Caption Contest

I ran this once before and the winner never did claim her prize. Post your caption about the photo in the comments section below and I'll pick the one that tickles my funny bone or warms my heart. The winner really will get a prize! 

Even if you don't win, your caption may end up in one of my articles, poems, or books.

Monday. We conquered it:) I wrote an entire chapter today, and that feels great! What was the best part of your day today?

Get Outta Here!

I made a fast trip out of town yesterday. Three hours there, brief family visit, three hours back. I returned oddly refreshed and motivated. Why do you think getting out of town is such a help?

I know that was a loaded question yesterday: What's a Christian to do? Since I've been studying the love of God by flipping around 1 Corinthians 13 to discover ways that God loves me, I have a handle on it. Measuring my response to some issues yesterday, I'm falling down on the "loving" job. Thank heaven that Father never falls down on His job, His love.

God's love for us...keeps no record of wrongs. Amazing.
Ps. 103:12 blows us away with "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."  How far do you have to go before east turns into west? Forever!

Aren't you glad? On the subject of betrayal, much could be written about forgiveness. But what are your thoughts on "keeps no record of wrongs"?

Sooooo....it turns out that no matter how nice you are to people, you can still get stepped on, disregarded, betrayed, and otherwise have your heart broken. What's a Christian supposed to do with that? I'll get with the Lord and tell you tomorrow...It's a good thing I've been studying God's love.

 Our church has been going through a Duane Sheriff study called Love. We are amazed by 1 Corinthians 13 all over again. ♥

Normally, we look to that chapter to instruct us in loving others. 
Since God is Love (1 John 4:8 NIV), we can flip these verses to reflect
on how God loves us.  I'm going to blog for a few days on these amazing truths.

God's love for us is long-suffering.
Whew! Mercy, and Hallelujah. Me and my Pollyanna personality tend to wake up in a new world every day. I love that line from Anne of Green Gables.
"Tomorrow is fresh, with not mistakes in it...yet." I may start out fresh, prayed up and ready to walk the walk, but mistakes happen anyway. 

As I mediate on the long-suffering love that God has for us, gratitude fills my heart.

Your thoughts?   

Wednesdays are always quiet at our library. Funny, can't figure that one out. Hump Day slump I guess. At closing time, there are soft clouds shielding the west windows from the sun. There are the usual patrons who don't think we staff have a life and so we have to run them out. We all have supper to fix. Before I put on my librarian face and request that they leave, I sit here and reflect on the day.

Our Director's brother had a stroke today. We are praying for him and for the family as they minister to him.  Each of us has some kind or another of drama going on. There's also a stomach bug going around. It is nice to have the support and friendship that we share here. Even though from different "flavors", we share faith as well.

I love the way these women count their blessings. They may have troubles, but they can also be heard expressing gratitude.

The sun is completely covered now, and the silver lining around the clouds pictures the close of this day. We go home to family and friends, held in the palm of the Father's hand. A beautiful day by any account.

Guest Post by Jessica Day Ontiveros

 Jessica Ontiveros

What I read, saw, heard, and felt…

Two Doors Down From Jimmy

March 11, 2012 

"I know that land ain't worth much. But then someday, I just might up and put my own fence around her and call her Little Reata." -James Dean as Jett Rink, Giant

There it is, Jett Rink’s ‘Little Reata’. Well, what’s left of it.

The Ballroom of the Hotel Paisano, where cast & crew would watch their dailies. There are scuff marks all over the wood floor, perhaps one or two of them belong to James Dean...

