Nov. 10, 2009 - Kathy Carlton Willis Communication Christmas Miracles blog tour!!!
(Atlanta, GA) Many ordinary people experience Christmas miracles—those special moments during the season of giving and receiving when Christmas becomes more than just a holiday. In Christmas Miracles (St. Martin’s Press, October 2009), Cecil Murphey and Marley Gibson share the stories of those who have recognized the special moments that transcend daily experience and transform their lives.
In these stories, people overcome desperate situations through a miraculous twist of fate—all during the most wonderful time of the year. A young boy sits down to read a Christmas book and discovers that his learning disability has vanished. A woman stranded in a blizzard is rescued by a mysterious stranger who she suspects is an angel. And a woman living far from home gets an answer to her prayer in the form of an unexpected gift.
Bestselling author Cecil Murphey says, “We all face discouraging times, whether it's the lack of money, being stuck on a road in a snowstorm, feeling stress, or being hungry and homeless. But God's help is available. I want readers to see that miracles do happen—sometimes simple, unexpected blessings or those that involve the supernatural. We start by asking, and in strange and wonderful ways God tiptoes into our dark nights; we experience renewed joy in life and witness God in action through people and unexpected events.”
Interview with Cecil “Cec” Murphey
by Marley Gibson
Co-authors of Christmas Miracles, from St. Martin’s Press
I am extremely privileged to have the opportunity today to talk to my friend and co-author, Cecil “Cec” Murphey, and to chat about our upcoming book, Christmas Miracles.
Marley: Cec, thanks for spending some time with me today.
Cec: Marley, it's great that you could take time away from important things like making a living to spend a little time with me.
Marley: I’m so jazzed about our Christmas Miracles book that’s coming out soon. I’ve had a lot of questions from folks wanting to know how we met, what brought us together, etc. So, I thought we’d do a back and forth on how it all came to be. Of course, I have to give props to our amazing agent and friend, Deidre Knight, for bringing us together. For those of you who don’t know, Cec co-authored the runaway New York Times bestselling hit 90 Minutes in Heaven with Don Piper.
Cec: I have to say thanks to Deidre Knight as well. Between Deidre and my assistant, Twila Belk, I've been able to sell quite a few books. 90 Minutes in Heaven has been my big book. I'm also proud of a book I wrote in 1990 called Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. The book has never been out of print and has hit close to four million in sales. Early this year, Cuba Gooding Jr. starred in the made-for-TV film version.
Marley: That’s amazing! You are truly prophetic and definitely “the man behind the words.” Now, people ask how we teamed up. Sadly, there was a personal tragedy that brought Cec and me together as friends.
Cec: True. In early 2007, our house burned and our son-in-law died. Aside from the grief over Alan, we lost everything. Deidre and Jan, my-then-assistant, sent the word out of our tragedy without telling me. I'm immensely grateful for every gift people sent, but I probably wouldn't have admitted I needed help and wouldn't have asked. They taught me how much we need other people.
Marley: Deidre put out a call to other clients of The Knight Agency, to help Cec and his family out in any way in their time of need. At the time, my company was moving and we were cleaning house. We had a ton of office supplies that we were either going to throw away or give to some of the charities the company worked with. I got my boss’ permission to send a large care package to Cec…full of office supplies for him to re-stock his writer’s office. You name it…post-its, staples, paper clips, pens, pencils, markers, white out, ruler, scissors, paper, notebooks, notepads, envelopes, a laptop case, tape, glue, folders, binder clips…etc. A veritable potpourri of office delights. I was hoping that it would help Cec have a sense of getting his office back so he could keep working.
Cec: Marley's gift was the most unexpected I received. We hadn't met, although Deidre Knight had spoken of her many times and kept telling me she was wonderful. I wonder if you can imagine what it was like for me to open that box from someone I didn't know. I saw all those practical things for my office and yelled for my wife. I felt as if I were reading a first-grade book. "Look! Look and see! Oh, look!" I was overwhelmed by the gift and even more to receive it from a stranger. Those supplies were the most practical gift anyone could have given me. I'm still using black paper clips and red folders from Marley.
Marley: Awww…thanks, Cec! I didn’t have to think twice about doing it. Writing is such a solitary “sport,” but the writing community always astounds me with how they help their own. Not long after that, over plates of spinach and Gouda omelets, Deidre introduced me to Cec in person and I was thrilled to finally meet the man behind the words. Deidre knew we needed to work on a project together and thus began our brainstorming. What did you think of that first meeting, Cec, and cooking up the idea to work together?
