Are you hemmed in and belted up?

Everywhere I turn recently, it seems I'm reminded of how God "hems me in." Psalm 139 is a favorite, and I love verse five in particular. "You hem me in before and behind, and you lay your hand upon me." (NIV)

I love how Eugene Peterson paraphrases verse five in The Message, "I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there too––your reassuring presence, coming and going."

Last week a friend shared this ad encouraging people to wear their seat belts. Chances are good you've seen it. It's been viewed millions of times on YouTube. Even if you have seen it, I'd encourage you to watch it again. But this time…look at it through the eyes of God hemming you in before and behind. At Him being behind you and then in front of you, keeping your road safe with His reassuring presence and love.

The expressions on the family's faces are so touching. The love and laughter, then the surprise which quickly escalates to concern. I'm reminded of how much God loves us. How He's given us His Spirit to restrain us, to empower us to do His will, to follow His lead.

Are you familiar with the song He Loves Us? It's one of my favorites. We sang it in church this past Sunday and I just stood and let the promise wash over me, knowing how undeserving and unworthy I am. Click the link below then just close your eyes and listen to the David Crowder Band and let the promise sink in, let God hem you in with the reminder of how He loves you.

On a writing note… My editor, Karen, and I have a phone meeting this afternoon at 2:00 to discuss where we can begin cutting A Lasting Impression as the story came in "just a tad longer" (we exaggerate here in the South) than what I/we thought it would be. Yikes! I'm sharpening my scissors even as I open my mind to see what's extraneous to the story and what should stay.

All for now, and praying you're hemmed up and belted up too! If you've gotten a reminder of God's love and care recently, please share! I'd love to hear about it.

Tammy

Thanks to Those Who Have Given All

It's Memorial Day in the USA. Originally called Decoration Day, it was established to recognize those who have died in our nation's service. The practice of decorating the graves of fallen soldiers began years before the holiday was established in early 1868. The first official Memorial Day was observed on May 30th of that year when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Many Americans have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. It has become little more than a holiday established to give workers a three day weekend at the beginning of summer or a great excuse to barbecue. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.

Whether or not you visit a cemetery today or some sort of Memorial Day event, I hope all Americans reading this blog post will take a moment to think about the men and women who have died in service to our country. Remember to be thankful for them and their families. As we all know, the price of freedom isn't cheap.

~robin

Our Praised Heavenly Father

I have a friend who says men never ask for directions--so it was inevitable that a few wound up on the moon.

My daddy never asked directions, either. Each year, we'd go camping for vacation. On the way back to our tent after campfire, he'd hold out his hand and say, "I know a shortcut." Oh, how I loved it when it was my turn! With my hand in his, the pitch black night didn't scare me. I knew he'd keep me safe. Strong enough to lift me over split rail fences and cunning enough to navigate unfamiliar terrain, Daddy always got us back to the tent before Mom came up the road with my brother and sister.

I held Daddy's hand last Sunday as he went to be with Jesus.

Every prayer he said began with the same words: "Our Praised Heavenly Father.." They weren't rote words. He followed them with expressions of thanks to his Lord. His heart only pumped at 14% and he struggled to breathe, yet he gave praise. So now, I'm holding tight to my Heavenly Father's hand and know He'll lead me through this dark night and be my strength. And I will praise Him.

And I thank you all for your prayers.

I'm not the only one who experiencing loss. Storms throughout the nation have ravaged the lives of our brothers and sisters in the past week. My compassion, sympathy, and prayers are yours.

Cathy

Week 3 on the Book Tour

Well we're heading into our 3rd week on the book tour! This week we get to spend time with our daughter Jen and see her graduate from Harvard and hopefully I'll have some photos next week.

This last week we finished up with Minneapolis - thankfully before the tornadoes hit, but we have been praying big time for all the storm hit locations. I had a signing in St. Joseph, Michigan where the fog was quite thick. Here we are with Lindsay and her mom Lori. They run a small store in Monticello, MN. They were such fun!













