a postcard from God
A few weeks ago, my friend Jodi posted on her blog about a "postcard from God". She shared it because, not only was it special to her, but she felt that God was prompting her to share it with someone who needed it. I felt that it was meant for me - I needed it right then - and I need it right now.
Jodi was sweet enough to share the postcard with me so that I can share it on my blog:
Awesome, isn't it?
Maybe it's just what YOU need today too.
Ashley is 16!
It's so hard for me to believe that I have a 16-year-old! Wow - time really does fly when you're having fun - and we've had 16 VERY FUN years with this girl! I don't mean to brag, but she is just THE BEST and has put so many smiles on my face over the years.
I'd love to share pictures, but they're all saved on the other computer. If you want to see them, check out my Facebook page - I've loaded several of them up there. (If you're not already my friend, just request and I'll accept!  )
We had an all-day Open House (on Sunday from 1-8). I thought it would go in spurts with the guests, but we had a steady stream of visitors during the entire day. There wasn't one time, during the 7 hours, when there wasn't someone here. It was so nice to see all the people who love and care about Ashley and to be able to spend some special time with them. (I'm still eating leftover dip, though - and am sure I'm going to turn into a bowl of dip by the end of the week!)
I realized, after all the festivities were over and the gifts were put away, that we didn't get a single picture of Ashley with Brian & me. We took her picture with all of her guests, but none with her parents or siblings.
Now, she is looking forward to a visit from a good friend from NY this weekend!
Happy Birthday, Ash!
I love you!
Carolina Pad's Ghostline Products
OK, I admit it, I'm a total school supply junkie! I'm a sucker for notebooks, folders, pencils, etc. We don't even have to need them - sometimes we just WANT them. Yes, I say "we" because I've passed this fascination/addiction with school supplies on to both my girls, who are constantly begging for new pencils, notebooks, etc.
Carolina Pad is one of my favorite school supply companies! I can always count on them to have great-looking products that are fun to use. One of my personal favorites these days is the Kendall Collection. I've got this lapbook bag (which I think is just too fun!) and these folders and dividers (which make my homemade organizer for work and home look very put-together). Another favorite pattern/collection is the Hot Chocolate collection. I've got several notebooks from this collection, and Ashley has a binder.
I was recently asked to help Carolina Pad celebrate the 13th birthday of their Ghostline products. I received a selection of Ghostline products to review and was beyond thrilled! You see, in addition to my obsession with school stuff, I'm also a stickler for neatness (otherwise known as a "paperwork perfectionist"). I so wish these products would have been available when I was in high school and was making posters for pep rallies! Why? Because the Ghostline products have very faint gridlines on them, making it amazingly easy to write and keep things straight!
I used the large display board kit to make this memory board for Ashley's 16th birthday:
 I think it turned out really cute and you can't even see the lines unless you look very closely. I would definitely recommend the Ghostline products to anyone needing posterboard or display boards for school or work-related projects.
Carolina Pad is having a contest this month, in honor of Ghostline's birthday. Go here to enter. You need to leave a comment in order to be eligible to win. So, be sure to head on over and say "Happy Birthday" to Ghostline!
NOTE: I received free product from Carolina Pad in order to write this review. I used the products in my home, and the thoughts shared herein are definitely my own, based on my personal experience.
Pampering Favorites
Sometimes you just need to take some time to pamper yourself. Today, I thought I'd share a few of my more recent pampering favorites:
Fall is here and one of my favorite things about fall is the scents associated with the season - baked goods, spices, etc. I don't always have time to be baking (and I'd weigh about a million pounds if I did!), so I like burning candles to get those yummy-smelling aromas in my house. At a local craft shop, I found a really neat brand of candles that are poured in regular canning jars - what's neat about them is that they all look the same - the jars are covered with a bumpy brownish paint, some gauzy fabric, and a brown paper label. This is cool because you don't have to buy candles based on color anymore - these fit any decor and you don't even see the candle inside. Plus, they are long-burning. Alas, I don't see a brand name listed on it anywhere, so I can't share a link with you (if I had a camera, I'd take a picture).
Another great candle product that I've been enjoying is the Sugar Cookie Soywax pint-sized candle by Homestead Originals. These are available in various sizes and fragrances, are hand-poured by my friend and co-worker, Lisa Barthuly, and smell awesome!
