The Sunshine Award? Who ? ME?

My friend Gwendolynn Gage, you can meet her  here at www.gwendolyngage.blogspot.com, nominated me for The Sunshine Award.

Which I thought was lovely!!

(Some of you are thinking...Jennifer? You mixed her with "sunshine?" WHAT ever!)

I think Gwen is very smart, so there. (Sticks tongue out at brother.)

The Rules Are:

1) Answer the eight questions asked by the person who gave you the award.

2) Nominate eight new people, and no tag-backs.

3) Ask eight new questions, or re-use the ones you were asked, for your nominees to answer.

Here are Gwen's questions...

1)What is your favourite TV show?

Hmmm, Survivor is fun, you know for the sociological aspects...and watching the prissy girls fall apart with no hope of staying clean. And Phineas and Ferb. Seriously, it is FUNNY!! And Downton Abbey.

2)Have you ever read a book on a friend's recommendation and if so, what was it and did you like it?

Hmmm, I've picked up a lot of recommendations from all kinds of this past year. But I'll narrow it down to the last 3 months. Since October, I've read Joanne Bischof (LOVED her debut novel Be Still My Soul!!), Tamera Alexander, Bonnie Grove and some un-published stuff . And frankly, the un-pubbed stuff was excellent. 

3) Favourite Bible verse? Isaiah 40: 28-31

 Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

4) What is your least favourite food?

Hmmm. Moose, or venison. HURL. I just hate the taste.

5) What is your favourite professional sports team?

::Crickets::

6)What is your favourite part about blogging?

Meeting new people and making friends. Holy smokes, I have met some AMAZING people through author blogs. Wow. Yup. Meeting new friends.

7) Favourite Christmas song? Or any song?

O Holy Night, The Hallelujah Chorus. I mean, WHOA!  I LOVE singing that!!

Regular song? I have to pick ONE? Get real!!

Some of the most popular ones on my ipod are:

Suo Gan-Susan Bullock

Part of Me-Katy Perry

La Bamba-Los Lobos

Promontory-Last of the Mohican Soundtrack

I have varied tastes...

8) Five most favourite books?

Oh come ON!!

Other than the Bible...

Here's 5 of my top 50.

Crossfire-Jeanette Windle 

Danger in the Shadows-Dee Henderson

The Hiding Place-Corrie ten Boom

Be Still My Soul-Joanne Bischof

Unbroken-Laura Hillenbrand

My 8 nominees??

Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart

Becky Hood Doughty

Lindsay Harrel

Kiersti Plog

P.J.Casselman

Sarah Loudin Thomas

Christine Dorman

Anne Reed Love/Jaime Wright. Yes, I can count...

Only do this if you feel like it, but it was fun!

Thanks Gwen!!

Kiersti Plog's Blog Hop!!

 A while back on the fabulous Books and Such blog www.booksandsuch.biz, I met a nice, well behaved lady named Kiersti Plog. You can find her blog at www.kierstiplog.com. Well, the thing is, Kiersti's writing also features the Navajo. Go check 'Pioneer Diaries' and read up on Kiersti's adventures.
Kiersti invited me to join a blog hop and share about my writing. I was tickled pink to be invited and excited to share about my work. So, here are Kiersti's questions, and my long winded answers about my first novel, 'The Secret Keepers'.

 What is the working title of your book?

The working title is ‘The Secret Keepers’, but the alternate title is ‘An Night in the Darkness’ because there’s already a CBA novel out called ‘The Secret Keeper’.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The Pecos River in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, the sight of Bosque Redondo.

I was doing some research on New Mexico and came across an article about The Long Walk of the Navajo. I was astounded that this event actually happened, especially to a tribe of sheep herders and farmers. The US Army, led by Kit Carson, waged war on people who basically lived on land that the white settlers wanted. Roughly 9500 Navajo were forced to surrender in 1864 and were marched across the desert to a place called ‘Bosque Redondo’ in New Mexico. Some people walked 450 miles, thousands died between 1864 and June 1868 when the people were taken home. Also, the constraints faced by women who had to hide abuse and carry on because there were little or no resources for them if they left abusive marriages.

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical romance.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’d have Julianne Moore play Sarah Monroe, and Jay Tavare play Natanii/Ta-gaid Hutchinson.

