Friday, July 30, 2010
It's Always Something!
I am an eat dessert first person. The world seems to have an attitude about this sort of thing. Like it's defective thinking, but I'm here to tell you, the work will ALWAYS be there. The David Crowder Band? That hot Mustang on the lot? Not necessarily.
We all know the story of the ants, and the grasshopper. How the ants worked and the grasshopper played and had nothing to eat. But see? The grasshopper was fun. So the ants invited him over for a party. Seriously, for how long and continuously I work, it's hard to see myself as the grasshopper, but I've learned if my body needs a rest, it needs to restore. So I sit down and have some cake, watch some mindless TV and don't think about the "to do" list. I'll get more done if I'm restored. Are you an ant? Or a grasshopper? I'm a little of both. Actually, next week I'll be la cucaracha because I'm heading to Mexico. LOL
Labels: ant and the grasshopper, David Crowder Band, Rosanna Anna Dana
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The power juicer on my countertop scares me. It's like brand new but I've only used it one or two times. It once held a prominent place in my kitchen, but now it's lurking in a remote corner by the toaster. I shoved it there.
There are times I'm convinced it's inched out in the night, calling all chocolate from the shelves, drawers and hidden crevices to give account. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I've seen The Nutcracker Suite one too many times.
I have a love/hate relationship with this mechanical beast. I know if I would let it work its magic, it could stir up for me some very healthy drinks. We all know I could use "healthy" in my diet.
But I have this thing about turning orange.
So there it is. My fear. Of turning orange. I've seen it happen to healthy people. They walk around looking like faded carrots.
Still, there's that health thing . . . .
Here's where you come in. Maybe you've tried the juicing thing and you know there are some tasty recipes out there that won't turn people orange. FYI, I'm sorry to say I'm not one of those who can drink raw eggs in some kind of nasty mix just because it's good for me. Taste is big in my book.
So please tell me how to make some yummy veggie drinks in this mixer--without changing my skin color. :-)
Labels: health, juicer, vegetable drinks
Diann Hunt
posted at
7:52 AM
Comments (15)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
I wrote for fourteen years before my first novel was published, and I'm so glad I had that waiting period. I know it's a cliche to say that good things come to those who wait, but it's true. It wasn't until I was married to Mel and learned what a real live hero was like that I found the missing ingredient in my novels--tenderness with strength and a certain, optimistic focus. That was when I went back through all the manuscripts I'd completed--thirteen--and based the male leads, all of them, on Mel. And that was when the publishers took notice.
Now, of course, that could be due to the new subject matter of the books we worked on together--emergency medicine, which was all the rage at the time--but I still believe that the change of characters made all the difference.
Here's what I mean--see the picture above? (I hope I got it in the right place this time). What do you see? Mel was the photographer. He didn't see the dead trees. He saw the beauty of the flowers, the brilliant green of the living plants, and his beloved wife near the trail. So when I created a new hero for a series all those years ago, I created a widower who was still in love with his dead wife, and though his wife had been overweight, all other women were judged against his wife's beauty and found wanting. Until, of course, the heroine of the novel came along.
Mel doesn't see my gray hair--even when I let it grow out too much. He doesn't see the lines and wrinkles of a maturing body. He sees in me the woman he first fell in love with--the woman who was so embarrassed by her skinny legs and cellulite that he didn't get a glimpse of them until nine months after we started dating. He uses me as a pattern by which to judge the beauty of other women. What woman would not love a hero like that? Esepcially the older she gets.
So you see those dead, brown trees in the picture? Mel takes a lot of pictures like that. He pulls out the beauty and doesn't even see the scars or ugliness. Who could lose with a hero who focuses on the inner beauty of the woman he loves, and not on the fading outer shell?
Labels: a better hero, character, writing
Hannah Alexander
posted at
12:04 AM
Comments (13)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
I'm a people person. Love to be around people and love even more to watch them. Love interacting and yes, I can be rather opinionated. LOL I'm really active on the HCG forum and one thing I see so clearly anymore is how different we all are.
