facebook, co-op, choir and camp
Quick updates:
I find myself checking in on Facebook several times a day. I love to read blogs, but Facebook gives me a quick sample of what other people are up to, and I find I actually spend less time on the computer when I breeze through Facebook. I haven’t stopped reading blogs, but I enjoy the shorter snippets Facebook gives me, too.
Since my youngest child, Sawyer, will be attending ASMSA this coming school year, you would think my involvement in our homeschool co-op would have come to an end. But you’d be wrong. 
I was asked to stay on as treasurer. At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that. But Roger and I discussed it and decided that staying active in our local homeschool community would be beneficial. At least for the next school year. We are leaving it open-ended for now.
The Celebration Singers (the choir Sawyer is in) performed a Father’s Day concert with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra last night. As usual, the kids did a wonderful job. A lot of practice and effort goes into their performances ~ the kids willingly work hard, and the adults who work with the kids work even harder! But the choir always does a spectacular job ~ they’re the best student choir I ever heard.
Music & Drama Camp is being held this week at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship. Sawyer and Patrick were participants in Cornerstone’s first-ever music and drama camp, . This year (just like last year) Sawyer is one of the teen leaders. He gets a kick out of working with the younger kids. Eddie makes sure to give the teen leaders plenty of opportunities to embarrass themselves in front of the “campers” ~ making them perform dance offs and other goofy tricks on the stage. Of course the teen helpers love it ~ and the “campers” get to cheer for their teen leaders and learn a few lessons from them at the same time. Just as he does with the Celebration Singers, Eddie asks everyone at MAD to reach for excellence in their performances and their relationships with one another, but most especially with Christ. By the end of the week everyone’s exhausted, but the production is always worth all of the hard work. I’m looking forward to spending a little bit of time at MAD this week (just for fun) ~ the kids will showcase their music and drama skills with a performace at the end of the week.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
hot, hot and more hot
The weather in central Arkansas has been sweltering lately. Ugh. I’m not a fan of heat and humidity. I daydream of moving back to where there are mountains with tree lines and snow on top all year round, where the temperatures during the day are pleasant and cool off at night, and where wearing a sweatshirt with shorts and hiking boots is perfectly acceptable.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has a plan and a reason for us to live in central Arkansas. I also know that wherever God wants us is where we want to be. So, while I do long for a cooler climate ~ and trust me, I remind God of that probably more often than I should ~ I’m content to remain indoors where there’s air conditioning, and Sonic slushies are my best friend. ( Nothing takes the ugh out of a hot, humid, miserable day like an orange cream slushy! )
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
talking to the dead
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
and the book:
David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)
Bonnie Grove started writing when her parents bought a typewriter, and she hasn’t stopped since. Trained in Christian Counseling (Emmanuel Bible College, Kitchener, ON), and secular psychology (University of Alberta), she developed and wrote social programs for families at risk while landing articles and stories in anthologies. She is the author of Working Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You; Talking to the Dead is her first novel. Grove and her pastor husband, Steve, have two children; they live in Saskatchewan.
Author website: www.davidccook.com – www.bonniegrove.com
Visit the author’s website.
Product Details:
List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434766411
ISBN-13: 978-1434766410
AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Kevin was dead and the people in my house wouldn’t go home. They mingled after the funeral, eating sandwiches, drinking tea, and speaking in muffled tones. I didn’t feel grateful for their presence. I felt exactly nothing.
Funerals exist so we can close doors we’d rather leave open. But where did we get the idea that the best approach to facing death is to eat Bundt cake? I refused to pick at dainties and sip hot drinks. Instead, I wandered into the back yard.
I knew if I turned my head I’d see my mother’s back as she guarded the patio doors. Mom would let no one pass. As a recent widow herself, she knew my need to stare into my loss alone.
I sat on the porch swing and closed my eyes, letting the June sun warm my bare arms. Instead of closing the door on my pain, I wanted it to swing from its hinges so the searing winds of grief could scorch my face and body. Maybe I hoped to die from exposure.
Kevin had been dead three hours before I had arrived at the hospital. A long time for my husband to be dead without me knowing. He was so altered, so permanently changed without my being aware.
I had stood in the emergency room, surrounded by faded blue cotton curtains, looking at the naked remains of my husband while nurses talked in hushed tones around me. A sheet covered Kevin from his hips to his knees. Tubes, which had either carried something into or away from his body, hung disconnected and useless from his arms. The twisted remains of what I assumed to be some sort of breathing mask lay on the floor. “What happened?” I said in a whisper so faint I knew no one could hear. Maybe I never said it at all. A short doctor with a pronounced lisp and quiet manner told me Kevin’s heart killed him. He used difficult phrases; medical terms I didn’t know, couldn’t understand. He called it an episode and said it was massive. When he said the word massive, spit flew from his mouth, landing on my jacket’s lapel. We had both stared at it.
