Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Please welcome Kellyn Roth to the blog today. She has a new book out and was kind enough to share it with us. What inspired you to write this book? I always knew I was going to write a story about Alice's sister, Ivy. So I did. I'd somewhat impulsively said she'd had mental issues in book 1 (darned little 14-year-old me!) - so I had to do the research. And once I did, I realized writing a story about her was going to be challenging at the least! However, I was determined to do so - and more than that, to help her. Because it's not easy having any minor learning disability or anxiety or anything of the sort even in today's world. In the Victorian era, it was more like a death sentence. Click the cover to go to Amazon So, slowly, I found a way to help! And that's the story I wrote. Is there a message in your book you want people to walk away with? That they have worth no matter who they are or what they've done, and they are not...

How about that title! Summer has definitely arrived in my neck of the woods. It's been 90* or above for the last couple weeks, and it doesn't look like it's going to change any time soon. That means the weather is only good for reading by the pool, at the lake, or on the beach. Fortunately, a few writing friends and I have teamed up to offer you some great deals. Here is a list of books that are all only ¢.99. But you need to grab them quickly. Just like summer, these HOT deals won't last long. Click the covers to purchase from Amazon. THE GREEN VEIL by Naomi Musch: Set your summer reading for a gripping family saga! In book one of the Empire in the Pines series, lumberman’s Colette Palmer has always loved timber cruiser Manason Kade, but during the summer of 1841, she leaves him behind to travel across Lake Michigan and settle with her family in the heart of the Wisconsin wilderness. Growing into womanhood, she eventually makes her vow to another. The day finally...

Please welcome Leeann Betts to the blog today! Small boats—and the thought of drowning, terrify me. This fear paralyzed me and caused me to miss out on numerous things—until God helped me see the bigger picture. We went to Peru on a mission trip with my church. We arrive at a collection of tiny structures in the middle of nowhere, providing food and supplies for weary travelers. We slip, slide, and scramble down a muddy bank to the water’s edge where our sailing craft awaits. I look upstream. Nothing but a couple of canoes. I look downstream. A metal boat about ten feet long, its canvas covering long rotted—a tiny outboard putt-putting to life under the tentative ministrations of a teenage boy. My hubby helps me clamber in, and I sit in the middle of the middle seat, clinging to the edges of the warped board. The rest of the team is chatting, laughing, leaning against the side, ignoring me, for which I’m thankful. I think, “Okay, God, I can do this. I just have to do t...

You might think this is going to be another food blog, but it isn't. Well, sort of, but not really. Rice pilaf. It's such a little thing. Yet, it's such a big thing. You see, last year I fixed a meal for an older couple at our church. The wife was undergoing chemotherapy and several of us were taking them meals. I made grilled chicken, grilled vegetables, and rice pilaf. An hour after I dropped that meal off, I received a phone call from the husband. "That was the best meal anyone's ever cooked for us. Especially that rice pilaf. That's my favorite." It made me happy to think that such a simple little thing could make someone's day. Recently, after a time of remission, the wife's cancer came back. "Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked the husband when I saw him. "Are you making rice pilaf anytime soon?" I laughed. "When do you want some?" "Saturday night?" "Y...

Lately, I've put a lot of time into canning. I love walking down to my basement and seeing shelves full of healthy, prepared foods. I think I've been on a canning kick since quarantine has been keeping me at home, my shelves were a little depleted from this past winter's use, and the weather has been unseasonably cool. The canning helps warm the house up some without having to load up the wood stove. We really should be done with heating our homes by now, right? The good stuff! Anyway, I shared a picture of one of my canning projects on Facebook last week and received a lot of requests for the recipe. I thought it might be a good idea to share it here as well. I started canning years ago when my kids started working and weren't home as often. It didn't matter how many people ended up home for dinner, I could open as many or as few jars as I needed. Home canned food is also much healthier than store bought canned food. Take a look at the ingredients and then...

I had to step away from the blog posts for a little bit as life was overwhelming. Not bad. Nothing was wrong, just incredibly busy. I had to find a few things to drop and the blog was one of them. But, I feel now is the perfect time to pick it back up. Working on week 7 of quarantine here, I think I'm finally caught up and ready to begin again. It's funny how sometimes God knows how much you need a break and gives one to the entire world as well. I for one have been thankful for the downtime. So, what I have been doing during under house arrest? Working on some house projects. You know all those things that you walk past every day and say, "I need to take care of that," only you keep on walking? Yup. Got a bunch of those done. There's still a lot I want to do but I need a little help. Fortunately, my husband has been an essential worker so I haven't wanted to pester him with silly things. All those little triangles are made up of 2-inch scraps An...