Buck Fever

I'm such a doofus. I've been seeing Cythnia's cover of Dog Gone on the Blueboard for some time, only it's been replaced by Buck Fever. And I was scratching my head over it. Duh! It's her new book. Isn't it gorgeous?

Go check it out here or here or here! She's having a drawing for both her books.

Fishing is the only thing that I can do that's close to hunting. My husband hasn't hunted since he was about twelve, when a failed shot didn't kill the rabbit, but just hurt it.

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Congratulations, Cynthia! We can't wait to read it.

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The Pencil Commandments

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand."

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.

My uncle, Rev. Dinanath Pathak, sent me this story. We do not know who the author of this piece is, but if you know, please let me know so that I can make a proper attribution.

God Bless you.
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Daily Fixes

I stumbled across Daily Squee!

So if you like getting a daily dose of cute, check it out. Babies are just too cute. Of course, I have several critters at home that make me say Awww every single day.

Here's one of the pup from last year -- just 2 months old. She'd run around and play and plop down for a quick nap wherever she was. I remember how my kittens did that too. Tooooo cute!

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Loss

Today is Infant and Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day. I've known several women who've lost a baby in the womb or a newborn and I cannot even imagine the heartbreak, the devastation.

Sadly, I've known more women who've had abortions, and I know they also grieve. Privately. Let us not forget to make our world welcoming to all babies, wanted and unwanted. Let us light a candle for all our little angels.

Tonight.
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Reading and Writing

I just finished Rebecca Stead's WHEN YOU REACH ME. Wow! Just Wow! I loved the narrator's voice and I wasn't quite sure what the mystery was in the beginning, but the time travel aspect snuck up me and then I was completely hooked. I don't want to say anything more about some of the things I've been thinking of because they might spoil the book for you, but my son will read it next and I can't wait to talk to him about it. I love that we can sit and talk about books. It is such a gift.

We had both loved Nancy Etchemendy's THE POWER OF UN. And I suspect we will have similar discussions about the nature of time and what it means to be able to travel back and undo something.

Today in church I wept because the priest gave a homily that I felt was directed straight to my heart. I've been asking a particularly vexing question that involves giving up my writing (not now, but in a couple of years) so that I can teach more to fund a Catholic education for our kids and the answer came loud and clear as a bell. I am meant to write.

I cried because writing is so right. Because when God is with me, how can I fail? I can't believe that a second time in my life, when I am called to do something, that I let my misguided perceptions sway me. If I'd been closer to the Lord in my 20s, I'd have trusted Him and become a physician. I'd have borrowed the money to go to school. I wouldn't have been afraid. So I will not make the same mistake again. I pray that God will guide my hand as I write.

You can see why time travel books appeal to me, no? But in the end, I'm here today because of all the good and bad decisions I've made. And I'm happy to be here.

Writing.

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Reading

Isn't this cover gorgeous? I thoroughly enjoyed reading Three Witches by Paula Jolin. She had told me about the premise a couple of years ago -- three girls conspire to bring a dead boy back to life -- and I've been waiting to read it ever since.
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The three girls are very different. Aliya is Syrian Muslim and the dead boy's girlfriend. Gillian is Trini and doing a business with him and Miya is Japanese, who said many harsh words to him the night he died. The book opens with Aliya and I must admit she was my favorite character because I could literally step into her shoes. But all three girls resonated with my teenage self who did dabble in the occult with extremely disappointing results. Oh, how I wished for power and control over my life. I think Paula captures that essence so well, because every teen has these feelings, even those not interested in witchcraft.
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As always though, it's the characters who drew me in. These were smart, sassy girls and even if I didn't agree with them, I wanted to know what they were up to. I wish the boy were as compelling as the girls. In fact, the more I got to know Trevor (the boy who died) the less worthy he seemed. But I chalk it up to teens lacking good judgment. The plotting is excellent and the three viewpoints of the girls make the book richer. The ending is deliciously ambiguous, but oh, the possibilities! I think teen girls will swoon with the idea of harnessing all this power -- to make a boy fall in love with you, or finally shut up someone who's been tormenting you. But as an adult, I wondered about the consequences of such power.
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On the opposite spectrum of power, I read Rosie and Skate by Beth Ann Bauman, which is about two sisters and how they cope with their alcholic father who ends up in jail. What struck me is how realistic this book was. These girls have no power to stop their father from drinking, save their love, but even that's not enough. And deprived of a father's love, they go looking for love in the arms of boys.
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The writing is flowing nicely with a single viewpoint. At times, I'm shocked at how real these story-people are to me. I'm interested in all the details of their lives. For the first time, I'm writing way more than I usually do in a first draft. Typically, I'm a bare bones type of first drafter because I'm telling myself the story and being impatient, I rush through things. But now I spend time on inconsequential details. I will be doing some serious hacking in my second draft. But for now, I'm enjoying watching the movie play in my head and transcribing it.
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Poetry from a Pup

