Jodie Bailey

The Blog Has Moved...

2010-07-12T10:30:00.003-04:00

Hello, friends!

Due to a long overdue website update, the blog has moved! Come check me out at my new online home.

Some of you are getting this in your email, so yay! This will be the last post you get in your email from here, so not yay. The blog and webpage have moved to a different server. You can still find my homepage at www.jodiebailey.com, but the blog is now here.

If you wish to keep receiving the blog in your email (and I love you for reading it, believe me!), then go to the new blog and find the "Follow Me" space to enter your email address. Thanks so much for being a part of all of this!!!

-JB

Whatcha Readin'?

2010-06-30T06:15:00.002-04:00

Warning! Audience participation is required!

I'm a sucker for surveys. Can't help it. Every time one of those crazy "about you" things landed in my inbox, I was compelled to answer every question. So when my friend Jennifer McCarty asked these questions on her blog, I totally jumped at the chance to steal it. (My answers are in italics.) I'm curious what the rest of you have say, so hop down in the comments and let's talk!

1) How many books have you read so far in 2010?
I read a book every ten days or so--that's slow for me right now--so 18? Probably more. I read too much. :-) That doesn't count books for class or other "required" reading or research reading.

2) What percentage is fiction/ non-fiction?
Right now, other than the required stuff, 100% fiction. No, wait, I read one nonfiction: Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff.

3) What's your favorite 2010 read so far?
Without a doubt, Sarah Sundin's A Distant Melody. Girl went and knocked my socks right off my feet. Amazing writer. I'm honored to cyberspace know her. And Jon's SCL jerked a Holy Spirit kind of knot in me. Totally woke me up in a lot of ways... and made me laugh.

4) What are you currently reading?
Ramona Richards's Field of Danger. Lisa Wingate's Word Gets Around.

5) What's at the top of you to-be-read pile?
I have a VERY TALL TBR pile. Not sure what I'll pull off the top next. Probably Susan May Warren's Happily Ever After. I love the cover.

Your turn! Head to the comments and share!

-JB

Lessons from a Busted Tail Light

2010-06-29T08:40:00.008-04:00

About six months ago, my truck's tail light got cracked. Not sure how, but it was a crack big enough to let water collect in the bottom of my light, even though you have to really LOOK to find the crack. My husband wanted to replace it that day, but it was Christmas, and I couldn't see paying over $100 when we could simply drill a tiny hole in the bottom of the light, drain the water, and move on. Yay, that worked! And I saved us some cash!
Then, in March, the turn signal light went out. Turns out it had corroded from the moisture. We cleaned it and put it back in, my husband still saying we needed a new tail light. I still disagreed. Well, last week, two lights went out, and when I went to clean them, they were so corroded that they had actually melted into the light assembly. (Oh, MAN! Now I had to tell my husband he told me so.) Off I went to buy a new tail light assembly. Brought it home, went to switch the plug into the new assembly, and found the corrosion had reached all the way back to the pigtail socket and that has to be replaced too. I went from buying $6.00 bulbs to a repair of over $150. If we'd simply replaced the light in December, it would have been $100 and done.

When we figured out the socket was corroded, I laughed and said, "Wouldn't you know? I just thought of a blog post."

Sin. Sin starts out with a small crack, and the devil is good at finding those small cracks. We figure a little bit can't hurt, so we let a little in. But before long, if we don't take care of the problem immediately, we're corroded and falling apart. We're in so deep we can't seem to find a way out. I thank God that Jesus can heal us at the first crack or at the deepest corrosion.

I've been letting some small cracks open up lately, things that seem harmless, truth be told. But in the long run, they'll deepen the crack and lead to things that are corrosive. I think there are some tail lights I need to replace. Today. How about you?

-JB

Photo from freefoto.com

More on that "Must" Word

2010-06-23T10:41:00.003-04:00

So, on Monday, I talked about must and how it is my new favorite word.

But last night, God asked me a question... What about MY must? Do I reverence God so much that I'm compelled to fall on my face before Him? Do I love Him so much that my every action is done to His glory? Is He the central, most important thing in my life? Do I turn aside from what I'm doing to say, "God, I must come to your house today?"

Hm. Seems like there's more to this must thing than meets the eye.

And I've got some growing to do...

-JB

One Little Word...

2010-06-21T10:17:00.003-04:00

A couple of days ago, I was reading the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19. I love that story, but never more than I do at this moment. You see, one little word stopped my reading cold. It stopped me so cold that I went online to look at Luke 19:5 in four different translation of the Bible. I wanted to know that word was really and truly there, not just added in my NIV. Know what? It was there in every version I checked. Want to know what that word was?

Must.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." (Luke 19:5, NIV, emphasis mine)

Now, I can't begin to speak to why Jesus really used that word there. Maybe God told him to visit with Zaccheus. Maybe this was a divine appointment that couldn't be denied. But you know what? I like to think Jesus was so struck by Zac's desire to see him that he felt compelled to spend time with him. I like to think Jesus was overwhelmed with love for that tiny tax collector and simply couldn't pass him by.

But here's what really got to me... Jesus feels that "must" for all of us. He loves us so much that he "must" spend time with us. He "must" reach out to us. He "must" die on the cross for us. "Must" because he has an overwhelming, compelling love for us. Do you think it's a love so strong that he "must" express it?

The thought makes my heart beat faster. That's a whole lot of love in one tiny little word, isn't it?

Must. I think it just became my very favorite word.

-JB

Stark, Raving... Confused

2010-06-14T08:18:00.002-04:00

Know what I hate sometimes? Choices. There can be two perfectly good options in front of me, both equal when it comes to pros and cons, and I don't know what to do. I settle on a decision, wrap my fingers around the chosen, then stop. I can be like one of those master chessmen who stops in mid-move, fingers still on the pawn, rethinking everything I just did until I set the pawn down and pick up the rook instead. Uh, but was the pawn right after all? Maybe it's the pawn. Pick up that pawn, girl. Wait. Then again...

Unlike the chess master--who is contemplating his opponent's next 38 moves or something--I'm busy thinking, "What if this displeases God? What if it's against His will? What if I do this wrong and wind up in a wasteland somewhere? What if He punishes me because I chose unwisely? What if I miss the better one? What if I cause an earthquake in Outer Mongolia? What if..." You get the picture. It's the world's worst case of overthinking.

Actually, it's the world's worst case of no trust. Why's that? When I spend time in prayer and know I've heard from God, why do I let the devil come in and cause me to doubt? I doubt that I heard from God. I doubt that I heard right. I doubt His compassionate, merciful ability to hold back a lightning bolt of punishment and rage. I doubt that God can/will take care of me even if I make the wrong choice. In essence, I doubt that God is God when I do that double-minded waffle imitation.

Oh, to remember always and all the time that God is God and I am not! That He is bigger than everything, even bad (or simply wrong) decisions! Thank you, God, that you are, now and forevermore, Almighty, Holy, Compassionate, Loving God...

-JB

A Light in the Darkness... A Hope in Despair

2010-06-11T10:51:00.005-04:00

We live on high ground. On April 24 of this year, that wasn't necessarily a good thing, as tornadic thunderstorms and golf ball-sized hail and a reported 80-mph wind gust ripped up the area around us. Believe me... I wanted to be at the lowest point in the valley on that day.

But the very next week, I was thanking God for life up on the hill. The weekend of May 1-2, Tennessee measured its rainfall in feet. In some places, high ground was all that was left. People lost their homes to the rising water just a couple of miles from us. High ground was a blessing that day and in the weeks to follow.

There's a lesson there. Our refuge is not in high or low, in men or weapons, in great numbers or in solitude... The only refuge is in Christ. Nothing else is going to stand.

And there's one more thing. In the midst of despair, in the midst of floods and tragedy, there is hope. God is still on His throne and He will never be removed. NEVER. I thought of my mom that day. Nearly eleven years ago, she lost almost everything she owned to sudden, unexpected, record floods after Hurricane Floyd. I will never forget the picture my grandmother sent me of my mother, standing in front of the pile of debris that used to be her possessions, flipping through her waterlogged Bible. Earthly things may not endure, but God and His Word will always be.

Want to know the amazing thing? As the rain stopped on Sunday, May 2, I walked out on my deck... and this is what I saw:

-JB

Hug a soldier...

2010-06-09T06:13:00.004-04:00

I'm late with this, but Memorial Day and D-day fell within a week of each other this year. Pray for our men and women in uniform. Hug a veteran. Thank a family whose loved one gave all.

And if you've never listened to this song all the way through and really thought about it, take the time now...

The heroes of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Polar Bears, Operation Iraqi Freedom. 06-08

June New Releases

2010-06-04T04:42:00.001-04:00

Congrats to all the ACFW members with releases this month! If you're looking for summer reads, look no further...

1. A Hopeful Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer -- An Historical from Bethany House. Can she turn her second-best chance into a golden opportunity?

2. A Love of Her Own; Heart of the West series by Maggie Brendan -- A Romance from Revell. April McBride has everything her heart desires . . .except the one thing money can't buy.

3. A Matter of Character; The Sisters of Bethlehem Springs, #3 by Robin Lee Hatcher -- A Romance from Zondervan. In 1918, writing dime novels simply isn't done by an heiress, so when Joshua looks for the author who's sullied his grandfather's name, he never suspects Daphne's the guilty party.

4. A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer -- An Historical from Bethany House. Sparks fly when a dressmaker who values beauty tangles with a liveryman who condemns vanity.

5. Almost Forever; Book 1, Hanover Falls Novels series by Deborah Raney -- Women's Fiction from Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. Survivors of five fallen firefighters band together to try to make sense of the tragedy that took their loved ones.

6. Anna Finch and the Hired Gun; Women of the West series, Book 2 by Kathleen Y'Barbo -- A Romance from Waterbrook. When an aspiring reporter and a Pinkerton detective get tangled in Doc Holliday's story ˜and each other˜sparks can't help but fly.

7. Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart -- Women's Fiction from FaithWords/Hachette. A coming-of-age story set in Texas in the 1950s as a young girl struggles with her own identity in light of her mother's mental illness.

8. End Game; Big Sky Secrets, book #3 by Roxanne Rustand -- A Romance from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Big Sky Secrets--a five-book Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense series set in the Rockies of Montana

9. Her Abundant Joy by Lyn Cote -- An Historical from Avon Inspired. Can a beautiful young widow find peace in the arms of a Texas Ranger?

10. Maid of Murder; India Hayes Mysteries, Book One by Amanda Flower -- A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Five Star Mystery. College librarian and reluctant bridesmaid, India Hayes, sets out to prove her brother's innocence when the bride is murdered.

11. Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist -- An Historical from Bethany House. Two servants at Biltmore House at the turn of the century find that God can take your life in a very different direction than you had planned.

12. Manor of the Ghost by Tina Pinson -- Women's Fiction from Desert Breeze. Kaitlin didn't believe in Ghosts, until she saw them in Devlin's eyes and heard them in the deafening silence of her son, Derrick.

13. My Son, John by Kathi Macias -- Women's Fiction from Sheaf House. Can God bring healing to a family torn apart by a brutal crime?.

14. Ruby Red; Ruby Red and The Colors of Home Series by Robin Shope -- A Multicultural from Sparklesoup. Eleven-year-old Ruby Red sneaks on board the Orphan Train, meant only for white children, with her pet cockroach in her pocket.

15. Sabotage by Kit Wilkinson -- A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Steeple Hill. Equine veterinary student Derrick Randall tries to help Olympic hopeful Emilie Gill find faith and a way to her Olympic dreams.

16. Shades of Morning by Marlo Schalesky -- A Romance from Waterbrook. When Marnie becomes the guardian of her Down syndrome nephew, will she run again?

17. Steadfast Soldier; Wings of Refuge #7 by Cheryl Wyatt -- A Romance from Steeple Hill. These soldiers of the skies are fearless, faithful...and falling in love.

18. The Heart's Song by Winnie Griggs -- A Romance from Love Inspired. Two lonely people work together to help others and ultimately find love.

19. The Homecoming; Sequel to The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh -- An Historical from Revell. Shawn Collins returns home from the dangers of WW2 to face the loss of his first love, but discovers God has set in motion a plan to heal his broken heart.

Yeah... About that Talent...

2010-06-02T05:53:00.001-04:00

I love my little library. Movers do not love my little library. Every time we move, at least one of them makes a comment about the weight we have in my books alone. I'm sorry, Mr. Mover Men. I just can't help it. You'd better be glad I own a Kindle now, or there'd be even more weight for you to bear.

I went to one of my bookcases the other day and pulled Rachel Hauck's Lost in Nashvegas. I love that book. It's about aspiring songwriter Robin Rae McAfee and her gutsy move to Nashville to follow her dream. There's a lot about her journey that directly relates to the publishing industry, and if I'm feeling low, Robin Rae makes me feel a little bit less alone.

I was reading a couple of nights ago and came across one of Robin's thoughts on page 68. It's not Scripture, but it struck me in the way some scriptures do, with that pause and that thought that God wants me to hear this:

"Besides, we don't know when Jesus plans on coming back and I sure-as-shooting don't want to be caught holding my one dinky talent over a hole in the ground. 'Oops. Hey. Jesus, I've been meaning to do something with this...'"

Ouch. There's that reminder, the one I talked about a couple of weeks ago. This is not about me. This is about God and what He wants me to do. Fact is, whether it's writing, speaking, teaching, caretaking, or fixing a leaky roof, God's given us all talents. If we're not using 'em, we're wasting 'em. And if we're not using them for His glory, we're still just burying them in the dirt.

And I sure-as-shooting don't want to be caught with my fingernails dirty when He cracks open the sky...

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Jimmy Buffett's "I Have Found Me a Home"

2010-05-31T05:23:00.001-04:00

(Now, from the outset, I'm going to tell you not every word of this song works, okay? Just go with me on this one...)

If you've been reading here long, you know I've been downright lost without a church in our new town. It's been three months and six or seven different churches and tears and frustration and loneliness and anger and disappointment and blue funk and homesickness trying to find a church. I think it was last week or the week before when I mentioned how much I miss the hugs I get at church back home. I just miss having a church family. We found a wonderful church with an amazing pastor and went for a month, but something about it didn't soothe my soul. Wonderful church, just not "home."

Well, today, I set out to go to one church, but I wound up at a different one. It just sort of happened that way. We went in and sat down and basked in good old-fashioned traditional worship with the Apostles' Creed and the Gloria Patri. (Which is odd, because I am usually a contemporary service kind of girl.) It was nice. I felt quiet and peaceful and like I could breathe.

And then it happened. During the last song, I glanced behind me and saw a woman who could be the twin sister of my best friend's mother. (Think Paula Deen in every way, y'all. I love Miss Peggy and miss her so much!) Something in me told me to walk up to this precious stranger and tell her she reminded me of Miss Peggy. So, I gathered up my courage, walked back there, and told her that. Know what she did? She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me in the best hug I've had in months and said, "That's the sweetest thing anybody's ever said to me." Then she proceeded to take me by the arm and introduce us to the entire church, give us her phone number, and invite us to lunch. That Ms. Wanda is one awesome lady. When we walked out of church, our daughter said, "I like it here."

But here's the kicker. I got in the car, flipped on the A/C, and turned on the satellite radio. There's a Jimmy Buffett station on there, and I just programmed it in yesterday. I hit that Jimmy Buffett preset, put the car in gear, and heard the words, "The smilin' eyes match the smilin' faces, and I have found me a home. I have found me a home. You can have the rest of everything I own, 'cause I have found me a home."

Well, dadgummit, God went and made me cry.

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Chris Tomlin's "Made to Worship"

2010-05-28T11:14:00.003-04:00

Generally, reminders are good things. And sometimes reminders are needed. (To be honest, sometimes knocks upside the head are needed too.)

A couple of nights ago, I was talking to a friend about how I couldn't seem to get out of the desert. I prayed, I sat still, I read my Bible... and yet I couldn't seem to connect with God. Frustrating. Lonely. Empty. Yucky. I hate the desert.

Know what she had the nerve to say to me. "Sometimes, God puts us in the desert. And sometimes, we go there ourselves." So? Then she said, "How much of this is God teaching you something, and how much of this is you being lazy?"

So, after I slammed the phone down in here ear... Okay, really, I didn't do that. She didn't make me mad, because this particular friend is quite well known for telling me the truth with a big dose of love. She was telling me the truth the other night. I'd forgotten.

What had I forgotten? You and I were made to worship. Yep, it brought to mind the Chris Tomlin song. Worship is something we were created to do. We can worship God with our lives and our acts by doing them for His glory, true, but we are missing out on something basic to our being when we don't take time to give God focused worship that is all about Him. When we don't worship--and I don't just mean in church--we are denying ourselves the opportunity to bless God and denying a core part of our very selves. That's why I felt so empty and drained. Part of me wasn't active.

How 'bout you? Walking through your own desert? Why not stop now and take the time to bless God? It may not cure you, but I'll guarantee it'll help.

-JB

Choices

2010-05-24T05:01:00.002-04:00

In June 2007, I missed my beloved cousin's wedding. Ben and I have been oddly matched cousin-friends since we were tiny kids catching fireflies in the backyard. We believe polar opposite about, well, everything, but we still manage to get along.

I was so excited to get his wedding invite in the mail. Travel from NC to Maryland? You bet, let's go. Right now. All over it.

Until I figured out that was the very weekend I had agreed to speak in church. Come on, God. Really? I can postpone the speaking in church thing, right? Surely you don't want me to miss such an amazing thing as my cousin's wedding. This is huge! I have to be there! Yes, I spent a few days whining to God. But He told me I couldn't go. There was something I had to do for Him, and that was stand up in front of church on that Sunday and speak. So, I did. And God did an amazing thing in me and in someone else because of it. Of course, He was right, even though I missed out on something else.

I'm facing that again with some plans for this fall. In staring down that decision, I am reminded that sometimes, when it comes to ministry for Him, God asks us to sacrifice. Sometimes, what seems like the oddest or least fun choice is the one where God shows up and knocks my socks off. Wonder how this one will pan out? Will He give me both of the desires I have? Or will He make me choose? After all, I highly doubt He'll let me be in two places (virtually) at once. All I can do is stay tuned...

-JB

Livin' the Dream

2010-05-21T11:25:00.002-04:00

My husband has lately become fond of answering, "How was work today?" or "How are you doing?" by saying, "Livin' the dream." A lot of days (because some really, really crazy stuff has been going on with some of the guys he works with), he's being sarcastic. It made us laugh, though, when his aunt (who has never heard him say that) sent me a Mother's Day card with a picture of a woman in curlers, surrounded by five or six kids and soaking her feet in a kiddie pool. The inside of the card said, "Living the dream..." Too funny.

I dealt with an unexpected attack from the enemy this week. I struggled with trusting God with this talent He gave me. I struggled with putting words on the paged because I feared mediocrity. I struggled with not earning any money last year at all. I struggled with every single thing about my writing journey. To be honest, I wanted to delete everything I've ever written and walk away. The only reason I didn't is because I knew, deep in my gut, that God wouldn't want that. He put me here. He set this up. He wants this from me. And if the devil is kicking me that hard, then I must be doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. If I wasn't on the right path, the devil wouldn't bother to try to derail me. In fact, he'd encourage me to keep right on steppin' in the wrong direction.

A dear, wonderful, God-sent writer friend wrote me a note last night. She said, and I quote, "You're living your dream." Know what? Until she said that, I'd forgotten. I'd forgotten the joy of making a character come to life in a world woven of words. I'd forgotten the feeling of filling a blank page with a new world. I forgot the power of creativity, of hearing my fingers dance on the keys, of watching the letters and the words appear as if by magic on the screen. I forgot it all. I lost the childlike wonder of God's gift.

So thanks to that wonderful friend, who unknowingly tossed my husband's words up for me to catch. I needed that reminder. Yep. I truly am livin' the dream.

-JB

When Did I Get Lost?

2010-05-19T10:14:00.003-04:00

In late March, I started writing a military suspense. If you know me, you know this is way, way different than anything I've done before. I started the book because my awesome agent asked me to and, after prayer, I truly believed it was the right thing to do. Actually, that sentence shouldn't say "was the right thing," I still fully believe it is the right thing.

I got halfway through the book. That's when it all fell apart. I went back to revise the first half and realized this is the worst work I've ever done. The characters, while alive to me, lay dead on the page. (And not because somebody murdered them. Okay, one of them was murdered, but not the important two.)

What happened?

Because of some pretty intense personal things, I took a couple of days off writing. And in prayer time, God let me know pretty heavy duty why things ran totally off the tracks.

