NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

I try to steer away from religious subjects, but today is the National Day of Prayer. I've considered myself to be a prayerful person, so I have taken this day for granted until today. On the television, Fox station, they stated that a member of our president's cabinet wanted us to consider this a "National Day of Reflection."

Okay, folks, what more can the government take away from us? They have taken God out of the school, want to take God off the back of our money, and now we cannot even have a day representing what this country was based upon. Where are you Christians?

Someone told me one day that they didn't have anything to do with politics. You'd better, or we'll be restricted to what we teach in our churches. We will not be able to teach the Word of God. I am so afraid of what this country is coming to.

How did this happen? This is my theory, not anyone's. Just mine. I believe we are afraid to stand up for the truth. We sugar-coat it to make it sound good. We forget to tell our children the little word, "no." We let them do more or less what they want to and never reprimand them. We as parents, have lowered the gap.  We do not inspect laws that are being voted upon until it's too late. We let other people in government do what they want, not what their constituents want. We are letting atheists and homosexuals convince us and our children that what they believe is right, and the Bible is not to be believed. We allow all kinds of programs to be on television that encourage foul language, homosexual acts, sex before marriage  and many other things. Are we asleep or just ignorant?

I have copied below something we all should be interested in. Religious freedom. This is from Family Research Council, http://www.frc.org/alert/pentagon-consultant-no-gospel-witness-for-chaplains. I can only ask, what will be next? Go to the above website and sign a petition to keep this from happening. I just signed it. This is taking things too far.

April 29, 2013 - Monday

The very troops who defend our religious freedom are at risk of having their own taken away.

Last week, anti-Christian and left-wing activists met at the Pentagon with military officials to discuss pressing issues in the military. What issues would be of such importance to gain such a high-level hearing?

According to these far-left consultants, religion is one of the chief problems plaguing our troops. As theWashington Post reported, some are saying that "religious proselytizing" is at the top of the list of problems in the armed forces -- even on par with sexual assault.

As a result of such complaints from the left, the Air Force has -- according to the Post --published, but not yet distributed a new document with the directive that leaders of all levels (including chaplains) may not "promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion." The penalty these secularists are seeking for those who don't comply with their view of religious speech is court-martial.

If this policy goes forward, Christians within the military who speak of their faith could now be prosecuted as enemies of the state. This has the potential to destroy military recruiting across the services as Americans realize that their faith will be suppressed by joining the military.

Our brave troops deserve better. If chaplains and other personnel are censored from offering the full solace of the Gospel, there is no religious freedom in the military.

Please join me in signing the petition to Secretary Hagel urging him to protect the religious freedom of our troops - and not to proceed with the purge of religion within the ranks called for by anti-Christian activists.

I believe if we all stick together, we can defeat these wrongs. Pray and work to do that.

WHAT IS IN MY FUTURE

I'm talking about my writing future. It's so much fun to think about what can happen with my books. There are so many ideas in my head and sometimes it's hard to get them down.

Last time I told you a little about Susannah. Today I want to tell you a little about Callie and Jacob's daughter, Emily. You probably already know I'm concerned with prejudice. The one thing I cannot stand is someone to be prejudice toward another color of skin. We were all created in God's image, no matter what our color is. Emily is no different.

Emily's Faith puts her in Kentucky in 1834 about the time of the Trail of Tears. Emily is the youngest daughter of Callie and Jacob. She becomes a teacher and begins by teaching in a girls school in Rogersville, TN (There really was one there, built on the site of Joseph Rogers peach orchard.). Val and Susannah's son is in the army and he is on leave and walks down the street with Emily. They were friends all their life and she sees nothing wrong with it, but the school does. Remember Val is of a mixed race and Susannah is very white. Their son is a darker color than most people.

The school fathers call her in the office and fire her on the spot for being seen with a person of color. She finds a job in Hopkinsville, KY. Did you realize the Indians spent the winter in and around Hopkinsville? I didn't either until I moved to Kentucky. That's all I'm going to tell. You can let your imagination go to work. If you know anything about the Trail of Tears, you know they were treated worse than animals.

What is after Susannah? I plan to finishing a book I've been working on for a while. It is about Jekyll Island, GA. I love the book because of the history on the island. I will be looking for an agent for that book. The Melungeon Series will be published on Amazon. I started them that way, and I want to finish them with Amazon. But the Jekyll book will be looking for a publisher.

What's after that? The first book I ever wrote is a contemporary, a mystery. I want to drag it out and finish it. I felt good about it when I started it, but it has a lot of things that need corrected. That will be after Emily. It's a funny book, and a scary book. I scared myself writing it.