I'm a relentless optimist. I say relentless because it can be really annoying and I know it. I'm always going to see the bright side. Nothing gets me down for long. Then there are the depressives who only see shadows. These folks drive us optimists crazy and I suspect we do the same to them. These people call themselves realists but they don't see how they aren't realists at all but are full of negativity. Sometimes I just want to shake them and say, "Buck up! You can do this. Things aren't as black as you think." But I sweetly just try to encourage and try to hide the whip behind my back! :-)
While working on my edits this week, I realized my personality makes its way into my work. My heroines are always strong, can-do women. They may not always realize it but they rise to the occasion. And I'm probably always going to write women like that because I like them. I want to be them.
How about you? What's your personal challenge? Do you need encouragement today that you can rise to a challenge?
Labels: optimists, personality
Colleen Coble
posted at
11:25 AM
Comments (12)
Monday, July 26, 2010
This is from Denise, not Colleen. She is on a ship and can't get blogger to open.
We were at Busch Gardens when it started. Just a drop or two at first, and then, before we knew it, buckets of rain, pouring down on our heads.
Just up ahead, three photo booths sat back to back, their black curtains waving their arms in the wind . . .Over here, over here! As one, we made a dash to the booths and ducked in, two by two by one, and drew the curtains.
Kevin and I heard the boys from our dry, comfy spot, laughing at our peculiar landing spot. But hey, were we dry or what?
The storm lasted several minutes. Long enough for Justin, our oldest, to figure out that if he pushed a button several times it would eventually talk back . . . “Quit poking me!” Sending more waves of laughter across our booth train.
But the structures kept us warm and safe and dry in our time of need. It got me to thinking. Where do I go when the storms of life hit, hard and sudden? There are so many options people take. We Christians know we should turn to God. Is there a warmer, safer spot? A spot that’s more secure and unmoving and perfect?
Still there are others, some good, some not. We vent to friends, find comfort in the arms of our family. We journal the feelings too scary and hurt-soaked to share with another living soul. we drown our misery in alcohol or drugs or whatever addiction gives us comfort—chocolate!
Still we know. We know only One holds the key to our future. To our comfort. Only one can save us from the storm. The others merely offer comfort or distraction.
What’s your port in the storm?
Denise
Colleen Coble
posted at
9:47 AM
Comments (4)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Have any of you seen the new reality show, "Boston Med"? It's a reality show that takes place in real hospital ERs and it reminds me of how fragile life on this planet is -- how caught up we can get in the minutia of life and miss the whole point.
Last night, there were two stories so raw, I had trouble watching them without my kids here safely. One, was a six year old girl, with no prior history -- having a heart attack and collapsing at school. The other was a man awaiting a heart transplant, who ultimately dies because his insurance wouldn't cover his trip when necessary. His family by his side, thanking him for his meaning in their life...the little girl coming through, but being fit with a defibrillator in case it happened again...
I ask you, what else matters when it's your loved one?
Life is not fair. You know how kids always want everything to be fair? "He got more than me!" I realized watching that show, we all want life to be fair, but ultimately, it isn't. The poor, the sick, they will always be with us. Growing up, my life was not fair. I had to grow up quickly having a sick brother. But it was a lot fairer than some, and ultimately, it made me a better person. A more independent person.
But if I wrote my story, I would be much better off. They're would be much less conflict and "plot points" to teach me valuable lessons. The truth of our lives and our mistakes create a richer human experience. I think God is onto something here. He writes the story of our lives like deep fiction -- whereas we'd create a fairy tale and end up without a character arc, don't you think? What do you marvel at over the human experience? What makes yours better?
The pic is my husband trying to make life fair for my "city" boys and show them the good life. Don't they look thrilled? LOL
Labels: fairness, human experience
Kristin
posted at
1:55 PM
Comments (6)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
I met a creative soul this week. Her name is Stella. She works at the D’Vine Yarn Shop in Shipshewana. Stella has been knitting for three years and just recently started reading patterns. Before she started with patterns, she followed her creative side in the knitting process. She showed me beautiful scarves made with different textures of yarn, different colors, different patterns—all in the same scarf!! She even embroidered pictures on them—all without a pattern! WOW!
Stella has given my creative side a major boost. She told me she thinks outside the box. There is no denying that! It’s obvious in all she makes. So beautiful!
