A Cup of Tea With Me

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
What Lies Within
Multnomah Fiction (November 20, 2007)
by
Karen BallABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Karen Ball , bestselling novelist, is also the editor behind several of today’s bestselling Christian novels. Her love for words was passed down through her father and grandfather - both pastors who shared God’s truth through sermons and storytelling. Blending humor, poignancy, and honesty, Karen’s writing style is a powerful force for revealing God’s truth. She lives in Oregon with her husband, Don, and their “kids,” Bodhan, a mischief-making Siberian husky, and Dakota, an Aussie-terrier mix who should have been named “Destructo.”

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Nothing’s going to stop Kyla…
until the ground crumbles beneath her feet.

Kyla Justice has arrived. Her company, Justice Construction, is one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful companies in the Pacific Northwest. And yet, something is missing. Not until she’s called on to build a center for inner-city kids does she realize what it is: her sense of purpose. Now nothing can stop her, not the low budget, not supply problems, not gang opposition, not her boyfriend’s suggestion that she sell her business and marry him–and most especially not that disagreeable Rafael Murphy.

Rafe Murphy understands battle. Wounded in action, this Force Recon Marine carries the scars–and the nightmares–to prove it. Though he can’t fight overseas any longer, he’s found his place as a warrior in the civilian world. So he soldiers on, trusting that one of these days, God will reveal to him why Rafe survived the ambush in Iraq. That day has arrived.

Kyla and Rafe both discover that determination alone won’t carry them through danger and challenges. When gang violence threatens their very foundations, there’s only one way to survive: rely on each other, be real–and surrender to God. In other words, risk everything…

The gals over at 5 Minutes for Mom have done it again and have come up with an awesome give away. They are giving away an Insignia® - 75W DVD/CD/HD Radio Compact Shelf System with USB Port from Best Buy.  With everything that this does, I bet you it would be a big hit at my house.

Not posting much today, as my beloved is home ill, and I am trying to let him rest and take care of him. He does not get ill often. I will see you all tomorrow, when I can participate a little better.

Good morning! My day got off with a good reading and some blogging. How about yours?

1) Refresh your spirit:
Today I read my Thursday reading of “Light of The World” in Praying the Names of Jesus.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB):
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
¹⁵ nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
¹⁶ “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Philippians 2:14-16 (NASB):
¹⁴ Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
¹⁵ so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
¹⁶holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

These are the verses that I will be meditating on today, as I go about my day, looking to Him to guide my path.

2) Take Time to Plan
I work today, so my planning will be centered around that.

• Work
• Buy dishwasher detergent that I forgot at the grocery store yesterday
• Pick up the living room
• Finish my last load of laundry from yesterday
• Do one load of laundry from today
• Pay bills
• Buy that last gift for Christmas
• Make the returns that need made
• Clean the bathroom

For dinner tonight we are having Cube Steak and Mac & Cheese. I know it is not a “fancy” dinner, but Hubby loves it, and that is what matters.

3) Do Something!
Today’s “Do Something!” is to maintain the rooms we have cleaned and to clean the bathrooms. I will just be able to pick up the bathrooms and clean the toilet in the boys bathroom. I am not sure I will have time to do the rest of the bathrooms, but I will certainly try.

I will not be home most of the day to mark things off the list as I finish them. I will update this when I get the chance.

God bless you all and have a great day, making your home a haven for your family. Stop by and see Crystal for more details on this challenge.

Crystal @ Biblical Womanhood is keeping up the challenge of Making our homes a haven. This is my second day to participate, but it is the third day of the challenge.

1) Refresh Your Spirit
I did not do this in the right order. I woke up in a frenzy. I am not going to let getting off on the wrong foot stop me though.

I have gone back and read the Wednesday reading for “Light of the World” in Praying the Names of Jesus.

1 John 1:5-7 (NASB):
God Is Light
⁵ This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
⁷but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

I know there are times that I feel like I am in the dark, but this scripture speaks to me and reminds me that I am never in the dark. I need to not look into the darkness but keep my heart and mind focused on the Light of this World.