Writing is so much fun. A friend of mine who writes non-fiction told me yesterday he is going to write a fiction book. I'm so excited for him. I'll tell you more about it when it is finished.

SUSANNAH'S HOPE

I thought I would bring you up to date on Susannah's Hope. The writing of the book is almost finished. I'm debating on the last few chapters. Should I stop when they are married, or should I take them back to Tennessee? I can't decide.

If you read Callie's Mountain, you know Susannah was a brat. She was self-centered and toward the end she began to be a gossip. In the beginning of this book, she is still self-centered and thinks the Melungeon people are dirty, lazy, and full of disease.

Something happens and she is forced to spend time in Mary Gibson's home. As you remember, Marry is a Melungeon mid-wife and healer. Can you imagine Susannah's shock when she wakes up to find she's been in a Melungeon's bed for a couple of weeks? So interesting.

Then, we'll see more of Dr. Val Minor. Our writer's group fell in love with him. That surprised me because I didn't think I had described him enough. Tall, dark, and handsome is his description. Brown eyes you can get lost in, and a curl falls down on his forehead. Does that entice you?

As with the other book and the next one in the series, we will be focusing on prejudice. I guess this is one of my stump speeches. I hate prejudice of people of color. I was taught to steer clear of Melungeons. Then I found out they were just like the rest of us. No different. Some are good and some are bad. You will find that in all races and peoples.

Susannah has a big problem. First she hate the Melungeons and then she loves them. Interesting isn't it? So, when will Susannah be published. Hopefully in June. I have made a cover and I like it. Now to finish with the critique and get it published.

My next book? I will leave the series for a while to write a book about Jekyll Island, GA. It is set in the early 1900. A different time for me to write, and a different book.

BOSTON BOMBING AND MORE

The whole world was shocked yesterday when the bombs went off during the Boston Marathon. It blew my mind that someone would do such a thing. Children hurt and killed is about the worse there is. I pray these people are caught and punished. If they were Muslims and it was supposed to be a suicide bombing,, let them live the rest of their days in prison. That will be their punishment. If it was just some mean people, punish them in some way.

Yes, I believe in capital punishment. The Bible teaches it. Criminals should be punished and made to suffer. Today they have cushy cells, television, all the law books they can find, and treatment close to the celebrity statis. That should not be! I firmly believe in punishing them and not giving them everything they want.

Okay, I'll step down from my soap box.

Last week was a busy week for me. One of our friends from church had surgery for stomach cancer Tuesday. Instead of the four hour surgery it was supposed to be, he was in surgery for seven hours. He is improving, but it will take a while. It was a long sit in the hospital waiting room.

We had worked in the yard the week-end before, I think. Time has a way of escaping for me. The wind was blowing the pollen around, and I have had a horrible allergy/sinus attack. Something in the hospital irritated my sinuses, so that did not help. Thursday I get to do it all over again.

We will be at the hospital again sitting with another family. This time a very good friend of ours will be having surgery on her neck. She has been in horrible pain for several months. I will be so glad when this is over for her and I pray for success.

Our daughter-in-law and granddaughter are in Washington, D.C. on granddaughter's school trip. What a horrible time to be in Washington! I haven't heard from my son yet this morning, but they were headed in the direction of Washington last night. We are the shuttle for the boys ballgames and practice. Right now I'm washing soccer clothes. It's been a long, long time since we've done something like this, but it's fun.

I am trying to finish Susannah's Hope and then I will self-publish it. I'm anxious to get it finished. It seems like I take forever to finish a book. I'm also working on Golden Winter about Jekyll Island in the early 1900's. Can't wait to get them both finished.

Have a good and safe day. Please pray for all those injured yesterday, and for the families who lost loved ones.

TIM DOWNS

A couple of my friends are fans of Tim Downs books about The Bug Man, Dr. Nick Polchak. At our Writer's Retreat recently, Sandra Robbins quoted several of character points in the books. I'm not sure how many books Mr. Downs has written, but they are different ,and they gives you a good idea of great character development.

I bought the three-in-one bundle for my Kindle. I'm reading First the Dead. I have laughed so much with this character, Dr. Nick Polchak. Mr. Downs had developed a character that is at times unbelievable, and then when I think about it, I believe I know someone like him. I can picture Nick in my mind. That's good character development.

First the Dead is about Hurricane Katrina. We have all heard the stories about what went on there, and they are recorded in this book along with some fiction facts. We have a friend who bused the people from Baton Rogue to other places, as far as Fort Smith, Arkansas. He kept telling me it was horrible. I believed him, he doesn't lie, but unless you are there, you can't truly understand. This book has brought it all to life.