We saw a couple of really neat old school houses. This one was in Northwest Minnesota.

And this one is an active museum called West Riverside Museum School near Cambridge, MN.











Then Jim and I had a wonderful dinner in Grand Rapids with Dwight and Tammy Baker (Dwight's at the head of the table and Tammy is to his right in green). Dwight heads up Baker Publishing. Also in attendance were a variety of fun folks. Chris Jager (dark shirt), the Baker Book House fiction buyer, Sue and Mike (behind me on the right)from the Baker Book store and Ray and Ann Byle (in the front), a freelancer for the Grand Rapids Press. The Bakers fixed a delicious meal and we very much enjoyed the fellowship and laughter.

I spoke that night at the Baker Book Store and had a great group in attendance. We had a great time laughing and enjoying the night. If you're looking for an old book, Baker Book Store has an amazing used book section.


The next day I was in Defiance and Lima, Ohio before moving on the New York. The drive to Johnson City was incredibly beautiful. We stopped at Lake Chautauqua and enjoyed the scenery.









I spoke and signed books in Johnson City at Arrowhead Christian Bookstore. Those folks know how to make an author feel welcomed - they had a chocolate fountain. Not only that, but our dear friend writer friend Bonnie Calhoun came to say hi.

Now, as I mentioned we're off to Boston to see Jen graduate.
God Bless You!
Tracie

Sweet Company

I suppose everyone knows I’m a cat person (although I resist the title "Crazy Cat Lady"). In my 50 years of life, I’ve only had one lonely year without a cat as a pet. Currently we have FOUR cats--the most I’ve ever owned at one time (if you can really own a cat--I think it’s more I’m “owned by” them), and I teasingly (or not so teasingly) call them my writing mews.

It is a rare day that my lap is empty when I’m at the computer. Occasionally Frances joins me, but I’m much more likely to have either Maizie or Clyde curled up across my knees, peacefully sleeping, while I write.

They also serve other useful purposes. Maizie does a fine job of ascertaining stacks of paper stay in place, and Clyde isn’t a half-bad editor. Every now and then, he tries to contribute, but his spelling is atrocious. I’m still trying to decipher his “kj jk uiooooooo lpp.” Suggestions are welcome.

This week, as Judy indicated, my cats had access to three additional laps. I missed catching a pic of Frances taking advantage of the new warm-blooded furniture but managed to photograph Sam making himself comfortable. I’m so glad my guests liked cats, too. (I warn anyone who comes over here--“I have cats, and they’re friendly. If you don’t like cats, you might want to stay away.”)

On Facebook, I talked about my cats so much, in particular Clyde, whose big eyes never miss a thing, FB friends formed a connection to Clyde. So I started his own Profile--the little furry guy has over 100 friends! (You can access his page here.) Clyde posts every morning, and peoples’ responses always make me smile. Anyone who is nice to a cat is all right in my book. :o)

With my writer friends back in their own homes, applying the brainstorming ideas we concocted while they were here, it’s just me and the cats again. After such a sweet time of fellowship, it might feel lonely were it not for my writing mews. Thank goodness for furry friends!

May God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

A Bit of Brainstorming

One of the best parts of being a writer is getting together with other writers to relax, fellowship, brainstorm, drink coffee, and eat—and not necessarily in that order. Fellow author and blogger,Kim Sawyer invited Deborah Raney, Deborah Vogts, and me to her home for a brainstorming session over the past few days. I wanted to share a few pictures of our grueling work while we were there.

As you can see from the above picture, we took our task quite seriously. There was a LOT of coffee drinking—we all enjoyed Kim’s Keurig coffee maker and had to try as many flavors as possible.

There was a lot of eating, everything from homemade crème brule to fantastic pie at the Carriage Crossing Restaurant in the small Amish community of Yoder, Kansas.





There was time for relaxing outdoors.

