My mother went to great lengths to ensure her best efforts were put forward in raising her three children. Not only did she consult the ancient manuscripts such as the Bible and Dr. Spock…she also went straight to the experts. We spent countless hours listening to specialists in the field of life experiences hence this blog entry:

What I Learned From Bill Cosby

-Monsters are real and should be avoided at any expense even if you have to cover the kitchen floor with Jello®

-Blankets can protect you from most common monsters

-Mom’s believe in monsters and will help to protect you, but not all dad’s do

-A snowball left in the refrigerator will usually be thrown away by your mom before it can be used for revenge

-Revenge seldom works out for good

-It’s okay to be friends with overweight people…they can really come in handy in certain sporting venues

-Don’t stand directly behind extremely frightened overweight people

-Everything you need to know as an adult you DON’T learn in kindergarten

-The only thing you do learn in kindergarten is how to say goodbye to your parents and basic bathroom skills…you know—like how many fingers to hold up if you’re going a number one or a number two

-Kindergarten teachers train children for adversity by giving them pencils as large as horses legs, paper that still has wood floating around in it and lukewarm curdly milk with dry crusty stick-in-your-throat graham crackers

-A child old enough to attend school does not need an afternoon nap

-The only person napping in a room full of kindergartens will be the teacher

-Going to bed at three in the afternoon does not make Santa Claus come any sooner

-Dentists are sadistic…that’s why they make you talk when your mouth is dead

-Don’t complicate childhood, it’s the only simple time of life

I can still remember sitting down in the living room and Mom putting the needle on those wonderful old 33 LP records that so uniquely shaped my young life. Thanks Mom for caring enough to give your children the best education we could afford. And thanks Mr. Cosby for teaching me the truly important things in life. And if you’ve never listened to the original stand up work of Bill Cosby…you’re missing out on one of the great CLEAN humor works of the past

Love Finds You in Poetry Texas

By: Janice Hanna

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the “Love Finds You” series from Summerside Press. The second installment I’d like to review comes from an author friend of mine, Janice Hanna. Her book, Love Finds You In Poetry Texas, turned out to be a exceptionally fun read! Let me tell you a little bit about the book.

Belinda Bauer realizes her quaint home town of Poetry, Texas is overrun by single men and only a few women. She decides to take matters into her own hands and becomes the town’s marriage broker. Thanks to some serious searching on her part, the streets of Poetry are soon flooded with brides-to-be. The problems arise when some of the brides marry the wrong men!

Janice Hanna weaves a wonderful story full of poetic charm in this prairie romance set in 1904. Hanna is famous for getting her characters into complicated fixes and she didn’t let me down in this book. When the town minister decides to re-marry, Belinda sends for a bride-to-be who seems to be perfect in print. When the parson’s intended arrives, she is more suited for center stage rather than hidden behind the pulpit!

In the end everyone ends up with the match God has planned for them despite Belinda’s attempts to join the hopelessly mismatched. Even Belinda who has vowed to stay single for the towns greater good finds herself falling for one of her own clients.

I would recommend Love Finds You In Poetry Texas to anyone who likes a quaint prairie romance filled with a strong Christian message about learning to seek God in every decision—especially decisions of the heart.

The Man Behind The Words

I’ve heard people use the phrase, “touched by greatness.” After Thursday and Friday of last week I feel that the phrase could be applied to me.

Thursday night I was blessed to hear the great Cecil “Cec” Murphey speak to my writers group at Barnes And Noble in The Woodlands, Texas. Cecil is the author of 90 Minutes In Heaven,” a NYT bestseller for well over two years. Oh, and did I mention he’s also authored, co-authored and ghost-written over one hundred other novels? Cec spoke for only about twenty minutes before opening up the floor for questions from the audience. I wasn’t quick enough to ask my question before his time was cut off, but enjoyed hearing answers to everyone else’s questions.

Even thought Cec only talked for a short time I feel like I gleaned a wealth of information. A couple things Cec said to the writers group that stuck with me are:

Never stop learning to write

Write from your heart

Everything we write is autobiographical—we write from who we are

Learn to be okay with the way you are

Explore who you are as a writer and you will get more in touch with the Father.