She’s given me the freedom to try some things of my own. It may not turn out as beautiful as her creations, but it will be fun trying!
I want to do the same thing with my writing. “Think outside the box.” I don’t know what that means for me right now, but I’ll get there.
How about you? Are you working on something and you’ve hit a rough or boring patch, not sure where to go from here? A craft project? A family concern? How to handle your teenager? Think outside the box. God gave us our creativity. I have no doubt there’s so much more we can do with it!
If you need help maybe our collective brains can come up with something creative to help you out. J
In the meantime, I’m working on a shawl made with Mohair yarn. The yarn is so tiny and my fingers are, well, not. But it will be worth the struggle when I’m finished. Sooooo delicate!
What are you working on?
Labels: creativity, freedom, knitting, outside the box
Diann Hunt
posted at
9:02 AM
Comments (13)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I know it's not wise to say "never," because once you say you'll never do something, that's exactly what you'll end up doing. So when I say I'll probably never get stuck in a rut in my life, that's surely going to happen. That said, however, it won't be easy for the rut. I get bored easily. I don't like to stay in one place, or look one particular way, for very long at a time.
Take my hair in the picture to the left, for instance. That isn't my natural color, in case you don't know. I'm not a redhead. I may be pretty gray by now, but that's another rut I don't want to get stuck in. From my earliest teens, I have colored my hair, changed the style, worn weird makeup and clothing. I've gone to class with green hair, gray hair, orange hair (not intentionally, just experimenting.) You may not be able to see it, but the glasses I'm wearing have red rims, complements of nail polish. I didn't like the color of the frames, so I changed the color. But I didn't get it straight, and so some of the polish reached the lenses, and it looks like a bad makeup job.
So, because of my need for change, I still have the dilemma I had a few blogs back. I have four proposals languishing in my laptop. Since I don't have a contract for any of them at this point, I'm trying to decide which one to work on. One of them is just right for a Hannah Alexander genre. It's a medical romantic suspense, familiar and easy to sell. I hope. But I've put a lot of work on that historical, marriage-of-convenience, as well. And then there's the proposal I sent out not too long ago for a straight romance with very little medical. That's new for me. And then, finally, the one that I doubt will ever sell is the medical women's fiction, purely about relationships.
How about you? Have you ever changed genres, either in what you write or in what you read, or career or hobbies? I don't think I'll do what Colleen's doing. I'll snorkel, but I probably won't go scuba diving.
What major changes have you made in your life? Clothing style? Vacation destination? Have you changed homes or tastes in men? What have you changed about yourself in your life?
How has that worked for you?
Labels: change, getting out of ruts, new genres
Hannah Alexander
posted at
11:22 AM
Comments (11)
Monday, July 19, 2010
We've all read the stories of the grandmas who are going bungee jumping, parasailing, and other crazy things. I used to snicker. When I was 30. Who wants to do something like that when they're
old? At least that was my younger self's thoughts. But now I'm on the upper end of the 50s and you know what? I don't feel 58. My former pastor Steve Parks always says the soul doesn't age. It's the same as when you are first conscious of who you are. And I think he's right. I don't feel any different now than when I was the age of my kids here in this picture.
So you know what? I'm about to turn into one of those adventurous baby boomers. We're going to Hawaii with Kara and Mark and I'm going to try scuba diving. I heard you gasp. Yep, it's true. My son-in-law Mark is a scuba instructor and boat captain. Who better to teach me? I've wanted to learn before now, but I have that PFO hole in my heart that makes you more susceptible to the bends so I thought I couldn't dive. But Mark told me recently that I
can. I just have to take extra long time coming up and not go too deep. I can handle that. Near the house we've rented is Koloa Landing, a perfect spot to try out shore diving and see how we like it. I love to snorkel so I think I'm going to love it. The question is will Dave? He's not the fish I am. I float when I'm in the water. If I try to dive down to see something on the bottom, my butt floats back to the top. LOL Dave sinks. But really, don't you think that will make him an even better diver? I'll have to load up on weights and he'll sink right to the bottom.