When my husband took me to Marfa, Texas to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary, I thought I would be most excited about staying at the Hotel Paisano. This beautifully restored 1930′s hotel is where the cast (including James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson) stayed during the filming of the 1956 movie Giant. Staying there was a dream come true, I’m a big fan of old movies and an even bigger James Dean fan, so it was pretty surreal. Our room was only 2 doors down from where he stayed. It was amazing.
But the feeling I got when we drove up on Little Reata was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Sounds silly, but just knowing he had been there gives you sort of a rush. Yes, he was there at the hotel too, but his moments at Little Reata were captured on film in one of my favorite movies, so it seemed even more special.
Little Reata is located a few miles outside of Marfa on private property, surrounded by a barbed wire fence. I noticed a place where the fence was up a good two feet off the ground, and it’s apparent that some pretty die hard Dean fans have crawled underneath there. Had I been a bit braver I might have tried!


What little is left of it is the good stuff. The entryway, and the iconic windmill.
Yes, the windmill still stands.

I wonder how much longer Jett Rink's windmill will stand up to the harsh desert weather

Can’t you just see Jimmy sitting up there?
No? Let me help you…

I really wanted to climb it, but unfortunately I don’t think it could even withstand a sneeze.
So there it is, in all that’s left of it’s glory.

Little Reata

It was hard to walk away from there, into the waiting vehicle parked next to the highway. But alas, we had another location to find. We had discovered Little Reata, now it was time to hunt out Reata Ranch.
My husband was a great sport. He is not the old movie/James Dean fan that I am, but he was the one who suggested we go to Marfa. He even let me play the Giant theme song as we drove out of town to find the old movie sets.
Stop laughing. It was a miraculous moment for me… =)
Sadly, seeing what remains of Reata Ranch was not so miraculous. The ranch house seen on film was only a facade made of wood and plaster used only for exterior scenes. Today it’s a skeleton of what it once was. It is also located on private property, and very hard to see from the highway. We actually missed it the first time and had to turn around and go back. We finally found it, but the picture is not impressive. (There are some great pictures online from very close up, if you feel like searching.)

Can you believe it? It actually made me really sad. I can’t believe that used to look like this:

After a few hours of scouring the desert landscape for old movie sets, it was time to head home. As we were leaving the hotel, we noticed the door to James Dean’s room was open. I snapped this photo from the stair way:

James Dean's room, 223

  We had a wonderful time and a great anniversary, I won’t ever forget the time we stayed two doors down from Jimmy!

Check out Jessica's Blog! Jessica Ontiveros

Interview with Author and Musician Mike Blakely

Western Novelist/Songwriter Mike Blakely with three members of Critique Cafe

                                                                        


Mike Blakely made his second concert appearance at the Fort Stockton Public Library on Thursday night, March 1, 2012. Three of Mike's western novels have been nominated for the Western Writer's of America Spur Award, and in 2000 his novel Summer of Pearls won the award. In 2007, his song "The Last Wild White Buffalo" won the Spur Award for Best Western Song.

Before delighting the audience with his special brand of songwriting and singing, Mike joined the Fort Stockton Area Writer's Group, Critique Cafe, for a Q & A. session.Here are a few highlights:

Which came first, your writing or your music? My dad taught me to play guitar when I was just eight. I was very involved in music in high school. After graduation from high school in Wharton County, Texas, I spent three years in the Air Force. When I discovered that the Air Force wasn't going to be my career, I decided to go to school for Journalism. My dad got his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri so I thought I'd go there. All day long I wanted to learn how to write something, but they just wanted to teach politics, so I transferred to the University of Texas. They taught journalism there.

What is your opinion of the current state of journalism? There's no such thing anymore. I was taught to be objective. Every report is slanted one way or another now days.

Did you sell your first book? I wrote my first book while I was in the Air Force, back when I didn't know what I was doing. No, didn't do anything with that.

How did things get started for you? I wrote a series of newspaper articles for several years during the Texas Sesquicentennial in the mid-eighties. That took a lot of research into Texas history, which I've always been passionate about. I cowboyed on family ranches from the time I was small.  It seemed natural that I would have a passion for western writing.

You are an award winning western writer. Yes, I've written 17 novels. Summer of Pearls won the 2000 Spur Award, and in 2007 I was awarded the Spur Award for Best Western Song by the Western Writers of America. That was the first time they gave that award.

