Happy 50th Birthday, To My Sister, Patty!

We are supposed to be celebrating another big birthday in our family this year. While I'm sure that Patty is celebrating it in style this year, as she has for the past 6 years...in heaven with Jesus and her family and friends who have also gone ahead of us, (and I'm sure it's an absolutely magnificent party)...but she will be sorely missed here on earth today.

Patty passed away on April 27, 2003, after a valiant, 2 year battle against breast cancer. Since I was just a year and a half older than her, she and I were quite close. In fact, I have another sister, Connie, who was born exactly one year and 4 days AFTER Patty was, and the three of us were all very close, and were always referred to as the "three little girls" growing up.

I come from a very large family, having 4 other sisters and 3 brothers as well...and though I dearly love all of my siblings, none were ever as close to me as Patty was. We shared a room for a few years at home...where we told each other our deepest and darkest secrets...and swore we'd never tell a soul. We giggled the nights away, or at least until Mom or Dad yelled up the stairs to be quiet. Once we were over 18, we ended up sharing an apartment along with a friend of ours. During those days, we took care of each other. If we wanted to go out, or needed groceries, and one of us didn't have any money, the other would say, "That's okay, I'll buy." We never, ever kept track of who "owed" whom. We just didn't care. As adults, she taught me a lot about Christianity...even though she was the younger sister. I always knew where to go when I needed advice and an advocate, who would be in my corner, no matter what. Even though in later years, she lived a few thousand miles away from me, she was just a phone call away.

Patty was a wonderful sister, daughter, friend, wife and mother to 11 children. Yes, 11 children. I'm praying today for her entire family, for all of her children, for their health and welfare, and that while they remember and celebrate their mother today...that they would also remember the importance of staying together as a family, and lifting up and supporting each other. Happy Heavenly Birthday, Patty!

'Twas Two Weeks Before Christmas...

...and the house was a MESS!

Christmastime is definitely my favorite time of the year--at least it should be, if it weren't for the extra work involved. There's so much to do, even before I get around to hauling out the holly, or hauling the artificial Christmas tree up from the basement, as it were. Maybe it would be nice if I just didn't have to do all the regular hum-drum everyday chores, along with all the extra stuff to do this time of year. I was thinking it would be wonderful to have one of those commercial janitorial services come in and take care of the stacks of dishes, the mountain of laundry, the dusting, (I could pretend the dust is snow, and set my little Christmas village up in it...), the vacuuming, cleaning the windows etc, etc. Wouldn't it be awesome to have the whole house clean at once, before I even get around to the decorating?

Just think, I could leave all this stuff to the professionals and take my daughter and my grandson out shopping. We could make a whole day of it. We could even find one of those ubiquitous "Santa's helpers" in the mall and get Christian's picture taken with him. They could each pick out a gift for the children's gift exchange that our family does each year, and then at least THAT part of the shopping would be done. We could have a nice relaxing day...and then...the best gift of all, would be coming home to a sparkling clean house. Okay...waking up from my long winter's nap now...guess I'd better get busy cleaning! Oh well, it was a nice dream while it lasted.

PEFC's Old Fashioned Christmas 2009

Last Saturday night was our annual "Old Fashioned Christmas, at church. Several couples host tables, decorating them and inviting guests to join them. This year, we decided to do a table again, sort of at the last minute, because there were more church members that wanted to attend, then there was room at the tables for. I'm glad we did. It was a very nice evening.
This was our table. I used the lighted village I got from Molly and Christian last year, for Christmas. We had to set up near an outlet, so we could plug in, of course, but it worked out quite well.

This is our table lit up with candles. I found the cute little stockings the night before, for just 50 cents apiece and took them home and wrote names on them, and then filled them with candy. At that point, we only had 5 guests coming, so with the two of us, there were seven...but it was a good thing that I'd set the table for 8, (just in case) and bought an extra stocking. While I was doing them, we got a call from the coordinators, saying that one of the couples at our table was bringing the foreign exchange student that was staying at their house. Cool! Our table would be filled...and it was very nice to meet this young woman from Brazil, and she seemed thrilled to have a stocking with her own name on it. Try writing "Carolina" with glitter glue on a miniature stocking sometime! It's a good thing I have lots of practice writing with icing...it's kinda the same.

