Happy Birthday to me!

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I thought I’d share a few thoughts on my birthday

I hope you receive it in the spirit that it’s given.

In this life, we all have troubles.

But God is still on the throne–no matter what.

Today is my birthday!

I’m 68.

I have brain tumors and a genetic disease called Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2).

I can’t hear as good as I’d like.

I weeble and wobble when I walk.

I weigh more than I want to.

I have more aches and pains than I used to.

I’m slower than I used to be and I wasn’t all that fast to begin with.

But… God is with me always.

He is my God and Savior.

He is my protector and provider.

He is my healer.

But… God is with me always.

He gives me peace and joy.

He gives me rest.

He blesses in more ways than I have time to tell.

But… God is with me always.

He is faithful always.

He is loving always.

He is good always.

Thank you, God for this thing called life.

May I bring honor and glory to you in all that I do.

Book Review–Under Fire by Lynn H. Blackburn

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I promised a book review and here it is.

I just finished Under Fire by Lynn H. Blackburn. It’s the third in her Defend and Protect series. I didn’t read the first but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of Under Fire. However, it does make me want to go back and read the other two in the series. For those of us who love mystery and suspense, this book has plenty of both.

Blackburn does a masterful job of creating Christian characters that are real rather than two-dimensional characters of what Christians are supposed to be like. Tessa, the main character is flawed–just like most of us. But she’s also completely dedicated to her job of being a Secret Service Agent in Raleigh, NC. When she has a choice to save herself some embarassment by not revealing details from a personal trauma, she chooses to do the right thing. I applaud her for that. She doesn’t take the easy way out.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the characters. My only complaint is that it seemed a bit slow paced for me, but still an enjoyable read.

Until next time, God Bless & Good Reading.

Life Happens

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So I haven’t been paying much attention to my blog. Sorry about that. So just to catch you up on my news.

Last December, I actually got FIVE book contracts from my publisher. Yes, I said FIVE! That was amazing news and a wonderful Christmas gift. So I’ve been busy editing and polishing up those novels. I just sent the second one back to my publisher. In fact, I sent it a few minutes ago.

The current tile is Walking Through The Rain, but that’s subject to change. I love this story and can’t wait for it to be published. To me this story is simply a Christian fiction novel, but my publisher calls it women’s fiction. I happen to think men will love the story as well.

Earlier in the year, I sent in the edits on a suspense novel, Small Town Secrets. This is a fast-paced suspense that will keep you reading later than planned. It’s the first in what I hope to be a series, but we shall see.

Then I also received a contract for a three book series entitled Messenger, Uncitizen, And Exile. This is a dystopian series that’s set in NewAmerica–a place where even saying the name of God is a crime!

So that’s my book news for the time being. In a few days, I’ll post a book review. I have some other news which I’ll share with you another days.

For now, here’s the cover of Small Town Secrets!

Until next time, God Bless & Good Reading!

2023 Word of the Year

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So a few days ago, I promised to share my 2023 Word of the Year. And here it is…FAITHFUL.

So let me tell you how I “found” this word. One of my FB friends posted about how difficult 2020, 2021, and 2022 have been. My comment to her was that these past few years made me very appreciative of biblical Jews as they struggled through very difficult circumstances for hundreds of years and yet they never lost their belief that God is FAITHFUL.

I thought about how the Jewish people remained faithful during those 400 long years when they heard nothing from God. There were no prophets to bring them God’s Word, but they remained faithful that God was faithful.

So FAITHFUL is my Word of the Year.

I want to focus on the fact that God is faithful even when life is difficult, even when life doesn’t go the way we want, even when we can’t feel Him.

Here’s a few verses that I came across about God’s faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 7: 9

 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Hebrews 10: 23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

What beautiful verses!

Happy New Year! May God bless you in the coming year.

2022 Word of the Year

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So writers like to do nerdy things like have a Word of the Year that they focus on as part of the Bible meditations. Last year, I had planned on NOT having a word of the year.

No particular reason, I just wasn’t feeling it. But in between Christmas and New Year’s, I was walking on my treadmill and a word popped into my head.

