Last week Terry and I had a lot of fun recording Luke's Legacy's audio version. It should be ready for purchase or download in a month or two.
In case you didn't realize, there is free audio download instructions on the very last page of Elk's Resolve and Luke's Legacy. That is a great value.
Be sure to get your copy. You guys have been very suportive and encouraging to both of us.
I want you to read the interview I did with Elaine Smith.
1. What is your name and the title of your book(s)?
"Ridin' Around - Taillights in Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels" and ebook "The Perfect Place?"
2. What is one thing you think your readers would like to know about you?
That I'm a real person. Down to earth, not fancified-just a regluar gal.
3. When did you know that you wanted to become a writer? Years ago. Just within the past three years has there been time, inclination and available brain cells to devote to writing.
4. What are your strong points in your writing style or methods?
Humor and description
5. Are you a reader? yes
6. What are you reading right now?
Shiny Water by Anna Salter
7. Do you have another book that you are working on and hasn't been submitted for publication?
Tell about it. A story based on a true crime where a small town young man was caught in a whirlwind of drugs and money and faced with making "The Wrong Move" which may adversely affect his life, as well as others' lives.Crimes such as murder, kidnapping and mutilation are horrific. Making "The Wrong Move" can be deadly.
8. What are your biggest obstacles to writing and how do you overcome them?
Finding quiet in my home and my mind. Yoga and meditation help tremendously. A walk with the dog also allows me time with myself; my thoughts are more easily sorted and prioritized.
9. Please put a description of each of your books here.
Ridin' Around:
Through the stories of the hilarious escapades—and sometimes heartbreaking experiences—of a group of college-age friends, Ridin' Around: Taillights in Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels will take you back to the world of small-town America in 1980. The music, the cars, and all the pleasures of a simpler time—like Saturday nights spent just cruising up and down “the drag”—are the backdrop to this funny and nostalgic story of guys and gals living it up. Hang on and ride along for the pranks, the brushes with the law, and the zany adventures!
Author Elaine Fields Smith, drawing on real-life experiences, vividly captures the joy and the pain of young adulthood…and how the friendships that help us get through it can last a lifetime.
The Perfect Place?
Come to a Spiritual Place Where Endless Knowledge Can Be Acquired Just By Being There. The Perfect Place is a supernatural plane of existence where knowledge is literally in the air. The place truly seems perfect—with no evil or need—only the pursuit of learning. What question would you ask Plato given the chance? Could one find the answer to a crucial inquiry from the sage words of Benjamin Franklin? What would Dr. Seuss say about the 21 century? Would Alexander Graham Bell like cell phone texting? Katie and her three spirit guides enthusiastically explore this Perfect Place of Knowledge. They encounter important and obscure historical figures in their search for answers. Actually talking with legendary people is a wonder Katie is amazed to experience. The spirit companions—loved ones from Katie's own past—have extraordinary powers, whisking her through a supernatural portal to experience the Place of Knowledge. But time is running out for the Place due to the flaw Katie has stumbled upon. Only one person or spirit will be chosen to determine the fate of the Perfect Place. Who will it be? Take an inspirational journey to an amazing place—a Perfect Place. Or is it?
10. How can readers contact you or purchase your books? Please put your website or blog here.www.blazingstarbooks.com
Found on
http://elainelittau.com/
Book discussion questions for both book clubs and home school/schoole age children are available for free at my website.
For new chapters
"Between the Books" go to http://elainelittau.com/ and click on the tab.
I plan to write a new chapter per week (If possible)
First Chapter of Nan's Journey (free)
First 6 Chapters of book #5 (rough copy) Gertie's Grace (Renamed: "The Eyes of a Stranger")
I have a few open dates if you would like to contact me to set something up.
http://elainelittau.com
Monday, January 24, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Interview with Carol Schultz, author of In The Trenches- Financial Survival During Times of Hardship
January 2011
Can you believe that it is already January? If you are like me, you have been looking over the past year and evaluating the things you have done. No matter how careful you are, some things just are not productive. I know that I have done my share of wasting time on the internet "marketing" my books. Although some of it was real marketing, I did lose track of time.
I know there are a few things that I plan to manage better this year. Have you made any decisions along these lines?
1- Manage my time better.
2-Manage my money better.
3-Manage my business things better.
4- Manage my house better.
In the "time" section I have on the top of my list to spend more time with the Lord. Next to put my family and friends above the other time stealers.
As far as money management goes, I plan to re-read the book featured here this week. The author has become a great friend to me. I want you to read this interview I did with Carol Schultz.
1. What is your name and the title of your book(s)? In The Trenches – Financial Survival During Times of Hardship by Carol Schultz.