Time for brainstorming (with coffee, of course)

Time for thoughtful introspection

And time for a catnap or two!








I think Kim's cats had the most difficult work of all. They had to put up with the interruption of extra adults in their domain. Although they were hospitable, I'm sure they were pleased to see us go home!

May you find joy as you fellowship with others. ~Judy

The best $25 I ever spent

Look what I found in my files recently…

It's a note from Robin (Lee Hatcher) from a critique that I "bought" from her at an ACFW Conference in Houston in 2003. She was the keynote speaker. It was my first time to meet Robin and "little did I know" that that $25 critique would begin one of the dearest friendships of my life. (Love you, Robin! And I still maintain that was the best $25 I've ever spent.)

If you're a writer or aspiring writer, I'd highly encourage you to check out American Christian Fiction Writers Conference this September in St. Louis. The relationships and connections I've made in that organization have made all the difference in my writing journey. I'll be teaching a class with my writing critique partner, Deb Raney, but don't let that stop you. Look at who our keynote speaker is this year! It's a given it's going to be great.

And wonderful news on the writing front, for me anyway. I've completed the rewrites for A Lasting Impression, and now it's with my editor for her to work her magic. We'll have lots of back-and-forth yet but oh…it's fabulous to be at this stage with this book. There were moments I wondered if I'd ever type THE END. But it came. Finally. Whew!

Blessings all,
Tammy

To Cathy, please know that we're continuing to pray for you as you mourn the loss of your sweet father and yet also celebrate his Homecoming. We look forward to meeting him one day.

Back cover blurbs and other nightmares

There are some writers who absolutely love writing copy for the backs or the inside flaps of their books. I am not one of those writers. Fortunately, many of my editors excel at such things, and often all I have to do is edit and/or approve what they come up with.

But the publisher for my February 2012 release asked me to write the headline and blurb for Heart of Gold, and somehow, over the course of a few days, I managed to put something together that everyone liked, after a bit of tweaking on their part and my part. So here it is:

Against Shannon's wishes, love stakes its claim in her heart. Will she discover treasure or treachery?

When Shannon Adair accompanies her minister father to the western gold rush town of Grand Coeur, she's certain she'll never be happy away from her beloved Virginia, even though the South is still gripped in civil war. Wells Fargo driver Matthew Dubois isn't sure the lovely Shannon belongs in Idaho Territory either, but he is a desperate man. His widowed sister is dying and leaving her young son in his care. If Matthew hopes to return to driving coach for the express company, he'll need a wife to look after the boy when he's away.

Shannon is determined not to love a man who is neither a Southerner nor a gentleman, but it's a losing battle. Now, will her heart survive learning the truth behind his courtship?

My editor also sent me the preliminary cover art for the book. There are probably some changes coming to it, based upon my suggestions, including correcting the color of the heroine's hair. Still, I just had to share it with you because it is so pretty.

So what do you think? Do the cover and blurb make you eager to read the book?

~robin

Heaven's Gate

We're having Father's Day today. According to the calendar, we're early. But we want to celebrate Daddy today. Soon he won't be home with us--he'll be Home with Jesus. God is generous. Twenty-seven years ago on Father's Day, Daddy had a massive heart attack. Only by God's grace did he make it.

My daughter Kelly was a baby. She's now twenty-seven. Colin is twenty-six. The Lord blessed Chris and me with my father's wisdom and guidance as we waded into the ever-deeper waters of parenthood. My children have enjoyed a grandpa who adored them, consistently fostered their faith in Jesus, and enriched their lives in myriad ways.

The Bible says, "Your mercy is on him who loves You from generation to generation."

Yes, God has been merciful.

And faithful! He has led us thus far, and He will carry us through the coming days.

Daddy's love has been so profound, it made it easy to believe in a supremely loving Heavenly Father and lean on His promises.