HEALING

And there it was my word of the year. Now being a flawed human being, I thought that word was about ME and my healing.

After all, I live with bilateral brain tumors, had recently started back on treatment for them, and have more than enough struggles to make my days interesting.

But I was wrong.

As the year went on, I developed more compassion for other people’s suffering, especially physical suffering (something I know about). My prayer life began to reflect that compassion.

I wish I could tell you that I’m ending this year healthier (physically) than I began it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. And that brings me to 2023’s Word of the Year which is…

I’ll tell you soon!

2022–HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Oh my goodness, it’s been a while since I’ve been here and I apologize for that. I hate to admit it, but I’ve been struggling as far as my writing goes. I submitted two stories to my publisher back in May and then BAM! I seemed to have lost all interest in writing. I would start a story but stop after a few pages, then I’d try a different story with the same results.

I just couldn’t focus on writing or anything to do with writing.

And that made me feel somewhat lost but…I decided not to panic so I took a break.

About a week before Christmas, I opened my email to find a letter from my publisher offering me a 3-book contract for a series I’d forgotten I’d even submitted to her along with contracts for the two stories I submitted in May. So that’s a contract for FIVE different books!

A few days after the contracts, the one story I was having trouble with came to mind. And in like a 30-second window, I saw how I needed to change the story to make it work so…I’m writing again.

And that makes me happy!

Life is often like that. We are way too quick to panic when something goes wrong or doesn’t go the way we expect. Instead of panicking, we need to take a step back, take some deep breaths, and focus on God. It will work out one way or another, panic, worry, and depression make nothing better.

So as we enter into a new year, let’s make a commitment to focus more on God and less on anxiety, worry and depression.

BOOK REVIEW-The Catch

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I recently had the pleasure of reading THE CATCH by LISA HARRIS. It’s book 3 in her US Marshals series. I’m not sure if book 3 was a continuation of books 1 and 2 or a whole new story line, but it seemed as if it was a continuation. Even with not knowing the stories of the other two books, this was an enjoyable read.

Her writing style was plain and simple, nothing fancy and nothing too melodramatic. I wish more writers wrote like that. I hate when writers try to show off their vocabulary to the detriment of the story.

It had lots of action (which I like) but also had well-rounded characters, especially the main characters. If I had any complaints, it might be that there were too many characters and at times I would get confused who was who. This was probably due to not reading books 1 and 2.

All in all, it was a good book that I would recommend to others.

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

Me & Intermittent Fasting

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WHAT’S A 36 PLUS HOUR FAST LIKE?

A FB friend mentioned that she was thinking of trying IF (intermittent fasting) but was worried that she might get too hungry. But she said all the people she knew said they never got hungry while they were fasting.

She must have stronger friends than me or the people I know who fast because we all get hungry at some point. Some days, I’m hungrier than others. Some days I don’t feel hungry at all.

But in all honesty, getting hungry is a part of IF but being hungry won’t kill you! Of course, if you actually feel unwell that’s a different story. At that point you should break you fast and eat.

Today, I’m doing another long fast (36 hours plus depending on when I wake up on Tuesday morning. So I thought some of you might be interested in what goes on body and mind during a longer fast.

At 15 hours: I woke up at around 5: 30. A little bit hungry but not too bad. Mentally, I’m thinking…ooh, I have all day long without eating since I’m already a little hungry, but I really want to lose some weight so I’m going to do my best.

At 16 hours: I do my workout as usual. Walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes. Will do another workout later since I like to workout while I’m fasting. (Ended up working 23 more minutes on the teadmill and then a 30 minute walk with a friend.)

At 18 hours: My tummy’s feeling uncomfortable and my mind is telling me that there’s no way I’m going to get through the day without eating. So I have a little pink Himalayan salt and my black coffee. My stomach feels better so my mind feels better as well.

At 20 hours: Feeling good. No issues at the moment. But I’m reminded of the Bible verse that says don’t act like you’re fasting and miserable. So I took a bath, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair.

