tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62628933698094016302024-03-05T10:48:06.984-04:00Tales From the RedheadHi there! Hola! Ya'a'teeh!
Welcome to my blog.
It's nice to have you visit!!Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.comBlogger249125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-23417047186612897542016-01-01T14:05:00.004-04:002016-01-01T14:05:56.371-04:00HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Come join me at my new home, </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.jennifermajorbooks.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">www.jennifermajorbooks.com</span></a></div>
<br />Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-25743410864775799772015-12-07T11:14:00.001-04:002015-12-07T11:15:19.274-04:00BLOG TO WEBSITE MOVE<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Hoist the mainsail and let's be off!!</span></div>
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<br />Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-58818645444482594082015-12-02T22:56:00.004-04:002015-12-02T22:56:58.292-04:00Pack up the truck and let's move to my new place!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Okay peeps, click on the link and let's roll!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Yes, this one.</span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-6768609271365247292015-11-25T15:55:00.001-04:002015-11-25T19:45:29.582-04:00Kids? We're moving!!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">EDIT: My BLOG is moving....sorry for the confusion...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>HERE: </i></span> w<a href="http://www.jennifermajorbooks.com/" target="_blank">ww.jennifermajorbooks.com/</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">HOPEFULLY, by December 3rd. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">AFTER the refinishing project is DONE and the auction is OVER!!! </span> </div>
Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-4997033600195847292015-11-18T12:44:00.000-04:002015-11-18T12:44:29.260-04:00Where is she and what is she up to?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">She's up to her ears in dust and sand paper!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm at the tail end of a refinishing project, but I long for 1894 and Rose's story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I can't leave 2015 just yet, because I have a hard and fast deadline to get a project done for an auction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In case you're curious, though, I <i>am</i> immersed in the early 1800's, working on something very similar to this: an Empire Era mahogany dining table.</span></div>
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<a href="http://in1.ccio.co/D8/N1/Z7/vmfvendorKBL4102164143499924248440100.jpg?iw=300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://in1.ccio.co/D8/N1/Z7/vmfvendorKBL4102164143499924248440100.jpg?iw=300" height="436" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">www.indulgy.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's the table base, which is in two pieces.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjerdJlPbJIOKefsbS2Lb35E_lan4D5uWrPQFsjnmEr3QisVbrFYv8e9c2f04fHGr3HyiYwxfPfk9pNGvi83So6iE9NKpCyOqaEiOSFL8G98H2YfVobqR9yxzRccrDsd8Bv8a6uAyhPRRk/s1600/20151110_125144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjerdJlPbJIOKefsbS2Lb35E_lan4D5uWrPQFsjnmEr3QisVbrFYv8e9c2f04fHGr3HyiYwxfPfk9pNGvi83So6iE9NKpCyOqaEiOSFL8G98H2YfVobqR9yxzRccrDsd8Bv8a6uAyhPRRk/s640/20151110_125144.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Three, if you count this giant crack. But fear not! My husband will fix that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do you see the worn adges on the base? Those are from 100 years of shoes pressing in and wearing down the wood. We're leaving that "flaw" as it is.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLXWZuQe-5ay9dhs6q2dslwAh3oieQuKyCVOC97IAUi7H-WfeMlq-pzvJtKbGA0JUE4qn734j8IqTXCiGrPdOGHApe9C0Uhi_NNQJLH8VRGiVK4uvVxe_jCVRHxRZRm-M_QqqKplryDI/s1600/20151110_125154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLXWZuQe-5ay9dhs6q2dslwAh3oieQuKyCVOC97IAUi7H-WfeMlq-pzvJtKbGA0JUE4qn734j8IqTXCiGrPdOGHApe9C0Uhi_NNQJLH8VRGiVK4uvVxe_jCVRHxRZRm-M_QqqKplryDI/s640/20151110_125154.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I work outside, and t</span><span style="font-size: large;">he dust from my DeWalt random orbital sander colours the fading fall leaves.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0W4HR1ubzT15g6NINN1Siqaw7oh7GRrdaQeW3Zj78RMIe1ksVCj2cvBcw2lX9y7J0hNnwoOVyfvGEKWps8ObA5_ZUUrsAI1h5NsYrZBr0OfGsQGCWxhS7zmbbuFObV_JR6zQNnvEpIdM/s1600/20151110_125204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0W4HR1ubzT15g6NINN1Siqaw7oh7GRrdaQeW3Zj78RMIe1ksVCj2cvBcw2lX9y7J0hNnwoOVyfvGEKWps8ObA5_ZUUrsAI1h5NsYrZBr0OfGsQGCWxhS7zmbbuFObV_JR6zQNnvEpIdM/s640/20151110_125204.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Can you see the white stripe in the grain? In all my years of restoration projects, I've never seen a white stripe in mahogany!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqj8y71hB0zJSSbIHASuqTsE8VMzIp_H7L60vH5HU_1H8v6uNSaPO-RGu1haM_CEGhneRsK0ngPV656L9rtHyuL4W2qDbdoIOiLGXOCgtr84C9JfU7stfbAvtx0aOkD9mCozM4aNnkEU/s1600/20151110_140000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqj8y71hB0zJSSbIHASuqTsE8VMzIp_H7L60vH5HU_1H8v6uNSaPO-RGu1haM_CEGhneRsK0ngPV656L9rtHyuL4W2qDbdoIOiLGXOCgtr84C9JfU7stfbAvtx0aOkD9mCozM4aNnkEU/s640/20151110_140000.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A closer look. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnUFELdRadq9Mywp5WhBc2vvZFRIlDUvTjRFwvrRqUnxupxSmQz3aj3JwBN5Is_VZV62-dTYTdW8PmZn5TeAJZtnyT05UfAbJzb8rBEYTEp7jqOyS3Gol2WJ5knsSr-hVphLTBoUd8so/s1600/20151110_140009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnUFELdRadq9Mywp5WhBc2vvZFRIlDUvTjRFwvrRqUnxupxSmQz3aj3JwBN5Is_VZV62-dTYTdW8PmZn5TeAJZtnyT05UfAbJzb8rBEYTEp7jqOyS3Gol2WJ5knsSr-hVphLTBoUd8so/s640/20151110_140009.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Along with the table, which is in 4 pieces, we have the six original chairs that came with the set.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here you can see the before and after colours of the chairs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did I mention the chairs have their original black pebbled leather seats? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Those were nasty. I'll post a photo of them when the project is done. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk7qUXUNv6bCzAPsTqSkquguA_bFjQ7XmnStfinbJ6BZFagrYuQOXJds5F_uWK6m1ZrlzEvsI50ME2svd5aMol3PeWo7SKoWd8XnXzt3o6CZOqhW_OU752TfDOx421tRJPHmeWTzMNYY/s1600/20151109_140156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk7qUXUNv6bCzAPsTqSkquguA_bFjQ7XmnStfinbJ6BZFagrYuQOXJds5F_uWK6m1ZrlzEvsI50ME2svd5aMol3PeWo7SKoWd8XnXzt3o6CZOqhW_OU752TfDOx421tRJPHmeWTzMNYY/s640/20151109_140156.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, for now, I'll head back to The Empire Years, but I'll leave you with a few lines from my work-in-progress...the scene is rather un-edited, but it's when they discover something very interesting about a horse thief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Nate! Shoot
him!” Jack was not going to let Black
get much farther.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Nate raised his
gun, and fired again. The man’s body jerked hard, and fell sideways. But like a
cat, this fool had nine lives. Nez could make out one bloody hand on the pommel
and one holding his hat. White foam coated Black’s neck and his mouth, his
speed had cut in half. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Pa!” Nate rode
alongside Jack and tossed him his rifle. “I’ll jump him!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Be careful!” Jack
shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“He’s a runt!”
Nate kicked his boots from his stirrups and wrapped the reins around the
pommel. Viking rode within a few feet of Black and the thief, then Nate
launched himself like a bird of prey.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">In the blink of an
eye, the thief was on the ground, under Nate. Nate rolled off him. The thief
rose to his knees and one hand. He scrambled to his feet, then fell face down
in the dirt. He rose again, only to have James rope his ankles and yank him
hard. He flailed in the dry grass, rustling up a cloud of dirt and insects.
Nate got to his feet, ran over and kicked a boot hard into the thief’s ribs.
Hard enough that Nez could hear the bones crack. “You stinking pig! I’ll hang
you myself!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Wide-eyed, the young
man held up his bloody hand and covered his face.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Stop it, Nate!”
Jack’s voice echoed off the hillside. “You’ll kill him!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Good!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;">His face red with
fury, Nate kicked the silent thief again, then reached down and hauled the man
off the ground. He tore away his filthy scarf, and punched him in the jaw,
sending the thief’s hat flying and his ill-fitting, tattered coat off his
shoulder.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Please stop.” A
weak voice cried out.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Lord in Heaven!”
