My Skinned Knee & Bum Elbow

Falling off the treadmill at my gym in front of lots of people. Price: My dignity.

Having a good friend on the treadmill next to mine to share in the humility...and then laughing until we cry. Priceless. There's some things good coordination can't buy.

A Picture's Worth...

I recently scanned over a hundred pictures belonging to my grandmother. They ranged from when my sister and I were young to the 1940's when my grandparents were dating. It just made me nervous only having one copy of those priceless memories buried in a suitcase under her bed. So with her permission, I've scanned them. Undoubtedly, I found some treasures. Here are a few of my favorites...


A wallet-size school picture - I have no idea who this guy is, but I admire his sense of humor.

And one here of my grandfather while at the VA hospital during WWII. Even better than the picture is the inscription on the back. Notice my Meme's response in pencil... :)

(my Pop: For Sue. I love you. Mirve, at the Base hospital / my Meme: I love him. - "love" underlined 3 times!)

And finally, my favorite picture of the two of them.

A Gift from Me to You - A Book Recommendation!

Yikes! Where have I been? I'm not always sure about that, but I do know I read a book I must recommend...if you're in to this sort of thing. I liked it so much that after I finished it, I rushed it back to the library just so another mommy (or daddy) could pick it up to be enlightened, encouraged and inspired. The book is Mother Warriors by Jenny McCarthy. I had seen a little hype going around about this new book and her last one, but still wasn't sure. I picked it up at the library and loved it. I couldn't put it down...man, it got me going. I'm still not sure how I feel about all the claims in the book, but I can say for sure - FOR SURE - if and when we have another kiddo, we will be doing things differently. Read it. It'll make those days of 10 timeouts and countless fits seem like heaven. Seriously.

Do It

Early voting begins tomorrow morning....it's soooo much better than going to your one polling place on election day and anyone can do it. This way you can choose from 37 places - much better :) For more info: https://voterinfo.sos.state.tx.us/voterws/viw/faces/Introduction.jsp
Vote...or lose your right to whine.

A Writer's Interview

If you have a minute, listen to this interview. It's with legendary writer Phillip Roth. It's what he says about writing that is so interesting. He says he writes all day, 5-6 days a week and is happy if just one page comes out of each day. Wow.

A Look at Wicca - Generation Hex

A hippie-ish female with long hair wearing lots of emblem necklaces and dark makeup casting spells in the candlelight. I hate to admit this, but if you were to ask me a week ago what a Wiccan "looked" like, that probably would have been the first thought that came to my head. Stereotypes disgust me, but let's be honest, we all harbor them. And honestly I really had not, until now, put alot of thought into Wicca. To me, it was just an obscure cult-like thing teenagers and hippie women practice somewhere in the Northwest...or was it the Northeast? But after reading Generation Hex by Dillion Burroughs and Marla Alupoaicei, I realize I couldn't have been more wrong.

Although not a book I would typically pick up on my own, I'm glad to say I did. The book both informs and equips readers to not only know about Wicca, but to actually cultivate a response to it. Some of the things I didn't know about Wicca:

--Wicca is a recent religion (twentieth century)

--Wiccans have a strong sense of community

--Wiccans do not believe in the existence of Satan

--Wiccans do not cast evil spells - they hold to a "three-fold" policy

--Beliefs vary from one Wiccan to another and anyone can develop "sacred writings" for the faith

--Wicca is a government recognized religion and even has representation in our military

--One third of Wiccans are male

As a Christian parent, I've learned that half the battle is knowing about issues; the other half is how I respond to them. It's not hard to see how our world could so easily be seduced by Wicca's "relaxed rules, environmental emphasis, and positive attitude toward women." A cafeteria style religion does sound enticing, especially to young hearts and minds, but it simply is not truth.

To read an excerpt from the book...

To learn more about Dillion and Marla...

To buy the book...

And some wise words about writing from the authors...

How did you get involved in writing?
Marla: I’ve loved writing since I was a young girl. I used to make up stories and poems and tell them to my parents. I wrote throughout high school and college, and I worked for the Purdue Exponent newspaper for a period of time. I took writing courses at Purdue, including several with Marianne Boruch, a poet. Her encouragement led me to believe that I might be able to pursue a career in writing. Then I went to seminary and began working as a writer for Insight for Living in 2001. In 2006, I began working from home as a full-time author.
Dillon: I wrote letters to Deborah when I was in high school (pre-text messaging). We are now happily married. My senior year of high school we had to write an essay for a contest in English class. I won. In college, I majored in Communications and then in studied Theology in Seminary. I started writing for Christian magazines to get started that later opened a door for freelance work with a Christian publisher.

How do you find time to write?
Marla: I make time. The mornings are my best writing time. For the most part, I don’t have to force myself to write, but sometimes, the deadlines prevail!
Dillon: At first, I wrote articles part-time when I was a youth and college pastor. I later took a regular 9-5 job and wrote from 6-8am, during lunch, and a little on weekends. God opened up enough projects to freelance full-time freelancing when my kids were really little that later led to a position as a full-time writer at my current ministry.

What would you say to someone who wants to become a published author?
Marla: Go for it! There’s always room for one more. If you need help, please ask me and I will be happy to help. Author Mary DeMuth also has a great blog called So You Want to Be Published? that can help you in that regard.
Dillon: Start small and don’t quit. I was 0 for 10 on my first 10 magazine queries. Later it was 1 for 10, then 2 for 10, until editors eventually asked me if I had something to meet their deadline. The second piece of advice is to write with an attitude of servanthood. Most of my writing has been helping other established authors produce better books. In the process, I gain writing experience and credits that have helped me write books like Generation Hex down the road. Finally, it’s all God. I can’t give a “how to get published” talk. I don’t completely understand it myself. God wants me to write and has opened the doors. I can’t take any of the credit.

Parking Lot Rules

I always like a good book that can help with being a creative parent. Some of the traditional books, although helpful, just don't fit me...or my kids for that matter. I recently read a book titled Parking Lot Rules and 75 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Children. The author, Tom Sturges, is the son of a great director and screenwriter which caught my eye. The book is ok, but not everything was applicable to our household. However, there are some great points that got me thinking...

• Smiling when my boys enter the room. I'm often in think-mode and forget to smile alot. How good does it feel, even as an adult, when someone smiles when you enter a room? It makes me smile just thinking about it.
  
• Saying "yes" instead of "what." How many times do I hear "Mom, Mama, Mommy?" a day? Answering with the affirmative just sets a good tone in the house.
  
• The author does a good job at explaining lyric and melody...I'll give it a try. Basically, we have something that we want to say (the lyrics) but the manner in which we deliver it determines the melody. So getting Max to clean his room could be spoken loud and sharp, "Clean your room. It looks awful!" or with a different melody..."Wow. It looks like a bunch of turkeys live in here. You might want to get busy on this room, bud, if you want to play outside later."
  
• Making "life promises" to them. There's of course the normal ones that I feel I say every day like - I will love you always. I'm always here for you. I will encourage you to be whatever man God wants you to be. But the other night following a fiasco involving Six Flags, the Log Ride and some tears, I made another one to Max - I will never let you go to bed upset/angry. We'll see what other promises come up...
  
• And my favorite - let them to be great storytellers. Listen intently, ask questions, laugh out loud. Make them feel confident at home so that they will be confident everywhere. To be a great storyteller is such a gift!