I sat down every day to write a book for my agent, for my audience, for an editor, for my husband (who is pretty excited about this one...). There was not one single day of that writing when I sat down and made God and what He wanted the priority on this book. Not one. With the other two books, I sat down every day and said, "God first, everybody else second." When it came to this manuscript, after He gave me the go-ahead to write it, I never thought of Him at all. God gave me a talent and an idea, and I took off running without Him.

So what do I do? First things first... God and I had a long talk. This is His now. Second, every morning I sit down to write, I talk to Him about it first. This has to be for Him first, and then for Sandra and editors and other readers. If He isn't first, there's no point in starting at all.

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." -Colossians 3:17 (NASB)

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go"

2010-05-17T06:07:00.002-04:00

I agonized yesterday morning. I mean cried agonized. Want to know why? Over where to go to church. There is so much going on in my family right now. We are fine as a family, but we are weathering a few storms together. And the worst part of it all is we recently moved and don't have a church family yet. I miss those hugs from people who just know you. I was privileged to grow up in and attend the same church for the first 23 years of my life. Making new church homes is hard.

But that's not what this is about. (And if the above qualified as whining, then you can ignore it...) When we finally stepped into church this morning, I got slapped with "Amazing Grace" right off the bat. Why, oh why, God, do you always hit me with that one when I'm down? Because I want me to remember, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved." Oh yeah. That's why.

Then they hit me with "Your Grace is Enough." I'm starting to get the message, God.

And then? Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go." Oh, God, do You know how embarrassing it is to break down and weep in a room full of strangers? To cry because, no matter what, "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," my God is with me and He never lets go? God knew I needed the embrace of the words, "Oh no, you never let go, through the calm and through the storm. Oh now, you never let go, in every high and ever low. Oh no, you never let go. Lord, you never let go of me." No matter what you or I walk through, no matter how far away He seems, he never lets go.

May we be able to say, "And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes, still I will praise you..."

-JB

It's a Small World After All...

2010-05-10T10:21:00.004-04:00

The volcano in Iceland, Eyjafjallajokull (don't even joke about asking me how to say that) continues to spew ash into the air as I type this. When I was thinking about this blog, I did a search for the spelling and found some amazing, horrifying pictures of the volcano at the Boston Globe's website.

Aside from thinking a couple of weeks ago that the thing looks like the gates of hell, I haven't given much thought to it. I'm not a world traveler trapped by airport closings, and I have that human tendency not to think a whole lot about things I don't see every day.

But today, that volcano personally affected me. Not a single person in my corner of the world ever dreamed it would have anything to do with us, but it suddenly does. Out of nowhere, it has had a direct, personal impact on my family, even though I hadn't thought about its existence in days.

And it's exceptionally convicting. So many times, we forget to pray (or we neglect to pray) for what we don't see. There is so much pain in the world, so many people hurting, so many things falling apart, but as long as we are safe, we walk along with this illusion that all is right with the world.

Until it affects us.

It would be impossible to pray for the entire world, but what prayer burden does God have specifically for you? Is it a friend who's hurting? A foreign mission group you read about? A news story that pricked your heart? Who does God keep bringing to mind for you?

Perhaps it's time to hit our knees and bring it to His throne... because we are the body. And every single person and event in the world ripples to us all.

-JB

Frivolous Friday--I'm Sending You Somewhere Else

2010-05-07T08:09:00.000-04:00

There is something happening on the web this week. It's a quiet little something, unless you're there. Then it's exceptionally loud. It's something you may never have heard of before. And if you haven't...

I pity you.

And I am about to enlighten you.

It is a thing that will change your life forever. Or, at the very least, it will make you snort milk (coffee, tea, water, or whatever beverage you are drinking at the moment) out your nose. I do believe that would give you the benefit of clear sinuses if you are in a pollen-plagued area.

Would that make the man behind this amazing event a miracle worker?

Are you ready? Can you handle it? Are you sure? Then point your web browser to the 2010 Bad Poetry Contest, held annually in honor of Chip MacGregor's birthday.

I promise, you will not be disappointed.

-JB

Whining Make You Old...

2010-05-05T09:12:00.002-04:00

Okay, whining probably doesn't make you old, but it might make you feel that way. Over the course of the past three days, I have earned a black belt in whining. I won't go through the list here--because that would lead to whining--but it seems like anything and everything is whine-worthy in my house this week. I can feel it wrapping around my emotions and squeezing, because this perpetual attitude of self-pity is beginning to take hold.

Self-pity is arrogance, folks. Plain and simple. It's all about me (or you or whoever is whining and pitying at the moment).

I started not to blog today, because the whining felt like it would spill over onto the page, but then the news came on. There are very few places in central and western Tennessee that aren't waterfront (or water on) property this morning. An oil slick threatens the Gulf, and people who depend on it for their livelihood are facing that slimy threat. I just heard of a family near us who lost the father and daughter in one terrible instant (please pray for the Quall family).

As it turns out, I have nothing to whine about.

Maybe it's time to count blessings instead of letting the devil turn my petty problems into perceived disasters?

-JB

May New Releases!

2010-05-03T09:22:00.002-04:00

Need some good reads? Here's the list of ACFW new releases for May...

1. A Quiet Place; A Tabor Heights Novel by Michelle Levigne -- A Romance from Desert Breeze. Tabor Heights -- A friendly little town on Ohio's North Coast, where the members of one church help each other in their journeys of faith, learning, and love.

2. Betsey's Return; Book 2 in the Brides of Lehigh Canal series by Wanda E. Brunstetter -- An Historical from Barbour. After being left once at the altar, Pastor William vowed to serve the Lord alone. But that was before Betsy's Return.

3. Black Hills Blessing; A 3-in-1 Collection by Mary Connealy -- Three Contemporary Romances from from Barbour. Buffalo owner butts heads with an ornery cattleman; a lady rancher has a cantankerous neighbor; A doormat wife stands up to her tyrant husband. Who will survive when worlds collide?

4. Clara and the Cowboy by Erica Vetsch -- A Romance from Heartsong Presents. Alec takes on robbers, rustlers, and kidnappers, but his greatest challenge will be taking on Clara, his boss's daughter.

5. Finding Jeena; Book 2, Homecoming Series by Miralee Ferrell -- Women's Fiction from Kregel. Shaken to the core at the threat of losing everything, Jeena is confronted with her prejudices and with a God she had long forgotten.

6. In Harm's Way; Heroes of Quantico, Book 3 by Irene Hannon -- A Romance from Revell. An abducted infant, a tattered Raggedy Ann doll, a terrified woman and a skeptical FBI agent come together in what Publishers Weekly calls "an ever-climactic mystery."

7. It Had to Be You; the third and final novel in the "Weddings by Bella" series by Janice Thompson -- General Fiction from Revell/Baker. Bella couldn't be happier that her long-feuding Aunt Rosa and Uncle Lazarro have finally admitted their love for one another and are getting married. Their forties-style wedding is sure to be a night to remember.

8. Kate's Philadelphia Frenzy; Camp Club Girls Series, Book 5 by Janice Hanna -- General Fiction from Barbour. The Camp Club Girls series introduces young readers to six friends who meet at church camp and solve mysteries together.

9. Legendary Space Pilgrims by Grace Bridges -- A Sci-fi/Fantasy/Futuristic from Splashdown. If Pilgrim's Progress were a space opera, it might look something like this: two young seekers on a journey of discovery, searching for freedom and a planet to call home.

10. Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico by Lena Nelson Dooley -- An Historical Romance from Summerside Press. Heroine in peril becomes a mail-order bride. . .gone awry

11. Love is Monumental; Book 2, A Walk in the Park by Annalisa Daughety -- A Contemporary Romance from Barbour. Finding love has become a feat of monumental proportions for a shy park ranger.

12. Morning for Dove; Book 2, Winds Across the Prairie by Martha Rogers -- An Historical from Realms, a Division of Strang Communications. Luke and Dove struggle against prejudice and a deadly natural disaster for their love.

13. No Other; Protecting the Witnesses LIS continuity series--book #3 by Shawna K. Williams -- An Historical from Desert Breeze. Jakob Wilheimer longs for healing after his family's internment during WWII, but will freeing Meri from the captivity of her upbringing heal them both, or tear them apart?

14. Nowhere Carolina; Book 2, Southern Discomfort Series by Tamara Leigh -- A Romance from Waterbrook. When Maggie Pickwick's teenaged daughter decides it's time she knew the identity of her father, Maggie's carefully balanced world begins to teeter.

15. Seeds of Summer; Book 2, Seasons of the Tall Grass by Deborah Vogts -- A Romance from Zondervan. When a former Miss Rodeo Kansas queen returns home after her father's death to care for the family ranch and her two younger siblings, what follows is a summer full of change, life-lessons and an unexpected romance with the new minister in Diamond Falls

16. So Over My Head; Book 3, Charmed Life Series by Jenny B. Jones -- General Fiction from Thomas Nelson. Newly single, stalked by a killer, and in desperate need of some chic clown shoes,˜ Bella is one mocha frapp away from a total meltdown.

17. The Heiress; New Jersey Historical Series Book 2 by Laurie Alice Eakes -- An Historical from Barbour. Desperate for money, Daire Grassick sells a family heirloom to a lady he doesn't know, only to discover it holds a secret formula for glass without which his family will be ruined.

18. The Narrow Path by Gail Sattler -- A Romance from Abingdon. When they must combine efforts for the most important event in Ted's church's history, can modern Mennonite Miranda Klassen and Old Order Mennointe Ted Wiebe find peace somewhere in the middle?

19. The Wedding Garden; Book 3, Redemption River by Linda Goodnight -- A Romance from Love Inspired. Join RITA and ACFW Award-winning author, Linda Goodnight, in "Redemption River", where healing flows.

20. The Weight of Shadows by Alison Strobel -- Women's Fiction from Zondervan. Kim has found a way to suffer for her sins and ease her guilt--but is her relief more important than her innocent daughter's safety?

21. They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti -- Women's Fiction from Abingdon. He was supposed to go fishing, not missing.

22. To Be a Mother by Ruth Axtell Morren and Cheryl St. John -- Romance from Steeple Hill. Two heartwarming stories of non-traditional families becoming families in a very traditional sense.

23. White Roses by Shannon Taylor VanAtter -- A Romance from Heartsong Presents. Can a heart-broken florist and a widowed pastor reclaim romance after their lives collide among the thorns?

24. Wildflower Bride; Book 2, Montana Marriages by Mary Connealy -- A Romance from Barbour. Glowing Sun, a white woman raised by the Flathead tribe, has never met a man she didn't want to pull a knife on, including the man determined to marry her.

Frivolous Friday--Name Your Top 3 Songs

2010-04-30T09:25:00.002-04:00

I did a lot of venting a couple of weeks ago about songs I like and songs I don't like (mostly remakes). And since I'm a bit of a music junkie, I thought it would be fun if we got a discussion started. Top 3 favorite songs of all time. Now, this go-round, I'm not asking for your top 3 praise songs (because you know I just can't narrow down my top 3 Third Day songs, let alone my top 3 praise songs by everybody), we'll do that another week. Hit that mainstream station (or that oldies station, because I recently found out that the 80s are the oldies now), and share.

My top 3 is pretty much always the same, and you can call me a geek because, believe me, when you see number one, you're going to scream "geek," especially since Newman on Seinfeld referenced the dude...

3) "Aubrey" by Bread. Okay yes, it's a total cheesy seventies song. And yet, for reasons unexplained, if I play it once, I have to go back and play it seven more times. Who can resist a line like, "We tripped the light and danced together to the moon"? It makes me want to write stories. Longhand. With my new multi-colored "real" fountain pens.

2) "Oh, Girl" by Paul Young. We've been over this one already.

1) Okay, I'm going to confess this out loud. Ya ready? My all time favorite song ever is... "Sailing," by Christopher Cross. More seventies cheese, I know. As a child of the eighties, I just can't explain it. As someone who has never sailed, I can't explain it either. I just know it takes me to a happy place. Maybe therapy could help me figure that out? Oh well, I guess I would have been happy at Newmannium, anyway.

Okay, so let's hear from you. Top 3 favorite songs. If I can confess Christopher Cross and Bread in the same post, surely you can do no less...

-JB

Pudding Prayers

2010-04-28T07:49:00.003-04:00

Know what I love? Chocolate pudding. I thought instant pudding was so awesome until a certain amazing pudding company came out with individual serving packets of pudding powder. Instead of messing around with an entire batch of pudding, I could just pull out my little single serving pouch, dump it in a mug, add milk, and chow down on my chocolate treat--all in about five minutes.

Sweet.

Know what I don't like? Non-instant chocolate pudding. You have to cook it. My word, I have to wait for it to heat up, wait for it to cool down... And then, it just has this weird mouth feel to me. I have to get used to it before I can enjoy it. It takes a few bites for my mouth to go, "Mmm. Chocolate."

Here's the problem. Sometimes, I treat prayer like instant pudding. I run in, stir up the waters, chug down my mug of godly chocolate, relish the fact that it's just like last time, give a quick, "Thanks, God," then rush right back out.

Prayer should be like cooked pudding. Time in worship to warm up, to get close to God. A good long simmer in His presence. A good thank you time to cool down. But here's the scary part... Remember how I said I don't like the "mouth feel" of cooked pudding at first? When we take that time to slow cook with God, sometimes He tells us something we don't necessarily want to digest. It's different. It might be conviction. It might be a new calling. It might be change. But it requires us to adjust.

That's one of the reasons I think I shy away from cooked pudding prayers. I don't want to be uncomfortable. Like the cooked pudding, I don't like to change. (Sound much like the Pharisees from Monday's post?) It doesn't feel right at first, because I've grown lazy and used to quick and easy.

So... think about this season in your life. Are you an instant pudding prayer? Or a cooked pudding prayer?

And are you craving chocolate yet?

-JB

Don't Move Too Fast Around My House of Cards

2010-04-26T15:12:00.003-04:00

Oh, those silly Pharisees. Can you believe them? There they go again, asking one of their unanswerable questions, trying to trap the Son of God and prove Him wrong. Don't they know Jesus knows what they're all about? That he has all the answers? Aren't they so silly?

And aren't they so sad and pitiful? Here they are, loving their religion so much that they can't even see Jesus in front of their faces. Clinging to their laws and their power and totally missing out on their relationship with Jesus. Those poor, sad, pitiful Pharisees. I'm sure glad I'm not like them.

Hm. Hey. Wait a second. Know what those Pharisees were really saying? "Look, Jesus. We've got a great thing going here. Our religion is awesome and we love it. It's all about God, really, isn't it? I mean, we say His name and we attach Him to all of these laws we make and these actions we do. We happen to like the way things are, even if it leaves some of the truth out, it's a nice religion and it's partially built on truth. It might be a house of cards, but we really kind of enjoy it, so please, Jesus, don't you come along and start breathing too hard on us. That just causes a big ol' mess. 'K? Thanks."

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong, but that sounds like some of us in the church today, doesn't it? If we're honest, it sounds like all of us some of the time, huh? We can get into our little routines with Jesus in certain seasons of our lives, and we forget this is a relationship. The center focus is HIM and our relationship with him, not the things we do. That was the problem with those Pharisees. They forgot exactly who was at the center. They forgot it was God first and not religion first. It's a fine line, I know, but it's a line. They'd have liked Jesus just fine if he hadn't rocked their boats. But Jesus is the premiere boat rocker, isn't He?

I had to stop the other day and really think. Am I following Jesus? Or am I following my religion?

Hm. Something to think about, huh?

-JB

Book Review--Jon Acuff's "Stuff Christians Like"

2010-04-23T09:23:00.003-04:00

If you have ever wanted to be kicked in the teeth and laugh while it happens, you've come to the right place.

Jonathan Acuff is Prodigal John on Twitter, and if you're one of the four people in the world not following him, you're missing out. His 140-character tweets are worth signing up for Twitter, even if you never follow anyone else. Then go to Stuff Christians Like and check out the blog that started it all.

But about the book...

I never planned to review Stuff Christians Like. I bought it because I agree with Jon that Chick-fil-a sweet tea should be served in fountains in heaven. I bought it because his random observations on life are hilarious, and I figured a book full of random observations about the church would be awesome.

Oh, it's awesome alright. Awesome in a way that makes the Holy Spirit slap you upside the head. I thought I knew what SCL was all about from reading the blog, but there's something about having these ideas concentrated in one place that changed the way I think in a way the blog never did. Maybe because I read the SCL blog in a drive-by fashion and the book at a slower pace. Or maybe God just thought I was ready for what Jon might call a "truth smack-down." I dare you to read about "the splinter in my eye, plank upside yo' head" gossip plank idea without laughing so hard you wake your dog up from three rooms away. But after you laugh, you're going to stop and you're going to think. "Wait a sec... I do that."

Then two things are going to happen. First, you're going to feel some conviction. We're all hypocrites in some area or another. Jon's observations have cracked me up on more than one occasion, then the Holy Spirit has used that to bring me to my knees. (More on that in Monday's post.) I've laughed 'til I cried, true, but I've also done more repenting reading this book than I have after every sermon in my whole life, I think. Second, you're going to realize you're not the only one. I have beat myself up over my quiet time lately, thinking I'm the worst quiet time Christian ever. And then I read Jon's awesome quiet time essay. Oh yeah, I laughed, but I also gave a big sigh of relief. I'm not alone in my struggles.

Seriously, go buy this book. Today. It's not what I expected it to be. It's a million and one times better.

-JB

Hell on Film

2010-04-21T09:57:00.005-04:00

I picked this picture up on MSNBC a couple of days ago, and I can't stop looking at it. That's the Iceland volcano that has wreaked havoc on air travel the past week or so. If you're like me, you'll stare at that for a while. It is so strangely beautiful and yet so horrifying. It makes me think of Luke 10:18 when Jesus says he say Satan cast from heaven like lightning.

After I looked at it for a while, it got me thinking about sin. I mean, we don't sin in a vacuum. Oh yes, we like to think we aren't hurting anyone, but we do. Eventually, sin spreads. It may happen in Iceland, but it drifts on the upper air currents and causes disruption around the world. Despite what the commercials would like you to believe, what happens in Iceland, doesn't stay in Iceland.

And there's also that terrible/beautiful thing. When Mel Gibson cast Satan in "The Passion of the Christ," he chose a gorgeous woman and shaved her hair and eyebrows. He wanted the look to be hauntingly beautiful yet terribly disturbing. His reason? Sin is like that. We fall because Satan makes it so attractive we have trouble looking away.

I don't have a conclusion today, no pretty way of wrapping this up. I do know this much: I'm glad God is ultimately in control. And I'm glad Jesus sacrificed his life for me so I'll never have to know what hell really looks like.

-JB

Too Much Awesomeness for Me to Handle

2010-04-19T18:58:00.003-04:00

I know I already blogged today, but this is just too much for me to be quiet about. You will rarely hear me go crazy fan girl about anything. I tend to reserve those moments for when I'm alone. Right now, I just can't help it.

We all know I love Third Day. We all know I love Tobymac. Michael W. Smith is, well, he's Michael W. Smith and he goes beyond the need for description. I cut my grown up Christian teeth reading Max Lucado. So, when the tweets hit today from them that, come October, they will all be sharing a stage to support Worldivison, I have to say it sent me straight to concert heaven.

And then I saw this picture...

Click on that picture, make it bigger, and you will see there is so much awesomeness in one room that the world should have spun off its axis. Thank you, David Schroeder, for sharing that pic. It made my day, maybe even my year.

Great music, great message, worthy cause. With all that anointing in one place, I can't wait to see what God does. October is going to be amazing.

This marks the end of my crazy fan girl rant... :-)

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--"Mighty to Save"

2010-04-19T07:38:00.000-04:00

I've been very frustrated lately. For me, the hardest part of moving is finding a new church. I'm not totally settled until we have a church home. It's been two and a half months since we left our amazing Georgia church, and every Sunday I come home frustrated and sad after visiting a perfectly nice church that just isn't "the one."

Today, we may have found "the one." We'll go for a second visit next week and pray for confirmation in the meantime. With all that is happening in our lives, I am desperately hoping this is it. We need that family.

Anyway, today we sang a song I love, "Mighty to Save." Know what? It made me realize how much the devil likes to hit me with the same old tricks. There's a lyric, "Savior, he can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save." Moving a mountain would be hard, wouldn't it? But God can do it. Saving me is even harder than moving that mountain, but God is mighty enough to do it. He is mightier than anything I can ever throw at Him.

So why is it that I--and I'll bet you too--keep believing the lie that God doesn't want to be close to us? That we can be so far gone He can't save us? No. He is mighty to save. It doesn't matter how many days, weeks, or months we've missed quiet time. It doesn't matter how far we've fallen down the mountain. Know what? It doesn't matter if we've never even been on the mountain before. God is still mighty to save.