Cec: Deidre and I had already spoken about a Christmas book and I had some idea about what it should contain, but nothing had come together. One day Deidre told me that Marley was coming to visit her and she wanted us to work together on a Christmas project. Marley and I talked before we ate and again during the meal. Everything felt right to me. I knew my strengths and Marley knew hers (and Deidre knew both of us). Everything clicked. Marley, a far better networker than I am, immediately sent out the word for submissions. Within days she had almost four times more than we could use. (She read every one of them!)
Marley: I was truly impressed with the submissions we received and it was hard narrowing it down to the ones we chose for the book. We’re fortunate to have such a go-getter agent in Deidre Knight. Cec, can you share how the whole idea of Christmas Miracles came about and what you thought of the project originally?
Cec: For me, it actually started while I was on the rapid-rail train from the Atlanta airport when I listened to teens talk about Christmas and it was mostly about gifts. I had the idea then, but nothing really came together. Months later when Deidre I and had a meeting, she brought up the idea of a compilation and mentioned my working with Marley. I've been Deidre Knight's client since 1997 and I've learned to listen carefully when she comes up with an idea. I said yes before she gave me all the information.
Marley: That’s the truth about Deidre! Getting back to those submissions, I want to say we got more than two hundred submissions for Christmas Miracles. So many wonderful stories to read through and select for the book. It was a challenge to pick and choose which ones were right for the book, but I loved every minute of it. After I chose the entries that would go into the book, Cec toiled long hours editing the works for a unified voice. What was the biggest challenge you found in the editing process, Cec?
Cec: I've been a ghostwriter and collaborator for twenty-plus years and this was a switch to give the book a unified voice—which was mine. It would have been easier to stay with each writer's voice, but the book—like many compilations—would have been uneven in tone and quality. When I discussed this via email with our delightful editor, Rose Hilliard, she was (to my surprise) familiar with my work. She told me she liked the warm tone of my writing and that I don't waste words. "That's the voice we want," she said. It still wasn't easy, but it was an exciting challenge. After Marley and I agreed on the stories and gave them that unified voice, our editor pulled six contributions. Although different, Rose felt they were too similar to other stories.
Marley: Can you give our readers a preview of the book? A favorite story perhaps…or one that moved you to tears? (I have to say the little boy who wished for nothing but to be able to read a book all the way through because of his stutter had me bawling when I read the submission.)
Cec: That's not fair! I liked them all. The one that touched me most, however, is the last story in the book, "Sean's Question." We had almost finished the book and I was teaching at a conference in Florida. I felt we needed one strong story at the end. Despite all the good ones, I didn't feel fully satisfied to conclude the book. On the last day of the conference, I met a conferee named Sara Zinn for a consultation. As we talked, I mentioned Christmas Miracles and that I still needed one more story. "I have a Christmas story," she said and told me about Sean. As I listened, tears filled my eyes—but, being the macho type I am, I was sure it was an allergy. Sara wrote the story, and it became the one I sought.
Marley: Oh yes…that one is an emotional one all right. It was meant to be in the book because of how you met at the conference. Now, you and I have both had challenges in our lives that others might have found too much to take, but we are both very strong in our faith and our relationship with God. How do you think Christmas Miracles is going to help others feel closer to God and experience His miracles in their own lives?
Cec: Awareness and appreciation are the two things I want readers to grasp. Awareness means for them to realize that they're never totally alone in life. Those unexpected, out-of-the-ordinary events remind us of that. Appreciation means to be thankful for what we already have. Too often, and especially at Christmas, we focus on what we'd like or what is supposed to make us happy. Christmas Miracles gently reminds readers of both.
Marley: In this day and age when our country is fighting two wars, unemployment is high, and a lot of people have a lack of hope and faith for their future, what do you want readers of the book to take away from Christmas Miracles and how can the stories in our book help provide comfort to those struggling?
Cec: I want readers to see that miracles do happen—sometimes simple, unexpected blessings or those that involve the supernatural (as in one of Marley's stories). I call myself a serious Christian. For me, the world's greatest miracle began with the birth of Jesus. Regardless of a person's religion, this book encourages readers to think about life during the Christmas season and see that life as more than gifts and celebrations. It's also a reminder that God loves us and hears our needy cries.
Marley: Beautifully put, Cec, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Can we share what’s next after Christmas Miracles? J
Cec: Why it's the Cec and Marley show, of course. Because of our go-getter agent and our enthusiastic editor, we've already received thumbs up for The Christmas Spirit. This will be stories of people who express the true spirit of Christmas by acts of love and kindness, for release in the fall of 2011.