When my mother and sister, Heather, arrived at the hospital, they gazed speechlessly at Kevin for a time, and then took me home. Heather had whispered with the doctor, their heads close together, before taking a firm hold on my arm and walking me out to her car. We drove in silence to my house. The three of us sat around my kitchen table looking at each other.
Several times my mother opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Our words had turned to cotton, thick and dry. We couldn’t work them out of our throats. I had no words for my abandonment. Like everything I knew to be true had slipped out the back door when I wasn’t looking.
“What happened?” I said again. This time I knew I had said it out loud. My voice echoed back to me off the kitchen table.
“Remember how John Ritter died? His heart, remember?” This from Heather, my younger, smarter sister. Kevin had died a celebrity’s death.
From the moment I had received the call from the hospital until now, I had allowed other people to make all of my bereavement decisions. My mother and mother-in-law chose the casket and placed the obituary in the paper. Kevin’s boss at the bank, Donna Walsh, arranged for the funeral parlor and even called the pastor from the church that Kevin had attended until he was sixteen to come and speak. Heather silently held my hand through it all. I didn’t feel grateful for their help.
I sat on the porch swing, and my right foot rocked on the grass, pushing and pulling the swing. My head hurt. I tipped it back and rested it on the cold, inflexible metal that made up the frame for the swing. It dug into my skull. I invited the pain. I sat with it; supped with it.
I opened my eyes and looked up into the early June sky. The clouds were an unmade bed. Layers of white moved rumpled and languid past the azure heavens. Their shapes morphed and faded before my eyes. A Pegasus with the face of a dog; a veiled woman fleeing; a villain; an elf. The shapes were strange and unreliable, like dreams. A monster, a baby—I wanted to reach up to touch its soft, wrinkled face. I was too tired. Everything was gone, lost, emptied out.
I had arrived home from the hospital empty handed. No Kevin. No car—we left it in the hospital parking lot for my sister to pick up later. “No condition to drive,” my mother had said. She meant me.
Empty handed. The thought, incomplete and vague, crept closer to consciousness. There should have been something. I should have brought his things home with me. Where were his clothes? His wallet? Watch? Somehow, they’d fled the scene.
“How far could they have gotten?” I said to myself. Without realizing it, I had stood and walked to the patio doors. “Mom?” I said as I walked into the house.
She turned quickly, but said nothing. My mother didn’t just understand what was happening to me. She knew. She knew it like the ticking of a clock, the wind through the windows, like everything a person gets used to in life. It had only been eight months since Dad died. She knew there was little to be said. Little that should be said. Once, after Dad’s funeral, she looked at Heather and me and said, “Don’t talk. Everyone has said enough words to last for eternity.”
I noticed how tall and straight she stood in her black dress and sensible shoes. How long must the dead be buried before you can stand straight again? “What happened to Kevin’s stuff?” Mom glanced around as if checking to see if a guest had made off with the silverware.
I swallowed hard and clarified. “At the hospital. He was naked.” A picture of him lying motionless, breathless on the white sheets filled my mind. “They never gave me his things. His, whatever, belongings. Effects.”
“I don’t know, Kate,” she said. Like it didn’t matter. Like I should stop thinking about it. I moved past her, careful not to touch her, and went in search of my sister.
Heather sat on my secondhand couch in my living room, a two seater with the pattern of autumn leaves. She held an empty cup and a napkin; dark crumbs tumbling off onto the carpet. Her long brown hair, usually left down, was pulled up into a bun. She looked pretty and sad. She saw me coming, her brown eyes widening in recognition. Recognition that she should do something. Meet my needs, help me, make time stand still. She quickly ended the conversation she was having with Kevin’s boss, and met me in the middle of the living room.
“Hey,” she said, touching my arm. I took a small step back, avoiding her warm fingers.
“Where would his stuff go?” I blurted out. Heather’s eyebrows snapped together in confusion. “Kevin’s things,” I said. “They never gave me his things. I want to go and get them. Will you come?”
Heather stood very still for a moment, straight backed like she was made of wood, then relaxed. “You mean at the hospital. Right, Kate? Kevin’s things at the hospital?” Tears welled in my eyes. “There was nothing. You were there. When we left, they never gave e anything of his.” I realized I was trembling.
Heather bit her lower lip, and looked into my eyes. “Let me do that for you. I’ll call the hospital—” I stood on my tiptoes and opened my mouth. “I’ll go,” she corrected before I could say anything. “I’ll go and ask around. I’ll get his stuff and bring it here.”
“I need his things.”