2. What is one thing you think your readers would like to know about you? In the 80’s I had a nice home, good job, and everything seemed to be moving in the direction of being able to fulfill the American Dream. My father became terminally ill and in the process of trying to take care of him I left my job and ultimately we lost everything. Our family ended up in an uninhabitable home with no running water, heating system, or money. Day after day we had the challenge of how to pull things back together from this place and I constantly cried out to God. “Why?” “Why have You allowed this to happen to me?” He showed me that what had happened to me personally would come upon the nation within my lifetime. As I learned those things I needed to experience I would then be able to share them with others when the time was right.
I began writing In The Trenches in 2002. The first draft set in a drawer for a couple years and periodically I would pull it out and refine and add to the manuscript. The book was written for the chronically low income or those who had recently gone through financial difficulty brought on by job loss, floods, divorce, illness, or over extending their debt. In a visit to my doctor’s office I found a children’s book and liked the illustrations and found that the illustrator lived only 30 minutes away from me. I contacted Cindy and discussed the project with her and her drawings are now part of the book.
Again the book sat. I submitted to a few publishers and was turned down and told that personal finances was not a good selling subject. I turned to self-publishing options but many charged more than I could afford. In the beginning of 2009 I was chomping at the bit and asking the Lord “Now?, Now?” Step by step I was able to finally bring the manuscript into book form and it was published by Createspace.com in October 2009. Of course, in 2009 the personal financial books and blogs began to dominate the market as people began to tighten their belts, pay down debts, and embrace the frugal lifestyle.
The time is now for In The Trenches and the need is so great that I am indeed thankful for the many others who participate in providing specific advice, blogs, and books. Some initially believed that the economic crisis would be over quickly but I have always thought it would take five years from the time we hit the low point. Once we are able to recover from this I believe the next challenge will be that the Social Security system will be insolvent or greatly reduced. Many have made no other plans for retirement and have had large amounts of their funds wiped out in the Wall Street dip.
The good news is that we have the opportunity to rebuild the nations economy one family at a time. Gone is the false charade of wealth brought on by credit-based consumerism. There is a verse that talks about the house on the sand and the house on the rock. The population has just seen what building on the sand will do and we now have the opportunity to build on strong Biblical based principles. Christians and nonChristians alike will benefit from the process. It is a difficult and exciting time we live in.
3. When did you know that you wanted to become a writer? I never specifically decided I wanted to be a writer. I just write all the time. My jobs have had much opportunity to develop skills in procedural documentation and I have always maintained my spiral notebooks where I have written my own thoughts, plans, and goals daily. Writing helps me to practice what I want to say.
4. What are your strong points in your writing style or methods? Simplifying complex subjects.
5. Are you a reader? I have read much since I was a child. It seems to be in our family gene pool because all the members of my family have loved our books and loved discussing what we have learned.
6. What are you reading right now? I am reading some finance books and mostly my granddaughters collection of scholastic books which cover subjects such as the holocaust, biography of Rosa Parks, and the queens who were beheaded after king Henry VIII.
7. Do you have another book that you are working on and haven’t been submitted for publication? Tell about it. I have another book percolating in my head but am keeping very busy with In The Trenches and the blog so don’t know when I will actually sit down and start a new project.
8. What are your biggest obstacles to writing and how do you overcome them? My biggest obstacle right now is this old slow computer that takes forever to get things done with. Right now I’m at the whining, complaining, and praying stage.
9. Please put a description of each of your books here. (back matter is ok) “Are you In The Trenches? Feeling like your financial future needs an overhaul or the choices of the past are now catching up with you? Have you lost your job, home, or relationship and it's time to start over? Or, do you just want some tips for how to record and budget your money more efficiently? In The Trenches, Financial Survival During Times of Hardship is for the millions of Americans that are starting over or just looking for a new way of doing things. The book contains stories, budgeting charts, and ideas…”
“This book is not about despair, it is about hope. It is about the sunshine and rainbows that come after the storms of life.”
10. How can readers contact you or purchase your books? Please put your website or blog here. The people for whom In The Trenches was written do not have the money to purchase the book. I am currently developing a marketing strategy to meet this need. I will use the blog and facebook to keep people up to date. I seek the Lord’s leading in these things each day. I am merely planting the seed, it will be up to Him to make it grow. The blog address is http://inthetrenches2009.blogspot.comor you may write to me directly at inthetrenches@live.com
Can you believe that it is already January? If you are like me, you have been looking over the past year and evaluating the things you have done. No matter how careful you are, some things just are not productive. I know that I have done my share of wasting time on the internet "marketing" my books. Although some of it was real marketing, I did lose track of time.
I know there are a few things that I plan to manage better this year. Have you made any decisions along these lines?
1- Manage my time better.
2-Manage my money better.
3-Manage my business things better.
4- Manage my house better.
In the "time" section I have on the top of my list to spend more time with the Lord. Next to put my family and friends above the other time stealers.