At 22 hours: I’m hungry! Drank some water. Didn’t help. I’m still hungry! It feels like it will never go away but my mind tells me that it will. Going to drink a little more water and some salt and hope that it goes away. Either way, I’m not quitting at this point. May have to make it a modified fast and eat a salad but I’m hoping not to have to do that. I really want to make it a true fast. We shall see.

NOTE: I went down drank some more water with a little bit of the salt. The hunger went away after about 15 minutes.

At 26 hours:  I’m comfortable at this point. Not really hungry and not focused on food or eating at the moment. I sat with my husband while he ate his supper, and it didn’t bother me at all. I had no problem with wanting to eat. So all is good for now!

At 30 hours: I was comfortable during the evening. If I felt a little hunger, I would drink a few sips of water and then I was good again. Going to bed a little early. When I wake up in the morning I can eat—YEAH!

Looking back on the day, I can see that I was at my hungriest point during my normal eating hours, which makes sense to me.

THOUGHTS: I can’t say that I’m “enjoying” my 36 plus fast. It’s tolerable. If I lose some weight, then it will be worth it. If not, I probably will go back to my old schedule and throw in some 24 hour fasts rather than 36 plus fasts or maybe I’ll try a modified fast (a 500-calorie meal is eaten at some point).

No matter whether I lose weight or not, a long fast reminds me that I’m in control of my life—not food. And that’s a good thing to remember.

 At 38.5 hours: I woke up at 5, which is my normal time to wake up. I slept fairly well—no dreams about food! I was surprised to discover that I wasn’t really hungry. Last week after I finished my 37 hour fast, I was famished. I definitely feel more in control this week.

I started my UP day with a cup of creamy coffee (no sugar—only Splenda) but no food. I ate about 2 ½ hours later when I started feeling hungry.

So the big question did I lose any weight? Yes, I did, but I was a little disappointed with the results. I lost 1 ½ pounds. Now during my WW days, I would be thrilled with a 1 ½ pound loss in one week, but I was hoping for at least 3 pounds. Still 1 ½ pounds in a week is very good for me.

What’s next? I’ll probably do a modified long fast next week. If I can lose a little weight that way, I’ll think it’s a more comfortable approach for me.

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

Me and Intermittent Fasting!

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I know this is a longer post than usual, but I hope you’ll find it interesting enough to read to the end.

Before I get into my story about intermittent fasting (IF), let me explain very briefly what IF is. It is a period of time when you do NOT eat or drink anything. You can drink water, black coffee or plain tea. No diet drinks. No flavored coffees. Nothing with calories can be consumed during your fast. Period.

Eating or drinking calories is the opposite of fasting.

If you want to learn more about IF, I highly recommend Gin Stephens’ books. Fast, Feast, Repeat and/or Delay, Don’t Deny. Both books will tell you the science behind IF and why it’s such a healthy way to live.

I started Intermittent Fasting (IF) on April 7, 2021. And as with life things didn’t go exactly the way I’d planned, but I’ll get to that later.

I had several goals. One and what seemed most important at the time was to lose ten pounds. My second goal was to normalize my relationship with food. And my third goal was to boost my metabolism.

Let’s start with the last goal first. After ten years of being on a fairly strict diet most of those ten years, it seemed to me that my metabolism was way low. I don’t have any scientific proof of that but any time I would eat more than salad, a piece of chicken, and some fruit for dessert I’d gain weight.

I was so, so, so tired of not being able to eat like everybody else. So, I’d restrict my food intake and then have my cheat days where I would binge, which brings me to my second goal of normalizing my relationship with food.

I wanted to not be obsessed with food. I wanted to stop worrying about every bite of food I put in my mouth. I wanted to make healthy choices but still enjoy eating.

When I started IF I wanted to lose 10 pounds. I was a lifetime member of a certain weight loss organization and was about 10 (9 actually) pounds over my goal weight.

So those were my 3 goals. Gin Stephens recommends starting with a 28 day plan where you don’t weight yourself and all you worry about is making sure you clean fast every day.