James’ shout hushed them all. Stilled Nate’s fist mid-punch. Knocked Jack to
his knees. Pulled mercy from thin air.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">A long braid hung
down to the ground, the end of it sweeping dirt into the light brown hair.
“Please…stop hitting me.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Nate roared. The
woman fainted. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>And hung like a
bloodied, battered rag doll from his grip.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-75658951642201351172015-11-11T21:10:00.001-04:002015-11-11T21:21:45.590-04:00The game...journey...road...life...of a writer. Who isn't *just* a writer.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, in the last few years, I've completed two manuscripts, also known as "books".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/files/2013/06/06_17_2013_book-smell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/files/2013/06/06_17_2013_book-smell.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">www.smithsonianmag.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And yes, I call what I've got filed in my laptop <i>books</i> because well, it's easier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until then, I'm in that season right now known as waiting.</span></div>
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<a href="http://wallpaperus.org/wallpapers/04/152/pocket-watch-4256x2625-wallpaper-1655401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://wallpaperus.org/wallpapers/04/152/pocket-watch-4256x2625-wallpaper-1655401.jpg" height="394" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">www.wallpaperus.org</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most days, like today, I'm content to wait on God and my agent to sort things through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other days, I am not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, one thing I'm learning in all this, is patience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and balance.</span></div>
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<a href="http://assets5.tribesports.com/system/sports/images/000/001/314/original/20130125182402-tightrope-walking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://assets5.tribesports.com/system/sports/images/000/001/314/original/20130125182402-tightrope-walking.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">www.tribesports.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why balance? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because I have a busy life, and while I'm blessed to have it, it is still busy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although, until I took up writing, let's just say it was less busy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, what do we call <i>this</i>? That existance in which a whole lot of juggling is going on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, one could use the analogy of a long journey, or a game, or a road, or a life...but, really, the best one for me is <i>adventure.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The kind where you stare down your adversary and win, but not til you've flown through a whirlwind.</span></div>
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<a href="http://d1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net/9c/21/8a809d334b9dbd7b1086441aded2/harrison-ford-raiders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net/9c/21/8a809d334b9dbd7b1086441aded2/harrison-ford-raiders.jpg" height="267" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i> </i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> www.indiewire.com</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the record, *I* don't hate snakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bugs, yes. But not snakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, whilst listening to my iPod as I refinish an Empire mahogany dining set, I'm doing a few things at once. Let's face it, sanding isn't brain surgery. So while I graduate from 100 grit to 220, I'm also pondering the storyline for Book Three.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Book One, <a href="http://talesfromtheredhead.blogspot.ca/2015/06/okay-so-we-know-why-i-write-but-do-we.html" target="_blank">http://talesfromtheredhead.blogspot.ca/2015/06/okay-so-we-know-why-i-write-but-do-we.html</a> , </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and Book Two <a href="http://talesfromtheredhead.blogspot.ca/2015/06/so-then-what-happened.html" target="_blank">http://talesfromtheredhead.blogspot.ca/2015/06/so-then-what-happened.html</a>, we meet Tsi'tnaginnie and his younger brother Natanii.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">But in Book Three, we meet Rose. She introduces herself to the family by stealing a horse. A hanging crime, in 1894.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That might not go over well. Not at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">AND???</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While all this is keeping me hopping, I'm also prepping my website for a launch at the end of November.</span></div>
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<a href="https://d1mkprg9bp64fp.cloudfront.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/2013/03/giftwrap_mg_9813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://d1mkprg9bp64fp.cloudfront.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files/2013/03/giftwrap_mg_9813.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">www.smockpaper.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm totally nervous and excited! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But for now, I need to go do laundry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And figure out how to act like a grown up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or at least fake it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/v/t1.0-9/10391470_1236184502454_1130208_n.jpg?oh=7e15a3401aa0e9a0ee7536e4268ec054&oe=56EDF4CE" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/v/t1.0-9/10391470_1236184502454_1130208_n.jpg?oh=7e15a3401aa0e9a0ee7536e4268ec054&oe=56EDF4CE" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i><br /></i>Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-67770672456690553902015-10-23T12:20:00.000-03:002015-10-23T13:14:26.841-03:00The Subtle Sneer, and other sad excuses for communication.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One of our kids had a rough go of it this past summer. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He developed some growth related pain in his leg and basically, his whole body took the summer off from having a great time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">He had to drop soccer and summer hockey, which was just for fun and fitness, but still. No hockey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or much of anything. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If it wasn't too bad, he'd go bike riding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even swimming hurt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When try-outs for the more prestigious level of hockey came, he was tough. His pain levels had subsided, but not enough that he could do what he does best. Play in net. Goalies have to do what is called a "down-up". Which is go down on their knees, and pop back up. They are the gymnasts of the team and have to be flexible enough to do anything. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Our son isn't Carey Price, but he's pretty good for a kid. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, back to try-outs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He didn't make the higher level team, because he simply could not go down on that one bad knee. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It broke his heart, and ours. But as parents, we applied the "this kills, but it's a life lesson" tactic. And he's all right with how things have turned out. He made a great team, and he isn't "playing there til things improve", he is ON that team and he'll give it all he's got.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Interestingly enough, he's also an affiliate with one of the teams in that league he didn't make. The coach of one of the teams has coached our son before, and knows what he can do. So, he asked him to "affiliate", which means he practices with them on occasion, and if they have a goalie down, the our son will suit up and be ready if they need him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">SOME people would call an affiliate a player who was "<i>almost </i>good enough".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I do not. No matter who he or she is, an affiliate is solid back-up and the team knows it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, I went to where he'd be practicing with this team. I knew many of the parents because our son had been on teams with the same kids. He'd been in that league for two years, so yeah, we knew lots of people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I entered the player's entrance and spotted a woman and asked where the kids were, as our son wasn't where he was supposed to be. She asked me why I was looking for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Umm, duh?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I smiled and said "he's a goalie affiliating with Coach Bob this year."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As soon as I said The Dreaded A Word, her face flinched and up went her eyebrows. It was subtle, but not subtle enough. </span></div>
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/09/83/89/098389c540913a699f52bc3b122199e3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/09/83/89/098389c540913a699f52bc3b122199e3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">image courtesy of www.pinterest.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ohhhh, honey. How snobby are you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">WOW.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I mean, ALL I wanted to say was "do you KNOW who he IS??"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I didn't. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I let her poof her value up as the sole human alive whose child excelled at anything ever in the history of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am thankful I don't have to spend much time with her. Because I would not do well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I'm sad that she interpreted my son's value with such disdain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sad for whom?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My son? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A little. But he'd just laugh it off and shake his head.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sad for me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sure. She insulted my child. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm mostly sad for her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because she equates value with position. A rotten thing to teach 12 and 13 year old kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I should have said, "Honey? A sneer is a fake smile with a punch thrown in. Go wipe it off before you let the children see what kind of person you are. And do be careful not to talk down to people, because someday, someone will do the same to you and I only hope your friends hold you up when those words sting right through you."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or burst out laughing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I did actually laugh once I got away from her, and shook my head at her attitude. Snooty delusion <i>is </i>humourous.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But in all seriousness, Momming is hard, girls. We're in this together. </span>Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-36389115101622874662015-10-20T19:47:00.001-03:002015-10-20T19:47:10.510-03:00Sorta really mondo grande announcement....<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>SOMETHING </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>AMAZING</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i> SOON!!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Uhh, nooooo. Not a super moon...</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrQqTFMpJnUmFAcDueFCUJrzyFwjxV8cvhLjitdAheVLh9sqPIH66C080yF6BQgSwQO9eEx0yaqMso-QFi6oI49dUeKsf1aSkYCv4pnWnmwlA9IrIkFhQSMy_N63hDbvLDMVxQyY7WP8/s1600/DSC00215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrQqTFMpJnUmFAcDueFCUJrzyFwjxV8cvhLjitdAheVLh9sqPIH66C080yF6BQgSwQO9eEx0yaqMso-QFi6oI49dUeKsf1aSkYCv4pnWnmwlA9IrIkFhQSMy_N63hDbvLDMVxQyY7WP8/s640/DSC00215.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Pretty soon, I'll be moving to...</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGmdceiyuzUnlebBRdhIw68JNyjU4E1Vexa25fj9Ymld2NQrPUJwy1h_DF2rZwsKwEMpx3Ue1RhNkL8W7iet9D_Xrj7GE12XYx34wILksftSMNmf_UBlKpABFLCWxoBaKPGVpIkhDwIo/s1600/me+in+purple+jacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGmdceiyuzUnlebBRdhIw68JNyjU4E1Vexa25fj9Ymld2NQrPUJwy1h_DF2rZwsKwEMpx3Ue1RhNkL8W7iet9D_Xrj7GE12XYx34wILksftSMNmf_UBlKpABFLCWxoBaKPGVpIkhDwIo/s640/me+in+purple+jacket.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>An actual, for real, 'holy cow I'm a grown up'...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>And to celebrate, I'll be giving away some SERIOUS loot. </i></span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-16419185730771978672015-10-05T22:56:00.005-03:002015-10-05T23:00:48.449-03:00I have this friend in Texas...her name is Shelli...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A wee visit to Texas.</div>