As far as money management goes, I plan to re-read the book featured here this week. The author has become a great friend to me. I want you to read this interview I did with Carol Schultz.
1. What is your name and the title of your book(s)? In The Trenches – Financial Survival During Times of Hardship by Carol Schultz.
2. What is one thing you think your readers would like to know about you? In the 80’s I had a nice home, good job, and everything seemed to be moving in the direction of being able to fulfill the American Dream. My father became terminally ill and in the process of trying to take care of him I left my job and ultimately we lost everything. Our family ended up in an uninhabitable home with no running water, heating system, or money. Day after day we had the challenge of how to pull things back together from this place and I constantly cried out to God. “Why?” “Why have You allowed this to happen to me?” He showed me that what had happened to me personally would come upon the nation within my lifetime. As I learned those things I needed to experience I would then be able to share them with others when the time was right.
I began writing In The Trenches in 2002. The first draft set in a drawer for a couple years and periodically I would pull it out and refine and add to the manuscript. The book was written for the chronically low income or those who had recently gone through financial difficulty brought on by job loss, floods, divorce, illness, or over extending their debt. In a visit to my doctor’s office I found a children’s book and liked the illustrations and found that the illustrator lived only 30 minutes away from me. I contacted Cindy and discussed the project with her and her drawings are now part of the book.
Again the book sat. I submitted to a few publishers and was turned down and told that personal finances was not a good selling subject. I turned to self-publishing options but many charged more than I could afford. In the beginning of 2009 I was chomping at the bit and asking the Lord “Now?, Now?” Step by step I was able to finally bring the manuscript into book form and it was published by Createspace.com in October 2009. Of course, in 2009 the personal financial books and blogs began to dominate the market as people began to tighten their belts, pay down debts, and embrace the frugal lifestyle.
The time is now for In The Trenches and the need is so great that I am indeed thankful for the many others who participate in providing specific advice, blogs, and books. Some initially believed that the economic crisis would be over quickly but I have always thought it would take five years from the time we hit the low point. Once we are able to recover from this I believe the next challenge will be that the Social Security system will be insolvent or greatly reduced. Many have made no other plans for retirement and have had large amounts of their funds wiped out in the Wall Street dip.
The good news is that we have the opportunity to rebuild the nations economy one family at a time. Gone is the false charade of wealth brought on by credit-based consumerism. There is a verse that talks about the house on the sand and the house on the rock. The population has just seen what building on the sand will do and we now have the opportunity to build on strong Biblical based principles. Christians and nonChristians alike will benefit from the process. It is a difficult and exciting time we live in.
3. When did you know that you wanted to become a writer? I never specifically decided I wanted to be a writer. I just write all the time. My jobs have had much opportunity to develop skills in procedural documentation and I have always maintained my spiral notebooks where I have written my own thoughts, plans, and goals daily. Writing helps me to practice what I want to say.
4. What are your strong points in your writing style or methods? Simplifying complex subjects.
5. Are you a reader? I have read much since I was a child. It seems to be in our family gene pool because all the members of my family have loved our books and loved discussing what we have learned.
6. What are you reading right now? I am reading some finance books and mostly my granddaughters collection of scholastic books which cover subjects such as the holocaust, biography of Rosa Parks, and the queens who were beheaded after king Henry VIII.
7. Do you have another book that you are working on and haven’t been submitted for publication? Tell about it. I have another book percolating in my head but am keeping very busy with In The Trenches and the blog so don’t know when I will actually sit down and start a new project.
8. What are your biggest obstacles to writing and how do you overcome them? My biggest obstacle right now is this old slow computer that takes forever to get things done with. Right now I’m at the whining, complaining, and praying stage.
9. Please put a description of each of your books here. (back matter is ok) “Are you In The Trenches? Feeling like your financial future needs an overhaul or the choices of the past are now catching up with you? Have you lost your job, home, or relationship and it's time to start over? Or, do you just want some tips for how to record and budget your money more efficiently? In The Trenches, Financial Survival During Times of Hardship is for the millions of Americans that are starting over or just looking for a new way of doing things. The book contains stories, budgeting charts, and ideas…”
“This book is not about despair, it is about hope. It is about the sunshine and rainbows that come after the storms of life.”
10. How can readers contact you or purchase your books? Please put your website or blog here. The people for whom In The Trenches was written do not have the money to purchase the book. I am currently developing a marketing strategy to meet this need. I will use the blog and facebook to keep people up to date. I seek the Lord’s leading in these things each day. I am merely planting the seed, it will be up to Him to make it grow. The blog address is http://inthetrenches2009.blogspot.comor you may write to me directly at inthetrenches@live.com
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Today's Wild Card author is:
and the book:
100 Ways to Simplify Your Life
Publisher: FaithWords; Lrg edition (November 12, 2008)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
JOYCE MEYER is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, she has written more than seventy inspirational books, including The Confident Woman, Look Great, Feel Great, and the entire Battlefield of the Mindfamily of books. She has also released thousands of audio teachings as well as a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday Life® radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.Visit the author's website.
