I'm going through a horrible withdrawal. I'm coming to the library to use the computer. My telephones are out of order which means my Internet is out too. I'm cut off from the world--at least that's the way it feels. No email, no surfing the 'net, no FaceBook... no prayer warriors that I keep in touch with. No Louisiana Saturday Night interviews. I have two scheduled and they're great so I hope to post them the next two Saturdays.
Keep Eric in your prayers. I sent a text to Angie this morning asking how they were doing and her reply was... "Hanging in." I didn't feel encouraged so I'm popping over to her blog right now to see what 'hanging in' really means.
I won't be back here on this blog until the AT&T guys show up at my house--no later than six 0'clock on Monday. Grrrrrrrr.
Hope you're having a good weekend. Have a blessed Sunday!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
CFBA Present Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth
Today, I'm thankful for so much: good friends and faithful prayer warriors. Thankful that God has touched Eric Dilmore and he's on the mend.
I'm thankful too that God gave me just the right title for my blog: Praise, Prayers and Observations. That title covers everything I have in my heart.
I'm also praising God for good writers of Christian Fiction. Last night I started reading Daisy Chain--I'm so behind on my reading!--and I was hooked from the get-go. Mary DeMuth has a wonderful writing style. A distinct voice. Every verb sings. Every sentence paints a picture.
Today is a hazy, overcast day. Perfect for curling up in a big overstuffed chair with Daisy Chain. I hope you'll get your own copy because I can promise you won't be disappointed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).
Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching The Tree Limbs
(nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).
Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis.In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom.
Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Daisy Chain, go HERE
Monday, February 23, 2009
Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...
Thank you, everyone, who have written to me privately to say you're praying for Eric. It has been a roller coaster ride, highs and lows, for this family. It has been amazing to see God at work. Unfortunately, there are some who can't see God's hand in things, some who see no hope. We should add those people to our prayers. Please go to Angie's blog and leave her an encouraging note. Don't just read her latest post, read all of them, and especially her prayer for Eric. I know she and Bob are completely, emotionally drained but God keeps refilling them with strength and courage.
I want the world to stop. That's the feeling I have. I just want everything to shut down so I can listen and feel and wait and cry and pray. Ever have that feeling? That you just need to stop all movement around you so you can take a breath, get your bearings. That's the way I feel when I think of Eric. That if things would just slow down a moment, if we'd all just hold our breath for just a second, he could catch up, gain ground. I guess that's my own anxiety. Every time I think of Angie and Eric--all the family--I have to beat that lump in my throat away or I'll burst into tears. I can't tell you how much Angie has come to mean to me in the past few days. We've attended writers' meetings together, worked on our conference committee together, had lunch with our 'lunch bunch' every Wednesday for almost a year... but these past thirteen plus days, I've grown to admire and love her, think of her as I would a daughter--or sister.
Please, please visit her blog and offer a prayer or words of encouragement. It would mean so much to all of us. And especially to Eric when he walks out of that hospital. I want him to know how much we've prayed, and how much we care for him and his family. I want him to know that he's one of God's beautiful miracles.
Click HERE for Angie's blog.
I want the world to stop. That's the feeling I have. I just want everything to shut down so I can listen and feel and wait and cry and pray. Ever have that feeling? That you just need to stop all movement around you so you can take a breath, get your bearings. That's the way I feel when I think of Eric. That if things would just slow down a moment, if we'd all just hold our breath for just a second, he could catch up, gain ground. I guess that's my own anxiety. Every time I think of Angie and Eric--all the family--I have to beat that lump in my throat away or I'll burst into tears. I can't tell you how much Angie has come to mean to me in the past few days. We've attended writers' meetings together, worked on our conference committee together, had lunch with our 'lunch bunch' every Wednesday for almost a year... but these past thirteen plus days, I've grown to admire and love her, think of her as I would a daughter--or sister.
Please, please visit her blog and offer a prayer or words of encouragement. It would mean so much to all of us. And especially to Eric when he walks out of that hospital. I want him to know how much we've prayed, and how much we care for him and his family. I want him to know that he's one of God's beautiful miracles.
Click HERE for Angie's blog.
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Answer is Always Jesus
How helpless parents feel when there is nothing they can do for their sick child, but pray. I know prayer is the ultimate answer and while we've hit our knees many times on behalf of our children, there's still that nagging feeling that we could do, should do, more. There's still that horrible tremble of fear going on inside us even though we've placed everything in God's hands. Sometimes I imagine God is shaking his head, pursing his lips and saying, "Ohhhh, Jessica, haven't you learned by now that I'm your answer? The only answer." He knows I know that... and believe it with all my heart, and I praise Him for answering my prayers even when I can't speak them aloud; for those times I can do nothing more than cry and beg, "please-God-please-God-please-God-please. .