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<br />Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-1738214471474628032015-09-27T14:29:00.002-03:002015-09-27T14:34:04.304-03:00Where in the world is Jennifer Major??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let's recap, shall we?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">First, after 2 weeks in Ontario with family, I came home and did this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Awesome. Just AWESOME.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No. I have NO IDEA how it happened. But the x-rays showed NOTHING. So the doc said, "it's either a stress fracture, or aggressive arthritis."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Because I needed that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqC3g99RRAzKCOxBEhZCDOHIHjICqVXY9TcJF1Lj-64F1D7g22w_2qJwuRHiMahbIhPmaC_suYl3ag6vxXpWP7v0UIvgWsPT0CV8XaPgGIucE70P6OpLsIvDS-2uhQzxFLwuU4PPtgHE/s1600/20150909_234940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqC3g99RRAzKCOxBEhZCDOHIHjICqVXY9TcJF1Lj-64F1D7g22w_2qJwuRHiMahbIhPmaC_suYl3ag6vxXpWP7v0UIvgWsPT0CV8XaPgGIucE70P6OpLsIvDS-2uhQzxFLwuU4PPtgHE/s640/20150909_234940.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, normally, I'd just rest it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I had to prepare for...wait for it...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...a 3 1/2 week trek from Vancouver (to see my parents) then to Dallas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I must say, the fromage et crackeres selection on the flight from San Francisco to Dallas was rathath lovely...or was it Seattle to San Francisco?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, whatever...the cheese was good!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I did have to force the chocolate down...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRnKWvjEIpshcvVp9PfmxIMHa2kuaQJU-uKJLZNqS5-k85Xssz2oIHTx0iB32B9p_tGH39Lbw2rMrNU4qYJmZhOsJa3u6dBHWZS6yLeIMGSEulcFst_kH-B-kutVKycytV-Ob_ER907s/s1600/20150916_191104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRnKWvjEIpshcvVp9PfmxIMHa2kuaQJU-uKJLZNqS5-k85Xssz2oIHTx0iB32B9p_tGH39Lbw2rMrNU4qYJmZhOsJa3u6dBHWZS6yLeIMGSEulcFst_kH-B-kutVKycytV-Ob_ER907s/s640/20150916_191104.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Dallas, I attended the annual American Christian Fiction Writer's conference known as ACFW 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was a "zone breakfast" where people in the different ACFW zones could meet, greet and eat. The lovely Rose Dee from Australia brought all of us "Beyond the Borders" peeps this gorgeous flower arrangement!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ucl8L1oSp69d2MkZjH6liRm9Nfej7LNxvHdsWut1F6h2ax8Oa3lBwl9B02GrZNBIx6MT-fJmVvlI4C9K8G1JYTRcmmGFrEztr2mBQ0DDBamooa9joMeWqGEd7woAkB5n3OzOKyxcEEo/s1600/20150918_083642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ucl8L1oSp69d2MkZjH6liRm9Nfej7LNxvHdsWut1F6h2ax8Oa3lBwl9B02GrZNBIx6MT-fJmVvlI4C9K8G1JYTRcmmGFrEztr2mBQ0DDBamooa9joMeWqGEd7woAkB5n3OzOKyxcEEo/s640/20150918_083642.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ahhhh, the joy of hanging out with friends who understand the writer's mind and crazy world!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0zRktdhlQrtjMrreWyAiezViMpLbkVwJHb0xxpJO897X-P-fl6sDwR4ovc-jTxjg19U4UMOFMw0604dAf9BdwDpA1xEM5zx5YiOFIKsXXY8mi1rIoxZ2aNpDf7xcUCb6IbIdcBSOclI/s1600/20150918_144214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0zRktdhlQrtjMrreWyAiezViMpLbkVwJHb0xxpJO897X-P-fl6sDwR4ovc-jTxjg19U4UMOFMw0604dAf9BdwDpA1xEM5zx5YiOFIKsXXY8mi1rIoxZ2aNpDf7xcUCb6IbIdcBSOclI/s640/20150918_144214.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gabrielle and Lisa...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yv62NSEZzp_PfFQDhFDZxRunPb7p0TUoUuLuz-Z5Bx24-dEiZws1dUURL3gIBiCjxjwR_Af2RwcnHozW1O6YEB_kclTsG-FmZeKxocLNOfDUGqexsk5YEuRsMsasXpFcOmPDZoFNzvM/s1600/20150918_095144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yv62NSEZzp_PfFQDhFDZxRunPb7p0TUoUuLuz-Z5Bx24-dEiZws1dUURL3gIBiCjxjwR_Af2RwcnHozW1O6YEB_kclTsG-FmZeKxocLNOfDUGqexsk5YEuRsMsasXpFcOmPDZoFNzvM/s640/20150918_095144.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Shelli...</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12047007_10153021871630899_2134407616451688030_n.jpg?oh=3468111b6fc912043da411a08e6d02b4&oe=569F0AC7" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12047007_10153021871630899_2134407616451688030_n.jpg?oh=3468111b6fc912043da411a08e6d02b4&oe=569F0AC7" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cathy...</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12039427_10205131506712086_7461679062395337945_n.jpg?oh=80aeec6df4962e0bbeb98e7c97cba0c7&oe=56A277EF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12039427_10205131506712086_7461679062395337945_n.jpg?oh=80aeec6df4962e0bbeb98e7c97cba0c7&oe=56A277EF" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some...uhhh...random people who spontaneously broke into bad chorus line work...and some who stayed all mature-y and stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Things were, exciting, stressful, <i>full-out </i>and finally, on the last night?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Things got POSH.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">VERY posh!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like, SUPER ULTRA POSH!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wore a GOWN!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's moi, with my absolutely adorable and fabulous room mate, Shelli Littleton.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Isn't she a stunner? </span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/12009771_10205143773338744_4857558214631102353_n.jpg?oh=bdbe5e98174350de7fe256668e32a43b&oe=56980B10" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/12009771_10205143773338744_4857558214631102353_n.jpg?oh=bdbe5e98174350de7fe256668e32a43b&oe=56980B10" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once the non-stop ACFW was over, sniff, Shelli drove me to Love Field and I hopped on a Southwest flight to Albuquerque, where I met up with my partner in crime, Robyn Peters, and then after a night of SLEEP, we headed out to Jamestown, New Mexico.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Remember that ball gown?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yeah, well....</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's me in my pajamas, shorts, a hoodie, in awe of the sunrise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hey, Robyn? Care to go on a wee hike?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here we are, loopy after surviving the Canyon de Chelly White House Ruins hike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Navajo homeland. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then, when it all got to be 'too much fun', as my niece used to say...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">...at night, we'd watch the sky...wow. Just, wow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For 5 wonderful days, <span style="line-height: 107%;">our hosts Ted and Evie Charles took us hither and yon across New Mexico and Arizona.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">We even met royalty!!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Miss Navajo Nation 2015, Alyson Shirley.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">THAT? Is the view from their deck on the only two story hogan in all of New Mexico.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And this place? Robyn and I christened it Canyon de Charles. WOW. And it's in their backyard!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On our last night, Robyn, Ted, Evie and I enjoyed a cook out!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now? Ted and Evie are in their big hogan, probably enjoying the peace and quiet. ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Robyn is back in California.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All the ACFW friends are home, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm back in Albuquerque. Alone in a hotel room, catching up on work, then off to see some friends. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow it's Santa Fe and a few museums.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tuesday, friends and maybe another museum, and edits!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wednesday, back to Dallas, and then more research!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh my, I should remember to enjoy the heat, since Fall has his hit from whence I came.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy the photos, and see you soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ohhhhhh, something special is coming!! </span></div>
Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-66068046629488175942015-09-09T18:46:00.000-03:002015-09-09T18:56:11.328-03:00The last verses of Job...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever wanted to change your name to Job and just give up?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just turf it all and go live in a box and be left alone because, well, life has sucked you dry and what's the point anyway?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All the hurt just keeps piling on and along the way, life just changed the definition of <i>"all" </i>to <i>"some with more on the way".</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And where is God? Where is a respite? Where is a moment of mercy when the sky is falling, the earth is crumbling, and there seems to be no hope in sight?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While my life is not like that, I know that some of my friends do live in that Job-zone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Job was a man who loved God. If you know your Bible, God allowed the enemy to destroy Job's world. I do not understand WHY or HOW this happened, but through it all, Job stayed faithful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lately, while my life has been great, a few things have nudged me too hard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then over the weekend, my left ankle started to HURT. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I went to the ER last night. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They did x-rays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Apparently, there's either a stress fracture, or a bout of "agitated arthritis" in there. Whatever it is, it HURTS.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pitypartypitypartypityparty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have a 3 week trip coming up and it includes a very important conference and a research trip to New Mexico, and then one in Texas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, umm, Lord? I'm in pain down here...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This morning, I read the very last verse of Job. I read the verses before then end, but this is what it said at the</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>very end</i>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> "And then he died, an old man who lived a long life."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not "he was bitter to the end" or "he did curse God and die, and what a buzzkill" or even "Job died alone and miserable".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It tells us that he lived a long life. That his family was important to him. He even left an inheritance to his daughters. Which, yeah, was a huge deal in those days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, despite all that happened to him, he <i>lived. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not<i>, endured.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not<i>, survived.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not<i>, crawled to the edge and jumped off.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With what God restored to him, Job<i> lived.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I need to remember to live through this minor bout of nothing serious, and not dwell on the ways to endure the drama.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To count my blessings, which are many.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To be a good steward of what God has given me and not dwell on what I don't have.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To be thankful, to live thankfully.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To live!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, sore feet or not, onward and upward.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">www.weheartit.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll see you all in a few weeks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then? I have a HUGE announcement!!!</span></div>
Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-10029001624968582662015-09-01T13:06:00.001-03:002015-09-01T13:09:51.044-03:00Annnnnnnnd we're back!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I went on vacation with my family...to here...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaMh3_VuMzQXo39hrMolxP8XkDo1Ht01ms_PDyMmu7U-bIqmi0PER81gtkpbNr4MQYBYZKm7c3Le02OC3DaXozdl9ahMML2LBZwpBz_Xz8OTUaRypQTdIGm7pDp_e7jCd37WfwcyRQ6o/s1600/DSC00020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaMh3_VuMzQXo39hrMolxP8XkDo1Ht01ms_PDyMmu7U-bIqmi0PER81gtkpbNr4MQYBYZKm7c3Le02OC3DaXozdl9ahMML2LBZwpBz_Xz8OTUaRypQTdIGm7pDp_e7jCd37WfwcyRQ6o/s640/DSC00020.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkmT0t9MjqeYc9x1eu1hyphenhyphenBR-nPByD9wcyfC1PKtYfgKPYcMfCgmRXbZ0U_VHi2-gR_ByCghXBpVPwHWVsUpxB185lwus4emvIOX43CR9IwlxNGwzzATRbYJ1xsTXkLGUO9tFYrxBGSNE/s1600/DSC00026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkmT0t9MjqeYc9x1eu1hyphenhyphenBR-nPByD9wcyfC1PKtYfgKPYcMfCgmRXbZ0U_VHi2-gR_ByCghXBpVPwHWVsUpxB185lwus4emvIOX43CR9IwlxNGwzzATRbYJ1xsTXkLGUO9tFYrxBGSNE/s640/DSC00026.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then here...The Ontario Camp for the Deaf. My husband's parents are both deaf, and we go to 'family camp' every August.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ovUHj-MGjqqhLRIjbITUTQ7P5-NkU_N3bdWOw-RWx7wtN5sAhtsSH2yEyd6wsMRvGEtgdtV23arOWO5yQNrVMKXLtrzV8FVJQVRHEgbigk0hLydeM5eCW4bMIndczagB88f2dhyC_yo/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ovUHj-MGjqqhLRIjbITUTQ7P5-NkU_N3bdWOw-RWx7wtN5sAhtsSH2yEyd6wsMRvGEtgdtV23arOWO5yQNrVMKXLtrzV8FVJQVRHEgbigk0hLydeM5eCW4bMIndczagB88f2dhyC_yo/s640/DSC00040.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Ditched the family for a day, to go meet up with my friend Cathy West. Whereupon my arrival, we did this...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_u2nIo754TGWuN2XweVews9QrS7wX0RUsjqB1A7kYlqcfjqWQ6_q3yoyF-bRQ7_ZXxGqWzSHQ7tuDyrwTEhFOyiSDwie6jBirN3JM95NVOny54OMGv38wtfhsnVpmZRHhGYvt6r0PorA/s1600/DSC00038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_u2nIo754TGWuN2XweVews9QrS7wX0RUsjqB1A7kYlqcfjqWQ6_q3yoyF-bRQ7_ZXxGqWzSHQ7tuDyrwTEhFOyiSDwie6jBirN3JM95NVOny54OMGv38wtfhsnVpmZRHhGYvt6r0PorA/s640/DSC00038.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was ROUGH.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Especially when we got up from the lovely recliners and realized our butts were SOAKED.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Apparently, it had rained...the day before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who cares? It was a fabulous visit!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back at Deaf Camp...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Husbands who like to cook??</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> We were spoiled!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymcgfQazn9rnG_JQ3O_8_A4KwZULxzvIuwbhwLo2xVne5Pr41I1ZpLa-3VBvSIprX73eqADv4AdOu0-MX1Ad8spviILfUR-6FJCbT8Ps3_MxMVi_xmBBX-NT5FJRXXxX0l8n875XmPZ8/s1600/DSC00042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymcgfQazn9rnG_JQ3O_8_A4KwZULxzvIuwbhwLo2xVne5Pr41I1ZpLa-3VBvSIprX73eqADv4AdOu0-MX1Ad8spviILfUR-6FJCbT8Ps3_MxMVi_xmBBX-NT5FJRXXxX0l8n875XmPZ8/s640/DSC00042.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And we did stuff like this...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzVmN6KZCI7uancJONd3FEvMoWkEqsCS0v45ktKQZcbrGCyW1wBSeYiGfbFmX1TvG08w1isPB3pqYxsGrZWMEPSGjs9J7ceu3FIDaSNJaNdrZPaTdLRGLIPImYwp644fJ0F9tAeO5ZLc/s1600/DSC00159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzVmN6KZCI7uancJONd3FEvMoWkEqsCS0v45ktKQZcbrGCyW1wBSeYiGfbFmX1TvG08w1isPB3pqYxsGrZWMEPSGjs9J7ceu3FIDaSNJaNdrZPaTdLRGLIPImYwp644fJ0F9tAeO5ZLc/s640/DSC00159.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ahhhhh...and now? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back to the real world.</span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-49223659878531127012015-08-01T20:48:00.000-03:002015-08-01T20:48:34.946-03:00Cecil the Lion, the witch hunt, and the war drones on.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm sitting here pondering the FLAMING ridiculousness of the world wide horror of a lion being shot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, that a lion was shot with an arrow and left to wander in pain for 40 hours IS awful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, that the man who shot him was out for a <i>trophy</i>, and not taking down a rogue lion that was killing people. That is disgusting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Buddy, you want a trophy? Join soccer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">BUT, that being said, the guy who shot the lion does NOT deserve the horrible treatment he's getting!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He shot a LION, not a CHILD!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And seriously, whether or not he killed a big pretty animal, there are MUCH MUCH bigger things to deal with than a dead lion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The average Zimbabwean monthly wage is <b>253</b>$ US.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The GDP (Gross Domestic Product ) of Zimbabwe is <b>953$ US</b>. What's a GDP??</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A GDP is the dollar value of the goods and services produced in a country over a specific time period, per capita. Meaning, per person, over a year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The GDP of the United States of America?? <b>53,000$.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, I can bet that not exactly every Zimbabwean cares about a lion, not when their country is in the dumps and their leader is a dictator who robs the country blind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, yeah, a rich guy shot a lion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now he's getting death threats. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His business is probably ruined.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His staff will probably be out of their jobs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That is just plain wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But NOT worthy of the vilification of the free world!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Save that for something else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, sorry...what was that sound?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Riiiiiiiiiiight, another ISIS bomb in Syria. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or was it the scream of a young Yazidi girl sold at an auction?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's look at what makes people more angry?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A dentist going into hiding because he was dumb enough to shoot a pretty lion? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or the fact that poor, young, nameless refugee women are sold for 100$ in a market to be used as wives until they kill themselves or escape?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because WHO is going after them?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seriously, what is more important in the eyes of God?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A lion?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Or a lamb?</span></div>
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<a href="https://universaljournalreview.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/10ec9ca00ce0f8c22a35afa0162fe1f1.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://universaljournalreview.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/10ec9ca00ce0f8c22a35afa0162fe1f1.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;">I hope that last photo upsets people so much that they're livid that I posted it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;">Look!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;"><i><b>Look at her!!</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;">Now, if you're so mad, go donate to World Vision, MMC, War Child, Save the Children, CARE, whoever you'd like to help.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;">Just don't be indifferent to the sight of a young girl being auctioned off for the pleasures of violent men who care nothing about the horrific thing that is selling a human being.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;">~~~~</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;"><b><i>He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22.3199996948242px;"><b><i>Micah 6:8 </i></b></span></span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-84921348036420556352015-07-19T15:18:00.001-03:002015-07-19T17:23:41.020-03:00Yes, but what about the wings?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, I've talked about why I write and what I write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, I'd like to talk about how I write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or, more specifically, how I came about actively pursuing the dream of writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've always been an avid reader, and I read rather quickly, with excellent retention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Which makes book buying expensive when one factors in the amount of time it takes me to read a book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's go back to 1990, when I was pregnant with the first of our four children. All was fine up until late October, when I got very tired. I wasn't due til December 22nd, which means I had about 8 weeks to go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I went to my check-up, and was stunned to find out my blood pressure was WAY up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The doctor hmm'ed and said. "Go home. Rest. NO sodium."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I rested, went back a few days later. And it was worse.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Go home. Rest. Stay in bed."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Stay in bed?"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes, you're now officially on bed rest. I sure hope you like reading, watching TV and reading. Oh, and by the way, you cannot be alone. Not for one minute. Don't even lock the bathroom door."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I had toxemia. And I had it <i>bad. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, there went all the fun plans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, on certain days of the work week, my husband John would drop me off at my parent's house. While there, they and my Mom's Hearing Ear Dog, a white poodle named Lambchop, would take care of me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The other days, my best friend Robyn Peters would arrive before John left for work, and would take care of me until he came home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, I did A LOT of reading. And talking. And napping.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Robyn helped with my Christmas baking. Ha! "Helped". She did it <i>all</i>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I did the sprinkles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">John and I would share the books I'd gotten from the church library. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He'd say "you could write better than that."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I love him, but he was nuts. He said that a lot.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Not that he was nuts, but that I could write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fast forward to December, 2011.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I had come to the Rubicon of my deeply hidden dream. I decided if I was to ever take the leap to write, it was going to have to be soon. I was 48, and not getting any younger. Also, my days of Momming littles was over. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, I began.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">In secret.</span></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was Christmas holidays, all the kids were off school. Which meant they all slept in. So, beginning on the 26th, I stayed up late into the wee hours, writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A few nights after I started, I tiptoed into our room at about 2:30am.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was pitch dark. John was asleep.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Since I was still in jeans and a sweater, I needed to get into my pajamas and slip into bed without waking him up...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I closed the door as quiet as a mouse.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I took a step.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Silence.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I took another.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Silence.