Nothing's too hard for Him. It's time to start believing that, isn't it?

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Casting Crowns's "East to West" (a repost)

2010-04-15T09:44:00.001-04:00

(I was feeling this today, so I went back, found the blog, and decided on a repost.)

Well, folks, I've been struggling. Sometimes I think that the outward struggle to write is related to the inward struggle of faith. The weaker I feel in Christ, the harder it is to write. I have to cling to the fact that He is strong in my weakness. And feelings just don't matter when it comes to God.

Whenever I have those times when I feel like I'm in that valley where I just don't "feel" God at all, I tend to say that I'm "walking through Egypt." (I probably got that from Clyde Edgerton's book Walking Across Egypt.) The point is, it's like being in a desert and looking for water. When I am able to say that I'm "walking through Egypt," it helps me to hold onto the faith that I will eventually get to the other side and that God and I will connect again; that I'll get to the top of the mountain and have that sweet communion that I just can't seem to grasp when I'm in the midst of seasons like this.

Despite the fact that I'm in a dry desert, pretty much alone, Egypt can have some really awesome moments. There is, in fact, mail delivery in the middle of my Egyptian desert. God sends me postcards. They're not letters, because they don't take long to "read," but they are little bitty "hellos" that God sends to remind me that I am never, ever alone.

This morning, I was driving to Atlanta Bread Company (where you should have figured out by now that I typically like to write on Fridays) in the middle of a good ol' Georgia spring rainstorm. I was just about to change the radio station when "East to West" by Casting Crowns came on. That song has meant a whole lot to me at various times, but a new line grabbed me today and, when it did, the tears just smacked the backs of my eyelids. "I'm not holding on to you, but your'e holding on to me." Even now, sitting here in ABC, my eyes are welling up. There just aren't words for what that spoke to me, what it's speaking to me now. That even in Egypt, when I feel so spiritually weak that I can hardly hold my head up, when I've fought and fought to see the face of God and felt like He's just not there (even though my head knows He is, my heart could use a good shot of Him), that even though my grip may slip, He's never going to let me go. Never. Feelings don't matter; truth does. And the truth is that God loves me so much that He will never let me go. Such love. Such love for me. Wow. I needed that love.

-JB

Letting Someone Else Speak Today...

2010-04-13T05:44:00.000-04:00

I found a quote by Eugene Peterson in the I Samuel introduction in the Message Bible. At first, I thought I'd write about it. Then I decided to let it speak for itself. Sometimes, it's better to draw your own conclusions...

"...as we submit our lives to what we read [in I Samuel], we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but to see our stories in God's."

(And yes, this is my typical Monday post delivered on Tuesday. I ran behind yesterday.)

-JB

Frivolous Friday--Only Paul Young Can Get Away With it... And Maybe Rascal Flatts

2010-04-09T05:09:00.008-04:00

I hate remakes. H-A-T-E them. It really irks me when I love a good old song,then someone comes along and tries to do it better. Very few people can get away with remaking a classic.

When I was a teenager, I refused to like that red-headed mall singer who shall remain nameless. For those of you who think this had something to do with the fact she dated my biggest teen-aged crush, you're WRONG. It is because she first dug her nails into Tommy James and the Shondells, then she dared to defile a Beatles song by not only remaking it, but changing the words as well. 'Nuff said.

It's not that remakes aren't good, it's just that they seem pointless. Part of the reason I feel this way is because I grew up with parents who taught me a deep appreciation for the "oldies." And when songs are classics like that, you just don't mess with them. (Annie Lennox, I'm talkin' to you. You should have left "Whiter Shade of Pale" alone.)

I said all of that to say this: Only once in my life have I gone ga-ga over a remake. I was sixteen. And to this day, that remake is one of my all time, no doubt about it, listen until my ears fall off, favorite songs. Don't get me wrong. The Chi-lites did it right, but (and this is quite possibly the only time you will ever here me say this), Paul Young did "Oh, Girl" so much better. The man was made to sing that song. Hear his pain and that slight gravel in his voice. I could listen to it ten times in a row, then go back for more. I think, quite possibly, the Chi-lites traveled forward in time to 1990, snagged that song, then went back to 1972 and did a sort of "premake," if you will. That, folks, is how much Paul Young rocked that song.

Okay, so there might be one more remake I can stand. Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway" was almost an anthem when I was in high school. Rascal Flatts? Good job making me like yours almost as much. Then again, that's a song it would be really, really hard to mess up in the first place.

So, how about the rest of you? Care to leave a comment about your favorite remake? Join me, won't you? I think I'm off to grab a hairbrush and sing in the kitchen.

-JB

(A P.S.--Just learned my dear friend Kay has a different opinion if you want to check it out.)

Two Ways of Looking at an Eyeball

2010-04-07T09:28:00.003-04:00

About a week and a half ago, I had new lenses put in my glasses. Lesson from previous pair? Don't put cheap lenses in your glasses. 'Nuff said. This go-round, I didn't get anti-glare coating. I hated the stuff on my last pair. I could never get the lenses clean, and it seemed like things were just never right. The woman selling me my lenses kept arguing that I'd hate glasses without the coating, but I stood my ground and got my glaring glasses.

I slid on the new pair and headed home, but there seemed to be a smudge in the lens. I kept cleaning, but the smudge wouldn't go away. It took me a couple of hours to figure out what the smudge was. You'll never guess. I could see the reflection of my own eyeball. Without the anti-glare, the whites of my eyes bounce right back at me.

That got me thinking about the plank in my own eye and the speck in somebody else's. What would life be like if we truly could walk around and see our own "eyeball"? Rarely do we have a clear picture of our own sins, but we can sure point them out in somebody else! Wouldn't it be cool to have a way to impartially see those planks in our eyes?

Then again, I could see the whites of my own eyes. Until I got used to it, it was pretty hard to take the focus off of, well, me. Instead of clearly seeing what stood right in front of me, everything filtered through my reflection. Need I go any farther with that, or are you already getting the gist of it? It's hard to see others and their needs when we're focused on ourselves, huh?

So there you have it. Two things on my mind this week, and all because I caught a glimpse of my own eyeball. I may need to swallow my pride and go back to the store though. I think I need anti-glare.

-JB

He Chose the Nails

2010-04-05T07:59:00.000-04:00

This is not a book review. Yeah, I stole the title from a book by Max Lucado, but that's not where I am today.

On Good Friday, I couldn't get those four words out of my head. In the past, I always thought of them in the context of Jesus allowing the crucifixion to happen, as though he was so involved he may as well have walked up to a bin of nails and personally chosen the ones used to impale his hands and feet.

Friday, I realized there is yet another meaning. Jesus had a choice. He could have stopped the crucifixion at any point. When he was in Gethsemane, sweating drops of blood in agony, asking God to take this cup from him, he could have walked way. Jesus was not obligated to die for us. He chose to. In essence, he chose the nails (and our salvation) over his own life.

It goes so much deeper than that. When God created His law, He alone declared that the only atonement for sin is death. Nobody forced Him to make it that way. He chose to. And He knew all along, before He ever said, "Let there be light," that man would fall. He knew we'd need a Savior. Yet He still created us, and He still made the law.

Before the earth was even formed, He chose the nails.

April New Releases

2010-04-02T07:31:00.001-04:00

If you're looking for good reads, here are the new releases from members of the American Christian Fiction Writers. Congrats to everyone with releases this month!

1. A Promise Forged, Heartsong Presents Historical Ohio Series by Cara C. Putman An historical from Heartsong Presents. A player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League finds challenges and love as she travels with her team.

2. Abbie Ann; Daughters of Jacob Kane, 3rd & final installment. by Sharlene MacLaren An historical romance from Whitaker House. Abbie Ann, president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1907, butts heads with a handsome divorcee, blindsided when she realizes her utter attraction to him.

3. Blood Ransom; Mission Hope Series, Book 1 by Lisa Harris A suspense/mystery/thriller from from Zondervan. A thriller about the modern-day slave trade and those who dare to challenge it.

4. Calculated Revenge by Jill Elizabeth Nelson A suspense/mystery/thriller from Steeple Hill. When a teacher finds on the playground a backpack belonging to her long-ago abducted sister, she turns to the principal, an ex-private detective, to stop a child-killer from targeting her daughter.

5. Chesapeake Weddings by Cecelia Dowdy A romance from Barbour. Life sends three African American women into a tailspin; Can these women let God rebuild their tattered hopes when new romances unexpectedly enter their lives?

6. Code Blue by Richard L. Mabry M.D. A suspense/mystery/thriller from Abingdon. A doctor finds that returning to her home town has put her in the midst of conflict and possibly marked her for death

7. Crossroads Bay by Kathleen Kovach A romance from Heartsong Presents. A beautiful charter boat captain searches for lost treasure while her real prize is the caterer trying to keep up with her.

8. Damages by Deborah Kinnard A romance from Desert Breeze. A story of second chances, found in an unexpected place.

9. In Plain Sight by Michelle Sutton A suspense/mystery/thriller from Desert Breeze. Abused by her gypsy ex-boyfriend and left for dead, Jovana moves to America seeking a new life; two handsome men desire her heart, but she must choose the right one or end up in a situation much worse than before.

10. Lorenzo and the Pirate by Rick and Lila Guzman An historical from Blooming Tree Press. Will Lorenzo Bannister, marooned on a deserted island with two pirates, ever get home to New Orleans?

11. Love Lessons by Margaret Daley A romance from Steeple Hill Love Inspired. Alexa Michaels brings a breath of fresh air into Ian Ferguson's and his daughter's life, but is it enough to make Ian trust in love again?

12. Lucky Baby by Meredith Efken A women's fiction from Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. Will adopting an orphan from China bring Meg and Lewis the happiness they long for?

13. Mountain Peril by Sandra Robbins A suspense/mystery/thriller from Steeple Hill, Love Inspired Suspense. A woman discovers violence has once again entered her life when a grisly website sets the stage for murder and terror on a peaceful college campus.

14. Queen of Hearts by K. Dawn Byrd A suspense/mystery/thriller from Desert Breeze. Daphne Dean never knew that serving her country as a spy during WWII would send her into hiding in an abandoned mental institution with secrets of its own.

15. Refuge on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson A suspense/mystery/thriller from Kregal. As Camden Bristow works to uncover the past and present mysteries harbored on Crescent Hill, she discovers a deep family secret hidden within the mansion's walls that could change her life˜and the entire town˜forever.

16. Rodeo Sweetheart by Betsy St.Amant A romance from Steeple Hill Love Inspired. She grew up with a cowboy hat and a pony; he grew up with designer duds and a silver spoon. Will this mismatched couple ever be able to lasso their differences?

17. Rooms by Jim Rubart A suspense/mystery/thriller from B&H Fiction. A young Seattle software tycoon inherits a home on the Oregon coast that turns out to be a physical manifestation of his soul.

18. Scenarios for Girls, Book 3 by Nicole O'Dell General fiction from Barbour. Molly Jacobs isn't sure what she should do: Should she follow through with stealing some clothes for her friends from Magna the trendy girls clothing store where she works? Or should she do what she knows is right, even if it means losing her newfound popularity? Scenarios for Girls are interactive books that allow the reader to choose between alternate endings to make important, moral decisions for the main characters.

19. Scenarios for Girls, Book 4 by Nicole O'Dell General fiction from Barbour. Kate Walker joins the swim team and becomes obsessed with practice and making it through the championships with flying colors. What will Kate do when she's faced with pressure from her teammates to take an illegal substance that will help her swim multiple events in their championship meet? Scenarios for Girls are interactive books that allow the reader to choose between alternate endings to make important, moral decisions for the main characters.

20. Seasons in the Mist; Seasons of Destiny Book 1 by Deborah Kinnard A romance from Sheaf House. An eager historian, a time portal, and intrigue in King Edward III's court.

21. She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell An historical from Bethany House. As Clara Carter makes her debut, she realizes it's not just her heart at stake--the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.

22. Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson An historical from Bethany House. Sixteen Civil War widows join the Ladies Emigration Society and head west to claim homesteads, only to find their organization has other plans. . . involving the word "brides.

23. Sworn to Protect by Diann Mills A suspense/mystery/thriller from Tyndale. Border Patrol Agent Danika Morales is caught up in a conspiracy and her life is at stake.

24. The Anonymous Bride by Vickie McDonough A romance from Barbour. Three mail-order brides arrive expecting to marry the town marshal. But he didn't order a bride. A contest to discover which bride would make the best wife turns into mayhem when there is a fourth anonymous entry.

25. The Cowboy's Baby by Linda Ford A romance from Love Inspired Historical. The prodigal returns but is he too late for a second chance?

26. The Word Unleashed, Book 2 of Face in the Deep by Steve Rzasa A sci-fi/fantasy/futuristic from Marcher Lord Press. Baden Haczyk's adventure continues as he tries to keep the last Bible safe from the religious secret police.

27. Too Close to Home, Book 1 of the Women of Justice Series by Lynette Eason A suspense/mystery/thriller from Revell. An FBI agent and a detective must track down a killer of teenage girls before his next victim hits Too Close to Home.

28. Wildflower Hearts, Book 1 in Series Set in North Dakota by Vickie McDonough A romance from Barbour. Three siblings who live on a ranch face problems and romance in the North Dakota Badlands

29. Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer An historical from Abingdon Press. In Denmark's darkest days, is it duty, faith...or love?

The Song We Were Singing--The Newsboys' "Your Love Is Better Than Life"

2010-03-31T12:03:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday. (I just realized that was the dumbest opening blog line ever, since pretty much all of you already knew that...) When I was growing up, the children all marched into church waving palm branches on Sunday, but the adults all missed out on the palm waving action. To my recollection, last Sunday was the first time I've been handed a palm branch as an adult. Just a cool bit of trivia for you.

Anyway, I was thinking about the original palm branch wavers 2000 years ago during Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Since he knew the very same voices crying "Hosanna" that day would shout "Crucify him!" before the week was out, it made me wonder if their praises rang hollow to him.

Know what? I don't think so. That day, with all of their hearts, they meant it.

Know what else? It's easy to vilify them in hindsight, but we are just like them. We stand in church and sing praises on Sunday morning, and by Sunday afternoon we gossip about the choir director's marriage. We stand in church and sing praises on Sunday morning, and by Monday lunch we turn away from the homeless man on the street. We stand in church and sing praises on Sunday morning, and by Thursday afternoon we shrink from sharing the Gospel with a friend because they might think we're "weird." Do we love God less? Are our praises false? No. We're sinful humans in a sinful world where perfection is unattainable. The "Hosanna" criers and "Crucify Him" shouters and sinners like us are the very reasons he came to earth, died, and rose again. His love is bigger than our mistakes.

And of course, that made me, as I typed that last line, think of a song. (It's how my brain works. Ask my friend Shannon. She once said my life is a soundtrack.) "Your Love is Better than Life" by The Newsboys is the perfect example of that dichotomy in us, how we can praise one moment and curse the next, yet, in the end, His love covers it all.

-JB

Nobody Should Suffer. Ever. Period.

2010-03-29T08:55:00.003-04:00

The title of this blog? It's one of the biggest lies in the Christian church. However, just because it's a lie, it doesn't mean I don't struggle with the idea every single day.

It seems like, if we love God and do His will and follow His commandments, we should be safe from pain. As Christians, we treat God like the magic genie sometimes, the one who will take away every bad thing. And when He doesn't, we get M-A-D.

Frankly, I'm a little worried today. Why? Because about four days ago, I woke up thinking what I'm going to write in the next paragraph. And because yesterday, the sermon at church was about brokenness. Those times in life when the pressure's so hard we think we're going to shatter. Does God cause those times? I don't believe so. Does He use them if we let Him? As one who has been there, oh yes, He certainly does. And in ways we can't even imagine.

Jesus walked this earth, Son of God and Son of Man. Did God exempt His Son from suffering? No. In fact, Jesus may have suffered more than any other man who ever walked this earth. I mean, think about it... beyond the agony of the Cross, Jesus was straight-up Satan's number one target. Life could not have been easy.

If Jesus was not exempt, then neither are we. Do I have the grand answers as to why some suffer more than others? I wish I did. But I can say this... when those hard times smack us right upside the head, we can know we're not alone. Jesus walked that road, and he's ahead of us, waiting to take our hand and lead us through it.

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Jars of Clay's "Faith Like a Child" Part 2

2010-03-24T10:01:00.003-04:00

So Monday was the background and what I originally started to write. Today is what I found when I looked up the lyrics to the Jars of Clay song "Faith Like a Child." Like I said, sometimes I go looking for the song, and sometimes the song comes looking for me.

I know that a lot of my writing deals with feeling "miles away" from God, but I'm beginning to wonder if that isn't the way the majority of life on earth feels. After all, we are not yet in heaven. We get those awesome, amazing, mountaintop moments like I had on Sunday, where we feel like we can see Him if we squint just right, and then we face the world again.

I'm not going for "downer" here. I'm actually going for "upper." Thing is, we all feel that way, like God is farther from us than ever. The other fact is, Satan likes to take that feeling and make us think we're the only ones who feel it. He likes to poke and prod and get us down, make us believe God isn't near when, really, He is as close as our next breath. That's why songs like this one and so many others I've mentioned make me feel a little better. I'm not alone. Other people go through it too, even the ones who I look up to as "giants" in the faith.

We can't live based on feelings. Feelings are easily manipulated (just watch a sad movie when you're happy or a happy movie when you're sad and you'll see what I mean). We must live based on faith... like a child.

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Jars of Clay's "Faith Like a Child"

2010-03-22T10:21:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, the song I hear brings up the words in my head. And sometimes, the words in my head bring up a song. I knew what I wanted to write this morning, so I titled the post, "Faith Like a Child." Then I started hearing the words to the song in my head, so I looked up the lyrics and re-titled the post. We'll make this one a two-parter to be continued on Wednesday.

Yesterday we visited a new church. During praise and worship, I felt like walking out. Only a handful of the hundred or so people there were singing. Only one or two actually looked like they meant it. The praise band didn't even look happy to be there. It made the air feel heavy. Ever been in that situation? I was totally distracted by what was going on around me and my own thoughts about it.

Then... communion happened. The closer my daughter and I got to the altar, the more God gripped my heart. By the time we got to the bread and wine, tears were already pouring down my face. (If you know me, you know I hardly ever cry.) Oh my, did God ever show up. I'm surprised I couldn't see Him there, He was that close. It was amazing.

Guess who was convicted for judging those worshipers earlier...

And then there was my six-year-old, who grabbed me by the hand after we took communion and dragged me down to the altar to kneel. When I was done praying, I moved to stand, but she stopped me and waited another minute, then she got up and led me back to our seats.

When we were eating lunch, I asked her why she didn't want to leave the altar. She said, "I was talking to God. I told Him I was sorry and thank you for dying for me and to help me be nicer."

Guess who cried again? It's only the second time she's ever had communion, but my goodness, the six-year-old has it.

May she never lose it.

-JB

Control Yourself!

2010-03-19T10:03:00.002-04:00

I love it when the American Christian Fiction Writers loop gets a little... loopy. We've been talking this week in our emails about characters who get out of control. Sometimes, we plan out an entire plot only to have a character "act up" and change the whole thing. No, we can't seem to control our characters when they do that. Sometimes they go crazy. Jake, in Going in Circles, positively refused to let me change his name. I hated that name for him, but every time I tried to change it, he refused to be written. It was almost like he stood in the corner, crossed his arms, and glared at me. (Trust me. Other writers talk like this too. I am not crazy. Well, not THAT crazy. Things like this are why I love writers conferences. "My people" understand this and do not call the loony bin.)

The original plan for Jake was for him to be a memory. He was not to show up at all in the book except in Samantha's guilt. He was the past, the wish-I-could-do-that-over, the person who needed to be forgotten.

One night--I kid you not, it was straight-up midnight--Jake woke me up. He was banging on Samantha's door. I rolled over in the bed and told him to shut up and go away, since he wasn't allowed in the book. Long story short, I had to get up and write a scene where she let him in.

I wound up keeping the scene, and it changed the whole book.

Know why Jake took over like that? Because I was too afraid to write him into the book. The book needed him. It's richer for having him. It's more emotional with him there. He highlights Sam's frailties and insecurities. But I was terrified of that kind of emotion, of that kid of digging into my own insecurities, and I tried to take the easy way out.

God wouldn't let me. It wasn't really Jake knocking on Samantha's door. It was God knocking on mine, asking me to face my fears, telling me I had to be honest with those emotions. Fear is one of the reasons I think characters get out of control.

So no more fear, folks. God's got stories to tell. Those of us who are writers need to let go of the wheel and let Him tell them...