So I'm going to get to see all those gorgeous fish up close and personal. The next time I write a scuba scene, I will have actually experienced it first hand. I think I did a pretty good job culling the experiences of my kids in my Aloha Reef series but now I'll get to see it for myself instead of secondhand.
What about you? Do you have a dream that you've never tried? Want to go bungee jumping or parasailing? I won't say you're crazy. Admit you have a bit of daredevil in you. I won't even laugh if you tell me you've always wanted to take up knitting or learn to play the piano. What's stopping you? I think of those Home Depot ads lately. Let's have a little more DOING and a little less talking about it. I'm ready. Let's go! Let's talk about it and I just might put you in a book! :-)
Labels: boomers, scuba
Colleen Coble
posted at
9:12 PM
Comments (11)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
I like to color. There. I said it.
When I was a teen, on Saturdays my brother would hijack the TV for "Planet of the Apes", so my sister and I colored at the kitchen table. Colored pencils, crayons, markers . . . didn't matter the medium. All we needed was time and paper and we were happy.
When my boys were little, I colored with them, but now they're older--and don't like to color! Notice I didn't say too old to color. Because, ahem, one is never too old to color.
I'd forgotten how relaxing it can be until today when I colored a picture for my sick nephew (more on that it a minute). There's something about the act of creating, of putting color on to paper that frees the mind and eases the spirit.
How had I forgotten? I may just go buy myself some coloring books. Is there an activity that relaxes you, and do you make time for it in your schedule?
About my nephew: Tyler (19) was diagnosed with acute leukemia a week ago. Please pray for him and his family as he undergoes chemo and faces a bone marrow transplant this winter!
Denise Hunter
posted at
9:20 PM
Comments (11)
Friday, July 16, 2010
How does your family make connections? They say that we gravitate to the familiar, which is why kids who grow up in abusive homes, often find an abuser of their own later in life to "fix" things. Hmm. But my husband grew up camping, and that's how he and his family connected. On some brutal trail mastering the universe. Whatever. My family bonded over good food and nice hotels.
May I just state that there was no bait and switch. I was not He-man when we dated, and though I did give into camping on many occasions with the kids, I never enjoyed it. Not even when pregnant on my birthday with no running water and my church friends decorated my tent. But that was the closest I came. Because there was no brutal hike or "Survivor" tests. Other than the outhouse when pregnant, that is.
My family is going in the RV this week. Without me. I am working. This whole summer has been driving my kids to their events, and work has taken a backseat. So I get the whole week to work. Yesterday, my daughter came to me and said, "Mom, I wish you were coming in the RV."
I said, "Really Elle, do you really wish that?"
She thinks about it for awhile and then says, "No, you ruined it last time. We had to come home early." LOL
I have had one "rule" on my vacation requirements. I will not go anywhere that my BlackBerry doesn't work. Because that means I am in the middle of nowhere, and I really have no desire to ever be that out of touch from people. Yet, it seems every single year, I am in the middle of nowhere with no way to connect to the outside world and I spend every single day of my life in the car connecting with the kids, so how exactly is that a vacation?
So I connect by listening to my kids. By asking questions, by discussing all aspects of lives and what they see in other people's lives. I don't need to be amongst the dirt to do that. So while it may look dysfunctional that I'm missing the family RV trip (and very well may be) I have lived through it enough to know that I hate to camp. And that little fact is going to overtake any good parts of "connection" and edge closer to the resentment factor. Suffering for no reason is just that. Like I said, there was no bait and switch. I was driving a Mustang Convertible, had my nails done weekly and marketed a shopping mall for a living. Where would someone get the idea that I'd turn into Annie Oakley?
What's your favorite way to connect with your family? Incidentally, I'm connecting with my best friend for vacation. In Mexico.
Labels: Camping, connection, dining, family connections, family vacations, RV
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Okay, so you all have heard my great news of no more chemo, and I'm thanking God every day for His mercy toward me!!!
Now it's time for some serious fun! Doctor gave me a prescription for Latisse. Remember the commercial with Brooke Shields where she gets an Rx for thicker eyelashes? That's what this stuff is. Creates thicker eyelashes--of course, in my case we're not going for thicker. ANY will do.
I've used the Rx (topical) three nights now. Stayed up eating popcorn and stared in the mirror all night, waiting for those babies to pop out of my skin!