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">One more step.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Do you <i>mind</i> telling me <i>WHAT</i> you're doing on Facebook <i>in the middle of the night</i>?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He was furious.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Not slightly annoyed. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Not kind of mad.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He was seething. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Oh no.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I could hear how his anger shaped the fury of his...his...not his question, but...his inquisition.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Pain was already involved. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">His.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What was his wife doing online late at night? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I'm...uhh...not on Facebook..."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My heart was about to burst.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh <i>really</i>? Then what <i>exactly</i> are you doing?"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was pitch black in that room.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And that was just his voice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I'm...uhh...uhhhhh..."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>What?!</i>"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I...startedwritingabook!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Total silence.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Jennifer, you are so stupid...</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I heard him take a breath.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">...so stupid!!</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"WELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME!!! WAY TO GO, HONEY!!!"</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever had a moment when you could just about feel that most important someone set your wings into your back, and tell you it's time to fly?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">When I get tired of what it actually takes to write a book, and the feathers fall and I need encouragement? There he is, my husband of 26 years, smiling up at me. "Fly. Just fly. You can do this."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my second book, I ask a question about love. The question was gifted to me by my dear friend and Navajo mentor, Theodore Charles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">www.birdspix.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Which wing is more important to the bird?"</span></div>
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<br />Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-22901370386831257372015-07-13T22:21:00.000-03:002015-07-13T22:46:40.302-03:00The State of Pollyanna's Union.<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">There's been some talk lately about the state of Christian publishing, and how things are either grand, or grinding to a halt.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">I may be a bit Pollyanna-ish on this, but here's my take.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">And as always, for my strength, I look to my faith.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">One of my favourite phrases has always been "Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">So, let's look at that passage in Ephesians, shall we?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">But first, imagine you're actually there...in Ephesus....sniffing the pink oleander...</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/935807_10151472737726035_45020667_n.jpg?oh=72a56286e11d06cff0168528dc3614dc&oe=56546205" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/935807_10151472737726035_45020667_n.jpg?oh=72a56286e11d06cff0168528dc3614dc&oe=56546205" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">You just checked some scrolls out of the library...</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1010977_10151472734931035_9318524_n.jpg?oh=9c312274d533691ebcaba42fd9eb5a4d&oe=561F684D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1010977_10151472734931035_9318524_n.jpg?oh=9c312274d533691ebcaba42fd9eb5a4d&oe=561F684D" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Now you're waiting for Paul of Tarsus to come and speak...</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/600189_10151472737206035_1170390729_n.jpg?oh=c55ff92c761514d59936111f8a93da15&oe=5619C2BF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/600189_10151472737206035_1170390729_n.jpg?oh=c55ff92c761514d59936111f8a93da15&oe=5619C2BF" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">Eph 6:10-17 (NIV) ...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on <em>the full armour of God</em> so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to <em>stand your ground,</em> and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong>the belt of truth</strong></span> buckled round your waist, with <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong>the breastplate of righteousness</strong></span> in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong>the gospel of peace</strong></span>. In addition to all this, take up <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong>the shield of faith</strong></span>, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong>the helmet of salvation</strong></span> and the <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong>sword of the Spirit</strong></span>, which is the word of God.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Now, read that again, and tell me what armour is missing?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Go ahead, I'll wait.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Figure it out yet?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="font-size: large;">There's no mention of what shall cover our backs, w</span><span style="font-size: large;">hat piece of protection will the armour makers have forged to save our spines and necks?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Perhaps, and this is a thought I heard a while ago, and I can't remember where, but maybe...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">Maybe???</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f4cccc; font-size: large;">God <i><b>never meant</b></i> for us to <i><b>turn our backs</b></i> on <i><b>the battle</b></i>. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Read that again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">When does God realize He's losing? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">When does He sound the retreat for His kingdom? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: x-large;">Never.</span></i></b></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-26098774594970331562015-07-01T20:53:00.002-03:002015-07-01T20:53:36.189-03:00Visiting with Jenni Brummett today...come visit!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hey peeps, Happy Canada Day!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today, I'm visiting with my good friend Jenni, and we're discussing houses...and I'm discussing a home that is VERY special to Canadians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yup, Green Gables.</span></div>
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<a href="http://jennibrummett.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/gables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://jennibrummett.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/gables.jpg" height="440" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So hop on over to <a href="http://jennibrummett.com/books/my-life-as-a-criminal-began-at-green-gables/" target="_blank">http://jennibrummett.com/books/my-life-as-a-criminal-began-at-green-gables/</a></span><br />
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<br />Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-1893792848842417162015-06-26T11:19:00.001-03:002015-06-26T11:19:42.954-03:00Guest blogging over at Inspired by Life...and Fiction...<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Hey Redheads!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I'm blogging today over at <a href="http://inspiredbylifeandfiction.com/" target="_blank">http://inspiredbylifeandfiction.com</a>, as a guest of Becky Wade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Come visit and hear a cool story!</span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-1538546938005247092015-06-23T15:49:00.004-03:002015-06-23T15:54:38.055-03:00So, THEN what happened???<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Dangerous Mercy </i>tells the story of Tsi'tnaginnie and Kemma.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Warrior's Grace </i>tells the story of Natanii, Tsi'tnaginnie's older brother.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The day after Tsi'tnaginnie and his family surrendered, a battle took place in Canyon de Chelly. His brother Natanii led his men into that battle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~~~~~~~~~~ </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Natanii was a warrior. A soldier for his people, a defender of his clan. A battle ready servant. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And a man who saw the unthinkable, who heard the unfathomable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">His wife was shot before his eyes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He watched her fall.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Heard her call out his name. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ask for his help. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Die in front of him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Then he did the unforgivable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>He ran from battle.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why did he run?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Did madness destroy his mind?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Or did a dream save his life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The night after she dies, Natanii's wife comes to him in a vision, and tells him to ride West. To find sanctuary.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To "stay alive and wait for the broken one".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But who is this "broken one" and how long must he wait?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Natanii escapes across Hopi country, deep into the mountains of Northern Arizona. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Given sanctuary by British settlers, he becomes Nez Hutchinson, and is lost to his people forever.</span><br />
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<a href="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1380352783/706188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1380352783/706188.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Jay Tavare as Natanii.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sarah Monroe Crossman has finally escaped the living nightmare of a hellish marriage, and the wrongful murder conviction that sent her to an asylum for the criminally insane. Finally safe at her sister's ranch in Arizona, Sarah is entirely unprepared for normal life, freedom, or the gentle kindness of a stranger. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A stranger in the form of Nez Hutchinson, an Indian who quotes the Psalms and speaks the King's English. The brother in law who her sister never once mentioned. Not in twenty years of letters.</span></div>
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Jo Sullivan as Sarah Monroe</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fear dances with prejudice. The truth rips open old wounds. War comes to their doorstep as Natanii is forced to fight one last battle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A battle thirty years in the waiting.</span></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What do we learn in the times when God doesn't seem to hear us? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">How does God heal wounds so deep they become part of our soul? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where is grace when the world falls apart?</span></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's the Pinterest link for A Warrior's Grace:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/jenniferlmajor/a-warriors-grace/" target="_blank">https://www.pinterest.com/jenniferlmajor/a-warriors-grace/</a></span></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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*DISCLAIMER: These pictures are from my Pinterest boards and do not imply that either Jay Tavare or Jo Sullivan are involved with my work, but are meant only to provide a visual for the reader.</div>
Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-75594018034857761262015-06-18T18:00:00.000-03:002015-06-18T21:48:03.709-03:00Okay, so we know WHY I write, but do we know WHAT I write?<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Most TFTR readers know that I write about Navajo history, specifically The Long Walk and the prison camp near Fort Sumner, New Mexico known as Bosque Redondo, or most properly, "Hweeldi".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So, let's talk about<i> </i>the first story<i>...A Dangerous Mercy.</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-size: large;">The first book starts in 1864, in the POV (point of view-the person "telling" the story) of Tsi'tnaginnie (Sit-nah-ginnie) a Navajo silversmith whose family and clans are being marched at gunpoint from their home in Canyon de Chelly (du Shay) across the desert to Fort Sumner, New Mexico.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then things get worse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the time the story takes place, Native Americans were <i>despised</i> by most settlers and military personnel. Absolutely DESPISED. They were seen as savages, vermin, wild creatures, blocking the God-fearing folk from progress and destiny.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But, not just in North America. The attitude of European Anglos toward indigenous peoples almost everywhere on Earth was patriarchal and superior. Africa, the South Pacific, Asia, Latin America, everywhere...white=smarter, better, more civil. thus, the darker the skin tone, the more ignorant a person was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But hey, who built Machu Picchu? The Great Wall? Who read the stars and crossed the South Seas in outriggers? Who saw the night sky as their map?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And for many, the sad state of affairs was mostly encouraged with the blessing of whatever religious authority was around. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, let's review... very few Anglo-Europeans and Native Americans got along. Treachery and death had a lot to do with things. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">On both sides.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyhow...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I tell the story of one family, the people they loved, and what would've happened in the land story tellers adore...the land of <i>What If</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'ヒラギノ角ゴ Pro W3', 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro', メイリオ, Meiryo, 'MS Pゴシック', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">"Tsi'tnaginnie" </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'ヒラギノ角ゴ Pro W3', 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro', メイリオ, Meiryo, 'MS Pゴシック', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">Martin Sensmeier by Wolfn Photography*</span></div>
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Kasha Kropinski as Kemma Fallon*</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What if after he's taken prisoner, Tsi'tnaginnie finds work at Hweeldi with the blacksmith, Eamon St. George? He's skilled with metals and learns the trade quickly from Eamon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What if he becomes the brother that Eamon always wanted? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What if kinship saw only the heart, and Tsi'tnaginnie's parents and daughter loved Eamon as one of their own?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What if Tsi'tnaginnie's worst enemy was the fort commander, Josiah Fallon? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What if Tsi'tnaginnie's greatest love was the fort commander's daughter, Kemma?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What if the only person between Kemma, and <i>intentional death</i>, was Tsi'tnaginnie? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What if the ever present evil of slavery touched Tsi'tnaginnie, and destroyed his whole world?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What if Tsi'tnaginnie's belief in God hinged on <i>the impossible? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes, only the impossible will do.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">~~~~~~~~~~</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's the Pinterest link for the book:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/jenniferlmajor/a-dangerous-mercy/" target="_blank">https://www.pinterest.com/jenniferlmajor/a-dangerous-mercy/</a></span>
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*DISCLAIMER: These pictures are from my Pinterest boards and do not imply that either actor is involved with my work, but are meant only to provide a visual for the reader.</div>
Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-85876400272659827752015-06-14T23:18:00.003-03:002015-06-15T00:03:12.311-03:00Caitlyn Jenner, Rachel Dolezal, and stones.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">These are my personal opinions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">See that?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">PERSONAL.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While the interwebs are all abuzzle about persons named Caitlyn, and Rachel, I had to stop and really ponder a few things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What is the Biblical response to Bruce Jenner and his life choices?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Simple. What did Jesus do <i>to</i> and <i>for</i> the hurting?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He showed them His love.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Let's see that again.</span><br />
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">He showed them His love.</span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Am I Bruce Jenner's judge and jury?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Do I understand why the man did what he did, and says what he says?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Not at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Do I think he's mixed up?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe. Sorta.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Does that story upset me?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, but more for the publicity rained down on his family.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But, does Bruce Jenner care what I think?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">HA! Not at all. He has no idea that I exist.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He does not and never will care what I think, what I say, how I act, or who I am.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But God loves Bruce Jenner.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If I ever meet the man who says he's a woman, I would hope I kept myself as bright a light in the man's world and treated him with kindness and respect.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There is no call from Heaven to do anything other than show love and grace. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jenner has basically stated that what he has done has been about personal turmoil.</span><br />
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">He who is without sin, throw the first stone.</span></b></i><br />
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I do have a MUCH more visceral reaction to a woman named Rachel who is causing quite a stir for her issues.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Precisely, she is a Anglo woman who for all intents and purposes, has declared herself to be African American.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She has stated herself to be, and not corrected anyone who has attributed her to being, African American.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So, what is the difference between what Bruce Jenner has publicly stated, and Rachel Dolezal's statement that she is not white, and in fact, is African American?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my opinion, there's a man who says he's a woman. Is he <i>taking</i> anything from anyone? Is he lying, left right and centre, about what and who he is? About his past, about his parents, about his siblings, his children, his job, his career, his hair, his skin?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He may be misguided and I may not agree with his choices, but he hasn't committed a crime, or perpetuated fraudulent behaviour in every facet of his life, for YEARS. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Jenner isn't taking from someone's historical struggles of slavery, whose ancestors were sold in markets and shipped across the ocean to live a life of hellish servitude, and using that to perpetuate a lie. He is a <i>privileged</i> Anglo who has changed himself into someone who will <i>still live the life of the privileged</i>. No one will kick him off a bus for simply posing on the cover of a magazine and saying what he thinks he is.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Seriously, when was the last time he rode a public bus because he was too poor to buy a car?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Honestly, Jenner's struggle is that of a tiny percentage of the population. It is a struggle, and <b><i>we</i></b> owe it to those who deal with those issues of who and what they <i><b>are</b></i> <b><i>to be Christ-like.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">No, I did not say we have to agree, I said we HAVE to be like Jesus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And people, that is our duty. We who have the love of Heaven should share it, don't you think?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the flipside, we have a woman who has embraced a culture to which she was not born.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Is that wrong?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's not wrong to <i>want to be</i> something we aren't..</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I <i>want to be</i> more kind.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I <i>want to be</i> healthier.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I <i>want to be</i> a better writer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I <i>want to be</i> the best wife and mother I can be.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I <i>want to be</i> a catalyst for change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But with Miss Dolezal, there is a slightly more un-nerving tack in the ship's course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">She wants people to believe she was the victim of hate crimes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She wants people to believe her ancestors were slaves.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She wants people to believe she was born in a tipi, and hunted with bows and arrows.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(Okay, so now we bring Native American cultural appropriation into the mix.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greaaaaaaaat.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do you see and feel the difference here?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's all about the level of duplicity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jenner, as I see it, really just wants to be a woman. Whatever. We all know he was born Bruce. He has chosen to ask those around him, and the public, to treat him as a woman. But does anyone think that if a few thugs tried to mug "Caitlyn", or any of his loved ones, especially his daughters, that they'd get a skittish nervous female? Noooo, they would get an Olympian fighting back. And that would be the last thing they remember.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rachel Dolezal has not said, "I know I'm not African American, but I choose to present myself as a woman of that culture. I love the history, the struggle, the richness I see there. I know I'm white, but I choose to identify as African American. I'll never knowingly and willingly set out to offend anyone, but please, let me in and I'll use my skills to bring these cultures together." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But...what would Jesus do?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, He'd say <b><i>"He who is without sin, throw the first stone."</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then He'd say, love her anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He'd take her, despite her massive con job, and love her anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He'd tell her that He'll be there beside her on the road back, when even her parents and brothers are mad at her.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hold her hand when her world comes crashing down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, she faces harsh judgement. Let the legal and ethical experts deal with her crimes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If given the chance, if we find her in a place that we can offer grace?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Be Jesus to her.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She's going to need Him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Speaking of <b><i>Him...</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The only thing I've <b><i>never needed to wonder</i></b> about Jesus? </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">How hard He could throw a stone.</span></i></b></div>