I am also reading in Acts for my daily reading. In Acts 17, it tells us how the Bereans were eager to hear the Word, and would study the Scriptures to make sure the teachings were accurate. This shows how wise they were. We all should study the Scriptures, when we are taught doctrine, to make sure it all adds up. I know that I do not always check the references.

Crystal would like us to share three things we are thankful for, I am going to fore go (sp? I hope I used and spelled that right) the obvious. I always start with God on my thankful lists, but I could do all three about Him, so I am going to list more every day things.

I am thankful for:

1. My oldest just has a virus and not strep throat
2. My husband forgives me for being moody last night after I broke one of my family heirloom ornaments
3. I realize today that it was just a piece of glass, and just because the ornament is gone, it does not erase the 30 years of memories associated with it.

2) Take time to plan
My day is crazy, as I did not make my plan right away.

My to do list consists of:

Kid to Dr - virus
Laundry - get it all done??? - Folding 5th load. 1 in washer, 1 in dryer and one still in the dirty clothes.
Wrap Christmas Presents YAY! I did not think I would finish this one today
Grocery shopping
M&Ms to School for cookies
Finish decorating the house for Christmas
Get the Wed blog posting done
Follow through with today’s Encouraging Our Husbands Challenge
make up for yesterday
See if Bailey can cover the end of my shift tomorrow so I can go to Hubby’s company Christmas party

For dinner tonight we are having cashew chicken with jasmine rice.

It is a long list I will get as much done as possible. I work all the rest of the week.

3) Do Something!
Today is laundry day. Well, I have A LOT of laundry to do. I do not have a digital camera to show my progress or anything. I will just have to update this post when I finish.

Still working on laundry, but I did sweep the floor and organize the area better.

This Week’s Hero Was Suggested By Mark Bell

Marty and Sue Horn

Born in Philadelphia, Marty Horn spent 20 years in the Army as a Military Policeman, retiring in 1993 and going to work in Internet technologies. In 2003, his son Brian Horn deployed to Iraq. Trying to support their son’s unit, Marty and his wife Sue, who also served as in the Military Police, put together the concept of Any Soldier. In essence, Any Soldier is an effort to provide support and encouragement to those who are in harm’s way. Due to overwhelming requests for ready-made care packages on the AnySoldier.com site, Sue Horn started TreatAnySoldier.com.

Using his background in Internet technologies, Marty built and maintains the web site. The Any Soldier program slowly expanded to include other Army units. In 2004, the program opened up to include all service branches.. In 2005, the websites for AnyMarine.com., AnySailor.com, AnyAirman.com, and AnyCoastguardsman.com were launched.

In the words of the Any Soldier web site: “The success of Any Soldier has far exceeded expectations and continues to grow with the invaluable help and guidance of our supporters, board members and Support Team.”

In the words of Marty Horn: “It is the supporters who deserve the credit.”

Thanks to the efforts of Marty and Sue, their son Brian, and a dedicated staff, over 950,000 servicemen and women received support and encouragement they would never have been able to get through the Any Soldier program.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Bluegrass Peril
(Steeple Hill December 4, 2007)
by
Virginia Smith

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Virginia Smith left her job as a corporate director to become a full time writer and speaker in the summer of 2005. Since then she has contracted eight novels and numerous articles and short stories.She writes contemporary humorous novels for the Christian market, including her debut, Just As I Am (Kregel Publications, March 2006) and her new release, Murder by Mushroom (Steeple Hill, August 2007). Her short fiction has been anthologized, and her articles have been published in a variety of Christian magazines.An energetic speaker, Virginia loves to exemplify God’s truth by comparing real-life situations to well-known works of fiction, such as her popular talk, “Biblical Truths in Star Trek.”

ABOUT THE BOOK:

WHO KILLED HER BOSS?