Product Details:
List Price: $16.99
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: FaithWords; Lrg edition (November 12, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446509396
ISBN-13: 978-0446509398
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Introduction
Everyone has them: those days where nothing seems to get done, except maybe what you’ve added to your already lengthy to-do list. Are you tired most of the time? Are you spent? Do you find yourself wish- ing for a better day—a simpler day? Too many things compete for your limited resources of attention, energy, and time. You may be suffocat- ing and not even know it. If you feel like this, you’re not alone.
Most people today live complicated lives that leave them frustrated and confused, weary and worn out. But I have good news: your life does not have to be that way. You can choose a life of simplicity, fruitfulness, fulfillment, peace, and joy. I want to warn you, however, unless you are determined not to, you will do what everyone else does. You will get sucked up in the system and spend your life wishing things were different, never realizing you are, in fact, the only one who can change things. Unless we are resolute and remain undaunted in our quest for simplicity, we are destined for complication and frustration.
I recall a time when I was complaining to God about my schedule being absolutely insane. How could anyone be expected to do all I had in front of me? Then the realization hit me that I was the one who made my schedule and nobody could change it but me. You can spend your lives wishing things were different, but wishing won’t change anything. Smart decision making and decisive action is what changes things. If you picked up this book looking for change, are you willing to make a decision and follow it up with action?
I wasted many years hoping life would change and things would calm down until I finally realized life itself doesn’t change; in fact, it has the potential to get worse. I understood my only real option was to change my approach to life. I had to say no to another day of rushing around and feeling frustrated. I didn’t want the doctor giving me another pre- scription to mask another symptom of the real problem—stress.
In my search for simplicity, I have come to believe life can never be simple unless I learn to approach all things simply. It is my attitude toward each event in life that determines how easy or complex each situation will be. Perhaps life is complicated because people are compli- cated. Is it possible that life is not complicated, but rather, individuals complicate life in the way they approach it?
I discovered it wasn’t really life or circumstances or other people as much as it was me that needed to change. My problem wasn’t the problem—I was the problem! When you spend your life in frustration trying to change the world and everyone in it, you fail to realize it could be you just need to change your approach to life. It can be very easy for someone to live an entire lifetime and never entertain the notion that the way they do things is the real problem.
Have you ever attempted to have friends over for what you initially intended to be a simple afternoon of food, fellowship, and fun, but somehow, it turned into a complicated nightmare? I remember those days vividly. I’d be at church on Sunday and, without much forethought, invite three couples over for the following Sunday to a barbecue. My initial thought was hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, baked beans, potato chips, and iced tea. My motive was fellowship and fun, but by the time the guests arrived, I didn’t even want them there. Fun was not going to happen, at least not for me. Why? I turned my simple get- together into a nightmare of preparation, expensive food, and fourteen people instead of the original six. My complicated approach to life and my complicated thought process convinced me hot dogs and hamburg- ers weren’t nice enough so I bought steaks we could not afford. My potato chips turned into a huge bowl of homemade potato salad. The simple baked beans became four side dishes I labored over.
Insecure and wanting to impress everyone, I had to spend the week cleaning and getting everything in the house to the point where I thought it would be impressive. Of course, the lawn chairs were old, so I bought new ones. I got angry at Dave because I thought he wasn’t help- ing me enough, and by the time our friends arrived, I resented them, wished they hadn’t come, and had a miserable day of pretending to be the happy hostess when in reality I was frustrated and miserable.
I could not figure out why I wasn’t able to enjoy much of anything in life until God revealed to me I was killing my joy with complication. For years, I prayed God would change the people and circumstances around me when, in reality, He wanted to change me and my approach to life. He wanted me to simplify so, ultimately, He could be glorified.
Let me share with you 100 ways to approach living that can simplify your life and, in turn, release and increase your joy. I believe they will dramatically improve the quality of your everyday experience if you incorporate them into the way you do things. Jesus said He came so we might have and enjoy our life in abundance (see John 10:10). His prin- ciples are simple. Faith is simple! Trusting God is simple! A childlike approach to Him is simple! The plan of salvation is simple!
Jesus offers us a “new way of living,” and I believe it is a simple, yet powerful way that enables us to enjoy everyday life. Are you ready to simplify your life? Are you ready to say good-bye to the complexities you’ve allowed to take over? Let’s get started.
