Christian Fiction Online Magazine

I did a fun interview with Bonnie Calhoun at Christian Fiction Online Magazine. I had a blast doing this and talking about marketing in the publishing industry. Hope you check it out!

And...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

About Those Trials...

Last week I did two posts about unending trials. I see so much of this in many people's lives these days, including my own. I pray they encourage and strengthen your faith.

 The Unending Trials
One of the heaviest burdens we carry for ourselves and others are those that don’t seem to end...

 Thankful for Trials?
The longer I’m on this journey with God, the more I realize how little I truly understand of his ways...





Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Growing Pains

So, I'm on day 32 of this Hcg diet through biobody.me. I'm not a fan of drastic diets because common sense has always steered me away from anything that just offers a fast fix and not a permanant solution. But I turn 45 in a week and my metabolism was threading complete revolt.

Thus I'm adventure into this crazy diet that seemed so impossible for a food addict like me. I will tell you this is one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I'm happy to report that as of today I've lost 19 lbs. and have reached my main goal. Now I'd love to reach the weight on my driver's lisence, which is just 4.5 lbs. I have 8 more days to do it so I'm going to have to behave. LOL!

What zurprised me about this diet is how it broke my addiction to sugar, which is a big no-no on this diet, and is even discouraged after the main 40 day protocol is completed. I can now see how sugar has truly been my downfall. Even my sweet hubby made this discovery in his own diet. He went sugar free in January and dropped 20 lbs. in 2 months. The bum... ;-)

So, I've learned a lot about how my body feels without all that sugar and crud weighing it down, literally. And I can see long term benefits from eating cleaner. My plan after the three week maintenance phase of this diet is to move to the South Beach Diet. Another one I avoided until a friend around my age had greet success with it and loves eating this way everyday.

And after this 40 days of tight restrictions, that diet will seem like a dream. Happy eating!

Marriage for Training

I'm blogging over at Spiritually Unequal Marriage today about what would happen if we shifted our view of how God uses marriage to prep us for deeper intimacy with Him. I read an interesting post by Kevin Adams that really made me think about this. I hope you'll go check out my post and Kevin's article over at S.U.M.

Snow Day by Billy Coffey

So I just started this book and haven't had a chance to finish it just yet. I'm about third of the way through and can tell you this book is fabulous! Full of authentic prose and anecdotal stories, this is a book you will definitely revisit and love to share. Great as a gift, and with Christmas coming—perfect!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Snow DayFaithWords (October 11, 2010)
by
Billy Coffey
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

When you’re raised in small-town Virginia by a redneck father and a Mennonite mother, certain things become ingrained. And when you marry a small-town girl and have two small-town kids, all you want to do is pass those ingrained things along.

Like believing the best life is one lived in the country enjoying the pleasures it provides—summer nights beneath the stars, rocking chairs on the front porch, deer grazing in the fields. And believing that no matter how iffy life can get sometimes, there are some things that are eternal and unchanging.

But above all else, believing that in everything there is story waiting to be told.

That’s where I come in.

Billy Coffey was raised on stories. The first ones came on the front porches of relatives, tales laced with local charm and deep meaning. Then came the stories from people like Max Lucado and Robert Fulghum, who write with a charm and deep meaning of their own.

Billy lives with his wife and two children in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. If you drive by his house, you’ll probably spot him on the front porch. If you do, give him a wave. He’ll wave back.


ABOUT THE BOOK

In this debut novel, Peter is a simple man who lives by a simple truth--a person gains strength by leaning on his constants. To him, those constants are the factory where he works, the family he loves, and the God who sustains him. But when news of job cuts comes against the backdrop of an unexpected snowstorm, his life becomes filled with far more doubts than certainties.

With humor and a gift for storytelling, Billy Coffey brings you along as he spends his snow day encountering family, friends, and strangers of his small Virginia town. All have had their own battles with life's storms. Some have found redemption. Others are still seeking it. But each one offers a piece to the puzzle of why we must sometimes suffer loss, and each one will help Peter find a greater truth--our lives are made beautiful not by our big moments, but our little ones. (2010)

To read an excerpt from Snow Day, go HERE.