Who is your agent?  I queried over twenty-five agents when I was trying to get started. And that was before email was the predominant pathway. I got a lot of very pleasant rejections. Finally I landed an agent that was willing to represent a new western writer. I've been with Joe Vallely of Flaming Star Literary Enterprises ever since.

I know you just finished a project with Kenny Rogers. How does that kind of collaboration work? I'd already done a book with Willie Nelson (A Tale Out of Luck). He has the same agent (William Morris Agency) as Kenny Rogers and so one thing led to another. We pass ideas back and forth. I do most of the writing, but it is a give and take. I actually liked some of Willie's ideas better than mine.


What is your best advice for writers? Go to conferences and meet with editors and agents. Learn all you can. Don't write for the markets, follow your heart.

Check out Mike's Website Mike Blakely

Critique Cafe enjoyed the Question and Answer session, and the concert as well. One of my favorite things he said was "I grew up so far out in the country that my zip code was ee i ee i oh."

God isn't Moving....He's LOVING! Guest Post by LaToya Brown

God isn't Moving....He's LOVING!  Guest Post by LaToya Brown 

I use to think that God would only be pleased with me if  I was doing something for him. After all, heaven must be waiting on me to cause to move before anything happens. That thinking was so far from what God wanted me to know. He didn't send Jesus to make us work for his love and grace. He sent Jesus to break us for religious tradition and to embrace his amazing grace. I wish I could tell you that I changed my thinking after this revelation, but I didn't. Breaking free from a works mentality was more difficult than I thought.

You're probably guilty too. Guilty of fasting, praying, witnessing and reading the Bible to move God. When we want something from Him we usually change up our routine to get his attention. When in reality, we already have his attention and nothing we do will move him. While those things are not bad in and of themselves. They are just not a magical potion to cause God to move on our behalf. He is not controlled by our actions. Is he honored by them? I'm almost sure of that. He loves it when his children have a heart to please him. Any parent would.  Just like any parent is proud of a behaving child, they are undoubtedly more honored when a child desires to be in their presence more than in their favor, Hallelujah...now that should make you shout!

It's not our love for God that moves him..it's his love for US that compels him to move on our behalf. Jesus came to demonstrate God's love for us. How much does he love you? He stretched out his arms to show you. Everything God will ever do for you was done at the cross. Jesus is SITTING at the right hand of the father. Yep, sitting. Jesus is sitting down because he has already done everything for you. All your sins are forgiven into eternity. All your dreams and prayers are answered in all eternity. Just believe and receive...believe and receive...believe and receive.

There are times in our lives when you must push past the struggle and know that God hasn't only called you to minister to those around you, but that God has called you unto himself. That means he wants to be with you more than he desires to have you doing so much for him that you never spend time with him. I challenge you to believe that he loves you and receive his love for you and all it's meaning.

Prayer: Lord, I've tried to do all the right things so that you would be pleased. I am guilty of trying to impress you with all my works.  Lord, help me receive the love you have for me today and to be aware of your presence around me. I lay down all my tools, tricks and trades to be loved by you..infinitely in Jesus Name..

Jody here:

I met this precious lady at the East Texas Christian Writer's Conference. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and she does wonderful work in the Kingdom. Thanks, LaToya, for letting me share your post today.

Here's a link to LaToya's blog:  LaToya Brown Speaks

Go on over and "Like" her Facebook page, too.  

 

  Here's an interview with Janice Hanna Thompson about her book  I Must Decrease: Biblical Inspiration and Encouragement for Dieters

which is a free Kindle download for a while today.

 

Being overweight is nothing to laugh at, but most people who want to lose weight are tired of the serious, "Thou shalt not" approach. Many are ready for a lighthearted look at weight loss--"a practical devotional approach that offers scriptural advice in a way that encourages and never condemns. Award-winner Christian author Janice Thompson shares light-hearted ways to lose weight and keep your humor intact. Based on her own experience of losing 100 pounds without surgery, Janice keeps the laughter going in this day-to-day format. Whether you want to drop five pounds of 150, this is the book to help you achieve that goal.

