Last year my hubby wasn’t able to get out by himself and purchase me a valentine. But he did something much better! He made me one. A simple piece of paper, a black marking pen, a hand drawn heart with our initials and a request to be his “valentine forever.” I’m so blessed to have a husband who is a romantic. Thirty-two years and still he melts my heart with his romantic gestures.

Free image from dreamstime.com

So what happened? Since December you’ve been on a self-destructive treadmill. You eat things you shouldn’t eat…and not in moderation. Do you see a pattern here? Isn’t this how you gained all that weight in the first place…weight that you lost just a few months ago! Admit it. You are a food addict. You love the taste of food, fat foods, cheese, chocolate. Guess what? You can eat those things and still lose weight!

Remember? Moderation, sticking to an eating plan that WORKS, and exercising. Yeah, another dirty word? You’ve got a treadmill. Remember how you loved to walk and write? Remember the sense of accomplishment? And you weren’t doing boring exercise where you watched the clock, sweated up a storm, and just wanted the agony to stop. No, you were on a healthy exercise program. And now you’ve been given a new gift. You have joined Curves through the Silver Sneakers program and it doesn’t cost anything except time. You love working on the circuit! You can do it. It feels good. If you have time to sit and write this letter to you, then you have time to hop in the car, drive fifteen minutes to get a workout, and you’ll be home an hour later. One measly hour out of your day.

You can do this. What you need to do is make a commitment to yourself. Remember your body is God’s temple. He gave it to you. He loves it, so should you. Treat his temple with respect.

Now get out a pen and open your calendar. Make a commitment to exercise, to count your food points, be conscious of every bite you put in your mouth, and remember…treadmill and laptop leads to success in two areas. Health and your writing career.

Your best friend,
Me

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Marathons, Manuscripts and Mothers

As 2012 gets off to a start, I’m sure most of you have made New Year’s Resolutions. Are you sticking to yours? If not, maybe this will jump-start your engine.

What do the three M’s…Marathons, Manuscripts and Mothers have in common? Well, as a former marathon runner, I’m convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the countless hours of running and training during my marathon days prepared me for the other two.

Marathon running is a solitary endeavor that requires 100% dedication, commitment, follow-through and sacrifice. You have to run when you don’t feel like it…when your legs ache and your heart feels like it will leap right out of your chest, when the weather is hot, humid, cold, rainy or just plain dismal. You run in the light, in the dark, and when a strong north wind tries to sweep you right off the path. You keep your focus, and stay true to the goal. There’s no turning back…only looking forward.

The same can be said of writing. It’s a mostly-solitary endeavor that requires 100% dedication, commitment, follow-through and sacrifice. After all, what reader would enjoy a book that has no ending…no plot, direction, or character arc? What publisher would pay for such a book? So you write even when you don’t feel like it…when your friends are going to the movies or out to dinner, when you’d rather read than plot, when warm rays of sunshine beckon from your office window and your heart longs to run and play. You write early in the morning when the rest of the world is sleeping and late at night when the rest of the world is sleeping. You write when the refrigerator beckons you to have just one more snack. And when writer’s block strikes you push through it instead of pushing away from the desk, no matter how painful.

Being a mother…well, sometimes it’s a solitary endeavor that requires 100% dedication, commitment, follow-through and sacrifice. Saying no to a child has never made any mother popular. You overlook your own needs to care for your child. You mother early in the morning, late at night, and every hour in between. You stay strong when the storms of terrible two’s and the teenage years rage, when you see your life flash before your eyes while teaching your teen to drive or your toddler throws a tantrum in the grocery store check-out line. Along the way, you enjoy and savor rays of sunshine that peak through the chaos. You mother when you’d rather take a warm bubble bath or curl up with a book instead of cooking dinner or playing the hundredth hand of Old Maid or Go Fish.