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<br />Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-36521103298492419562015-05-03T20:40:00.000-03:002015-05-03T20:41:06.400-03:00Spring sprung?!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ahhhhh, Spring has sprang!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And no, that is NOT the view out my front door.</span></div>
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(Back door, actually, right near my unicorn corral.) </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or is it "Spring has <i>sprung</i>"?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Is "Spring sprung" in deeper POV than "Spring has sprung?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If Tigger says "Spring has sprung" does he bounce while he says it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why did I mention Tigger?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Is Jennifer, Queen of the Redheads, officially losing her mind!?!?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To answer those questions...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Probably.</span></div>
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And here she is, going to find it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Ummmm, excuse me? You on the sand dune? </span><span style="font-size: large;">Go left honey. Or just back to The Home." </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Speaking of home. I am ensconced in mine, editing my second manuscrpit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Manyooscrpit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">BOOK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are 7 weeks of school left. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Which is JenniferSpeak for "I won't be able to get as much work done on the days it isn't SILENT around here."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, if I am here, there, and nowhere, please forgive the eclectic schedule.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and please send chocolate!!!</span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-76358918366028391742015-04-19T22:11:00.001-03:002015-04-19T22:11:42.141-03:00Annnnnnnnnnd the winner is????<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Congratulations, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>VELVA BROWN!!!!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You won Lori Benton's Fabulous Giveaway!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you to everyone who participated!!!</span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-10941419298017737412015-04-17T11:51:00.000-03:002015-04-17T11:58:57.603-03:00Cathy West-Bridge of Faith, and a reminder.<div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429271637413_2395" style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today on TFTR, I have a guest!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Her name is Cathy West, and we met 2 years ago in Indianapolis at ACFW 2013.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a bit about Cathy...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Catherine West is an award-winning author who writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. Educated in Bermuda, England and Canada, Catherine holds a degree in English from the University of Toronto. When she's not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or tending to her roses and orchids. She and her husband have two college-aged children. Catherine is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America, and is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Management. Catherine loves to connect with her readers and can be reached at Catherine@catherinejwest.com </span></div>
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And people, TRUST ME!! She is going to rock and rumble contemporary fiction!!!</div>
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1) What started you on the writer's road?</div>
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I've always loved writing. It was the one thing at school I was actually good at. Well, that and art. And lunch. Once I was married and pregnant with our first, I was home and bored and started writing a story. For fun. My sister-in-law asked to read it, so, knowing how much of a reader she was, I reluctantly agreed. And she convinced me I was pretty good and should start pursuing publication. So that is how I got started. Funnily enough, 20 something years later, a version of that first story is now published under the title of <i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429271637413_2381">Yesterday's Tomorrow</i>. :) (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yesterdays-Tomorrow-Catherine-West-ebook/dp/B00MXLUY46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429135426&sr=8-1&keywords=Catherine+West" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429271637413_2379" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Yesterdays-Tomorrow-Catherine-West-ebook/dp/B00MXLUY46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429135426&sr=8-1&keywords=Catherine+West</a>)</div>
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2)If you feel like reading for pleasure, which books do you return to?</div>
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It depends. I have a lot of author friends, so I'm always reading something by somebody I know, which is tons of fun - Katie Ganshert, Beth Vogt, Kristy Cambron, Susan Meissner (one day I'll be reading a Jennifer Major book), but when I read outside of CBA my favorite authors are Sarah Addison Allen, Jojo Moyes (if I want a good cry), Elizabeth Gilbert and Kate Atkinson, to name a few. I'm also a huge Anne Lamott fan and can read her books over and over again. I love the classics, and you might find me pulling out some Jane Austen or Charles Dickens when the mood strikes. For poetry I hit up Emily Dickinson, Yeats or Longfellow. Did I mention I was an English major? :) </div>
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3)What is a famous piece of classic literature that you loathed?</div>
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Hmm. I can't say I've ever loathed any piece of literature, classic or otherwise … oh, wait … there's this one book … yeah I loathe that one but refuse to give it any space on your lovely blog … let's see. Maybe the Greek philosophers. Plato, Socrates. Boring as dust. Never did get into them. </div>
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… Ducks as Zeus hurls down the thunderbolts … </div>
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4)Coke or Pepsi?</div>
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Neither. I'm not a big soda (or pop as the Canadians say) drinker. Unless we're putting rum in it. Can I say that? Well, I did. Okay if you're gonna make me choose, Coke. But diet. And only if we're out of water. Or rum. </div>
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5)How often have you looked at your work and said "I am so sorry!" and then realized these are fake people?</div>
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I have no idea what you're talking about. Fake people? Who? Um, yeah. I'm very invested in my characters. I actually cry if they have to die. Except the baddies. Because they deserve it. But I'm confused. I don't think I write about baddies, do I? No. No, I don't. I do put my characters into terrible circumstances however. And most of the time it's their fault. And because they're always stubborn and slow to see the light (kind of like me, ahem), they get to wallow awhile. But … I'm a firm believer in sin. Haha, that sounds funny right? What I mean is this - if we don't expose the sin, i.e. talk about it, get real upclose and personal with it, how can we ever think we have the right to point people to the cross? Therefore by the grace of God go I. I've said it so many times, but it's true. And God has pulled me out of more pits than I care to remember, but honestly, when He does, when you experience that kind of grace and mercy? Wow. How can we not share that? </div>
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And that's probably more than you wanted to know and a bag of chips. </div>
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But thanks for having me on your blog, and thanks for being one of my </div>
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besties. :) </div>
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~~~~~</div>
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Aww, you're welcome! And thank you for visiting!</div>
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So, Redheads, h<span style="background-color: inherit;">ere is the link to Bridge of Faith - </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Faith-Catherine-West-ebook/dp/B00VUA2HIM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429271637413_2401" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Faith-Catherine-West-ebook/dp/B00VUA2HIM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8</a></div>
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Yes, I know I said it already, but, trust me!!</div>
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Scoot over and buy the book!!</div>
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Remember, the chance to enter the draw for Lori Benton's gift basket ends Sunday night! Be SURE you leave your email on THAT post!! </div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-15960411695662414992015-04-13T21:28:00.000-03:002015-04-13T21:30:20.231-03:00A visit with Lori Benton, a sneak peek at The Wood's Edge, and an EPIC give-away! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Hello Redheads! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Without further ado, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I present, my dear friend and Christy Award winner,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">LORI BENTON!!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnZrRhOwVS9iwjlfnGielACXBrZpLhRStqMG424Gzw4iiwV_iQjZoECjP1bhc89o3a92EjRRutSFaFfKsQbyDoTmFEfZljQIjOYe1YJz0hEcO9LKCL69uXeL9YzicT2Ew2VnSF3lbZpM/s1600/185_305Lori_Benton_1391115226%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnZrRhOwVS9iwjlfnGielACXBrZpLhRStqMG424Gzw4iiwV_iQjZoECjP1bhc89o3a92EjRRutSFaFfKsQbyDoTmFEfZljQIjOYe1YJz0hEcO9LKCL69uXeL9YzicT2Ew2VnSF3lbZpM/s1600/185_305Lori_Benton_1391115226%5B1%5D.jpg" height="400" width="242" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lori's new book, The Wood's Edge comes out next week, and peeps, this one will make you fake sick, injured or just refuse to move until you finish it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I know this, because I basically shut down my entire house to finish this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a sneak peek...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aAsrDCTGuK-qah5bAHoBQR_nsivHCWF-Tn6yF1Me1iorOVHzz_v-3a8-LVFuHjjIg8p6rtly_4OKQTSmuTNpxsviekM3B2iPulri_7vabuIT7YbUm34T-wOo7ea_FVwqv9EqbHlaf-g/s1600/TWE_sneakpeek_TEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aAsrDCTGuK-qah5bAHoBQR_nsivHCWF-Tn6yF1Me1iorOVHzz_v-3a8-LVFuHjjIg8p6rtly_4OKQTSmuTNpxsviekM3B2iPulri_7vabuIT7YbUm34T-wOo7ea_FVwqv9EqbHlaf-g/s1600/TWE_sneakpeek_TEN.jpg" height="450" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I asked Lori a few questions, and her answers will show you just how much research she does.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1)
Why the Oneida? What set them apart in your mind?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Their
own choices and history set them apart. Out of the Six Nations of the Iroquois,
the Oneidas (along with some of the Tuscaroras), gave their support—at the cost
of their homes, possessions, and many lives—to the Americans during the
Revolutionary War. The rest of the Six Nations, those members who didn’t manage
to remain neutral, actively supported the British Crown. When I first stumbled
upon this split in the Iroquois Confederacy during the Revolutionary War, I was
intrigued to learn why it had happened. What factors led to it? How far back
did this fracture go? Thus began my research into this fascinating and in so
many ways tragic time in history.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2)
How many research books do you have?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Too
many to count! From my desk I can see three full sized book shelves crammed
full, plus some hidden away in my desk cabinets, and a few more stacks and rows
bookended on various tables. Pretty soon every available surface of my tiny
house is going to be filled with books. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">3)
If you could pick anywhere to live for a year, where would it be? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Somewhere
on the east coast central to all the locations I want to travel to for research—by
car, I’m not a fan of the rigmarole that is flying these days—but it would have
to be in the mountains. I doubt I could bear being away from them that long.