Do One Thing at a Time
When we do things without truly focusing our minds on them, we immediately decrease our strength to do the work before us and do it well. By putting our hands to one thing and our mind to another, we divide the muscle behind our abilities and we make the task much more difficult. It’s like removing an egg yolk from the egg white—both can be used separately but the result isn’t as effective (or tasty) as it would be if we leave the egg whole. However, by directing all of our faculties to the one thing we are doing on a particular day, at that hour, at that moment, we find it much easier to do. The ability to concentrate and stay focused can only come from discipline.
The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6 to be anxious for nothing. Anxious people are always trying to live ahead of where they currently are. They spend today trying to figure out tomorrow and the result is the loss of simplicity. God expects us to trust Him with tomorrow just as He instructed the Israelites to do when they crossed the barren wil- derness, pressing toward the Promised Land.
Practice living one day at a time; give yourself—your thoughts, your conversation, your energies, every part of you—to the day at hand.
100 Ways to Simplify Your Life
1. Develop an ability to give yourself to what you are doing. You will sense an awareness enabling you to enjoy the current activity, instead of going through each day in a blur of activity and confusing thoughts which leave you drained and exhausted.
Do you fear you will not accomplish as much if you try to live this way? It’s true you may not do as much, but you will also enjoy what you do a whole lot more. One key to simplicity is realizing that quality is far superior to quantity.
Everyone has them: those days where nothing seems to get done, except maybe what you’ve added to your already lengthy to-do list. Are you tired most of the time? Are you spent? Do you find yourself wish- ing for a better day—a simpler day? Too many things compete for your limited resources of attention, energy, and time. You may be suffocat- ing and not even know it. If you feel like this, you’re not alone.
Most people today live complicated lives that leave them frustrated and confused, weary and worn out. But I have good news: your life does not have to be that way. You can choose a life of simplicity, fruitfulness, fulfillment, peace, and joy. I want to warn you, however, unless you are determined not to, you will do what everyone else does. You will get sucked up in the system and spend your life wishing things were different, never realizing you are, in fact, the only one who can change things. Unless we are resolute and remain undaunted in our quest for simplicity, we are destined for complication and frustration.
I recall a time when I was complaining to God about my schedule being absolutely insane. How could anyone be expected to do all I had in front of me? Then the realization hit me that I was the one who made my schedule and nobody could change it but me. You can spend your lives wishing things were different, but wishing won’t change anything. Smart decision making and decisive action is what changes things. If you picked up this book looking for change, are you willing to make a decision and follow it up with action?
I wasted many years hoping life would change and things would calm down until I finally realized life itself doesn’t change; in fact, it has the potential to get worse. I understood my only real option was to change my approach to life. I had to say no to another day of rushing around and feeling frustrated. I didn’t want the doctor giving me another pre- scription to mask another symptom of the real problem—stress.
In my search for simplicity, I have come to believe life can never be simple unless I learn to approach all things simply. It is my attitude toward each event in life that determines how easy or complex each situation will be. Perhaps life is complicated because people are compli- cated. Is it possible that life is not complicated, but rather, individuals complicate life in the way they approach it?
I discovered it wasn’t really life or circumstances or other people as much as it was me that needed to change. My problem wasn’t the problem—I was the problem! When you spend your life in frustration trying to change the world and everyone in it, you fail to realize it could be you just need to change your approach to life. It can be very easy for someone to live an entire lifetime and never entertain the notion that the way they do things is the real problem.
Have you ever attempted to have friends over for what you initially intended to be a simple afternoon of food, fellowship, and fun, but somehow, it turned into a complicated nightmare? I remember those days vividly. I’d be at church on Sunday and, without much forethought, invite three couples over for the following Sunday to a barbecue. My initial thought was hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, baked beans, potato chips, and iced tea. My motive was fellowship and fun, but by the time the guests arrived, I didn’t even want them there. Fun was not going to happen, at least not for me. Why? I turned my simple get- together into a nightmare of preparation, expensive food, and fourteen people instead of the original six. My complicated approach to life and my complicated thought process convinced me hot dogs and hamburg- ers weren’t nice enough so I bought steaks we could not afford. My potato chips turned into a huge bowl of homemade potato salad. The simple baked beans became four side dishes I labored over.
Insecure and wanting to impress everyone, I had to spend the week cleaning and getting everything in the house to the point where I thought it would be impressive. Of course, the lawn chairs were old, so I bought new ones. I got angry at Dave because I thought he wasn’t help- ing me enough, and by the time our friends arrived, I resented them, wished they hadn’t come, and had a miserable day of pretending to be the happy hostess when in reality I was frustrated and miserable.
I could not figure out why I wasn’t able to enjoy much of anything in life until God revealed to me I was killing my joy with complication. For years, I prayed God would change the people and circumstances around me when, in reality, He wanted to change me and my approach to life. He wanted me to simplify so, ultimately, He could be glorified.