Another awesome product from Homestead Originals is their Handmade Lavender Wheatberry Heating Pad. I ordered mine without the lavender because I'm not a fan of the flowery fragrances, but this thing is just so wonderful! Lately, I've been having a good deal of back pain and this feels so good when I heat it up and put it behind my lower back on the couch. Also, after a long and tiring day, this feels great around my neck! The website recommends using it as a bed-warmer, and I am SO going to be trying that this winter. Talk about some major pampering!
With the cooler weather, comes dry skin. I haven't had much trouble in the past, but this year my hands have been unusually dry (right around the knuckles). Just when I thought I was going to have to break down and purchase an expensive lotion, they started getting better. I had recently opened a new container of dish soap - and it's been a lifesaver. Dawn Hand Renewal has been surprisingly effective. The bottle says that it improves the look and feel of your hands in just 5 days, and I'm here to attest to that fact. It sounds kinda silly to consider dish soap something of a pampering product, but I'm sold on this stuff - it's a miracle worker. On Wednesday, my knuckles were like sandpaper; today they're soft and smooth.
Winter is the time for long, hot bubble baths, so I also ordered some of my favorite bubble bath from Avon. Curling up in a hot tub filled with bubbles, reading a good book, and smelling a yummy candle - sounds pretty great to me.
What are you doing to pamper yourself? Any great products you can recommend to me?
Terror by Night & Blind Sight by James Pence
About Terror by Night:
 A father denied his daughter dating privileges with a certain young man. Typical teenage behavior might have included pouting, a bad attitude or perhaps even a yelling match. Never in a million years would Terry Caffey have suspected it would involve murder. Yet, in the early morning hours of March 8, 2008, Terry’s whole world turned upside down. His wife and two sons where brutally murdered and burned in the house they lived and Terry was shot twelve times…by his daughter and her friends.
Terry Caffey and James Pence reconstruct this tragic yet strangely beautiful true story of God’s sovereignty, forgiveness and grace in Terror by Night. As if the story of Caffey’s family wasn’t enough, readers will be captivated by the way God ordained the meeting between the Blind Sight author and Caffey with a burnt page from Blind Sight found at the crime scene.
About Blind Sight:
 No one plans for bad things to happen. No one plans on losing their family. No one knows how to move on after horror strikes. No one. Not even Thomas Kent. After receiving a strange phone call from a long-ago friend requesting Kent to pick up a package at the airport, Kent begins a spine tingling, suspense filled journey in which he hopes to reunite the package (his friend’s children) with their mother, Justine, a traitor in the Fellowship for World Renewal Cult. Twists and turns in this page turning drama make Blind Sight not only a journey of extreme action and thrills, but one of discovering the sovereign plan of God.
 James H. Pence is a full-time professional writer and editor living near Dallas, Texas. James is a multi-talented writer who has been published in both fiction and nonfiction. His publishers include Tyndale House, Kregel, and Osborne/McGraw-Hill. James holds a master’s degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in creative writing and journalism from Dallas Theological Seminary. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from Dallas Bible College.
James is also a vocalist and gospel chalk artist, and he regularly uses his talents to share the gospel in prisons. James is the author of Blind Sight, a gripping novel about mind-control cults and coauthor (along with Terry Caffey) of the new book: Terror by Night: The True Story of the Brutal Texas Murder that Destroyed a Family, Restored One Man’s Faith, and Shocked a Nation.
An Interview with James Pence:
1. You've dabbled in a little bit of everything career-wise. Give us a brief summary of your journey so far.
I have definitely had a colorful background as you've already mentioned. I guess the one unifying thread that has run through everything I do is the service of God. I knew when I was 14 years old that God had called me into the ministry, and I've never wavered from that. And even though that ministry now includes such things as teaching karate to homeschoolers. I consider that as much a part of my calling as anything else.
Since finishing Bible College back in 1978 I have been a youth pastor, a camp director, a pastor, a prison evangelist, a gospel chalk artist, a speaker, a singer, a Web designer, a writer, a karate teacher, an art teacher, and a writing teacher. Amazingly, I'm still active in most of those things. I'm not pastoring anymore, and I've long since left directing summer camps behind me, but everything else I still do.
