Great Gift Ideas for Christmas in July

    Does anybody ever actually give Christmas gifts in July? If you want to, here are a few good ideas.

 

When Christians get it wrong by Adam Hamilton. I waffled some about whether to include this book. Not because I didn’t like it. I did. But the title. It seemed kind of discouraging. Finally I decided to share it. It’s not discouraging. The author talks much about how Christians are getting it right. He talks about how we may lose a generation of young adults if we don’t figure out how to share love the way Jesus did.

 

I've got a home in glory land: a lost tale of the underground railroad by Karolyn Smardz Frost. History of the Underground Railroad, starting with slavery in Kentucky in the early 1800s. The book follows one family of runaway slaves through to the 1890s. A great narrative of the history of slavery in America. Describes the lives of escaping slaves, fleeing to Canada, both before and after the Civil War.

 

the ONE TRUE LOVE of ALICE-ANN by Eva Marie Everson. A story of those left at home during World War II, and of those who came home.

 

Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran. Based on the TV series “Murder She Wrote,” a brand-new Jessica Fletcher story, with texts and computers and all. I found this new story of an old favorite series delightful, with some familiar characters and some fun new ones.

 

Left to tell: discovering God amidst the Rwandan holocaust by Immaculée Ilibagiza and Steve Erwin. This young woman tells of how she survived the 1994 killing in Rwanda by being shut up for three months with five to seven other women in a tiny bathroom. The story is told clearly and beautifully, and she tells how she leaned on Jesus to help her survive during and after the killing.

 

Evergreen by Susan May Warren. A Christmas story about losing family, gaining new family, and about forgiveness. 

Psalm 28, The Lord is the Strength of His People

 

Of David.

To you, Lord, I call;

    you are my Rock,

    do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Hear my cry for mercy

    as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

Do not drag me away with the wicked,

    with those who do evil,

who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.

Repay them for their deeds

    and for their evil work;

repay them for what their hands have done

    and bring back on them what they deserve.

Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord

    and what his hands have done,

he will tear them down and never build them up again.

Praise be to the Lord,

    for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

    and with my song I praise him.

The Lord is the strength of his people,

    a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Save your people and bless your inheritance;

    be their shepherd and carry them forever.

 

Father, I thank you for the Psalms of David. That through them, we see that it is all right to cry to you for help, and we can be sure that you will hear and help us. I don’t always understand David’s harsh                                     angry cries meant for other people, but I thank you, Lord, that you allow us to be honest with you. 

Memoir Notes

                 

I have finally finished the first draft of my memoir, stories about our family as our children grew up. I’m now working on the second draft (Who knows how many there will be?) and I am having a lovely time.

 

I’ve been working on this book for more than four years. I had so many pages of notes and memories to look through and choose from. Here are a few nuggets I found. Maybe some made it in to the book but surely not all.

 

November 1, 2007:  This morning I went in to hug Benjie good-by in bed, and I accidentally bopped him in the face.  I leaned down by him and asked, "Can I tell you a secret?" 

He smiled and said calmly, "You hit me in the face."  "I did.  that's the secret -- I hit you in the face."  The secret is actually always, of course,

"I love you."

 

What is Benjie doing?  Oh!  There goes a loud crash of thunder, and Benjie goes jumping down the stairs, out onto the porch, saying “Cool!”  I’m cowering in my room, wondering where this weird kid came from.

 

September, 2005: Benjie and Kathy were playing space craft the other day.  Benjie asked Kathy if she wanted to play space poker.  Before she could object, he said, “It’s not gambling.  Instead of money, they use pancakes.”

 

August 18, 2003:  Murray tonight told everyone about a kid he heard about on TV who got into a shopping cart, road out of an alley into a roadway, and was hit by a car.  Sarah said, “Oh my goodness.  What color was the car?”

 

Last week, Benjamin was talking to Rebecca about how she should learn Grade II Braille (which has a lot of abbreviations, and so is more efficient.).  Benjie told Rebecca, “You should work with Mrs. D. (his Braille teacher last year).  Or, you could work with Mommy – she’s a good teacher.”

 

 April 21, 2003: Tonight, talking about “Fear Factor,” (a TV show,) Caleb said, “I could probably eat slugs.”  Kathy asked, “But, why would you want to?”  “Because slugs are cool.  They taste like chicken.”