This is a close-up of my centerpiece. I thought it turned out pretty cute:

I was going to use a round piece of white felt to put the houses on, and was trying to think of what I could use to trace around...when I thought of my wedding cake base...and then I thought, why not use it to PUT the centerpiece on? That was one of my better ideas...

Before we had planned on doing our own table, we'd been invited to join some friends at their two tables. I think this is the third year that my friends, Jody and Lisa have gotten together with their husbands to do two tables...one for the girls, and one for the guys. I hated backing out on them at the last minute, but I figured if there were that many people that needed a place to sit, they could easily replace us. Well, it wasn't as easy as I hoped, but in the end...they filled out their tables too. Unfortunately, AGAIN this year, Jody's husband Dan was called out of town on business and wasn't able to attend.

Here's the ladies table. Lisa used her expert cake decorating abilities to make this gorgeous cake for her centerpiece. She's got a lot more patience than I do. She ended up making hundreds of snowflakes out of royal icing, to get enough unbroken ones to put on her cake. The cake itself was made of styrofoam, but the icing was real. The table turned out to be very beautiful and elegant.

Below, is a picture of it in the dark, with the candles lit, and an LED light inside of the bowlful of ornaments:

Meanwhile, their "better" halves were busy working on an interesting table of their own. Donnie and Dan had cut pieces of metal plating to serve as a table cloth, and fashioned a Christmas tree out of welded chains for their centerpiece. There were nuts and bolts all over the place, as well as tools and work gloves, all to give it that masculine feel. This table got a LOT of attention! Good job guys!

Hopefully, next year Dan will be able to actually attend the event and sit at the table he is hosting! Below, is a picture of the table lit up...and I do mean LIT UP! There table was right in our line of sight to the stage...and thankfully, Lisa saw to it that the tree lights were turned off, so as not to blind us! Thanks, Lisa!

Here are a few more of my favorite tables...

This one, done by Dave and Lori F. was very cute. They had dishes covered with berries, and an adorable bear nativity scene in the center. Below is a close-up of the centerpiece:

The sign says "Have a Beary, Berry Merry Christmas!" Clever!

This gold table, was decorated by the coordinators of the whole event. I love how it turned out!

Their table was very rich and elegant looking. Above it is pictured with the room lights on, and it was very pretty, but below, it was even prettier by candle light.

The table below, was decorated by our friends, John and Julie F. with a kind of a horse theme. Julie loves horses and has one of her own. There is an old fashioned lantern in the center of the table..

...and if you look inside the lantern, you'll see a figurine of baby Jesus, which confused me for just a moment...and then it hit me...

Jesus IS the LIGHT! Duh.

This is the Hobo table. We were thinking they should have started those beans a few hours earlier though...it's a good thing we had chicken, potatoes, salad and dessert served to us, those beans were taking forever!

Here are the head hobos themselves, John and Jackie B.

For entertainment this year, The Kingery Family performed. They are a local group from Minnesota, who play and sing bluegrass music. I've never seen so much talent in one family in my entire life! I was very impressed with their musical abilities and their awesome voices!

They have six daughters, and two little sons...and they are all very, very gifted musicians!


The Girls' harmonizing was amazing!

And then the little boys got into the act. The older of the two actually had to climb up on a chair to play his dad's bass! The little one played the harmonica. The family had recently been featured on Jason Davis's "On the Road" program, and the dad said that Jason Davis kept calling it a "harmonicker." I'll have to watch for that episode to be on again.

I'm already trying to think of what to use for a centerpiece next year. If you're in the area, and would like to attend as one of our guests, let me know...and I'll be sure to invite you next year...

"Treasured: Knowing God by the Things He Keeps" ~ A Review

Does God speak to you? I sincerely believe that He does speak to everyone...we just need to learn how to listen better. Or maybe it's like Horton says in "Horton Hears A Who," perhaps it's because our ears are too small. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I started a bible study at church, that's called, Discerning the Voice of God. "Coincidentally," I was reading this book, "Treasured" during the first few weeks of the study. Instead of reading it cover to cover, I decided to just read one short chapter per day or so. Kind of like a devotional. Well...there is a chapter in this book called, "Balam's Riding Crop, The God Who Speaks." In that chapter, Ms. McLeroy points out that God, the eternal Creator of our universe, sometimes uses extraordinary things, (like Balam's donkey), but more often, He uses plain old every day things like a song on the radio or the book you happen to be reading. While I was reading that, I had to chuckle to myself, because God WAS speaking to me through this very book. You see, I'm a bit ADD and usually need to hear or read something numerous times to get it to stick in my brain. The funny thing was, I would go and listen to the video at bible study, hear something and then read the same thing that very night! We need to learn to listen better to the "Still Small Voice" of the Holy Spirit.