So far, I got nothin.
Chemo strips one's eyes/face of color--which got me to thinkin'. I'll soon be able to splash more color on my face.
What do you think about the jeweled eyelashes look? It has a certain sparkle about it, don't you think? Time to make those babies shine--when I get some!
If you don't like the jeweled look, what about this next picture:
Talk about making a statement. I'm not sure what she's saying, but still.
Of course, I'm exaggerating, but I'm seriously having fun thinking about new looks and fun ways to enjoy life--with fresh, new eyelashes and eyebrows!!! It's springtime and my eyes will be in full bloom soon! :-)
I promise NOT to talk about my eyebrows/lashes anymore after today. No need to beat a dead horse, but I just couldn't resist one more time. You just have no idea how much you miss them when they're gone.
So when I start complaining about plucking and all that, give me a cyber whack!
I have an assignment for you today: Do something wild and fun with your eyes--just because you CAN!!
Labels: eyebrows, eyelashes, Latisse
Diann Hunt
posted at
9:19 AM
Comments (11)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Picture four adults in their fifties walking down the middle of the street in a quiet residential neighborhood. They're holding serious conversations...and they're blowing bubbles. Like little kids. Oh, yes, and there's a dog, and fireflies, and cicadas singing. The pose you see above was after our walk. I just had to catch this image on camera to prove that adults really can have simple, uncomplicated fun. No television necessary, no movies, not even a book. We can enjoy one of childhood's pleasures.
One of my friends met me for a walk one day--I may have mentioned it on a blog a few weeks ago. She knew I was feeling stressed and disturbed, and she wanted to cheer me up. So she stopped at a store on her way to meet me, and picked up a couple of bubble tubes. It cheered us up then, so when we got together with our husbands last week, I brought more bubble tubes to see how the guys would respond. Have you ever watched little boys out playing in the sunshine...or even wading through puddles in the rain? Adorable. Our husbands fully invested themselves in this effort to lighten daily worries and have fun.
One day I was out hiking by myself, and I asked God, "If you were walking beside me in human form, what would you tell me?"
I waited for thirty minutes and two miles for the answer, but it was worth the wait. The answer was, "Take time to play."
So every day, I take time to play. Yes, I know I've harped on this subject a lot, but it's for a good reason. Sometimes, the older we get, the more we forget about simple childhood pleasures. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to make up stories. Well, now that I do that for a living, it's no longer such a simple pleasure, it's a job. So I have to find other things, simpler things, to lighten my daily burden. I watch the cats wrestle, or I walk in the rain, or I blow bubbles.
I challenge you to find a bubble tube at your local store, go outside, forget about what the neighbors might think, and wave the bubble wand in the wind. Watch those glowing orbs float up and away, and imagine your burdens are floating off with them. Get out there and have some fun!
Labels: simple pleasures, summertime fun
Hannah Alexander
posted at
11:40 PM
Comments (12)
40 YEARS AGO
Doesn't just saying the words "40 years ago" make me sound ancient? My 40th high school class reunion is next month. FORTY years ago I was 18. How is that possible? I don't feel 40 yet, let alone facing the reality that my youth was forty years ago. I'm really looking forward to it, and just thinking about the friends I graduated with is an exercise in characterization. There's the couple who dated through high school and married right after and are still together all these years later. And they still look the same: young. The rats. LOL There's one of the bad boys who became a minister. How did that happen? There are the ones who were quiet and you never really knew what they might accomplish and they are really successful. There are the friends you just knew who would be successful and they are. I think it's going to be a great evening of looking back but also fun for me as a writer to dig under the surface and see what experiences led them on the paths they took. And who would have imagined that I'd be an author? It was a dream I didn't even dare voice back then.
I'm on another round of my diet too, though it really has nothing to do with the reunion. But it doesn't hurt to know I'm going to be at my goal weight by the time it rolls around. But the cool thing is that I know this group loves and accepts me for who I am, just as I do them. The stress of earlier reunions is gone now. I don't need to impress anyone. Heck, we're all just happy to have survived this long. LOL We just are going to get together to look back and enjoy who we have become on this journey.