 

May 10, 2003:  Rebecca and Caleb both have school concert performances next Thursday, in different places at different times.  Murray asked Ping-Hwei what we should do about the situation, curious what solution he might come up with, asking, “Ping-Hwei, should we go to Caleb’s concert, or Rebecca’s?”  Ping-Hwei said,” Rebecca’s.”  Murray asked, “But won’t Caleb be sad if we don’t go to his concert?” and Ping-Hwei said, “I will give Caleb a hug.”

 

July 7, 2003:  Today Rebecca played in her second softball game of her first season.  In her first game, she didn’t get on base.  Today, first time up, she hit it toward third base and got to first safely, and the next few players knocked her around, until she made it home.  She sat on the bench next to a friend, and Murray heard her say, “That was my first hit ever.  I’m so proud of myself.”

 

September 28, 2003:  Tonight at dinner, Sarah spilled something on her sleeve, and then said, "I hate having a wet sleeve.  There's nothing I hate worse than having a wet

sleeve …. except … when people are talking and they need to clear their throats and they don't clear their throats, I just want to say, CLEAR YOUR THROAT!"

 

December 19, 2003:  At 5:30 this morning, Sunday, Murray was hurriedly preparing a salad for a potluck at church.  Ping-Hwei saw him doing this, and said, "I told Baba to make the salad yesterday, but he didn't listen."

 

Monday, October 10, 2005:  Yesterday we were sitting fairly quietly at breakfast, when Benjamin spoke up and said, “I haven’t puked in four or five years.”

 

July 11, 2006:  Recently Kathy told Rebecca about a Bible verse she had read from Psalm 119 that said the writer praised God seven times a day for His ordinances.  Rebecca said, “Only seven?”

 

July 31, 2006:  Recently, when Caleb was coming home from the Christ in Youth conference in Pennsylvania, he called at about 6 in the morning to say they were on their way.  Murray asked him, “Where are you?”  Caleb responded calmly, “On the side of the road.  The bus turned over.”  “Really?” Murray said, believing him. “No,” Caleb replied. (So proud of Caleb.) 

Guest Author Interview with Megan Short

 

This book is filled with excitement and wonderful descriptions of Alaska. Thank you, Megan, for joining us today.

 

Kathy: Would you give our readers a brief bio? What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

My name is Megan Short and I am an Australian author of inspirational romantic suspense novels. I grew up in New Zealand but I currently live in Melbourne, which is essentially the California of Australia. When I’m not writing I run my own business and volunteer in several ministries.

Kathy: Can you share a little about your writing journey? Any stories that still make you smile?

I started writing stories aged three and started my first (unfinished and long misplaced) novel at age 16. When I was 17, I learned about screenplays and wrote my first which won a screenwriting award. Screenplays became my writing focus, and I eventually trained at UCLA. After about twenty years trying to break into Hollywood, I came to realise that I probably had a better chance of winning the lottery than getting an original screenplay made into a movie shown at a cinema. Especially when living in Australia! I decided I would pivot and start working on a novel. I placed second for an award with my first full length romantic suspense novel, but before I could make much of that, I was called to faith. Everything changed. Suddenly I was writing for God’s glory, not my own career. He opened every door along the way from there on, from finding me a mentor, then an agent, then a publishing contract. That is what makes me smile, for sure: to know that God has a purpose in my work, even if I may never know what it is. I will keep writing for Love Inspired Suspense until He calls me elsewhere.

Kathy: How do you share your faith with your writing?

Love Inspired Suspense includes faith elements, which naturally lends itself to sharing my faith. I have found that often a sermon will help me to find a path for my characters, and to share particular messages with readers. For example, during a sermon on Jesus’s gentleness, a bible verse (John 6:37) just hit me as one that would help my hero in his faith journey. I hope that it will resonate with readers who need to hear that once they have put their trust in Jesus, He will never drive them away.

Kathy: Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantster?

A plotter, for sure. That said, my plots always change as the story progresses.

Kathy: Do you have a writing schedule that works for you? How do you balance your writing with other responsibilities?

I write whenever I can. I don’t really have a schedule, I just fit writing around everything else. But I do write every day during the week, and often Saturdays too. Generally, I trust God to help me carve out time because I’m a pretty big procrastinator.

Kathy: Where do you find your story ideas?

They are often inspired from real life, in a very loose sense. My characters all have elements of people I know—whether it’s their interesting hobbies or skills, or just little personality quirks. I feel like it’s nice to include to remember them and give them a little bit of a legacy. At least in my first few books, the settings are places I have travelled to, as well.

Kathy: Tell us about one of your favorite authors.