Let me share with you 100 ways to approach living that can simplify your life and, in turn, release and increase your joy. I believe they will dramatically improve the quality of your everyday experience if you incorporate them into the way you do things. Jesus said He came so we might have and enjoy our life in abundance (see John 10:10). His prin- ciples are simple. Faith is simple! Trusting God is simple! A childlike approach to Him is simple! The plan of salvation is simple!
Jesus offers us a “new way of living,” and I believe it is a simple, yet powerful way that enables us to enjoy everyday life. Are you ready to simplify your life? Are you ready to say good-bye to the complexities you’ve allowed to take over? Let’s get started.
Do One Thing at a Time
The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything elseówe are the busiest people in the world.
ÓERIC HOFFER
Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection].
—Hebrews 12:2
When we do things without truly focusing our minds on them, we immediately decrease our strength to do the work before us and do it well. By putting our hands to one thing and our mind to another, we divide the muscle behind our abilities and we make the task much more difficult. It’s like removing an egg yolk from the egg white—both can be used separately but the result isn’t as effective (or tasty) as it would be if we leave the egg whole. However, by directing all of our faculties to the one thing we are doing on a particular day, at that hour, at that moment, we find it much easier to do. The ability to concentrate and stay focused can only come from discipline.
The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6 to be anxious for nothing. Anxious people are always trying to live ahead of where they currently are. They spend today trying to figure out tomorrow and the result is the loss of simplicity. God expects us to trust Him with tomorrow just as He instructed the Israelites to do when they crossed the barren wil- derness, pressing toward the Promised Land.
Practice living one day at a time; give yourself—your thoughts, your conversation, your energies, every part of you—to the day at hand.
100 Ways to Simplify Your Life
1. Develop an ability to give yourself to what you are doing. You will sense an awareness enabling you to enjoy the current activity, instead of going through each day in a blur of activity and confusing thoughts which leave you drained and exhausted.
Do you fear you will not accomplish as much if you try to live this way? It’s true you may not do as much, but you will also enjoy what you do a whole lot more. One key to simplicity is realizing that quality is far superior to quantity.
The Blog Tour for "Nan's Journey" Begins July 23
It is time to play a Wild Card! Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his/her book's FIRST chapter!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
Today's Wild Card author is:
and his/her book:
Tate Publishing & Enterprises (January 2, 2008)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Littau is a life-long resident of Perryton, TX. She met husband, Terry at the Apostolic Faith Bible College in Baxter Springs, Kansas in 1974. They married March 1, 1975 and reside on a small acreage near Perryton where they enjoy spending time with their family and friends. They raised three sons and now have three daughters-in-law and four grandchildren added to their family. They also enjoy visiting with their extended family located in Perryton, Clear Lake, Laverne, and Amarillo.
Author Elaine Littau is a busy woman who by profession is the church secretary for Harvest Time First Assembly of God Church in Perryton. Among other things she has led women’s groups and taught preschool, and was a mentor for the M.O.P.S. (Mothers of Preschoolers) group in her community. She has been active in Toastmasters and enjoys painting, crafts, and playing piano and organ. She was recently appointed to the Campus Education Improvement Committee for Wright Elementary in Perryton. She belongs to Christian Storytellers and Faith Writers writing groups.
“Nan’s Journey” was written over the course of several years. “A salvation message is at the core of the book.” Littau says. “If it weren’t for the Lord, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. I truly enjoy meeting new people.”
Littau is currently working on two other books that are continuations of “Nan’s Journey.” Book signings and speaking engagements are currently set up for venues in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Oregon.
Visit the author's website.
Product Details:
List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 188 pages
Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises (January 2, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602478325
ISBN-13: 978-1602478329
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Chapter One
It was late. The moon had risen and the night symphony was in full force. Crickets chirped at their rivals, the frogs, and dominated the night chorus. Only one sound in the forest was foreign—a whimper from under the ferns. At the base of the largest pine in the woods was a small form crying, moaning, and whimpering. Black hair, matted and dirty, hung in long ropes down the front of the tiny girl. She had been in this spot for hours. At least that is what it felt like to her. Stretching, she cried out in pain. The blood-covered welts burst open to bleed again. Her back was wet with blood, and her dress was torn and useless.
Why had she dared to speak to the woman that she was obliged to call mother in that way? She knew that talking was not allowed from children before chores were finished. The accusations being made by “Ma” were totally false and she could not let Elmer take the blame for something she herself had forgotten to do. She shut her eyes tight against the memory, but it intruded anyway.
She had just gotten up to take the water off the stove to make up dishwater for the supper dishes. Ma had stepped outside the room to turn down her bed and prepare for sleep. When she reappeared in the kitchen, she realized that the wood supply next to the stove was low. Elmer was standing next to the table gathering the plates for washing. “Elmer, where is the wood you were supposed to bring up to the house?” Before he could answer, a hand had slapped him across his face. Getting back onto his feet and standing as tall as a five year old can stand, he looked her in the eye and said, “Ma, I was sick today, ‘member?”