I had to put up that picture of the Monkees because I loved them back in the 60s. Some of my friends were into other bands like the Rolling Stones, , but me, I loved Micky. :-) And the Beatles. There's something about music that can transport me back to the good old days. How about you? What music defined your era for you?
Labels: 1960s, high school, reunion
Colleen Coble
posted at
8:42 AM
Comments (16)
Friday, July 09, 2010
GREAT NEWS ABOUT DIANN!
I just had to share with you, our dear friends! Diann just called from Zion. She was crying so hard she was practically incoherent and my heart just plummeted. But it was GOOD news! Her condition couldn't be better. NO sign of cancer, her CA-125 is still normal, and the doctor believes her prognosis is excellent. PRAISE GOD! I thank Him for leading us to Dr. Williams at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion.
I'm sitting here sobbing as hard as Di was. What wonderful news! She is going to go ahead with infusions of Avast to make sure things STAY this good but she is well!
Colleen Coble
posted at
2:56 PM
Comments (14)
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Picture at bottom! WAY below words. Not sure what happened, but it's been that kind of week. I decide to do one thing and end up doing the complete opposite. Like the stream meandering through the picture...if you can find it.
Today I drove to town to see my mother where she's living in an independent living facility, and ended up putting her apartment back in order--including placing fifteen frozen pizzas back in the freezer. I'd just I happened to mention yesterday that when she gets better and is finished with her physical therapy we will be moving her closer to us so I can help her with her daily living. She took that to mean she was moving TODAY, not next month. So she was packing. She had everything strewn out across the floor and on the counters, had taken her bedding off the bed and all her books off the shelves. Imagine her disappointment and my frustration when she learned differently. So when I talked to her counselor today, the counselor and I both cried. I never got a word written.
Do you find yourself meandering like this? Interrupting your life for someone who needs you? Do you feel frustrated? I know others do. After I finished getting Mom's furnishings and pizzas back in place, I stepped next door to give a couple of books to her neighbor, Ruth. Mom loves Ruth, who checks on Mom each night, who tries to get the ladies in their shared villa together for special time, who needs to be helping others. She's a longtime pastor's widow. She has leukemia. Today, she told me, with tears in her eyes, that she often wondered why God had her there. I told her because she was on a mission, and she was serving wonderfully. She is. God's special messenger.
But do you ever consider, while you're meandering through life, interrupted so often by others, that you, too, are doing exactly what God wants you to do? That your calling is to be available for those who need you, whether that be your children, your husband, your ailing parents or neighbors? I used to get so frustrated when I had a writing deadline and someone interrupted me in the middle of a scene. So God gave me a sabbatical. I'm on it. My job right now is to care for my mother--and maybe offer encouragement to those who help her and touch her life, from her counselor to her neighbor. I'm called, as well, to pray for so many of my friends who need prayer right now.
Someday, I'll probably have deadlines again. Someday. For now, I'll write what I can while I meander, doing another ministry to which God has called me. They will know us as Christians by the way we love one another.
How about you? Any meandering that might actually be your season of living with a different purpose? God's purpose?
Labels: live with purpose, Meandering life
Hannah Alexander
posted at
7:27 PM
Comments (8)
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Switched at Birth?
I have a tomboy. How did that happen? I think it's payback for trying to give my practical mother makeup tips when I was a child. I don't like horses. But if I did, I would totally be into the English riding, and the cute boots/hat and fitted stirrup pants. I would definitely not be a Western rider in sloppy jeans, ugly boots and lots of dirt. But my daughter? She comes alive in the country. Her favorite thing to do is camp. (Where did I go wrong?)
This week she's in horseback riding camp. We went to a dude ranch once, so she's not afraid of horses and much to my dismay, mounted that horse and hasn't looked back. This is honestly the only sport/activity I've signed her up for that she has stuck with. She cannot wait to get to camp in the morning. She tells me all about the horses and she is begging for another camp (which incidentally was over $300 at a reduced city rate -- ouch!) All the horse property here in the Bay Area is either in Saratoga, Los Altos Hills or Woodside (think minimum price $3 million -- and that's for a dump there.)
