A STRESSFUL WEEK

This week has been stressful. Having blood work Monday was stressful enough, but it didn't stop there. Monday, a dear friend at church lost her father. We have been close to her and her husband since before we moved. They were one of the first people to speak to us, and you don't forget them. Visitation was Wednesday night. We went early, thinking we would get there before the crowd. We didn't. We stood in line about 45 minutes before we got to the front of the chapel. We did make it to McDonald's and then to church in time.

Tuesday our daughter called that her husband was going to have surgery on his lungs. He has been retaining fluid for some time. Two weeks ago they drained almost 2 liters from  his lungs, and they are filling up again. He's to go today and get them drained again. His surgery will be September 10. I can't explain what they are going to do, but it's pretty serious. All this has happened since his heart surgery in January. We will be going down for the surgery and I don't know how long we will stay. We will probably be the school shuttle.

Everything comes in three's. My daughter told us our granddaughter has the same thing my husband and I had and has missed a couple of days of school. Hopefully that is the end of our distress.

A good thing, our youngest granddaughter, Josie, made the honor choir at her school. She has the sweetest voice, and she can really belt them out. I was surprised when I heard her in a concert in the spring. I'm so happy for her.

The two boys are playing football. Chet, the oldest, is the starter kicker. He loves it. Grayson is having fun running. Wish I had his energy.

We're waiting for Issac to make his appearance. We're supposed to have rain. It gets cloudy, then the sky is blue. I think we're on the outer bands. We need the rain. The Lord knows best. Have a good, safe Labor Day week-end.

SWORN TO PROTECT

Sworn to Protect is the second in Diann Mills Call to Duty Series, and it is very good. This one is about the Texas Border Patrol. I will have to admit I had never thought about how dangerous that job is until I read the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, as I do all of Diane's books. She is a wonderful writer, and one of my all time favs. I've been reading her books since I don't know when. I met her at the first conference I went to at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina. She was one of the first "real" writers I met and I was scared to death to speak to her. She was published and made money writing. Then I found out she was a woman just like me. She's been very important to encourage me through the years.

One other author that encouraged me back then at that conference was Mindy Starnes Clark. I will always buy these two authors books whenever I see them. Love these two girls, women. My husband said I shouldn't call them girls.

Here's the book cover and the blurb from Sworn to Protect. I give it 5 stars


Border Patrol Agent Danika Morales has sworn to protect the southern borders of our nation, but that oath has cost her. Two years ago, her husband, Toby, was killed trying to help the very immigrants Danika was responsible for sending back to Mexico. His murder was never solved. But now, a recent string of attacks and arrests leads her to believe that someone in McAllen is profiting from sneaking undocumented immigrants into the country . . . and it may somehow be tied to Toby’s death..

LATE START TODAY

I hate late starts, but today couldn't be helped. Today was blood work day, I hate it because I have such bad veins. My husband has the easiest time getting blood work. His veins pop up, and they make one stick and get so much blood. Mine are a different story. I've had seven sticks and no blood.

Thankfully that was not the story today. Just two sticks and the second was a good one. The first stick clotted before the blood got int he vial. Not good. The second stick ran a little faster. At least it didn't clot before it went into the vial. We go to church with the lady who did the second stick. She said real serious, "I'm going to put you to sleep." That's the only way they can get a good vein before surgery. So I thought she may do that. I drove myself, so I was scared she would. Now, I'll have to watch her dry humor. 

Do you find reading a book with less conversation and more telling is harder to read? I finished one recently, and it took me a long time to read. It had a lot of telling and very little conversation. Now I'm in another one by a good author with a father who is an agent, and it's the same way. I've been told by judges that I do a good job with conversations and I should stick with more of them. I love doing conversations because I fell I can bring more action into a story. 

When my characters are nervous, I have certain actions they do all the time. Callie, in the book coming out soon, rolls the hem of her apron up and down. Jacob, her intended, walks around and talks. That is their means of release of tension. 

One sign of nervousness my husband has is playing with the keys and money in his pockets. The first time I noticed it, he was preaching and I wanted to run to the pulpit and pull the money and keys out of his pockets. He leaves his keys on the seat before he goes to the front now. He doesn't preach anymore, but he does teach the adult class some. It irritates me and makes me nervous. I wring my hands.

