Thursday, October 30, 2008

An Irishwoman's Tale by Patti Lace


This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

An Irishwomans' Tale

Kregel Publications (July 8, 2008)

by

Patti Lacy



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Patti Lacy graduated from Baylor University in 1977 with a B.S. in education. She taught at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, until she retired in 2006 to pursue writing full time. She has two grown children with her husband, Alan, and lives in Illinois.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Far away from her Irish home, Mary Freeman begins to adapt to life in Midwest America, but family turmoil and her own haunting memories threaten to ruin her future.

A shattered cup. Cheap tea. Bitter voices asking what's to be done with the "little eejit." Mary, an impetuous Irishwoman, won't face the haunting memories--until her daughter's crisis propels her back to County Clare. There, in a rocky cliffside home, Mary learns from former neighbors why God tore her from Ireland forty-five years earlier. As she begins to glimpse His sovereign plan, Mary is finally able to bury a dysfunctional past and begin to heal. Irish folk songs and sayings add color to the narrative.

Watch the Book Trailer:



If you would like to read the first chapter of , go HERE.

Now I'd like to add that I'm not a big reader of women's fiction, but Patti's book was great. Personally, I think she'd make a great suspense writer the way she keeps you guessing about this woman's life and what happened in her past. This is not your average story folks, so if you're intrigued, get the book! Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A God of the Little Things

I want to share a post I did at our site at CaringBridge.org, which is an awesome site for those in medical situations like ours to stay in contact with updates to family and friends. We know we serve a great big God, but did you know he's a God of the little things too?

From October 25th...
OilverEarlier today while we were still in the ICU, I was looking through the movie and game closet near the nurses' station for something to get Leslie's mind off her discomfort. She didn't like my selection but said she wanted to watch Oliver and Company.

I went looking again, praying that if they had it that I'd actually find it in the chaos of this closet, but they didn't have it. I checked the hospital library list but didn't see it there either. Then I logged onto iTunes, but they only had the soundtrack. Finally I called a dear friend who'd planned to come up with another dear friend later in the day. Yes! She had it on VHS. We were in business.

Fast forward a few hours. Leslie is sent up to a room. We get settled in and enjoy the peace of a quiet room. Leslie finally sleeps for a while. My friends arrive with the movie as well as an array of DVDs for Leslie to look through.

After Leslie ate dinner, she asked to watch the movie. Her dad popped in a tape already sitting on the machine. I told him that wasn't the right tape—it was resting on Leslie's tray. He ejects the movie and guess what?

It was Oliver and Company. The movie was already here, in the VHS machine for her side of the room. Chills ran up my arms, and my friends and I looked at each other in amazement.

How like God to be in the little things—to provide a movie for a 14 year old girl recovering from brain surgery?

I am in awe of this great big God of ours. Again, he shows me how faithful he is. Even in the littlest of things.

I'm so excited to be a part of the Kingdom Assignment. Next week I will tell you a story of how my family and I became the subject of such an assignment between a complete stranger and a dear friend. Again, I proclaim, God is so good!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

In Pursuit of the Pink Wig

Leslie_2My daughter has instructed the surgeon to shave off all her hair for her surgery Wednesday. I was surprised. He grinned and said to give the girl anything she wanted.

She wants a light pink wig, long and without bangs. We've begun the search. Oddly, this pink wig is turning into a kind of symbol of our journey. We know there's one out there somewhere, but it ultimately comes down to perseverance and persistence, waiting and trusting.

Just like this journey we're on. Leslie and I have the peace of knowing God's in control of the whole thing. Yet we keep moving, striving to reach the next step as whole and balanced as we can. Knowledge and understanding alleviate the fears and give purpose. Hiding in the unknown leaves us vulnerable and fearful.

Keep moving. Keep looking for that pink wig. Keep looking upward.

We spent the day cleaning and getting the house ready this past weekend, and mainly cleaning her room thoroughly. It's been quite messy and dirty lately. Not a good environment for someone soon to undergo radiation and chemo. Now it's clean and organized. Funny how just doing simple things like cleaning your house can take on special meaning and purpose.

