because their location is different.
2. Take a well manner small child with you.
I used to pick up my daughter every Wednesday from kindergarten and make the hour-long trek to see my father-in-law.
Because she was an adorable girl (trust me), I dressed her in a cute outfit, often a frilly dress, and encouraged her to think of something to tell her grandfather.
On Halloween, she went in costume.
I saw this as a win-win situation on several fronts.
My father-in-law got a visit from a sweet girl who loved him, was happy to bestow kisses and even sit on his lap.
The other residents of the home got to see a pleasant child who always brought something clever with her (see next point).
My daughter learned that people are worth visiting and not to be afraid of the elderly or those in wheel chairs.
(She grew up to work in a nursing home in college and took her sweet nature for the patients with her. She even influenced a woman for eternity as a result of not being afraid).
3. Take something disposable as a gift.
You have to check out food items with the staff, but I figured my father-in-law got plenty to eat. We took other items.
*Magazines on subjects he was interested in.
*The latest kindergarten project that I didn’t want. (I took pictures of great projects and kept those. My daughter freely gave them away. Who can forget the time she showed up on Lincoln’s birthday wearing a top hat made out of construction paper? All her “fans” in the home told her how adorable she was.)
* Flowers or a piece of nature. My daughter was great with dandelions.
* A balloon. (Who would have thought of that? The last belly laugh I got out of my father-in-law came from batting the balloon with my daughter).
* Memories or letters you read aloud.
* That day’s newspaper
* Singing children. He loved it. She loved it. The wait staff loved it. It was free.
4. Talk about their interests in the past, or anything that elicits an emotion.
My father-in-law was an author.
The woman I visited today in the nursing home was an artist. I asked her questions about how to paint, what types of paints she used and what she studied to become a painter.
I pulled up photos of my feeble attempts, and she commented.
Her face came alive and before I knew it, we were discussing Picasso’s blue period and cubism. I learned a few things. She challenged me to paint.
For a little while, she was in a different place and her energies were reminded of a past time she loved.
5. Don’t make promises you cannot keep.
There’s a lot of down time at a nursing home, lots of activities, lots of television, lots of noise. It can be a disorienting place.
Hope can be in short supply, and that’s why it’s important not to give your loved one false hope.
With my father-in-law, I could promise I’d come back–because I always did. Visiting him on Wednesdays was a priority. (I also went to the library in the larger town, shopped at Costco, and ran other errands during those Wednesdays. Sometimes I even brought other children with me).
My friend today, however, is an acquaintance and while I’d love to say I’d visit every week after Bible study, I did not. I couldn’t guarantee that, so I didn’t.
I can’t think of anything worse than leaving a false hope.
Be careful what you say.
Tweetables
Five tips for visiting a nursing home. Click to Tweet
Bring well-manner children to nursing homes for a win-win. Click to Tweet
Visiting a nursing home is for the patient; don’t make promises you won’t keep. Click to Tweet.
What to do with those school projects? Why not visit a nursing home? Click to Tweet
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September 12, 2014
Good Books for Young Boys
Shh. It’s his birthday and I’ve been hunting good boys for young boys.It wasn’t very hard this year because he’s fixated on all things Star Wars.
His collection is so vast, however, I saw nothing to be gained by purchasing more Lego, so I turned to the book department instead.
It was easy to find the perfect choice for a beginning reader: Jane Yolen‘s Commander Toad in Space stories!
His reading is coming along and these appear to be about his level. He’s not quite ready for the Hardy Boys, though his father and uncles were reading them at seven.
I think it’s important to catch a child where his interests lie and space, for him, is not a final frontier but an opening for his imagination.
I bought all seven, but he’s only getting a couple for his birthday. I’ll save the rest until Christmas–when I can be sure he likes them.
Easy readers, yes, but 64 pages long, so the books–which are full of puns from Star Wars, Star Trek and other space cinema–feel more substantial story-wise.
(Commander Toad and his crew voyage on the Star Warts and young Jake Skyjumper is among the prominent characters).
Other books will come along we can share with him, and here are a few of our favorites.
The Horrible Histories Books tell historic stories in graphics, simple language and the more ironic, gruesome or surprising, the better.[image error]
We first encountered these British books while traveling in New Zealand, and bought several. We’ve since enlarged our library–and shared them–with many children, but particularly boys.
The language is simple enough for a mid-level elementary school aged child and they painlessly can learn a lot about history as a result.