-JB

Getting Started Isn't Easy

2010-03-17T12:22:00.003-04:00

(So, I wrote chapter one of a new book on Friday. It's a military suspense, which is WAY NEW for me. It reminded me of this post from last year, so I thought I'd share it again, because I'm feeling a bit like this...)

I'm procrastinating.

It's true.

This is the part that I hate the most about writing. I'm sitting here and staring at a blank Word document (Well, I was. Now I'm writing this...) and I'm hesitating to put down the first word. I've got the germ of the idea for the next book. I've even written the first page on paper with a pen. (Yep, paper and pen still exist!) I've got the character sketch for the main character done.

But, I'm still staring at that blank Word document and hesitating.

Why?

Well, a little bit of it might be because I'm the tiniest bit afraid. If I put that first word on the screen, then I'm committed. I'm either committed in succeeding to write the book or in failing to write the book. It'll either come to a big ol' something or a big ol' nothing. The big ol' nothing scares me. I like the new character. I think I'm afraid of failing her. Unless you've written something before, that sounds insane because, as is obvious to us all, characters only exists in my head, so I can't really fail them. But I can fail to tell the story that God's placed in my brain, if that makes any sense at all. I can fail to make the characters come to life the way they're meant to.

But then I remember something. It's hanging on the wall next to the computer. It's Ephesians 6:19: "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel." And there ya have it. That's what I need to do. God's word, God's job, without fear. Yay, God!

So, I'm gonna go now and I'm gonna commit myself. It's high time I did it. I wrapped up Going in Circles around mid-October and have been editing and "selling" ever since. It's time I got around to putting that metaphorical pen on the metaphorical paper again, huh?

Or maybe I'll go get lunch first?

The Song We Were Singing--Jars of Clay's "Crazy Times"

2010-03-15T10:42:00.001-04:00

It's been a busy six weeks for us, what with packing, moving, waiting for the house, unpacking, settling in... And lots of other stuff I haven't bothered to mention. This morning, I sat down to write this blog and started thinking about the Jars of Clay song "Crazy Times." Not the whole song, because, honestly, I think I understand the message even though the lyrics make about as much sense to me as a late-era Beatles song.

Anyway, it was just the chorus. See, typically, I have seventeen blog ideas in my head competing for attention. Lately, I've had, well... none. As I sat here and thought about what to write today, I realized why. In all of the crazy times we've had around here lately, my God times have been sort of sporadic. Instead of spending every morning in quiet time with God, I've been trying to catch up on sleep or arranging a room to my satisfaction. Instead of occasionally jamming out to a great praise and worship song, I've had my energy-inducing eighties pop blasting.

My tank is starting to run empty. Like the song says, "You can't attract the things that you lack." That's deep, I think. If I'm not full of God, how can I expect God to use me? How can I expect to draw from a well I haven't bothered to fill? And the kicker is this... the hunger is starting to gnaw. That longing for Him is growing stronger. That may be the only good part of this.

It's time to stop making excuses. Last night I read in Deuteronomy about offering our first fruits to God. It's time for me to sacrifice a little sleep and to start giving God those first moments of my day again. Let's face it. I need Him to be "my daily bread" and "the air I breathe." Nothing else matters next to that.

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Chris Tomlin's "Your Grace is Enough"

2010-03-12T10:56:00.002-05:00

Love it when God gets a song chasing in my head. This morning, it seems like all I can hear is Chris Tomlin singing "Your Grace is Enough." I read about the feeding of the five thousand today in all four gospels. (That in itself ought to be enough to tell you I was doing my Beth Moore homework!) It got me thinking about how all I need is Jesus. He is my "enough." In fact, only He is enough!

Today, I will type the first words of my next book. I'm a little out of my comfort zone on this one, and I'm not afraid to say that. From the beginning, this one has been different, so that scares me a little. It brings up that insecurity that makes me wonder if I'm good enough for this.

Isn't it "odd" (ha ha) that Beth Moore noted this in the homework I happened to read today:

"Matthew 14:17 records the disciples saying, 'We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.' Christ then responded in verse 18, 'Bring them here to me.' Beloved, I want you to hear something loud and clear; no matter what your 'only' is, when you bring all of your 'only' to Jesus, it's huge! When we bring Him everything we have, He multiplies it beyond our wildest imagination."

Ah... this is not MY book to write under MY power. It is HIS book to write in HIS power through me. That's certainly something I needed to know today.

When we're feeling ill-equipped to handle any situation... When we're feeling like we lack what it takes to do the job set before us... Let us remember to take our "only" to Him and surrender it so He can make it amazing for His glory!

-JB

Book Review--Sarah Sundin's "A Distant Melody"

2010-03-10T07:17:00.004-05:00

Okay, gang. Sit up and listen. This is something you will not hear me say often: Sarah Sundin's novel is one of the top ten books I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Since I started writing "for real," few books have made me forget I'm reading a book. I have a hard time getting lost in the story world, because I'm used to revising and editing and critiquing and seeing how things are put together. (Same thing happened when I volunteered in the theater. It ruined TV for me, because I could see the cues and tech tricks.)

Sarah Sundin got me, y'all. I can't remember the last book that had me interested right from chapter one. There was no "getting into" this book. I was in it. We've been moving, and I spent all day long for days on end unpacking boxes, but a lot of my time was spent looking forward to bedtime, so I could read more pages. I wish I could have read it all in one sitting.

A Distant Melody tells the story of Allie and Walt. They meet in 1940s California where Allie is the daughter of a ball bearing magnate and Walt is a farmer boy preacher's son who now flies B-17s. Their love story would be perfect if Allie didn't already have a beau and if Walt was not on his way to the Eighth Air Force in England. They begin a friendly correspondence, but war and their own internal battles threaten even their friendship, which grows deeper with each mail delivery.

Sarah's really done her homework. The scenes with Walt and his bomber crew were particularly well done. It was like being there, flying beside them. She brought Walt, his men, Allie and all of their struggles into living, breathing life.

Whether you're male or female, this is one phenomenal book. You're missing something if you don't head to your nearest bookstore or favorite website and check out Sarah Sundin's A Distant Melody.

My New Office

2010-03-08T09:32:00.006-05:00

If you came here looking for "deep" this morning, you simply aren't going to get it. Sorry. We've spent the past six days unpacking boxes, so I'm a little too numb for anything that goes beneath the shimmery, still surface. Try me on Wednesday. Technically, I'm "sabbathing" today and taking a day of rest. Couldn't tell, could ya?

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures. This is my old office, in our old apartment (if you look past the den, you see my desk and chair in the tiny little alcove):

Don't get me wrong, I loved my reading chair and my "view" of the pond out the window. I really did. But my desk was not in the greatest place. Lots of glare and, let's face it, lots of white walls. I hate white walls.

And then, we moved into this house, which was already painted by the owner. This was the dining room until I commandeered it and staked my claim. Now, it's my new office:

As my from-so-far-North-he's-practically-Canadian husband would say, "Big difference, eh?"

Y'all have a great day! I plan to spend mine in my office. :-)

-JB

March New Releases!

2010-02-28T21:58:00.002-05:00

Hi, all. Looking for good reads? These are the March releases written by ACFW members!

1. A Distant Melody, Wings of Glory, Book One by Sarah Sundlin An historical from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Allie is promised to a man she doesn't love, but a B-17 pilot captures her heart--will she honor her family's wishes or take a chance on love?

2. A Woman Called Sage by Diann Mills An historical from Zondervan. A woman bounty hunter fights bitterness and revenge to find the killers of her husband.

3. Beaded Hope by Cathy Liggett Women's fiction from Tyndale. A moving story about women helping women and lives changed across continents, inspired by a non-profit organization of the same name.

4. Beguiled by Deanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand A suspense/mystery/thriller from Bethany House. A dog-walker and a journalist pursue a thief (and each other) in atmospheric Charleston.

5. Cowboy Protector by Margaret Daley A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Love Inspired Suspense. When Hannah Williams comes to help Austin Taylor with his injured daughter, she draws him into an intrigue that threatens their relationship--and their lives.

6. Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Abingdon. Trapped by a terrorist plot in Mumbai!.

7. Disarming Andi by Elizabeth Goddard A Contemporary Romance from Heartsong Presents. Contractor Andi Nielsen has another chance to discover what ís hidden inside the missile base she was hired to remodel. Is she prepared to detonate her feelings for the new owner?

8. Fatal Burn; Big Sky Secrets, Book 2 by Roxanne Rustand A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Love Inspired Suspense. In Montana's wide open spaces, danger and love are waiting....

9. Forget Me Not, Crossroads Crisis Center series, Book 1 by Vicki Hinze A Contemporary Romance from Waterbrook-Multnomah. Someone's robbed her of her identity and goes to great lengths to convince her she's someone else; someone who wants her dead.

10. Gold in the Fire/Light in the Storm by Margaret Daley A Romance from Love Inspired. Stories of love and loyalty

11. Groom in Training by Gail Gaymer Martin A Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired. Friends, Four-legged Friends and Love.

12. Kansas Courtship, After The Storm, No. 3 by Victoria Bylin An Historical Romance from Love Inspired. Dr. Nora Mitchell came to heal the town of High Plains. She stayed to heal Zeb Garrison's heart.

13. Katie's Redemption, The Brides of Amish Country by Patricia Davids A Romance from Love Inspired. A young woman returns to her Amish roots but can she find her way back to her faith.

14. Katy's New World, Katy Lambright Series by Kim Vogel Sawyer General Fiction from Zondervan. An Old Order Mennonite girl holds to her convictions while attending public high school.

15. Liberty's Promise by Amber Stockton An Historical Romance from Heartsong Presents. Feel the heartbeat of a chaotic new country through the lives of three Pennsylvania women who seek to know to whom they can entrust their hearts.

16. Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon by Miralee Ferrell A Romance from Summerside Press. A schoolteacher must choose between a man from her past and one who could be her future, while risking her reputation to rescue two runaway orphaned children.

17. Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa by Melanie Dobson A Romance from Summerside Press. A widowed father and his young daughter find healing and hope in the communal Amana Colonies.

18. Morning's Refrain, Book 2 in Song of Alaska series by Tracie Peterson An Historical from Bethany House. Adventure and Romance in 1800's Sitka, Alaska.

19. Once in a Blue Moon by Leanna Ellis Women's Fiction from B&H Publishing. Faith is the first step to soaring.

20. Romance by the Book by Myra Johnson A Contemporary Romance from Heartsong Presents. A shy young woman's crush on her favorite romance author leads her to the man who will finally claim her heart.

21. Scattered Petals by Amanda Cabot An Historical from Revell. Tragedy broke her spirit -- will love mend her heart?

22. The Captain's Lady by Louise M. Gouge An Historical from Steeple Hill. Torn between love and duty, American Patriot James Templeton must deny his heart to help win his country's freedom.

23. The Easter Edition by Robin Shope A romance from White Rose. Bridal shop owner Carol Horn feels she will never find a love of her own until a new pastor comes to town, turning up by accident at her mother's funeral.

24. The Family Way by Michelle Levigne A romance from Desert Breeze Publishing. Pregnancy brings their shaky marriage to the breaking point, and Lisa and Todd must rediscover their love, their faith, and what true marriage means.

25. The Mockingbird's Call by Diane Ashby and Aaron McCarver A Romance from Barbour. Amelia Montgomery, torn between her family's traditions and her own convictions against slavery, must also choose between her duty and her heart as she works for the Underground Railroad.

26. The Promise of Morning, Book 2, At Home in Beldon Grove series by Ann Shorey An Historical from Revell. When loss drives them apart, can their faith bring them back together?.

Coincidence? I think not...

2010-02-26T10:22:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, it's nice to have a reminder that God really does protect us, even in the everyday things.

I bought my car two years ago, and one of the tires has a slow leak. About once a month (or less), it trips the low pressure sensor on my dash, and I have to add a little bit of air. No big deal. Monday morning it got cold, and the tire tripped the sensor. Tuesday morning, same thing.

Tuesday afternoon I was pumping gas at Sam's when I noticed a sign that said, "We repair member's tires for free." Pretty cool. If I ever needed to fix a tire, I'd know. And hey, that reminded me to fill up my sensor-tripping rear tire. I drove the mile back to our temporary housing and grabbed my pressure gauge, hopped out of the car, and knelt down to see how low the tire was so I could fill it up with my handy portable tire pump. (I am nothing if not prepared, right?)

Except... when I knelt down I heard a weird popping sound. It had been raining all day, my tires were wet and, after a second of looking, I saw bubbles on the tire right by my head. Rats. There was a real, bonafide hole in my tire. Since it wasn't flat yet, I drove the mile back to Sam's where they fixed it for free.

That night, as I drove to a meeting with my daughter after dark in the rain, I realized all of the little "coincidences" God had lined up. If I hadn't seen the sign at Sam's... If I hadn't parked so that my tire was in the exact position to put that leak right by my ear when I knelt... If it hadn't been raining and the tire had been dry... Well, I'd have had a flat in the dark, in the rain, in a not-yet-familiar new town, with a six-year-old.

No, I do not believe in coincidences. But I do believe in a God who protects me in all things, big and small. May I never forget that I can trust Him. Hallelujah and YAY, GOD!

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--I have no earthly idea...

2010-02-24T10:33:00.002-05:00

I did a not-good thing on Sunday. When God spoke to me through an amazing worship song at church, I did not jot down the lyrics or song title so I could look them up later. The past two days, I have googled every combination of the words I can remember, and the song has yet to show up.

At any rate, the message is still clear. The one thing I took away from the song... The one thing that made tears pour out of my eyes and had me feeling the need to curl up in the fetal position on the floor and weep...

My home is God. Not with God. My home is God. Right now, when so many things in my life are up-ended and uncertain, being wrapped up in God's love and hearing that home is Him changed everything. I was overwhelmed by His love for me and by His constant presence. No matter how crazy things get, no matter what or who I do or don't have with me, no matter where I am, as long as God is God, I am home. There will never be a time when I am not home.

If things are out of kilter for you, take a few minutes. Sit at His feet. Revel in being home.

-JB

Gettin' Personal

2010-02-22T11:54:00.003-05:00

Off the bat... if you don't care about my personal life, stop reading now. :-)

Today feels like a good day for an update, so here it is. I think that whole feeling comes from the fact that I just took the NC plate off my car and replaced it with another state. That makes me sad.

Life's been hectic, what with the giant move and only six weeks' notice... the interim stay in a tiny apartment while we wait for our house to be vacant... and everything that goes along with moving. Don't get me wrong, the adventure of a move is great. But at this point, I'm past ready to be settled and done with this one.

My original plan was to blog every day, but now I think that's not such a great idea for a lot of reasons. It shall now be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Unless I forget what day it is. And yes, that does happen. Frequently.

I have been recently reminded how amazing my agent is. She is. Amazing. I love how she believes in Sam's story and the way she's out there working it. It boggles my mind that someone besides me cares about it, and cares about it enough to spend time working for it. That is so cool. And I am so thankful.

God gave me two cool little postcards yesterday: one was a song in church (you can read about that on Wednesday), and one was a message from a sweet lady who is probably reading this right now. God knew I needed her encouragement and, even though she has never met me, she passed it along. I appreciate that, from God and from her. :-)

Y'all have a great day. Thanks so much for keeping up with me and for indulging in a little bit of a brain dump today. :-)

-JB

Ski Jump Anyone?

2010-02-19T20:23:00.002-05:00

Right now, ski jumping is on the Olympics. These athletes slide out onto this tenny tiny little seat, skis dangling in the air, and stare down a steep, impossibly high hill. (My stomach would turn inside out.)

I'm not sure that's the worst part.

Once they touch skis to snow, they have passed the point of no return. There's no stopping it. At the bottom, they're going to be airborne: one way or another. It's either going to be pretty, or it's going to be the most spectacular "agony of defeat" known to man.

If I had to guess, I'd say they have to trust their skis, their training, and physics. Without that trust, things won't go well.

Ooh, wait. There's that trust word again. Sometimes, God puts us on a teeny tiny little seat at the top of a steep, impossibly high hill. And then He says, "Trust me."

There are three choices: sit on the little ledge forever and wonder what might have been, try to do it without trusting Him and tumble down the hill in a flailing mass of body parts, or trust Him...

...and fly.

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--"The Greatest" by Kenny Rogers

2010-02-17T11:06:00.002-05:00

Occasionally, a song I've forgotten will pop up in my head, seemingly out of nowhere. I've come to learn it's never really "out of nowhere." A lot of times, I think God is behind it.

For the past few days, I've been hearing "The Greatest," by Kenny Rogers. If you have never heard that song before, you need to click on the link and surf on over. It's just about the most precious little boy song ever. And I'm about to give away the ending for you, so you'd better go now if you want to get the "cool factor" from the song when you hear it. I warned you...

So the little boy is in his yard and, three times, he throws up his ball, swings, and misses. The first two times he declares that he is the greatest baseball player ever and tries again. The third time, you're really feeling for the poor kid who is clearly not "the greatest." Until he declares that even he didn't realize he was that great of a pitcher.

Two things about this song: determination and perspective.

As writers (or teachers, soldiers, sanitation workers, whatever your job), it's easy to bog down. We get caught up in our mistakes. We start to look at everybody else's jobs and think they're way cooler (or easier) than ours. We try and fail, try and fail, try and fail. Writers get rejections. No one is immune. The point is to throw the ball in the air and try again. Like the little boy, enjoy the trying. Even when he missed, he was having fun playing with his baseball. Not once did he get frustrated and throw his bat across the yard (something I've threatened to do with my laptop more than once).

As for perspective? Well, this is not a perfect interpretation of the song, but I'll say it anyway. We've got to learn from our failures. What's causing us to keep missing? One of two things: we're doing it wrong and have more to learn, OR we're doing the wrong job and it's time to re-evaluate. (I started out writing Bible studies before God yanked me up and said, "That's not what I told you to write. Chicken." Okay, He didn't call me a chicken, but He could have, because I was.) I'm going to assume we're all in the right job and say this: if you keep failing, is it because your batting skills are off or because your pitching arm is weak? Figure it out, then strengthen it.

That said, I'm off to the batting cage. There are revisions to be done, a story to be strengthened.

-JB

Heaven Isn't Too Far Away

2010-02-15T21:39:00.003-05:00

(No, I'm not referring to old hair band songs. Thanks, though. Now Warrant is singing in my head.)

If you know me at all, you know my family is in the midst of a pretty big move from one state to another. The gorgeous, beautiful, amazing house we are going to rent is occupied for a few more weeks by it's owners, so the three of us are in a tiny little apartment with the dog and the cat (who do not get along). It's cramped and crowded. The apartment above us is clearly a training ground for professional wrestlers and ultimate fighting champions. For reasons unknown, the heating/air unit is in the den, so we can't hear the TV two-thirds of the time. Cold air pours into the windows, and our closet could double as a refrigerator. Pretty much everything we own is in storage somewhere.

But I'm not miserable.

Why?

Because I know what's waiting for me. There is a beautiful house with a huge yard and my very own office in my near future. My husband will have his "man room" in the bonus room. My daughter will have room to play. The dog and the cat never have to see each other. And we will have our own things again. (I miss my kitchen!)

Tonight, it hit me that this apartment is a lot like life, and the house is a lot like heaven. Oh, don't get me wrong; life is good. I love the life God has given me. But there are times when it's hard. The imperfections are glaringly obvious. It's cold, uncomfortable, frustrating...

Those are the moments when I have to keep my eyes on what awaits me. Heaven is going to be so much more. Heaven is where I get to spend face-to-face time with my Jesus. I'll have a mansion built by Him. Everything I've always dreamed of and more will be right before my eyes. My highest goal, my Jesus, will be met.

And it's a whole lot easier to deal with things down here when I know what's waiting up there.

JB

Calvin and Hobbes Know Me...

2010-02-15T14:10:00.004-05:00

The following was the very first thing I ever posted on this blog. (You can click it to make it bigger.) Today felt like a nice day to re-post it. Since 1996, this cartoon has had a place of honor on my printer, where I can see it from my desk. Why? Because it's me. Have a great President's Day!

Postcards From (Near) the Edge

2010-02-12T12:43:00.002-05:00

I think this move is messing with my head. Last week, I didn't get to write/edit/revise at all. This week has been spotty, but at least I've gotten things done. Still, a step back from the keyboard and a dash of stress made me look out at the real world and say, "Maybe I should find something else to do." Satan saw an opening and stuck his foot right in the door with a heap o' doubt and a mound of questions.