This weekend, while I was slicing up the roasted lamb, the pup waited very patiently for her share, and with good reason. My daughter, 8, wrote this from the point of view of the pup.

The knife slices through the juicy meat,

the dark red liquid oozing

down,

down,

down,

until it reaches my quivering black nose.

I lap it up

quickly

and lie in wait

for my next treat.

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C. S. Lewis

What a gem this book is: C.S. Lewis's CASE FOR CHRIST: Insights from Reason, Imagination and Faith. The many things I struggled about religion since I was twelve years old are the same that C.S. Lewis struggled with. How I wish I could've met the man. He used his literary background and reason to accept Jesus and grow in his faith.

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Art Lindsley has compiled the essence of many of Lewis' arguments in perfectly digestible bits. Questions like these are answered:

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1. How can I believe in God when there is so much evil, pain and suffering in the world?

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2. Isn't Christianity one myth among many?

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3. Isn't belief in God just a crutch for needy people?

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And so many more.

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I especially loved the last chapter which answered the question: Isn't Jesus just another good, moral teacher? If you read the Bible you know that Jesus claimed to be one with God, be God. He called himself the bread of life, the true vine, the light of the world. If an ordinary person would say that, and got people to believe it, he'd be the world's biggest trickster. If Jesus believed it but it were untrue, he'd be crazy. But what if it were true? Then He is who He claims to be. He is the Lord.

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You decide.

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I'm looking forward to reading MERE CHRISTIANITY by Lewis next.

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Cooking and Writing

After a very hectic week and weekend, what with the garden bursting with good stuff, and my students even more productive than me, and the usual sports and church activities, I finally have a chance to breathe and write. My freezer is filling up with zucchini bread, vegetable stews, and salsa.

Alas, my novel is losing weight. I realized during all the cooking (I don't know what the correlation is) that the book would be better told through a single viewpoint instead of the alternating viewpoints I have been using. I'm throwing out almost everything but the first chapter and starting over. So goes novel writing -- many false starts, but when I do hit upon the right one, I know it's right.

The moral of this story? It's good to have lots of food in the freezer. But in a story, more is not always better.

Happy writing, all.
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The Hiding Place

I love books like these that uplift my soul and remind me that "there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." The Hiding Place is full of practical examples showing how to live when times are tough and you feel that evil is winning and so much more.

Corrie ten Boom was a middle-aged woman who lived with her sister Betsie and father above their watch shop in Haarlem, Holland, when Nazi Germany invaded. They opened their doors to Jews, managing to find homes for some, and keeping others hidden in a secret room in Corrie's own bedroom.

I love this quote from her father when a man feels that Corrie and her family shouldn't be putting themselves at risk with "all this illegal concealment and underground business." Corrie's father holds a baby close and says, "You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family."

Corrie and her entire family were sent to concentration camps. Corrie survived with the help of her sister Betsie, who always reminded her to fix her eyes on Jesus. They managed to smuggle a small Bible and found themselves transformed in a place they thought God had forgotten. There were so many excerpts I read out loud to my family from this book. It is a must read.

I almost put this book down because the first part of the book is about their life before the invasion and there isn't much conflict. The ten Boom family was a happy one. It reminded me of Tolstoy who said, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." It's not that I don't like reading about happy families, because I do, but there just isn't enough tension to keep turning the pages. But Bam! we have invasion and suddenly the tension ramps up and it just doesn't stop. There is no room to breathe. The stakes keep getting higher and higher and higher. I knew how this story ended, yet I couldn't put down this book.

I hope you will pick up this book to read. There is also a movie, if you prefer. Haven't seen it yet.

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