Heather cupped my elbow with her hand. “You need to lie down. Let me get you upstairs, and as soon as you’re settled, I’ll go to the hospital and find out what happened to Kevin’s clothes, okay?”
Fatigue filled the small spaces between my bones. “Okay.” She led me upstairs. I crawled under the covers as Heather closed the door, blocking the sounds of the people below.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Talking to the Dead is the first book I’ve read that dealt with the issue of mental illness in a way that is consistent with my personal experiences. I have known a number of people who have struggled with some form of mental illness ~ from major depression to bipolar disorder to dissociative identity disorder (what used to be called multiple personality disorder), and lots of other illnesses or disorders. Bonnie Grove has handled mental illness realistically while remaining sensitive and caring towards her characters.
This wasn’t a light read, but it was engaging and hard for me to put down.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
the king’s legacy
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
and the book:
David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)
Jim Stovall is a national champion Olympic weightlifter, former president of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, and a highly sought after author and platform speaker. Jim was honored as the International Humanitarian of the Year, joining previous recepients Mother Teresa and Nancy Reagan. He is the author of the best-selling book The Ultimate Gift, now a major motion picture.
Visit the author’s website.
Product Details:
List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434765938
ISBN-13: 978-1434765932
AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:
The king summoned all of his wise men together and said, “Now that our land is enjoying a season of prosperity and peace, I wish to leave a permanent legacy of my reign as your ruler.”
The king went on to tell his wise men that he would like their best thoughts and ideas as to what he could do to create a fitting tribute to all the people of the kingdom and his reign as their leader. Each of the wise men left the Throne Room determined to come up with the best idea to present to the king, as they all knew that the king’s chosen action would be remembered for generations.
On the appointed day and hour, the wise men reconvened in the Throne Room.
The king said, “I want to hear your suggestions one at a time, so that I might determine what would be a fitting legacy for me to leave in honor of my reign as king.”
The first wise man approached the steps leading to the throne, bowed with dignity, and began. “Your Highness, since the beginning of recorded history, great rulers have left magnificent feats of architecture as tributes to their greatness. One need only look to the east and think of the great pyramids that have stood for generations and will remain throughout time, paying homage to the pharaohs.”
The wise man bowed again and backed away from the throne.
The king fell silent and was lost in deep thought, then said, “I am pleased with your suggestion as it has much merit. Indeed, a great edifice could stand for thousands of years to proclaim the greatness of our people and my reign as their king.”
The second wise man approached the throne and bowed reverently. He said, “Oh, great King, if I may humbly suggest that a gold coin be designed and minted bearing your image and in your honor. This coin could be distributed throughout the kingdom and, carried along the trade routes as if by friendly winds, it would literally be distributed around the world signifying your power and majesty.”
The king nodded and smiled. He seemed pleased with this suggestion also. He then beckoned the next wise man to approach. The wise man dutifully bowed and said, “Your highness, may I suggest that a monument of heretofore unknown proportion be erected in your image. Great reflecting pools and immense gardens would surround the statue. People would travel from the four corners of the earth to marvel at its splendor and pay respect and tribute to your greatness.”
The king smiled and stated, “Each of these suggestions has been well thought-out and presented. Before I go to deliberate my final decision, are there any other suggestions?”
After a long pause, the eldest wise man stepped forward. The king smiled and said, “My great and wise advisor, you have been with me from the beginning of my reign to this day, and you have always served me well. What say you in this matter?”
The elderly wise man replied quietly, “Your highness, may I suggest that each of my colleagues has proposed a fitting tribute to your greatness in the traditional sense; however, great buildings, gold coins, and monuments serve as tributes to other rulers from other days. May I humbly offer my suggestion? Something altogether different?”
The king nodded in assent.
“The one thing that could pay tribute to your greatness for thousands of years to come would be the proclamation of the Wisdom of the Ages. This would be an opportunity for you, oh great one, to communicate the greatest secret of the known world to benefit all humanity.
“Buildings and coins and statues will all pass away, but the Wisdom of the Ages would last forever. This would, indeed, be a fitting tribute to the king I humbly serve.”
The king fell into deep thought. Finally, he told all of his servants and the wise men to leave him so that he might choose the tribute most fitting to his reign as their king.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
setting boundaries announcement
Gracious, it has been too long since I posted! But, I’m finally able to make this announcement:
Starting this July, I will be the group leader for the first-ever Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children:Online SANITY Support Group!
During the first A Woman Inspired online conference, Allison Bottke presented the basic principles of her book Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children. Wow, did I ever need to hear her presentation!
Since then I have been working with A Woman Inspired to set up an online support group using their GoToWebinar software. I’m excited to announce that the plans have been made, and the first SANITY Support Group will being July 9, at 7pm (Central time).