And then, there was my Jesus. He's been holding back on me. Not to be mean, but because He knew I'd need a little piece of happiness someday to keep me going. Yesterday, He dropped a sparkling present into my lap. It was a present that said, "Stop doubting, love. You are doing the exact right thing. You didn't miss my call at all. You're smack in the middle of where you're supposed to be." I needed that. Not only did I need it, but I needed it at that EXACT moment. Any other time wouldn't have meant nearly as much as it did yesterday.

Thank you, Lord. Thank You for showing up... just when I needed You.

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God"

2010-02-11T12:02:00.003-05:00

I can't stop thinking about Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God."

I just don't get it. The other night, I was reading Exodus and it smacked me right between the eyes.

I really don't get it.

God is great. Oh, that's easy to say. Even the smallest child can start a dinner blessing that way. But what does it mean? We've grown jaded by those three words. We fail to understand what they really mean. We don't get just how great He is.

He is so great there aren't even words for Him. He is so powerful we can't even fathom His power.

And yet... we treat Him like a nursery rhyme. "God is great."

For a second the other night, I got it. For a flash, as I read about the required sacrifices of the Old Testament and thought about all of the things God demanded of His chosen people, I understood it. He demanded all of that--and could have demanded so much more--because He is that great. With our New Testament relationship with Him, I think we sometimes take Him for granted. He has made it so easy for us to come to Him that we start to think that He Himself is easy and commonplace.

Oh, but He is not. I'm overwhelmed by Him right now, to the point I can barely type this. He is great. Amazing. He is so much more than I can imagine, so much more than I can even adequately praise. He is so much more...

Routines and Bruce Almighty

2010-02-10T17:03:00.002-05:00

I am so glad that God is in charge of this world.

I've been thinking about Bruce Almighty this morning. You know the Jim Carrey movie where they guy rails and rants to God until God lets him have the reigns for a while? And Bruce, well, he totally messes everything up.

That would be me. See, being squarely out of my routine for the past couple of weeks has proven to me that I sort of like structure. (I'm a whacked out sort of personality. My melancholy personality likes routine. My sanguine personality hates it. Yep. God made me opposites. Isn't that fun? Drives my husband crazy.) I like spontaneity, but I like it on my terms.

That's why I'm glad God is God. If I was in the big chair, I'd be fine until somebody went and did something that didn't fit into my plan. When they deviated from the script, I'd either get so flustered that I messed everything up, or I'd be so angry at the person that I'd pepper them with lightning bolts. Neither of those options is a good one.

And that's why I'm glad to let God be God. We've face a lot of decisions lately, and, with each one, I've asked God to have control. Put us where He wants us, even if it's not exactly what we want. I want Him to order our steps.

--JB

Meet Jennifer AlLee!

2010-02-09T00:01:00.002-05:00

Today I'd like to introduce you to Jennifer AlLee, author of The Pastor's Wife, which received four stars from Romantic Times.

As a child, Jennifer AlLee lived above a mortuary in the heart of Hollywood, California, which may explain her unique outlook on life. Her publishing credits include The Love of His Brother, a contemporary romance from Five Star Publishing (November 2007) as well as skits, activity pages, and over one hundred contributions to Concordia Publishing House’s popular My Devotions series. Her latest novel, The Pastor’s Wife, released February 1, 2010 from Abingdon Press. She’s an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and serves as the Nevada Area Coordinator. Jennifer resides in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and teenage son. Visit her website, JenniferAlLee.com.

A few questions with Jennifer:

Q: You have a unique last name. Why is it spelled with a capital letter in the middle?
A: AlLee is my married name, so it’s really all my husband’s fault. The origin is French, and it’s morphed quite a bit over the years. Part of the family spells it like I do. Another part uses two lowercase “el”s. And a third rebel faction spells it with the capital “el” and an accent mark. I know it can be quite confusing. But it sure looks nice on a book cover when they get it right!

Q: You grew up in Hollywood. How did that happen?
A: My grandparents met on the vaudeville circuit. Grandma was a dancer and my grandfather was a concert violinist from Hungary: Duci deKerekjarto (how’s that for a last name?) Duci immigrated to make his mark in Hollywood, which is how our family ended up there. He remained friends with another Hungarian performer, a Shakespearean actor named Bela Lugosi. (Yes, the original Dracula.) Bela died before I was born, but my mom remembers sitting on his lap and calling him Uncle Bela.

My own minor brush with fame came on the day I was born. Michael Landon Jr. and I were in the same hospital nursery in neighboring basinets. My Aunt Karen nearly passed out when she realized proud father Michael Sr. was standing at the window next to her!

Maura Sullivan thought she knew what she was getting into when she married soon-to-be pastor Nick Shepherd. But when she realized the 'other woman' in her marriage was her husband's congregation, she ran. Six years later, she finds herself back in the small community of Granger, Ohio for the reading of a curious will that names both her and Nick as beneficiaries. Now Maura must face the husband –and the congregation – she left behind.

You can read the first three chapters of The Pastor's Wife right here! Simply click on the cover above.

Want to know more about Jennifer and The Pastor's Wife? Head over to Amber Stockton's blog tomorrow!

Keep It Simple...

2010-02-08T14:51:00.002-05:00

The other day I was driving on Fort Benning when I saw my favorite sign. (I wish I had taken a picture of it to remember it by...)

MATERIAL RECLAMATION FACILITY
(Recycling Center)

That thing cracks me up every time, because it is so unnecessarily complicated and very much like the military can be sometimes. Take something easy and make it hard. Why not just say "Recycling Center" and save some paint?

It occurred to me the other day that, when I don't trust God, I am just like that sign. When I try to do it all myself instead of trusting him to handle it, I muck it all up and add all sorts of unnecessary work. Only I'm wasting more than paint when I get crazy.

There are times when I should just take a deep breath and trust that God's going to handle it. Moving is one of those times. He's got my back (and my front and my top and every other side), and He's going to take care of this as long as I am obedient. It's going to go His way. I can trust Him.

And I can quit with the unnecessary stress. That's the best news of all.

-JB

Letting Someone Else Speak

2010-02-05T00:01:00.002-05:00

Today, I am on the road to our new home, so I am actually talking to you from last Friday. (Isn't the "post options" tab awesome?) This quote seemed appropriate for today...

Don't put down too many roots in terms of a domicile. I have lived in four countries and I think my life as a writer and our family's life have been enriched by this. I think a writer has to experience new environments. There is that adage: No man can really succeed if he doesn't move away from where he was born. I believe it is particularly true for the writer.

-Arthur Hailey

ACFW February New Releases

2010-02-02T10:20:00.002-05:00

The list of February new releases written by ACFW members is out. Congratulations to them all! Check out one of these wonderful authors if you need some fresh reads:

1. Abigail: A Novel, The Wives of King David, Book 2, by Jill Eileen Smith from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Turmoil marks her life - what price will she pay for love?

2. A Valentine Wish, by Betsy St. Amant from Steeple Hill Love Inspired. Lori, chocolate-lover extraordinare, is unemployed, single, and out of brownie mix. But when a secret admirer pops up at her new job running a chocolate boutique, she might have the ingredients for a special Valentine's after all!

3. Deliver Us From Evil, by Robin Caroll from B&H Publishing. When a female helicopter pilot rescues a US Marshal escorting a heart, they must race against time to uncover the largest child trafficking ring in history.

4. Hometown Promise; First in the Kellerville Series, by Merrillee Whren from Steeple Hill Love Insired. Kellerville: Finding family, community and love in one small town

5. Love's Winding Path, by Lauralee Bliss from Heartsong Presents, Barbour Publishing. A prodigal's life is never out of God's reach and His love as two lonely adventurers are about to discover.

6. The Marriage Masquerade, by Erica Vetsch from Heartsong Presents, Barbour Publishing. Sometimes running away brings you right back where you started.

7. Meander Scar, by Lisa Lickel from Black Lion. When Ann is ready to jump back into life with a new love, she discovers the devastating truth behind her husband's disappearance.

8. My Deadly Valentine, by Lynette Eason and Valerie Hansen from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Two suspense-filled stories about stalkers and the men determined to protect the women they love.

9. On Wings of Love, by Kim Watters from Steeple Hill Love Inspired. A dedicated nurse devotes her life helping others, only to discover the man who steals her heart doesn't want her help..

10. The Pastor's Wife, by Jennifer AlLee from Abingdon Press. A woman must face the husband - and the congregation - she ran from six years earlier.

11. Walking on Broken Glass, by Christa Allen from Abingdon Press. Leah Thornton stops numbing her pain with alcohol, but discovers the road to redemption might still be under construction.

The Song We Were Singing--Chris Sligh's "Empty Me"

2010-02-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

I think a lot about my motivation. This is not to say my motives are always pure. It's simply to say I think a lot about them. When I sit down to write every day, I want to be sure that I'm writing for God. If I write for me, that's going to be a wasted day. The ultimate plan is for the words to go God's way, for Him to do with them after they are written what He wants to do.

Some days, that God motivation is hard to find. Some days I am all about me. (Or I sit down and lament that it's a revision day or that I have nothing new under the sun to say.) Some days I forget to take stock of who I'm working for.

Those are the days when I sit down and fire up Chris Sligh's "Empty Me." There's the reminder of Who this is all for and that the only way to let God fill me up and then pour out of me is to be empty of my self.

I was doing today's lesson in Beth Moore's Jesus the One and Only when I came across a quote by Francis Frangipane on page 76:

To inoculate me from the praise of man,
He baptized me in the criticism of man,
until I died to the control of man.

It's not about me. It's not about you. It's not about other people. It's about God. Read that quote again, then ask yourself who is motivating you...

-JB

For Crying Out Loud... Just STOP!

2010-01-29T12:19:00.002-05:00

I have a to-do list a mile long. Movers will be here next week to pack our stuff, so I need to box up what we are loading into our vehicles. I'm about a third of the way through revising my second novel, so there are scenes waiting for me. A CWG assignment is due on the ninth. Books on craft beckon from beside my reading chair. The grocery store is calling.

And I'm not going to do any of it today. I've been going full-tilt for several weeks now, gearing up for the move, polishing this book, driving all over the country visiting family... Just for today, I'm done.

God made us to take a day of rest. The Sabbath is not about Sunday or church or any of that. It's about rest. For you, rest might be fishing or golf or even mowing the lawn. For me, it's cup of coffee and mindless staring out the window. It's a book I can't wait to dive into. It's a long conversation on the phone with a friend in another state. It's an aimless walk with the dog. That will be my day today. No schedule. No to-do list. No nothing. No work. No guilt. Recharging my batteries.

When was the last time you Sabbathed? Hm?

I have to go now. I think blogging might qualify as work. There will be no work on my Sabbath. Starting... now.

-JB

To Touch the Face of God...

2010-01-28T09:34:00.005-05:00

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
(John Gillespie Magee, Jr)

A Friend to Walk the Path

2010-01-27T09:48:00.004-05:00

I was debating what to post today when I went on Facebook to see what my friends are up to. That's when I saw Kay Shostak (who may come and beat me up for writing this). It occurred to me then that the story of Kay has never really been told here, but it's important.

To shorten the long part of the story, I walked into a room filled with writers the first full day of my first real writers conference, and a stranger looked at my name tag, looked up at me, and said, "You're Jodie Bailey! I was hoping I'd get to meet you!" She was actually excited to see me. It was... very weird. As we talked, she finally told me she'd read my blog and wanted to meet the not-so-very-smart person who sent a proposal with no SASE or contact info and yet still managed to get a request for a full. Well, burst my "famous" bubble, why don't you. But then, the two of us proceeded, in the course of the first ten minutes of our friendship, to plot the novel that will change the CBA world FOR-EV-ER. Please don't ask what it's about... that's top secret. And it will probably remain top secret FOR-EV-ER.

Kay became a friend of my heart that day. And the longer we stayed in touch, the more I saw God's hand in it. Because He seems to have equally paced our writing journeys so that we have someone there for us, going through our very same waitings. Both of us had requests from agents for full manuscripts at roughly the same time... which required waiting to see if those manuscripts would be accepted or rejected. Both of us were accepted by agents at roughly the same time. And now we both sit waiting (roughly!) to hear the results of queries to publishers. (I think both of us are waiting for the other to get a book contract so we can see if this streak continues...) We went through the ups and the downs and the uncertainties of waiting--and having our work judged--together.

The take away? Look around you. God has given you someone to walk with on this road. Whatever you are going through, it is not unique. If you stop and look around, a stranger (or perhaps not-a-stranger) will grab you by the hand (or stalk you at a writers conference) and tell you they have walked--or still walk--the path you are on. God's cool like that.

And Kay is pretty cool like that too.

-JB

Praying for a Fellow Writer...

2010-01-26T11:03:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning to a Facebook/Twitter/Blogosphere racing with news about Diann Hunt, an amazing writer and woman of God.

I was all set to blog today, but felt instead the need to direct everybody to Girls Write Out, the blog she shares with some other awesome ladies of faith. Diann found out yesterday that she has ovarian cancer. There is a huge call to prayer for her! Please join us!

-JB

Where am I Going?

2010-01-25T15:01:00.004-05:00

There is a "joke" in our house when it comes to military moves. It seems like we always go back where we've been. From Bragg to Michigan... and back to Bragg. From Georgia to New York... and back to Georgia. When we got word we'd be moving again, we assumed it would be to somewhere we've been before.

Nope. We get the adventure of going somewhere totally different. I actually enjoy that adventure. It's fun to see and learn a new place, to make new friends...

But yesterday it hit me that I'm leaving a whole lot behind. I have amazing friends here, a fabulous church, a group of ladies in Bible study who are a part of my heart, wonderful neighbors... And they are all going to be in my past very soon.

Just when I was starting to feel down, God brought up something in Bible study this morning. Joshua 3: 4b (MSG) says, "...you'll see clearly the route to take. You've never been on this road before." This was just before the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land. And God did unbelievable things ahead of them there.

So, do we dare? Will we let God take us somewhere we've never been before and, in the process, show us more of Him? Deep breath... I think I'm ready.

-JB

The Song We Were Singing--Travis Tritt's "Can I Trust You With My Heart"

2010-01-22T09:35:00.002-05:00

It's no secret I've been dealing with trust lately, so it's probably no surprise that the old Travis Tritt song "Can I Trust You With My Heart" has been playing around in my head.

Side note? It hurt me to call that an "old" song.

After hearing that song in my head for days on end, I decided to look up the lyrics since it's been a while. It's your typical boy-meets-girl kind of song, but look deeper and the struggle about trusting God rings through.

We often experience that blush of "first love" with God, when we think nothing bad can ever happen. And then, that tough to understand thing comes, and we start to wonder. Can we trust Him? Will He always walk beside us? Will He really do what's best for us? Can He really handle our baggage? We back up and start to question Him, start to ask, "Hey, God... Can I really trust You with everything about me? Can I trust you if I love you and surrender to you?"

I think about Job a lot when I think about trust. I want to come to that place where, like Job, I can say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." (Job 13:15) That is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. God is not a man (or a woman, like the Travis Tritt song). Men will violate our trust. God never will.

Easy to say, hard to believe some days.

I encourage you to read the lyrics to that song. Think about it in terms of God. No, not all of the words will apply, but for the ones that do, ask yourself where you are in your walk. Are you holding back, asking God if He is trustworthy? Are you making your trust conditional? Or are you trusting Him with no conditions on your relationship with Him? Yes, we will go through seasons of trust and doubt. Where are you now?

-JB (who is definitely still learning to trust)

The Song We Were Singing--Elvis Presley's "Peace in the Valley"

2010-01-21T10:34:00.004-05:00

When I was a little girl, my mother liked to listen to Elvis. She had an 8-track (yes, I'm that old) of his gospel music. To this day, my favorite Elvis song is his version of "Peace in the Valley".

That song was on my mind this morning. I have no idea why. But it got me thinking about Elvis. Now, I don't know a whole lot about him, but by all appearances, he started out as a good ol' Southern boy who loved his mama and Jesus. Somewhere along the way, people started calling him "The King." I think--just maybe--he bought that press. He ceased being Elvis Presley, became Elvis, and then became The King. He stopped being who he really was and became almost a caricature of himself. People idolized him, even worshiped him, but his life was off-center and he seemed to lose who he was.

I wonder if there's not a lesson there? God made me. He made you. He gave us a calling (or multiple callings) and set us on this earth to do something for him. But what happens when we take the reins? When we try to become The Kings of our lives? We become shells of who we were meant to be. We cease to be who we really are. We turn into that caricature. Oh sure, on the outside, things might look phenomenal, but on the inside we're a wreck. Whether we know it or not.

Now, I'm not trying to talk bad about Elvis or judge his spiritual state. I have no idea who he really was or how he really felt. I'm merely looking at the outside of things. What I do know is this: I need to take a hard look at who is reigning in my life. Is it God? Or is it me?

How about you? Who's The King in your life?

--JB

You talkin' to me?

2010-01-20T09:06:00.003-05:00

It happened again.

Last night, I was reading the passage in my "read the Bible in a year" (I'm behind... and reading chronologically), and it happened again.

God told Abram (before he was Abraham) to pack up everything and move to a whole new place. Did Abram balk? Nope. Did he argue? Nope. Did he try to bargain with God? Nope. He obediently packed it all up and went. He did exactly as he was told.

And do you suppose when he got to the place God led him, everything was peachy keen and awesome and wonderful? Get a load of Genesis 12:10 (NIV): "Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe."

WHAT?!? No sooner does Abraham get to the place God leads him, but a famine strikes and he has to leave.

Seriously? First Mary has to travel when she's hugely pregnant. Then Abraham does exactly what God says and runs smack into a famine. Hm. Obedience does not always guarantee an easy road, does it? Sometimes, we follow the plan only to see it apparently crumble before us. Here's the thing, though... God is up to something, even then. Maybe he's growing us. Maybe he's ministering to someone else through us. But it's never without purpose.

When I get frustrated and angry with God, maybe that's when I should look at His servants in the Bible: Mary and her inconvenient travels and dirty stable; Abram and the famine; Joseph in prison; Elijah hiding in a cave; John on Patmos; the other eleven disciples martyred... I think I need an attitude adjustment. How 'bout you?

More on Mary... and the Little Things

2010-01-19T08:40:00.005-05:00

I was reading about Mary this morning, about her being "heavy with child" when the census took her to Bethlehem with Joseph. What do you know? God convicted me. Ouch.

Boy do I ever complain about the little things. I handle the big things pretty well. For instance, this sudden state-to-state move we're about to make? I got it. No problem. Put it in gear and drive on. But the fact that we will probably spend three weeks in a hotel? That bugs me. That irks me. That makes me want to look at God and say, "Uh, we're doing your will. Shouldn't this be smoother than that?"

And then I read about Mary, heavy with child. God didn't make it easy on her, did he? He sent her on a long, arduous journey while she was pregnant enough to burst. Not only that, He sent her on this journey at a time when every hotel in the vicinity was full, and the only place to give birth to her baby--HIS son--was in a nasty old stable.

Nope, He didn't make it easy. Why not? I don't have an answer for that. But it sure does put three weeks in a hotel into perspective, huh?

--JB

More Like Mary

2010-01-14T11:45:00.004-05:00

I was thinking about Mary this morning. (Jesus's mother Mary, that is...) She was called blessed and highly favored. A lot of times, we're tempted to think she had it easy because she was Jesus' mother.

But most likely, she didn't. Think about this... How would you like to have to go to your parents and say, "Hey, Mom and Dad! Here's the thing. I'm pregnant. And it's not my betrothed's baby and, truly, I've never had sex with anyone! See, this angel came and told me..." Yeah, it's a believable story. Now imagine having to say that in a culture where adultery was punished by stoning. Ostracism at best; death at worst.

She had to face Joseph and tell him she was pregnant. He had every right to divorce her. And she had no way of knowing that he would get his own angelic visitor to instruct him.

You can bet she wished Gabriel had stuck around to tell a few other people besides her!

Just what did Mary say when Gabriel came to her and turned her life upside down? She basically said, "Whatever God wants to do, I'll go along with. Let Him do to me whatever He wishes."

Full submission. Whatever the consequences. Whatever God wanted to do.

Lord, help me to be more like Mary!

--JB

Perfect Love

2010-01-13T13:44:00.002-05:00

My daughter, when she was a baby, taught me more about God's love than anything else had in the first 29 years of my life. One day, I sat there, holding her. She was lying in my lap, staring up and focusing on nothing. Helpless. At that point, when she was less than a week old, she could not really do anything for me. She ate, she slept, she made some really big messes that we had to clean up... And in return for all of our work for her, all she could do was lay there, look cute, and make another mess. :-)

But, oh, that was love like I had never felt before... all for someone who could give me nothing in return right then. I'd do anything for her. Anything at all.