Local police had tagged single mom Becky Dennison as their prime suspect. But she’d only been in the wrong place at the wrong time…admittedly, with her boss’s lifeless body. Sure it looked bad, but Becky had no motive for killing…even if she had opportunity.

When the director of the retirement farm for thoroughbred champions is murdered, Becky Dennison teams up with the handsome manager of a neighboring horse farm, Scott Lewis, to find her boss’s killer. Soon the amateur detective are hot on the trail of the murderer…even as their feelings for each other deepen.

The amateur sleuths uncover a trail of clues that lead them into the intricate society of Kentucky’s elite thoroughbred breeding industry. They soon find themselves surrounded by the mint julep set - jealous southern belles and intensely competitive horse breeders - in a high-stakes game of danger, money, and that famous southern pride.

And for Becky and Scott, this race on the Kentucky tracks has the greatest stakes of all: life or death!

Romantic Times awarded Bluegrass Peril
* * * * FOUR STARS! * * * *

I would like to thank Biblical Womanhood for sharing this encouragement to make our homes a haven of peace and love. I am coming in a day late, but I hope to be able to participate daily.

There are three daily steps and none of them take very long. You spend time with God, first thing. You spend time planning your day, and you spend a few minutes picking up an area of the home.

1) Refresh Your Spirit
I am reading the devotional, Praying the Names of Jesus. I read the Tuesday reading for “Light of the World”, along with my daily reading. I am in Acts right now.

2) Plan
My normal to do list plus added some blogging prep and getting my Christmas tree up, finally.

Being a working mom my normal to do list varies from work days to home days. Being at home today, I worked around the house more than I would have if I would have been at work for seven hours.

3 loads of laundry
dishes
Work on Faith Filled Wives
Work on A Cup of Tea With Me
clean the bathrooms
Go “shopping” with Jim to daydream about the remodel
Grocery shopping
Put up the Christmas tree

3) Do Something
Yesterday’s area was the entry, today’s is the living area. Well, lucky for me they are one and the same. My home opens into my living room.

Today, I am getting ready to finally put up my Christmas tree, so I am having to rearrange my living room, dining room and breakfast nook.

It is pretty clean already, due to some furniture moving that Jim did last night. There is still some clutter though. HA! SOME clutter… this is my house we are talking about. There is quite a bit of clutter. I hope this challenge helps me conquer my bad habits too!

My friend Becki at A Walk Through the Valley is doing an awesome series on 30 Days with Jesus. I highly recommend you take a look at what she has to share. It is great!

Over at Faith Filled Wives, I am sharing a 30 day challenge on encouraging our husbands, written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss of Revive Our Hearts. I thought I would blog my personal challenge here, so that you all would know I was doing the challenge, too.

Today’s challenge is:

Day One:
“The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.” Prov. 31:11-12

To refresh your memory . . . here’s the 30-Day Encouragement Challenge: for the next 30 days:

• You can’t say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
• Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband. . . to your husband . . . and to someone else, about your husband!

To help you get started, have you ever thanked your husband for “choosing you” above all other women? He found you attractive as a person, and appreciated you. Though many circumstances in your marriage may have changed, let your husband know that you are glad God led you together, and that you want to be a blessing to him for the rest of your marriage. Let him know that he can trust you to be in his corner.

One of the best opportunities to express your gratitude is first thing in the morning. How do you greet your husband each morning? Is he confident in your love? Give him a “wake up call” that he’ll never forget-a big “I love you” and an “I’m so glad I’m your wife!”

© Revive Our Hearts. Used with permission. www.ReviveOurHearts.com. Info@ReviveOurHearts.com.

I have been guilty of sharing negative things about my husband. I need this challenge as much as the next person does. However, with the main part of the challenge being “have you ever thanked your husband for “choosing you” above all other women?” oddly enough, I do that on a very regular basis. I love that he chose me over the other women that he could have. I tell him often what it means to me to be the one that he chose to spend his life with.

My Beloved is a good man. I am honored to be his wife and want to make sure that he knows it every day for the rest of our lives.