Snow day

What do you do with over a foot of snow and leftover Valentine's Day candy?

I'm so glad you asked.

First you make a batch of snow ice cream...
(The batch was much larger than this before we all dug in :-)

Then you take the leftover miniature chocolate bars in their plastic, sealed wrappers...

Place the candy bar someplace warm (like on the top of the toaster oven that you've learned gets warm while in use), and once it's melted, tear off a small corner...

Squeeze gently over the snow ice cream...

And within seconds, you have a semi-hard chocolate shell/garnish over the ice cream.

It's deliciously decadent!

(No pets or small children were harmed in this experiment. Snowflakes on the other hand...it was a massacree!)  

☺☻☺☻

Book Review

I just found the sweetest review of my book. Makes me want to go hug the reviewer!

The Marshal Meets His Match Delights

To Whisper Her Name

If you haven't grabbed this book yet, you're missing out on a a wonderful read. I thoroughly enjoy it when a writer incorporates our rich history into a story, and Tamera Alexander makes this time period come alive. I loved learning about this plantation in Nashville. But even if you're not a big fan of history, I know you'll enjoy this story. The characters come alive and walk off the pages, and before too many chapters have passed, they feel like old friends.

Ridley Cooper is a hero to fall in love with. His gentle persistence in storming the defenses Olivia has surrounding her heart is beautiful to watch. And the secondary characters... I wanted to sit down in the kitchen for beaten biscuits with them, ride the horses with them, go to church with them... 

This is a book well worth your time and hard-earned dollars. But you don't have to take my word for it. Even my senior-in-college brother loved it. :-)
And to whet your appetite, here are some more videos from Belle Meade Plantation; the location for To Whisper Her Name.

El Rachum - God is Merciful

I don't know about you, but I don't like trouble. I don't like pain. I don't like uncertainty. Unfortunately, my opinion doesn't change the fact that "man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7) And around my house lately, the troubles keep piling up. I'll spare you the details, because as troubles go, I'm sure you have plenty of your own. However, these troubles have robbed me of peace and joy and twisted my stomach into knots of worry.

I find myself getting frustrated at God and saying things like "Father, we're trying to follow your leading and do what you would have us to do, so why are you allowing us to be knocked down again and again? Why aren't you providing for these things that keep hitting us?"

Yes. I'm whining. I sound like the Israelites I've been studying about in Exodus through Deuteronomy as God led them through the wilderness.

God proved over and over again that where He led them, He would provide what they needed. Whether it was water and food for over two million people and their animals, a path cleared through seas and rivers, walled cities destroyed without firing a shot, giants removed... God took care of them.

Yet each time another obstacle arrived, what did they do? They whined, they complained, they threatened to stone Moses and Aaron, they wished for their old life back. The old life of slavery and bondage to a sadistic ruler.

Instead of resting on the promises of God to provide, instead of resting on remembrances of past deliverance,  instead of saying, "Cool! Another opportunity for God to show Himself strong," they worked themselves into a lather of worry and sin.

(Sigh) Sounds like me lately. Instead of trusting, I've been fainting. Instead of hoping, I've been despairing.

But God is so good. Because those verses that shine a light on my own failings also shine The Light of hope into my dark despair.

"But if from thence though shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice, 
(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) 
he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them." 
Deuteronomy 4:29-31 (emphasis is mine)

For the LORD thy God is a merciful God.
Or in the Hebrew, El Rachum or El Rechem.
(According to one commentator, the word rechem means womb which suggests the compassion a mother has for her child.)

El Rachum - God is Merciful. He has compassion on me, His child. He hasn't changed. He's still the merciful God who provided for His children throughout all the Bible, throughout all of history. And he will provide for me, too.

It's so easy to focus on the storm around me. So easy to take my eyes off The One who can calm the storm with one word, and suddenly, I'm drowning in panic and worry. But God, with great compassion and mercy, stretches out His hand, lifts me up, and gently reminds me that He has never failed to care for my needs in the past.

When I refocus my eyes on Him, the storm doesn't seem so strong. The winds and waves are still raging, but the promises of God - He will not forsake me, He will not destroy me - whisper peace through the storm in my heart.

"Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. 
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. 
The LORD preserveth the simple; I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. 
For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling." Psalm 116:4-8

There it is again. El Rachum. God is merciful.

So, I'll keep holding His hand and strive to keep my eyes on Him. I choose to focus on His promises, His attributes, as He walks with me through the hard things. And I'll thank Him for His mercy. For not giving up on me when I wallow in sin of worry and self-pity. 

I will trust in the God who is merciful. He takes care of me.

I Can Trust Jesus - The Collingsworth Family

It's here!

After a year of waiting, 

It's here. 

On my local store shelf.

Awesome!

A Lasting Impression

Do you ever find a book that's been buried in your to-be-read-pile? One that should have been on the very top? One you're kicking yourself for not reading sooner? A whole lot sooner?

Me either.

:-)

Seriously. I did have one in the aforementioned pile that has been like finding buried treasure this week. Or as Claire would say..."Hidden treasure."

Meet Claire Laurent from A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander. She desperately wants to paint something of her own, but her father insists that she continue to copy great painters. Because that's what brings in the money. Especially when the buyers don't know that the paintings are copies. Forgeries.

That's right. Claire is a forger. And a good one. One who wants out. 
And because of a tragedy, she gets her wish. 
The chance to start over.
The chance to start over as the personal assistant to the richest woman in Nashville. Adelicia Acklen. A well-known lover and promoter of the arts. 
Is Claire just that lucky? Or is Someone else at work on her behalf?

Sutton Monroe is Mrs. Acklen's financial adviser and personal lawyer. He's intrigued, but not entirely comfortable, with his employer's newest hire. He has a feeling she's hiding something. And as her talent for painting comes to light, he begins to wonder if she is only using Mrs. Acklen to further her own ends. Keeping an eye on Miss Laurent while juggling several important cases isn't a hardship, but will their growing attraction survive when the truth about her past comes to light? 

I devoured this book. The twists and turns in the story line kept me turning the pages in spite of the clock on the wall telling me to go to bed or go to work. The rich detail and descriptions of the characters and setting made the book come alive. I felt like I was watching a movie. (And I might be half in love with Sutton. :-)

If you've never read any of Tamera's books, I highly recommend her writing. Her stories are so rich they're like fine chocolates. You can't eat just one.

And while you're waiting for your copy of A Lasting Impression to arrive, check out the pictures of Belmont Mansion, the setting for this story. Belmont Mansion

Happy Reading!

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month

AKA

NaNoWriMo

The goal:
50,000 words in thirty days.

It's supposed to be fast.
It's supposed to be messy.
It's supposed to leave you with a rough draft to finish up and polish later.

Because of my work schedule, I couldn't write everyday,
which left the bulk of the writing on the weekends.
But,
My family kindly let me sequester myself at my desk and write,
and on the last day of the month, I not only hit my goal of
50,000 words, I actually exceeded it with a total of...

Drum roll, please!

53,645.

And believe it or not,
although it's rough to look at right now,
I think it's going to be a lot of fun to polish.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.