Ms Moore has a long career playing tough, intelligent woman and could definitely carry Sarah Monroe's secrets onto the screen.

Mr Tavare played Prairie Fire in 'Into the West' and would do a great job as a man who has suffered massive heartache, but is obediently waiting on God's will.   

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

In 19th century Arizona Territory, an exiled Navajo widower and the battered wife of a Boston millionaire must forge a path away from their broken lives and toward each other, or lose their last chance and love and healing.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Oh, I hope I can find an agent willing to take on the story!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Ummmm, I’d say six months, but the revisions have been another 6 months. Now I’m looking at a re-write, so…150 years?

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Along with the titles that you suggested in your blog, Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz and Under a Desert Sky by DiAnn Mills, I’d add Walks Alone by Sandi Rog. But as for comparison, there don’t seem to be many ‘battered wealthy white woman falls for Native American widower who was raised by British pioneers in remote Northern Arizona’ books out there.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

One of those ‘what ‘if’ moments- I guess the story just kind of popped into my brain. What if some of the clans who refused to surrender, and there were quite a few who escaped the Army, and found safety far from home, only to be met by a worse fate? What if a young Navajo man had nothing and no one, but was given sanctuary by a Christian family who refused to be constrained by his color or the fact that he was the enemy.

Also, spending time at the location of the prison camp near Fort Sumner, New Mexico literally made my heart break. Seeing the place, standing where General Sherman and the Navajo leaders signed the treaty in 1868 was an astounding honor. Looking out over the land surrounding Bosque Redondo, or Hweeldi, as the Navajo call it, was overwhelming.

This past summer I met a man who led a survivor of Bosque Redondo to the Lord. It was like touching history when we held hands and prayed.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Our heroine, Sarah, has been badly treated by her husband and then while in an asylum, therefore has NO trust in men. Tag promised his late wife that he will stay alive and wait for “the broken one”, someone who would need him. When he meets Sarah, who is the sister-in-law of his adopted brother, Tag knows right away that Sarah is ‘the broken one’. They both have to deal with long dormant feelings that neither of them has a clue how to process. Which is always fun to read!

Thanks Kiersti for the spot on the blog hop!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next on TFTR???

Some SUPER cool new stuff and maybe even a VLOG! 

You can all dance now!

I'm SO glad to be back, I missed hanging out here.
I swear, 30 seconds after Christmas was over, BAM!! I was SICK, people, S-I-C-K!!

Fever, chills, coughing, sleeping for days on end kind of SICK.

If my germs were a movie character, they'd have been this guy.

But now that I'm feeling a bit better, those germs are more like this guy. 

And I'm the dinosaur.

Soooooooo, what's next for Jennifer? Well, revisions, revisions, and hey, I know?? 

Revisions!!

And this weekend I get to go to ANOTHER hockey tournament, only this time the town is this>.< big.

Load the tablet with some books and off we go!

WEE.

HA.

NOT. 

Eating in restaurants and hotel breakfast buffets. Blech.

I'll be living on Diet Coke, unless we go somewhere that serves, GASP, Diet Pepsi.

~

The upside? Quality time with our Little Dude. 

Must sleeeeeeeeep...

I've had the flu since December 30...or maybe the 29th. It's January 7th, and I'm still in fairly lousy shape.
When I can, I'll get this baby together...

ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Facebook got hacked AGAIN.
And AGAIN.
AND AGAIN!!

So I deactivated it.
I had joined in 2007.
That's SIX YEARS worth of contacts and some really REALLY important messages.


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's put it in perspective, shall we?

God is good.
I have a home.

Be Still My...altitude sickness!! My date with Joanne Bischof.

I left for Bolivia on October the 17, which was also my parent's anniversary. 
I had waited two long years to go back to the Andes and my beloved, beautiful Quechua people.

But one of the very serious downsides to being up at altitudes of 11,000 to 15,500 feet is a well known malady known as "altitude sickness".

Guess who got it and got shut down for a few days?

Yup. Me. 
I was in a wicked brain fog, combined with chest pain and was as weak as could be.