Marley: And I can’t wait to start working on that project! Thank you so much for your time, Cec, and answering my questions. It was a privilege and honor to work with you and I look forward to our future projects together. You’ve helped me along during a trying time and I appreciate your friendship and support.
Cec: I liked this project because Marley had to send out the word, collect submissions, read them, and discard the weaker ones. I get to see only the better-written stories. (Don't tell her that I have the better job.) Although I mentioned only one story, all of those in the book touched me because of the poignancy of their situations and the miraculous answers. I won't say the stories increased my faith, but they increased my appreciation for the delightful mix of human need and divine intervention.
Marley: Thanks again, Cec! God Bless! And to our readers, please be sure to pick up a copy of CHRISTMAS MIRACLES, out October 13, 2009 from St. Martin’s Press. It’s a great stocking stuffer or gift basket filler. We hope you, too, will discover your own Christmas Miracles in your life.
Leave a comment for a chance to win the Christmas Miracles gift basket.
Wouldn’t you love to take home this amazing basket filled with Christmas goodies galore? This amazing gift basket contains everything you’ll need to make your Christmas holiday a success. Inside you’ll find a stocking stuffed with hard candies, kitchen towels and oven mitts, seasonal potpourri, holiday-colored candles, stuffed animals that talk, snowman candle, nutcrackers, Christmas ornaments, gift bags, gift tags, gift bows, ornament hangers, Christmas cookie cutters, a Merry Christmas doorstopper, a picture frame, Christmas cards, Santa ear muffs, and not just one, but two copies of Cecil Murphey and Marley Gibson’s Christmas Miracles – one to keep and one to give away to someone special.
Nov. 8, 2009 - MamaBuzz Tour: "Mothering Heights" by Keitha Smith and Susan Brereton
This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by: Judson Press for this review.
Author Information:
Susan Brereton is a former New Zealand resident currently living in England. She is a wife, mother of five children, and an interior designer. For many years, Susan has run a Bible study for mothers of preschool children, and has had a long association with the Navigators and Moms-in-Touch.
Keitha Smith lives in New Zealand with her husband and two children, including one with special needs. With a background in training and education, Keitha leads the women's ministry group at her church and serves on the local school's board of trustees.
Check out Keitha's fictional Mother's Prayer Blog ,The Jonah Tree. Also visit www.MotheringHeights.org.
My opinion:
"Mothering Heights" was a quick read that was enjoyable even if I didn't agree with everything that the authors wrote about. I liked the fact that several classic books were used to glean knowledge from such as Pride and Prejudice, Pilgrim's Progess and several others. The quotes used from the books were very much aligned with the theme of the book, mothering.
Using Scripture Smith and Brereton do back up their writing with Biblical basis - again some of their applications of Scripture were not what I had interpreted them to be but I definitely did find myself gleaning some inspiration from the book. This book was not geared toward moms who homeschool and it does include several mentions of having alone time and how good that is for the mom - one of the things I disagree with - but I can't throw the baby out with the bath water - because overall this book was loaded with uplifting writings to speak to the heart of a mom.
Wether you are a first time mom or a mom three times over this book will have something to speak to your heart. With study questions that can help to see how you view motherhood and your expectations of others, it could be used as a guided Bible study as well. Again it's a fast read which any mom will appreciate and the insight in the book will be well worth the time that it takes to read it.
Price: $15.00
Available at Judson Press. A sample chapter is available at the mothering heights website.
Nov. 8, 2009 - A New Adventure for Our Family
We are in the process of adopting Kate from Latvia. She is a handicap girl who dresses herself with her teeth. She will be visiting us during Christmas. The orphanage doesn't want her any longer. They were putting her through training courses to learn "independent living" so they could ship her out. She is only ten years old. How do you live independently when you can only use your mouth to dress yourself, let alone use the bathroom? Her fate is certain death if she stays. The orphanage complained that she was too much for them to lift any longer. Our hearts hurt for Kate. If you would like to help us adopt her, send a check in care of Kate to :
Open Door Adoption
PHONE: (229) 228-6339 EMAIL: opendoor@rose.net
P.O. Box 4 218 E. Jackson Street
Thomasville, GA 31799
Thanks!!
This is a picture of her at eight years old. She is now ten years old.
Nov. 8, 2009 - God's Chisel
Have you ever asked, "Why me? I don't deserve this." God is molding you into the person He wants you to be. It is painful. His ways are not our ways. When you proclaim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you do not all of a sudden become perfect. Yes, when you ask God to forgive you, He will. That is guaranteed. And no we don't deserve that.
