Random thinking.
Here is a video made for Alive Ministries. Pam Kanaly and Shelley Pulliam serve as co-founders.
This video tells a bit of my life’s story about being a single mom. Among many things, I learned to not give up. God’s goodness guides us through every trial and difficulty!
I wrote a guest blog explaining how to find the backstory of a character. You can see it here:
http://seriouslywrite.blogspot.com/2017/01/whats-in-your-characters-past-by.html
Another year has come and gone, leaving many memories to cherish. Our family is all one year older, which means our twelve grand kids have grown taller, more beautiful and handsome, and smarter. They are now between the ages of four and twenty – hard to believe! We are proud of all of them and our amazing six children and awesome in-laws! At Thanksgiving, we got a picture of the whole family – the first time in many years we were all together.
The international students have been a joy! We still meet every Wednesday night. We have had students from China, Korea, Nepal, Saudi, Japan, Cameroon, Taiwan Malaysia, and Sierre Leone. I’m sure I forgot a country or two. I cook and Bill teaches. I am looking for new easy recipes if you have any. It has been an awesome semester. Here are some pictures of students.
We had a few cookouts on our “ranch” in Guthrie. Bill started building a barn on it and hopes to get it finished in 2017.
I published my first historical novel! Yeah for A Promise to Break and have great reviews! Book signings were so fun! I hope to have the second book ready to publish in the spring. I also published a book of poetry, Anna Lee. Also, I am four years without cancer and do not need more tests for another year!
God has blessed Bill and I so much that, as he would say, “We’re better than we deserve!” May the Lord bless you through this coming year! You are loved!
Every time we learn some new little nugget about Christ, it is like opening a seashell and finding a pearl, or similar to digging for diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. How awesome to find a precious truth meant just for us at just the right time!
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew 13: 45-46
I finished teaching a Bible study in Shawnee about encounters with Jesus. We studied insight from Bible stories many church-goers have heard over and over through life, but we dug a little deeper to find something new. Some fresh, thoughtful little treasures. We wore pearls (and hats) the last day to remember that God gives us precious nuggets of truth to help us through life.
Example: Remember the story about the Mother-in-Law? Jesus and his disciples dropped in on Peter’s mother-in-law for dinner, just like college kids converge for food. (Matthew 8:14-17) Usually, she would jump up and happily pull out food from her pantry, slap burgers on the grill, but no, not this time. She lay sick in bed with a fever. Okay, she could just send them down the street for cheese pizza, right? Wrong. She couldn’t. So Jesus took care of the problem. He healed her so she could serve to her heart’s desire.
What treasures can we find in this story? Everyone is important in God’s work, no matter how small the task may seem. Nothing is too tiny for Jesus to address, no person too insignificant, and nothing too trivial. Remember, no matter what is going on, Jesus can touch your life.
As we discussed this story, these sweet ladies in Shawnee brought me joy with their input and enthusiasm. Thank you all! Our greatest treasure came when one lady accepted Jesus as Lord and her spirit was renewed!
With the Lord’s blessing, soon I hope to offer pearls of wisdom in a new book, a forty day devotional of individual encounters with Jesus.
You can find my Christian historical novel at http://amzn.to/2cHLrRe
New Bible study class starting in Shawnee
Thursday night at 6:00, I will begin teaching a new Bible study I wrote entitled, Jesus, One on One, Forty Encounters with Jesus. It is about how Jesus responded to individuals. Beginning September 15, 2016, the women’s group will meet at Temple Baptist Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma!
For several years, I have counseled women in jail, the Ministries of Jesus, and students needing help. Even though I had several certificates and Biblical training, I was curious about how Jesus would handle individuals who came to him with specific questions or problems. As I studied I realized that the book of Matthew had at least forty incidents where Jesus reacted to one person by themselves. As a former accountant, this number was exciting and I began to study each incident.
Here’s the new book’s back page: What if you saw Jesus face to face? Would you tremble in fear, shout for joy or beg for mercy? Study about individuals who encountered Jesus and how they responded. Step into the shoes of those who met Him. What did the Foreigner think? How did the Leper feel? Why did the Woman wash Jesus’ feet with her hair? What was she thinking anyway?
It was a fun study and has been broken down into eight weeks, five individual encounters a week. This book has not been released yet, and I hope to get feedback from the women in the group before it is published. Any input will be appreciated. Please pray for me as i lead this study. Here is my first attempt at a book cover.