West Virginia would suit. So would a year. It would take that long to visit all
the places I want to see.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">4)
Which book that you didn't write is one that you wish you had?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Not
sure I’ve ever considered that before. After much deliberation I’m torn between
two. Either <i>The Summer of the Danes</i>,
by Ellis Peters, or <i>To Say Nothing of the
Dog, or How We Found The Bishop’s Bird Stump at Last</i>, by Connie Willis—and
I would like to have the narrating skill of Steven Crossley, who reads the
latter for Recorded Books and does a smashing job of it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">5)
Which woman in American history would you like to be for a month, and why?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Another
tough one, but I’d choose an Oneida woman, someone like Two Kettles Together,
the wife of Honyery Doxtader (also Oneida), who went into battle with her
husband and did many other daring feats. But not for that reason. I’d like to
better understand the world view of an 18<sup>th</sup> century Oneida woman
facing all the changes that Two Kettles Together faced, and the convictions she
held, and the choices she made. She is, by the way, a minor character readers
will meet next spring (2016) in <i>A Flight
of Arrows</i>, the sequel to <i>The Wood’s
Edge</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And if that isn't enough to woo your reader hearts, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">check out this give-away!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everything you see here, other than the basket, will be awarded to one commenter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Sadly, due to shipping costs, this give-away is for US residents only. I mean, come on, there are bags of flour!!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9uxN9JAA_l_KL4-cBZUYXrS7POujk21rg1_WDAOq6oI-pM-c3JKWTvb2-omYkqyfsm32tEQ-GrFhrt2IJ6cFkc8l2q-RdVjCFTJ6J2jqaXHqfaM1tQ-DwQBF2Oz4U0jD7PAQ473yRZY/s1600/BkInsprdGvwyBskt3+Lori+Benton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9uxN9JAA_l_KL4-cBZUYXrS7POujk21rg1_WDAOq6oI-pM-c3JKWTvb2-omYkqyfsm32tEQ-GrFhrt2IJ6cFkc8l2q-RdVjCFTJ6J2jqaXHqfaM1tQ-DwQBF2Oz4U0jD7PAQ473yRZY/s1600/BkInsprdGvwyBskt3+Lori+Benton.jpg" height="325" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Is that cool, or what??</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you, Lori, for the visit!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And peeps, you really MUST read The Wood's Edge!!</span></div>
Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262893369809401630.post-23683947476805834432015-04-07T10:07:00.000-03:002015-04-07T10:07:10.804-03:00I have a guest! Her name is Jill Kemerer! <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This hottie is none other than my friend Jill Kemerer. </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Her new book, Small-Town Bachelor releases today with Love Inspired.</span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-g0qShfWLHfaGU9d1czlOC-qfDZXacDMrCVGK5daSeF-JzSPlaAb_3yszHNUOdrCA0A3PTlE-iVvTRa9UuK0a-Dq3phGaWNdPfJuYP3OZHGJ0HKNc0AGDUa87SDVa2mxWhZI9_2UZLI/s1600/Small-Town-Bachelor-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-g0qShfWLHfaGU9d1czlOC-qfDZXacDMrCVGK5daSeF-JzSPlaAb_3yszHNUOdrCA0A3PTlE-iVvTRa9UuK0a-Dq3phGaWNdPfJuYP3OZHGJ0HKNc0AGDUa87SDVa2mxWhZI9_2UZLI/s1600/Small-Town-Bachelor-Cover.jpg" height="400" width="252" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> asked her to tell us about what she wished she'd known when she started writing. </span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Take it away Jill...</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What I Wish
I Knew When I Started Writing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
Jill Kemerer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve
been writing for over twenty years, but I didn’t get serious until my youngest
headed to Kindergarten. I laugh about it now, but at the time I believed I
would get a contract within a year. It seemed reasonable. What can I say? I was
clueless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Well,
I did get requests for my books, but after two form rejections from editors, I
knew I had to figure out what I was doing wrong. I studied writing craft books,
devoured blogs geared toward writers and worked hard to improve my manuscripts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
thing I wish I knew then?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ll never write a
perfect first draft.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
fact, I’ll never even write a nearly perfect first draft!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some
people revise as they go and won’t continue writing until the current section
is perfect. I am not that person. I try to get the draft down without
overanalyzing it. At the beginning of each writing session, I quickly review
the previous day’s work and tweak any obvious issues. After I’ve written the
first three chapters, I go back and read them, reworking them if necessary. I
do this again when I hit the midpoint. Then I don’t look back until I’m
finished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
first drafts don’t always feature enough sensory details. Parts are heavy on
backstory. Other parts are packed with too much dialogue. Some scenes need more
of a transition. You get the point! I always, always find plenty of things to
fix when I start revising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another
problem with my first draft? Repetition. These people smile, shrug and frown
more than mimes! I have a weird habit of repeating one word in a book. It’s
different each time. A few books ago, I used the word “perk” over and over.
Why? Why?? I will never know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
that’s the thing--a mediocre first draft isn’t a big deal. I can fix a draft. I
revise in layers, using a series of questions and techniques to improve the
story. When I’m confident the story is solid, I send it to my critique
partners. They are a tremendous help to me. </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://thoughtsthatmove.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wendy Paine Miller</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.jessicarpatch.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jessica R. Patch</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> always
find things that make no sense or could be improved! I’m grateful for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">What do you wish
you had known when you started writing?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thank
you so much, Jennifer, for hosting me today!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">About Jill</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> ~ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jill Kemerer
writes inspirational romance novels with love, humor and faith. A full time
writer and homemaker, she relies on coffee and chocolate to keep up with her
kids’ busy schedules. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Besides spoiling
her mini-dachshund, Jill adores magazines, M&M’s, fluffy animals and long
nature walks. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Jill loves connecting with readers, so please
visit her website <a href="http://www.jillkemerer.com/">www.jillkemerer.com</a>
and find her on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJillKemerer">Facebook</a>
and <a href="http://twitter.com/jillkemerer">Twitter</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Small-Town
Bachelor</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;">A Place to Call Home</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;">When Reed Hamilton arrives in Lake Endwell for a family
wedding, he expects to do his part as best man then head back to the big city.
But when a tornado postpones the wedding, the town is in shambles and Reed is
injured. Thankfully maid of honor Claire Sheffield offers him one of her
cottages to recuperate in. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white;">Dedicated to her family and her dream job at the zoo, Claire
is all about roots. She's this city slicker's opposite, yet as they help the
town rebuild, Reed is captivated by her stunning looks and caring ways. He
can't ask Claire to leave the life she loves for him, but he also can't imagine
ever leaving her behind…</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Interested
in buying <b><i>Small-Town Bachelor</i></b>? Click on </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://jillkemerer.com/books/small-town-bachelor/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">http://jillkemerer.com/books/small-town-bachelor/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> for
links to purchase!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Jennifer Majorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12696261499182486196noreply@blogger.com6