It would be a book in and of itself if I were to try to go into the details of all of those different things and how I got started doing each of them. Suffice it to say that I've always believed that the talents that we have are stewardships. Thus I've always felt that if I have a talent in an area I have a responsibility to develop and use it for God's glory. And that's why do so many different things. I wouldn't have it any other way.
2. There was a tight deadline for Terror by Night. Tell us a little bit about how you interviewed Terry Caffey and the timeline you had to submit your book.
There was definitely a tight deadline for Terror by Night. I had a total of 12 weeks in which to write it and that included doing all the interviewing with Terry. I'm very happy to say that I was able to meet that challenge, but there were times when I wondered if I could get it all done.
Terry and I got together every Wednesday for several hours and I would interview him. Our first few interviews were just for getting the layout of the book planned. I had to get an idea of the different aspects of the story that needed to be pulled together, sort of like a plot outline. And then I actually had a plan the storyline based on my discussions with Terry.
It was sort of a cumulative thing, because as we talked each week more questions would come up and I would make notes on those and we would discuss them in subsequent weeks.
I recorded all of the interviews with a digital voice recorder and then transferred them all to my computer. After that I edited the interviews down into soundbites of two to three minutes all according to topics. Then I put them all on my iPod and would listen to them at every spare moment. My goal was to be familiar enough with Terry's voice so that the book would sound natural and that it would sound like Terry was doing the speaking or writing.
3. Because of the intensity of this book, how did you deal with the emotional side of writing? Did it ever become more than you or Terry could deal with at one sitting?
This was a very difficult story to write and it was very stressful for both of us, but in different ways. As we went through the interview process Terry began to struggle with depression and had some rough moments. Once or twice we had changed the topic of our discussion because it was just getting to be too hard on him.
For me the stress came from the deadline more than the storyline. The fastest I'd written a book before was 20 weeks, and writing this one in 12 weeks was like running a marathon. Near the end I was exhausted, but still had to get that word count out every day. There were times when I would just become overwhelmed with the size of the task. But there was nothing to do but keep moving forward.
So we were both very happy when this project was complete.
4. You enjoy some great ministry opportunities outside of your writing. Share how God is using your other gifts to reach others for Christ.
As I mentioned earlier, in addition to being a writer I am a gospel chalk artist and a vocalist. I've been doing that for over 30 years now and really enjoy being able to use art and music to bring a message to people. For about the last 15 years I've been going into prisons with my art and music and sharing the gospel with inmates. That's been a huge blessing to me. In fact, I often say that after a prison service I've been far more blessed than the inmates. And recently God has begun to open up more doors both in prison and out. Over a six-week period, I'll be drawing in Florida, Iowa, and Alabama.
One of the great things about chalk art is that even if the people who see a drawing don't remember everything I say, they will remember the picture and the scripture that the picture represented. I've had people write me who saw my pictures 20 years ago and came to Christ through them, and now they are serving Christ in churches and other ministries. That's one of the great joys of this ministry.
5. With the re-release of Blind Sight, it's almost like two books releasing at once. What message do you hope readers will take away from reading both books?
I was so excited when Tyndale decided to release Blind Sight a second time. It's rare that a novel gets a second chance at life. And it's especially satisfying that both books were released simultaneously. And even though one is a novel and the other a nonfiction book, the message that people can take away from the books is really the same. God is sovereign.
So often we are confused when difficult circumstances come into our lives and we wonder why God would allow that. Sometimes we even get angry with him and demand an explanation like Terry did. But the message of both Blind Sight and Terror by Night is that while God doesn't explain himself to us, we can trust in his goodness and sovereign grace. We know that he is working all things together for our good and we can trust him in that. Blind Sight communicates that message by way of a novel; Terror by Night communicates the same message by way of a true story.
CONTEST:
Leave me a comment telling me what appeals to you about these books.
You'll have a chance to be entered into a drawing for an awesome gift basket,
which will include:
Angel by James Pence
Blind Sight by James Pence
Terror By Night by James Pence
Quality 8.5 X 11 in printing of the scorched page
DVD of Chalk Art Illustrations from James Pence
Things I'm Thankful for . . .