."
Like I'm doing now for my friend Angie and her son Eric. You can read the latest update on Eric by visiting her blog here. Eric makes a little progress and then he'll have a bad night or morning. He's definitely keeping us on our toes with our prayers. This is definitely a time to pray without ceasing. 1 Thess. 5:17.
As it says in Matthew 17:20-21, 'For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 7:7,8 says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Ask. Seek. Knock. There are so many wonderful prayer warriors across the country praying for Eric and his family. I thank God for each of them.
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16
As believers, we know without doubt that God has the power to answer prayer. God has given each of us the gift of faith. Let's pray that whatever is standing in the way of total restoration for sweet Eric be removed. Let's pray for the doctors and medical professionals as they tend to Eric. Let's pray that God gives them wisdom, and especially gives wisdom and comfort to Angie and Bob as they sit and wait and pray for their son. Lord, guide them in every decision they make. And let's praise God that praying for Eric allows us to express the sincerest desire of our heart and soul--which is that this precious young man be touched and healed, and will speak of the miracle in days to come.
Thank you, Jesus, thy will be done.
Amen.
."
Like I'm doing now for my friend Angie and her son Eric. You can read the latest update on Eric by visiting her blog here. Eric makes a little progress and then he'll have a bad night or morning. He's definitely keeping us on our toes with our prayers. This is definitely a time to pray without ceasing. 1 Thess. 5:17.
As it says in Matthew 17:20-21, 'For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 7:7,8 says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Ask. Seek. Knock. There are so many wonderful prayer warriors across the country praying for Eric and his family. I thank God for each of them.
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16
As believers, we know without doubt that God has the power to answer prayer. God has given each of us the gift of faith. Let's pray that whatever is standing in the way of total restoration for sweet Eric be removed. Let's pray for the doctors and medical professionals as they tend to Eric. Let's pray that God gives them wisdom, and especially gives wisdom and comfort to Angie and Bob as they sit and wait and pray for their son. Lord, guide them in every decision they make. And let's praise God that praying for Eric allows us to express the sincerest desire of our heart and soul--which is that this precious young man be touched and healed, and will speak of the miracle in days to come.
Thank you, Jesus, thy will be done.
Amen.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
CFBA Presents Tender Grace by Jackina Stark
Just try to read Tender Grace without crying. The first sentence put a lump in my throat:
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Tender Grace
Bethany House (February 1, 2009) by Jackina Stark
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I have also spoken nationally and internationally at many retreats and seminars and enjoy running into many readers and former students. I have written frequently for both Christian Standard and Lookout, periodicals of Standard Publishing. Years ago I wrote two non-fiction books, published by College Press, but currently out of print. These days, I’m exploring fiction. My first novel, Tender Grace, will be released by Bethany House January 30, 2009, and a second, Things Worth Remembering, will be released in October, 2009. I’m working on new projects, including a third novel, as time permits. Whether speaking or writing, I love the opportunity to tell about Him whom Jesus called “Holy Father” and “the only true God.”
She lives in Joplin, Missouri with her husband, and she spends most of her free time doing is reading and writing. That is what she usually do when she's not teaching, enjoying the children and grandchildren, or sitting on the back porch drinking a Diet Coke and watching her husband till the garden!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Audrey Eaton awakes at three in the morning and gets up to retrieve her husband, Tom, from the recliner where he has fallen asleep watching a ball game. But when she enters the living room and looks at his gentle face in the soft lamp light, she knows their time together is over. Grief attacks her until all she can think about is how much she wants her old life back. Determined to find healing, she embarks on a journey to the one place Tom and she always intended to visit but never did. Along the way, she discovers, through shared experiences with friends old and new, the meaning of the "tender graces" God provides each and every day.
I've quit reading--even bestsellers, even the newspaper, even my Bible. I've also quit listening to music. This lack of appreciation for things I once loved is beginning to define me. More mornings than I can count, I say to myself before I open my eyes, "I don't want to do this." In the days shortly following Tom's death, that made sense, but what does it mean now? That I'm in trouble? One of the best qualities of the former me was thankfulness. As I was trying to sleep last night, needing Tom to be curled up behind me, his left arm slung across me, I realized to my horror that I couldn't remember the last time I was truly thankful. I think of a line from an old hymn: "Awake, my soul, and sing." I miss Tom. I also miss me. Determined to find healing, Audrey Eaton embarks on a trip to the one place she and her husband always intended to visit but never did. When things don't go as planned, will she embrace the unexpected graces that guide her journey?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Tender Grace, go HERE
He died the way he always wanted to. As anyone would want to, I'd think--sitting in his recliner with something wonderful to read.