It hit me, as I looked at her, that God's love is a lot like that. We really can't do anything for Him in return, and we make a whole lot of messes for Him to clean up, but He loves us with a love so huge that He'd do anything for us... including die. As much as I love my daughter, God loves us so much more. The overwhelming love I feel? It doesn't even touch God's love.

My Heroes Have Always Been...

2010-01-12T09:07:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I forget that my life is "different." But in the face of a move and a visit to the National Infantry Museum last Saturday, I'm remembering.

Photo by Kristin Molinaro

When you first walk into the museum, you are invited to walk The Last One Hundred Yards, because "the last one hundred yards of any battle belong to the infantry." In the museum's hundred yards are images from the Revolutionary War to the present of our infantry soldiers doing their job. It made me cry. I was awed by these soldiers before me and all that they had sacrificed. I was proud of men and women who fight for freedom (for ourselves and for others). And halfway through, I stopped cold and looked at my husband, standing in the middle of all of that history and, literally, being a part of that history. He is one of those men. For that brief moment, my mind was able to wrap around that fact.

In the day to day and the moves and the TDYs and the deployments, I sometimes forget just what it is my husband does, just what it is he trains to do, just what it is he gives up. I sometimes forget that he is extraordinary.

No, this post has nothing to do with God or writing or anything else I usually put up for the world to read. But I wanted to say to my husband (and to every Soldier, Airman, Sailor, Marine, Guardsman... whatever the title) you are far from ordinary, and you are my hero.

Totally Shameless Personal Post...

2010-01-11T12:07:00.007-05:00

Just wanted to share with everybody...

My new nephew is here! Timothy Matthew came into the world at ten last night.

6 pounds, 11 ounces, 20 1/4" long

My sweet nephew...

And his proud daddy (my little brother)...

So thankful for cell phones with cameras and unlimited data messaging! :-)

--JB

The Song We Were Singing--"In His Time"

2010-01-08T10:53:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I'm kickin' it old school today. :-)

It is nearly 11:00 in the morning and still only 23 degrees here. I'm a Southern girl. I'm not used to this. Well, we did do a stint up at Fort Drum in upstate New York, so that was an adventure, but other than that, I'm not used to this cold.

I was looking out the window this morning and noticed a tree that has, in the past few days, sprouted leaves. Are you kidding me, tree? Didn't you get the memo that this is the coldest winter on record? Those leaves won't make it. Are you crazy? I know you're a tree. God made you to leaf out but, really, your timing is all wrong. It won't work right now. It's not the right time.

And then, as I stood at the window and thought the tree could hear me and actually had control over this, I started to hear that song, "In His Time" in my brain.

Really, God? I need this lesson again?

God made me (and several of you) to be a writer. He made my closest friend to be a nurse. He made another good friend to be a mother. We know His callings on our lives, but sometimes, it's not our time. Just because God made us something, doesn't mean success will come immediately (or even in the way we picture it). It doesn't mean the road will be smooth. Like that tree, we're supposed to bear fruit, but in season. If we go rushing around, leafing out everywhere in our own time, we're not going to accomplish anything but a bunch of dead leaves.

So when the rejections come... when the days are long and frustrating... when you doubt the things you know you heard God say... when it seems like what has always been a yes might just be a no... hang on tight. Spring's coming...

...in HIS time.

--JB

Adventures in Writing--An Audience of One (Repost)

2010-01-07T11:29:00.002-05:00

(Normally, I don't repost but, yesterday, I came across a blog I wrote in August and thought it applied so much to this week and reminded me of so much I'd forgotten, it deserved a second look...)

I write for God. Well, let's be honest here... I try to write for God. Sometimes the big ol' ME gets in the way of the I AM.

I hate when that happens.

But what does it mean to write for God? Well, my new friend Ronie Kendig, said something on the ACFW loop the other day that clicked it all into place for me. She said it so beautifully, I asked her if I could share it here:

"He wanted me to learn to write...simply because HE derives pleasure out of seeing me use the gift He gave. That's it. Not because anyone else will be ministered to(although, I seriously hope so). Not because I'll sell a bazillion copies (please, God?). But because when I write, He wanted me to know that it's like He's sitting in a cozy chair by a fire, listening to the clicking keyboard and just... smiling. Or like when I bought my sons new bikes and thrilled at watching them ride the bikes I gave them. God's up there saying right now, "See? You see her typing and writing? She's using the gift I gave her!"

Wow! Wow, wow, wow! THAT is what it means to write for God! I had always envisioned writing for Him as writing for some unknown someone out there who would be blessed by Him speaking through me. But that would be writing for that unknown someone. Writing for God means, simply, writing for God.

Couple Ronie's incredible description with the idea of success? Well, that changes everything, doesn't it?

JB

The Song We Were Singing--"Somewhere in the Middle" by Casting Crowns

2010-01-06T09:01:00.002-05:00

You know how you have those days (weeks, months, years...) when you just know you're never going to make it? You look at yourself and your walk and you think, "I'm going backwards. I'm never going to be good enough. I'm never going to succeed. I'm never going to climb the mountain and see God. Where is He anyway? And do I have to give it all to Him and actually trust Him with it? Why can't I just let it go and give it to Him? I'm the worst Christian ever." Or even, "God won't want me. I'll never be good enough to be loved by Him."

And then, along comes somebody who echoes your thoughts.

Sometimes, when I'm praying, I go random on the Praise and Worship playlist on my iPod and I say, "God, what do you want to hear?" Yesterday, when I was feeling almost all of the above, just before I turned off the iPod and got to work (and after hearing Steven Curtis Chapman sing "Dive"--one of my very favorites), I was treated to the Casting Crowns song "Somewhere in the Middle." There's really nothing more to say other than the words of that song. I think God said it all right there.

--JB

Why Is it ALWAYS Tom Petty?

2010-01-05T08:45:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I wonder at God and how He chooses to speak to me. First of all, He is bound to have had a hand in Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down." (I wrote about what that song means to me, and God's awesome way of using it here.)

Today, I needed a lyric from the song for a Twitter post. See, Sandra heard back from Howard Publishing yesterday. They said "no" to my manuscript. When I saw her email, I honestly shrugged and thought, "Know what? They weren't God's choice. Next!" But after a few minutes, I confess to a little bit of discouragement. I want this to be easy, even though I know it's far from easy to get published. But I believe in this book and I believe God wanted me to write it, so I believe He has a place for it.

At any rate, I wanted to quote my "spiritual warfare anthem" on Twitter today and remind myself of that, so I looked up the lyrics to double check the words. Instead, I found this quote from Mike Campbell, the guitarist and a songwriter on the album "Full Moon Fever," which "I Won't Back Down" is on:

"We thought [the album] was really good, we were real excited about it. We played it for the record company and they said, 'Well, we don't hear any hits on here.' We were very despondent about the whole thing... In the interim, they changed A&R departments and a whole new group of people were in there. We brought the same record back like 6 months later and they loved it - they said 'Oh, there's 3 hits on here.'... I guess it's a situation of timing and the right people that wanted to get inspired about it..."

Ah, God, there you go again. Thanks for the postcard...

--JB

Book Review--Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck's "The Sweet By and By"

2010-01-04T15:18:00.003-05:00

After an extended absence, the blog is up and running again! Miss me? :-)

Over Christmas, I read The Sweet By and By, a collaboration between country singer Sara Evans and author Rachel Hauck.

And I was amazed.

I'll tell you from the get go... at one point, I actually dropped the book while I was reading it. Dropped the book, sat up straight, and said, "Whoa!" That's a good thing, folks. Very, very rarely do I read a book that balls up a fist and hits me in the gut. Very, very rarely do I get emotional reading a book. This one got me. It's going on my list of favorites from here on out.

Sara and Rachel did a great job with the characters. They're not thrown in your face all at once. You get to know them, much like you'd get to know anyone you just met. Great way to keep me turning pages; I kept wanting to know more! And each little bit I learned made me want to learn the next and the next.

We begin with Beryl, an aging self-centered not-quite-former hippie who can't seem to commit to... well, to anything. But the main protagonist is Beryl's oldest daughter, Jade, who is about to marry the man of her dreams when the facade she's built around herself starts to crumble piece by piece by piece. Through flashbacks, we learn about Beryl and Jade's stormy relationship and about the past Jade believes shouldn't matter, even though it surely does.

The Sweet By and By is a beautiful story about broken relationships and forgiveness, about the past and its fingerprints on the present, about healing, and about love that abides through it all.

Pick this one up, y'all. It's well worth it. The Sweet By and By is one of those rare books that leaves a mark on your life and that you'll never forget.

--JB

Of a President and a King...

2009-12-14T09:53:00.003-05:00

March 15, 2002... Fayetteville, NC is socked in with thick, wet fog. And several thousand of us are waiting in the Crown Coliseum for a once-in-a-lifetime kind of moment. The air is more electric than any I think I've ever felt and the expectation is high. The person we've been waiting for has been delayed for more than an hour because fog has socked in the airport, but nobody's complaining. We'll wait and wait gladly, because the payoff will be worth it.

And then... a man in a dark suit steps onto the stage carrying what looks like a dinner plate. The entire arena goes silent. He stops, solemnly affixes the seal to the podium, steps back, and leaves.

The President of the United States is in the building.

Those assembled go wild... and then are faced with another wait as other special guests are introduced.

And then... a voice. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States" and the first chords of "Hail to the Chief." There he is, stepping across the stage to applause and cheers and waves and shouts. The noise dies down, he begins to speak, and the crowd--largely soldiers--begins to scream again. It's amazing, incredible to us all... the President is before us. The highest authority in the land stands feet away from us, sharing the air in the room.

I thought about that this morning, because I was thinking about Jesus' return. On March 15, 2002, I couldn't quite comprehend that I was in the same room as a man I'd seen on TV so many times, who I truly admired, the very President of my country.

What will it be like on the day when the sky splits and the very King of Kings appears? Oh, can you imagine the cheers on that day, when the King of Glory is seen face to face, sharing our air, the highest authority ever will finally be "in the building"?

Am I waiting in holy expectation for that moment? Wondering when the time will come, on the edge of my seat, feeling the delay, but oh so ready for him to appear? When the fog rolls in and it seems like He's never going to come, do I still strain to see him?

I cannot wait for my King to take the stage, y'all. This morning, I wanted to jump up and down thinking about it. How about you?

JB

Clean straw and Sweet-Smelling Animals... Right?

2009-12-03T14:43:00.003-05:00

The women's Bible study at my church doesn't meet in December, so a group of us has joined an online Bible study on Ann Spangler's Immanuel. (Excellent, if you haven't done it.) Today she focused on Luke's retelling of Jesus' birth, and it got me thinking.

We read that story, but do we ever stop to picture it? We're so used to sweet nativity scenes with quiet animals and fresh hay in a newly-made manger. But think about it... this was a scared teenager, far from home, with a new husband (whom it's possible she didn't know very well), and she is in labor. Can you imagine their desperation when there was nowhere to stay? Did they stop in front of that smelly, nasty animal barn and look at it, then glance around praying for somewhere else? Only there was literally nowhere else? How panicked was Mary? Did she long for her mother? Her cousin Elizabeth?

The Bible doesn't mention another woman around. Was it Joseph who clumsily delivered that amazing baby, terrified of breaking the tiny Messiah? (I'd have been scared of that!) I'm sure the cloths were not fine, freshly-bleached linen and that the manger was far from antiseptic. How did the animals feel about having their food encroached upon? How many times did Joseph have to shoo away curious creatures who might nip at the infant?

Think about it. And then ask yourself how the picture in your mind lines up with what was probably the reality of the Son of God's birth. He gave up a throne in heaven, you know, and abundant everything. To be laid in a filthy stable.

Amazing.

Need a Good Read?

2009-12-01T15:21:00.001-05:00

This just in! Fresh from American Christian Fiction Writers, it's the list of new releases for December. Just in time for Christmas. May you find much that piques your interest!

1. A Bouquet for Iris, by Diane Ashley & Aaron McCarver from Barbour Heartsong Presents. Iris Landon travels to Daisy, Tennessee, to care for two Cherokee children and finds romance and danger while aiding one family in the struggle to keep their land.

2. A Lady Like Sarah, Rocky Creek Romance, by Margaret Brownley from Thomas Nelson. He's a preacher. She's an outlaw. Both are in need of a miracle.

3. ANGEL WITH A BACKHOE, by Deb Kinnard from Desert
Breeze Publishing. A small-town widower and a spunky suburban transplant match wits over a church construction project, finding true love can mix with blueprints and concrete footings.

4. Child Finder: Resurrection series: Child Finder Trilogy, 2nd book, by Mike Angley from Total Recall Publications, Inc. Child Finder: Resurrection…the highly-anticipated sequel to the award-winning debut novel, Child Finder, which Library Journal placed on its 2009 Summer Reads list for Christian fiction!

5. Christmas Peril, by Margaret Daley from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Christmas themed, romantic suspense stories.

6. Cup of Joe, by Teri Wilson from White Rose Publishing. A grieving oman resists the cups of comfort offered by the shy, but handsome, owner of the neighborhood coffee shop.

7. Field of Danger, by Ramona Richards from Love Inspired Suspense. When April Presley can’t remember details of the murder she witnessed, deputy Daniel Rivers must help her recall the event and protect her from the killer determined to silence her.

8. Her Patchwork Family series: The Gabriel Sisters, by Lyn Cote from Love Inspired. In spite of opposition from the rich and influential, can Felicity Gabriel establish a home for children orphaned by the Civil War and heal two wounded hearts?

9. Patterns and Progress series: Michigan historical, book 3, by Amber Stockton from Barbour Publishing. A farmer's daughter would rather turn back the hands of time than accept the fact that advancement in technology could be in God's plan.

10. The Sheriff's Surrender series: #1 of The Ladies' Shooting Club Series, by Susan Page Davis from Barbour Publishing. The men of Fergus aren’t keeping the town safe, so a group of feisty women take matters into their own hands.

11. The Glassblower series: First book in the New Jersey Historical Series, by Laurie Alice Eakes from Barbour Publishing. Colin Grassick moves from Edinburgh, Scotland to Salem county New jersey to take a position as a master glassblower. He loves his work and hopes of bringing his family to America for a better life. But his love for Meg, the daughter of the owner of the glassworks, threatens his job...and then his life.

God's Angels in Panera

2009-11-18T15:03:00.003-05:00

I think I met an angel today. As in a heavenly messenger. A human, but with a heavenly message. So I guess that makes her an angel.

I ran away to Panera to write today, because sometimes a change of scene helps, ya know? Only... I still feel like I'm just throwing letters at the page and hoping they become words which become sentences which become something better than I think they are right now. Boy, oh boy... revising this novel is going to be fun.

During the lunch rush, a lady and her husband sat down at the table beside me, prayed over their meal, and started to eat. All of a sudden, she looked at me and said, "Are you writing a book?"

How did she know that? Panera has wi-fi and all I had done for the bulk of her first few minutes there was stare at the screen, type a couple of sentences, then stare at the screen. Maybe there's a universal blank look that all writers share? Hmm... Something to ponder the next time I can't think of a good scene to write.

Anyway, I told her yes, and she went back to her meal. Then she looked at me again a few minutes later and asked where I was at in the process. Note: she did not ask if I was published. She asked where I was at.

I won't recount the whole conversation, but it went like that, her occasionally asking me questions, us discussing writers we'd read, with lapses of comfortable silence for her to eat and me to write.

It was when she stood up to go that she touched me. She said, "What's your first name?" So I told her. And then she said, "I'd like to pray for you. Would you like me to pray for you?"

This stranger, this amazing stranger, wants to pray for me. Wow. I mean. Wow. How humbling. How like our amazing God to show up and provide encouragement just when we need it the most.

Here is the kicker, the part where God went that one extra step that's sort of like the signature on His postcards to me... She told me her name... and her last name is the same as a dear family friend of ours who passed on a few years ago. He was an amazing, godly man who stepped in for me at one of the lowest points of my life and helped put me back on track, who was among the first to congratulate me when I got engaged to my husband, who kept up with me and prayed for me even when I didn't know he was doing it.

How like God is that? Pretty awesome, I'd say...

--JB

Adventures in Writing--A Long Overdue Update

2009-11-15T18:05:00.002-05:00

It occurred to me a day or so ago that the blog has been suffering a severe case of neglect over the past couple of weeks. You'd think it was because I'm doing Nanowrimo (particularly after my last post which was about, you guessed it, Nanowrimo), but I'm not. I sat down on November 1, opened a blank Word document, and heard God say, "Nope. You need to go back to that scene you're scared to face. Finish the book you started." Alas, no Nano for me this year. I did get a great idea for a novel after the current one is finished, so all is not lost.

If you've been keeping an eye on the progress meter to your right, you'll see that Rearview Mirror, the tentatively-titled second book in the Dellinger Racing Series, is growing. Well, it was growing until today. I had a word goal of 1,000 words today. Wrote 500. Deleted 5,000. Ouch. Still, my goal is to have the first draft done by Thanksgiving. At least, that was the goal before I deleted 5,000 words today. May have to revise that goal. Seriously, about 4,000 of those words will go back in at a later place in the book, so technically they aren't deleted. They're rearranged. That sounds better to my ears. Either way, I'm having a whole lot of fun with Ryan and Kate's story, even though I did struggle for two weeks with one particular scene that brought up some old grief in me. Not fun. But I'm praying Kate's grief is honest.

Other news? I have an amazing agent! You read it right. Consider this the official announcement. :-) Thursday, after our second conversation, I hung up the phone and cried. Something about hearing Sandra say, "I believe in this" humbled me and made me amazingly grateful. I wish I could express that feeling, but I can't. I just can't. Suffice it to say, God is unbelievably gracious and so very good to me.

And now, the blog will probably suffer some more, since I've imposed this huge, immediate deadline on myself this week.

Thanks for reading.

--JB

I've Been Quoted!

2009-11-15T18:04:00.003-05:00

Want to know the top reasons readers stop reading books? Visit K.M. Weiland's blog. The fun part is that she quoted me! :-)

A Fun Interview with Author C. Maggie Woychik

2009-11-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

Over the course of the past few months, I've gotten the chance to know author C. Maggie Woychik. And to know her is to laugh with her. When I got the opportunity to be a part of her blog tour, I jumped at it.

In all seriousness, Maggie Woychik has been published in a number of Christian magazines including War Cry, Young Salvationist, Wesleyan Advocate, Woman's Touch, Christian Women Today, and many others, and has just released her first book through Port Yonder Press. The book, I Run to the Hills: Reflections on the Christian Journey is her freshman attempt at essays based on her spiritual journey, and it's garnering positive reviews. Try it, you might just like it. You can find it on Amazon.

We decided to offer something a little different here. You can visit other stops on the tour for the "serious" stuff, but we decided to have a little fun. Hope you enjoy the humor, and be sure to check out the book! It's more serious than this interview, I promise.

How did you come to be a writer? Well, it began at an early age. A teacher put a pen in my hand and said, "Write!" :)

How long have you been writing and when was your first book published? I've been writing since the first "a" (see previous question).

Can you give us one “do” and one “don’t” for those aspiring to be a writer? "Do" watch and listen to teacher (though neither may be easy to do); "Don't" pass notes in class or stick your gum under your desk -- never know when you'll raise a knee and be wearing that gum.

What is a typical writing day like for you? Pen in hand, I sit. Page on desk, it sits. With great determination, much effort, and a little prayer, the two may eventually commune.

What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand? It infinitely builds your self-esteem to be able to sign instead of "x" your name on a document.

What is the best lesson you have learned from another writer? How to draw a pretty decent cow.

Tell us about your latest book. It is holding up "More Than A Carpenter" and leaning against "The Collected Works of C. S. Lewis".

What did you learn while writing this book? That I didn't listen to teacher nearly enough; that though I pretend not to care what others think, I really do; and that though it's exhilarating to have a book on Amazon and store shelves, I never expected to age as much as I did in the process.

How can readers get in contact with you? I really like the concept of passenger pigeon, but since few of you probably keep them on hand anymore, I suppose you can use cmaggiewoychik@yahoo.com. If you want a glimpse of what $60/yr buys, you can visit my website. But if you want something a little more interesting, visit the Encouraging Emerging Authors blog. Look forward to "swappin' howdy's"!

Adventures in Writing--Let Nanowrimo begin!!!

2009-11-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NANOWRIMO.

What's the point of Nanowrimo? The point is simply to write. To get words on paper. They don't even have to be the greatest words; revision comes later, but certainly not during the month of November. :-) It's sort of a "just do it" thing.
Write for the pleasure, the joy, the rush of getting the story on
paper. Write even if you don't know how. Write even if you've never written anything before. Just put some words on paper.

I like what the website says:

"Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in
NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze
approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on
the fly. Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's
a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving
yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and
editing and just create. To build without tearing down."

