Time for the Holidays

It is now official. Time to gear up for the holidays. The stores already started a month ago. Hallmark is always in the lead with their July release of ornaments.

Every year I plan how to make the holidays less stressful and time consuming. Yet, every year it seems that events pop up that make it impossible to relax. Maybe I’m not supposed to relax. So, this year I’m throwing all caution to the wind. I’m busy praying and directing the Christmas Outreach drama (A Respectable Birth) that will be performed for two nights in December. This is a good and worthy type of busy. I also plan to volunteer for the Dickens of a Christmas event (again) at the Ohio Historical Village. I will have to post pictures of the 1850s dresses my daughter and I have made in preparation.

I will concede to making fewer cookies and fudge, buying most of my gifts before Thanksgiving, and reading a few good Christmas fiction books. How’s that for a plan!

I welcome you to share (if my comments section works right) how you plan to spend the holidays this year. Family traditions are a wonderful thing and sharing the Good News of Jesus is something the world needs.

Hugs,
Beth

Changing Colors

Have you ever wondered what our world would be like without color? Boring? Sad? Lazy? All of us have our favorite colors. Mine is a peachy orange like an orange sherbert Pushup. Yum! I try to use color when writing, because it can bring a story to life. Fall is full of color this year….a bit early perhaps…but the reds, oranges, yellows and purples look beautiful. These colors can reflect the differences and the similiarities of life. We all have our happy and sad times, and many times they are very different, just like the fall colors.

Currently, I’m bending my characters into different lives and moods….just like colors. It gives them more dimension. Now, if I can just find more time to write.

It’s camping time again. Fall is my favorite for camping. There is a cool nip in the air as the sun sets early and the fire roars. It’s warm during the day while basking in the sun. There is plenty of time for reading and working puzzles.

My website is also in the midst of change. Webmaster Jeff is working on making the site different and refreshing. Be patient as he uploads different features and we work the bugs out.

Shining in Him,
Beth

Back to the Ol’ Grind

When I was a kid, it seemed like summer lasted forever. We didn’t head back to school until after Labor Day and August was still a month of freedom. Now, school starts about the third week of August which makes this time a “school” month. College has started once again for our oldest and homeschooling started today for our family. I’m not ready to let go of summer, because that means fall is coming.

Not that I have anything against the fall. I love it. It’s the winter months that follow that I would like to avoid. How about going from New Year’s right into spring? Now we’re talking.

All joking aside, the fall season does bring me back into an organized schedule that allows me to accomplish many more tasks. God knew what He was doing when he gave us weather changes.

The garden is still blooming like crazy. Red ripe tomatoes color the yard and my Stella’s are still blossoming with beautiful yellow flowers. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying the warm weather.

May God’s Son shine on you!

Hugs,
Beth

Coming Home

Vacations are a wonderful thing and coming home is always good, too. Remember when you couldn’t wait to leave for the trip and the sense of hope you had a few weeks before going knowing you would have a few days away from work and the daily grind. As good as it is to get away, however, there’s security in the normalcy of my “daily grind”.

When something upsets my sense of normalcy such as illness or a death in the family, I long for things to just be the way they were…even if I wasn’t completely happy with the way things were. And so I’m happy to report that our oldest daughter will be returning in a few days from her summer ministry in VA Beach. It’s been a long 10 weeks without her. Even if its only for 3 weeks before setting off for another year of college, it will be good to be back to “normal”….whatever that is.

I hope everyone is having a blessed summer and enjoying one of the best weather patterns we’ve had in years….at least in Ohio.

Hugs,
Beth

Coming And Going

Do you have times when you feel like all you’re doing is “Coming and Going”? I do! And right now, that seems to be the status MO of our family. Between camps, mission trips, Vacation Bible School, family vacation, camping (of course) and even driver’s education classes (Yikes), it’s a coming-and-going summer. But everyone is happy! God has blessed us with great weather and bright spirits.

I’m back to writing on my manuscript again and getting into the swing of the story. Just like when I’m reading a book, if I stray too long from the story, I have to read it again from the beginning. But it’s good to be back into the little farm town of Summer Grove and it seems right since the our garden is tall and green. It’s easy to visualize the corn fields when there is green outside and not snow.

A wonderful praise report: God spared my nephew in a miraculous way. A week ago today he was completely impaled (front to back) through the chest by a ten-foot piece of wood while on the job. He was life-flighted to a nearby hospital where a surgical trama team waited for him. They were able to remove the board, repair his lung, diaphram, stomach and remove the spleen. Unbelievable as it might seem, he’s ready to go home for further recovery. God is so gracious. Now, I’m anxiously awaiting what God has ahead for him. He was spared for something special.

On that note, I’m wishing all of you a blessed Fourth of July. I thank God for his protective hand over our country.