Within a few pages, the lump was gone and I was sobbing. This story rings true--too true, too heartbreaking, too close to something any one of us might experience. Jackina Start writes from her heart, with an honesty that makes the reader feel as if she (the reader) is Audrey Eaton, and that this story is happening to her.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I have also spoken nationally and internationally at many retreats and seminars and enjoy running into many readers and former students. I have written frequently for both Christian Standard and Lookout, periodicals of Standard Publishing. Years ago I wrote two non-fiction books, published by College Press, but currently out of print. These days, I’m exploring fiction. My first novel, Tender Grace, will be released by Bethany House January 30, 2009, and a second, Things Worth Remembering, will be released in October, 2009. I’m working on new projects, including a third novel, as time permits. Whether speaking or writing, I love the opportunity to tell about Him whom Jesus called “Holy Father” and “the only true God.”She lives in Joplin, Missouri with her husband, and she spends most of her free time doing is reading and writing. That is what she usually do when she's not teaching, enjoying the children and grandchildren, or sitting on the back porch drinking a Diet Coke and watching her husband till the garden!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Audrey Eaton awakes at three in the morning and gets up to retrieve her husband, Tom, from the recliner where he has fallen asleep watching a ball game. But when she enters the living room and looks at his gentle face in the soft lamp light, she knows their time together is over. Grief attacks her until all she can think about is how much she wants her old life back. Determined to find healing, she embarks on a journey to the one place Tom and she always intended to visit but never did. Along the way, she discovers, through shared experiences with friends old and new, the meaning of the "tender graces" God provides each and every day.I've quit reading--even bestsellers, even the newspaper, even my Bible. I've also quit listening to music. This lack of appreciation for things I once loved is beginning to define me. More mornings than I can count, I say to myself before I open my eyes, "I don't want to do this." In the days shortly following Tom's death, that made sense, but what does it mean now? That I'm in trouble? One of the best qualities of the former me was thankfulness. As I was trying to sleep last night, needing Tom to be curled up behind me, his left arm slung across me, I realized to my horror that I couldn't remember the last time I was truly thankful. I think of a line from an old hymn: "Awake, my soul, and sing." I miss Tom. I also miss me. Determined to find healing, Audrey Eaton embarks on a trip to the one place she and her husband always intended to visit but never did. When things don't go as planned, will she embrace the unexpected graces that guide her journey?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Tender Grace, go HERE
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Louisiana Saturday Night - Fun Places and Groups
We have some great 'goings-on' in Louisiana. Festivals of all kinds. Surprisingly, we have a good number of literary happenings. Take a look:
The annual Jubilee Writers conference will be going on in April. This is a huge event that everyone raves about. I've never been, but I want to. Does that count?
The Society of Children's Book Writers has a Louisiana chapter. That's exciting. Check them out.
The North Louisiana has a wonderful conference every year. Check it out here. This is a Romance Writers of America chapter and they bring in some good editors and agents.
We have three other RWA chapters worth your while.
SOLA in New Orleans
Couer de Louisiane in Alexandria
http://www.geocities.com/coeurdelouisiane/Main.html
The annual Jubilee Writers conference will be going on in April. This is a huge event that everyone raves about. I've never been, but I want to. Does that count?
The Society of Children's Book Writers has a Louisiana chapter. That's exciting. Check them out.
The North Louisiana has a wonderful conference every year. Check it out here. This is a Romance Writers of America chapter and they bring in some good editors and agents.
We have three other RWA chapters worth your while.
SOLA in New Orleans
Couer de Louisiane in Alexandria
http://www.geocities.com/coeurdelouisiane/Main.html
There's also a great group called Writers' Guild of Acadian in Lafayette. Their link is broken so you might google them to try to learn more.
Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge
Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge
New Orleans Literary Institute
Take a look at A Studie in the Woods. This is a fascinating venture so explore the website.
And our very own Bayou Writers' Group in Lake Charles, LA. We have a great one-day conference each November and we have a good blogsite and website. Check us out.
I apologize for the ugly links but I couldn't attach them to the titles of the groups so... we'll just look tacky this post.
Louisiana has a festival for every occasion. Check us out at http://www.cajunradio.org/louisianafestivals.html
Friday, February 13, 2009
Prayer Request
My friend Angie and her husband are sitting in ICU right this minute with their fourteen year old son. He has severe pneumonia. He's on a ventilator; he's stable but there isn't much improvement since yesterday. I'm asking those of you who are prayer warriors to please lift Eric to Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord, our Healer. And if you're not a praying person, please join us by sending good, hopeful thoughts their way.
Here is a pic of Eric on the right and his brother Andrew on the left.
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