6 Random Things

The Rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about you in your blog post.

4. Tag six people in your post.

5. Let each person know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Okay, here goes:

#1) I have fed a camel with my bare hands.


















#2) I prefer my toenails polished, usually a burgundy-ish shade. Right now they're covered with Cherry Crush.






#3) My favorite Starbucks drink is a tall, sugar-free caramel, decaf iced latte. Most baristas don't even blink an eye, let alone ask me to repeat all that. How do they do that?










#4) I have a new double rocking chair for the front porch. Doug bought it for me as a surprise and brought it home on the top of the car like the Clampetts. Do we live in Tennessee or what? LOL


















#5) I prefer live theater to movies, though I enjoy both. Especially if they have Harrison Ford in them!

















#6) I don't buy anything with high fructose corn syrup in it. It's very unhealthful! That goes for ketchup, most relish, most bread, BBQ sauce, and a lot of salad dressings.

Sweet Caroline

Caroline Sweeney only wants to get away from her small town in Beaufort, North Carolina. She has the job opportunity of a lifetime in Barcelona, Spain—all she has to do is sell the Frogmore Café, whose former proprietor has passed away. Jones Q. McDermott has left his entire business to her. If she refuses, the café will be closed down and sold at an auction. The only way to keep the town’s most beloved monument open is to hold onto it until the will goes through probate. She must balance a café in financial danger, her social life, and keep a thrilling job opportunity on the hook. If only she can hang in there long enough to find the right buyers. Down home cooking isn’t as simple as it used to be.

As if life wasn’t complicated enough, her old love Mitch O’Neal is back in town after making the big time in Nashville. Now a chart-topping country singer, he looks for the small town life in Beaufort again. That’s only the beginning of chaos. Amidst all the crazy plumbing and electric problems, family quarrels, and a hurricane, Caroline manages to keep her wits and the Bubba’s buttery biscuits baking. But how long can she keep that up?

Rachel Hauck tells such an engrossing, true to life story with all the Southern charm and wit one would expect in a chick lit novel. Caroline is an endearing character from page one—we are captivated by her dilemma—a sense of obligation and the desire for something big and exciting in her life. Hauck employs the present-tense, first person point of view typical in the genre, with seemingly little effort. As readers we are actually there with Caroline, watching her every move and hearing her every thought.

With each hilarious catastrophe, God softens her do-the-right-thing heart into a heart that trusts Him every step of the way. As He woos her to Himself, we are reminded that He goes to great lengths to draw each of us closer to Him.

This is by far the best chick lit I've read in a long, long time. You can buy it here.

With Hope

On a day when some incredible, dear people that we've loved and admired for decades are saying goodbye to their baby, I'm holding mine a little closer. She was hit by a car in their family's driveway. As you can see from this video, Maria was a well-loved, beautiful little girl. How precious life is! And how fast it can turn on a dime...



This song has brought me much comfort along the years--I hope the words will somehow bring them comfort as well. Here are the lyrics:

This is not at all how
We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you've gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but ...

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
(There's a place by God's grace)
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again

And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God's plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father's smile and say well done
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
'Cause now you're home
And now you're free, and ...

We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so ...

So we can cry with hope
And say goodbye with hope

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

Treasure Chest

For fun, here's a meme that goes along with A Whisper of Freedom.

1. List three things you would do with a chest full of gold (assuming you got to keep it!)

In no particular order:

1) Fly my friends out from Oregon to see me in Nashville. I miss ‘em! Indulge said friends in a weekend at the Opryland Hotel, including a trip to the spa and one of the more upscale restaurants.

2) Buy my hubby the most amazing piano he’s ever seen. (Don’t ask me what that is, I can tell you the name Steinway and that’s about all I know). I’d probably have to buy a bigger house with a conservatory, though ;-)

3) Go with my girls on an amazing, exotic vacation where we could enjoy sunshine, lots of tropical fruit, and beaches. (And no school!)

Sounds a bit selfish, eh? Well, those are only three—I could make a list a mile long, and not all of them so self-indulgent ;-)

2. List three charities/missions/organizations you support (and why).

Gospel for Asia—they educate and fund local missionaries instead of supporting foreign missions. Some of them risk losing family, all ties to their village, and even their lives to share the gospel. Local missionaries already know the language, the culture, and can break through the barriers much better than Americans could, even if the governments would let them travel into their countries.

World Vision—to help a child become an educated, healthy, productive member of society where she might not otherwise get the chance. Our sponsored child is in India and she’s a couple years younger than Katie. She’s very cute and sends us really good artwork.

Voice of the Martyrs—because they help educate people about the atrocities waged on other Christians around the world. Their governments don’t want this information leaked, but Christians are called to pray for the suffering and persecuted church. Most Americans today either have no clue this is happening or adamantly deny it.

3. List three ways you have volunteered your time/services.

1) 2-3 year olds Sunday School teacher

2) AWANA teacher

3) CAP (Coastal Act Productions, a youth theater that helps kids and teens learn theatre arts)

4. List three things you keep "hidden" when company comes over.

1) dirty clothes

2) cat box

3) my desk

5. List the last three things you've lost.

1) My mind

2) My cell phone

3) My keys

6. List the last three things you've found.

My keys, my cell phone, and my stapler

I know my fellow writer friends will want to help Tricia out, so I tag:

Tammy

Ernie

Let me know when you've posted yours, guys, so I can read it. Anyone else who wants to, feel free to join in!

A Whisper of Freedom

This is Tricia Goyer, a well-loved author. I love her characterizations and her plots always pull me right into WWII or the Spanish Civil War.

About Tricia: Tricia Goyer is the author of twelve books including From Dust and Ashes, My Life UnScripted, and the children's book, 10 Minutes to Showtime. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like Today's Christian Woman and Focus on the Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in the mountains of Montana.

This is the final book in her Spanish Civil War series. What a finish!


Here's the press release:

About the book: Battles heat up…not only those being waged by the soldiers on both sides fighting for Spain, but in the hearts and minds of the men and women who must sacrifice more than their dreams to save the lives of their loved ones.

In this meticulously researched novel, brave and idealistic Sophie, Philip, Jose, and Deion realize their only hope for freedom is escaping Spain's borders.

By continuing the story of this band of volunteers during the Spanish Civil War, A Whisper of Freedom proves that there are whispers of hope and liberty that resonate through even the darkest night.

School Daze

The girls have taken on homeschooling with gusto, and I'm proud of them. They make their goals every morning, finish them, do their chores, and enjoy most of the afternoons free. (Rillian sometimes like to help (as an advisor) with the dishes, as you can see in this pic.




We saw CeCe Winans, Mandisa, Point of Grace (pictured here), Barlow Girl, and some others in a tribute concert. One of the great things about living in Nashville is that there is no end of entertainment. I'm getting this Mom of teens thing down, I think. Rule #1) Parents are not allowed in the mosh pit. It's embarrassing. At first I thought this rule was way unfair, but then I pictured myself in their shoes and now see their point of view.
I won't bore you with the rest of the rules, especially since there's no more room beside the picture.

We decided not to bring the girls' bunk beds with us, since they're older now. Here they are with their new beds. You can't see Mariah's bookcase headboard, since it's covered with pillows.













Here's another picture of them, enjoying an evening. They found a robin nesting on our front porch and started calling her Susan. I can hardly wait for the eggs to hatch, but she won't sit still long enough for me to get a decent picture of her. I'll try again later.