Hospice made it possible for us to love him to heaven's gate here at home. For the first time in over two decades, Daddy isn't in pain--and we find great comfort in that. We're reminisced and read Psalms and sung very, very badly. We've cried, too. It's not easy to consider our family without it's patriarch. Through prayer, we've praised God for all these extra years, for the gift of Daddy. OH, how we've thanked God for His Son who restored us to Him! Though separation looms ahead, we will be together for eternity. Drawing near to God, we feel God drawing nearer.

But today we want to celebrate the last few days... and even these last few precious hours. So tonight is Father's Day. I'd cherish your prayers for Mom. This week was their 59th anniversary, so we're asking the Comforter to envelop her in the days to come.

But if your daddy is still on this side of heaven's gate, give him an extra kiss.

Cathy

Book Tour week 2

I'm having a great time on the booktour. I've met so many wonderful people and have very much enjoyed getting to share with them why I write and how much I love the Lord.

We battled the waterlogged areas of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. I hope you'll continue to pray for those folks. They are quite desperate to get crops planted in soggy fields and to see life return to normal. There's some mighty beautiful farm country in Northern Minnesota!

We have spent all week in Minnesota and enjoyed learning a little of the history. We were on the banks of Muskeg Bay at Warroad and learned that the area long ago had a fort and was considered the western capital of the French empire in the Northwest.







I did an event in Hallock and met the wonderful Peggy Pearson who runs the library in Hallock, Minnesota.





I did an event in Greenbush, MN.




"Sha Ach Wah", which means spruce tree or green bush in Chippewa, the local Indian language, was the inspiration for the name of the city of Greenbush. Angie Peterson (no relation that I know of) was the one who encouraged my coming to Minnesota for the various libraries of the Northwest. It was definitely a great idea.

We spent several nights in Thief River Falls, Minnesota - so called because - The name of the river is a loose translation of the Ojibwe phrase, Gimood-akiwi ziibi, literally, the "Stolen-land river" or "Thieving Land river," which originated when a band of Dakota Indians occupied a secret encampment along the river, hence "stealing" the land, before being discovered and routed by the neighboring Ojibwe.

We've got to see crop dusters
and neat cemeteries. Jim managed to snap pictures of gravemarkers - this one with the 23rd Psalm in Swedish at the cemetery in Upsala, MN.


The travel definitely keeps us busy, but I am so blessed. Jim and I have spent time talking to so many of the readers and praying with them. It's been a great way to spend my "summer vacation."

God Bless You!
Tracie

Sneak peeks

One of the most anticipated moments for me as an author is when the publisher shares the first mock-up of a cover. Of course, I always carry a picture in my head of what the characters look like, what the town looks like, etc., but it can be very hard to convey what's in my head to someone else (my husband would say this is a good thing). Consequently, I'm always eager to see how someone else perceives the characters/setting.

Monday, the .jpg image for my January 2012 release popped into my inbox. With trembling fingers I clicked the attachment. And...voila! Sadie standing on the mercantile porch in Goldtree!

This story was so much fun to write. First of all, its inspiration came on a day-trip with my soul sister last summer. Usually I go to her for a week during the summer, but last year she came to me. We bundled into the car early one morning and drove several hours to a tiny town called Paxico, which was predominantly antique stores. What used to be several stores under one roof had been transformed into one very large space absolutely filled with all manner of items from the past. While browsing, I came across a sign that indicated more antiques were downstairs, so I headed down. A long, narrow walkway lined with tin ceiling panels led to an enormous room. The moment I entered the room, the story tingles started.

A stage! UNDER the store! Questions swirled through my brain: Why would they build a stage in the basement? Who performed on this stage? Were these performances open to the public, or were they by-invitation only? What other activities might have gone on in this cellar room beneath the mercantile?