While I’m a big fan of romance, at the moment I love Ryan Steck’s books. He writes Christian action thrillers. Before I came to faith I had read all of the Jack Reacher books, and Ryan’s Matthew Redd has happily replaced that. I hope he will keep putting out at least one book a year; it’s something to look forward to.

Kathy: Can you share with us about your latest book? Or two?

My latest book (and debut!) is Alaskan Police Protector which releases July 1^st. Readers can find it here: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780369756749_alaskan-police-protector.html

It’s available in large print, mass market paperback, e-book, audiobook, and is also included in the Love Inspired Suspense July box set with books from Maggie K. Black and Mary Alford.

 

Readers can reach me via my website www.meganshort.net, and all my other links can be found at one place here: https://linktr.ee/meganshortau

Homemade Refrigerator Pickles from Murray's Kitchen

My husband Murray said recently, “I’m becoming a fun cook in my old age.” I didn’t quite know how best to answer that, but these pickles are delicious.

 

Dill pickles

Recommend 2 jars at a time

Either thinly slice cucumbers or slice into spears,

After filling the jars with pickles, determine liquid quantity needed to fill jar

Multiply that by 2,

  Half of this will be water, half vinegar

Add liquid (half water half vinegar) into bowl

Add 1tbsp sugar,1 tbsp salt, 2 tbsp dill, 2 tbsp garlic

Stir well, then add to jars with cucumbers, refrigerate 24 hours before consuming

 

Sweet pickles, make these changes to above recipe:

Use 1 cup sugar                                                                                

Eliminate garlic and dill                                                                                         

Guest Author, Sally Jo Pitts

 

Whoa! This story sounds fascinating and gripping. Thank you, Sally Jo, for sharing with us today.

 

A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR TURNED AUTHOR CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE

I am a retired PI who worked for 30 years in my husband’s investigations agency before he passed away. Now I write, drawing on past experiences, and I continue to investigate data for my stories.

While compiling research for my latest novel, Sweet Double-Cross, I discovered there is a National Invasive Species Awareness Week that occurs each February to inform the public about the threat of plants or animals introduced to an area where they are not native and cause harm. Kudzu—the green vine with broad leaves, growing in clusters of three—is a notorious invader and can be seen along southeastern United States roadsides, covering fences, telephone poles, trees, tractors, barns and other buildings.

·       Known as the plant that ate the South, this invasive species can grow more than a foot a day in the summer. Some even claim they can see it growing!

·       Kudzu smothers native plants, alters ecosystems, damages infrastructure and is difficult to control.

·       The vine was introduced to the U.S. in 1876 from Japan and marketed as a way for farmers to stop soil erosion. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the government provided jobs for people to plant kudzu all over the southeast. (Today the government provides jobs to get rid of kudzu.) 

This plant became a key player in my novel since my heroine is a biologist conducting research on the vine. My hero has a kudzu infestation on property he wants to develop and is seeking assistance. But someone is interested in the research results bad enough to kill for them.

Sweet Double-Cross is book 2 in my Sweet County Secrets series located in a fictional county in northwest Florida.

 

Here is the back cover blurb:

A scientific mission turns into a harrowing day of death and destruction. 

Dedicated biologist Trudy Fields is passionate about her invasive plant species research in northwest Florida. When real estate developer Kirt Mayfair arrives in Sweet County to learn how to eradicate a kudzu infestation on property he plans to purchase, Trudy is assigned to assist him. Their instant connection surprises them both—especially when Kirt impulsively proposes marriage.

But research and romantic interest takes a deadly turn when a colleague of Trudy’s is shot and killed on the way to the isolated kudzu experimental island. On the run from a ruthless killer with precision sniper training, Trudy and Kirt must navigate treacherous terrain, dangerous wildlife, and a shocking conspiracy.

As bullets fly and bodies pile up, Trudy discovers Kirt is hiding his own secret. Amidst unexpected attraction and lethal betrayal, can the two survive this double-cross? 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Double-Cross-County-Secrets/dp/B0F6V9WF58

 

Author Bio: 

Sally Jo Pitts is an award-winning author who brings experience as a private investigator, licensed lie detection examiner, high school guidance counselor and home economics teacher to the fiction page. Having worked thirty years alongside her late law enforcement husband in his private investigations agency, she learned to teach by day and snoop by night. Currently, she draws on real-life experiences to pen faith-based stories of romance and mystery. Her works include the Hamilton Harbor Legacy romance series, the Seasons of Mystery detective series, and Sweet County Secrets series.

Connect with her at https://sallyjopitts.com/author