Merrillee Whren's Blog, page 14

Welcome to Autumn

Today is the first day of autumn. For many people, fall is their favorite season, but fall makes me a little sad because it means the end to summer—my favorite season. However, now that I live in Florida, I’m not quite as sad because we never get snow during our autumn, but it does mean that the water in the pool is sometimes too cold for swimming unless I want to run up the electric bill to heat it. This summer I didn’t have as much time to swim or walk on the beach, so the end of summer hits especially hard this year. I know, I know. I have lots of warm days left to walk on the beach, so I shouldn’t complain.

The only thing I miss about living a little further north is the changing color of the leaves. This year we aren’t going to get to take a trip to see any leaves, but here are a few photos I’ve taken of trips we have made in other years.

Fall leaves in the hills of northern Maryland

 

Fall colors in the north Georgia mountains

 

Autumn in North Carolina

What would fall be without college football?

 

 ”There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

What is your favorite season? Why?

WELCOME TO AUTUMN

Today is the first day of autumn. For many people, fall is their favorite season, but fall makes me a little sad because it means the end to summer—my favorite season. However, now that I live in Florida, I’m not quite as sad because we never get snow during our autumn, but it does mean that the water in the pool is sometimes too cold for swimming unless I want to run up the electric bill to heat it. This summer I didn’t have as much time to swim or walk on the beach, so the end of summer hits especially hard this year. I know, I know. I have lots of warm days left to walk on the beach, so I shouldn’t complain.

The only thing I miss about living a little further north is the changing color of the leaves. This year we aren’t going to get to take a trip to see any leaves, but here are a few photos I’ve taken of trips we have made in other years.

Fall leaves in the hills of northern Maryland

 

Fall colors in the north Georgia mountains

 

Autumn in North Carolina

What would fall be without college football?

 

 ”There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

What is your favorite season? Why?

Book Covers

As you look at these book covers, you may notice that they have the same title. My December 2006 Love Inspired book, LOVE WALKED IN, is being released again in October 2012. The cover on the left is the original cover, and the one on the right is the new cover. Notice that the cover designers used the same couple but changed the background and added the Christmas element to the cover. Which cover do you like better? 

 The heroine of my January 2011 book, MONTANA MATCH, is a teenage girl in LOVE WALKED IN.

Here is the back cover blurb for LOVE WALKED IN.

Getting close to new neighbor Clay Reynolds was not a consideration for Beth Carlson. The single mom had her hands full with her troubled teen and had no time for romance, especially since Clay’s stay in Pinecrest was only temporary. Besides, she’d learned long ago that love didn’t last. Sure, Clay was good to her son—and to her. He encouraged her to reconcile with her parents and helped her with her faith issues. But she could never give her heart to a motorcycle-riding man again. Or could she?

Does a book cover influence your decision to buy a book?

BOOK COVERS

As you look at these book covers, you may notice that they have the same title. My December 2006 Love Inspired book, LOVE WALKED IN, is being released again in October 2012. The cover on the left is the original cover, and the one on the right is the new cover. Notice that the cover designers used the same couple but changed the background and added the Christmas element to the cover. Which cover do you like better? 

 The heroine of my January 2011 book, MONTANA MATCH, is a teenage girl in LOVE WALKED IN.

Here is the back cover blurb for LOVE WALKED IN.

Getting close to new neighbor Clay Reynolds was not a consideration for Beth Carlson. The single mom had her hands full with her troubled teen and had no time for romance, especially since Clay’s stay in Pinecrest was only temporary. Besides, she’d learned long ago that love didn’t last. Sure, Clay was good to her son—and to her. He encouraged her to reconcile with her parents and helped her with her faith issues. But she could never give her heart to a motorcycle-riding man again. Or could she?

Does a book cover influence your decision to buy a book?

The Beach

Walking on the beach is one of my favorite things. Here is a picture of the ocean taken from the sand dunes covered in sea oats. Even on the hottest of days a barefoot walk on the beach is wonderful. Since we moved to Florida eleven years ago, most days from April through October, I take a walk on the beach. I have walked barefoot on the beach as early in the year as February or as late as December, if the weather is right and the tide is low. Low tide is a key element in a good walk. At low tide the beach has a nice stretch of flat, packed sand that is perfect for a fast-paced walk or a leisurely one, if I’m so inclined, but most of the time I like a brisk walk that gets my heart rate going.

This summer I have missed walking on the beach because we have had a lot of rainy days, and the tropical storms that blew through the area in May and June eroded the beach and took away that nice flat stretch of sand that I would usually find at low tide. Also we’ve been either taking care of my mother-in-law or visiting her in the nursing home or hospital, so my beach-walking time has been limited. Last week my younger daughter and her family were here to visit. I took my three-year-old granddaughter to the beach one day—just the two of us. Then we went again with her mom. Here is a photo of my granddaughter and me sitting in our chairs as we let the waves wash over our feet.