It breaks down to, what? 1,667 words a day? That's about six and a
half double-spaced pages. It makes me think of James Scott Bell's "Nifty 350." Get up first thing in the morning and bang out 350 words. You might be surprised at what you get, and it will motivate you to keep moving. It gets you over the hurdle.

I'm looking at Nanowrimo as a break from the novel I'm working on now. I'm
going to do something different, something I haven't tried before. I
give myself permission to fail if I fail, but to have a blast in the
process!. :-)

Go and Nano, whether you're a writer or not. You might find out, like a friend of mine really did, that you go from saying, "I'm not really a writer" to saying "Uh, I'm a writer!"

JB

Book Review--The Potluck Catering Club: A Taste of Fame

2009-10-28T12:44:00.005-04:00

Is America ready to meet the Potluck Catering Club on reality TV? The women of the Potluck Catering Club have a growing business. They even became the subject of a budding filmmaker's class project. Problem is, they didn't read the fine print when they signed off on his documentary. When he enters the club in the reality show The Great Party Showdown, the ladies of Summit View, Colorado, must head to the Big Apple for the unexpected adventure of their lives. Between navigating New York City, dealing with cutthroat contestants, and trying to maintain their close friendship in the surreal world of reality TV, the Potluck women must keep their eyes on the prize--a cool million dollars--and work together if they're going to make it back home in one piece.

Oh my! Where to start on this one? Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson have mixed together the fifth book in their Potluck Club series, and it's perfectly seasoned. (Okay, I think we agreed a few weeks ago I shouldn't write food metaphors. Even if they're true.)

I was disappointed when I got to the end of A Taste of Fame. I wanted it to keep on going. I think I'm going to have to go into my spare room and pull all of my Potluck Club books out to reread now, just to enjoy the ladies' company a little bit longer.

When it comes to the end, by the way, I was fooled. There are recipes from the book included in the back. If your mouth starts to water reading about those Peppermint Patty Brownies, you can go and whip up a batch. Sweet! It's a great bonus, and I've already read them... twice. (Yes, I read recipes. Have been known to sit on the beach and read a cookbook.) But I forgot they were there as I read. When I got to the end of the book, I thought I still had pages left to go! Oh well, I just read the recipes again. And maybe gained a few pounds.

I'm a first-person kind of girl, and this book is all first-person. Each chapter is from the point of view of one of the six main characters. It takes a little getting used to, but getting into the rhythm is quick. It's interesting to follow each of them and to get their personal thoughts on their New York adventures. The format allows you to see how each woman changes and how each one's actions affect the others. I liked it, sort of like reading their journals about what went down behind the scenes.

One thing I've always loved about the Potluck Club is that each of the women is at a different place in life. They are different ages, different stages, different needs, different fears, different desires. There is something for every woman in a Potluck Club book, and that remains true in A Taste of Fame. All of them are sharing the New York reality show experience, yet it's all set against the backdrop of individual lives. For a people person like me, that was fascinating.

And then, as if their personal issues weren't enough to keep you turning the pages... there's a dash of intrigue. Who is trying to knock the girls out of the competition? Why? And what will the saboteur do next?

Take a trip to New York with the women of the Potluck Club and go behind the scenes of reality TV cooking shows. You'll love the journey... and the food.

Speaking of the food... There's a Potluck Club cookbook! We've already establihed how I feel about cookbooks, right? I'm reading it now and seeing tons of recipes I want to try. (After I make those Peppermint Patty Brownies...) After I've made a few and taste-tested them on the family, I'll update you on it.

Want to learn more about the Potluck Club and their catering adventures? Maybe get some tips for your book club? Check out the book trailers? Visit The Potluck Club online!

The Song We Were Singing--Third Day's "Creed"

2009-10-21T13:17:00.003-04:00

Overwhelmed. There are those moments when life comes crashing in on you and it's all just too much. I've felt that way a lot lately, but mostly about prayer. I look around me at the world and see too much to pray for. When I stop to pray it's like my mind's eye sees bricks falling on me, piling up, burying me... Too many needs, not enough time. Not enough energy. Not enough power.

Too many Bible studies to do. Too many people to comfort. Too many battles to fight.

Oh, isn't the devil a sneaky one? If he can't trick us into doing nothing, he'll trick us into doing too much. He'll make sure every burden on the planet becomes our personal burden. He'll make us feel like dropping the ball for even one second will make everything fall apart. He'll make us feel like we're failing if we are not on our faces in prayer twenty-four hours of the day. (Now, if God has called you into that season of prayer, it's a different story...)

When those overwhelming, treadmill is speeding up, must pray more and harder and better and louder days sock me in, there's one way to combat Satan.

Remember the basics.

Guess what? We are not in charge here. God made it. God did it. God will continue to do it. He was. He is. He is to come.

Want to remember that? Get back to the basics. What are the basics? We all already know music speaks to me. And on those days when Satan wants me buried under the avalanche of too much, when I can't hear what it is God is calling me to and what the devil wants me to think I have to do, it's time to remind myself of The Basics.

Originally written by Rich Mullins, later performed live by Third Day, "Creed" is just that, based on the creeds of the Christian church. It's the basics. What makes us who we are. The things of God that we do not make, but that make us. The basis of our relationship with our Creator. It's humbling. It's mighty. It's sometimes tear-jerking. And it's important.

It's the things Satan can't steal from us, the antidote to "busyness" that destroys our relationship with Him.

We say it by rote often, but take time. Sit still. Listen to it. Let it sink in. Let God make of you what He wishes. Take the time to remember what it is that you believe. It puts all of the rest into perspective.

JB

Meet K.M. Weiland!

2009-10-17T00:01:00.005-04:00

Today I'd like to introduce you to author K.M. Weiland and give you the chance to read the first couple of pages of her new book, Behold the Dawn.

K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She is the author of A Man Called Outlaw and the recently released Behold the Dawn. She blogs at Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors.

Behold the Dawn released October 1st!

Marcus Annan, a tourneyer famed for his prowess on the battlefield, thought he could keep the secrets of his past buried forever. But when a mysterious crippled monk demands Annan help him find justice for the transgressions of sixteen years ago, Annan is forced to leave the tourneys and join the Third Crusade.

Wounded in battle and hunted by enemies on every side, he rescues an English noblewoman from an infidel prison camp and flees to Constantinople. But, try as he might, he cannot elude the past. Amidst the pain and grief of a war he doesn’t even believe in, he is forced at last to face long-hidden secrets and sins and to bare his soul to the mercy of a God he thought he had abandoned years ago.
The sins of a bishop.
The vengeance of a monk.
The secrets of a knight.

An Excerpt from Behold the Dawn:

All day she had stood near the boundary of the prisoner camp, watching the dust of the distant battle beneath Acre’s walls, listening to the muted cries of the combatants.

But now it was growing too dark to see, and as Lady Mairead drifted back toward the tent that had been set apart for her husband, William of Keaton, she watched the Mohammedans usher their latest prisoners through the cordon of guards.

They had brought back only a few today. In the long, sultry weeks since the capture of Lord William’s ship by the infidel blockade, Mairead had watched countless prisoners dragged or shoved into the camp. Thousands of people were confined here already: men, women, and children—mostly Frankish Syrians, the European natives of Jerusalem. By the count of one of Lord William’s servants, Saladin had 2,500 prisoners in this camp alone.

Holding the folds of her shawl to her breast with one hand, she crossed the dust of the camp to where the Moslems had dumped their score of prisoners in the midst of the growing crowd.

A Frank stepped aside and allowed her to stand at his shoulder. “If that is the extent of their prisoners, God be praised. The Christians will take Acre.”

“It is already taken,” said another. “You can hear that the battle is over.”

She scanned the bloodied faces. Most were French, most were wounded. The Turks threw the last of them into the group, then shouldered their way back through the crowd, shouting to one another in their own tongue. Immediately, the prisoners began their call for water.

Mairead sighed. It was always thus.

Pulling her linen shawl free, she went forward to bind the arm of a man—an archer by his livery—who held his hand to a shoulder wound. His arm was red down to his fingertips, and he swayed where he stood. His face had the blanched look of one who was slowly bleeding to death.

He stared ahead, unseeing, as she knotted the shawl over the wound. “God be with you.” She placed a hand on his grimy cheek, then moved aside to allow a Knight Hospitaler to take over.

She stood still, one hand trying to hold her long dark hair from her face, watching as the prisoners ministered to the wounded among the new captives. So many wounded, so many dying. The priests decreed that a Crusader’s death was only the unhindered passage of a redeemed soul into blessed Paradise and should be cause for rejoicing. But all she could see were the falling tears of faraway loved ones and the contorting pains of those who had not yet made it quite across Death’s threshold.

She did not often come to this part of the camp. Lord William, grievously wounded during their capture, preferred her to remain with him, sequestered from the heat and the throngs of strangers. Whenever the infidels brought forth their prisoners, she always watched from afar as other women tended their wounds.

But she had ached to be here, to staunch the endless flow of blood, to hold in her lap the head of a soldier whose wounds she might heal, unlike those of Lord William, who the monks whispered would never recover.

She drew in a deep breath, biting her lip to forestall the tears, and turned away. She had come to the Holy Land to escape her fears. But she should have known better. They had followed her here. They would always follow her.

She started forward, but trudged only a few paces before the sight of another knight arrested her. He lay on his back in the trampled sand, while two brethren of the Hospital struggled to remove his blood-crusted armor.

He was a giant of a man, easily head and shoulders above most in the camp, and the breadth and depth of his chest and arms bespoke a terrible strength. He had a strong, square chin, barely cleft, and a set to his mouth, even in sleep, that revealed an iron will. A white scar rived his right cheekbone and disappeared into the fair hair above his ear.

The blood-blackened hole in the mail above his left breast showed what it had taken to bring him down. The bodkin that had inflicted the wound was gone, pulled from his flesh by his Moslem captor or perhaps by his own hand. His face was pale, his breathing shallow, his body still.

She drew nearer and stopped at his feet. “He lives?”

The Knights Hospitalers turned to look at her. The one on the left inclined his head. “He lives, Lady.” His accent was unfamiliar, possibly from the southern regions of France.

The other, undoubtedly English, laid a knife to the knight’s tunic and slit it up the middle. “For now, he lives. He’s lost much blood.”

“That is why he sleeps?”

“Aye.”

“He is English?”

“I know not. His surcoat bears no symbol, not even a cross.”

She watched their ministrations in silence, feeling once more the bitter cold of anguish rise in the pit of her stomach. They tended so many! Why could they not save Lord William?

As the moon rose full and bright against the murky sky, she knelt and reached out her arms to the Hospitalers. “Please—let me help.”

The Song We Were Singing--Third Day's "The Sun Is Shining"

2009-10-15T14:57:00.003-04:00

It seems like clouds are a recurring motif in my life this week. Not emotional clouds, but real clouds in the sky and the word clouds itself. And then, as I was driving to the grocery store this morning (because even writers have to eat. We need chocolate. And coffee. And occasionally some chai tea.), I heard Third Day's "The Sun Is Shining." It's on their Wherever You Are CD, which I admit I haven't listened to as much as others. It's still a great Third Day CD, just not my favorite of theirs. It's a little low-key for me, I think.

It's not that the song spoke to me so much as it brought to the front all of the cloud things that have been floating around out there lately. It was raining, I had on the windshield wipers, and when the song came on it hit me: above those clouds, the sun is shining. If I had the ability to get up in the air a few thousand feet, the dreariness would be gone and the sun would be shining. Below me, it would still be raining. All around me, it would be bright and sunny.

Hmm...

How many times in our lives do we set our focus onto the clouds? We see the gray and the rain and the bleak and the blah. I'll go one step further... above every tornado, above every hurricane, the sun is shining down. When the storm is raging and everything about us is shattering, when everything we thought we knew is wrong, when it seems like there's nothing but dark... the sun is shining just a few thousand feet above us. (No jokes about, "Not if it's the middle of the night," please.) Just because we can't see it at the moment doesn't mean it's ceased to exist.

In her Beloved Disciple Bible study, Beth Moore refers to Oswald Chambers. Chambers notes that clouds symbolize God's presence (Exodus 16:10, 24: 15-16, Lev. 16:2, Luke 9:34, and others). Typically, they "shroud" His presence because He is too glorious for human eyes to see.

No, it's not deep theology, but it's truth. Clouds don't make the sun go away. Dark times don't make God go away. He is always there, undimmed and no less glorious than when we see him in our mountaintop times.

JB

A Chat with Author Christina Berry

2009-10-14T00:01:00.008-04:00

It's another first! As part of the blog tour for Christina Berry's debut novel The Familiar Stranger, she's answering questions for you guys and even giving away a copy of her book. (More on that in a minute.)

Single mother and foster parent, Christina Berry carves time to write from her busy schedule because she must tell the stories that haunt her every waking moment. (Such is the overly dramatic description of an author's life!) She holds a BA in Literature, yet loves a good Calculus problem, as well. Her debut novel, The Familiar Stranger, released from Moody in September and deals with lies, secrets, and themes of forgiveness in a troubled marriage. A moving speaker and dynamic teacher, Christina strives to Live Transparently--Forgive Extravagantly!

Her work has also appeared in The Secret Place, The Oregonian, and Daily Devotions for Writers. Find her at www.christinaberry.net and www.authorchristinaberry.blogspot.com

Why do you write?
Because story ideas and lines fly around in my head and if I write them down, I get a little peace and quiet. 

What made you start writing?
Buried deep within my closet, one might find some angst-filled poetry from my teenage years and a very spooky seven pages of the novel I started in high school. Though I was in love with the idea of being a writer, it wasn’t until I finished college and stayed home with my first child that I actually decided to write a book. Truthfully, my mom told me we were going to write one together, and being the obedient daughter I am …

What fun facts may surprise your readers about you?
I was the team captain and second answerer in the speed round for our family on Family Feud in 2000 … and we won! Also, I grew up in Nigeria, West Africa, while my parents were Southern Baptist missionaries. I remember being awed at the selection of toilet paper in the grocery store when we returned to the States.

Tell us about your latest book.
It’s my debut novel, The Familiar Stranger.
Craig Littleton's decision to end his marriage would shock his wife, Denise . . . if she knew what he was up to. When an accident lands Craig in the ICU, with fuzzy memories of his own life and plans, Denise rushes to his side, ready to care for him.
They embark on a quest to help Craig remember who he is and, in the process, discover dark secrets. What will she do when she realizes he's not the man she thought he was? Is this trauma a blessing in disguise, a chance for a fresh start? Or will his secrets destroy the life they built together?

How did you come up with the story?
In the summer of 2006, two stories appeared in the newspaper. One was a huge, national story; the other a smaller, local-interest item. I wondered what it might look like if those two stories conceived a child. Boom! I had the entire plot for The Familiar Stranger. It will be interesting to see if readers can figure out which stories inspired the book.

What surprised you about the publishing process after your novel was contracted?

I knew that titles were frequently changed for publication, but I didn’t expect the title to change before the contract was officially signed. Also, I knew that editors move from house to house fairly often in this industry, but I didn’t expect to lose my dream editor two days after signing the contract. (Hi, Andy!)

After getting over the shock of losing my editor, I was very surprised at how much Moody valued my input, how frequently they communicated with me, and how they lifted my family up in prayer. In fact, everyone from my editor to the marketing manager to the author liaison has been amazing!

Do you have any advice for other writers?

~Read craft books (I have a list of my favorites on the sidebar of my blog
~Write consistently
~Join a critique group
~Attend writing conferences
~By open to criticism. One always has room to grow!

Many thanks to Christina for some great answers!

And now for the giveaways!

You can win a copy of The Familiar Stranger! Just leave a comment on this post and you are automatically entered to win one of twenty copies Christina is personally giving away! She's going to draw ten names on her birthday September 30th and ten names at the end of her blog tour on October 31st.

But wait! There's more! Christina is even giving away a chance to win a 4 GB iPod Shuffle OR free books for the life of her writing career if you sign up for her "infrequent, humorous" newsletter! Cruise over and check it out.

Want to buy the book?

Want to follow Christina to her next stop on the 'net? Check out Deborah Vogts's blog tomorrow!

The Song We Were Singing--Trevor Morgan's "He Will Rejoice"

2009-10-07T11:32:00.002-04:00

If you do not own the original Glory Revealed CD that came out in 2007, I urge you with everything in me to go and buy it or download it or whatever. Right now.

Trevor Morgan's "He Will Rejoice" is one of my favorite songs on the CD because it is based on one of my absolute, all-time, favorite verses in the Bible, Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV), "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." I may like the Amplified version even better: "The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing."

Do you understand that? Do you get it? Does it really and truly sink into the marrow of your bones? Into the core of your soul? Into the center of who you are?

Read that again. Better yet, listen to the song and hear it. I mean it. Stop right now and take a minute or two to meditate on that verse. Do it now, before you read another word.

Get this... The Lord God Almighty, who made absolutely everything, who is high and exalted and seated on the throne in heaven... that very God rejoices over you. He sings over you. He is with you.

Did you do anything to earn it? Nope. Can you do anything to earn it? Nope. Does He rejoice over you and sing over you anyway? Yep. Because He loves you that much.

We don't get it do we? We can't grasp it. Because we are here on earth, we only catch glimpses of that love. It's like Third Day's "Love Song" (best song ever written!) says, "And I know that you don't realize the fullness of my love and how I died upon the cross for your sin. And I know that you don't realize how much that I give you, but I promise that I would do it all again."

Folks, I can't write words enough to tell you how much God loves you. But please, take a few minutes to sit still at some point today and feel that love, to let Him rejoice over you with singing. To let Him just love on you. Don't talk to Him, don't ask Him for anything, just let Him, for one brief moment, be all about you and His love for you. I promise you won't walk away the same.

JB

This Should be Shared!

2009-10-05T15:20:00.004-04:00

This lady is awesome. I think all of heaven stood up and cheered for her. Don't you know she made Jesus proud?

The Song We Were Singing--Burlap to Cashmere's "Mansions"

2009-10-02T08:18:00.004-04:00

First of all, this morning I'm showing my age. I believe the Burlap to Cashmere song "Mansions" is probably ten or more years old. It's interesting, since I had never heard of them before, but their CD Anybody Out There? was one of the first Christian CDs I ever bought. It may be the only one they ever recorded. Are they even still together? I heard they weren't. Not that any of that has anything to do with, well, anything.

We lived in Michigan when this CD came out, and I can vividly remember where I was when I heard the line from "Mansions" that starts, "Faithful God like faithful sunrise..."

Don't know why, but ten years ago that line punched me in the gut. I was struggling with a whole lot of things back then, and something about knowing that the sun was going to rise tomorrow and knowing that God was going to be there tomorrow wrapped around my heart and healed something in there.

I can't count the number of times over the course of the past ten years that "faithful God like faithful sunrise" has popped into my head, usually when I needed to know that God is right there.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am definitely not a person who likes to get up in the mornings. I'd a million times rather roll over and sleep as late as possible. But my daughter's bus time and my desire to get everything done in the day necessitates me getting out of bed around six. The house is quiet, the dog is not nosing into the middle of what I'm doing (though the cat is), and there is nothing pressing to do at six in the morning.

And I have come to treasure that time with God. I like to keep the lights off and open the blinds and look at the world and be still with Him. My day feels off when I don't get that quiet time. It's not prayer usually, just sitting with my head on my Abba's knee, ya know?

This morning, I curled up in my chair, reached up, and opened the blinds to see... the most amazing purple, blue, violet sky I've ever seen. There's not a paintbrush in the world that can do that. It actually made me gasp. And it faded from deep blue violet to a purple pink that defied description. At that moment, it wrapped me up in love so tight I could hardly breathe.

God's been working on the love thing with me a lot lately, because it's rare for me to let Him simply love on me. I rush around, pray this, pray that, throw praises into the air and love on Him, but even when I'm sitting still I rarely bask in His affection. Know what? God adores me. And He adores you. You are the apple of His eye (it says so in Zechariah, which, incidentally, is an awesome book), your name is engraved on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49). Those things are just too huge for me to grasp.

It hit me this morning, watching that sunrise, that sometimes I try too hard to love him. Not sure if I can explain that. I strive after it sometimes, and the striving becomes the thing, not the love. Fact is, I will never on this earth be able to fully love my Jesus. Ever. It's impossible. But oh, when I get to heaven... then I will fully know as I am fully known (I Cor. 13). And dare I say, fully love as I am fully loved?

JB

The Song We Were Singing--"Lord, Reign in Me"

2009-09-28T12:35:00.004-04:00

I have a question, and I want you to stop and think about it for a sec. Ready? Have you ever been raked over the coals by God? I have spent the past week getting an earful from Him and getting dragged across those coals.