2009 has been a year of trials and hardship. Rather than dwelling on the bad things, I wanted to take a bit of time and reflect on the things I'm thankful for this year. (Thanks for the idea, Wendy!)
*My family. Through all the things that have brought me to my knees in tears and in prayer this year, my family has been the one constant in my life. Brian works hard to support us (without complaining), and I have just the best kids. My parents, too, are always here for us, and I'm so thankful for them each and every day.
*My friends - both in real life and the online ones I've never met. I've been blessed with many new online friends this past year (thanks to my work with the Homeschool Crew), and I'm so grateful for them all! I can't even begin to list them all by name - if you're reading this, you know who you are (wink!)
*My job. What a privilege and honor it is to work for a Christian company, especially one that's all about one of my passions - homeschooling. Work doesn't really seem like work most days - it's more like fun!
*My house. There have been times in the past when I've complained about my house or have desired to move to a bigger/better one. Currently, I'm "at home" here and satisfied. I'm thankful for the simple things - like a coat of paint (or 2, or 3) that have made the house more homey this year. Earlier in the year, we were able to renovate our attic into a bedroom for Ashley, which has been a blessing on so many different levels.
*My health. Walking through this scary road called "cancer" with my very best friend has taught me to treasure every day and to be thankful to God for my present health because we just don't know what tomorrow holds for us.
*My church. Even though it wasn't in our plans to switch churches this past year, it must have been in God's plan. Sometimes it's hard for me to accept His plans, or I'm resistant to change, or whatever. Though it was a rough road, we are at a place where we're comfortable.
*My salvation. Even if I die tomorrow, I'm sure of where I'm going, and that's DEFINITELY something to be thankful for.
I know there are so many more and this is probably just the tip of the iceberg, but it seems to be the most important things.
We'll be enjoying lunch with my family tomorrow. Later in the afternoon we'll visit with Brian's family, where we'll plan our family get-together. Wherever you are, whatever your plans are . . .
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!
Treasured by Leigh McLeroy and God Gave Us Love & God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren
 Cigar boxes. Refrigerator doors. Scrapbooks and sock drawers and top shelves. These are the places we store our treasures–the keepsakes that tell the story of whom and what we’ve loved, how we’ve lived, and what matters most to us.
God is a collector, too, whose treasures are tucked securely into the pages of his book: a golden bell here, an olive leaf there, a scarlet thread, a blood-stained cloth, a few grains of barley. Each of these saved artifacts reveals a facet of his heart and tells the story of a Father whose most precious possession is…us.
In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides us in discovering evidence in our own lives of his attentive love.
Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary. An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy. A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.
Heidi Says: This book was just what I needed - a reminder that, though it doesn't always seem this way to me, I am a treasure to God. I love how the author takes "treasures" from the scriptures - starting with a fig leaf and ending with one smooth stone - and weaves them together with tales from her life. You'll find yourself easily relating to the stories in this book.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 As Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, the young polar bear begins to question why we must love others… even the seemingly unlovable.
In answering her questions, Grampa Bear gives tender explanations that teach Little Cub about the different kinds of love that is shared between families, friends, and mamas and papas. Grampa explains that all these kinds of love come from God and that it is important to love others because…
“Any time we show love, Little Cub, we’re sharing a bit of his love.”
This sweet tale will warm the hearts of young children as they learn about all the different sorts of love, while the gentle explanations of each provide a valuable opportunity to encourage children to share with others a “God-sized love.”
 As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear begins to wonder… “Who invented Christmas?” Mama’s answer only leads to more questions like “Is God more important than Santa?” So she and Little Cub head off on a polar expedition to find God and to see how he gave them Christmas. Along the way, they find signs that God is at work all around them. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns about the very first Christmas and discovers that… Jesus is the best present of all.
This enchanting tale provides the perfect opportunity to help young children celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to discover how very much God loves them.
Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.
Heidi Says: If you've already seen God Gave Us You, then you've already fallen in love with the adorable bear family that Lisa Tawn Bergren introduced us to in that book. I was excited to see these new additions to the God Gave Us . . . collection, and I was not disappointed. These books are precious stories to be shared with your little ones. They help introduce important lessons in an easy-to-understand way. Kids can relate to Little Cub and will love looking at the lively, colorful illustrations in these books. These are both perfect books for your Christmas gift-giving.