Over the years that I’ve been walking on the beach I’ve learned that the beach never stays the same. Even though the storms tore up the beach, that flat stretch of beach that I so love at low tide has slowly reappeared. If it would just stop raining at low tide, I might be able to take a nice long walk and at the end dig my toes down into the sand as I gaze out at the waves.

There are a lot of things to see at the beach. As I mentioned, every walk is a new experience. Sometimes I see dolphins romping in the ocean, or the beach might be littered with shells after a storm. Some days I have gone to the beach and found it covered with starfish. That hasn’t happen in a couple of years. Many times I see jellyfish that have washed up on the sand. I see fisherman with their lines in the water or shrimp boats in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seagulls are a constant on the beach or flying overhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                        

Here’s that wide expanse of packed sand I was talking about—perfect for walking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our daughters got married on the beach. One in May and the other in October. Can you tell which time of the year by the photo?

 

 

 

 

 

Since the beach is one of my favorite spots, I also used the beach as a setting for one of my earlier books, FOUR LITTLE BLESSINGS. Look here for more information about this book.   

What is your favorite thing to do at the beach?

THE BEACH

Walking on the beach is one of my favorite things. Here is a picture of the ocean taken from the sand dunes covered in sea oats. Even on the hottest of days a barefoot walk on the beach is wonderful. Since we moved to Florida eleven years ago, most days from April through October, I take a walk on the beach. I have walked barefoot on the beach as early in the year as February or as late as December, if the weather is right and the tide is low. Low tide is a key element in a good walk. At low tide the beach has a nice stretch of flat, packed sand that is perfect for a fast-paced walk or a leisurely one, if I’m so inclined, but most of the time I like a brisk walk that gets my heart rate going.

This summer I have missed walking on the beach because we have had a lot of rainy days, and the tropical storms that blew through the area in May and June eroded the beach and took away that nice flat stretch of sand that I would usually find at low tide. Also we’ve been either taking care of my mother-in-law or visiting her in the nursing home or hospital, so my beach-walking time has been limited. Last week my younger daughter and her family were here to visit. I took my three-year-old granddaughter to the beach one day—just the two of us. Then we went again with her mom. Here is a photo of my granddaughter and me sitting in our chairs as we let the waves wash over our feet.

Over the years that I’ve been walking on the beach I’ve learned that the beach never stays the same. Even though the storms tore up the beach, that flat stretch of beach that I so love at low tide has slowly reappeared. If it would just stop raining at low tide, I might be able to take a nice long walk and at the end dig my toes down into the sand as I gaze out at the waves.

There are a lot of things to see at the beach. As I mentioned, every walk is a new experience. Sometimes I see dolphins romping in the ocean, or the beach might be littered with shells after a storm. Some days I have gone to the beach and found it covered with starfish. That hasn’t happen in a couple of years. Many times I see jellyfish that have washed up on the sand. I see fisherman with their lines in the water or shrimp boats in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seagulls are a constant on the beach or flying overhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                        

Here’s that wide expanse of packed sand I was talking about—perfect for walking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our daughters got married on the beach. One in May and the other in October. Can you tell which time of the year by the photo?

 

 

 

 

 

Since the beach is one of my favorite spots, I also used the beach as a setting for one of my earlier books, FOUR LITTLE BLESSINGS. Look here for more information about this book.   

What is your favorite thing to do at the beach?

PRUNING

Here is a photo that shows a portion of our backyard. Those bushes outside the pool enclosure had grown so tall that they were impossible to control. They were encroaching on the pool enclosure, so we had to do something with them. Many of the trees in our yard were growing too close to the house and with the height of hurricane season approaching, we decided to hire someone to trim back all the trees near the house.

 This second photo shows our side yard and the trees that were hanging over our roof. Vegetation grows quickly in Florida, and we have had to trim our trees several times since we moved here eleven years ago.

Sometimes the results of the pruning is not pretty. You can see what happened to the shrubs near our pool in this picture. If you compare the first photo with this one, you will see that the lush shrubs in the first picture are now merely ugly trunks. Eventually new branches and leaves will grow from the ugly stumps, but they had to be cut back.

The pruning of our trees and shrubs reminded me of the scripture from John 15:1-2 (NIV). “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

At times we may find God pruning our lives to make them better and more fruitful. The beginning of the process may be unpleasant, but we know in the end that God works in our lives to bring about the best.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress of my newly pruned shrubs. How has God done some pruning in your life?