But many people view Christians as "holier than thou" as though we are supposed to be perfect. We are not. We struggle with all the same things the rest of the world struggles with. And it is painful. When we ask God to take away our imperfections, it often hurts to let go of those things. The difference is, that we have God to lean on while He does the work. We can call on Him to help us through the hard times and He will be there because He loves each and every one of us.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
Yes, He loves YOU too. Wherever you are right now, you too can receive His forgiveness and become born again. Jesus said in John 3:3 ..."I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. " It is really quite simple, but it is a matter of the heart. Accept Jesus Christ, as your Lord and savior. And believe it. He came to this earth and gave his life in a bloody, painful death so that you could do this. He loves you. Confess your sins to God and know that He will forgive you.
If you don't know what to do next, I humbly suggest you pick up a Bible. Don't know where to start? I didn't either. Try Romans or John. They are both good books (among many) for a new Christian or an unbeliever to start.
The following video was played for us in church today. Our study was on Ephesians 4:17-24 It was an awesome video and I wanted to share it with you today. Humorous and so true. May you be blessed.
Nov. 9, 2009 - Hands On Carnival #14
Welcome to the 14th edition of The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival.
This month we had several submissions relating to preschool and young child activities. We can learn so much from seasoned homeschoolers and the many young families starting out in their homeschool journey. Sometimes when I'm surfing along and I see these wonderful posts for activities to do with the young children I glance by and keep going because I think the preschool activities are just for new homeschoolers. But I can't forget the little ones in our multi-child families. I have a five year old at home and I often have to remind myself to not only include her in our lessons for the older kids, but to also include lessons that are just for her at her level. Just because I have done something before doesn't mean she has!
I'm going to start this edition with our preschool submissions so we don't forget these young ones and how fun their school time can be! If you have only older children at home, don't worry! We have lots of hands on ideas for you too!
~ For Our Littles~
Amida presents Journey Into Unschooling: Bead People posted at Journey Into Unschooling.
A recipe for Homemade Finger Paint has been posted at Mommy's Life.You'll get to see an adorable video of A Picture of "One" posted at Baby Steps.
Rachel says this is a "great way to incorporate masterpiece artworks into a learning activity, that doubles as emergency entertainment when out-and-about. I love this, DIY I Spy Board!" Mini-Whiteboard becomes Animal ?I Spy? posted at quirkymomma.com.
Martha presents The Chef-a-nator Working on Fractions posted at Sunrise to Sunset.
~ Moving on to those "older" kids... ~
This month I wanted to share something in the math department. This is Hands On Geometry with my 7yo posted at Talking to Myself.
Five in a Row is generally for younger ones but I gotta say my older daughter enjoyed many of our lessons when we did FIAR a few years ago. So don't let this next post fool you, it is a field trip for kids of all ages especially those boys at heart...
Dawn presents FIAR Field Trip posted at my4sweetums - Homeschool Blogger.
Kris and friends held a Mesopotamia Party and she shared some pics at her blog Science of Relations.
Brenda presents Rocks in My Dryer posted at The Tie That Binds Us.
There seems to be a rock thing going on this fall. Kris is studying geology too and submits her Saturday Science Challenge #12 on At Home Science. And if you like science, you'll love the new At Home Science Yahoo group.
Rachel presents Try a Shoe Box Journal posted at Minds in Bloom.
Barb and her kids do a fabulous artist study and she shares her son's artwork here on her post Jean-Francois Millet Project-Oil Pastels found at Harmony Art Mom.
Writing...How do you make writing hands on? Well you could argue that writing is in fact hands on just because of the nature of holding a pencil in your hand. But I'm looking for something more than that. Something that make writing more tangible, something that brings writing out of the mundane and into the extraordinary. This next entry just might get us started in that direction. There's nothing like a contest with funny rules to make writing interesting.
Pamela presents It's Almost NaNo Time! posted at Blah, Blah, Blog.
Another family with preschoolers running about, this final post doesn't really meet all of the guidelines for our carnival but it was such a great post that I hope will inspire us all in a way of life that will help us to meet our goal of doing more hands on projects with our kids.
Adam presents Still No TV? posted at The Faughn Family of Four.
Thank you all for sharing your hands on projects here with us at The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival. I look forward to seeing you next month. If you are reading this and you have never submitted an article of your own, I encourage you to blog about your next educational, hands-on project and share with us here.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of hands on homeschool blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
If you are interested in hosting an upcoming edition of The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival or you'd like to be on our monthly reminder email list, please send me an email.