“So, Elmer, you’re going to play up that headache trick again. Nan, didn’t your good for nothing Mama teach you people how to work, or are you just lazy?”
“Our Mama was good! Don’t you say mean things about her!” Nan yelled as her heart raced at the assault against her real Mama’s character.
“What about it, Elmer, are you like your weakling Mama or what?” Elmer’s eyes became very large and filled with tears. He could barely remember his real Mama, but when he did, he remembered soft kisses and sweet singing and a beautiful face. “I’m sorry; I’ll get the wood now.”
“No, Elmer, don’t. I promised you I’d do it today when your head was hurting, but I forgot. I’ll get it after I do these dishes.”
“Listen here, Nan, I’m the boss around here and Elmer will do what I say, when I say, and you will respect me.”
Nan’s eyes widened.
“Don’t look at me like that, little girl.”
Nan held her breath.
“Well, I guess you will be making a trip to the wood shed…with me!” Ma had grabbed her by the arm and jerked her along behind the shed. The strap was hanging there, waiting. Whippings were becoming more and more frequent. After Ma’s husband left, they had taken on a more cruel form. The last whipping was more like a beating. It took days for the marks to scab over and heal. Little Elmer had come in that night and brought some horse medicine from the barn and applied it to the oozing marks.
The next afternoon when the schoolteacher came over, Ma had already formulated a story. “Mrs. Dewey, we missed Nan and Elmer today at school. Are they sick?” Ma lied the first time in her life and said, “Well Miss Sergeant, since Mr. Dewey is going to be gone for another four weeks, I need more help around here to get things done. I’m holding the kids out until he gets back.” Week after week went by, and Mr. Dewey still hadn’t come home. Everyday Ma grew more and more angry. It became more and more impossible to please her. When she began hitting Elmer, it was too much. Nan had to do something— right or wrong; things couldn’t stay the way they were.
The coolness of the earth had settled into Nan’s bones. She stood silently for a minute and carefully crept up to the farmhouse. As she opened the door, she saw that Elmer was in the pallet at the foot of the stove next to her bedroll. Ma was asleep in her room. The door held open with a rock. Slowly she began peeling off the dress and the dried blood stuck to it. She reached for the old shirt she normally wore over her wounds and under her dress. She had washed it today. It had bloodstains on it, but it would keep her from ruining another dress. She retrieved the old work dress that she wore when chores were messier than usual; it was the only one left. She put it on swiftly and shook Elmer awake with her hand over his mouth. “Baby, we must leave. Do you understand? Stay quiet and I will get some stuff to take with us.”
She found large old handkerchief and began looking for food supplies. There was one sourdough biscuit and about a cup of cold brown beans. She located her tin cup and another rag. She would probably need that. Three matches were in the cup on the stove. She would just take two. Suddenly she heard a sound from Ma’s room. A scampering sound… just a rat. Ma turned over. Her breathing became deep and regular. For once Nan wished that Ma snored. She tied the handkerchief in a knot over the meager food supplies, grabbed their bedrolls, and slowly opened the door.
“Come on, Elmer. Can you carry this food? I’ll get your bedding. That’s a good boy. We must hurry!”
The cold air bit at their faces, but they walked bravely on.
“Elmer, we must go tonight so we can get as far away as we can before Ma wakes up and sees that we are gone.”
For the next half hour the pair walked in silence through the familiar woods past the graves on the hill. In one, a mother dearly loved, in another, an infant who had died the same day as his mother, and the third, a father that only Nan had memory of. Elmer was only two years old when Pa died in the logging accident. Nan snapped out of her reverie and urged Elmer on. Molasses, Pa’s good old workhorse, stood in the pasture. He skidded the logs Pa cut with his axe. His legs hadn’t healed quite right, but Mama hadn’t let Mr. Dewey kill him because he was all she had left of the husband of her youth. Molasses was a faithful friend to Nan and Elmer. He stood there and waited for them to mount him.
“Molasses, take us to…” Nan realized then that they had nowhere to go. Mrs. Dewey had said that they were ungrateful little imps who didn’t realize she and Mr. Dewey were taking care of them out of kindness, and they could easily be put into an orphanage. Nan didn’t know anything about orphanages except what Mrs. Dewey…uh, Ma had told her. “Molasses, just take us out of here.”
Why had she dared to speak to the woman that she was obliged to call mother in that way? She knew that talking was not allowed from children before chores were finished. The accusations being made by “Ma” were totally false and she could not let Elmer take the blame for something she herself had forgotten to do. She shut her eyes tight against the memory, but it intruded anyway.