For boredom, let the women look around the room, tidy their hair, and smile. The men can twirl their thumbs around, crease their pants with their thumb and forefinger, and tidy their hair. Both can brush imaginary lint from their clothes.There are so many things to do to make the story believable and the characters look like real people and not paper dolls

Have fun with your characters and treat them like real people. For a few minutes they are in your mind..

THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A WEEK...

Since I have been able to get on Blogger. Maybe it's me, but I don't know. I've opened  a new blog on WordPress. It's Kattscribbles.wordpress.com. It is much easier to manage.I decided to work this morning until I could get back on this blog. So here I am. Now, I have both, so what will I do?

I like blogger because I have my list of followers. I don't have that on WordPress. I like WordPress because I don't have the hassle that I have with Blogger getting signed in. See, I have two Google accounts and I get mixed up and Google does too. Finally, I figured it out today.

If everyone wants to move to WordPress, I"m happy to close this one down, but I can't have the blogs I follow because they're not on WordPress. Maybe I'll struggle on with this one because I'm more used to it. Go over to the WordPress sight and see what's been happening so far. I do have a book review on it.

What have I been doing for the past week? I have been sick! It's something going around with a sore throat, cough, headache, congestion, and all the aches and pains. Not good. I have read when I felt like it and finished two books. One is on the WordPress blog. My hubs and I have both been sick so there was no one the sympathize with. I still have a cough, but I'm better and so is he.

Things are going slow with our Mantle Rock Publishing Company, but that's okay. My book will be perfect when it is published. It will probably be October before it will be on Amazon. I will let you guys know first. I think God is teaching me patience. He knows I need it.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Things are happening faster than I'm ready for them. My book cover is finished. I like it. It's rustic and mountainous. The back of a girl looking at the mountains that she loves. I'm having a hard time getting a copy of it. I am not very good with computers, except for writing. I may try again and see if I can get it here on the blog.

  I'm so happy I got it on there. I knew if I worked hard enough I could get it for everyone to see. The designer first had the tree in front red, but I didn't like that. We made it pink and it looks more like a laurel bush. I couldn't find a picture of the Clinch Mountains, which is the correct setting, but the Great Smokey Mountains look good. I'm so happy I have gone this far. I'm praying it will be finished by my expected due date. Oh, I sound like I'm pregnant. Well, I guess I am giving birth to a book.

Now to get the rest of the book ready. I'm so excited.

MUSCLE AND A SHOVEL

Have you ever read a book that has really turned your life around? Muscle and a Shovel by Michael Shank  did it for me. I don't want to offend anyone, but I want to tell you the truth. So please listen with an open heart. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone.

Most of you know, if you read this blog very much, that I am a member of the church of Christ. We do believe that the Bible is the only way you will get to heaven. We believe that baptism is for the remission of sins, Mark 16:16, Acts.2:38. Mike explains all of this in his book. I don't want to sound preachy, and Mike is not preachy in the book. It's a book you can't put down. My husband read it in 2 days.

The book is written as a fiction book, but it is true except the names have been changed. It flows well. There are a few punctuation errors, but you can look over them. The writing is very good. I was very impressed. You can buy it on Amazon or from Michael Shank. Here is the blurb from Amazon.

Muscle and a Shovel is a raw, gritty, true story about a pair of young newly-weds who move to the city to chase the American dream. In the process they are befriended by a man who turns their belief about God, their church, and their faith upside down! Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, the Community Churches - none are spared when Truth is at stake and their new friend Randall isn't about to "candy-coat" God's Word for the sake of "political correctness" or "religious tolerance." This story will grip you from opening to close and will stimulate your spirit on levels you didn't think possible! Get ready to fight or flee, because Muscle and a Shovel is one of those rare books that will raise your heart-rate and your blood-pressure. You won't want to wait to share it with your friends, or you will want to soak it in gasoline and set on fire! There'll be no 'middle ground.' This book may turn our current religious world upside-down!


This is more like I heard when I was growing up in the 50's. No sugar-coating. The truth was taught. I'm so glad Mike wrote this book. I felt like I was in a tent meeting with a Bible-thumping preacher. And I say "Amen" to everything Mike writes.