So Elle, country girl at heart, wants a horse. I mean, she's willing to go when she's fourteen and shovel the stalls so she can ride and wishes she could do it now (she's ten this month) -- but do you see the irony here? I raise a girl who passes up pink at every occasion and opts for brown, who would rather wear boots that heels to play in -- and she's going to cost me more than a girly girl!!
Now Elle's not getting a horse, but I will be looking for more riding lessons and asking myself why? Why not figure skating? Why not tennis? Why dirt? Why rugged activity? I have three boys for that!! (Who are about as city as you can get. LOL)
When we go to the Treatment Center in Zion, Illinois, we always stop at one of the beaches on Lake Michigan before going home.
I love this picture of my husband because he's just enjoying his walk, looking for rocks (for our Ebenezer gifts) and just basking in the day.
I love that after a day or two of medical stuff, we get to enjoy God's creation! How cool that God meets us in both places. :-)
God constantly surprises me with His presence in some way or another. For instance, one of the ladies' groups I'm in sent me an edible bouquet this week. In case you don't know what that is, I've attached a picture. This one is a bouquet made up of strawberries, pineapple "suckers" dipped in chocolate and heart-shaped pineapples! DELICIOUS! Just so you know, I plucked the chocolate right off those pineapples and indulged to my heart's delight! (God's surprise was not in the chocolate, by the way, it was in those gals' sweet, sweet, unexpected gift to me--for finishing chemo!).
Another surprise this week came when my husband ordered a CD from Tim Janis (actually talked to TIM!)--www.timjanis.com--and when my husband mentioned that I love the CDs, that they calmed me after chemo, Mr. Janis said he felt the Spirit nudge him to send me another of his CDs.
Now some people are kind, no doubt about it, but the more I thought about his words that the "Spirit nudged him," I was blessed beyond measure to think that God wanted me to have that special music that brings peace to my soul!
How often do I stop and consider that some things are truly a gift from the Lord?! WOW! I take so much for granted.
Well, sorry I'm rambling. These are just things that are on my mind today. How has God blessed you lately?
Labels: edible creations, Lake Michigan, Tim Janis
Diann Hunt
posted at
1:23 PM
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I wrote for fourteen years before my first novel was published, and I'm so glad I had that waiting period. I know it's a cliche to say that good things come to those who wait, but it's true. It wasn't until I was married to Mel and learned what a real live hero was like that I found the missing ingredient in my novels--tenderness with strength and a certain, optimistic focus. That was when I went back through all the manuscripts I'd completed--thirteen--and based the male leads, all of them, on Mel. And that was when the publishers took notice.
I'm a people person. Love to be around people and love even more to watch them. Love interacting and yes, I can be rather opinionated. LOL I'm really active on the HCG forum and one thing I see so clearly anymore is how different we all are. 
This is from Denise, not Colleen. She is on a ship and can't get blogger to open.
I know it's not wise to say "never," because once you say you'll never do something, that's exactly what you'll end up doing. So when I say I'll probably never get stuck in a rut in my life, that's surely going to happen. That said, however, it won't be easy for the rut. I get bored easily. I don't like to stay in one place, or look one particular way, for very long at a time.
We've all read the stories of the grandmas who are going bungee jumping, parasailing, and other crazy things. I used to snicker. When I was 30. Who wants to do something like that when they're old? At least that was my younger self's thoughts. But now I'm on the upper end of the 50s and you know what? I don't feel 58. My former pastor Steve Parks always says the soul doesn't age. It's the same as when you are first conscious of who you are. And I think he's right. I don't feel any different now than when I was the age of my kids here in this picture.
Okay, so you all have heard my great news of no more chemo, and I'm thanking God every day for His mercy toward me!!!
Picture four adults in their fifties walking down the middle of the street in a quiet residential neighborhood. They're holding serious conversations...and they're blowing bubbles. Like little kids. Oh, yes, and there's a dog, and fireflies, and cicadas singing. The pose you see above was after our walk. I just had to catch this image on camera to prove that adults really can have simple, uncomplicated fun. No television necessary, no movies, not even a book. We can enjoy one of childhood's pleasures.
When we go to the Treatment Center in Zion, Illinois, we always stop at one of the beaches on Lake Michigan before going home.