Some books my sons enjoyed don’t seem to have aged well. I’m thinking of Beverly Cleary‘s wonderful Henry Huggins (which I once read aloud–the entire book–while standing in lines at Disneyland).
As a mother reading a book I loved as a child years later, I was shocked Mrs. Huggins allowed her son to ride a city bus downtown for his swimming lessons, and only became worried when he didn’t show up for dinner–when it was dark outside. Henry, of course, was struggling to get Ribsy into a box–which the bus driver wouldn’t allow on the bus.
We continued anyway, but the technology became challenging, too. What type of telephone allows you to drop a dime into it?
My birthday boy wandered off before I finished reading the first chapter last summer. His father and uncles years ago, along with people who followed us to rides, loved the story.
September 9, 2014
Favorite Books for Toddlers
We’ve got another birthday in our family this week and, as is my custom, I need to survey my favorite books for toddlers.I’ll give you six choices and you can either vote, or suggest another title for the adorable girl turning one.
Her family already has our absolute favorite book for toddlers, what I consider the best book for a two year old: Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman
Do you like my hat?
What could be better than this rollicking tale filled with opportunities to learn colors, sizes, up and down, and pure silliness?
I’ve lost track of how many copies of this book I’ve purchased over the years. Five copies were needed for my four children (this book gets read!) and far more for friends. I even carried a copy to China to give to a friend of my brother’s whose twins were turning two.
The little girls grabbed it from the wrapping and immediately sat down to read!
I didn’t have to know them–this book is a keeper!
Cars and Trucks and Things that Go by Richard Scarry.
I think I’ve purchased four copies of this book for the four children and have given it away countless times. For a while there, we had a rule: only one Richard Scarry book out of the library at a time.
The problem is, the depth of the “story” and how long it takes to read. This one is about the worst–because part of the problem is having to find Goldbug on every page before we can move along!
Ostensibly the tale of the problem-plagued Pig family as they set out on a picnic, this book brandishes pages stuffed with every imaginable form of transportation–at least from the 1960′s when it was first written. The cover will give you an idea of how busy the pages are.
It was a godsend when my children constantly asked me to name–as in provide the exact name–for the various trucks we passed on the road.
I couldn’t have done it without Richard Scarry’s assistance!
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
This is a new favorite, just published in 2011. I heard Rinker speak at the San Francisco Author’s Luncheon last fall and bought a copy. It’s become a favorite with its rhyme and rhythm coupled with trucks.
There seems to be a theme here for books my family loves . . .
Written with good humor, it’s a more robust version of Goodnight, Moon, a book I’ve never been particularly fond of, though again, I love the rhyme and rhythm.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Okay, I love this one because I always change my voice to match the characters and it ends with my very favorite (and lengthy) last line:
“The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye
and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day
and int the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him
and it was still hot.”
What could be better than that for a child?
Adventure on Klickitat Island by Hilary Horder Hippely
[image error]
Cover via Amazon
Who can say why this one is among the favorite books for toddlers in my family?
My daughter received it as a gift from her godmother, with a nod to her birthplace: the Pacific Northwest.
The story of a boy awakened by a night time storm, with Beary by his side, who sets out with blankie at the request of a cry for help.
While the hapless parents apparently slept through the whole thing, the boy and his stuffed bear row to Klickitat Island where all the forest animals are cold, frightened and hungry.
Together, the resourceful animals and the little boy build a house to keep them all warm and out of the rain and wind.
Beary and the boy wake up, you know where–back in their own comfortable bed.
Among our collection of favorite books for toddlers, my choice every reading session is for a book long out of print: There’s a Train Going by My Window by Wendy Kesselman and Tony Chen.
More rhythm and rhyme:
“There’s a train going by my window
Chucka-chucka-chuck, chucka-choo
It’s going all around the world
I want to go too.”
This little girls travels the world on that train, stopping in at such diverse spots as the Galapagos, the South Pole, Australia and even the Hebrides where, “I’ll parachute with the puffins/Upside down through the sky.”
The pictures are colorful and fun–you can count the animals on each page–but what I love is the author’s innovative onomatopoeia with the train going down the track!
Which book would you choose for an adorable one year girl?
Tweetables
Six favorite books for toddlers. Click to Tweet
What’s your favorite book for a toddler? Click to Tweet
Which book would you choose for an adorable one year girl? Click to Tweet
Is Go,Dog.Go! the best toddler book? Click to Tweet
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