The next book is Less than Dead and the third is Ends of the Earth. Will I be reading more of Tim Downs' books. You bet! They are suspenseful, thrilling, and keep you glued to the page. I'm almost through with First the Dead. One place in the book, Dr. Polchak made a statement to the psychiatrist he thinks he's a bug. He can't socialize with the human world. I love it! Even his round thick glasses make him look bug-eyed.

There are so many authors with so many ways of writing, and Tim Downs has opened new doors for me. This is fresh writing, not the same old thing we've read before. It's is light reading, but also intense. I'm down in the Ninth Ward in that boat with him while he looks for bodies, which he's not supposed to do yet. I can even smell the stinking water. That is the kind of writing I like.

If you wan to try something different, read Tim Downs' books. If you have a queasy stomach, I don't recommend them. Personally, I am enjoying them.

MOUNTAIN HOMECOMING

I finished reading Sandra Robbins' newest novel, Mountain Homecoming, and I was so pleased to have read the book. It seems lately I haven't been able to finish a book. Nothing seemed to interest me, but this is one good book.

Sandra deserves 5 stars for a book filled with adventure, love, and honesty. If you read Angel of the Cove, the first in the Smoky Mountain series, you were introduced to several people mentioned in this book. You will remember Anna and Simon, Granny, and Matthew Jackson. This story takes place twenty years after the first book.

If you are from the East Tennessee area, you may have heard of the lumber companies who came into the mountains and stripped the land of their trees. The Cades Cove area is one of the most beautiful spots on earth. There were several farms in that area at the time of the book. I feel closer to God when I'm going through "the Cove."

Sandra begins the book when Little River Lumber Company was stripping the mountains of wood. People were beginning to realize the beauty of the Smoky Mountains and visiting the area. Tourism was beginning. The main characters are Rani Martin, daughter of Anna and Simon, and Matthew Jackson. Matthew had left the Cove with his mother and brother after his father was killed in book 1. He returns to the farm his father owned. Luke had been an employee of Little River. Rani loves the mountains and is upset because of the trees being cut and shipped away.

Rani and Matthew meet, and she realized her parents knew him as a boy. They are attracted to each other from the start, but he is eleven years older than she. Matthew has a lot of luggage, and he decides he cannot marry Rani. She leaves home for Maryville. Rani makes pottery the way the Indians did. It sounds beautiful. While in Maryville, she meets a potter who has a kiln and learns to make it the new-fangled way. David Brann falls in love with Rani and they plan to be married at her father's church in the Cove. Can you imagine the rest of the story? It is good.

This book is very heart catching. I cried and I don't cry often when I read a book. When I see a movie, I'll cry, but hardly every when reading a book. It is so good. I might have identified more with Anna and Luke because they had also lost a child. At Christmas, they relinquished Willie's baseball and glove to a young boy living with them. The whole Christmas scene took my heart. I guess I knew how hard it was to part with something that belonged to a child who had passed away. Anyway, I cried.

I also cried when the book ended. Maybe it was an emotional day for me. I don't know, but I loved the book. Sandra did a wonderful job writing the book. Her characters were well defined and interesting. I can't wait for the next one.

EXCITING MORNING

Today is a good day and very exciting. It doesn't take much to excite me, but today is special. First of all, a headache I have had since Saturday is gone. I didn't think it could get much worse than it did yesterday. The doctor had given me meds for my headaches, and I usually can control it with one pill every four hours. Yesterday I was taking two every four hours and wanting the time to go faster. I was in a lot of pain. Today, I am fine. I may feel a little groggy, but I can handle that.

My husband decided to end our land-line and go to all cell phones. That has been a big decision. The phones came yesterday and mine is red. Red is my favorite color, so it was very appropriate. I am very excited to activate them today and get them working. We have ATT internet, but we can keep a line in the house for $5 per month. That's not bad considering all we will be getting on our phones.

I started reading a new book the other day,. My friend, Sandra Robbins, had Harvest House send me her latest book in the Smoky Mountain Series. It's Mountain Homecoming. I recommend it highly. I'm only on the third chapter, but it has grabbed my attention. I didn't want to put it down, but my head hurt so much that I couldn't read.

I'm also getting one from Karen Witemeyer. We have been corresponding this week. She is such a sweet person, as most authors are. I'm looking forward to reading her book about the Preacher. If you read Short Straw Bride, you read about Crockett. I'm anxious to read it.

Today I also ordered a three book set by Tim Downs. It is part of his "bug man" series. I'm not squeamish when I read about insects, and I am well acquainted with the Body Farm somewhere around Knoxville, TN. This is about a forensic anthropologist. I'm looking forward to reading it after I finish Sandra's book.

Today I have to activate the phones, and I'm anxious to start using the red phone. That's hot! Have a good week-end and a Happy Easter.