“I would rather be disliked for who I am

than admired for who I’m not.” Cec Murphey

Friday night I attended Meet The Christian Authors Night (MTCAN) in the Woodlands. Forty-five Christian authors converged on WoodsEdge Church for a fantastic night of book signing, entertainment and cheesecake! The evening benefited the WoodsEdge Women’s Ministry to Single Moms.

I was blessed to have the opportunity to work Cec’s table at MTCAN. There I was with a multi-published author on the NYT bestseller list no less; my usual nervous self, fumbling to help this highly touted author. Cec however calmed my nerves immediately when he showed more concern about what I write and how he could advise me on my career than he was at selling his own books! Needless to say I was truly touched by this gifted, godly man.

I got tickled at Cec. He had graciously and eloquently spoken to several people in a row who had purchased his books and then leaned over to me and admitted he wasn’t very good at book signings! What a funny man.

Imagine the most energetic person you know and double it—that’s Cec Murphey. He claims to be able to finish most books in three to four months and I believe him. If you’ve never written a book then you have no idea how incredibly fast that is. My evening with Cec ended with him courteously thanking me for helping with his table and offering me a signed book from the ones left after the book signing. I’ll never forget my brush with fame when I was blessed to get to know the man behind the words…Cecil Murphey.

The Remodeling Project

Crash! The last piece of pale pink and gray ceramic tile was pried off the wall, dumped into a rubbish container and hauled away. Fifty-year-old flooring was scraped away, revealing yet another tile floor even older and outdated than the one I had grown to despise. The baby blue walls and pink framing was the last thing to go. The old had to be stripped away, leaving a fresh clean slate for the carpenter to work his magic.

Do bathrooms have feelings? I don’t know, but I couldn’t help thinking I knew what that old bathroom must be going through. After all, I underwent the same process only a few years before. The joy I felt for the now barren walls was dampened, knowing just how far the room had to sink before it got to this place. The room had become a burden, an eyesore, practically unusable. The very same condition that Jesus found me in the day His remodeling project began.

Sin is like that. It roots itself so deeply in your life that it begins to feel natural. It almost hurts to remove it. That’s how I imagined the poor bathroom felt, stripped down to bare studs and rafters in the span of a single afternoon.

I freely allowed sin into my life, and I wasn’t a willing candidate for its removal. Just like that pale pink and gray tile, I knew my sin was hideous, but I had grown accustomed to it over the years. After all, it was just ugly tile. It wasn’t hurting anyone. That’s where I was wrong.

Deep beneath the aging tile, a leak had formed and mold began to grow. What was once the bathroom’s strong wooden foundation had become a spongy, moldy mess. The damage couldn’t be seen from the outside; nevertheless, it was there. The carpenter would have to dig deeper.

Living with sin in our lives can have the same effect as that mold. Even though it may not be noticeable from the outside, left unchecked, sin will rot and destroy whomever it touches. Our Christian foundation will become as weak as that water-damaged wood. No matter how small or harmless our sins may seem, the results can be devastating.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me!

I cried out the words David wrote in Psalm 51:10 as my petition to the Lord. Just like the hand of the carpenter on that unsightly pink and gray wall, immediately my heart was stripped clean of all its guilty stains.

Do I miss the old bathroom? I must admit, some fond memories were created within those walls. After all, my babies took their first real bath in that old cast iron tub, but no, the time for change was long overdue. The ugly pink and gray tile flooding the walls and counter top has been replaced with beautiful cultured marble. The rotted wood and broken peeling floor tile is gone, and strong travetine tile stands in its place.

Do I miss what was stripped from my life? Not at all. Where there was sadness, I have unspeakable joy. Where there was insecurity, I have peace beyond measure. Where there was no caring for my neighbor, I have love in abundance.