I really enjoyed this book, because like I said, it is set up so you can take your time with it, and read one short chapter at a time. Each chapter is about one certain thing that God tells us about in the bible, in order to know HIM better. For example, A Fig Leaf (Adam and Eve), A Fresh Olive Branch (Noah's Ark) or A Shepherds Harp String (David). The author talks about how we all save souvenirs in our cigar boxes, etc. to remind us of important milestones in our lives. She says God kept these keepsakes, tucked deep in the pages of His Word to tell His story and to help us understand our own. I would definitely recommend this delightful little book, perhaps as a stocking stuffer, for a loved one that you would like to make feel "Treasured" by you! You can find more information about "Treasured" or purchase it at RandomHouse.com for $14.99.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Summary:

In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides readers in discovering evidence in their own lives of his attentive love.
“The idea for the book came from a cigar box filled with odds and ends of my grandfather’s life that arrived a few months after his death. Sifting through the objects in the box, I experienced him in a fresh new way. This made me wonder what treasures might be tucked away in Scripture that could frame God for me in an equally intimate, tangible way. This process also helped me uncover my own “treasures” of my walk with the Lord: objects that remind me of my history with him and his faithfulness to me,” says McLeroy.
Drawn from the pages of Scripture, the author considers twelve such treasures and personalizes their meaning for readers, such as a green olive branch that offers proof of God’s “new every morning” mercy and a scarlet cord that demonstrates his willingness to adopt “strays” of every sort.
Weaving these treasures together with scenes from her personal history, Leigh McLeroy invites readers to discover God’s heart for them and embrace their unique role in his redemptive story. Treasured offers readers a guided experience of God’s love and character and invites them to consider their own treasures that point to their part in God’s ongoing story.

Author Bio:

Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary. An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy. A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.

"God Gave Us..." Books by Lisa T. Bergren ~ A Review

Recently, I had the opportunity to review two awesome children's books by Lisa T. Bergren. She's written other "God Gave Us" books, like "God Gave Us You," "God Gave Us Two," and "God Gave Us Heaven." You may be familiar with them. If not, and you have young children (or grandchildren like me), you should really check these books out! They are wonderfully written and also beautifully illustrated by Laura J. Bryant. Since I often work in our church nursery, I brought them along with me on Sunday, to share with the little ones there.

I love the way the author has Mama Bear explains to her daughter, Little Cub, that God is so much more important than Santa...and that God gave us Christmas by sending His son to us...which of course, is the greatest gift ever given. She doesn't say there is no Santa, or put the tradition of him down in any way...she just points out that God is the one we should be seeking, instead of the jolly old elf, himself. That's a good reminder to all of us, this Christmas season. If you would like to read more about this book, you can check it out at RandomHouse.com.

The latest book in Lisa's "God Gave Us" series is, "God Gave Us Love." Again, this is a very heartwarming story with a biblical principal that we could all use a reminder of from time to time. In this book, Grampa Bear illustrates to Little Cub, how we all need to love others, even when they're not being very lovable...like those pesky otters who keep scaring the fish away while they're fishing...and even Little Cub's baby twin siblings at home, who can also be rather pesky and annoying at times. My grandson and the children I read these books to at church, really loved them. Do you have a young child or two on your Christmas list? I would highly recommend both books, and they would make excellent gifts for any child on your list. God Gave Us Love can be purchased from RandomHouse.com for $10.99.

These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

In God Gave Us Love, Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, and the young polar bear begins to ask questions like why must we love others . . . even the seemingly unlovable? Why is it easier to love those we like? Where does love come from? And why does God love her so much? Grampa Bear patiently addresses each one of Little Cub’s curiosities by explaining the different kinds of love we can share: the love between friends, the love between families, the love between moms and dads, and the love for God.


He also assured Little Cub that because of the love God has given her through his Son, there’s nothing she can do to make God love her any more or any less. Through Grampa Bear’s encouraging Little Cub to love others with a “God-sized love,” children will be inspired to love others and to be patient, gentle and kind, so that in every way, they too can demonstrate God’s love.