 

 

CHAMPIONS

The Olympics are still going on. Since I am a tennis player, I enjoyed watching the tennis at the Olympics. I especially loved watching Andy Murray win a gold medal. It was special because he was representing Great Britain, the host nation. The matches were played at Wimbledon, which is a town outside of London.  Here I am on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 2008.   

Over the years I’ve had just as much fun participating in sports as I have watching them. I’ve never won a gold medal, nor will I ever win one, but I have won some awards in tennis that thrilled me.

If you look at the second photo, you will see me in the front row, the first one on the left. I’m pictured here with my teammates after we won the city championship for our B-4 flight  in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) City Championships. Our team almost couldn’t put together a roster and barely made it into the playoffs. We went into the playoffs as the lowest seeded team and had to play the number one seed. This underdog team managed to make it to the city finals. We had to play a team that had previously beaten us, but we were able to prevail. My partner, who is standing directly behind me in the photo, and I were the last of the five teams to finish. It was up to us. We had won two matches and lost two matches. Our match would decide the championship. We were down 5-2 in the third set, but when one of our balls dribbled over the net to give us a point, I had a feeling we were going to win the match. We managed to win the next 5 games and win the set 7-5 to clinch the victory.

 This next photo was taken during a 4th of July celebration that our neighborhood in Georgia every year. They held a tennis championship as well as other fun games and races. Here I am second from the right, and my doubles partner is next to me on the end. We won the doubles championship that year against the ladies standing with us as we hold our trophies.

We often strive for prizes and awards here on earth, but how much greater will our reward be in heaven. Paul reminds us in Philippians about having the right goal in mind.

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 (NIV)

Have you ever competed in a championship or tournament and won a prize? How did the competition make you feel?

UNEXPECTED PLEASURES

Here is the cover of HOMETOWN PROMISE, the first book in my Kellerville series. The stories take place in my fictional town of Kellerville, Ohio. These books take me back to the area where I lived when I met and married my husband and had our two daughters. I enjoyed writing these stories because they explore family relationships. The first two books feature the stories of two sisters, Juliane and Elise, and the third tells the story of their cousin, Nathan. Here is the blurb for HOMETOWN PROMISE.

For six years Lukas Frye has fought to regain control of his reckless life. He comes to Kellerville, Ohio, hoping to settle down and be the man his ailing grandfather can depend on. Lukas thinks he can put down roots in a place unsullied by his past—until he sees Juliane Keller. Juliane knows the secrets that could ruin his chance of being accepted in the place he wants to call home. But she isn’t just a reminder of his past; she’s a woman with secrets of her own—and a heart capable of the forgiveness and love he needs.

I have a reason for blogging about one of my older books. Yesterday a fellow Love Inspired author sent me a link to an interesting story about a man with a special kind of library. I hope you’ll take a minute to view the story, just click here.

Do you see why this story brought me an unexpected pleasure? Have you ever had something happen to give you an unexpected pleasure? Tell me about it.

If you are interested in finding HOMETOWN PROMISEor any of the books in the Kellerville series check here.

 

OLYMPICS

For the next couple of weeks I plan to watch the Olympics. I certainly enjoy watching the athletes compete. I watched archery for the first time the other day, and I found that it was much more interesting than I thought it would be. I don’t think I can pick a favorite sport because many of them capture my fascination. I enjoy the track and field, especially the pole vault because two of my brothers were pole vaulters, and my younger daughter dated a young man who competed in pole vault in high school.

The first photo is a picture of the Olympic flame in the stadium at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. We were fortunate enough to be able to attend the last week of the Olympics that year. We arrived on the night of the bombing, so security was stepped up to what we consider normal these days.

Here is a photo of our daughters in front of the entrance to the Olympic Stadium.

During that week, we were able to attend three nights of track and field, where we saw athletes like Carl Lewis,  Michael Johnson, Dan O’Brien, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Flo Jo, and Gail Devers. The photo below is a picture of Carl Lewis as he finishes his gold-metal winning long jump. The photo is small, but the stadium was really big.

We also saw women’s volley ball. The current women’s team is much better than the team the USA had in 1996. We saw that team lose to Cuba. We also attended an equestrian event because our older daughter did a report on that event when she was in the fifth grade. We decided that dressage is very boring unless you know what the judges are looking for. The jumping is much more interesting, but we couldn’t get tickets for that. Our younger daughter played field hockey, so our final event was the women’s gold metal match between Korea and Great Britain. Great Britain won. Here is a photo taken during the match.

Going to the Olympics was a once-in-lifetime experience. So I am thankful that I can record the events and watch them when I have a chance.

Do you intend to watch the Olympics? What is your favorite sport?