How about you? Is there hidden damage beneath your exterior? Pick up the Book. Dial in to I John 1:9. The Master Carpenter will answer the call, and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I have found that “home improvement” can be tricky work. It’s not always best to “do it yourself.” Without professional help, I would have found myself in way over my head. The same thing can be said about self improvement. Had I not contacted the One who knows my “divine design,” the results would have been disastrous. Thank You, God that I can say, “as for me and “this old house,” we will serve the Lord.”

Meet The Christian Author Night 2009

Deep Thoughts By Annette O'Hare

Certain Hollywood movies have plot lines so confusing, judging committees give them awards just because they’re too embarrassed to admit they didn’t understand it either.

If left to his own devices, my husband would watch every sport available on television. And in the event there wasn’t even a soccer game scheduled, he would watch re-runs of classic Super Bowl games.

Catch phrases come and go. Last year it was, “paradigms are shifting.” This year it’s “not so much.”

If my children had grown up watching The Three Stooges, would they have turned out as brilliant as they are? Sure explains a lot about how I turned out.

Transformers II is one recent movie that doesn’t portray our military as a bunch of idiots. Thank you Michael Bay and Stephen Spielberg.

The church youth leader made the parents write letters every day to my kids while they’re away at camp. One day I got lazy and sent them a sheet of paper with a big “R” on it. It’s a letter right.

Most people know more about what’s going on with their Facebook friends than their own kids. (I sure hope I’m not one of them.)

People who have never tried to get a book published have absolutely no idea how hard it actually is to get a book published. If you are a person with little patience; don’t try to get a book published

All of my favorite John Wayne movies are not westerns. All of my favorite Larry McMurtry books are not westerns. I really don’t have anything against westerns, but strangely I don’t care for country and western music.

A marching band in a parade always makes me cry. A girl holding the American flag while riding a horse during the National Anthem before the rodeo makes me cry. My husband thinks I cry at very strange things.

It’s really hard for people to understand or even believe someone who says they have a disease that they can’t physically see with their own eyes. Would people try to understand diabetics better if they had big “D” shaped whelps on their bodies?

The Disney cartoon, Phineas and Ferb makes me laugh way more than most comedy shows designed for adults. And I’m not embarrassed when my kids watch it with me.

People who feel they have to write a book should put that idea aside and learn the craft of writing before writing a single word.

Ups And Downs

Graduation Day 2009. I am now the proud mother of a high school graduate. One down, ten years and two more to go. It’s funny how whatever affects my child’s life seems to affect me a thousand times more than it does them. Why is that? There have been many ups and downs leading up to this summer. Let me share.

I’ll start with my oldest, the apple of my eye, my firstborn, my magnum opus!
Up – He graduated #10 of 450 and was accepted to Texas A&M Engineering School
Down – He’ll be moving away from home in a couple months
Up – He received several thousand dollars in scholarship money
Down – The money will only pay about half his first semester
Up – One scholarship came equipped with a mentor
Down – I don’t think he actually exists

Next is my daughter, the princess of the universe, the most important woman in my life!
Up – She earned her letter jacket in band
Down – She didn’t make drum major
Up – She’s the new secretary/treasurer of the band
Down – I got rooked into the band booster treasurer position (kidding, not a downer, hee hee)

Finally, there’s my youngest, the one who makes me smile, my baby.
Up – He made all A’s and B’s this year in school
Down – He didn’t get recognized for his grades because of one poor conduct grade
Up – He graduating from second grade with flying colors
Down – He’s going into third grade and will have to take the dreaded TAKS test

I was wondering…what if King David treated his ups and downs with the same attitude as me. Up – Israel is protected by the army of God
Down – A really big giant has plans to crush anyone who challenges him
Up – I was anointed king over Judah
Down – I’ll never become king because crazy old king Saul is trying to kill me

But David handled his situation much different. The Bible says, David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

Wow! Thank goodness King David didn’t share my attitude or the Bible might have turned out very different. His attitude should be a lesson to everyone facing the ups and downs life has to offer. Oh, and by the way, my list is purely tongue in cheek. As you can plainly see, the Lord has blessed me beyond measure.