Nov. 7, 2009 - Fall Impressionism
My 5yo told me she wanted to paint fall pictures. She wanted to paint colorful leaves and trees and scenes from nature. After a bit it seemed best that I draw a few simple pencil sketches for her to paint because she was having a hard time getting the paint to do what she wanted and was getting quickly frustrated. So we started with some leaves.
Next I drew a tree for her and showed her how she could make the tree have many leaves by just using dots and dabs of paint. First I did up an example and while she painted I pulled out print cards I have of van Gogh's self portrait and a variety of impressionist paintings that use many small strokes like those of Monet and Sisley. We were able to talk a bit about the different types of painting and what started as an innocent child asking to paint turned into a brief introduction to impressionism and pointillism. I love it when lessons come out of nowhere! Here is her finished tree.
Nov. 6, 2009 - School updates
Well we've been having lots of fun with school - I love doing school during the holidays as it really gives us more to study and do. With my husband having gone to the ER by squad on October 29th and staying until late Saturday the 31st, we've been very, very busy. Thankfully we haven't been sick, sick. Two of the children do have stuffy noses and I'm thinking it's more allergies than an actual cold so we're continuing life as normal. The girls and I continue to be busy with our Nutcracker rehearsals and this weekend marks every weekend rehearsals from now until the show!! My surgery is rescheduled for the day after Thanksgiving - and yes I'm still mulling over how to get in some after Thanksgiving sales LOL Anyway on to some pictures of school from about two weeks ago.
Bethanne studied Madeline and she started her first lapnote for this and she really enjoyed feeling like her big sister.
One of the projects she did was a Madeline 'doll' using a toiler paper roll.
Both girls with Bethanne's finished Madeline 'doll'
I don't have pictures of Hannah's lapnote so I'll take pictures later to show about J is for Japan unit. We did study the solar system and we made her own solar system which lost air very fast with a little boy who thought the planets were fun to squash so now all we have is pictures. Pluto is there, we had to draw it in - it's to the right of the blue balloon.
Here is some bread and cookies I've baked and frozen. The bread is pumpkin bread and the cookies are pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
And just because I can't leave my little guy out, here is a picture of Christian.
There will be more pictures coming from our field trip to Carriage Hill Farm - a historic working farm and other pictures of our school year so far. I'm working on updating as our days get back to normal.
Nov. 5, 2009 - Hands On Geometry
My 7yo son loves to play with pattern blocks. So today we focused on geometry using the pattern blocks and a book called 20 Thinking Questions for Pattern Blocks (that I'm embarassed to say, was gifted to me when I started homeschooling a few years ago and I have only just begun to use it this year.)
Each question or lesson gives a list of materials needed, a section on how to introduce the question, a box of possible problems that might come up and how to handle them, some examples of what you might see in your student's work, what to look for, discussion questions and then a journal reflection. This book is geared towards 6-8 graders and I could easily see myself doing this with my 8th grader once a week. For now, I have just pulled out the bits that I can do with my younger son. We can't get into the deep detail that the book does, especially in relation to decimals and percents and I don't bother with the journal entries because I don't want to slow him down with tedious writing.
Question #2 asks: How many different triangles can you make?
We started by reviewing the names of the shapes and then I made a simple triangle and asked ds to make a few of his own. Once he saw that he could make triangles out of other shapes beside triangles I urged him to make larger, more complex triangles consisting more varied shapes.
Question #11 asks: What patterns do you see?
This particular activity requires the child to only use one shape to recreate that shape in a larger size. Once the student can make it using only a few blocks he is challenged to make the next larger size. It took my son a few tries to get the blue parrallelograms right but he figured it out and found it even easier after that to manage the other shapes.
After class he had some free time so I let him free play with the hexabits which as is customary with anything ds plays with, he made wheels out of so he could race them and later to play war with.
Nov. 3, 2009 - Wild Dog
We had company this weekend. A wild dog came tearing through the house like an out of control whirlwind.
Oh right, dh's aunt came too.
She was a little tamer so we let her play with the kids.
;)
Nov. 1, 2009 - Brothers Forever
We had a special treat today when our church welcomed Brothers Forever to take over our Sunday morning service. These guys have awesome vocals and moving testimonies. I was so impressed with their level of professionalism and thankful for their unashamed love and service to our Lord. Now I can't wait to go listen to them again on cd!
My Family from WiddlyTinks.com
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