So do something!

"Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it."~ Anthony D'Angelo (1803-1882) Author & motivational speaker

Ouch! Anyone else feel the sting of that quote?

On my resume I should list 'ablity to whine' as a strong skill set. I can stretch out the word why to 25 syllables in a weak moment. Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhy do I have to ____________________________________?

Most of the complaints and wine filled angst are over things like why am I the only one who has to empty the dishwasher, hang up clothes, buy all the Christmas and Birthday gifts--you know the everyday stuff.

Then there are the ones that get top billing. I'm too embarrassed to even post those, let's just say they fall into the home remodeling department, body image and writing.

So for today I will choose to something in place of complaining and issuing my exhausting whine. I am cleaning off my front porch instead of looking at it all week wasting my energy complaining and asking Whhhhhhhy doesn't my husband sweep off the the debris made from the stacked wood? Unless...just writing those words cancels my goal of not whining?

Review of Beaded Hope by Cathy Liggett

Beaded Hope is the story of four women who embark on a mission trip to Africa. Each of them has reasons to be sorrowful, scared, or friendless. The trip is taken by all of them to escape from their current life for a few weeks. What they didn’t expect was to find themselves in a land so foreign from their own. They are introduced to Jaleela, who despite having aides has a dream God, one she feels will come true because of these women. Jaleela and the other women make beaded jewelry. She is confidant God will provide the means through these women for the jewelry to be sold in America.

The seemingly small amount of money the jewelry would sell for in America would be a significant amount to these women and their families. Many of these families are made up of only women and children. Many are sick with the aids virus. When the mothers die the children are taken in by other mothers or raised by an older sibling.

Through helping and observing the women in Africa they discover and admit to their own weaknesses and they find a stronger faith in God. Each of them returns home with a stronger faith and new friendships. The plight of these families while sad does not overwhelm the book. I wasn’t filled with despair after reading it as I often am when watching some television commercials for feed the children.

While the circumstances are equally as bad as the commercials there is a light of faith shinning through the stories of these women. While the story is fiction, the reality is real. There is a Beaded Hope organization and you can purchase jewelry to help these women and their families.

I liked this book. I was able to learn about another way of life so different from my own. When I finished reading it once again I am reminded of how much I have and take for granted. Bravo Cathy Liggett for getting my attention without making me weary.
*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

More God, less me

One of my writing friends asked me to pray that God would become more and she less. I thought, "She's not the only one that needs to ask for that, so do I."

I've been praying for both of us to shrink and let God grow.Some things I have discovered:
It's painful.
I don't like getting smaller.
I don't like having to say I'm wrong.
I don't like having the light shift from me to Him.

That's the negative.

The postive:
I'm learning I am not alone.
I'm happier when I don't have to be in control

I give more attention to others than before and it feels GOOD!

Sisters

For years...I prayed,


Please God give me a sister!


He didn't. 

At least not a biological sister. 

Recently I reconnected with wonderful friends from elementary school. We found each other on facebook.  Our email conversations keep our inbox full as we discover all the things we've missed in the last few decades. 

Why now? Why haven't we kept in touch all these years? We don't really know. For me, my dad left my sophomore year and I disassociated with almost everyone. I wished I had a sister to share with. I remember that. 


My eyes were open, but I might as well had been blind. Luanne, Brenda, Terry and Debbie were there all along if I had only reached out. Not bio sisters, but sisters given to me by God. I'm so glad to have found them again.


As I think about it the amount of sisters I have numbers so many I couldn't possibly buy them all birthday gifts! 


As I look through my large sister family I realize each one of these precious people have the ability to help me in many different ways through this life. 


I have my writing sisters, prayer sisters, I need cheering up sisters, help me shop sisters, how do I save money sisters, remember when sisters, and more. 


I'd love to name each one of them but this blog post would never end. 


Do you have a sister? OR do you have God Sisters? What makes them special?

Almond Bread?

I need to learn how to take better food pictures. This is Scrumptious Sandwich Bread from the Gluten-Free Almond Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam.

I had my doubts about this bread. It uses almond butter--if you aren't sure what that is (I wasn't!) it comes in a jar like peanut butter. I could only find the chunky almond butter.  I've been searching for a good GF bread for quite awhile because the only store bought bread I like is Udi's multigrain bread and until last week I couldn't get it easily where I live.

So it was experiment time. I put all the ingredients together and poured it into a special bread pan. Yes, I said pour because it looks like muffin batter. And Elana recommends a pan called the magic bread pan because it isn't quite as big as a regular bread pan. This pan gets the bread cooked all the way through.

The taste was good! The chunks of almonds in the almond butter were a plus. The bread was moist and not at all sweet. Most of the GF breads I've tried have a sweet taste that bothers me. Grilled cheese doesn't work on sweet bread.

I've made this three times and even though I can now get Udi's locally I will continue to make it once a month for a different kind of sandwich adventure.

Winter into Spring

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show. ~Andrew Wyeth

Writing is like this for me. I have a plot, some characters just the bones of the story. Just the bones are they good bones or not? Only when spring arrives or rather the writing of the book will I know if what is staring at me will blossom into a beautiful bit of prose. OR is it just a weedy tree?

Review of Swinging on a Star by Janice Thompson

I used to grab a book and read it fast, like eating a bag of m&m’s the more in my mouth the better. Lately, I’ve been taking my time to enjoy each word and sentence that these Christian authors are giving me to enjoy. I know how long it takes to write a book and to read it as fast as I can so I can open another one just doesn’t seem fair.
This book was an excellent bag of m&m’s! The setting is Galveston, Texas. I can see and feel the gray sand there, the old homes that are still standing after Hurricane Katrina. I can smell the salty water on the pages.
This is book two in the Weddings by Bella series. The first was Fools Rush In. If you haven’t read it, go get it.
Swinging on a Star continues Bella’s story, but you need not read Fools Rush In to enjoy this story, but you’ll want to go back and get it if you haven’t read it.
Bella has the best job ever. She’s a wedding planner, not just a wedding planner as in all white dresses and wedding cake toppers. She does theme weddings. The wedding she’s planning in Swinging on Star is one of her biggest adventures. It’s a Renaissance-themed wedding and what could be better than having a real heart-throb Hollywood celebrity as the best man? He’s available and so is Bella, or is she? D.J. is her boyfriend, but they aren’t engaged yet. Since trouble? Maybe, I’m not telling.
Bella has this glorious event all perfectly planned, except there are a few problems that crop up. One of them is Aunt Rosa is to be featured on the Food Network Channel the day of the wedding rehearsal. The Hollywood Hunk is staying with Bella’s family and Bella must keep him out of sight of those cameras.
Bella does her best to keep him secret, but a secret that good often gets discovered.
Read this book and find out how Bella handles all of this drama and excitement. It’s a good book, don’t read it in one sitting, take your time and enjoy it because the next one isn’t available yet. Thompson is still working on the next book!