I'd brought a few books to read on the trip, but usually when we're up in the villages, there is NO time to read.
But, when you're on forced bed rest at the very nice, but very VERY basic hostel, there is ample time to catch up on your reading. 
So what did I pull out of my suitcase???

Joanne Bischof's debut novel. 

I'll skip the high praise and platitudes that everyone who's read this book is heaping on Joanne, and simply tell you this.

I read this book in two shots. 

Why two? Because the altitude sickness made me so tired, I fell asleep with the book in my hand.

Sorry, Joanne, but the brain was done.

I loved the way Joanne wove the story together, and didn't make the hero perfect.  I loved the colour she infused in her story world and I loved that the heroine ACHED, but still kept going.

This book is worth every penny!!

I had a chance to ask Joanne a few questions, so here is our discussion and please refrain from your cheering until we're done...I'm used to the screaming crowds, but Joanne is a woman of refinement and elegance and would appreciate polite applause and at least one well placed curtsy.

• 1) When and why did you decide to become a writer?
• 18:42
  

  
  

  I always had my nose in a book and my head in the clouds. Growing up, I was 1 part Jo March, 1 part Beatrix Potter and 1 part Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was always writing, drawing, and living with my imagination in the past. Being a writer was always my normal. I can never remember ever wanting to be anything else. I am SO thankful that God made that dream come true!

  
  

  2) Why Appalachian stories? Do you have a fondness for that area, of did the story dictate the location?

  
  

  As the idea for Be Still My Soul took seed, it unfolded to be a love story between two mismatched people—a marriage between a shy, innocent girl with a strong faith, and a cocky, confident bluegrass musician who hasn’t given God much thought. From the first moment, I knew the perfect home for this story was in Appalachia. Living in the mountains has cultivated a deep love of mountain life. Everything about it just says "home" to me and I think that's why it's become a part of my writing as well.

  
  3) Is there a bit of you in Lonnie? And if so, what?

  
  

   I'd say Lonnie and I have a good deal in common. Most of all would be a shyness that I'm learning to outgrow and over the course of the story, she does too. Second is being married to a man who wasn't a follower of the Lord. Readers will witness Gideon change and grow throughout Be Still My Soul, and in my own life, I am so incredibly grateful and thankful that a wonderful change has happened with my husband. About a year and a half ago, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and there has been much rejoicing in our home ever since!

  
  

  
  

  
  4) Where did the names come from?

  
  

  For historical fiction, I always like to find names that were around during a particular time. For this series, I searched for names that appeared in the Appalachian region, like Elsie and Lonnie. With the men, Jebediah and Gideon, it just felt natural for folks to call them Jeb and Gid and it's always fun when readers use those nicknames as well. Whenever a reader writes me to tell me how the story effected them or what the characters meant to them, it truly touches my heart. It's been such a blessing!

  
  5) Do you know any fiddlers, and can they play the Last of the Mohican's theme?

  
  

  Great song and I know some fiddlers 

  
  

  
  6) Can they play it over the phone for me?

  
  

  Haha!

  
  

  
  7) Oops, wandering...sorry...what is next for you as a writer? Will there be a Book Three in this series, or will you go in a different direction?

  
  

  There will be a book 3! I've turned the manuscript into my editor, gotten the green light on a title and am eagerly anticipating the cover art! I'm as excited about this story as the first two. I really hope readers enjoy the final stage in Lonnie and Gideon's journey.

  
  

  8)Is Be Still My Soul your first novel, or is that hiding somewhere in your house?

  
  

   I have manuscripts in my house that will never see the light of day and I'm so glad! Glad for that time of being able to just write as part of the learning process, even though the results weren't very good.

  
  

  
  9) What advice would you give newbs ...sorry, pre-published authors...who are just starting down Publication Road? 

  
  

  There are so many key elements to developing the craft of writing. Joining critique groups, going to conferences, studying craft books and reading great fiction are all great ways to hone those writing skills.

  And above all else, enjoy the journey. I've been on this road for years and I know many others have as well. I've learned more during this process than I ever expected. At times it was easy to get discouraged and just when I felt maybe nothing was going to ever happen, God carried me through a valuable lesson because His timing is perfect.

  
  

  
  10) And our last question, Ms Bischof, have you ever wanted to be a natural redhead?

