Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight by Karen Scalf Linamen

I like instant change. In fact, friends who know me well can vouch that when I want change, I usually grab some scissors and start cutting on my hair. Reading Karen Scalf Linamen's book, Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight, makes more sense than grabbing the scissors. This little book should be read with a pen in hand so you can underline, jot notes to yourself, and smiley faces. Linamen knows how to encourage. Of course, we've all heard her common sense advice, probably more than once, but there's something about her voice, her tone, that makes us want to succeed this time.

This book is the perfect New Year's gift to yourself. Linamen's 52 ideas can work no matter what you want to change. Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight is easy to read, and a fun one.

Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight

Summary:

Every woman longs for change in some area of her life. Unfortunately, fear, fatigue, adversity, heartbreak, past failures, and even the choices of other people get in the way and make lasting change seem out of reach. Having been there herself, Karen Linamen knows exactly how to take readers from where they are to where they want to be.

In Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight, she examines 52 powerful actions readers can apply to any change they long to embrace. Her insights apply to career, finances, personal health and fitness, relationships, faith—in fact, every facet of a woman’s life. Blending laugh-out-loud humor and sage advice, Linamen shows readers the link between dissatisfaction and transformation, how to remodel habits, the little-known truth about procrastination, how to generate the energy they need to pursue the life they desire, how to benefit from options and resources they never dreamed they had, and much, much more!

Author Bio:
Karen Linamen is a popular speaker and the celebrated author of ten books for women, including Due to Rising Energy Costs the Light at the End of the Tunnel Has Been Turned Off and Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt. She has been featured on more than one hundred radio programs, including FamilyLife Today. Publishers Weekly describes her as “funny, forthright and unforgettable.” Linamen lives with her family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. more about Karen, please visit her website here.

Want to make a change in your life?
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Season's Greetings and Answered Prayers

Merry Christmas. Gifts are flying around our house like crazy. Every time I turn around there's another one under the tree.

One special gift we've already received is answered prayer. You might be a friend who has lifted Alvaro Garcia's name to the Lord. He was in the accident in Houston on that snowy day a few weeks ago. The doctors gave the family little hope, but we stormed the heavens on Alvaro's behalf and begged God to heal our friend.

Alvaro’s daughter called with the latest report. Though he isn't completely out of the coma, he is responding to voices. His wife asked him to squeeze her hand, to give her a sign that he could hear her voice. He did squeeze her hand and he opened his eyes for just a minute. The doctor says he has all the good signs of recovery but it will take a long time and lots of rehabilitation.

Can you imagine how Mrs. Garcia felt when Alvaro squeezed her hand, when she saw his eyes flutter open for that brief second? Hope had to fill her heart.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Please keep praying for a complete recovery.

"Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?'" John 11:40 NIV

May Jesus be the light of your Christmas celebration -- and when the holidays are over, may He be the light of your life.

See you after the holidays.

Blue Christmas Without ...

Christmas is such a busy time of year. People rush around choosing that special gift. Music blares on the radio and inside stores. Church parties and friendly get-togethers take place in every neighborhood. There's laughter everywhere.

Please remember those who find it hard to laugh this season because of some tragedy. For many this will be the first Christmas without a loved one. I can't imagine going through such a special holiday without my husband or children.

Our friend Alvaro Garcia is still unconscious. The doctor told his family that he may come out of the coma but it could take as long as a month. Every rib was broken in the accident and he sustained multiple injuries to his head. His family must be living at the hospital, and living in fear . They will certainly experience a different kind of Christmas this year. Let's pray they feel the Spirit of Jesus healing their beloved husband and father--Alvaro.

In our house, we believe God still performs miracles. I'm praying my friend Alvaro Garcia is the recipient of a healing miracle and that he and his family will be able to sing God's praises for mending his broken body and restoring him to perfect health.

Do you know someone who will be alone this Christmas? Someone who is living a tragedy, experiencing a horror, has a broken heart? Send a special note to let them know you're thinking of them. More importantly, lift their names to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Snow Day - Prayer Day

A 'blizzard' hit Beaumont, TX. Here's what it looked like from our apartment patio at 1:00 A.M. ->

Later during the morning it looked like this. Every one I know got up during the wee hours to see the snow. Nature's beauty brought laughter and fun . . . and tears too.

A friend of ours was in a horrible accident and had to be air-lifted to Hermann Hospital in Houston. Please pray for him. His name is Alvaro Garcia. Thanks.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

I'm almost in the Christmas spirit. Almost. Okay, okay, I really am ready for Christmas. This is the first time in a long time that we've been together to get the tree and decorate it. What fun! And when it's all over, we'll go back to our regularly scheduled program: writing, reading and reviewing, plotting and planning. Can't wait to see what BOOKS Santa has for me under this perfect tree. :)

As Time Goes By

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we spent some time in a nursing home with a loved one. A young man--about 20 years old--sat down at a nearby piano and struggled through a very bad rendition of As Time Goes By. I'm the only one who recognized the tune because it's a favorite.

I'm sure every day drags for the many people who live in that home. They sit in their wheel chairs or lay helplessly in their beds with nothing but memories to keep them company. Some don't even have their memories left.

I couldn't help but remember one of the lines in As Time Goes By:

"Moonlight and love songs never out of date, hearts full of passion, jealousy and hate ..."

I wonder if any of those old timers nurse regrets--remember things they should have done, could have done, meant to do. Or maybe something they shouldn't have done. Spending time with them, watching and listening has made me look back on this year.

2008 zoomed by for me. There are so many things I meant to do. I didn't accomplish much. Finished a novel, started a couple of new ones, was part of a conference committee, taught a class. I should have and could have done more.

Now it's time to start fresh, but in a sense, do it all over again. Life is repetition, isn't it?
Next year about this time, we'll be at this same point, won't we? Looking back.

Don't you love this video scene from Casablanca, and the music? It seems happy and sad at the same time.

As Time Goes By . . .

What's on your To Do List for 2009?