No calories to count. No points to calculate. Just using your own good sense when eating. I must say I threw out my good sense and ate—a lot! After the end of the 28 days, I hadn’t lost any weight, but I hadn’t gained either—and I really did eat a lot! I was happy!

And that’s what I did for the next few months. I ate what I wanted but would fast anywhere from 18 to 21 hours every day. And I still didn’t gain any weight—amazing!

But then I decided it was time to start making healthier food choices so I could lose that ten pounds. I decided to go back to that weight loss organization. And in the first month, I lost 5 pounds.

HAPPY DANCE!

And then life happened. I’ve had bilateral brain tumors for the past ten years but they’d been stable since 2016 without any need for treatment. But that all changed in August when we discovered one of the tumors was growing again and that I would need treatment.

My plan was to stay with my weight loss meetings, IF, and do my treatments. I really wanted to lose that last 5 pounds. But the day after my first treatment, I realized my plan wasn’t going to work. I

So I gave up on the weight loss meetings, but I’ve been doing IF consistently (except when I’m not feeling so good.)

So let’s take a look at my three goals.

I quickly gained back the five pounds I’d lost. Thanks to the treatments and the holidays. As of today, I’ve lost 3.6 pounds and only need to lose 5.6 to get back to my goal weight. But here’s the amazing things, I’ve lost 22.5 inches off my body–5 off my waist and 6 off my hips. If you want to know how and why that happened, you’ll need to read Gin’s books. I’m not scientific enough to explain it.

I have eaten A LOT this past year. Healthy foods. And pizza. And lots of my favorite things—namely pastries of all sorts. I pretty much eat what I want during my eating window. I haven’t lost all of the 10 pounds, but I know that’s because of my food choices, not because IF doesn’t work.

It obviously does work. If I’d eaten the way I have the past year and not fasted, I would have probably gained at least 25 or 30 pounds.

So what’s next for me amd IF?

I plan to start making healthier choices when eating so that I can get back to my goal weight. For me that means lowering my carb intake and especially cutting back on the “sweets.”

I’ve also added the spiritual component of fasting into my life, which has brought a new level of understanding and commitment to the act of IF.

I’ll keep you posted when I get back to my goal weight which hopefully won’t take a full year. I know this has been a long post.

Thanks for listening!

God Bless and Good Reading!

Give Thanks in all Circumstances?

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1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Happy April Fool’s Day!

On April 1, 2012, I developed Bell’s palsy which is an inflammation of the facial nerve. My doctor insisted I have an MRI to make sure nothing else was happening. Of course there was something happening, and from there I was diagnosed with bilateral acoustic neuromas and a genetic condition called Neurofibromatosis Type 2.

Early on, I made a commitment to God that I would remain faithful during the journey, which is actually a lifetime journey. And I do my best with that commitment, even though I’m not perfect.

The above verse however sort of stuck in my craw, as they say. I understand that the verse says give thanks IN all circumstances, not FOR all circumstances. Still my stubborn little self refused to believe that I would ever rejoice or be thankful for my brain tumors but…

Ten years later, I’m a different person than I was on April 1, 2012. My health will never be as good as it was on that day. I struggle in many different ways but… even though I’m not thankful FOR the tumors, I am thankful for the new relationship with God that was forged from them.

During these past ten years, I’ve learned just how faithful God is. I’ve learned that I can depend on him to give me the strength to endure the battles I face. I’ve learned that God keeps his promises. I’m so thankful for the peace and joy He gives me each day to not just face another day, but to enjoy that day. I’m so thankful that I’m still able to write books that will glorify God while entertaining others.

Now when I read this verse:

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I understand it’s actually a to do list to help get me through the difficult challenges.

Rejoice always.

Pray continually.

Give thanks in all circumstances.

God never promises life will be easy. God never promises that you won’t have challenges or even tragedies. But he promises never to leave us. He promises to turn ashes into beauty.

The advice to do these three things (rejoice, pray, give thanks) in the midst of your circumstances will help you survive and even thrive, no matter what the circumstances are!

God is good.