She had just gotten up to take the water off the stove to make up dishwater for the supper dishes. Ma had stepped outside the room to turn down her bed and prepare for sleep. When she reappeared in the kitchen, she realized that the wood supply next to the stove was low. Elmer was standing next to the table gathering the plates for washing. “Elmer, where is the wood you were supposed to bring up to the house?” Before he could answer, a hand had slapped him across his face. Getting back onto his feet and standing as tall as a five year old can stand, he looked her in the eye and said, “Ma, I was sick today, ‘member?”
“So, Elmer, you’re going to play up that headache trick again. Nan, didn’t your good for nothing Mama teach you people how to work, or are you just lazy?”
“Our Mama was good! Don’t you say mean things about her!” Nan yelled as her heart raced at the assault against her real Mama’s character.
“What about it, Elmer, are you like your weakling Mama or what?” Elmer’s eyes became very large and filled with tears. He could barely remember his real Mama, but when he did, he remembered soft kisses and sweet singing and a beautiful face. “I’m sorry; I’ll get the wood now.”
“No, Elmer, don’t. I promised you I’d do it today when your head was hurting, but I forgot. I’ll get it after I do these dishes.”
“Listen here, Nan, I’m the boss around here and Elmer will do what I say, when I say, and you will respect me.”
Nan’s eyes widened.
“Don’t look at me like that, little girl.”
Nan held her breath.
“Well, I guess you will be making a trip to the wood shed…with me!” Ma had grabbed her by the arm and jerked her along behind the shed. The strap was hanging there, waiting. Whippings were becoming more and more frequent. After Ma’s husband left, they had taken on a more cruel form. The last whipping was more like a beating. It took days for the marks to scab over and heal. Little Elmer had come in that night and brought some horse medicine from the barn and applied it to the oozing marks.
The next afternoon when the schoolteacher came over, Ma had already formulated a story. “Mrs. Dewey, we missed Nan and Elmer today at school. Are they sick?” Ma lied the first time in her life and said, “Well Miss Sergeant, since Mr. Dewey is going to be gone for another four weeks, I need more help around here to get things done. I’m holding the kids out until he gets back.” Week after week went by, and Mr. Dewey still hadn’t come home. Everyday Ma grew more and more angry. It became more and more impossible to please her. When she began hitting Elmer, it was too much. Nan had to do something— right or wrong; things couldn’t stay the way they were.
The coolness of the earth had settled into Nan’s bones. She stood silently for a minute and carefully crept up to the farmhouse. As she opened the door, she saw that Elmer was in the pallet at the foot of the stove next to her bedroll. Ma was asleep in her room. The door held open with a rock. Slowly she began peeling off the dress and the dried blood stuck to it. She reached for the old shirt she normally wore over her wounds and under her dress. She had washed it today. It had bloodstains on it, but it would keep her from ruining another dress. She retrieved the old work dress that she wore when chores were messier than usual; it was the only one left. She put it on swiftly and shook Elmer awake with her hand over his mouth. “Baby, we must leave. Do you understand? Stay quiet and I will get some stuff to take with us.”
She found large old handkerchief and began looking for food supplies. There was one sourdough biscuit and about a cup of cold brown beans. She located her tin cup and another rag. She would probably need that. Three matches were in the cup on the stove. She would just take two. Suddenly she heard a sound from Ma’s room. A scampering sound… just a rat. Ma turned over. Her breathing became deep and regular. For once Nan wished that Ma snored. She tied the handkerchief in a knot over the meager food supplies, grabbed their bedrolls, and slowly opened the door.
“Come on, Elmer. Can you carry this food? I’ll get your bedding. That’s a good boy. We must hurry!”
The cold air bit at their faces, but they walked bravely on.
“Elmer, we must go tonight so we can get as far away as we can before Ma wakes up and sees that we are gone.”
For the next half hour the pair walked in silence through the familiar woods past the graves on the hill. In one, a mother dearly loved, in another, an infant who had died the same day as his mother, and the third, a father that only Nan had memory of. Elmer was only two years old when Pa died in the logging accident. Nan snapped out of her reverie and urged Elmer on. Molasses, Pa’s good old workhorse, stood in the pasture. He skidded the logs Pa cut with his axe. His legs hadn’t healed quite right, but Mama hadn’t let Mr. Dewey kill him because he was all she had left of the husband of her youth. Molasses was a faithful friend to Nan and Elmer. He stood there and waited for them to mount him.
“Molasses, take us to…” Nan realized then that they had nowhere to go. Mrs. Dewey had said that they were ungrateful little imps who didn’t realize she and Mr. Dewey were taking care of them out of kindness, and they could easily be put into an orphanage. Nan didn’t know anything about orphanages except what Mrs. Dewey…uh, Ma had told her. “Molasses, just take us out of here.”
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