My life’s journey has been a blend of the three M’s. My daughter will enter college next August. We’re in a period of countless changes. The child I once drove to basketball practice and choir rehearsal now chauffeurs me. I have learned, depending on the day (sometimes even the hour), that I know nothing…and everything. Recently, a college friend of mine sent a photo that was snapped our sophomore year (1982). Looking at the photo, I thought my daughter was staring back at me. Was I ever that young, thin and…unwrinkled? My daughter took one glance and gasped, “Mama, is that really you?” as if I could have never—possibly—been that smiling young woman in the picture. And, after a good laugh, I thought about the passage of time and how happy and truly blessed I am to have experienced the three M’s…Marathons, Manuscripts and, especially Motherhood.

BLURB: When Caroline flees Chicago following the brutal murder of her husband, the last thing she expects–or wants–is to fall for Matt Carlson, a builder with strong roots in the small town of Mountainview, Tennessee. She needs to focus on raising her six-year-old daughter and protecting both their hearts from ever being shattered again. Matt is struggling with issues of his own…guilt over the death of his wife and the responsibility of raising a cynical teenaged nephew who is dropped on his doorstep, abandoned by Matt’s alcoholic sister. He doesn’t have time to fall in love, yet he can’t help being drawn to the woman who is ready to defend her home–and her daughter–with nothing more than a fiesty attitude and a broom handle. Can Matt’s help and friendship convince Caroline to trust again…and when Caroline’s daughter goes missing, will Matt be able to find the girl before it’s too late and he loses everything he loves…again?

The program is really good and hopefully will help him to be more active. The trick is going to be to keep him exercising at home when the program is finished. He did a metabolic measurement test prior to the program and they will test it again at the end of the program.

Exercise is very important for patients with COPD. The tendency many COPD sufferers have is to become sedentary. Muscles deteriorate and also heart and lungs because they are not getting any aerobic exercise. I’m very excited about the program and so thankful it is being offered.

It is so good to see him being active and feeling like he can do things again. Sure beats seeing him sitting in a recliner and watching television all day long!

Through the years I’ve encountered many mean hearts and judgmental minds. I am a Christian, but that doesn’t dictate that my friends need to be. I have friends who are atheists and friends who are Jewish and friends who believe in something besides the God who saved me. I have friends who are gay, friends who are single, friends who are married, friends who are divorced, widows, widowers, veterans, protestors, young, old, rich and poor. And I love them all.

It is not for me to judge their beliefs or their lifestyle. In my faith, I know that God is the One who will judge us all when the time comes. My life is lived with an open heart to love everyone.

I celebrate my friends’ successes, cry with them when they are hurt, and try to offer unconditional support and love. So many people have touched my life and each have helped to make me the woman I am today.

What I’d like to ask is that when you see someone who is “different,” please don’t judge them. Look for the goodness within them and embrace it. After all, someone else might be judging you, too. For me, I’d like them to see me as an honest, open, loving woman who is filled with the joy of life and embracing everyone I meet without judgment.

How about you?

It’s a new year! Don’t you just love fresh starts and new beginnings? It’s the one time of year where I sit down and take stock of what has been accomplished and what I’d like to see accomplished.

This year I had a shocker. As I sat down to write goals and pray over my writing and what direction God wants me to go in, God showed me something that still has my head spinning. You know, I’ve always said that I wanted to write to be a pen in God’s hands — to touch other’s lives and encourage their faith. I believed that, and yet, gulp… I found myself judging my success (or lack of) by the numbers of books I sold. In fact, so much so that I’m ashamed to say, I became addicted to checking my books rankings at least once a day and sometimes five or six times – within a 24 hour period. (I know – nothing like overkill!) Why is it so easy to get our eyes off the goal and become so sidetracked?

I knew I was going to need some help. I told my husband and one of my sons, who was sitting with us at that time, about my desire to lay my books, once again, at the foot of the cross. It is still my desire to allow God to use them however He sees fit. I asked Glenn and Jonathan to help me stay accountable. They gladly said yes and we made a deal. So, this is what we came up with… if I look at my books more than once a week, I need to wash and dry the dishes when it’s their turn. And you know what? Granted, we’re only three days into the year, but it’s kept me on track so far.