Just another step on the road, in pursuit of the pink wig. And healing.
Praying and believing,
Dineen

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Great vs. Great

Leslie_2In January of this year, God had me write something important down. He gave me a specific word about my future. Part of what he said was, “this is the year I will do great things in your life.”

Now I will honestly say I knew these “great things” didn’t necessarily mean complete success and all my dreams coming true. I know God well enough to understand that what I consider great and what I want may not necessarily be in agreement with what God is shooting for.

And I’m a firm believer in Romans 8:28. I have no doubts that everything God does has a purpose, nothing is wasted, and anytime we, his children, are included in these events, he always has our best interest at heart. So even faced with a difficult road ahead of us, I know God has a plan, a reason, and I trust him.

But looking back at his words during this time with my daughter has illuminated a new aspect for me. What God considers great can have much deeper ramifications. And more difficulties than we anticipate.

Sometimes “great” has farther-reaching ramifications than we can ever imagine. “Great” then takes on deeper meaning than the casual usage implying better than good. Great can mean significant, important, earth-moving and life changing.

What do we do in those times?

Hang on to God. I can tell you from experience, he’s very faithful. He’s certainly not letting go of you. And if you’re a control freak like me, the best thing you can do is spend a lot of time with him, especially in his Word. The better you know God, the more you will understand his will and find peace in acceptance and trust. God speaks, we just have to listen.

Look beyond ourselves. There’s always a bigger picture there, I promise you. I can look back over the last seven years and see ways God has been moving us to this point, AND preparing us for what we face right now. Those times are significant. Those times were great. Struggles, difficult decisions, set backs, failures—all of these have equipped me to deal with we are facing now. In this viewpoint, I can be grateful to God for all he’s done to get me ready. And I see it’s really not about me. It’s about God and his plan, which he set in place from the beginning, and he’s completely in control of it all and knows the outcome. I can’t do any better than that, so leaving it all in his most capable hands brings me tremendous comfort.

Join God. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned recently regarding ongoing issues is that much more is accomplished when I seek to join God in the process instead of demanding God just fix it and make it go away. Does it seem like God’s not hearing your prayer in a particular situation? Are you praying over and over again for God to change/fix/remove this problem, but nothing’s happening? Change you prayer. Instead of asking God to deal with it for you, ask him how you can be a part of the solution. God doesn’t need our help but he wants us involved as part of our growth. And that growth is what brings us closer to him, allows us to know him better, and even gives us a glimpse of what God has planned in his perfect will.

So much has happened in my family these last few weeks. And we still have more to face. We learned yesterday the tumor is cancerous. She will need more surgery, weeks of radiation, and months of chemotherapy. I know there will be days that I will wonder why God has taken us down this path.

But for now, I’m holding onto God’s promises for my daughter and for my husband. I can see that there is so much more going on than just the visible. God’s allowed this time for a greater reason than ourselves. Lives will be touched and changed. One in particular… God’s presence is being and will be revealed.

I want to be a part of that. I want to walk alongside God and participate as he’s calling me to. The big picture is salvation and relationship to God. That’s what this is all about.

And I can’t wait to see the culmination.
Praying and believing,
Dineen

Monday, October 13, 2008

Toscology

One of my favorite authors, Tosca Lee, is giving away some really cool stuff at her blog, including a copy of her newest book, Havah. I personally am chomping at the bit for this book. And if you haven't read Demon: A Memoir, hop to it! That's one of my all time favorite books. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

The Most Amazing of Times

Leslie_2Many of you know my youngest daughter (14) was diagnosed with a brain tumor last week. Thank you all for the wonderful and encouraging comments you left last Thursday at Spiritually Unequal Marriage, for the emails, and most importantly for your prayers. I am so very grateful and thankful for this amazing online community and at 1Peter3Living.

Never did we imagine such an outcome when her headaches increased. What I want to share with you is how God worked in the midst of this before we even knew. He is so very good, and very, very, very faithful.

Read the rest at S.U.M.