Because I still battle pride. And surrender. Yep, there's more to come about surrender.

And it does not matter if you write, paint, crunch numbers, dig ditches, or build houses for a living, God wants to have control of that. Yeah, we know that, but really, do we give it to God and let Him have total control? Total control?

I think it was Monday of last week when I got the song "Lord, Reign in Me" stuck in my head. It's not that I've heard it recently and it got stuck; it just showed up one day. I've always kind of liked the song, so here I was be-bopping around the house singing it whenever it spun up in my skull.

So here I was in la-la land, singing away, when I got tripped up on the line, "Lord, reign in me... over all my dreams." Oh, yeah. Got it God. You reign over all my dreams. I dream to write these books that glorify you and, yep, you can take them wherever you want, publish them or not, I'm good with whatever. It's all yours. Yep. All yours. Uh-huh. Thumbs up. Gotcha.

And this is what He said: Uh, no. You are not okay with that. You think you are, but you aren't. Because what if I took your book and I picked it up and I put it down somewhere you don't like. What if I put your book out there but it's somewhere you've never even thought of going? What if it goes somewhere that seems contrary to everything I've shown you? (Not that He's doing that, He just got me thinking on it...)

Well, uh, okay? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized... I've got book dreams. Not necessarily to be published, but when I say, "God, take this book wherever you want it to go" I have ideas of where that might be. And what if I'm wrong?

I got a little 'tude. I wondered why He was asking me all of these things. And when I was cleaning the bathroom on Saturday (Yep, chores!), I threw down the rag I was cleaning the sink with and said, "Know what, God? This book, and Nate and Samantha in this book, are my babies. Shouldn't you ask for my approval?"

And do you know what He said? "Isaac."

He threw Abraham in my face. (Sort of.) Abraham had to take His son up on Mt. Moriah and tie him to an altar and pick up a knife and come within inches of that unthinkable sacrifice. This book is not my child in that flesh and blood sense, but God asked me if I was willing to lay it down on the altar and sacrifice it to Him. Wherever, whenever, whatever, however... Is it really and truly His to work with? Or does my mouth just like to say pretty words and pretend that it is?

As of Saturday afternoon, Going in Circles is truly on the altar. God can do whatever He wants with it, whether it is published or not, where it is published or not... It is not for my glory or my fame or my finances or even for my ministry... It belongs to God. Wherever, whenever, whatever, however He decides, that decision will be perfect, and He doesn't need me tainting it.

So, yes, "Lord, reign in me, reign in Your power over all my dreams, in my darkest hour. You are the Lord of all I am, so won't you reign in me again..."

Adventures in Writing--Sacrifice

2009-09-19T15:04:00.002-04:00

Two things have converged for me this week. Once again, God is whomping me upside the head. He likes to do that. Maybe it's His idea of a holy pillow fight?

We're taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Again. We did it right before Paul deployed a few years ago, managed to get within a few thousand dollars of being debt free... Then we temporarily lost our sanity and backslid with two new cars. Oops.

This is one of those "get honest" kind of posts. We do great on one income in this family. We even manage to save some. But here I am, working Dave's "Debt Snowball" and looking at the job I used to have where I earned a regular paycheck. And I'm thinking, "Man. If I still had that job, in three years we'd have enough money saved to buy a house free and clear."

Oh, don't get me wrong. I love writing. I love that God is letting me do this. But there are those moments when I get my focus on what I'm missing instead of what I'm doing. Big mistake.

So, our Bible study at church is Beth Moore's Beloved Disciple. It was the first Beth Moore I did, back in 2005. (Hmm... Another repeat thing for me. Think God's up to something?) This week, most of the lessons have revolved in some way around dying to self, dying to the world, taking up your cross, sacrifice...

Uh, wait a second. God? "You talkin' to me?" (Moments like this make me wonder if God ever says, "Duh" to me.)

Being able to spend my time writing is an awesome gift. But I've been focusing too much on the gift part. It's also a huge sacrifice. It never hit me until this week that God has asked me to give something up for Him. He asked me to give up things like being able to buy a house in three years. New cars whenever I want. Spur of the moment flights to Hawaii. Because we can live comfortably on one income, two would allow us to do crazy fun things and still grow up a huge savings account.

But that's not God's plan. And it is, once again, not His definition of success. He wants me right here, butt-in-chair, hands-on-keyboard, working for Him. Know what? He'll take care of the rest. If I'm firmly in His will, He'll take care of the house and the savings and all of the rest. And if he wants me to fly to Hawaii on the spur of the moment, guess what? He'll provide the ticket. (But only if He wants me to go...) Because He is God and He can do that.

Writing. This is my blessing. It is also my sacrifice. Funny how God can do that, huh?

--JB

Back in Time Book Review--Siri Mitchell's "Kissing Adrien"

2009-09-16T09:32:00.005-04:00

How about, today, we take a trip back to 2005. When Kelly Clarkson had the #1 song, when Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith ruled the box office, and when Siri Mitchell debuted with Kissing Adrien. (I make it sound like 2005 was so long ago, don't I?

Why am I bouncing back four years? Yesterday, I went to one of my many bookshelves looking for something when my eyes found Kissing Adrien. I have read the book once or twice a year since it was released. I never get tired of it. Yes, I know how it ends. In fact, I can probably tell you every step it takes to get to the end, but boy, it gets me and shakes me every single time.

The heroine, Claire Le Noyer, takes a leave of absence from her nice, stable job and her nice, predictable boyfriend to fly to Paris after the death of a cousin she's never heard of. And she lands smack in the presence of her very nice, very unpredictable childhood friend-she-used-to-wish-was-her-boyfriend, Adrien. I love the line chosen for the back cover of the book: "The French are always up for romance, so when the crowd saw Adrien striding through the Paris airport toward me, I'm sure they were hoping for a good kiss... I was too." And, uh, by the end of the book, Jodie was too!

Siri Mitchell has a gift for description that defies, well, description. Paris is a character in this book, folks. Thanks to the narrative you can see it, you can most definitely taste it, and you can feel the enchantment in the air of the "City of Love." It may sound cliche', but to read Kissing Adrien is to buy a plane ticket to the Paris that the locals know and love. I could see it all to well. And boy, could I taste it all too well. Thanks a lot, Siri Mitchell. Your book made me gain five pounds just reading it. And then it made me want to move to Paris. Food represented a lot of things in this book and seemed to flow with the changes in Claire.

Claire has a dark raspberry chocolate and filet mignon heart, but she's living in a dry toast life. (Great. Now even my metaphors are in food.) The problem is, she's convinced herself she likes dry toast more than dark raspberry chocolate. She has even condensed her relationship with God down to bread and water. What will it take to bring the real Claire out of hiding?

Oh, yes. Meet Adrien, who is all dark raspberry chocolate and filet mignon. He challenges her ideas about faith and life and living. And Claire's heart begins to remember. Under Adrien's tutelage, she begins to awaken to her old passions: art and food and history... and Adrien himself. As she and Adrien dance the dance in their relationship, the tension between them had me sitting straight up to read it. (I started to say something cliche' like, "It would have taken a steak knife to cut the tension between them," but really, did we need any more food metaphors from me today?) I couldn't wait to see what happened, and the payoff? Oh my word. Siri Mitchell wrapped her story around me and had me totally invested in what happened between these two. I will say something cliche' here: She played me like a violin. And I loved it.

Whenever my romance writer soul is feeling a little dry, I pick up Kissing Adrien and let Siri Mitchell remind me what it's all about and how to do it perfectly. This is one of my very, very favorite books for a reason. If you've got a yen for a good romance, find a copy of this book, curl up in a chair with a good cup of coffee, and be prepared to stay until you turn the last page. You won't want to get up before that.

Biblical Images

2009-09-13T18:42:00.004-04:00

I'm sure most of you have at least heard about the Station Fire burning near Los Angeles over the past few weeks. MSN had a Reuters shot of it on their Week in Pictures page last week, and it actually stopped me cold for a minute. It made me think of this:

Mark 9:43 (AMP)--And if your hand puts a stumbling block before you and causes you to sin, cut it off! It is more profitable and wholesome for you to go into life [that is really worthwhile] maimed than with two hands to go to hell (Gehenna), into the fire that cannot be put out.

Matthew 10:28 (AMP)--And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).

The Valley of Hinnom (also referred to as Gehenna) was one awful place in biblical times. In the Old Testament, it is where children were sacrificed to Molech (II Chronicles 28:3). By New Testament times, it had become the giant trash incinerator for Jerusalem. And they didn't just throw garbage out there, either. Dead animals and criminals were pitched into the fire that burned constantly in the valley. The place was so horrible that hell itself was referred to as Gehenna (see the references above). It was so bad that Christians weren't the only ones using it to refer to hell. The Qur'an names hell Jahannam, which is closely related to the Hebrew Gehinnom.

What does that have to do with the Station Fire? You have to wonder if Gehenna looked anything like this (you can click on it to get a larger view):

JB

Never Forget

2009-09-11T14:57:00.004-04:00

As usual, September 11 makes me stop and remember. I doubt any of us who were alive that day can hear the date or write 9/11 and not think about it. Every time I look at a clock and see the time is 9:11 I think of it. And I remember how it felt. Oddly enough, there was no fear for me that day (and if you know me, you know how I struggled with fear back then.) There was only this overwhelming feeling that nothing would ever be the same again, of putting one foot in front of the other only because we had to do it or drop where we stood. It was one of those moments Beth Moore talks about, when you wish you had a rewind button. You will forever remember where you were standing, what you were doing, how that instant felt.

I was teaching a ninth grade Civics class that was to end at 10:10. It was about 9:50 when the knock came on my classroom door and I opened it. The science teacher pulled me into the hall, and very teacher from my floor was standing there. I'm ashamed to say my first thought flew to one of our students. We had a kid I'll call Johnny who had made quite a name for himself already that year. I couldn't fathom what he'd done to get all of us called out of class at the same time.

The science teacher looked at all of us and simply said, "We've been attacked." Who's we? Fort Bragg? The school? It was early and rumors were flying, and I'll never forget her saying, "The World Trade Center's been hit by a plane. The Pentagon's been hit. There was a car bomb at the Mall in Washington. They think the Capitol has been blown up. And there's a plane missing."

I don't know how long we all stood there and stared at her before one of the English teachers said, "You're lying." But we knew she wasn't. The other English teacher wanted to know if we should tell the students. That's when I looked up and realized that my kids could see me through the window on the door and every single one of them was staring silently. (Twenty-three ninth graders are never silent when the teacher is not in the room.) The decision was made for us. We had to tell the high schoolers.

When I walked back in the room, they all watched me and didn't say a word. I stood there and looked at them with my fingers against my lips, trying to figure out how to do this. The only thing that ran through my mind was, "How do I shatter then innocence of twenty-three kids? What do I say?" It may be the worst position I've ever been in, especially since no less than half of the kids had fathers in the military.

Their reaction was initial silence followed by dozens of questions I couldn't answer. When the bell rang, they left for homeroom and I went outside to try to reach my husband on post, wondering if I'd see him again anytime soon or if he'd be yanked up and sent to who knows where before I could talk to him. I couldn't reach him, so I called my dad and my grandmother. The kids were all outside on cell phones and nobody tried to stop them. They wanted to hear their parents' voices. Who was going to deny them that?

I stood in the parking lot and waited for a few minutes. I honestly thought Jesus was going to crack the sky that day and take us all home.

I can still see my homeroom students, the junior class. They had gone into my closet (usually a no-no) and pulled out my radio to listen to the news. It seems they knew I wouldn't mind that day, and I didn't. We sat in a circle around it and held each other and listened and waited for who knows what. They finally let us into the auditorium to watch the news live, and it wasn't until that moment that I understood that this was no small plane that had hit the towers. I pictured a Cessna. Oh, that it had been a Cessna. We were in the auditorium when the first tower fell and the principal cut the feed so the kids wouldn't be able to see anymore.

That day is like a slideshow of images to me. I was in a bubble at the school and had no idea what I would see on the drive across town to go home. Would the world look the same? Or would there be chaos? It looked the same except for the flags... they were everywhere. Everywhere. And it looked the same except for the sky. Our city is home to a military airfield and is on a major air route, so there are planes in the sky and contrails behind them all of the time. That plane-free silence was the strangest sound I've ever heard. And that perfectly cloudless sky without a single plane in it... I cannot describe how out of reality it made me feel. I stood in my yard for nearly an hour and just looked up. It was the biggest indicator to me that everything was suddenly wrong.

May we never forget. May we never forget that day and what we felt. May we never forget that nearly everyone acknowledged God that day: some cried out to Him and some shouted angrily at Him, but His existence was not questioned, was it?

May we never forget that this is why our Soldiers, our Airmen, our Marines, and our Sailors sacrifice.

May we never, ever forget.

Adventures in Writing--A Mile (or 500) in Her Shoes--Part 2

2009-09-10T14:59:00.011-04:00

So, yesterday I went to look up something on RCR's website while I was doing revision, and I came across this. Near the top in the center, white shirt, is me. That was a great ending to my workday, finding that.

Post driver introductions, Casey was whisked away in a Corvette convertible for his parade lap, circling the track to wave to the fans. Tim and I walked back to the car on pit road to wait for him. (I have to tell you the funny part here. I saw a million and one cool things on Sunday. And the only thing my six-year-old daughter cared about was the fact that Casey Mears was lined up right behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on pit road. All she wanted to know was if I took a picture of Junior. For some reason we can't break her of, she calls him Junior Busch. If you're a race fan, you know that's, uhm... BAD.)

And the waiting began. We stood by the car and waited for other drivers to be introduced and to take their parade laps and for whatever else was happening up on the stage to wrap up. We had no idea what was going on because we couldn't hear a thing except the crowd cheering (or booing) since the stage faced away from us and so did the speakers.

The cool thing was the chaplain from MRO who came down the line and prayed with some of the drivers and their families, including Casey Mears and his very sweet fiance. I liked that a lot. James Dobson did the main invocation (which, again, we could only catch snatches of. I had to come home and watch it on the DVR to hear what he said. Pretty cool that it was James Dobson, though!) and Diamond Rio sang the National Anthem while we all stood line up on pit road, hands over our hearts.

And, then... we hustled out of there. It was time for the drivers to buckle in and, as Tim said, his job with Casey was done at that point. Hands off.

As we walked back to the pit box, I learned something interesting about walking in Sam's shoes. They get sticky. Very sticky. Tim warned me, then pointed to a crewmember who was spraying the asphalt with something. Pure Coca-Cola syrup. Yep, as in the soft drink. It makes the pit stall sticky so the guys don't fall when they go over the wall. Out of all of the "trivia" I learned on Sunday, that might have been the neatest little tidbit. It hasn't found it's way into the book yet, but I sure wish I could find a place for it.

The drivers got the command to start engines and it was way cool to hear them all roar to life from that close. And then they pulled out onto the track and that was even cooler. And then they took the green flag and hit full throttle and thatwas the coolest of all! The ground under my feet shook every time the pack sped by. If I tried to drink water out of my water bottle, it vibrated against my lips. Sweet.

Here's the thing about the real-life Tim's job and the fictional Samantha's job: if you want to watch a race, don't be on the team. You can only see about twenty feet of the track in front of you, the bankings in the turns, and part of the backstretch behind you. And the cars go by so fast you can't even tell who they are unless you pop your eyeballs out of your sockets trying to watch them. I actually got a chuckle out of standing in the pits, watching the pit crews watch the race on TV as the cars blew by just about a hundred yards or so from us.

I kept my eye on Tim. His job boiled down to listening to transmissions between Casey and Todd (the crew chief), watching Casey's placement on the board, and generally keeping an eye on what was going on in the pits. Anything of interest, he jotted down in a personal notebook or on a media sheet, then passed the media sheet off to the pit reporters for use during broadcasts. I got video of him talking to some of the media (can't remember if it was MRN or PRN) during one of the pit stops:

That's what Sam would look like. I have to tell you that's kind of exciting, to see up close exactly what your character would be doing.

And the race fan in me loved the pit stops! These guys move in choreography. After two pit stops, I knew right where to stand to be out of the way, because they never went anywhere different; they did the exact same things each time. That was cool, like a weird kind of ballet.

Getting to see pit road up close and to follow a real-life Sam around has to rank up there as one of the coolest things I've ever done. I owe a lot of thanks to Tim and Casey and the others who let me tag along and who answered my questions.

God is pretty awesome to give me a gift like that. Like I said, when I started, my prayer was that He'd provide someone to answer my questions. Who'd have thought He'd do it in such an awesome way?

Adventures in Writing--A Mile (or 500) in Her Shoes--Part 1

2009-09-08T13:42:00.008-04:00

I have to tell you something about my prayer life. It's a confession of sorts. I am not very good at praying for myself, at asking for great big things from God. There is this rare ability about me to rationalize myself right out of big prayers. Sometimes I forget that God just wants to bless us. Well, last year, I prayed big. And God answered even BIGGER than I prayed. All I wanted was someone to answer a few questions.

For the first part of this story and how I got to be where I got to be, you can click here.

Sunday, I found myself standing outside of Gate 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway waiting for an incredibly gracious man named Tim. He's the communications manager for Casey Mears, who drives for Richard Childress Racing. In other words... he does the same job as my character Samantha. And he was kind enough to let me follow him around for his workday during the Atlanta race. I owe him my undying gratitude. Got no problem telling y'all that. Here I was worried about being in the way, and he made me feel like part of the team. In fact, everyone I met (and I met a lot of RCR people) made me feel like I'd been there all along. It was awesome.

I'm a visual learner. For a year, I've been corresponding by email with David, who has been wonderful and patient about answering my questions. He couldn't be in Atlanta, so he arranged for Tim to help me out. Visual me grew leaps and bounds in knowledge on Sunday. Everything that David had written to me suddenly came to life. I could see it and hear it and experience it. I walked in Sam's shoes.

Not sure how much I want to say here, because I want you to (eventually) buy the book to really get into Sam's job. But an outline of what I got to do would give a good picture.

The first stop of the day was the RCR media coach. Only about four teams have one, so Sam probably won't get that luxury since she's only with a two-car team. It was a nice setup for the PR people though, and I'm sure Sam would be jealous. Tim sat and answered a ton of questions for me about stuff I needed clarifying. Then we went to the garage area to see the 07 getting prepped for the race and to check out the hauler. I got to meet the engineers who work to make the car go, which was awesome. Honestly, you would not believe how many people it takes to keep a Sprint Cup team running smoothly! I was amazed!

Slid my feet into Sam's shoes when we left the hauler and went to pick up Casey for an autograph signing. Yes! Now I know firsthand what Sam should be doing while Ryan is busy signing away. I kept an eye on the proceedings, then wandered around in the crowd, people watched, and got some great comments. I'm going to tell you what... when it comes to NASCAR fans, it takes all kinds. When I got back to the golf cart, I was able to talk with Donald, Casey's motor coach driver. A very sweet man who looks out for Casey. You can tell he's a great friend to have around.

It was back to the hauler after that so that Casey and Tim could go to the required drivers' meeting. I wasn't credentialed for that, so I stayed in the media hauler. That was a God thing. There was a great conversation with the head of business development, Rick, who gave me some whole other angles for the story (and talked church with me). Also got to meet Jeff Burton's PR lady, Christine. Sometimes there are busy sponsor appearance days and sometimes there aren't. Casey's was slow on Sunday and Jeff's was packed, so Christine gave me some insight into how crazy it can be to run and run before the race even starts. I couldn't even begin to tell you everyone I met while I was hanging out and how grateful I am to them all.

They had Publix lunch meat in the fridge, so I ate a sandwich and then followed Tim back to the hauler to pick up his radio and get ready for driver introductions.

On the way, I got my first step into Sam's race-time world. We stopped off at the pit box. I got to climb up top where the crew chief and engineers sit during the race. Sadly, that's not Sam's domain, but very cool nonetheless. Back on the ground, Tim showed me where he posts himself during the race and gave me a quick rundown of what he does. Like I said, reading it and seeing it are two different things. Sam came to life for me!

And then we crossed pit road to the grass and it was time for driver introductions. Tim went to get Casey and walked with him up to the stage, sort of being a buffer between the driver and anyone who might keep him from getting where he needed to be. (Missing driver intros is a no-no.) And that, my friends, is where the NASCAR fan in me wanted to come out to play. I didn't let her. :-)

(My camera glitched when I tried to get a picture of Tim and Casey, so that one didn't take. I was pretty mad. It would have been cool. Instead I got several others and this one of Mark Martin...)

Next up... Part two of my walk in Sam's shoes: What happens when it's "go" time.

JB