  
  

   Yes! You know my secret shame. I would LOVE to have naturally red hair! I died it red once, and it didn't turn out to well. I haven't colored it since and in fact, actually cut my own hair. That's code for "don't look to closely" 

  
  

  
  

  Thank you SO much, Joanne! 

  I'm looking forward to the next book, 

  Though My Heart Is Torn, when we join Lonnie and Gideon as their story continues.

  
  

  If you want to get to know Joanne better, visit her at www.joannebischof.com.

  
  

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  

  Well folks, that is IT for TFTR until after Christmas.

  Have a wonder filled, joyous, Christ centered Christmas. I'll see you back here before New Year's when I'll share my thoughts and goals for 2013. 

Meet Bonnie Grove!!

Hey Redheads, I want to introduce you to a woman who has a special place in my heart, Bonnie Grove.

I love her hat, I wonder why she's wearing it, hmm...Today is the last day of her blog hop, and I am quite privileged to have Bonnie land here from all that hopping.

Bonnie, just like moi, is a Canadian and so I'm already thinking that at least one person will know what I mean when I say "So, do you want a double double?" 

A few weeks ago, I saw on the blog, www.novelmatters.com, that Bonnie's book "Talking to the Dead" was free on Amazon. So I skipped over to Amazon and downloaded it.

I put it on my tablet and tried to figure out when to read it. Late one Saturday afternoon, when the house was half empty, I "cracked open" the book...and closed it exactly 5 1/2 hours later. 

Talk about riveting!!!

So, here's a blurb about TTTD:

An Interview with Bonnie Grove, Author of Talking to the Dead

About Talking to the Dead

Twenty-something Kate Davis can’t seem to get this grieving widow thing right. She’s supposed to put on a brave face and get on with her life, right? Instead she’s camped out on her living room floor, unwashed, unkempt, and unable to sleep—because her husband Kevin keeps talking to her.

            Is she losing her mind?                  

            Kate’s attempts to find the source of the voice she hears are both humorous and humiliating, as she turns first to an “eclectically spiritual” counselor, then a shrink with a bad toupee, an exorcist, and finally group therapy. There she meets Jack, the warmhearted, unconventional pastor of a ramshackle church, and at last the voice subsides. But when she stumbles upon a secret Kevin was keeping, Kate’s fragile hold on the present threatens to implode under the weight of the past…and Kevin begins to shout.

            Will the voice ever stop? Kate must confront her grief to find the grace to go on, in this tender, quirky novel about embracing life.

Bonnie, tell us a little about your main character.

            Kate Davis is having the ultimate bad day, and is living out some intensely strange circumstances. My goal was to create a character that reflects real women – messing up, but stronger than she knows. Kate is a fighter deep down in her soul—she just doesn’t know it yet.

            She has her own, unique way of navigating through the world. It isn’t an easy way—but it is her way and she owns it. To me, that’s heroic. To bear tremendous loss and heartache, yet remain true to herself to the end.

Please tell us about yourself.

            I’m a happy Canadian. I’m married to a guy I love, and we have two children who are so well behaved I have to ask for I.D. when they come home from school each day. I just can’t believe they are mine. Our house is usually a mess, and one summer we lost our dog (Poppy the Pomeranian) twice in one day. We found her both times, she’s fine and forgave us.

            I think in stories, and have a hard time understanding the world without them. I have recently rediscovered how much I love poetry and am thumbing my nose at all those English teachers who told me I didn’t really understand what the poem meant.

            I’ve often thought about getting out of the publishing gig and just going to work for Taco Bell, but I’m too far gone, so write I must.

Do you put yourself into your books/characters?

            Wow, I’d love to say no. That I just make it all up based on something I saw on the bus one day.

            But.

            I recently wrote a list of images and ideas that reoccur in each of my novels. It was a long list that included things like forests, narrow paths, isolation, and mental illness. Cheerful, eh?

            At this point, I can’t pretend I’m not working out my issues via story. The plot in Talking to the Dead is fiction, and I’m not Kate Davis, but if there is such a thing as an emotional biography, I think that is what I write.

            The other item found in each of my novels? Humour. The day we can’t have a laugh in the middle of it all is the day we’ve just given up.

How did you come up with the story for Talking to the Dead?