I realize without Christ, none of my “work” has eternal value. For 2012, I want to have a soft heart towards God. I want to completely give my writing – any and everything I do — to Him. And if He wills, and it’s time to move on from writing to something different, I want to be willing to give it up. For I know that when I’m walking in fellowship and obedience – that’s where He will be able to use me to be His hands and feet and bring about His purposes in my life.

What does that mean for my writing goals for 2012? Well, I’m going to finish the contracted project I have now and then I plan on just waiting on the Lord. I’m confident that He will direct my path. With a new project in the works or not, if I can keep my eyes fixed on Him, it’s going to be an awesome year!

Perhaps today you’re facing decisions for direction like I am (and the main character in this novel.) I’d like to encourage you to seek God and follow His direction. He’ll get you where you need to go.

Photo taken on our trip to Mexico this summer. (Yet another “path” I would have never envisioned for myself! ) Even though I don’t speak Spanish, I had the opportunity to share my testimony at the mission church. The woman next to me was my interpreter.

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Hidden Paths a YA Inspirational Romance

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Julie Hemmingway, a recent college graduate, is preparing to leave for the mission field. When she meets Adam Jacobs, her well-organized plans begin to go awry. Will she fight to hold onto her own agenda, or open her heart to a new – yet, Hidden Path?

Staying in Vermont on the family farm wasn’t what JULIE HEMMINGWAY had envisioned for her life. After all, she had just spent two years at the community college in preparation to join a mission agency to use her nursing skills overseas. However, those plans quickly change when her father suffers a massive heart attack and dies. Out of necessity, she stays at home to help her mom manage the farm.

To help make ends meet, Julie accepts a new job at a construction company where many unexpected things happen, including working with the handsome, ADAM JACOBS. Will Julie learn that she can trust in God and the path He has planned for her life – even when it looks totally different than what she expected?
Purchase Link for Hidden Paths also available at B&N and Amazon.com

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EXCERPT

Julie Hemmingway’s thoughts centered on one thing — and one thing only — the letter which had arrived yesterday. Her dreams were coming true at last. She hummed a little Christmas tune and pushed her cart to the return rack. Scooping up her bags, Julie turned to walk out of the grocery store. The next thing she knew, her face was planted against a wool sweater and a coat’s zipper. The paper bag filled with groceries crushed against her midsection with a sickening crunch. Thankfully, with a firm grip, she somehow managed to hold onto the second bag. She stood stunned for a moment. Please tell me I didn’t just run into the person behind me.

“Are you okay?” His warm bass voice vibrated through his chest and beat against her cheek.

So much for that wish. Julie wrapped her arm tighter around the bag resting between them to prevent it from plummeting to the floor and pushed herself back.

The guy gently gripped her forearms to steady her. “I’m sorry. I should have been paying closer attention to where I was going.” He pointed with his thumb toward the colored lights twinkling merrily in the window. “I was looking at the decorations. They’re amazing.”

Julie let her gaze travel up until she met his blue eyes. The second bag, which had managed to escape the fiasco, slipped out of her grasp. She looked down in horror at the mess on the floor. “Oh man, it looks like I just did some decorating of my own — but not the pretty or festive kind.” She groaned. “I think that bag had my eggs.”

“If that’s the case, they’re now scrambled.” He took the bag, with lettuce spewing over the side, away from her and stepped back to assess the damage. “Or at least, sunny-side up.”

Julie grinned at his quick wit as she kicked loose coffee beans off the top of her shoe.