The above books can be purchased at Random House, using the following links:
Treasured
God Gave Us Love
God Gave Us Christmas
NOTE: The above mentioned books were provided to me from Random House, in exchange for my honest reviews.
The Christmas Glass by Marci Alborghetti
 In the tradition of The Christmas Shoes and A Christmas on Jane Street, the heartwarming story of The Christmas Glass shows how, today as always, the Christmas miracle works its wonders in the human heart.
In the early days of World War II in Italy, Anna, a young widow who runs a small orphanage, carefully wraps her most cherished possessions -- a dozen hand-blown, German-made, Christmas ornaments, handed down by her mother -- and sends them to a cousin she hasn't seen in years.
Anna is distressed to part with her only tangible reminder of her mother, but she worries that the ornaments will be lost or destroyed in the war, especially now that her orphanage has begun to secretly shelter Jewish children. Anna's young cousin Filomena is married with two-year-old twins when she receives the box of precious Christmas glass.
After the war, Filomena emigrates to America, where the precious ornaments are passed down through the generations. After more than forty years, twelve people come to possess a piece of Christmas glass, some intimately connected by family bonds, some connected only through the history of the ornaments.
As Christmas Day approaches, readers join each character in a journey of laughter and tears, fractures and healings, as Filomena, now an eighty-four-year-old great-grandmother, brings them all to what will be either a wondrous reunion or a disaster that may shatter them all like the precious glass they cherish.
If you would like to read the first chapter of The Christmas Glass, go HERE.
 Marci Alborghetti has been writing only slightly longer than she's been reading. In seventh grade she received her first writing prize for a zany Halloween story. The prize? A five dollar gift certificate to a local bookstore. She was hooked. The Christmas Glass is her fourteenth book, and she is currently at work on a sequel as well as a non-fiction book about service. Some of her other books include: Prayer Power: How to Pray When You Think You Can’t, A Season in the South and Twelve Strong Women of God.
She and her husband, Charlie Duffy, live in New London, Connecticut and the San Francisco Bay area. While in New London she facilitates the Saint James Literary Club.
Heidi Says: This was a great way to start my holiday reading! Though this book contained a lot of characters, I was able to follow along with all of them, thanks to the handy character listing in the front of the book. Sometimes lots of characters make a book hard to follow, but that cross-reference list made it easy to stick with. I loved reading about each piece of the Christmas Glass - learning more about it's new owner - and how each person tied in with the original owner. The last chapter was especially interesting, as you finally see the ending for each person's individual story. I will be passing along The Christmas Glass.
Good-bye, Mr. Ham
I came home late on Monday evening (the reason is the subject of another blog post - to come later). It was dark and the house was relatively quiet, so I assumed everyone had gone on to bed. However, when I walked onto the back porch, I saw something that doesn't belong there - our hamster cage, sans hamster.
Immediately, I knew that this wasn't good news. I had passed Mr. Ham's cage several times on Monday morning, in my attempts to do laundry and get ready for my day. He was moving around and appeared fine (for a hamster who made it a whole year past the average 2-year lifespan of a hamster).
Mr. Ham died a quick and painless death. Unfortunately, it was Gracie who discovered him - when she went up to bed. (She stops every evening to visit with him and Jackson (her guinea pig).) I had a very distraught little girl on my hands. It's hard to lose something that's been a constant part of your life for the past 3 years (we went to buy Mr. Ham for her about a week after Ian came home to our family).
So, I just wanted to take a moment to say Rest in Peace, Mr. Ham - thanks for 3 great years! We'll miss you, but we will not replace you!
too fun!
Scrapbooking used to be a favorite hobby of mine; but, since Ian came along, I simply don't have the time, not to mention the space or the patience! I just told Ashley the other day that we need to buy some albums and just start organizing our stacks of pictures into albums and - maybe someday - I'll get into scrapbooking again.
Anyway, I just came across this neat site called Widdly Tinks. I made the stick family that you see at the bottom of my blog on there. Then I saw these things called Photo Tinks, and had to check them out. What fun. I realize it's not really "fall" anymore (technically, it is) - but I had to share because this just came out so cute! You can check them out and make your own here.
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