CHICK-FIL-A, I LOVE YOU

I usually don't use the same post I used in another blog, but this is one I feel strongly about. I used this one today in www.forchristiangirls.org. I love Mr. Cathey and what he stands for. Here goes.

What's all the controversy about a store owner making a statement about his beliefs? This is a free country. We can state what we believe anytime and anywhere we want to, or can we? It seems if you own a business, you can't because you might hurt someone's feelings.

Well, I say that's silly. Did it hurt JC Penny Stores when they hired a  popular gay as their spokesperson? No one said anything. Where were the Christians? They didn't stand outside Penny's, hold hands and sing a religious song.

Christians will say there are gays everywhere and we can't  quit shopping where they are. Isn't it funny that the gays made a national statement about Chick-fil-a from a statement Mr. Cathey made about marriage? We, as Christians, won't take a stand against Penny's, Home Depot, or Walmart.

Did I write Walmart? Did you not know that they hire gay store managers? I worked for Walmart and yes, they do hire gay managers now. They are their up and coming store managers. I hated to work for a gay managers and one assistant manager told me she hated it also. But no one said anything. So called Christians, and I put myself in that boat, just let it slide.

In Galatians 5:19-21  we have this scripture,  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is taken from the English Standard Version. I think it explains the words better. It takes in a lot of things we may be doing that are wrong.

The New Testament was written by the apostles by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament was written by prophets by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When Christ died on the cross, the New Testament came into effect. The Old Testament was done away with. We no longer offer animal sacrifices, incense, or things the Jews did under the Law. We no longer observe the Sabbath or Saturday. We worship God on the first day of the week, Sunday, as set forth in the Bible in Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2.

The Bible needs to be studied and not pick out verses that you like and believe them, out of context. That is what is happening in denominations. They pick out something that sounds good and decide that's what they'll do. It's the whole that has to be believed, not just a part.

Mr. Cathey has made headlines by stating his beliefs. Good for him! He's a strong man. I appreciate his views on marriage. I believe the same thing. Marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman for life. No wonder our world is in such a mess. It's time we as Christians took a stand. Stand up for what you believe. Let others know how you feel about sin. Go for it!

OVER THE EDGE

The last of Mary Connealy's Kincaid Brides Series goes on t he shelves today. I ordered mine in February and got it early. That's a good hint. If you want to get a little early jump on everyone else, order from Amazon early.

The first book was about Rafe and his bossiness. The second was about Ethan and his grinning. This one is about Seth and his craziness. Of all the three boys, I love Seth the best. He gets his mind back and is crazy in love with Callie.

It starts by introducing us to Callie and an attempted stagecoach robbery. Callie knows how to use a gun and boss people around. Robbers try to rob the stage that Callie and her son, Conner, is on. Seth is the father, but he doesn't remember. The others on the stage are the parson and his wife. She wings one of the robbers, hands her son to the parson's wife and tells her to get down in the floor. When she doesn't, she pulls her down by the front of her dress. The parson can't shoot, so she makes him get down in the floor also. When the stage turns over and she is filled with splinters from the wood, she tells the parson and his wife to run to town with Conner and get the sheriff. Someone rides up soon after they leave, and it is Seth. Callie is ready to kill him. He doesn't remember her. That's when the fun begins. 

The cave is still there, and the treasure is still in the picture. It's a fun book. My husband and I were reading it at the same time, not good. We fought for it. 

Here's the picture and the blurb. I hope you will enjoy it. 

Seth Kincaid survived a fire in a cave, but he's never been the same. He was always a reckless youth, but now he's gone over the edge. He ran off to the Civil War and came back crazier than ever.

After the war, nearly dead from his injuries, it appears Seth got married. Oh, he's got a lot of excuses, but his wife isn't happy to find out Seth doesn't remember her. Callie has searched, prayed, and worried. Now she's come to the Kincaid family's ranch in Colorado to find her lost husband.

Callie isn't a long-suffering woman. Once she knows her husband is alive, she wants to kill him. She's not even close to forgiving him for abandoning her.

Then more trouble shows up in the form of a secret Seth's pa kept for years. The Kincaid brothers might lose their ranch if they can't sort things out. It's enough to drive a man insane--but somehow it's all making Seth see things more clearly. And now that he knows what he wants, no one better stand in his way.