In God Gave Us Christmas, as Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear has something on her mind: “Who 'vented Christmas?” she asks. “Is God more important than Santa?”
Her questions reflect the confusion of so many children during the holiday season. And this heartwarming story takes them on a wonderful journey of discovery—right to the heart of Christmas. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns that God loves her and everyone— polar bear, moose, or human—so much that he gave us Jesus, the very best gift of all.

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave us Love follows in Lisa's classic tradition of the best-selling "God Gave Us You." She lives in Colorado with her husband Tim and their children, Olivia, Emma and Jack.

Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure!

Yesterday, a couple of blogger friends and I had an awesome opportunity! We got to go to a sneak preview of "Hal and Holly Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure," at the Mall of America theaters. We were each allowed to bring one special guest. My friends each brought one of their preschool age children, and I brought my grandson CJ, who lives with me at the moment.

BURBANK, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2009) – ABC Family and Build-A-Bear Workshop® are coming together to create a little holiday “hoofla” this season as the network debuts an animated special that marks the first time in the retailer’s 12-year history that its plush animals are brought to life on television.

"Holly and Hal MooseTM: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure,” a one-hour feature movie, makes its nationwide premiere on ABC Family on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7:00 PM ET/PT (with an encore presentation on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 10 AM ET/PT). The television special is based on a book and series of webisodes that introduced Holly and Hal Moose last year and captured their holiday antics, powerful imaginations and love of adventure.

We arrived at the Mall and had to find our way to the movie theater. When we got there, we were surprised to find Holly and Hal there (in person) to greet us, before the movie!

Here's Sassyfrazz's little girl, giving Holly a big hug.

Here's the movie stars, Hal and Holly.

They were super excited to be starring in their very first film!

I even got a couple of pics of the movie itself. The kids really enjoyed the show. The story was mostly about following your dreams, (Hal has always dreamed of flying with Santa's reindeer),

But there are other good elements to this tale as well, for example, when Holly, (the older sibling) is asked to watch her younger brother after school, she's forced to make the tough choice between going to her friend's party and doing as her mother as her mother asked...you'll have to tune into the movie on Tuesday to find out what she chose...but of course, just as every good children's Christmas story goes...our heroes, Hal and Holly ultimately end up saving the day, when "the storm of the century" threatens to cancel Christmas!

Don't forget to tune in to ABC Family, Tuesday 11/24 at 7pm Eastern, 6pm Central. There will also be an encore presentation on Saturday, 11/28 at 10am. For those of you who do not have access to ABC Family (we don't), this cute new holiday movie will also be available on DVD, starting on Wednesday, 11/25. I'm sure we'll have to go pick up a copy. CJ just came in and told me he wants to watch it again!

Here's my grandson, CJ and me.

And below, is Lisa (QTPies) and Sarah (Sassyfrazz) with their little ones. Did you know that Holly Moose actually has her own blog as well? You can go to Holly's blog to get more info and previews of this fun adventure!

The movie was a very fun treat...but wait...there's more! Courtesy of Build-A-Bear Workshops, we were also invited to their store after the show, to make our own Hal and Holly Moose pair to take home! They provided the animals, as compensation for our reviews, but any clothing or added items, like sounds or accessories were extra.

Our experience at Build-A-Bear Workshop was awesome! This nice lady led our group through the entire process. First, we had to bring our mooses (meese?) to the stuffing machine.

Each of the children took their turn stepping on a foot pump to make the machine work. Below, is Maddie stuffing her "Holly" while CJ and Sam look on.

CJ's turn to stuff his Hal.

Next, our helper tightens up the pre-sewn threads at the back of each moose. Just before this happened, we were all instructed to pick out a heart for each animal, because after all...everyone needs to have a heart, right? Also, if you choose to put a sound into your creation...this is the time to put that in, as well. I chose to put the song, "Jingle Bell Rock" in Molly's Holly.


The next step, is "fluffing" our new little buddies...CJ seemed to take this job quite seriously.

There is another foot pump here, which causes air to blow on the animal, while it is being brushed. Next, we picked out clothes for them. We all decided to dress them in their signature outfits from the movie, but they have quite a large selection of clothing available for purchase.

At the movie premiere, we had each received a Build-A-Bear backpack too, (gotta love swag)...so we put our new little buddies in the backpacks for the kiddos to carry around, it was so cute!