I Must Decrease contains tips and testimonies from several well-known (and much-loved) Christian authors, including Mary Connealy, Lena Nelson Dooley, Martha Rogers, Kristin Billerbeck, Laurie Alice Eakes, Carrie Turansky, Marcia Gruver, Deb Ulrich, Gina Bishop, Pam Hillman and Lynette Sowell.

Special Feature: This e-book version of Janice's devotional contains some of her favorite low-cal recipes. Bon Appetite!

 

ANNOUNCING New e-book release by comedic author, Janice Hanna Thompson: I Must Decrease: Biblical Inspiration and Encouragement for Dieters

Janice, can you tell us a little about your non-fiction e-book book, I MUST DECREASE?

Sure! As a comedic author, I usually write light-hearted stories. I’m known as the funny girl. I get the giggles and chuckle my way through most situations. Not everything is funny, however. When it came to my weight, however, I had very little to laugh about. Most of my readers didn’t realize the health crisis I was facing as a result of the added pounds. I needed to get things under control, so I started counting calories and watching what I ate. Out of that came my non-fiction book, I MUST DECREASE (which released in paperback in 2005). The book is set up in a daily devotional format and it meant to bring humor (as well as dieting tips) to Christians who need/want to lose weight.

Why did you choose the title I MUST DECREASE?

The title came as a result of a prayer time at church. I’d gone up for prayer and the gentleman praying for me used the scripture (John 3:30) as he prayed for me: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” For whatever reason, it got me tickled. I’d never thought about that particular scripture having anything to do with dieting before, but it suddenly felt right.

Can you tell us about the layout of the book?

Each day’s devotion offers the following:

·        Ticklers: A humorous quote or “thought for the day” to tickle your funny bone.

·        Tidbits: A “Did You Know?” area offering tidbits of information from multiple sources.

·        Traps: Common misconceptions and/or food “traps” we often fall into

·        Tricks: “Tricks of the trade” to help you stick with your plan

·        Treats: Clever snack and food ideas for the healthy eater

·        Testimonies: Personal testimonies of others who’ve faced the weight loss challenge and won (including some prominent personalities)

·        Treasures: Daily scripture reference

·        Tips: Devotional for the day, based on the daily scripture above

·        Turning Your Focus:             A variety of ways you can reach out to others

·        Today’s Food Choices: A reminder to write down your daily food choices

·        Thoughts on Paper: Encouragement to keep a daily journal entry

Why did you choose the humorous approach?

Being overweight is nothing to laugh at, but most people who want to lose weight are tired of the serious, "Thou shalt not" approach. Many are ready for a lighthearted look at weight loss--"a practical devotional approach that offers scriptural advice in a way that encourages and never condemns. I decided to share light-hearted ways that dieters could lose weight and still keep their humor intact. This way I could keep my funny bone intact while losing weight.

Who contributed to the book?

I MUST DECREASE contains tips and testimonies from several well-known (and much-loved) Christian authors, including Mary Connealy, Lena Nelson Dooley, Martha Rogers, Kristin Billerbeck, Laurie Alice Eakes, Carrie Turansky, Marcia Gruver, Deb Ulrich, Gina Bishop, Pam Hillman and Lynette Sowell. I adore these ladies and am so grateful for their input.

Who can benefit from this book?

I would say that anyone concerned with his or her weight (or the weight of a loved one) could benefit from reading. Whether you want to drop five pounds or 150 pounds, this is the book to help you achieve that goal. 


Can you tell us about the special feature?

This e-book version of my devotional contains a few of my favorite low-cal recipes. Bon Appetite!

What sort of feedback have you gotten from readers so far?