With a crooked smile, he introduced himself. “I’m Adam.” Before Julie could tell him her name, he plucked a piece of lettuce draped over her sleeve like a scarf. “I must say, these lovely, um… accessories, don’t do your beautiful coat justice.”
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“What a great story – and so true of how we serve God! How often do we serve Him by doing something we think He wants without seeking Him in prayer first? Usually it’s only to find out it’s OUR choice, not what He wants… It’s amazing to see how God works in the lives of these two – just like He works in the background of our lives.”

Donna Basinow — Reader — Posted at Amazon
Rating = 5 Stars
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About JoAnn:JoAnn Carter writes stories that will encourage your faith through inspirational fiction novels and novellas. She resides in Vermont with her wonderful husband and four children. JoAnn is available for speaking engagements to book clubs, reader groups, library groups, womens’ ministries events, school events, and church retreats.

You can find JoAnn online here:

JoAnn’s Website
JoAnn’s Amazon Author Page
Connect with JoAnn on Facebook

At one of my jobs, the CEO decided to play “white noise” through speakers to keep workers focused on their jobs and detract from other conversations. I’ve used the same tactic by turning on a rather loud fan in my office to cover the sound of the television in the other room. I tune out the fan…sometimes…but sometimes the fan becomes a distraction. Sigh.

People say I’m a good listener. I’m not. I have too much white noise in my brain. I wonder what others see when I’m listening to them? Do my eyes look like the shutter of a camera where the shutter closes when I’m fading out and opens when I’m really listening?

Perhaps being a writer has attributed to my accumulation of white noise. I don’t know. I only know that I’m working on learning how to become a better listener. How about you? Do you hear what I hear?

Today’s guest author is Pamela Thibodeaux. We had time for a few interview questions as I was very interested in how she came up with the concept for her newest book THE VISIONARY. Pamela is a Christian author who writes “inspirational fiction with an edge”, and she has trademarked the tagline. Please enjoy reading the interview questions and answers. Below the interview is the blurb and an excerpt from THE VISIONARY.

Interview:

Question: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

Answer: When I first wrote The Visionary in a 5-subject notebook (where most of my stuff began way back when) I had in mind a sweet romance featuring m/f twins and their love interests. When I first typed the novel, I thought, “this is my light romance!” which was a great relief after some of my other work which dealt with subjects like domestic violence, grief, and betrayal. However, one day I sent off the first 3 chapters to a friend and her response was, “these twins are awful close, you need to be careful.” Of course that made me wonder Why? What happened to them or between them to make them so close (I couldn’t seem to tone down their intense feelings for one another). Then one day I walked out of my office into the living room where my husband sat watching a popular talk show. In a heart-wrenching scene the young man on the show apologized to his sisters because he couldn’t stop the abuse they suffered at the hands of their father. I swear, every drop of blood drained from my body and I began to argue with God…. No! Not that! Anything but that! I can’t write this! I have no experience in this! I’m not qualified as a minister or therapist! God….PLEASE….no. Three days of wavering, three days of arguing, three days of not being able to sit down and write a single word and God finally confronted me with…. “Who are you writing for anyway?” I capitulated and wrote the entire story in 4 months during the busiest time of year for a bookkeeper/tax preparer (Jan – April).

Question: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Answer: The hardest part of writing The Visionary was depicting the gruesome abuse the twins suffered as children and then realistically portraying the healing available through the awesome power of God’s love and their struggle for relief from a past too horrendous to live with any longer.

Question: How did you come up with the concept and the setting?

Answer: Characters came first then setting for The Visionary I wanted to do a book around a set of M/F twins, don’t know why, just thought the concept would be interesting and I hadn’t read anything similar so I thought it would be something different. My family history goes back to the early settlers of Lake Charles, and I’d visited the old ‘LeBleu’ homestead so the idea that these twins would be hired to restore/remodel this home back into its previous grandeur and was supposed to be a light-hearted story until the twins revealed to me the horrific abuse they suffered as children. This has been my most difficult—yet most rewarding—books to write.

Question: What is your goal or mission as a writer?