Here's our little threesome in front of Build-A-Bear Workshop.

I love this picture of one of the huge trees at the MOA, with the three little ones looking waaay up to the top. The tree was humongous, it was at least 3 stories tall!

We had to stop and take a picture of Nickelodeon Universe, on our way to the food court for lunch. Shortly after lunch, we had a bit of a scare. As Lisa was throwing our garbage away, 3 year-old Sam wandered off...in a very crowded MOA food court at lunch time! This is an experience that many of us mothers/grandmas have had before, and we tried not to panic...but I think we all earned another gray hair or two at that moment. Thankfully, in probably less than a minute or two, mother and child were reunited! Whew!!

Here's CJ and his pal, Hal on the way home.

Molly was very excited to meet "Holly" and CJ has been carrying "Hal" around everywhere, ever since his good friend was made! He even attended church with us this morning. Thank you, thank you, Build-A-Bear!!

Fun Fall Fiction!

I haven't been feeling all that well lately, whether it was just your old fashioned, ordinary common cold, a flu virus, or perhaps even the dreaded "swine flu." I'm not really sure, but I was thankful to have a couple of good books, Provided to me by Waterbrook Multnomah, for my reviewal, to read while I was resting and trying to get better.

The first one I read, was Melody Carlson's "Limelight." I found this book a little hard to get into, to begin with, but once I did, it was quite entertaining. Claudette Fiore' grew up in a small northern California town, with her sister, but eventually, she moved to Hollywood, and married a movie director. Because of that, she has known nothing but the finer things in life for the past 60 years, and has always had servants to do all the mundane daily tasks of life, such as, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping etc. Until...for reasons I won't go into here, she finds herself living back in her childhood home, having to figure out things for herself. It's quite comical, in an "I Love Lucy" sort of way... Limelight is available from WaterbrookMultnomah.com.

Summary:
Claudette Fioré used to turn heads and break hearts. She relished the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant has taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.Armed with stubbornness and sarcasm, Claudette returns to her shabby little hometown and her estranged sister. Slowly, she makes friends. She begins to see her old life in a new light. For the first time, Claudette Fioré questions her own values and finds herself wondering if it’s too late to change.

The second one, was "Leaving Carolina" by Tamara Leigh. This was a surprisingly fun book to read. At first glance, I wasn't sure it was anything I'd be interested in, but I found the author's witty humor, exceptional. She was very good at conveying Piper's thoughts, and self-talk, that I'm pretty sure we all do, in the privacy of our own minds. It was a very entertaining read...but it also highlights a lot of biblical truths along the way. I'm looking forward to reading more about Piper "Wick" and her family. To check it out for yourself, click here.

Summary:
Piper Wick left her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, twelve years ago, shook the dust off her feet, ditched her drawl and her family name, and made a new life for herself as a high-powered public relations consultant in LA. She’s even “engaged to be engaged” to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.Now all of Piper’s hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle’s bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick has decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations’ worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks’ secrets, including Piper’s. Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe’s rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can’t she stay on task? With the Lord’s help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free.

Shadow Government by Grant R. Jeffrey ~ Book Review

All I could say as I read this book was, WOW! This is incredible! If what the author is saying in it is actually true, then everyone in the U. S. should read it. According to this book, if you think you have any privacy left at ALL, you are sadly mistaken. It was a real eye-opener for me. It talks about two different types of "shadow government," one being the officials that are standing by even as you read this, to take over our country in the event that something catastrophic were to happen that would prevent the current government leaders from continuing in their positions of authority.

The author also, puts everything in perspective, as far as the biblical prophecies...the last days...the mark of the beast and so on. It really is a compelling, if somewhat scary book. If this is something you'd like to know more about, you can get your own copy at waterbookmultnomah.com.

Here is a summary of the book:

Security cameras, surveillance of private financial transactions, radio frequency spy chips hidden in consumer products, eavesdropping on e-mail correspondence and phone calls, and Internet tracking. No one is protected, and privacy is a thing of the past.
An ultra-secret global elite, functioning as a very real shadow government, controls technology, finance, international law, world trade, political power, and vast military capabilities. These unnamed, unrivaled leaders answer to no earthly authority, and they won’t stop until they control the world.
In Shadow Government, prophecy expert Grant Jeffrey removes the screen that, up to now, has hidden the work of these diabolical agents. Jeffrey reveals the biblical description of Satan’s global conquest and identifies the tools of technology that the Antichrist will use to rule the world.
Readers will have their eyes opened to the real power that is working behind the scenes to destroy America and merge it into the coming global government. Armed with this knowledge, readers will be equipped to face spiritual darkness with the light of prophetic truth.