Here’s what one Amazon reader had to say: “This Book Works! I loved this book. As soon as I started reading I was not only motivated to lose weight, but inspired that I actually could this time. I lost 39 lbs and feel free from the bondage that food can put you in. This is a lite-hearted book with biblical principals as well as helpful hints to rid yourself of unwanted pounds without "Dieting" or "Dieing" to eat. The journal pages have been so instrumental to my progress, do not read the book without using the journal section daily!” May 26, 2011 (by megamomma)

Why did you decide to offer the book for free for the first five days?

I love the kindle select program and thought it would be fun to jump-start the process by giving away the book from February 22^nd – February 26^th. Readers can download the book for free by following this link to I MUST DECREASE.

Can you tell us about your I MUST DECREASE Facebook group?

I would love to! More than a year ago I started a private group on Facebook for a handful of ladies (like myself) who wanted to have the camaraderie of fellow Christian dieters. The group has since grown! Men and women are welcome to join us, but if you do, be prepared to share recipes, fun and tidbits from your personal journey. What happens in I MUST DECREASE stays in I MUST DECREASE! That’s why the group will always remain private. To apply to the group, follow this link to I MUST DECREASE.

What happens when the “freebie” days end?

The book will still be available for purchase on Amazon (and eventually on Barnes and Noble).

Any advice for the road?

Sure! Make sure you write down what you eat every day. This simple process forces you to look at the calories/carbs you’re consuming. It also makes you very aware of the slip-ups! I use a great site called fitday.com, which I highly recommend!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award-winning author Janice Thompson also writes under the pseudonym Janice Hanna. She has published nearly eighty books for the Christian market, crossing genre lines to write cozy mysteries, historicals, romances, nonfiction books, devotionals, children’s books and more. She particularly enjoys writing light-hearted, comedic tales because she enjoys making readers laugh. In addition, she enjoys public speaking and mentoring young writers. Janice is passionate about her faith and does all she can to share the joy of the Lord with others, which is why she particularly enjoys writing. Her tagline, “Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters!” sums up her take on life.

Connect with Janice!

Facebook: JaniceHannaThompson

Twitter: booksbyjanice

I Must Decrease Facebook page

PHOTOS:

Book cover:

 

Author photo:

 

A few thoughts on love...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Even though the John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life," believers tend to wonder if God really loves them or not.

We pluck the petals off of a proverbial daisy, vacillating almost daily about our standing with our heavenly Father.Why is that?

Could it be that we view God's love for us based on our circumstances, our feelings, and/or our sin? We get in a tough situation financially or otherwise and we think God must not love us. Our heart gets broken over something and we think God doesn't love us. We feel guilt over our failures and shortcomings and think surely God can't love us because of our sin.


God cannot not love us. Because He is love. (1 John 4:8) We sit on a chair, and know it will hold us up because it is a chair, that's what it does. We fill our lungs and trust that air will sustain us because it is air. God loves us because he is love.

There is much to be said about our circumstances, our feelings, and our sin. But there is one thing that we can bank on. God loves us.

Do you have problems believing that God loves you?

 Give me your eyes for just one second...

Completely undone. I work with the public, which can be a challenge as many of you know, but I try to be cheerful, helpful and professional. 


This morning I've been accused of being rude. Always rude, as a matter of fact. So instead of crying on my keyboard, I'm going to analyze this. 


Smile? Check. Helpful? Check, went out of my way in fact. So what the heck? This individual's rant bordered on irate. I am totally confused. My boss and coworkers know it's not so but nevertheless, I'm bothered.


Taking a deep breath and whispering a prayer, I'm determined to look at this through love-colored glasses. I've prayed for the Father to give me his eyes in dealing with people, but maybe I need His eyes to look at myself honestly. I purpose to do that with each transaction from now on. 


I know that people come in this place with a world of hurt and troubles that I know nothing about. I never want to contribute to that. If anything, I'd like to make it better. That's the goal anyway, I don't always feel that way inside. Sometimes, I am downright rude in my thinking and perhaps it shows on the outside.  The consensus around here is that I was not rude, but the very next time I see that individual, I am going to apologize.


Do you have problems and/or solutions for working with the public?