Answer: A committed Christian, I firmly believe in God and His promises. God is very real to me. I believe that people today need and want to hear more of His truths wherever they can glean them and I do my best to encourage readers to develop a personal relationship with Him. The deepest desire of my heart is to glorify God and to get His message of faith, trust, and forgiveness to a hurting world. My hope is that all of my stories will touch the lives of everyone who reads them and – in some way – bring them a truer knowledge of God and urge them into a closer walk with Him.

Question: Who has influenced you most as a writer and why?
Answer: There is really no one person to whom I can attribute this to, so many have helped me along the way. I’d have to say that my love of reading has influenced me the most. Reading opens doors to the imagination, takes you places you’d never be able to go otherwise and improves your visualization and vocabulary skills. Now, I’m able to implement all those things into my own writing.

Question: What are some of the challenges you face as an author?

Answer: The biggest challenge I face is not having my work accepted by the “Christian” publishers. As one reviewer said, “though undeniably Christian, it is never dogmatic or insular; offering faith rather than religion.” (Review of Tempered Dreams by Elizabeth Burton for Blue Iris Journal) My books deal with issues in a way that is unacceptable in the traditional CBA market. Now that is not saying that my books are better than those published through traditional CBA publishers, only different. As I’ve said many times, everything that gives God glory deserves to be praised!

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Blurb:

A visionary is someone who sees into the future. Taylor Forrestier sees into the past but only as it pertains to her work. Hailed by her peers as “a visionary with an instinct for beauty and an eye for the unique” Taylor is undoubtedly a brilliant architect and gifted designer. But she and twin brother Trevor, share more than a successful business. The two share a childhood wrought with lies and deceit and the kind of abuse that’s disturbingly prevalent in today’s society. Can the love of God and the awesome healing power of His grace and mercy free the twins from their past and open their hearts to the good plan and the future He has for their lives? Find out in…The Visionary ~ Where the power of God’s love heals the most wounded of souls.
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Excerpt:

Taylor thrashed about and fought the fear clamoring in her throat. Panic stole her breath. The monster held her while Trevor grappled with a gun. She struggled and kicked, but the monster held her fast. She had to get away. She had to stop him! She begged and pleaded, but the monster just laughed. His gnarled, horrid sound sent shivers of terror through her soul. A blast of gunshot, a flash of lightning, and the scream tore free from her throat and echoed through the room. The door burst open and strong arms encircled her. Gentle hands stroked and soothed, a soft voice caressed, tender words flowed over her. Taylor buried her face in Alex’s shoulder while he cradled her against his chest and rocked.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” she murmured. A pulse hammered against her skin, a tremble shimmered down her spine. She pushed herself closer, found safety and comfort in his embrace. Alex tightened his arms around her, smoothed her hair.
“It’s okay. That’s why I’m here and exactly why I didn’t want to leave you alone tonight.”

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Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”
Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com
Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com
Bayou Writers Group: http://bayouwritersgroup.com

BUY LINKS:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/n8as1b
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/o3YrMq

Now the present is a scary place in my mind. Neighborhoods aren’t exactly the safe places they were when I was a kid and would leave the house in the morning and not come back until lunch, then off I’d go again. My friends live a mile or so away and we walked everywhere…except when we rode our bikes. Even back then we feared the way some people drove their cars…not stopping at the stop signs, speeding too fast along the rural roads. But today I’m fearful of walking any further than up and down the block I live on. It’s not that I don’t trust in God to keep me safe, but God expects us to listen to Him and use good sense. We shouldn’t test God by walking directly into dangerous situations for no good reason. We can pray for His protection, but we shouldn’t expect that bad things don’t happen.

I’d like to share a passage I read today which helped me to put this into perspective.

Proverbs 8:32-36 (MSG) “So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and life wisely; don’t squander your precious life. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day’s work. When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God’s good pleasure. But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul; when you reject me, you’re flirting with death.”

So, what about you? How much different is your life today than it was when you were a child? What do you fear? How do you listen?