About the Author:

Grant R. Jeffrey is the internationally known prophecy researcher, Mideast expert, and author of Countdown to the Apocalypse, The New Temple and the Second Coming, The Next World War, and twenty other best-selling books. He is also the editor of the Prophecy Study Bible. His popular television program, Bible Prophecy Revealed, airs weekly on TBN. Jeffrey earned his master’s and PhD degrees from Louisiana Baptist University. He and his wife, Kaye, live in Toronto.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Wisdom Huner by Randall Arthur ~ Book Review

If you're looking for an exciting read, this book is for you! It was originally released in 1991, and became a best seller at that time. It was not a book that I likely would have chosen myself, but I enjoyed it. The main character in this novel is Pastor Jason Faircloth. He's been a pastor of the North Metro Church of Atlanta for 11 years, and has a master's degree in theology. However, he is very much caught up in legalism, and because he is so hard on his teenage daughter, she decides to run away from home. Pastor Jason prays fervently for her for over a year and a half, asking God to protect his daughter and bring her home. Meanwhile, we learn what is really going on with her in another part of the country...

Through losing almost everything this man has, and going through some very harrowing experiences, he comes to the knowledge that Christianity is not all about "religion", but that it has much more to do with having a personal relationship with Christ. I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories of suspense, but it also has a great message.

You can purchase your own copy from Waterbrookmultnomah.com

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Summary:

Pastor Jason Faircloth knows what he believes. His clear faith, in fact, is why he is one of the most prominent pastors in Atlanta. He relies on it to discipline his daughter, his wife, his church. He prays daily that others would come to see God's ways as he does. And it will cost him everything he has.

Groping for answers in the face of tragedy, Jason determines to find the one person left who might provide healing: the granddaughter kept hidden from him. His search takes him on an international adventure --and deep into his tormented soul.

A fast-paced suspense novel rich in spiritual depth, Wisdom Hunter explores what it means to break free of Christian legalism and discover how grace can make the difference between life and death.

Author Bio:
Randall Arthur is the bestselling author of Jordan’s Crossing and Brotherhood of Betrayal. He and his wife have served as missionaries to Europe for over thirty years. From 1976 till 1998, he lived in Norway and Germany as a church planter. Since 2000, he has taken numerous missions teams from the United States on trips all over Europe. Arthur is also the founder of the AOK (Acts of Kindness) Bikers’ Fellowship, a group of men who enjoy the sport of motorcycling. He and his family live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Opening New Doors!

That's what we get to do every time we leave the house, or come back home now!

Our landlord bought 2 new doors for the house a couple of months ago. Ray was supposed to replace them, and deduct the installment cost from the rent. He replaced the side door shortly thereafter. However, he got busy with work after that, (PTL) and then we got nothing but rain...and even snow...for weather after that for quite some time. Finally, this past weekend, the weather cooperated, and Ray got a chance to replace the back door, which is the one we use most of the time.

This is what the inside of the old door looked like, after Ray removed the trim around it. It wasn't that bad looking...for an old door. However, there was so much cold air coming in around this thing last Winter that it was unbelievable! I'm not sure how much money went out that door, while the cold winds were entering in. We should stay much warmer (and richer) this year.
Here's what the new door looks like. He still needs to put the trim around it. I'm sure CJ will get after him about that. He told him last night, "Grandpa, you're NOT finished with your door project yet!!" That was after Ray had spent a couple of hours finishing the trim around the OUTSIDE! LOL!

As an added plus, the new door lets a lot more light in than the old door...which really helps, since there is no light in the entryway.

Here's the old door from the outside, Ray had to remove the canopy first, since it was attached to the old door frame. I was a little afraid those bricks were going to fall down on his head! I made sure he had his cell phone close, while CJ and I ran some errands...just in case!

Here's the brand new door with the new trim around it. Ray plans on adding another canopy sometime too...but that may not happen until we get some nice weather again for a few days. I think it looks great...except for the smudges that the dogs already put on it...stupid animals.