Hugs,
Beth

Always Learning

I promised to write an update about the Citizen’s Police Academy classes I’m taking. Wow! I’m learning so many things about police work and the unfortunate traits of criminals. This class is giving me plenty of book material. It’s also giving me a brand new appreciation for the difficulties faced by law enforcement.

There are only a few pictures to post from my classes due to the type of content. One really cracks me up. The “paddy” wagon that is used to transport criminals to the county jail has instructions on the inside of the back door. “Insert bad guy here”. Guess a sense of humor is much needed in this job.

Our oldest daughter came home from college and is off again for a summer adventure with a group called Great Commission Ministries. This 10-week leadership training and outreach program will be another spiritual growing time for her. She has also obtained her scuba diving certification. Way to go! Check out her scuba picture in my personal photo album.

In other news: Camping is just around the corner and I can’t wait. Yippee! My youngest daughter and I have successfully completed our 1850s dresses. We have been taking sewing lessons since January and having a blast. I will try to post a picture soon so you can see the finished products. She will also be taking a missions adventure this summer along with various camps. And she is of driving age now. Yikes!

That’s all for now. Hope all of you are enjoying the wonders of spring and the new life it brings.

Hugs,
Beth

Old Television Shows

With the new digital era our non-cable TV now receives more channels. One such channel is the Retro Television Network that has great shows from the 1970s such as “Emergency!”. As a teenager I loved that show. I think it was responsible for me going into nursing.

It’s been a lot of fun to watch this show again (and a few more like ‘Alias Smith and Jones’) and it reminds me that good script and plot writing doesn’t need sex and violence to sell. It was just plain well-written material by talented writers. The story drives the show.

For fun, I dug out the ancient photo album from my teenage years and posted a camp picture from what I believe is 1976. We always thought we would never, ever forget a date or face, right? So, why write dates, names, etc., on the back of photos?

Be sure to check out my photo section where this “old time” photo is posted under the personal gallery. This camp photo shows me pointing to a set of pictures of my two favorite paramedics: Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto. Guess I couldn’t leave home without them.

In other news, my husband and I are currently taking classes with the Citizen’s Police Academy. I’m hoping they will allow me to take a few pictures to post. I’ll keep you informed of our progress.

Writing is slow, but coming along. Summer is just around the corner and I’m loving it.

Until Next Time,
Beth

Sweet Maple Syrup

I’ve just returned from a great weekend at the Mohican State Park Resort. It was their Maple Syrup Making Weekend that included a day at Malabar Farm…Ohio’s only historical working farm. Ohio is almost at the end of its maple syrup harvest, but we were able to watch as they tapped trees and processed the sap. Do you know it takes almost 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup?

Harvesting and making maple syrup is very labor-intensive. No wonder it is so expensive. But it sure is good.

The slow process of making maple syrup reminds me of how long it can take to write one good chapter in a book. It takes a while for the ideas to “drip” onto the page and it has to be “boiled” and “filtered” until its just the right “consistency”. Sometimes the ideas flow very fast like a Sugar Maple tree on a warm, sunny day and there are times when the ideas are sluggish…when it’s cloudy and only 48 degrees. But the final product is worth the effort and time.

Hope everyone is having a great start to their spring. May God’s light shine on you.

Hugs,
Beth

Growing and Growing

Have you ever had spiritually dry spells followed by the wonderful rain of getting close to God? Right now, I feel like I’m growing in my walk with Jesus…..almost like a growth spurt. I’m studying Colossians and learning so much.

I just finished reading the book, “23 Minutes in Hell” by Bill Wiese and found it to be very thought-provoking. His story appeared to line up with the Bible and gave me great cause to renew my efforts to share what God has done for me with others. There have been similiar books on the market, but they don’t always agree with the Bible—the yard stick by which I have to measure everything. If you haven’t read Wiese’s book, it’s worth your while.

On to other things: I’ve finished my taxes and survived using a tax software program. Yeah!! Now, I can get back to writing again. My current manuscript is still coming along and I’m seriously considering a writer’s conference for the fall where I can pitch my book.

Until next time, may God’s light shine on you.

Beth

Deep Freeze

Okay, I’m ready to move to Florida. If you’ve been a regular reader of my blogs, you already know I’m a warm-weather type of person. This Midwest deep freeze has me running for cover–or covers.

This year promises to be a good year, because God’s blessings are renewed each morning. If I based the year on the economy, politics or happenings around the world, there wouldn’t be much hope. I’m glad God is running the show. That gives me hope.

I was so sorry to hear that Heartsong is dicontinuing its new cozy mystery line. Those are great books. I’m sad to see it leave and hope it might return when the economy begins to recover.

I’m actually writing more this month and it makes me feel so good to hit the keys again. The story is evolving along and I’m always excited to see which direction God eventually takes the book.

Stay warm and pray for an early spring.

Hugs,
Beth