            I’d love to say I was so savvy I plotted and wrote the novel in a few weeks—like those genius writers I hear so much about—but the truth is, I had a question nagging me, and I started writing out that question in story form.

            I used to work with at risk families (families that experience a host of social and economic disadvantages) and it dawned on me that I couldn’t judge what a person was trying to accomplish simply by watching their behavior. That, often, what I thought they were doing and what it was they were actually trying to do were very different things. In other words, that behavior doesn’t always match up with intention. So the question was, if behavior isn’t an indication of intention, then what is the best way to truly understand a person?

            Did I answer the question? Probably not, but this story is an attempt to explore that question. I’d love to hear from readers and have them tell me if I hit on any sort of answer.

What are you working on now?

            I’ve recently completed a novel entitled The Season In Between that is now in my agent’s hands. It’s the story of an East Coast island, a dying fishing community that is confronted with the lies of their past.

            I’ve started work on another novel, the working title is Trillium, about a woman who stumbles upon a magical town, and must fight to save it.

Where are people getting Talking to the Dead?

            Until December 17^th, you can download the e-book version of Talking to the Dead for only $2.99!

Kindle

Nook

Sony e-reader

CBD

            If you’re a fan, like I am, of books made out of paper, you can always order the paperback of Talking to the Dead at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com , or your favorite brick and mortar bookshop.

            Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you today! 

I HIGHLY recommend you skip over to Amazon and download TTTD for 2.99,

 because today is the last day you can get such a good deal.

Have fun and happy reading, and thank you Bonnie, for joining us today!

Some days, you just need to find a tree, sit down and rest.

Lyrics by Twyla Paris, one of my

 all time favourite songs.

"The warrior is a child"

Lately I've been winning battles left

 and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears
And they don't know that I go running

 home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child
Unafraid because His armor is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
Never face retreat
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet
And they don't know that I go running

 home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child
And they don't know that I go running

 home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and look up for a smile
'Cause deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child

El Grande Announcement!!

Drum roll please..........

I have TWO, that's right, T-W-O fabulous guests coming for a visit to TFTR!!

On December 17th, Tales from the Redhead will host Bonnie Grove for her blog hop, featuring her awesome book "Talking To The Dead". 
And my fellow Redheads, I read this book in ONE SHOT! 5 hours of page turning, sleep ignoring, 'what happens next' ing awesomeness!! 
Bonnie knows her stuff and takes you on a heart breaking roller coaster ride and leaves you grinning and satisfied at the end. 

Talking to the Dead is available as an e-book for a MERE 2.99 on Amazon.





Here's a bit about Bonnie...

Bonnie Grove started writing when, as a teenager, her parents bought a typewriter (yes, during the age of dinosaurs). She clacked out a terrible romance novel filled with typos and bad grammar that her mom loved, and she's been turning out improving prose ever since.

Her non-fiction, Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You, came out of her experience working with families in crisis. She believes people have the knowledge and ability to make changes in their life without being told what to do or how to do it. And, oddly enough, has managed to write a book that helps people do just that.

Her novel, Talking to the Dead, came out of that crazy place inside her head that has more questions then answers. Questions about grief, love, sex, God, therapy, and how laughter can make everything seem okay--even if just for a moment or two. It has won a few awards, and has been internationally published in languages she doesn't speak.

Bonnie has completed several novels since Talking to the Dead, and is currently working her butt off to ensure they see they make their way into your hands.

Bonnie is married to a cute guy named Steve, they have two children, and they make their home in Saskatchewan.

Yes, she's Canadian!!!!!

~

And then on December 20th, I'll be joined by Joanne Bischof , who wrote the lyrical, sweeping, tear producing (I was alone, all right!!)Appalachian romance, Be Still My Soul.
Which I read in two shots, not because I was sick or anything (I was) and not because I fell asleep (I did).

Here's a bit about Joanne:

Married to her first sweetheart, Joanne lives in the mountains of Southern California where she keeps busy making messes with their home schooled children. When she’s not weaving Appalachian romance, she’s blogging about faith, writing, and the adventures of country living that bring her stories to life.

What is Heartfelt Fiction?