If you need encouragement in setting boundaries with your adult child(ren), or are just wondering what in the world I’m talking about, please click on the button below. It will take you to the Setting Boundaries online support group sign-up page. I’m looking forward to beginning this group in July!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
a woman inspired ~ ministry:online
If you haven’t signed up for A Woman Inspired’s Ministry:Online conference, there’s still time. Go here and sign up ~ the line-up of speakers looks great, and any sessions you may have to miss can be downloaded and listened to when it’s convenient for you. (This “conference” is an online conference about getting your ministry connected through avenues available online. The topics include Facebook, Twitter, blogging, finding your passion, and beginning a ministry from scratch. Good stuff!)
I attended the first conference, and will definitely be there for the second!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
day 1
Okay, I had a post all worked out in my head. Then I went to Amy’s blog, Dandelion Seeds, and read her post for day one. Honestly, I think on this one God had Amy and I thinking the same thoughts. So, rather than repeat what has already been said (written), I’ll just give you the link to Amy’s post: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/DandelionSeeds/695239/ .
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
shmily 30 days of prayer
Amy of Dandelion Seeds is hosting a SHMILY 30 Days of Prayer for the month of June, using The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie OMartian as a guide. We will be praying specifically for our husbands over the next 30 days. The Power of a Praying Wife has 30 chapters ~ we’ll read one chapter each day, then pray for our husbands concerning that day’s chapter topic.
If you’ve never read The Power of a Praying Wife, this would be a great time for you to read it. You’ll be able to communicate with other women regarding the topics. There are over 1200 women signed up!
Amy will be posting both on Facebook and her blog. A Facebook account is not necessary to participate. Neither is a blog. But if you have either one of those (or both, as I do), you can share with your friends, loved ones and readers about your experience of praying for your husband every day.
I have read The Power of a Praying Wife a couple of times, and have used Stormie’s topic suggestions to pray for my husband. The most important thing I have learned about praying for my husband is that the main outcome of praying for someone else is that God works in YOUR life and changes YOU, not the person you’re praying for. Praying for someone else is supposed to be a selfless act, not an attempt or means of changing the other person. Stormie wrote:
First of all, let me make it perfectly clear that the power of a praying wife is not a means of gaining control over your husband, so don’t get your hopes up! In fact, quite the opposite. It’s laying down all claim to power in and of yourself, and relying on God’s power to transform you, your husband, your circumstances, and your marriage. This power is not given to wield like a weapon in order to beat back an unruly beast. It’s a gentle tool of restoration appropriated through the prayers of a wife who longs to do right more than be right, and to give life more than get even . It’s a way to invite God’s power into your husband’s life for his greatest blessing, which is ultimately yours, too.
Roger and I had been married about 6 years when I read The Power of a Praying Wife for the first time. We weren’t in a great place relationally, and praying for him was very hard for me to do. But let me tell you, after reading this book and praying each and every day for my husband, my attitude began to change. Stormie’s right ~ the power of a praying wife is not gaining God’s (or your) control over your husband. It’s the humble position of laying down your desire for control, your desire for your husband to change in some way, and realizing that we worship an amazing God Who can do anything, even save a marriage that seems lost to us.
I highly recommend The Power of a Praying Wife ~ and if you would like to read and pray along with a group of women, please visit the SHMILY 30 Days of Prayer Facebook page (become a “Fan” of the page so you can receive updates as they’re posted) or Amy’s blog, Dandelion Seeds.
I’m so excited about what God is going to do in marriages all over the world over the next 30 days! And I can’t wait to read the accounts of God working in other women’s lives to change their hearts and their attitudes. God’s going to do some mighty works in the month of June ~ come be a part of it!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
exciting stuff
There’s some really exciting stuff coming this way ~ and soon! So hang on to your hats ~ A Joyful Heart is going to be on a wild ride for the next couple of months.
If you’re on Facebook and we’re not “friends” yet, please send me a friend request by using this link.
If you’re not receiving updates to A Joyful Heart either in your email box or on your news reader, please click on “RSS” in the navigation bar at the top. That way you won’t miss out when I announce the BIG news!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
amish love
Amish Love
What’s all the hubbub about Amish fiction? Major media outlets like Time and ABC Nightline are covering it, and authors like Cindy Woodsmall are making the New York Times bestseller list regularly. What makes these books so interesting?
Check out the recent ABC Nightline piece here (http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=7676659&page=1) about Cindy and her titles When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and When the Soul Mends. It’s an intriguing look at Amish culture and the time Cindy has spent with Amish friends.
And don’t forget that Cindy’s new book The Hope of Refuge hits store shelves August 11, and is available for preorder now.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