Those questions led to Song of My Heart, about a young woman who dreams of becoming an opera-house singer and a sheriff who is determined to uncover every secret in Goldtree and bring law and order to the little Kansas town. The story also features some very lively characters, including Melva and Shelva (named for one of my choir buddies and a woman I met at booksigning in Ohio) and their brother Asa. The secondary characters made me laugh on more than one occasion--Goldtree is quite the town! I hope my readers will enjoy their time there.

One of my favorite Bible passages is Psalm 139. It's my "go to" Psalm when my soul needs a balm. I love these verses: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. ... All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." From the beginning of time, God knew I would one day write stories meant to show His grace in action. He had stories planned, with characters intended to walk a road to spiritual growth and truth. He knew those stories would minister to me, as the writer, and He had readers in mind who needed the lesson as well. Sometimes that knowledge, as the Psalm says elsewhere, is too lofty for me to attain, but yet I believe it wholeheartedly. His works are wonderful--I know that full well.

The above cover is still undergoing some tweaks, so the final cover will be a little different, but I hope you enjoyed the "sneak peek" at what's to come. Now, for another sneak peek...another upcoming event: a grandchild.

From the beginning of time, God knew this little soul would enter the earth, and He has glorious plans for our wee one. This little one will be unveiled in August. Stand by. I'm certain the reality will exceed imagination. Prayers for this precious new life appreciated!

God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

Behind the Scenes

At our book signing on Saturday, I had a few readers ask me why I’d chosen to use a later time period for A Bond Never Broken. Since I’d never set a book during World War I, I suppose it did seem a bit odd to readers. However, as authors, we’re usually delighted to share why we write certain books and some of the interesting things we learn as we’re researching our books—kind of the story behind the story. Their questions gave me an opportunity to tell them some of my discoveries, and I thought I’d share them here, too.

When I began my research for this series, I discovered many interesting facts about how German immigrants and particularly the people of Amana were treated as they settled in their new country. I also learned that during during World War I, anti-German feelings escalated to new heights. Because the people of Amana were both German immigrants and pacifists, they were prime targets for hatred. Although I was well aware of McCarthyism during World II, I was startled by news reports and magazine articles of events that occurred during World War I. That’s when I decided I wanted to set one of the books in the Daughters of Amana series during that time period.

During World War I there was a high population of German immigrants living in Iowa. William Harding, the governor at that time, issued a statement that made it against the law to speak any language in public other than English. This made it particularly difficult for the people of Amana, many of whom had not yet learned the language. Nicknamed the “Babel Proclamation,” Governor Harding went so far as to state in a public speech that God did not hear prayers spoken in any language but English. Imagine my great surprise to learn that our God can only understand English!

One of the most effective and harmful tools used by the government was the practice of engaging pro-war citizens to report on other citizens. These Councils of National Defense were established on statewide and county levels and were supposedly set up to encourage citizens to perform patriotic duties. Unfortunately, in most cases, they were simply used to target German-Americans through intimidation, coercion and entrapment.

Because many of the older people living in Amana as well as other parts of the state could not speak English, this law was especially frightening. Two elderly women in one Iowa county were jailed for speaking German over the telephone. A Lutheran pastor was jailed for preaching a portion of a funeral for a soldier killed in the war in Swedish because the young man’s grandparents did not speak English. Difficult to understand such irrational behavior, but it happened.

There were rumors of bacterially-contaminated adhesive bandages that led to arrests, but no convictions. And there were rumors of ground glass in sacks of flour that resulted in several bakeries going out of business. For those of you who have read A Bond Never Broken, you’ll recognize some of the ideas used in the novel. There are many other examples of horrible human behavior wrought out of fear and poor judgment. Many of the same practices existed during World War II.

Even today, we see some of this same type of behavior. And while I agree there is a need to keep our country safe, we need to carefully choose the methods we use in guaranteeing our safety. At the front of the book I used a quote by George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That quote is true for us both individually and as a nation.

And now I’ll step down from my soapbox and return to plotting my book.

May you find joy as you count the many lessons you’ve learned and don’t plan to repeat. ~Judy