From moments that are joyous to moments that are bittersweet and even in the midst of a broken heart, with paper and ink as my medium, I write to illustrate love—the gift that was given to us by the One who loves the most.

What is this love?

I have rejoiced through countless blessings–my amazing children, a husband that I adore, and the privilege to write every day.

Like so many others, I have experienced the full spectrum. I know what it’s like to be so completely broken, I didn’t know if the sun would truly rise the next morning. But I felt God move in a miraculous way. A way that forced me to leap into His waiting arms. A place where safety and peace reign.

I’ve experienced the abundant mercy of Christ when he reached down, picked me up, and held me until the tears subsided. I’ve encountered the promise that out of brokenness springs new life. And in that new life, I discovered the overwhelming urge to rejoice and praise the God who saves.

The God who was, who is, and who is to come.

We all have ways of bringing offerings to His feet. Words and the telling of story are one of those gifts that I lay down. It is my constant prayer that they honor and please Him. It’s my desire to write about characters who have nowhere else to go but up. About characters desperate for God’s strength, mercy, and forgiveness.

I love her, even if she doesn't know a single word of "Oh Canada".

Our next blog will have interviews and insights with Bonnie and Joanne , and their honest answers to my question "Are you sad that you aren't a natural redhead?"

No, I didn't land an agent, but it's STILL big news!!

Hi kids, I am going to taunt you all with an announcement, but NOT today!

You are going to have to put up with a few teasers until Monday, when I annouce The Big News.

Until then, watch here and my Facebook page for what's going on.

But no, it isn't a recipe.

I'm not pregnant.

I'm not moving to Santa Fe or Phoenix, or even, ohhhh wouldn't it be great, Flagstaff!!

Come back on Monday and see.... 

When in doubt? Delete the volcano.

I was reading a blog earlier today and you know how sometimes something just doesn't look right?
So you look at the beautiful pictures of Victorian furniture and refined fanciness at its finest?
And you think...huh? What is wrong with this picture?
And you keep looking.
And looking.
And there it is!
In amongst the photos of fine wood mantels, and florally drapery with cabbage roses and whatnot, was a rather hideous cartoon of what?
A flower?
No.
A bird?
No.
Perhaps a small island with an erupting volcano.
And a cat.
Exactly!
How perfect!
Nothing says swanky, elegant, 200 year old mansion and history popping from every corner like...a volcano and a cat.
Now, mind you, I like my kid's drawings when they were tots, just as much as the next Mom, but, umm, on a blog?
Was this blog discussing the effects of Krakatoa on Polynesian society?
No.
Vesuvius?
No.
After a while, I went back to the blog, and the volcano cartoon was gone. And it totally saved the look of the blogpost!!

So this brings me to my point.

He doesn't say "come into my presence once you've got it together and are worthy of me".
No, He says "come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you..."
What?
A good talking to?
A kick in the butt?
NO!!
He said "I will give you rest."


Don't cloud the beauty of an offering with something that doesn't belong.


Like the assumption that He isn't listening.
Or the thought that you should take back what you gave Him and help Him out.
Don't give Him something all pretty and fancy, and then stick a volcano in the middle.

If things are on the altar, and you are asking His blessing, delete the volcano and get the junk out of the way.

Spent like someone else's money.

The last few weeks have been LONG.
I got home from Bolivia on November 3rd. 4th. Whatever, I got home that weekend.
It took me 10 days to recover from the exhaustion and the tummy bug.
Then I began a re-finishing project for a charity auction that our son's hockey team is obligated to participate in and donate to. 
Was that a misplaced preposition?

What.Ev. Er.




So, on top of everything else, I worked on this:

It was a scratched up, dirt stained, ribbon mahogany, 120 year old Victorian mess.

It needed a huge amount of work, but not too huge. I've seen worse.

 Like last year's auction project. Two matching bird's eye maple pieces. That white glare on the top wasn't glare. It was water damage.

Kind of makes me want to cry.

But, after 45 hours (give or take...)

This is what was sold at this year's auction.

For 500$.

The team gets all the proceeds.

And what about last year's pieces?

See that hand carved scroll work?

That took a month.

They all right as well.

(950$)

So, now I can breathe. And clean my house. And get caught up on all the laundry...

And start scouting antique auctions for next year's project!!